DIY Craft Pegboard: Stage 1

I've been wanting to make a craft pegboard for a while now to go in my sewing room.  I've been wanting one above my sewing desk to neatly store my scissors, thread, tags, notions, etc.  I bought the supplies for it the other day and started making it today after church...with the help of Justin.  It didn't take long at all!  I'm so excited about REALLY getting organized and getting rid of some of the clutter that is always on my desk!  I hope this helps.

Supplies:

Pillow Prints: The Designs

I hope you all had a great easter weekend. We had some really good time with our families this weekend, enjoying lots of fellowship, food, and egg hunts.  We were able to eat out on the back deck for one meal and it was so much fun. I love this weather!

Here are a few pillow prints I am working on now. I still need to sew them all up.  I'm just ordered the zippers on Friday.  Am waiting on them to get here.

I kept putting that off because I didn't know what kind to go with/where to get them for the best deal, etc.  I kinda freeze up when I don't know what decision to make...but I think I'm happy with the one I made.  I guess I'll find out this week!

Thanks to my hubs for helping me put my ideas to life in photoshop.  They would not look NEAR as good without him!

*The copper arrow pillow is actually a foil material. It is a really neat thing to work with. The print has a shiny/metal look to it. I'm really excited about that one!

Hope you all have a great day!

DIY Baby Headbands

Good morning!  It was a great weekend and I am ready to get back to working full force on my pillows!  I am in the schedule again for this week to get a few more things printed!  I'm really excited!  I just need to nail down a few more designs.  Until then...I wanted to share this:

Headband DIY:

We recently got to see our friend's brand new baby girl.  She is a doll!  So pretty.  We are so happy for them.  I made some little bows from some vintage fabrics I've been saving up for something special.

I love making these because they are super easy and are such a transformation. I got my headbands at a local children's resale shop. They are usually in really good shape and lots cheaper than buying new...since you're tearing them apart anyways!  I spent $1.50 for all three headbands. (plus the cost of the fabric and thread you use to re-do them...but since I have TONS of that it was free for me;)  )

So...you start by taking apart the headbands you have.  The bows on the bands that I got were just hot glued on so they came off pretty easily.

More Color Decisions

I'm just about ready to send some designs for my pillows to the printer!  I'm so excited. I just have a few more decisions to make about color combos and inks. 

My plan is to send just a couple designs in and get sewing on those. I plan on having up to twenty total pillow designs. That's a lot of pillows...and a lot of decisions to make. I'm really excited about the designs that we're gonna have printed first.  I think they are going to be really fun! 

I had all this laid out on the floor yesterday and told Justin, "It's really happening!"  I am so giddy about it.  These are all the fabric swatches and ink samples that Bigfish let me take home. They have been so helpful!

Swatches and Inks

I've been having lots of fun with this stage of the pillow process...pairing up the ink colors that I want with fabrics I have chosen.  There are SOOOO many options though!  I love having options, but it makes the decision making a little tough.  I brought home the ink swatch book from bigfish, where I will be getting lots of my designs printed. I'm so excited!

Here's my swatch board.  And there are lots more inks to choose from than what you see here.

 Justin has been such a big help and encouragement through it all.  We now have 2 designs that we are for sure going with. We've probably made 10 but that's what you have to do to get the cream of the crop=)

Oh...I also got two more pillow form sizes in the mail, the last ones I was waiting on . Now I can get the designs to the printer!  I have lots more to do...but it's coming along!

Hope you all have a great weekend.  We get to host an engagement party at our house this weekend.  I'm honored that we get to.  I'll share some decor ideas with you next week=)

Pillow Progress

I've had a bit of a break in the planning for my pillow shop. I've been really busy lately with sewing jobs. I am so grateful for them but it's put the shop on the back burner.  I do things when I can though. I want to be able to work on it all the time, but life and bills are real=)

I finally figured out where the pillow forms are coming from... they are REALLY nice down inserts. They're the softest ones I've ever felt.  I'm really excited about finding the right ones.

I moved the wire shelving from our closet to my sewing space so I can organize all my products.  Here are some of the pillow forms I have and some new vintage inspired fabric I just got!

Lula in London: Interview

A friend of mine recently started up her very own online boutique.  It is absolutely ADORABLE!  She calls it Lula in London...named after her daughter.  You need to check out her blog too...it's filled with home renovations, adorable decorating ideas and real life, relatable stories.

She asked me this past November if I would like to be a part of selling a few things on her site.  I was thrilled to be a part of it.  I gave her several of my baby dresses, pants, overalls, and little monsters.

Getting the Office Tidy

Our office is organized...kind of.  We know where things are, but I'd love for it to look a lot more organized than it does. It's one of those things where you think it looks organized since it is better than it once was, but when you really take a look....yikes.

So...I started last night going through all the little stacks of paper messes (not my favorite thing to do) and filing. I got really motivated to have it looking nice.  I'm hoping we can build a new desk for me for my sewing space.  I have one now, but it doesn't give me much room to work...plus with my new serger, I'm gonna need even more space.

I also took off the collaged art on the wall.  It kinda made a mess.  Some were stuck on the wall with those sticky squares they give you...NOT A GOOD IDEA!  They pretty much ripped chunks out of our wall.  So, I mudded and now I just need to sand and touch up.

I'm wanting to put up a really big peg board and maybe paint it a fun color. I like how peg boards look, and they are great for organizing!

Hope you all have a great weekend.

Kendra.

cfoxlive.blogspot.com, merrypad.com, homestoriesatoz.com

DIY Advent Calendars

I was thinking about making a fun advent calendar for Christmas.  I probably won't until we have kiddos in the house, but this one caught my eye. It's so fun!  I remember having one when we were little.  There were a bunch of really small little gifts individually wrapped, one on each day.  It was the most fun thing ever!  The anticipation was so hard to bear!  I remember asking multiple times in a day if I had already opened the one for that day or if I had to wait for the morning.  It was THE FIRST thing I wanted to do when I woke up.

Gifts were never a huge thing in our home. I think the advent calendar was a gift from someone to us kids, but it sure was fun.  My parents wanted us to always remember what Christmas was all about.  I am so thankful for them and the things they taught us...and are still teaching us. 

I do love though how gifts are a way for us to show others how much we love them.  After all, Christ coming to earth was in itself, LOVE.  It is so much fun to be able to bless others with a little gift representing love.

Baby Clothing: My current project

I hope you all had a great weekend.  We had a really good time with lots of family.  We are so blessed. I never got around to making our own Thanksgiving meal.  I guess I can always make another night special though.  There was just too much food already!

I'm so excited to be a part of a friend's new shop.  I can't wait to share details with you soon...as soon as she has everything in place. I have been making lots of fun projects for it. I love making children's clothing, and that's what I've been working on over the past few weeks.

Here is my mess of a sewing room and some color combo's I've chosen so far for some outfits.  I'm excited to share more soon.

A Few Sewing Projects

I hope you have all had a good week. It's crazy how cold it's getting already!  I don't want fall to go away yet. I do love the Christmas season though. I look forward to that.  I thought I'd share a few projects I was able to play a very small part in. Sharon is such a talented interior designer.  She designed these spaces a while ago and I haven't shared them yet.  I was able to make some curtains and pillows for some of these spaces.  I love how she puts everything together.  I've learned lots from her!

Shiny Shiny

I was able to help with some decor for a local coffee shop through Sharon Taylor.  She designed the layout of the shop from floor to ceiling.  Lighting, paint, artwork, furniture, pillows and decor. She is so talented.  I loved being able to work with her. Here are a few of the pillows and the drapes I made for Bocca Mocha.

Dress # 1....Check Mate

I've finished one of the five dresses I'm working on. Another one is ALMOST done too!  I'm so excited!  I love getting back in to making dresses again.  I wanted to go simple with this one. It's super versatile. You can wear in with or without a belt. With boots, heels, jeans, leggings.  Whatever you're in the mood for. And what I love about this pattern is that the style goes great on anyone.

Pinning Proof

I  hope you all had a great weekend.  We didn't have too many plans, which I loved.  I enjoy having a weekend to just be able to do things as they come.  We enjoyed a great Friday night football game, watching my brother-in-law.  Then Saturday we had a great rainy day-day.  It was so fun! We lounged around in sweats, played games, watched a movie, and I baked my first German Chocolate cake.  It was really fun to make!

I hope you all had a good weekend too.

I wanted to show you a little sneak peak progress on some of the dresses I started earlier last week.  I'm making several at once, so the green and white fabric I showed you earlier hasn't been touched yet.  I've realized that I can't just do one thing at once.  I like being able to change back and forth between fabrics.  it makes it more exciting.  I'm weird...

Anyway, here's some proof for you that I am in fact pinning!
This is a really soft cotton fabric.  I like how it falls on the dress. The gold is just the edging for the inside of the neckline, but I think the inner details matter too.

Spruce Up Your Machine

I saw a simple pin cushion that someone tied around their machine for easy access.  I was inspired to make my own. I always have a huge pile of pins on my machine after I use them... So I decided to use velcro and make a really fun cushion that would make me WANT to put them where they belong.

To begin, cut out two heart shaped pieces of fabric. ( or any shape you want )

Next,  cut a smaller shaped heart out of different fabric and stitch it to the top piece of the heart with the machine (now is a good time to try out some of those decorative stitches on your machine if you have them).  

Then, turning good sides of fabric facing each other, sew around the heart, leaving a small section opened ( to flip )

I used scrap fabric as my stuffing.  It is a great way to get rid of some of your scraps and still be able to use them!

So it begins...

I've had enough.  I realize that I make excuses for myself.  A lot.  I'm sure my husband would probably agree with me.  He is so patient with me though.  I decided that I don't know what I'm waiting on.  I can either be sad for myself and mope about not having a cute little storefront, or a booming online shop...OR, I can just work towards it!

Here's the fabric I bought to start working on a new dress.

Fall Projects

I've had a few projects I've been working on. I just finished ten new pillows for Pickwick House.  They are a part of Sharon's fall inventory.  We spruced them up a bit this time with some textured ruffles.  Here's a sneak peak.

 
I also saw this cute idea for a fall garland on Elsie's site.  Becky and I decided to begin our fall crafting season by making this and some fabric pom poms.  I'll share photos of ours soon, but here's Elsie's Isn't it cute??

Have a great weekend!  See you Monday.

Kitchen Curtains

I made the kitchen curtain yesterday.  I don't ever know how I want to hang curtains over the kitchen sink.  It seems like there are so many ways.  I'll probably still make another little curtain panel with some cute trim to go on top of the window.  I like the look of two small ones.

Here's what I have so far.

DIY Party Favor Bags

I had so much fun making these tiny little party favor bags!  Sharon and I got to set up a little party table for a photo shoot this past week. Janae Hardy took the photos.  She is amazing!  We all had a great time.

To see more images of the party shoot, visit A Beautiful Mess.

 

Fab Chalk Bag

Hey Friends...

Here is a fun, QUICK, project for you! Seriously...this took me fifteen minutes from start to finish. I know lots of you probably have a chalk board at home. I thought we all needed a cute bag to store our chalk in since it can get pretty messy. Follow these easy steps to make your own!