Easter projects you can make

Some last-minute crafts to whip up for Easter:
Baby bunnies pattern download from Larissa Holland's Etsy shop (above)
Origami bunnies from Canon
Easter clip art projects at Martha Stewart
Printable Easter card from Benign Objects
Rabbit embroidery pattern by Helen Dardick
Fabric eggs at Retro Mama
Printable Easter stickers and cards from Living Locurto

Fabric bowls

I have a bit of a bowl fixation lately (at least making paper ones like this and this), so when I came across this reversible fabric model at Imagine Fabric, I was delighted. ('Course it doesn't hurt that it's orange, either.) Make your own with their instructions.

More tutorials for when you're itching to create something handmade:
Picture frame silkscreening (with free templates!) at Martha Stewart, pictured left

cushions, bags, upholstery fabrics

Sprig, Peapod, and Leaflet are printed on 54" wide 7 oz. canvas, perfect for home dec projects like cushions, bags, upholstery, shower curtains, you name it. Herb is printed on a 54" wide mid-weight cotton sheeting, good for linings and projects where you'd like a lighter weight fabric.

How did this collaboration with J. Caroline Designs come about, you ask? Caroline stumbled upon my blog, decided to take a crazy chance, and hired a girl who had never designed fabric before. In other words, we met online and it was a match made in heaven. Countless hysterically funny emails and one face-to-face meeting took place over the course of several months, and here's the result.

Modern Flora Fabrics

The fabric I designed will be shown at a textile trade show in L.A. next week, thanks to some fancy footwork by Caroline of jcaroline creative. With one week to prepare, she managed to slipcover a sofa and do up pillows, a crib set, a lamp, dining chairs, a tablecloth, napkins, totes, and cosmetic bags. Yeah. Just a few things, right? She employs some wonderful ladies who helped pull this off at the speed of light, all culminating in an emergency photo shoot by Brooke Schwab Photography. Brooke took some gorgeous pictures for the booth—you can see more on her blog right here. I'm embarrassed to admit that meanwhile, all I did was stay in Chicago and send pesky emails. Caroline and Brooke, you are both amazing. I'm so lucky to know you.

Designing fabric

I've gotten several emails lately asking if I could talk about how I got into designing fabric. It's not a very complicated story... I was working as a graphic designer (still am) and blogging on the side for fun (still am), when Caroline of jcaroline creative sent me an email. I knew of her online shop, but didn't know her at all. Essentially she said, "I like your blog. Want to design some fabric for me?" Essentially I said, "Sure." Without having a clue how to do it.

I have a degree in Design Communication (FYI for people who have asked) and have been using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop for years, so I imagined it couldn't be that hard. Other people do it, right?

More Ribbon s

J Caroline Creative hired me to design some novelty ribbons for her store. I have to admit my first reaction was: "Uh, okay, but ribbons are stupid and useless." I had visions of teddy bears and ruffles and Precious Moments. But I took a stab at it and tried to think of things that would be cute and funny. Guess what. It was really fun. Here's the result. I still don't know what they're good for, so if you have an idea, please tell me. I'll put the link where you can buy them under each photo.

Unique Fabrics

I'm excited to give you a sneak peek of my new fabric. Look what appeared in my mailbox while I was out of town: table strike-offs from the mill! (That's a fancy term for proofs so you can make sure the screens look good before printing thousands of yards.) You can expect this stuff to be available by the end of September over at JCaroline Creative. All of these are on home decorator-weight canvas again.

This collection is called Amusement Park. There's plenty of orangey goodness for all the orange fans who were denied last time.