19 Mar 2012

WhatIWore: If you’ve read What I Wore before, you know I’m a crafty kind of gal and I love putting my own do-it-yourself touch on everything from clothing to shoes to bags. My most recent project is a set of digitally printed clutches (and a tote!). Although I could have attempted free hand painting or stenciling onto a pre-made clutch, I didn’t want to risk losing the crisp lines and overall feel and that’s why I decided that digital printing was a must. To get the perfect look, I’ve partnered up with Kodak Gallery. Their service is a great way to get a high end look and feel while having your own, one of a kind design.

INSPIRATION: When I started working on my clutches, I was thinking about it more as a collection rather than singular items. And collections have a theme, right? I’ve always been such a fan of the 1960s from typography to fashion to patterns and prints, so I knew I wanted to work in that direction. 

Have you ever noticed the highly geometric designs within playing cards?  I love how the patterns flip upright either way you hold the card and how much fine detail is included within the garments.  I thought it would be fun to take a playing card and redraw my own design using the sixties inspiration I’ve collected with my own Queen of Clubs card. 

PRODUCT: I narrowed down my mini collection into three clutches and one tote bag.  The clutch has a buttery leather outer shell - your design on front and black on back.  The tote is a nylon, metal and leather combo. The quality of materials is more high end designer than craft store project - which I love! I’ve also been thinking about going back with one of the designs to make my own iPhone case or compact. 

PROCESS: To begin you’ll need an image you want to use to create your digital accessory. Photos are the easiest, but you can use a custom design like I did. If you’re creating your own design, give yourself a nice border so you can appropriately size your image onto the item. I went back and forth many times between Photoshop and the Kodak Gallery to re-size my image/add more or less border to make it perfect. It was easier for the floating designs that didn’t have a specific edge (like my hexagon pattern above), but the playing card took some precision. Either way, they both came out great. 

Jump on over to Kodak Gallery to design your own custom leather clutch and get free shipping while you’re at it! (Offer ends 4/23/2012).