Erica wants to be a yogi...sort of.

I'm not disciplined enough to follow through on the whole yogi lifestyle of meditation and clean eating but I do truly enjoy practicing yoga. I also like Pilates and barre. I'm really trying to get back into the habit of working out regularly (because being married makes people fat). I have a free gym at my workplace... just gotta get my lazy bum in there every day! I currently go to two studios (barre3 and This Land Yoga). Barre3 has outdoor classes twice a month and This Land Yoga has community classes once a week. That's where I'm at Mondays and Thursdays! I need to find more Groupons and community classes. If you know of any, let me know!

I've decided that I need a yoga bag. I look like a mess walking to the outdoor Barre3 classes because I'm trying to juggle my keys, mat, water bottle and bug spray as I speed-walk through Downtown to the Myriad Gardens. I never remember to just pack a tote bag. *sigh* I saw a workout bag I really liked but it was upwards of $35. That may seem reasonable to some, but to me, it was not. I figured anything that I am not willing to pay for, I need to learn how to make.

I got some old scrap cloth and whipped this up.
       This is the first project I've done where I actually did research beforehand. I looked for styles of gym bags that were specifically tailored toward yoga accessory transportation. I usually just make stuff up in my head and roll with it but I went a different route this time.
       I planned out a blueprint of the pieces I'd need and how they'd all fit together. I measured and carefully cut my pieces. Then, I sewed, glued and stitched it all together...taking many pictures along the way. I hope the tutorial will be easy to follow.

Yoga bag tutorial-
     Materials needed:
*cloth--I used more than what is pictured, I'd say get about half a yard total. I made this from scraps of t-shirts and appropriately, an old pair of yoga tights. I would say go with something stretchy and either knit or cotton. And stay away from stiff or delicate materials.
*sewing machine (or you can stitch by hand)
*scissors
*craft or fabric glue
*cardboard (a small sturdy piece)
*ruler
*straight pins
*chalk
*needle & thread
*buttons--I used snap buttons (not pictured) and a decorative button (pictured)

1. We will make the bottom/base of the bag first. Measure and cut the following:
       a) piece of cardboard 11.5 x 4 inches
       b) two pieces of fabric 12 x 5.5 inches each (labeled A &B)
       c) two strips of fabric 23 x 3.5 inches long (labeled C)
**You will use these two strips as ties for your yoga mat. My yoga mat is fairly cheap and thin. If you have one of those nice plush foam ones, you'll need longer measurements for fabric pieces C**

    

Decide which color (if using two colors as I did) will be the inside piece (A) and which will be the outside/bottom piece (B).
       Glue piece A onto one side of the cardboard & fold the edges over and glue them down, too. This piece should be completely glued to the cardboard with no excess material. Set aside and let the glue dry.

       Take piece B & the 2 C pieces: using straight pins, pin each piece C to an end of piece B. Then sew the two C pieces to piece B. It should look like the capital letter "I", as shown in the picture. This will be the bottom of the bag. Imagine the two C pieces being rope for you to tie your yoga mat onto the bottom of your bag for transport.

       Glue piece B to the center of the cardboard. Do not glue down the edges. The edges should be left flapping over the cardboard.

2. That was pretty involved so I'll make the next step an easy one.
For the sides of the bag, you will need two pieces of fabric measured 15 x 6 inches long.

Ooooh, I forgot decorations!  One of the old t-shirts I used for this yoga bag was my Universidad de Alcala shirt from study abroad. I sewed the university symbol on & glued the Spain patch to one of my side pieces.

They're not sewn/glued on there, yet. I just wanted another picture that showed dimensions of my fabric pieces.

The other side piece will have a small pocket. I will be putting snacks in that pocket because I love to eat and I am always starving after yoga practice. This little pocket will be the perfect size for a granola bar. To sew a pocket,
     a) measure a piece of cloth 9 x 5 inches
     b) fold in and pin the edges of the cloth, then sew
     c) sew the two sides and bottom to the side piece of the bag

I used the old yoga tights for the pocket. I wanted something stretchy so I could cram all sorts of  goodies in the pocket.

3. Time for the front & back of the bag. Lets start with the front:
Measure a rectangular piece of cloth 14 x 14.5 inches, cut and set aside (if you have patches or any other decorations, now would be a good time to add them to the front piece of your bag)

Next, add a pocket. This will be a refresher course from my apron blog posted last month. 

     a) Cut a long piece of cloth however big you want the pocket to be. Mine was 15 x 7 inches. 

     b) Fold two pleats into the piece, thus dividing the piece into three sections (pockets). Pin the pleats in place then sew them.  You can sew without pinning first but I'm not that advanced. LOL

     c) Then fold along all four edges, pin a hem and sew. Set aside.

     d) Decide where you want the pocket to be on the inside of the front piece. Pin in place & sew.

Now for the back. It's mostly the same except we're making it a little bit longer so we can have a flap to drape over the front piece. And a few extra steps for aforementioned flap. Oh, and we're adding buttons! First things first...
    Measure & cut a piece of cloth 14 x 20 inches.

    Then sew on any pockets or decorations, if desired. I added my signature RagsReborn (r|r.) tag. I also sewed a small pocket and added a snap button. I will put my ID and cash in this pocket. No instructions for the pocket since we've already done them in previous steps.

      Now for the flap...
a) Lay the front piece over the back piece.
Cut a 1/2 inch slit at the top of the front piece (where the front and back pieces meet).
Then fold, pin and sew a hem around the rest of the exposed front piece. This will be a flap that folds over the front of the bag.

b) Fold one pleat across the bottom of the flap. Pin into place and then sew.
c) If you want to add any buttons or decorative items to the front piece, do it now. I added a couple of snap buttons and one large decorative button. I hand-stitched these on.

4. Last piece before we put it all together... the handle/carrying straps.
a) Cut three pieces of fabric 29 x 4 inches.
b) Stack all three pieces on top of each other. Section off about 3 inches on top and pin. The three inches will be where the handle gets sewn onto the bag.
c) Braid the three pieces together. Leave three inches at the bottom & pin. Those three inches will be where you sew the other end of the handle onto the bag.
d) Sew a line across the three inches at the top and bottom of the braid. This is one of your two bag handles.

The other handle-
a) Cut a long piece of cloth 28 x 5 inches
b) Fold both ends in to where they meet in the middle. Pin together and sew one line across the middle.
c) Fold each end in about two inches. This is where you will be sewing the strap to the bag. Both strap pieces should be the same size.

That was hard work. Let's take a puppy break. Here's a picture of Sadie helping me sew & blog.

Her ears are all perked up because it was storming when I made this and she is petrified of storms. Poor baby!

5. Time to piece and sew this bad boy together. Lay out all the pieces: bottom piece in the center (I tied my yoga straps into a bow so they wouldn't get in the way), front piece on one long edge, back piece on the other long edge, a side piece on each short edge and the handle across the middle.

a) Pin one of the large pieces (either the front or back) to a long edge of the bottom piece. I pinned everything inside out so when I sewed it, the seams would be on the inside of the bag. Sew the piece on after pinning. 

b) Do the same thing with the other large piece (either the front or back, whichever piece you didn't pin & sew on in step a).

At this point, your bag should look mostly like a bag. I untied the yoga straps and draped mine over a chair to get a good view of it. All that's missing are the side pieces and handle. I attempted to take a picture of it from all angles to get a good visual of the progress thus far.

c) Pin and sew the two side pieces on the same was as we did the front & back pieces.

Here are some close-ups of the pieces laid out and pinned together before I sewed them together. 

Side pieces sewn on and turned right side out to show the seams and where I sewed. 

6. Hold the bag upside down (yoga straps tied back into a bow at the bottom at this point). I continued to pin and sew everything inside out so the seams would be facing the inside of the bag.

Pin the side pieces to the front and back pieces. Sew together while the bag is still inside out. 

When both sides are sewn together, turn the bag inside out to look at your progress. I stuck my hand in mine and ran my fingers across all the seams and edges to make sure it was all attached sturdily. I had one small place where I had to reinforce the seam by hand-stitching it. 

Picture #2 (the side piece with the patches): I realized afterward that my patches are upside-down. I have since restitched them right-side-up.

7. Only one step left!! Turn the bag inside out for this final step. I stitched this part by hand. (which completely SUCKED! I have been spoiled by my sewing machine.)

        Take your handle pieces and pin them to a corner of the side piece. I have two long straps for my handles so I pinned one end to each corner. Then sew the straps/handles into place. I sewed a box with an x in the middle.

OMG...finally we are done! It took me literally a week to make this. I worked on each step for about an hour each night. It probably won't take too long if you do it all in one sitting. At one point, I went to a sewing club (called "Sew fun!"). It was a really fun group of women. We all brought our machines and worked on projects while we chitchatted. Here's Kenni Kenmore all packed up and ready to go to our sewing play date!

Erica is growing a mustache...

...did I say "growing"? I meant sewing.

Elizabeth (pink octopus) won first. Chastity (Sherlock Holmes) won second. Reba (Fourth of July) won third. I think Pam (bacon) should have won. That was hilarious!

Last week was employee appreciation week at my job. Delta Dental of Oklahoma has been voted one of the Best Places to Work in OKC and I completely understand why. The working environment is great, they hire some amazing people and they really go all out to show employee appreciation. This was my third employee appreciation experience. We get a theme each year and this year's theme was 2015 Delta Dental County Fair. We even had a "fair/carnival" at the end of the week. So much fun :D

The only ride I went on was the giant trampoline with bungee cords. It was pretty fun. I'd like to think I work out and am moderately in shape but that thing wore me out. My poor little legs!!

Employees were allowed--encouraged, actually--to have a table to display and sell crafts, goods and treats. OMG...mini show for RagsReborn!! I shared a table with Marie, owner of Glass Soldier Gifts. (Her stuff is quite amazing. Check out her Facebook!) I posted on the company intranet throughout the week to advertise. Look at my marketing skills go!

(above) I emailed this to my coworkers. (below) And check out this little gem on our intranet bulletin board. I tried crossing out the Delta Dental-ness...not like there's any HIPAA here but our Compliance department is rather strict and I fear. LOL 

My little table booth at the event did really well (almost as good as I did at the Indie Trunk Show!). I sold two totes (one was bought by our CEO's wife!), two pillows and a coworker brought me an old Elvis t-shirt for a custom order. Oh, Elvis! *swoon*

There were little events and competitions each day and Tuesday was the mustache and beard competition. We were all encouraged to put on a mustache--real or fake. I knew I had to do a fake one! I looked online for some ideas but none popped out at me. I was chatting with Vietfil and she suggested that I do a pillow mustache ... how perfect since I would be selling at the carnival later in the week. Give 'em a sample of my craft! (Thank you, Vietfil, for the idea...that girl should get into marketing!) RagsReborn can do freestyle pillows, right? I made a huge one for myself and some little ones for my coworkers. All made out of old t-shirt scraps so technically, they're still t-shirt pillows to fit my business theme. Since I can't give out my pillowing secrets, here's a tutorial for small prop mustaches.

Party mustache tutorial:
        Materials needed - cloth, cotton (not pictured), dowel rod, hot glue, scissors & a mustache pattern (I drew mine with paper and pencil). And any decorative materials, if desired.

Making these from leftover t-shirts! Yay for recycling :D

1. Find or draw a mustache pattern. I am not a good artist so I had to Google a picture to work from. It took a few tries but I finally drew one I liked.

2. Trace the pattern onto the cloth and cut out two pieces - one will be the front and the other will be the back. I used chalk to trace my pattern. It's not listed in the materials but you can use whatever you have... pencil and marker works, too. I attempted to cut one out without tracing first, which worked okay but was more difficult. I considered doing a different color cloth for the front and the back but I eventually decided against it. Its always still an option for you. The sky is the limit when it comes to crafting!

3. Hot glue the dowel rod in the center of the designated back mustache piece.

4. Hot glue a little bit of cotton onto the back mustache piece. Try to keep the cotton toward the center of the mustache. You want enough cotton for the mustache to be sturdy but not too much to where it's overflowing out the edges.

5. This is the hardest step and be forewarned that you will burn your fingers with hot glue. >.< You're basically making a sandwich with the cotton in the middle.
        Carefully glue the front piece of the mustache over the cotton.  Do this by slowly hot gluing around the edges. Move the cotton toward the middle as much as possible before you start gluing and continue to push toward the middle as you glue. I had to add more cotton to the middle as I glued. It needs to be stuffed pretty full in order for it to be sturdy.

6. Done!! I tied a ribbon on each of the dowels and glued initials on them (I have 4 team members in my department and had to do something to distinguish between which mustache belonged to whom). They look pretty cute without decorations, too. Again, its totally up to you!

Erica is going to be in the Indie Trunk Show!!!

The 2015 spring Indie Trunk Show is this Saturday!! I'm going to be there...I'm going to be both a confident artist and a bundle of nerves. It'll take a lot to successfully pull that off so send me well wishes and better yet, come by and say hello.  \(^_^)/ I will be in booth #148 (booth numbers won't be posted so just look for my RagsRebornGifts signs). I'll be in my official shirt, too! I bought an Indie Trunk Show promotional tee and got my company name screen printed on the back. Snazzy!

I feel like I have a week to finish up a thousand and one things. As of now, I am one frazzled mess O_O  I have to keep passing out fliers and amp up my presence on social media. I plan to post an album on my Facebook business page with all my inventory. Luckily, I'm done with all my sewing. (big sigh of relief here!) I have about 80 pillows and 20 totes. I haven't done a full inventory count but my goal was 100 items and I know I've done at least that. Really, all I need to do is calm my nerves and think positively. Easier said than done. *rolls eyes*

This is my first show...period.  I opened my Etsy store and started this crazy adventure last November (yeah, only seven measly months ago). I'm not quite sure what I got myself into, honestly. My business hasn't even been operational a year, yet I'm going to be in one of the biggest shows in the metro. Was this a mistake? No, no, no. I can't think like that. Even if I fail terribly, it would have been a really good learning experience. On the flip-side, being in a show of this magnitude could be my gateway into a lot more successful ventures in the future.

The Indie Trunk Show has a Facebook page specifically for vendors. It's been a wonderful resource and networking tool. After reading posts and commenting on a few myself, I learned that you really need to start at small local fundraisers or church craft shows. You're not supposed to just jump into a huge show that has over 200 vendors and an expected turn out of a couple thousand shoppers. Ooops. I guess its go big or go home, right? To try to get a handle on things, I have been reading up on blogs and forums about craft shows (here's a really good one: https://blog.etsy.com/en/2008/seller-how-to-craft-fair-tips/).

Here's a fun promotional picture I made. I needed something for a transitional point in this blog post. 

Anyway, since its Monday craft night, I suppose I should share a craft.
Each vendor at the show gets a 10x10 foot block (literally a square on the floor that's taped off) of space for a booth. I have no walls. I have no display structures. But I do have crazy ideas. LOL This weekend, Wes & I built the main structure for my booth. We built it out of cardboard, cloth, craft glue and Velcro. (I know, I know, insert doubt here)

I wanted my pillows on a bed or couch (something that you would normally find pillows on). And I wanted my booth to look comfortable and homey. Remember in The Lego Movie when they had a double decker couch? Well, that's what I settled on making. I'll have other small display structures in my booth but that is what I wanted to be my main fixture. I lacked experience in furniture building but I had my vivid imagination and supportive husband. So off we went...

It was a behemoth task. I had a small breakdown in the middle of making it but I kept the tears to a minimal. Wes was wonderful to work with (man, check out that alliteration!) I ended up spending a lot more money on this than I wanted but I am happy with how it turned out. It's still not as stable as I'd like but I think it'll do the job.

I knew Indie Trunk Show would be really hard work going into it but I never imagined the magnitude of time and effort -emotionally and physically- it would take. Now I know for sure that it takes blood, sweat and tears to get something like this done. For anyone who goes to a craft fair or arts festival and remarks, "Oh, is that considered art?... I can do something like that at home and not pay $20 for it here," I dare you to apply for a show then do all the work and try saying something like that again. Trust me, you won't. Items are priced at a premium for a reason. Shows.are.hard.work! I don't want to sound like I'm complaining (it's really just the nerves talking here and causing all my negative thoughts). I really am glad I'm in a show like this because its really making me reevaluate how much I really want Rags|Reborn. to work out.  And I do. This is a goal I must accomplish. I don't want a day job anymore... I love you Delta Dental, but I have bigger things in mind! I want to be an artist. I want to do shows and make custom pillows and I want my Etsy store to be a real source of income. I can't slack off anymore. Is this a challenge? ...Yes of course but it's one I can steer the course of.  The universe loves to throw shit at you. I've had my fair share of ups and downs but I feel like this is something I can control. I can apply for more craft shows, I can network and I can sew. If I'm going to make my dream a reality, I gotta be serious about it and conquering Indie Craft Show is the first step. Its been quite the journey.  I keep going back and forth between excitement and pessimistic thoughts of crashing and burning. It's driving me crazy!!  Arrgh, can't it just be May 16th already?!?