Signature Bedroom

Signature Bedroom

Signature Soho Bedroom wall.jpg

Today I'll be taking a closer look at the Signature fabrics Soho bedroom I put together for a photo shoot to show off my new Signature fabric collection for Art Gallery Fabrics. This room was another mock-room setting I put together in my studio and I had so much fun sewing and decorating for this scene. See the Signature Baby Room posts Part 1 and Part 2.

Tracery Rose Quilt reduced.jpg

For this mock-room to make sense, it had to tell a story. I wanted something fun and flirty, just like the fabric collection so I came up with the idea to create a Soho loft bedroom from a 20-something girl who loves sewing, flowers, vintage finds, and a little bit of bling. 

Signature Fabrics Bedroom 1.jpg

I didn't want a fussy bed frame so I put the mattress and box spring directly onto the rug-layered floor and stood two same-size, narrow boxes on end. You can't see the boxes because they're covered with a wood boards that made a temporary bench of sorts that I could use as my headboard/shelf. This created the perfect look for my bed and kept everything low and modern. 

Signature Fabrics Bedroom 2.jpg

The quilt on the bed is called Tracery Rose and is an adaptation of the Tracery quilt pattern from my Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living book (Landauer 2017). I wanted layers of fabrics with texture and vintage charm as well as doable DIY projects that my creative girl would want to make for her room. 

Find a tutorial for the fun Fabric Fringe Wallhanging on one of my earlier posts as well as instructions for the Improv Boho Pillow tutorial. These are both great projects to get the kids involved in sewing something for their room.

Signature Pillow 1.jpg

Crafty touches include vintage pompoms, my grandmother's Singer sewing machine on the desk, knitting yarn in the Bucket Bag tote (another free pattern on this site), Art Roll Up caddy for knitting needles or other art supplies (see Free Patterns page), thrifting treasures of vintage jewelry and furniture, and of course florals to bring the garden inside.

Signature Craft Girl.jpg

Pile on the layers and let the photo tell a story! I can just image my younger self busy working on crafts in my room and rearranging and decorating my space with pretty things.

Signature Fabrics and yarn.jpg

This photo of the basket with yarn and fabric is one of my favorite shots because of all the yummy textures, layers, and colors. I had the last minute idea to throw a piece of faux fur on the chair seat and that added a bit of glam to the look plus more texture and interest!

AGF Signature Sewing.jpg

This petite desk's was something I picked up at a garage sale almost 20 years ago! I painted it gold after I bought it and it's normal spot is as a nightstand by my bed. Because I wanted to bring in different metal elements into my Soho bedroom like gold, copper, and silver I thought it would make the cutest sewing table for this scene. The sewing machine was my grandmother's and it still works like a dream. I have it as a backup machine and don't sew with it much but it's comforting to know it's here with me when I need it. 

The chair is another garage sale find and it has a big hole in the caned seat. I've hidden the hole with a piece of faux fur to repeat the look on the other side of the room. 

Signature Kimono.jpg

Although I am obsessed with so many of my sewing makes for the two mock-up rooms, the project that's gotten the most wear is my Signature Extempore Rayon kimono. This garment was an easy make for a non-garment sewer like me and AGF rayon is the perfect fabric for a flowie cover up like this. I used Simplicity pattern 1108 and chose the cropped cut because I'm only 5'2'' and it's a good proportion for my frame. 

AGF Signature Rayon Kimono.jpg

I hope you enjoyed this look into some of the photos that went into the Signature Look Book and my styled photo shoot. Are you getting lots of inspiration? What would you sew with these prints--quilts, clothes, or something else?

It's a Wrap!

The end of 2016 is fast approaching so what better way to wind up a blog year then with a post all about wrapping gifts!

You've carefully selected gifts for everyone on your list, have you put the same thoughtfulness into how you will wrap them? Go beyond basic paper and turn the packaging into part of the gift with easily found materials.

Several of the items shown above I had around the house or picked up this summer while thrifting.

I have a hard time tossing out beautiful Christmas cards and have stacks of these from past Christmases. Why not cut out or use the entire front of an old card as a newly repurposed gift tag? Cut out Christmas card tag with (found) magnolia seed pod. See my Instagram feed sharonhollanddesigns for video on how to professionally tie up a package with a ribbon. 

Use a vintage (or new) cloth napkin. A napkin pairs well with food related gifts and makes those home-made goodies all the sweeter. 

Giving a gift to someone who sews? Why not wrap it in fabric! Twill tape, a repurposed greeting card tag, and evergreen sprig cut from the yard shows them how much you care.

I love a themed gift! A pretty dish towel, wooden spoon, thrifted vintage trivet, and repurposed greeting card tag tied with twine are the perfect gift cover-up for the Foodie on your shopping list. 

For the gifts that need a little extra bling, add a shiny ornament, sparkly repurposed card cover, and a gauzy scarf to tie it all up, cuz baby it's cold outside!

Photo via Mary Richmond of At Home On the Bay

Photo via Mary Richmond of At Home On the Bay

Are you wanting to make a quick ornament or package decoration? Why not make my Candy Cane Cover pattern and stitch up fast felt critters like Mary Richmond of At Home On the Bay did. Isn't this gray horse adorable!!??!!

Giving a gift to a knitter or maybe someone wanting to learn the craft? Use yarn to make a pompom and "ribbon" and add some knitting needles for the perfect gift topper they will love. Maybe next year you'll get a knitted sweater!

These are just a few ideas to help you get started thinking outside the paper and take gift giving to a new level (on top of the gift, that is). Merry Christmas to you and I wish you all the best in 2017. xxxx

Canning Season

It's been a great year to have a garden (at least in Ohio) and seems even with all the heat, we still got plenty of rain to make everything grow and produce like crazy! Right now I'm busy canning tomatoes and salsa every weekend. Thank goodness my husband helps me--he's in it for the salsa! 

Awhile back I did some house cleaning on my Free Pattern page because I want to update the older patterns and reformat everything for a cohesive look. Slowly but surely, I'm bringing back some of the patterns. 

With all this canning and kitchen work, it was time to dust off my Upcylce Apron pattern (formerly called Apron from Sundress) and put that pattern back up for free downloading. 

As summer is winding down, now's a great time of year to pick up a second-hand sundress at your local thrift store, or maybe you have one hiding in the back of your closet!

Selection of sundress at Goodwill

Selection of sundress at Goodwill

I selected this plain but feminine linen sundress.

Download my free Upcycle Apron pattern and in no time, you'll have a fun apron for covering up while cooking or other messy endeavors like painting or gardening.

When we were canning this weekend, I found a 1979 canning jar lid in the canning supplies given to me by my Mom. She was a big canner in the day and our family garden was a quarter the size of a football field. The date on the lid was exactly 37 years ago on Sunday and it gave me an idea to take some flat lay photos of canning lids and the handed down canning ephemera. I really got a kick out of doing these photos and emailed them to my Mom who also really enjoyed seeing this stuff immortalized in a photo collage. 

I hope you're able to enjoy the bounties of summer as well. If you're not much of a green thumb then hopefully there's a farmer's market near you to take in the these glorious last days of summer.