Kelly Squared

This weekend, Courtney and I went to Chica Boutiqua, a local art fair made up of mostly Etsy sellers.  I was supposed to be a part of the show, but I didn't think I had enough art left, so I'm going to do it next year!  There were some amazing booths there, including my friend, Barbie, but I was actually super excited to meet Kelly Barton!...in person!  I taught with Kelly's brother, and we've emailed back and forth for a while now.  I actually recognized her art first!  I said, "oh, now this is my kind of stuff!" As I walked closer, I knew it was hers!!! :)  I bought one of her gorgeous prints, and I'll show you a picture once I get it framed and hung!

I also thought I'd share this little table cloth that I snagged at Goodwill a while back. At first I was afraid it was too "grandma-y," but I think I like it.  It's not out all the time, so for special occasions, it will be nice!

See-great details and colors!

Happy Halloween!

afternoon painting

 We've been living in our house for about 4 years now.  I love my house, but I am ready for a few slight changes to keep things feeling fresh.  After I finished the place mats, I decided that the painting in the kitchen needed a bit of an update.

 The colors are pretty, but I got very inspired by Mati Rose, and wanted to try to experiment with her style. So, the cover up began.

 I did leave some of the pieces of the original painting show through, but I also masked those pieces.

 It was nice to have my easel out and paint again.  I just LOVE to paint!!!  I've been playing around with abstract after my class I took last spring, and really hadn't done it in a while.  I think I was just in the zone because it all just kind of flowed!!! ...did I mention that I did all of this during T's nap time?!

 And, ta da!  The finished product!!!

 It goes really well with the orange piece bellow, and it's a nice compliment to the kitchen!!! 

Ahhh, to paint again!  :)

Funky Place Mat in a Day Tutorial!

I have recently been wanting a neat set of place mats.  I had an idea in mind, and found some neat ones at Pier 1, but not exactly what I was looking for.  Then, I found some fabrics at Goodwill and they were perfect to make my own!!!

They were a thick linen and were previously some very LARGE skirts, but I knew I could transform them!!!  This is really all you need:

*fabric- a large amount to be your base, smaller amounts to cut into strips for the front.
*rick rack, ribbon, bias tape, anything snazy!!!
*pom pom ribbon.

First, I cut the base fabric (the pieces I got from Goodwill, but also 6 different  scrap pieces for the back of the mats.  Each back is different!) using an existing place mat.

Next, I cut scrap fabrics into strips and searched through my ribbon, rick rack and other goodies to find additional stripes.

I played around with the arrangements until I liked how each mat would look.

Notice that there's a separate back fabric with each set.

Next, I ironed the edges of each of the strips and began sewing them to the top of the place mat (don't connect the back piece yet, or you'll see all of your stitches on the back side...unless you like that!)

Don't be afraid to play around with all of those stitch options on your machine!  I used almost all of them to add a bit of *pizazz!!!*  I also used a variety of thread colors to add more interest.

*It's also good to have some moral support through your project.  T was very interested in the machine that made weird noises!

Don't worry if your lines are straight, or if the fabric isn't perfect, these are FUNKY place mats!  They're not meant to be perfect! Just have fun with this project!!!

Once your front side is sewn, iron the edges of your top and bottom pieces so they they will match.  Pin your pom pom ribbon into the sides, and begin sewing away!  I used a small zig zag stitch for this step to give me a bit more wiggle room for making sure I sewed that pom pom ribbon in really well.

Again, more moral support.  T was sleeping, so Sookie stepped in for this tedious process...well, not so much tedious as super exciting because I wanted to see the finished product!

And, let me tell you, it was worth the wait!!! I LOVE how these turned out!!!

No two are the same, and each has a different pom pom color and backing!

They just looked so adorable with my dishes and kitchen!

I think we'll be eating at the table a lot more now :)

Happy sewing!!!

Jane of all trades

So, apparently, my recent internet stalkings have proved that my interests are teasingly diverse.  Not only do I love to look at a variety of things, but my mind convinces me that I could "totally do that!" ...if I had more time ;)  Here are a few of my many interests:

*embroidery (in a new and funky way, of course)
*home decorating
*home decor (pillows, shelf makeovers, lamps...)
*abstract acrylic painting
*furniture repurposing
*pillows out of sweaters
*video making

Yeah, and I want to do them all right now!!!  I seriously have a list of projects that I want to complete, and I am actually finishing them, slowly but surely!!! 

What do you want to try in your "free time?!"  Want to share any links to cool projects?!

I'm off to meet my new niece, Ainsley, today!  I'll have pictures soon!

The Facebook

Hi friends! I know you just can't get enough of The Girl in the Blue Glasses ;), so I thought I'd make sure you can join in ALL the fun!!!

Have you followed my page on Facebook yet?!

I try to keep things fun- just little tid bits of crazy throughout your day ;)

I'll also keep you up to date on any events that I'm doing, or exciting things happening on the blog!

You really want to follow my page?!  YAY!  I'm so excited! Tell your friends!  Happy Wednesday!

Are we friends?!

...on Pinterest, of course!!!!

If you haven't stumbled onto this glorious cyber pinboard, you are missing out!  My bookmarks are thankful that I've found a new place to stash favorites, and I'm pretty pleased to open up one page and see a million things that inspire me!!!  Here are some of my favorite pins:

Ahhh, it's so great! As of right now, I have 663 pins!!!  What?! That's crazy...no, it's addicting!!!  If you're on Pinterest, let's be friends!  Find me here to see all of my pins!!!

Say "Cheeeeeese!"

You know when it's really late at night, and you're convinced that you're about to hit the end of the internet, but for some reason, you can't drag yourself up off the couch and you just. must. keep. looking?!

Come on, you know you know what I'm talking about...Please tell me it's not just me...

Well, when I've hit that point, I usually land browsing through old pictures on facebook.  And, since it's super late and I'm bored out of my mind, the memories usually evoke uncontrollable laughter.  Yay, you know what I mean :)

Well, my sisters and I have this weird habit of "ruining" pictures at the last second.  I'm not exactly sure when it started, or why, I just know that we do, and it's hilarious.  Here's a great example:

Take 1:

Take 2:

Take 3: Finally!

And, I think all of us really found out matches, because this happens a lot:

We can usually get Mom involved, too :)

Sara is an extended part of our family, mostly because she pasted the "posing" portion of the interview ;)

Dad, he's usually just pretty straight forward, though ;)  and puts up with us pretty well :)

I just thought I'd share a little of our crazy life with you before you go into this beautiful weekend!  Happy Friday!

Sewing success!!!

 Like I mentioned yesterday, Courtney came over to learn how to sew!!! I am by no means a pro; just learned in high school, loved it, and just kept up with it!  But, since Courtney called me her "Sewing Master Jedi," I guess I'll add it to the resume ;)

So (Andy, that was for you ;), like any good sewing lesson, we started by taking apart the machine to see how it worked.

 ...JUST KIDDING!!!  There was a broken part on her machine that we had to replace before starting, so thankfully, I'm a wiz with a philips and a flat head.  I know, I know, Jane of All Trades (also on my CV).

Once we got everything put back together, Courtney was a super fast learner!!!  I showed her how to thread the machine and her bobbin and she was off!

 Of course, being the artsy girl she is, she started off with a zig zaggy type stitch!  We were very excited to see that her machine was really that cool :)

 I know it's hard to focus on what she's doing that that giant *bling* in the way, but notice her straight lines...A+ student!

 Check out her form!  Total professional!

 And, Ta-da!!!  The most adorable little bib!  (*this is NOT for her, but for her little girl, Scarlett!)

 She'll be adding a little rosette up at the top like this:

 And, there's that funky little stitch I was telling you about!!!  Isn't it awesome?! I always love a fun stitch, it just spices up the project :)

 It was such a wonderful time of sewing, talking, and being crafty girls!  LOVED it! :)  Thanks, Courtney, for letting me teach you!  Can't wait to see what else you'll make with that machine of yours!