The “Mix Things Up” Apron

Here’s my latest apron . . . and I must say, I had LOTS of help! Here’s the scoop:

• The adorable design on the bib came from my blogging friend Megan of A Kitschy Kitchen. Click here, and this original drawing can be yours, too, as a gift from Megan! Since I used a heavy muslin (a remnant I had on hand) for the bib, I was able to simply trace the design. Then I embroidered it while watching TV when we were snowed in. Megan has an Etsy shop, too . . . here’s a post about it!
• The skirt, bib ruffle, and neck and waist ties are made from this fabric I bought from Karen of KRS Designs. The cute baking motif was perfect for this project! You can find links to all of Karen’s shops on her blog.
• And now for the ruffles. The blue one was from a gift of fat quarters I got for my birthday. It has a seam in the middle, but it’s pretty well hidden. The fabric for the pink and brown ruffles came from Laura of LC’s Cottage. Click here for Laura’s blog, here for her Etsy store, and here for a previous post I wrote about her shop.

Details about the design are available on my Wonder Woman Retro Apron post . . . a free tutorial from the Jo-Ann web site along with a few tweaks of my own. The only thing I changed on this one was to line the bib to hide the back of my embroidery and make the top ruffle smaller so as not to hide the mixer.

I had SO much fun making this, and thank you to my friends for your lovely contributions! ♥

Art Apron

Recently I shared “Another Wonder Woman Apron”  (a version of the Wonder Woman Retro Apron) that I made using a denim apron body from a sack of remnants a family member gave me.

A little more digging uncovered another one—a light blue this time—but again just the body and a bib pocket with no straps.

So . . . I decided to make another art apron!

First, I removed the pocket, googled a clip art picture of a paint palette, penciled it onto the pocket, embroidered it, and stitched the pocket back on.

Then I used the zebra fabric you’ve seen on some of my other projects (originally a set of sheets from Target!) for the neck and waist ties.

Ta-da! ♥

Another Wonder Woman Apron!

Remember my Wonder Woman retro apron? (You can take a quick peek here!) I’ve made and given away three so far and have more in the works, but I wanted to make a simpler, non-ruffly version for art teacher Tiffany (one of the beautiful brides on my mantel!) who wears fun aprons at work in her job as a middle school art teacher. Then I received a bag of sewing hand-me-downs, and tucked between some fabric remnants was a denim work apron—just the body with a pocket on the bib, no neck or waist ties . . . perfect! To WW-ize it, I:

• removed the pocket,
• appliqued one of my WW bibs right over the top of the denim,
• used the pocket I removed for the inside of a new WW star fabric pocket and sewed it on the skirt, and
• made and attached star-fabric neck and waist ties.  Done! ♥

P.S.  Click here for the heart-to-heart garland and here for the red sweater heart pillow.

More Shop Love!

Last week I put out my first “Shop Love!” post.

I wanted to start promoting our blogging friends’ small businesses.

I’ve done a little more shopping . . .

and I won a giveaway . . .

so today I’d like to highlight four more bloggers and stores.

Once again, each one impressed me with both their BEAUTIFUL products . . .

and their QUALITY customer service.

Here are their contact links!

You can also check them out ANYtime on my new “Shop Love” page above. ♥

(1) The Original Thread: I fell in LOVE with this inspirational 2013 calendar, which is designed by Melanie of The Original Thread blog and sold as a fabric panel in her Spoonflower shop at Madex Designs. She has many other gorgeous fabrics as well!

(2) Terri’s Notebook: I recently won a lovely giveaway from Terri’s Notebook—two pdf patterns. I was going to wait until I made the items to share them . . . but that hasn’t happened yet, so I’ll share what they WILL look like. The first pattern is for Stuff Baskets and the second is for a Checkerboard Set, and both are for sale at her Patchwork Trails Etsy Shop. You can also visit Terri’s portfolio here and her paper goods shops here. Terri’s motto is “Explore. Dream. Create.” Don’t you love that? ♥

(3) A Kitschy Kitchen: I’m just starting to make aprons myself, but I know someone on my gift list who will LOVE this one! It’s from Megan of A Kitschy Kitchen: The Life and Studio of an Apronista who sells her creations at her Etsy shop. Notice, too, the adorable fabric gift card holder! Stressing quality as well as beauty, Megan’s motto is “Buy Well, Buy Once.” She also has some other lovely items in her shop, such as embroidery, cocktail napkins, and coasters.

(4) TheHighNoteDotNet: I’ve followed Darilyn’s lovely blog thehighnotedotnet for a long time now and was so excited to receive my first purchase from her Etsy shop, which specializes in vintage music projects. Darilyn even included a little gift . . . a copy of my favorite quote, which I embroidered on a pillow and she offers to all of us for free to make an iron-on transfer. She graciously provides tutorials for her projects as well. And check out her craft room . . . it’s amazing!

 

Wonder Woman Retro Apron

I saw a set of superhero aprons on Pinterest and was so excited to try them, only to find that the post didn’t lead anywhere, even to a photo credit! But thank you to someone out there for inspiring me to figure out my own design, which—since I decided on Wonder Woman + ruffles—I’m calling “Wonder Woman Retro.”  Here are some links and tips if you’d like to make your own!

• I got the white-star-on-blue-background fabric here at the Hancock Fabrics web site. (I used remnants for the red and yellow.) It washed beautifully and came out wrinkle-free.
• I found the Wonder Woman logo here on Google Images. Go to print preview, click landscape, resize to 175%, and print. I traced around the pattern on the yellow fabric, cut it out leaving a 1/2 inch edge, and pinned it to the apron bib. Then I embroidered through all the layers in red, trimmed close to the outer border, and zig-zagged the edge.
• I used the Ruffle Aprons Tutorial at the Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts web site for the rest of the apron except that I  (1) made the neck straps the old-fashioned way from two folded/stitched/turned lengths of fabric, (2) shortened the bib ruffle so it won’t cover the logo, (3) used the bib ruffle as the top seam and tucked the neck straps in before stitching instead of sewing everything on separately,  (4) stitched the skirt, top skirt ruffle, and bib together at the same time, (5) added one more ruffle on the skirt, and (6) top-stitched all the ruffles down and tucked in the side ties before topstitching the top skirt ruffle. However, I’m sure it would turn out just as cute if you stick with the original directions . . . I’m just not very good at that.

Happy sewing! ♥

Cupcake Girl

A special little girl in our family celebrated her sixth birthday on December 1st. As you know, a December birthday gift must NOT be Christmasy! So, since she absolutely loves to bake with her mom, I decided on a cupcake gift. First I made an apron using a remnant from the nursery pillows I sewed last summer that looks like sprinkles. I didn’t have a child-size pattern, so I just cut a rectangle for the front, a long, skinny piece for the waistband and tie, found some rick-rack trim, and stitched it up. Then I folded a piece of paper, sketched half of a cupcake paper and top, cut them out, unfolded the paper, and used these as patterns for some cupcake a-la-mode (two yellow fabrics and sequins for sprinkles) and a scrapbook paper gift tag. Then I bought some cake mix, frosting (with sprinkles!), cupcake papers, and cupcake flags to go with the apron. I was going to make a little totebag to gift it in, but then I spotted this adorable tin for $2.99 in my grocery store’s clearance aisle . . . how lucky is that! Happy birthday, dear Kira! ♥  P.S. Please check out this fun post on Peg’s Gotta Do for more cupcake inspiration!

Stylin’ in the Kitchen

Lucky me . . . I won the giveaway from Kelly at Boomdeeadda, a lovely handmade apron, mitts, and card! I’ve displayed the card and tucked the apron and mitts away for Thanksgiving so I’ll be stylin’ when all our family is here. Thank you, Kelly!  P.S. Click here for my last apron post. ♥

Aprons!

You know how some of our lovely blogging friends give things away? Well, I just received this BEAUTIFUL polka-dotted apron from Moosewood Vintage Wearables & Sundries, specializing in vintage clothing & accessories, gently used formal dresses, and goat milk soaps. I LOVE it! Please visit Ruth’s WordPress blog, her FB page, and her Etsy shop. Thank you, Ruth! ♥ While I was photographing my new apron, I also pulled out my three other favorites. My mother made the one with the quilted top and pocket, and my grandmother made the tangerine print (which has a fancy cross-over back; it’s sort of like putting a puzzle together to get into it!). And the little half-apron was my VERY FIRST sewing venture when I was around eight years old, so if you’re looking for a beginning project, here’s the scoop: Grandma had me use tiny gingham so I could just follow the lines, and the “pattern” consists of a big rectangle with a casing at the top and a hem at the bottom and a self-fabric drawstring. It’s definitely one-size-fits-all, because I can still wear it today!  Someday I’d like to a-la-mode it a bit with a pocket and some embroidery. . . so many ideas, so little time . . . ♥