Things were crazy busy this week,  I wanted to take a quick moment though to pop in here.

I have a little announcement about something I have been working on behind the scenes the last few weeks… Chara Michele Photography, my photography business, has a new look and a blog!

I am really excited about this! I worked with an amazing graphic designer on my new logo and branding & just love it. I am also excited to be starting a blog for my business. It will include sneak peeks of sessions, and all sorts of goodies. So if you are a fan of my photography, take a look & be sure to bookmark it or add it to your feeds. I would love to hear from you too if you stop by, just leave a comment here or there (or both :) (There is already a post up there of an engagement session, so be sure to stop by for that :)

I will still be blogging here of course & even sharing some photography stuff here still, but it will stay more craft focused here and my new blog will be where I share more of my photography. I never thought I would have 2 blogs, but I think this is the perfect direction for my photography & crafting. So I hope you will share in the journey at both!

Just a few lovely links around blog land that I found this week…

- Loving Regina’s connected posts lately. Her posts have made me think a bit about priorities & what is really important to me. Also, what makes me feel connected to life & what I want to feel more connected to in life.

- Recently stumbled back across Equinox & this time I added it to my google reader. I love the idea of a photo project like this! Such a great way to connect with a friend across the world.

- This post by Molly really resonates with me. I feel like she wrote it for me (well and maybe for herself:). Normal is good.

- Okay a little more light hearted, but such a great tip! I can always use some decorating advice. Although I have to admit that I am feeling very unmotivated to do much decorating in our current place, but I can always save it for later.

- A new to me blog, Life in the Fun Lane. Apparently even though I have no motivation for decorating our current home, I do have motivation to look at decorating magazines & blogs :)

What fun blogs & links have you stumbled across this week?

Finally I fit some sewing time in. Well more accurately I fit some sewing in when I really should have been working on some other stuff. It was totally worth it though :)

I really wanted a new bag for fall. It seems like autumn hit pretty quickly this year & with the cool weather I just had to have a new bag. (I needed something to brighten my mood since fall around here means lots of rain & no sun.) The fabric I used for this new bag just screamed fall to me so I sat down as soon as I could to make this purse.

I had a general idea of what I wanted in a new bag, but I honestly just jumped in & started cutting with hardly any planning. It really was a case of hoping it would turn out the way I was wanting it to. Which it did! There are a few things I would tweak but it is pretty much what I had imagined. (The inside of the bag could probably use a pocket or two & the straps are a bit long – even with the hardware adjusted to its shortest length.)

There is a front pocket with a magnetic clasp & the main part of the bag has a concealed zipper (definitely the hardest part of the whole thing – I think there are a few tutorials out there, but I didn’t use any – like the rest of the bag I just winged it & hoped for the best). I love having a somewhat open front pocket for sticking anything I need to find but don’t want to dig around the bottom of a bag for & a zippered main compartment for things that need to be a bit more secure.

The best part of the whole process is that everything was pretty much out of my stash. I took the strap hardware off an old store bought bag & repurposed it. The zipper was one I bought with a bunch of others from a garage sale so the color is more contrasting than matchy-matchy. The fabrics were ones that I picked up with no real purpose, but just begged for me to make a bag. As much as I sometimes want to use my stash up (to buy more really), it is lovely to be able to sit down & start a project without ever having to leave the house for random bits & thread…

I would love to make another one of these bags, but have no idea where to find the strap hardware (and I don’t have any more old bags sitting around waiting to be cut up)… Any suggestions? The rings are actually rectangles (no curves like on a d-ring) & the other bit allows the strap to be adjustable.

Also, thanks for the lovely comments on my last post :) Since reminding myself why I am blogging, I have actually felt more inspired to blog again & less pressure to have it always be perfect :)

Lera posted about her coveted patterns a couple months ago. (Oh my goodness, it really was months ago! Time is going a bit too quick.) Which got me thinking & I actually started writing a blog post about mine (okay it was mostly in my head) but set it aside until this past week, when I was out spending some time thrifting (when I should have been working, but that is another story). I was on a hunt for some tea cups & it totally reminded me of Lera’s post…

I have been collecting blue & white dishes in all different patterns for years now. Honestly I don’t even remember how I started collecting these, but I love the mix of the patterns & the story behind each one. Whether it was a thrifted dish, a gift from someone, or found somewhere on a holiday away – each one has a different story. I love how our dishes are all different, but similar at the same time. I also love that we use all of our blue & white dishes instead of just leaving them hidden away for special occasions. Yes even the most precious ones get used, but I think it is so much better to use something you treasure & get to enjoy rather than hide it away for special occasions. (Although this flies out the window when it comes to fabric, I totally have fabrics that I am terrified of cutting into because they are just too pretty :)

(Oh and I totally cringe when I see blue & white dishes smashed to make mosaics or pretty blue & white teacups made into candles… But that is just me :)

Pictured are a few of the tea cups I found while out thrifting (I needed a few more for a tea party :).

And just because I need the reminder… sometimes I think I forget why I started blogging & what it really means to me. Last week I was getting a bit down about my lack of comments here at my new blogging home. It made me stop & think, and I realized that really I should be blogging for me & not for comments. I love the friendships I have made here in craft blogging land, and am so grateful for the many great things blogging has brought to my life. When it comes down to it though blogging really started as a creative outlet for me to write & a journal to keep track of my life and creative pursuits. So really I just need this reminder to blog for myself & enjoy every step of the process. (Maybe in some ways we all need that sometimes…)

Speaking of creativity, last week was incredibly busy. I took school portraits for a private school around here, which took up my whole week & I still have the post processing & orders left which will take another couple weeks. It is so much fun though & totally worth the busy times. In between all that (and a bunch of other photo shoots I have been working on), I managed to fit in some time for sewing though! :) (Which I really needed!) So I actually have something crafty (and finished) to show in my next post (since this one is long enough already :)

10 whole yards of pretty new fabrics to add to my stash….

Sometimes I think I enjoy collecting fabrics as much as I enjoy actually using them. My fabric cupboard is getting pretty full lately. Of course I have not had a lot of free time lately to sew, so instead what is a girl to do – collect more fabric (and photograph it:) Can anyone else relate to this?

I have had a few crazy busy weeks & this week is promising to be the craziest with quite a bit on my plate. (More to come on all that soon :) I want to get back in this space a little more frequently though, so I think I might start posting more photos with less words starting this week. I have a few good ones to share so keep an eye on this space (or take a second to sign up for my feed:)