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

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.  

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. 

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 wheel, fruit, tablescape, pinwheels

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.

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. 

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