Thistle Leaf

Our poor bed suffered from needing a serious makeover. The quilt that was on there I made a few years back and it had been patched up so many times; it was finally ready for retirement. Right now I just don't have the energy to make another quilt so I just opted for the easy way out, a duvet cover.

The design is a giant pinwheel pattern, and for one of the contrasting fabrics I used Denise Schmidt's latest fabric, thistle leaf. I got the idea from one of my favorite craft books, Last-Minute Patchwork, a book I go back to often for inspiration.

Sunday love

I look forward to Sunday every week. Since most Saturday's I'm working, Sunday is my weekend. 

This morning we enjoyed these very fluffy flapjacks, and later we will finally see this movie (um...it just barely made it to our theater).

If only....

this coat came in my size, and I could afford it.

This makes me want to try my hand at coat making. I found this pattern awhile back and keep coming back to it. This one would be cute in a light weight wool.

Anyone have any tips on coat making?

Seeing Dots

1940's belted dress

Suede oxfords

1960's empire waist dress

Oxblood boots

1960's blouse,  sweater vest

1940's cigarette pants 

 

Leather loafers

1910 tiered gown  

Palest pink pumps

Waterslide Decal Tutorial

For Christmas this year we decided to give everyone custom made mugs. The inspiration for the monograms came from here, and the bird is a print I made, scanned then photo shopped. We are so happy with the way they turned out and hope everyone uses/loves them.

Also, one more thing, these mugs are NOT dishwasher safe. So keep this in mind when making them, trust me we tried and the decal melted right off.

Now for the tutorial...enjoy!

Supplies you will need for this project:

-Shallow dish of some sorts for warm water
-Soft sponges (fixative came with these)
-Inkjet water decals and Fixative
-Sharp scissors
-Printer
-Mugs

Step One:
Print off decals on waterslide paper, and let ink dry for 30 minuets.  I got the monogram fonts from here.

Step Two:
Use fixative to "set" ink on water slide paper. The fixative smells very strong so make sure you are in a well ventilated area. Pour fixative on image in puddle, then very, very gently spread fixative around until the image is completely covered (try not to use any pressure when spreading the fixative). Pick up paper and check in light to make sure the image is thoroughly covered. You do want a fairly thick coat of fixative so don't be shy. Once all of your images have fixative on them, let it dry for 8 hrs., yes I know this is a long time so it does take some planning.

Step Three:
After the decals dry for 8 hrs. use sharp scissors to cut close to the image.

Step Four:

Immerse decal in warm water, making sure it is completely submerged.  Let it sit in water until the decal starts to separate from the paper (about 1 min.). You can check by sliding the decal and paper between your fingers to see if it is moving away from the paper. But be sure to keep image on paper until you are ready to put it on your mug.

Step Five:

Before you put the image on the mug choose where you want to place the image and slightly wet mug with fingers. This enables you to move the image around once it's on the mug.

To place decal on mug, hold one end of decal and slowly pull paper from decal. The paper and decal will separate leaving you with only the decal. Once the decal is on the mug you can slide it around until it's where you would like it. Smooth out air bubbles with finger. A good trick is to wait a few minutes (not any longer) until some of the water is evaporated then smooth the rest of the air bubbles out.

 

I then repeated steps 3-5 for monogram.

 

After the decals have dried (I waited 24 hrs.) you can drink from and enjoy your new customized mug. Hope you enjoy this little project and once you get the hang of the waterslide decals it's very easy.

Welcome 2010, and hello cowl neck dress

I'm in love with my new serger. Now that I finally have one I feel like I can make better clothes.

With that said this dress is from my new favorite sewing book Twinkle Sews, it comes with a CD full of patterns that can be printed out from your computer. It does take time, paper and tape to piece together but it is well worth it. All the patterns look fairly simple and the book is a real inspiration. I couldn't believe how easy this dress was to make. It only took a few hours once I got it all cut out. And the fit is really cute and drapey. I will be making many more clothes from this book.