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2005-06-30 - 1:32 a.m.
Gettin' Crafty with Clay
Last October when I met Kelly in NY in Charlotte, NC, she brought the most kick ass thing I had ever seen to be given away during the Broadfest raffle. It was a Clay Aiken purse that she had made using photographs of Clay and artfully placing them inside a clear tote bag made for this kind of thing.
I had an absolute fit over it. Surprise, surprise, huh? My dear friend Lila ended up winning the prize purse. (Otherwise I might have picked a fight over it). So for 6 months I dreamed about making a Clay purse as cool as Kelly in NY's. I got instructions from Kelly and searched high and low for weeks for a bag like hers.
The closest bags I found were on ebay, but the clear plastic part on those bags was divided up to hold 4"x6" photographs. But the thing I loved about Kelly's purse was that her pictures were cut at interesting angles and gave it some attitude.
I almost gave up when I realized I would never find the special bags she used. Finally I decided to make-do and purchased two (one for me, one for Robin) completely clear purses with completely removable cloth inserts. I spent two weeks searching for just the right pictures and cropping them, then printing them. (I ended up printing 100 pictures and using up all of my brand new photo ink cartridge).
It took me a week staying up each night until 2 am to finish the purses, but I did it. They're definitely not as neat or nice as Kelly in NY's bags, but I've never attmepted anything so crafty in my life, so I'm very pleased with them.
I carry my new Clay purse almost every day. And I get tons of comments everywhere I go. There are the numerous cashiers who have told me they loved my bag. I've been walking across parking lots and someone will yell out to me, "Cute bag!" Of course, I always love the, "So are you a Clay Aiken fan?" To which I respond, "I just have a tiny obsession, that's all."
A couple of weeks ago I was standing in a hotel waiting on the elevator with a middle-aged gentleman. Only one tiny side of my purse was showing (because I had a big gift bag in front of it) and the man exclaimed, "Clay Aiken??" As if "Ugh, you like him?" I was just shocked that this random guy recognized Clay from the tiny side pictures.
Then today I was at Chipotle. As I sat my bag up on the counter to pay, the 20 something year old guy with tattoos down both his arms said, "I LOVE your bag! Where did you get that?" I looked up in disbelief that this cashier guy was the one who was speaking to me. I told him that I made it myself. 20-something-tatto-boy said, "Really? It's really cool! You should sell those, you'd make a fortune!" I thanked him then turned to my sister who was waiting on me and asked, "Do you think he knows it was Clay Aiken on my bag? Maybe the boy is confused."
I can't help but get a kick out of the amount of people who instantly recognize him and almost always have something nice to say about Clay.
Here are pictures of the bags I made. Robin's is the blue one and mine is the green.
The pictures on the bottom of my purse are a little naughty...
Music of the day: My new John Stevens (IV) Red. The music is alright, the pictures are hawt!
Last night I....visited with Robin until after 10pm, eating, chatting and laughing.
