Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Pom poms and patience

Well, baby shower planning continues. My sister Sandy and I got together to make tissue paper pom poms which I found the tutorial for over at Martha Stewart's website. The tutorial makes it look so simple, just accordion fold eight pieces of tissue paper together, tie the center off and fan them out. Simple, right?


Not simple. 


Tissue paper is as delicate as, well, tissue paper. It tore, it got mangled, I personally had to throw one pom pom away due to its complete failure to do more then tear apart in my hands. The more it tore, the more impatient we became. Frustration and a serious headache took over and Sandy and I had to call the project quits for the night after making only seven pom poms. 


The next morning, I felt less violent towards the pom poms and was ready for another attempt. Here is what I learned. Pulling the fanned out tissue paper out one sheet at a time is a sure fire way to end up with torn paper, BUT pulling four sheets to the center at a time and then fanning them apart makes everything much much simpler because the four sheets of tissue paper are so much stronger then one! Suddenly I was on a roll and completed the remainder of the pom poms that morning THEN, on some sort of success high, went out and bought orange tissue paper and willingly made MORE! 


The results are so beautiful!





Monday, May 23, 2011

Finished product

Remember the little owlets I posted last week? Well I've completed the project! I made a baby owl mobile. The owls are tied around a cherry branch hoop with nylon line and the whole mobile is hung with raffia.




The morning after I finished my project we went to the baby shower! It was lovely, cucumber lemon iced water at every table, and a fully catered brunch. The hostess asked everyone to bring bibs which were hung on the tree, the mommy to be then picked her favorite one and the person who brought it (me!) won a delightful little goody bag. 

 All the pretty shower decorations
 Bibs in the tree
The bib I made


Robyn was so beautiful, I can't believe my dear childhood friend is about to have a child of her own!


Owl goodie bag full of owl themed loot for the new nursery 
Opening the gifts
The mobile!

It was a lovely day celebrating the new baby Robyn and Jarrid are bringing in to the world.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Old blouse New blouse

My little sister and I are so similar. We live in different towns but we will show up for family events dressed in the same shirt, wearing the same jewelry having never told each other that we had gone shopping. Well, we both have this shirt, in several different colors that we both love; and when my sister came home from her fabulous visit to India she brought home some silk; so the perfect thing to do with it seemed like make us both shirts just like the ones we both have!

One of the original shirts

So I made a pattern from the original shirt and created new shirts out of the silk that my sister bought me! 

New blouse made from Indian silk!

I can't wait to take the new shirt to my sister, I get to see her today, she is graduating with her Master's in Social Work and I couldn't be prouder of her!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Hoot hoot hoot!

Did you know that a group of owls is called a parliament of owls? It's true! Isn't that just the perfect name for such a wise and dignified bird? I'll tell you all one thing for sure, I have made at least a half parliament of owls this week!


I am lucky to have the space to store my leftover fabric bits which means that I can make many other littler projects out of them and I have loads of projects going for these scraps!
Fabric galore!

Since I've got owls on the brain I thought I would make some little owls to be a part of a bigger project (that I will share photo's with you of next week). So, for the start of the project, I made some tiny little owl body patterns for the little tiny owls.
4 inch owl pattern

I cut all the different portions from my multitude of fabric scraps to make 5 owlet fronts. 
I decided that their backs should be made from the same fabric as the main body on the front so I cut out solid owl shapes for the backs of all these little owls 
Owlet fronts and backs
Then I sewed the fronts and the backs of the owls together, turned them out and pressed them.
Owlets all turned out and pressed

The final project still has some finishing touches to be done and I will post the photos of the completed project next week, but I'm tickled by how cute these little guys are turning out to be!


Just for fun I put all the owlets with the mama owl. It makes me smile



Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Hot water baby

Last year I got seriously seriously sick, the only way that I could breathe was holding a hot water bottle to my chest. My boyfriend starting calling it my "baby" because I carried it around with me everywhere. Needless to say it was terrible, but I really got attached to that hot water bottle and I use it to solve all my aches and pains now (stiff joints, sore muscles ect.).
My naked "baby"

Throughout my sickness I "swaddled"the water bottle in towels but now I've decided to create a proper cover for my "baby" out of a super soft scarf. The cover has an opening in the back so that I can pull the water bottle out and wash the cover if I need to. 

Stylish new jacket for the "baby"

It's super snuggly soft and perfect for a sore neck or aching knee.  




Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Jewelry organizer

This weekend I painted a plain piece of pegboard to use it as a decorative place to hang my necklaces which have been tangled in a cigar box for far too long. First I painted it with several coats of white then created a hexagonal pattern with my cardboard template (which I made for the lampshade project, last week) and a sharpie marker. Then I mixed several different colors and painted in the hexagons. I didn't have any pegboard specific hooks around but I did have cord clips leftover from a training an extension cord in my last apartment which worked perfectly!


 Drying. Painted pegboard

All my necklaces neatly hung up!
I mounted the board with drywall screws screwed through cut pieces of cork behind the board to mount it slightly off the wall so that the hooks wouldn't damage the wall. 

I'm so pleased to have finally completed this project, it has been a long time coming. 

Friday, May 13, 2011

Inspiration: Citrus Country Fair UPDATE

Happy Friday everyone. Sorry that this one is late, blogger was down last night when I would have been posting. 

Last week I blogged about the pennants I'm making as decoration for the baby shower my sister and I are planning, today I wanted to post an inspiration board for our color palette and theme.

Our color palette is lemon, lime and orange with a country fair theme. We think that the bright colors and fun theme are just perfect for an outdoor, early summer shower. 
Image sources: Ferris wheelfruittablescapepinwheels

My sister has made what feels like thousands hundreds of pinwheels as table decor and we are making several hanging pompoms as well as pennant banners (50 feet and counting). The invitations went out last week and were beautifully designed by my brother-in-law who's talents are invaluable! We also ordered yellow, green and orange paper straws from Cupcake Social for an extra bit of fun!
The beautiful invitation and a few of the charming straws.




It is lovely to see the work coming together. Just a few more weeks until we get to throw the party! I can't wait to share the photos.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Zen blossoms and polka dots

Today I created an apron for a client using Michael Miller's Zen blossom and Robert Kaufman Red polka dot fabrics. 


Such a charming combination!

This apron has a scalloped boarder that has to have the seam allowance delicately pressed down over the curves. It's time consuming but worth the effort the effect is lovely!

Midway through the pressing process

The apron has nice long ties and two pleats on either side of the center. It is flattering for nearly every figure!

I'm so delighted to be sending this apron out tomorrow, I hope that the person it is intended for finds it as delightful as I do! 

Custom Confections

From time to time I get requests for custom items, this Wednesday, I want to share some of my custom work with you. 


Costume I made for an interpretive dance/living art piece

 Mail sorter

One shoulder dress for a Christmas Party 

Custom curtains for an adorable kitchen!

I've had so much fun with all my projects and I can't wait for the next custom request!


Tomorrow I will share an apron with a scalloped border made by custom request for a very special client. 

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Before and After

When my boyfriend and I moved in to our small San Francisco apartment we moved in to a disgusting mess. The power was cleverly turned off when we had the showing with the landlord so a lot of the "ick" was missed due to the shadows and the excitement of having a separate living room, dining room and bedroom (plus a sewing "room" all of these a miracle in San Francisco!) So, needless to say, when we moved in and assessed the apartment in the cold light of day (and electricity) there were some huge problems, the biggest of which was the bathroom. Since I work from home making aprons and custom sewn clothing for my clients I couldn't even leave the apartment and pretend that it wasn't so bad, a makeover had to be made ASAP.

The former tenant had apparently never cleaned the floor, when we first looked at the bathroom we thought the trim tiles and the floor tiles were different colors! Not to mention that she had stolen the shower head and painted the bathroom (including the ceiling) a dismal shade of bluey-gray. To top it all off, there is a huge flock of pigeons living in our light-well so opening the window is out of the question and yes, in the before picture, that is pigeon droppings on the window *shudder*. 


Before

Being renters, we can't retile or change any of the fixtures so nearly all of the renovations are superficial but the changes take the bathroom from what one of our friends described as "nursing home creepy" to somewhere that you can go to get clean and actually feel that the room is clean as well! We painted the walls and the ceiling 4 coats of a glossy white and put up a whimsical dandelion wall decal for a bit of character. Took down the misplaced shower caddy over the sink and added another mirror. As a finishing touch I made a curtain for the bathroom window which really helps brighten the bathroom! 



After

Love our dandelion!

The bathroom wa
s one of our first projects and remains one of the more dramatic changes in out apartment. We're pretty proud of it!


Monday, May 9, 2011

Light it up!

When we moved to San Francisco last year one of our lamps got it's shade crushed in the process. In the year since I have looked for a replacement shade online and around town, they are either too blandly boringly white or WAY to expensive for my shoestring budget. So as you might have guessed it has gone shadeless and sat in our closet for the past year. Well, inspired by a post on Apartment Therapy I have gotten up the gumption to make my own lampshade. I bought the washer top and the bottom ring online for less then $8 including shipping. 
The washer top ring for my lampshade

I had some neutral colored fabric in my closet and made a template for a hexagon to create a great pattern on my fabric!
Hexagon template
Pattern in process

I hot glued the finished fabric to the lamp rings and there you go....LAMPSHADE!

My trickiest project ever, accomplished for under $8.  I think that it turned out very well!

Friday, May 6, 2011

Friday clean-up

Today was a clean up day. Deep cleaned the kitchen (even the refrigerator (!) ) and cleaned up my sewing room. While I was cleaning the sewing room I found this amazing fabric that I've had for years but have never found the right project for it. Nothing quite suits the print of the fabric, any suggestions? I have YARDS of it!

Today I would also like to share another upcycling project with you. I have had this dress for about 6 years, I have grown tired of it in it's original form.

 The original dress (Sorry not the greatest picture)

I removed the red tie, red trim along the neck line and red tulle at the bottom. Replaced the red trim with yellow, removed the red tulle and embroidered yellow, pale yellow and white circles on the skirt. I bought a cute yellow skinny belt to finish the whole look off. 

I can't wait to have the opportunity to wear my "new" dress

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Project: Finish the job

Today was a day for finishing projects. Each project was missing certain notions to finish the job so I ran to Britex (which is luckily within walking distance from me!!) to get some supplies and spent the rest of the day sewing. 


1st Project
Finishing a laptop case that I found a great tutorial for over at Crap I've Made
All that I needed was a zipper to complete this laptop case for my Giants fan boyfriend. 
I think he'll like it!


The dog's name is Marvin

2nd Project
I bet you didn't know that even though I make aprons for my clients all the time I have never made an apron for myself! Well, I finally started making an apron for ME this weekend and ran out of red thread when I was nearly done. I had to put off completing it until today but I'm so happy it's finished. I think it looks really cute and I am tickled to have an apron of my very own!


"L" for Laurie

3rd Project
This one, I'm embarrassed to say, has been over a year waiting to be finished. The missing item? Motivation. Terrible I know! I truly dislike putting zippers in but since I'd already done one for the laptop case I figured I could manage a second one. Now I have a summery dress to wear, which is great because it is definitely summertime in California. 



I can't wait for the chance to strut my stuff wear my new frock.







Wednesday, May 4, 2011

A hot day in the city

Friendly readers. I'm taking a break from sewing today, while I wait for my fabric order to arrive! 

Today it was quite hot in San Francisco and according to the weather report it's not cooling off any time soon. If you're anything like me; on a hot day you like a nice cold fruit smoothie, and personally, I like a scoop of granola on top of that. Well today I used the last of my store bought granola, and with no desire to leave the house I made my own!

It's so good, I don't know if I can stop eating it

I thought I'd share my recipe, created by me after reading quite a few recipes that all were far to large portions or had way to much sugar or dried fruit (not my favorite thing) in them for my taste.


Honey Vanilla Granola

2 Cups     Rolled Oats
1/4 Cup   Oat flour 
A dash of cinnamon
4 TBS       Honey
1 TBS       Brown Sugar
2 TBS       Melted butter or vegetable oil
2 TBS       Hot water
1/2 tsp     Vanilla extract
1/4 tsp     Salt

Preheat your oven to 300
To make oat flour, wiz 1/4 cup of rolled oats in your food processor or blender until it looks like a semi fine flour.

In a medium sized bowl stir together the rolled oats, oat flour and a dash of cinnamon and set aside. 

In a small sauce pan, melt the butter (or warm the vegetable oil), add the brown sugar, salt and the wet ingredients stirring until the sugar and salt have dissolved.  Drizzle this mixture into your dry ingredients stirring until completely combined. Pour onto a cookie sheet and firmly pack the mixture together across the sheet (I made mine approximately 1/2" thick), cook in the oven at 300 degrees for 30 minutes. 

After the first 30 minutes break the packed mixture into clusters and stir spreading your granola across the cookie sheet. Bake for approximately 45 more minutes or until the granola is golden brown, stirring every 20 minutes. 



Allow the granola to cool, it will crisp up nicely once it has cooled completely. 

Store in an air tight container. 

Enjoy!



Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Party pennants and a fine fox

All my friends and relatives are having babies! Yesterday I posted about a bag I made for a friend's baby shower. Today I worked on decorations for my cousin's baby shower which my sister and I are planning. (By the way, we might have missed our calling, my sister and I might be great party planners). The theme of the baby shower is "County Fair" with a lemon, lime and orange color palette. We are holding it in a family friend's beautiful backyard, I truly cannot wait to see it all come together. 


Today I made about 50 feet of lively citrus colored pennants. I cut the individual pennants using mainly fat quarters which were on sale at our Joann fabric store when we went shopping for supplies. I got about 6-7 pennants per fat quarter, depending on the "squareness" of each cut of fabric (some were cut a bit too crooked to fit 7). The choice to use pinking sheers was both decorative as well as preventative since they will help prevent the fabric from unraveling during the party. Stitched them on to grosgrain ribbon and voila!  Pennants for days!




I hung them in my living room for the effect. (I now need to have a party here!)


My second project of the day was another animal project. Specifically, my favorite animal a FOX!

For proof of the fox's "favorite status", the much prized "Secret fox" in my alcove. 


I decided to make a pillow with a fox on it for our bed. Started out exactly like the owl did in my prior blog. First I sketched out the pattern.


The orange portions of the fox pattern

Then I cut it out of the orange fabric and stitched it onto a sturdy white fabric, attached that to my pillow and there you have it, a clever little fox for my bedroom. I love him!