Pattye Duffner's Blog

back to school in style

 

I used this pattern and made way too many of these skirts out of left over fabric from pervious projects.  I am not much of a clothing maker, I do love to sew but I always say I can only sew a straight line.  So when I do something you know anyone can do it.  I followed the pattern and it worked!!!  I added some covered button hair ties for a little girl’s matchy matchy complete outfit.  And let me tell you at 8 Ella is being so kind and saying she loves them and wants to wear one on the first day of school.  I scored a point here…

 

Nesting Center...

How simple is this?   Take a large grapevine wreath, insert a smaller wreath and then insert an even smaller wreath and you end up with an instant giant birds nest centerpiece!

Here, it's mounded with dried pomegranettes...   I could imagine it filled with organic oranges... or a big mound of river rocks... even seaglass could be interesting.

The best part?  The wreaths come apart if the whole thing bores you after a while..and you can use them for whatever else your heart desires... 

Vintage Sconce

The roof tiles from which these sconces are made were produced in the 1860s in the Pyrenees, between Spain and France. Female tile makers created the distinctive tapered shape by folding sheets of clay over their thighs. As thighs vary, naturally so do these tiles.   Talk about creative ways to recycle.  You know I am always up for recycling with style this is the essence of that!  And being hand made by other females… Antique… Recycled... it is a win win win if you ask me.  You can find these and other goodies at Wisteria . 

Fall Feasts

In celebration of fall this event was planed with details in mind.  Making your centerpieces out of clear glass vases, filling with fruit, water then the color flowers of choice will take your table from ordinary to extraordinary.  Grouping like flowers in a bunch will give visual impact and make a stronger statement.  Differing the heights of your single arrangements spread out over several containers may be the perfect backdrop to your fall feast. 

Are you ready for Fall???

 

Try making your own garland for fall with store bought tissue leaves.  I found these leaves at the grocery store of all places.  I bought 2 different sets from 2 different stores.  Albertson’s and Vons to be exact.  I randomly picked the leaves to mix them up and simply machine sewed them together by running the stitch down each leave.  I never stopped the machine to attach the next leave.  Just go for it and don’t stop!  You will end up with a garland for years to come that you can use from September well into November.  Do you have an idea of a garland that we could do this same sewing technique with???  Please share… 

Rock Solid

Having accessories around the house is an effective way to personalize your space.  One way to get extremely personal with accessories and getting your loved ones involved is to make a signature rock collection.  When I was younger I remember every beach trip ended up with a pail full of shells that went home with me and was immediately decorated with markers.  I took this idea today and had Quinn and Ella hand write their names on two somewhat smooth rocks from our backyard.  Cleaned them up and I dated the back.  I just love seeing their handwriting and now I have it permanently on 2 accessories right in my entry bookcase.  This would even be a fun project to do for Dad on father’s day…. He could easily put this on his desk at work as a paper weight. 

Earthy fabric

Green products are everywhere, from small boutiques to big chain stores.   It's all about knowing what to look for and knowing WHY something is green.

Here's one of my latest favorite picks: water hyacinth.

Water hyacinth looks like wicker, but it's a very green choice to buy.    You see, water hyacinth is a very pretty aquatic plant species that was introduced to Asia a very long ago.   Being a non-native species, it quickly choked the waterways, while removing native species.  While spraying them with a herbicide would definitely kill them off, it would also kill all aquatic plants and wildlife.   In other words: not a good idea.

Companies like West Elm (pictured above) collect the water hyacinth plant, dry it, and weave it into hard-working accessories like these pillows.    I've seen water hyacinth in discount to upscale stores; you just have to look at the labels to find it.    These bolster pillows are great; they're durable, cushy and--frankly---not very expensive.

Natural Collecting

  I've never liked the word "collector."    To me, it always meant Beanie Babies or something tacky that simply designed to, well, collect and buy.  More stuff to put in the house: clutter!

How many times have you seen a large feather sitting on the ground?   Why not pick it up and start a feather bowl?    Stamp the date on each feather (another great use for those alphabet ink stamp kits) and just keep adding.  Ask family members, friends and kids to collect and add.  Eventually, the bowl is just overflowing like this one on top.

What other natural items could we collect?

Thinking inside the vase

Making a centerpiece or any other everyday arrangement try thinking a bit opposite of what comes natural.  Make your vase bigger then the flowers.  You may be pleasantly surprised with the results!