Jericho is over....and a project almost finished....

My job is finally coming to an end! Wednesday i prep for an all nighter 2nd unit shoot on Thursday into Friday. I should be done around 5 am Friday, and I have a 10 am plane to Sacramento. There I'll spend about 10 days with my dad, boxing up and photographing things of my moms. We're going to post all of my moms stuff on line so all of my sisters and my brother can decide what they would like to have. The rest I will pack and store.
....and then, i get to go home to my DH, our dog Chalupa, and my ART!
Yeah.
I have one more project due - one that my fiber artist friend Lorri Scott is sponsoring. Lorri asked for volunteers to take a packet of trims, buttons and fabrics that she has put together and is selling, and to turn them into a piece of art and then send it to her to use for her display at Art and Soul, etc, where she will be selling the packets. In return, she sent you a second packet to use for yourself, later. I was going to turn my packet into a doll, but my friend Joanne had already done that, so I decided to make a purse...something I've never made before. My biggest obstacle was that I was not at home, and I had no sewing machine in Los Angeles.

These are some of the elements in my packet. Actually the pic just shows some of the cut up leftovers from my project. I didn't have the sense to photograph the packet with all the pieces together and pretty before I started. There were also buttons, a beautiful piece of black etched silk, more trims and squares of black and white printed silk - but I used all of those pieces in making my project.

This is the purse lining, the pocket, side panels and the strap

...and this is the purse panel. The big eye is the front and the eye vines are the back. The center of the eyes all get swarovski crystals, but i haven't added those yet. There are swarovski crystals on both sides and lots of machine stitching.....yes, i couldn't stand it any longer, i broke down and bought a $75 "shark" sewing machine at Target. Whoever heard of Shark? But it has a 25 yr warranty and it worked just great. I'll leave it with my son for the next time I am in Los Angeles...I always seem to have a project that needs a sewing machine .... I'll probably put some pink embroidery on the front panel. Then the furry pink and black trim goes on the edges, and then i have to sew it all together....oh, and all of the eyes have crystal "tear" beads...as in laughing so hard they are crying..... Here's a close up of the back:
So as usual I sort of over complicated the project. DJ Pettitt makes it all look so easy - she can do one in less than a day! I, on the other hand mess it up and then have to improvise solutions to fix it, which make it more complicated and then when I'm satisfied I do something like use acetone to clean some glue which puts a purple spot on the black acetate, which i then I have stain black, but my black doesn't match the acetate's black, so then i embroider over it and when i iron it, i make a hole, so I add a striped patch, etc etc. Ever had a project that went like that? It just seems endless because I keep screwing it up.....
I will post the finished project as soon as (HAH) i finish it.