Makeover Monday: 3/25

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Hope you aren't tired of Easter baskets!  After much deliberation, my last basket customer decided on a bucket style girl basket in pale pink, with some striping and bow in this pretty vintage print.

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This may be one of my favorites of all time- and I've made quite a few of these over the years.  I adore the feminine color and bit of whimsy in the print.  I left the bow long because it hangs so sweetly.  This one is headed to California today!

Makeover Monday:3/18

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With Easter right around the corner, the basket orders are still rolling in.  Two years ago I made a green and white Easter basket for a little girl in Tennessee.  Now she has a baby brother, and her mom wanted to go with green and white again.  It was important to make his different and more "masculine", however, so we decided on more of a bucket shape with a couple of stripes as well.

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How sweet did this turn out?!  Part of what I love about working with fabric is never knowing 100% what the finished product will actually look like.  It's usually a wonderful surprise!

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Two more baskets to go and 50 bale covers to cut before spring break.  I really needed today to not be a snow day, but at least now I have errand running company :)

Makeover Monday: 3/11

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Thought you might enjoy seeing the Easter basket that I shared fabrics for last Monday.

This little lady is headed all the way to Texas :)

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The lucky little girl's mom wanted to know if I could personalize the basket.  I don't sew or monogram, but I can add a charm.  This little frame with "Kyleigh Jean" is just tied with ribbon to the fabric bow.  An adorable touch- I love this idea!

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Here's wishing you a lovely week!

Makeover Monday: 2/18

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A new customer from Mississippi ordered up a shabby chic style Easter basket.  She wanted shades of pink and cream, in a rose print.  These are the two fabrics she chose.

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Here she is, in all of her ruffly glory, ready to head off to the post office tomorrow.

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Happy Monday, Friends!!

Makeover Monday: 4/2

This is the main fabric chosen for the ruffled Easter basket purchased last week.  Given a choice of green, blue, yellow or pink for the base, my customer chose pink.

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Here she is in all of her girly glory, ready to head off to Missouri today!  This is the last basket for Easter 2012.  It's never too early to order for Easter 2013- I can make these year-round :)

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Today is packing day at the Thoma house- a most dreaded day indeed.  I am still planning to blog while I'm away, so please check back often.  Have a great week!!

Beach Boy Basket

Yep, it's Tuesday AND there's another makeover.  In fact, it's gonna be a makeover extravaganza this week!  A new~to~me Etsy customer purchased a custom heirloom Easter basket last week.  She asked for blue, lime green, and yellow- and these are the chosen fabrics.  Believe it or not, there is a teensy bit of yellow in the center of the iris flowers on that right-hand fabric!

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I used the solid blue for the base, and the stripe for the body and handle- with a double wide dose of the lime through the center.

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A side bow comprised of all three fabrics sets it off perfectly!  What do you think, Tiffany?  This is ready to head out to Delaware tomorrow :)

Bonus Makeover: Ruffles Galore

This was the fabric chosen by my latest Easter basket customer. 

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 I did five rows of ruffles- I just couldn't stop!

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I initially planned to use a solid pink for the very bottom, but I found a pretty polka dot that worked even better.  It blends perfectly! 

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Apparently this is turning out to be "basket week" here on the blog.  I have another one tomorrow, but it ISN'T for Easter and it IS a different shape.

Makeover Monday: 3/12

 A new sosorosey customer purchased the made-to-order boy Easter basket last week.  She wanted light blue, light yellow and white as the colors.  I poked around in my stash and found this gorgeous cotton that fit the bill.

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Unsure of whether or not I'd have enough of the sand dollar fabric, I chose this one to use as the base.  The colors would blend, and I'd be certain not to run out of the primary fabric at a crucial point.

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 Finally, after all these years of crocheting with fabric, I can pretty well envision what it will look like once it's cut and crocheted.  This one is every bit as beautiful as I knew it would be!

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This guy is all set to send off to Texas as soon as it is approved!

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And guess what?  I had enough fabric left to make another basket to slip onto the sosorosey shelves!  This one has the two fabrics reversed, but the bow, like the other one, is made from a strip of each fabric. 

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There is another basket coming up this week, too... this time a ruffly girl one ... so stay tuned for that!  I also have the promise of some customer project photos to share, and a custom order made from baby sheets.  What will you be working on this week?

Makeover Monday: 3/7

You KNOW I have a thing for polka dots, so when I found this soft cotton full size sheet set, there was no doubt in my mind what I had to do.

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I *had* to make a large Easter basket to list in sosorosey, so that someone else's little girl can be the princess of the egg hunt, too!
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I'm not sure whether I want my first listing photo to be with the lamb or without. Do you have an opinion? I'd love to know what you think!

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Happy Monday, Friends! I'm sitting here this fine sunny morning looking forward to what should be a relatively easy week. No appointments other than a lunch date, nothing to remember except for "crazy sock day" tomorrow. I'm getting ready to head over to my favorite thrift store for sale day- I have a very special order that I'm working on, and I'm looking forward to sharing details of that with you soon.

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I hope you have a lovely day and a happy week! If you have not had a chance to enter my giveaway at the Vintage Sheet blog, don't fret- it's open for entries through March 11th. You can head on over to enter by clicking HERE.

Makeover Monday: 2/28

I started this week's special project with a thrifted springy floral cotton twin flat sheet, and quickly realized it wouldn't be enough for what I had in mind.

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So, I raided Sophie's closet and found this polka dot twin flat sheet that perfectly matches the flowers.

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I used the floral for the beginning and end of this basket,

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... and the dots in the center. I used both fabrics for the side bow!

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Before you wag your finger at me for swiping my daughter's sheet, let me explain that this is to be her very own Easter basket. Last year I got so caught up in making baskets for the shop and other people that my own babe didn't have one of these beauties. (Bad, bad mom. Though I'll admit that all along I've been banking on the idea that kids ultimately don't remember anything from before they are 5 years old) In any case, now she can be the princess of the egg hunt!

Easter Basket

Happy Easter! What a perfect day to share this new basket with you!

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Before I left for my trip, a lovely customer wrote to ask if I could make a basket for her like the one I shared on my blog... you know, the ruffly one. I did not have the same fabric I used before, but I found this sweet "impressionist" floral that we thought would look wonderful.

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I hope the Easter bunny is good to you today. See you tomorrow for Makeover Monday!

Makeover Part Two

As luck would have it, I had the exact same fabric my customer initially liked- and enough of it to make her the basket she envisioned!

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I began by cutting the entire twin sheet into a long strip about 2 inches wide.

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Then, I made the base. Here it is at about 10 inches wide, 3 inches tall.

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I was so excited to start the loopy part! This is with one row of tutu fluff...
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...and *eeek!* here she is with the double row of ruffles.

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Finally, I finished her off with a super sturdy handle. I had to break into sheet number two about midway through the second loopy row. No matter how many bowls, baskets, rugs or trivets I make, I am always stunned at how much fabric goes into this work.

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Tah dah!!! Here she is; 100% fabric, 100% ecofriendly, 100% awesome (maybe I'm a little biased). I really do feel like a proud Easter bunny helper, though.

Makeover Monday: 3/22

Good Monday morning! I have a two part makeover for you this week, and it comes from a custom basket request that I received yesterday. My task is to make a basket shaped like this:

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In a color like this:

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With a little bit of this kind of *tutuness* around the top:
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I am so thrilled with this challenge! This is to be a true heirloom, as it is being made for an 18 month old little girl to be her "forever" Easter basket. Come back tomorrow to see how I did!

New Boy Basket

A brand new customer sent me a message the other day looking for a custom Easter basket for her son's first Easter. She found me by searching for a basket online, and joined Etsy just to contact me. The google search that Etsy has been working so hard on must be working!

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She wanted a mix of lighter blues and navy, and settled on this plaid flannel for the fabric.

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I finished this last night while watching American Idol (go Crystal, go Lee). I love the way it came out, and I hope my customer does too. I have two more custom basket orders (for girls) in the works, so stay tuned for more makeovers!

Vote For Makeover Monday

I am ready to make another ecofriendly boy heirloom Easter basket, but choosing which fabric to use is giving me fits! I've narrowed it down to these four, and could really use your help. Try to look only at the colors, not the pattern- once it is cut and crocheted the pattern you see will change altogether. Please leave a comment and vote for your favorite; the one with the most votes by tomorrow at noon will be the Makeover Monday for 3/1.

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#1 Soft periwinkle flannel with a buttery stripe

#2 Rusty orange with indigo and sky

#3 Ultra-faded paisley slate

#4 Pale blue with teal and mustard

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Thank you in advance for voting! I'm excited to see which one wins!