Showing posts with label Polka Dots. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Polka Dots. Show all posts

Thursday, July 9, 2009

SUMMERTIME BLUES

TOP TEN REASONS WHY I LOVE SUMMER
REASON #10
There Ain't No Cure For The Summertime Blues

To know me is to know that I love straw, wicker and basket purses. I'm always on the look-out for a unique shape. The one shown above was a gift from my sister in 2008. It came from The Loft. Not only is it a straw purse, it has a navy blue with white polka-dot bow tied around it. What more could I ask for?!!

Next Post - Reason #9

(This version of Summertime Blues is performed by Eddie Cochran)

S.W.A.K.

Friday, January 16, 2009

THE MULBERRY BUSH

Do you remember this nursery rhyme/children's song? Well, that's what I thought of when I took a picture of this:

Revamped this old desk back in 2006 for Frannie's room. Yup, it's pink alright - Folk Art Baby Pink to be exact, with some Wicker White mixed in to tone it down a notch. Had a Mary Engelbreit image that I enlarged and then traced onto the side and painted.

Hand-painted Frannie's name on top with a scallop border of Apple Green and white polka-dots. :) Created the font in Illustrator and traced it on. And just in case there wasn't enough pink, I found some glass knobs in the perfect color. I also re-did the chair (have I shown you that before?). Same pink with a seat I made (original was wicker that was not repairable). Drew a pattern for a plywood base, covered with foam rubber, batting and fabric. Also made some pink stripe piping to go around the edge. Love the fabric! If you'll notice, the desk is under the wall pockets. Someday I'll show you what I painted on the other side. Oh, yes, I decoupaged and painted the heart switch plate too.

THE MULBERRY BUSH

Here we go round the mulberry bush
The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush
Here we go round the mulberry bush
So early in the morning...

...This is the way we sweep the floor
Sweep the floor, sweep the floor
This is the way we sweep the floor
So early Thursday morning

To view entire Mulberry Bush lyrics, go here.

S.W.A.K.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

CUPCAKE CAFE

Spent some time up in the attic this past weekend looking for Halloween decorations when I came across the high chair I decorated for Frannie. It was a lot easier to bring the camera up to the attic than it would have been to bring the chair downstairs and then back up again, so pardon the background. After I had my little girl, I felt that a pretty high chair was in order, not one of those plastic things, and it's so much more attractive in the kitchen. I purchased a new, unpainted chair with the appropriate seat belt for safety, and then got right to work. I chose a light pink color with a periwinkle blue accent.

I wanted the high chair to look as though it were always set for a tea party so I got out my scissors, paper and decoupage medium. If you look closely, you'll see that I threw in a few thoughts of love (conversation heart next to cupcake says "true love", biscuit next to tea cup says "je taime", and there are heart-shaped cookies pouring out of the teapot). You'll also notice that I put periwinkle blue polka-dots around the edge of the tray (I wanted to make sure that I started Frannie out of the right foot). :)

I didn't want to overdo the polka-dots, so I controlled myself and put some stripes and letters on instead. The letters were created on the computer (I personally like Illustrator). After choosing a fun font, I sized it to fit on the back of the chair, then inversed the type and printed it out on the back of a polka-dot (whoops) paper, cut them out, and glued. A temporary glue stick works great for positioning, then just remove one letter at a time as you go along with the decoupage medium.

Lastly, the toe rail needed a little something - "Step Right Up" seemed to foot the bill (he-he-he). Another good thing about this chair was that the tray could be lifted over to the back which then made this a great youth seat when Frannie was ready to eat at the table, but still needed a little height. This chair is a keeper. Maybe someday Frannie's little girl will sit in it.

Here's a tip, after you decoupage, be sure to put on several coats of urethane. I use a water-based product. The tray was wiped clean again, and again, and again, and you can see that it still looks great!

S.W.A.K.

Mmmmmm... Chocolate

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

SERIOUSLY CUTE STUFF

I made this clothes tree for Frannie when she was just a baby and she hasn't outgrown it yet. I went to one of those big box hardware stores and purchased an unfinished newel post with a ball cap. My husband, Frank, made the base for the clothes tree. The pattern for the base came from the Martha Stewart Magazine way back in 1999, and the pattern is still available today here. They are actually supposed to be wall brackets, but we did our own thing with it. I enlarged the pattern to the appropriate size and Frank traced it onto some wood and cut it out with a jigsaw and sanded it down. He also attached them to the newel post for me. I did the decorative part. Of course, it's Folk Art baby pink, to match the rest of Frannie's room, with yellow, white and black accent colors. I decoupaged tiny black and white striped pieces of paper around the different sections for a little extra zing. Mary Engelbreit paper doll clothes were decoupaged on both the top and bottom. These doll clothes were from her magazine, a new set of clothes is included in each issue - I've kept them all - you never know how you will use these things. I've also used them to decorate a clothes hamper, but that's another post. At the top, Frank attached a clothes hook right over each outfit. I am really happy with the way it turned out and Frannie just loves it! So here are lots of pictures so you can have a really good look at it.

Side 1 - Complete

Side 1 - Top

Side 1 - Bottom

Side 2 - Top

Side 2 - Bottom

Side 3 - Top

Side 3 - Bottom

Side 4 - Top

Side 4 - Bottom

Did I mentioned that there are polka-dots on the top? :)

S.W.A.K.

IT'S 10 PM - DID YOU ENTER YET?
ONLY 6 GUESSING DAY LEFT

Monday, September 15, 2008

SWEET STUFF

A hand-embroidered pillow with a side opening. Black and white polka-dot :) ribbons are fed through button holes and then tied into bows to keep it closed. I used a Mary Engelbreit fabric for the backing.


S.W.A.K.
ONLY 14 GUESSING DAYS LEFT, BUT WHO'S COUNTING...

Thursday, September 11, 2008

A COUPLE MORE PURSES

Here are a two other purses that I made. This blue floral one is another Amy Butler pattern, the "In Town Bag". It is lined with a pink fabric with white polka dots (what else). This photo doesn't show it, but I did finish it off with a button for the clasp and there are interior pockets on each side. I was really happy with the way it turned out. It was a gift for my sister.

This brown purse was a gift for one of Frannie's teachers. I don't remember where I found the pattern and even what it was called. The lining is the same as the top fabric - a gold and cream stripe and it has two interior pockets. Finished it off with a bead fringe. (What - no polka-dots?) There is also a gold-tone button for the clasp. Her teacher was thrilled!

S.W.A.K.

YOU CAN GUESS MORE THAN ONCE!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

A GIRL AND HER PURSES

Here's another easy organization/decorating suggestion for a girl's bedroom: Purchase one of those accordian type wall brackets with the pegs (I got mine at Walmart in the coat hanger aisle). I painted it black and put on those pesky little white polka-dots. Voila!

Oh look! There are a couple more giftie things that Sharon of Red Geranium Cottage made - an adorable little purse that has rick-rack along the top edge and a button on each side of the handle. There's also a yo-yo flower with a button in the middle. It even came with a handmade tag! Frannie loves it - won't take the tag off either - not even when she takes it out to the store! There is also one of Sharon's wristlets - love those fabrics! Thank you again, Sharon.

Here's what the wall bracket looks like when it's full of purses. Well, how about that? There's a polka-dot purse hanging there. Looks like the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Frannie can see every purse she has at a glance (well, not everyone - there are probably three times (who's counting) as many as these, but I spread them around the room as part of the decor). What is it about a girl and her purses?

I'm thinking about making another one of these to use as a holder for Frannie's necklaces and bracelets. I'll probably hang it right below her wall pockets - easy for her to reach and plenty of pegs to hold everything. Hey, if you've got this many purses, you know there's going to be a lot of jewelry to go with it. Now if only I can think of a cute solution for those hair ornaments!

S.W.A.K.
KEEP THOSE GUESSES COMING IN!

Friday, September 5, 2008

HALLOWEEN CONTEST ICON

I would love it if someone out there in blogland would post my Halloween contest icon on their site - we need to make this a little more interesting. Thanks in advance. Don't forget to sign up for the polka-dot and rick rack swap at Red Geranium Cottage. That picture is adorable!


S.W.A.K.