vintage scavenger hunt?

Sounds right up my alley!  

Love for Modern June!

In the last week Modern June have received some love from some super cool places!
Check out my interview at Mostly Mod!

I was also featured in a crafty article in the May issue of Richmond Magazine.

My pal, Nicole Lee, grabbed this etsy front page for me yesterday
while I was off-line for the day.

What an honor, thanks for all the love!!! xoxo, Kelly

Is that my childhood bedding?

This is so much like my the bedding on the canopy bed. I got it when I was a 10 years old! I loved those kitties! You just gotta love Michael Miller fabric!

Feliz el 5 de Mayo!!!!!

Diet Raspberry Margaritas? OK! Me thinks this sounds great. Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Strawberry Days

It's Strawberry Days at Feathernesters!! All month long you can sample an array of strawberry goodies. Here are just a few new items on Tea Room Menu; Strawberry Muffins , Strawberry Waffles, and Strawberry 6-Layer Cake. I can totally vouch for the Strawberry Muffin, Marc treated me to one when I dropped off their strawberry-licious oilcloth order. Next trip I am sampling that 6-layer cake! Strawberry has long been my cake of choice, my mom made for one every year for my birthday, my mother in-law took over the tradition, and it was also one of the three flavors of my wedding cakes. Can you tell I really like Strawberry Cake?

Well not only do they have a ton of strawberry yummies, they also ordered up a ton of strawberry oilcloth products from Modern June. Here is a peak of what you can find at Feathernesters....

Modern June Bubble Gloves

New Oilcloth Placemat Combos!

Fun new oilcloth Shopper Totes with Rick Rack!

I hope to have these new items listed in my etsy shop later this week.
For now you can find other versions of the shopper totes and placemats listed!

I can't take it any more!

BEFORE

Now, don't get me wrong I like a fair bit of clutter and chaos but this mess has got to go! I can not make on more thing in this place. This evening is clean up time!!! Wish me luck!

AFTER

Modern June Dream Vacation

The Grand Daddy Airstream Penthouse Trailer Park? Oh Yeah, DA-REE -MEE . Sign me and my Pattio Daddio up!! I would dye my hair black and get a Betty Page hair do for that vacation!

Bridal Shower Picnic Basket

One of my RCM friends is getting married in June. Ono's lovely ladies in waiting throw her a wonderful shower last weekend, it was a welcome break from my unending sewing-palooza madness of it all! We all go very dressed up, drank in the ice tea vodka in the afternoon and played fun shower games! My favorite game was the "design a tissue paper wedding dress" competition! It was too fun--gotta get a photo of that from Dawn!


My friend Beth and I went in together to create a special one of a kind picnic basket. Ono is a very green girl, her entire business is about re-purposing vintage cloths into fresh and stylish fashion. So we just had to start with a fantastic vintage picnic basket from Stiletto Girl Vintage! (she has the coolest type writer for sale). Then I tricked out the basket with some dishes from Target, some funky vintage napkins from Vintage Butterfly 94, bottles of wine, a brown lace splat mat and an oilcloth lining that was loaded with pockets. I hope to blog about the lining over the weekend.


In the end is was so cute that I was afraid I couldn't let it go! I love finding someone a gift that is totally them (and me)!

still here

I am still here and still working my batookas off! If I were to blog I would say that I work a lot, I don't sleep a lot and I have two kids that need lots and lots of schooling. The End! I will try to have something better soon! ; )

inspiration and a busy week

I have been super busy this week. The kids got one more day off from school on Monday, this was only cuz I slept the day away. After that it has been business as usual. School, Doctor appointments, a trip to the movies -- Mommas back!

(cool stuff that would be great in my B&M boutique--a girl can dream)

I have also been super busy in the studio. I have 4 shops that need filling up right away. Nicola Floral got a new round of goodies last night and Strawberry Fields gets a bunch of new stuff today. Next week I take Feathernesters their hugh Spring Order, they have ordered a bunch of new stuff, I have a new cherry line coming out and they got first dibs. We also have a new boutique in the mix, for them a ton Oilcloth Party Banners and Shopper Totes have been cut and are ready to be sewn.

(I wish my studio looked like this!)

I have been the loan sewer for the last week or two, pregnancy and motherhood took my beloved April back for a bit. (Still missing you!) The cutters have been working like mad Junies, all the pieces are cut and I am faced with a ton of sewing for the next 8 days. Scary but doable!

(More fun stuff I would carry in my little shop)

I have a great new addition to the Junie crew this week, I found someone to take over shipping and handling. Yeah for Gracie! And today a new stitcher grabs her first round of stitching. I am very excited and then another stitcher that can start cranking early next month. I am so excited, I need some sleep! Modern June is growing and I need my Junies!

Have a great one! BTW, the photos are of my inspiration wall. The post needed some eye candy.

Shout of for Spring Bada Bing!

Photo Credit Mark Gormus / Times-Dispatch

We had a great show! Check out this great article at the
Richmond Time Dispatch Website.

the BIG show today

C'mon out and see me, and lots of other vendors today at Planet Zero. Admission is FREE!

that is a lot of swag!

that is a lot of swag!, originally uploaded by ModernJune.

silly squirrel

CIMG1633.JPG, originally uploaded by ModernJune.

He did get himself out and is a hurry too.
Someone might have banged on a window to freak him out but I am not saying who?

random shopping

So yesterday there was a really cool RED laundry line thingy (sold) on the front page of Etsy, I got so excited because I thought it was a card shuffler. Oh man, I have such great memories of my Grr's card shuffler. When I spent the night with her we would stay up and play canasta, and I would shuffle the four decks of cards needed. So I could not rest until I found one for my very own, ebay to the rescue. Wish me luck I have a bid on the one above.

Now I need to get this so I can teach us how to play. My Grr had to teach me time and time again.

promos

I love me some vista print! Look at all the cool loot I have ordered. I got most of this for show swag for Sunday's Spring Bada Bing. I love ordering from Vista prints, if you do it right all you pay is shipping, gotta love that!


I also have great new tags, look three sizes some thing for every product. I love the finished look on the outgoing products. I feel like a grown up biz.

what a lovely sunday

Easter creatures, originally uploaded by ModernJune.

Yesterday was a beautiful day! I love Easter Sunday, we do our little traditions and then relax. What is better than a day off with lots of chocolate and deviled eggs in the house?

easter silliness, originally uploaded by ModernJune.

I could barely keep my hands off the rake while the kids hunted for eggs. The backyard still had more than its fair share of oak leaves laying around and keeping the grass from growing. I wish I was better about that kind of thing, but Fall turns into Winter, and I can't be bothered to venture out of doors. Today was my day to get out there and commune with nature in all its hard working glory. For hours I raked and swept up all the leaves, acorns and winter debris. Man, my arms are out of shape!

hunting eggs, originally uploaded by ModernJune.

Before we had kids, DH and I lived in a lovely house in The Fan. Our landlords were very cool, and let me play in the dirt. I was out there every Sunday diggin', planting and weeding that tiny little front garden. Our elderly next door neighbor call me a "Seventh-day Gardenist"-- he would laugh and say that I was in my own little church. I think of ol' Woody everytime I am out finding some peace in my garden.

It is chilly here today, but very beautiful. Dear Husband said it right when he mentioned that "at least it looks like a perfect spring day." Normally we would head out to the Easter Parade or Maymont but Dear Son hasn't been very comfortable in crowds lately, so we decided against putting ourselves in a situation that he (and we) would not enjoy.

Movieland, movies in the city!, originally uploaded by ModernJune.

In the afternoon we went to see Aliens vs. Monsters at the new Movieland theatre. Man, 3-D has really gotten great! I can't tell you how nice it is to see a first run movie in the city of Richmond. It only took us 3 minutes to get there!!! The thing that big-business doesn't get, is that city dwellers HATE to have to go to the burbs to shop and be entertained. The movie was great and the theatre was incredible! They took an old railroad foundry and turned it into the coolest multi-plex theatre imaginable, full of artifacts and even old rail road tracks right in the middle of the parking lot pay tribute of the buildings history.

CIMG1593.JPG, originally uploaded by ModernJune.

Later that evening DH and Dear Daughter went off for dinner at his folks house. DS was still not 100%, so he and I had dinner and a movie in my bedroom. We snuggled up and he fought to keep me awake--in the end sleep won out and I missed the end of The Iron Giant for the third time.

What a great day. For about a year now I have been struggling to have Sundays off, no sewing, no shipping, no work of any kind, but there just isn't enough time during the week to get it all done. For now, I will be thankful for the random Easter Sunday.

Hey, maybe a better goal would be one Sunday a month! I could make that work.

Happy Spring!

Happy Spring!, originally uploaded by ModernJune.

Our best batch yet!

New Book!

Check out the new book I just ordered! The ever talented Betz White has some great looking projects in store for us, Sewing Green has 25 projects made with repurposed and organic materials. I can't wait after the show and taxes, I am doing something just for the family!

BTW, you CAN NOT live a happy sewing life without one of her cupcake pin cushions! I mean it you gotta have one or better yet make one!

controlled chaos

I am in full production! I have loads of wholesale orders and the big Spring Bada Bing show next weekend. Yesterday as all about our Oilcloth Party Banners, sorting and prepping. Tonight I am finishing them off. I love having stock on the shelves. What a happy feeling!

We are adding a new design into the mix, Chalk Cloth on one side and oilcloth on the other! This was a special request from the Dallas shop, The Gypsy Wagon. I love when I get great requests like that, some times people know just what I want to make! I have been wanting do these for a while now. Fun stuff! Who knew the our original oilcloth bunting could get any better?

Now if my new hang tags would just get here I could get all this out in the mail! UPS where are you?

Technical Difficulty!

OK, I must have some bad electronic mojo going one! First my printer/copier won't work and then my internet connections dies! What's next, oh, I did not just ask that. So 2 1/2 days with out internet almost killed me, it was amazing how many times I would find myself in front of the computer mindlessly checking my email. Forget the fact that I love to feel loved by my friends and family, the major issue was work! I never really thought about that issue, when you have an online biz you really need online access!

But I am back and I am glad of it! I have fun stuff so share like fashion shows, tons of new aprons and the after shot of my pantry. But for now I have be a grown up and to get to shipping and printing. I will return later today with something fun!

craft lounge!

Come and join us for some crafty fun! Craft Lounge is this Monday, April 6, at Fleur Fabrics.

Sew Mama Sew Book Review! Kitchen Linens

Check out the book review I was honored to do for Sew Mama Sew, my most favorite online fabric store and blog! That team is all crafting genius! by EllynAnne Geisel, The Kitchen Linens Book: Using, Sharing, and Cherishing the Fabrics of Our Daily Lives and it is right up my alley!

To celebrate finishing my book review, I set out to make my family this pretty picnic mat (click here for tutorial). The day my family spent flying kites in a wet field, I knew we needed one of these, but it was reading the section on picnics in this book that made the idea a reality.

My philosophy for both shops, Modern June and Oilcloth Addict, is that small things in life help to make big memories. I know EllynAnne feels the same way. Linens of all types evoke fond memories. I can not wait for the next nice day! I am so filling up that watermelon picnic basket with some good food to enjoy on a sunny day. My goal everyday is to cherish the making of each memory.

After you read the review be sure to leave SMS a comment, they are giving away 6 copies of the book! Good luck!

Then, you have to go into your linen closet and pull out something cherished and lovely and use it. I dare you, you deserve to have nice things around you every single day! Set the table with your best linens and enjoy! No guilt, just pleasure!!

chalk cloth tags and pot lucks

So, check out my latest tutorial on Oilcloth Addict for these fun and easy chalk cloth tags. I made them for the pantry/laundry room, but I just had to steal one for our homeschool picnic today. Fun, right? Think about the possibilities. If you are going to a potluck you could not only label your dish, you could also leave a set of chalk cloth labels for the hostess. Now that is a hostess gift I would love to get.

I'm doing a give away of materials for you to make your own sets. Leave me a comment on the OCA chalk cloth tag post, and if you are one of the first 10 peeps to leave a comment, you will get a free kit.

It's all been a great big lie!

photo credit, recipegirl.com

I am shocked. My mom just confessed that the FAMILY recipe for irish soda bread came from 1980's magazine. She totally lied to me when she faxed the recipe in 1995. I have long lost that fax, so today I called her for the recipe. We have a big homeschool picnic today and that would have been so perfect to do with the kids. Here I am thinking I am about to pass down a recipe that is 100 years old and the dang thing came from a ladies freaking home journal. What else has the woman lied to me about!

I am so calling my Aunt Anne for the right recipe, she is nun, she won't lie to me!!! I know it is silly but I think I might just have to shed a tear or two over this. Darn PMS. So for today I will cheat like my mom has done for decades and use any old recipe that I find on the inter-nets! I am so disappointed.

This recipe from recipegirl.com looks the most like my Great Grandmother Moylan's soda bread. I used to make it with her all the time, especially around easter, it was a spring staple. I am off to bake. But I am still mad at my mommy! ; )

goody good gift

One of Maddies friends turned 12 today and we needed the perfect gift. The family is very down to earth and not into the that typical Disney tween thing at all. They have often given Maddie handmade gifts from the heart for her own birthday, so I knew a Target trip would not do. I liked the challenge, a lot.

While roaming a fabulous new mega Jo-Ann store, I had a great idea, Maddie and I could make our own doll kit. So, this morning I set out to find a great tutorial for handmade dolls. Maddie and I agreed on the super cute Pint-Sized Pocket Dolls from the goody-goody blog.

I downloaded the pattern, dropped her tutorial into a doc, and printed them out in color. Maddie then grabbed an array of bright cotton from the scrap bin, and I gave her some of my yummy linen stash. Next we hunted the studio for needles, embroidery floss and a hoop. We totally forget the stuffing--oops--good thing she lives across the alley! We tied it all up in some rick rack and had ourselves a super crafty kit.

I can't wait to see Mimi's handy work. Don't tell Maddie, but I have a kit for her too! I'm going to give it to her tomorrow after school.

So go get off the computer and get to getting crafty! xoxox

spring cleaning in the Studio

I was supposed to sew all day, getting all those orders out and creating some new things for the upcoming Spring Bada Bing show. But that didn't really happen, instead I spent the day cleaning the studio. I started at 6 am and finally finished up around 6 this evening.

Even though I am tired as hell, the studio looks great. Clean and clutter free, well as close to clutter free as it gets down here. At least MY stuff is tidy. I do share that space after all, the man might not work down here anymore but his stuff remains. I try not to notice or speak of it. In his defense the man cave was shamelessly wiped from him bit by bit. Someday I will get every square inch all to myself. (insert evil laugh!) mah ha ha ha!

The great thing about a big clean up like this is finding all those UFP's (UnFinished Projects). Who knew I have enough half aprons cut and ready for the stitcher. On my "to do rack" I found enough oilcloth aprons to stock the show, they just need pockets, I can handle that. Totes, holy moly, do I have totes, tons of totes cut and ready for stitching!

I also did an inventory while I dusted and reorganized the shelves. Since my last big clean things had gotten out of hand, now that everything is in order I can see I have a good amount of product in stock. Surprise! The usually suspects are ready to go, now I can spend the next three weeks doing orders and creating what I really want to make instead of what I should make.

For me, the great thing about preparing for a big kick ass craft show is that I get all those half done projects done. Yeah-for- done!

Think of me tomorrow, I will be sitting my my clean studio sewing my fingers off!

Apron Storage!

When you have a vintage apron habit like mine you need to find a good place for your stash. Not all of them can hang up looking gorgeous, so my latest storage solution is to place them in my new oilcloth trays. I have separated the aprons by colors, but I am thinking that a basket for the full and hostess aprons would be better.

So my oilcloth tray tutorial for Oilcloth Addict is making the rounds, thekitchn.com and craftzine.com have both given us a shout out. And the basket lining made it on the the fantastic website Craft Gossip! Thanks for the support!

Stay tuned there are a few more oilcloth projects for the pantry still to come!

Craft Social!

Here is a message from our local crafty girl, Dawn of Lark Studio...

Hey everyone! If you are looking for something fun to do tomorrow night (Friday 3/27) on the cheap - we are having the first BYOC Craft Social (bring your own craft) at the new JoAnn's in Midlothian from 7:00 pm - 9:00pm. The cost is $5. You will be able to play with some of the crafty gadgets I have in the classroom - Cricut machine, YUDU screen printer, Knifty Knitter to name a few. Plus just hang out and socialize with other creative folks, possibly help or get some help on your project!

You all can find me there next to the YUDU screen printer. I will be the one thinking I might need one at home! They look so fun.

right place, right time!

The coolest thing happened to me yesterday while I was working on project for the pantry. For the longest time I have wanted to paint the can we keep the cat food in, a purple can with kittens all over it just isn't my style! I realized that I had the perfect color in the shed. Who know?

Well, while I was out there painting the can a car came up the alley and stopped at my back gate. The woman in the car, Bonnie, rolled down the window and told me that he had lived in our house from 1966 to 1976 and she wanted to thank us for taking such great care of it. After spending a while chatting over the fence, I invited her in. (now I see why I made myself clean up that mess of kitchen the night before, can you imagine if the pantry was still strung all over the house. Yeah, not good!)


You should have seen the look on her face when she walked up the back steps, I thought she would cry right then and there. She told me about her son, and how he tumbled down those steps as a toddler leaving a goose egg bump on his forehead. The same steps where we take our annual easter photo!

She told me what the kitchen was like. The cabinet that we hung up in the dining room, the one over the desk, that serves as our arts and craft storage used to be her only wall cabinet. Below the beloved cabinet was one of those big farmhouse sinks that I go ga-ga over when I am roaming Caravati's. I knew this house had to have one of those.



While in the kitchen we debated how old the house is, our deeds having different dates on them. Bonnie grew up in this neighborhood, along with her 87 year old mother. Her mother played in my house as a child, after the Carr family had it built in 1927 or 1933. The house next door was built a few years later. We always assumed they were built at the same time since they were built by the same builder and are so similar.

We chatted about the ugly windows that used to be on the front of our house, they were horizontal crank windows, not the skinny louvered windows found on old sun porches, these were three large sections of glass. They were horrible!!! Bonnie's daughter, age two at the time, crawled out the window and was found down the street some time later by a very upset mother. Needless to say she was pleased to see we finally replaced them 40 years later.

There are many more stories to tell, I will add them on this post later. It is 8:00, time to get to my regularly scheduled day. More soon, promise!