Early recap of KCWC so far

A quick recap of things I've made for M this month:

Then the first two things I made for the Kids Clothes Week Challenge. he wrap dress from Sunday. The pants I made on Monday were cute, but a little too slim for M.

Yesterday I went for a quick-n-easy project: a simple circle skirt. I used Made blog's tutorial but made a covered elastic waist since I didn't have any thick, fancy elastic on hand. I'm really enjoying picking through all the fabric pieces I have already. It's paring the back stock down while giving me a fun challenge to match complimentary patterns up. (If you want to make a circle skirt that fits 2T to 3T, I have a jpg collection in google docs to make the circle cutting easy as pie.)

If I decide to try another pair of pants, I have some super cute, colorfully striped fabric that would be just perfect for these flat front pants.

I think I only post pictures of myself in this plaid dress. It, too, has a circle skirt and is probably why I was determined to make one for M. I love to randomly spin around the house and watch it flare out. Other times I hoist it up like Melissa Gilbert/Laura Ingalls does at the beginning of Little House on the Prairie as she's walking through the fields.

Just for the record, M likes to spin around and see her skirt flare up, too.

Sew Intense

I flickr-posted pictures of my dress in process last night and this morning I found a comment from Emira:

So you're telling me that eventually there will be time and space in my life to sew again?

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! And you don't have to sell your soul to do it! But you do have to brush up on your negotiating skills and hone your selective hearing skills.


Between me and C, our negotiations went something like , "I'd like to take my motorcycle over to Tom's to switch out the bearings. Would that be okay?" "Yes. And I'd like to work on this new dress pattern I just got, but I need uninterrupted time to do it. Would that be okay?" These negotiations work better if you have a gleam in your eye that says, "I really need to do something for myself, please let me do this, please!"

Sometimes stinky diapers help with negotiations, they add a little leverage. The hardest part is if I'm sewing/drawing/having me time and I hear M crying in the other room. The urge to go find out what's going on is very strong, but I have to tell myself I need and deserve me time and I have to let Charlie stay in charge. {And also don't run into the other room every time you hear something that sounds cute and/or exciting.}

The details: Colette Pattern # 1004 {Eclair}; Alexander Henry Fulham Road Bluebells for the outer shell and an old calico sheet for the lining {not seen}; Hancock Fabrics Madras Plaid for the contrasting sash. The dress has gatherings, hidden pockets, a lining, and a hidden zipper, so it threw me right back into the ring of challenging sewing, but it's fun to watch it all come together. I'm not sure why I thought a dress with so much gathering at the hips was a good idea, though. . . hmmm.

{PS I put a few ready made etsy shop banners up in the ol' etsy store yesterday. Check 'em out, they're cheap!}

white out and winter dreams

several hours after I ordered the boots, I received notification they were already sold out. so no boots for me. but I had my heart set on a new pair of winter shoes (a little variation in the day to day never hurts, right?) so I went on over to the Lebo's site. Are Lebo's just a regional retailer or are they all over? That's where I got my last pair, so I figured it couldn't hurt, right? Guess what? Same boots, lower price! $124.90! Ding ding ding! We have a winner!

I loved all the vegetarian comments. . .I was vegan for 10+ years and lapsed when the now-mister and I got serious. Not because he asked me to, but because another person makes life a little more complicated, and I had to give up something to maintain balanced complexities. It wasn't so easy a process to describe then, but in hindsight I think that's what happened. For the past 2 summers I've been wearing my red rubber garden clogs (Sloggers) and have quite literally worn them out. The time is quickly approaching for them to find their second life in another form, and so far the only life I see ahead of them is in the landfill. I hate the thought of that.

Perhaps all this guilt of disposable living is what has given me such an attraction to natural , renewable resources in the home? Well, the branch pillar candle holder isn't renewable (it's resin) but it reflects the desire and trend I'm leaning towards. But the likelihood of me ever having a white/neutral based home is nonexistent with 2 cats, 2 dogs, and a man with an unquenchable adventurous spirit! Combine that with my magnetic ability to cover myself in wet paint and we have quite the non-neutral home!

I can still dream, though, right? Of a seaside cottage in the early winter with snow falling all around, cuddled up with my honey in a white cotton quilt, and a furry little dog on my lap?

All in one easy to swallow caplet

There is no hiding the glory of good design. And a good design deal?? Waaaaay better. In fact, it just might be a daily dose of something you've been missing: Vitamin D.

Let Jaime of Design-Milk give you the antidote to the malnourished world of good design.
Remember those Legna tea light holders I mentioned? They've got 'em!


A design mantra to live by? They give you the option to wear it proud!
And, of course, my favorite: me! They've got me, not only by the heartstrings, but if you were wondering about the Tillandsia poster I showed a couple days ago, you can only get it through proper Vitamin D absorption.

In a fit of purging last month, I put the old coffee table out by the street with a "free" sign on it. It was rescued by a woman in her 20s or so. I saw her get out of a car and sit on it until a more suitably sized vehicle came back to get her and the table.I replaced it with a West Elm bench with black webbing straps for the seat, suitable but not quite rigid enough for beverages to rest safely. (See image above, bottom left square: oak and black bench.)
The search for a "new" coffee table was semi-frustrating and involved hitting all the chain furniture stores, which were plentiful here in the furniture state. Nothing popped out as worth $300 + dollars. I searched Craigslist and eBay until I finally found this antique walnut table:It suits my tastes quite well, but I'm still kicking myself for passing up the danish modern coffee table at the local thrift store that was $50 more than I had at the time; the table was really a bargain at $50.
Today I went to Velocity Art and Design to check out these super cute melamine plates (not to buy, just to ogle)and stumbled upon my knight in shining armor. It is, I'm sure, too rich for my blood, but I love it so much I'm going to write I [heart'] Scrapile on my hand and never wash it. Thank goodness the link to it is acting up!

Milk, it does a blogger good

Design-Milk is so close to opening Vitamin D(esign) and I can't wait!

I saw a sneak peek of the site last night and it's gorgeous.I won't ruin the surprise, but I will tell you the site itself
is as beautifully designed as the goods it offers!

Design-Milk also featured these irresistible votive candle holders by jef designs. Jef also makes incredible minimalist pendant lights and fixtures that happen to be a little more expensive than "impulse buy" allows, but these votives run from $15 to $60. Not too shabby!

So many things going on, none of them developed or exciting enough to blog about, well, at least not in my life!
Here are some things that keep me in awe, mouth breathing and drooling all over my keyboard: Everything and anything by Something's Hiding in Here. The coverage of Renegade has quite a few bloggers posting images of their work, and I can't wait to see more on their blog or perhaps an online shop for those of us that didn't make it to see them in person?!? (wishbones to left; I want a pile of them, displayed just like that!)

Green Wellies has the most inspiring garden, the cutest dog and the most serene blog. To add to all the goodness, she also has comfrey to make plant tea out of. I can't find comfrey around here to save my life, but I sure love the thought of one day being able to follow these instructions!

These Ships with Lace pillow cases from Little by Jenny. That blue gets me every time.

And Chocolate Zucchini Cake. Okay, so it's probably not new to you, but it is to me. And it is good. Good as a cupcake, good as a cake. Top it with dark chocolate cream cheese frosting and it is heaven. Deep, rich, elegant heaven. (Okay, so it's not the prettiest cake in the world, but if you could taste it, you would know. Plus the zucchini came straight from the neighbor's garden!)

Living Room seeks quiet, modern vibe

The living room is slowly becoming more livable. Very SLOWLY! So here are 2 shots, and a little background info:
"C" shaped bent-ply table: $12 on Clearance from Target. Reed covered lamp, Thomas O'Brien for Target, purchased from Clearance liquidator Old Time Pottery for $8.00, added a different shade. Bent-ply chairs (2 of them, one is on the other side of the table) $30 each, Crate and Barrel Outlet several years back. Tall end table, eBay, bought 2 for $40. Big ol' honking lampshade tops one of a pair of floor lamps made by Adesso, but purchased used on eBay for $45 (for both!). Couch is currently under a slip cover, but is a Freecyclegoodie. Coffee table is a woven webbing bench from West Elm, I believe it was $19, but it may have been $29. The basket on the Flokati Rug ($99 on sale plus a student discount 5 years ago at Pier 1) is also from Old Time Pottery, was $3.99, and serves as a magazine rack.

The opposite corner of the room:
Shelves for records: Christmas gift from my parents my freshmen year of college (12 years ago??!??). skateboard deck table: $20 for turned wood legs and hardware from Home Depot, the top is a free brick sample from work and I painted it all up real pretty.
Chair, $5 at attic sale plus $20 in Waverly fabric. Pillows were $6 for both from Hong Kong here in Charlotte. Suitcase was $2 and holds videos and DVDs. Lamp was $40 on clearance from The Paper Skyscraper, updated with the original shade from the new Thomas O'Brien lamp. New TV and bookshelves as described several days ago (won't bore you with the details).

That's a lot of info, maybe too much, but do you think I'm getting a little closer to the calm and modern vibe I so badly want? What do you like, what would you change?

New TV??

I don't know how it happened exactly. Last night the mister and I went to the local big box hardware store for a piece of glass and some shelving brackets.
(Let me give you a tip at this point. . .The glass was for a custom frame I ordered. If I had gotten the glass with the frame, both of which were included in a 60% off custom framing sale, the glass would have been $20.00. The glass at the hardware store was $10.00.)
While there, said mister decided it was the day to buy a new TV.
We don't watch TV so much, Grey's Anatomy and Boston Legal are the 2 scheduled weekly events, though we're not devout enough to watch Grey's Anatomy through rerun season, see small rant for several reasons why.
The impulse for the big purchase came at 8:30 PM; Boston Legal comes on at 10 PM.
We bought the items for my small projects, sped down the street to another big box to see what they had to offer in terms of moving up a notch from our 1970s console TV set, which was obviously everything they had to offer.
We found the set, an HDTV ready tube with flat screen and really nicely saturated color. On sale for $550.00 and an out of the box version that had an enticing $150 gift card with purchase. That was our deal, and boy was it pretty. (It still is, don't worry, this isn't a tragedy.)
Then we realized we didn't have anything to put it on, except for aforementioned console set, which wouldn't do justice to our high dollar purchase. Yes, that's cheap for a TV, but a whole lot of money to spend in one place, seeing as how my car blue book value is less than $500.00. Enter Big Box 3, where we looked at all sorts of furniture, keeping several ideas in mind: 1) particle board was out, we wanted something solid enough to not end up in the landfill in 2 years, 2) it needed to function beyond TV stand, so when/if we found a TV stand to fit our style we could use this item elsewhere in the house (i.e. not waste money just for a temporary fix).
It was 9:30 at that point and we still wanted to make it home in time for Boston Legal. (Laugh all you want to, friend, but I need my weekly dose of tongue-in-cheek-liberalese, I can't get it elsewhere around ol' North Carolina.)
We found some bookshelves that seemed sturdy enough, matched C's office furniture perfectly and the box said "ash wood frame, melamine" as the materials. This was our solution! $60!! Woo hoo! We check out and arrive home at 9:57 with enough time to turn on and tune out, only to find out Boston Legal wasn't on last night. So we watched PBS in high def.

Now the shelves are all put together, I am not in the purchasing position for anything since I cut my hours back so much, but I'm dreaming of the perfect blend of a modern and mid-century modern TV stand. Does anyone even make such a thing that isn't MDF and doesn't cost a fortune?

(Credit where credit is due-from top to bottom: Shelving from Target, we got the 2 shelfer, notice the box said wood and melamine, the website says MDF and melamine. The website is correct, although there are a few pieces to the shelves that are actual wood. grrr. TV is from Best Buy, where we got ours. All entertainment units images are from Overstock.com but are actually all made by/for Lazy Boy

pay close attention, we've got a lot to cover here

Holly made a list of affordable etsy prints over on the Domino site. Then Joy pointed out the Botanical Prints also listed on Domino.
With my current interest in drawing flora, this link was a perfect reference point for me. My 2 favorites were Alison Foshee's (left) and Simone Shubuck's (center) drawings. That's mine on the far right, a drawing in gold paint called "Sticks and Stones." Can you see why that link was so exciting to find??


Then, somehow, oh wait, I remember: I googled Simone Shubuck and ended up on Playful Eye. A fun blog with a whole lotta great art. That blog led me to Keep Co., an awesome women owned shop with a conscience for fair manufacturing and animal kindness. Ethics in the business world. Hmmm, novel idea. The hugging tee and the Tobin shoes are my absolute favorites! (Well, maybe tied for faves with just about everything else they offer.)

Dainty Spring Days

I have added a new drawing of flowers to the shop. They're all deemed to have "inferior ovaries." Sort of funny to me, because it translates so differently on a human level.

Terramia. . .such a lush and beautiful blog. Have you been there? I first found it today, a quiet Spring Sunday, and the mood of the blog fit perfectly with the weather and mood around our home.


Other things to match the mood?

A doily inspired bike basket (just under $40) from cb2 makes me want to paint my bike grass green and go to the market. (Not that we have a "market" beyond a super market, but this girl can dream, can't she?)

Life in the 21st Matryoshka Doll Pillow, $28.00, from Urban Outfitters.

Natalie's (Neblo Peklo) new work. Such wonderful lines!!!

I saw this bag in Target this past December or January and uploaded the pic to my flickr as a reminder of how much I loved it. I thought about it for a week, went back, and they didn't have any more. It was $17, so that made a whole lot of sense.
Three months later I was still thinking about the bag, trying to tell myself I didn't need it. Charlie and I saw it at another Target and he said I'd been talking about it so long he wanted to buy it for me! I've had it for a month or so now, it's a little dirty from a happy-to-see-me puppy, but it's perfect for my somewhat transient lifestyle right now.

Here it is with me at work. Inside you can see today's lunch, a commissioned design I'm working on (and actually the cause of yesterday's rant), but you can't see yesterday's mail, and the website notes I have for my soon-to-officially-launch store, and an assortment of accumulated stuff that I need to sort and toss.

Since then, I've seen it on flickr and various blogs, and also read a lot of comments about how others can't find it. Here is a link to search for a store near you. They have another print in the same bag that is really cute, too, with a chair caning pattern . Oooo la la!

For the love of color. . .

Hmmm. . .this red, white and turquoise fetish might be going just a little too far. I bought some slip on Vans in that color scheme and they sent 2 sizes smaller since they were out of my size (errr, ummmm, guys? What sort of rationale were you using?) I can't find them anywhere else, either. Now I'm on a mission. But here's a little color for your weekend!

PS: That anchor skirt rocks my world. Yummmmmm. That and so many other goodies found at Made with love by Hannah.

PPS: Anyone bought anything from Modishoppe yet? 'Cause I might take it personally if you don't take me up on my offer!

I'm so excited! Someone else in blogland is playing Memory Match, too. Check out Designer's Library West Elm comparisons for some heavily influenced West Elm Pieces! What an inspirational design blog. . .go . . check. . .it. . . out. . .

Remember when I couldn't remember where I'd read about someone using an Urban Outfitters' bedspread to recover a chair? Here it is.

And one more little game of matching, these stools/side tables:



Happy birthday to my dad! The man who instilled in me the value of design and signs my paycheck turned 64 today. What do you get for the man who has everything?
And just in case he's reading: Happy birthday, Pops! And if you want to pass any hints on about what I should get you, I'll take 'em!

Your requisite Flare sans suspenders

Since I'm on a tear these days about starting a small, crafty business, thought I'd send out a heads up about Fred Flare's Next Big Thing contest. Submissions are due April 20, 2007.

The Charlotte Craft Mafia will be on hand tonight at gallery crawl. I'm stopping by to introduce myself, you should do the same (that is, if you're in the area)!

Yesterday I received word that I made it into the Atlantic Center for the Arts' Stretched Threads show. They were a couple days late sending word out, so I'd already braced myself for a rejection letter I was sure was fated my way. Luck of all luck, I'm in and so is the lovely Lisa!

What a week of extremes, utter sadness, absolute excitement. Yesterday I received several pieces of postal love, one from Emira, one from Christian, and the gorgeous prints from Ashley White Jacobsen. Thank you for all the loveliness, what a spirit lifter, they couldn't have come at a better time. (Pictures later!)

I was on the etsy front page, got word of the show. . . and several other things! Once again, my lips stay zipped until things are certain! But if you aren't tired of crossing your fingers for me, could you cross them again? And if your fingers are tired, maybe you could do a little good vibes coming my way dance?

PS: Boydie and the Bag are just 2 of the items I'm drooling over on the Carlos Auction. You don't even have to pay extra for the drool residue I'm leaving on them!

Love to love you, baby

In an effort not to bore everyone to tears, I won't tell you about the bags I'm still working on. . . or make you look at a half-finished website.

Here, however, are some gorgeous prints (the Whale Angels are guache) that are astonishingly affordable!

In the meantime, I'm going to sit here and drink coffee, daydreaming of a clean house and time for myself to make art!

Butterflies from Option-G; Smitten Bunny from Little Paper Planes; Whale Angels from The Blue House; all prints well under $100!

* * * {an aside}* * *

I had a trade a while back, and received a beautiful tea cup from someone I vaguely remembered calling themselves "Little Paper Piglet." In an effort to catch up with their blog I found Paper Piglet (no "little" involved) who linked to Sheepdog Print and Design Blog. I, for one, am not going to doubt the knowledge or expertise of any blogger who uses puppy inspiration in their blog title. And lo and behold: it is a blog all about independent designers (women, nonetheless!) running their own business. Chock full of info and the cutest little freebies to print and take!

Swedish Meatball Eating Race Fans?

Well if that don't beat all!
Good ol' Charlotte, NC just got a Crate and Barrel right before the holidays. The building is a modern, free-standing, very architecturally attractive building. It is also a welcome point to SouthPark mall, Charlotte's high end shopping district, where Macy's, Nordstroms, Belk, Dillards, Neiman Marcus, St Johns, Anthropologie, Tiffany's, and others reside.
Just as I acclimate to the dramatic incline for shopping choices, I hear we're getting an Ikea up in what's called the University area. That particular area is right outside of Concord, where you'll find Concord Mills Mall and Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Ruint by daydreams

Sunday it was in the 70s here, and today it is 35. The weather is on the crack rock. "They" are calling for sleet tonight, maybe a bit of snow. I'm okay with that. I'm okay with experiencing winter. I relish the thought of sleeping in tomorrow with my love and painting the day away.

Oh daydreams.

I'm still daydreaming all too heavily about wallpaper. Thinking about what to do in the bedroom, how to add intimacy and interest to the various nooks in our house, and general patterns.

These images are mostly from Walnut Wallpaper's incredible, drool-worthy site. Numbers 2 and 4 are from Rose and Radish. Number 12 is not, however, it is one of my workday doodles.

I also think this idea from Pink Loves Brown is a great way for the non-decorator in me to figure out how to keep the house cohesive, since I tend to go overboard with my likes!

She Sells Sea Shells

Not only are Barnacles so very enticing these days, but there are some gorgeous, sea-inspired creations to behold, including Marcel Wander's Sea Sponge Vase (via Silk Felt Soil), urchins screenprinted onto tweed (as found linked on The Glass Doorknob), Debby Jewesson's One Big Shell wool felt pillow at The Succulent Wife, and the delicately gorgeous Roost Glass Coral at Velocity (which is sooooo affordable). When it comes down to it, I think it's the lines that pull me in, the organic complexity and how each piece appreciates the simple beauty of the line. "Drawerly," the drawing equivalent of "painterly," seems to be word of the month and maybe even the year!