Stash Studios

Vintage Gems

Two out of three of these qualify as a new idea for old things. That's good enough for me.

When junking, keep an eye out for great buttons - even if you don't sew. You can add them to an existing choker or chain to make a one-of-a-kind piece for your collection.

I also like to look for bakelite dice. These are fairly easy to DIY drill in a loop and string to a necklace.
Recently I saw something similar offered by Free People.

The center necklace is my absolute favorite and one that I scored where else but Warrenton. My friend Jenny and I still wish that vendor would come back to the show. Last we heard, she was working with a friend who owned The Tattered Hydrangea boutique in New Braunfels, Texas. Yes, she made that big of an impression on us.

Sparkle on,
Cheryl

Sacred Heart

I don't consider myself a traditional jewelry gal. If I wear a piece, I like it to be an artistic statement.

When I did the tattoo tee tutorial, I had no idea how many cool folks I would meet. One of the best connections I made was with a pyromaniac named Amy of Torch by Night. This girl blows my mind with her blown glass - artisan created lampwork beads to be exact.

See that sacred heart I am sporting the photo? It is blown glass. How cool is that?

Even if you don't make jewelry, I'm thinking that her gorgeous work would be perfect for a zipper pull on your next sewing project.

Amy did several other pieces that I will feature later but as I am packing my road trip suitcase, this is going in and I wanted to get a quick pic to share.

Enjoy your day,
Cheryl

What's that whirring purring sound...

...ah yes, it is the sound of my blender. Great expectations have been set. Can't let the posse down.

Must deliver jalapeño margaritas to friends. Adiós!

Celebrity Sighting

Does Robert Earl Keen's brother and sister-in-law count as celebrity sighting? Sure, we'll take it.

Rust Never Sleeps...

...and usually during Warrenton, neither do I.
Today is the eve of our adventures.
My soundtrack to kick off the show is classic - Neil Young.

You gotta have a soundtrack. This is an extended road trip, after all.
And every good road trip needs tunes.

In honor of all things old and good, check out Neil's guitar. Talk about something with a history. Neil's original guitar is really a '53 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop that some previous owner repainted black over the original gold finish. That guitar has suffered from many modifications throughout the years and is Neil's main axe. He has gigged her a zillion times, recorded dozens of themes and appeared in many photos, videos, films etc.

And here is one of my favorites Hey Hey My My  performed live in Spain.

Neil Young / Hey Hey My My
Uploaded by ivaxavi

Peace out,
Cheryl

Give me a sign

I want to tell you about my mom. If I could only tell you one thing about her, I would tell you about the time when we were moving into this great old house with the kind of peeling paper wallpaper that had the cheesecloth on the backside. I was about 5 or 6 and she handed me our big shoebox of crayons and told me to fill the walls with whatever was in my head.

Now, being a mom, myself, I realize she may have just been hoping for a few minutes of peace while my brother napped. But she gave me this great launch to my creative endeavors and small though it might sound, it was big and will always be big to me. If I could go back, I imagine that I had a moment of disbelief and then another hesitation as to what on earth to do with all that space but I vaguely recall filling it up.

Now, my mom is pursuing her own creative endeavors with Cat Spring Woodworks. She has built a thriving business from her home which has included generating intricate replicas of historic buildings and homes - bird houses - hand-carved cedar pumpkins - toad abodes for customers around the country.

Recently she scaled her business to focus solely on hand-painted signs. You can find her work exclusively at Mustang Alley Antiques where she works on many Saturdays. You can also find her sharing a booth with Mary at Warrenton in Renck Field.

The signs are very affordable and make great gifts. She frequently does custom order signs, as well. All her work is done by hand. It is done with great care and most importantly it is not outsourced to some sweatshop in a foreign country.

So if you are in Warrenton, give mom a shout and make sure to pick up a sign. If you're not in Warrenton, just shoot her an email and she can make all your sign dreams come true.

Cheryl

Green Trends

Wow, have you checked newsstands lately? Looks like corporate America has realized there is money to be made in going green.

Fine, maybe the idea of following a trend will get more on board.
Whatever it takes.

It has long seemed to me that buying vintage and rethinking items first thought to cast off was the best way to go "green".

Above, Rachel and I can be seen sorting through pieces of old enamelware. We used these pieces to hold candles and pencils. They made great flower pots and an entire set made their way into the family sandbox to help prepare all those complicated mudpies.

Mustang Alley

Mustang Alley Antiques is located in downtown Cat Spring in what once was the town's general store.

Cowhides and cowgirl curiosities. These are a few of the things you will find at Mustang Alley Antiques. Mary, purveyor of all things cowgirl and cool has a knack for finding uniques and antiques including furniture and a wide array of accessories to decorate your home and yourself.

In fact Mary was recently featured in the Barndominium article in  Houston House & Home magazine as a preferred dealer for local designers.

Her prices and quality  are outstanding and she will be set up on Thursday in Renck Field in downtown Warrenton.

If you go by, you might find Stash Studios cooling our heels there. But be sure to tell Mary and Frances (my mom) that you saw them featured here.

the ZZ Top

Originally published Monday, March 19, 2007.

There once was an old t-shirt that needed a makeover...and this is the story of its transformation.

ZZ Top was on fire last night as they closed out the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. The arena lit up with fire and fireworks as they channeled a little Johnny Cash by doing Ring of Fire. Very cool show! Also cool was my newly pregnant friend, Sarah.

You see, Sarah knows ZZ Top and had a backstage pass. She wanted something special to wear.

My mission was to take an x-large ZZ Top t-shirt and make it into a sexy halter. I can never turn down a rock-n-roll project, so I cranked up ZZ Top and got busy.

First I had to get Betty pregnant. I did this with quilt batting and stuffing based on Sarah's measurements. Second, I did a little draping on the form for practice with an old t-shirt.

I chalked the halter lines and darts. I then decided to cut the halter shape from the front of the t-shirt. I cut to the sides of the t-shirt, leaving a full back in tact.

Based on the placement of the back graphic, I decided to flip the back of the t-shirt upside down and use the bottom hem as the top hem for the back of the halter. I chalked more lines on the back and pinned to the halter front.

I used a rhinestone buckle to gather the upper edge of the t-shirt and hide the point at which I attached the halter straps.

Finally, I split the back and edged with a black panne velvet. Sarah finished off the t-shirt by adding grommets to the velvet and a lace to give the halter a corset look. Then she made a shoulder bag out of the remaining t-shirt fabric with the "Expect No Quarter" text.

A good time was had by all.

So before you throw away that old concert t-shirt, think about taking it to a different shape.

This is a great beginner dress form project.

There would be no ZZ Top story if it wasn't for my friend Sarah who recently thumbed a ride up north with a moving van. The junk posse will really be missing you!

Cheers, Cheryl

Ugly Betty

Originally published Sunday, February 25, 2007.

Don't get me wrong, I love things that are worn and have a life story to add to my home. However, Ugly Betty had been nearly demolished by critters. And her transformation has made the list as one of my proudest sewing accomplishments.

A friend of mine got caught up in an auction frenzy and purchased Betty without looking under her dress.

Imagine her surprise when she discovered that dear Betty had been left to rot with severe water damage and essentially - no butt!

She delivered Betty several days later and we set about trying to fix her. We cut off the excess fabric and vacuumed her out (interesting seeing how these things are made).

Initially we stuffed her with batting and wrapped her with duct tape because everyone knows that duct tape fixes anything. I don’t have pics of this fix because she was all sad and lumpy. Duct tape is not forgiving!

We decided that this was beyond our expertise and we should see what an upholsterer could do for her. So we abandoned Betty and went out for sushi.

Upon seeing Betty in our studio, my daughter decided that she was SCARY! And she was.

So the next day, I cruised ebay to see what JR Bauman, Natural Form Dress Forms, Inc were selling for. I could only find one in much better condition that had sold for $400. Although there are places in NY that refurb forms, it just seemed too expensive an endeavor.

“Can’t” is not one of my favorite words. “Won’t” is fine (as long as it is coming out of my mouth ;-) So I decided to tackle Betty once again.

I removed her duct tape.
This time I over-stuffed her with batting.

Then, I wrapped her with sheetrock patch tape (you know the kind that looks like yellow screen and is slightly sticky? )

Finally, I wrapped her bottom with strips of Warm & Natural cotton batting.

She looked like a semi-mummy and the contrast between the top and bottom was going to prove difficult to cover with a standard muslin.

Argh! So I made a pattern directly on the form like the lovely Anna Carlson taught me to do in her draping workshop.

I cut the first cover from Hobbs wool batting. Luckily this stuff is forgiving so it helped me test my muslin pattern. I stitched the sheath together then on Betty. Still too much of a top/bottom contrast for a muslin cover.

Soooo, I raided my stash and came up with exactly 1 yd of Moda’s Vintage Reserve Washed Wool. I cut and stitched the wool and hand sewed the sides with upholstery thread.

I turned and stitched the neckline. Finally I removed the cage and stapled under the form and under the shoulder plates.

Wa-la!

Enjoy your day,
Cheryl