I'm cranking these babies out...

The latest:

 

I am loving that with each apron, I can see how I am improving and progressing. 

This one was a lot of fun! The fabric is from Mood Designer Fabrics (I made it work!), and the legit vintage buttons and sash were {awesome} finds at the last Rose Bowl Flea Market. 

I seriously considered keeping this, but it was my first for-realsie-paid-apron-order, so I wasn't allowed. Thanks mom! :]

 So I have officially decided to start an Etsy shop. Soon.

But first, I am really excited about checking out the  

Renegade Craft Fair on July 16. 

Are you going?

I am planning on being thoroughly inspired there--regarding styles, business names, marketing strategies, pricing, etc. etc. So my plan is to launch my online shop something by August 1. We will see how that plan goes! 

Until then, I have 4 apron orders from friends 
and family to keep up with. Woot!

another apron!

This is my latest work! I am really proud of it.

I am definitely learning as I go, since I am a self-taught seamstress, here. This took me awhile to figure out, but I have been wanting to challenge myself with harder designs each time!

I also made some simple tags, since this is a gift :]

I have another one in the works right now that I am excited for, too! I bought some really great fabric from Mood, and vintage buttons and trim from the Rose Bowl Flea Market--it is going to be amazing!

my latest creation

A couple weeks ago my husband asked me to sew an apron as a wedding gift for his childhood friend... he asked the night before the wedding. Oh, husbands!

Well, I haven't sewn in awhile, so I thought it was a good excuse to get back in the saddle.

So hubs and I went to the fabric store that night, and I went to work. Hubs stayed up with me until 3:30am until I completed it. 

He was great moral support: "Keep sewing, woman!"

No, really. He said that. But it was funny, not abusive.

 

As tired as I was, and as frustrated as I got with it... I am thrilled with the end result. I hope the bride likes it as much as I do!

Best sewing project yet! I am making progress!

Redecorating on the cheap

We are moving next month--five blocks away and $325 less per month. Holla. So while I hate the act of moving, I am excited about decorating a new space. And by decorating, I mostly mean re-arranging and re-purposing what we already have.

My immediate list for our new apartment is:

1) Paint our dinette table (if you could call it that?) black

2) Use it's table cloth elsewhere, to cover up some clear storage bins

2) Recover our couch pillows in black and gray, to better coordinate with the coffee table, tv table, and wall art that we already have

3) Ditch our cool-but-have-served-their-purpose 1960's mosaic end tables that don't match much, and won't fit in our new living room

4) Keep our walnut colored furniture and other decor in close vicinity of each other, and do the same for our black furniture and knick-knacks, to look more intentional with our decorating

My "eventually" list for our new apartment is:

5) Possibly sew a long curtain to cover the exposed shelving in the hallway (we'll have to see how it looks with all our stuff unpacked)

6) Make one of these book page wreaths. So Anthropologie. Love it.

{ Living with Lindsay book page wreath tutorial }

Today, I started on #1 by painting our dinette table that you may remember from DIY dining chair revamp. Look forward to a post about that soon :]

sewing adventures: Throw pillows!

I was on a DIY-ing roll last week, so I am still catching up on my blogging to show it off!

I won't go too into detail, because I am a sewing n00b, and most people probably know how to sew a pillow case.

But I DO want to tell you about the fabric... I bought this at Red, White & Blue Thrift in Gladstone, OR with my good friend and fellow blogger, Lauren. She introduced me to this place, and it is seriously rad. Like seriously. Check out the rockin' deals Lauren has found there here and here. I have gone to RW&B with Lauren twice now, and this fabric was a result of shopping trip #1. The rest of my purchases weren't too exciting, but I plan on posting my finds from the more recent shopping trip #2 very soon.

...Okay, back to the point. This fabric actually lived it's first life as a (super incredible) sheet. I found it mixed in with the table cloths and blankets.

Get this--it was $2.99. A queen sized sheet, which is equal to about 5 1/2 yards of fabric, was $2.99! I wasn't sure what I would use it for, but I couldn't miss out on a deal like that. Fabric can get pricey, and I figured I could at the very least use it for sewing experiments, and not feel bad!

So I used it for two pillowcases, and have a lot left for other experimenting. Perfect!

Supplies:

Fabric ($2.99 for more than enough)

Scissors (I really need to get me some sewing scissors...)

Measuring tape (obviously mine is a little more industrial than the typical seamstress. Cut me a break)

Straight pins

Sewing machine (Or, I suppose, if you are more patient than I, you could hand stitch this one)

20" x 20" feather pillow ("Fjadrar" from IKEA, $7.99 each)

{ Supplies }

Step 1: Cut

Cut your squares of fabric - again, I didn't use a pattern. I eye-balled it. I roughly traced the area around the pillow and added a few inches on all sides to allow room for the pillow fluff, and for my amateur-unpredictable seam allowance.

Step 2: Pin sides

I laid square 1 face up on the ground, then my pillow, then square 2 face down on the pillow lined up squarely. (I wasn't super picky about my fabric pattern being 100% continuous from front to back, but I made sure that my stripes were going the same direction.) I then used my straight pins to close up 3 sides of my soon-to-be pillowcase. I made sure the fabric was taught, but not so tight that it didn't allow for the pillow fluff to relax.

{ Working station a.k.a. the floor of our apartment }

{ Pre-sew }

Step 3: Sew sides

I pulled out the pillow from my pinned fabric and ran it through my sewing machine using a basic, straight stitch. I then turned it right-side-out and put the pillow back in.

Step 4: Finish open side

I finished my pillow the lazy way. I didn't do any velcro, zippers, buttons, or whatever. So I can't wash the case without ripping open my seam. But I don't care. I figure if I ever really want to wash it, the burden of zipping it through the sewing machine to re-shut it wasn't enough to teach myself how to sew enclosures--yet. That will be another day. So I turned my raw edge in, pinned it across, and craftily ran that through the sewing machine as well.

That's right! NO hand stitching!

I hate hand stitching.

{ Done! }

So easy! And my husband was so proud of my handiwork!

Yessss... I love appearing more crafty than I really am :]

sewing adventures continued...

This is the bridal shower gift that I was ever-so-discreetly dancing around talking about in sewing adventures. I am so excited to finally post a picture of it! I had a lot of fun making it.

{ my beautiful friend Cristine }

This was my first apron. I have made one more since then, and hope to crank out a few more in the near future. I am thinking about trying a new style out, too. I haven't even used a pattern yet, I just traced my own apron and made a few alterations.

My FAVORITE part of this apron is the ruffle. You can't see the detail in this photo, but it is actually a bubble hem of organza polished off with a narrow cream satin ribbon. Delicious.

:]

I am really proud of myself. The only other thing that I've ever sewn in my life is a quilt-- at Quilt Camp. Oh, yeah. I went to Quilt Camp. I went with two friends the summer after high school graduation, and the next-eldest Quilt Camper was 11. Whom, by the way, finished 3 days before me and proceeded to make matching pillows and clothing for her sock monkey with her quilting scraps. Yeah. I felt cool.

But my quilt turned out amazing!

Point being, I had only sewn straight lines, I had my best friend thread the sewing machine when I screwed it up, and I forced the quilting teacher do my hand sewing.

This apron was 100% Claire. No one else was even home, so I was completely self reliant! My only help was the ancient sewing machine instruction booklet with my grandma's amazing cursive notes in it-- which also made the whole process even more enjoyable. :]

sewing adventures

About a month ago I was given my grandmother's sewing machine. To make this heirloom even awesomer (oh, I said it!) I found out that my dad actually bought this machine for my grandmother.

How sweet is that? Sweet as in double meaning--precious, and way cool!

So this Wednesday, my dad oiled it up for me and I used my day off to complete a legit sewing project. From fabric store, to reading the instruction manual on how to thread the thing, to final product all in one day. So proud of myself, and had so much fun. My husband was at work all day, so I was home alone, but I literally would dance around with uncontrollable joy every so often because I was so excited. ha!

Anyway, I can't say what it is that I made yet, or post a picture, because I made a gift for friend's bridal shower coming up in a couple weeks. And she has admitted to reading this blog, so she can't see it on here before she unwraps it. :] But pictures will come soon after that!