I covet this lamp

When Angie bought some of my Oh So Fancy Armchair fabric to recover a lamp shade, she failed to mention just how GORGEOUS her lamp was. I so very, very much wish I had one just like it! And with Angie's handiwork it's even more lovely, don't you think? Angie: Thanks so much for sharing your finished project!

Sleep mask tutorial

I am in prep mode for a much needed vacation! London, Mykonos and Athens here I come!!

As I was digging through my travel stuff I remembered how much I hate those icky sleep masks you get on the plane. So I decided to make myself a pretty little one using my Birds on a Wire fabric. It only took about 30 minutes or so and now I'll have a cute little mask for my long, long flight. Here's a quick tutorial:



Materials:
-Cotton fabric for front of mask: 5" x 8"
-Cotton fabric for covering elastic: 21" x 2"
-Flannel (or something soft) for lining and back: 2 pieces 5" x 8"
-16" of 1/4 elastic

1. Here is a link to the pattern.

2. Lay your fabrics down in this order and cut out your pattern.
Back flannel- facing up
Front cotton- facing down
Lining flannel- facing down

3. Take the strip for the elastic and sew using 1/8 seam along the long side. Right sides facing together. To turn the tube right side out, take a safety pin and pin one end. Feed the safety pin back through the tube. Work it through slowly. (It's sort of like putting on panty hose when it's hot and sticky outside...but just shimmy it through there gently and eventually it will pop out the other side.) Iron the tube flat.

4. Put a safety pin on both the ends of your elastic and feed it through the tube. Attach the pins at both ends so your elastic doesn't slip back through. To secure the elastic to the tube, sew a quick seam at each end. Take off your safety pins.

5. Now you are going to attach the tube to your mask. Pin the edges of your mask layers together. Now insert the covered elastic between the lining and the front. (See it all squished in the middle? It's like a little stuffed pie!) Make sure your ends are jutting straight out the sides when you are pinning everything together.



6. Sew 1/4 seam all the way around the mask. Go slow so your seams are straight. Leave an opening along the top so you can turn everything right side out. Make sure you reinforce your seams where the straps attach.

7. Clip your edges all the way around to keep it's shape when you turn it right side out. Make sure you don't accidentally clip your seam though!


8. Turn your mask inside out. Iron everything flat. Do a blind stitch to close. I was in a rush yesterday so I cheated and just stitched it closed on the machine...;)

9. Race to your couch and try it out! Since I couldn't self photograph this last step, Clara graciously offered to help.

Holiday head

I can't believe that the holidays are just around the corner! Can you??? And since it's still 105 outside, it's a bit hard to even be thinking about the holidays. But since everyone in my immediate family is buying plane tickets and making plans to come visit, that means it's officially time for me to start designing for Holiday 2009! Mom, Dad and my sister will be coming here to Austin for Thanksgiving and I'm so excited. It will be nice to do a turkey day in Texas again!

In terms of designs...I've got a few new holiday themed projects in the work. Here's a sneak peak of one I'm still tinkering with. But it just makes me smile. Crafty, crafty, joy, joy indeed! I'll have it for sale in the shop sometime in October, so stay tuned. So you can get a sense of scale, the little reindeers are each about 1 and 3/4 inches high. Thoughts? Suggestions? Requests? You know I love to hear from you!

A chance to win a Pachyderm Parade pillow cover

I was approached by the wonderful team over at The Brightside Project to participate in one of their giveaways. Their theme for August is Sugar Sugar which is all about sweet designs with a bite. Every day, they feature a brand or product they think will add a little sunshine to people's lives and feature a daily giveaway. I now visit it every morning...it's a fun way to start the day! They have featured some really amazing work on their site, so I'm really honored to be included.

Hop on over to their site before August 16 and answer the question "What is your creative outlet?" and you'll be automatically entered to win a 16x16 Pachyderm Parade pillow cover. It's super fun for me to get to find out more about what keeps everyone creatively juiced, so I hope you'll go answer and share. :)

Bummer - But thanks so much for your support!!

Thanks so much for voting for my Scarlet Fig fabric in the Fabric on Demand chair upholstery contest. Although I didn’t win (bummer) I wanted to thank everyone again for all of your support. So I am giving away a fat quarter to one lucky person. Congratulations to Beth who is getting a fat quarter of the elephants fabric.



In other news, the move is finally over and I am down to one (yes one!) last box to be unpacked. The house is great and it's so wonderful to have a little bit of space again. When I moved back from Brooklyn, I rented a TINY little apartment so it's been pretty crowded in there with all my stuff, the studio, the dog and the cat. Oh, and me! So it's really delightful to have some space to move again. I'll take some pics and post them this weekend.

And soon I'll be back on the sewing wagon again! I can't wait to sit down at my machine and make something pretty.