Mod Podge Pumpkin Tutorial

I've gotten so many requests for this super easy Fall project that it was high time to do a tutorial. Enjoy!

Supplies needed: craft pumpkins, tissue paper, cut into 2" wide strips by 10-12" long, mod podge, foam brush, a cat to assist you (ha)!

I put the mod podge directly on the tissue paper rather than the pumpkin, just easier that way.

Work from top to bottom, almost like wallpapering.  

Go in quarters all the around, you will repeat about three times to cover the entire pumpkin.

Working in quarters.

When complete, seal with a final coat of mod podge.  I also paint the stems gold at this point.

Add ribbon, tulle, flowers, etc...

Super cute and they make great teacher gifts too!

Fall 2010 - Shop Your Closet!

Good news fellow fashionistas: this Fall is all about shopping your closet from last season and last Fall. Are you as excited as I am?!! Fall 2010 is all about mixing textures and prints as well as taking masculine styles and making them more feminine. Here are the top trends and how to shop your closet/or DIY them:

Military - make it "new" by adding leopard or lace pieces. Army green is a huge color for fall, but it can look too manly if not done right. Look for softer military inspired jackets with ruffles or lace trim on them. Forever 21/Twelve by Twelve and Target both have cute military jackets online. Head to the thrift store and DIY a vintage army jacket by adding lace or ribbon - get creative!

Animal Print - ya'll know how much I LOVE my animal print! I can't get enough of it and neither can major fashion designers this season. It is THE "go to" accent piece for Fall. Accessorize with shoes, belts, handbags for a minimalist approach. If your are more bold, try a dress or skirt or cardigan for an all over look, but if you do this, don't wear matching shoes and a purse - way to Cher 1986! DIY: make a flower pin out of animal print fabric and pin it on a cardigan or blouse.

Gray: the new black. It goes with everything. Soften an all black outfit by accessorizing with grey shoes or boots, or even pewter pearls. Try it on your nails and eyes too.

Camel: another hot color for Fall, mainly in coats and sweaters. Looks great with red and chocolate brown and of course leopard! Also makes a great eye shadow color for creating a smoky brown eye.

Plaid: gotta admit, not a look I can pull off, but it is cute on others. Love the look of pairing plaid flannels with jeggings or faux leather; a very boy meets girl preppy look. Think of Glee as a big inspiration for this trend. Make an old plaid skirt not so school girl by putting it with a faux leather vest or jacket or cowboy boots.

Chunky Sweaters/Cable Knits: another Glee inspired trend. Add a belt to make them more feminine and not so boxy. Cute with leggings and boots. Avoid them with the plaid skirt...way to 90's Clueless. Sweaters not for you? Try a beret or hat or scarf made out of the chunky knit. Invade Granny's closet...i bet she will have some classic stuff!

Shoes: all about the boots again ladies! Thigh high, booties/ankle, lace-up, flat, riding, cowboy, suede, leather, dressy, casual. You get the picture. Boots not up your alley? The ballet flat is still going strong as are platform stilettos.

Denim: flared, ripped/distressed, skinny, and jeggings are big current styles. Stick with a dark wash, more slimming. Skip the bling-bling jeans...they are on the way out.

Blazers: a great staple. Put with leggings to dress them up or add a masculine feel to a floral dress.

Shop your closet for these items from last 2 seasons: plaid shirt, floral print, ruffles, over the knee boots, leather, lace, nautical stripes, chunky pearl necklaces, flower broaches, feather earrings. Don't be caught in these though: super short dresses, shoulder pads, tie dye/acid washed jeans, sparkly leggings, or anything neon.

No matter what remember these famous words by Coco Chanel: "Fashion is in the sky, in the street. Fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening." The question is: what is happening in your life that can be expressed via fashion? Think about it while you shop your closet. Layer that striped tank top with a cardigan or jacket and pair it with leggings and boots....just an idea to get you started. Let's get creative girls!

Busy Bee, yay Me!

I have been at it again.

Sewing for me....


Sewing for the little fashionista....I designed the dress myself....

cute pants by Portobello Pixie.


And for Forever 21....Yep, you read right. My dear friend Laura is head of the Visual Merchandising Team for The Woodlands store. She had asked me to make "toolbelts" to hold all the merchandisers' tools. I created this mock-up version for me and as a demo of size for Laura. I hope she loves it as much as I do. this is going to come in handy!

Olivia's new bedding

I finally did it. I took down the bedding and curtains that Miss Olivia has slept on since she was a baby. I nearly cried. Alas, she is 7 now and needed some "big girl" bedding. It has taken me six months to figure out what to do with her room. All her baby bedding I custom made and just didn't want to part with it, while at the same time, I knew I didn't want to make custom bedding again. The other dilemma was that her room is an oriental umbrella and butterfly theme, so finding any girls bedding without pastel pink in it and lots of flowers was really hard. I wound up mixing a comforter set from Target with cute leopard sheets and pillowcases from Kohl's. For her canopy I tied different colors of tulle across the top. She loves it, and that's what matters....and I love it too!

Antiques Galor Decor!

For my birthday this past weekend, my husband took me to Austin to do some antiquing. Did we hit the jackpot! We ventured 40 miles north to a darling town called Saledo. If you have never been there you must go! It is right off of I-35 as you head to or from Austin on the Dallas side. In Saledo we found the motherload of all vintage stained glass windows from Ireland. We had been scoping them out in Houston but they were just way too expensive down here. Glad we waited because we got 5 for quite a deal!






On our way back in to Austin we stopped at Round Rock where I got the most awesome old theater wardrobe trunk. It is too cool in person and it weighs a ton! It is stamped "Myrtle Lansing Theater", so we guess that is who it belonged to and long ago must have carried some actresses costumes. The original hangers and ironing board are still in it as are all the drawers and drawer pulls. I had just the perfect spot for it too, my dining room. What a great conversation piece!






I also picked up an old screen door, which my husband wasn't too sure about, but I turned it into a display of 2 of my original corset designs and 1 vintage corset from the 40's. LOVE how it turned out.



Back in May, we lucked out on vintage wine barrels from a Texas winery and a table for our Grotto. Now all we need is chairs...I feel a trip to Roundtop coming on.




Also in May we picked up these antique all wood windows, that must have come out of a church. We put one in the breakfast area and one down the hall.





While in Austin we picked up a couple small items and this old iron fence piece that looks fabulous over the guest bed!



I have the antique bug bad! Do you think "after-bite" will cure my itch?

Dolce and Gabbana for $10!!!

Yep, you read it right! I recreated a $375 D&G tee for $10. All it took was some cute crochet lace, grosgrain ribbon, a tee a la Marshall's, and a little elbow grease. I have been saving this project for awhile now, since I tore the idea out of Elle magazine back in the Fall. The black tee i embellished with leopard lace trim from Hobby Lobby; nothing fancy, just a rose made of the trim and rows of ruffles. The mint blue tee is just a simple, continuous row of cascading lace with a lace flower near the neckline. I'd say summer is off to a very productive start over here!

The inspiration:

Anthropologie and JCrew inspired craftiness

Now that the kids are home ALOT, I am getting to spend time in my craft room sewing while they play in their playroom. It is the perfect setup, as I can hear when mommy needs to intervene or I can enjoy their chatter while I create. So far this week I have created two shirts; one for me and one for a friend to take on a fabulous vacation. And can I tell you how much I LOVE my ruffler foot that I finally picked up? It is the best invention ever!!!


Shirt for Candace, "supplies" from Old Navy and thrift store




Shirt for me, "supplies" from Walmart and fabric store