The Large Day Bag - "Love"

This Scarlet Clover bag is very special to me. I only made two, and will not make anymore like it. Melanie, who is pictured here with me, is one of my dearest friends. I met her while I was studying in Australia while in high school, some 19 years ago. We have remained very close ever since, along with another wonderful woman, named Rochelle, who lives about 40 minutes from Melanie. Although we are half a world apart, this distance has not and can not put a wedge between the three of us. We were inseperable when I lived there, and through emails, Facebook, and Skype, we are still inseperable!! I will always hold their friendships very close to my heart.

Melanie came to visit me in January for 10 days, and we had such a glorious time. The days simply went by too fast. As a gift to Mel, I made for her this handbag, and one for myself, as a token of our friendship. My other dearest friend, Rochelle, well, her bag is in the making. Once again, there will only be two of those. I simply can not wait to finish it! You can bet I'll post it as soon as I do.

This interior of this Large Day Bag is very colorful. Even the side pocket is lined in lavendar! Plenty of storage compartments for all of your girly needs, and the three side pockets are full enough to stowe away your blackberries, big ol' sunglasses, and anything else you fancy. Once again, an SC bag is just a pretty on the inside as it is out.

Scarlet Clover now available through PayPal

Should you desire to purchase an handbag, just post me a note in the comment section at the bottom of the post. If I have the bag in stock, I can send you a bill right away. If the bag is not available, I can work with you to recreate the bag. I use up my fabrics quickly, so I'm not always able to reproduce the exact same handbag, but I can recreate the same look. Good shopping !

Scarlet Clover at Westminster Dog Show, Madison Square Garden, NY

I am so very proud to say that my "All Dog's Go To Heaven" Tote's were for sale at the Westminster Dog Show at Madison Square Garden, NY on Monday (Feb 9, 2009) and were received with a round of applause. On the same day, I received 5 additional requests for specific dog breeds, outside of the show! God is good! I am always open for special requests to create a tote with the doggie of your choice on it. Just send me a note via the comment option and I can send you a bill via PayPal. These Tote's are $80.
German Short Hair Pointer and Beagle are also available. (Photos to come soon)

~ From and earlier post on the Tote: I have, on occaision, accepted commissions to craft bags to a person's requests. As a designer of bespoke handbags, I am pleased to meet with clients to design a bag that is an external expression of their internal interests and passions. Accepting the request to make a dog bag posed quite a challenge for me, for the dog is looked upon quite unfavorably in Scripture. I didn't want to use a negative scripture verse to accompany my handbags. After plowing through just about every reference to the dog in the Bible, I finally found a passage that was just right. Ecclesiastes, I found, sheds a different light on this animal, by not giving in to despair, but finding hope in those that are lost. "But whoever is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion." (Eccl. 9:4) For this reason alone, I chose the theme "All Dogs Go To Heaven". God's grace and boundless love is open to all, even the dogs in this world.

The back of the tote displays my signature cascade of fabric, although vertically, rather than horizontally. The fabrics vary from bag to bag, but it is a good mix of tweeds, cordurory, cotton blends, wool houndstooth, velvet, and poly blends. Inside, I have added a ring to hold additional leads or collars. There are also two pockets.







The Yorkshire Terrior. Click on image to get a detailed view.












The Golden Retreiver. Click on image to for a detailed view.












The Boxer. Click on image for a detailed view.

The Ibizan Hound. Click on image for a detailed view.

The Messenger Bag - "The Nations" (this bag no longer available)

I have had the greatest honor of creating this incredibly special handbag, called "The Nations". It was designed for a woman who is from Poland, and adopted a little girl from Guatemala. She viewed my Scarlet Clover albums on Facebook, and approached me about making the Messenger Bag for her, with the specifications of somehow combining the two countries (order to be filled sometime in the new year). What a challenge to say the least! Little did she know that her niece viewed our exchanging conversations on my Facebook wall. Her niece then approached me to see if I could have this ready by Christmas, as she and her parents wanted to give it as a gift. Gladly accepting, I went to work researching the traditional clothing of the two countries, hoping to find a common denominator between the two. I hit the jackpot, to say the least. Although Poland and Guatemala are quite different in their histories, their customary clothing I found to be remarkably similar in many ways. With the bold use of color, and gorgeous displays of flowers, I had a lot to work with.

What is unique about the bag that my client chose, is that the center flap of the purse can be worn two ways, having two different looks to the purse. I thought, "How appropriate for this this special request! I'll have Poland on one side, and Guatemala on the other. Brilliant!!" One side of the flap has my modern take on the lovely embroidered flowers that are so prevalent in the traditional blouses worn by Polish women. I created a sort of collage, with fabric layered upon fabric, to create the distinctive look. The other side of the flap reveals the bold, bright, colorful stripes that are so abundant in Guatemalan blankets, skirts and aprons. Having done mission work in Guatemala, I took great pleasure in recreating these amazing color schematics.

If you click on the images to the left, you can get a much larger view of the photos, allowing you to really see the details on the bag. I used wool as the main fabric. The flowers and stripes are composed of cotton blends, satin, and linen.

The label card that accompanied this bag reads:

Although you and your child come from different nations, your love knows no boundaries. "From one blood, God made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence, and the boundaries of the places where they would live," (Acts 17:26) God's steadfast love is "as far as the east is from the west" (Ps 103:12), and "indeed he is not far from each one of us." (Acts 17:27)

On the shoulder strap, I added a little touch of flowers, and two hand-carved black wooden buttons. A closer look (again, click on the photo) will give you a better impression.

Once again, the unique design of this bag allowed me to carry on the theme of the two nations to the inside. I used a fabric that is very true to Guatemalan prints and colors on the lining of one compartments, as well as the small pocket which is disguised under my signature "cascade" of fabric.

On the opposite side of the flap, I used a fabulous print that is faithful to the styles so beautifully represented in the traditions of Polish clothing. A closer look will show how I replicated the flowers from the lining to the flowers of the front of the bag (click on image).

One side of the handbag displays these wonderfully convenient cargo pockets. Perfect for keys, cell phones, and lipstick, these compartments are lined with black satin, and have a magnetic snap closure.

The Half-Moon Bag - "Holy Cow!"

"HOLY COW! I CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT I AM SEEING!" That's right, you are looking at a mighty fine good lookin' handbag ladies. In modern English, the word "cow" is the general term used for the domestic bovine, however, "ox" is the word used to represent this creature in scripture, although "ox" is rarely used in this general sense today. In Chrisian art of the Nativity, the ox and ass are present at Christ's birth, confirming that the Christ child was the promised Messiah (Isa. 1:3, Hab, 3:2). In early patristic writings, the ox was an alternative to the sacrificial lamb, and was symbolic of Christ's sacrifice. The scripture verse chosen to accompany this handbag comes not from the gospels, but from the book of Isaiah 11:7, under the pericope The Peaceful Kingdom : "The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox." We all look forward to that peaceful kingdom, but until then, carry a handbag that represents it......and look good too! Alva William Steffler, Symbols of the Christian Faith (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2002), 30, Wikipedia.

Appropriatly named, this bag has a very laid back, casual feel of having been a long time resident of the mid-west. The faux leather is very soft and supple, and ages just like the real thing. I have a wing back chair that I recovered in this fabric 5 years ago. It has endured three rambunctious children, a cat, and my husband with his weekend newspapers, and it looks fabulous, old, rustic, and loved.







The half-moon shape fits quite nicely under the arm, and is a very comfortable bag to carry.











The profile is very sexy. I spared no expense to detail...even the shoulder strap looks fantastic. All of the hardware is galvanized steel.










Staying true to all my work, even the lining of my bags look terrific. "Holy Cow!" is what your friends are going to say when they go for a peek inside! The pockets share my signature "cascade" of fabric. Pockets on both sides have a skinny slot for your pens, nail files, or lip liners, and the larger pockets can comfortably hold Blackberry's, checkbooks, and great big sunglasses. The half-moon style is also equipt with my classic side compartments, so to keep things very organized. Enjoy!

The Half-Moon Bag - "The Dove"

The dove is the primary symbol of the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit was present as a dove at the baptism of Christ (Matt. 3:16). This lovely avian represents many differnet things throughout history. It has its presence in Christian art, Medieval art, Russian and Greek Orthodox icons, as well as associations with the seven gifts of the Spirit, peace, the Annunciation, the Trinity, life, and death. The scripture verse chosen for this handbag comes from Matthew 3:16-17 "And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."" This said, I am pleased to present to you "The Dove." Alva William Steffler, Symbols of the Christian Faith (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2002), 40.
The colors on this handbag represent different shades of water, reflecting on the baptism of Christ. The fabrics consist of tweed, quilted poly blend, linen, suiting, cotton blends.









One of the things I like best about this bag is that the profile looks glorious! How pretty is the flower on the shoulder strap. It adds a lovely feminine touch to your neckline.










The flower is made up of tweed, chenille, velvet, corduroy, denim, satin ribbon, and a fabulous 1930's button replica.






As always, Scarlet Clover bags are just as pretty on the inside, as they are out. The pockets are made in my signature "cascade" of fabrics style. Pockets on both sides have a slot for your writing pens and nail files (or perhaps lip liners), and the larger pocket is big enough for sunglasses, Blackberry's, checkbooks, and phones. The Half Moon bag also has my signature side compartments so to keep things very organized. Enjoy!

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