BAG 05 OF 18: Rae

I learned a lot about myself while creating this bag, so I named it Rae & nearly kept it for myself.

As I’ve fallen slightly behind on this venture, what was an attempt to get ahead ended up taking WAY longer than planned. And I know this because I’ve finally started tracking how much time I spend on projects. This bag logged a total of 14.5 hours. So much for a quickie.

Let it be known that at least 2 of those 14.5 hours were spent tearing apart mistakes and starting some sections over from scratch.

This time around I learned (re-learned?) that trying to make something just for the sake of making something doesn’t lead to the best results.

I gave myself essentially 2.5 days to complete BAG 05 of 18. It started out all fine & dandy, things were falling into place in a way that humble beginnings sometimes do. Then I hit a wall, thankful for the week-long vacation where I would be forced to not look at it for a while. I came back feeling antsy to complete it with the last day I had allotted. I jumped back in, not feeling ready to, but knowing I had to.

The simplest of tasks turned out terrible.

The next day, I walked into my workshop with a fresh head space, ripped out the previous day’s work & tried again. This time with much better results. I threw a handful of tassels on a key ring & attached it to the strap.

But something still didn’t feel right. It felt too plain, too boring & like it wasn’t a true creation of mine. So I gave it one last go. Ripped a few thing apart once again & added the touch of whimsy it was lacking.

What I realized is that taking on a project for the sake of completing a task is way harder than truly feeling excited about it. Also, taking a little extra time is always worth it. Whether it’s allowing myself to get inspired or to keep working until it feels “right”- it shines through in the end.

Also, this is so true...

Take a peek at the process from beginning to end: