Damask Apron

There is something different about this apron. Take a closer look...

It's made with laminate fabric!
I made this apron with the hair stylist in mind, although it's great for cooking spaghetti in too. The laminate fabric doesn't absorb liquids. Not only is the apron stain resistant - it's got some serious hottness going on in the back...

This apron, along with a couple of other aprons, will be listed next Wednesday in the shop.

Cheers,

Jamie

A chair makeover with chalkboard paint!

The other day my mom was at my house and kindly pointed out the rips in my chairs.
"I know I need to re-cover them, but I'm just too busy," I told her.
My mom said "Come on! Go get your fabric and lets re-cover them."
And about an hour later...

"Ahhhh! My eyes are happy now."
Then I got to thinking of how I've always wanted to paint something with chalkboard paint. Soon what was supposed to be a quick fix had become a "project." I suppose this is what I meant by not having the time, because I always want to expand on an idea. I sanded, primed, and began to paint.

The first coat was a little scary looking...

However, 3 coats later...

I like it! Surprisingly, the chairs don't have a super rough finish like a chalkboard. There is a little bit of a gloss to the paint.

The fun part was watching my kids create...

I love the flamily too!

I decorated this chair. I couldn't resist. I always like how coffee shops and cafes write their menus on chalkboards all pretty like. So, I had to draw my bird scene that I always like to draw. A bird sitting on a stump next to a big tree. It's my "go to" drawing. You guys already knew that's what it was...right?
I really like how the chairs turned out. Every day or so they change so it never gets boring. We've even used them to do tally marks for homework.

I used Valsper Chalkboard paint in black, which is more of a charcoal black as opposed to a pure black. One of the chairs had a glossy finish on it, so I had to sand off the finish first. I used spray paint primer to prime the other painted chairs before applying the chalkboard paint. It took 3 coats of paint to achieve a consistent look.
There is one negative to painting your chairs with chalkboard paint. It is that the chalk can get on your clothes. I just tell the kids to try to write on the backs of the chairs, but it really doesn't matter. It all comes off and I think the fun really out weighs the negative.

Update: I forgot to link to the fabric. The fabric is Quiet Ground by Echino. Here is the link.

Jamie

New Kokka and Nani Iro fabric

New Kokka fabric in the shop...

(Link)
Oh- the clothes I would like to make out of this fabric for my daughter.....IF SHE WOULD WEAR THEM! She has this idea in her head that the clothes I make for her are hot - not hot as in H to the O to the T, but temperature hot.

The crazy thing is she will ask me to make clothes for her! She has already asked me to make her something out of the Alice in Wonderland fabric. I want to, but I don't think she'll wear it. However, I'll wear it! Yes, I'm totally thinking about making myself a spring skirt out of the Alice in Wonderland fabric (blue). A soft off-white cardigan with it...mmm-hmm! I'm not sure who, but one of us is going to have an Alice in Wonderland skirt for Easter.

2 new Nani Iro prints from her Antique Label collection...

Hana Yura is printed on 100% cotton canvas and definitely makes my eyes feel good (link).

***

To those of you that gave me some tips on how to train my booger - I mean sugar (dog) - thank you. I will be trying them out this weekend, beginning with the couch.


If it doesn't work... I may have a giveaway here shortly. Just joking. I mean seriously, you can't give away dogs on a blog. Pfff! Riiight???

Have a great weekend!

Jamie

Handmade Christmas gifts cont....

Before it gets way too late to share Christmas gifts with you all, here is what my Pop made me...

My Pop welded me a swinging bench! How cool is that? Not only did he weld me a bench, but he welded one for my sister too. Her bench is sunny yellow and doesn't swing (per her request). I told him he needs to open an etsy shop =) He has another design with sea horses. I haven't seen it yet, but he says it's better than the palm trees. I don't know about that.

When I was younger, I can remember my Pop coming home from work with his well worn yellow work gloves and welding helmet in hand. He always had a particular smell of metal about him. It didn't bother me. There was something strong about it that made me feel safe. Sometimes I would ask him to put his helmet on and make it close without using his hands. He would put it on his head and with one firm nod his helmet would shut into position. I thought it was amazing; like a magic trick. Cherished memories indeed.

My mom made me a beautiful clutch...

Inspired by a vintage clutch she saw in a shop, she drafted the pattern herself. I think it turned out quite nice. I can't wait to use it for a special occasion.

Here is my sister's handmade gift...

She photo copied a picture of the three of us kids and mod podged it to a tile. She then mod podge the flowers around the picture (or maybe it's the other way around). I love it! I totally remember when that picture was taken. We were sitting on a hand rail at Corona Del Mar Beach. I was nervous that my sister was going to fall, which is why I'm holding her like that. That's really funny to me, because recently my husband and I took a personality test for fun. My personality came up as Guardian and my husband was Artisan. How did that happen? I thought I was the artisan in the family. I really wanted Artisan =( Anyways, I guess I've always been the Guardian type.

That concludes the handmade gifts made for me by my family. Soon I will share a couple handmade gifts that I made for my sister and a few other people. They were basically my ginny pigs for testing out a new pattern I was working on. I like how the pattern turned out. I can't wait to share.

Jamie

"Shoog go potty!"

This is sugar (A.K.A shoog). The week after Christmas, she became the newest addition to our family. Why we got another dog, I do not know. Perhaps we have too much time on our hands, or not enough dogs, or we're trying to fill some huge void for my husband getting a vasectomy too soon after the third child. Whatever the reason is, she is here to stay and I am responsible for her.
How did this happen? I was the sane one saying, "I just don't think we should get another dog." "I don't think we have the time to train another dog." Then I caved! Yes. I had a moment of weakness and before I knew it she was here...peeing everywhere!
Peeing on my wood floors...
peeing on my pergo floors...
peeing on my tile floors...
peeing on my towels...
peeing in front of me!
The dog training book instructs me to ask her to go potty when it's time to take her outside to do so. I did this the other night. With a sweet voice I said, "Do you want to go potty?" She then looked at me, squats on the bedroom carpet, and pees. I believe she was making a point to me that this was indeed how it's going to be.

My sister was here the other day and told me I wasn't training her correctly. She said I needed to use "positive reinforcement." Apparently, putting the Shoogs nose near the pee and sternly saying, "Bad dog" isn't positive. My youngest has volunteered the training advice he learned from commercials. After I finished correcting Sugar he said, "Mommy, don't get mad. Get glad!" My daughter has told us countless times to buy the Pee Pad.

Plus there's another problem...

The couch! We have a dog rule in this house which is no dogs are allowed on the carpet or the couch. Shoog's a rule breaker. Granted, this is the couch that I have been threatening to reupholster and I will... soon... someday... in a year or so. However, in the mean time, little shoog needs to find a new place for her afternoon siestas. I tried the positive reinforcement thing and I seriously think she chuckled at me when I picked her up and put her on the tiled floor. Once on the tile I said, "Good girrrl!" She was like, "Right. You and I both know I didn't put myself here. Now if you would please kindly take me back to the couch that would be great." The next time she got up on the couch I yelled, "Shoog! Get off the couch now!" This was her response...

Dang that dog is smart! The sad look. Gets me every time. That's exactly how I got into this mess in the first place! Every member of my family, from my youngest to my husband, gave me the sad face when asking for the dog.

On a positive note, I will say that she has found my long lost favorite slippers, a stuffed animal that none of us have any idea where it came from, and she takes great black and white pics.

She's a cute little shoog boog isn't she??? Family is forever.

Jamie

$326.00!!!

$326.00!
That is the combined total amount that 28 people donated to the Haiti apron raffle. Thank you so much! I was hoping to break $200.00 and you all exceeded my expectations. Every time a person made a donation, I received an email notifying me of the donation. With every email notification, I would get such a jolt of excitement followed with goosebumps. However, the best part was giving the donations to Doctors Without Borders.

Thank you for your support!

Thank you for your donation to Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Your donation has been designated for our Emergency Relief Fund, to be used in the Haiti earthquake emergency and in future emergencies. With your support, MSF is responding faster to emergencies and improving the quality and effectiveness of the medical care we provide in more than 60 countries around the world. Our field staff could not carry out this essential work without your support. If you have any questions about your donation you can contact Donor Services at donations@newyork.msf.org or (212) 763-5779. You will also be receiving a thank you letter in the mail which serves as your legal receipt. Please find below your donation information as it appears in our records. Payment Amount: $326.00 Gift Date: 1/21/2010 For more information visit our website at www.doctorswithoutborders.org Thank you. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

The U.S. section of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international independent medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural and man-made disasters, and exclusion from health care.

According to the Charity Navigator, Doctors Without Borders has a 4 star rating (link). So, rest assured that the money went to a reputable charity.

The fun continues...
As promised, 2 entrants have been chosen by the Random Number Generator. Not every entrant left a comment at the end of the post. However, I recorded every entrant along with how many entries he/she qualified for in the order that I received the donations. I used the Random Number Generator to randomly pick 2 numbers beginning with 1 and ending with 326. With that said, the 2 winners are...
Linda Urbina
and
Nate Cook
Winners, I will ship your aprons to the address provided in your donation receipt. If you prefer your aprons to be shipped elsewhere, please email me at apronsteet{at}yahoo.com with your request.

Judging by your comments left in the previous post, I think everyone feels like they won something. I certainly do. Thank you so much for giving hope =)

Jamie

A raffle for Haiti

The raffle is now closed. A big THANK YOU to those of you that donated and entered the raffle. Your generosity has made it a success! I have removed the donate button and will announce the winners on Friday.
Thank you again =)

In light of the tragedy in Haiti, I am going to try something new. Initially, I intended to do a post on what my parents made me for Christmas, but I can't. My heart is too heavy with feelings of compassion for the Haitian people. When I read about the Mothers digging in the rubble for their little ones, or see the picture of the girl with her hands raised to the sky in agony over the death of her brother, I feel so frustrated that I can't hold them. I want so badly to help, to physically help them, but I can't. I know that I am not alone in my frustrations. Though I can not physically help, nor am I wealthy enough to make a big contribution, I can sew!

I am raffling off the Daisy Pretty Ditty Reversible Apron below. Actually, I'm raffling off 2 Daisy aprons!

To enter the raffle simply click on the Donate button above and make a donation of $1.00 or more. For each dollar donated, you will get an entry. For example, if you donate $5.00 you will have 5 entries. After you make the donation you will be redirected back to this page. When you return to this page, click on the comments link located at the bottom of this post and leave your name and how many entries you qualify for. I will make sure that everyone is entered correctly. However, it just helps to have someone double check it. Every dollar will be donated to Doctors Without Borders. The Raffle will close at 9:00 pm (pst) Wednesday the 20th of January 2010. I will announce the 2 winners the following Friday. The winners will be chosen via a random number generator. International friends are encouraged to enter.

That's it!
Just make a donation of $1.00 or more then come back here and let me know in the comments section of this post. It's exciting to think that our $1 donations, though small at first, when combined have the potential of making a significant and positive impact in the recovery of the Haitian people.

Jamie