Showing posts with label favorites. Show all posts
Showing posts with label favorites. Show all posts
Here it is!???
I thought keeping my treasured chair at the studio
Problem is…
some days it looks like this... LOL!
Celebrating…
I am very happy this week to celebrate the conclusion of a wonderful journey with an amazing group of women. Last Wednesday I graduated from my second Women’s Initiative for Self Employment program. Women’s Initiative is a San Francisco Bay Area based non-profit whose purpose is to train and support low income women who ultimately want their dreams of owning a business realized.
Women’s Initiative has helped me immensely. In 2006 I graduated from their basic program which taught me the ins and outs of starting and running my own business. The program I graduated from this week was focused on how to grow your business.
Women’s Initiative helps women open businesses of any kind from a jewerly shop to a restaurant, no dream is too big or too small. Women’s Initiative for Self Employment is always looking for donations, sponsors, mentors or other individuals and organizations who can lend a hand and offer sound business advice. You can find out more about Women’s Initiative and how to help women like me to achieve their dreams here.
Cecile’s Attic would definitely not be what it is today without the guidance and training I got from the Women’s Initiative programs. I am very excited that Women’s Initiative is making progress to becoming a national organization. I want all women across the nation to experience the satisfaction of owning their own business and getting guidance and support they can count on.
Thank you Nika, Deb, Sonya, Kim, Nora, Jill, Zoe and Aurora! It’s been amazing working with you! Much thanks to Nicole and Yvonne for all the hard work "behind scenes" and to all our mentors, donors and volunteers that made the Fast Track program possible and a great success!!!
Organizing your Inspiration
Stop storing all those magazines and start organizing them into inspiration books!... which are also known as “swipe files”.
I have subscriptions to craft, fashion and décor magazines that are loaded with fun projects, colors, ads, etc. Frequently, only a few pages out of the whole magazine contain a color, image, project or idea that I like and want to incorporate in some creative way. Over the years, I got tired of earmarking pages that interested me and so, I started to cut out the pages and recycle the rest of the magazine.
At first, I put the magazine cut outs into envelopes, but soon found that to be inefficient because every time I wanted to look for an image I had to dump out the entire contents of the envelope. From here, my swipe files evolved into fun, organized inspiration binders and scrapbooks!
I have a book for wardrobe, one for fabric, one for furnishings, etc. Sometimes I even use them with clients to illustrate diferent styles of furnishings. Now I am stating one for traveling, there are so many places I'd like to see... This can also work for events, gift lists, a crafty hobby and almost anyhing you are interested in.
There is no wrong way to create or organize your inspiration book as long as it inspires you to do something creative. All you need are some images, an adhesive like glue or tape, scissors, paper in any color you want (I prefer black) and some form of binding like a binder, a scrapbook or spiral notebook.
Since this book is just for you, you can organize it any way you like. You can have separate tabs for separate projects or topics or separate books altogether. The best part of your inspiration book is that your images don’t have to be literal, meaning; an image of a bathroom can be placed as an inspiration book for a bedroom or maybe an image of a pumpkin pie can be color inspiration for your fall wardrobe. You can also clip some text, web addresses are very helpful! and of course, add your own notes!
Lastly, my two bits of advice about the creation of your inspiration book is this: one, when you get the newest edition of your favorite magazines in the mail, it is time to clip last month’s and add it to your book. Second, have fun with it! Make your inspiration book a monthly treat for yourself when you can sit back and really let your creative mind wonder.
PaperSewing
FAVORITES
December means two things for me: the holidays and a lot of birthdays. So, I took a quick break from sewing and spent some quality time with card stock, scrapbooking paper and embellishments and whipped up a couple of birthday cards.
Making cards are not only a nice break for me but serve as inspiration for some sewing projects. Creating greeting cards gets me thinking differently about patterns, textures, stitches and details that I may end up using in fabric form. And sometimes, my sewing inspires me to make cards!
I like to make my cards with touches from my sewing studio like a simple stitch for a border, a cute little button or a nice textured ribbon. Combining sewing and card making is one of my favorite things to do because it combines two of my favorite activities. What are some ways you combine your favorite things?
December means two things for me: the holidays and a lot of birthdays. So, I took a quick break from sewing and spent some quality time with card stock, scrapbooking paper and embellishments and whipped up a couple of birthday cards.
Making cards are not only a nice break for me but serve as inspiration for some sewing projects. Creating greeting cards gets me thinking differently about patterns, textures, stitches and details that I may end up using in fabric form. And sometimes, my sewing inspires me to make cards!
I like to make my cards with touches from my sewing studio like a simple stitch for a border, a cute little button or a nice textured ribbon. Combining sewing and card making is one of my favorite things to do because it combines two of my favorite activities. What are some ways you combine your favorite things?
Peppermint Gift Guide
FAVORITES
This year I want my presents to arrive right on time, so this week I am picking some delicious handmade gifts from Etsy to send home…
'Peppermint Lover - gifts for her' by Cecile
 Christmas RED Reindeer ... $49.00 |  4x6 Vintage Peppermint ... $28.00 |  Artisan Candy Cane, Pep... $2.99 |
 NEW Candy Cane Bubble ... $9.00 |  Peppermint Spiral Earri... $20.00 |  Felted Soap Peppermint ... $9.50 |
 Retro Ornament Screen P... $ |  Belgian Dark Chocolate ... $9.00 |  Handmade YoYo Quilt Pil... $28.00 |
 Red and White Christmas... $15.00 |  Peppermint Candy-RED-Si... $30.00 |  Candy Cane Cream SOY Te... $3.50 |
 Peppermint Candy Christ... $20.00 |  Peppermint Marshmallows $7.50 |  Happy Holidays Vintage ... $7.00 |
Hometown Etsy
FAVORITES
One day, while I was casually browsing the usual craft blogs I came across a post from a woman who lives on the east coast. The post was short and simply said “I wish we had things like this out here” followed by a link to a handmade consignment store called Eni-Thing located right here in the Bay Area. Oh my goodness! I was so excited to find that the store is so close. Honestly, up until the point that I came across Eni-Thing’s website I had no idea that such a store existed offline and not at a tradeshow.
Of course, the next day, I went to the store in San Jose and was instantly charmed. Eni-Thing carries an array of handmade goodies ranging from oil paintings to earrings to any kind of bag imaginable. Check it out!
One day, while I was casually browsing the usual craft blogs I came across a post from a woman who lives on the east coast. The post was short and simply said “I wish we had things like this out here” followed by a link to a handmade consignment store called Eni-Thing located right here in the Bay Area. Oh my goodness! I was so excited to find that the store is so close. Honestly, up until the point that I came across Eni-Thing’s website I had no idea that such a store existed offline and not at a tradeshow.
Of course, the next day, I went to the store in San Jose and was instantly charmed. Eni-Thing carries an array of handmade goodies ranging from oil paintings to earrings to any kind of bag imaginable. Check it out!
Handmade Holidays
from Etsy of course!
'Favorite Fall Hostess Gifts' by Cecile
 Fall table runner $32.00 |  Golden Brown Stoneware ... $46.00 |  Fall Leaf Soap in Cranb... $4.00 |
 22 ounce Wood Wick Soy ... $22.00 |  Group of six wheel thro... $243.00 |  Eight Wool Acorns - Ora... $16.00 |
 Rustic Mum Give Thanks ... $4.00 |  Chocolate Pumpkin Toffe... $6.25 |  Hand Knitted Pumpkin in... $12.00 |
 Woodland Autumn Leaf Ca... $25.00 |  bright mug rug $15.00 |  Holiday Pumpkin in Oran... $170.00 |
Is There a Buried Treasure in Your Basement?
Piece of European priest robe dating from the 17th or 18th Centuries.I love antique textiles and so does Marsh.
Marsh is an antique textile collector and for a long time she decorated her home with pieces from her collection in a variety of ways without actually altering the fabric. Recently, Marsh came to me and with the idea of going in a new direction with her textile collection that she was hopeful would one day turn into a business opportunity for herself. Marsh’s ideas for her textile collection involved the repurposing of some of her textiles into more functional home items like decorative pillows. She really had some fantastic ideas about how and where she wanted her textile collection used but needed some help with execution.
When Marsh showed me her favorite textiles to me I was blown away. These textiles were not only at least over 3 or 4 hundred years old, but they were in excellent condition and were intricately embellished. When I see these kinds of textiles it makes me think about the time and place they were actually crafted. Back then; all detail work was done by hand! Textiles like Marsh’s make me wonder about what everyday life might have looked like. These beautiful fabrics would have been a lot more common. I wonder how many of them were used and whether the artisans who created them could have ever imaged that they would be treated as treasures hundreds of years later.
Centuries old decorative band becomes a throw pillow’s centerpiece atop vintage velvet Since much of Marsh’s collection were pieces of larger textiles she decided to transform them into decorative pillows that would live all around the house. What I really love about projects like this is not only that I get to manipulate and learn from these beautiful fabrics but that I get to help someone showcase their treasured collection.
Antique velvet drapery panel with matching fringe transformed into yet another stunning pillowI know, not everyone has a collection like Marsh’s. However, like her, many of us have beloved textiles in one form or another that we would love to display in our homes. Grandma’s cross stitch, your children's blankets, or your mother’s monogrammed linens... all have the potential to take many forms and I hope these pillows can serve as inspiration for you for your next creative adventure!
Practical AND stylish?
Look at this elegant couch dressed in Pasari silk. Beautiful isn’t it?
Allow me to let you in on a little secret…
it’s a slipcover!
Here is what the couch looked like before the transformation
Making this slipcover provided a few challenges for me such as the tufting on the original cushions and a hide-a-bed mechanism. Challenges aside, the final result showcased the nice geometric lines, maintained the tufting on the cushions and, most importantly, maintained the functionality of the hide-a-bed.
In order to make the hide-a-bed feature fully functioning while still maintaining a fitted upholstery look I used Velcro. The Velcro was sewn to the slipcover and then stapled/glued to parts of the couch that would not damage the original upholstery.
Tufting is one major element that creates the illusion that the slipcover is the actual upholstery. Since the original upholstery had tufted cushions I had to get creative to give the slip covered cushions the tufted look while maintaining an easy removal and tension. The solution? Tie the new button cord to the original button cord!
Lastly, to top off the upholstered look I made and placed welts (piping) along the arms and around the edges of the cushions. With everything complete we have an elegant, functional slipcover that you can even take to the cleaners.
What's NEW
New website coming up
with new pictures!!
So, here's a sneak peak
one of my favorite rooms
Jennifer's guest room is beautiful and relaxing.
With this gorgeous floral design fabric
and a matching ivory solid
we created a butterfly window valance,
a trio of pillow shams, some welted pillows
and a table cloth set...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
