New Fabrics have arrived!!

And are they ever gorgeous!! I had a very pleasant surprise yesterday morning when UPS knocked on my door and delivered two GIANT boxes full of beautiful new Durham Fabrics... fresh from Japan!! The fabrics were not actually supposed to arrive for a few weeks yet, so you can imagine my joy when I opened the boxes.
I love Durham fabrics... they are softly colored, laden with roses and are simple GORGEOUS!! I could hardly wait to get them photographed so I could share with everyone! Needless to say, all else I had planned for Friday was put on hold and my fabric took center stage!
I'm slowly but surely getting them uploaded to my stores onetsy and ebay. I thought I'd post a few quick sneak peaks of the lovely new line!
Enjoy your weekend!!
Linda

New Fabrics On the Way!!

I thought I'd share a sneak peak of a few of the beautiful fabrics that are coming soon to my store!
Durham Anew is coming from Japan and should be available for purchase mid June 2010. The new line I think is simply gorgeous! Also coming is the new Mary Rose line called "Marianne", also being introduced this summer/fall is Mary Rose Premiere "Garden". These lovely prints are printed on jacquard fabric and are simply stunning! The french style toile from the Mary Rose Paris collection will also be back in production due to the overwhelming popularity of that print. So, for those that have been asking about that print, it will be here soon! :)
I also have a lot of new patterns that I will be listing in the next week or so. So many new things are coming in and I'm so excited about them all! Every time the Fed Ex or UPS comes to the door I'm tellin' ya... it feels like Christmas!! I feel very blessed to be able to do what I do. I've met some of the nicest ladies from all around the world! Sewers/quilters are just some of the NICEST people!!! :) Thank you to you all!!

Happy Monday

I just learned how to make these nifty collages, so I thought I'd share a few photos I took the other day as I wandered through my garden. We had very strong winds, heavy rain and even hail just a couple of days ago. My roses and iris were not too happy about the hail, and you can see the effects of the storm still on some of the blooms. Beautiful sun today however, so I shall enjoy my beautiful Monday! Hope you are enjoying yours as well!

Beautiful Boy...

The other morning we were busy getting ready to go out for the day. My two youngest sat by our vanity and watched as I fixed my hair. When I was finished, my little boys asked if they could fix their own hair. Of course, I said, "sure!" And I left them to gather shoes and socks and to begin preparing their breakfast. After about 10 minutes, my littlest who is 2 came running into the kitchen. In an excited little voice he yelled, "Mommy, I done!!" ~~~Wowzers! ~~~
He has beautiful hair with lots of natural curls and body. I'm still amazed how he managed to achieve this new "look" without any hair products... He certainly was pleased with himself. In between giggles, I heartily praised his efforts.
Little squirt! ;). May your day be blessed with sweet surprises!

New Durham Fabrics!!

I was so very happy to secure the last of the last of the Durham line of fabrics!! For those who may not have heard, the Durham fabric line is being completely retired, and in a few weeks a brand new Durham line will be announced. The president of Lecien assures me that it is a gorgeous new look, the prettiest ever... I am eager to see it!! But I do still love the softness, the romance of the old line, so I am a bit saddened to see it go. I am listing the last of the last of this line of fabrics in my stores on etsy and ebay. Blessing to you this day which the Lord has made!
-Linda

First things first....

This is the before and after of my bathroom cabinet. Our house is only about 8 years old. It was built as a spec house. Although it's nice, it has a nice layout, the builder went as cheap as possible with everything! No upgrades in this house!! The cabinets are no exception. Although they look like wood, the doors are actually thick and hollow and are an imitation wood substance. I mentioned my boys' love of water and the fact that they seem to get water EVERYWHERE!! They were water stained and just looked bad. So I decided they needed a fresh coat of creamy white paint! First step was to wash them thoroughly with TSP to remove any dirt and grease. Then I primed them. It took about two coats of primer to cover the dark wood and to help fill in the deep grain of the faux wood. After that, it was two coats of creamy white paint by BEHR. I used a semi gloss paint, due to the fact that this is my boys' bathroom and the cabinets will take some abuse :). (As does the mirror!! I had no idea when I took this photo that the mirror was as dirty as it appears in the photo!! Golly, it looks like I've never cleaned it!! But if you look close, you can just make out the "J O..." Hmm... that would be my kindergartener practicing his letters on the bathroom mirror!) All in all, I was pleased with the finished results. Having the cabinets a light color really made the small space seem larger and brighter. This was the most time consuming part of the whole bathroom project. Total cost was $0! I had the TSP from a previous project, and the paint also was from a previous project. Don't you just love when projects work out that way??!! Blessing to you on this gorgeous daylight savings weekend!!

Bathroom Makeover

I've been busy the past week giving my boys' bathroom a much needed makeover. Actually this project was a result of more of a necessity than a whim. My little boys take a lot of baths!! And of course, as with everything, they are rough and tumble and more water ends up out of the tub than in the tub. Well, as hard as I try to mop it up, I was noticing that the drywall was starting to look funny in the corners by the tub, and I noticed the starts of mold under the baseboards. Uh oh!! This was a problem! Unfortunately the builder for whatever reason didn't use the moisture resistant drywall, sometimes referred to as "greenboard", anywhere in the bathroom! Nor was the drywall properly caulked and sealed to prevent water from getting back behind the drywall to the wall boards. The thought of gutting the entire bathroom was daunting, not to mention a bit beyond the small budget we had set. In the end we decided to just replace the lower walls with greenboard. Our walls all have a sprayed texture and rather than deal with the hassle of trying to match the texture, we decided to install beadboard wainscot over the new greenboard. I think it actually turned out pretty cute! And the best part... it was a super easy project and was fairly inexpensive! :) .