I've moved!!

I would love for you all to hop over and visit my site and blog at ElleneMcClay.com xo xo, Ellene

summer projects

yay! summer is finally here, and maybe now I'll post more often (are you sure once every month or 2 isn't enough? :)

had some wisdom tooth issues at the end of the school year, so it's taken some time to feel good and feel like I'm on vacation. This is the first summer in quite a while that I have no obligations except those to family, sewing, and home improvement projects.
I did have a rush order that required a bit of a marathon sewing session mid-week, and I missed sleep entirely one night, but after 12 hours of sleep last night I feel refreshed. (gotta do a 12 hour sleep every once in a while- sleep does make us look younger, right?) so no guilty feelings here, I deserve it!
my daughter just graduated from high school - I won't go into all the emotional details of having an 18 year old right now, but I'm looking forward to spending some time with her this summer, before her adult life goes and gets all serious.

We are planning trips to the zoo, mini- golf, late nite runs to walmart- her idea, she loves doing that for some reason- and possibly a trip to the east coast to visit family. (The 2 of us haven't taken a plane trip since she was 4, so it's a bit overdue. I just do not travel by plane very often, not my thing. ) We also are planning some more fashion photo shoots, since the ones we did together last summer turned out so incredible. I used one of her shots for my new business cards. I am the designer/ stylist/ casting call director / location scout/ reflector holder, and she is the photographer. We make a great team, and I think it's great experience for her future career in photography.
here's a picture from my late night sewing marathon for a bride who's getting married TOMORROW in Tennessee! She is having a rustic/ southern barn wedding and wearing cowboy boots:) sounds perfect from one southern girl to another - enjoy your special day sarah!

coral-luv

the hot color for spring, in my opinion, is coral. but not the old 'grandma is getting fancy tonite coral' lipstick color, this is more fresh, and a little bit pink.

I recently fed my addiction to this color and bought some chiffon, in just the most perfect pinky-coral you've ever seen. I am currently working on something preeeeeeety with it!
I have a pair of steve maddens in gray suede that look similar to these:

but I think I really neeeeeed the coral ones!
back in 2007 Lanvin was already workin' this amazing color:

I recently was wowed by the amazing local designer jane round (who is still in high school!) with this little crumb catcher piece:

boutonniere
French boutonnière, from Old French, buttonhole, from bouton
these little lovelies are so fun to make, and there is such a variety of materials to choose from, like wheat and leaves for fall weddings, or flowers created from felt.

They are small, so they don't take a lot of time to make either. I'm working on a whole line for summer and fall!

color palette

i know a lot of the arguments against polyvore, but it's kind of cool to look at my collections and see my taste in colors all together...

trees trees and more trees

i guess there's a reason my business is named deciduous soul, i just can't stop loving trees.
on my work table today:


just trying to find my medium sized hole puncher for the fallen leaves on the hill...
also, many of you know i live in a very small house, and I've been wishing for the last few years that i just had an extra closet, if an extra room wasn't possible.
drumroll please....
i decided we could feasibly put a closet in an unused space in between the kitchen and the living room, as there was an extra doorway leading into the hall that was not necessary. we had previously built tiny shelves in the doorway and had cd's on it (that kev won't get rid of, but that's another story)
and there was a large bookcase sitting in front of the doorway. Confusing, i know.
so here are the first pics of the framing and the door. we had no idea what we were doing, but it was actually one of the easiest home improvement projects ever.




i conveniently hurt my back at the gym over the weekend, so kev has been a trooper doing the drywall cutting and lifting and screwing and sawing and mudding.
i shall do the painting at the end :)

little houses

2010 RECAP

today we got our first snow day of the year, and I've been in a reminiscing mood lately, so I figured today is as good a day as any to journal how 2010 was.
I've been thinking a lot lately about creativity, and how it gets stifled. I don't know about anyone else, but I always seem to have a constant flow of ideas and things I want to do/make.
The one word I can say about 2010: BUSY
4 (four) fashion shows, in January, end of March, the BIG one in September, and then one small one in November.
Also a challenging year as a parent. Not that my girl is naughty, but 17 is a time when she is separating herself from me, emotionally and physically, and it's hard as a control freak/ overprotective parent to let my baby bird fly.
Also my work life changed a bit; went from teaching 2 days a week and working at home the rest of the time, back to full time teaching in August. I think it's a good change (I did not have a choice to my districts' cutbacks, it was either full time or be laid off). But I think it was for the best. It's a lot easier to do my art/ sewing on the side, rather than have it be the main source of income. Soooooo, today I'm actually getting paid for being at home! Before if it was a snow day on one of my work days, I did not get paid.
I'm trying to think of a positive word or mantra for 2011, but haven't really nailed one down yet. I'm not really a resolution person, but my goals for this year are:
1. being less controlling, and letting things flow more.
2. get healthier (been working on this for a few months, but want to kick it into high gear a bit)
3. make more time for me in general; art, sewing projects, family - not just what do I need to do for financial stuff.
4. spend more time working on the house and the yard (due to summer school and planning for the show last year, I did not even plant one flower!)
5. draw closer to God, as I'm realizing more and more every year that life is challenging, and I cannot and do not want to go through it without His guidance.
6. finally return to classes and start my graduate program (so a few classes this summer!)
7. continue to be the best mom I can be, and roll with the punches, and change my parenting style as needed. And be loving and calm while doing it.
but for today, hang out inside and putter around the house, do laundry, make some art, clean a little, and be grateful for the snow :)

new season!

Yay! The beginning of bridal season is upon us! I'm excited because I've been working on some new bolero jackets and collars with lots of ruffles, and some new dresses.
To celebrate:
I'm having a 'beginning of season sale' to kick off the 2011 designs. I'm also going to be participating in an eco-friendly 'green' inspired fashion show, details coming soon. It should be pretty cool considering how much weddings can really eat up resources.
So, check out the new vintage inspired designs in the shop, most made from vintage slips and laces!
I'm also clearing out many of the dresses that I haven't put up for sale after the Omaha Fashion Week finale :)
check it out girls! Some of these would be really cute for prom!

brrrrrrr

sorry I've been away so long dearies, I've been working away. It's freezing here in the big "O" as usual, so another winter, here we come. I've been so cold in the morning while going out to the jeep (4 wheel drive is really amazing, this is my 2nd winter having it!) Really, how did I ever live without it? Anyway, I'm thinking of making a wrap skirt like the ones I sold last summer to wear over my dress pants so I can be cozy, since my coat is kind of short. I'll have to add a lining though so it's not clingy. I'll let you know how it comes out :) Maybe it will give me a chance to use some of my preeeeeety fabrics!
also, I finally got a chance to use some of this chevron print from paula prass on one of my draft stoppers:

these are really flying out the door now, people are freezing - at least in the midwest. Many orders come from Chicago, Minneapolis, and all of those reeeeeeaaaaaaaallllllllyyyyyy frigid places. hmmmm, how many words can I come up with that mean freezing cold?
to continue the wintry theme, I FINALLY got my white christmas tree!!!!

I've been looking for a long time, and decided to decorate it in a silver-aqua-burlap- maybe a touch of gold here and there, and even got crafty and made a burlap tree skirt with a ruffle last night.

The other tree skirt that I made a few years ago had lots of deep reds and greens, and that just wouldn't do! Plus it looked really tiny under the new tree, because the diameter (or circumference?) is a lot bigger than the old one.
It still needs lots of ornaments, which have yet to be made, but I keep adding bits here and there, like a magpie would to her nest :) K says this tree will probably stay up until June since I seem to love it so much.
and it was a craigslist find!