Working on a new free tutorial ... a French Country Table Runner

I've officially been struck with the " I love all things that look French Country" bug! I keep looking around my house, seeing the remains of my red Tuscan phase and trying to swap things out without breaking the bank!

I picked up some fabrics and wanted to make a table runner for my kitchen table and change up the look by changing the colors. I've got lots of pics I took all along the way. If you want to make a new table runner, whether it's for a new look or for the upcoming holidays, stay tuned, I'll be posting pics with the follow along instructions!

Reclaimed Wood Window Frame Tutorial

I finished my window frame project! This was so much fun to do! My family has a place out at the lake and well, we desperately need to have some artwork on the walls. I thought this would be a great project to try to fill our walls with a bit of color.

To get started, of course I had to find my window frame. I bought this for $20 at an antique store, all the glass was intact so I was thrilled. I've found many frames from houses that have been torn down but so many of them have at least one windowpane smashed out. Getting started all I got in addition to my frame was my paint color, some sanding paper, an image that I wanted to use, brushes, painters tape and then some wax to seal the paint.

I got started by cleaning the glass and the frame of any dirt and debris. Trust me, these reclaimed pieces are ALWAYS dirty so get it nice and clean. Sand down any of the rough edges. I didn't do too much of this, just cleaned it up here and there but the rough look was what I liked so I didn't need to be sanded to perfection.
**be careful, if you have a REALLY old frame, it might have lead based paint so take appropriate caution if sanding**



I just did a single light coat of paint to the backside first. You're not going to see this but since you can see a tad bit when hung, I figure I should have the same color on both sides. Then I let it dry for a few hours.



Then I flipped mine over to the front side and sanded just a little bit more hitting some spots I missed the first time and then wiped it all off so it was clean of any dust from sanding.



I put painters tape all through the glass panels and then painted all of the frame my color of choice, apple red! The lakehouse needs a big pop of color so decided to go bold! I let it dry for several hours and then sanded the edges a bit so it looked a little roughed up. After it was dry, I did add a layer of wax over the top just to seal and protect.



Once I was done with that I scanned my image that I wanted to use which was a vintage postcard I found. I loved the image, it sort of said "lake" to me and something I could see hanging on the wall. I scanned it and then had my friend who is an ace at Illustrator size the image to what would fit my frame and then divide the image into 6 equal sections and print.


My openings are larger than what I can print on my ink jet printer (bummer) but thankfully my good friend Cathy has one of those big ole printers that she uses for her work and helped me with getting these printed so I didn't have to schlep to Office Max.

I started by just laying them out on top of the glass just to see if I liked how it looked. Whoops, if you are paying attention, I have the 2 top corners in the wrong spot! I had originally started with another image but the way the 6 squares cut the image up, it didn't look right, this one worked for me. I was super happy!


Happy with the look, I inserted them into their permanent spot on the backside of my frame and here it is. I haven't added my hanging hardware yet but that will come just as soon as I can get to Home Depot.

I think it's going to look just lovely at the lake!! This was so much fun for me to do, so inexpensive and my hubby is happy that the old frame sitting in our garage for months has finally moved off my ever growing project list! Do you have an old photograph you might want to do this to? I can see all kinds of personalized pieces of art.

Custom Pillowcase Tutorial - perfect project for Camp

I can hardly believe the time is almost here. Both of my girls are heading off to sleepaway camp with a handful of their friends and the excitement level is HIGH in our house! I feel like I'm sending them off to college at the rate I've been spending for camp stuff whether it was the cool trunk we bought that's now been fully decorated, all their toiletries, gear they need and of course the care packages I'm making. They are over the days of me making them custom clothing (I guess I had to let them grow up eventually) but now we look for other ways we can make something personal to take along.

For camp we are making custom pillowcases and I've had fun watching them make a mess back in my office digging through the bins of fabric. I hope when they lay their heads down at the end of a fun day, they'll remember Mom and Dad at home! This is such an EASY project that if you can get your machine powered on and threaded, just follow along and you can easily make your own. Click on any pictures to make them bigger if you need to zoom in for detail.

Here's your supplies you need. Your 2 fabrics and thread and you are ready!



I lay mine out on my quilters mat and cut with my rotary cutter. Cut 25 1/2" and then turn and cut 20" across. Cut your trim piece at 9 1/2" and then turn and again, cut this the same length as your main piece, 20" across. Remember, both are on the fold when cutting!



Fold your piece now with the right sides facing each other, you will be sewing down 2 sides of your piece. One long side and one short side. The short side that was left open should measure about 19 3/4 inches across if you kept to your 1/4" seam allowance. This should fit the average size pillow but if you think you have a very full and fluffy pillow, cut your piece wider. Pin your seams if it helps you. I stitch using about 1/4" seam allowance. (this should be the distance from your needle to the edge of your presser foot, I like this as a seam allowance as I have a constant guide) After I've stitched, I serge the 2 edges I've just sewn. Most people don't have sergers, no worries just leave the raw edge alone or you can zig zag over your raw edges to finish them.
*note, if your fabric has a direction to it, make sure to leave the side open that is the bottom of your print. For example, on my fabric, I have birds so I wanted their heads to face towards the stitched shut side of my case and the bottoms of their body facing the open side of the pillowcase. Check your print before you stitch your short side to ensure you did the right one.


Next take your trim piece and fold it in half (wrong sides together) the long way and press a seam in it. Then open it up and turn it joining the 2 short sides, right sides together and stitch that short side shut.


You will sew the short side seams together, Stitch line should be same width as your big piece shown in pic above. Next you will refold it along that seam you just pressed down in the prior step so that you are looking at the right sides of the fabric on both sides. I will usually press it again here and put the seam to one side. This helps me to not mess up having the seam off to one side so I remember to match them up when joining to the large part of the case. Press it here and it helps!

Take the trim piece and nest it inside the main part of the pillowcase and pin together matching up the raw edges of your main piece and trim piece. Begin with matching up the 2 side seams from main print and trim print and go from there pinning the other side next and then the other midpoints. After you are pinned, stitch all the way around these 2 pieces using a 1/4" seam allowance. Remember, you are still looking at the wrong side of the fabric. After I've stitched around, serge if you have a serger.


You can technically be done at this point but I like mine to look very finished. Follow on if you are type A like me! Take that interior seam and press it up towards the inside of the pillowcase.



Now take the case to your machine and add a top stitch to the case. It finishes off the piece as you stitch up that interior seam and helps the case to keep it's shape there.

There you go, all done! We are making them for friends who are also going and having so much fun seeing their print selections! For time sake, we are being more simple in our cases but these could be so fun to add ruffles to, applique their names to the trim and more! Keep it plain on one side, you need at least one comfortable side free of add ons to sleep on!

Here's a few more, these girls love peace signs!

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Cowgirl LOVE Giveway...

So excited to be a part of this one! Yep, it's a HUGE giveaway so you want to keep reading! Several months back, the amazing gals from Oh Fiddlesticks sent me an email telling me about their upcoming photo shoot they had planned with Laura from Laura Winslow Photography. Melissa and Jen create these super fun compound word tees and one of my faves is the COW + GIRL tee. That one was in the lineup for the photo shoot and they asked me if I might be able to create something that coordinates to their tee. Well, it took me less than a minute to think about and jump on board. One of my favorite things to do is to collaborate with others on a project, one that includes the hair, the clothing, jewelry, accessories and all items that might tie into a party theme! Kim from The TomKat Studio worked with Laura on the styling of the shoot and what an amazing set of pics! They created the Glam Camping shoot. How fun seeing all these pieces come to life through their eyes along with these adorable kiddos! Who wouldn't want to have a cowgirl party? Well, we have teamed together along with some other talented vendors to give it ALL away. If cowgirl is what you like, make sure to enter to win a fabulous giveaway that includes it all and then some!

Just to wet your appetite, here are a few. Of course the Oh Fiddlesticks ladies. The La*tee*da*kids cowgirl print skirt that I created for the shoot. Hair accessories from Georgie Blue, Anna and Blue Paperie, Finley and Oliver, Anders Ruff Custom Designs, something for Mom from Modern Vintage Boutique! and even a gift Certificate from Hill Country Charm. There is so much more. For the complete list of all 24 vendors, check out the Oh Fiddlesticks blog for ALL of the scoop on prizes and the details to enter. Good luck!

Tiered Pillowcase Style Dresses...our newest love!

Yep, this is my new fave, a little twist on the tried and true pillowcase dress. I tend to suffer from a bit of A.D.D!! I'm sure some of you are with me on this one yes? So much going on in any given day that your mind races around from thought to thought and often times in circles. When I'm in my design space, it can feel like that as well. There are literally not enough hours in the day to work with all the lovely fabrics and trims out there that I come across. It doesn't stop me from bringing them home and convincing myself I'll find time to work it all in but I like to give it the good ole college try! My brain will jump all over the place thinking of all these projects while promising to slow down and focus! In this design, I try to work several prints in at once by doing this in tiers and I love the finished item with it's assymetrical tie. This pattern is already available for purchase in my Etsy store but for those of you who don't sew, the dresses are going to be made available for purchase as well. I've had so much fun with this new styling I've laid out all sorts of fabric combos that are sure to wake up your senses. The dress couldn't be more versatile if you needed to layer something underneath or throw a cardigan over it if part of the day is chilly. I sure can see some fun designs come football season and the various holidays!!

Time for Vacation....take some Beaches 'n Cream!

What are my favorite family photos? Hands down, the ones we've done over the years on our trips to the beach. I love going back and recalling our vacations to the ocean. They are always memories of relaxation, none of the typical life distractions, just quality family time, our sunkissed tans, the blonde streaks my kids get in their hair and I also appreciate the fact that my husband looks at my kids and announces on picture day, "No complaining guys, this is the one time of year Mom makes us get up really early to get these pictures and it's very important to her. Everyone smile pretty and it won't take long :-) " Okay, I digress, here's a non-staged photo from a few years back. I love it! One of my all time faves, watching my girls follow their Dad being careful only to walk in his footsteps on the beach. Seems so symbolic of a girls love for their Daddy! Wherever you lead us, I'm following in your footsteps. The entire morning is always a special one for me.

Well, fastforward years later, I haven't gotten tired of our trips and certainly not tired of getting our photos. When I create new pieces, I usually aim for tons of pattern and lots of color splashes. With the "Beaches 'n Cream" collection, I went in a different direction staying true to my love of white tonals for the beach and a few hints of pattern. You'll find something for everyone here in this mix and match collection. If she loves to twirl we've got the twirl skirt and double ruffle tank. If you want something angelic, simple and innocent, a ruffle trimmed pillowcase dress and finally I added a coordinating knot top with ruffle trimmed white flare capris. Aaaahh, Mother Nature, please bring the warm temperatures back and let's head to the beach! Let them play, let them be kids.......and finally, capture their sweet innocence with some beautiful photos while you are at it!

HUGE thank you to Michelle Nicoloff for getting some amazing photos of these 2 girls playing in my La*tee*da pieces. If you live in the Orange County area, take a looksie at her work....beautiful and amazing talent!

Pieces will be listed this weekend in my Etsy store. If you have a Spring Break trip coming up and you are heading to the beach, contact me and we'll see about getting some rush orders out. Click on any photo to see them enlarged.

Another birthday rolls by!

They seem to be coming at me faster and faster.....my birthday that is! I just celebrated yet another one and got some of the most lovely things. My kids kept asking me, "Mommy what do you want for your birthday?" HHHmmmm, I thought about it and just gave them that frustrating answer of, "Just surprise me! I'll love whatever you get for me." They know I love gifts from the heart, something homemade, and boy did they melt me on the insides. I received some handmade earrings from my oldest, a book made by my budding author/illustrator and then this beautiful creation from my son. So here she sits by my machine! I just love all their ideas and surely felt the love. Yep, my kids know how to make the tears well up in my eyes. It was a great day feeling blessed and loved!

It's a brand new year!

I say it all too often these days......I must be getting old, repeating myself all the time! Where does the time go? I feel like 2010 zipped by in a blur but I am REALLY looking forward to 2011! I love starting a new year. I love getting reorganized in my house, my brain, my design space......I guess just life in general! We've hauled all that stuff to the curb or to Goodwill we no longer need and are looking forward to the months warming up little by little. I tend to naturally love the Spring/Summer fabrics so these are seasons I love to create for. I adore gorgeous shabby florals in all kinds of colors and finding fun ways to bring them together. I've started the new year by releasing a new piece to the Elizabeth collection. I've mixed a fresh version of shabby florals, damask prints and dots. Turn this skirt any direction you like as there is no real front or back! Pair it with our daisy floral tank or a ruffle tank. Find this in my Etsy store now.

Happy Holidays

Wishing you a blessed holiday season!! Enjoy the time with family and friends!

Embellish an Apron Tutorial

Either aprons are making a comeback or I'm just starting to notice them for some reason. When I'm out shopping, it seems I see the most amazing aprons being made with lots of ruffles, fabrics being combined in interesting ways and a variety of embellishments. Recently I was in Anthropologie and really got inspired by all the lovelies I saw. Heck, it might entice this non-cooker to do some cooking! It was just prior to Thanksgiving and I decided that our hostess with the mostest (aka Mom) needed a little gift as a thank you for continually opening up her home and hosting all the kids and grandkids. If you are heading to someone's home this holiday season, this would be a super easy and fun project to take on. I did this with my kids!

1. First we found an already assembled apron from Hobby Lobby. We loved the Zebra print
2. Next we had to decide how we were going to embellish it. Since I was doing this with my kids, we figured we'd just keep it fairly simple. We went over to the trim section and grabbed some hot pink ruffle trim.
3. All we did was put our machine on straight stitch and added it along the top. (hard huh?)
4. Then I wanted to add a fabric rosette and some bling. These roses are so fun to make. Grab your glue gun and go to it! I wanted to use all the colors so I combined a black and white print along with the berry colored fabric and then added a big rhinestone to the center. I just pinned this on since presumably this will need to be washed! Don't want to make your own fabric rose embellishment? Just grab a pre-made one and hot glue a bit of bling to the center. You can find these at Hobby Lobby, Joann's, Michael's etc.
5. Not quite done because I wanted a little more color. One of my girls said, let's add an L. Laverne and Shirley popped into my head with that big cursive L. A regular print L just wasn't going to have enough ummpff so cursive it was. Laverne, we are bringing your big cursive L back! We created our template, added that L and that's it, we were done!

Pretty cute cook huh?

Hope your Thanksgiving was a blessed one and don't forget to kiss the cook!

Handmade Coaster Tutorial - Fun one with the kids!!

I'm getting a headstart this year on doing some gifts! I shouldn't post to the blog, going to be a bit of a spoiler for some of you in my life, but oh well, here goes! We did these yesterday and I really loved how they turned out so wanted to share how to create these coasters. If you are on a budget this year this is a great thing to try! Better yet, if you like making something where your kids can lend a hand as well, this is the perfect project.

***click on any photo to see them enlarged***



Here's what you'll need

* a set of 4" tiles - I grabbed a pack of the tumbled tiles from Home Depot - I prefer the look of the tumbled ones
* Staz on Ink Pad - whatever colors you like
* Rubber Stamps
* Clear Satin enamel spray to seal (not shown in this pic, you'll see what can I used later in this tutorial)
* Felt or cork stick on surface guards (i used 3/8") (photo'd and shown later in this tutorial)




First start by just wiping the tiles clean with a damp cloth so they are ready for you to put your design on. I experimented with what I wanted to put on my tiles on a piece of paper. For this particular set, I have a friend who is a HUGE New Orleans Saints fan, hmmm, these might be perfect in her house! There are so many fun rubber stamps out there for you to be creative with. For my set I chose a swirly pattern for a background and then overlayed it with my fleur de lis stamp. You could choose a smaller print and just do a repeated stamp across the tile. Place the stamp randomly where sometimes only half of it is seen along the sides or corners, it looks pretty! Another idea might be to put some words or an initial in the center and then stamp the 4 corners with something giving it a border. Just use your imagination and experiment on a piece of paper before the tile so you can see what direction you want to go. If you were more ambitious, you could also get stencils for a pretty pattern and just use a block rubber stamp to fill in the design with the ink.

My son is 5 (there he is pictured above in action) and he helped me with these so even the young ones can get in on the fun of being creative!


Using the Staz On Ink, apply whatever design you like to your tile. Be sure to press firmly with your stamp and then let dry.



Once your design is dry we need to spray a sealant on the tile. We don't want your ink to bleed so it needs a sealant. Use what brand you like, I've used a can of the Valspar clear satin spray that you can pick up at Home Depot or Walmart. Find a piece of cardboard or better yet a box and spray a coat onto the tile. Do this outside in a ventilated area. A box is best if your day is a little breezy. Now let this coat dry.


Now that they are dry, stick on your cork or felt guards to the bottom so they won't scratch the surface that they sit on.





That's it, you are done! Put them out on your side tables to use or stack them and tie up with a pretty piece of ribbon for a gift. Hope you had fun flexing those creative muscles!

Headband Tutorial

I love making things for my girls to wear in their hair and this quick project is so fun and easy that I wanted to share with my own added notes on how to assemble. Try these with your kids too. This is the perfect little project where you can share in the fun and be done in 15 minutes. We've done our school colors here and have plans for some Christmas ones as well. What a great way to use up your scraps. Here's what you'll need

***click on any photo to see them enlarged***

*6 strips of fabric about 18-20" long by 1/2" wide, 3 for each band and you can mix up the colors how you like
*I rip mine along the grain to give it the shabby edges, this is just my preference* you can also just pull along the sides to fray the edges or just cut and leave them how they are
*Your sewing machine
*6 inch piece of elastic - I use 3/8" width

1. Cut your 6 pieces of fabric in whatever prints you plan to use


2. Layer them on top of each other and stitch together


3. You can place your pieces under anything heavy to hold in place or tape it down to your surface. I choose to put my needle in the "needle down" position to hold in place and turn the strips towards me to start braiding.



4. Braid the entire length. Try to keep the print side up when braiding so that you see the colors you want shown, not the reverse side of your print. You might want to play with it for a bit so you can see if you like a tighter or looser braid.



5. Stitch your ends together then repeat with the other strips of fabric. Trim off the excess fabric from each end.



6. I turned my 2 braided pieces at a slight angle to each other then straight stitched each side together.



7. Now stitch your elastic to each end of your headband that's forming. My measurements fit my daughters head (she has a big head :-), just cut your elastic longer or shorter as needed. Because these are braids, there is a bit of give through the braid. If you really like a neat finish, you can take some bias tape and wrap it around the exposed edges on either end covering the elastic and the end of the braid and stitch that down. It won't be seen but wanted to add that note if you like things nice and neat.




8. Voila, you are ready to wear it! Try these using ribbon or even bias tape for a faster project!

Holiday Collection 2010 is here

Whether you like reds and creams, maybe throw in some black or mix it up by adding a bit of non-traditional espresso brown, we have a fun range of new holiday pieces available on Etsy now. The Holiday Collection 2010 pieces are shipping fast so if you have a family photo date that you are trying to find clothing for, just shoot me a note and I'll see if we can meet that date. We've got something for everyone! Do you have a little guy you are trying to figure out how to coordinate with the girls? We can make him a custom tie in any of our fabric prints.

Christmas coming soon....hopefully :)

Blog has been slow...just not finding the time to write lengthy entries but my blog is the best place to find links to all the places you'll find me and my favorite creative people. Check them all out ------> Their links are all over on my side bar. In the meantime, please join Facebook and you'll be sure and get all kinds of up to date info.

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL??

Boy do I love it when I hear those familiar sounds on TV indicating that it's football season and I especially love COLLEGE football. This year I thought it'd be fun to try something with a twist blending Fall design with some collegiate tie ins. Kids are huge fans too, so why not grab something fun for them to wear! Here are a couple pieces for the Longhorn or the Aggie fan. I never thought I'd take time out of my day creating something for our friends over at Texas A&M but I checked my ego at the door and I have to say, this was a super fun shoot with the girls. To see all the photos is to know how many 100's of longhorns and/or gig 'em thumbs were thrown by both throughout these pictures. If you're not an Aggie fan, I even think that piece would coordinate perfect for you Oklahoma Sooners, the Alabama Crimson Tide and many other schools. This was loads of fun, who knows, maybe some more color themes will pop up for schools! The pieces will be added shortly to my Etsy store and can easily be worn throughout the Fall season whether you want pictures in the Autumn leaves or photos at Thanksgiving. We may have paired them with college tees in these pics but you can match them however you fancy. The colors truly represent the season right in front of us. Full album of pictures are being added today with the rest of the photos on Facebook.

The skirt with a dark cranberry center does have a coordinating knot dress that goes with it if you have sisters to match. Thank you to Kristen from Kristen Duke Photography for taking some gorgeous shots for me. I've had this lucky opportunity to continue to meet amazingly talented folks here in the Austin area. Love your work Kristin! Check out her daughter, isn't she precious?