Pinkalicous

I'm so excited; I just put a very special package in the mail this afternoon!

I'm sure you all know Kim from 733 a creative blog

Well her daughter's about to turn two!!!

I was selected to design the dress for the big day

You have to go check out her party post

So inspirational!  I can't wait to see how it all turn out

Also in honor of the big celebration I am going to offer the pattern

as a free download some point this month

click follow to be notified when the pattern is ready for download!

Also while our visiting Kim's blog be sure to check out her

Knock It Off Contest

Willow Bean Studio 

is one of the sponsors

Don't forget next Tuesday begins 

Toddler Tuesday's @ Willow Bean Studio

I can't wait to see all your craftyness

Knock It Off Contest

I just wanted to give everyone a heads up that

Willow Bean Studio is a sponsor for the

Knock It Off Contest

at 733 a creative blog

The above flower brooch, one of many prizes you could win when you enter the knock-it-off-contest. The color of the brooch is yet to be determined ... so come on blog land I'm looking for suggestions.

What color would you like the winner to receive?

Toddler Tuesday's

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up so they can get their craft on

Starting in May Tuesdays will be all about the toddler at

Willow Bean Studio

We will be hosting a "Linky Party" each and every Tuesday

showcasing all your toddler related projects!

Oh and don't forget to grab a button and follow along

The Craft Room Remodel Part 1

Recently my husband has under taken the gianormus task of renovating my studio space ....

I wish I could tell you the above photo is where I spend my hours happily sewing away for

Willow Bean Studio

Unfortunatley it's not!  Even more unfortunate or fortunate depending on how you look at it

the above photo is a picture of my day job office space.  This is where I spend countless

hours crafting away for a fabulous family.  Yes you heard me right I get paid to craft, primarily scrapbook.  I am the family historian/resident craft expert for a lovely family on the Mainline in Philadelphia.  No they are not celebrities although they are related to one of the hottest designers of our time.  I'll give you a hint ... her bag was listed this year as one of Ophra's must haves.  So anyway you can see my delemma, how can I work all day in a beautiful space and spend my nights slaving away in my dark cold basement.

This was once the home gym. the area where the carpet is missing was a stage meant to support a bike, elliptical machine, etc.  The wall was even covered in mirrors ...ewhhh!

All I can say is, husband to the rescue!

I bought several of the scrapbook cubes from Micheals and my fabo husband

came up with a way to make them look like a custom built in work area.

The man is a genius with trim!

 

                   

Okay so it doesn't look like that yet ... but stay with me

The taxes are done and we will be back from vaction on the 23.

So I'm hoping rather praying this job will be completed in the begining of May.

Or he at least fixes the carpet ... LOL!

Well even if it takes him a bit longer than planned I can always escape to my day job!

Below is a pic of my current sewing table and the make shift credenza behind it. 

No worries, I've got big plans for that space too!

The Peacocks Are Home To Nest

The Peacocks have found their nesting place!

I have a love/hate relationship when it comes to doing multiples of anything.

The pros are as follows:

1. You have already worked out the kinks so the second one will go faster

2. The second one will be easier than the first

3. double the number of pieces double the pay :)

The Cons :

1. They must be identical

2. They must be identical

3. They must be identical ... well you get the point

So now the challenge was to not only match the pattern seamlessly

down the front of the chair;

but it's partner had to be "identical".  

Eeeek!

Well after one to many sleepless nights the peacock chairs were completed

and dropped off at their new nesting spot. 

My customer was thrilled to say the least,

after all they were identical just as she had requested :)

This post has been linked to the following parties:

Shabby Nest

my uncommon slice of suburbia tuesdays-treasures

I'm excited to share that this project was featured on Pink and Polka Dot's

fridays-featured-slipcovers

Make It Sew It Love It

Make It Sew It / up-cycle

I am so excited I just got an email from Tara at Trendy Treehouse she has started a new blog

| Make It . Sew It . Love It |

and she is going to use my tutotrial where I take my son's shirt and turn it into a dress for the Bean.  She even added an upclycle label for it!

Please head over and check it out.  This is a great site with cool crafts and the best part is ...

new free projects will be added everyday!

It's Time For A Little spring Cleaning

 

It's Time For A Little Spring Cleaning

I am in the middle of clearing out my kids' closets and making room for their spring clothes.  You know this involves trying on stuff from last spring/summer to see if anything still fits.  While doing this I discovered my son had a huge growth spurt and nothing from last year remotely fits.  I was so sad because he had several button down shirts that were worn once, maybe twice.  I didn't want to throw them out as they were like brand new and I really didn't want to give them away either.  This lead me to the following thought, "What crafty thing can I make from them?" 

I wonder if the Bean can wear them?

Aughh way to big ... then I realized I could make it into a dress! 

First I traced out the outline for the bodice while the shirt was on my daughter.  As you can see below I created a halter style dress.  Also if you look closely you can see the big black dot that was created when Bean wanted to draw on the shirt just like Mommy did!  Mental note next time use one of those washable fabric markers versus a permanent sharpie marker ... Eeeek!!  

I cut along the lines I had just drawn and below the collar stand.  Across the back I cut about an 1 1/4" above where I had determined her waistline to be; at this point I cut off the bottom of the front "skirt" section.  I turned under the edge along the front bodice and hem to clean finish the top.  To finish the back I created a 1" casing which I later inserted elastic to help keep the back snug.  I gathered the top of the front skirt and then set that section to the front bodice.  I felt like it still needed something to make it a bit more girly so I added a green satin ribbon at the waist to finish it off.

I am so happy with how this turned out.  Now if only Mother Nature would cooperate long enough for me to let her wear her new dress; after all it did snow in PA on April 1st!

This post was shared at the following linky parties;

                                       Made By You Monday             733blog Sugar and Spice

                                             The Girl Creative                  The Trendy Tree House

                  Sugar Bee Crafts Take A Look Tuesday     The Thrifty Home-penny-pinching-party

http://todayscreativeblog.net/get-your-craft-on-6/

funky polkadot giraffe too-cute-tuesday

Make It Sew It Love It / up-cycle