A New Bag

Hi Blogspot

I'm a bit hacked off today ... some Chinese games company has stolen £50 from my Paypal account. I sent them a truly rude e-mail demanding immediate repayment or else the UK Police and Interpol will be informed but I don't suppose it will do any good. I just have to hope that Paypal will refund the money. :o(

Anyway ... I'm on to a new bag now ... a 'Man Bag'. :o)

I was going to do the rock pooling bag next but I was chatting to one of the girls I go to knitting club with and we were reminiscing about how our older brothers always used to break our dolls ... my brother didn't just break my doll ... he sawed her up with a hack saw, painted the raw edges red and proceeded to blow her up in his fort! I am still internally scarred by this memory, even today!

So, in honour of this sad, sad memory I am creating a 'Man Bag'. It will be a cross-the-body style, in dark brown fake leather and very plain on the outside. It will have a lift up flap on the outside which will allow access to the zip closure inside. On the under side of the flap and on the inside of the bag I am thinking of putting cartoon style war noises - ka-boom, bang, whoosh - that kind of thing in the usual cartoon style explosion stars or clouds of smoke. I'm thinking of putting in a row of bullet holes too ... not real ones ... cartoon ones!!!!

I can't use too much fabric or embroidery because it will take away the 'manliness' of the bag ... but just using paper is too simple with no skill involved. I spent today matching up the noises with the right explosion stars or clouds etc on paper and testing out colours to make sure they add to the cartoonishness. Tomorrow I'm going to try cutting out felt pieces and satin stitching them onto a fabric similar to the lining of the bag to see what they look like. If they're not too feminine, I will purchase some lovely, exciting stuff called "Plasti-dip" which comes in various colours but the one I want is clear. Basically, you can just about dip (or paint) anything with this stuff and it gives it a plastic coating. Ohhhh ... the things you could coat in plastic ... the list is never ending!

What I'll do with the bag once sewn together is buy up lots of old, broken dolls from Charity Shops and break them further (possibly sawing them if I can bring myself to do it) and painting bits red and leaving other bits just broken ... just like my brother did in his fort ... and placing all these doll bits inside the bag. Of course, I'm going to have to write the story up properly into the little story book that goes with each bag ... I need to try and express the sense of horror at finding my brother in the garage - saw in hand ... and the sense of loss at seeing her repeatedly blown up in his fort afterwards. And amazingly, he says he can't remember doing it!!!

Anyway, that's my plan. Unfortunately the buying of the dolls is going to have to wait as the theives that stole the money off my Paypal card today have only left us with £3 until next Tuesday. How nice of them! It's a good job I'm not in charge of the SAS or anything because if I was, I'd be sending them in there right now to get my money back - by any means ... the more painful the better! Damn these bad people. :o(

Thankfully, God only made me an artist so all I can do it take it out in my work ...

See ya!