Pretty Storage

I bought this unfinished wood storage box at Ikea a while ago in a desperate attempt to keep my growing stash of ribbons and buttons somewhat organized.

Here it is, all boring and plain.


I picked up some craft paint and Modge Podge at Michael's down in North Carolina when I was visiting friends over Thanksgiving. (Thanks again Jess!) The frame of the box is painted a lovely cream. For the drawers, I used some cute Snow & Graham wrapping paper and Modge Podge.

Sadly, I have never used Modge Podge before and I couldn't be bothered to read the directions so I just flew by the seat of my pants. I think I got it right though. I cut the drawers out of a continuous piece so the pattern is recreated when all of the drawers are closed, painted on a coat of MP, smoothed the paper over the front of the drawer and then painted on another coat of MP and then let it dry. A little of the dye came off the paper when I applied the overcoat of MP but I like to think of it as being "antiqued."

Here are all the drawers drying before getting put back into place.


And here is my finished storage box. Not bad, huh? I might need to take another trip over to Ikea to pick up a couple more of these babies. The possibilities are endless.


I finally got around to painting it and recovering the drawers with some cute Snow & Graham wrapping paper.

An Easy Breezy Skirt

There are two little New York fashionistas that have very strong opinions about what they will wear. At ages 4 and 3, these sisters know what they like and know what they don't. Luckily I passed the first test when I made them these dresses, which are now referred to as the "Made Dress" as in the dresses were made for them. I know! So stinkin' cute.

Of course, I crave their approval so I spent the past couple of months collecting swatches for them but couldn't find any winners. I went out on a limb and picked up this print since it had the requisite pinks, purples and oranges without prior approval. Yup - I am a risk taker. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

The pattern is a free download from the Oliver + S website. It is super simple and the ribbon trim is a great little touch. I added a small pocket on the front and embellished it with a little pink fish button. I used similar buttons on the dresses and I heard that they were a big hit.

Someone Is Turning One!

My husband's first cousin once removed is absolutely adorable and is about to turn one. She has her own quilt but doesn't have any Lunden clothes yet so I figured it was the right to rectify the situation. The best part is that she is a little Los Angeles baby so I can have her in sundresses all year round. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will get some actions shots soon.


The cutest part of this whole project is that my husband picked out the fabric. I don't know how he will feel if I tell the internet about this, but my little helper picked out the coordinating fabrics when we were in California last summer. I am so proud of him.

Baby Boy Blue Quilt

I was racing against the clock making this quilt but alas, some babies like to be born early. Little Nikolas Ryan was born two days ago, before I could get this finished and sent off in the mail.

Of course, I made a lazy crafter's decision of going ahead with my small stash of pre-made binding without measuring it first and came up about 12 inches short. Hopefully Joann's Fabric won't dally and send me some more pronto. (The fact that I can't just drive to a Joann's makes city living at a time like this pretty painful.)

And I am not too worried that the new mommy will will be offended that the quilt will be a little late. I am sure that she will have plenty to do to keep herself busy.

I had been planning this quilt for a while and am posting these dark pictures because I am too excited to wait for the binding, a good wash and better light. I love working with one color and pairing the different tones with all the prints I had been hording in my stash. Little Nikolas' parents met on a boat and his father is Greek so I really wanted to tie in ocean colors, a subtle nautical theme and a nod to the Greek flag.

The quilting is mostly stippling with a lot of loops. It was fun to experiment and I can't wait to see how it turns out after a wash. I am signed up for a free motion quilting class at City Quilters and am really looking forward to getting some good tips - winging the way I have been can make for some bad habits.

Another Diaper Bag

This could be my new favorite bag and my pictures do not do it justice at all. I wanted to make something nice and roomy with a lot of pockets for storage and boy is it. It is perfect for carrying everything a baby needs and maybe even the baby. Just kidding, this is not a baby carrier ; ) I also put together a coordinating changing pad.

Christmas Present Action Shots

I made this pillow for my mother for Christmas. It is made with vintage embroidery and eyelet lace. Here it is taking center stage on my mom's bed.

A fancy little dress

This dress was a labor of love. It took two different types of fabric, two different patterns and a whole lot of time before getting it right. I went through every emotion trying to get this right and wanted to give up so many times but I am so happy that I pushed through. I can see making this dress in so many different fabrics - the possabilites are endless.

A few Christmas presents

I whipped up some peach cherry and ginger jam and little bird ornaments for little Christmas presents this year. I loved the way they turned out and will be making more next year, for sure.

Finished Scrap Quilt

I started this quilt several months ago and I finally finished it the week before Christmas. This is one of few times where I started a quilt and didn't finish it right away. My scrap bag was over flowing and making a scrap quilt seemed like a great idea. I started by cutting the scraps into two incch pieces of various lengths and then sewed them into long strips. Once I had nine strips, I sewed them together and cut them into twelve inch blocks. The sashing came from my stash, along with the batting and the yellow binding so the only thing I had to buy for this project was the white muslin backing.

Here it is partially quilted and waiting for the binding.

And here it is finished and waiting for a nice afternoon nap.

The Cutest Little Model

My little model has clearly picked up some great modeling techniques over the past couple of months. Look at her smiling with her eyes. Perhaps she has been watching America's Next Top Model marathons. She is such a good sport and did not protest once through the photo shoot, even though she is teething.

Thanksgiving Presents

We spent Thanksgiving with great friends, and great friends deserve presents. I made my hostess this tote bag for a birthday present. She supplied the linen and I did the rest. The make-up bag was a gift for her sister and I am kicking myself for not making two since the two bags look so great together. Good thing Christmas is right around the corner.

Make-Up Bags Galore!

I just finished up ten make-up bags. They are all so cute lined up on my ironing board waiting to be packed up and delivered tomorrow.

The Holidays Are Coming!!

Like you needed me to remind you of that. That is what Walgreens and all of the other drug stores are for. How else would you know that the holidays are coming unless you saw Christmas stuff for sale in October?

As usual, the holiday season is going to be busy so I am trying to get a head start on my gift list. My goal this year is to make as many presents as I can with at least one handmade gift for everyone on my gift list. I have created my list and this past weekend turned my sewing room into Santa's workshop and was able to cross two things off my list. The presents are finished and photographed and all ready to be tunred into blog posts, but the recipients read this blog so I have keep up the veil of mystery. This creates a very big problem because I am such a big mouth and love to show off what I have created, especially when they are as cute as what I did this past weekend.

What to do? What to do?

Why post the pictures on Flickr, of course. If you want to see what I have been working on, you can click here for the link to my recent creations. If you are my mother or my in-laws, you SHOULD NOT do that, especially you ,Mom. No snooping or you will just be disappointed on Christmas morning. Isn't that what you told me?

Another little dress

This time, this dress is for a four year old and not a baby. I love the little pockets and the turquoise and while polka dot trim. I added a little fishie button on the collar to make because I have it on excellent authority that little fun buttons are the best part of the dress. I also have little kitties and mice buttons and they are a HUGE hit so I figured it couldn't hurt to add a fish to this dress.

Beetle Mania

Here is another new print - Japanese Beetles! It is just so cute and if you look closely at the bottom left corner you can see one of the little beetles I keep mentioning. I also lined the bag with a navy blue cotton which really brings out the white in the exterior print.

A New Purse

I put this purse together with a specific request for a bright yellow lining. The blue and white print with the splash of yellow work so well together. The blue print was purchased in Mexico and the yellow wool came from the Garment District. This one is for a friend but I will definitely be making myself one soon.

The Cutest Little Elephants

Today is a perfect day for sewing, lots of rain and no other pressing errands. I started this quilt the other night and was able to finish it up today. We don't know if the recipient is a boy or a girl so the colors and patterns are all very gender neutral. The bright animals and colors just make me so happy and the back is a nice, light blue that works with the cream thread I used for the free motion quilting. I even added a little tag to the back, just for fun.

New Office Curtains

I finally got around to sewing up some new office curtains. It is truly amazing what nice curtains can do to a room. Too bad they can't make you completely ignore the desperate need for a paint job, but they do come close. I chose Anna Maria Horner's Pressed Flowers print so that the curtains would work nicely with the chairs I recovered a while ago. The office is in full sewing mode right now so pictures of the entire room and the pretty pillow I made will have to wait until next time. The curtain hardware all came from Ikea. Those clippy rings are such an amazing time saver.

Sock Monkey Baby Dress

Sock Monkey Baby Dress
Originally uploaded by mellymellun

Here is another little baby dress I made over the weekend.

And Coming...

I bought this fabric in Italy a year and a half ago and have been patiently waiting for the right project to use some of my precious two meters. And I think this dress proves itself to be worthy, and then some.