stripey 'gronk'

I made this little stripey friend today:

I thought a little customer of mine would like it, since the fabric matched the dress I made her. (She's got ABC fabric for ears:)

My hubby said it looked like a gronk, which may or may not be the name of some creatures he saw on sesame street years ago. I was surprised he didn't have a Star Trek reference for it. (He's a little obsessed and watches old episodes all the time). It's filled with rice like a bean bag, and was super easy to make. I may do a tutorial for anyone if you'd like to make one for your little ones. It would be fun to add hair, and arms, or hairy arms...
Also, some of you may remember me wishing a happy birthday this summer to my friend whom I didn't know how to reach. Well, she's getting married and she got a hold of me! Yay! Since I've been doing such 'wedding-y' type corsages and ring pillows lately, I thought I'd send her a little surprise in case she needs a little pretty to wear.
ciao girls!

be good...

~to yourself! I bought myself some lovely roses the other day, and I rarely do things like that. I am getting an enormous amount of enjoyment out of them.
I think I'm finally at a place in my life where I am enjoying the moments.

so do something good for yourself this week. Have a quiet cup of tea, go for a nature walk, wander through a dept. store by yourself and don't worry about what time it is or who you have to pick up, or the laundry that needs to be done, etc.
Now, back to my desk, and I am going to breathe deeply today while I work!

organization 101...continued

As I look around my studio, I notice that I have a hodge-podge of containers, furniture, and contraptions that hold various supplies. Some of it was given to me, some things that I found were free, the rest was cheap.
I was at an antique sidewalk sale a couple of years ago, and the colors in these tin containers spoke to me:

They are imprinted on the bottom with "Made in Holland". I'm not sure how old they are, but they were $8 for all 4 containers, and I would have paid more. The designs are raised imprints, and you just can't beat the aqua blue and pink combination! I store my tiny flowers in one, SOME of my huge button collection in two, and some tiny hardware in the big one.



Recognize that little cabinet these tins are perched on?

I got it for free from a guy we went to buy some tiles from. It had been sitting out in the rain, and had some old, rusty tools in it. Even after lots of sanding, you can still see the distressed surface, but I love it anyway. It holds all of my rick rack and ribbons and embroidery thread. Major transformation, I'd say. I spent about $10 on paint (in my favorite color, of course) and about $8 on the lovely porcelain knobs.

upcoming events

I'm organizing a mixed media art workshop in Omaha, and I'm really excited about it! The idea is to have participants make a handmade ornament / artwork, for themselves or for a gift.
I think people really appreciate the thought and care that goes into a handmade gift. It means so much more than just going and buying something (probably something they might not even want or need)
So the 'working' date is November 8, which is a Saturday. I'm getting the venue squared away this week, so I will know a little more about the exact times soon.
I'll be giving you sneak peeks about the projects soon. So if you live in or near the big "O", please think about reserving your spot. There will be a listing in my etsy shop so that everything will go through paypal. It's going to be a fun, comfortable, and social way of creating art!
...also, as promised... here's my little caddy for the rick rack. It used to be all mangled in a pretty big box, and now it's all pretty and organized:) **Check out the chartreuse velvet rick rack! It's to die for!!!!

and a new little house design, just because...

see you soon girlies!

country girl at heart

I spent the morning getting out of the city and found some wide open spaces. I had some fun with the little sweeties at the farm getting pics:



And I 'freed my mind' as I sung along with some tunes through the country roads... so good for the soul!


~and the little ABC Bloomers that I made last year have done so well in boutiques that I am now making them in adult sizes. They won't have ABC's on them though!

"fall" cleaning

I know it's supposed to be 'spring' cleaning, but I am always and forever trying to get organized. I hate the feeling of wanting to work on something, and I can't find that bag of pinbacks, or that rhinestone trim (had that problem yesterday), or that bit of brown lace. I think I have an extremely organized personality, and I do like things in order, but sometimes things are in a chaotic state. Add to this law of the universe the fact that I live in a small house, and that I do way more than one craft, and you've got a disaster waiting to happen.
So, for the past couple of years, I have tried various ways to get organized. For awhile these procedures may work, but then the stash gets too big and overwhelming, and I have to rethink it.
This week I decided that plastic bags of various laces and ribbons crammed into an overflowing basket was not workin' for me anymore. (Sorry I didn't take a 'before' pic). But, I was only using ONE of these baskets that slide onto a large bookcase, along with other baskets with other craft goodies in them.
Now, the laces and ribbons are all wrapped on pieces of cardboard, organized by color, of course, and pinned to stay in place. (Similar to the way they are organized in the fabric store):


Notice, also, that now the lace collection takes up TWO baskets as opposed to the orginal ONE basket. I thought it would take up less space, but it takes up more. Oh well, that's the price I have to pay I guess. But it's such a joy to look for a trim and be able to actually find it without digging for half an hour :)
So, next time I'll show you my rick rack box!
The most important thing about organization working though, is the maintenance. So just as with all of my vintage ribbon rolls, as soon as I get the lace or trim I need, I HAVE to remember to wind it back up and put the pin back in! Please leave comments of your favorite organizational tricks!! I need them!

back to school

sorry I haven't posted for a bit, my pets. I went back to school, and the first week was a lot of meetings, and getting my room ready. Yes, I have a room! It's a portable, which I've never had before, and it's awesome. I have control over the thermostat, have a private bathroom, and it's quiet (except for recess, because the playground is right outside my door). But no worries, I love it.
It feels really strange to only work 2 days a week. So I've been busy designing some more kids dresses that are historically inspired.

I couldn't find an example pattern that had the little drawstring thingys at the hem, so I made it up. It wasn't that tricky, I just wanted to make sure I could pull it off without it looking like it had a billion seams or something.
This reminds me of a recent episode of Project Runway, where one of the judges told a designer "Satin should look like no human hands have touched it, and that looks like 20 pairs of hands have been all over it". Ouch. Poor guy, the models had to buy the fabric, and every designer knows it's ALL about the fabric!!!
I would have been yelling advice about what not to get at my model as they were running out the door to go shop. I would LOVE to be a contestant on that show. Not that I went to fashion design school or anything, but it would be so amazing! You have to think outside the box. There is no box!
I once made a dress out of rafia. It was like a fishnet web of tied knots, and it was really cool. I used to make wire sculptures of the female form too, and some of them had skirts on the bottom, so they maybe could have been wearable. Painful, but wearable!
Oh, then there was the year that my husband and I went to the Groundhog Prom, which is like this crazy event in Omaha where adults can go dressed as anything they want, so I made a full length dress out of aluminum foil. It was a bit hard to sit down, but it worked. I ran out of time to make Kev an entire foil jacket, so I just covered the lapels of a suit jacket with foil, and made him a bow tie out of it. Then he had an Abe Lincoln style top hat out of foil too. It was pretty hilarious.
Halloween is just around the corner. hmmm, must start thinking....

finally!

All the stars were finally aligned today, and I actually got some decent pictures of clothing - indoors!

this apple orchard dress available here
usually I can't get good pictures of anything except macro shots. I'm learning!
busy busy busy- back to school tomorrow. Not to worry my little crafty pals - I'm only working 2 days a week, the rest of the time I'll be in my shabby sweat shop, sewing and smiling away!!!

destination: omaha

have you ever thought about taking a vacation in your own city? We haven't really been anywhere this summer, so last week we went to the henry doorly zoo, which we live 5 minutes from but I haven't been there in like 3 years. It is the biggest tourist attraction in our state, I think.



So the other nite I spontaneously suggested that we take a walk by the riverfront, and my daughter got really excited. (It's so boring at home) For $3 each, we took a boat ride around the fountain that changes colors, and you can see the downtown skyline from there also. I can't figure out my camera still, so all my shots of the skyline won't be shown here :)



who needs to leave town? I think I'll save gas and stay here this summer.

rest

after church I took a 2 hour nap. Even though I slept about 10 hours last nite. Lately I've been choosing to sleep over crafting. I guess sometimes we just need to rest. It has been a restful summer for the most part. Happy napping dears!