sometimes things don't go as planned

hey everyone! hope you all had a great weekend...mine to say the least was not exactly how i had planned it but sometimes things just happen that way and you just have to make the best.

needless to say i was not in the best of moods on friday and soo soo much on my mind and just feeling extremely anxious & nervous all day that when i got home friday to change into my big lebowski outfit i broke down and by the time i felt better it was too late to catch bart and go on the ride. this month i really took on so much, i worked both saturday & sunday on a trial job interview this weekend (which was one of the reasons i was so nervous) & what with sewing these bags & hats, leaving for NY this weekend, a craft fair on april 23rd , working my 9-5 job & trying to squeeze in some orders for owl earrings that 2 stores have been so patiently waiting for...that is a whole other frustration and story i will tell you later on in the week. i just was emotionally exhausted and a good cry helped.

 in order to make the best of the weekend and in honor of the dude we went bowling and made some white russians when we got home....which if you haven't had this drink it is one of the best drinks EVER! the dude knows where it is at...but that is like just my opinion...man....not in the mood to snap some pictures i did however smile for this one...in memory if his dudeness i wore my navajo sweater :D

the rest of the weekend like i mentioned before i worked in the city and then came home and finished one of the bags! and it turned out so cute and i am really happy with my sewing skills! the pattern is really simple but i had a lot of trouble sewing with the batting as i have never used it before so my oh so AMAZING mister went to the sewing store while i was working on saturday and picked up this even feed foot which saved my life and the bag! i couldn't have finished it without this little guy. anyone who quilts knows this little guy is a must!

now onto the next bag! oh and thanks for letting me vent too :)

xo,
cb

sewing till my brains pop!

i mean that in the best way possible though! happy thursday ya'll! so yes i will be sewing till my brains pop as i am helping a fabric designer, monaluna make some samples of her recent fabric collection for a fair she will be attending in early may! i am so happy to help because i get to sew and get a little cash too :D  here are the patterns she gave me. aren't they so cute!

here is what i am going to make for her. 3 bags & 3 baby hats. i will take pictures when i am finished with them. the bag pattern is super easy and it looks like fun to make too which is always nice...making a pattern that is fun. some times when the pattern is too insane it kinda sucks the joy out of the making process but when it is over you feel that more accomplished! i am adding more to my load but i think i can handle it....just means less citybirds but i will however squeeze in some time to finish some cute pendants i am making out of my animals with clothing illustrations.  i will show you soon my dears!!

the east bay bike party is tomorrow! i can't wait to show you our big lebowski outfits :D hope you all have a great weekend filled with nothing but happiness!

xo,
cb

little pick me up

hey everyone! hope you all had a great weekend :) ours was pretty mellow but surprisingly really nice. there was lots of cuddling on the couch, watching movies, playing the wii, having yummy food, & embroidering. we needed to get out of the house so we went to one of our favorite thrift store for a few pick me ups!! here are some of the treasures we scored!!

another owl to add to my owl room :D i love his eyes and how simple his design is!

 i always LOVE scoring embroidering pieces and this one is no exception. i don't have a little birdie embroidery yet so it was nice to add this little gem to my collection. we added it to the wall in our reading lair...

....and you can all see our moose head who is sporting an a's scarf and hat and what we like to all "the patriots" sunglasses...isn't he marvelous!?!?

scoring vintage fabrics is like finding gold to me. it brings me such joy to find awesome florals or stripes...this one feels like a nice thin wool and i think i will make some skirts and then some bows :D oh i can't wait! one thing i have over looked while at the thrift store was their sewing supplies and i am SOOOO happy i found this really awesome baggy full of sewing needles and machine needles too! i am always worried that my needle will break in the middle of a project and then be stuck without one...when i got home i checked my sewing manual and all the needles i scored fit! YAYAYAY!!!

 ever since we got gilbert the mister has been on a mission to find a beret for me to wear while riding gilbert and he found the perfect one! and as you can see i got a little bored so i had some fun with my pictures :D


what were you up to this weekend?

xo,
cb

bow belt diy!

man i wish it were friday or better yet saturday!! hope everyone is having a great week so far, one more day to go :D

so today i wanted to share with you another present that i made for my mom and my sister in law (i have two beautiful sister in laws! lucky me!!) both are super cute and girlie so i thought making them something with a bow would be perfect so i opted to make something useful as a belt and let me tell it is SUPER easy and really fun to make! i liked the outcome so much i had to make myself one too!

another reason this is a really awesome diy is because again you don't need much fabric.  i used black fabric as it goes with everything and i think black bows are just so classy!

what you need:
1) 12" x 4.5" rectangle for the bow
1) 3" x 3" square for the knot
1) 1 1/8" wide elastic - measure your waist and then subtract 4" and that is the length you need for the elastic
2) hooks
4) eyes

after you have cut out your fabric fold the bow in half length ways so that the right sides of the fabric are facing each other. sew along the unfolded edge and trim the selvage if need be. then turn it inside out so that the right rides of the fabric are facing out.

then fold the ends of the bow into the center of the rectangle and sew (see above).

for the knot do the same step as the bow but once you turn the piece inside out sew the ends separately so that you have a finished rectangle.

then take your bow and hand stitch about two stitches throw the middle and leave a little thread. pull the thread tight so that the bow begins to bunch and then tie a knot.

take you knot piece and wrap it around the center of the bow and hand stitch making sure to catch some of the bow so that the bow and knot and secured together.

next take you elastic and hand stitch the hooks on the back side of the elastic near the end. then take your corresponding eyes and on the other side of the elastic stitch. this is where i played with the placement of the eyes to be sure it fit correctly and i liked how it fit. i used two sets of eyes just in case you need that extra room post lunch ;D

then hand sew the bow onto the end where the hooks are...opposite side of course :)

my beautiful co-worker and friend too this picture while we were "working"

and now we have a fantastic little bow belt! so easy and fun! i would LOVE to see pictures of your bow belts once they are finished!!

i hope you all have a fantastic weekend!! i get my tattoo on satuday! YAHOOOO! i just can't wait! and then sunday i have a bike ride planned with the oh so lovely tina from city girl rides! can't wait to see you girl!

xo,
cb

a scarf diy!

i wanted to share with you all one of the presents that i made this year and the first one is an infinity scarf! last year my cousin gave me this really awesome scarf from free people that was half knitted and then other half a soft flannel. it is one of my favorite scarfs so i decided to make one for her and two others. this is a great and easy project if you have left over yarn or fabric as you really don't need that much just enough to make sure you can wrap it around your neck... also you can make it any width so you could even make it a hoodie infinity scarf too which would be really awesome!

first off i crocheted as much yarn as i had left. if you don't have enough of one color use tow or three! i did most of it while on bart which was a fun way to pass the time :p

always make sure to wash your fabric before you use it just in case it might shrink plus it softens it up a bit. i found this cute little cotton fabric at the thrift store...lately i have been finding a lot of fabric there which is always pretty awesome and super cheap!

once done with the crocheted part i measured a rectangle of about 32"l x 17"w *** this will all depend on how long you want the scarf and also how wide your finished crocheted piece is; mine was 8" wide and about 22" long.

fold the fabric in half with the right side of the fabric facing each other and sew about a half inch salvage the length of the fabric  i like to trim my salvage and then iron them flat so that the seam lays nice and pretty :)

take your fabric and turn it inside out so that the right side of the fabric is now facing out... fold the ends of the fabric inwards about half an inch, pin so that the fabric stays. then insert on either end, half an inch of your crocheted piece and then re-pin..... and then top stitch both fabrics..........and.........

you've got yourself a cute little funky infinity scarf! i think the ones i made are a little more appropriate for spring or fall since they are a little more lightweight but if you use a flannel wit would be a bit more cozy for the winter. if any one makes one i would love to see it or any changes you made to it!

i have another diy for ya next week of another present i made, can't wait to show you!


as i mentioned in my last post the blog is getting a *little sprucing up* so don't mind the periodic changes through this month :D i am having so much fun with it!

xo,
cb

a tandem is more fun when in love

over my staycation the mister and i took the tandem for some rides through the park and each time getting better. our plan was to ride over to the farmers market but that fell through since it was new years day and they weren't having it so instead we took it around the neighborhood and had so much fun! it is actually so much better to take it on the road and ride a bit faster rather then ride slowly through the park and take awkward tight turns.

it is really hard to take pictures of us riding but during our ride the following day we found the perfect spot! i think we look so cute riding it!

since gilbert is french and there is a tweed ride coming up in the spring we have decided that we would go dressed up french style with a baguette and a bottle of wine....cheesy and totally stereotypical but the mister and i had a good laugh. i can't wait for warmer weather so we can ride gilbert to the swimming hole and go on some longer rides together!

the mister was oh so nice and bought me a brooks lady saddle too!!!!!!!!! he found it SUPER cheap on craigslist! the seat that was on it before was so hard that after 30min. of riding around my poor little bum hurt, i couldn't imagine going any longer with that horrible seat on it! now we have two beautiful tan colored brooks saddles...gilbert is oh so pretty!


this weekend we will be taking gilbert to the farmers market and load up on some yummy food and then off to the most amazing fabric store in berkely, called stonemountain and daughter fine fabrics which i could stay in for hours! sometimes i get carried away and buy way too much fabric but hey i know i'll use it so it doesn't bother me!


***oh and by the way...i will be sprucing up the blog...i am really liking the direction it is going! any thoughts would be greatly appreciated****

xo,
cb

and finally...

finally i am done with my very first dress and i am extremely happy with it. i really love this 60's print, it totally makes the dress for me! i am not so crazy about the dress style it is just a very simple shift dress and i definitely need a belt for it but for my first dress i think a did a pretty good job. my sewing skills will only get better from here...i hope :D

the dress pattern is # McCall's #8720 and the original pattern calls for an invisible zipper and i did it the invisible zipper for my mock up dress abut for this one i wanted to try an exposed zipper. i like that it adds a more modern feel to the dress. 

next i am doing a skirt that i downloaded for free from www.burdastyle.com if you haven't heard of this website it is really great! people post their projects as well as any alterations they tweaked on the original pattern, super helpful! well i am off to bbq with the mister and tomorrow is sewing sunday, yay!! enjoy the rest of your weekend!!

xo,
cb

chair make over

i work in a textile showroom in the city and i have been waiting for this particular fabric to be discontinued for TWO years! it is a hand embroidered wool crewel.  final that day came. i snatched the fabric off of our display and knew exactly what i wanted to do with it. we had bought a chair at the thrift store and the fabric that was on it had a hole it.

this type of chair is easy to reupholster. first you just unscrew the seat from the chair frame. then center the pattern on the seat and cut the shape of the seat out remembering to cut extra so that you can fold the fabric on the underside of the seat. then start stapling the fabric just like you would stretch a canvas.

then cut away any remaining fabric that may be covering up the screw holes and you have yourself a brand new chair! easy peasy lemon squeezy!

xo,
cb