Cute, Sassy Apron

Once again, I love fun little aprons. This one was from a remnant I had (I have a little problem with the remnant bin at Joann's). The pattern was Simplicity 3752 and it probably took an hour all total to make. It has a bias tape waist band so that was really quick. It makes me feel happy with all of the little funky flowers on it, I just wish I was as skinny as my little mannequin!

Tween Bedroom Makeover

For my granddaughter's birthday I decided to make her new bedding. I started with the plaid fabric that I already had. And since her favorite color is this turquoise blue, it was the perfect start, or so I thought. I backed it with a solid blue that I got at Wal-mart, which turned out to be her preference, so her it is reversed!

Naturally, a twelve year old girl has to have something really cool and fun, so I found the exact turquoise to match in the super soft eyelash fabric at Joann's and made two euro shams and added in a white eyelash sham to go with them. Lastly, I appliqued some throw pillows in various shapes for accents with her name, initial and a couple of cute flowers. To my relief, she was thrilled! (You never know with twelve year olds.)

Her mom and dad even painted the room to match a few weeks later. I will show those picks when I find the pics of the chair cushion I made her to go with all of this.

The Elegant Hostess

A friend of mine owns a coffee shop in town and she asked me to design aprons for her staff to wear to their more elegant catering events. She had purchased some damask drapes at a great discount fabric store in Overland Park called Home Fabrics which she was using for tablecloths when she set up a catered buffet. She used black serving platters and black plastic dishes and silverware for a truly elegant display.

I purchased the matching fabric for the aprons and some crisp black taffeta for the waistband and ties in the back. I was very careful to line up the brocade so that on the bib of the apron it was centered and offset on the skirt. The ties in the back are oversized for a dramatic effect. (Can't believe I didn't take a photo of the back.) The bib also ties around the neck. Under the skirt is a pettiskirt of black tulle with a tulle ruffle on the lower edge for a special extra touch.

I am very happy with the finished product and thankfully my friend was also. I would love to hear your opinion. Now I can't wait to try some more elegant aprons!

Celtic Friendship Pillow

I love, love, love celtic designs! So when I saw this one at Embroidery Library , I had to have it. Of course it set it my computer for a few months before I figured out what I wanted to do with it, but I am very happy with how it turned out. I embroidered it on a natural piece of cotton duck, and then pieced the accent colors around my design. I have always loved orange and brown together, so these colors seemed perfect to complement my embroidery. I had a great plaid with the browns and rust colors for the back that was a good upholstery weight. I then wanted to finish the edge with piping to break up the fabrics from the front to the back. I covered some rope piping with a lightweight brown suede and placed that between the front and back. Then of course, I stuffed the pillow and stitched it closed by hand. What a fun project this was.

My First Coat

This isn't the best picture of the coat, but we are dealing with my silly niece here. Brooke can't take a picture without striking a pose, plus I think I was interrupting an important texting session. So, I will take what I can get.

I was utterly thrilled with how the coat turned out. IT...IS...ADORABLE!!!! If only I was as skinny as her, then I could borrow it. Plus, I couldn't resist making the hat to match. It actually might be my favorite thing I made out of all of her Christmas gifts. Yes, that's right...I said Christmas gifts. I know, I know, It's February. But, in my defense...I tend to bite off more than I can chew and she did get a lot of handmade gifts from me. Just a little later than everyone else.

Now that I know I can do it, I am off to make myself a new coat. Hopefully, it will be as cute as hers...if I ever get it done.

The Drama Queen and her new outfit!

This year I have decided that I am going to master the art of making clothes. Luckily I have this wonderful niece who is willing to humor me and let me use her as a guinea pig. She is tall, skinny and gorgeous...who could ask for a better model? For Christmas, I made her a skirt and crop sweatshirt. I thought the skirt turned out really cute. The sweatshirt was another story. She went to try it on and could barely get it to fit. It was almost too tight to get her arms in it and WAAAAY too short. So, I reworked the outfit and made this crop vest to go with it. I know you can't tell from the picture, but it is lined with a floral turquoise knit. It was so easy to make and I like it even better than the original sweatshirt...so I guess that worked out for the best. Now on to the next outfit...

Also, I made her a coat and hat, but you will have to check back for those pictures. I had a minor disagreement with my sewing machine over the button holes and thought it would be best if we spent a day apart before trying it again. Hopefully I will have it done before the end of the week.

Let's Eat! No, Let's Color! No, Let's Eat!

A few years ago I discovered chalkboard fabric...what a brilliant invention. In case you haven't heard of it, this is actually a fabric you can sew with and has the texture of a chalkboard so you can write on it with chalk. It comes in green and black and all I can wonder is...why didn't someone think of this sooner? I created these fun placemats for my niece and nephews and the reverse side is made of chalkboard fabric...unfortunately I wasn't smart enough to get a picture of that side. Trust me though, they were so excited to not only have the chalkboard side, but to have the personalized placemat with a design that is unique to each of them. Something they like, and not just the run of the mill kid's placemat you find at the store. For the cups, I found these plastic cups at Hobby Lobby that have paper inserts for kids to color. I just tossed the paper insert and embroidered a matching piece of fabric with each of their names. Now it's a set....and they each got one for their birthdays!!