by Emilie

2012 - Project #3 - Art Project Books

2012-01-17T18:18:00.003-05:00

If your kiddos are anything like mine they bring home tons of (seriously brilliant) art projects from school, church, library, etc. What do you do with them all? I know some moms have a great filing system for all of these creations. But I just couldn't come up with a good one. So I started taking pictures of each and every (again seriously brilliant) scrap of paper and then (gulp) throwing them away. I know I will probably regret this some day when my kid is a famous artist and all those scraps would be worth major moolah.

But now what to do with all these pictures on my computer? I came across another great idea. Put them all into a nice, neat little photo book! Brilliant. And that's what I did. Our first two books arrived today and Big J is rediscovering his masterpieces all over again (without getting glitter everywhere!)

2012 - Project #2 - Christmas Cards

2012-01-17T18:15:00.003-05:00

I discovered this idea on Pinterest several months ago and did it with last year's cards. So, I was excited to complete the project again with our 2011 cards. I love having them handy to browse through instead of taking up place in a box or drawer because I haven't the heart to toss them.

And it's crazy easy! Just hole-punch all of your cards and bind them together with metal rings. Done!

Custom Toms

2012-01-14T17:48:00.007-05:00

It happened. My precious, comfortable Toms developed a hole! (gasp) I had saved up my pennies for my first pair and wore them everywhere. I spilled red fruit punch on them and had to wash them. They were faded but I still wore them. Then the hole. I just can't wear shoes with holes folks.

I know eventually I'll have to spring for a new pair of Toms. But in the meantime, I felt much better about shelling out the $2 it cost me to turn these -

into these!

How I did it:

I visited my friendly neighborhood Hobby Lobby and found this fun fabric and the Peel N Stick fabric glue. I especially loved this product because I didn't have to wait for it to dry. (Although I did use regular fabric glue at one point as you'll see.) I bought a 1/2 yard of fabric and used about a 1/4 yard.

First I cut two squares of fabric that were big enough to cover the fronts of my shoes. I cut the squares diagonally, sewed them back together and then top-stitched the seam to mimic the Toms seam.

I matched up my seam with the seam on my shoes and pinned it in place.

Then I was able to fold down the top

and pin it in place. I carefully cut a slit in the middle and folded those edges under as well.

I made two stitch lines on the top edge of the fabric. The first was right along the edge and the second was a little over a 1/4 inch inside. I also made a stitch line horizontally across the V.

And of course I missed photographing one step. At this point I began to stick the fabric tape along the top edge of the shoe. Once the tape was in place I pressed the sewed edge of the fabric down, matching up the edges. I placed another piece of table along the center seam line.

After you peel off the backing, the transparent tape remains. I didn't take the tape quite down to the sole of the shoe so there would be room to attach the bottom edge.

One the top edge and center seam were adhered, I began to glue down the bottom edges. First I trimmed the excess fabric so I had about 1/4-1/2" of fabric to tuck under. Then I attached a piece of the tape on either side of the shoe (leaving space to make the pleats at the toe.)

I started on one side and began tucking the fabric under and pressing it to the tape.

Once both sides were done, I folded back the fabric at the toe and attached the final piece of tape. Then I folded it down and secured it.

At the pleats I used my regular fabric glue and put a small dot on each pleat to hold them in place.

And done! My Toms have a fresh, fun new look!!!

2012 - Project #1 - Homemade Laundry Detergent

2012-01-06T12:37:00.005-05:00

Do you have a running list of projects to which you keep adding but rarely cross off? No? Just me? Okay then. Well I've decided that this is the year of crossing them off and sharing them with you in the process.

I've been wanting to try this recipe for homemade laundry detergent but was scared that, after making the 10 gallons, we would hate it. Then a friend made some and shared a sample. (A very nice friend thing to do.) And now - we have our own 5 gallon bucket in the laundry room filled with homemade laundry detergent. The awesome thing? I spent a total of $12 (including the bucket and lid) and have ingredients left over for future batches. And it only took about 10 minutes to make.

Swiffer Wet Jet - refill pads

2011-12-06T17:29:00.004-05:00

Let's face it, the Swiffer Wet Jet pads are expensive! I've been meaning to try my hand at making reusable ones for quite sometime and then today, after a play date which included ten 1-year-olds and Christmas cookies, I was down to one pad. One pad for three rooms. It was time!

First I collected an old towel from the upstairs bathroom and a pretty piece of flannel I've been wanting to use. I also grabbed some velcro. I love the thin velcro that has the loops on one side and the hooks on the other.

Using my one remaining disposable pad for a pattern, I cut out pieces of the terry-cloth towel. (The pieces measure about 12" x6".)

And the matching pieces of flannel.

I divided up my velcro into four pieces for the four pads I was making. This only allowed me enough velcro to put a square in each corner of the pad. I thought in the future I might put an entire strip of velcro across the top and bottom. However, when I used this later it worked just fine with the smaller amount.

I stitched each piece of velcro onto the flannel. A bonus of using the double-sided velcro is that the hook side attached to the flannel, keeping the velcro in place without pinning.

I attached the flannel to the terry cloth with a wide zig-zag stitch around the edge.
I thought that would be the final step but, upon use, the front tended to roll up blocking the jets. So I went back and made another stitch line, boxing in the velcro. This solved the problem.

I think my new pads work even better than the disposable ones!!!

and more baby gifts!

2011-07-06T16:13:00.003-04:00

I've been working on some goodies for some friends' new little ones recently. And now that they've received them, you get to see them too!

latest nursery bedding project

2011-06-26T12:44:00.002-04:00

more monogramming

2010-08-21T17:18:00.001-04:00

more gifts

2010-08-09T15:29:00.003-04:00

and the rest of the pictures from this hint:

completed project

2010-08-09T14:48:00.002-04:00

remember this hint?

here is the completed project. very sweet owl bedding for my niece's nursery.

nursery bedding

2010-07-23T12:03:00.002-04:00

Here is baby J's nursery. I had made the bedding previously for J1 but updated the ties. I also made my first Roman Shade.

gifts

2010-07-23T11:59:00.003-04:00

another project hint

2010-07-23T11:57:00.002-04:00

hmmmmmmm . . . . . .

gift hint

2010-06-26T12:23:00.002-04:00

Here is a sneak peak at a few gift items I've been working on. I will show more details once everything has been gifted!

shirts

2010-06-25T16:41:00.002-04:00

new home projects

2009-11-17T15:10:00.004-05:00

recent projects

2009-06-11T08:33:00.003-04:00

Another great meal

2009-04-23T13:49:00.002-04:00

I made this for dinner on Tuesday evening and it was wonderful. Surprisingly, it was pretty fabulous as leftovers for lunch today too!

Mustard and Brown Sugar Salmon with Herbed Rice

I also made a side of collard greens from the McClellan's garden.

Fun pillow project

2009-04-23T11:11:00.004-04:00

Recent Baby Gifts

2009-04-06T09:18:00.003-04:00

Dinner by Apron's

2009-02-11T11:25:00.003-05:00

This is the meal I made last night from another recipe by Publix.Honey Chicken, Vanilla Rice and Gingered Broccoli

It was very easy and so yummy.

Handmade Christmas

2008-12-30T13:14:00.002-05:00

Now that the gifts have been bestowed . . . I can show some of my handiwork.

Christmas Decorations

2008-12-09T09:01:00.004-05:00

Day After Thanksgiving Shopping

2008-11-28T09:17:00.001-05:00

Toys-R-Us = $345
JoAnn etc. = $65
Krispy Kreme = $13
donut glaze all over a happy little 2-year-old boy face = priceless

The McWedding Dress

2008-11-24T15:50:00.002-05:00

on the menu this week

2008-11-17T13:22:00.001-05:00

Pancetta Risotto
Roasted Chicken & Tomato Cream Pasta
Santi's
Turkey & fixin's for some friends

mmmmm good!

recent baby gift creation

2008-11-16T14:50:00.004-05:00

little toile burp cloths and a snugglie blankie! . . . . for baby Morgan who is scheduled to make his/her debut next summer.

Touches of Fall

2008-11-08T15:24:00.003-05:00

even though I'm gearing up for Christmas (as evidenced in previous posts), I really do enjoy the fall/autumn season as well. here are a few of the fall touches gracing our home these days.

Green Christmas

2008-11-05T11:04:00.003-05:00

this year I'm trying to wrap all my gifts with the abundance of products already in my house. I'm also trying to find and recycle other items I might normally throw away. for instance, I recently ordered some clothes for Joseph from Children's Place (great sale by the way) and the shorts came tied up in this fun string. it was reused on a present . . .along with some leftover gimp from a sewing project.homemade gift tags are also a great way to use up scrapbook paper leftovers!

ahead of the game - part 2

2008-11-05T11:00:00.002-05:00

the pile of presents is growing!

This week's projects

2008-10-29T06:51:00.002-04:00

This week has mostly consisted of alterations that I needed to get caught up on. Currently in the "done" pile are 2 dresses and a cashmere coat. In the "working on pile" is a suit. In the "to do" pile - a bridesmaids dress.

Next week - window seat cushion and pillow cushions and the beginnings of a wedding dress. (As per usual - you'll see pictures of the wedding dress after the wedding.)

knitting - hat & scarf

2008-10-27T09:55:00.001-04:00

Christopher's Nanny made a Christmas sweater for Joseph this year. She gave me her leftover yarn to make a matching hat. I ended up making this hat & scarf. For pictures of the entire ensemble go to our family blog - Swearingen Crib.

The benefits of having a McClellan construction crew at your house

2008-10-23T14:51:00.003-04:00

in no particular order:

1. they still love you if you're totally busted in your jammies at noon.
2. they bring their fryer and boil things in the backyard
3. on tuesday they gave you 6 quarts of boiled peanuts
4. today they boiled shrimp
5. today they invited you to come outside for lunch and bring cocktail sauce
6. today they brought all the leftover shrimp inside as a gift
7. oh . . . and they're fixing your house and building an additional bathroom

happy things

2008-10-21T09:50:00.002-04:00

I've been tagged! Dawn tagged me with this fun, short little list of things that make me happy.

6 things that make me happy (in no particular order):

1. Snuggling with Joseph on the couch in the mornings
2. knitting (thanks to Nanny for the lessons and Dawn for the some great patterns)
3. Santi's
4. Snuggling with Christopher on the couch in the evenings
5. my sisters
6. great friends (who enjoy being made happy by Santi's with us)

and now I tag:
Christine
Sarah
Rita

Autumn decorations

2008-10-17T10:37:00.002-04:00

I've been feeling a little bit crafty between projects for others and these new autumn decorations are a result. I made the wine bag out of a burlap Jamaican coffee bag that Aunt Janet gave us after a recent vacation. I want to make more so yesterday I visited my favorite local fabric/audio/visual store and picked up a 2-yard burlap remnant for $1!

ahead of the game

2008-10-14T15:37:00.001-04:00

. . . . as in . . . I just wrapped 6 christmas presents. And, got a christmas package together to mail to Indiana to await our arrival.

Chair #4

2008-10-08T07:59:00.002-04:00

here is chair #4 (actually chair #3 of the project I was hired to do) . . . and it is complete! finally! this was probably the most challenging one. i'm so glad it's done.

new and improved chair

2008-10-07T12:48:00.002-04:00

my chair

2008-10-07T08:03:00.003-04:00

I just wanted you all to see a picture of this chair. I picked it up at a garage sale in 1996 for $10. The next time you see it, it will look vastly different.

Shetler burritos

2008-10-07T00:32:00.002-04:00

Since we are heading to Nashville again later this week for another whirlwind weekend trip for wedding and family reunion . . . I've been trying to get by without going to the grocery store. So far I've done it . . . except that we're out of eggs and COFFEE! yikes!

So - last night's dinner was a family favorite. Legend has it that my mom had a pound of hamburger thawing one Sunday after church and had no idea what to do with it so my dad whipped up the following recipe. I think we've probably been eating this for about 25 years or so.

Shetler Burritos:

1 pound hamburger
1 onion chopped
1 bell pepper chopped
1 can dark red kidney beans
cornstarch
salt, pepper
shredded cheddar cheese
butter
tortillas

So - you brown the hamburger and add in the onions and bell pepper. Add in the kidney beans with the juice and let all simmer together. Add seasonings to taste. Sometimes I also add a few canned sliced jalapenos and a little of the juice. Although I do this less now that Joseph also eats this. Once everything is cooked, thicken it with a heaping tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with a little water.

To Serve - put a pat of butter on your tortilla then layer with meat mixture and shredded cheese. Fold up the bottom of the tortilla and then fold in the sides. Yes it does sound a little weird. But it's delicious. Ask any of the men who have married into our family. And before you get any ideas that it might taste better with sour cream or salsa on it. . . . well, it just doesn't. You can't mess with pure Shetler perfection.

tagged again

2008-10-07T00:10:00.002-04:00

Christine tagged me - so here we go!

The rules of the tag are as follows:
1.Post the rules on your blog.
2.Write six random things about yourself.
3.Tag six people at the end of your post.
4. If you are tagged, JUST DO IT, and pass the tag along.

1. I am a crier for all things sappy. . . . weddings, movies, tv shows, etc. the tears are also triggered when I surprise someone or see someone really happy.

2. I could not squeeze out a single tear at my own wedding.

3. I've had 4 injuries to my right leg . . . . big toe was splinted after wagon incident, 48 stitches in foot after tent post accident, knee surgery from torn ligaments, 14 more stitches in foot after stepping on broken bottle in back yard.

4. When I was a senior in high school my family hopped in a car (6 of us) and drove to Acapulco, Mexico. It was about a 55 hour trip. Oh - and we drove straight through.

5. I have 56 first cousins on my dad's side of the family and 34 first cousins on my mom's side of the family. Most of them are married and have children. A few of them are already grand-parents. My paternal grandmother was a great-great-grandmother when she passed away.

6. My first pet was a pony named Kristy. She eventually went blind and would eat the grass in circles in the front yard. If she got too close to the road, we'd go and bring her back a little closer to the house. Before you think this is horrible . . . we lived waaaaaay out in the country and had very little traffic on our tiny dirt road.

Ok - who to tag now. . . . I can't think of 6 . . . . how about Katie L. and Michelle M.

the little things

2008-10-01T08:28:00.002-04:00

this morning i am thankful for my coffee. i am always thankful for coffee . . . . . but i am really dragging this morning.

last night i was thankful when Christopher came home and, seeing that dinner was still being defrosted, suggested that we save it for later and order pizza. it was delicious.

i'm also thankful for the sweet little snuggly boy that i hear over the monitor beginning to wake up.

finished chair #2

2008-09-29T15:59:00.003-04:00

chilly day = soup

2008-09-26T15:57:00.004-04:00

I love coming up with soup variations in the winter. Something about a crockpot full of something hearty is comforting. Since we experienced a brief "chill" yesterday - soup was on the menu last evening. Potato & Sausage! I make this a little differently every time. . . because who can remember exactly how you made it the last time?!
Some of the ingredients (some because I probably can't remember them all):

Red Potatoes
Hot Sausage
Onion
Celery
Chicken broth
sour cream
shredded cheese blend
potato starch
chopped green chilis
assortment of spices

I gave in to peer pressure

2008-09-25T16:34:00.004-04:00

Actually there was no pressure - more like mild curiosity on my part. I saw this on Sarah's blog and then on Christine's. I'm pretty sure that mine will be far from accurate since I share music with Christopher. Or, more accurately, he shares with me . . . and has the majority.

So, here's how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc.)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool

Opening Credits: "The Bridge" - Kathy Mattea. . . . . hmmmmm. . . . ?

Waking Up: "I Want You" - Elvis Costello. . . . . does it refer to coffee?

First Day At School: So - this actually ended up being a sermon on "Hiddenness" by Tim Keller.

Falling In Love: "Sour Girl" - Stone Temple Pilots . . . yikes!

Fight Song: "Sometimes" - The Psychedelic Furs . . . (btw - how many of these are Christopher's do you think?)

Breaking Up: "New Sensation" - INXS . . . . interesting. . .

Prom: "A Murder of One" - Counting Crows. . . . this must be why I never went to Prom.

Life's OK: "One Little Victory" - RUSH

Mental Breakdown: "It's Still Rock & Roll to Me" - Billy Joel

Driving: "How Great Our Joy" - Point of Grace . . . somehow, I don't think so.

Flashback: "Big Fat Money" - Van Halen

Getting Back Together: "Sweet Meat" - The Soup Dragons. . . . . um, yah. . .

Wedding: "Moon Over Bourbon Street" - Sting . . . . it was more like "Bridge over the cumberland river"

Birth of Child: "A Better Idea" - Diamond Rio. . . actually somewhat appropriate since it's about God creating man.

Final Battle: "Lessons" - RUSH . . . . and I'm actually surprise RUSH has only come up twice. . .

Death Scene: "She Talks to Angels" - Black Crowes . . . . . weird.

Funeral Song: "It's Probably Me" - Sting

End Credits: "How Could You Want Him" - Spin Doctors. geez.

So - now I'm thinking that maybe I better just do this with my playlist on the Ipod. Stay tuned for try #2.

Mama's hat

2008-09-24T10:15:00.003-04:00

After knitting hats for Daddy & Joseph, I decided Mama also needed one for the "cold" weather we'll have here in . . . oh, January. . . maybe a little of February. Thanks to Dawn for this pattern!

finished chair

2008-09-16T11:28:00.003-04:00

I am officially 1/3 of the way finished with my chair re-upholstery project. If you want to check out the beginning - click here. Here are pictures of the finished first chair. I'm sure you are questioning the "matching" fabrics. The piece on the chair back was from a remnant left over from the original chair. They knew it wouldn't be enough for the whole chair but they still wanted it for sentimental reasons.

recently made meals . . .

2008-09-12T12:16:00.004-04:00

This week I made the following 2 recipes from the Publix cookbook. Both were a hit. I especially loved all the veggies in second recipe.

Carne Asade with salsa & zesty pinto beans
Mediterranean Scallops with Artichoke-Mushroom Pasta

Remembering. . . .

2008-09-11T09:18:00.002-04:00

Some memories fade into the background. Other memories are sharp and clear . . . even down to the tiniest details.

I remember walking into my office on Sept. 11 and being met by Beth who told me that a plane had crashed into the WTC. I remember standing for hours in the back conference room with the rest of my co-workers watching in horror for the rest of the day. I remember that our boss came to check in periodically but never once made any of us feel like we needed to do anything other than stand there and watch that screen.

In other vivid memories - a few years before that - a group of my girlfriends took a trip to New Orleans. We detoured for a couple of days to Beth's parents' home. Her dad fried fish in his carport for us - and by carport I mean - a covered area with a full-fledged kitchen which happened to have room to also park a car - unless there were a bunch of tables set up for fish eating. The next morning he got us all up and took us out in his fishing boat down the bayou to look for alligators. We ended up docking at Fred's bar at 10 am for beer.

Why am I talking about these good times in Louisiana today? I found out a couple of days ago that Beth's dad had an accident and passed away. And so. . . . today I am flooded with memories. . . .

knitting

2008-09-10T20:13:00.003-04:00

I mentioned to my Nanny-in-law earlier this year that I'd like to learn to knit. So for Mother's Day she set me up with a pair of her old needles and her original "learn to knit" booklet. I started with a scarf. Rest assured that none of you are ever going to see it. Then I looked up a pattern for hats on the WWW and here are matching daddy & Joseph hats. I would love to say that they turned out perfectly first time around . . . but believe me. . . there was much tearing out and gnashing of teeth. Nanny - I still don't want you to look to closely. I have it on good authority that you can spot a dropped stitch from across the room.

Cooking with wine

2008-09-10T20:07:00.004-04:00

Cooking tip - I've found that when drinking a glass of wine while cooking, the act of cooking actually becomes more enjoyable and whatever it is I am cooking suddenly seems a wee bit more gourmet.

Oh yah, you know I'm right. . . .

Publix

2008-09-10T20:00:00.003-04:00

One of the many reasons I love Publix grocery stores. . . . recipe cards. As you walk into most Publix stores, they have a small sampling station. A worker is cooking up one of their many recipes to sample. Beside that is an aisle section where they sell all the ingredients for the recipe on the card. Each card is 3-hole punched. The cards are free but you have to pay about $5 for the binder/tabs. Well worth every $! Part of the reason I love this is because I know that the store will have all the ingredients I need. Great, great, great concept and it makes me a loyal customer.

They also have their recipes online: click here

some days. . . .

2008-09-10T09:06:00.002-04:00

you need a big cup of coffee. . . .

current "to do" list

2008-09-02T16:34:00.003-04:00

Get Ready for Hurricane Hanna

1 - bottled water (check)
2 - extra batteries (check)
3 - battery powered fan (check)
4 - weather radio (check)
5 - portable DVD player (check)
6 - non-perishable food (check)

*edited to say* - and now Hurricane Hanna looks like it will skip right by us . . . so I guess we're already for Ike and/or Josephine. . .

I need lists

2008-08-29T17:27:00.002-04:00

See previous organization post . . . .

I need lists. It's very bad for me to go shopping without them. I inevitably arrive home without some of the items I need and with superfluous items that looked good. For example - today I went to Costco twice and Super Wal-mart once. I did not get body spray or vitamins or apple cider vinegar (that was even on my list for the grocery store yesterday and I forgot it.)

I do however have 2 new pairs of shorts, 1 new pair of jeans, People magazine and a bottle of wine (well, 2/3 of a bottle of wine now. yum.).

organization

2008-08-28T09:49:00.004-04:00

I love to be organized. I usually don't have a problem with this professionally but things at home are not always as organized as I'd like them to be. So I've taken a couple of steps to treat homemaking a little more like I treat my professional interests. The first is a binder that is broken down by months with places for grocery lists, household tasks (daily, weekly, monthly) and more.

The second step was to organized the many (many, many) magazines I had laying around the house. I never wanted to throw them away because there were so many great recipes, decorating ideas, etc. But how would I ever know which idea was where? So a couple of months ago when Christopher was out of town, I bought a file box and folders and went to work.
I went through every magazine and pulled out every page that was of interest. Then I sorted and filed into categories (i.e. recipes, holidays, decorating ideas, playrooms, kitchens, etc.). As I was doing this I discovered so many recipes I had already forgotten about and I'm looking forward to adding some great new items to our menu this year.

A busy week

2008-08-28T09:39:00.002-04:00

Some weeks I feel like nothing gets accomplished all week. Other weeks I feel like I've gotten a lot done. This week falls in the latter category and I'm so happy. It's Thursday morning and so far this week I've done all the laundry, made 2 great meals, had 2 playdates for Joseph, reupholstered a chair, blogged, organized and executed an event for Chick-fil-a and managed to keep my kitchen fairly clean. Today is grocery shopping day. I have my list and coupons ready.

The 2 great meals this week:

Boursin Chicken with apple butter sauce, saffron rice with craisins and asparagus

Beef & Vegetable soup with homemade rustic Italian bread

so yummy!

selfish projects

2008-08-27T08:02:00.005-04:00

Sometimes I need to take a little break from creating for others and make a little creative something for us. Here are a couple of blankets I've made in recent months.
This one is made from all of my Nashville t-shirts. If you look closely you'll see Jacks BBQ, Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, Tin Pan South, Fan Fair and the Marathon among others. The pieces between are made out of old blue jeans and Titans fabric.The blanket below is one I made for Joseph (although I really love how soft it is and find myself snuggling with it in the evenings). The fabrics were all remnants I had at the house already. Muslin, blue jeans, seersucker, t-shirts, Titans fabric and flannel. I did have to buy the batting and the flannel for the backing. I also did a little monogramming on a couple of the pieces. And instead of quilting, I knotted blue yarn through all the layers to make it a little more whimsical.

more chairs

2008-08-27T07:49:00.004-04:00

The previous project was a joint effort with my upstairs neighbor Matt. He is an extremely gifted wood-worker and restorer. He beautifully restored the antique table and chairs that I recovered.

Here is another project that we are working on together. We were given 3 more antique chairs from the same owners of the previous project. Matt tore them apart and refinished the wood. I am reupholstering.the bare chair. . . . the fabric that will go on the back, seat and arms. . . I rewebbed the back, stuffed the back and seat and covered with muslin.next - covering the arms in the same way and then adding the chosen fabric and finishing touches. Stay tuned . . . . 2 more to go. . . .

dining room chairs

2008-08-27T07:36:00.005-04:00

This project involved recovering the seats of some antique dining room chairs. I thought it was going to be pretty simple but ended up being quite involved. The hardest part was tearing them apart since the owners wanted to use the original fabric. So I removed hundred of antique nails, removed nasty stuffing, re-webbed the chair bottoms, restuffed and recovered the chairs. original chair - you can't tell how horribly it caves in.stripped chair - beginning the re-webbing process.re-webbing almost done. . . some of the hundreds of antique nails removed and reused on these seats. . .after I re-webbed, re-stuffed and re-covered. . . I put on a thin backing.and - the finished product below.

Expanding blog

2008-08-27T07:33:00.001-04:00

So I've decided to expand my blog a bit to include more than just the sewing projects I've been working on. Who knows what will be end up as a post . . . . could be anything! :-)

Joseph's Chair

2008-06-06T09:23:00.003-04:00

I made this chair for Joseph this week. It was a bit of an experiment. Originally I was just going to make a cover for his little booster seat to convert it into a chair. But, then it turned into a full-fledged chair of it's own. I would have probably started out differently had I known the outcome. . . . but it works!

Guitars for baby!

2008-01-29T10:18:00.000-05:00

The Rayners Guitar Nursery

Check out this link to see pictures of nursery bedding I recently completed.

Chair slipcover

2007-09-08T17:25:00.001-04:00

This is my latest project - slipcovers for a chair and ottoman. I actually had the chair at my house but not the ottoman.

Wedding Dress

2007-08-06T13:58:00.001-04:00

Now that the wedding is over, I can post pictures of my latest wedding dress creation. The bride looked very lovely in it. It was made of champagne satin with a heavy lace overlay. It had a short train with a French bustle.

My new baby

2007-07-22T19:44:00.000-04:00

Isn't she beautiful?!

Recent Projects

2007-07-16T09:11:00.000-04:00

I realize it's been awhile since I've posted any sewing projects. This is not because I haven't been sewing. . . . but more because I've forgotten to take pictures. Recent projects have included: a king size bedroom suite - duvet cover, euro shams and 8 curtains; sweatbands - headband wristbands - for 8 Chick-Fil-A Cows; little calf costumes for a Chick-Fil-A TV appearance; dust ruffles for a little girl's room; a wedding dress.

Here are pictures of the dust ruffle and calf costumes. Pictures of the wedding dress will come after the wedding takes place on August 4.

Wedding Dress

2007-05-22T10:51:00.000-04:00

Here is a wedding dress I did last fall.

Beach Blanket & Bag

2007-04-26T11:59:00.000-04:00

A friend from church was sorting through her fabric closet and gave me her remnants. Usually when this happens, I end up throwing most of it away because it's scraps. But it was entirely different in this case. Not that everything was my first choice in fabric, but they were mostly good, big pieces! I've been wanting to make a big blanket for us to take to the beach instead of the usual towel/sheet assortment I usually come up with. So, I was able to take 4 fabrics that complimented each other and make a 7'x8' beach blanket along with a handy carrying bag.

It's folded up but this is what the front looks like: 10" squares of 4 different fabrics pieced together.

The back is a large piece of the blue/cream plaid with a border of the dark blue.

The bag is lined in the rust color and has a pocket on the outside.

Stay tuned for more adventures with the remnant bag. . . . . . I've got big plans!

Joseph's Nursery

2007-03-29T21:52:00.000-04:00

This is the bedding I made for Joseph's nursery. There was also a matching boppy cover.

Fashion Show!

2007-03-26T10:33:00.000-04:00

Okay - so here is probably the biggest project I've ever done. The company I used to work for (MOO ROO/Mary Norton, Inc.) took part in Charleston Fashion Week last week and contracted with me to create all of their cocktail and evening gowns for the event. The dresses were to serve as a backdrop for their new line of shoes and handbags. I have to add - the new shoes and handbags are fabulous! Anyway - it was a pretty daunting task but I did it and everything turned out great. I also enjoyed being a part of the show and dressing all the girls. Talk about an adrenaline rush!

Pillows!

2007-03-26T09:29:00.000-04:00

Here is a set of pillows I made recently for a friend. They each had a 2-inch flange and zipper. Putting in a zipper and flange was easier in theory than actuality but I figured it out eventually!

Sewing

2007-03-26T08:00:00.000-04:00

I have decided to start a second blog about my various sewing projects. I was just going to post the pictures on our family blog but I think most of the people that visit that site only want to see pictures of Joseph! So here are a few of the projects I've been working on.