Sneaky Peek

Here's a quick little sneak peek at what I've been working on lately... 

After making Quinn's tutu the other day, I had the urge to make a tutu-inspired skirt for grown-up girls.  It's almost done and ready for photographing, so that's what I'll be finishing up today.  I think it's going to be super cute, I just wish I could fast track and skip the part where I stand at the ironing board for too many minutes a day... press, press, sew, cut, press, sew.  Guess it's all part of the rhythm. 

Looking forward to another day of blue skies and crispy leaves.  I love fall, I just do.

K.

For a Fall Frolic...

A ModCloth Inspired Look.

I had a little countryside photoshoot with a couple of new dress designs last night and decided to shoot a wardrobe post while I was at it.  It's kinda weird that I haven't done a 'What I Wore' before, considering how much time I spend thinking about these things.  When I got home from my coffee date yesterday morning there was a shiny package at the backdoor... with this cute little dress in it.  It's a perfect fit and I just couldn't wait to wear it.

Here's the breakdown:

Dress: ModCloth

Necklace: vintage

Socks: F21

Belt: from Urban Behavior last fall

Sunglasses: Wet Seal (oldies)

I will get around to posting a sneak peek of those new dresses sometime soon, but the first order of business today is to make a birthday gift for lil Quinn.  Spoiler: it's a tutu.  I think it's safe to say that Q and her 4 year-old friends likely aren't frequenting the blog-world.  She is probably the cutest thing, and definitely a dance class princess.  Looking forward to celebrating with her and the rest of the cousins tonight!

Look out tulle, I'm on a mission for pink.

K.

Outdoor Adventures of a Valley Girl

Hey, hey.  The weekend was perfect:  great weather, a long walk with my gal Jenna and her doggies, mojitos on the porch, a bonfire and an afternoon in the valley.

I'm loving this Monday a whole lot more than the last - probably a combination of sunshine and copious amounts of espresso (thanks to my friend Jeff at Jonny's Java).  I've got a dress to finish (pics soon), another to start and then the sketchbook and I are gonna reunite and soak up some sun later this afternoon.  

Nice.

K.

  

The Wilderness Downtown

Check this out: http://thewildernessdowntown.com/.  Type in your postal code (or zip code for the American friends out there) and watch the vid that's generated just for you to this great Arcade Fire tune.  

I'm off to enjoy the beautiful day out there - the leaves are falling and I'm heading out to the valley to see the best of it.

K.

The Last of the Mojitos

A couple more autumn pics... large and in charge.

I'm hoping for another chance to frolic around the countryside taking pictures of all the fall beauty out there.  I'm crossing my fingers that the forecast is right and it'll be sunny skies all weekend long.  

Pretty laid back weekend going on here - hammock nap with a book and tea to start it off later today, maybe a last summer-style hurrah on Saturday?  We'll see how it plays out.  Either way I'm going to have to take advantage of the last of the fresh mint in the herb planter and make some Mojitos to enjoy on the porch.  

Here's my fav Mojito recipe:

3 FRESH MINT SPRIGS

2 TSP SUGAR

3 TBSP LIME JUICE

1 KEY LIME, SLICED

1  1/2 OZ WHITE RUM

CLUB SODA

-CRUSH PART MINT & COAT SIDES OF GLASS

-ADD SUGAR & LIME JUICE, STIR WELL

-TOP WITH ICE

-ADD RUM, MIX

-TOP WITH CHILLED CLUB SODA

-ADD SLICED LIME & REMAINING MINT

*Personally, I like it a little tart, with an extra TBSP of lime juice and 1/2 the sugar called for... And really, I think this drink is meant to be shared, so I usually make a pitcher to enjoy with friends (about 6 times recipe).

Enjoy and Happy Weekend!

K.

Art of the Workspace

This is a big step for me, this sharing the artwork thing - so I'm starting with the easy stuff, the 'for fun' stuff.  We'll see, maybe I'll get to posting artwork on a semi-regular basis?!  This could be a whole new 'thing' here...  

These are all pieces done specifically with my workspace in mind, hence the mis-matchy/matchy palette.  Here's the background and materials for each... 

1. Village.  (I know, very creative naming process going on here.)  The first piece is acrylic on recycled particle board.  I primed over the painting that came in the (thrifted) frame.  The sky is inspired by a painting I saw of the Eiffel Tower... everything else about the piece was totally unplanned and just good messy fun with gobs of paint/extender.

2.  The cityscape drawing is ink on printed paper and it isn't based on any city in particular, just a random assortment of buildings and streets.  This piece came about after I watched '500 Days of Summer.'  I have no real love for that movie, but I do have some serious love for Zooey Deschanel.  The architectural drawings on her (movie) boyfriend's bedroom wall were beautiful and I loved that he was always toting a sketchpad around. 

 3.  This last one is acrylic on canvas board and again, this frame is a made-over thrift find.  'Dame' is based off of a drawing in one of my sketchbooks... I think the original concept is from a vintage fashion book I have stacked somewhere in this funny old house.   

I'm off to run a couple of errands with my newly renewed driver's license, after only 3 weeks of puttering around without realizing it was time to do that again.  I'm bright, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.  Lol.  Oh my.  After that it's back to work upstairs... I was locked up in my workspace until sometime after 10:00 last night and really good things were happening, so hopefully I can find that mode again today!

First things first, Pumpkin Spice Latte please.

K.

P.S. - Pardon the digital 'Dove Tree' stamp, and please credit the source or contact me if you would like to use these images.

The Sky is Falling

Here's a round from Saturday's picture taking adventure.  It's kind of unusual to see unedited photos these days... so I thought I'd put them out there as is.  I have a few that I know will look just that much sweeter with a little tweaking, so maybe I'll get to posting those processed shots too.

Today I'm picking up a friend for lunch - on this soggy, miserable day I think I'm going to make her the classic soup/sandwich combo.  Brr.  After that I'm off for a coffee date with my wee gal pal, Ariel.  And after such a productive day, I'll be back to the sewing all evening... clearly I am taking full advantage of this flexible schedule thing.

Happy Autumn!

K.

i go by katie

Dove Tree is currently sponsoring on Katie's beautiful blog, 'i go by katie.'  Katie posts amazing photos and inspiring reads often - be sure to check out her blog and leave her a little 'hello' in the comments section.  You can also find links to her Etsy shop (Darlingtonia) and her other current and upcoming projects on her blog.  For my fellow moccasin lovers out there - her Etsy shop is kinda heavenly!
K.

Song for a Soggy Monday

Sorry for the lack of video - for whatever reason, I can't find a proper one.  Great tune though, and perfectly suited for a moody, chilly Monday night.

Sweet dreams.

K.

Case of the Mondays

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I found all of these goodies on the Polyvore site, but really everything I chose for the set was based on this blouse.  Gorgeous.  And a perfect transition piece from summer to fall.  I'm going to admit that these shoes also make me slightly envious of all you 5'-6"ers out there, because they are really something.  

This weekend was busy with visitors from Hilo (Hawaii), Ottawa and Vancouver... Throw in a Pumpkin Spice latte or two and some time spent taking pics in the country and it was a lovely fall weekend for the most part.  I'll post some of those fall pics soon.  I'm hoping for a few sunny days this week so I can play around with the new-ish camera a little more.  I wish I wish I wish I was more motivated to learn the tech-y side of photography.  But, I'm just not.  Maybe I'll have to start bribing myself with those Pumpkin Spice lattes...

It's a day of 'catch-up' around here with editing, errands and emails galore.  Hopefully I'll get to finishing the dress I started on Friday too.  Maybe it's a good thing there's no sunshine out there to distract me?!

K.

Details, Details, Details.

Every little bit of fabric in my life now has a proper place - neatly stacked according to fabric type/purpose.  I can't even begin to describe the difference between the new system and the old one that had me searching through storage containers.  It's far easier to keep track of it all this way.

I picked up this little arrangement from Ikea a couple of years ago.  It's meant for kitchen use, but is a great way to house things like scissors, paintbrushes, tools, etc. 

Both of these prints are actually cards I received from my dear girl, Brooke, over the years.  I am especially in love with the one she called the 'Kari Fairy' because it reminded her of me - a bit of the sentimental factor there.

The wire baskets (PC) are home to things that don't stack well... lace, current projects, fabric ends...

Accent lighting from Ikea.

This mirror was a thrift find last summer - It just took a can of white spray paint to freshen it up.

Sketchbooks abound in this space... every size you can think off.  This one is a favorite by Gartner Studios.

This print and the next are both by Leah Duncan and came nestled in with the beautiful fabric that I ordered from her Etsy shop a while back.  I just love her work.  The frames are inexpensive Walmart finds that I sanded and painted in antique white.  After the frames dried, I took the sand paper to them again to give them an aged look.  I used the same technique on the frames for the larger artwork, but those frames were thrift finds from a few years back.

I guess I can officially cross #2 off the list of goals from Elsie's '4 Simple Goals' challenge that she posted back in August.  One down.  How are the rest of you bloggers/readers doing with the challenge?  I'm finding my 3rd and 4th goals hard to measure even though I'm working on them - maybe regular progress posts would help?!  I don't know.  And really, 1:00am is a bad time for me to start thinking about it!  Tomorrow.

K.

Check, Check It.

The lovely Mandi of Here's lookin at me kid and Fine & Dandy has posted about her sponsors for the month.  I just love the cute little banner she made to introduce each one of us (above)!  Check out Mandi's blog and meet Stacey, Patty, Hannah and Sarah as well!  These ladies also host a collection of pretty blogs and online shops... plenty of ammo for a noon hour browse.    

Enjoy!

K.

--- Thanks Mandi!

--- And of course, the workspace details post will be up later today! 

It's a bird, it's a plane... no, it's a tank top.

Today was all about coffee with a great gal and an afternoon of ripping apart the dress I started yesterday to turn it into the cutest little lacey top instead.  Progress?  I don't know if it counts, but now I'm loving what I was only liking yesterday - so that must mean something's workin'!

Tomorrow's post is all about the details of the workspace makeover.  Warning y'all now, it will be photo-heavy! 

Here I go, back to work on the tank top formerly known as 'dress.'  Hopefully it doesn't become a headband or some other ridiculous creation tomorrow.  Lol.

K.

Workspace: Before & After

 Before: As you can see from these 'before' photos, this place was pretty cluttered.  I'll admit, I'm a stacker.  Stack of sketchbooks, stack of magazines, stack of fabric.  I do love a good stack, but this was getting out of hand.  Nothing had a permanent home and the room became more of a catch-all for the craftiness than a workspace.  But, this room also has some great features, such as the wood plank floor, high ceilings, original woodwork and beautiful windows.  Really, aside from puttying the plaster walls, it was pretty easy to whip into better shape.  

(The door in this first photo is not the entry, but actually a closet that is also home to the attic staircase.)

After: Aside from the drafting desk, I hauled every last thing out of the room and into the spare bedroom across the hall... putty, paint and some help from Ikea in the storage department and it's become a well-functioning, well-organized place for me to spend my days.  There are still some piles, but at least they have a home in the shelving unit now.  And hey! There's a possibility that I will eat supper on my dining room table in the near future (if I clean up the painting projects that have taken over the sewing machine's former home)...

There are lots of details in this space that I would love to share - so look for some of those in Thursday's post (sources, DIYs, etc).  I *might* post on the artwork in here too, and some of the other pieces I've worked on in the last couple of weeks, if I can get over the self-conscious factor.  Maybe...

It's all errands this morning: supplies to pick up for a commission, thrifting for some vintage lace, etc.  Then home for a latte and sewing in front of my sunny windows... Lovely.

K.

--- I'm playing around a bit with the look of the blog, so bear with me while the kinks get worked out!  I'm still planning to tweak a few things (banner and sidebars included).  For now, photo cred. to Russ Dueck for the banner photography and left sidebar photo! 

Wee Lace-Ups

Check out these cuties by Rachel Comey that I came across on Frolic.  Too sweet.

*** I will be posting the first round of before/after photos of my workspace makeover tomorrow... and more pics of the details later in the week.

K.

The Chill.

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The chill outdoors has me thinking about all of the stacks of quilting fabric sitting here... waiting to be quilted... wishing they were already quilted so I could skip the work and get to the snuggly part of it all.  The quilts above are all Etsy finds - Click on the source to visit the listing shop and check out the other great items by these talented Etsians.

More later...

Week-Ender

Dove Tree is a sponsor on Mandi's beautiful blog ('Here's lookin at me kid') for the next two months.  Check it out for a great read and links to her vintage clothing shop, Fine and Dandy, which can be found on Etsy.  Mandi will be doing a feature post on Dove Tree in the upcoming weeks - I'll post about it when she does.

Happy Saturday! 

K.

in.SHORTS

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I love the way the girls in the photos are wearing their shorts for fall.  Considering the temperatures lately, it definitely calls for some layering and I'm liking both of these takes on the trend.  The whole tights with shorts thing is maybe not a look for everyone, but piling the thermals and sweaters on top with shorts on the bottom is a pretty simple way to execute this too.  Personally, I'm typically not a huge fan of denim shorts, but I do love these alternative beauties:

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It is absolutely POURING outside this morning, so I likely won't be going near shorts today... hopefully there will still be plenty of time for this before the dreaded snow arrives.  Ick.

Otherwise today, I am seriously watching paint dry - waiting (um, impatiently) for the last painting for the sewing/art space to be ready for framing.  Perhaps I should be more productive.  

Yoga, coffee, sewing, in that order.

K.