Save the Date!

Save the Date design complete! Simple and Sweet.

Wedding Bells!

Here's a little glimpse into my life over the past few weeks. Wedding planning! So wonderful.

My most recent addition to all the special wedding treasures! Love them.

We're getting married at The Trolley Barn in Atlanta, Georgia. It's the most adorable, perfect little place for us. We can't wait!

Craft projects and decor collecting galore! So so fun.

Oh my goodness, I am having the time of my life. So blessed to get to be marrying my dream come true. And so blessed to have such sweet friends and family surround us with love and excitement! We have so much to be thankful for.

xoxoxo.

A cabinet full of fabric.

makes me a very happy girl!!

Senior portfolio sampling.

All designed and made by hand from yours truly. Enjoy!

1. Quilted carry-all tote bag.

. . .

2. "Simple Love" tunnel books

4.75" x 4.75" fabric, book board, kraft paper, vintage papers

*detail of interior image w/ book expanded.

. . .

3. Provencal Garden Dress

*industry size 10. Cotton bodice, linen skirt.

. . .

4. Girl/Boy Quilts- hand embroidered.

60" x 70"

60" x 70"

. . .

5. Embroidered Tea Towel w/ crocheted edging. "lambie pie"

*Lacoste, France. Fall 2009

. . .

6. Embroidered wall hanging w/crocheted edging. "Mr. Bunny Pants"

*Lacoste, France. Fall 2009

. . .

6. Embroidered wall hanging w/ crocheted edging. "Lovey Dovey"

*Lacoste, France. Fall 2009

(Ps. scroll down a few more entries incase you missed the little blouses!)

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

I finally got my thank you cards in the mail today. Hooray!

Bb is for Blouse

Here are some images of the little Girls' ruffled blouses that I made for part of my senior portfolio. Inspired by that good ol' vintage circus imagery, these little blouses are fun and full of personality. I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed making them!

Thank you times a million Caitlin Betsy Bell, for the photos!

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

Mail Call!

It came! It came! About a week ago I ordered this lovely 1940's Rex Fifth Avenue Flapjack Compact from a seller on Etsy. It was actually an exact replacement of a compact I had purchased at a local antique store about a year ago but sadly lost not long thereafter. I just love the dainty little design on the top and the fact that the compact is so big. I'm just so glad to have "it" back!

. . .

. . .

Some fun history: This compact dates back to the 1940's, during WWII. The company was able to meet war restrictions with this compact by creating a non-metal case. Made in the USA. Hooray! I'm a happy girl.

Getting Crafty: Spool Hooks

. . .

. . .

Oh my goodness, love these! I found this fun little project on Haylie B. Waring's Blog. Her DIY project was also featured on Design Sponge as a step-by-step tutorial with great instructions and photos. Check it out here and go try it for yourself! I know I'm going to!

I would like...

more vintage dresses...Yes, please!

It's been a while...

It's been a while since I've done anything not related to finishing up my senior portfolio...but now it's done! And today I had the pleasure of scrolling through some blogs that I haven't been able to keep up with lately. Here are some lovely photos I ooh'd and ahh'd over while scrolling through OnceWed today. love love love.

P.S. photos of work from my portfolio coming soon!

Dreaming of...

Picnics! and Quilts!

(see more lovely photos like this one here.)

And sun-shiny outdoor adventures!

And all of those wonderful things that come along with Spring! Hooray Sunshine! You are magnificent today.

My manifesto so far...

*Photo Credit: Erica Parker (http://ericaparker.wordpress.com/)

Manifesto for Making

1. Love and live by the beauty in the details.

2. Making and baking go hand in hand.

3. Don’t seek out the moments or make excuses to take breaks; let them find you. It’s more fun that way.

4. Love what you do and do it well. “Your God-given purpose will always coincide with someone’s need. You will always be excellent at what you are truly passionate about. People are always willing to pay for what they need if it is truly excellent.”

5. Money isn’t everything. “The riches of personal fulfillment easily compensate for the lack of material reward when one is living a life of purpose.”

6. Never second-guess yourself or your work. But don’t settle for something when you are genuinely feeling unresolved.

7. Stretch your mind, heart, and hands through continuous learning. You never know what process(es) you might love next.

8. Surprise people with fun little handmade gifts.

9. Drink coffee. Out of cute mugs. Lots of times and lots of it.

10. Never stop collecting. Ideas. Images. Objects. Materials. You name it, take hold of them.

11. “Sewing is easy. Sewing is profitable. Sewing is Fun. Be Patient. Be Persistent. Keep Trying. Perseverance Pays.”

12. Embrace the past and the individuals that lived it. There is much to be learned from it. And from them.

13. Be quick to recognize the needs of others. Serve them. And don’t think twice about helping. This is what you were created for.

14. Find joy in every circumstance. In every broken needle. In every incorrectly sewn seam. There are lessons to be learned, and laughter to be found.

15. People (both creative and non-creative alike) understand and appreciate color and texture. Or at least want to. And if they don’t, make them. Use this to your advantage and combine them brilliantly!

16. When the creative process is flowing, don’t stop!

17. Make the things you want to make. Then find little ways to make them even better!

18. You don’t have to forsake the cuteness or the sweetness to find the toughness. Just the same, you don’t have to remove the toughness to hold on to the cuteness. It’s not necessarily about cuteness vs. toughness. It’s about cuteness and sweetness with adamancy.

Dear Nana, I've got bad news...

There are no starbucks here. None. Not one. (Although I did look it up and there are apparently 40 stores in Paris.) And even if you do want a cup of coffee, most likely you have to sit and drink it at the cafe. The concept of "To-Go" doesn't really exist here,

which is unfortunate when you have to decide between really wanting a cup of coffee and wanting to keep shopping/sight seeing (especially when you're on a time schedule).

While we were in Nimes last weekend we stopped at this little cafe for a bite to eat and I wanted a coffee really bad. I ordered a cafe au lait (coffee with steamed milk). I was thrilled when I recieved this cup of coffee. Here's why: Up until this point all the coffees that have been brought out to me have been either in tiny little coffee cups or in a regular sized cup but less than half full (I'm being pessimistic I realize, but its the truth). What I do order is normally very good. Of course, not as good as a white mocha! And probably only "very good" in comparison to the burnt tasting "diner coffee"-as Janelle calls it, that's provided here on campus. I end up finishing it very quickly and it never seems to be enough to satisfy. The cup of coffee that they brought out to me was in a good sized coffee mug and was also totally full. I was SO happy and the coffee was really good! It even came with one of those tasty biscof cookies. yum!

While we were sitting there finishing up our lunch (We sat outside), I noticed these two women walk away from the cafe with these little red to-go cups. I got really excited for a second but didn't want to get my hopes up. I thought surely it HAD to be coffee in those cups. And I wanted one. For all I knew this may have been my only chance for a to-go cup of coffee while in France. I asked the woman in my poor French if they had the cafe creme "to-go" She said "Oui!" and I excitedly told her I would like one of those s'il vous plait! (She probably thought I was crazy. But I didn't care.)

It was an exciting day for coffee. I walked away from that cafe a very happy girl, proud of what I had discovered. But still, there are no Starbucks nonetheless. And even if their were, It probably wouldn't be as good as it is in the States.

St. Remy and Les Olivades

The other day all the fibers girls went on a field trip to Les Olivades and the town of St. Remy. Les Olivades is the last local printing facility left to print traditional provencal fabrics. The experience was amazing. There were beautiful, beautiful fabrics. Lot's of interesting machinery. Ton's of screens. And giant printing tables that seemed to go on and on for eternity. 

Here's what I got to see:

This woman was our tour guide at Les Olivades. 

. . .

. . .

This was one of the screens that they use to print the fabrics. It was bigger than me! 

(P.S. Look daddy! I finally got the zipper put into my feedsack skirt and I looooved wearing it so much!)

. . .

This is their giant washing machine. 

And here are those printing tables that never seemed to end. Luckily they were printing some yardage that day and we were able to watch the process. We could have probably stayed and watched them print all day!

Beautiful fabrics everywhere you looked.

Sweet little printed scarves from their showroom. It's funny but these reminded me of my screen printing final...(the image that I used above as the header for my blog was also a screen print I did this summer!)

After Les Olivades we went and wandered around the cute little town of St. Remy. Janelle, Erica, Melissa, and I ate sandwiches at a cute cafe, enjoyed ice cream, and bought chocolates from the most amazing little chocolate store in the world! 

It was a great day. The best day yet.