Sneak peek!

My handy man made me something!!



Three guesses what this is! :)

This has been on my "honey, pleeeeease?" list for a while, so I'm stoked that they are coming to be. We're still putting on the finishing touches, and I have lots of refolding to do, but I couldn't wait to share. I'll be back with more pics once the entire system is in place. Can't wait!

Garden Party love!

To show of the lovely Garden Party fabric from Anna Maria Horner, Beth from Sew, Mama, Sew has featured my curtains on their blog. I thought it was impossible to love that fabric line any more, but after seeing that cute dress and tote, I'm smitten! Pop on over and take a look:

Speaking of my dining room, we can finally enjoy our curtains while seated at a real dining table! I feel so grown up now... :)

I got a great deal on this vintage teak table on ebay. I presume it is danish from the lovely engineering - the top flips up and slides back to make a long table for 8! Love! And it's solid wood, unlike most of the danish modern wannabe's in the catalogs these days, which is an added bonus (and a bit more "green").

Now I have to decide on what fabric/fabric combos to use for placemats on our casual eating days. I hate to cover that beautiful wood but I need some protection. Even the most well-meaning man (i.e. mine) can forget where he is setting that frosty mug when immersed in a meal.

So, what do you think? Care to vote? One of these or none of the above? I'm open to suggestions!

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think...

Art for the non-artistic

I was feeling all artsy fartsy this weekend and staring at the big empty wall over my couch. Oh how I'd love to paint a giant masterpiece that would impress all my friends! But alas, my painting skills topped out with stick figures and some days it is hard just to stay within the lines. Yet I had to do SOMETHING.

My inspiration struck when poking through the lovely blog of Anna Maria Horner, another Nashvillian with a drool-worthy house and studio (and fabric line!). Her appearance on the Martha Stewart Show featured a project that even my so-so painting skills could master - painted fabric silhouettes.

For my lovelies, I picked up some "batik" fat quarters at JoAnn's, some canvases at Michaels (hurrah, on sale), and some Royal Coat decoupage finish. I skipped the Modge Podge because it said something about lingering tackiness on the label which didn't sound cool. My stencils were actually huge printouts of selected letters. I have this weird thing for decorating with text--it always catches my eye--and I wasted oodles of time on dafont.com searching for JUST the right font.

Easy peasey project. I followed the directions given to staple the fabric, then traced my font outline using a sheet of graphite paper. Decoupage coat over that so I don't rub it off, then paint.

Done!

And then I shopped the house for other items, put up some shelves, and we have art!

Win a quilt!

So through the wonderfulness that is blogland, I stumbled upon this awesome quilt giveaway from Old Red Barn Company. In this post you can see the fabulous quilt made with Sandi Henderson fabrics. LOVE!

Quilts are an amazing amount of work, so this is one cool giveaway. I hesitate to share as I want the quilt myself, but it's just too pretty to not show the whole world! Be warned, however--if you are related to me and win, I will be stealing the quilt from you!

P.S. How much do you love the Sandi Henderson fabrics? Soo cool!

Online fabric stores

I'm a stickler for fabric matching. Hence why, despite buying everything else online, I shop for fabric mostly at brick and mortar stores. You can't capture correct colors in a photograph for the web, I've found. HOWEVER, if you know what you want or just want to build your stash with cute things that you'll match up later, online stores are the best. Even with rising shipping prices, those online stores don't have to pass on their overhead to you and you end up with a slightly lower price per yard. No free advice or oohing and ahhing over your latest project like in the stores, but awesome when you want to shop for fabric in your pajamas.

Now where oh where would you shop online for fabric? Read on, read on....

Fabric.com - by far one of the best organized online fabric stores. Great for when you are looking for something specific (Amy Butler fabric, anyone?). However, colors in their photos are notoriously off--at least on my computer. But they have a fantastic, no questions asked return policy complete with free return shipping if you are way surprised by how something looks when its arrives. Sign up for their email list to get coupons and sale announcements.

Buyfabrics.com - crazy extensive collection of home dec fabric. Some brand names, but easier to browse when you have a color scheme or general idea of what you want than a specific fabric need. I haven't ordered from them, but I've heard good things.

Reprodepot fabrics - a favorite for super cute fabrics--retro/vintage, designer, imported, etc. The fabrics they showcase aren't cheap, but their prices are competitive. I missed out on the Marimekko sale, which is a huge bummer! Definitely great for those unusual things you can't find anywhere else.

Textile Arts - I admit I've only browsed here, never bought, but they have a lovely collection of Marimekko eye candy. I so should live in Scandinavia.

Thousands of bolts and only one nut - Mom turned me on to this one. Prices are definitely VERY cheap, but you have to just pick a color and browse through. Maybe you'll find a gem!

Robey's Fabrics - I haven't browsed their fabric site much, but I do know that their companion site has some great deals on pillow forms, especially the odd sizes that you can't find at JoAnn's.

And if you want your shopping to be greener:

NearSea Naturals - enviable selection of organic fabrics, including cotton. hemp, wool, and blends. I'm a sucker for the colorgrown cotton. Such pretty colors and not a drop of dye! Going green isn't cheap, but they offer nice volume discounts if you have the capital (or a lot of friends).

PM organics - lovely selection of knit and woven organic fabrics.

Anyone have any other online fabric shopping gems?

Uh oh, more fabric

I spent a good portion of the day at Stitcher's Garden in Franklin yesterday. I even called Mom while I was there to see if she needed anything, and she was incredibly jealous.
Anyway, that store has all sorts of goodies. They had the AB oxford stripe I was thinking about, but I wasn't so in love with how the Waverly fabric went with it once I saw it up close. Never fear, I found something even better:"Vintage" Amy Butler Charm fabric. I don't even remember seeing this when it was first out, but I LOOOOOVE it. It has the yummy peach color, so it goes with my faux suede. I picked up some green light weight twill to use for the piping. I'm even going to attempt to isolate some of the paisley motifs for the front. This store never gets rid of anything as they still had quite a bit of this fabric as well as other discontinued AB fabrics. And the ladies working there actually have a method to their madness and know all the fabric they have, even if it does look like a textile truck barfed up bolts...
Apparently they don't ever get rid of notions either. I picked up these too:
Cover-a-buckle? I don't think they even make these anymore. If they did, they would certainly be more than $1.75. The plastic is all brittle-I stuck my finger through the front pulling it from the bag! Ha! Gotta love those little small town shops...

FABRIC! (and so the sketch changes..)

I was out in suburbia this weekend, and went into JoAnn's. I had a coupon, they were having a sale, so I couldn't resist. But I did find something for my "Amy Butler" bag:
On the right is a faux suede and I just loved the color. Yummy, like peaches. Or lilies. Or other warm weather-like things that I'm craving now. It wasn't quite the right color for me to use with some reclaimed shower curtain fabric from the old house. Never fear, the waverly print in the middle is much nicer! I know, not very green, but I figure this is special circumstances. And then the requisite matching cotton for lining.
I love the fabric, but it required reworking of my sketch:Yeah. So I've decided I need even more fabric! I'm picturing an Amy Butler stripe for the piping, like this one:
And maybe I'll take a flower motif from another fabric to appliqué on the front pocket. Of course, I'll have to look at all this in person as I'm insane about color matching. Next weekend I'll take a trip to the quilt shop in frankin. That place is crazy, with bolts of fabrics floor to ceiling. If they don't have it, no one will!

Cute Green Things

If you haven't seen it already, the Domino Magazine/Treehugger.com eco-decorating list is full of great ideas. I'd love to get my hands on some hemp/organic cotton fabric and print my own designs like this hand silk-screened beauty:

Mod Green Pod

Hand-silk-screened with water-based paint, this ornate organic cotton (perfect as a Roman shade) is as fresh as the brand-new firm that designed it.

"Grand Jubilee" $97.50/yard, modgreenpod.com for stores

Photo by domino digital studio

Oh, and how adorable is this dress:

BIG FLIRT

Vanessa Barrantes

Peruvian native Barrantes incorporates natural fibers—such as bamboo, which is antimicrobial—into her swingy dresses. Linen "Sophia" $198 lolaymaria.com

Turns out it is pretty easy being green after all! :)