City Chic Country Mouse

Handmade Gifts

2012-01-20T09:30:00.001-06:00

Country Mouse and I do our best to shop handmade during the holidays. Now that the holidays are over and we don't need to keep our gifts a secret, we thought we would share them with you...

Fingerless gloves from vKnit

Reusable Fabric Photo Frames and Dots by lovemae

Photography for the Sewing Room by The Cameras Eye

Hand Carved Wood Deer Bowl by Mexchic

Hair ties by Mane Message

Did you receive a handmade gift over the holidays?

We'd love to know!

It's a New Year

2012-01-06T10:00:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year! Wow, the holidays flew by. We had loads of family time this year, in fact the last our of guests just left yesterday. We saw more family over the holidays than any other year I can remember.

Country Mouse had everyone over for a lovely Prime Rib dinner on Christmas Eve. Then we traveled to the lake to have Christmas Day dinner at the cabin. Lots of food and good times.

Our furbabies enjoyed all of our guests as well. They had lots of attention, snuggling, and long walks. Oh and I received the most beautiful handmade gifts from Country Mouse, I can't wait to show you!

Did you have a good holiday?

Thank you for making 2011 a most wonderful year for City Chic Country Mouse, we wish you all the best in 2012!

No Coast Craft-o-Rama

2011-12-02T07:42:00.000-06:00

Country Mouse and I will be at the No Coast show Friday (3pm - 8pm) and Sat (9am - 5pm). Stop by and shop local handmade goodness. We'll have some specials as well as a few new goodies that you won't find in our shop.

Hope to see you there!

Thanksgiving Morning

2011-11-24T09:10:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving morning walk. Turkey in the oven. Furry ones in their beds. Country Mouse on her way. Wishing you a wonderful day with your loved ones!

xoxo, City Chic & Country Mouse

Creative Gift Wrapping Class - join us!

2011-10-14T11:00:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, Happy Friday! Country Mouse and I have been busy sewing and getting new items ready for the holiday season coming up. We really do not like to think about the holidays too far ahead because this means the arrival of winter and snow in MN, but we like to have goodies ready in our shop for all of you who plan ahead with your shopping :)

We also have a fun crafty announcement... Country Mouse and I are the featured artists at Design Vertigo for this month!

Here's a little bit on how this came about...We met Amanda back in May at the Spring Soiree and adore her shop in North Saint Paul. So when she asked to feature us, we were honored! We made a special line of aprons, oven mitts, and towels for her shop, so be sure to stop in if you are local.

We also had the opportunity to decide if we would teach a class. Country Mouse and I really gave this a lot of thought. After all, neither of us ever dreamed of adding "teacher" to our titles. Our personalities are comfortable in the sewing room, "teaching" one another but getting in front of a group, quite honestly, is a bit scary for us.

After spending time with the many creative souls at The Creative Connection Event and pitching our ideas with fellow crafters we decided we were actually excited about the opportunity and not so scared. This will be a night of bringing our crafty ideas and supplies to share with creative friends, that means you - our dear local readers =)

Our creative class is called Creative Gift Wrapping and you can read the full description here. It will be at Design Vertigo in North Saint Paul - Tuesday November 1 at 6pm. Basically we will bring supplies to create three different gift packages you can use for your future gifting needs. We will use fun supplies like Japanese washi tapes, fabric, paper, ribbon, baker’s twine, and tissue. There will be snacks and lots of inspiration, we hope you'll join us!

To register, please contact Design Vertigo in North St. Paul - you can stop in or call 651.770.1901. Let us know if you have any questions about the class, hope to see you there!

Foxy Lady

2011-09-23T12:05:00.000-05:00

It's rare, but sometimes Country Mouse and I get the chance to make something for ourselves. I fell in love with this Foxy Lady in Mollie Makes and last weekend Country Mouse surprised me with her! Handmade surprises are the best, thanks Mom!

The Creative Connection Event

2011-09-22T10:45:00.000-05:00

Country Mouse and I attended The Creative Connection Event this past weekend where we were surrounded by like-minded creative types. It was an unforgettable few days! We finally met many of our online friends and had lots of previous customers stop by our booth to tell us what joy their ironing board cover brings them. We love seeing those happy smiles!

Above is one of our treasured pics with Tif (Dottie Angel) who we were truly giddy to meet! She has the most lovely book out right now, we highly recommend you pick up a copy. Country Mouse and I normally share a book, but this was one we knew we must each have our very own copy.

A picture of our booth, this was before I figured out I needed to use a bit of flash in this lighting environment so I apologize for the yellow tint.

I took an Inspiration Board class with Leslie from A Creative Mint. For one of the boards she challenged us to use a color we do not care for.

My color was red, I don't think I own anything red...

The rest of our pictures are of booths of the following vendors who are all as sweet as pie:

We cross our fingers that they decide to keep the event in the Twin Cities area again, although it would be fun to travel somewhere else wouldn't it? Country Mouse and I would have a hard time leaving our fur babies though...

We do hope that you get the chance to be around like-minded crafty people for an entire weekend, if that's the kind of people you enjoy, it's a real treat!

Friends and Sunshine

2011-09-12T11:00:00.000-05:00

This weekend was spent with the sun and friends. Both were good distractions. But now it's time to get ready for The Creative Connection Event. We hope to see you there!

New Fall Fabrics

2011-09-06T11:00:00.000-05:00

Hello Friends! We just wanted to pop in and show you the new fabrics that arrived. It's always a happy day when pretty fabrics make their way into the sewing room, isn't it? We are big fans of Joel Dewberry's fabrics and his newest collection - Heirloom - might just be one of our most favorites yet. It's perfect for transitioning from late summer to fall, don't you think?

We are busy getting ready for the Creative Connection Event here in St. Paul September 16 - 17, are you coming? We'd love to see you there! Also, we are giving away an ironing board cover over at one of our favorite blogs Going Home to Roost. Please stop by before it closes on Thursday! We hope your September is off to a fabulous start!

A Lampshade Project

2011-08-19T12:20:00.000-05:00

Last weekend Country Mouse and I got together at her house for some major sewing and managed to squeeze in a project for ourselves. Even though I reduced my hours at my day job for the summer, time has gone by faster than it ever has. Someone told me as we get older, time goes by faster. That seems true....I need to do something about that.

I have so many pictures to sort through and a new computer which is wonderful, but it's taking me longer to do computer things...changing from a pc to a mac = learning new technical things.

So bear with us as the summer posts have been few, but we hope you have been out enjoying summer rather than being online.

Back to the original thought in this post, the lampshade! A project that has been on the to-do list for months :) Above is the before picture, just a plain old shade and some vintage doilies. Add a late night with a hot glue gun this can be dangerous! and you have a pretty shade.

I used a light kit from ikea to hang above my work table. There was no direct lighting over the table which is a must for late night projects! This last picture was taken at night so you can see how pretty the doilies show through the glowing shade.

Hope you find time for something creative this weekend!

Happy Fabrics and Happy Weekend!

2011-07-29T11:55:00.001-05:00

The UPS truck has made several stops this week (the dogs go crazy every time they hear the truck!). The deliveries included lots of new and restocked fabric for the shop.

Country Mouse and I will be busy sewing and celebrating one of my best friend's golden birthday this weekend. Hopefully we will have some fun birthday pictures to share - we are in charge of decorating! There will be cupcakes, tissue poms, butterflies and lots of fun =)

Hope you are doing something fun with your loved ones this weekend!

Enjoying Summer

2011-06-23T08:00:00.001-05:00

Summer always flies by and this one is going to be no exception. We're trying to make the most of it with evening fires, summer drinks, and visiting new places with old and new friends...

Hope you are enjoying every bit of summer!

Ikea Chair - Before and After

2011-06-10T09:20:00.000-05:00

This week I started my new Summer schedule at my day job. I'll be working 3 10-hour days per week and having 4 day weekends! I am so happy that I made this change. I had been thinking about it for so long and finally decided I needed to take the opportunity and use the time to focus on things that are more important to me than pushing paperwork and punching numbers all day in a dysfunctional office environment!

So for the next 10 weeks I'll be spending my extra time working on things for City Chic Country Mouse and enjoying Summer! Of course, I have a long list of projects I would like to work on including giving some of my furniture pieces a facelift.

Last time Country Mouse was here, we tackled my red ikea chair that desperately needed a new cover.

Before...

After...

What do you think? Do you have any fun Summer projects you'd like to tackle? Summer is the perfect time to bring jars, frames, and furniture outside and give them a facelift with some pretty colored spray paint. I'm hoping to do that this weekend if the weather cooperates! Hope your Summer is off to a great start!

Featured in Fresh Style Magazine!

2011-05-30T15:15:00.001-05:00

Are you enjoying the long weekend? I am and I don't want it to end! My husband was away on his annual fishing trip to the BWCA with his friends so I spent time with my magazines and craft supplies which have felt a bit neglected lately :)

One of the magazines is Fresh Style and Country Mouse & I are thrilled to be featured! I spent lots of time on the phone with Country Mouse this weekend describing everything in the magazine, because she has been at the lake up North and hasn't been to the city to pick up her copy yet (she is very jealous!).

I love the layout and styling of the magazine, there are lots of diy projects and creative spaces to get you inspired. In fact two of our favorite fabric designers are featured: Amy Butler and Heather Bailey! There are lots of other talented artists and bloggers featured as well including Ashley Ann Campbell.

I was at Barnes & Nobel this weekend and wanted to show everyone in the magazine aisle our feature but restrained myself. So I know they carry it, but you can also order yours online here. Definitely pick one up for some easy diy projects and reading on decorating & creating!

A special thank you to Karen who contacted us about this feature, she is a total sweetheart and joy to work with! And also to our talented friend Shanon who took the photo of Country Mouse & I; her buttons photo is next to our ironing board in the picture.

Weekend Photos

2011-05-10T09:45:00.001-05:00

Last week flew by with Country Mouse. Here's a little recap...

Craftstravaganza! So many wonderful vendors and shoppers!

Spring Soiree in North Saint Paul with Design Vertigo, a fabulous shop!

Just a few of the items I purchased at the shows and local shops. We even got to have our picture taken at the Spring Soiree, we loved this idea!

I took Country Mouse to a wine bar in Afton, yum!

Just a few of the projects we worked on. My chair has a new cover :) And the quilt we started for my 30th birthday (back in January!) is almost complete!

Sewing and Shows

2011-05-06T09:22:00.000-05:00

Some of us have been very busy. Others seem to tire out just watching the busy ones :) Country Mouse has been here since last weekend's Craftstravaganza show and we have been sewing, sewing, sewing! We are getting ready for one more show tomorrow, at the Spring Soiree in Saint Paul. And we are trying out some new ideas and even sewing a few things for ourselves. We'll share more with you soon! Happy Friday and have a wonderful weekend!

Craftstravaganza!

2011-04-29T09:04:00.001-05:00

I can't believe it's time! We have so much to do before the big day! Pack, label, signs, sewing,and the list goes on...

Come visit us, along with more 70 other talented artists at the 6th annual Craftstravaganza

at the State Fairgrounds - Fine Arts Building - Saturday April 30.

Hope to see you there!

The Farm

2011-04-28T09:30:00.001-05:00

Last weekend when we were "up North" we visited my dad. He has a big heart for animals and has opened his home to many creatures that needed a home. Horses (big and small), doggies, kitties, geese, goats, chickens, cows, donkeys, did I miss anyone? It's become a "retirement home" for the furry and feathered friends.

I appreciate the opportunities and conveniences we have by living in the city, but there is definitely a part of me that would love to have a little farm with lots of furry friends.

Spring Flowers for Easter

2011-04-26T15:25:00.000-05:00

Last weekend we traveled "up North" to visit Country Mouse. We also helped move my grandma from her lake home into an apartment. She has so many memories packed into boxes and of course several of those boxes came home with me. More treasures for me. I could tell she was a bit sad, this will be a change for her. It was just too difficult for her to keep up with the work of having a house and yard, yet she really enjoyed being on the lake.

Country Mouse made a tasty egg dish for all of us Sunday morning before we headed back to the city and set the table all nice and pretty. It was a wonderful weekend. Friends. Family. Sunshine (part of the time...we're trying to forget about the snow on Friday night).

Happy Earth Day!

2011-04-22T12:05:00.001-05:00

Happy Earth Day, friends! We hope you celebrate earth day today and are nice to the earth not only today, but every day. In honor of this special day Country Mouse and I have included a little collection of earth inspired and repurposed finds for you:

clockwise: Things I'm Thankful For, Northshore Waves - metalwork earrings, Chalkboard Horse, Screen Printed Reusable Organic Cotton Produce Bags, Vintage Replogle World Nation Globe

And a few more earth day links for you:

- Winners of the Art of ReUSE contest

- Ideas for some Earth friendly activities

- Tips to lower your waste at home
- Click here for more ideas and to pledge an act of green

Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Easter!

Bird Watchers

2011-04-20T13:50:00.000-05:00

Yep, that's us. My husband and I set up two bird feeders the other weekend and we can't stop watching the birds. I'll be making dinner and he'll say, whoa - what's that? And I have to stop what I'm doing, walk over and then we try to identify the bird. We both have a degree in Wildlife Biology and had to take Ornithology, which was one of my most favorite courses - lots of walking outside looking and listening for birds.

We cleaned out our storage area under the stairs this past weekend and one of the boxes contained my binders from college. I ended up recycling a lot of papers (I'm never going to need to go back to Finite Math or Short Calculus, at least I hope not!) but I kept my bird notes out and am going to refresh my memory. It's become a competition in our house, who can identify the bird first and I don't like to lose.

Above is a picture of us on my husband's birthday a few weeks ago. See the bird feeder in the background? I thought it went with this post and one of my goals this year is to take more pictures of my friends and family. I have no problem taking tons of photos of the furry ones or the sewing room but I totally neglect taking photos of people. Don't worry, I'm not going to post a bunch of photos of my husband and I here, but I just wanted to document his 31st birthday with the one picture of us I took that day. He's not into posing for pictures, but that's one of the things I have to get better at - just pulling out the camera and snapping one whether he wants his picture taken or not, someday he'll thank me right?

And isn't this one of the most stylish bird feeders? It's by Studio Liscious in case you are looking to feed your birdies this Spring :)

Ikea Shelving in my Sewing Room

2011-04-18T13:05:00.002-05:00

My helpers worked hard this weekend! Well, more accurately my husband did. The furry ones just watched us and sniffed boxes for the most part. But they did their job in being cute at all times.

I returned home from a successful Ikea trip Friday night with a trunk full of projects to keep us busy for most of Saturday. We installed shelving, put together a drawer unit, and a wire basket on rollers. I'm using the drawer unit for all of my little packaging items, tissue paper, ribbon, etc. I want to spend more time arranging the items on my shelves, but just needed to get things in order for now. I love arranging things by color, just ask anyone who has ever seen my closet, I'm a little bit OCD when it comes to those things. So that's my plan with the items on the shelves, to arrange by color so it's easy for me to see what I have to work with when packing our orders and photographing our items.

I must say that I really appreciate how patient my husband is with me and my ikea shopping. He stays really calm when assembling everything and doesn't get too grumpy when things don't go together quite as they should :) I think everyone needs a calm partner when assembling furniture. Hope you had a fantastic weekend and your week is off to a great start!

ps...head over to the Polka Dot Bungalow to enter to win an ironing board cover from our shop!

Decorate this weekend!

2011-04-15T16:00:00.003-05:00

It's the weekend!!! I'm so happy because my copy of Decorate just arrived and there is nothing I would rather do than spend time with it this weekend! Decorate is written by Holly Becker and Joanna Copestick with photography by Debi Treloar. It's packed full of inspiration and ideas to help you decorate, no matter what your style or budget may be.

I've followed Holly's journey as she has gone through the process of writing the book and know that it's her dream come true, so it's very exciting to see the final product. Country Mouse and I usually share books between each other, but this is going to be one that we both want on our shelves!

One of the things Holly always recommends is keeping a mood board for your rooms. This would include things like paint chips, fabrics, tear outs from magazines, etc. So I've pulled mine out and am going to work on those as well.

What about you? Do you have anything fun planned? I think I may try to sneak in a weekend trip to ikea as well :) Have a good one!

Puppy Dog Eyes

2011-04-13T08:15:00.001-05:00

Can you please stop messing with that noisy machine and take us out to play???

They sit here, anxiously waiting to go outside and play as I walk back and forth from the table to the sewing machine. Every time I glance their way, they give me those eyes. Don't you pups know we have two craft shows coming up in a few short weeks?!

Sample Sale - Mother's Day Gift Sets!

2011-04-07T08:30:00.001-05:00

We're offering a few sets of samples we created when we developed our sewing patterns. Aprons, craft carrying cases, tape measures, and scissors sleeves would make a lovely Mother's Day gift. Just add a pair of scissors, her favorite sewing book, or magazine and you have a lovely gift set! Sets are available in the shop now!

Chair Stealing

2011-04-01T11:45:00.001-05:00

I leave my chair for one minute and look what happens!

New in the Shop: Lavender!

2011-03-30T13:27:00.000-05:00

We made these pretty little lavender sachets with the intention of selling them at our upcoming craft shows. However, when Lavender (the bunny) hopped into the studio, she was very excited about the idea of modeling so we let her have the spotlight.

Some ideas for where to use these pretties: near your furry friend's bed, on top of your stack of fabric, or beside you in a sunny chair while reading your favorite magazine. We love the smell of lavender and hope you enjoy it too! Available now in the shop!

oh and don't forget about our Spring Cleaning Sale ending April 1! details here.

New Thrifts and White Porcelain

2011-03-27T20:03:00.001-05:00

On the way home from visiting Country Mouse the other weekend, I passed by an estate sale and had to quick turn around and make a stop. And boy am I glad I did! It was Sunday so everything was 50% off, great deals were to be found! I scored a bunch of doilies, lace and teacups with saucers. I love the floral designs on the doilies and the little plates! I think they would look so pretty arranged together on the wall. I've come across some inspiring arrangements from my friends on flickr and pinterest with pretty plates, I hope to try something out on my walls soon! The other super cool thing about the estate sale was the house. I'm guessing it was built in 1950's - 1960's and still had the original pink oven set in the brick wall and cooktop, they were adorable! If I were buying the house, I would for sure keep those items. I wish I had taken a picture, but I was too busy scoping out all the good finds.

I also ordered the white porcelain bunny and scissors from Zgallerie. I was so sad when the shipment arrived, the items had been broken in transit :( I called customer service right away and they shipped another set to me with no hassle at all and it arrived very quickly. I am so happy when a company has great customer service.

I have to laugh now when I am looking at these pictures. It looks like I am setting up for a tea party with my bunny! Reminds me of something from Alice in Wonderland! Must be all the party planning I am doing right now (one for a good friend who is turning the big 3-0 and one that is a surprise).

By the way...the new bunny's name is Lavender (you'll see why very soon). He's making friends with Violet (our dress form). We like to name our "friends" that help us out in the sewing room. What about you, do you have any fun names for your sewing machine, iron, or anything else??? We'd love to hear them!

Happy Friday!

2011-03-25T15:30:00.002-05:00

Let's get this weekend started!

Spring Cleaning Helpers!

2011-03-18T09:30:00.001-05:00

Can I get a little help with this fabric???

Shop Update - Spring Cleaning Sale!

2011-03-17T14:45:00.001-05:00

It's warming up, snow is melting, and puddles are forming! Country Mouse and I are cleaning/organizing our sewing rooms and wanted to fill you in that we have just added new items to the Sale/Destash section of the shop. Many items are last ones or one of a kind, so don't delay your visit!

Country Mouse's birthday is also the first day of Spring! To celebrate we are offering 15% off in the shop (including items in the Sale/Destash section)! Just use HAPPYBDAY as the coupon code upon checkout. Coupon expires April 1, no fooling!

Doilie Placemats for the Sewing Table

2011-03-14T11:30:00.001-05:00

I was having a little problem with my new sewing table...when I would be serging or sewing fast (that's the speed I like to go!) the machine would start shifting due to the vibrations. It made me little nervous that if I was not paying attention one of the machines could make it too close to the edge of the table and fall off, not to mention it was slightly annoying to have to reposition the machine constantly.

I had picked up these doily placemats awhile ago at a local shop and used them as part of our craft show display. I found they are the perfect size to slip under the my machines and they prevent them from shifting while I'm at high sewing speed! And they are pretty too, yippee! I love the bright pop of color! They are still available in a few different colors at Urban Outfitters.

Do you see a bit of red in the background? That's a new chair I found on Craigslist and I can't wait to recover it, I just need to decide on a fabric to use! Country Mouse will help me come up with a slip cover design. It will be a before & after project that we'll share with you eventually.

Romantic Homes Magazine!

2011-02-21T09:20:00.001-06:00

We heard from a customer that she found us through the March issue of Romantic Homes magazine, we couldn't wait to pick one up to see with our own eyes that it is was really true! Here it is, page 12! The article is about creative bloggers and features Rachel from Lovely Clusters, we are a part of her online gallery. I would also like to let you know that the beautiful buttons photo in the picture is by Shanon of My Fine Garden, perfect for the sewing-crafty workspace.

I've been staring at the page we are on in disbelief and need to look through the rest of the magazine, but I can tell you it is lovely because this issue is all about color and after the 12 or so inches of snow that just fell, I need to see some color!

In other news, Country Mouse had her second surgery to repair damage done by her rheumatoid arthritis. First one was to her left wrist and this time was on her right. She's feeling better and is getting quite bored not being able to sew.

However, she took this as an opportunity to organize her workspace and found a pair of old electric scissors, which have proved to be quite useful as she is unable to open anything herself! She usually has a line up of items on the kitchen counter waiting for her husband to help with when he returns from work each night.

Speaking of color, how do you like her bright pink cast? It will come off in about 3 more weeks and then we'll be busy getting ready for Craftstravaganza. And hopefully the snow will be gone by then!

Winter Flower Pillow by Country Mouse

2011-02-14T10:00:00.000-06:00

I had to share this pretty pillow Country Mouse surprised me with when I visited her last weekend. Isn't it gorgeous? It's made with Cloud 9 organic fabric, grey felt, and a vintage doily. It reminds me of the colors I used this Christmas for decorations. I really like using blues and greys because I feel like I can leave them up past the holidays and no one complains. I totally neglected to post some pictures of our Christmas table and decorations but thought I'd sneak them in here, hope you don't mind...

Poms from Pom Love on Etsy

I used pink, white, and blue streamers for the table runner.

And yes, I know today is Valentine's Day!
I'm only one holiday behind :)

Weekend Trip to Ikea

2011-02-10T13:10:00.001-06:00

Last weekend my husband offered to come with me to ikea to get the cutting table for my sewing room. He actually has a good eye for furniture and display (must be all those years in retail!). He ended up changing my mind about this table I originally planned on getting. We decided it was a bit too large, too much wood, and expensive. Instead we took home this beauty and I couldn't be happier. I'm sure my husband was happier as well and it may have had something to do with the fact that this one took a fraction of the time that the other would have taken to put together.

I did give up having storage space, but I am thinking of getting one of these to put underneath to hold my packing supplies (tissue paper, envelopes, etc.). We'll see. As I use the space I start to figure out what my needs/wants are.

Country Mouse gave me this beautiful vase for Christmas and I think it's perfect for holding my wrapping paper. Makes me want to fill it up with more pretty paper!

Not only did my husband come with to ikea, but he even helped me stuff patterns! This job is best done assembly line style, so I was happy to have the help. He threatened to go on strike if I took his picture but I had to take one.

I sure wish the doggies would offer some help, but they always do their job of looking cute and cozy, don't they?

New Fabric - Tanya Whelan & Amy Butler

2011-01-31T12:10:00.001-06:00

Delilah by Tanya Whelan

Soul Blossoms by Amy Butler

We received our shipment of new fabrics by Tanya Whelan and Amy Butler a few weeks ago and we couldn't wait to start sewing! We have new ironing board covers listed in the shop and hopefully will get more coordinating goodies sewn up soon.

Both collections are bright and cheery, perfect for waking up our senses during our long dark winter, don't you think?
It's snowing AGAIN today! And to think, a year ago we were soaking up the sun in Jamaica!

Sewing Room Progress

2011-01-17T15:02:00.000-06:00

We're in the process of moving my sewing room from the upstairs bedroom to the lower level family room/den. I was planning to show you everything after I had it all set up, but it's taking a lot longer than I had hoped and I figured I'd post updates as each little project in the room gets tackled.

When we first moved into our house, my husband claimed this room and the first thing he did was put up his wall mounted fish (his biggest walleye caught on his annual fishing trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area). After living here for almost 3 years, I realized we really don't use this room. There was a couch and a tv , but we never sat down there. We always watched tv in our main living room.

I was feeling cramped in the sewing room upstairs and started talking about moving. After a few months, I finally convinced my husband, the fish moved to another wall in the house and now the room is mine! I sold some of the extra furniture on craiglist so I could buy the pieces I really wanted. Today the couch sold and now I can purchase the cutting table! Since it's my birth month (yes, I use my birthday as an excuse all month) my husband has promised to go with me to ikea to get the new table.

Here's a look at the progress. I've just stuffed the shelves for now and will organize later. So consider these "keeping it real" pictures and excuse the cords and the few "man" items left behind.

This is the empty wall where the cutting table will go. I need to see this one in person, but so far it's my first choice. And I realized I missed taking a picture of the best feature in this room: a fireplace! Yes, it's going to be quite cozy I think :)

Things Said in the Sewing Room

2011-01-09T14:31:00.001-06:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, Country Mouse and I spent a good amount of time in the sewing room when we got together over the holidays. Once we set foot in the sewing room, it can be hard for us to leave! We get going on ideas and sewing and only take a break to fill up on coffee (and of course stop at the bathroom!).

Our husbands and furry friends sometimes don't understand how we can spend all day doing what we do. Our furbabies are not shy about reminding us "Hey, it's time to eat!" or "You better let me outside or I'm going to burst!" They really do mean well and just want to spend time with us, but sometimes we just wish they would cozy up all cute and peaceful in their beds.

We decided to make a wall hanging in case you might have the problem of furry friends (or husbands) that want to play while you are busy in the sewing room. Our shop is now updated with the new items our furry friends allowed us to complete, all made from our latest vintage finds. Happy Sewing!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-02T15:24:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to pop in and wish everyone a Happy New Year! The holidays flew by as usual. I had a lot of time off from my day job and spent 5 days at home with Country Mouse. It was wonderful! We played with these new vintage linens I picked up, ordered new fabrics, cut out fabric for a quilt, and caught up on our accounting work. We were quite productive and even managed to stay up to ring in the New Year! Expect to see some new items from us very soon :)

Thank you for a wonderful 2010!

Hope your new year is off to a bright and cheery start!

xoxo, City Chic & Country Mouse

Yarn Wreaths

2010-12-16T09:00:00.001-06:00

There are so many fun projects and tasty recipes to try out during the holidays, it's sometimes overwhelming and there's never enough time to try everything! I was determined to do a yarn wreath this year after seeing this post by Holly on decor8 last year.

This past weekend was cold and snowy, the perfect weather to stay inside and be crafty :) Country Mouse and I pulled out our supplies and created a few wreaths for ourselves,

take a look...

We really enjoyed making these together, which reminded us how important it is to stop and allow time to create something just for ourselves. Although, after making these I'm inspired to make a few as gifts! They really are easy to do and inexpensive, so if you still are undecided on a gift for someone why not give this a try?

You can find the instructions here.

I'm not sure if I will have another post before Christmas arrives, so I want to wish you all a wonderful holiday from both myself and Country Mouse.

Take care and have a wonderful time with friends and family!

No Coast Craft-o-Rama

2010-12-02T11:35:00.000-06:00

Come support handmade at the No Coast Craft-Rama show Friday 3-8 and Sat 9-5 at the Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis! We will be in the same booth as last year (D-7).

Country Mouse and I are busy sewing up a few more pin cushions and then we need to pack up the vehicle for the show! It's going to be fun! Hope to see you there!

Thank You Sale!

2010-11-26T08:43:00.000-06:00

Hope you are enjoying wonderful food, furry friends, and loved ones this weekend. Would you would like to avoid the crowds and stay in your pjs and shop online this weekend?

To thank you for supporting handmade, we are offering 15% off everything listed in our Etsy Shop through Monday Nov. 29 by using the coupon code THANKS2010.

Happy Shopping!

Thank You and Happy Friday!

2010-11-12T09:30:00.001-06:00

Thank you everyone who commented and read our Crafty Holiday post this week! I heard from several of the shops we featured and they said they had increased shoppers from our blog post! Thank you again for supporting handmade, it is truly appreciated, now let's do the happy dance because it's FRIDAY!

What are you up to this weekend? My husband and I are going to be cleaning and planning for Thanksgiving. We may have 15 guests at our house! It should be interesting to say the least :) But first my brother-in-law returns from the army next Thursday and will be staying with us for several weeks. We need to get the extra bedroom ready for him and my new sewing area will be right outside of his room so I'll have to put that project on hold until after he leaves. I don't think he would appreciate the hum of the sewing machine outside of his room when he is trying to sleep! I'll keep sewing in my current cramped quarters because No Coast Craft-o-Rama is only a few short weeks away!

And just in case you didn't see on Facebook, we had two interviews posted this week. One with Melanie from Modern Organic Fabrics and the other with Polly Danger with a giveaway!

Anything exciting on your weekend agenda? Hope it's a great one! xoxo, Jamie

A Crafty Holiday

2010-11-10T08:00:00.001-06:00

Hello friends, can you believe it's already November and time to start thinking about gifts?! I tend to get a little stressy searching for the "perfect" gift for each person (and doggie!) on my list. The perfect gift shows that you truly thought about the person and that you think they are pretty darn special, right?

I started thinking about the gifts I've received or given in the past and I can't remember a lot of them! I feel awful admitting that, but here's the truth...I remember almost every handmade gift I received, even from when I was little. The stuffed animals Country Mouse made me (as well as a big unicorn she surprised me with from a craft show one Christmas), sweaters and mittens from my grandma, photo collages from my friends...

This year instead of searching department stores, Country Mouse and I along with a group of bloggers are vowing to support handmade. By supporting handmade you are sure to find a unique and meaningful gift as well as support real people in our community.

Our friend Angela from The Artists' House (we met at the Creative Connection Event this Fall) is hosting a Crafty Holiday blog hop. If you follow along, you are sure to find the perfect gift for everyone on your list. Would you like to see my list so far?

1. Dog Collar Flowers by Mimi Green
our pups love to be stylish!
2. Antler Dog Chew by Antler Pantry
better to chew on one of these than my shoes!
3. Blue Wool Capelet by BugDuds
my little Cricket would look so cute in this!
4. Pet ID tags by Make Your Dog Smile
just in case the pups get lost!

1. Soapy Sewing Kit by Love Lee Soaps
fun soaps for the kiddos!
2. Printable Paper Calendar by Little Paper Dog
personalize it by writing in special dates for each recipient!
3. Fingerless Gloves by Skylark Dawn
these were a hit last year for Country Mouse!
4. Tall Ship Wood Block Print by Wayfaring Art
for those with a fascination for ships and pirates!

I'm taking over what used to be the "man" room in our house,
it will now be my sewing room and I'd love to see all of these in my new space...

1. Cloudy Hand Embroidered Wool Felt Pincushion by Sea Pinks

2. Crest Mod Cabin Wall Clock by Nice

3. Neck and Shoulder Wrap by Home Grown Pillows

4. Ruffled Camera Strap by Eclectic Whatnot

Everything on my list is found on Etsy which is a wealth of handmade goodness. You can find gifts from artist all over the world! If you prefer to shop local you can even search for shops in your area.

Rather than fight the crowds at the mall, check out your local craft fairs. If you are in the Twin Cities area here are a few upcoming events you should check out:

November 13th 9am - 2pm Nokomis Urban Craft Fair

November 20th 9am - 4pm North Branch Arts Fest

December 3 (3pm - 8pm) Dec 4 (9am - 5pm) No Coast Craft-o-Rama

(we will have a booth here!)

Hope you're inspired to start your shopping! The next stop for A Crafty Holiday is Prim and Propah.

Happy shopping!

Sweater Pillow Tutorial

2010-10-21T10:30:00.001-05:00

I came across some cozy sweater pillows while shopping the other weekend and wanted to bring them home with me. I like to change the covers on my pillows quite often so I don't like to spend a lot of money on them (especially when we have a sewing room full of fabrics available!).

So the other weekend when Country Mouse and I got together we tried making our own and loved how they turned out.

We thought we'd share with you how we made our own sweater pillows. It's the perfect way to recycle some of those sweaters that have been taking up room in your closet since last season (you know you have some!). And a quick project - you can probably finish one in less than an hour.

Materials/Supplies (for an 18" x 18" pillow):

One old sweater (a cableknit makes a beautiful cover, but if you only have a plain one you can hand sew some kind of embellishment to it at the end like we did with the blue sweater)
18” x 18” Muslin or any cotton fabric for backing your sweater piece
25” x 18” fabric piece for your envelope backing
One 18” x 18”pillow form
Thread
Sewing machine
Walking Foot (helpful, but not absolutely necessary)

Instructions:

1.Determine what part of your sweater you wish to use for your pillow front. Be sure you are able to cut it the size of your pillow form! Cut out an 18” x 18” square.

2. Cut from the muslin one 18" x 18" square. From your fabric for the pillow back, cut two 12 1/2" x 18" rectangles.

3. Pin the sweater piece right side up onto the muslin and stitch ¼” seam around all four sides.

4. Take one of the rectangles you cut and fold over ½” along the long edge and press Fold over another ½”, press and pin in place. Stitch down the fold, sewing about 1/4" in from the folded edge. Repeat with the second rectangle.

5. Lay the 18" square right-side up, then place the rectangles right-side down on top of the square with the folded and stitched edges overlapping in the middle. Pin around all edges.

6. Sew around all edges of the pillow with a 3/8" seam allowance.

7. Turn the pillow cover right side out, push out corners. Insert your pillow form and get cozy!

Fall Shop Updates

2010-10-11T11:15:00.001-05:00

We finished sewing new sets of aprons, towels, and oven mitts for the shop incorporating some of our finds from treasure hunting sales and fall colors. The photo above is a collage of some of the new fabrics and fall color inspiration. I'm trying to put together a little collage of fabrics and textures each time we create a new line of shop items (hoping to do this each season!)

We're also working on a monthly (or seasonal) newsletter - see the sign up on the right side of the blog - which will include news and special discounts for our etsy shop. We'd love for you to sign up!

This past weekend was unseasonably warm and sunny for us. I took full advantage of the sunshine and had a lot of fun playing stylist and photographing the new aprons, towels, and oven mitts.

I did make time to reconnect with some college friends who I had not been in touch with for several years. We became close after spending nearly a month in Michigan together for a summer field course for our Fisheries and Wildlife degree. It was so much fun to catch up and find out what everyone is up to, it's quite funny that none of us are working in the field of our major! But that's ok, we agreed that we loved learning to identify birds by their songs and to recite scientific names (always a popular topic at a party, right?). I think that's why the little butterfly made it into the shop pictures, I was reminiscing of plant identification and life cycles.

Funny how that happens, isn't it?

I hope your week is off to a great start!

Thanks for stopping by, Jamie

Bayfield Apple Festival

2010-10-06T10:30:00.001-05:00

This past weekend Country Mouse and I made it to Bayfield for the Apple Festival. Even though the forecast said it was going to be sunny by noontime, it was rainy most of the day. But there was still much to be enjoyed...

Fall Colors! We spotted an estate sale on the way to Bayfield and made sure to make a stop on the trip home, lots of good stuff came home with us including doilies, linens and a miniature dollhouse sewing room.

Lunch: curried chicken sandwich, apple squash soup (I'm going to try making this one)

and honeybee lattes

Wine! Yes, we brought home apples too :)

And the beautiful Lake Superior

After the trip to Bayfield we spent the rest of the weekend in the sewing room with our fabric and goodies from the estate sale. I hope to get photos of all of our new creations this weekend and have a shop update next week.

How about you, have you been enjoying Fall?

Weekend Hunting

2010-09-26T17:00:00.000-05:00

I haven't been to an estate sale in ages...in fact the last one was at the very beginning of summer. Things have been too busy with our summer house/yard projects. So I was thrilled when I saw there was going to be a sale very close to my home. Yippee! It was only a ten minute drive! I can do this!

The pictures online showed some vintage fishing tackle so I thought just maybe my husband would like to tag along (he's big into hunting and fishing). He usually prefers I go to these sorts of things with Country Mouse. He doesn't enjoy this kind of hunting.

The morning of the sale he slept in and I didn't plan to disturb his sleep by waking him up to go to an estate sale. But he happened to get up before I left the house and decided to join me on the hunt.

As we passed the sale (there was no parking on the street in front of the house) my heart started beating faster. I asked him if he felt the same...the answer was No. We circled the block, parked and saw others walking towards the house. Now I was really getting excited, so I asked again how he felt...your heart still isn't beating any faster?? That's crazy. No you're crazy (he says).

We lined up and as soon as we entered the house I went straight to the room where I knew the table runners and doilies would be. The woman in front of me was on the same path and started picking up all of the lovely linens! Nooo!!! (I screamed in my head). She didn't look up at me or she would have seen the disappointment and terror in my face. I picked up the few remaining and went to the next room to see if perhaps there would be more. Strike, nothing! I was so upset that I had politely walked in the house. I should have been more aggressive! but that's not my style and I didn't want to embarrass my husband ~ I had to behave or he may never come with me again.

I stopped by the room with the doilies once more to see if anything else interested me. I couldn't believe my luck! The lady had left nearly everything she originally picked up! I got my table runners and doilies! Yesss!

In the end my husband did not find any treasures for himself. I think maybe it takes a few times of going to these sorts of sales to dig in and be comfortable sifting through everything to find your own special treasure, you know? But I really did appreciate the effort he made to try out my kind of hunting :)

Creative Connection Friends

2010-09-22T11:15:00.001-05:00

Country Mouse and I are still recovering from our time at The Creative Connection Event last week. It was an amazing experience and a wonderful place to connect with so many other creative minds. We had the opportunity to hear Mary Jane Butters and Amy Butler talk about their background and how their businesses evolved.

We loved hearing their stories of how they got started and what they view as important creative business practices. So inspiring! I was ready to give my resignation notice at my day job when I returned on Monday...but my husband wasn't in agreement with this quite yet :)

As part of the Handmade Market we got to meet lots of other vendor friends...here are a few of our sweet neighbors...

I Sew Lucky

Jenna Lou Designs

And we had celebrity shoppers! Heather Bailey stopped by, Vanessa and Danielle from Etsy, Mary Jane Butters and her daughter, and Kris and Kim from You Can Make This! It sounds like Nancy and Jo plan to do another one next year and we hope they decide to keep it in Minneapolis so we can be sure to join in the fun again.

Off to The Creative Connection Event!

2010-09-15T08:45:00.012-05:00

We hope to see you at The Creative Connection Event in downtown Minneapolis! We will be a part of the Handmade Market along with over 100 other talented vendors.

The market will be open during these times:

Wed Sept 15 6-9pm

Thurs Sept 16 11-5

Fri Sept 17 10-6

Sat Sept 18 10-5

Stop by and say hi!

image by Leigh Stanley of Curly Girl Design

Countdown to Creative Connection Event

2010-09-01T08:30:00.001-05:00

Only a few more weeks until we are at the Creative Connection Event! We are thrilled this exciting event will be so close to home...my home is just a fifteen minute drive away from downtown Minneapolis. Country Mouse will be staying with me and we'll be brainstorming new ideas for the shop and our sewing rooms. We both plan to give our spaces a makeover one of these days, hopefully before the end of the year. In the meantime I'm tearing out inspirations from magazines for our rooms and dreaming of the day we put our ideas into actions.

Did I tell you my new sewing machine arrived a few weeks ago? I've put her to work right away, no easing into things around here...She helped me finish 750 little envelopes with our business cards for the Creative Connection Event. And now we're starting on the stack of ironing board covers that is ready to topple over.

We'll be sewing, sewing, sewing this last week of summer. Although I will take a break to attend a wedding and hopefully enjoy a bit of sunshine before Fall officially arrives. Hope you enjoy the remaining bit of summer!

Vintage Thread

2010-08-08T18:29:00.000-05:00

It seems I have acquired too many wooden spools of thread (according to my husband!). Every time I come across the sweet little spools full of color, I must have them! Just about every estate sale I've been to this summer with Country Mouse, there always seems to be some of these vintage spools calling my name.

I've sorted through my collection and determined what I can part with (for now)...These are wonderful for display in a glass jar or for use in photos. I'll miss them, but I am only allowed to keep what fits in my thread case! If you think you might like to add to your collection, visit our Etsy shop. Happy sewing (and thrifting!).

Sewing Patterns!

2010-08-05T08:30:00.002-05:00

I arrived home to this one day last week...

Any guesses on what these boxes contain?! Our sewing patterns!
Now available in our Etsy shop.

A little background on the names...we decided to name our patterns after some of the hardworking women (mom, grandmas, great grandmas, aunts) who had a part in raising either myself or my mom (Country Mouse). It's difficult to put into words what each of these ladies did to prepare us for the world, but we know it sparked our creativity. We hope you have someone in your life that you can thank for a part of your creativity too! Happy Sewing!

In the Summertime...

2010-07-14T20:30:00.001-05:00

we make time to relax at the lake

and play some serious ball games with our furry friends

Our summer project list was set aside due to an unexpected surgery for my mom (Country Mouse). Sometimes life has its way of telling you to pause and reflect, don't you think? And being at the lake is a wonderful place to stop and just be.

Even at the cabin we can't be without a little stash of fabric and a notebook full of lists and ideas for future projects. So although it may seem a bit quiet here in blog land, we are sewing and creating...it just might be interrupted by a weekend trip to the lake every now and then.

And don't worry, Country Mouse is back at the sewing machine...which means she is well on the road to a full recovery. Hope you are stopping to take a dip in the lake and enjoy your summer!

Cloud9 Organic Fabrics

2010-06-30T09:15:00.001-05:00

During Spring Quilt Market, Country Mouse and I fell in love with Cloud9 Organic Fabrics. The thought of adding an eco-friendly line to our shop was always in the back of our mind. So when we came across Cloud9 it was love at first sight! Soon after market the fabric arrived and the past few weeks we have been busy creating new ironing board covers and sewing machine covers...

The shop is now updated! To learn more about how the fabric is produced and the two women who founded Cloud9 go to their website.

Summertime Shop Update

2010-06-06T18:53:00.002-05:00

Country Mouse and I designed new sets of aprons, oven mitts, and towels just in time for gardening and cooking with your new farmer's market goodies. We've been picking up little extras from estate sales and incorporating them into new items for the shop. Expect to see more lace, doilies and other vintage details coming soon.

I plan to have these listed in the shop early this week, but do have to make time to plant some new rose, raspberry, and blueberry bushes that made their way home with me this weekend!

Summer at the Lake

2010-05-31T20:39:00.002-05:00

We felt we needed a little relaxation after the big Quilt Market so Country Mouse and I headed to the cabin with our doggies over the weekend.

The sun was shining most of the weekend and the lilacs smelled so sweet. It was the perfect way to welcome summer at the cabin! In between throwing the ball for all of our pooches (as you can see this took up the majority of our time!) we managed to get caught up on reading magazines and writing our to-do lists.

We can't wait to show you the new fabrics that are on their way and all of the things we have planned for them! It's going to be a busy summer! Hope you enjoyed the long weekend!

International Quilt Market Spring 2010

2010-05-24T11:30:00.002-05:00

Country Mouse and I had so much fun at our first Quilt Market! Our senses were overstimulated with so much to take in...we're still recovering. There were so many people that we have talked with via email that we finally got to meet face to face and everyone was so sweet and helpful to us during our first Market experience.

On to the big event...

Sandi Henderson's lovely booth, so bright and cheery! We got to meet her and she signed her new book for us - Sewing Bits & Pieces.

Speaking of books, Joel Dewberry was signing copies of his new book Sewn Spaces which we also picked up. Joel did a demonstration on making one of the cute birdies from his new book.

Amanda from The Quilted Fish has to be one of the sweetest people at Market. We asked her so many questions before Market and she always answered us and pointed us to the best resources. She has so many fun sewing patterns (our doggies are begging us to make the dog beds and my feet could have used these slippers after walking all day!) AND she is debuting her new fabric line Sweet Divinity with Riley Blake!

One of the cutest booths was by Alyssa from Penguin & Fish. Country Mouse and I are animal lovers and just adore all of her cute embroidery patterns and stuffed animals. You can find them in her Etsy shop.

We also drooled over Tina Givens booth and her new fabric collection - Opal Owl.

We met with the sweet ladies of Cloud9 fabrics. We'll tell you more exciting news about their awesome organic fabric soon.

And last, but certainly not least is Amy Butler's booth. She has a new fabric line coming in September - Soul Blossoms. And she has new thread, wallpaper, yarn, towels, bedding, and what else am I missing?! She is going to be at Patina in Minneapolis tonight - Monday May 24th and we can't wait to meet her!

That's just a small sampling of the talent at Spring Quilt Market! We'll be talking more about Market and our new pattern line soon!

Parks, Flowers, and Patterns!

2010-05-11T20:10:00.001-05:00

Why hello! It's been far too long again since Country Mouse and I have updated the blog, please forgive us! It's been crazy with preparations for Spring Quilt Market and our new patterns. Here's a quick recap on what's been going on in the country and the city...

1. I took a vacation to Florida with my husband and his parents, while Country Mouse came to the city to housesit and take care of our furbabies

2. In Florida it rained nearly everyday! My favorite part was the Safari ride at Animal Kingdom...here are just a few of my many favorite animals...tigers and meerkats...oh so cute!

3. I made time to have breakfast with a good friend I had not talked with for nearly a year! Time flies! And that same day I visited Como Park Zoo with another dear friend and her two little girls. It's so much fun to bring kids to the zoo!

4. My husband has big plans for our yard. We went to Lowes, Menards, Home Depot, and several greenhouses all in one day! And then it rained.

5. Then it snowed! This is not a lie! Last weekend while I drove over the river and through the woods to Country Mouse's house, the rain turned to snow! It was still there in the morning, but melted during the day.

6. I treated Country Mouse to Hanabi in Duluth and we found our new favorite drink!

7. Finished sewing projects for RJR Fabrics Quilt Market Booth (coming up May 21-23)!

8. Met a very nice lady at the sewing machine store. We came home with a new machine! What better Mother's Day gift can you think of??

9. New fabric arrived and a new apron design is in the works

10. Plans for a sewing room makeover at Country Mouse's house have been developed...more on that soon...

Just had to stop by and update you on the recent events...

Inspiring Sewing Spaces

2010-05-02T20:15:00.001-05:00

I really, really want to reorganize my sewing room/office. And I know my mom (Country Mouse) feels the same way. We both dream of a new desk, shelving (LOTS of shelving please!), and a large workspace. Oh and some pretty lighting fixtures as well. Are you with us?

These two ladies recently purchased ironing board covers from our shop and we've fallen in love with their sewing spaces and honored that they chose to add one of our covers to their lovely decor...let's take a look...

This is Bonnie's sewing room...just look at that long work table AND a cutting table! and cabinets! So much room to spread out projects! And the sewing table is just perfect in front of the window. I adore her ruffle cafe curtains and the pop of the yellow chair. *sigh* You can see which ironing board cover she chose for her sewing room here.

You simply must head over to Bonnie's blog Going Home to Roost to see more of her gorgeous home (or as she's says - roost) and also check out her Etsy shops: The Kitchen Roost, Home to Roost and Old Renewed for goodies to add to your home.

Next up is a sewing room makeover by Naz...

I love the light fixture she chose and all of the creative ways she has used things she already owns or thrifted to get organized. Her shelves are so organized! She shows close up pictures and tips on how to organize those shelves on her blog. And she reminds me...I MUST get an inspiration board on my sewing room wall!

To see the before picture you'll need to head over to Naz's blog Make it, Bake it, Create it. She also has an Etsy shop Oliver Rue where you are sure to find the perfect gift for Mom if you still need one for Mother's Day. I have my eye on this pink vintage wine stopper.

Now if only my yardwork would be done so that I could work on redoing my sewing room. In the meantime I'll gather my inspiration from these ladies and make plans to someday (soon please!) redo my sewing room as well as Country Mouse's sewing room!

Decked out!

2010-04-11T17:26:00.003-05:00

This weekend has been fantastic! We've had sun and higher than average temperatures and I got so much accomplished! As I write this I am able to sit outside on our new deck that was finished this weekend. We enjoy the outdoors very much (both my husband and I graduated with degrees in Fisheries and Wildlife...although neither of us ended up working in that area!) and to be able to sit outside on our deck really is a dream come true. Our yard doesn't have much usable space and so we would end up sitting in our driveway with our camping chairs and the grill. I'm sure the neighbors loved that! But now we can walk right out of our living room onto the deck to grill, have a glass of wine and just hang out.

I freshened up our patio set with a coat of white paint and ordered this fabric for cushions and pillows. Hopefully I'll have another productive weekend in the future and actually get those made before the end of summer! My husband and I are headed out of town later this week to Florida to visit family and celebrate his 30th birthday, so it definitely won't get done until after that.

I'll post more pics of the new deck once I finish the patio set and new pillows. But here is a little before shot with the patio table (now painted white).

And I'll be sharing more pictures of our yard because we have big plans for it: a patio and lots of landscaping. We really need to think about where to plant things so our doggies don't tear things up while they're playing outside. They love it out here as well. They got long walks both days this weekend AND got baths today. I even cleaned the house and did laundry! And I didn't neglect our etsy shop - I added a new SALE section to make room for some new items Country Mouse and I are working on. I think I'll celebrate with a glass of wine tonight. Hope your weekend was warm and sunny!

Sew Busy

2010-03-30T20:00:00.001-05:00

Wow! Where does the time go? Country Mouse and I have been ~~sew~~ so busy these last few weeks. And I'm going to be honest, it hasn't all been fun, we've been stressy and even a bit neglectful to our furbabies (they don't understand why we have to sew all day!). But on the other hand, we are thrilled and very excited about the things we are working on! I wish I could tell you everything, but I was asked not to reveal all of the details yet. So I must honor that and only tell you what I think won't get us into any trouble. Because being in trouble would just put me over the edge right now.

So here's the deal: We've been sewing items for a booth at the Spring Quilt Market! We are working with a fabric company to showcase one of their new fabric lines and all I can say is that is will be perfect for your sewing room. And to go along with this, we will be debuting our first set of printed patterns! More details to follow soon.

And another exciting event that we will be a part of: The Creative Connection Event. It will be held September 16, 17, and 18 in Minneapolis. Go check out all of the fantastic panelists and speakers (Amy Butler will be there!). We hope to see you there!

Needless to say, there is a never ending to-do list and not enough hours in our day. And I'm not sure that we know the meaning of sewing/life/balance. Oh and one of my coworkers at my office day job told me I looked tired today. What is the best response to that: a) thank you b) you wouldn't understand or c) best to say nothing at all? I've never been quite sure how to respond to that one!

I have family coming this weekend so I am trying to wrap up a few projects so I can hopefully relax and enjoy their company. Maybe even spend sometime outside of the house, we are supposed to have sunshine and highs in the 70s! I hope Spring has arrived early for you as well!

Glamorous Grey and Fuchsia

2010-03-10T18:21:00.003-06:00

It's been rainy all week.

And although I don't especially care for grey skies,

I do love grey fabric with a pop of color.

New fabrics from Tanya Whelan's Dolce collection arriving in the shop shortly...

Glamorous floral patterns and geometric shapes. Which one is your favorite?

And if you need a little sunshine in your day, don't forget to enter our giveaway over at The Bright Side Project!

Giveaway at The Bright Side Project

2010-03-07T09:45:00.000-06:00

Spring cleaning was in full swing this weekend. And in celebration of the impending arrival of Spring, we thought we'd offer up a special giveaway to get you in the mood! Head on over to The Bright Side Project for the details and to enter. You'll have until Sunday March 14th.

Never heard of The Bright Side Project? It's the most happy, sun-shiny site on the web! Read about how it all began with Miss B and Miss K, two of the most creative and generous people on the planet. And be sure to check out all of the other fabulous giveaways while you're there! Good luck!

Above the Sewing Table

2010-03-04T07:48:00.001-06:00

Taking a break from sewing, writing, editing, planning, and trying not to go crazy! Just wanted to share with you a delicate paper doily banner, made by my mom (Country Mouse) and I in one of those moments we spared to make something for ourselves.

Oh and be sure to check back on Monday for something you won't want to miss! It will be fun! Hope your week has been filled with sunshine!

A Sneak Peek in Yellow, Blue and Green

2010-02-24T19:08:00.000-06:00

Fresh new fabrics, which look very much like Spring and Summer have arrived ...

Look for new items in the shop early next week!

One Yard Wonders Peg Bear

2010-02-21T17:37:00.001-06:00

It's tradition in our family to sew "babies" for our furbabies to have as their Christmas gifts. This year my mom (Country Mouse) made a Peg Bear from the One Yard Wonders book (page 252). I hadn't allowed the girls to play with Peg Bear yet because I wanted her to be pretty for pictures. I HAD to show you what a cute bear she is, right?

My husband finally grew tired of the girls ripping up his old socks and demanded that they get their Christmas baby. I know, it's two months after Christmas and I'm a bad dog mommy for not allowing them to play with their gift yet. So here are some pictures with Sadie and Peg Bear...

I think she likes her new baby.

Country Mouse has had plenty of practice sewing babies for the furbabies so she used a heavy weight fabric for the body for durability and just stitched the eyes rather than using plastic ones. I'm happy to report that Peg Bear is doing well.....even after a tug-of-war accident requiring surgery to repair an appendage.

Jamaica

2010-02-11T12:00:00.001-06:00

We're back from Jamaica! Words really can't describe how wonderful and relaxing our vacation was. This was our second time visiting Jamaica (the first time was for my wedding two years ago). I hope so much that we will be able to return to this special place again.

The only decisions to be made were "pool or beach" "read or nap" "buffet or restaurant" A full week of only thinking about where to lounge and where to eat allows the stress to evaporate and relaxation to kick in.

Breakfast began each morning with Blue Mountain coffee and fresh fruit.

And sometimes we had a "rumuccino" - a cappuccino with rum cream!

Now that's how every day should begin, don't you agree?

Pool?

or Beach??

Grilled Snapper for lunch. We usually ate around noon. Then my husband would eat again just a few hours later - this became known as "2nd lunch."

The food and drink presentation were amazing.

And the sunsets...breathtaking. The sun melts into the ocean.

While we were in Jamaica we kept thinking it was summer back home in Minnesota. We knew that wasn't possible, but it is so hard to imagine that it could be cold and snowy somewhere else in the world when you are in a warm tropical environment.

But it really is cold and snowy in Minnesota. In fact I've had to shovel twice so far this week! Back to reality!

Two More Sleeps!

2010-01-28T10:30:00.001-06:00

Only two more nights (sleeps) until we have our feet in the sand in Jamaica! Warm! Sun! Here we come!!

Before departure, we treated ourselves to a special trip to the bookstore to pick up some reading material. Let's be honest - our vacations are extremely low key and revolve mostly around the beach and when are hungry or need a refill on our drink. Magazines are the perfect companion and a must-have for the 4-5 hour flight and in between naps on the beach.

While we are away the shop will be closed, but did we mention you can become a fan? We'd love it if you stopped by our new fan page while we are away. We'll be back in about a week and promise to share some fun in the sun with you :)

Mission Organization

2010-01-15T09:00:00.000-06:00

2009 came and went. And here we are, it's already mid-January 2010! I'm not big on New Year's Resolutions but the organizational freak in me really comes out this time of year.

The first order of business is getting our file system ready. I made due with some really ugly, re-used file folders last year. And every time I had to dig around in our files, I felt sick to my stomach and dreaded the paperwork I had to do for our shop. That's the biggest reason I'm scrambling to get everything in order to tax season, ugh...

This year I'm determined to stay on top of things. My first purchase for the new year: pretty office supplies...

1. Brocade Desktop File
2. Hanging Folders
3. DiVoga Floral Fauna File Folders

Would pretty office supplies help keep you organized?

We'll see at the end of 2010 if I'm still this motivated to stay on top of the paperwork! Who knew having an online shop would still require paper files?!

Sew in Love

2010-01-07T08:50:00.001-06:00

Country Mouse and I have been sewing up a storm again and we are finally ready to list more Amy Butler items in the shop! Amy's newest line of fabric - Love - is stunning to say the least. We are in awe of the gorgeous floral patterns and rich, soulful colors. How does she do it?!

Let's take a look at what's been going on in the sewing room, shall we ...

New Ironing Board Covers...Bliss Bouquet

Water Bouquet

Tumble Roses

Sunspots
Coordinating Scissor Sleeves

These prints and colors were inspired by Amy's trips to Indonesia and England - places we have not yet visited (someday we will get there!) but can only imagine how beautiful they are from these fabrics! We'll have these lovies listed in the shop within the next few days.

Isn't it fun to know where the inspiration for a fabric or a piece of art comes from? Do you ever purchase something because it reminds you of a place you have visited? I have some shell and starfish decor in my home because it reminds me of my wedding in Jamaica. Did I tell you that we are escaping our cold Minnesota winter and going to Jamaica in less than a month?!

Snow Fun

2010-01-03T16:33:00.001-06:00

We had an incredible snowfall just in time for Christmas. It was our first major storm of the season, so we took our doggies (and ourselves) out for some much needed exercise during the holidays...

How do you like the snow? I love fresh snow and the first big snowfall always feels magical! However, I've had my fill of it and now the bitter cold has set in (it was -14 degrees this morning!) and I'm ready for Spring to arrive. The cold is simply no fun anymore!

But while we're stuck inside during this awful cold spell, Country Mouse and I will be busy working in the studio creating new things for the new year. We'll be back soon to share some new fabrics and a few new designs as well. Happy 2010! Hope you are staying warm!

Enjoy Your Holiday!

2009-12-22T09:00:00.000-06:00

The cookies are baked...

(and mostly eaten!)...

Ornaments are sparkling...

And the gifts are wrapped...

phew!

We're looking forward to relaxing a bit during Christmas and reflecting on the past year. We might even try to sew up a few goodies for ourselves (and our furbabies!) that we keep putting off because time has been short. Our doggies have been begging us for new pillows to lay on!

We hope you get to slow down a bit and enjoy this time of year with the people (and pets) that mean the most to you.

We are really looking forward to 2010 and all that it may bring. We can't wait to share some of our new creations and plans we have in store for the new year! Thank you for all of your kind comments and support this past year, we wish you all the best through the holidays and into 2010!

Holiday Cards with Buttons, Tape, and Twine

2009-12-10T10:00:00.001-06:00

Here's an easy little project with a few of my favorite crafty supplies: buttons, baker's twine, japanese masking tape, and pretty paper.

Directions:

Select your paper and fold to your preferred card size.
Wrap the baker's twine around the card and then cut to the desired length. String a few festive buttons onto the twine.
Cut out some mini triangle flags from the tape and tape one end of the baker's twine to the card and wind around the card, securing the other end with another flag. Place your remaining flags on the outside and inside of the card.

You probably didn't even need me to spell that out, it's so easy! If you don't happen to have these crafty supplies around, I'll share my favorite sources with you. I took pictures of these ones before I received the most fabulous baker's twine in the mail - Divine Twine! And yes, it really IS divine! I ordered the turquoise one and you get yours right here. And a fun selection of tape can be found at Happy Tape.

I think the best part of these cards is that the recipient can take them apart and then reuse the supplies. Atleast that's what I would do :)

I just can't let go of a pretty card, but I certainly do not need boxes of old holiday cards lying around. Of course I do have a special box that contains my sentimental ones, like those lovey dovey ones from me and my husband's first holidays together...hehe, but I don't think he would want others to know that he really can be a poet :)

So after the holidays, I'll go through the cards I received and keep my favorites, planning to do something crafty with them eventually. How about you, what do you usually end up doing with your cards? Have you received your first Christmas card yet?!

Blur of a Weekend...

2009-12-06T15:04:00.000-06:00

When I say this weekend was a blur, I truly do mean it was a blur! Just check out a few of our pictures from the No Coast Craft-o-Rama show...

~Setting up our displays~

Crowds of people!

We were so excited-nervous-panicky about our first big craft show. But everything went surprisingly smooth. We continue to be amazed at how wonderful and supportive the whole crafty community is - both customers and shop owners, it's such an honor to be a part of it all!

Both Country Mouse and I were able to sneak away from our booth and do a little shopping. If you did not make it to the big event, you can check out a list of all of the fantastic vendors here. Thank you to everyone who came out to the show!

Shopping Style

2009-11-25T09:00:00.000-06:00

It's going to be a traditional Up-North sort of Thanksgiving. My family will be gathering at my uncle's house on the farm. My responsibility is to bring the wine and pies, I'm thankful for that. We are so stinking busy prepping for the No Coast show next weekend, I would be a mess if we were hosting a dinner!

I don't have a long list of people to get gifts for. I've already ordered a few items as well as supplies to make some of them. I put a lot of effort into figuring out just what I want to get for my special people and pets. Although gift cards are nice (this is my husband's preferred gift method) I try to get something that I put a bit more thought into.

I tend to do most of my shopping online. Actually I'm in love with shopping online. It's slightly addicting. I can sit in my pjs with a cup of coffee and browse thousands of potential gift items. I have no patience to fight the crowds or stand in line for a Black Friday deal. Who wants to get up at 3am after Thanksgiving?

And it has a little bit to do with my husband working in retail. It's always hard for him to travel for Thanksgiving because he has to be at the store so early on Friday. And it seems like every year it gets earlier and earlier, pretty soon we'll skip the meal and be eating in the store parking lot! Well, maybe not that crazy but you can understand where I'm coming from right?

So this holiday season, I will think about the people I exchange gifts with and the type of retailers I support. What about you, what's your shopping style? Do you rush out and get some of those crazy deals on Friday? Do you make some of your gifts?

Oh and the pic above is a little Christmas card project I'm starting. More on that later...Hope you have a nice long weekend!

Cleaning with Cocktails

2009-11-20T10:00:00.000-06:00

Hi, this is Country Mouse! I know, I know, you never hear from me, right? Well, I’m a bit shy and also very busy getting ready for our first appearance at No Coast Craft-o-rama which is coming up December 4th & 5th in Minneapolis.

I just had to peek out of my little mouse nest to let you know about a fantastic cleaning product that I came across recently at the DIY Network, check out the video here. You’re not going to believe it, but it’s Vodka! Yes, it’s true. Vodka for cleaning! Cheap Vodka. Not Grey Goose Vodka, but the cheap stuff. Well, you could use your Grey Goose, but that would get spendy.

I also recently saw Kirstie Alley talking about using vodka for cleaning last week on Oprah! It’s amazing, eco-friendly, and cheaper than buying all of those cleaning products that are so hazardous to the environment. Plus, you can take a sip while you’re cleaning and cleaning will be FUN! Well, gotta run…..happy cleaning and have a fun-filled weekend!

(image Pottery Barn)

We have a Winner!

2009-11-16T12:52:00.001-06:00

At the One Yard Wonders Book Release Party with Rebecca Yaker and Trish Hoskins

Thank you so much for entering our first giveaway for a copy of the fabulous One Yard Wonders book! We had so much fun reading your comments about your least favorite household chores. From dishes to laundry to bathroom cleaning, there sure is a lot to do around the house that isn't a whole lot of fun!

We used random.org to pick the lucky winner - AmyV123 - who has a dislike for vacuuming the stairs but is able to convince her husband to do the chore! Congrats Amy! Send us an email with your address so we can send your copy of One Yard Wonders!

Amy Butler Love in the Shop

2009-11-15T19:00:00.000-06:00

Have you checked out Amy Butler's newest collection - Love? It's absolutely stunning! I love both the floral and architectural prints as well as the colorways of Amy's new line.

We were lucky to pick up a few of these new prints while we wait for our large order to arrive - we were told it could be early January! So while we wait, let's enjoy the beauties we have available now. New ironing board covers will be added to the shop early this week.

Hope you had a lovely weekend!

No Coast Craft-o-rama

2009-11-12T09:55:00.001-06:00

You'll have to forgive me if it's a little quiet around here. All I hear lately is the hum of the sewing machine and the scissors slicing through fabric. We are in full production mode (working like mad women every waking minute!) preparing for No Coast Craft-o-rama!

If you are local (or maybe you need an excuse for a trip?) you must mark your calendar to attend the spectacular No Coast Craft-o-rama on December 4th (3pm-8pm) and 5th (9pm-5pm) at the Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis. You will find the most amazing gifts for everyone on your shopping list. Check out all of the details here.

AND don't forget to enter our giveaway for your very own copy of One Yard Wonders before midnight CST this Friday!

First Giveaway!

2009-11-09T08:00:00.003-06:00

We have been feeling the need to celebrate for quite some time now and decided the time is finally here! Why celebrate? Oh where do I even start....How about a brief recap?

A little over a year ago myself (City Chic) and my mom (Country Mouse) opened our Etsy shop. We never dreamt that a year later we would have so many sales, developed friendships with amazingly talented people, and have a blog with the most wonderful readers!

And finally we have our copies of One Yard Wonders (we contributed our tabletop ironing board cover pattern)! The book is fantastic! It is spiral-bound so it lays open nicely while you read instructions for 101 amazing projects! So how about we celebrate by giving one lucky reader their very own copy?

How to enter:
We try to create things to make your household chores a bit more fun (like ironing!). So leave us a comment with your least favorite household chore.

Rules:

One entry per person, open to US residents only (darn shipping costs!)
Giveaway will be open through midnight CST - Friday November 13.
We will randomly pick a winner and reveal the lucky one Monday November 16.
Lucky winner will be responsible for emailing us with their mailing address.

If you can't wait for us to announce the winner of the giveaway, you can order your very own copy here. It's the perfect gift for a fabric lover (remember the holidays are fast approaching!) Good luck and happy sewing!

Tick Tock

2009-10-30T08:10:00.001-05:00

Is it just me or is Fall the fastest season of all? It's really flown by these last few weeks, don't you think? But stick around because next week I plan to share some of the things that have kept me (& Country Mouse) busy lately and you won't want to miss it. Until then here are some fun things that have been a distraction to me (in a good way):

Dreaming about what color to paint my office/sewing room, I think I'm set on Creamy Mocha and Cappuccino White.
Accepted the fact that it is going to get cold and snowy again, so I bought this to keep me warm.
Also accepted that it is going to be 2010 next year! So I'm considering a new calendar.
Trying to get to the theater to see Michael Jackson's - This Is It

That's all for now. Hope you have a wonderful Halloween weekend! See you back here next week!

Bake it Pretty - Owl Friends

2009-10-18T20:12:00.002-05:00

Today I created a bunch of hooters. (Owls!) They are so adorable. And tasty.

Mmmm...

I used a candy mold from Bake it Pretty along with candy wafers for melting and cello bags for packaging. You just melt the candy wafers, fill the mold and tap it a little to get the bubbles out, and stick it in the freezer until it sets.

The shapes pop out very easily and I'm sure you can think of a number of cute ways to package them. I was in a bit of a hurry and just used tiny cello bags and cut out cardstock paper with a smaller Amy Butler scrap paper and stapled them all together. Sweet and simple. For more sweet candy inspiration, head on over to the Bake it Pretty blog. Your sweet tooth will thank you!

Interview with Glorious Hats

2009-10-12T15:45:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note to let you know Jane from Glorious Hats interviewed us on her blog today! We are part of her fun series titled "Etysians who Drive a Sewing Machine." Jane creates wonderful one-of-a-kind items in her shop just check out this Mustache:

AND she is a fellow Minnesotan, so of course she is warm and friendly :) You can read the interview here.

New Items

2009-10-11T19:08:00.000-05:00

I promised to let you know when we would be ready to reveal our new items for the shop. I've been trying all weekend to get some decent pictures of the new items, but the weather is not cooperating. It's been cloudy and we even woke up to a little bit of snow on Saturday! And now they say we may get 2-4 inches tomorrow! I'm not done with Fall yet and Winter is already knocking at the door. Well, I'm not answering. Go away.

Here is a quick peek at the new items...

Measuring Tape ~ perfect in your purse and for your handmade projects

Scissor Holder ~ to hold that special pair of scissors ~ you know, the ones you don't want your husband to steal and never return ;)

We will be adding these in a variety of fabrics. Let us know if you have any special requests. I'll start adding them to the shop early this week. Keep your fingers crossed that I don't wake up to snow tomorrow!

Feature on Young House Love

2009-10-07T20:45:00.000-05:00

Remember our table and chair makeover we posted awhile back? Sherry and John from Young House Love featured it on their Reader Redesign series! We were thrilled to see it up on their blog where we always find so much inspiration. Check it out over here.

In the comments, there were some questions about oilcloth, like what is it, where to get your hands on it, and what else can you do with it? So we'll do our best to answer:

What the heck is oilcloth? It's similar to a vinyl tablecloth that you can buy at the store. Here is wikipedia's version of oilcloth.
Where can I get it? You can sometimes get it at your local fabric store and of course online. We just came across this shop on Etsy that is dedicated to selling oilcloth, check out Oilcloth Addict.
And for what to do with it, let's just say the possibilities are only limited by your imagination! But if you need some helpful ideas, one reader found an awesome site that is all about oilcloth - Oilcloth International and they have a blog featuring fun projects made with it.

Hopefully you enjoyed our short course on oilcloth :) Do you have any ideas on what you would make with it? Please share!

Distractions = New Items?

2009-10-05T21:00:00.002-05:00

So how was your weekend? Did you get to do everything you set out to do? We didn't make it to the Apple Festival like I'd planned. Partly because of the weather (cold, rainy, windy, blah)...I snapped this picture during the brief moment when I saw a single patch of blue sky...

and partly because of this little guy I introduced you to a few weeks ago...

He's just so stinkin' cute. I mean a-d-o-r-a-b-l-e. And oh so snuggly! He's at that stage where you just want to squeeze him, he's so cute.

But he's a total distraction too. All weekend it's "where's Junior" and "what's he doing" and "look at him, he's so cute!" and of course a few "no Junior, NOooo!s".

With all of that we did manage to come up with not just one, but TWO new items for the shop! Maybe distractions actually help us focus :)

So as soon as this weather clears up and I can take some decent pictures I will show-and-tell here so you are the first to know just what Junior somehow helped us create.

Welcome Fall!

2009-10-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

Well, hello Fall! I've said my goodbyes to Summer and trying my best to welcome Fall. Don't get me wrong, I love what Fall has to offer:

wearing cozy sweaters

keeping warm with others

celebrating at apple festivals

I'm just not so sure that I'm going to be welcoming the season that follows Fall (you know, the one that starts with "W"). I'm hoping to do the three things listed above this weekend. What about you, how are you welcoming Fall? Doing anything crafty? Trying any new recipes? Please do share :)

image: cattales on etsy

Parasol Craft Magazine

2009-09-30T21:30:00.000-05:00

I came across a fabulous find by Holly at decor8 the other week: Parasol Craft Magazine. I just purchased the first issue - a steal of a deal for $2.50! There are 111 pages packed with inspiration and creativity. This is my first time purchasing an online magazine and I am thoroughly enjoying it! It was extremely easy to download the file and start flipping through (I mean clicking through) right away. If you haven't heard of the amazingly talented Yasmine Surovec from her blog A Print A Day, you must click on over and check her out.

image: Parasol Craft Magazine

Big Patches-Big Love Quilt

2009-09-27T14:10:00.000-05:00

Isn't it fun to see this...

turn into this...

Country Mouse and I used the Big Patches-Big Love pattern from Amy Butler's software for this quilt. It was part of a wedding gift for one of my dear friends, so the name is very fitting don't you think? Fabric is from Joel Dewberry's Deer Valley collection.

We've been extremely lucky with our weather lately, nice and warm! Each nice day we have, I can't help but think is this going to be the last one before it turns cold? Soon it will be time to cozy up under a warm quilt like this one and hibernate! But until then, I'm going to spend as much time outside as possible. Wishing you a Sunday full of sunshine!

Puppy Love

2009-09-22T20:01:00.000-05:00

Puppy love...ahhh...need I say more?? This little guy stole my heart and I haven't even met him yet. I told you how heartbroken we were when we lost our Lady over a week ago. My mom (Country Mouse) wasn't sure she was ready to have a new puppy quite so soon, but after several days of silence in her house it was clear that the pitter-patter of paws was needed.

Say hello to Junior!

Our First Pattern!

2009-09-20T08:25:00.001-05:00

I mentioned a while back that we would have some exciting news to share. And we've been oh-so-busy working on this project :)

It all started when we had a request from a sweet customer (Lori), wondering if we would ever offer a pattern for our oven mitt. Country Mouse and I had talked about several ideas for a pattern but it just simply had not made it to the top of our priority list. That is until we heard from Lori. We sprung into action putting our instructions and photos together.

We just needed the skills of a graphic designer to help us with the finishing touches. Our dear etsy friend Whitney of Whisker Graphics created a dreamy layout while we struggled with a name. Just when we were about to settle on one, Whitney emailed us with a suggestion from her daughter and it was perfect...drumroll...Please welcome the very first City Chic Country Mouse PDF sewing pattern: Sew Hot Oven Mitt!

Just in time for you to start sewing your holiday gifts (yes, it's that time already!) This is a fun pattern for a beginning-sewer as well as advanced. There are a few options for extra creativity (like adding an applique or yo-yo). 6 color pages filled with step-by-step instructions and color photos to guide you through making your oven mitt.

It will be emailed to you within 24 hours and you can start sewing immediately! No waiting for the mail. And the other thing we really like about this pattern is that it takes a small amount of fabric - just two fat quarters! If you are like us, you probably have tons of fat quarters lying around just waiting to be made into something beautiful.

You can find the Sew Hot Oven Mitt pattern for sale in our shop now. Happy Sewing!

New Chevron Fabric

2009-09-19T15:22:00.009-05:00

I'm slowly getting back in the swing of things this week. Thank you for your kind words while we remember our little doggie that we lost almost a week ago. I am happy that the sun is shining and it feels like summer (where was this weather back in July??). Mother nature is confusing me with the seasons, especially when I am deciding what to wear in the mornings.

I spent part of today photographing some new covers for the shop. What do you think of the chevron pattern? I've seen it used for rugs and cards, so why not ironing board covers? I really like how they turned out.

They will be available in the shop very soon. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

A Little Break

2009-09-13T21:30:00.000-05:00

We have been working on some new things that we can't wait to share with you. But we lost one of sweet doggies this weekend and need to take a break to let our hearts start to heal.

My mom's dog Lady has been with us from the start of our sewing business, always in her little bed in the sewing room when we are working. Sadly, we lost her to complications with congestive heart failure today. So I hope you understand if we are little quiet here. Hug your special ones extra tight tonight.

Lovely Clusters - An Online Gallery

2009-09-01T19:45:00.000-05:00

I was introduced to a lovely new gallery the other day by Vicki of Simply Hue. The new gallery is appropriately named "Lovely Clusters" and features artists and designers with dreamy type products. It truly is lovely!!

The gallery is designed by Rachel of Design Lovely and her assistant Vicki who did an amazing job of putting together a wonderful collection of beautiful items (ours included!) . The fun part is you can shop by color cluster (genius!) or by product.

Here is an example when you click on Pink:

If you are interested in having your shop showcased in the gallery, contact information is here.

And a huge thank you to Vicki for introducing us to this gallery as well as featuring our shop as part of her Spotlight on Designers this week! Click on over and see all of the talented artists and designers on Simply Hue as part of the series (and for specials and a giveaway opportunity!). Thank you so much for supporting the artists and designers of small shops!