New sun surf halter top

I've just got to give myself some snaps for the sun surf halter top I just finished. I love it! The print is quintessential summer with its bright lime and turquoise colors. So comfortable too! I'm no pro, but I do love to sew. This is the second item I've made with a pattern. One thing I'm learning is that a pattern is not the end result in all cases. I'm learning to modify patterns because, let's face it, no body is the same as the next. For this top, I followed the pattern for my size precisely but realized after I sewed it up that it was a bit roomy, making me feel like I was in my 2nd trimester. At nearly 45, the shop is closed for business and the last thing I want to hear is, "when are you do?". So I turned it inside out again and took in some more on each side. The keyhole reveals some cleavage. I am so NOT a woman who covers her girls up. Women are soft and sensual and we should never have to hide ourselves.

I'm going to pair this top with some white pants and some turquoise jewelry. Yeah, I think this top will look great with a tan in California.

Halter top

I am so exited to get started on my Amy Butler pattern for the Sun and Surf Halter Top! Check out the amazing colors of the fabric. Turquoise and lime green! I'm going to make mine a little shorter in length. We've got our California honeymoon coming up and I wanted something special to make and bring along. If I like how this turns out, I'll make a second. And if I fall in love with this pattern, I might just consider making a few more for sale :)

A chair made for a king....

As I suspected, my Helen Chair is quickly becoming my favorite masterpiece to date. I'm having so much fun with this. This weekend, we took the chair down to my friend David's workshop. He cut out a crown from a template I had made and cut a channel at the top of the chair to place it in. The chair is fit for a king....and it is :) This is going to be Breen's chair at our Dining Room table. I had the brilliant flash over the weekend that each person in our house will have their own hand painted chair for the table. Kendall's will have a sport theme and Max's will have a train theme. I'm not sure about mine yet but when they are all done, it's going to be a fantastic sight and loving tribute to this family that I love so much.

Chair progress and a sneak preview....

I'm continuing on with The Helen Chair. Usually when I paint furniture, I have a very "tight" technique with patterns and colors. Today, I played with adding oil pastels directly to the wood. I'm blending colors and letting things flow freely. This is very new for me but I really like it. I can't wait to see what becomes of Helen.



Here's a sneak preview of a new apron using the jean material. I'm falling madly in love with this one. Check out the mod purple paisley waistband and green gingham ruffle. The best part: a vintage vibrant magenta metal flower pin with sparkling rhinestones that can be removed and placed wherever you want it. I'm practically crying at the thought of selling this flower pin but I can't imagine this apron without it!

Helen

This is my challenge chair. The thorn in my side. The bump in the road. Yet, I can not seem to bring myself to remove it from my work area and store it away. I have this feeling that when it is finally completed, it will be my favorite piece of hand painted furniture to date. I call it "Helen". It's going to have Helen Keller quotes all over it. The seat will eventually be covered in hand painted canvas. I've been working at this chair over and over again. I put down some color and inevitably come back with primer and start all over again. But yesterday while I was driving, I had this vision of random dots and meandering Helen quotes. I had this vision of a free flowing look like one of my journal pages. I put on the dots this morning. This is new for me. This is exciting.

Uncle Earl's apron

I call this "uncle Earl's apron" because of its questionable roots. If you could have seen the pair of jeans this was made from, you would understand. A sorry pair if I ever did see one. Something that looked and felt like something Uncle Earl would have worn to his wedding to his first cousin in West Virginia. But let me report that those jeans turned out to be one of my favorite aprons to date! I made the ruffled bottom out of some remaining vintage sugar sack scraps and the flower trim from some leftover fabric from a different apron. I'm happy when I can utilize all the scraps in my big fabric box. I paired my half apron with some old cowboy boots. So flirty and girlie!

Viv asked me when I learned how to sew. Truth of the matter is that I'm self-taught. I inherited 3 sewing machines when my paternal grandmother died. I've always been able to do VERY BASIC machine sewing (hems and straight lines) but always wanted to do more. In January of this year, I was running (literally) past a cloth store every morning at 6am. Funky aprons caught my eye in the window. One morning I had to stop and noticed a flyer for an apron making class. I took one 2 hour class and the rest is history. I'm going to keep improving my skills when I can. There are so many new projects waiting for me. Here's the funny thing though: I actually like the imperfections that sometimes pop up. Everyone is always striving for perfect but for me, perfect can be bought in mass production. Handmade is one-of-a-kind and charming....just like me and my happy little creations :)

Free yourself up

I've been inspired lately by some of the things people are doing with "Wreck This Journal". So yesterday, I decided to let go of trying to make the perfect journal page and just have some fun. I used my hands for painting and I spilled my morning coffee all over the page. It was different for me, but fun.