Fawning over fabric, Late-night thoughts, and Blog cruising...

Good evening my friends! (Bon Matin is probably more appropriate. I'm up late!)

Oh, I had a lovely Sunday! How was yours? Mine started with a breakfast casserole for the Mister and his JR (eggs, cheese, ham, onion, garlic, biscuits, milk gravy = mmmm.. I'd be glad to share my recipe!)  and it was a fantastic way to start the day. Then I tidied the kitchen, did some dishes while watching bits of Open Season 3 (too funny!). I spent my afternoon working in my studio a bit, filling orders, and taking pictures of new items, as well as staring at (read:petting) my fabric stash. ;) I want to fill bookcases with fat quarters!

After dinner, visiting a friend, and a few errands, I spent some cozy time with the Mister and then went blog hunting! Most of the blogs I used to read are no longer updated or are gone altogether. :( So, I've been cruising blogs and link hopping to find some new fun reads. I scored tonight too! I'll be updating my side-bar soon. 


Since I'm doing a give-away, which ends tomorrow evening, I thought I'd share another blog that is doing a give-away! And what could be a more fitting prize than fabric? Gorgeous fabric too. If you're interested in entering, you can do so at Vignette in Stitches. Be sure to check out other posts as well! And if you haven't yet entered the Sew Serious blog giveaway, you can do so the post below!!


Tomorrow will be a busy and productive day for me. I made three sales today (yay!) and have set some creation goals for the studio. The evening's post will share some new designs, some thoughts, and I will announce the winner of the drawing for the Love Birds pouch. yay!! So excited!


I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!


❤★
Rachel Rae

Sewing Studio in Progress!!

Sew...

The boyface and I are moving into our new apartment within a week! I'm so excited. Not only do I have a gloriously large and open kitchen which is so sunny and bright (and full of decorating possibilities!) but I also get the 2nd bedroom to myself for my Sewing Studio! I've already got a majority of the set-up planned, and finally found some new things to really complete the look I'm going for. Check these out! (and don't mind the horrible cell phone shots.. I was too excited to grab the real camera!)

This is an antique bar. The top opens completely and the little front part folds down so there is plenty of sewing space. I'm pondering putting one of my machines here. And just check out the bottle spots where I can keep mason jars of notions and supplies. Plus, there are built in shelves just to the left where I can store other bits and bobs and my fabric, of course!

And then there's this beauty. I don't know too much about her yet, but she's seems tough and she still works!

Aside from setting up shop, I've also been on the hunt for some new inspiring fabrics and found some while thrift shopping, and some great ones online. I've also been working on some promo stuff. I've been thinking of setting up a Facebook page for Sew Serious Designs and offering the first so many (read: can't yet decide) fans the option of receiving a little free promo-pack in the mail. This is just in the thought stages... any feedback would be much appreciated.

Well friends, I'm off to relax and and maybe do some dishes..

Peace & Love,

Rachel Rae

Picture love and Eat Cake

*Whew* It's been an assiduous day! I've been busy in my studio sewing like crazy. Even the kitties are exhausted from watching me run around. I listed a couple of new items in the shop, including the cutest gnome pouch and a "Tea Time" pouch made from the most to-die-for-adorable Japanese linen.

I did receive a new digital camera in the mail today. I'm still playing and getting comfortable with the settings, so I'm hoping to get all of my shop pictures up to par soon. A light box is on the to-do list for tomorrow, along with laundry, studio tidying, a run to the post office and hopefully some baking if I get the time. I've been craving strawberry muffins. :)

There's a new small group of sellers on Etsy named C.a.k.e , also known as Creative Artists, Kickass Etsians. (Word!) :)
We've formed to help spread the idea of Etsy (I handed out 10 business cards in the last 48 hours!) and to promote other independent artists. We even have our own blog, so be sure to stop by and check it out. There are some fabulous sellers in our group.

Well, my dears, a large comfy bead is calling my name, and I can no longer refuse. It's so late!

I will leave you with a few silly self portraits from my new camera. Have a giggle and enjoy.

Lulu and I taking a quick rest...

"What do I make next?"...


xoxo,
Rachel

Birds and Bunnies

So, my yearning for spring was hit last night with several inches of snow. Not tons, but the temperature dropped and my sunshine disapeared. But, I did manage to get several things done.

Last year, I really wanted to make an Easter bunny, but never got around to it, so I decided to give it a try fairly early this year. Let me introduce you to Penny. She’s a sweet little girl who loves gummy bears, green tea and honey grahm crackers. Spring is her favorite season, of course, and she loves to garden.

She’s constructed from a very light dusty green/gray wool felt and a wonderfully soft vintage-repro cotton. She’s the first “stuffy” I’ve ever made so I need to work out a few details, but I like her! She has on a cute pink dress with a strip of the same soft repro cotton print and the back (which you can’t really see) has this amazingly cute vintage sheep ribbon strip. Her bow also has this ribbon. Her lovely cream bolero is something I crocheted up last minute. I think it suits her.

In other news, I do have a wholesale order that I’m working on. The Paper Sparrow is a new Brick and Motar shop in upstate New York that is opening Mid-March. They will be carrying a huge variety of handmade goods, include local grown food items, which I think is just fantastic. I’ll be sending them a few purses, pouches, wallets and Matryoshka Doll plushes. I’m excited and it’s inspired me to work on a few new designs.

One of those designs include these cute little Birdie Zipper Pouches. I have four different colors listed in my Etsy. The wool felt I’m using is just fantastic. So soft and lucious. I stumbled upon an Adorable little Quilt Shop in Mountain View, WY during my crazy roadtrip adventure, and it’s my favorite fabric shop I’ve ever been to. I’m just sad it’s eight hours away! They had a wonderful stock of cottons and wool felt. I wish I had a link I could share.


I’m also going to be posting an Applique Tutorial tomorrow along with my blog contest, so be sure to check back.

Happy Valentines Day! I wish all of you a very lovely one. :)

Tweet Tweet and Give Away!

In case you can't tell, I am DYING for spring. I'm trying my best to be patient (a watched pot never boils) but I'm craving warm sunshine days, birds all a flutter and pretty flowers in my garden. The hope of a soon to bloom spring keeps me passionate and passion equals creativity. Very spring inspired creativity.

I have a new bag design. First in the line is a pretty birdy Messenger Bag in a delicious cherry/raspberry baby whale corduroy. This is The Mister's favorite creation thus far. I'm working on several more colors, shapes and sizes. Any suggestions on what you'd like to see for spring?


In other news, I'm in the works of a wholesale order for a b&m store in upstate New York. How exciting?! I feel so incredibly busy at the moment, but very accomplishing. I do need to take some time to play a few good rounds of Boggle. I need my fix! That's right, I'm a junkie. Also, a Blog Contest is coming up here on Sew Serious for this weekend. Stay tuned for details. I'm giving away something new and cute!

Owls and Owlies

As many of you may know, I *love* owls. My fondness for them began while studying Mythology back in school and I've been collecting them ever since. I thought I would share some owl love today.

A few months ago, a friend was visiting from out of state and we visited a small little gem shop here in Denver. While browsing the shop, I came across an entire cabinet full of owls! This beautiful owl egg cup was the first to catch my eye. It's a cheery turquoise and double sided. Quite the find, I feel. I'd really be interested to find out when and where it was made.

This little owl came to me all the way from Turkey. He was given to me by a friend who found him while on vacation. What a perfect surprise and addition to my collection. Lots of owl friends!

I've been sewing new Owlie bags, among other owlie goodness. Just found some new Owl fabric yesterday that I'll be working with soon. So, I'd like you to meet Baxter, Sabrina, and Ebie. My newest Owlie bags.

I have a couple of Owlie Pillows in my etsy shop, along with a cute little Mini Owlie Chubbie named Fiona.

In other news, I'm working on rearranging my sewing studio and am hoping to find a great set of shelves soon. Everyone wish me some shelf luck, if you wouldn't mind. Happy Friday!

New fabrics and fun...

I've decided to postpone my favorite Etsy items until tomorrow. I've had a lot of fun searching through Etsy to pick out item's I'd love to own and think others should see. So yes, check back.

Today I took a walk to the Fancy Tiger here in Denver. The sunshine did wonders for my mood. It was such a beautiful day. I picked up some fabulous new fabrics including a yummy chocolate brown cord and a couple cotton prints. Also, some "you-should-be-so-jealous" yarn. It's bulky 100% alpaca. I see a hat in it's future. There were so many things I wanted! Also, FT is hosting an open craft night tomorrow and I'm hoping I'll be able to go. I need to get a bunch of stuff done before I can commit.

I also found some snazzy new pins today. A very entertaining alphabet set and another cute pastel set. I just love the little hearts! Now, all I need is a new pincushion that will do them justice.

And to finish off a delightful day, I looked to my old stand-by for a tasty dinner. Fine dining to five year olds and a fabulous feast for me.

Pass the pepper?

Delicious!

Fabric is so deliciously wonderful. I am lucky enough to have my very supportive boyface, as he helped me totally replenish my fabric stash. So, I have a lot of different options to play with. In keeping up with the opening of my etsy shop by the end of the month, I've been working on a few new purse designs. Wool felt is really one of my favorite fabrics to work with and pair with cute cotton prints. The new design I have lets me combine them both and play with appliques as well. I have a few works in progress, but will share one peek with you for now.

I've named the design Isabella after my dear friend Izzy who has been incredible understanding of my non-stop sewing lately. I'm quite fond of the design and it only needs a touch of tweaking. In keeping with my green and earth tone fetish, I thought a leaf motif would be fitting. I'm really loving light pinks and turquoise right now as well, but you'll see that later.

And, my poor kittens are having a difficult time understanding why I can't be available for immediate affection at their every beckoning meow. Bobo gives me the stink eye every time I go into the craft room and Lulu just waits on my bed for me to walk by and then verbally attack me with adorable meows of loneliness.. Not a happy couple of kittens.

I'll end with a picture of my little Bobo.