HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

To my one and only baby! Today is Heather's birthday! She is...........dare I say it, 35 years old today! Which apparently means that I am older than dirt! I can't believe it. It seems like only yesterday......yeah I know blah, blah, blah!

So she and I went to one of our favorite places for a special birthday treat.

It's called Cuppies & Joe and they serve, what else, cupcakes and coffees! You can visit them at http://www.cuppiesandjoe.com

They are in a house in a section of town where they have remodeled these cute old houses and turned them into businesses.

They serve the most delicious cupcakes and the atmosphere is just perfect!

Most of the original woodwork remains and each room is set up with vintage furniture or comfy seating.

If you're in the area, stop by for a cupcake and coffee. It's a great place to go for a girl's day out!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEATHER!!

VINTAGE FINDS!

I have always loved anything vintage, but since I have been more or less "hanging out" at the Rink Gallery several times a week, I have REALLY been passionate about it!

I picked up a couple of goodies while I was there yesterday.

This little miniature Collie dog.  I think Heather has gotten me started collecting doggies since I have seen her collection!  Any way, it just grabbed my attention!  Only $3.00!

Then I saw these!

Little miniature matchbooks with a Collie on the front!  Looked like a matching set to me!  Only $2.99!

Just last week shopped some of Heather's goodies.  She brought them in to sell but I thought they were cute (I don't know why she got rid of them) so I snatched them up and brought them home.

This miniature picture and this small tin plate.  The plate has a little bit of rust on it, but sometimes that makes it more appealing.  FREE!

This mark was on the back of the plate.  Even the emblem was attractive!

I also found a couple more old family photos tucked away in a sack yesterday.

An 8x10 of my Nanny and a photo of my PaPa when he was two or three.  I wish I had just ONE of the fabulous hats that she was always wearing in her photos.  Unfortunately, I acquired all of these old photos after her death.  I would have loved to have heard the stories behind them all.  She was always dressed so beautifully.  To hear her talk , you would have thought she came from a poor and destitute family.  I DON'T THINK SO!! 

OKAY!......So anywho, I thought let's take all of my inexpensive finds plus some that I already had and make a little vintage vignette!

I added in my new (old) trophy cup that I posted about last week, two old books from a childhood collection of my Dads, my favorite little lidded box (made in Italy) and a little bird nest with eggs.

I even added my little $6.00 mini runner!  I loved the finished look so much that I ended up moving everything to the table in my living room.

 

The trick to creating vignettes like this one is layering, stacking, and using elements with different textures, sizes, and shapes.  Not every inch of every item in your vignette needs to show.  One of the biggest mistakes people make is lining things up side by side. 

 

My dear, my DARLING talented daughter, painted this oh so AWESOME finial for me!

I love, love, love it to death!  And I have no problem what so ever mixing it right in with all of my fluff and vintage!  She also has some of these available for sale!  I am seriously thinking about starting our Etsy shop this week.  I think between the two of us we may have enough to make a reasonable start.

For me, "eclectic" takes on a whole new meaning!  I've had people walk in my house more than once and comment "well...I never would have thought to put those things together."  I'm not sure if they meant it as a compliment, but I'll sure took it as one!

Well....I guess that's it here for today.  It's been snowy yucky weather here today, so it's pretty boring around here.  Thank goodness for projects and blogging!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Denise

CHEAP CHIC

Oh....you thought I'd forgotten didn't you?  No way!  Just a little late that's all.

So...this weeks Cheap Chic project was inspired by a great tutorial that I found at the wonderful blog The Graphic Fairy.  You will find a direct link to her blog on the right side bar of our site.  Click there and then go to her Clip Art section also located on the right of her site and click on Craft Project.  There you will find a great project with a denim jacket.  I borrowed her idea with the labels for my pillow project.

As per their instructions, you will need to buy a package of the sew-in colorfast inkjet sheets.  I found mine at Hobby Lobby and let me tell you they are NOT cheap!  $7.99 for 3 sheets!  So....I went into photo shop and selected 3 of my favorite labels and sized them to fit on one sheet.  Follow the printing instructions on the package, let dry as instructed and then cut each label out.

These are the three that I choose.  The Graphic Fairy also has a couple of PDF files that you can download  if you prefer.

For those of you who do not sew, these instructions are for you!

Supplies that I suggest (besides your sewing machine)  HA HA!

• A cutting mat.  I use mine all the time for pillows.
• A clear quilting ruler for measuring
• A cutting wheel.  Invest in an Olfa.  They are much sharper, cut better, and last longer.
• A seam ripper.  Unfortunately I also use my seam ripper a lot!
• A hem gauge.  They are handy for measuring those seams.
• Quilting pins.  I prefer these because they are larger and hold better.
• And the usual supplies like scissors and blah blah blah!

Decide what size that you want your finished pillow to be.  Smaller is definitely better if you are a beginner.  My finished pillow was 10" without the ruffles.  When you cut your fabric, cut two pieces, one for the front and one for the back.  Be sure to add 5/8" on all four sides for a seam allowance.  Lay your back piece aside.  All of the detail will be sewn on the front piece.

  

Center which ever label you have choosen and sew in place.  I used a zig zag stitch.

I choose beads as one of my trims.  Measure in 5/8" (your standard seam width) in from each side and the top of the front of your pillow and pin in place.  Be sure that the beads are facing the center of the pillow front and the raw edge is against the outside edge of your pillow front.

Using a basting stitch, sew in place.  DO NOT stitch over your pins.  Take it from me, you WILL break your machine needle.  Pull your pins out as you go.

 

Stitch as closely to the inside edge as possible. 

When you are through basting, your pillow front should look as shown above.

Next.....I added a ruffle.  Hey, we don't want this to be too easy!  Right? 

Your ruffle can be any size that you desire.  A  double ruffle will look prettier and fuller than a single, so decide on your finished width and add 5/8" for that seam and double that measurement.    For the ruffled fullness I generally use a 2x the width of your project which in this case would be about 20".  Cut 2 ruffles, one for each side.  Seam each end of both ruffles. 

Fold in half and baste together.   Be sure to lock your stitch at one end by using your reverse button.

To ruffle your fabric, pull the top thread and gently begin to gather your fabric, pushing it back toward the locked end.

Pin your ruffle in place OVER the beads on each end. Again, be sure to allow for your 5/8" seam allowance on either end.  This is where your hem gauge comes in handy.

To make sure that your seam stays straight and you stay in line with your (I'm sure) perfectly straight basting stitch that you used sewing your beads on, flip your fabric to the back side and sew right over that previous stitch.  I've marked an orange arrow on my pillow fabric below to show you.

 

After you have sewn on both ruffles, the front of your pillow will look like this. (Below) with the ruffles covering the beads and the label.

Flip both ruffles back and make sure that your seam looks good and that your ruffle looks nice and neat.  It's easy to catch a piece of fabric here or there and then have to go back with your seam ripper, pull out a few stitches and correct your mistake.  You will also see that I have left 5/8" of an inch on either end for my seam allowance.

Okay....with the ruffles turned toward the center of your pillow, lay your pillow back piece over the top and  pin in place. making sure that the front side of the fabric is on the inside.  In other words, what you are looking at should be the wrong side of the fabric.  Pin in place.

 

Again, you want to keep those side seams consistent so sew right over the two seams with a third.  The 1st held your beads to the front, the 2nd held your ruffle to the front, and the 3rd seam will hold your back to the front.  Sew the top and two sides  of your back piece in place, be very careful not to catch your ruffles in your seams.  This will cause excessive cussing to uncontrollably flow from your mouth and you will loose a lot of time trying to rip out and fix your mess!  HA HA

When you get to the bottom of the pillow, be sure to leave an opening.  You will use this to turn your pillow right side out and also for stuffing your pillow.

When your back is completely sewn on, cut off all four corners,  this simply makes them look neater and sharper after you turn your fabric.  So now, simply turn your pillow right side out,  add your stuffing, and now you are ready to slip stitch your opening shut!

Oh WOW!  You did a fabulous job!  AND you added a little crown brooch on the front!  You girls are SOOO clever.  See, sewing isn't so difficult!

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The main thing to remember when sewing pillows is that all of the detail is sewn onto the front of the pillow and then you lay the back over all of this and sew it in place.  I hope that my instructions weren't too confusing! 

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I also finished this little pillow today!

And......I just finished painting this doll bed  and sewing the quilt and pillow for it.

I finally managed to make a little ribbon flower that I was happy with!  I don't know what my problem was, but I had been working (off and on) trying to create one for awhile!

So.....Happy sewing!

Denise