Pink & Brown Creations and Giveaway Winner

All done! Here's the giveaway item:

A set of 4 coasters. :-)

They're reversible...

and yes, that's fabric #3 from the choices on the other side.

All wrapped up and ready to go!

Next I made a grocery bag dispenser, hadn't made one in a while!

Used the same fabric combo.

It's up for sale in my etsy shop here.

And finally, since I had used this fabric before for some circular/flounce type stuff, I had a lot of strangely shaped pieces left and I wanted to use them up somehow, so I decided to use them as embellishment...


on an apron, of course.

I just cut the fabric into strips (I had some nice long sections) and pieced them together, they make great ruffles. :-)

The apron is up for sale here!

And now for the winner....

JustChristie!! Congrats! :-) I'll be sending you an email shortly to get your mailing address.

Thanks everyone, we'll have another popular color combo up tomorrow so check back soon!

May Giveaway Day

Bienvenue! Welcome to all my visitors today, new and old! I'm so excited to participate in my first Sew, Mama, Sew giveaway day.

My name is Stephanie, and I'm fairly obsessed with gorgeous fabrics which inspire me and give me the itch to make something pretty. My most common use of fabric is to make aprons, and so that is what I decided to give away today.

Then I had to decide which style apron to give away...and I couldn't! So, I decided to let you choose.

My aprons are a little bit different than most, in that I often use the fashion of specific time periods as inspiration for them. The truth is, I never outgrew wanting to play dress-up! So, I see an apron as both a functional, practical aid, but also a quick and easy way to play dress up for a while, even if you're wearing jeans underneath. ;-)

The first apron I ever designed was inspired by the empire waists of the Regency era. If I had a signature apron, this would likely be it! Here I am modeling one of the very first ones I made, so you can see the criss cross back and how it looks on:


And this navy striped Regency Inspired apron is one of the three the giveaway winner can choose from!




Another time period I absolutely adore is the Victorian era, all that fabric so stunningly draped and pleated. LOVE! I played around with some Victorian aprons, but a while back I designed what I called the Milkmaid apron which I think also fits in the victorian category with the overskirt and all. I modified it a bit this time, adding a drop waist, but the cool thing about this one is it has two totally different looks.

First, there's a fun super-full skirted half apron.


But just for kicks, look closely and you'll see some buttons and loops...


to create a kind of bustly, drapey front!


Peek-a-boo! Yes, this is a double layered apron with its own sort of ruffled petticoat underneath.



Isn't it fun? And I just love these fabrics. There's also a pocket...


This is the second of the three choices the lucky winner could choose.

Finally, because I know not everyone is as into antique fashions as I am, I'm offering as the third of the choices one of my more modern designs, what I call the flouncy full apron. Simple and chic!





So if you'd like to enter to win one of these aprons, please leave a comment with:

1. Which apron you like best (1. Regency Inspired Apron 2. Milkmaid Apron 3. Flouncy Full Apron)
2. Your email address (Either in your profile or in the comment, as long as I can find it! If I can't I'm going to have to pick another winner so make sure it's somewhere!)

Entries will be accepted through Wednesday, and on Thursday I'll announce the winner and contact them by email. I will ship to you wherever you are in the world, so everyone is welcome to enter.

Just FYI, I'm currently doing a weekly giveaway series, asking people to help me choose fabrics to use up and then I give away an item made with the chosen fabric. :-) It's a GREAT way to use up my stash! Check it out if you're interested, and if you're on facebook you can follow my facebook page where I post reminders about the weekly giveaway contest so you can enter.

And if you should fall in love with any of my designs and don't end up winning, I do sell them in my Etsy shop! Custom orders are always welcome. Also, whichever 2 aprons don't get chosen by the winner will be up for sale in my shop once the giveaway is over!

Well I think that about does it. I'm so thrilled you stopped by, and I can't wait to check out the other amazing blogs doing giveaways today! Bonne chance!!

Update: Thank you SO MUCH for the wonderful comments and feedback, I'm just blown away by the overwhelming response. Please check back tomorrow morning to find out who the lucky winner is! :-)

Full Flouncy Aprons

Another new style I picked up besides the Olive Apron is one I call the Full Flouncy apron, because of the fun flounce on the bottom! I wanted a simple silhouette that hugged the curves and then flared out at the bottom. I went a bit crazy making these right before Christmas because they were so quick to put together! So I have quite a few in my Etsy shop now, including one made of oilcloth! Here are some examples:





http://www.etsy.com/listing/64965241/blue-floral-flouncy-full-apron





http://www.etsy.com/transaction/45600633 (This one has been sold!)



http://www.etsy.com/listing/65896698/blue-and-white-toile-oilcloth-flouncy





http://www.etsy.com/listing/70500752/black-white-and-pink-damask-full-flouncy

It's Been Too Long!

Well it has certainly been much too long since my last post, but a lot has happened since then. My husband and I became homeowners and, of course, I couldn't wait to decorate. My favorite room of all is my sewing room, here are some pics!












With my lovely new room to inspire me, I've finally had the chance to make some new aprons for spring. Maybe it's my walls, but I'm especially in love with springy greens right now!


Spring Vines Retro Full Apron


Red Scroll/Damask Regency Inspired Apron


Spring Green Regency Inspired Apron


Spring in Bloom Ruffly Half Apron

I hope to be adding even more in the very near future. :-)

Folklorico Aprons

One of my latest requests was to make a folklorico inspired apron which coordinated with this image of the Virgin of Guadelupe:

So I searched around for those lovely shades of green and peachy orange, found some I thought would work well, sewed yards and yards of ribbon onto yards and yards of ruffles, and this is the result. I didn't have a folklorico dancer handy so I pinned it up in the swirly motions mimicking the dancers to get the full effect. ;-)


Here it is un-pinned:



A close-up of some ruffles:



The waistband mimicks the border of leaves around the image:




I also made some matching half aprons for the littles in the house. :-)




It was fun to dream up! I hope she and the girls enjoy them.