Lovely Nest

Check out the new site

2010-10-11T13:05:00.000-07:00

Check out the new site! LOVELY NEST DESIGNS!

I will be posting here from now on. Come over and visit!

There she goes!

2010-09-30T09:25:00.001-07:00

There she goes.... she's been prayed over, loved on and is ready to try her wings in the big city. (Why do I feel like I am sending off my first born to college or something???)

Psalm 118:6 (new living translation) "The Lord is for me, so I will not be afraid!"

This is the memory verse we are working on with Grace this week. (She memorized it on the first day...like a sponge... Me, on the other hand had to repeat it over and over and over... and still sometimes get the numbers transposed... ) How fitting to be working on this verse this week.

Shout out

2010-09-29T18:07:00.001-07:00

Today I am honored by a shout out from a seriously cool, totally hip, awesome gal who lives in Chicago and just got back from Fashion Week in NYC. UM, yes, I already expressed my jealousy! I met her through ETSY and she has the greatest website full of eye candy!

Today she featured me and my Lovely Nest brand! So sweet! Check it out HERE. Hover over the needles until you see the one that says LOVE IT... and click on it. There we are!

She makes really beautiful jewelery and when she gets her ETSY shop up and ready, I'll show you some of it!

Front Page 4!!

2010-09-26T07:48:00.000-07:00

check, check, check it out. Love all these things!!! Woo hoo!

Look what God has done!

2010-09-24T15:09:00.001-07:00

Only by the grace of God can I say what I am about to say: my children's clothing will soon be available at a boutique in NEW YORK CITY! ..... ahem...yes, you heard that right... NYC, the Big Apple, baby! Stoopher and Boots will be carrying my items!

I am so humbled and honored to have this opportunity, and let me tell you that it was totally the Lord! The owner of this shop (who is incredibly sweet and kind, by the way) found me through ETSY and contacted me to see if I'd be interested in selling my clothing in her shop! Out of the 6.5 million listings on ETSY, she found mine and that's only by the grace of God.

Just the night before I got the email, I was praying for direction, for peace and for open and closed doors. Wow, talk about answered prayer. Be encouraged, God hears our prayers!!!

So, once I get enough items made, I will be hugging them goodbye, wishing them luck, boxing them up and sending them off to the BIG CITY to fend for themselves! Can you believe it!???

Front page #3

2010-09-18T12:49:00.000-07:00

This little lovely made it to the front page of etsy this morning! Seriously, this is awesome!

Click HERE to see the FRONT PAGE treasury!!! Can't believe it!

Pearl and her new coat

2010-09-15T14:43:00.000-07:00

Meet Pearl. We just adopted her yesterday. She's a beauty. Here she is wearing her new coat. It was made by yours truly from scratch...from the stash...! One part green fabric that I've had for ages, and one part vintage floral sheet + 4 vintage buttons = pearl's coat.

Here's the lining... cut from a vintage sheet. Yes, she's fully lined, shined and simply divine. (Sorry, that was corny.)

The back with an almost 4 inch pleat. So cute.

Here she is again, in all her glory.

Now the only question is: Pockets or no pockets? I had the pockets on... but then took them off... now I need some advice. Pockets or no pockets... and if pockets are the verdict, which ones??? See below. Floral pockets??

Or green?... Hmmm, I can't decide. What do you think?

Ok, truth is, I made this coat for Harper, but don't tell Pearl, she really likes it and thinks it's her color. I've got to break the news to her sometime, but maybe I'll wait just a little while... since she's new to the family and all... I want her to feel welcome here, you know. So... pockets or no pockets? Pearl isn't giving me any indication what-so-ever... so I turn to you.

Oh BTW.. I made this from a vintage 1970's pattern from the stash! Even better!

Stash Busted, AGAIN! Woo hoo! Check out the stashbusting september challenge here:

linking also here:

Front Page Again

2010-09-14T18:44:00.000-07:00

Front page again! I can't believe it... so cool... and so the Lord. A friend told me the other day that people wait years to be featured on the front page of etsy! And the 2nd time in just a month. Don't know what will happen from here, but I am thankful and I am enjoying the process.

Had another blessing today related to the little clothing business. I was able to buy a really nice child sized mannequin for 40$... that's a seriously good deal! I've been dying for one of these for a while... Thankful, and God is faithful and he is working although I have no idea what the plan is. That's Ok.

Oh, and in the world of sewing for my children... I started making an absolutely adorable coat for Harper... as in facings, linings, interfacing, plackets etc... And from a vintage 70's pattern. It's turning out so cute. Can't wait to finish and publish pictures!!!

Blue Eyed Beauties in Upcycled Dresses

2010-09-13T11:43:00.000-07:00

100% Recycled dresses. Stash Busted on these! 1 brown sheet + 3 vintage floral sheets + vintage buttons from the stash.... = Lovely, awesome dresses. Love them!

Pockets to Cuffs!

2010-09-07T12:04:00.001-07:00

In thinking about Stashbusting September... I realized I had TONS of cuffs left over from men's and women's shirts that I've used for up-cycled projects in the past. So, I had to think of a way to use them!

Here goes: Turn those cuffs into POCKETS!
**I used a boring brown jacket in my daughter's closet, a green tote that I've had in my do-something with this-pile for a while; and some cuffs from my stash

Here's a little tutorial on how to do it.

Step One: Cut the cuffs from the shirt with about a half inch to spare see pic.

Fold over about a quarter of an inch, iron.
Fold over again to the seam of the cuff and sew, using the existing seams as a guide. See following picture:

Excuse the switch in pocket... now we are looking at a jacket that I was sewing pockets on to...same procedure! I have typed out the directions also, just in case you can't see the words on the pics clearly!

Step 2: Locate where you want the pocket, button cuff and pin in place, aligning sides.

Step 3: Sew as shown, follow arrows and sew through all the layers.

Step 4: With pocket buttoned, mark with a pin where the pocket folds to close.
Step 5 (although the pic looks like it says step 6...sorry): Open the pocket and sew straight across just below the level of the pin. I sewed 2 lines of stitching for stability.

Repeat process until all your pockets are sewn in place... Ta Da! Stash BUSTED! Yea!
Try it on bags like this, coats, jackets, pillows, wallets, who knows what else!

Etsy Photo Preview

2010-09-02T05:15:00.000-07:00

Check this out! Here is a preview of one of the shots Alana took for etsy. Isn't she AMAZING?

CLICK THIS LINK to go see the picture...I don't want to post the pic here yet without her permission... More to come!

Etsy Update

2010-08-31T18:59:00.000-07:00

Etsy, Etsy... so many things to say about Etsy. I've learned a lot these past few weeks, some good, some not so good! Still no sales yet, but BIG news...

One of my sweaters made it to the FRONT page of Etsy! That's big time, I tell ya... with the millions of items listed there, I feel HONORED to say the least.

I've been listed in several Treasuries this week by other shop owners and I made it to a blog tonight with over 800 followers, so that's exposure. All these things are great!

I've gotten emails asking if I could make a dress currently listed in a different size, which I knew may be a problem... but that's the nature of the beast I guess. If I am trying to create one of a kind hand crafted items, using 99% recycled materials there usually can't be one in every size... you know? It's something that may or may not work on Etsy, but I've gotten great feedback. People like what they are seeing, and when they tell me they are looking for a certain size, I am able to create something similar in the size they are looking for.

All this is so new, I really in the scheme of things have no idea what I am doing, but that's OK... I'm working on it and learning things along the way.

I'm adding some vintage things to the site as well to diversify my offerings. We'll see how that goes!

Some things are in the works for the fall... so I've got to be pretty busy sewing, which I love and that's good. I've said it many times: the more I sew the more myself I feel. My favorite thing to do is sew while listening to a Fred Hammond or another gospel singer on Pandora. Talk about inspiration...although, one time I almost stitched my finger to the garment because I was dancing. Scary, I know.

Today Alana of Nala Photography came over... talk about talent. She is amazing, and just one of the sweetest hearts you'll ever meet. Don't get me started on her baby yall... just adorable. We took pictures of a bunch of stuff for Etsy. I can't wait to see how they turn out!

So, things are moving. I've been praying for direction with this whole thing... so we'll see where this leads, if anywhere.

Princess Procurement

2010-08-26T12:03:00.000-07:00

Thankfully, my soon to be 4 year old can't read all the words in this post yet... but I have a confession to make:

Gulp. Here goes nothin'.... Every single present Grace is getting from us for her birthday IS or is directly related to a Disney Princess.

There. I said it... I admit it. I am embarrassed now, but feel better that I got this off my chest.

I have no idea what other family members or friends will get Grace for her birthday, but I will be OK if every single thing she gets has to do with princesses. Why? Well, I'm not sure. She loves them, that's all she talks about and because I want her to like her gifts and feel special because we listened to and value what she thinks is cool... I don't know, I guess that's it.

Confession #2: She is getting 2 princess shirts, but they will be night-night shirts only, and I think it's OK that I am setting that boundary.

So, there you have it.

On a totally unrelated note, listen to this song. If you are on facebook, you probably saw that I posted this link there too... but man, wow... this is my prayer.

Sometimes you feel like you need a fresh touch from God... like everything around you is stale and icky. Well, this song came on Pandora today, and was exactly what I needed to hear. Like a cool drink of water and a breeze on my face... Refreshing. Take a listen. Good stuff. I love Fred Hammond.

Brand your hangers: A tutorial

2010-08-23T07:55:00.000-07:00

Do you have any of those full-body plastic hangers??? Like this:

As ugly as they are, they do help clothes, especially little dresses, hold their shape for a display~
But who wants to have this ugly hanger as a part of their craft show, artisan festival display or open house??? I don't... so I came up with this little fix. Cover up the ugly and brand your hangers all at the same time! If you are interested, here's how I did it.

Materials:
Plastic hangers to cover
Jute or hemp string
(you could also use strips of fabric, ribbon etc.)
Hot glue gun (the low heat variety works best so you don't fry your fingers!)
Disposable plate
square of felt
fabric paint
stamp
fabric to stamp on
scissors

Step 1:

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Now its time for stamping

Squirt a small amount of fabric paint on to a disposable plate. Place the square of felt on top of the paint. This is your stamp pad. Using your stamp, press down on the felt square over and over until the paint begins to come through to the other side. Wipe your stamp clean of the paint build up, and you are ready to stamp. Press the clean stamp onto your 'stamp pad' and make sure it is well covered. Then stamp onto your fabric. It may take a few tries to get it exactly right. See below:
Once your stamps have dried, follow instructions on paint bottle, some require heat setting with an iron. Then cut out your stamped fabric and hot glue on top of your jute covered hangers.

Ta Daa! Much more beautiful.

Upcycled Love

2010-08-20T18:07:00.001-07:00

1. totally vintage shirt from Honolulu
+
2. white cotton tee stained near the hem
+
3. elastic thread
=
lovely vintage inspired t-shirt dress

This is a 100% up-cycled creation. Grace loves a t-shirt dress, and that's good for me, because I love to make them!

I wish I had a picture of the Hawaiian shirt before I cut it off! I removed 2 pockets on either side before cutting straight across at the arm pit seam

Close up of button placket and hem

a new thing...

2010-08-09T17:40:00.001-07:00

Take a look on the right sidebar...

" When you are unsure which course to take, totally submit your own judgment to that of the Spirit of God, asking Him to shut every door except the right one. But meanwhile keep moving ahead and consider the absence of a direct indication from God to be the evidence of Hi s will that you are on His path. And as you continue down the long road, you will find that He has gone before you, locking doors you otherwise would have been inclined to enter. Yet you can be sure that somewhere beyond the locked doors is one He has left unlocked. And when you open it and walk through, you will find yourself face to face with a turn in the river of opportunity- one that is broader and deeper than anything you ever dared to imagine, even in your wildest dreams. So set sail on it because it flows to the open sea."
-from Streams in the Desert

Yes, folks... I've done it, finally. Stay tuned... more to come.

Pray for me yall....

summer sewing

2010-06-11T06:35:00.000-07:00

You know you've got some kind of obsession when you are watching a basketball game and wonder about the sewing techniques used to make the uniforms. Yes, I will admit, I did it.

Actually... anytime I see something that catches my eye, I don't look at the tag to see how much it costs, or even look to see if they have the size I need... I pick it up, look at the fabric, examine the seams and make mental notes on how to recreate it at home... N.E.R.D. It's embarrassing. I am sure people think I am crazy. Ok, enough with the confession: Here are a few things I've made in the last week or so.

Let me just proclaim here how much I love elastic thread and shirring. From a cost-saving standpoint, it is the wonder thread! Above is a dress I made for Harper... She seriously may be able to wear this for 4 years... with the tie straps, and the shirred bodice, it will fit almost any size. I could probably wear it as a shirt! When it gets too short, throw it on with some leggings or shorts and you have an adorable boho-chic top! Actually, Grace could wear it like that right now. LOVE it.

Here are a couple of dresses I made for the girls to wear on vacay... Again, elastic thread, awesome. I just barely had enough 'designer' fabric left over from a project to make these dresses. I don't buy designer fabric, usually because it is so darn expensive... we are talking 12$-25$ per yard and sometimes more... Ummm, no, I don't think so.
Confession #2. I broke my own rule recently because my fav fabric store had all their fabrics 50% off... but that is literally the first time I've ever splurged like that. Now I have to try out a million patterns to make sure I have the perfect one before I dare cut into that fabric-gold!

(when I tell the girls I am going to take their picture, this is the reaction I get...silly poses.)

Here's one of the patterns I am trying out. Love the round yoke, and I think I like this pattern... but we'll see. Grace's is made from some vintage fabric and a lady's skirt... Harper's is 100% vintage fabric, baby. I love that.
Ok, so if you don't care anything about sewing, I just bored you to death... sorry about that! Off to cut some more patterns.

Thoughts about Motherhood....

2010-04-26T19:02:00.000-07:00

G.K.Chesterton:

"How can it be a large career to tell other people's children about the Rule of Three, and a small career to tell one's own children about the universe? How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone and narrow to be everything to someone? No, a woman's function is laborious, but because it is gigantic, not because it is minute" (What's Wrong with the World)

RETRO sheet refashion

2010-04-19T15:52:00.001-07:00

I love colorful retro sheets. They make me smile, they make me swoon. I love them more than most other thrift store finds. There's just something about them, Ahhhhhh. Look at a few of the thousands of things you can make with them!!!

I like to call this dress LOVE. Because I love it.

Bottom button detail.

Love the pink and green floral dress too! There is a big vintage button closure at the back that is fabulous!

*the brown and pink parts of the dresses were sheets too. Love what you can do with them!!!

Easter dress possibility???

2010-03-29T14:30:00.001-07:00

Here are our cute little dyed Easter eggs with real bunny grass growing inside! I love these. Chris kept them alive while we were in Florida! Thanks, Honey!

So...

you like

these dresses???

I haven't tried them on the girls yet, and I just have to spend a little time praying that Grace will actually put it on her body. I usually have to make up a snazzy name like 'cotton candy dress' or 'Sleeping Beauty dress' or something of the sort... and that warms her up to the idea.

Although, today I came to get her out of bed in a cute skirt of my own, and she looks at it and says with all the enthusiasm in the world: "Ooohhh MOM, I looooovvvvveeee that skirt... will you make me one JUST like it?? Can I see it twirl???" So, that made my day, and it is on my list to make her one.

Cush for the tush

2010-03-09T17:17:00.000-08:00

If one is related to me and is learning to walk, one may need a little more cush for the ole tush. Poor little Harper is walking more and more each day, but when she falls, she falls hard on a little tiny butt. She's got bruises on her booty from falling on toys, rocks, and other various and sundry objects. So, what is a mom to do??? Make her some ruffly, cushy panties/shorts, of course!
Grace got a pair to because I couldn't resist a picture on the beach with the two little ruffly butts together!

Harper's first pair of 'cushy tushy' shorts

Grace's pair, a little longer, more like board shorts. She actually loves them! Yay.

Harper's 2nd pair of cushy tushy bloomers. So cute.

Ruffles in all the right places: Bathing Suit Refashion Tutorial

2010-02-08T13:27:00.001-08:00

Drastic times call for drastic measures! I am leaving for Miami in a few days with my husband and sadly, all my bathing suit tops are now too big!!!! Breastfeeding 2 babies in 3 years has either a) made me forget how small I really was.... or b) really shrunk all the wrong places...if you know what I mean. :) So, I need all the help I can get.

I found a bathing suit at Target that ruffles in all the right places... and, seriously, it added at least a cup size, and honey, we all know I need it. So, I succumbed to the illusion of a bigger tatas and paid well over $30 for the darn bathing suit. Not to mention that it was the color of a freaking hard hat. Not good. But, hey I was willing to make a few sacrifices.

Then it came to me: I can do this myself! So here's what I did:

Old bathing suit top; not bad...but accentuated my boyish figure. Sad, sniff sniff.

Above: TA-DAAAA.... Oh, sorry, I mean, TA-TAAAAS!

Tutorial:

Materials: I used an old bathing suit top and a pair of old workout pants with holes and paint all over them. (made of spandex or lycra or something... I am not sure what they are made of, but it looked and felt like the same material the suit was made out of...)

Step 1: Cut the pant legs into strips, mine were about 3/4inch wide. I used about 12-14 ruffled strips. The fabric won't fray, so don't worry about that.

Step 2: Set your machine to the longest stitch length and highest tension, and ruffle each strip right up.
Step 3: Pin one ruffled strip at a time to the suit, and sew it on. Start at the bottom of the suit and work your way up.
That's it. Keep ruffling and sewing until the suit is covered. There ya go... instant boobs! Thank you very much! Turned out cute, huh???

*disclaimer: Haven't tried this in the water yet, so all those ruffles may very well water log me... but hey, sometimes you just have to put on your big girl panties and deal with it, ya know?

From Trash to Fash...

2010-02-03T06:11:00.000-08:00

Refashion- Here are some of my latest trash to fash projects...! Like that phrase??? Trash to fash... HaHa

Trash: skirt with broken zipper and holes around the waistband

Fash: Adorable dress... reminds me of Anthropologie....love that store.

Trash: stretched out navy blue t-shirt

Fash: cute tunic style top with ruffle flowers size 12-18months. Adorable with leggings... I'll have to post a picture of Harper wearing it, when I get one... much cuter on, I think!

Trash: Circa 1999 old navy dress + torn bridal veil

Fash: embroidered blue tutu petti-skirt

Trash: boring thermal shirt

Fash: 3/4 length sleeve thermal ruffle dress

Trash: Size XXL short sleeve tee with a few stains

Fash: Little ruffle bottom spring dress with envelope style neckline

Spring Fling Garland Tutorial

2010-01-28T14:59:00.001-08:00

This is my first tutorial, so hang with me here!!! I love this garland and I love the fact that you can use scraps and things you already have around the house in order to make it!!! I am open for feedback, so either leave a comment or email me at jamie.burton@comcast.net. I have a couple more tutorials in the works, and am going to make it a goal to do one every couple months throughout the year! So check back!

*Materials:*
-scrap fabric (can be old clothes, scraps left over from projects, really anything)
-rope, ribbon, hemp string ( I used 6/32" cord filler because it's what I had on hand)
-needle and thread
-good fabric scissors

*Here are the easy steps!!*

Flower Style #1

1. Cut fabric into circles. I cut 2 inch circles (by hand, no template) but any size will work. The bigger the circle you start with, the bigger your flower sphere will be! You can either combine different fabrics when you stack them, use all one pattern or solid color, it all will look cute! I used 20-30 circles to make one flower.

4. Thread 3 or 4 more triangles onto your string as pictured above. At this point, I stopped adding the triangles in a row. Instead, I pushed the needle through the thickness of all the fabric so that I might add triangles to the other sides of the flower. Keep adding petals in various places until you have a spherical shape. *this step is kind of hard to explain, so email me if you are confused! It will probably make more sense as you do it.

Here is a picture of the 'flower number 1' coming together.

Flower Style #2

5. I used THIS tutorial to create the pom pom flowers except I substituted strips of torn fabric (1/4 inch wide). You can also cut the strips, but tearing will always ensure a straight line and will give you a more 'fuzzy' look, which I like. But if you want less 'fuzz' you can surely cut the strips.
Snip the fabric with scissors about every 1/4 inch, and then then tear into strips. The more strips you use, the bigger your flower pom will be. (for the one pictured above I used about 11 strips that were about 12-18 inches in length)

6. Continue making flowers of both kinds with lots of wonderful fabrics until you have enough for the length of garland you wish to make.

7. Time to sew them onto your rope! ( I used what I had on hand, which turned out to be 6/32" filler cord, but you can use a thicker rope, ribbon, hemp, or whatever tickles your fancy)
I threaded the flower onto the needle close to the center, this way it won't flop around once it's sewn onto the rope.
Simply stitch your flowers in place and fluff the petals! Mine are spaced about 5-6 inches apart.

8. Continue stitching on the flowers until you are satisfied with the length of your garland!
9. DONE... Isn't it wonderful and beautiful, and doesn't it make you long for spring????