Overdyed Cut Velvet

I tried my hand at a fun project this weekend... dying velvet.  If you've been here before, you know about my crazy obsession affection for vintage cut velvet fabrics. I have a pretty good variety of colors and patterns, but, at times, I find myself craving something a bit brighter. Last year, one of my sweet customers on Etsy (who makes the most gorgeous bags at Ladida Handbags) told me about her experience with dying velvets.  And that's when I turned to Rit Dye.  For these first attempts, I chose velvets that had light backgrounds and could withstand hot water.

For the pink, I tested a piece taken from a used bates bedspread. As you can see if the first photo, it started out as yellow, tan, and cream. The end result was a pretty mix of light and dark pink, orange, and yellow.

The next piece took a bath in teal. (If you give this a try, I suggest covering everything with a layer of plastic and towels and get yourself a cute pair of long rubber gloves.)
Once it reached the desired color, I hung it outside until it was just slightly damp.

Then I popped it in the dryer to fluff up the fibers.

And here is what this one looked like before,

Although I really like the original colors, especially the yellow, its nice to have the ability to create a piece of hard-to-find cut velvet in the color I want.   :D

I hope to turn these pieces into small bags and pouches this week.
What about you, have you ever tried overdying fabric?

Lace Tiaras and Crowns

This was a fun craft project that I did with my little niece last week.  We used small pieces of vintage crochet lace from my stash and some store bought lace to make dress-up crowns and tiaras.

I know this has been around Pinterest for years, but since I don't have kids of my own, I'm a little slow to see some of these crafts.  Anyway, I followed one of the many tutorials out there at thegirlinspired or joyfolie or countless others (seriously, just search for it on Pinterest, there's a lot)

Here's the main supplies I used.

It was pretty hot outside when we made ours, so after saturating the lace, we just dried them outside on wax paper. In the photo below you can the variety of laces we used in there pre-painted state.

Hunny agreed to guard them for me on the deck.  :)
After they were dry, they all got sprayed with either gold or silver spray paint, then some got a light dusting of mod podge and glitter. 
Since many of these crowns would be going to our friend's children, I wanted to make sure to keep the glitter shedding to a minimum. After the glittered ones dried, I used a brush to get off any loose glitter, then gave them 3 coats of a clear spray acrylic.
 The ones that were too short to create full-circle crowns became tiaras.  I used boning leftover from another project to make the size circle I needed, then hot glued the stiffened lace to that.  It made for a nice base, so I even used it on one or two of the crowns.  Then the fun part of decorating them happened.  Various gems, bits of ribbon, and pearls found at yard sales and craft store clearance aisles made for a nice variety.

I also attached a sheer pink "veil" to the back of the purple one to give it a renaissance-ish look. That's also the only one we didn't paint.

So have you made any of these for your little princess or grand-princess?

Flea Market Fabrics!

The exclamation mark in the title is to convey my excitement.  :)
It seems like F O R E V E R since I've been to the Lawrenceburg (antique and vintage only) flea market.  Many of the scheduled weekends last year were rained out or conflicted with family events and I was sick for the first one of this year.  But Mom and I finally made it there this past Sunday.
It was a beautiful day and I was able to find several pretty fabrics.
Let's start with the one that did not make the group picture above.

It's a mid century modern rayon dress fabric with orange poppies...and there is over 7 yards! Love it!

I also found a couple of cute border print fabrics in pink.

And what I really like about these is that the pretty floral border is mirrored along the other selvage, too.

A couple of aqua quilt fabrics also came home with me.

And last but not least, a few rolls of pastel blanket binding...just because they were so pretty.  :)

So , although it wasn't the largest haul of fabrics, it was a nice start to flea market season for me.  What about you? Any good flea market finds lately?

Spring Gardening

After the horrendous winter we endured, I couldn't wait to get out into the yard and start gardening.
I wanted to focus attention on the hosta area in the back yard first.  Lily of the Valley were taking over and water coming off the hill during hard rains had washed away a lot of the top soil and leaf mulch.

I dug out for the dry river bed in hopes that it would direct runoff water around the plants instead of burying them in debris. We've had several days of rain since, and so far so good. :)
I also added a thick layer of leaf mulch to keep weeds at bay.

Now if I can just get Hubby to remove that giant log...
Next, I moved on to the side yard, a small strip along the retaining wall.

 Mainly weeding, a clean edge, and some moving of plants was all that was needed for now.  It also got a layer of compost until we can get mulch down.  The only thing blooming over here this early is the Forget me nots.  The ferns  are a pretty bright green, though. And the orange poppies will be opening soon.
On the other side of the gate is a very shaded walkway.  One side is filled with a variety of ferns and hostas, and along the house I have bleeding heart and yellow celandine poppies which are in bloom now and will bloom on and off through the summer.

There's still lots more to do, and I'll be starting in the front yard this weekend as well as picking up a few annuals for the containers.
How about you? Have you been playing in the garden, too?  Happy planting, everyone!

Baby Gift Items in Flannel

 

I had fun sewing baby items for a friends shower last week. I used super soft flannel fabrics for bibs and burp cloths.  Joanns had their Snuggle flannels on sale so, I pick up a few.

I also had a couple of solids in my stash and a pretty vintage pink rose flannel that I found at an estate sale last summer.

For the shower gift I used the mint green cherry blossom paired with a pink minky dot for one set...

And the vintage pink rose and solid pink for the other set.

I used the same pattern for the bib as the last one I made. Its from Heather Bailey's blog.
For the pink rose burp cloth I just free-handed a pattern.
Then, along with several items from her registry, I packed them all into a handmade fabric bin.

I constructed this one slightly different than the others I've made here and here.
It is a bit smaller and the handles are attached to the sides rather than the top edge.

I think bins are always useful...for toys, diapers, blankets, dvds, books, etc.  So, hopefully she can find a place for it.  :)
Babies are so fun to sew for! And I'm always looking for new ideas.  What type of projects do you like to make for baby?

A Little Break From the Cold

Hubby and I headed south to visit family in Florida.  Sunny and temps in the 80's was a welcome change from the snow, cold, and ice we were experiencing here in Ohio.

Most of our time was spent inland working on my In-law's house, but we did squeeze in one day at the beach.  We stayed in Casey Key which is about an hour north of Ft.Myers.
These colorful bungalows looked as though they had just been built or remodeled and we were able to stay in one of the beachfront rooms on the back side that faced the ocean.

It was awesome to wake up to a view of the beach!

Back to reality...although thankfully this week Ohio is seeing a few days of 50 degree weather.  :)
I also got to sew some fun items for another baby shower, and will share them in a few days.

Cold Weather and Warm-Hearted Friends

Like much of the country, we have had our share of snow and cold weather this winter.  And earlier this week, found ourselves in the deep freeze of the polar vortex.  brrrrrr  
But a sweet package arrived to brighten my week.  A lovely pair of handmade kitchen goodies from the talented quilter, blogger, and pattern designer, Stephanie of Loft Creations! (Who, by the way, now has her very own book!)
I just had to share a picture of them in front of the vintage bread sign hanging in my kitchen.  Look how awesome they go together.  And the little pear applique on the hot pad is all vintage fabrics...too perfect.  :)

 

And in an effort to make peace with all the snow, I've put together a few vintage fabrics that remind me of snowflakes.

These are all from the 1950's.  The design is sort of a Penn-Dutch, geo-floral that was quite popular at the time.  I've always liked them as they were reminiscent of the Spirograph designs of my childhood. And although similar, they were each unique, like snowflakes.  :)

Stay warm, everyone!  Only 10 more weeks until spring! (ugh, can that be right?)lol