Dare to Design Contest

Dress Design for Shabby Apple Dresses

My sister Lauren created this entry into the Shabby Apple Dare to Design contest. We went to visit her at Auburn in September and got to go to one of her fashion design classes. It was so much fun and made me want to go back to college. I hope her design is selected!

Here's her description of the dress...

Design Inspiration:
This dress is designed for a young woman with confidence, poise, and flare. With the a-symmetrical front and fabric pattern on back, the woman wearing this dress will always make a statement.

Fabric Choices:
-With a silk bottom and cotton top this dress could be worn to a nice dinner party. Dark purples and grays would really make this dress stand out.
-Another option would be a wool top and linen bottom, making this style a more day time appropriate dress. Colors that would work for this option would be more neutral colors like browns, grays, or even a golden yellow.

confession session

Confession session comes from my sister-in-law Julie, who kept us continually laughing with her confession sessions on a family trip to Denmark. Today my confession session is that I haven't had a working oven since May. It hasn't really been too much of an issue. With a new baby and the summer months, I've only really missed it on a handful of occasions. Most of the things I would have baked in the oven anyway would have been full of fat and sugar. However now with fall, I've got to stop being lazy and cheap and get it fixed.

When I get it fixed, these cupcakes are first on my list to try - perfect for using any left over candy corns. I can't imagine a much better combination - pumpkin, cream cheese and candy corns. Definitely my kind of treat.

[kids focus] leaf rub

For one of the days during our leaf week, we took the leaves we had collected outside and made leaf rubs. Elle loves to color so it was a nice change from just coloring on blank pieces of paper or in her coloring books. She also loved to trace around the leaves. Just put the leaf under the piece of paper and use a crayon to rub over the leaf until the leaf images begins to show through.

[kids focus] leaf walk

For one week, Elle and I focused on leaves. The first day we went on a leaf walk in our backyard and gathered all types of leaves from our trees. After we had gathered a sack of leaves, we took them inside and organized and sorted them by color.

Fortunately (or unfortunately if you are my husband and hate having to rake so many leaves every year - so far we've taken over 22 leaf trash bags to the dump), our backyard is full of leaves. Our "leaf week" fell at the perfect time where there were plenty of leaves on the ground and still in the trees.

If you don't have access to a lot of leaves, you can also make your own. Simply cut leaves (we made leaf die cuts with the Epic Die-Cutting Tool and QuicKutz die REV-0249-S) in several colors and let your child sort those into color piles.

With both options, she had a great time and loved practicing her colors on both the real and paper leaves. On another day, we used the paper leaves to make up "falling leaf" songs. As we sang the songs, we threw the leaves into the air to let them fall to the ground. Baby Liv found this quite entertaining.

a theme for the week

For the past few weeks, I've been trying "themed" weeks in an effort to try and be more organized and interactive with my kids. I've found that if I take the time to plan out activities for the week, it's easier for me to make sure I'm taking time during the day to devote just to my kids. Working from home full-time makes my schedule pretty crazy, and if I don't preplan, my day can easily get overtaken with the demands of work and just the basics of childcare. I'm not the best at just sitting down to play. I totally admire moms who are great at that. For me, having preplanned activities helps give me a focus and ensures that I'm prepared and scheduled to "just play". Even if it is only for 10 or 15 minutes, these activities have given Elle and I something new to do together each day, and I hope it helps her feel and understand how important she and Liv are to me. To record these ideas for my own personal reference, I'm going to post these projects/ideas under a kids focus theme. Do any of you have any ideas for fun, fast, creative things to do with your kids?

little princesses

This Halloween Elle decided she wanted to be a princess. My sister's and I used to make princess crowns with beads and wire when I was younger so I thought it would be fun to make these for Elle and Liv. They are super easy. You just string the beads on a strand of wire big enough to fit around your head. Then take another strand of wire and string beads as you wrap it in a triangle formation around the first strand of beads and wire. For Elle, I put the crown peaks in a complete circle, and for Liv, I just put the peaks in the front of the crown. I also made Elle matching jewelry with the beads and silver elastic thread. I ended up just buying Elle's princess dress and switched out the white rosette embellishments for sparkly buttons. For Liv's costume (pictured above), I embellished a onesie with silver jewels and sewed a pink princess skirt. Overall, I think they turned out ok and it's always fun to get to be creative with their costumes.

halloween treat bags

Here are the treat bags Elle and Liv made for their friends and cousins. Clear bag was in the $1 bin at Target. We made the bag header with black cardstock and used a QuicKutz die to cut a spider web and spider to embellished the header. We put glossy accents on the spider to make it stand out against the black cardstock. We filled the bags with spider rings, bubbles, bracelets and vampire teeth. We can't wait to give them out tonight!

happy halloween

I've been busy testing each of the final production printing plates for the L Letterpress product line. Here some projects I made with the Halloween printing plate set. Product started shipping this week and should be arriving in stores next week!

ps - the hard drive on my mac crashed about three weeks ago and I just got it back last night...upcoming is a bunch of posts.

so excited...

On Friday, I got production samples of the L Letterpress Starter Kit. Tonight I tested each of the components of the kit, and I'm so happy with how it is turning out! I can't wait for the product to hit stores (looks like beginning of November). It's been a lot of work - especially these past several months - but I think it's going to all pay off. So excited...

traveling....

Since Liv was born, I feel like we've been traveling, traveling, traveling. We've been to California, Florida, Idaho, Washington, Alabama, Virgina, Washington D.C. and driven through even more states. I think we're finally back at home for at least a few months. Luckily most of our travel has been with family or to see family which I love! Now, I can't wait to get back to my creative projects including this blog. In the spirit of travel, here's a great project I found to showcase your worldwide adventures....

This home decor project created at Brooklyn Limestone is the perfect way to showcase your travels around the world. I love how it creates a visual reminder of where and when you've traveled. Simply photocopy and mount the passport pages onto square wood blocks or mini canvases and hang on the wall. Add a frame around the squares to define the space on your wall. Check out the detailed step-by-step here.


I'm thinking that creating a collage of mementos from your travel locations like ticket stubs, maps, brochures etc. would also work well - especially for any domestic trips you'd like to highlight.

momAgenda

My friend Andrea gave me the best gift today...the momAgenda planner. I love all things planning - calendars, lists, planners, notebooks, pencils, pens....

I first discovered this planner a year or so ago shopping at Oblation in Portland. These planners are well designed with beautiful covers and are unique in that they follow a traditional school year and include 17 months (ex. August 2009 to December 2010).

Thanks Andrea! I can't wait to start using it!

a trip to the fair

So I just had to post these photos from a few weekends ago. We went to the fair where my husband grew up to see the animals and go to the rodeo. Elle had such a great time. I definitely want to think of a creative way to frame or display some of the photos from our trip.

Liv - She's such a happy baby.

Elle on the roller coaster - can you tell she was having fun??

Our little cowgirl.

fabric feedback

I need your feedback!  So I have an idea about recovering a small child's couch/chair for a toy room I'm redoing right now in my basement.  I'm not really set on a specific color palette for the room, but I'm currently thinking aqua/teals, corally orange/pinks/red, grays.  I want the room to feel fun yet slightly sophisticated.  With just 2 girls for now it can edge towards the girly side, but I want the flexibility of it not being so girly that a boy is totally out of place.  

I did a quick search at fabric.com and pulled these swatches.  I'm thinking that if I can find a fabric I really like, I can base the paint and some other decor around it.  

So do you have any favorites from the image above or any recommendations I should check out?  The couch/chair will be set against a wall that is visible when looking straight through the door into the room. 

Any thoughts???

tiny pin cushion

Since my sister Lauren left (along with amazing sewing ability), my sewing machine has been gathering dust. I've got a list of projects to sew, but before I do I want to make these cute pin cushions from Origami Mommy. I think it be interesting to also try creating them in a slightly bigger size.

dresser tool chest

I like this idea on Crafty Nest for turning an old dresser into a rolling tool chest. I think it would be perfect for storing art supplies and craft tools.

paper bag menus

This idea is from the Sunday Suppers blog.  The food and parties are amazing.  I love the idea of using a brown paper bag with a small clothespin for the menu.  I think it would  be so fun to get a group together to create, cook and eat a themed dinner.  Anyone interested?

tiny watermelons

Just found this cute "tiny" food idea.  I'll definitely have to remember this for a future tiny party.

cha summer

image from here

I just got back from CHA (Craft and Hobby Tradeshow) in Orlando late last night. We had a great time demoing the L Letterpress and the new QuicKutz products.

Here are some of the things people are saying about the product....

Craft Critique (click to see the full review)

Here's something that has everybody buzzing... a letterpress machine for the crafter. That's right. Letterpress. At home. QuickKutz has launched a new brand: Lifestyle Crafts (also known as L), and is about to release what crafters have been clamoring for: elegant letterpress....

Scrapbook Trends Blog (click to see the full review)

So one of the most exciting products is the “L” from Quickutz. It is a home letterpress kit. The letterpress kit is part of the Lifestyle Craft brand....

The Scrap Review (click to see the full review)

My fave product of the day was imPRESSive. (Sorry, I'm a little slap happy from not sleeping for more than 6 hours total since I've been in Florida!) Yes, QuicKutz has come up with the new amazing product that will do letterpress (printing & debossing), called... wait for it... Letterpress....

How to Use the L Letterpress

I've had a lot of people ask me how the L Letterpress works. It's easy! Here's a basic tutorial...

Step 1: Place printing plate on clear lid of L Letterpress tool. There are currently 15 printing plate sets with fantastic designs that can be mixed and matched to create an unlimited number of projects!


Step 2: Use the ink brayer to ink the printing plate. There are currently 20 ink colors available which can also be mixed to create additional custom colors!


Step 3: Place paper on the base of the tool. The L Letterpress paper is specifically designed for the L Letterpress tool to achieve that fantastic impression and soft texture.


Step 4: Close the lid of the L Letterpress tool and roll through the Epic Six tool to simultaneously print and deboss your image.

here it is...

Introducing L - a brand new lifestyle craft brand focused on developing products that enable creativity! With L products, you can add that personal handmade touch to all of life's events from simple everyday occurances to special occasions like weddings and babies.


I'm really excited about the first product launch in the L brand...the L Letterpress line. This collection of products is desigend to let the home crafter create elegant letterpress projects with an easy-to-use, convenient and affordable method.


Below is a picture of the L Letterpress Combo Kit which includes everything you need to start creating letterpress projects. Check out the L website - lifestylecraft.com - to see all of the products in this initial launch, and be sure to check out the 15 printing plate sets. The designs really turned out great!

If you're not familiar with letterpress, below is a quick explanation. The photo on the left shows the design pressed into the paper with no ink so you can easily see the debossed element of letterpress. The photo on the right is that same design pressed into paper with ink. The letterpress result has a fantastic texture and feel.

Here are a few projects made with the L Letterpress...