Sunday, June 19, 2011

Happy Father's Day [Family]

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Happy Father's Day

A quick post this morning, over coffee, while my husband sleeps-in.  After breakfast we are heading out to The Accidental Artist for some Father's Day fun.  Unfortunately, Joe has to head out to work later this afternoon, so it'll be a quick day.

I think he'd not be to thrilled for me to gush about him on this blog as it is not our nature, but don't let that come across as a lack of love for one another.  A little about my guy... the quick version: he's a former marine, drinks beer, smokes an occasional cigar, has tattoos, LOVES football (i do, too), doesn't cuss, is a great cook, a neat-freak (mostly), a super-hard worker, loyal, caring, and a wonderful, wonderful father.

He's the one all of the neighborhood kids like (for the most part *wink*), 'the cool dad' that puts out the huge slip-n-slide for everyone, the one who wrestles and rough-houses with our two girly-girls untill I say something along the lines of "it's all fun and games till someone gets hurt", *sigh*.

Joe works hard to support our family, he's been a hard worker ever since I first met him.  He was an awesome Marine and once in the 'real world' has always excelled in his career.  I am proud of him for that; credit goes to his parents, too, who are both hard working, wonderful people.

I couldn't ask for a better husband, friend, and father for our children. I am completely blessed and thankful for him.

Happy Father's Day.

XxOo~ Melissa

Friday, June 17, 2011

Applique Troop Tees [Mission Complete]

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I didn't get a chance to drool over fabrics this week *le sigh*, so Fabulous Fabric Friday will be back next week.  You can check out last week's Fab. Fab. Friday, here.

Instead, I'm going to share the project I recently finished for Trista's Girl Scout Troop. Woot!  If you follow on facebook, you've seen my posts about being consumed by this project, but I enjoyed every minute of it, well, mostly. :-)  Along with making pretty handbags and accessories, I enjoy machine embroidery... like, I really enjoy it.  I've got quite the collection of designs, though nothing compared to my Mother-in-law, and am almost as quick to buy new ones as I am to indulge in new fabric....I'll admit fabric does win this battle more often than not, though.

The project was to applique tees for the Troop to wear at camp.

I started with Old Navy basic tees.  I prefer the way they wash and wear, they also hold the stitches nicely.


I marked the shirts with water soluble pen, backed them with soft cut-away stabilizer and hooped them for the machine.  I already had the design loaded into my embroidery software because I had stitched a Troop shirt for T earlier in the year... that saved a lot of time.  The total time, per shirt, from hooping to finishing stitching, not including trimming jump stitches, is one hour... I did 12 shirts... whew!

My Futura... generally a nice gal.
I do all of my work on my Singer Futura CE-150, she's a bit touchy at times, but generally a nice gal... we've been through quite a bit together. :-)  

In case you are wondering what Applique is, Google breaks it down like this:

ap·pli·qué/ˌapliˈkā/

Noun: Ornamental needlework in which pieces of fabric are sewn or stuck onto a large piece of fabric to form pictures or patterns.
Verb: Decorate (a piece of fabric) in such a way: "the coat is appliquéd with exotic-looking cloth".


The fabric I used was Girl Scouts by Robert Kaufman.  I purchased a fat quarter bundle to give me the whole range of the basic colorway.  I have enough left over that probably I will make a bunting (I'm obsessed!!) for the Troop's meeting room.  Seriously, there's fabric with Thin Mints AND Samoa cookies printed on it... yummy! 

I cut out all of my fabric ahead of time... 12 groups of the "Troop 1747"... That's 12 T's, 12 r's, 24 o's... you get it... lots of cutting.
Snip, snip, snip... this is why it pays to have good scissors!

My machine stitches a die-line for each letter/number; this shows me where to place my corresponding piece of fabric.  I spray my pieces with some Awesome 505 temporary adhesive spray, and stick it onto the die-line.  Next, a tacking stitch is done over all of the fabric pieces, to hold them in place.  That's followed by a satin stitch (a very dense zig-zag stitch) and topped with a final set of decorative stitches, in this particular design.


Satin stitches, in Girl Scout Green
Once finished, I snip the jump stitches (this part is bor-ing) to clean up the design and trim the excess stabilizer from behind the design.
The finished shirt:


Lots of finished shirts!
I enjoyed making these for the girls... I bet they looked super cute in them at camp!  Have you tried machine embroidery?  What about embroidery by hand, or applique?  I'd love to know your thoughts and have you share by leaving a comment!

XxOo~ Melissa

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Inspiration Workshop [Week 3: Green]

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Well, it's been crazy in my home the past few days getting T ready for camp and finishing Troop Shirts.  I was a stitchin' fool getting appliqued shirts made for my daughter's Girl Scout Troop.  I've finished and they look fab!  I will share those very soon!  My chick-a-dee is now at camp and I'm sure she's having the time of her life!!

Gussy Sews Inspiration Workshop!


Today I'm linking up with GussySews  for Inspiration Workshop #3, woot!  If you've missed the first two installments, you and catch up here and here.  I am really enjoying this link up, I've been exposed to some talented ladies as well as some fun and inspiring blogs... thanks again, Gus!

This week's prompt: Green







  I immediately thought of my sewing studio when I saw this prompt.  My home studio is a sweet shade of green called Limonada.  You can sneak a peek in the second photo behind the rest of the inspiring green that is found in this room.  I picked up the yardage of grosgrain ribbon ruffle at The Sewing Expo in March; I just love the femininity of this trimming!  My plant is an added splash of life and helps to bring the outside in. ;-)
  
  Before it was my studio this room was the nursery for my youngest daughter, Natalie.  We weren't sure if we were having a boy or a girl, so we went neutral with green walls and green & yellow bedding.  Once I decided to go into business full time, I needed a space to dedicate to SoChick, so after some rearranging, we made it work for this to become my home studio... the thought of repainting never crossed my mind.

  This shade of green is so serene to me and the combination of it with the bits and pieces that have come together in my studio bring an overall creative calm to my soul.  I'm sure that the memories of singing lullabies and rocking my daughter to sleep in this Limey green room have something to do with it, too. ;-)



XxOo~ Melissa

Monday, June 13, 2011

My Crafty-DIY Wishlist

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Good Monday Morning!

I'm a busy gal this first week of Summer Vacay!  Not only am I working on some fun custom orders, my oldest daughter, Trista, is heading to her first Girl Scout Troop Camp later this week.  Eeeep!  I am so excited for her but an anxious Momma at the same time.  Her troop leaders will be with them and it's only for three days,  so I know there is not a thing to worry about... her troop leaders are Wonderful!!


Another reason I'm so busy is because I need to finish the 12 appliqued shirts that I'm making for the troop... yep, you read that right, twelve.  I'm appliqueing "Troop" and their number using Girl Scout fabric from Robert Kaufman... I'll talk more about these in a later post... Shhhh, maybe with a tutorial. *wink*

As I'm working on these shirts my mind wanders to all of the fun crafty stuff I'd like to try making.  Of course I still have bunting on my brain from this past Fabulous Fabric Friday; with these GS shirts I was thinking "How cute would bunting be for the Troop's meeting hall?!?!"  ... Um, VERY!  So there we go... I've started a Crafty-DIY Wishlist.

#1: Bunting for Trista's Troop.
  Made with Girl Scout Fabric... with their Troop number appliqued on it.

Some inspiration:

Source: google.com via Melissa on Pinterest


I would also love to put some above my girls' beds... with their names or initials appliqued on them, perhaps?




Don't you just love how cheerful they are? Like being at a fair or circus... so fun!




#2: Fabric Silhouettes
  I'm really drawn to silhouettes for decor as well.  I love the vintage feel... what I love more is the modern spin on an old-time classic!  I'd love to do some of our family... the dogs included... and display them on a wall in our livingroom.

I really like the different frames used here:




This could be a fun weekend project this summer!


Source: curbly.com via Melissa on Pinterest


#3 Photo display wall:
  I have some bare walls in my living room and I've been saying I'd like a framed photo collage on one of them... then I saw this:




I'm really drawn to how orderly this display is, but it still has a nice mix of sizes, which I like, too.

And of course I thought this perfect for my sewing studio:






Okay, enough day dreaming, I've got to work on these GS shirts!  Have a lovely Monday!

XxOo~ Melissa

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Working Mommas [ My Collaboration with LMC Accessories]

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A little while back, in my Spring Break post, I had some exciting news to share.  When the time came there was a blogger blip and I resorted to a Facebook note in lieu of blogging to share.  Well, I'm bringing that little "note" over to where it belongs... here on my Blog. *wink*  Ready for some fun?

  A few months back, Melanie, a mother of 4 and the creator/owner of Lil' Miss Couture Accessories, a handmade hair accessory boutique for the 'Couture Girl Next Door', reached out to me about designing some handmade couture clip cases to hold her fabulous couture hair clips!  After some brainstorming with Melanie, I was off to do what I love, designing and sewing, of course.  I came up with two designs that I am proud to say she "loves" and the items are now for sale in her shop!

"So Chick & So Couture"


Available at www.LMCAccessories.com

Clutch with removable strap.  Holds up to 24 clips.

Clip Wallet holds up to 14 clips... perfect purse-size.
 I am so honored that Melanie came to me about this project and happy to say these are handmade exclusively for Lil Miss Couture; so, if you know a "Couture Girl Next Door', head on over to Melanie's Facebook and tell her SoChick sent you!  She really has some stunning accessories... Mommies can get in on the action, too! (Hey, I've been known to put my girl's clips in my hair, why not?!)


Thanks for letting me share this with you, again (if you already read it on Facebook).  Have a wonderful weekend!



XxOo ~ Melissa

Friday, June 10, 2011

Fabulous Fabric Friday #2 [School's Out For Summer!]

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Today's Fab. Fab. Friday is coming a little late in the day, oh my!  It's been a whirlwind of a week between getting SoChick's Summer '11 products ready and Trista, my eldest, finishing up 2nd grade (today!!).

Head on over to the Shop to check out what I've added for the summer, and beyond!  I'll be continuing to add some items here and there over the next few weeks.








Okay, okay... On to the fabric!!

With today being the Official start to summer vacation, everyone in my house is in high spirits as the care-free days of summer are upon us.  I can't help but be caught up in the feeling, remembering getting out of school and the freeing feeling of not having to go the next day, or the day after that, or the day after that... you get it. *wink*

This youthful-playful mood reminded me of a fabric I came across a while back which featured banner bunting and was perfect children's fabric, really... in my search for that fabric I came across this fabric:


Source: etsy.com via Melissa on Pinterest


*Thank goodness for Pinterest, I can actually keep track of stuff now!



Source: etsy.com via Melissa on Pinterest



How ADORABLE is this fabric?!  It grasps my mood perfectly, fun and playful with its primary colors, bunting *wink*, clown-girl and black poodle (we have a black Standard Poodle!)... Circus = playful = youthful... like I said, totally catching my mood!  This fabric would not only be just right for children's accessories, but how cute would it be on a little upholstered toddler-size bench or ottoman?

  I really love the other fabrics that the designer, Elvina Kaplun, of New Mom Designs, has in her Etsy shop... you may be seeing some of these in my SoChick designs in the future! *Wink*

Have a wonderful Friday!  Don't forget to check out the new items in my Shop... you may recognize some of the fabrics from last week's Fabulous Fabric Friday!


See you soon!

XxOo~ Melissa



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Thursday, June 9, 2011

Inspiration Workshop [Week 2: Kitchens]

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Last week was the first installment of Inspiration Workshop with Gussy Sews and it was all about Handmade.  This week we're talkin' Kitchens.  What a darlin' gal that Gussy is... encouraging us to daydream about such wondrous things and all!

Every month I get Southern Living and Better Homes and Gardens magazines... and every month I dream about my ideal house... and kitchen.  Here are some inspiring photos of what I want in my kitchen:






I would love an island and a lot of natural light.  I also ♥ the white cabinets with their stainless pulls... it coordinates so well with the stainless appliances.

Another must would be a breakfast nook like this one...






... built-in benches would rock! Again, loving the natural light... *swoon*  Hey, did you notice that little drawer below the bench?! Handy storage is a must, too! The plank-style wood floors in both of these kitchens is great and lends a more casual feel.  I'm all about class and style without sacrificing comfort.  I don't want a stuffy home, but I do want something that I enjoy looking at. :-)

I imagine my forever-home (you know, the one we grow old in and all that...) to have a kitchen which is open and connected to the rest of the home, an open floor-plan.  It doesn't have to be a massive huge kitchen, but I want to be able to have my two girls in there with me, especially during holidays, etc. as a place where we can all gather to share life and memories. :-)

I am completely enjoying these posts and can't wait to see everyone else who links up with Gussy today, feel free to follow me, I'm happy to follow back and really enjoy 'meeting' everyone!



XxOo~ Melissa

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