Sunday, May 20, 2007

Apronaholic?

So..today I as at my sewing machine for a while...making these lovely creations..:P

This red doesn't have white polka dots, instead they are little white hearts...very cute, and very Valentines day...i just LOVE how it turned out!

This one has two pockets...edged with two pieces of lace on each pocket...very cute, this was actually originally a curtain! and I have enough fabric left for at least one more...maybe the next one will be a keeper...:P
This one has one pocket, edged with white lace along with one corner having a tiny 1/4 circle bit of lace for decor....this was originally a pillow case, the leftover scrap pile was nothing, a few tiny shreds of fabric and one longish 1in wide piece!
so....anyways..that what I did today....
tomorrow I will be fixing a 1950s style dress if I get time, as I also have a end of the school year evaluation, plus have to get the laundry taken care of and help clean house...so I'll be busy...
If I owe you an email, please bear with me....I've been super busy this past week....if you read yesterdays(i think) post, you should be able to see why...haha...end of school papers...ugh...but now I am FREE!!!...at least for a few months...ha ha
Cheers,
~The Bella Modiste~

Saturday, May 19, 2007

Ahh..what a week....

I've been busy...so this week...
I....worked in the garden...weeded a few flower beds, trimmed up the suckers around the birch trees, trimmed the Carolina Jessamine that was taking over the fence surround the courtyard area...planted my poor stunted gourd plants...

Didn't get a chance to sew this past week, but will be sewing at least 3 aprons ah..technically later today...

Wrote close to ten papers for school ranging in size from 2-5 pages....(tis a time for celebration..the school year is OVER!!!!!!!)

Received my box of swap items from a Mother's day swap on Mary Jane's Farm....got lots of neat stuff too....hehe..smell goods...candles, soap, salve, sachet, plus a ton of other wonderfully fun goodies...

did I get pictures? no....I know I know....I'm terrible...

Also received some vintage goodies from one Sarah Blue...and I did get pictures this time...:P

Aren't they awesome? three old blouses...an old lace curtain, plus an unidentified beautiful pink and white w/ some embroidery on it...still not sure what it is though....also a bit of trim and a touch of blue fabricThe little white top w/ red embroidery I LOVE! I'm going to find a way to make a pattern of the embroidery, and of the blouse and make one or more....It looks so comfortable and cute! I also Love the pink and green oriental looking blouse, love the style and the awesome satin stitch embroidery on it...which BTW is a hummingbird w/ flowers...very pretty....the curtain is very pretty...and unfortunately..there is only one..else I'd have it in my room....its very pretty....he he...

so..lets see....what else have I managed to do this week....um....managed to get myself in debt three aprons...;) but got some really neat things..plus am waiting on 4 doll making magazines in return for one of them....

I love this auto save blogspot has now...not that I've lost a post yet...but because now I don't have to worry about losing a post....he he

So now that school is now out for real....I'll have more free time....I hope to start getting up earlier....so I'll have even more...haha...a while back I'd figured that if I got up 5 hours earlier then I usually do, I'll gain a whole months worth of time each year.....um....thats alot....so..yeah....maybe I oughta try it....

So in my free time this summer I want to...

get my business going more

play my Sims2 game more

play a few video games

MAYBE work in the garden some..(depends entirely on how hot it is)

get my project pile alot smaller...probably 30 projects to about 5 projects....haha...we'll see how that goes....

and hmm..maybe start going to bed earlier....it is..a bit..early....:D

and of course play a bit of Second Life....

figure out Photoshop and Illustrator

and get my online shop going.....

hopefully I can do at least a few of the "serious" things....I know I'll managed to play Sims2 and Second Life....haha..gotta add a few things that are easy to do....;)

oh...this week I got to see the cutest babies..they were sooo tiny...only about 2-3 inches tall....they were bantam chicks...and good golly they were TINY!

OK...enough blogging for now....I'm tired! and rightly so...seeing as how the clock says something like 1:20AM.....

Night folks....happy blogging

Cheers...The Bella Modiste...

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Looong day...but fun..:)

Boy oh boy...
4 hours on your feet in the kitchen really does you in...but is very worth it once you get the reaction of surprise and happiness that you were hoping for...ha ha
this is what I spent so much time on today.A mothers day( a day early) surprise for mom, had dad get her out for a little while today, but wasn't even done by the time they got back, so mom was banned from the kitchen until I finished at about 4:00...she just loved it, and both parents were impressed...exactly the reaction I was going for...plus the " oh honey, you made me this for Mother's day? " how sweet!" ;)

I spent a good 10-15 minutes making the fondant from marshmallows and 1 1/2 lbs(really called for 2 lbs though) of powdered sugar, of course there is some fondant left, but it is supposed to last in the freezer for up to three years! here is the recipe: http://whatscookingamerica.net/PegW/Fondant.htm


very easy really....it was the rolling out and applying of the fondant where it got a bit harder, but all went well with only one slight tear in the fondant on the second tier...shh don't tell mom..:P


I made the flowers of fondant as well, and just brushed a bit of food coloring onto it for the yellow and orange, also dyed the rest of the butter cream frosting I had left over for the rest of the decorations. Which also I used 1 1/3 containers of frosting, then dyed the rest, decorated with another 1/3 or so, and was able to save the rest of the icing for another cake, at another time..or even just a spoon full here and a spoon full there ;)


Then this evening I started on a pin cushion for a farm girl contest, the grand prize winner of which gets a visit from the Mary Jane Butters....that would be the ultimate Mothers day present for my mother...ha ha...


So now I sit before my computer with a cup of White Emperor Tea from the Republic of Tea in a lovely double layer glass cup....


cool glass huh? Very cool, its usually quite cool when you take it out of the microwave, no matter how hot the tea is..very clever design....my only complaint is that I let my tea bag sit to long....supposed to have been 30-60 second...but it ended up being about 2 minutes..ahh well...just makes it a bit bitter...nothing a touch of honey cant fix..:P


Oh! Also finally got a picture of the apron I made of the men's shirt I got while out yard saling last week....



Not to bad if I don't say so myself...he he...

Also today, I got a really really fun RAOK(Random Act of Kindness) from a farm girl, she sent me a small box stuffed with a bunch of really neat old iron on transfers!



Anyways....It's late and I've really got to get to sleep...
signing off for now....
Bella Modiste....

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

My first post...and an explaination of my blog name


Hello one and all...I'm new to this world of blogging...so please...excuse any and all mistakes...

First off about me, I'm a beginning seamstress, have been sewing only a year, and absolutely love it, I've finally found my thing...and of course, I'll forever be learning how to do this or that, and how not to do things.

About my blog name "Bella Modiste"....it's both Italian and French...no, I'm neither nationality(unless you go WAY back)...but it sounds better then the English translation of "Beautiful Dressmaker"....;)

What I plan to do with my blog...well I plan to share my projects and perhaps a touch of my daily life with a bunch of lovely ladies on a site called maryjanesfarm.com. If you are a farmgirl type or just like a simpler life, or even just love to craft it's a wonderful place with wonderful ladies, and I would suggest you check it out.

And I apologize in advance, I will probably be neglecting this new blog a bit this week as I am busy finishing up the school year.

Another blog to check out:
http://www.thetrailhike.blogspot.com/