Powering down......

As some of you may have noticed my web store is no longer there! This is a good thing. We are in the final stages of getting my new website ready to debut! The store has been powered down while the sewing machine has been heating up! I hope to have most of my new products ready by the time the website is ready to go as well.

My blog might be quiet for a few days as well. We've had a family emergency this week and need to head out of town until about the middle part of next week. Enjoy the weekend, pop into the Brassy Apple Flickr group and see what's new or add a photo of your own and soak in a few days of August sunshine and heat!

(of course I have to post a photo! It's a peek of whats to come!)

Little "Miss Papaya"

I got the wonderful opportunity to see my best friend from school and meet her new daughter. She now lives in paradise - aka Hawaii - so actually getting to "see" her, those times are very few and far between. Her daugther is 3.5 months now and just the cutest thing!!!! Didn't help much that I'm pregnant, itching for my own kid to arrive and seeing how adorable her's is. My kids and I had lots of fun kissing, squeezing, cuddling and making little "miss papaya" (nickname) laugh.

Yep that's me with my belly and being goofy. LOL! Hard to not be alittle goofy around her since we've known each other so long and have had PLENTY of goofy moments. ;) I just have to share how adorable her baby is.

In other baby news, I have about 10-12 weeks left until my baby makes it's debut! It's coming up REALLY fast! Things are still good here and just ticking along. I'm not sure if it's "nesting" or just that I've finally kicked myself in the rear to get a few things done but I have been sewing alot this week. Nothing to prepare for the baby's arrival, so maybe it's just an urgency to get a few things done. It's all been for my new website debut though!!!! Can't wait!!!

Time to Strut and Stuff.............and WIN {of course!}

Feeling lucky?
It's time for you to strut your stuff in my new Flickr group - Brassy apple Projects!! It's something I've wanted to start for a long time now and decided to dive in and stop waiting!

The flickr group will be a pool of inspiration and fun for everyone! A place where you can "strut your stuff" by uploading a photo of what you've created from my tutorials, DIY kits, ebooks, photos, etc - anything you've seen on my blog! and of course coming soon my PATTERNS! yipeee!

I can't wait to see your projects and your creativity!

So stop on by and add your photo to the group today! **All photos added in the month of August will be eligible to win a Garden Party Skinny scarf from me! It's always more fun with a giveaway right???? ;)

You will always be able to find the Brassy Apple Flickr group too and see the lastest photos by viewing the flickr badge on my sidebar. See you there!...............

pssst!............... if you want to win the scarf and don't have a photo to add you still have a time to craft something up and add your photo!

Treating myself.....

I have been busy fliting in and out of town - short trips - finishing up a few sewing projects and attending to details for an upcoming event I was in charge in. Glad to have the event off my plate with and done. whew!

I created a custom order pair of women's "Shaggy Mosaic" jeans for a new customer. She wanted jewel tones with accents brown and black added. It's been awhile since I have taken any custom orders because I was ill for so long in the early part of my pregnancy, but it felt good to create this rich colorful design and work with the denim again. Here's a few peeks at how they turned out. (you know I love to share photos!)

Of course it's Miss Anna's Garden Party fabric again. I just loved all the rich, deep, jewel toned colors and variation of pattern and size of the designs as well. I hope that the customer likes them!

So after getting a few big projects completed, I had to treat myself! I've
spent a few days glued to the new Stephenie Meyer book, Breaking Dawn, which completes the Twilight series of books. *sigh*..................I'm sad for them to be done but the new book was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good! They author definately did not disappoint! There will not be any spoilers here! I would have hated to have stumbled across a spoiler before getting to read it myself. Just a bit of fun summer reading and a good break from reality. *snicker*

Being Brave.......

LOL!!!! Ok, I stepped out of my comfort zone yesterday and thought I would continue my "braveness" and share it with all of you. I guess sharing it is the part that really steps me out of my comfort zone. Anyway, I finished up the garden party skinny scarves I mentioned the other day. They are gorgeous! well, I think so anyway. ;)

And before I get them up on my website I have to have them modeled right? If you frequent my website or follow me here you'll know I usually model my stuff. Well, being 6 months pregnant I haven't been jumping in front of the camera to have my picture taken. (tee hee he) BUT thought I would give it a shot. To see if the photos didn't look too bad to use or if they did, go and call a friend to model the scarves for me! ha!

SO I did it and I am posting the photos for all to see. OY! Remember, this is the brave stepping out of my box step. ;) But hey, we can keep it real right? Tell me what ya think!!! Are the photos OK enough to use? or do they look to "maternity"?

One is the Garden Party skinny scarf and the other is Summer City. And speaking of my website, my makeover will be starting NEXT week!!! eek! I'm so excited!!!! If you've been holding back on purchasing something don't wait! My website will be down for a weeks soon, "under construction" before the big debut!

So really, tell me what ya think. I've noticed the hot trend in Hollywood this summer has been scarves and with Fall coming on we'll just be seeing more scarves! lucky us!!!

Finishing up.....

Has it really been that long since I have posted on my blog???? wow! Time really does fly eh?

I've been busy "finishing up" summer I guess you could say. We only have a few short weeks left before school starts back up and there still is plenty of fun left to be had and done! Of course it hasn't been all fun and games around here. My sewing machine and scissors have been busy as well. Take a peek at my new love affair.


It's Garden Party fabric by Anna Maria Horner and honestly I couldn't pick a favorite! Everytime I *think* I have, I find another print or colorway that steals my heart away again! tee hee he. I thinks it's the boldness of the design and colors that is so perfect for the end of the summer and beginning of fall that has me all entranced in it's beauty. *sigh*............................... Can you tell I am just in love with it? I've been sewing it up all weekend into Skinny Scarves for my website but it's going to be very hard to part with. There are sooooo many different fabrics in each new scarf! Hopefully you will love it as much as I do! Thanks Anna for another GREAT fabric line!

I also have another tutorial in the works! I just need to get the photos edited first. But my daughter and I have been crafting up some fun on the side as well! Getting her room re-organized after summer and ready for back to school. You've seen her new bulletin board, well we made a magnet board too. And what's a magnet board without some custom made bubble magnets right? LOL...........Aren't these fabulous!? We used the Lotus paper pack from Amy Butler! Gorgeous! One of the fun parts was hearing my daughter say, "Mom. You have this fabric, and this one, and this one........ well you get the picture. ;) I linked my tutorial on how to make bubble fridge magnets of your own. Have a great day!

Reduce, Reuse, Re-PURPOSE!

I haven't been yard sale-ing in a few years but I have certainly got my fix this summer! And it only took a few weeks! I found such good finds that I haven't felt the need to go out any more and search for a bargain. Plus a few items I have already purchased are still waiting for the "makeover". And hubby disapproves all my "treasures" sitting in the garage too long. Can't blame him for that. ;)

ANYWAY, the same weekend I bought the large cabinet, which I have re-done, I also bought all these little treasures.

I'm a sucker for old windows and frames and snatched up a huge pile for only $2.00. I completely *heart* the oval shaped one. I also love the blue round metal "ball". I'm not sure what it once was but I snatched it up like it was worth alot of money or something! LOL! I could use see the potential in it and the gal let me have it for .10 cents! My little guy said, "Oh cool! It's a planet!" The large bulletin board (in the background) has a GREAT ornate frame around it and was a steal for only $2.00. It wasn't constructed in the best possible way but couldn't pass on the price.

So I hoarded all my newly found treasures home and have slowly been incorporating them around my house. You've seen my chic cabinet now and it's been decorated with a few of the new finds.

nesting baskets

pottery vase

Black metal basket and "blue planet" metal ball

I took the bulletin board and gave it a light green "wash" to match my daugthers bedroom. Now it helps keep all the pictures she draws and school papers she wants to keep in one place.


There's still a few items to have their chance at a makeover and find new life but for now................I hope you find some inspiration in the everyday "treasures" you may have passed up!

Are you DIY-ing this summer? I'd love to know what you are up too as well!

DIY kit Frenzy..............

Whew! The fabric has been flying around here! After my latest women's DIY kits flew out of here, the requests have come pouring in for more. Then I also realized that for some, Summer is almost over. Back to School time is here again! (and all too soon! )

So may I introduce to you - Sweet Tangerine!

A "Shaggy Mosaic" DIY kit created for Girls & Women! Enjoy the fresh colors of the season with over 10 fabrics combined to create this richly colored set. Shades of orange, red, yellow and brown with a hint of pink, green and blue. Perfect for now AND to transition into the Fall and Back to School Season. Buy one for you, your daughter or both!

If Back to School is on your mind, then give her the hottest pair of jeans around! I've created 2 versions of my girls High School Musical themed DIY kits. They are sure to be her favorite pair and make her the envy of her friends! Infused with color, pattern and extra custom cut applique letters and Troy's Basketball number, the possibilities are endless to what you can design!



And as always - quantities are limited! If you like it, snatch it before it GONE for good!! To see all my kits click here.

Noteworthy........

When I find something great I have a hard time keeping it to myself! Please indulge me for a moment while I share a few definately noteworthy blogs and a FAB giveaway too!!

First for all, for all you mommies entertaining your kiddos this summer - here's a BLOG to the rescue to fresh fun ideas for your to infuse into your hot summer days!

Craft Crow - WOW! She makes several posts a day usually and has ideas for all ages. It's definately worth a click to go and see all the ideas she pulls together!


Here's a few of my recent favorites: Historical Paper doll - must try this!











Felt Food - too cute!














and if you want to make real food with them try these - pancake cups! Great to impress summer guests too! ;)













another good blog is Fun 4 Mommies - Be sure to check through her archives to find more great proejcts!

Are you are Mommy of girls??? She Does Hair is a GREAT blog for the latest, best and the good ol' standbys of girls hairdos! And they help you step by step to create the same look for your little princess too!



















And lastly, the GIVEAWAY!!!!!! This is a RUN don't walk over to the Old Red Barn Co. blog. She is giving away a gorgeous quilt made with Sandi's Ginger Blossom Fabrics. OH! It's so gorgeous! Perfect for you or as a gift!!! Enjoy your clickin' Thursday!

Baby Talk.......

It has been really fun to receive fun emails from you being excited about my upcoming little bundle and wishing me well with my pregnancy - thank you! I am now 6 months along and feeling good - tired - but good. :) I'll take tired over nausea ANY day. I snapped a quick photo of me - glamorous I know, LOL! - to show off my belly to y'all.

Because we choose to wait and be surprised to find out what we are having, I haven't really bought anything for the baby yet BUT I did come across the cutest onesie for a girl! I couldn't resist buying it.

It caught my eye at the store in the baby section because of it's color. It's black! I'm not sure I've seen a black onesie before. The store only had 1 on the rack and it is newborn size but it has the cutest saying on it - "This is my little black dress!" Oh! too adorable to pass up! and if you follow my blog or know me at all you KNOW black is one of my favorite colors!!!!!

So now it hangs in the closet patiently waiting to find out if I will actually get to use it for my own baby or if it will quickly get put into a gift bag and delivered to someone else in the event I have a boy. ;)

I would love to also purchase THESE if I knew I was having a little girl, and several pairs too! It's been so long since I have purchased baby stuff and they have come out with some really CUTE and SMART items since my last baby!

The baby heels are just the CUTEST thing for a girly girl don't you think??? Would LOVE a pair of Brooke and Elle for sure and then to be sensible I would have to throw in a pair of "She's a little lady" too because black goes with everything!

Everything old is new again.....{Faux Leather Deco. tutorial}

As I mentioned last week I have several projects in the works. One being a large file cabinet I snagged at a yard sale for $5.00!!!!!!!!!!!! I still can't believe it! I knew right away what I would do with it and how I would "transform it". I love when the piece screams at you and tells you right away what it needs. (Yes furniture and fabric to talk to me. Don't they talk to you as well?)

I thought I would document with photos how it went from sad to FAB and share the process, tips and tricks with you.

Faux Leather Decoupage Tutorial
Materials:

Mod podge - or watered down glue medium
sponge brushes
item to be transformed
Paper to layer over your item - I used brown shipping paper
paint - if necesary
Clear coat - optional

Step 1: Wiped all dirt/dust from my cabinet. I also suggest painting in this step as well if necessary. That way you don't have to worry about accidently getting paint on your mod podged area.

I painted the base of my cabinet and drawers because only the top would get decoupaged on.

($5.00 cabinet before)









Step 2: After my black paint had dried then the fun began! I wanted to go with a brown/black theme for my cabinet so I grabbed some brown shipping paper to use to cover the top. The was originally a wood laminate that had begun to chip and fall off. Hence the need to cover and re-do the top of it.

To keep covering the top as simple as possible I lined up the staight edge of the paper with the bottom edge of my laminate top. (pictured below) I tore a piece of brown paper in a random shape keeping in mind the length of the top and tearing it off so it barely over lapped the edges on both ends. (pictured below)
















Step 3: Working in sections, I put down a good layer of mod modge on my laminate top where the paper would lay. Then I repositioned the paper on top of the mod podge glue and saturated the paper with a layer of glue to keep it in place. Repeat the length of your paper working under the paper and then on top.













I definately got my hands "dirty". Fingers and hands can be the best tool for smoothing out the paper, applying pressure, and spreading the glue medium around. Make sure you put a good coat of glue on your paper so that is adheres to your base project.









Step 5: Continue to layer your paper pieces on top of each other in any sort of "pattern" you like.

Once I had all my pieces in place I added an extra coat of glue to "seal" the entire top. The easiest way to do that for me was to pour the mod podge from the bottle and use my hands to spread it around. This also allowed me to smooth out any bubbles and create "wrinkles" in the paper which would add more character to my "faux leather" looking top.












Step 6: Let dry. ****The paper will bubble as you get it saturated with the mod podge and as it dries. If you've done a good job smoothing out the bubbles as best you can, just step back and let it dry. The bubbles will look awful but give it a few hours (for a large project like this) and the paper *should* flatten itself out once it's dry. ****

Step 7: OPTIONAL - Add a clear coat over your decoupaged area letting it dry in between coats. I think between my husband and I we put on about 4 good coats on. The top now almost looks like it has glass over it. Very cool and very family friendly. Easy to wipe clean and protected from the rough and tumble of everyday life.

***Adding the clear coat will also bring out and darken any areas on your paper that were not completed saturated and sealed by the mod podge. Please be aware of this. I learned the hard way and ended up with several "spots" dotting the top. Although it turned out less than perfect from what I had hoped it would - sometimes mistakes can work too!***

You can add more paper to cover these spots too. One reason why I wanted to share this technique was to offer my tips/suggestions from the mistakes I made. :)
















And you are done!!!! I moved it into our Family room upstairs and have just begun to "accessorize" it.

Pretty good for $5.00 wouldn't you say?

Of course this same technique can be easily used for many other items and with other mediums. I would love to someday decoupage a large item with old maps!

Busy, busy.................

I mentioned in my previous post that I have been "fliting around my studio" getting projects done here and there. None of the projects are entirely finished but I can show you some sneak peeks of what I've been working on.........have a good weekend! xo - Meg

Yeah! first product to wear my new labels!

Lots of "shaggy" layers there.......

Oh! Just a peek! but coming REALLY soon!

Yard sale find! hummmmm.......what do you think will be done with this?? LOL!

Up for grabs..............

I have been busily fliting around my studio this week working on projects for my home and for YOU too! I will definatley be sharing photos soon!!! stay tuned for that.

In the meantime I have a few "unclaimed" items that were excited to be shipped out and then the buyer never came through. They are yearning for a home! (*snicker*)

These are the LAST and only ones of these Women's Capri DIY kits. Snatch them up before they are gone for GOOD!

Description:

Get that fun and trendy look of my "Shaggy Mosaic jeans" all yourself with my new DIY kits for WOMEN! This kit will create a pair of shorts/capris in that decoupage or mosaic look.

You will recieve:Enough pre-cut fabrics to cover an adult pair of shorts or capris. Larger fun shapes, bright colors and eye catching patterns make this combination a must have this summer!

Most of the work has been done for you! You just need to supply the shorts, know some basic sewing skills and have a sewing machine! don't wait - get started today! You too can achieve this fun look!

**This set can be purchased for use on full length jeans too but the design will not extend as far up each pant leg.

SO up for grabs I have 2 women's capri DIY kits - Summer Sol Themed - as pictured below. Each kit is $13.99 plus shipping in the USA.

AND I have 2 Women's Capri DIY kits - special order - similiar to my most popular Women's jeans combination - Autumn Belle. (updated - SOLD! this kit is gone)

DIY kit fabrics

Similar fabrics used here....

*step by step instructions on the technique plus tips, tricks and extra ideas can be purchased seperately and sent with your DIY kit for an extra $7.00

HOW TO ORDER:

1.Email me asap - brassymeg@gmail.com

2. Please include in your email - the name of the DIY kits you would like, quantity, and if you'd like first class or Priority mail shipping - USA only. (I only have 2 of each kit available (4 total) and then they are gone!)

3. Also, please include your paypal address and if you would like instructions included (extra $7.00). I will then send you an invoice. Your invoice needs to be paid within 24 hours of reciept please. I will then ship out your purchse within 1 business day as well.

First come first serve

Thank you! I look forward to shipping these out to YOU!

Imagination.......

I guess my daughter has been influenced just a bit by all that I do in my studio. (ha ha) She was playing with a friend the other day and they wanted to play "design studio". Raiding my fabric drawers and with very minimal cutting allowed - just alot of pins and imagination - they draped, measured and folded fabric over my child size dress form and created a few dresses. Just too cute! They were both so proud that they actually created a few clothing items!

I hope your summer has had a little imagination in it as well!

Spin Art Tutorial

Here's a great, fun and good for all ages tutorial - SPIN ART! - Create your own! Perfect summer activity to keep boredom at bay.

Let's get started!

Materials:

Cheap salad spinner (I purchased mine for under $3.00 at the grocery store)
Acrylic Paint - in various colors
Paper - construction works great!
Pencil/Pen
Scissors
something to cover your work area - newspaper, cheap plastic tablecloth, etc
optional: disposable pan or disposable plastic lid

Step 1: Cover your work area. This is a good activity for indoors or outdoors.













Take out your middle basket piece, place it on your paper and trace around it.


Step 2: Cut out your circle pieces of paper. These will fit in the spinner. I like to stack several pieces of construction paper together when cutting so I get several circles of paper ready to go! I also cut just on the inside of the line I traced just to make sure I have a good fit.

Step 3: Place your paper in the middle basket piece and place that back into the salad spinner.

Grab your bottles of paint and let your little ones squirt the colors on the paper in any pattern - or no pattern at all!

Step 4: When they've put on all the colors they wanted, replace the lid on top and start spinning!

optional: you can place our salad spinner in a disposable tin dish or disposable plastic lid as I have used here. When you start to spin the paint will eventually build up on the inside and start to drip out the bottom of the salad spinner. I like to place my spinner in a pan/tray/lid to catch the mess later. Then I just keep it and re-use it for more spinning projects.

Step 5: Lift off the lid and take the first look at your newest masterpiece!

Step 6: You can now add a few more drops of paint and spin again if necessary. To remove your art I simple tilt the middle basket piece to the side and shake gently. The paper will scoot out and be easy to grab. Or you can just simply reach it and grab it! Place somewhere flat to dry and spin another!

These are great for entertaining your kids this summer, for parties or get togethers! You could even make some patriotic ones this upcoming 4th of July! Enjoy spinning and creating with your kids, grandkids, family and neighbors!