Spoonflower.com: Print Your Own Fabric

Perhaps some of you are already in the know, but if you're not, be informed that Spoonflower.com is an up and coming site where (get this!) you can design your own fabric.  Some of you might not get too excited about that, but this fabric obsessed lady is loving this site.  Here's the thing, if you're not artistically inclined but you have an old photo or drawing that you'd like to incorporate into a fabric design- you can use the mirror tool on the site and end up with something amazing because the software takes the image and makes it into a kaleidoscope effect and the results are just cool. Here's an example:

Via Spoonflower

You can make both private and public designs.  I've seen people selling their own fabric designs on etsy and wondered how they were printing it- I'm thinking that some of them are going this route.

You can buy the public designs (I have a few in the mail on the way here now).  The prices are really reasonable, starting at $18/yard.  Another thing, some very talented sorority ladies have discovered the site and they've created some prints that (dare I say) rival Lilly's sorority patterns.  Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but they're beautiful.

 Rather than talk about it, I'll just post a few samples and let you head over there yourself if you want to take a look and maybe make some fabric!

From Spoonflower

From Spoonflower

From Spoonflower

From Spoonflower

From Spoonflower

From Spoonflower (Mirror tool design)

~Kristina

Lilly Pulitzer fabric Hair Bows

I just added a number of new bows to the etsy shop in a style that I've been working on for a little while now.   I played around with sewn fabric bows for a while and they always seemed to be a little too floppy, so now I've changed the construction and I'm oh-so-happy with the results. So fun! These are perfect party favors.  I've added a 'grab bag' listing to the shop for ten bows for that reason.

I can make these with any pattern seen in the shop of course.  I'll be adding more over the next few days.  Here's a peek at a few that I've already placed in the shop.

Run for the Roses Print found here

Braz. Ave. Bow found here

Grab Bag Listing found here

Kissue Hair Bow found here

Heavy Browsing: The Worst of Online Fashion

Funny websites are a must for me.  They break up my day and I love them for it. Here's one that I recently heard about on Pinterest.  It's called: Heavy Browsing.  The two women who created the site post photos of ridiculous clothing articles and accessories that they've found online.  Here's how they explain it on their homepage:

"Silk blouse enthusiasts Alison and Divya have been trolling the Internet for discounted designer items for years. The only thing they love more than online shopping is passing judgment, so naturally they have joined their two favorite pastimes to create Heavy Browsing. For every chic pencil skirt in an online clearance section there is an ill-fitting bodysuit on the next page just begging to be mocked. Alison and Divya love both of those items, just for completely different reasons."

Works for me.  Here are a few of my favorite selections from the site:

Marc Jacobs $395 via Yoox

From Yoox $98

$59 from Oak

And then there was this purse....Oh no, I like it!

Be forewarned, while the captions that the two women add are a huge part of what make the site funny, they can be colorful with their choice of words.  I'm guessing that you can handle it.

-kristina

Lilly Pulitzer Fabric Lamp Shade

I made this lamp shade the other day with a wire waste basket (found at the dollar store) and various Lilly fabric strips (some vintage prints, others are newer).  It's for our twin daughters' room.  I have to admit, I just love the way it turned out.  Here's a tutorial, if you'd like to make one yourself!

Lamp Shade made with Fabric and Dollar Store Trash Basket

What you'll need:
One wire waste basket (I found mine at the dollar store)
Aprox 1.5 yards of fabric in what ever colors your heart desires
One Lamp that has a screw top shade holder.

-I cut strips of fabric about 1.5" wide.  The length doesn't really matter, but you probably want them to be at least 36" or so, so there's enough to work with.

-Start at the "bottom" of the basket (which becomes the top of the lamp shade).  Tie a knot in the end of the fabric strip so it doesn't slip though and make sure that the knot is on the inside of the basket ( I know, kind of a given.)

-Weave the fabric strips in rows.  I skipped a hole or 'diamond' on every weave that showed on the outer potion of the basket (this allows more fabric to show and less wire).

-Now just weave and weave and then weave some more.  I worked on this in spurts, I added a strip or two when I had a few minutes.  All said, it took about 2-3 hours to weave.

-Once the entire basket was done, I glued the tails of fabric on the inside so they would be secure and made certain that they were very short.  I didn't want any fabric to get near the bulb.

That's it!!

You can see in the photos that the colors really glow when the light is on. Love that!

Lilly Pulitzer Fun

I made this comic last week (on someecards.com) when I was thinking about the fact that Lilly always lifts my spirits.  It kind of sums things up for me.

Source: Looking4Lilly

Punk Rock Prep

I grew up in California in the 80s.  My friends and I were a suburban dwelling wanna-be-rebellious lot.  We sported asymmetrical hair styles and loved punk rock skater boys (think Nicolas Cage in Valley Girl). While I never wore Doc Martens, I had a crush on many a boy who did. As a result,  I've always had a penchant for these utilitarian, steel toed boots.  They just remind me of the crazy times we had as teenagers.

So, when I saw these in my daughter's size, I had to buy them.  But, even with that cute floral pattern, I haven't been able to get her to wear them. She thought they still looked like "boys boots". So yesterday, I took out the black laces and made these with Lilly fabric, in the 'Monkey Trouble' pattern. 

I used electrical heat shrink tubing for the aglets (those little plastic ends on shoe laces).

How fun are they? She wore them today. Success.

I'm working on a few pairs right now to add to the etsy shop.

Lilly Pulitzer Fabric laces

~Kristina

I've got the Pinterest Bug. Bad.

Of course you are familiar with Pinterest, the following is simply my take on it and yes, I'm a little late to the party.
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If the internet is anything, it's vast.  You can find anything and everything you might possibly need on the internet.  Keeping your findings organized can be troublesome.  If you're like me, you have about five-hundred bookmarks and no idea what those things are when you go back and read the tiny drop down descriptions.

I wish there was a visual way to keep it all organized. And wouldn't it be great if rather than only depending on those search engine spiders, I could see what other women, women just like me, have already found during their searches, after they filtered out the other junk? I mean, how cool would it be if I could see the things that other people have found, including the items, ideas, recipes and projects that I was never looking for in the first place? Basically, I'd like an organizing internet filter.  Is there such a thing? 

Truth is, I never thought beyond the book marks and text results from search engines.  But thankfully, someone else did.

And then there was Pinterest.

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My sweet friend Kristin, asked me to join Pinterest about six months ago.  Kristin happens to be one of the funniest and coolest people I've ever known (we've been friends since high school).  I completely trust her judgement. And oh, she's pretty and skinny too- always has been. But, I love her anyways.

Even so, my attitude was sort of along the lines of:
"Eh, not sure that I have time for that."
She said, "Noooo, it's so fun.  You'll love it, there's all these boards and tons of cool stuff!"

She sent the invite. 

Once I got over the fact that I had to be invited, I took a look around and thought it was okay (actually "okay" is a bit of a stretch).  I didn't really get what all the fuss was about. I pinned a few things and left my account unvisited for a while.  Then later I went back and took another look, and another, and another...

At this point, I can't walk by my computer without taking a peek at Pinterest.  I'm a sick crafting-cooking-sewing-party planning fool who's finally learned the proper technique for applying eye shadow and using the white balance settings for my digital camera, all thanks to Pinterest.

My money says she made that apron.

I'm obsessed with the DIY pins.  Let me just say this: People are brilliant!  Things that sound like they would be really silly, are so freaking cool, like lamp shades made with vintage doilies using the old paper mache technique and DIY yourself beaded chandeliers made with hanging baskets from the dollar store that look amazing. Are you kidding me?!

There's also a lot on there about fitness, but I just tend to look the other way.  And it's so easy to look the other way,  because you can bet that next to that "Ten things to Make you Love Running Even More!" pin, there's an awesome "Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Fudge Recipe" pin (leaving me with little choice). 

What's better? I can quickly 'like' the running pin and save it for I when start running, ya know, later down the road.  Because sure, I definitely plan on becoming a runner some day.  And, I know it's going to be smooth sailing because Pinterest has all those great running tips wedged in between the fudge recipes just waiting for me.  There's also tons of great 'cleaning tip' pins that I've liked and might put into use after my jog. But for now...

Saw it on Pinterest (someecards.com)

I find that Pinterest is like facebook in the sense that some people pin A LOT, others just tend to follow and look around, maybe adding an occasional pin.  There are times when I see people pin about fifty original pins at once.  I'm surprised that they are capable of moving from site to site that quickly.  But, everyone can use the site as they choose and people choose to use it differently.  It's an organizational tool and some people just have more to organize than others.  I know if I were planning a wedding, my Pinterest boards would be crazy!  Pinterest boards completely beat the big fat bridal binder that I had in 2001.

Not the goal, but knock yourself out.

But other than the time vacuum aspect, Pinterest is completely different than facebook.  Facebook is all about people, Pinterest is all about stuff.  They're two different animals. But for conversations sake, if given a choice between spending a free moment on facebook or Pinterest, I'd choose Pinterest.

Truth be known, I'm not really all that interested in hearing about some one's morning (pretty sure they're not remotely interested in my mornings either because I can promise you, they are always the same), but I totally want to see what kind of sink they'd love to have in their dream kitchen- or any one's dream kitchen for that matter.

I mean let's face it, there's always the possibility that their dream kitchen is better than mine and if that's the case, I need to make some adjustments and quickly- but, you can bet that I'll be crafting, sewing, cooking and party planning along the way.

I love it.  I really love it.

~kristina