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!

Porch Pillow

 I have a couple new chairs on my screen porch that I made new cushions for this year. The chairs are quite deep so I decided to make a lumbar pillow. I decided on colorful beach huts which I roughed out on some graph paper, selected my thread colors to match the fabric, and started stitching.

It was fun trying to make each of the beach huts unique. Once I finished the beach huts, I added sand, sky and water. I'll keep adding sky and water until I reach the size I want. Stay tuned for finished product!

Natural Canvas Pillow Collection

I've been getting back into cross-stitching again. I find it fun and relaxing. I designed a few pillows I could stitch relatively quickly and I wanted to work in neutrals. I also found this great canvas that once I brought it home and washed it, it became super comfy and soft. Here are some images of work in progress:                                                                            

What could be more fun to stitch than footprints, flip flops and fish! Ha, ha. I like how they turned out:

They look great together too! These pillows are now all available in  My Etsy Shop.

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.

Color of the Year - Marsala

Pantone has named Marsala the color of the year for 2015. Now, I've seen many interpretations of :marsala -- everything from mauve to red. But this above Pantone color example is my favorite. I have created a collection of pillows to demonstrate how you can incorporate

Marsala into your nautical décor.

 

 

This deep red works beautifully with blue, white and natural burlap colors. Here's a sampling of the finished pillows.

 

 

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.

Turquoise and Orange -- Love it! Part 1

As usual, my posts start with -- so, I found this piece of wood...Again, I had no idea what it was or what I was going to do with it, but it was interesting and I had to have it. So I brought it home and sanded and painted it a new great turquoise color that I mixed up.

I then decided I need to apply fish. It just seemed like the thing to do. So, I drew a few different shapes and my friend cut them out for me. I really thought a blue and butter yellow might work, but when I painted them up and laid them on the turquoise wood, it wasn't doin' it for me.

I decided to go bold with a bright orange. I painted them up and sanded them down and ...

Am really glad I made the switch as I just love this color combination. I arranged them into a 'school' and attached to the wood. Then, finished each fish off by adding an eye with a tiny Leland Blue stone from my treasure jar full of things like this that I collect on the beaches.  I'm not really sure what to call it, but I think it looks really great leaning against something or hung on a wall. You decide!

 

 

 

 

Outdoor Canvas - Something you should know

Hello! Outdoor canvas is a wonderful fabric for pillows, cushions, you name it! There is a huge variety of colors and patterns to choose from. But, something you should know if you are purchasing handmade products made of this fabric -- it unravels! So what's the big deal about that you ask? Well after continued use you may find that your seams are fraying, which is absolutely not good.

 

In order to prevent this from happening, the edges must be sewn with a serger to lock the edges and prevent fraying. I serge all of the edges on everything I make with outdoor canvas to prevent this and to create a clean, finished seam.

 

When you are shopping online for pillow covers, pillows, cushions, etc. always ask the crafter if the raw edges are serged to make sure you are getting the quality you deserve!

 

 

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.

 

Fabric Changes Everything!

Here's just an example of how you can change the décor of a room inexpensively. I tend to use my room for photo shoots a lot because of the neutral bedding, but if you start with a neutral quilt and drapery panels, you can change your décor as the seasons, or, as your mood changes. The possibilities are endless!