Skinny laMinx

I cannot say enough good things about Skinny laMinx (aka Heather Moore). She's an illustrator, writer, and designer living in Cape Town, South Africa. I recently purchased some fabric from her etsy shop - a piece of her amazing bird pattern design called cloud birds. And I'm happy to say that I had some time today to turn it into a pillow (or cushion depending on where you live). This fabric showed up at my home so nicely wrapped and she even included a little red and white bird button which I immediately pinned onto my bag. So cute and thoughtful! Not only do I absolutely love the cloud birds pattern but I'm also very pleased with the quality of the fabric. To make my pillow, I used some grey boiled wool I purchased at JoAnn Fabrics and I love the way it looks with the cloud birds. Sadly I do have to lug the sewing machine out to the dining room table at the moment. IF we ever finish the basement I will get my permanent sewing area back up and running.

I have added Skinny laMinx to my list of favorite sites and blogs so be sure to take a look every now and then as she is always adding new patterns and designs to her shop and her blog is really inspiring too.


logo and top photo credit: Skinny laMinx

DIY dog bed

I moved the white shell chair into the corner of our bedroom this weekend. The corner previously occupied by Lottie's "queen of the corner dog bed" that I made years ago by reupholstering an old oversized ottoman. She had some prime real estate in our tiny room! Now I had to come up with a bed for her that could be stored away when she wasn't lounging on it.

step one: Bought a fake flokati wool rug at WalMart for $14.99 (totally machine washable too). Had purchased a dog bed a few years ago but the cover for it finally bit the dust - the zipper broke and the cover was completely worn out. The bed insert however was still in great shape.

step two: Flip that cheap rug over and cut a slit in the center of the grippy rug backing. This particular rug was constructed so the rug itself and the backing were NOT connected. A perfect pocket!!!

step three: stuff in that dog bed insert.

Ta-dah! New stylish dog bed!


Fold in half and shove under the slat bench when not in use.

Lottie approved!

aprons!

My first craft project of 2010 - I call it the reversible "Ali" apron. In about 3 days, Ali will figure out why it's named after her!! So nice to be sewing again. I have the spare room set up as my studio with my machine, a big table, and freedom to make as much of a mess as I wish. One down, lots more to make!!

crafty pine cones

Mark and I made 41 pine cone ornaments last weekend. We spray painted them white and then drilled a little hole on top for a hook to screw in. Then I tied ribbons on them. I'm pretty happy with the end result. We're going to get our fresh cut tree on Friday and am very excited!! It's one of the best days of the year for me.