Jessica Flores Design

Little Seamstress

Mommy has been sewing a lot, so Nora has come up with a way to create her own "projects." First, choose some scraps from Mom's bins, next position them on the couch or a pillow, and finally, "punctuate" with plenty of straight pins (I know, don't give me any flack about how potentially dangerous this could be. It keeps her busy for several minutes at a time) voila!

One for the Pot

This afternoon I have a pot of potatoes on the stove and a pot of feedsack on the table. What an unusual site! Have I ever shared my secret for brightening antique linens? It's not really a secret. It's a bath in OxyClean. It does wonders! The bathing beauties in the pot are the fabric selections for my next organizer. Check my Etsy store for the latest version in Kelly Green and Brown. I'm off to the kitchen!

New Organizers

I finished my own organizer a couple of weeks ago, and the clutter is so much better around here. Dan is even on board--using the charging station and stowing his sunglasses. The picture below is #3. I'm trying to get it uploaded to Etsy today, but my camera is low on batteries. I've started number 4 already--a bright palette of primaries in tablecloth and feedsack materials.

Ice

The temperature on the thermometer today hasn't risen much above -.08, so Nora and I have stayed inside yet another day. I've spent some time uploading new pictures and items to my Etsy site this week, including the wall organizer posted earlier. I'm also working on a few fabric designs inspired by Nora's new favorite movie: My Neighbor, Totoro. Keeps my hands busy and my creativity flowing while I watch it over and over day after frigid day! I'll post pictures after I scan and colorize the designs. For now, I'll leave you only with the ice upon my window.

Spoonflower

I am so excited about this new fabric design web service called Spoonflower! You just upload your designs, they print them on fabric, and send it to your door. The crafting revolution gains momentum here, people. Watch out! The design above is the first I've uploaded. Anyone got a name for it?

Please remember, this is my copyrighted original design and is not intended for reproduction in any way.

Getting Organized

I've been spending the last week or so packing up all of the Christmas decorations, arranging new little winter vignettes around the house, cleaning, sorting, tossing, and cleaning some more. This time each year I lug home several more huge rubbermaid containers and try to corral all of the new Christmas gifts and old junk into something that resembles order. It's amazing how the house can look brand new once all of the holiday clutter is zapped away into storage!

My biggest clutter problem around the house is paper: receipts, junk mail, lists, coupons, Nora's art, etc. etc. I cannot keep it off the kitchen table! I've looked everywhere for an attractive mail station that doesn't weigh 75 lbs., and I haven't been able to find one, SO, of course I created my own . . . . Voila! This was just a test run, though. It will be for sale on etsy soon, because it doesn't quite coordinate with my decor. The top two pockets fit a #10 envelope and a small stash of pencils or maybe a zip drive. Pocket number two holds file folders.

The bottom three pockets were designed to hold electronics or a small 3x5 notepad. Inside each is a little buttonhole where you can thread your cell phone or ipod charger cable. Nifty!

You've gotta love that jumbo rickrack! I found it at my favorite fabric shop in Nashville, TN. The fabrics are mostly vintage or other scraps I've acquired. THe lovely pink and brown floral in the middle is Amy Butler, though. I got that piece free as a promotional giveaway at a fabric store a few years ago. Bingo!

Isn't order wonderful!?

Holiday Recovery

Now that Christmas is over, I can share a couple of the projects I made for family members. I'm kicking myself for not getting a shot of the hand-worked appliqued dish towel for grandma and the little zip pouch and posie pin for my sister, but here is the circular needle holder I made for mother dear: Inside: The case drapes over a hanger and holds those pesky loopy knitting needles in a tidy, fashionable way. I'm just having a ball with that stack of Amy Butler squares! I also whipped up a blanket for my hubby who is never able to find a big enough, warm enough wrap around the house. I will never make another! They look simple enough, but I wrestled with that thing for hours--getting all of the layers lined up and cut just so as the electric went blinkity blink all day long in our pre-Christmas ice storm. I'm still working on tying it all off, but it's very warm and cozy!