Punkin Threads

Get a Melissa & Doug 25% Off Coupon When You Take the North "Poll"

2011-11-17T06:06:00.000-08:00

I love coupons, freebies, and I love promotions! This is a great one from Melissa & Doug! I'm always looking for cool, and unique ways to reach consumers, because it's my job! (hence why my last blog post was from July!).

Melissa & Doug want you to tell them which of their educational toys you think is the best! Just click on the image below to place your vote in the North "Poll!" You'll Get a Melissa & Doug 25% Off Coupon** to use at MelissaAndDoug.com just for voting!

Baby Chiarizia's Baby Shower!

2011-07-30T05:07:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we celebrated the anticipated arrival of Baby Chiarizia. With much help, we threw my bestie Lainey, a grey and yellow themed baby shower.

Lainey has the biggest sweet tooth of anyone I have ever known, so It was fitting to have a dessert table!

Family traveled down from New York to be here, which was totally awesome. Friends and co-works came, and stayed despite the loss of power in the middle of the day on a 100 degree afternoon!

(Lainey and her momma!)

Adorable 'Buddy' cake made by her adorable cousin Kate.

Lots of lemonade!

Lots of Lemonade with rosemary infused Vodka! (Yummy!)

Lainey got so many adorable and useful gifts! I'm thinking it probably took her all week to put everything away!

And handmade gifts! Awesome super soft blanket that her mom knitted, and a cute blanket that her aunt made. Pretty awesome!

The only posed shot I got. Which I would have gotten a picture of everyone there!
Cheer up Lainey :-)

So excited for you guys, and wicked excited to meet the little one!

Thanks to everyone who made it, near and far to celebrate with Lainey!

A dress to mow the lawn in

2011-06-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

Wicked simple dress to make.

The tank is from H&M, and was a whopping $1.97. For the fabric skirt part all you need is about quarter yard. I sheered about 7 or 8 lines and connected it to the tank at the top and bottom of the sheering.

I also made a cute flower pin out of the fabrics, to add to the strap of the tank. It's a bit too heavy and was making Melody's strap fall off her shoulder. Not cool.

Still need to work on her skills. I like straight lines ;-)

A Not Too Dressy, Dressy Dress

2011-06-10T11:57:00.000-07:00

I made this dress for Melody to wear at my my cousin's wedding back in March. Lots of family, lots of hugs, a beautiful wedding. I wanted something dressy, but not too 'Eastery'. Which is funny, since she ended up wearing it on Easter. Whatevs.

And even more whatevs is that it was TOO dressed up for our casual Easter Sunday, followed by emergency appendectomy (me not Melo :). But had to get one more wearing out of it!

I used Anna Maria Horner's Innocent Crush Viole. I've yet to meet a fabric from her collections that I don't like. A little see through for skirts and dresses, but tops are ok without having to line them.

I used tulle to give this dress some poof!

My favorite part actually is the back. It's very fitted, and I used fabric covered buttons for the back closer. Hard to see in this pic.

Her shoes matched perfectly, too bad she only got to wear them 2 times :-( Girl is starting to get more shoes than me!

I love this pic :-)

Happy Birthday To My Little Girl!

2011-05-17T10:36:00.001-07:00

That's right - Melo is 2 today!

She's becoming a big girl right before my eyes! Everyone asks, can you believe she's 2 already?! My immediately answer is usually, 'no I can't believe how time has flown by'. But really - I can believe it.

It has been a very full 2 years. Filled with fun and laughter! Cries of a baby now turned into cries and whines of a toddler. She's learned a lot. We've learned a lot.

We are excited to see her learn and grow even more this year.
Happy Birthday Sweet Daughter of Ours!

ps. The adorbs skirt in the picture, is the market skirt you'll find here, from super talented Dana from MADE. She is constantly pumping out awesome tutorials and tips!

Photo Challenge - Motherhood

2011-05-09T12:52:00.001-07:00

Not only do we want to share our creations with others we want them to look as pretty as possible. And ESPECIALLY if they are on our favorite subjects, our kiddos! And that means better pictures!

I'm in constant awe of all the amazing photos I come across on the web, and seeing photographers with such an eye for art through their lens. It's great to see their vision unfold in wonderful shots. My cousin Melanie with Room 118 photography being one of them!

I started reading I Heart Faces blog a while ago and have learned a lot about photography and have been inspired by both amateur and professional photographers. What an awesome resource and a great way to connect.

This weeks challenge is on Motherhood. This picture was taken of me and Melody last year on my very first Mother's Day. I love it. It's actually one of a set of many that I posted here.

So I'm submitting this photo to the challenge this week!

Yesterday I didn't get any pictures of Melody's and I together, but as I posted yesterday, I was able to spend the day with my mom as well, which was awesome.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T06:36:00.000-07:00

I'm so happy to be spending today with my Mom who is in town helping me out, while husband is in New Orleans. Yesterday we took Melo into Durham and took some '2-year' pics. She did great! Here is one of my favs of Melo and my Mom.

My Brother and the girls are on their way to our house now, so it will be nice being all together (minus my dad). But hopefully we will ALL be together soon enough!

Happy Mother's Day to all the amazing mom's that are in my life, and to all the fantastic Bloggy Mom's that give me inspiration and make me laugh everyday!

Happy Mother's Day!

Bias tape - We are starting to be friends

2011-05-03T09:57:00.000-07:00

Bias tape. Love it and hate it. Love the clean finish and look, and it's many uses. What I don't like is that when I am trying to do a quick simple project (which bias tape is good for), I end up standing at the ironing board FOREVER making this stuff.

I think every day I come across another giveaway for the Simplicity bias tape maker, entering each one, secretly wishing I will win, because I don't want to spend $70 for another piece of equipment in my (walls are closing in on me) sewing room.

So I finally went out and picked up a couple of these Clover bias tape makers

Let me preface this by saying this is not a tutorial. That would be lame, since the directions are on on the packaging! Just wanted to give you my 2 cents on what I thought!

You have to snip the end of your fabric strip at an angle and use a seam ripper to pull it through. Very easy. Then you just pull the bias tape maker back with the iron following closely.

Yes it was easy. Yes I will use these for now on. And no I do not have one of those pretty ironing board covers made out of designer fabrics. I wish. My board is so beat up, I just draped a piece of fabric over it, to hide the embarrassing site. Thinking about making a cover soon though.

This was fairly quick. I used an old brown t-shirt, and leftover Jessica Levitt fabric I had from Melody's 1st b-day dress.

Anyone one else making friends with bias tape?

A little collection

2011-04-23T05:37:00.000-07:00

Love sewing books. Love the pictures. Love the detail and thought put into creating a book. And love that I can read a book written by someone, who one day turned their hobby into something to share with others. Also - the same reason I love reading blogs.

What I do have time for this week though, is to read up on some of my books! I got many of these for Christmas, but what I also got for Christmas is an Ipad (which I love), but is a huge distraction :-)

So while I do love the internet for trusty tutorials and inspiration, i'm going to spend some time with my books. I'm out of work for a week recovering from an appendectomy (ouch!), so I have the down time. It is already Thursday, so I better hop to it!

Melody's Spring Wardrobe

2011-04-23T05:36:00.000-07:00

Melody's closet is getting jam packed with handmade goodies for the spring/summer, though I'm pretty sure the spring is gone already, since it's pretty short lived in the Carolina's! There are still many more items in my 'queue' to add, but look who else has been contributing.....

My Mom! She is a sewing fool right now, and is making the cutest little things! Melody sure is lucky! She's already made a handful of dresses, and as I'm typing this, I'm staring at a package that came yesterday with a couple tanks and an adorable romper! Thanks Nana!

I may consider outsourcing my designs, and send fabric straight to to my my mom :-)

I Learned It From My Mama!

2011-03-23T09:30:00.000-07:00

Everytime I make a cut, or run anything through my sewing machine, I'm learning something new. My mom and friend En both taught me the basics in college, and from then on I've been pretty much self taught. Still trying to get through this stack of books however!

Remember this Dress?

More pics Here

Well, I used a new gathering technique that worked wonders with all the layers of lining and Tulle I used.

There are many techniques for gathering for a ruffle. You can use your machine if it's set right, there is a 'gathering foot', you can do a long stitch, and pray it doesn't break when you pull the thread, which it usually does, yet this is the technique I normally use.

Not Anymore! All you need is a little DENTAL FLOSS!

Yep, just do a zig zag stitch over the thread, set at the longest setting.

Worked like a charm. Need to invest in some unscented floss though. Melody smelled a bit minty when she wore her dress the first time!

Thanks MOM for this tip!

Weekend Treasury Lovelies

2011-03-14T06:12:00.000-07:00

So this weekend I got hooked on Etsy Treasuries. All the sorting, searching, color coordinating, and prettiness, is enough to get anyone hooked!

I just wanted to display a few of my favorite lovely things I discovered, during my crazed Treasury fun!

These purses, and basically everything her shops page, I love!

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I love this picture of this ferris wheel so much. I'm loving the turquoise and yellow combo almost as much as grey and yellow!

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And these!.....

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I love this taupe and blush pink broach. Amy fyi, I need to order one of these fo sho!
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This cake stand is amazing. I would never do it justice though.

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And this picture just makes me plain happy.

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Might need to seek rehab if this continues...

Treasury Links:
Taupe and pink

Oh the Colors
Sun and Sky Goodness
Toes in the water

Meadow dress pics at the park

2011-03-09T17:53:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago we took Melody to the park to get some pictures of one of the dresses I'm selling on Etsy. It's a peasant style dress. She did great, and I'm loving that she is at the age that I can get pics of her in the style of handmade dresses that I'm making!

I'm still only half way through the Nikon book for dummies (I read everything like 20 times), but i'm learning a lot and feel like i'm starting to get the hang of my camera!

So...Etsy? Yep! Posted a few 'ready to ship' dresses in this exact style! Check em' out here. This is what us advertising folks refer to as a 'soft launch'!

Wanted to take a quick break to share! Now back to sewing, I'm working to get more items up for Easter!

My New Bestie

2011-02-20T14:44:00.000-08:00

It's not like I didn't know what it was good for. And it's not like I didn't know exactly where I had it stashed all these years. But what I didn't know is that is would be by best friend!

Ahhh...The walking foot....

It finally made it out of it's original box from 10 years ago when I got my sewing machine. I made Melody a dress this weekend that was made out of a gauzy knit cotton, and it just kept getting jammed down in my machine. So I thought what the heck, I'd try the walking foot. After all I hear about it all the time for quilting and applique projects.

Oh how i've been missing out! The fear of jamming my machine as I was sewing was suddenly lifted! I want to use it forever and always!

Anybody use their walking foot for their everyday projects?

New Pillows for Spring

2011-02-20T08:09:00.001-08:00

We are seeing signs of spring and me likey!

It's been time for new pillows for our living room for a while. I ordered a bunch of fabric that I liked, but really wasn't sure how it was all going to come together. And I have to say i'm liking the results! Our couches are dark leather brown, so we really needed something light and colorful!

Here is the result...
So...Two fantastic blogs are both hosting pillow contests this month. Stitched in Color and Sew Mama Sew (both must reads)!

For Stitched in Color's Blogger's Pillow Party, i'm entering the linen pillow with the vine applique. And for the SMS pillow contest, i'm entering both in the 'Pieced Pillow' category.

I started with the blue pillow with the strip of yellow fabric, and wanted to coordinate the other pillow with that.

I used mostly coordinating Heather Bailey fabrics from her Nicey Jane collection. Love the cutesy modern feel of these fabrics!

And because I think linen is the cat's pajamas, had to use it. Couple books that I've been reading lately (Applique Your Way and Sew Liberated) helped with the inspiration of the applique and the chain stitch embroidery of the vine. I used fusable web in where I sewed the leaves in placed, but wanted to keep the edges natural and loose from the pillow, to add more texture.

I made both pillows as slip covers, so I can easily switch them off when fall and winter roll around. And so I can wash them easily, since I know Louie sneaks up on the couch when we aren't home!

Oh Lou.

Amy Butler spotted at Homegoods!

2011-02-06T10:37:00.000-08:00

As if Homegoods couldn't get more awesome, today I spotted sheets and comforter sets from Amy Butler! Not exactly my bedroom colors, so I took a pass, but it was still fun to see.

Then I saw this comforter in twin size by Cynthia Rowley. Love it. Got me thinking about Melody's room, when It's time to move her out of her crib. I think we have a long time still (which i'm totally fine with), but It will be fun to make her a big girl room.

And after reading a Prudent Baby post last week about making your own twin comforter, I realize I will probably end up purchasing something. It's an undertaking with ALOT of fabric, and at $9 a yard, I don't think so. Absolutely love her little girls new comforter though! Check out the tutorial here!

Amy Butler fabric of course!

Baby's M's New Pillow! - Bloggers Pillow Party Entry #1

2011-01-21T15:21:00.000-08:00

I was super psyched that my girlfriend asked me to make the nursery accents for her little girl that is to arrive in just a few short weeks! Her vision for the nursery is exactly what I would have done, so making the pieces to fit in the room was cake!

She picked out coordinating fabrics from It's a Hoot by Momo for Moda. And...did an awesome job picking it out on her own! We all know how overwhelming fabric stores can be, I can't imagine how it would be for someone who doesn't sew!

So here is the final piece for the room, an accent pillow for the rocking chair! Please excuse the terrible pics, I'm only through chapter one of Nikon D90 for Dummies (One of my New Year's Resolutions)!I decided to make it a slip cover to put over a pillow form, so it could be easily washed. The insides are surged, so it just lays flat. No hand sewing or awkward topstiched edges. I'm thinking I'm liking this technique!
And the fun part was adding the details. The appliqued owl was an afterthought, because I actually missed part of the polka dot strip after I sewed it on. So the owl is a band-aid! I had a couple other coordinating fabrics to throw in the flower, to give it layers.
A few weeks ago I saw on Noodlehead's blog that Rachel over at Stitched in Color was doing a pillow contest. She's calling it Bloggers Pillow Party (cute name huh?). So - I thought this was good timing since I wanted to make a pillow for my friends nursery. And my 'Post xmas, I'm over the cold weather' project is new pillows for our livingroom, so this is the perfect motivation!

If you haven't checked out Noodlehead and Stitched in Color, do so! They are super talented mamas!

This is a fun way to check out others blogs. There are a ton of cute pillow entries already!

Resolutions - Finally!

2011-01-13T08:24:00.000-08:00

So I'm a goals type of gal. Short term, long term, daily to-do's, you name it. I've been walking around in a bit of a fog since the start of 2011. Yes it's only been 13 days, but I've had this urging desire to get 'my list' down, so I can start the year! And now I can reference it, when I get sidetracked.

It's amazing how fast the weeks go by, leaving only the weekends for catching up on household things and spending time with my family. And you mix in weekend trips and the occasional visitors, that doesn't leave much time for all the projects that I'm dying to do! I really want to design more clothes and continue my Etsy shop. I really want to capture my projects and post tutorials, so everyone can be creative! I really want to blog more. And I really want to learn how to use my freaking camera! The list goes on.

Lots of to-do's in one year. So this is how I've decided to prioritize my free-time:

1.) Learn how to use my camera. The basics FIRST. I'm notorious for overcomplicating something. I do it with sewing too. Once I learn how to use my camera (hopefully this year. That's the point of a resolution right?), then I can start playing with PS and editing tools. Thanks hubs for pointing this one out to me. Duh.

2.) Home projects. Need new pillows, etc. I like doing this sort of stuff, but haven't made time for it.

3.) Sew for myself. This includes things I want to make for Melo, gifts, one-off projects etc. I keep thinking of things I want to design, sell, etc, that I get so overwhelmed, and end up doing none of it. With resolution #3, I (if it so works out)I would like to capture these projects with patterns, pictures, and tutorials, and post to my blog.

Doesn't seem like much, but I know it wont be 24 hours until I start getting ahead of myself on any of these!

In time I will add to this list my desire to selling and making patterns and clothes. Whew! Feel better already!

I'd also love to get more involved with the bloggy-blog world, since there are so many incredible ladies that I turn to for inspiration and tutorials. I'm in marketing, so I know exactly how to market myself, just don't have the time to do it. So for now I don't mind talking to my 10 readers :-)

Who else has some crafty resolutions?!

Wristlet Pincushion

2010-12-18T08:51:00.000-08:00

My mom got a sewing machine for xmas this year, so I thought this would be the perfect gift! I used some Jessica Levit fabric I already had, and it worked so well for the size of the flower! Turns out the wristlet pincushion is every bit as practical as it is adorable!

Little Jems

2010-12-18T06:53:00.000-08:00

I made these cute little coffee sleeves for gifts this year! They were super fun to make, and I love all the fabric combo possibilities!

Way cuter than the paper sleeves from 5Bucks!

Reversible Jacket

2010-12-18T06:31:00.000-08:00

Love this pattern from Bettsy Kingston pattern that I found on Etsy. I made this jacket ironically right after I got my serger, and since this is completely reversible, there were no exposed seems, so the serger got no use!

I used Anna Maria Horner's fabric from her Good Folks collection. I just love her fabric so much, having a hard time getting sick of it.

And I can't resist. Here is the little chipmunk face again. Sporting her jacket on Thanksgiving.

Giving Thanks....

2010-11-26T13:11:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful for so many things its hard to sum it up! Thanksgiving to us is just as much about friends as it is about family. We are so lucky to have friends that we consider 'family'. Although there was family we could not be with this year, we were so lucky to have spent the day with lots of family!

First off, I'm thankful for fall tablescapes, and no one does it better my friend Lainey (maybe Martha, but it would be stiff competition). It was gorgeous.

And of course I have to throw a pic of Melo in. Thankful is an understatement.

I'm thankful for these delicious bacon wrapped pear and goat cheese deliciousnesses. I can wait for a girls day lunch, to have these and 'pear'ed with some girls day wine!

And i'm thankful for my friend Brian's Grandma's stuffing (the best!) And equally thankful for Lainey who makes it every year.

Sooooo thankful for this guy!

I'm thankful that our friends and family go together so naturally. And thankful for wine and bonfires.

I'm thankful that this little girl had a great day, and that I caught this little chipmunk face on camera.

...And that I caught this little face on camera. Big buddy and Melo pooped out after a wonderful day...

Happy Thanksgiving! Time to switch modes, today we got our tree!

Upcycled (if you can call it that) shirt into leggings!

2010-11-04T05:54:00.000-07:00

First project with my new serger = success! Kind of spur of the moment, but I pulled an old long sleeved tee from my closet, and looked at the sleeves and though, 'those would be good leggings!'

And to finish the look - put together this headband using this tutorial from Simple Analogy . I'm disappointed that I didn't completely follow the directions, because her flowers are so perfect! I will try again though for sure!

Do you like my purse? I heard it was in style :-)

I still have the whole shirt to use for something else, because this was literally just the sleeves. Oh - and this is one of those cheap-o Old Navy shirts that you buy to wear under sweaters and vests, that only last a season. Fabric is fabric right?!

Punkin at the Pumpkin Patch!

2010-10-04T18:05:00.000-07:00

Sunday we took Melody to the pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins and take pictures. She absolutely loved it!

While she took her nap, I put together this top, for her to wear. The colors were great! I can't get enough of Anna Maria Horner's fabrics! This was made from a couple different collections and everything matches!

I just got in the mail today more fabric from this collection and Innocent Crush, her new fabric, and still everything coordinates! Love that I don't have to think too hard! Oh - and the straps are from a really old skirt (like 10 years old!) that I made in college!

My little punkin loving the beautiful fall day!

Mike turns 30!

2010-09-24T19:46:00.000-07:00

and I finally cut into the Anna Maria Horner fabric that's been laying in my sewing room for a month!

I made this from her Square Dance fabric, and instructions from her blog. It didn't too long (always twice as long as I think it's going to take). But, I love how it turned out! It's still 95 degrees here, so I think there is some life left in it, before fall. Then i'm thinking it would be cute with tights and boots!

We had a wonderful day with friends and family! Wow - 30!