RECIPES WITH FRUIT

I love fruit!  Veggies on the other hand, I have to work on...but fruit-absolutely love it!  Especially summer fruit; the variety is awesome.  So, I thought I would share some of the things I do with fruit.

First, I love a simple fresh fruit salad. Just slice up a variety of fresh fruit and sprinkle on some cinnamon.  It adds a unique flavor to the fruit and is oh so yummy!  I've been using this technique for years and whenever I make it for guests, they love it and are surprised it's just a little cinnamon that gives it that extra flavor.  This bowl is filled with blackberries, strawberries, grapes, cantaloupe, raspberries, kiwi and mango.  Makes my mouth water just writing about it.

Next, I add fruit to my tuna salad.  For this open faced sandwich I added: low fat miracle whip, grapes, apples, sweet pickles, dried onion bits,black  pepper, dried cranberries and almonds (the packaged kind that you toss on salads). Oh, and of course a side of bing cherries.

Last weekend, I made a chicken salad.  I picked up some shredded chicken in the deli section of King Soopers, added some low fat miracle whip and sliced mangos.  It was so good!  No bread needed for that one.

Another favorite is green salad with fruit.  I've thrown all sorts of fruit on my salads like strawberries, blueberries, pineapple.   But, my all time favorite is blackened salmon, romaine lettuce, dried cranberries and feta cheese. Just top with your favorite dressing and toss on a few almonds and you're good!  (McCormick salmon rub is awesome)

I go crazy during the summer with fruit since the variety becomes very limited in about September/October in Colorado.  Although, I have noticed in the last year or two a bit more to choose from...it seems the grocers are bringing in fruits from other countries.  As Martha would say, "that's a good thing!".

WEDDING GOWN BUSTLE

I wanted to share my technique on this wedding gown bustle, since frankly I was stumped for a bit trying to come up with the solution.  I figure, if I can help someone else after losing some sleep over it....then I should share right? After all, why should we both have insomnia over this?  ;)

When I look at a gown, the type of bustle usually comes to me very easily; meaning under bustle or over bustle.... the gown design itself generally dictates which bustle version it should be based upon the silhouette of the gown and/or the design features on the back of the dress.

A good example, was the gown bustle I did last year that I wrote a blog post about.  This bride's gown had a beautiful beaded border around the bottom of the gown with a delicate ribbon and bow that absolutely needed to be seen when the gown was bustled.  Knowing that, it was simple....it needed an over bustle!

The gown I made my daughter, on the other hand had many design elements higher up on the skirt (1800's style bustle, rose fabric flowers, shirring) that needed to be shown off, so an under bustle was in order.

The last two gowns I've worked on have been lace overlay gowns both of which had very form fitted bodices all the way to the hip; to me the silhouette called for an under bustle.  Show off the beading and lace, and create some design flair at the hemline.  The unique thing about this most recent gown was the embroidered tulle overlay extended a good 10 inches beyond the taffeta gown underneath.  That meant a double under bustle; the first bustle to get the majority of the gown up off the floor, the second to pull the tulle up and show off the embroidered border at the hemline.

I actually, pinned it two different ways at the fitting and let the bride decide which look she preferred.   Once the decision was made, I needed to figure out what I was going to use to hold the second set of bustles securely in place.  The challenge was the tulle was extremely delicate and the embroidery was very subtle.   What could I use that wouldn't be seen through the tulle when the train was extended?  I actually shared that with my bride; I told her "I'll get it done....I'm not sure how yet...but, I'll figure it out"..and we both chuckled. The bride suggested clear snaps, which I've used on gowns before....good thought....my reservations were a) the number of snaps I would need, b) the fact that they are so hard to see/find (I didn't want this to be a chore for the bridesmaids) and c) will they hold? in my experience, sometimes they do and sometimes they don't.  I hadn't ruled them out...but, I decided to walk away and give it some thought.

So, as I was working along, pinning and fluffing, pinning and fluffing....I finally had a revelation! Tulle....use tulle ties!  They'll blend in underneath the tulle overlay, right?  So, I sewed a pair into the gown, one tie sewn to the wrong side of the tulle overlay; the other to the right side of the taffeta gown.  I tied them into place to see if they would do the trick...Yes! and then I extended the train to see if they were hidden...Yes!
This particular gown has a total of 13 bustle points; it definitely takes the record in my books so far! The upper bustle has three bustle points; one at the center back and another at each princess seam.
Since this bustle carries the majority of the weight I chose to use buttons and loops.  I make my loops with double fold seam binding. I re-fold the binding and sew it by machine to make them extra strong like a belt loop. The loops are sewn to the wrong side of the train and the buttons are sewn to the lining.
Bustling the tulle was the challenge (that's the "G" rated term)!   The tulle overlay was actually a double layer, and was not stitched together at any point below the heavily beaded area which ended at the bottom of the zipper; so the two layers weren't always playing nice together...aarrrgghhh.   Anyway, I got through it, and I think it looked so pretty!   There are 10 bustle points (pairs of ties) to create this look.  I especially like the way the tulle poufs at the top and then falls into folds to the hemline.

To make things a bit easier on the bridesmaids I wanted to somehow offer a "road map" as to which pair of ties went together.  You know;  #1 ties to #1, #2 ties to #2 and so on....  But, you can't successfully write on tulle, and I couldn't color code because of it showing through the tulle.  Hhhmmmmm...what to do?  Again, this solution came to me after a 2.5 mile walk around the lake after dinner one night.....scotch tape.  Secure the tape to the end of the tulle and then use a pencil to write the numbers on the tape!

So there you have it.  I apologize for the saga.  I thought it worthy of sharing.  I'm sure there are other solutions, and I may look back and think...why didn't I think of that?, but I'll stand by this one for now.   The tulle ties will definitely withstand a night of dancing and I know the tape will do the trick to at least get the gown bustled; if they come off while the girls are tying them-no worries at that point, they've served their purpose. 

RE-STYLED DRESS

I got a kick out of this project.  My daughter's birthday was approaching and I was asking her about gift ideas.  She mentioned that she likes the longer dresses that are in style these days.  She currently has two, but would love more.  So, I was putting away some receipts in my office (which was at one time her old bedroom) and in the closet I saw a dress hanging there that she had left behind when she moved out.    I always thought the dress looked cute on her back then, size wise she hasn't changed at all...in fact, she's more fit and trim then she was then....and the style wasn't dated.  So, I thought how fun would it be to turn this into a long dress and surprise her with it for her birthday?!

   BEFORE                                                                  AFTER 

The dress itself is a jersey knit, so I picked up a white knit fabric for the first layer and a see-through weave for the bottom layer.  A couple types of ribbon; black and white polka dot and a matching green for the bow, with the final touch being a rhinestone button.  Total cost under $15.
 

The original dress was a halter style tie; I chose to criss-cross the straps and sew them into place.      Yesterday was her birthday.  It was so fun to give her the package with this dress in it and watch her expression.  It was comical actually, she had a delayed reaction thinking it looked like something else she once had....then she realized it's the same dress, only updated.   She loved it!  Now maybe she'll wear this when she goes to the spa to get her facial (that was her other birthday present).

DINING ROOM SHEERS

This project was long overdue.  For years, I had  pleated cellular shades in my living room/dining room.  In the time that I've had them, I've had to replace the cord on the living room shade and totally replace a panel in the bay window dining room since it tore.   Since then I had another panel that the cord was pulling the shade up on one side only and a second panel that tore.  REALLY????  ......and these things aren't cheap!  So, I decided I was done and needed to switch things up a bit.

       Before                                                      AFTER                                  

I apologize for the quality of the pictures.  It was tough to capture this correctly due to all the back lighting.

In the picture on the right you can see how the shade tore....what an eyesore!

When I was considering what I wanted to replace the cellulars with I had to consider that it was rare for us to open the two middle sections since it looks right into our neighbor's windows.  If we did open them at all, it was only halfway so that we could pop the window open and get some ventillation.    I knew I wanted some privacy, but I also didn't want to totally darken the room.  So, I opted for sheers; lightweight yet opaque so from the outside you can't see in at all.   Classic, yet fresh!

While I was at it....I decided to ditch the brass look of the swag fixtures (oh and the stencilling is going to go in the next couple of weeks).
I had made the scarf valances years ago and still liked them, so I got lucky and found a great color match at a recent sale at JC Penney and bought the sheers.

The living room was a breeze; I bought three panels (50") and the length of 84" worked great.   For the dining room, I bought five panels, but the 84" was going to be too short and the 103" was too long.  So, that was the only drag of the project.  I ended up cutting eleven inches off each panel and then hemmed them by machine.
To change up the brass look....I used a two step antique spray paint; the bottom layer is a matte gold and the top layer is antique white, which crackles as it dries...the more coats you add of the top layer, the deeper the cracks.  It makes the brackets much more subtle.

So there you have it....this was step one of  the ongoing transformation I plan  to continue to make in the living room/dining room of our home.

CUSTOM MADE BRIDAL GOWNS

I decided to open a store on Big Cartel to sell some of my ready-made designs, as well as offer custom made design work.  It's a small shop; featuring five products although I have the ability to grow the store if/when the business expands. 

I'm excited to get back to my first love of design, patternmaking and sewing on a grander scale and look forward to what the future may hold.  My all time favorite type of work is anything and everything bridal related from small items, such as:  garters, veils, ringbearer pillows....to flower girl, bridesmaid and my ultimate favorite, one-of-a-kind bridal gowns.      

If you haven't done so, please visit my  website or my facebook to see what SheaMarie Designs has to offer!

RE-PURPOSED CHAIR

So I did it...I went back and found myself an old dining room chair from the thrift store.  Sad, though it was...I could see the potential!

BEFORE

First things first....I needed to pull up the old upholstery fabric and add some new.   It would be interesting to know how old this chair really is, because when I pulled off the outer layer of fabric, there was another layer beneath---this chair had already been re-upholstered once in its lifetime.  Time for another face lift and while I was at it, I decided it needed some additional padding, what was there was pretty worn.  Eureka!! I knew just the fabric that would turn this chair into a beauty and it was in my existing supply of fabric!

AFTER

After taking care of the re-upholstering, it was time to sand the chair.  I wanted to distress it similar to the distressed cabinet I did last year; different color, but the same process.   What was extra cool was I used several colors of old paint.  You know those gallons/half gallons that you have stashed in the garage and basement that are leftover from the other painting projects in the house?  

After I had roughed up the stain and finish, I painted the entire chair off white...I needed to give it a good light colored base to build on.  After that, I used terra cotta, pale green, gold and light blue to make it look like it had been re-painted many times over the years.  I diluted each of the colors with water as I was painting since I wanted the colors to be muted.

After the painting, I went back at it with the sander to make it look worn and beat up.  There's no formula....you just go for it to get the look you want.

I filled in the flower and leaf motif on the chair back using craft paints; not too much, just here and there--so that it looked worn with age.  Finally, I added a few "diamond" stickers to the center of the flowers for a bit of glitz.

I knew I wanted to swap out the finials at the top of the chair and decided to pick up a couple of drawer pulls at ...... none other than Hobby Lobby!   They were 50% off.  woo hoo!   I pulled off the old ones and drilled deeper holes (well, actually my husband did---thanks babe) since the drawer pulls have extra long screws...add a dollop of glue for added security and you're good!

My final touch was to add the words to the back of the chair.  I found a font that I liked and typed "Sew Original" (little play on words) out on the computer and printed it....I then used the old trick we all learned in art class in middle school and scribbled with a pencil on the backside of the paper and turned it over and traced over the lettering to transfer the words (do-it-yourself carbon paper).  Then I used markers to color in the lettering.  Two coats of spray finish (matte) over the entire chair to set the paint and I was done.  So that's it!  I love it....the chair looks awesome with my new sewing table.  I love the transformation that has taken place in my sewing studio.  It's fun...bright and all me!

Total cost $7.00 plus tax (the chair cost me $2.99 and the drawers pulls were $4.99)

RE-PURPOSED TABLE

I've been looking for a sewing table ever since I purchased my serger; with two machines and only one sewing table, I had to make do by pulling the card table out of the storage closet.   I never did like the sewing table...but add the card table to it and what an eye sore.   It was functional - but downright ugly!

Anyway, I certainly didn't like the prices of some of the sewing tables that you could find online, some upwards of $800-plus they were really big with lots of drawers and such and I was looking for something simple.  I started checking out Craig's list and other online sites for either a table or desk that someone wanted to sell or donate.   I decided to run into the ARC thrift store a couple Saturdays ago (remembering Saturday is 1/2 off day) after I made a donation myself and lo and behold, there was an old kitchen table calling out to me.   It had some fun spindle legs like I wanted and a wood top, it was nice and long; plenty big enough for two machines; possibly three...easy to move my chair around from machine to machine.  In fact, the more I thought about it, I could also use it as a cutting table when needed and avoid hauling all my goodies up to the dining room table, or using the floor....I knew with some TLC, I could fix this baby up!  And how can you beat a $59.99 sticker price?  So, that meant $30.00!  Really???

ewww...yuck!

Man, I had no idea what I was in for....once I got this sucker into the garage and started looking closely at it....this was going to take some serious elbow grease.  It was disgusting actually.  It looked like the table hadn't been cleaned in years.  I believe I could identify peanut butter and Hershey's syrup and yes, there was also gum stuck underneath the table.  There were so many other stains and old food - it was Gross!

After approximately 90 minutes, Mr.Clean and I had finished and uncovered a table that I could definitely work with.   It had a nice butcher block top that needed to be sanded to remove the larger gouges and are those really fork marks?  I definitely need an ultra smooth table which can't snag any fabrics that I'm working with. The clean up and multiple hours of sanding took all of Day One--I was whooped.  That impromptu trip to the thrift store and subsequent project, was in between my other Saturday chores.

BEFORE

Day Two -- I knew I  wanted to give it some character like some of the other pieces that I've added to my sewing studio.   I had some ideas floating around in my head that involved Mod Podge, craft papers and paints, but once I got going other ideas just unfolded as the project evolved that called for buttons, ribbons and sparkles.  What a gas!  My husband would come out to check on me periodically and just shake his head.

AFTER

After the decorating was finished, the top was sanded a few more times, then I decided to use wood wax  versus any type of varnish or shellac for the finish (that was my husband's idea).  It added a natural luster,  without any residue.  You rub it in and buff with a clean cloth; my husband did this for me (thanks babe)...he added three coats. I am so pleased!  It's functional and fun and is everything I hoped for....

 
Now, in the weeks to come, it's another trip to ARC to drop off the sewing table that I've always disliked and see if I can find a chair that I can re-purpose and ditch the folding chair.  Can't wait!  (ssshhh...don't tell my husband)