mod podge to the rescue!

If you've ever used Mod Podge for a crafty endeavor, you are probably already a fan. If you are wondering what on earth it is, I urge you to try it for your next project involving glue. Mod podge bonds paper and fabric beautifully to most surfaces. In fact, modpodgerocks is an entire blog dedicated to the wonders of this great sticky stuff, and it just featured my Amy Butler lamp revamp from earlier this month in my Bucket Brigade post.



I used Mod Podge as an economical alternative to stretching fabric over a canvas frame. Mama Goose's, Kelly wanted to use three fabric samples to create some interest and texture to a hallway wall (in her soon to open new store site). We are doing everything on a shoestring and the traditional way, with three canvases, would have added up. Instead, I bought 3 foam core boards and cut them to size with an exacto knife.



Next, I spread an entire side with original Mod Podge (don't use the "for paper" kind...fabric doesn't work well with it). I stretched the fabric out on the board and smoothed out any bubbles. The back is glued down, as well, with trimmed corners. When it dries it tends to warp in a bit...weight it with heavy books over night, if this happens. Get creative with how you hang it on the wall. I'm going to try clear duct tape and a thin picture frame wire...after all, they each weigh next to nothing. This fabric is going to look great on its freshly painted taupe wall. What a fun and inexpensive way to display your favorite fabric!

green t refashion show

In honor of Earth Day, Sew Green held their annual Eco Fashion Show. There was a selection from the winners of the Green T Reuse Contest, as well as a smattering of other sustainable clothing creations. Here are a couple shots to give you a taste of the show. Click on them for enlargement.










The winning outfit was met with a round of applause as baby model, Mason from Humble Hill Farm (Spencer, New York), stepped out onto the runway.
He was escorted by his proud mother, Courtney Sullivan, and the outfit's designer...me.

done!

These huge floor cushions have been hanging out in my studio for almost two months. I made them for Mama Goose's new location and they will be leaving my home very soon. Photo shoot time! The fabric is this really beautiful green that is not being done justice in the inside pictures. It came from a locally owned fabric outlet, Jolee's, that carries upholstering fabric samples and end bolts. I had always envisioned them with a handle, but was scared to do that last step. Sometimes when I complete something, and am happy with it, I get an attitude of "don't mess with it, you'll jinx it"...well, today I messed with it! I had made the strip for the handle weeks ago, and it remained (somewhat forlorn looking) draped over my sewing chair until this morning. I added the handles and took the pillows out and about for a photo shoot. The handles are amazing!! I can carry all four of these huge (2x2 ft.) cushions with one hand. I love the handles. They would be so great in a playroom or wherever you feel like carrying them.


Doesn't this look like an inviting reading nook?

toys from nature

I recently discovered a modern day Gepetto living down the road. Gepetto was the famous toymaker who brought Pinocchio to life. Gunther Kiel, of Wild Apples, has been making beautiful crafted natural toys from wood for over thirty years. When I first visited his toyshop/studio, I felt like I was stepping into a page from a storybook. The walls were neatly lined with all his whimsical creations and there sat Gunther at his workbench, looking every bit the magical elf you'd expect to create such beautiful toys. In this day and age of plastic and disposable, where most items available to our children are mass produced, how wonderful to find lovingly handcrafted toys using non-toxic finishes, local woods, and green energy. Mama Goose's new store will be carrying a selection of Wild Apple Toys and if you'd like to find out more about Gunther or how to purchase something from his wooden menagerie, click here.

happy earth day!

Our magnolia bloomed early...for Earth Day!

an intimate encounter with andy goldsworthy

What an amazing experience my family and I just had! A little bird told us that Andy Goldsworthy, renowned nature sculptor and environmentalist, had been quietly creating in our backyard...so to speak. We set off on a wild goose chase, not knowing what to look for or the exact location. We knew to go to Sapsucker Woods at the:

We started walking the trails and asked people along the way if they had seen the installation...no one had even heard it was there! After about an hour, we found a Lab employee who practically whispered the directions to us. This was definitely a hush- hush affair. The kids were getting tired and our water bottles were running low, but we now knew the way so we continued with confidence...deep into the woods. Not a soul was to be seen. We crossed a long boardwalk over a lush bog...

We kept our eyes peeled...not knowing what to expect. Andy Goldsworthy has created his pieces with stone,sticks,leaves...it could be anything...anywhere, and then my husband gave a subtle sigh..."There it is," and he pointed to a small clearing nestled in the trees...


My family and I had found our golden (stone) egg!

2nd softie awards

I entered the 2nd Softie Awards with several of my other elephants, here are my last two contestants:

Sweet Petunia was created from a felted, pink cashmere cable cardigan and vintage fabrics. She has been stuffed to plump perfection with eco-craft, an earth friendly alternative to poly-fil.

Lulu is all dressed and ready for her birthday party. She's fashioned from re-purposed cotton velour with striped accents on the inside of her feet, ears and tail. She's filled with eco-craft, an earth friendly alternative to poly-fil.
Lulu is wearing a coordinating and removable cloak and crown (both in fabric by kitty yoshida). She's delightfully soft and appropriate for all ages.

an invitation to create

The way we present material to children has the ability to inspire and invite them to create.
Enjoy taking the time to set up an activity with care. It demonstrates a level of respect for your child, as well as instilling in them an aesthetic sense.



Muffin tins (or in this case, vintage mini loaf pans) are a perfect sorting tool. They create a sense of definition between size, shape, color and form.




Little trays make perfect portable work spaces.

my baby has a baby

Three to five year olds relish role playing like no other age group. Pretending to be someone else allows them to see the world from another perspective. The roles that are most familiar to them are the ones that involve their home and family. I carried both of my children in many different infant carriers, but always came back to the sling. My littlest is quite absorbed in being a mama to all of her "babies" and she wanted to have a sling of her own. My daughter thinks that almost anything she desires, I can make. I try to keep up with her whims, as best as I can. We ran off to the sewing room, she picked her fabric, and within 10 minutes she was proudly wearing her baby.

on to cookie magazine!

Well, it's not quite over for the Bucket Brigade. Cookie magazine has already posted their voting site for THEIR storage contest and my happy little buckets are up on the page. If anyone is interested in checking it out/or giving a vote, click here.

Thanks for all the support! This continues to be quite a ride.

ohdeedoh presents...

I'm so so so excited!!! The Bucket Brigade is one of the lucky winners of the Ohdeedoh Now you see it, now you don't storage contest! Yippeeeeee!

another contest...phew!

I'm really loving the inspiration and motivation that a contest infuses in each new project. I haven't enjoyed the on-line voting process of the last two that I entered. It always feels a bit awkward enlisting my family and friends to join in. This next contest has a professional panel of judges, and I'm looking forward to entering and then relaxing. My good friend Pat, over at ZenCrafting, discovered The Second Annual Softies Award at Softies Central. There happens to be a category for elephants...to honor the very first stuffed animal ever, an elephant. How could I not give it a try! You can enter as many items as you'd like...yippee! I will be posting more elephants throughout next week. This has been a great motivator to create inventory for my soon to open Etsy store. Here is an almost completed LuLu. She's made with recycled blue cotton velour from SewGreen and a favorite floral and stripe by Kitty Yoshida. Lulu is stuffed with an"earth friendly" alternative to polyfill, called Eco-Craft.

thanks ohdeedoh!

Hurray! The Bucket Brigade is up for voting on Ohdeedoh. You have to join Ohdeedoh/Apartment Therapy to login and cast your vote. Register to comment here, then you will receive a verification e-mail. Click on the link and log back on. Scroll down to your voting choice and you should be good to go!

Jump down for more pictures and info on this project.

buckets o' grass

It's finally feeling like Spring in upstate New York! I've been growing these gorgeous buckets of grass for a new Mama Goose window. They seem about ready for a "mow". These galvanized steel buckets hold a hefty 12 quarts and I was worried about how heavy they would be filled with soil. I also wanted to be able to use them later on for storage and not have to clean out a bunch of mud. Solution: I used an inexpensive plastic insert (found in a garden center) with almost the same diameter and cut it to size. Can you believe that there are only two inches of soil at the top of the bucket?! They are very light and easy to relocate by the handles. I'm really quite passionate about buckets!

utterly orderly

Just a little update...my daughter is loving all of the new additions to her room. There was such enthusiasm for getting dressed "all by herself" these last two mornings. She even helped with the laundry. She rolled up her socks and put them in their bucket!

bucket brigade

Here is my entry for Ohdeedoh's Now You See It, Now You Don't Contest.

I created this framed storage wall for all of my daughter's hair and clothing accessories. It corralled everything to one easy to access location - great for a three year old's need for independence and autonomy. I removed the screen from a vintage window frame, painted it with Sherwin-Williams Stem Green, and backed it with a yard of fun fabric. Then I attached three rows of heavy gauge wire to eye hooks in front of the fabric. I hung metal paint buckets from our local paint store and tin buckets from Target along the wires using S hooks. I repurposed a kitchen scrub brush holder for hanging a hairbrush. Hand painted clothespins hold lengths of ribbon with hair clips attached. Extra S hooks and clothespins are awaiting more accessories: some things like sunglasses easily drape over the wire.

I love this storage idea for its versatility and ability to be unique for any age or any member of the family. It's important to find storage that can develop and grow with your child. Raise the height, change the fabric and paint and watch this frame easily morph into a new personality suited to a more sophisticated tween, and so on. My daughter uses it for her personal storage, but it would be just as at home in an arts and craft area with buckets filled with crayons and paints...clothespins hanging up a painting to dry on the wire. How about a LEGO organizer?

I am a firm believer in everything having a place. In addition, I think it has to be accessible and easy to put away. Little buckets work perfectly for young children, and they can travel directly to a clean up site.

I gave my daughter's room a little spring face lift:

-new duvet cover with Amy Butler fabric and some yellows and blues from my stash.

-pale yellow pillow cases and two coordinating mini pillows (her new favorites!)

-Amy Butler scraps worked perfectly on her existing lampshade

-created a foam pouf out of a foam cylinder and a chartreuse jersey sheet (SalvationArmy); can work as a stool or night stand

-painted three wood scraps a robin's egg blue and decoupaged elephant silhouettes to them

-mini "sweet dreams" banner

I'm just trying out a bunch of prototypes for future endeavors and my little one is so appreciative...what good inspiration!

ohdeedoh contest

Ohdeedoh, the children's site of Apartment Therapy, is having a contest. Now You See it, Now You Don't is the name of Apartment Therapy and Cookie magazine's Spring contest on children's storage. Did somebody say CONTEST? How could I not enter?!! I think I've become a contest maniac these days, and this latest one is just so much fun. There are three categories to choose from (clothing, toys, and entryway) and only ONE design per household....oh, the injustice of it all. Of course, I had way too many ideas. I chose one to focus on, but I might try to execute a couple of them over the next few months.
I've been working on my concept all week and I'll give a preview tomorrow when I send in my entry. Here's my idea: a bucket wall to help organize my three year old daughter's accessories and some clothing. What 's a bucket wall? Check back tomorrow for visuals. I took a vintage screen window frame from an architectural salvage store, some fabric, paint, wire and lots of galvanized buckets and am almost finished transforming it. I decided to re-vamp my daughter's room as well. I 'll try to get some pix up tomorrow after the photo shoot. Here are some of my supplies (I chose the larger black screen):

new friendship

Isn't it wonderful when you meet someone you feel you've known forever! Three months ago Pat and I met in the sweater aisle at our local Salvation Army. We were both vying for the same great colors and 100% wool. In five minutes we discovered our mutual obsession with felting, creative re-using, and that we had children the same age. Of course, we exchanged numbers and talked about crafting and hanging out in the future. Little slips of paper with e-mail addresses can easily disappear into a black hole, but not with Pat. She reached out and we started e-mailing...every night! There was so much to share, because we were both discovering the rich world of design, art and crafting that exists on-line. It's so much fun to be able to share it with someone who is just as delighted with this process as I am. When embarking on a new course in life, everyone should be so lucky to have a "Pat"! I know I can count on her to inspire me with a new site or blog several times a week (and sometimes, when we are both really manic, several times a day). Pat gave me the confidence to start this blog, and then invited me over to show me the ropes on her computer. In fact, that meeting was the first time we were face to face again, since our Salvation Army discovery...months prior.

Pat was at the Gallery opening last night and gifted me with these incredible presents:




The cupcake pincushion was my prize for winning Pat's first online contest at her wonderful blog Zen Crafter. I have been wanting to make one of these Betz White inspirations and am so glad I can now just own it and love it. Pat also made such a sweet and totally personal stationery set for me. Why? Because she's as thoughtful, as she is creative. Check out her blog at Zen Crafter to read the details about how she created this one-of-a-kind stationery in a magnetic tin. Pat's blog is really a pleasure to read...she is a professional writer and it shows! Her tutorials on crafting with children are so engaging that I'm ready to try each one.

What would we do with out dear friends...I'm so grateful.

sew green gallery opening

Last night was the opening night of the Sew Green's Green T Gallery, featuring all of the winning entries from the contest and a handful of other inspiring re-purposed pieces. Only recycled cotton, primarily t-shirts and jeans were used. The amazing amount of ingenuity that went into everything displayed blew me away: intricate hooked rugs(from cotton scraps), giant pot-holder like mats(using t-shirt loops), capes, dog coats, and re-fashioned t-shirts in every shape and size. Here are a couple pictures. Unfortunately, I have a brand new camera and I'm still figuring it out.

This is Laci's play mat and cool little bag-belt...I want one!





These next ones were created by middle school students. The diamonds are individual pieces of t-shirts sewn together!






And my favorite, the winning entry in the teen category.... Orange Bug Hoodie with designer, Pat of Zen Crafting and her muse, daughter Katherine.




The gallery was packed during the first few hours and continued to have a good sized crowd for the entire duration. My sweet family was right there with me... what an exciting night! I think it might never sink in that I won...there were so many worthy "winners". It's all a bit surreal.

dottie the elephant

My little contest elephant got so much attention that I decided to make another. In fact, I'm going to start an entire elephant "line-up". I'll be using all of my favorite fabric from my stash, which is predominantly re-used and vintage. This cuddly, polka dot friend was originally a towel. She's so happy to be re-invented! My daughter is the very appreciative recipient of this Elelphant #2. I'm just getting warmed up...I feel an Etsy site around the corner...

grand prize winner

Sew Green has not officially announced the results of their Green T Reuse Design Contest, but all of the winners have been informed. I have been shyly sitting on this news because I think I am still in shock.

I am the GRAND PRIZE WINNER with my little kimono ensemble!! Go Figure!

Green T Gallery Show, CSMA
Winning entries in the Green T Reuse Contest, and other ecofashion and sustainable sewing exhibits will be featured in show at the Community School of Music and Arts (CSMA), downtown Ithaca, April 2 through 13. Come to the opening, 5 - 8 pm, Friday, Apirl 4, which is Gallery Night.