Just finished looking through this e-magazine. Such a pleasure to see so many clever and well-designed objects in bright, happy colors and patterns.

Now I need to get myself some of those:

All items from Sagaform ( google for retail purchases)

As you can see I am a little obsessed with retro. Speaking of obsession, I am totally obsessed with Heal's and I so wish they delivered to the US:

How to sew a simple pillow cover tutorial

Sewing a pillow case is not as hard as it can seem to be. Today I will share a quick tutorial for those who have very minimum sewing skills. Basically if you can sew a straight line - you can make this! Replacing pillow covers in a room can make all the difference! So as a part of my Reclaim Series I have dedicated today to creating new pillow covers for my sectional in the living room.


My pillows are 20"x20",  so my front panel is the same size. You have to adjust the rectangles dimensions as per your own pillow size. ( Just replace 20 with your own number)

Then I finished just one 20" side for each of my flaps. ( 2 flaps = 2 straight lines total)

Then comes the assembly: Put your front panel ( 20x20) right side up.

On top put the larger flap, right side down, line up 3 RAW edges.

On top put smaller flap, right side down, line up 3 RAW edges.

Your finished edges of the flap will overlap each other.

Pin all around and sew.

That's it! Took me a little over hour to finish 2 pillows covers!

Fabric are from Fabric.com. 

Vintage Blossom Citrine by Dwell Studio & P.Kaufmann Theo Marble
(Instructions via TheCreativeMaven )

Coffee on fabric

Another week, another contest! This time the theme is COFFEE!!! I absolutely love coffee, so I tried extra hard to create something special. Here it is.... Please feel free to vote for whatever you like, for as many as you like here

My coffee-inspired fabric design: Spilled Beans

Some lovely designs from my fellow designers: 

(From left to right, top to bottom)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Soft spot for hippo...

Can someone please just buy this cutie??!!!

I have to stop spending money and stumbling on this adorable Hippo everyday on etsy does not help! LOL!

A very cool DIY project that requires NO money! 

Update an old frame with this clever and so good looking handmade art. 

Can you believe this is made from Home Depot paint chips? Details here.

Sleep no more

I am so excited! Today I booked tickets for one of the most mind-blowing shows here in NY- "Sleep No More".
Have you heard of it?
It is a very unusual experience where the audience wonders through a dark building, in a complete silence and all while wearing masks! They observe different scenes of the play that can take place anywhere... Sometimes audience members even happen to be one on one with an actor... totally unpredictable and bit spooky...

I will be wearing a mask like this...

And I might be one of these people...

Geometric rugs

I have noticed I have been into geometric patterns lately, especially when it comes to rugs. What do you think? Is it just a passing trend or are they here to stay?

Neutral-colored rugs can work almost in any room. Can help to tighten up a seating area, bring additional layer of pattern, and lighten up large areas of dark floors.

Colorful and vibrant, these rugs can waken up a room, offer fun contrast, complete a color scheme and create a bold and dynamic statement.

All the above rugs are from RugsUsa.com under the contemporary section

(Disclaimer: I receive NO compensation of any kind from rugsusa.com)

How to create a gallery wall Part 2 ( Fitting) + My IKEA trip report

My report on IKEA trip:
The day has started funny. I was on the bus going to Ikea and a woman walks in with a 2-2.5 y.o. girl sleeping in her arms. When she got closer I realized that the girl was not sleeping, but NURSING! And her mom just kept making her way  through the bus crowd, with no breast cover whatsoever and not a hint of shame or embarrassment. My eyes kept checking the strange reality, while my brain was in total denial: maybe the girl was simply leaning too close and cuddling, or maybe it was just a very revealing dress with a deep v-neck?
 No, just a solid woman's breast out in the open, in her daughter's mouth. I am not judging here! I am all pro-breastfeeding, just....not an ordinary, everyday sight for me ;)
After the woman got off the bus( still with a suckling child in her arms), the driver, who also happened to be a woman, looked at me and asked: "Was she nursing?" And we both nodded quietly.
Anyways, this made me forget all my worries about the little boy who bit my son at the day care...but, back to Ikea.
Right after I loaded my cart with all the Ribba frames I needed, I found a different line of frames I totally fell for. They are called STROMBY, and they are thinner, mat-less and have a cleaner, more modern look. Not really brushed chrome, but more of a softer, lighter tone of grey, which basically disappears on the walls and lets the artwork really shine.

I started replacing my Ribba with these new frames, only to find out not all the sizes are available in Stromby. After a long debate with myself, I had to go for the mix of both lines. Still not sure if I love it, but I'll try to make it work. The layout had to be re-worked a little to mix up 2 different kind of frames. So it is looking more like this now

Productive Day

I had such a productive day yesterday, it made me happy .
Here is a little glimpse of what I was up to:

I still have to put a second coat of paint and select the fabric, most likely it will be the Rainy Clouds

Then I went on to work on my Living room gallery wall, virtually...

I left some frames empty as I still have to create photo collages of our kids. I found some new artwork pieces which I will share with you later, after the wall is complete. I think it is coming along pretty nice... 

Then it was time for dinner, I craved fish cakes like crazy!! Coated in crunchy Panko crumbs, 

hmmm, yummy!

Oh, almost forgot, yesterday I was contacted by a french blogger who, as she said, "had a crush on my fabric shop", so sweet!!

She featured my shop on her blog here if you want to check in out and practice your french.

Off to the IKEA to pick up some frames... 

For me, summer and stripes are synonymous. Wouldn't you love to flaunt one of these ???
Awesome striped bags, totes, clutches... What's your pick?

( shown from left to right, top to bottom)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Living Room Makeover -Gallery Wall Artwork ( Reclaim Series)

I am very thankful to this blog and my weekly Reclaim Series, as it really keeps me motivated to work on the upgrade of my living room. I often thank Heavens for Etsy, not sure what sources I would have used otherwise, but it is a GREAT place for original artwork and unique pieces to beautify one's home ( vintage finds are awesome!! if only my hubby wasn't so opposed to it...)
 Anyways, recently I have found another great source for original artwork - Society6. You can see work by tons of talented artists, and have your selected artwork in either a print, stretched canvas, a T-shirt, and even as a  hard phone case or an  iPad/iPhone/Laptop skin.
 Isn't great?!!
 I could spend another century browsing, sorting, re-selecting potential artwork for my gallery wall, but I have a life to live.... so I will make it quick and painless ( I can always replace those we get tired of, because I am not spending a fortune here ;))

Here is a little collage of what has cought my eye ( both from Etsy and Society6):

I know these are such different pieces and I have to sort out more to get a more cohesive look, but this is a FIRST draft just to get this going...
I sort of wanted to create something dreamy and light, but I also like a little humor, and of course photos of my kids! Not sure how I am going to tie it all together though... Hmmm...

Artwork from left to right:
1. 2. 3. 4 5 6 7  8 9  ( sorry #3, I am trying to find the source!!)

How to create a gallery wall - Part 1 ( Layout)

While I am still looking and searching and sorting for a potential artwork that will go on my gallery wall, I thought I'd share with you the process of the layout.

I started by deciding what sizes of frames would look good on my giant wall. The answer: mostly large, affordable, thin frames, white color, by IKEA. So by looking up the frames section of the IKEA website, I figured the following sizes should work for me:

good mix of 20"x28", 20"x16", 20"x9",16"x12", 10"x10", + a couple of existing small ones I am planning to spray white.

First, I created full scale shapes of the  future frames by piecing together plain white printing paper. I started with larger ones, 20"x28". 

Put them on the floor, made a couple of smaller ones, put them right next to the large ones. Then it was just a lot of eyeballing and moving around action...One by one, I kept piecing together rectangles and squares of the sizes suitable for the next spot.

Example of the shape I was talking about...

It is also helpful to create visual boundaries on the wall you are planning to accessorize. A couple of  masking tape pieces will do the trick:

Measure the distance. Then, when you are assembling your collection on the floor, you will have a specific number to reach. Mine was 136 inches!

It started small.... I just kept adding one by one...

Then my collection grew...

And grew some more...

When you are satisfied, take good pictures. You will be able to recreate this layout later when all artwork/photos are framed and ready for hanging.

Off to search some artwork and sort through tons of photos....

Question: If the kids are 3-4 years old, can I still put their baby pictures on the wall? Or is it too late and too weird?

For Part 2 - click here
For Part 3 - click here

Kiddie Time

While looking for a good wall clock option for my living room, I found so many cool, unusual wall clocks that  would make an great addition to a nursery /children's room.

Now isn't it the best time to visit Etsy and check out all these handmade goodies?

(Disclamer: I have no commercial associations with these Etsy shops or their product. These selections were made by me purely from a design standpoint.)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Living Room Makeover ( Reclaim Series)

So my friends, I am happy to report that my new rug has arrived and it is BEAUTIFUL!!!

I absolutely love it!

As soon as I unrolled it, it gave my living room an instant face lift! Colors are so fresh and soothing.The rug looks and feels soft and.... yummy for the lack of a better word!

I have put together a quick mood board for the room to get a general idea of where I am headed. Of course, items may change because of the price/size, but as I said the idea/colors represented is what I am trying to achieve. 

The clock shown is from one of the Etsy shop ( there are a few of them selling it), but I am still debating on  this... I will consider other options before committing to this one.

Hello my friends!
I am so excited to finally post pictures of my completed swing! As I mentioned earlier, once I installed a newly sewn awning I knew I had to give it some color splash by painting the metal frame. So here it is - My happy swing ( and  bit of a process):

Everyone in my family liked it, which does not happen a lot, so I am relieved this project is off my list with a happy end!

Cool blog! Get your kids here.

Simple and clever crafts to do with kids on this amazing blog!

Finger painting activity that produces almost fabric-like pattern. Cool!

The storm is coming...with you!

I love contests related to pattern design. My friend has sent me a link to "Threadless Love" contest ( thank you Friend!), and I have entered my 'Rain Clouds" fabric design as a pattern for a tote.
There are over 100 of great designs ( at this point, but number is growing) that have been submitted by other talented people for either a tote, a wall decal, a scarf, or a piece of apparel. Each entry is given 7 days to collect as much scores as possible. If you like to see the participating designs, including mine,and score, click here:

Here it is - my "The storm is coming.." entry.  7 DAYS to go...

"Like me" if you like...

I don't know why when it comes to Facebook I feel like a complete idiot and computer illiterate person! First, I want to say that I was not into it from the beginning and now I feel like I am totally left behind. Many simply say it is a MUST to promote and network via FB, but any inklings that I had to properly set up the account would quickly die after I'd run into some technical issue. Personal accounts, business pages, groups, likes, follow me, poke me, usernames and a wall and news feeds would all tangle up into an impossible mess.
Today I really gave it some time, and after a while with a help of a friend, I have finally set it up.... I think...

So please give a warm welcome to my new Facebook page for NewMomDesigns. Use the link or the button  to get there and like me! :))

Happy 4th everyone! Let's get those grills on!

NewMomDesigns

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