Banasch's Fabrics

I've been super busy helping with the re-opening of Banasch's Fabric store, here in Cincinnati!  Banasch's has been in business since 1910, but closed this Fall.  We are so excited that they have found a new location in Anderson Township, about 5 minutes from my house!  The owners are good friends of mine and asked if I would like to be involved with the new store.  So fun!  Here are some pics of the window display I did and some other products I made for the store using their beautiful fabrics!

I found some vintage lampshades that I embellished to make a tree in the window and used different sized embroidery hoops for the ornaments.

 

 

 Banasch's has gorgeous special occasion fabrics that make perfect stockings!

 

 Of course, we're selling Tabbo headbands...great stocking stuffers! 

 Look at this awesome Riley Blake sparkle fabric!

 Covered canvases using Sis Boom ruffles and trim from the shop.

 And this is the "Trim" tree I did for the front door!  I took a wire coat-hanger and shaped it into a tree, then glued the green fringe trim to make the tree.  I filled a bunch of red and green bobbins for ornaments, as well as little silver and gold pom pom trim.  The trunk is a vintage spool of thread and I used a rhinestone button for the star from the stores amazing button supply!  The vintage frame came from our favorite local antique booth, The Flea (located at Riverside Antique Market)!  I LOVE how it turned out!

If you get to Cincinnati, come see us!!

Studio Space

Years ago I made a playroom in an area of our basement that wasn't finished.  A friend and I literally built the walls and the "stage" ourselves.  We had just re-decorated our dining room, so we used the old chandelier and  mirror to dress it up and then made satin curtains for the stage.  The girls loved playing dress-up down there, and even little Bo got into the "Tabbo Band"!

 It was perfect for a playroom because the doors could be closed and no one had to see the mess!

  Unfortunately for me, these guys all grew up!!  So the room became a storage room again with big plans by the husband to become a "theater room" or a workout room...until I decided to take it over once again a couple of weeks ago!  Now look what's behind these doors...

 A new studio for Tabbo Design!!!
As much as I liked the brightness, I took down the satin curtains and got rid of the stage...sniff, sniff!  Such great memories with that stage!  Once I got that out, I covered the entire room with square flooring pieces. I was able to save a large piece of Corian from our old kitchen counter to use as a cutting table.  I took one of the cabinets from my old sewing room and made it into the base of the island/cutting table.  I also painted some cubbies that fit up against the backside of the cabinet to give more storage space.  The Corian is the perfect surface for a cutting table because it cleans up so well and is practically indestructable!

I spent hours and hours going through bins of fabric and unfinished projects.  The clear bins are from Lowes and are the perfect size.  I can easily see all of my Sis Boom fabrics.

  And I love that I have room for the desk too.  Now I just need a new computer to sit on top of it!

I hung a giant peg board for threads, scissors, and tools.  The work bench is from Lowes and is perfect for me because I am tall and it sits at counter height.  I keep the IKEA wire drawers next to my machines for current projects.

  The white bins on the second set of shelves is for non-Sis Boom fabrics, linings, interfacing, etc.. I realized that I have quite a bit of trim that I don't use.  I thought if I could see what I have, I might be more likely to use it, so I created this space in the corner.  I've had the kids toy bin holder forever and the bins are the perfect size for things like elastic, and packaged trims.  Since I was painting everything, I went ahead a painted the bins black too!

I used foam board to create little cards to wrap the trim onto and then hung them with wire hangers and clips from IKEA.  I love that I can see it all now!

 I'm very excited to finally have a space to work in that I love! And now I can be with the kids when they are downstairs and I can shut the doors when it starts to look messy!

Bling Mirror!

I bought this mirror (at Hobby Lobby) about 5 yrs ago with the intention of painting it or somehow transforming it into something more fun.  It went from black...

...to bright.  A little too bright!

It went from the girl's room, where it was never hung, to the storage room in the basement, to the garage.  In fact, I believe I pulled it out of the trash a couple of times when my husband tried to sneak it in there!
I finally decided what it needed about a week ago...BLING!

 

Basically, I just used Mod Podge to attach the strips of fabric onto each surface, then added the ruffled flowers and trim pieces.  I used whatever beads/crafting jewels I could find around the house, and then started cutting up old pieces of jewelry.  After a while, I just started gluing whole pieces of jewelry right on the mirror.  There's actually an entire bracelet wrapped around one edge.

NOW, I'm finally happy with this mirror and it has found it's place in our house!!  Super fun!!

Sis Boom and Mod Podge...

 This is why I never part with ANY Sis Boom scraps!

 Different from every angle.

And it looks great with the little up-cycled chest...

Lucky Girls!

Merry Christmas and Happy 2014!

Hope you had a fabulous Christmas!

Christmas Pictures!

I love decorating for Christmas and I try to change things up every year.  Probably my favorite part of our house is this nook that seems to have been designed specifically for a Christmas tree!  I wish I could send a Thank You to whoever created it!

We put the biggest tree we can find in there and then put a smaller, artificial one in the piano room.

Upstairs, we have a tiny artificial tree for the kids...you can see all 3 from the balcony!

This little tree holds years of handmade ornaments from the kids and all red and white lights.  The kids love to put this together each year!  This is Bo, trying to add a "star" to the top!

I also finished Austin's "Skater" skirt this weekend!  This is my new favorite skirt!  No pattern, just need measurements.

Taylor offered to model a scarf ...

 This is why Taylor doesn't model for me!

12 Days of Sis Boom!

I am so excited to be a part of this blog series celebrating Jennifer Paganelli and Sis Boom!  I absolutely adore Jennifer and am constantly amazed by her talent and her generosity.  She is an incredible woman who has brought so much joy to my world!  I can't begin to thank her enough.  This tribute to her is well deserved and I am truly honored to be a part of it!  

I have so many blessings in my life and so much to be thankful for, but this has been a challenging year for me, personally.  Thank goodness I have a creative outlet to turn to and thank goodness I have Sis Boom!  For me, the beauty of Jennifer's fabrics lift me up and literally make me happy.  When I can transform a yard of fabric into a skirt, or a pillow, or a bag or whatever, it transform me too.  There's no way else to explain it!  So, when we decided to re-do our girls' room this Fall, I knew it had to be done with Sis Boom.  How wonderful would it be to wake up everyday and see the bright, happy colors of Jennifer's fabrics?!   

I've been sending Jennifer sneak peaks of the room as I've been working on it, but now it's ready to be revealed!  It's not totally finished but I love where it's going so far!
So, here is the room before...

It was cute and bright but a little "young".  Here it is now...

The beds are black and have two drawers on each side, which eliminated the need for dressers.  We also re-did the closet to provide more space for their clothes.

I started with the cornice boards.  I LOVE mixing up the Sis Boom in unpredictable ways.  I wanted lots of color that would work with the purple walls and the brighten up the black beds. 

The crazy love in the center is one of my all-time favorite Sis Boom fabrics.  Jen outdid herself with that one!  In fact, if anyone has any they'd like to sell me...I'll take it!

I covered an ottoman from our living room and added casters to the bottom to give them some extra seating for their friends.  I have another one to cover but just haven't gotten it done yet!!  There's also a handle on one side to make it easier to move.

This is Bradlee's end of the room.  She loves the Crazy Love too, so I did these Euro pillows for her (yesterday!) out of what I had left.

They're perfect with the new Lucky Girl!!!  I spruced up this little piece too.  You can see it next to her bed.  I just painted it and decoupaged some fabric to the top.  Easy project that totally transformed it and saved it from the junk pile!  Sorry for not getting a better "after" picture!

We're still working on the wall space and accessorizing.  I have a few ideas so come back after Christmas and see what we've done!  Here is Taylor's end...

Taylor is fun and a little crazy.  She likes to mix things up a little more, so her pillows are more of a mix of colors.

I've said it a hundred times, but that's the beauty of Sis Boom fabric...it all works!  You can't go wrong!

We decided to only keep one of the desks for the girls to share in order to save space.  I'm also searching for just the right full-length mirror to go where the light tree is on the wall. 

Here is one of the lamps in the old room...

 And here it is now...(you can see the tutorial for this  if you go back through the blog).

 This is Bradlee's end of the room before...

 ...and after.  I was worried about the beds being too big for the room, but they really aren't.  In fact, the room seems a little bigger now without the dressers and desks.

 And here is closet before and after (also blogged about previously)...

So much better! Notice the row of Sis Boom skirts!?!?

So that's it!  That's my Sis Boom room!  It makes me happy every time I walk in there!  I still need to finish the duvet covers, but I saw a little sneak peak from Jennifer recently of a new line coming out that has a little black in it...so excited to get my hands on that!!  And I'm thinking about throwing in a bright colored rug as well.  Most likely, these pillows will keep changing with every Sis Boom line that comes out!  Once I get through the Holidays, I'll be able to get back in there and finish everything.  But for now, we love it!  It's a little more sophisticated for two girls coming into their own.  It's fun and pretty but not too young. 

I have to say a special thank you to Jennifer and to all of my Sis Boom "Sista's"!  Jennifer, you have changed my world, and I am proud to not only love and admire your talent, but also to call you my friend.  And to the Sista's, you are amazing women who inspire me every day.  Just knowing I am not the only sewing obsessed, Sis Boom loving, creative nut out there keeps me sane!  Please check out their work by following our 12 Days of Sis Boom...

December 09 Sew Pretty Dresses
December 10 Sweeter Than Cupcakes
December 11 Sweet Baby Jamie
December 12 Hickity Pickity  Handmade Dress Haven
December 13 Tabbo Designs 100 Billion Stars
December 14 Heavenlelgh Blessings Boutique
December 15 Scientific Seamstress
December 16 Sweet Baby Jamie
December 17 Hold It Right There
December 18 Sew Fun By Monique
December 19 Small Town Girls Clothier Marie Madeline Studio
December 20 Granny B's Clothesline Lilac Lane by Melissa Stramel

If you happen to be in the Cinci area, remember you can buy Jennifer's beautiful Sis Boom fabric at Banasch's fabric store on Red Bank Rd..  
And don't forget to like us on Facebook!
Merry Christmas!!