Holiday Sale!

Hey there!  I have a bunch of things to blog about, but I wanted to let my readers know that I have lowered prices on all of the items in my etsy.com shop.  The prices are good until the end of 2015, so great for holiday shopping.
I don't have all items that I've made listed on the shop site, but I will post pictures and get the listing done as soon as possible.  I have no computer other than my phone,  so it is harder to get things done, but I will do my best.

***If anyone is interested in custom orders for holiday gifts, now is the time to contact me, so that I have time to get your orders completed and to you.

I will endeavor to keep everyone updated regarding local markets where I'll be vending and any new stuff that I don't have time to get listed but are still available for purchase. ...we can simply do the order without Etsy,  as I have the capacity to take credit/debit cards through Square.
Please feel free to visit the GKR shop at: www.goodkharmarethreads.etsy.com
I will also post pictures and keep ya'll updated through the GKR Facebook page at:
www.facebook.com/goodkharmarethreads
And I will try to get pictures up ASAP!
More news is forthcoming, too!  So stay tuned. ...namaste!

Finishing the Uniform Bags

I have to tell you, life certainly has been throwing a lot of curve balls my way since moving to NC.  I'm not complaining, as North Carolina is definitely home to me; however, finding space to work has been a challenge. 
I am happy to report that I was able to finish the two 'uniform bags' for my client in time for her to take them on her trip to visit her son (his uniforms). And she loves the bags....and he loves the bags. ...and she got another uniform from him, which I will be turning into a backpack/cycling type of bag.  I can't wait. ...she loves to give me projects that stir my creative juices!
I will attempt to include pictures of the bags, both in process and as finished products. ...not sure if I can, as I am blogging from my phone and I am extremely technologically challenged. If I can't get them included in this post, I will give you a link to see the pics.
I'm just happy that my client is happy!  It is always scary to take the scissors to someone's something precious. ...and I am very tickled with how the bags turned out.  
I will be updating you on some of my other projects in my next post. ...hopefully I will figure out the 'picture' attaching....new skills. ...oh boy!
Have a good and peaceful day!

A Quick Hello. ...

We made it to North Carolina on the 18th. ...and due to space restrictions,  I am currently unable to sew.  This makes me sad, since I have a couple of commissioned projects that I can't work on/complete.   I have come to terms with this. ...its not within my control at this time.
I do, however, have my paints, so I am working on a pair of Birkenstock sandals for my mom.  She has graciously opened her small home to the three of us, and I want to do some extra nice things for her as a small token of my appreciation for her generosity.
Otherwise,  I hope to get some more items listed on my Etsy store site. ...that's about all I can do from here at the moment.
I am also going to the beach for a few days. ...R & R and inspiration.
I will post some pictures of the Birkenstock sandals as soon as I can figure out how to handle this delicate procedure from my phone. ...lol!   I am not technologically gifted! 
But the bottom line is that we made it and we're looking for our own place.   I am looking forward to creating a new studio space for GKR. 
I wish everyone a happy 4th of July, should I not get back to post anything between now and then.
Keep the peace. ...

The News!!

There is much to tell....well, nothing is overtly exciting, other than the biggest news....we're moving back to North Carolina in a few weeks!!!  GKR gets to go back to her home state, and already we have some vending venues lined up!

The clients I am currently working on projects for have been awesome!  They have each given me the time off for packing and moving, and I'll pick back up on their projects when we get moved and some kind of working area aka studio set up again.  I appreciate their patience and kindness more than they could ever know.  Waking up this morning without feeling that extra pressure was a big relief.

And that relief has allowed me to get to the business of listing a couple of things that I completed in GKR's etsy.com shop; and, get on to culling (yet again), and packing up GKR for the upcoming relocation.  I will be listing these two handbags on etsy....I have been so pleased with the response from people on etsy regarding the painted shoes that I listed, that I hope the painted handbags will garner the same kind of attention.  It will be interesting!  That's for sure!

I think that the sailboat bag will, of course, have a specific clientele.  The garden/bird bag should appeal to a wider audience. 
I love both of these bags,  

    and they should appeal to a     host of people.  If you know
     anyone that might like    
    either of them, please feel 
    free to share....


I have come a long way on the second shoe for the 'lotus blossom shoes' as well:

They are probably 85% complete now, so I will pack my paints last....and hopefully get this pair finished, waterproofed, and hopefully, listed on etsy before we head eastward.
These shoes have been just a joy to work on, each blossom, leaf, etc., is different from any other on either shoe.  It has been a fun project for me!  And for the next week or so, will give me a 'go to' for expressing built-up creativity!  I am going to need that!  At least till June 11th, when the Veteran's Thrift Store comes and picks up my current work surface, which obviously won't be traveling with us to NC.  By then I'll be so busy getting ready to leave, I will eke out any excess creativity through my pen.

I guess that is all the news for now!  I will keep you updated, I promise!  Until next time, may your path be smooth and your journey peaceful!

The Uniform Bags - Part 1

I know, three posts in one day?  Well, I have had a lot to catch you up on as far as what has been happening around here.  And I have finally gotten myself motivated enough to cut into someone else's son's military uniform, so that I can create a couple of bags for her, so that a little bit of her son is with her whenever she uses her bags....now, don't worry, he's alive and well, just not with his mom.  Being a mom, I completely understand!
But it was really something I had to give some time and space to....before I took scissors to something near and dear to someone else....because once its been cut, you can't ever put it back together like it was before.  So I had to decide which of the versions of the duffel bag that I had in my head would really be the most attractive use of the uniform's components, and also be the most useful and versatile.  The other bag, which will be an extra-large yoga mat bag, should be a good bit easier to put together.
I know I have shown this picture of my 'raw materials' for the bags in a previous post....but I wanted to include it here as a reminder of where I started.  I have spent a lot of time rearranging, inspecting, and just plain figuring out how this puzzle was going to fit together suitably.  And I sure didn't want to start with the cutting until I had a complete grasp as to what I wanted the end result to be.

I made the front and back panels by cutting this lovely pillow sham in half and making sure that the two pieces were 'the same'.  I had to close up the back (which faces inside the bag and will actually be concealed once I have made the bag's inside lining) and not have anything gaping or out of line or sync with any other part.  I also made the bottom for the bag, using the greenish cargo pants in the first pic.

The sides, well, they were more than the average challenge....the width of the bag was wider than my original idea, so I made a couple of pieces from the back of the uniform shirt, added a little ultrasuede pen holder, and commenced to add these pieces to a couple of matching placemats.  The big challenge was assembling the sides without sewing them closed, since they will be BIG pockets all the way down each side.

Now, these were my conceptual pictures for the front and back panels; the top picture is pretty much how the front ended up (I have sewn these on since taking the pictures) after everything was attached.  
The bottom picture is close....I changed the center piece....made it into a big pocket with the pre-upcycled smaller pocket on it and the 'U.S. Air Force' patch is sewn onto the bottom of the big pocket instead of being above it.  The squares with

the identical patches are from each sleeve, and I made the squares, which are now also pockets.  
On the outside of the bag, there are pockets on the front and back, and the sides are each big pockets....lots of pockets, lots of places to put things.  I really like lots of pockets, as you well know if you have ever seen my bags....pockets are sort of my trademark....especially those big side pockets.
That is the story of "The Uniform Bags" so far.  Tomorrow I will assemble all of the pieces and that will be what constitutes the outside of the bag.  I will also start figuring out the lining for this bag, which, go figure, will likely have a pocket or two!  
I will update you as soon as I have gotten more of this bag under my belt, so to speak.  Until then, I bid you peace....

 

Project: Lotus Blossom Shoes

"Onward Ho!!" as they said when they were trailblazing back in the pioneer days....I have never been afraid to be a trailblazer....
Back in 2010 when I started GoodKharmaReThreads, the upcycling and repurposing craze was underway but I don't think there were many people doing what I was, using items from thrift stores, especially stores with 'causes', so that my initial investment of raw materials for any project was purchased with funds that would partially go to help something or someone.  And of course I have donated many items for fundraisers, and also made specific items for special causes.  I love what I do! I feel fantastic knowing that there are more artists and artisans that share my philosophy these days. 

Okay, on to this project, which I am personally in love with: the lotus blossom shoes!   I am having so much fun doing these shoes - and covering up my original and ugly crap with these lovely flowers and greenery.  I'm not going to lie....it is a challenge to paint such beautiful examples of nature's wonder, and somehow capture and preserve that natural wonder in my work.  I will say that it takes a great deal of time to get these beauties 'right'.  I am still working on the first shoe, but it isn't too far from being done, I think. 
Mostly, I'm having to figure in the covering-up of my original little branches that I had painted on the shoes, before I decided to do the lotus blossoms.  I am also pretty much finished with each 'blossom' as I go, but I will go back and work on the lily pads and other greenery to give it the depth that goes along with that of the blossoms themselves.
As I said before, this is really a challenging project, due to the layers of color that I am finding necessary for the blooms.  But, those same layers work great when I have made a little mistake and can just keep painting till that little blip is no more.
Here, I am letting the pictures sort of tell the story of the progression of the project....as one blossom gets completed I have to figure what will be next and start looking for the perfect image to paint for that area of the shoe, always trying to envision the end result....never would have imagined that I'd be turning shoes into works of art, but it really is fun!!  It is going to take a while, getting BOTH shoes completed, which I don't mind....I want them to be awesome, and awesome can't be rushed.  The base product, a pair of Merrell clogs, in great condition, made of some fabric that has many of the properties of burlap (as far as weave, texture, feel), make for a great canvas. 
I will keep everyone posted on the progress of these guys....and I'd love to hear from you....a little input can be a good thing....since I have questions about a couple of things, ideas....such as, should I make these seem like they are part of a koi pond, and possibly add a watery look, or add a koi somewhere?  Let me know what you think!  I would love some feedback....                                                     

                                                                                  










                                                                                                                           

Project: Denim Handbag

Well, so much has been going on here at the GoodKharma studio that I decided to do a few blogs that basically are about a specific project; that way, for those that find a project particularly interesting can go straight to the posts that they want to follow.
This post is about that denim handbag, with cork handles, that I've been working on little by little....and it is very close to completion. 
I am finished with side one, the landscape scene, other than adding something to the water - probably some highlights and ripples, or something like that - and looking at it once more to see if anything needs touching up before I seal it with waterproofing sealant spray.

So, for side two, I decided on birds, and chose three to work with....the first two are a cardinal and what I believe to be a finch of some sort....and the third, well, it is from my imagination, other than the outline and pose and such....I made up the colors because the original one was yellow, and I already had a yellow bird on the bag.
But I needed a bird that was not on a branch, something to give the appearance of being near the ground instead, since the other two are on branches.
I am still not completely happy with this side of the bag.  I have considered whether or not to add a background to this side, or to somehow outline certain things....I don't really like either idea.  I will do some touch-up work on these guys and see if that will do the

trick to make sure that the dark parts, such as the black tail and
head on the yellow bird, are not lost against the dark denim.  Other than that I think this whole bag is very close to completion now.
I am excited at the thought of getting this one out there into the marketplace and seeing what kind of reactions I get.  Of course, I would love it if someone were to buy it in the near future....not about the money, just about the exposure for GKR as I work toward using multiple art mediums within a project (I am itching to get to the first Buddha bag, which combines painting with creating and sewing the bag).
There are so many things I want to work on, it is distracting at times.  I want to paint, but I want to sew, but I want to paint....and then all that other stuff - cooking, laundry, cleaning, chauffeuring, etc. - that I have to do, which all take away from the art.  But I remain dedicated; at least, most days I get a good bit done, fibromyalgia notwithstanding.
Okay, I will go on to my next blog....I have a couple more posts to do to get 'caught up'....whatever that is supposed to mean.  Thanks for your interest....if you have any ideas about this project, please feel free to share them....I would love to hear from you!
Until next time, namaste....