Tea Party Hostess

Who would not want to be the Hostess of a quaint little Tea Party wearing this apron?  This apron represents everything feminine and dainty.  As a mother of 4 very young boys I enjoy escaping to my craft room and creating one of a kind masterpieces that I can wear and enjoy.  Looking pretty in one of these creations gives me the renewed energy to carry though my busy days.  I love sharing my passion with others and this is one way I have chosen to follow in doing just that.  My typical preferred look usually involves softer earth element colors with that worn vintage look.  Although I do stretch myself to create aprons of completely different styles.     

In this Apron, perfect to host a Tea Party, everything has been repurposed.  The apron base was once a skirt found at a local thrift shop, the cream overlay is a combination of 2 table napkins sewn together with a few pin tucks.  These napkins journeyed across the country from eastern Canada to the western prairies and were gifted from my Mother.  The pink ties are constructed from leftover quilting cotton my mom had made a quilt 10 years ago (a quilt for me that is used each day).  Vintage buttons were an amazing find at an antique sale just recently.

As much as I love wearing an apron around the house I wish it were acceptable to wear one anywhere my days took me.  It shows the true inner spirit of how I feel and I believe if you feel good and inspired then others can sense it and then they suddenly feel good too.  

I had gathered a few items to start this design that sat on my craft table for nearly 2 months before I had a chance to sit and work.  I did not have a clear vision of what the final apron would be, only that I liked the colors.  Once I sat down the ideas started flowing and I had a very hard time stopping to go to bed.  I stitched to the wee hours of the morning which is not in the schedule of having 4 little boys under age 6 very early each morning!  However, the energy gained from this creation worked to my advantage in facing those smiling faces just a few hours after I laid down.

The name for this apron was the baby girl name I did not have the chance to use.  With all the testosterone in our house I need every bit of girl, frill, daintiness and Grace I can find.     

Thanks for visiting

Danine

Simple yet Sophisticated

This sleek and minimal white design personifies elegant sophistication to me.  It has been designed as a modern interpretation of a classical style, reminiscent of the 1920’s.  A white batten-burg lace duvet and pillowcase were repurposed to create this unique piece. 

I received a duvet and matching pillow case from a woman who felt that their intended purpose had expired.  I knew that I could use the items for some kind of apron but wasn’t exactly sure until I laid them out flat and assessed the potential.   With a coffee in hand, I contemplated the imperfections carried over from years of use.  Inspiration had struck and a vision developed which would feature the designs of elegant batten-burg lace.

With the apron now complete I can say that the only purchase I made were snaps.  I have had to convince myself of not being scared to wear a white apron.  It is an understanding that an apron is a protector; it was meant to be used, and stains are inevitable.  In the worst case scenario I have to remember that a white apron can be dyed a darker color ensuring longevity.    And then I also need  to stop and remember that stains hold the stories of our lives. 

Thanks for visiting,

Danine

Strawberry Inspired

In the last issue of Apronology I fell in love with the “Sew Strawberry” apron designed by Julie Thompson.  When I was out on a regular hunt for vintage pieces I came across this strawberry embroidered tablecloth.  There was no turning back once I saw it and I was immediately drawn back to the apron I had seen in the magazine.  The designing artist had stated in her article that she hoped her apron would inspire the apronologist in others.  Well, she did just that, I was inspired.  I have kept the vision of Julie’s apron in my head and followed the similar strawberry theme.  With some scavenging through my stash of fabrics I found the exact right red pieces for accompanying the tablecloth. Embellishments added the final details I felt were missing at the end.  Black seed beads were hand-stitched to the berry pocket and then I topstitched veins on the leaves.  I felt a great sense of accomplishment once all the texture with the fine details had been added.

All the seed beads were individually hand-stitched to the pocket.  The knots were purposely tied on the outside of the pocket to avoid catching fingers in any thread when using the pocket. 

Danine

A Homecooked Meal in a Rush

I love the idea of always having a homecooked meal to feed my family at night.  Even when there is a rush to be at activites and I do not have all day to prepare I am not one to cave and but frozen boxed chicken fingers on the table.  This is not to say that I have never served them that however!  

Last night I had planned on meatloaf but the day got away on me and there was not an hour and a half to wait for it to cook.  Improvise.  I dumped all the ingredients into my new Kitchen Aid mixer, including the grated cheese.  Gave it a mix and spooned portions into the greased muffin tin.  A squirt of ketchup on the top of each protion and into the oven.  The meatloaves were now kid sized portions and were ready in 35 minutes instead 90 minutes.  Huge savings of time and energy on the stove too!  The part that is the trade off comes when cleaning out the muffin tin afterwards.  My advice, don’t leave the tin to wash until the next day. 

Left over protions are perfect to freeze and then send for hot lunch at school.  So easy to pull from the freezer, warm, and dump in a thermos.


Danine

Everyone Has to Start Somewhere

With 4 boys aged 6, 4, 2, and 8 months, and then a husband, it is very hard to find time for the “girl things” to balance my day.  At our house anything to do with sewing, stamping, scrapbooking, or a plain old bubble bath comes long after all the cooking, cleaning, laundry, and activities have been successfully completed.  Me time happens in the wee hours of the morning if I want it.  Most of the time I opt to sleep instead.  

I am venturing to share the daily grind of how I chose to balance the testosterone with "girl things".  Everyone has to start somewhere and so I am sure my blog will build it's character as I go.  With time I will learn how to improve my posts and hopefully share some laughs with you as you follow.

For now here is a sneak peak of what I hold dear and at the top of my priority list.  As they are cared for, I am promising to spend a little more time on me, and it starts here with documenting it as a journal I can look back on.  You will get the inside look at the projects I take on to energize me and at the same time give me tranquility.  Look forward to seeing posts on my vintage aprons, scrapbook projects, rubber stamping creations, cooking, organizing, and goofy things my boys do!

Enjoy and thank you for visiting,

Danine

Advent Book Calendar

This has been a fabulous idea for the past 2 christmas’s at our house.  Originally passed on to me as an idea from a friend who read about it at www.ohdeedoh.com   I rounded up all the Christmas books we had on our bookcase and started wrapping.  I did not have enough books to fill all 24 days required but that is where the library comes in.  A quick trip and I had all I needed.  

I wrapped the books using a kids craft paper roll from Ikea.  A $5.00 roll will wrap alot of books.  There was plenty left over, enough for maybe 3 years of wrapping books.  I marked the outside of the packages with an “L” for Library to be sure I used those books at the beginning of the calendar.  This way I was not going to pay for late fines once we reached our 3 week borrowing period.  

The kids then helped to stamp all the days of December on the upper right corner with Riding Hood Red ink from Stampin’ Up!  it was a fun way to get the kids involved without it being overwhelming for me (the oldest of my 4 boys is 6).  This project truly took an hour from start to finish.  There was the trip to the library but that is a regular activity for the kids anyway.  

It made it real easy to decide which book was going to be read at bedtime and now the kids look forward to the tradition of opening one book each night before bed during the month of December.   

Danine