Featured Artist Friday : Elliott Smith

If you have never had the pleasure of listening to artist Elliott Smith, he is a must listen. He took his life a few years back unfortunately, and is truly an amazing talent lost. My husband and I were able to see one of his last few shows in Los Angeles in the same neighborhood he lived. It was truly an amazing show. We waited in line for nearly three hours hoping we would get in, and were able to buy tickets from people at the last minute. It was a small little venue in the heart of Echo Park. The show was way worth the wait. His most famous song which brought him out into the mainstream was featured in the movie "Good Will Hunting." The song was "Miss Misery," another amazing song. Elliott loved the Beatles, and you can hear their influence throughout his albums. Enjoy.

"Squeal with excitement!"

Yeah! I finally got my "Built by Wendy Dresses" book. After much delay with the snow and Presidents day, it is finally here! I cannot even tell you how excited I am to get to work on some of these dresses. Wendy gives so much inspiration for 25 different styles of dresses. They are for all different seasons as well, and even if their not, you can modify the sleeves, length , and collars. Wendy gives all different styles of sleeves, collars, neck shapes, and so much more to modify each dress type to make it your own. I just can't wait. I'm not a everyday dress wearer but these will look great with leggings, tights, and so many summer combos. This book is not for the beginner but if your have sewn and read patterns I think you could figure it out. Wendy's book "Sew U" as I have said before is the perfect book for beginnners, and is packed full of patterns and inspiration. I found my paints last night and did some test runs. I painted on a heavy muslin, and I love love the effect the paints have on the fabric. The fabric is not thick when you let it dry. They really are not paint but rather dye. So they can be lightened up like a watercolor but are longlasting like dye. The name is Dye-Na-Flow. I can't wait to show my finished fabric pallet. I want to do a little bit more practice and perfecting the effect I want. Such a fun new discovery.

Watercolors on the brain

So I am working a big project right now. I will reveal more details here soon. But the project I hope will involve watercolors. Not just watercolors on paper, but on fabric. I guess to be exactly correct I want to use Dye-Na-Flow dyes that when put on fabric make a watercolor effect. The thing with acrylic paints it that they always come off more plasticy than I would prefer, and really hardens up the fabric. I want something that is going to come off vibrant yet delicate to the fabric. I don't know if I have written about Amy Karol from one of my fave blogs "Angry Chicken." She wrote a book I believe sometime last year called "bend the rules with fabric." Amy's book goes into detail of how to alter you fabric through many different methods such as painting, screen printing, and appliquing. Amy goes into great detail of all the products that she has tried and tested. Such a great resource for altering your fabric. She has a chapter on painting on fabric and I am so excited to try this method. I am planning on making a trip to our local Artist and Craftsman supply store for the Dye-Na-Flow dyes. The little bottles are as cheap as 2.79 each. I am super excited to try this out. I will post pics of my trials and probably many errors.

My first of fave etsy finds

One of the cutest finds from shop KCQ is the adorable plaid pug coat. I don't have one myself but the picture is just too cute to not share!



I can't wait to plant in my garden and grow fresh flowers and vegetables. This little bunny would brighten up anyone's day from pretty random objects



I absolutely love these little creations and the colors from ememem's



I love Emily Martins prints from the black apple

A Happy Valentines Day!

I woke up this morning to a delicious breafast in bed. I even got to sleep in. With three little ones running around the house my husband had quite the challenge keeping them quiet. It was so nice and delicious. My husband can make a mean breakfast. Then I did a little baking. I made Vegan Chocolate Rasberry chocolate chip cookies. I am not personally vegan, but my daughter has alot of allergies, so vegan is the way desserts go. They are actually cheaper to make, and I have found better for us all around. I found the recipe from one of my flickr friends "veganmichele". The recipe can be found here They are to die for. Soft and chewy and the rasberry perserves just add a delicious touch. I love, love rasberrys ecspecially with chocolate. I will be baking these many more times! Have a Happy Valentines Day!

Thriftstore Finds

We have been snowed in for days it seems like and I'm afraid it doesn't seem to be the last of it. Darn you groundhog! So we wanted to get out and check out a bunch of thriftstores and that we did. I think I found something at everyone! First I found the crewel kit that I just fell in love with it was $4.95. I thought maybe a bit much for a thriftstore, but I just loved it so much. Then we traveled over to another thrift shop and I found some metal embroidery hoops. I love how they look tarnished. Then at the next shop I found the sweet woodgrain thermos. It doesn't look like anyone used it. I will probably just use it for the decoration. I just love vintage woodgrain stuff. This made me happy. I think my most favorite find was the the Seven-Up Dot guy! It brought back so many memories of commercials when I was a kid! He is even a magnet. Best of all he was only 50 cents. You can't beat that little bit of enjoyment and all for 50 cents. I love thriftstores so much.

I Heart Cross Stitch and A Tutorial

Okay, so Mr. Groundhog has predicted six more weeks of winter. So I might as well have some fun with these sweaters that are sticking around. I love to cross stitch. I have been wanting to cross stitch on my sweaters for awhile now, and what better of a time than an extended winter. Here's what you need to do:
1. Find a pic that you want to cross stitch on you sweater. I used a skull with a bow from my fave book, " Hop, Stitch, Jump." I ordered my from my fave store in Seattle " Kinokuniya Bookstores." Plan it by using graph paper or the book as suggested.
2. You will need stabilizer, embroidery thread, embroidery needle, sweater, image to cross stitch.
3. Place the stabilzer inside the sweater where you want to put the image. You can keep this stationary by doing a hand stitch roughly to hold it on and you can clip this off later.
4. Use each knit section as your grid. The part that looks like an arrow. I have a close up pic to see this.
5. Cross stitch away. (I seperated a six strand embroidery thread to only three, six is too bulky).
6. Finished.
I hope this is helpful. If you have any questions be sure to ask. It adds a nice touch to sweaters, jackets, pants, bags, just about anything.