iPad protective cloth cases

So, the boyfriend and I got iPads about a week ago. I'm so very happy that I finally got an iPad, but that's another topic altogether. We went to Best Buy, because while I love Apple, I get serious Reward Zone points at Best Buy (1.25% for being a Silver whatever member + 4% for using my Best Buy credit card with standard financing x 2 iPads = Ü ) which makes BB my retailer of choice. Now, being an Apple-drone I of course am primarily concerned with the safety of my iPad, so furreal I did some researching on cases and found that Apple has come out with the new smart case (aka the smart cover + shell backing) which I've decided to purchase. It looks like this:

photo credit

And in action, is the same as the smart cover, except now it protects the back as well.

photo credit

Sweet, right? And though it's $50, my BB Reward Zone coupons should easily cover John and me each getting one. There is a downside-turned-opportunity here though. My coupons won't come in for a month, and Best Buy doesn't sell this case yet. So in the meantime, I still need to protect my iPad, like any Jobs-fearing Apple owner should. So I came up with a solution. I made my own protective iPad case. And I figured, while I was at it, I might as well make cases for our Nook Simple Touch's as well. The best part is, making the 4 cases only cost me a grand total of $3.58 (before coupons) for the elastic cording from Jo-Ann's. The fabric is remnants/repurposed from what I already had, and I always have a plethora of buttons so it was fun to be able to pick out some that matched perfectly.

So after finding the right fabric from my stash for 3 of the covers, I was really at a loss for what to make my iPad cover out of. And then I remembered some fabric that I had made into a [really bad] drawstring bag when I was about 13. I mean this thing was horrible. I had recently learned how to sew at the time and made the bag out of material that had sentimental value (it was fabric from my Grandma Zola's dress). I likened this situation to giving a 16 year-old driver an expensive antique car to play around in. The fabric was pretty wrecked.

This is the bag when I started (notice the gray cat tail):

See that thick white line? That's a tight zig-zag stitch with almost no spacing whatsoever. That's what ALL of the stitches on this bag were made of, inside and out. Apparently I feared the mythical stitch-ripping gnome would pay me a visit.

Then I had to rip out allllll of the stitches. I had way over-stitched the bag originally (seriously a hurricane couldn't have pulled it apart) so it took me around 2 hours to rip all the stitches.

The material was pretty beat-up, but the template I made allowed me to trim off quite a bit of the bad parts of the fabric. Once the fabric was prepped, making the case was quick and easy. I made a liner and then cut some bubble wrap to slip inside of the two layers. Then I sewed it up. The other three cases went together without much fuss. I had to run to the store a few days later to get the elastic, but once I started with that, it took less than an hour to add the buttons and elastic to all four cases.

Here's how my iPad case turned out:

























 Here is John's iPad case (we picked a nice brass-style button that works well with the fabric):

John is pleased that it doesn't look girly

Here is John's nook case:

























John's case was made out of a very thin remnant that just barely fits the sides, so I could not turn the fabric back to the "right" side. Since the liner was made of the same fabric as the outside I was able to make it work with the rough edges showing. I gave the edges a nicer stitch and let it have a little bit of a controlled-rugged edge look. But that's why the inner top folded edge doesn't quite match up (See the photo on the right). I've learned that when working with remnants you have to be able to roll with the punches. This is me going with the flow. John and I love how it turned out.

Finally, here is my nook case. It reminds me of the beach and beach towels and mostly, it reminds me of Aunt Gloria. I think this was another of my Grandma Zola's fabrics (not sure), but either way it reminds me of Fire Island in NY and all of the colorful towels stacked in Aunt Gloria's closet that we would choose from before heading out for a day in the sun. And that makes me happy.

























Here's a picture of the four finished cases (the lighting is bad since the dining room is my makeshift sewing room and I was in a hurry). They look pretty nice if I say so myself.

I'm thinking I'll start selling these and taking custom orders. If you're interested in a protective bag for your electronics, leave a comment or email victoria@ibvictoria.com and let me know.

Okay. That's the end of today's post.

-Victoria :)

Raison d'être

For some reason, I've fought off getting a blog for a long time. I love reading blogs, I get great ideas and inspiration from blogs, but to have a blog feels a little like adopting a puppy. Sure, I want one. But do I have the time to take care of it? Can I handle the added responsibility? What if it messes on the floor while I'm away? What would I name it? Okay, by this time I've figured out a name. The only one that seems truly fitting: Imagined by Victoria.

Imagined by Victoria is what I call my collective body of work, and how I market my freelance design services. I can't just call myself a graphic designer, or even an artist. I'm a creator. I'm a crafter, a hobby addict, an inventor, and more. I like to do it all. When I hear of a new way to do things, I try it out. I research it, and then I spend a bunch of money trying to adopt it as a hobby of mine. I firmly believe that there is nothing that I can't do, and I believe that's true for everyone (all it takes is determination). I come from a long line of do-ers, over-achievers, precise, and stubborn don't-take-no-for-an-answer-ers. My brain is split between needing everything to be perfect, and conversely just wanting to go with the flow, and I'm constantly trying to find a harmony between the two. I believe that while annoying, this drives me to be a better person, designer. and creator. I'm always trying to learn more and do more and I'm determined to keep moving forward.

So a blog seemed like a logical next step. You can make that connection, right? Basically it boils down to the fact that I've been doing a lot of crafting, a lot of freelancing, a lot of Oxford Comma using, and I think it's time to share them all with the world.

So, real posts to come shortly.