New Blog Header

Props to Cathe Holden for my new blog header. She's recycling some of her previous designs and I couldn't resist trying one out. You can see all of the designs on her blog.

Now if only Blogger would let me change the size and placement of it...

I think that it's a little hard to read. If I were an html whiz, I could go in and rewrite the template. I suppose that's why people hire the professionals!

High Street Messenger Bag

We had a graduation party yesterday and I wanted to make our babysitter a book bag to take to college. I've been procrastination though, and didn't start working on it until the morning before the party. I made this in less than 3 hours!

My six-year-old helped with the ironing, and she was surprisingly helpful. I used Amy Butler's High Street Messenger Bag (with some time-saving omissions). This is a great pattern - I've used it twice now.

I didn't skimp on adding a little bug to the inside though. My son wanted to make sure that she had a friend to take to college with her.

Sewing From Japanese Patterns

Scarlett did it.

Maria did it.

I'm talking about making clothes from curtains.

I'm so excited about my new venture, a class on working with Japanese patterns at Modern Domestic here in Portland.

I've long admired the charming simplicity of Japanese clothes, but as you can tell, the directions are typically not in English. To get ready for my class, I bought a book from a Japanese seller on eBay and chose a few projects. In looking through the dresses and tunics in this book, I noticed that most of the material looked like, well, curtains.

So, I've been buying thrifted curtains. The fabric above is a heavy cotton with a lovely drape.  Perfect for this wrap dress.

I adore this voile tunic.  Here's a cotton voile swiss dot curtain. I'll try to salvage the edge on the fabric.

More cotton voile - in its former life, this was a curtain panel from Ikea.

Another voile top, this fabric has a subtle, embossed vine motif on it.

I'm so excited for this class, which starts the middle of July. I'll let you know what happens after that!

Vintage Sheet Cami

I've been on my summer break for almost two weeks. Do you think I've accomplished much? Not unless you count reading, napping and doing yoga. Hmm.....on second thought, maybe I SHOULD count those as accomplishments.

Well, here's a TANGIBLE accomplishment:

I made this from two different vintage sheets. I've used this pattern (Simplicity 3739) on several shirts and dresses. My shirt matches my daughter's dress - I know I'm corny that way.

I made a little slip for her out of the same sheet and some fold-over elastic to wear under the dress, then edged it with a wide piece of lace.

Pretty soon, my entire wardrobe will be made of sheets, re-fashioned men's shirts and curtains (more on the curtain project in a future post).

Happy summer!

Fairy Terrarium How-To

The kids and I had a blast making terrariums today. This is a great summer project for all ages. We found all of the containers and miniatures at the thrift store, making the cost of the project about what we'd go to the movies for.

Terrariums can be closed (with a lid) or open systems.  Closed systems don't need to be watered as they create their own water cycle (good science lesson). Open systems just need to be misted with a spray bottle. We made four open and one closed. You have to look for glass containers with openings big enough to get a hand in (although some people use chopsticks if the opening is too small for hands).

Besides the container, you need horticultural charcoal, moss, rocks and plants.  All of these things can be found in a garden center.  For our plants, my garden center has a section of Stepables - small groundcover plants. Check tags for light requirements.  All of my plants are for part sun.

First, put a layer of rocks in for drainage - 1 or 2 inches. I love the contrast of the white rocks.

The second layer is about an inch of horticultural charcoal. You really only need this in closed systems as it filters the water and keeps everything smelling fresh. We put the charcoal in all of our terrariums.

Wet the moss to make it easier to work with, then add a thick layer to keep the soil from sifting down through the rocks.

Potting soil makes up the fourth layer. If you want to use succulents mix sand into the potting soil.

Now for the real fun. My plants are all pretty small, but they do vary in texture, color and height. The miniatures are from the thrift store, pieces of driftwood from the beach, rocks from our driveway and a few things borrowed from Barbie.

A great place for fairies to play!

My kids were so proud of their terrariums. Send me a picture if you try this one!

Winner!

I enjoyed reading all of your comments.  What a diverse bunch you are! I had a chance to peek at some of your blogs too.

The winner of the Drawing Room bag and cosmetic purse is:

#5


Nicole said...
I currently live in western NC where I came to graduate school. I met my husband here (we got married last October) so a place where I thought I'd only stay a couple of years has turned into more of a long-term deal. :o)
June 13, 2010 6:50 AM 

Please contact me so that I can get your goodies out a.s.a.p., Nicole.

Thanks for all of your lovely comments everyone.

In Honor of Nothing in Particular - A Giveaway! - CLOSED

From my Etsy store:

Description

Made of beautiful decor weight cotton by Anna Maria Horner, this simple zippered bag measures 10" wide by 13" long. It has one interior pocket, large enough for a cell phone or a tin of mints.
The strap drop is a generous 26".

The bag is made to lay flat against the body.

The zippered case is made of the same fabric as the lining of the larger bag and measures 5" by 7".

To enter: I'd love to know a little about you all. Leave a comment, tell me where you live and something about yourself.  Open until midnight on Wednesday, June 16th (Pacific time). I'll chose someone randomly and post the winner on Thursday, June 17th.

I'll ship internationally too.

Vintage Sheet Dress For My Cutie-Pie

My girl is as sweet as the summer.  This little dress should suit her well.

It's made from another vintage sheet from my stash.  After sewing a wrap skirt from a vintage sheet a while back, I decided to make series of vintage sheet garments. That's the way I roll, I guess. Always doing things in bunches. I love this fabric so much, I've already cut out a shirt for myself out if it.

The trim is bias tape that I made from a square of red polka-dot fabric that I had on hand. This is the first time I've made my own bias tape, and I have to say that it was so easy and fun, I don't know why I ever bought bias tape.

The red button came from my grandma's stash.

I used this pattern, which I found at my local thrift store.  Funny how the original price of the pattern is less than the 69 cents I paid! Still, I got a good deal, because I'll use this pattern more than once. 

Polymer Clay Seashells with the Kids

It's been raining buckets in the Portland area this spring. Judging from the clutter-piles around the house, I think that the little people are restless. Perfect for a good craft day.

We made shell necklaces, sea stars and funky buttons.

With the exception of the buttons, everything was made by polymer molds created from objects found on the beach.  The buttons were free-formed.

We used a book that my daughter found at the library:

 

This book is full of tons of cool projects.  I can't wait to try out the robot necklace pictures on the cover. 44-year-old women can wear robots, right?

We all had so much fun that we had to tear ourselves away from our work at bedtime. My little guy made necklaces for all of his second-grade buddies.

Vintage Sheet Wrap Skirt

Vintage sheets are pretty aren't they?  One of my favorite new reads is The Vintage Sheet Blog.  I found some great sheets at an estate sale last summer for a quarter each.  Here's what I made with part of one:

There are tons of patterns and tutorials for wrap skirts out there, but I really wanted a wide sash for a waistband, so that I could mix up some patterns.  I got this one from Martha Stewart.

Waistband:  Heather Bailey Freshcut (no longer in production)

Say what you will about Martha, but I love her new book.  It's a little pricey at $35, but the book is chocked full of projects, and the patterns all come on a DVD in PDF format.  And you know that Martha gets it right, the patterns are well thought out, simple and stylish.

Actually I checked the book out from the library, but it still had the DVD in it.  I may have to spring for one of these in my library.