Back to My First Love

I've been really busy for more than a year keeping my craft business inventoried. Since I moved to Etsy and added a supply store, things have really been hopping and I've been very hard-pressed to keep them stocked. Then add in a local boutique to stock and throw in a remodeling project...well....let's just say that my sewing machine has gathered dust for a couple of years now. I've had request projects from friends and gifts for others that have been sadly neglected. A dress promised a gal at church. A quilt for a new baby. Some jean hemming my son needs done. Some stitcheries.

I finally decided that inventory will just have to empty out for awhile as I need to get to these other projects. So yesterday I started on one that has a deadline in a few weeks - three matching sibling outfits for some adorable little cuties to wear meeting Daddy at the airport as he return from more than a year of service in Iraq! I haven't sewn children's wear in about two years so I'm having lots of fun. The two little girls will have matching pink floral dresses (small scale because they are just little bits). Mom wanted camo, so they will have pink camo pinafores over the top of their classically styled dresses. The 7 yo boy will have cargo pants from the same pixallated camo that Dad wears. They will have all kinds of cool pockets and loops from which I will hang a small compass, flashlight and whistle. He will have a hoodie decked out in patches, pockets and flag embroidery. I will share pics as the project progresses.

Charity

Pics As Promised

Here are pics as promised. We have a few places where we need to touch up paint. We want to rip out carpet and put in wood floors next year. And I have a touch more accessorizing to do and want to find an occasional chair for the bare corner where the lanterns are hanging. But for the most part, we're done.

This is a radical style change for me. I've always loved pink, blue and buttercream yellow. Lots of flowers and hand-painted pottery. Mixed prints with cabbage roses, plaids, stripes all mixed together. Cottage hand-painted furniture and froo-froo ruffled couches. LOL! So...how did I come to have an organic-earthy-craftsman-contemporary-with touches of prim living room? I'm not sure. It just happened! I got weary of clutter and froo-froo after 10 years. I felt overwhelmed and crowded and just needed some visual calm. So if things look kind of minimalist (for me, anyway!), that's why!

I'm thinking I want to stain the wood on this hutch cherry and paint the rest black with a walnut stain over the top to age it.

Thia is the corner that needs a little upholstered reading chair and floor lamp. I'm thinking burgundy velvet or maybe a leaf print?