The Messenger Bag

My friend Kristy told me about a fabric store she read about on another blog.  It's called Maisonnette in Oceanside,  California.  I live about an hour from Oceanside at the opposite end of San Diego County, so it's not a shop I can just pop into.  I made a stop awhile back with Casey on our way home from Anaheim.  I have spent the last six months up there just about every other weekend for my volleyball team's tournaments or Casey's team tournaments.  

The shop is an old beach cottage that the owners, a mom and her two daughters have turned into a fabric, photography, and art studio.

Here they are modeling their hand made Mission Maxi dresses. 

To read their blog and find out about the pattern used for these dresses click here.

So Pretty!

The shop is adorable.

Casey and I thought it would be fun for her best friend's birthday (Maddie) to get fabric and a pattern they could make together.  There was a girl in the shop making a messenger bag and it looked like the  perfect project for the girls. 

Casey picked out some cool Japanese fabric for Maddie and her to use.

Here's Maddie

She is such a great friend to Casey!

Casey has had virtually no sewing experience. I thought this project would be easier than it was for a beginner.  I have been sewing for so long I forget how frustrating sewing can be when you're first learning. 

It took many hours to get to this point.  The girls got tired.  The moms got tired too.  So We took a break and I finished Casey's for her while she was at school. 

She gave it a great effort, but it was little too ambitious for a "newbie" sewing project. 

 

Here is the picture of the finished product.  Casey used it as a book bag for school.  Since the girls didn't finish their bags together, I didn't get a picture of Maddie with her bag.  Casey doesn't like when I take pictures of her so she's making her "fake smile face."  It's perfect for school. Casey loves it.

  Definitely make a trip to Maisonette if you are in North San Diego County. 

It's worth the trip.  I can't wait to go again!

Thanks for checking it out.

In the Gym

Hope you had a great weekend.  I spent it in Anaheim in the Convention Center coaching volleyball at the Junior Olympic Qualifier.
Here is my team. They're an under 12 year old team and this is their first year together.  The man on the left taking a picture of the parents is my friend and head coach Nick Fotias.  Our team finished second in San Diego County and sixteenth over all in Southern California.  Being a new team, this is an amazing accomplishment.  All of the higher ranking teams come from established veteran programs.  I am very proud of them! 

 Casey's team went too, so I got to see her briefly throughout the weekend.

It's so rewarding to work with these wonderful girls and watch them grow and develop into exceptional young ladies on and off the court. 

They aren't just learning the game of volleyball, they're learning life lessons.  Their character is being challenged in only ways that playing on a team can do.  They are learning patience, how to win with grace, how to loss with grace, how to achieve goals, how to handle failure, how to work as a team, and how to have fun!

The pay is little, but the rewards are priceless.

Hope you spent the weekend doing something you love!

Thanks for checking it out.

Casey's Room

I have always loved black and white. I decorated my very first apartment in black and white. I couldn't paint the walls black because I was renting, but I had black lacquer furniture (It was the 80's) and black and white boldly striped living room furniture. I painted large, brightly colored graphic art for the walls. It was my modern period. My design tastes have long since gone away from stark modern, but I have never lost my love for black and white.

Black is my favorite color to wear, until they come up with something darker.

I have a few rooms painted black in my house. Several years ago I painted the whole laundry room with black chalk board paint. I painted the powder room and the rotunda leading into the master bedroom black too. I love the contrast with the white molding.

Contrary to what most people would think, it has been my experience that black makes the room look BIGGER! The walls fade into the background and the fabric and accessories become the star.

Last year I gave up my office and let the girls have their own rooms. They have shared a room for the past nine years.

This is Casey's room.

Casey loved the idea of a black and white room with splashes of hot pink and blue. I had a few raised eyebrows when I told people I was painting Casey's room black. I could see their minds questioning, is Casey turning goth? It's not goth, I would say it's classic and feminine. I continued the black paint on to the ceiling and cut in about 18". This painting technique highlights the molding and draws the eye up, making the room feel larger.

I did the molding myself. Much easier if you buy the corners pre-made. No mitering necessary for the long pieces. I borrowed my Dad's nail gun to make the molding job go faster.

This is a brass chandelier I picked up for cheap and painted it white. I have a chandelier fetish if you haven't noticed. I added the ceiling medallion and covered the chain in coordinating black and white fabric.



Cami's bedroom has a huge closet, so I made this closet into a computer desk area. My dad made the shelves for me. The drapes were purchased at Target and can be closed to hide the mess.



I added another piece of picture molding where the black and white ceiling paint meet.
I made the valances from the Target drapes. I could not have purchased fabric for less than what I paid at Target. Curtains and bedding purchased at discount stores is hard to beat on price and if you buy bedding, it comes in wider than 54" widths. The wider width is great for making slip covers slip.


This is a chair and a half that matches my living room couch. I made a slip cover with a bedspread quilt purchased from TJ Max. I buy just about everything on sale or at discount stores. One thing I don't go cheap on is paint. I always buy good quality paint. It covers better, with less coats, and last longer. My favorite paint is Benjamin Moore. This room is painted with Ralph Lauren Bone Black in eggshell.



I used the reverse side of the quilt for the bed and made bright pink and blue pillows for the bed and chair. The bulletin boards you see are covered in the Target drape fabric. The large bulletin board on the right hand side of the picture is made from 12" x 12" cork squares staple gunned to the wall. It's 3' x 4' and would have cost a good chunk of change to buy a bulletin board this large. I glued a 3' x 4' piece of fabric on top of the cork squares and added picture molding around the edges.




The pink bulletin boards are from Marshal's. Again covered with fabric to tie it all together.

I purchased the mirror for $10 at Big Lots and painted it white (it was gold). The picture above the bed is one of mine I painted. The dressers were mine when I was a kid. I'm currently looking for a bigger one on Craig's list that I can refinish for Casey. The book shelf is from a garage sale. It's oak and was stained brown. I painted it a distressed white. We already had the bed. This is one of the beds form a bunk bed set that we took apart. Cami has the other one in her room.

The great thing about the black and white color scheme is it's so easy to change the accent colors if Casey gets tired of the pink and blue.

Thanks for checking it out!

Costumes

Here are the kids in their Halloween costumes. Casey dressed as an Eskimo and Cami went as a farmer. I'm afraid this might be Casey's last year of dressing up and trick or treating. They look so big to me! Where have my babies gone?

Hope you had a fun Halloween with your family!