Moving to Facebook

We are going to do most of our updating over on our Facebook page now. Here is the link:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Painted-Stitched/290746160953235

Day of the Dead

Eat. Sleep. Sew.

Hooray! I can now show the Treasuries I make here. Yay, technology!

October - Our Favorite Time of the Year!

We admit it. We are those crazy grown-ups who are still VERY into Halloween. My house is draped in black and bats and ravens and pumpkins. We have a Halloween tree. There is a vulture perched on my mantle. There are plans afoot for some elaborate costumes for my children. So, you can imagine, we've been working on lots of Halloween pillows. Here's a few pics of what we've got goin' on.

Seasonal Decorating with Etsy

Make sure you stop over to the uber-cool blog DecorGirl and check out the article on Seasonal Decorating with Etsy. Our spooky tree pillow was featured!

DecorGirl

So Busy

So business is starting to pick up. I have been getting more and more orders. I have about 10 pillows I'm working on now and 1 bag. And I still have about 40 fabric flowers to add to my Etsy shop. So, of course, I'm filling in at my old office this week. When it rains, it pours.

Here's a little of what I've been working on:

More Halloween Pillows

Custom Dog Pillows

Custom Order Pillow for a Fall Tree

More Fabric Flowers

Jessie Chaps

And, oh yeah, my littlest one turns 3 on Sunday. So I'm trying to bust out all the stuff needed for a Jessie the Cowgirl birthday party.

Feeling Halloweeny

Lots of good stuff left from the arts festival. This chilly weather has definitely got us in the mood for Halloween. We've got our raven pillows, spider pillows and spooky tree pillows going. Now mom is painting some really cool pumpkins. Thinking about offering them in the store. They will also feature ravens and spiders. What do you think?

Carnegie Arts & Heritage Festival here we come!

ALMOST ready for the festival. Just finishing up the last minute things like tagging and printing out signs and business cards. I'm very excited and nervous because this is my first art fair. Fingers crossed that it goes well and everything sells! I wish I had finished more things to bring. Here are some pics of what we will have available:

Prepping for the Carnegie Arts Festival

Not going to list anything on my store for a while. Think I might even put the store in vacation mode. I need to build up some inventory for the Carnegie Arts and Heritage Festival next weekend. Really excited. This will be my first one. We've been working really hard to get some fall-themed items together and to make some smaller things for the booth as well. Here is a sneak peak...

Productive Day

My mom took pity on my and took both girls "shopping" today so I could finish up the dandelion bag which I've been working on FOREVER. I finally got it done and listed.

And I finished up my first custom dog pillow too.

Now, I really have to get busy and prepare for the Carnegie Arts & Heritage Festival. I think I'm going to do more pillow than bags, because the bags take too long. I'm going to try some painted flower pillows and some basic dog pillows. I might also do some plain bags (without painting & embroidery). And I have to start thinking about how to display everything. I was thinking about a folding screen made out of shutters. It would look awesome, but not sure if I can actually pull it off in time. Two weeks? Yikes!

Name Changes

Changed our name here to more accurately reflect the kind of stuff we make. You'll still be able to find us under Bee + E Designs though. New name is Painted & Stitched by Bee + E Designs.

Lots of Works in Progress

Trying to get ready for an upcoming arts festival, so I have a lot of pieces that I'm working on simultaneously. Just going to post a few pics to pique your interest.

Long Time, No See

So, it has been almost a month since I posted. Yikes. At first, I didn't post because I was working on a gift for my SIL and I didn't want her to see it before her birthday. So easy to get out of the habit. I have been working on lots of stuff. I'm going to do an art festival in early September, so I've got to get a lot of pieces in inventory.

So here is the gift I made for my SIL. Embroidered dog portrait pillows. Man, that piping was crazy hard - but I think I have the hang of it now.

This is another pillow I am working on. I embroidered the owl and now I just have to sew it on to the back. It's going to have a pretty black and cream printed back. There is another pillow with a cat in the same style, but the owl is the cutest.

This dandelion is going to be a canvas tote bag. I did all the embroidery this afternoon. I have to find a really fun print to line the bag yet.

So other than all the sewing (and cooking and cleaning), I've also been taking two online classes for web design. And, we managed to squeeze in a little fun too. We took the girls to Kennywood on Tuesday. Fun was had all around. Mmmmm, corn dogs. And funnel cake. And potato patch fries. And square ice cream. Hmmm, I mainly ate and didn't ride too many rides. The older I get, the fewer rides I can go on without feeling sick. Even the merry-go-round makes me slightly nauseous.

Last weekend we took a sweet little weekend trip up to Tidioute. Some friends have a cabin and invited us for the weekend. Sooooo relaxing. Cooked out, floated on the river, campfire and s'mores. The usual summer stuff. But we don't typically do those things, so it was awesome.

Okay, I'm caught up. And I promise to keep up a little better from now on. ;)

My Dining Room is Blooming

I finally finished up the fabric flower brooches - 4 of them - and got them posted. This purple one is my favorite. Now I have flowers all over my dining room! These brooches, the bags, painted flowers waiting to be embroidered, and lots of fabric! My husband isn't too happy with the state of the dining room, but I hate to put everything away. I like to have it all out so I can get to work whenever I have a few minutes. You never know when the kids will decide to get totally occupied in Legos or something and you have to make good use of that time!

This morning they started the day by fighting over a muffin. I thought, "Oh, I am going to get nothing done today." Then later in the afternoon, it was too quiet. I snuck upstairs to peek in on them and they were curled up together on the loveseat watching a movie. So sweet. And that is how I got 4 flowers photographed and posted.

Time Flies!

I forgot to post a Treasury on Friday! I was so busy preparing for the oldest to come home from camp that I just forgot. I printed out a welcome home sign and colored it with the little one. Sent Tiny and Grandma to the dollar store for balloons. And cleaned house - making sure all the chores were done - so we could go see Harry Potter guilt-free.

Today, I remembered the Treasury. So here it is. Inspiration: Sunflowers.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTEyNzQyNzJ8NDYxMDQ3MzE5/sunflowers

Couldn't resist sharing this pic! Newborn 3m 6m Sunflower ... Flower Blossom Bonnet for Spring original design by Imagination Couture ... newborn baby photography prop (ImaginationCouture on Etsy $39)

Sneak Peak

Here's a sneak peak at what we're working on now. These are fabric flower brooches. They have a vintage brooches for their center. They look great pinned to a sweater or even a necklace. Look for them in the store soon!

And, I just finished up another bag to post in the store. My mom is still way ahead of me with painting, though. I can't keep up! She has two more flowers painted - a blue tropical flower and a dandelion - that I can't wait to embroider. The dandelion is going to rock.

This is a really quiet week at home right now. My oldest is at her first ever sleep-away camp. I haven't spoken to her since we dropped her off Sunday. She must be having a great time - no sobbing calls home. Not that I expected any. She is more social and outgoing than my husband and I put together. But I'm trying to make the best use of the time by getting stuff done for the store AND by thinning out the toys upstairs. I bet she won't even notice. Fingers crossed!

Friday Treasures

Trying to be more active on Etsy, so I thought I'd do a new Treasury every Friday. Here is today's treasury - Beautiful Words.

Beautiful Words Treasury

I finished another bag last night, but it is way too dark and rainy for photos today.

Conqueror of Procrastination!

Got this HUGE cutting mat and it is rocking my world. I am able to cut out the fabric for the bags SO much faster. Clearing off the table and putting this mat down was the kick in the pants I needed to finish the birdie bag and cut everything out for two more flower bags. I do not remember sewing life before I got a rotary cutter. How could I live without that thing? Although, I think my life should flash before my eyes every once in a while when using it. Nearly sliced off my thumb the other day. I'll blame that on the tiny cutting mat I was using before today. Tonight the open cutter managed to jump out of my hand and head straight for my foot – straight for the open part of my mary janes. Yikes! I thought I was going to have to wake up the hubby for a trip to the emergency room. Somehow, it managed to hit the shoe just right and spare my foot. Whew!

Here is a close-up of the new sunflower bag that I will be putting together tomorrow. Then, oh just wait, got some crazy purple canvas that we are using. Mom painted some awesome flowers on them. Can't wait to see how they look once I embroider in the details. Wow, lots of bags in the works. And I still need to do those flower brooches too. Never enough time!

New Fabric

I can't resist a huge sale. So we hit up Joann Fabric yesterday. All my favorite stuff was 50% off: printed canvas, remnants, thread, cutting supplies and interfacing. Okay, interfacing isn't really a favorite, but I need it, so 50% off was GREAT. Plus McCall patterns were only $1. Again, I couldn't resist. Like I need more patterns. Here's a pic of some of the great fabric I got.

 

I can't wait to see the hydrangeas made into a bag. The apples and pears fabric is going to be an apron for me. Something else I probably don't need, but I've been wanting to make myself one of the old fashioned aprons that has a bib front. I seem to spill above the waist most when I'm cooking. Probably a by-product of being so short.

Haven't done too much sewing this weekend. Family cookout today. Just relaxed and enjoyed it. Took a dip in the way-too-cold pool at my brother-in-law's house. Took lots of photos of the girls. Perfect weather for it today.

Hope everyone enjoys the long weekend!

Starting on More Bags

Mom started painting the next set of bags. This one will be a sunflower. She is going to do another poppy also.

I'm working on turning this birdie painting into a bag. Starting on the lining - fun blue and green leaves.

Think I will probably try to make some fabric flowers to list in the shop this week as well. But for now, I'm taking the kids to see Cars 2.

Woohoo!

Our first bag is finished! I just sewed the straps on and snapped the final pics. Going to post it for sale on Etsy next. (Pics taken in our backyard.)

Not a Productive Day

If I am sitting in the room with them, unoccupied, the girls will get along fine and play together nicely. The minute they sense that I have left the room, all Hell breaks loose. If I try to sneak away to the bathroom, I hear screaming. Stealthily make my way to the washer to put in a load, screaming. And if I try to touch the sewing machine? Forget it. It seemed like they couldn't spend five minutes together today without fighting, drama, screaming. I did snap this pic to prove that they *can* be nice to each other.

In any case, that means a not very productive day on the sewing front. I did manage to sew the lining of the bag and get the inside and outside attached to each other. Pretty good prototype, so far. A few things I will change for the next one. I didn't realize canvas would shrink so much once it was painted on. So I think we will paint first and then trim to size. Mom and I are trying to decide what other flowers to do. Think a sunflower might be next. I need to stop procrastinating and get to work. All I have left to do is add the handles and our first bag will be done! Here is another in progress pic for you.

Name Signs

Here is something else I've been doing with my time. I've done a few for friends, one for my oldest and one for one of her friends. The owl was supposed to be for my youngest, but after I started it, I thought it looked so cute without a name that I finished it that way. On the nights that my husband puts the girls to bed, I sneak down to the quiet of the living room. I stream a bunch of episodes of something funny and relax and sketch these out. Once they look good, I go back over them in archival ink. Last step is to add a little color with some colored pencil. Looks like I need to get a decent set of colored pencils with a better range of colors. Maybe I'll check that out this week. Mom and I are going shopping for the perfect fabric to line the Poppy Bag tomorrow. Can't wait to see it finished. Already have several people interested. Yay!

It's About Time

So, I finally decided to do it. Have a blog. Technically I already have a book review blog with my BFF, but I can't read as fast as she does, so it is very neglected (by me, that is). I got laid off this year and so I spend my days making all the stuff that was on my To Make list while I was working. I think all my Facebook friends were probably getting sick of seeing pics of all the Works in Progress, so here we are. Right now, my mom and I are trying something new. She paints on canvas, then I embroider on the painting, then sew it into a tote bag. Pretty fun for both of us. Here is our current Work In Progress. And yeah, trying we're trying to sell stuff to make up for me being unemployed. Check out our shop.