weekend plans

the flourish of creativity continues... these are some of the items I've been working on this week:



I thought about keeping the slip dress and wearing it to go dancing last night, since it was friday and my favorite dj was spinning the music, but my feet were killing me because we had a field trip to the forest yesterday at school. Now as much as I love the forest, because of all the rain we've had, the bugs were having a hey day sucking all of our blood. And to top it off, I was spraying bug spray on all of the kids, and as I squirted a big gust of wind came by, and it blew right in my eyes.
Luckily it did not blind me, but I had to go find a bathroom inside the nature center to rinse them out. Unable to remove the resulting undereye mascara, the kids kept pointing at me and telling me I had black stuff around my eyes. I only remove that stuff with the proper sponge and cleanser, so I was not about to rub hard and risk making my eye wrinkles worse. Anyone in their 30's understands what I'm talking about.
(Unfortunately I will only be able to say I'm in my 30's for a little bit longer, so I have to insert that into as many sentences as possible.)
Even with the bug spray, I told the kids our activity while riding the bus back to school was to count how many bug bites we all had. Who doesn't love a sticky, sweaty, humid field trip, right? We actually did have fun though.
So tonight is date night, but my feet are still aching, so I think I'll opt for movies on the couch instead of dancing, plus it's like 96 degrees outside, so thank goodness for netflix!

sun and sea

as much as I'm enjoying teaching summer school, I can't help but gaze over at my beach calendar by my desk now and then, and daydream about being on the beach. Still obsessed with sunny yellow and aqua, I made another embellished tank last night.

funny thing about my obsession with yellow: I bought this cheery tank for myself, and then bought another one exactly like it about a week later without even realizing it. So I figured I might as well redesign the second one!

that lucky husband of mine gets to be the color tester, and watch as I hold up different bits and pieces next to eachother. He is surprisingly good at this, and even when we disagree, at least it helps me make decisions, because then I realize how much I don't agree with his choice!
maybe soon I'll find a beach somewhere, or at the very least a beautiful aqua pool!

neo victorian

I am always inspired by historical fashion, and I like to modernize it for todays woman. Today I played with one of my all time favorite fabrics ( I know I say that about so many!!!! but seriously, this is in my top 3!!!)


this would look so effortlessly cool paired with jeans or could be a little bohemian chic with a flowy skirt. More of these to come, I have a bit of an obsession with tanks, so this gives me an excuse to buy more - available here!
hope everyone is getting in a little crafting time this weekend, and oh, I'm proud to say I did a ton of food prep and grilled out all of our meat for the week to come, and baked a bunch of potatoes and put them in the freezer for later. I feel so accomplished!!! It's amazing what can get done when there aren't tons of prom dress orders piled up on my work table :) :)
What are your must have simple to wear fashions for the summer?

breezy weather

aaaahhhh, a sure sign of warm summer breezes at my house... dyed slips hanging on the line.

there's something about clothes hanging on the clothesline that makes me remember the big green yards of the south where I spent a good part of my childhood. Gorgeous quilts sewn by hand with colorful patterns were normal decor. The lady down the street from us had chickens so we could buy fresh eggs from her for a quarter. Moms and grandmas taught daughters how to sew and bake, and how to enjoy working hard. "elbow grease" was a term I heard quite often. I have that pioneer spirit in me for sure, where pies were made from scratch, as were dresses, and family was cherished. DIY was part of everyday life, and I still watch Little House on the Prairie whenever I see a rerun on tv.

No matter how busy we get, and all of our running from here to there, I hope we can all make a little time this summer to relish in the domestic chores that would otherwise seem mundane. True honest work, that is done well, is something we should be proud of. I'm planning to do some actual cooking, which is not an area I'm especially creative in, because I feel like it's important to spend some time and energy on something real.
So let that dryer collect some dust for awhile, and get those aprons out girls!

color splash!

I know, I know, that name is already taken by the amazing David Bromstad, who you all know I love so much, but that's all I could think of to describe what's on my work table right now:



hmmmm, I see a theme emerging here? :)
lots of new hair accessories, some wedding-worthy, along with a ton of other little beauties that can be used in different ways.
I'm having a great time so far working with color this spring, especially after such a white winter.
We are also planning a graduation trip next summer to Alaska!! I don't travel that often, so we are starting to save now. I have never been there, so I need to research how the weather and temperatures will be during the summer months. If you've ever been there or if you live there, suggestions on places to visit and see would be greatly appreciated. I know there are train trips you can take too, so I'm looking in to that as well.

I'm looking forward to a special trip with my special girl when she finishes high school- ahhhh!

8 days and counting...

hi all! hope everyones' summer is off to a beautiful beginning :) Just want to remind anyone in the Omaha area about the 'etsy success workshop' that I teach. I've had several requests to have another one, so I found a lovely creative space in Elkhorn, called 'CREATE'. What a cool place!! Hopefully the mafia can even have a meeting or fun artsy/ craftsy get together at some point!
The owners have created such an awesome place for all kinds of crafts - scrapbooking, mixed media, tie dyeing, etc. They have tons of cool, state of the art technology tools that people can use while taking a class or working on a project.
My workshop will be Saturday, June 19, at 10 am, and it will last about 2 1/2 hours. Maybe everyone can go have lunch somewhere afterward with all the new friends you'll meet!

I show everything I'm doing on an LCD projector, and it's very interactive. People can ask questions about their own shops and we can discuss promoting, marketing, branding, you name it!
please contact me through my shop if you're interested in registering. You can also leave a comment and I'll contact you.
Cost is $25 and you will have a ton of fun, and take lots of new ideas for your shop with you !!
Ellene

ch. ch. ch. check it.

so happy my tattered dress and my most favorite model made it to the front page of the Omaha Fashion Week blog this week!!!
oh yeah!