coming soon!

a little tutorial on revamping a lampshade.

may or may not turn out quite like i was expecting.

just sayin'.

i'm not perfect.
come back to check it out anyway!

-linds

shop closed!

but just for tonight (don't freak out!)

i have a boutique and then i'll reopen late tonight or tomorrow a.m.

wish me luck!

-linds

me, me, me!

since i missed my blog's 3rd birthday last saturday (oops!), 

i thought i reschedule and do a really fun week packed full of posts.

sound good?

so, i need your help.

i'm going to answer any questions you have for me!

comment or email me with any question you have.

it could be about sewing, selling, mom-ing, cooking (ha!), cleaning (ha ha ha!), 

my house, projects, hopes, dreams... whateva!

so bring it on.

the more the better.

to be answered next week.

the week of fun.

woohoo!

-lindsey

revelation and rambling

we took a mini break and headed over to my brother and sister-in-law's house at the end of last week.

these are pics from the drive.

the kids and i were literally shouting and gasping at the awesomeness of the hills!

we were kind of geeking out on them, but seriously, i have never seen anything so beautiful.

it was God revealing Himself to us in such a beautiful way!

the hills looked like they were on fire with all the poppies!

the drive took extra long since i kept stopping to take pictures.

the kids were shouting, "it's gogeous!" (<- not a typo) and "you have to take more pictures!".

it made the drive that is usually boring really fun.

love that!

so i have a crazy busy start of the week.

i have a boutique on tuesday night that i'm prepping for, that's why i've been slightly m.i.a. lately.

right now i am working on more aprons (screwed up on a few last night and totally slowed my momentum - ugh!).

i made THE CUTEST ruffled checkbook covers you've ever seen!

if i have any left they'll be listed in the shop on wednesday.

they coordinate with the covered notebooks and zippered pouches - so fun!

so if you're local and want to come to a boutique in arroyo grande, send me an email (thepleatedpoppy@gmail.com) and i'll give you directions! 

its on tuesday night from 6 until 9 in a sweet new home with an urban barn feel to it.

come and do some mother's day shopping!

my blog celebrated her 3rd birthday on saturday.
i totally forgot to plan a party!
so i'm aiming to do something fun fun next week.
be prepared!

ok, must go for now!

the sweat shop is beckoning me back...

-linds

cutie patootie

 how cute is little lucy in a posy headband?!

these headbands are super stretchy and still even fit my 6 year old!

great for gifting at baby showers or birthday parties!

-lindsey

guest blogger nicole: "her easter skirt"

{nicole is my bf and is kind enough to swing by every once in awhile to leave behind some creative inspiration. enjoy her, as i do.  and no, she does not have her own blog.} 

her favorite dress was stained..

but she did need a skirt for easter...

so, we chopped it up and pulled out a few old patterns...

and created this little sumpin' sumpin'...

the boys will be wearing purchased shirts from old navy-thank you very much. easter morning clothes...check-check-check-check!

:)nicole

happy happy joy joy!

*sigh*

fabric makes me sooo happy! 

it's silly, i know,

but look how pretty it is?!

i just got this stack in the mail last week from hawthorne threads.

have you been to their shop yet?

i used to be all about searching all over the internet and local stores to find the best deals on the exact fabrics i wanted.

now it is all so much easier - 

i just go to hawthorne.

months ago jeannett pointed me in their direction, and i am forever grateful (thank you jeannett!).

not only is their selection HUGE,

but their prices are ridiculous.

i don't love giving away my trade secrets, but this one is too good not to share.

i can get a yard of fabric at hawthorne FOUR DOLLARS less than my local shop.

i love to support local, but when i can get something at a 33% discount online, i'm going there.

they have tiered pricing that you have to check out.

not only do you get a discount for ordering multiple yards of fabric in 1 order, but you also get discounts for your previous orders!

with nearly every order, my prices keep going down!

one of may main reasons i like to shop locally is to see the fabric in person, to touch and feel the quality, but more importantly to see the colors and patterns in real life.

my experience with hawthorne threads is that their pictures very accurately depict the actual colors of the products, which is not the case across the line with other dealers.
they actually have a really cool feature where you can choose from a color grid the colors of fabric you're looking for and the site will pull up all the fabric with that color in it - so helpful!

so i thought i'd give you a little taste of what makes my skirt fly up, besides just buying fabric - 

playing with fabric!

i love to get a new batch of fabric and start pairing it with pieces from my stash, mixing pieces that weren't made to go together, and finding fun combo's.

i put together a few trios of combos i made just from this one stash.

the possibilities are endless!

and if you're interested in winning some free fabric from hawthorne, they are constantly having giveaways.

all you have to do is sign up for their newsletter, which you want to do anyway - 

it gives sneak peaks in to what's new, on sale, and on its way.

that huge stack is waiting so patiently for me to finish my current w.i.p.'s 

and then i am going to hack into it!

can't wait!

oh, i almost forgot...

i put a few more of these in the shop this afternoon!

coordinating zippered pouches and checkbook covers are on the production line (aka my sewing desk).

-lindsey

purse revamp

if you saw me at blissdom, you saw this bag.

i carried it everywhere with me to hold all my loot.

i bought the bag plain from target for about 12 bucks.

love a good deal!

buuut, it needed a bit more.

a little more color.

a little more oomph.

are you with me?

so i grabbed a stack of fabric and played around with it until i found the perfect combo of colors and patterns.

i cut 2 strips of fabric in varying widths, and at least twice the height of my bag, 

and finished their edges with a zigzag stitch.

then i set my machine on its loosest tension and largest stitch length and ran a stitch down the center of the 2 strips of fabric, the narrower strip on top of the wider strip.

next i pulled the basting stitch until my fabric was ruffled to just a little longer than the height of my bag.

then i ran the ruffled fabric back through the machine, tension set to normal and stitch length normal, 

creating 2 stitches near each edge of the top ruffle.

then it was time to add it to the bag, 

but i knew i didn't want the hassle of sewing it on.

so i got out my best friend, the glue gun.

i turned under the bottom edge of the ruffle, 

glued it down and just kept gluing and pressing the ruffle until i got near the top. 

the top edge is angled a bit since it was near the handle, 

so i just tucked the top edge of the ruffle under at an angle and glued it down.

easy peasy.

the i whipped up a few monster sized posies and glued them on. 

i totally could've made them removable by adding pins backs to them,

but i was lazy and already had the glue out.

i am *thrilled* with how this quick little revamp went.

you could totally do it, too.

just make yourself a ruffle, slap it on an old bag with glue, 

pin on a pile of posies or petal pushers, and you're good to go!

or you could hop on over to my shop and grab one for yourself!

-linds

don't freak out

because i'm doing enough of that for all of us.

yes, all the pretties of my blog are GONE.

off into blog heaven, apparently.

not sure how that happened or which button was the wrong button to push, but this is where i'm at.

breathe.

i'm freaking out.

so, no, you're not at the wrong blog.

its still me and my piles of fabric.

i'm just asking for your patience while i figure this out.

things may look a little funky here for awhile, but i'll keep posting, so you keep coming back.

okay?

-lindsey

**update - i got some of the pretties back, but lost all the lovely scallops.  so bummed.**

petal pushers 101

what is a petal pusher?

 a petal pusher is my more sophisticated version of the posy pin.

the posies are a funky mix of designer fabrics, where the petal pushers are made of a single fabric with more ruffles and folds.

like the posies, they are backed with a silver bar pin.

how do you wear a petal pusher?

like the posies, you can be so creative with them!

they can be worn traditionally, pinned alone to your top.

or mix them up a bit, like edie, with other flowers.

pinned to a hat looks very cute!

i love adding a couple to a simple scarf.  ahem, nester, where are yours?!

or get totally crazy, like dedra, and pile on the posies and petal pushers together for a very dramatic effect (this is one of my favorites!)

no pic for this one, but you can also pin one to a pony tail holder at the base of a pony - super cute!

my mom has a couple pinned to her purse:

so how will you wear yours?

-lindsey

ps - ugh!  after fiddling for almost 2 hours (!!!) on these pics, blogger is making me mad!  i am about ready to say goodbye to blogger...

news to you

thank you to those of you who have given me some fun awards lately!

i'm terrible about posting them and passing them on to others, so i thought i'd take a stab at it today.

most of the award rules ask you to tell some things that most of us don't know about you.  so here goes!

1 - if the lights are off when i'm getting into bed, i hate hate hate standing next to the bed.  too many scary movies when i was little make me picture a bony hand reaching out from under the bed to grab my ankles!  silly, i know.  but still, i jump into bed, just in case.

2 - my feet are different sizes.  one is almost a half size larger than the other.  the shoe guy at nordstrom's was wonderful enough to give me 2 different sized shoes for my wedding, but other than that, one foot is always a bit more squished than the other.  i'm seeing a trend here... i seem to be uncomfortable a lot.  hmm.  or maybe i just complain a lot.

3 - i used to have my belly button pierced.  i got it done a couple months before we got married and i surprised sean with it!  after getting pregnant, it hasn't been back in.  never will be.

4 - i want a tattoo.  but i'll probably never get one.  for the last 10+ years, i have wanted the same thing: a smallish star, turquoise with a red border, on my lower back.  i know everyone gets a tattoo there, but i figured if i really hated it, i'd hardly ever have to see it.  and it would be hidden most of the time.

5 - my husband says i have a one (temperature) degree range of comfort.  it's kinda true.  i am almost always uncomfortable, usually too cold, sometimes too hot, rarely "just right".  maybe i have poor circulation?  i can be standing in a hot shower and my skin will still feel cold to the touch.  i'm a freak.

6 - i love giving birth.  love love love it.  i'd do it over and over and over again.  but i despise being pregnant.  not that my pregnancies were really all that terrible, but i never felt good.  maybe its because i was a whale - gaining 60 -65 lbs each pregnancy.

7 - i didn't pass my driver's test the first time.  or the second time.  but i swear it wasn't my fault!

8 - i wear my hair in pigtails almost every day.  probably not appropriate for a 31 year old, but my hair is in a bit of a funky stage, and its just so easy.  i also wear a hat at least 3 days a week.  i'm lazy when it comes to my hair.  i think its time to break my nearly 2 year streak and get my hair cut professionally again.  i may have to do a fundraiser for it ;)

9 - i don't drink coffee.  i think it tastes like dirt.  but i have recently started drinking lattes, and they are pretty yum.  i do like coffee flavored things, though.  i know, weird.  i also don't like the taste of alcohol, so i don't drink that much either.  i usually will order something fruity-tooty and ask for light alcohol.  if i feel like paying $8 for a smoothie.

10 - i've never broken a bone.   the closest i came was when i was 6 and my middle finger was shut in the hinge of a door.  the tip of my finger was hanging by a thread of skin and the bone was poking out (how's that for a visual?!), but it didn't break.  now i have a slightly bent finger with a funky nail.  good times.

ok, so now you all know my deepest, darkest secrets.

don't hold them against me ;)

your turn - what's something most people don't know about you?

-lindsey

winner winner!

congratulations to...........

Catherine

 

you won adie camp's new cd,  just you and me!!!

email me at thepleatedpoppy@gmail.com with your addy and i'll get it off in the mail to you!

-lindsey

rearranging

my brother and his wife gave us a white slip covered couch when they moved to maui in january.
sooo nice, right?!
but what to do with it?
this poor couch has been moved around my house at least 7 times in the last couple months!
when we first got it we still had the christmas tree up, so we put it in the playroom.
i have always wanted a couch in there, or at least somewhere to sit, other than the floor or itty bitty metal folding chairs.

i *love* having a couch in there.
but maybe not this couch.
its just a bit too big.
a love seat would really be perfect in there.
so then i moved it out into the living room.
where it moved.
around and around and around.
it never felt right.

so now, its back in the playroom.
and that's where it'll stay.
for another week or 2.
'til i get bored again.

but for me, the best part about rearranging furniture is that i see my own stuff in a new light.
i appreciate what i have all over again, and try new things with it.
i realized how crazy i am about turquoise, red and gold-ish yellow all together in there.
it feels like an updated version of the primary colors.

i cleaned, organized and feel totally refreshed.
all because of moving a piece of furniture.

but don't look at my counters - i can't do it all!

-lindsey

ps - speaking of rearranging, have you checked out life. rearranged yet? my friend jeannett has a brilliant idea of using her blog for the better of others - go check her out, and while you're there, enter her latest giveaway for some stinkin' a.dorable knit hats!