Tea Towels!

I love pretty linens and have collected pieces here and there over 25 years now.

But the prettiest printed pieces are hard to find, usually expensive and not always in the colors that match my decor.

That's one of the reasons I got involved in designing my own fabrics, through Spoonflower.

here

I am slowly decorating my way through my own home, sewing slip covers for furniture; pillows and curtains for every room.

I also love to make simple tea towels in delicious

florals and patterns.

I sell them through my ETSY shop, here

I will also offer them for sale during the Arts North Studio Tour

I am participating in, in September.

here

As a fabric and wallpaper designer, I am going to have slip covered furniture, decoupage storage boxes, throw pillows, lavender-filled sachets, fabric baskets and tea towels for sale,

in a myriad of patterns I designed.

If you live in Seattle, I'd love to meet you!

I will also be hosting 3 local artists who

are all talented painters!

And of course, the other neighborhood artists will have their studios open to the public as well.

Come see how we Seattle artists live and work in our home studios!

Back to the tea towels - they are roughly 18" x 27",

55% linen and 45% cotton.

They are SO absorbent, you will be amazed!

No lint or wipe marks left behind!

And they look so pretty hanging on your rack.

Some people use just for display!

Decoupage Storage Boxes

   Do you do the same thing I do....Dream about doing something for your own home or work space but never actually getting around to it?

Decoupaging my storage boxes is one of the things I'd love to have but only create for others.

I decided to have a selection of boxes for the Arts North Studio Tour I am part of in September.

They'd coordinate well with my blue and white upholstered pieces and other soft home furnishings.

Once done, I sit back and think "this would look great in MY bedroom or studio"!

Maybe, after the tour, if these all sell, I will finally reward myself with pretty storage boxes!

"Gingham" in blueberry and "Lake Emily Summer Roses" in blueberry on white

"Violetta" in deep blueberry and "Imma Toile" in 2-tone blueberry

"Gingham" in blueberry and "Lake Emily Summer Roses" in blueberry on white

"Seville Damask" in Delft blue, and "Delphia" in pale blueberry

"Gingham" in blueberry blue on a hat box

"Gingham" in blueberry hat box with a pale whisper soft blue interior

"Neoclassical Birds" in blueberry on white, and "Damsel Floral" in blueberry

"Neoclassical Birds" in blueberry on white, and "Damsel Floral" in blueberry

Up-cycled Chair #2

   With the Arts North Studio Tour date approaching fast, I am back working on the soft furnishings projects after taking a break for a few weeks and doing some decoupage and yard work!

    I have 8 total chairs planned for the studio tour.  They will all be for sale during the tour and hopefully they'll all sell/find new homes with fellow blue & white lovers!

   Each chair is carefully chosen for its style, condition and sturdiness.  I give them a much needed makeover with paint and gold leaf, and then reupholster the seat AND sew a washable slip cover to go over the seat!  I also coat each frame with at least 2 layers of "Crystalfin" poly acrylic, to protect the paint finish and whatever gold leaf I might have applied.

   This way, the person who buys the chair has 2 options for using their new piece of furniture - and can wash the slip cover if someone gets messy during a holiday meal!

   Chair #2 has a fairly deep seat so I also sewed a small lumbar pillow for support, out of the same slipcover fabric.

   Since all my fabrics are in the same blueberry blue color way, the different patterns coordinate well together!

 I decided, after painting the frame and reupholstering the seat, that the chair needed more detail.

Sometimes you have to stand back and give the piece a good look over, halfway through the project, to make sure its

turning out as imagined.

No big deal making a few changes here and there, as long as it turns out like you wanted, in the end!

Since the seat was so deep, I added a lumbar pillow in the same fabric as the slip cover.  Its washable linen-cotton canvas.

 I thought you'd all appreciate a "during" photo of its paint make over.  I use chalk paint as a primer now!

And since I prefer to use my own durable acrylic paints in my own colors, I then paint the rest of the chair the old fashioned way.  

The final finish is then coated with 2 coats of poly acrylic.

 Sewing wavy scallops with piping was hard - not sure

I'll do them again! ha!!

 Adding the gold leaf...really added character and

a bit of cottage bling!

 Slipcovering the seat.

I removed all old upholstery and changed out the padding to new/fresh stuff.  

I abhor stapled upholstery and only use upholstery tacks.

I then cover the bottoms with a layer of white muslin, also tacked in place, with my logo sewn into the center.

The original with seat upholstered and frame painted, before I added a white accent and gold leaf