Some of the goodies that I found at the Vegas show last week have already started to arrive.
Just adorable and the prices are so good I had to double check that I hadn't mispriced them.
Twice!
But as cute as they are on our mannequins there is just something about them on a living doll.
Sophia was such a good sport as her mommy, Barbara and I played dress up with her.
And to think I get paid to do this...
Encourage one another,
Bill and I flew into Vegas Tuesday morning to attend a textile show.
It's a small show that's seen better days, but some of us believe in her and are doing our best to revive her.
Fortunately some very cool companies believe in the old gal too.
I come to support my friends who rep for some amazing fabric companies and because I always find something unexpected. I come to find that unusual something that makes the whole trip worthwhile.
And you know what? I'm never disappointed!
Bill and I celebrated a day of great shopping with a lovely dinner at Bouchon in the Venetian Hotel. The hostess greeted us with a smile and wished me a happy birthday. (It was not my birthday - this caper clearly had Bill's name written all over it).
Our waiter Adolpho had a rather heavy accent and as he recited the evening appetizer specials he suggested the port cheese as a nice complement to our wine. Since I've been eating mostly vegetarian lately I told him the special sounded perfect.
As we waited for our cheese to arrive I noticed the black board behind us with "pork cheeks" listed as an appetizer.
I told Bill that I thought it strange that our waiter hadn't told us about this particular appetizer.
Then Aldopho returned with this
Not port cheese but pork cheeks!
They were surprisingly delicious.
After dinner Adolpho asked us if we'd like dessert. When I declined he asked if I were to want dessert, would I want chocolate or caramel?
Apparently if you tell them you're celebrating a special occasion, dessert is on the house.
Tonight as we made reservations at Tao the woman asked us if we were celebrating a special occasion.
I took one look and Bill and emphatically replied, NO!
Encourage one another,
There's a rumour going around that we're adding an Almond Milk/Glowing Green Smoothie bar here at Strawberry Patches.
I have no idea where people come up with this stuff!
It's true, we did have new cabinets built by my uber talented friend Dennis Parks, but we won't be serving shots.
What we will be serving up is the most luscious wool chocolate dipped strawberries
and dyed eggs...
all made from yummy wool felt.
Ladies and gentlemen I give you our new wool bar...
We now carry wool felt in a rainbow of of delicious flavors.
When I described the cabinets I wanted to Dennis, I told him to foof them up.
I just love that man, he understands foof.
Aren't these absolutely gorgeous? I wanted a low counter top that wouldn't block the view of the color wall.
Each side holds forty bolts of fabric.
That's a whole Moda collection of fabric people...
...on each side!
Annette says it's time to go shopping. We have new empty shelves to fill.
Cheers!
Encourage one another,
One of the nice things about owning your own store is that you can order pretty much whatever you want. If you're really lucky someone else may want it too so you won't be stuck with a dozen or so of the same thing.
I found these adorable flowers from Bethany Lowe last month at the LA Gift show. Aren't the boxes fun? All vintagey and charming.
The flowers come in three different colors but what I really love about them is
the soft green velvet leaves!
I use a lot of velvet leaves in my crafting but unfortunately can't always find them when I need them. My stash was getting disturbing low as I'd hunt and dig through my big plastic bin of defoliated flowers. So you can imagine how happy I am now knowing there are twenty four precious velvet leaves in each box. I'm happy to share but will be just as happy to have them all to myself if no one else shares my passion.
I adore Bethany's hydrangea nosegays too. They are such exceptional quality - something that is hard to find anymore. I'd say they are the next best thing to true vintage.
Isn't this twine holder cool? It's really heavy and rotates so it stays put as you pull off just the right amount of twine and guess what? Those funky scissors really cut! Imagine that!
We go through a heck of a lot of twine at our weekend home when the kids come to visit since it makes THE. BEST. crab catching line. A few feet of twine with a bamboo pole at one end, a piece of bacon on the other, a whole lot of patience and you are almost assured of catching yourself a crab! The crabs grab onto the bacon and start munching away as the fishermen slowly starts pulling the pole up, up, up and over oh. so. slowly. to a big bucket of water. Caught one! is shouted as everyone comes running to see the catch. There is usually some screaming and hopping about since the thought of getting pinched is aways present. This is the Deadliest Catch - Ventura style! If the crab is smart he lets go and falls back safely into the water. But about half let greed get the best of them and they are ours for a while.
The kids collect them in buckets until they're ready to be returned to the ocean. We all are entertained for hours and the crabs get a yummy bacon morsel for just a few hours of inconvenience. It's a win - win for everyone.
These flour sack towels are by Mary Lake-Thompson. I "needed" them to go with our country french fabric
and Mary's new salad plates.
They come in a pretty round decorative box so if you know a chicken collector (and there are lots of you out there) these would make a great gift. If you really want to impress her with your styling talents you could make napkins or a table runner to match.
These bangle bracelets are from Chelsea Blue and come in several sizes and calico fabric like patterns. Very British!
Speaking of royalty, I'm totally into anything with crowns. You know, fabric, jewelry, trinkets and these
fun plant or candle holders with an old industrial vibe. I know my violet feels like a princess in her regal new home.
Well that's it for now. I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. I'm off to the health food store for probiotics and fix'ns for making almond milk. Can you believe it? This green smoothie drinking has taken me to a whole new healthy eating place and I'm loving the adventure!
Encourage one another,
Bill and I played hookie Friday and ran away to Ventura. I spent two of the last three days in my jammies. I think it was just what I needed.
Friday Kara kept texting me...sold a serger...sold a machine...just unpacked a pallet of gifts and some cute owl flannel. Nothing makes a momma happier than getting a day away and knowing her kids can take care of business!
Today I got dressed and headed south. No football for me. I was hitting the mall and I scored a couple of fun new things. Let me just say It was really great to see the stores sporting so many bright colors. They say bright colors are a predictor of stronger economic times ahead. If sewing machine sales and color are any indication I'd say things are definitely looking up!
I did a bit of valentine making while I was lounging about - I'll show you those on Tuesday.
Now it's off to bed. I have another busy week ahead and can't wait to get home so I can show you what's new!
Encourage one another,
I swear sometimes my projects seem to take on a life of their own. I start out with one idea in mind and before I know it, I've taken a sharp turn and ended up somewhere totally unexpected. So was the case with this little project. I thought I'd make stuffed hearts using some really cool ribbon that I'd saved and somewhere along the way got an idea for fabric tags instead.
I love tags. You know those paper ones with the brown reinforcements and string ties that you get in the stationary stores? Love those. So I thought it would be fun to make some out of fabric but make them big enough that they could double as little Valentine cards. Just something that a friend could hang in her sewing room or over her desk. A lasting momento of friendship.
I must say here that this is a pretty lame tutorial. Just really a bunch of photos for hopefully some inspiration. What you decorate your tags with will totally depend on what's in your stash boxes, bags and bins.
Here's what I did:
I started with Peltex Double Sided Fusible Stabilizer and ironed fabric to each side. Peltex was the perfect choice for this project because it's thick and firm enough to support my embellishments. You can even sew through it if you want. It was the first time I'd ever worked with Peltex and loved how easy it was.
I traced my tag shapes onto the fused fabric and cut them out.
Because some of the fabric I used was a loose weave I thought I would seal the edges so they wouldn't ravel so I painted on Mod Podge Matt around the cut edges.
Then I just rubber stamped a message or design on the front of my little tags and decorated them with some flowers and odds and ends I had laying around. I mostly just hot glued everything down. Each tag took just a few minutes to make although deciding what to do took awhile, but that's the part I love the most - getting out all my treasures, sifting through boxes of buttons and ribbon, trying to find that perfect thing.
I've had these little decorative drawer pulls forever and never knew what to do with them. What I thought I wanted was a big eyelet but didn't have any so the drawer pulls seemed perfect.
I just poked a little hole through the Peltex and screwed the knob onto the tag.
Here's one with an eyelet after a quick trip to Michaels. Bill helped me drill a hole through the Peltex big enough for the large eyelet.
I antiqued the edges by blotting the edges with a rubber stamp ink pad.
If you'd like to make your own you can go here for the tag pattern.
Encourage one another,
What are you making for your valentine this year? Pillowcases, PJ's, zippered pouches, sachets, pincushions? Inquiring minds want to know!
I love surprising people with a little something I've made at Valentine's Day. It's so unexpected. A perfect way to say I'm thinking about you without knocking yourself out (I'm all about that).
Anyway, we have a great selection of red and white and Valentine's Day themed fabrics - some of the best we've had in years!
Hopefully I'll be sewing up some valentines this weekend. I'm excited. I see a creative mess in my future! WhooHoo. It's been way too long!
Encourage one another,
UPS did a major box dump on us today.
Forty four bolts of Moda's Half Moon Modern along with Charm Squares and Jelly Rolls.
Contemporary basics in a striking spectrum of stylish new colors. Big, bold and graphic polkas dots and zig zags alongside whimsical scissors, butterfly and botanical silhouettes.
I've said it a million times - We love Moda!
Look what they've gone and done now.
Free tutorials with handy PDF printable instructions for your sewing room all using Half Moon Modern.
So trendy and modern for a chic designer look.
Thank you Moda.
We love you!
Encourage one another,
A few weeks ago I had the honor of photographing Amanda's baby and one of the headbands we used for her shoot was this curly ribbon bow.
It reminded me that I used to make these all of the time and even taught classes on them. You know, back in the olden days.
So I thought I'd show you how.
Curly Ribbon Bows are unbelievably simple to make and almost fool proof.
Here's what you'll need:
1/4" grosgrain or satin ribbon. I just buy the inexpensive kind by the roll at the craft store. You can mix and match and these are a great way to use up left over ribbon too.
1/4" wooden dowels. I got these at Michael's, ten to the package and precut in twelve inch lengths. You can also purchase the longer dowels from the lumber store and cut them in lengths that fit into your oven. (Yup, you'll be bak'n these puppies).
Hair barretts. These are 2 1/2" long
and I've taken them apart to make attaching the ribbon easier. Just be sure to pay attention how they came apart so you'll know how to put them back together. (Ask me how I know that this is important).
26 gauge wire, also available from the craft store. I use wire to "sew" the ribbon to the barrett since it's strong and easy to use. You will need about 20" of wire for each barrett.
You'll also need binder clips or clothes pins to secure the ribbon to the dowels.
Here's how I make them:
Secure the ribbon to one end of the dowel using a binder clip or clothes pin and wrap the ribbon side by side - not over lapping - until you get to the other end of the dowel. Cut the ribbon from the roll and secure. It takes about nine twelve inch dowels worth of ribbon for one bow.
Place wrapped dowels on cookie sheet and bake in preheated oven at 325 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let them cool completely. The ribbon curls from the heat. There is nothing applied to the ribbon other than heat to make them hold the curl. Think of the dowels as mini curling irons.
Remove the clips and carefully remove the cooled ribbon from the dowels.
Trim the funky ends by cutting the ribbon at angles
then cut into four inch lengths at angles.
Begin by sewing the 20" piece of 26 gauge wire through the two holes at the latch end of the barrett.
Be sure to keep the wire away from the closure part of the barrett and end with the wire on top of the barrett.
Working from the top side of the barrett on the end that you have connected the wire, bundle three 4" pieces of ribbon by stacking them on top of one another and attaching them to the barrett by wrapping them with the wire at the center of each bundle.
Wrap the bundle to the barrett and then wrap again, wrap another bundle to the barrett, then wrap again. One wrap attaches the ribbons to the barrett and one wrap just secures the previous bundle. Pull the wire tight after each wrap.
It takes about nine bundles of three stacked ribbons to cover the top of the barrett.
When you reach the other end of the barrett sew the wire into the hole at the end. Knot to secure and cut away excess wire.
Even out the ribbons (you can slide the wire a bit at this point). Notice all of the ribbon is on the top of the barrett.
With a hot glue gun, glue a small piece of ribbon to cover the wire on the under side so it looks all neat and tidy.
Replace the hinge and tension clip.
The bows can be attached to headbands or clipped directly into the hair - if she's lucky enough to have any.
Encourage one another,
Here's another idea.
The same technique but with with strips of tulle mixed in with the curly ribbon.
It looks like a marshmallow cloud doesn't it?
When I shared the arrival of Russian millenary lace with you a week or so ago I wondered how many of you also had been looking for it. Seems lots of you must have since so many of you came in and called for some.
Today I bring you FOE.
(Fold Over Elastic).
In twenty five colors!
Lots of you have been asking me for FOE and I'm excited to offer such a nice, reasonably priced, selection.
Our little local bakery/gift shop sells nine inches of the stuff for $1.50. It's simply a piece of colored elastic tied in a knot for holding ponytails. A longer piece can be used as a colorful headband. Fold over elastic is the perfect hair accessory for babies through adults since it can be adorned or left plain, not to mention its original purpose of binding edges of necklines in lingerie, tee shirts, and baby clothes. FOE can be used instead of ribbing to give your clothes that ready-to-wear look.
Fe, Fi, FOE fum
Better come and get ya some!
I'll go now...
Encourage one another,
