Hand crafted decorative Chef's aprons

 With everything closed down due to Covid, 

I am unable to get my ceramic designs fired at school. 

So I've been inspired to pull out my sewing machine and create some new apron designs. 

I actually wear aprons all the time. 

When I'm playing with ceramics, 

when I'm working in the garden, and sometimes, even when I remember to put them on before I begin painting.

This is my latest.

 A red striped linen apron embellished with appliquéd embroidery.   

This is the Lee Jofa embroidered drapery fabric, 

that I chose to carefully cut up, and use for appliqué on my latest apron design. 

This fabric sells for $295 a yard. 

Fortunately, this was just a memo sample.

I like it being both beautiful, and useful!

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One of a kind aprons

 I've been on a creative role, making new aprons 

that are unlike any that I've ever seen!

Appliqué designs added to each.

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Custom Christmas card

 I created a custom holiday card for a client.

 

He had recently purchased a new home and was looking for a holiday card to send out for an open house. 

He couldn't find any he liked, so I created one for him.

I love the architecture on the building and had already created a little watercolor of his home. 

                                                      

It wasn't difficult to recreate it as a night scene. 

I redid it, and decorated for the holidays 

exactly how he was having his lights hung. 

It was a big hit!

Custom design chefs apron

 

My sewing machine bobbin has been misbehaving. 

Not that that would stop me from creating. 

Here's my latest lovely. 

 

A linen fabric chefs apron with the most beautiful

 

blue embroidered appliqué design all hand sewn!

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Coastal cool re-created with paint

I sold one of my all-time favorite creations 

that I created with tumbled glass. 

I’m pleased that it has a great new home in Florida.

But before I could let it go, I decided I needed to create a piece similar as a remembrance. 

Since I don't have the same glass, as shown below, 

I've re-created it the best I could with paint.

I used painters tape to mask off the squares.

Then I worked with the paint, 

going from dark, at the bottom, to light with an ombre effect.

Remove the tape carefully, and voila!

.You'll have to trust me that the variations on the colors shown up much better in person, than the photo!

Creating ceramic heirloom pieces.

 For a friend's daughter's wedding, I incorporated a couple of 

vintage doilies, made by her grandmother, into ceramic vases. 

Carefully dipping the vintage lace into clay slip and draping it creatively

 onto the wet form, before kiln firing.

 

    

I love how the lace looks like it is still cotton, 

even after it has been fired.

You need to touch it to realize the difference.

Another fun experiment using a vintage appliqué

on a vase form.

And now her daughter has an heirloom piece that 

she might actually use, considering that she is not fond of doilies on dressers!

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Mini books with custom bound covers

One of my favorite magazines was looking for ideas for handcrafted projects using a purchased item and personalize it in some way. They were asking for creative, inexpensive, simple projects that ideally take 30 minutes or less to make. 

This is what I came up with for them!

Using fun little fabric memo samples from the design center and coordinating fabrics, I created little book covers for post-it tablets.

I have so many cool and unusual fabrics that I have collected over the years, it was pure pleasure perusing through them to find patterns and embellishments that were small enough for the size.

Using cardboard found at Trader Joe's used for package dividers, I cut pieces just a tiny bit larger than the post-it notes were. Then glued the fabric to the cardboard and created covers.

I had so much creative fun adding the unusual embellishments.

I chose a monochromatic color theme.

Some have ribbon ties, or embellishments, others cut out appliqué.

Then I covered a large box that looks like a book to hold all of them in.

Hoping they like them!

They did! 

Here is the article.

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Hand painted apron design

My latest creative endeavor, 

hand painting a piece of Belgium fabric, 

and creating a new apron design.

I pulled out my Plaid Fabric Paints and custom mixed 

some fun colors to embellish the graphics.

It was just a remnant of fabric, so perfect placement

 wasn't an option. I did find a scrap of brown pinwale corduroy

 that was perfect for lining.

Closeup detail of painting in progress.

 It's super comfortable and an easy peasy pattern.

Upcycling a tweed blazer during quarantine time

I found a simple wool tweed blazer at a recycle clothing shop, 

and it still being chilly weather, I took it on

as my latest project during quarantine time.

Below is a before photo, of the forlorn-looking jacket, 

so that you can see what I started with.

I began embellishing it with embroidery thread using a simple topstitch, in a complementary color, along the collar, pockets, and front panel.

 

Then I foraged through my stash of vintage trims and lace,

and found some great treasures to continue the project with!

I chose bits of vintage lace for the cuffs 

and fabulous embroidered fabric 

that I cut out and hand appliquéd into place! 

I had just enough of this ornate vintage trim to embellish one cuff 

and one pocket.

Then I pulled from my stash of embroidered fabrics 

to continue hand appliquéing pieces along the shoulder 

and back of the blazer.

The finishing touches were added after perusing through my button collection for some fun finds.

Did you notice all the additional vintage buttons 

that I added along the front to add quirkiness?

Yeah, that's just my style!

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