...from my little (late) garden

~This year we are in a new house and tried as I might I still did not get any real veggie seeds in the ground till late may(?!). Tisk,tisk, I only went ahead and planted them out of desperation; I need that little watering time away from everything to calm the voices.
I am actually quite astonished, that with all the heat we are boiling in, that I have plants at all! But not only do I have plants I have flowers, fruit, and friends! he is just so cute, I also have a visiting toad....These babies get late sun(after 2), I am thinking, that is why they are not burning up completely... wish me luck

First summer panty making party; done and FUN!!!

Well, last Thursday I had my first panty making party and it was such a blast. Really I think everyone repeated, " how much fun are we having?", several times....which thrilled me to the core! Also everyone left with a knew pair of skivvies (except blue mama who had to and leave early). During the all of the excitement I almost forgot to take photos(for shame) but pulled a few out near the end. Thanks so much to all you lovely lasses who came over ...I will be offering another on July 25th ; so be looking for that info soon. I also want to thank bra components again for such a lovely box of goodies from which we trimmed out our fabulous undies. Everyone was thrilled with all the colors and styles of trim we had to choose from.

LoneStar pride on the 4th of July, Two bunting tutorials

~Recently I was asked to submit a project to celebrate the 4th of July. My first thought was to make bunting for a party. I thought a literal star spangled banner. But that is really not our style. What is our style is Texas pride. I know I am a Georgia peach living the good life in central Texas and my Texas family has filled me with Pride for the Lone star state. So for us I made LoneStar bunting; but I also did a no-sew version of the original star spangled banner. You choose which you is your family's style!


Materials LoneStar version

5@7x9 rectangles cut from white fabric( I used an old sheet)
5@3 1/2 x 5 red rectangles with heat and bond attached to the back
5@3 1/2 x 5 white rectangles with heat and bond attached to the back
5@ 3 1/2 x 7 blue rectangles with heat and bond attached to the back
5 white stars with heat and bond attached to the back
5 yards of bias tape( whatever you have will work I had 1/2 ")
heat and bond lite
iron
chalk
sewing machine
thread



Instructions Lonestar version

1. Iron on heat and bond and cut out your pieces.I made paper patterns for all my pieces including a star. Also I used all scraps for these projects but you could definitely go for a more matching coordinated look.

2.lay out all your pieces and arrange them in a most pleasing manner.Lay your 5@7x9 rectangles cut from white fabric and arrange your flags on top of them.

3. Iron on your pieces.

4.Stitch down your pieces if you like.( I really like the stitching especially on the stars) 5. pink the edges of your flags. Use your pinking shears to trim up the three sides of your flags(leave the top side un-pinked.) 6.measure and mark your bias tape. I always eyeball everything first then I go back and measure and even everything out. Here are measurements I came up with . I start the flags on each side at 10" inside. Then I lay down a flag and measure 8 " and repeat till all your flags have a home.
7. Attach flags to bias tape. cut 5 strips of heat and bond 7"x ?" (?= the width of your bias tape mine was 1/2") and iron to the front top of each flag. Then iron the flags onto the marked locations. You can choose to lay the bias tape flat or fold it over the top edge of your flags. If you want to fold it over I recommend using bias tape with adhesive already attached, or stitching it after you fold.
8. Hang your bunting with handmade pride! you can make loops on the ends if you like or just pin through the bias tape.


Materials star spangled version

2 @7x9 blue rectangles
3@ 7x9 red rectangles
5 white stars with heat and bond attached to the back
5 yards of bias tape( whatever you have will work I had 1/2 ")
heat and bond lite
iron
chalk


Instructions star spangled version

1. Iron on heat and bond and cut out your pieces. I made paper patterns for all my pieces including a star. Also I used all scraps for these projects but you could definitely go for a more matching coordinated look.



2.lay out all your pieces and arrange them in a most pleasing manner.


3. Iron on your pieces.



4. pink the edges of your flags. Use your pinking shears to trim up the three sides of your flags(leave the top side un-pinked.)

5.measure and mark your bias tape.
I always eyeball everything first then I go back and measure and even everything out. Here are measurements I came up with. I start the flags on each side at 10" inside. Then I lay down a flag and measure 8 " and repeat till all your flags have a home.


6. Attach flags to bias tape. cut 5 strips of heat and bond 7"x ?" (?= the width of your bias tape mine was 1/2") and iron to the front top of each flag. Then iron the flags onto the marked locations. The you can lay the bias tape flat or fold it over the top edge of your flags. If you want to fold it over I recommend using bias tape with adhesive already attached. or stitching it after you fold.

7. Hang your bunting with handmade pride! you can make loops on the ends if you like or just pin through the bias tape.

Love on daddy's day

happy day to all those proud papa's !!

A summer Panty Party

~IT is Haaaawt here in the A town( not Atlanta...but it is probably hot there to). NO, I mean it is sweltering here in Austin, Texas, as per usual this time of year. And one great way to be beat the heat is to lounge around in front of the fan in nothing but your drawers. But wait, what if those drawers were hand made by you out of your favorite old t shirts????!!!!???? The coolness of that would have to help drop the degrees a couple, right?
Well do not fret pretty peaches of Austin; I am hosting a panty making party right in my own home Thursday June 24Th! The class is based on my tutorial I posted here last summer!~To be honest with you, I have been putting off this party for sometime (things just kept coming up)...However as you all know everything happens for a reason. And one dang good reason was I got a line on some GREAT trims for the class!! Bra components sent over a box full of lovely samples for us to use for our panty party!!! Just so you know, Bra components, is an online store that sells bra and lingerie bits.They recently started selling retail( lucky us). Honestly they have the largest trims selection I have ever seen! Not to mention everything they sell comes in 1,925 PANTONE fashion colors. Which as you can see they sent me a beautiful sampling of (sorry for the plastic baggie photos; I want to keep them pristine till we can get our crafty paws on them. I just love the all the bright colored FOES. I think they are gonna look spiffy on our underwear, And with names like Amazon, Jelly Bean and Deep Wisteria; I am eager to see how these colors inspire!
So this means all you need bring are a couple of t shirts and a pair of undies you want to make a pattern from(we will cut them ) For the details check out the FB event page or just email me at, bellesouthgirl at yahoo dot com, and I will get you on the list, my peaches.

PS I am dying to try some of their new galloon stretch lace ! It is 6 and 3/4 " !!!! and it also comes in 1,925 PANTONE fashion colors.

then maybe I could make this !

( ok I know I cannot make that with the lace but somethimg similar ...then just stand like that)

An east coast dress from a Belle in Texas..

Sometimes I get so excited about the way a day goes I just wanna burst! Recently I found this strange and lovely fabric at my local thrift. I knew immediately it was perfect for a dress for my strange and lovely, coastal dwelling sista. But.... oh no!!! oh my!! When I went to put this thrilling frock together I noticed there were a few "runs " in the fabric. The runs were not holes YET but I new they could ruin this dress in the future If not dealt with pronto. My solution ? aqua seagulls, four of them scattered amongst the native gulls. and cowboys branding on the beach! Oh yeah and I really needed to put that parrot in the jungle flowers across the boobs. Well I know this might not be the best look for everyone but for one very special lady it is perfect! love you Yani!!You got to get inspired when what seems to be an obstacle turns something ordinary into extraordinary ( oh yeah I just said all that cheese .....and I meant it, ha! )