Turtle Study

 Turtles have always been one of my favorite subjects for driftwood art. On my latest piece I started with two great stones -- they were the perfect shape and the green/black color had just the right texture for turtles. I'd been saving a piece of sun bleached driftwood I found a while ago. I thought this was a great size for this project. 

The question was, the composition. I found a few different pieces of driftwood I thought might work and did some rough arrangements. I changed out the driftwood, the placement and the direction of the turtles. See these variations below.

   

And here is the final!

Wooden Boxes Before and After

You know how you go into an antique shop and spot something and think, "I want that but I have no idea why." Then you go home without it and it haunts you. So weeks later you go back and hope it's still there. Well, it was my lucky day because this set of three wooden boxes that I just had to have was still there. Here's my set of wooden boxes -- okay, truth be told, they are an old canister set. But they are solid wood and have such potential!

 

I brought them home and sanded them down. Mixed up a batch of chalk paint and gave them a few coats. Distressed them and applied a coat of wax that I then buffed out. I topped them with beach glass for knobs, and wow, what a transformation! When I get out to Seattle later this spring I'm going to search for the perfect sea glass chunks to become the official toppers for these fun boxes.

Handstitched pillow designs

I used to love to stitch -- cross stitch and embroidery -- I found it to be very relaxing. When I travelled frequently for work I used to take projects on the plane. Long flights and sitting in airports produced a lot of finished projects! But, since 911, you can't bring sewing needles or scissors on the plane and I just stopped working on things.

Recently I found a couple fun patterns and thought I'd take it up again. I just finished this seagull on black denim. I stitched it on waste cloth; when finished I pulled out the cloth, and there you have it. Watch for this to become a pillow in the future.

Nautical Shabby Chic Runner

I just finished this runner and really like how it turned out. It's made of natural burlap, woven with jute and appliqued with  gauze-like linen waves. I wanted the look to be very raw and all natural looking.

Here's how it was made:

I started by measuring and cutting my piece of  burlap. Then I created a paper template of waves, pinned it to my gauze, which I had backed with a fusible fabric stabilizer, and cut it out.

I then pulled out a couple strands and wove in a piece of jute the full length of the runner on each end. Taking a large embroidery needle, I wove in a couple strands of an off-white burlap for some contrast.

Next step was to pin the applique waves in place. And, with my machine set at a very small, tight zig zag, I sewed the applique to the runner. This was a bit tricky with all the twists and turns.





Last, all the edges were zig zagged to lock the weave in place so it will not unravel. I then apply a light starch with a hot iron to flatten and add body to the material. The look is just what I was after -- shabby chic, beachy, nautical and natural! Hope you like it. It's for sale in my Etsy Shop, www.etsy.com/shop/Floatinteriors.

Inspired by being lazy!

 

I got this wonderful citrus colored fabric, Robert Allen's Beach Bongo, for making a couple of pillow covers. This is an indoor/outdoor fabric, which I love. After I cut my pillows out I noticed I had a chunk of fabric left over that had some of the seashells on it. I decided to cut the seashells out and make them into appliques, which I then stitched on to pieces of bright green burlap.

Well, now what. I thought about sewing them on to pillows, but I already had pillows. What about a runner that could be thrown over an outdoor table that would look great with the pillows tossed on to accompanying chairs. I just happened to have enough bright orange burlap. What luck!

I cut the runner, and placed the appliques when I realized I didn't have any orange thread.  I didn't want to sew the appliques on to the runner and be able to see a different color thread on the backside.

 

Here's where the lazy part kicks in -- I was too lazy to drive to the fabric store to buy orange thread, so I decided I'd sew the appliques on by hand using strands of the orange burlap. 

Liking the look of this, I then wove some of the green burlap threads along both long sides to frame the appliques. But now I had to figure out how I was going to 'lock' the long edges so they would not fray. This is normally where I would have sewn them by machine, but again, no orange thread.  Well, I remembered my cross-stitching from years ago and decided this was going to be the solution. I love the look, but the problem with cross-stitching is that IT TAKES SO DARN LONG TO DO!

 

Oh well, as I mentioned, I was too lazy to drive to the fabric store to buy orange thread...so that's how this particular runner was designed.

 

Creative Corner Display

Here is my new display at the Creative Corner in Holland. I was able to get this great window space when another vendor moved out. I had walked down to Harvest Antiques to browse for something I might use as display fixtures and hoping not to have to spend too much money. I spotted these asparagus crates and thought -- perfect! Throw some fish net over them and they take on a nautical look, which is a perfect backdrop for all my Float items. $5 a crate -- can't go wrong!

Robert Allen Island Ibis Coral Tropical Pillows

I loved this fabric from the moment I saw it because it contains all of my favorite colors! It turned into very fun, bright pillows which I photographed on our patio at the office. Our green chairs and purple flowers were a perfect setting.

New Nautical Lighthouse Collection

Hello! And a very happy Memorial Day to all! Here in Michigan, it is a great day to -- be inside sewing. I had purchased some wonderful lighthouse embroidered jacquard upholstery fabric a while back and have finally created some pillows. There is an 18", 16", 12x16", and I also made a matching garland. I just couldn't resist using up the remaining lighthouses on this garland.

How I made the garland --
I cut out the lighthouse in a square and fused heat and bond to the backside to stabilize the fabric and keep it from unraveling. I then cut out the lighthouse and fused it to the burlap flag. Then sewed it on because even the super strength heat and bond doesn't really adhere well to burlap. The burlap flags are cut 5-1/2" wide by 8" long. Then I serge around all edges, fold down a top pocket and zigzag it shut. I measured out 8' plus a few inches of dock line and strung the flags on placing knots in between to hold them in place.

I can just image these pillows tossed on a bed with the garland looping above the headboard. Or the pillows tossed on a couch with the garland strung over a window covering to add a great nautical feel to the décor.

Lighthouse Pillow Collection

I have had some great luck lately finding some very unique fabric. This particular project uses an embroidered jacquard with striped and diamond patterned lighthouses. 

This is a nice chunky upholstery fabric that I'm mixing with twill, black denim and wide wale corduroy, to give this pillow collection a lot of dimension and texture.
I've included a nautical rope piping accent on some for an added pop. These are all now on Etsy as my first new collection for 2013! Cheers!

www.floatinteriors.com

Nautical Tapestry Pillows

I found this beautiful nautical tapestry upholstery fabric made in Italy. The pieces weren't very large but I was able to match it up with a burnished golden brown chenille for the pillow backs. The tapestry fabric was available in two colorways -- Stone and Driftwood. The classic pattern and neutral tones makes them a perfect fit in almost any nautical room.

They are listed in my Etsy shop here

https://www.etsy.com/listing/118304660/nautical-ships-bell-tapestry-pillow-in

Seashell Pillows

I found this great fabric that has all sorts of seashells on it in pretty neutral tones of sand, mocha and aqua. I took these pictures on a mocha and a cream chair so you can see how nice they look on a light or darker background. The fabric is an outdoor lightweight canvas. I've used the same fabric to create the piping and they are filled with a medium 'cush' poly pillow insert.

 

Palm Tree Pillows

Palm Tree Pillows

I really fell in love with this embroidered palm tree fabric on a chocolate polished cotton (probably due to my continuing preoccupation with chocolate!). I thought about white piping, but then decided against it. I thought it might actually be too much contrast in this case, and, white piping might not be all that practical when it comes to handling the pillow and keeping it clean. I love how they turned out and really like how they coordinate with the other celery green and chocolate brown pillows. See all the pillows here https://www.etsy.com/listing/114679050/palm-trees-on-chocolate-polished-cotton

 

Nautical Christmas table toppers

These are just great little Nautical Christmas table toppers to add a touch of holiday to your kitchen island, table or buffet. They are 20" and 22" square depending on design.The sailboat follows the bright star while the little boat hauls a Christmas. All are topped off with a jingle bell. The design appears in opposite corners of the square. I then wove ribbon through the burlap to create a decorative border. More details available here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Floatinteriors

I had to go back to making Nautical Christmas items in time for the upcoming Dear Deer Party. So, I made these 24" square little table toppers. They are just enough to add a bit of holiday spirit to your kitchen island, counter top or table. I hand cut the appliques creating a little sailboat following a North Star and topped it off with a jingle bell. These are placed in opposite corners. To add an even more festive look I wove gold ribbon through the burlap on all four sides.

 

 

Now, in my house, we can not have sailboats as we have a power boat. Since power boats make for a challenging applique, I opted for this little boat which is carting a Christmas tree that is adorned with a jingle bell atop. I added a single snowflake button for effect.

Nautical Christmas Wine Bags

Now, I realize that it is only October, but when you actually have to make things for holiday selling, you have to get moving early. So, I'm trying out a couple new styles of wine bags showing off the holiday spirit. I drew, than cut, than sewed on the appliques, then applied little jingle bells and snowflakes. I tried many different fabric and color combinations, but these were the two I thought looked best. Next, I'm going to try some table top decor. Stay tuned...

Float Interiors is now on Etsy!

I had lunch with a dear friend a while back and she introduced me to Etsy.com. She makes knitting patterns for American Girl doll sweaters (too cute) and sells them on Etsy. If you are not familiar with this site, it features all handmade items. There are some really creative people out there! So I created a store for Float Interiors to sell some of my custom pillows. I actually sold my first thing today!! Check it out.