Spring Studio

On a recent trip to Monterey (California) I stopped to do a little shopping before heading home.  One of my stops was the local Michael’s craft store, we don’t have one in Hollister, I always stop and shop if I have the time.  While walking the isles my Husband and I came upon the silk floral display, the beautiful spring and summer flowers were showing all their bright pretty colors.  I could not resist picking up some new silks to brighten up my black & white studio.  I know, I know….most interior designers hate silk (fake) flowers and plants but I happen to love them, at least the ones which are made well and actually look real.

The silk flowers I chose for my studio are super fun with polka dots all over them, they don’t look real and I did not want them too, they were chosen strictly for their fun factor and cuteness.  A touch of spring has sprung in my studio giving it a pop of color and a bit of a lift on those still cloudy days, at least until the sun can shine everyday, all day long and I can add live spring flowers into the mix.

I did pick out some truly beautiful silk hydrangeas for new spring arrangements for my Mother’s grave site, I should have those finished and delivered in time for Easter. Of coarse real flowers are always better on display, but sometimes, due to weather, location or time, silk flowers and plants are just right for any occasion.

Consider adding a splash of spring color to your own creative spaces and home décor by incorporating some pretty silks; brighten things up while you wait for the real spring flowers and plants to arrive.

Thanks for letting me share a splash of spring with you.  See you soon.

Laurette

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A Splash of Spring Give-Away

Hello everyone, I am sorry I have been away for so long from my blog posting, I have been helping our very dear friends with a really difficult move.  I was far away from my computer everyday and too tired at night to sit and write anything you would want to spend your time reading.  I am finally back in the office so here is a new post for you to read which should actually make some sense, I hope.

As promised I am having a special give-away contest with an early spring theme.  The contest goes like this; I am looking for ideas to help me figure out what to create out of the Vintage Notions fabric I recently won on a blog give-away.  I will be giving away two gifts, one for those of you who would like to sew/craft with fabric and a second gift for those of you who do not.

This is the fabric I won, there are 18 fat quarters and one panel; I want to make as many different items as I can from them.  All ideas will be considered, I will choose two from the comments section to win a fabric stack or the cute spring journal, notepad, pen and nail file set.  You don’t have to sew to win something.

Prize #1 is this spring fat quart set of 8 mid tone fabrics.

Prize #2 is a cute spring bird set containing a journal, note pad, pen and a jewel studded nail file. 

I am really looking forward to your suggestions as to what to make with my new fabrics; they are sitting on my cutting table waiting to be turned into some fantastic creative projects.

Here are the rules:

One entry per person

You must specify which gift you would like to win

You must have a mailing address within the USA to win.  

Deadline for comment entries is midnight, west coast time, March 9, 2012.

Please leave your first name and the first initial of your last name with your comment so I can contact you when you win. (It will be posted on my blog so you can contact me with your shipping address.)  Sorry about all the rules, a necessary evil.

Thanks for hanging in there with me while I was away from my studio and office.  See you soon.  Laurette

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I Won! I Won!

Vintage Notions

Vintage Notions

The new fabric line by Amy Barickman, The Dressmaking Collection, produced by Red Rooster Fabrics and the book, Vintage Notions, also written by Amy, has finally arrived.  I won the fabrics and book from a contest sponsored on the blog of Betz White.  I was so excited to receive them; it was like Christmas morning as I opened my box of fabrics and my new book.  Everything came wrapped in tissue pattern pieces, how cool is that, perfect for any dressmaker.  As my eyes feasted on all the wonderful vintage inspired fabrics my mind began to spin with all the fun projects I could create with my new fabrics.  The biggest problem will be figuring out what to make first and if I will have enough fabric to make everything I want to make, so many projects and so little time, what’s a girl to do.  I can assure you every last scrap will be used with nothing going to waste, let the fun begin.

So many fun prints and patterns to work with, 18 fat quarters and one really beautiful coordinating panel, something you rarely see, the entire fabric line all in one quilt shop or in one on-line store.  I am very blessed to have then all.

Some of the possible projects for these wonderful fabrics are a quilted purse, an apron, pillows, zip cases, needle cases, book covers, e-reader covers, wall hanging or lap quilt….hmm what else?  If you have any ideas I did not mention please use the comment section to leave your suggestion and if I pick your idea and make it, you will get a special gift from me.  The gift will be announced in the next posting along with the deadline for submitting your suggestions. Here is a hint, think spring time.   I will be working on the Vintage Notions projects throughout the spring and summer months with supporting blog posts so you can track everything I create as I go along. 

**Due to the difficulties of shipping I can only ship inside the USA at this time.

The Vintage Notions book, An Inspirational Guide to Needlework, Cooking, Sewing, Fashion and Fun, is such a lovely book, I can’t wait to read every page, not to mention creating some of the retro inspired projects and recipes. Thanks to my new book and fabrics I won’t run out of inspiration through the coming months and into the fall.  Of coarse there are still all those unfinished projects from last year and the already planned ones for this year.  I believe I am going to be a very busy lady indeed.

*On a very special personal note;  I just found out today there is going to be a new grand baby this coming fall.  My son and his wife are expecting their first child.  I am thrilled, lots of special gifts to make for my new grandchild, I can't wait, the new baby will make it three very special grandchildren, I am beyond blessed.

Thank you for letting me share my newest book, fabrics and my special news with you, watch for the give-away details in my next post.  See you soon.  Laurette

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I won! I Won!

Colorful Fabric Zip Bags

Quilted Valentine Table Runner

Be My Valentine

Today’s creative moment happened when my granddaughter came to my house to make some Valentine pinwheels, elephant Valentine’s Day cards and a heart picture frame.  It was lots of fun, especially when we got her Mama and Grandpa to make them right along with us; we had a great time, lots of love going on in my house.

When we finished our projects, my granddaughter and I, set the table for a special Valentine’s Day dinner using the new quilted table runner I made, it was recently featured in one of my posts.  I let her set the table all by herself; she did a really good job, a future interior decorator.  We set the table a couple of different ways but ended up resetting it the way she originally had it, she has a very good eye for color and style and she is only five.  I am a very proud Grandma.

My daughter and granddaughter made this pretty little heart window decoration for their home. Very cute.

With the table set and all the projects finished I can see the love in everything we created and it finally feels like Valentine’s Day is about to arrive.  I hope all of you are experiencing that kind of creativity and love and I wish each of you a wonderful Valentine’s Day.

Thanks for letting me share our lovely creative projects with you.  See you soon.  Laurette

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Quilted Valentine Table Runner

Inspired Organization

Those of you who read my blog on a regular basis are probably wondering why I haven’t written a post all week.  I was asking myself that and the answer I came up with was; I haven’t been creative in almost two weeks.  I have been busy with a lot of non creative “things” leaving me pretty flat in the creative department, not to mention having blogger’s block, also known as writer’s block, not a good thing for someone who writes a creative blog.  Ah oh!

So…. In the spirit of being officially uninspired I decided to share some inspiration from one of my regular readers, June, who became inspired by my studio organization posts.  June lives in Kansas and has a rather large studio where she quilts and makes crafts with her grandchildren.  The posts I wrote about sprucing up my studio and re-organizing my fabrics and supplies had her looking around her studio to see what she could do to make things work better for her own work/play spaces.  Here are a few of the photos she shared with me; this is only a small part of what she did.

She told me she sorted through all her fabrics, notions, tools and supplies putting them into clear stacking drawers and boxes then giving everything a label (you know how I love those).  She hung her notions and tools so she could easily see what she had to work with.  Extra fabrics and supplies were removed and set aside for donation.  Projects, fabrics and crafty materials are now ready to use and easy to find. I am so proud of her that was a lot of work.

June was also frustrated with the lack of a good inspiration/design wall, she was stumped as to how to get one she could leave up and not have to take down all the time; until she saw what I did with my closet doors/walls.  Inspiration struck, she got the idea to make her design boards movable by hanging a rod over her cabinet doors and using clip on rings so she could hang a really large quilt or her small design boards.  Now she can either slide the project over or unclasp it when she needs to get into her fabric cupboards.  A very smart way to create space when you don’t have enough walls for inspiration boards or a design wall for laying out quilting blocks.  June thank you so much for sharing your studio spruce up with me and helping me to break my blogger’s block.

Thanks for letting me share today’s inspiration with you. Look for something creative from me in a few days, I don’t know what it will be, maybe something fun to wear.  See you soon.  Laurette

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Studio Inspiration Boards

As part of the 2012 studio re-organization I freshened up just about every area of my studio with the exception of my inspiration boards.  They had been sitting with the same ideas, pictures and articles on them for several years, time to shake things up.  Many of you have your inspiration boards on your walls on cork or fabric boards etc... , mine; however are hanging on giant closet doors which take up one entire wall of my studio.  There wasn't another space for them because the other big wall is taken up with three large windows leaving me only two shorter walls for my fabric and my sewing/design counters.  I basically hung my boards up there during the move to keep everything on them from getting trashed or lost; they have been bugging me for over a year and now was the time to change things up.  I thought about it for quite some time before coming to the conclusion I could just continue to treat the doors as walls and hang whatever I wanted on them as long as I used those handy little Command Strips for hanging everything up, this way the doors would not be harmed and I could easily move things around.  I am very pleased with my new inspiration walls/doors and when I get tired of them I can change them anytime I want.  Here’s what I did.

Kind of a cluttered mess with no rhyme or reason to them, the doors go floor to ceiling, there are three of them, which cover over 11 feet of closet space, I am one lucky girl to have such a huge closet for all my crafts.

These doors are not very impressive empty; they just become one big long expanse of blank space.  No way was I going to waste so much real estate in a room with only two usable walls.

I love the way the black and white looks on the white doors.  The beautiful pictures of the classic couture garments are all framed in matching black frames and placed around a long black framed mirror.  The pictures were from my last two studios and it was killing me not to be able to use them in this studio, problem solved.  On the second door I hung cork boards covered in black and white Fleur-de-lis fabrics, used elsewhere in my studio, pulling those prints over to the doors.  The entire studio is done in an icy blue for the walls and all the accents are black and white with touches of hot pink for a pop of color.  Can you say Black & White Bling!

The fabric covered boards make a nice backdrop for all my new inspirational pieces, which brings some extra pops of color into the room.  One of the boards on the left is a dry erase board and the other is magnetic, perfect for all those little reminders I might need to post.

I left the third door plain white so I could use it between the other two doors when I need a design/photo wall.  The white door gives my eyes a rest when I need to design a quilt or use it as a clean backdrop for taking photos.  I have a fleece covered board I can attach to the white door, with more of those Command Strips, when it is time to create patterns or quilt layouts; I have the best of all worlds this way.  Now my studio is organized and complete, ready to work in on a daily basis, no more clutter or confusion, I am one very happy seamstress/crafter/quilter.

Thanks for letting me share my Studio Inspiration Boards with you; I hope you enjoyed reading about the last of my studio spruce ups.  Look for more creative projects in my next posts.  See you soon.  Laurette

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Colorful Fabric Zip Bags

At the beginning of the New Year one of the goals I set for myself was to start working on all those unfinished and planned projects from 2011.  I am happy to say I have begun the process, slowly, but I did make a good start towards whittling down those piles of fabric and notions.  I spent a fun day, last Thursday, working in my studio making some really colorful zip cases, from the Atkinson Designs pattern line, Cash and Carry. Those little zippered cases can be used for eyeglasses, sun glasses, pens, makeup or all the little loose odds and ends.  I put my reading glasses in the first one I made, the quilted case keeps them from getting broken, scratched or lost in the dark bottom of my purse.  I completed three of the bright little bags in the morning and made the Valentine Table Runner in the afternoon.  One unfinished project and one new one, things are moving along right on schedule.  Next up will be more of the zippered bags, all gifts for my favorite gals.

This stack of fabric was set aside last year to make the zippered cases, they were buried in a box at the bottom of the pile and they were found during the great fabric reorganization at the beginning of the month.

Pretty fabrics all cut and ready to sew, I just love the colorful prints and solids together.

These are just so cute; I can’t wait to make more of them.  Next on the list are some animal prints, lots of black and white, and several other fun patterns.

Once the zippered cases are done I am not sure which unfinished project will get worked on, there are so many to choose from. Maybe it will be the restyling of an old garment which has been sitting in my studio for months waiting to be upcycled into something special to wear, or maybe it will a new project yet to be decided?  You will just have to keep reading to find out what comes next from my colorful, creative studio.

Thanks for letting me share these fun, colorful, zippered bags with you.  Look for more bright projects in my upcoming posts.  See you soon.  Laurette

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Quilted Valentine Table Runner

A few weeks ago, at our Groovy Girls Sewing Club, we were given this month’s free pattern for a quilted table runner and a mystery quilt.  Our teacher, Sheila, demonstrated the first mystery block and showed us a finished sample for the table runner.  Being that I am not an advanced quilter, I chose the table runner as my project and not the mystery quilt. I have so many projects going on I could not see myself doing the large quilt and actually finishing it any time this year.  However, I did commit to making the smaller pattern projects we receive each month and bringing them to show and tell.  I became very inspired by one of the members who brought a different Valentine table runner, which she shared with the group. Since I did not have any Valentine decorations, I thought it would make the perfect project. My five year old granddaughter is expecting some kind of decoration because I usually decorate for every other holiday, why not Valentine’s Day too?  She is so right and I will not let her down.  Go Grandma!  Time to get sewing.

I chose this combination of light and dark to create a nice contrast; it should stand out against my red tablecloth and white dishes.

Everything is cut and ready to assemble, the cutting went really quickly.

The top of the runner is completed, time to machine quilt and bind it.  I think my granddaughter will be very surprised and happy to see it sitting on my dinning room table when it is completed.  It was a pretty simple project which only took me about an hour and a half to complete.  I don’t quilt all the time so I am bit slower then some of you advanced quilters, but I was happy with this part of the finished project and the amount of time it took me to complete it.

Thanks for letting me share this lovely little project with you.  Look for a few more bright and cheery projects in the next post or two.  See you soon.  Laurette

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I Won! I Won!

Oh my gosh I Won!!!  I can’t believe it; I won the Vintage Notions Give-away hosted by Betz White, on her blog.  The fantastic give-away prize was the book “Vintage Notions” by author Amy Barickman; I also won Amy’s new fabric line in fat quarters, produced by Red Rooster Fabrics.  Amy’s fabric is called the Dressmaking Collection, right up my alley since I began my sewing career as a dressmaker, I am one lucky gal.  Amy is also the driving force behind the company, Indygo Junction.  If you quilt or sew you have probably seen all those fantastic patterns or have even sewn with them, I have several myself.  If you go to Betz’s blog page you can view a really great video about Amy, she is so inspiring.  I can’t wait to read the book from cover to cover and create a project or two from the new fabrics.  I plan to share it all with you in my future posts as soon as my prizes arrive.  I am so excited!

If you are not familiar with Betz White, her blog, website or products; she is a fantastic author, designer, and green crafter.  I love her book, Warm Fuzzies, which I really enjoy making projects from, several in fact.  I also have some of her wonderful patterns that I have used over and over when making gifts for my family and friends.  If you get a chance go to her website at betzwhite.com  you can also link to her website from my Follow These Sites list, on the right side of my blog page.  I read her blog faithfully, boy I am glad I do, I am such a fan.  Thank you so much, Betz, for putting on the Vintage Notions Give-away.

Thanks for letting me share my great news and all the creative, colorful ventures from my studio with you.  See you soon, Laurette

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Butterfly Mobile

I have another easy project to share with you from the toy room I created for my grandchildren.  I call it the toy room because it holds toys, games books and art supplies, which they use when they come over to play at my house, a room all their own.

I wanted to make a mobile that would hang over the bed giving my granddaughter something to look at when she laid down for a nap or before going to sleep at night, when she had a sleep over.  I looked around for one to buy but I just could not find anything in the colors or theme I wanted.  Butterflies and fairies are her favorites and were nowhere to be found, time to make my own.

Off to Michael’s I went to buy my supplies; small quilting hoops, ribbon, clear fishing line and two dimensional butterflies and flowers.  I could not find the ribbon I wanted there; I did find it in my own ribbon stash instead, silly me, I should have checked there first.  I was all set to get to work.

Didn’t this little mobile come out just darling?  I had a great time making it with my glue gun, it was pretty quick, the only difficult part was tying on the fishing line and deciding how long to make each strand with the butterflies and flowers on it.  I am pretty sure I will be making another one, not butterflies, maybe something with a bit of bling for my studio.  This is a really easy, cute project for any room in your house.

Thanks for letting me share this fun project with you.  Look for a few more quick projects from the toy room.  See you soon.  Laurette

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