New Paint

No curtains + sunny day = poorly lit before photos: 

 I don't regret you, green. But it's time to go. 

After:

 Panoramic view!

 I have two too-tiny lamps (on the left side of the sofa) but Brendan has one of these super nice lamps (on the right side). Is it weird to have two end tables but only one with a lamp? Maybe if I move one so they aren't flanking the sofa? I can look for a match of Brendan's lamp, but it's  3+ years old (and never used! It still had the plastic around it!).  

Dining room wall:

 The left is "gateway gray" from Sherwin Williams and the right is "wool skein." In daylight light, they seem similar, but at night, the gray wall seems significantly darker. 

 Same thing here: the left side is "wool skein" but the right is "silvermist." 

TV wall:

The chair fabric (Waverly's Solar Flair in lilac/onyx) was the inspiration for the colors. Thank you, chair fabric! 

Hooray, new paint!

Pop-up Cards. Sort of.

Triple birthday fun. 

Oh Snap!

Look who learned how to install snaps! Stitching is a little sloppy, as this is a prototype, so BACK OFF  with the critical thoughts.  

Sewing is hard. Especially when you spend a boatload of time on choosing/buying/cutting/interfacing/stitching fabric, and then it comes out looking like crap. But I kept at it! My zipper clutch project was frustrating because the ends of the zippers would be all wonky, and ruin the whole thing. THANKS A LOT, WONKY ZIPPER ENDS. 

But then I tried a different tutorial from The Crafty Gemini's youtube channel, and it turned out well. Or at least better. 

Whose bag do you have? Oh, it's an l.piotti original.

For the strap, I stole hardware from an unused Clinique make-up bag (I have tons of them from bonus gifts over the years). Sewing the strap around the D-ring was hard to keep neat because it was so thick, so I used a zigzag stitch for security and then just covered up the mess with a mini piece of fabric. Hot glue really is amazing. 

Sassy.

Here she is on my washing machine (aka pressing station). Hooray houndstooth! 

 

Choc. A Lot! custom apron

Jimmies or sprinkles? 

(correct answer: jimmies)

As soon as I saw this jimmies fabric, I wanted to make my cousin Alison a cute apron for her business (the growingly-popular Choc. A Lot!) that would resemble her business cards. 

"I got jimmies." 

A white apron seemed like it would get instantly dirty, though, and bleaching wasn't an option because of the jimmies. What a pickle. Then I realized I had leftover white vinyl fabric! And since she's doing craft fairs in the near future, it would be more appropriate as chic booth wear for events (deep pockets for money!) and not the kitchen. 

 Chocolate-dipped marshmallow!

 Alison modeling her new apron. Lookin' good! 

Only the homeless carry wine around in regular bags.

Use a wine tote instead! In progress, but you get the idea. 

 Ritzy. 

Careful: PINS! 

Business Cards

My cousin Alison has been making super-yummy, super-pretty dessert trays for parties. 

Marshmallows, animal crackers, fruit, pretzels, etc. dipped in chocolate, covered in jimmies - mmm. She hopes to turn it into a side business and named the endeavor Choc. A lot! (Like, a lot of chocolate - get it?) and I offered to make her some business cards. I sent her a few ideas: 

 She chose this design: 

Looks like a chocolate dipped marshmallow, eh? 

It's really cute if I may say so myself!