pumpkins and lace

It's finally time to bring out the fall decor...this is an event I've been waiting for since last Autumn! My sister and I took a trip to Safeway and picked up a pumpkin, squash, and corn decorating pack for $14....we figured out after we checked out that it would have been cheaper to buy these items individually! Oh well, you live and you learn. So we then spent the better part of our day cleaning and decorating our apartment while listening to Christmas music on my sisters record player...yes, Christmas music...an indulgence that couldn't wait until the actual Christmas season. So, we strung some pinecones, cut some fabric, tied some bows, hung some corn, carved some pumpkins(our first ever carving experience), and voila! Fall is snuggly nestled in our apartment.

silk and lace...

Sewing is one of my passions. It is one thing that I can sort of, almost, slightly control. I love the fact that I might have a vision for my creation, but once I start in on it, it takes on a totally different form...this is what happened not too long ago... 

My good friend asked me to make two of her bridesmaid dresses, one that I would wear, and one that my sister would wear. Easy, I thought when she asked me about 6 months ago, there will be plenty of time, and it IS only two dresses. In actuality, yes, this would be easy...however, I struggle with the common disease of procrastination. A curable one I am sure, however I have not undergone treatment, so here I am the night before the wedding up until 3 am finishing the last dress! Haha! So typical even if I hate to admit it. One the plus side, I've learned a few things: 

1)Do not procrastinate under any circumstances, 2)When it's time to sew do not "check" Pinterest first...it will eat up hours! 3)Learn how to ruche before planning to use it, 4)A dress form is almost essential (unfortunately mine has not yet made the journey from Maui to my new home, so I had to improvise for the first dress -see photo above- and due to a unplanned, spontaneous visit to Maui I was able to use the form for the second), and 5)Coffee and a movie in the background make perfect sewing conditions!

So...you are your worst critic and I am no exception to this...but all in all they both turned out cute. Most importantly, the bride was happy, I think...

Fall Clothes

Navy and yellow

Dumpster finds

I've lived in my vintage Seattle apartment for almost a year now, and only recently have my roommate and I been able to find comfortable chairs for our living room. We searched for quite a while, however, every chair we liked cost hundreds of dollars. Then all of the sudden within two months we now have three beautiful chairs...the latest of which we found outside our apartment by the dumpster. It was a pretty cute chair, but was clothed in a shiny crimson red velvety fabric that was covered in cat hair and bald spots. It seemed as if it had looked luxurious at one time, but now it just looked shabby.

Today I decided to give this chair a cosmetic facelift. Although It is not the perfect fabric, and it is a bit lumpy in places, I can actually sit in it without feeling an allergy attack coming on. It took me almost the whole day to recover, There were many staples and small nails that I had to remove, in the end I used a staple gun to attach the fabric to the back of the chair, for the tufts I re-used the ones that had been left behind in a previous layer of the chair. I then trimmed the back cushion with the red trim I pulled from the chair, and on the bottom cushion I opted to use all of the tiny nails to secure the fabric to the chair instead of stapling and covering with trim. All in all I am happy with the result, and it matches the look we have going in our apartment.

Behind the Blog...

am·a·teur (noun) 

\ˈa-mə-(ˌ)tər, -ˌtu̇r, -ˌtyu̇r, -ˌchu̇r, -chər\

: one who engages in a pursuit, study, science, or sport as a pastime rather than as a profession

craft·er (noun)

\ˈkraft\ˈər\

: to make or produce with care, skill, or ingenuity (is crafting a new sculpture) (a carefully crafted story)

True to its name, this blog is about all things pretty....as seen through my eyes. I am an amateur crafter, so a lot of what I post will be things that I have created, or ideas of things I hope to create one day!  Sewing, scrap- booking, painting, knitting, photography....these are a few of my favourite things....enjoy!