The UPPERCASE Magazine Surface Pattern Design Guide

I'm so thrilled to announce that my work will be featured in the UPPERCASE Magazine Surface Pattern Design Guide, which will be included in upcoming Issue #21, and also distributed at Surtex in May! Having been an UPPERCASE subscriber since Issue #3, I can't describe how awesome this feels!

If you haven't checked out UPPERCASE, it's worth a moment to visit their website to get glimpse at what the magazine is all about. Filled with design, creativity, and curiosities from around the globe, and impeccably designed by Janine Vangool, each issue is a treasure trove of inspiration. I read it from cover to cover as soon as it arrives. Janine has given me a special discount to pass on to my readers so you can receive $15 off a subscription. Just go to their subscription page and use the code USPDG2014.

Candy Swap: How Sweet It Is!

Heidi Kenney of My Paper Crane recently organized a Regional Candy Swap. I've always wanted to participate in a swap, and thought this would be my first big break...a good chance to practice for a future swap that might involve making something. Heidi's hope was to pair people who lived in different areas of the country, so each would get some candy from another region of the U.S. Of course, being on the West Coast, I was way behind and didn't make the cut in time, but Heidi was kind enough to let me in anyway, pairing me with another of her blog readers who happened to miss the deadline as well. Turns out both Stevie and I were not only on the West Coast, but live only about 50 miles away from each other here in Washington state. But even though we're from the same region, we decided to "break the rules" and swap anyway!

While I went with a choco-centric retro theme, Stevie sent a box that must have weighed about 10 pounds, stuffed with goodies from around the Pacific Northwest, including Almond Roca made in Tacoma; regional favorite Aplets & Cotlets, made in Carnation (about 15 minutes from my home); a Moonstruck chocolate bar made in Portland; yummy Cary's toffee made in Grant's Pass, Oregon; dark chocolate-covered Goji berries from British Columbia; bonus Lindt chocolate bars; and an awesome retro Rocky Road bar, which I shared with my son immediately upon opening the box (he couldn't wait...and neither could I)!

Okay, so that isn't even all! Stevie is a master (mistress?) with polymer clay. Check out the fabulous, appropriately sweet, handmade gifts she included!

Stevie's Sweet Cherry Shop on Etsy is filled with mini delights. I am in awe at how the cake looks like cake, the sugar on the donuts is sugary, the pumpkin pie filling looks as though it has been beaten in a bowl and baked, then topped with whipped cream, mini sugar cookies are decorated with "icing"... Just amazing--see for yourself!

I'm so glad Stevie agreed to go rogue and swap with me. I loved my first swap and can't wait to do another. While it's great finding, curating, organizing, and packaging the material for the swap, I enjoyed meeting Stevie even more, and spreading the word about her work. Thanks, Stevie!

TBT: Needlepoint Alphabet

Words cannot even describe the fantastic needlepoint alphabet found in this recent thrift score. From 1972, I bring you these beautiful excerpts from Carolyn Ambuter's Complete Book of Needlepoint.

Making the Cut...or Not

A couple weeks ago I saw a Facebook post from online retailer ModCloth regarding a contest they were hosting called "Making the Cut". They were asking designers to submit up to five patterns, and the lucky winner would have their design printed on fabric, which would be made into a dress to be sold on their site. I thought creating some prints that would fit with the retro ModCloth aesthetic would be a fun challenge, so I put together some mockups. Then, just before uploading my entries, I read through the legalese (which admittedly I should have done before investing the time!). Basically the small print claimed ModCloth would obtain sole ownership of all submitted designs, not just the winning pattern. Thus, not wanting to relinquish all rights to patterns I could otherwise use, I decided not to enter. But I love the mockups, so I thought I'd share them anyway.

TBT: '80s Pillow to Your Heart

These fancy little pillows are courtesy of a 1984 issue of the German magazine Brigitte. Many are made with satin, and most are very '80s, but the one in the top row covered in color-collaged buttons is amazing! Translated, the intro text reads:

A small soft feather pillows heart's there to buy, the right heart to envelope you handle work itself: an endearing, perhaps eloquent gift or even a piece of jewelry for your home. Where are the pillows and how to sew the sleeves, standing on the side 278.

Click on the image for a larger picture.

Translated captions under each heart, top to bottom, left to right: Goodnight Heart, Heart Full of Buttons, Heart for Green; Heart with Handkerchief, Heart of Glass, Kind Regards, Heart Wishes, Right in the Heart; Heart for Animals, Fragrant Heart, Braided Heart, Heart of the Funfair, and Heart Lady.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Playin' with the Queen of Hearts

This week I made my first little Flipagram animation for my Instagram feed, showing the designs in my new Queen of Hearts collection. I'm trying to focus for awhile on making smaller prints, which I'm hoping could be useful for a larger variety of projects. Let me know what you think! The collection is available on fabric, wallpaper, decals and gift wrap from Spoonflower, and totes, pillows, cards, and iPhone cases in my Society6 shop. (By the way, I can see this Flipagram thing becoming an addiction!)

TBT: Spring Craft Show Ideas from...1977

Yes, a few weeks ago was a banner day of thrift scores in the magazine category. Lots of "great ideas" to be found and recycled from days...decades...gone by. Here for your consideration are some bizarre (and some pretty cool) bazaar makes from the Spring 1977 issue of McCall's Needlework & Crafts.

Left page, clockwise from top right corner: felt collage on burlap; place cards made from paper, empty eggs, glue and pipe cleaners; bun warmer hen and chicken egg cozies; and felt babushka egg holder ("After Easter, she'll hold napkins, sewing items." Right page: appliqued house quilt, framed in calico!

Left page: fruit and vegetable pillows; embroidered placemat with appliqued calico text. Right page: "Mary had a little lamb" plushes with their own appliqued calico barn tote; and two fun totes made from recycled children's overalls!

Left page: crocheted long-legged rabbit; crocheted "mouselets"; and no-bake clay pet plaques. Right page: crocheted snake, monkeys, and clown, with a clown appliqué pillow.

And then there's this...

I saw one of these in the case at a thrift store several years ago and I still get a tear in my eye because I didn't buy it, even as a gag gift for my sister. Of course, who knows what sort of bacteria were living in the hair, but still... What a conversation piece! And since I didn't buy her, it will forever by this Decorator's Dream.