Vintage Novelty Fabric ~ In the Garden

Spring offically began last week (yea!), so for many of us that means gardening. I thought it would be fun to hunt through the stash and archives for some garden related vintage fabrics. Here's what I found... a variety of cute novelty prints with gardening related themes. Patio print from the 1950's. Children's fabric from the 1970-80's. Cute border print. And a couple in the "formal gardens" category; a striking black barkcloth. And a lovely scenic cotton fabric from the early 1900's. What about you, any garden themed fabrics in your sewing room?

Mid Century Barkcloth in Chartreuse!

I recently came across a wonderful piece of mid century modern barkcloth. It has a cool design of waves (or maybe they're claw marks?) on a chartreuse leopard spotted background! The name of the pattern is Aurora and is a Goldco Vat print according to the info on the selvage. I've had this design before in a green and a brown colorway, but I think this acid yellow or chartreuse is my favorite! Its currently listed on the website here: http://www.nieszvintagefabric.com/productdetails.aspx?productID=722We're having the most gorgeous summer-like weather here in Southern Ohio, so I'm heading out to the yard to play in the garden...hope you're enjoying spring, too! :-)

A Fold Over Clutch in 70's Brights

I was in the sewing room last week working on a custom order clutch. She loved the fold over design, but wanted something in bold bright colors. After looking at some fabric options, she chose a fun lime green daisy print from the 1970's. We paired it with a teal corduroy and a green print for the lining. I think it fits the bill for "Bright and Bold" and will be a fun bag for spring and summer.

Magnetic Chalkboard Pantry Door

I recently dressed up a plain pantry door with Rust-oleum's magnetic primer and chalkboard paint. I first applied 3 light coats of the magnetic primer. Take note: this stuff has some strong fumes and requires a lot of ventilation. Also, to avoid a tedious clean up, I used a sponge roller and disposable paint tray that I could just throw away afterward. The next day I applied 3 coats of chalkboard paint. This paint has way less fumes and cleans up with just soap and water. Honestly, I was pretty happy just to see the ugly veneer door black, but the fact that I can now use it as a calendar and message center is a big bonus! I waited an entire week before writing on it with chalk, so in the meantime I made some fun magnets. I've read many blog posts about how most magnets won't stick to surfaces painted with the magnetic primer, but I have found that the sheet magnetics work great and easily hold up papers and cards. All in all, I'm very happy with the results.

How Hunny Celebrates a Pretty Day

We had a couple of gorgeous spring-like days here in southern Ohio. I think Hunny enjoyed them even more than I did. She celebrated the sunny day by rolling around in the dirt, scooching down the hill on her back, and laying in the sun ALL DAY. I mean, this dog loves her food, but I could barely get her inside at dinner time!

The day ended with a bath. :-)

Its raining today, but still unseasonably warm. Bring on spring!

Vintage 1940's Floral Fabrics

It is no secret that I LOVE vintage fabrics, and I have to say that it is hard for me to pick favorites. But, the cheery bright florals of the 1940's are certainly at the top of the list.
Generally larger in scale than those of the 1920's and early 30's, and seemingly odd color combos taken from opposite sides of the color wheel, they just make me smile. :-)
I have had a lot of these pretties over the years, and thought I would share a few photos of some of my favs.
Some of these are available in my Etsy shop or the website, and others are from the archives. Enjoy the eye candy!

Featured on Houzz

Style Trick: Use Office Furniture Outside the Office

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Do you know about Houzz?
Personally, I'm addicted to it. Its kind of like Pinterest for decorating, landscaping, and home design. Literally hundreds of thousands of gorgeous home pictures that you can browse randomly or by select rooms, then you can add your favorites to your Ideabook. You can also upload photos of your own home.
Anyway, I recently uploaded a few pictures of some of our renovations on the new house and was featured in one of the articles! The article is about using office furniture throughout the house. Our small guest room was shown as an example of using a file cabinet as an end table. You can view the slideshow above (if I've managed to upload it correctly).
And if you haven't been yet, you must head over to Houzz and check out all of the wonderful decorating inspiration. :-)