Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

Isn’t that a true statement?  There is beauty all around us, if we but take a minute to look for it.  

Emerson said, “Though we travel through the world to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.”

Look through someone’s Facebook page, or their Pinterest, and you will see their perception of beauty.  Visit a friend’s home or a well tended shop and we see beauty on display.  Sometimes we seek a certain kind of beauty and it is elusive.  Sometimes we connect with beauty and can soak it in and feel as if we will never be without it.

The peace and joy we have when we recognize beauty in a given moment in time seems invaluable.  It’s what we look back on in times of trouble.

So today I look for the beauty around me, try to contribute to it in some way, and respect the beauty that others see even if I don’t connect with it.  

But I think the beauty we carry in ourselves, like Emerson said, seeks out beauty in the world around us.  Subconsciously, our very beings reach out for it and want to cling to it with all we have. 

Remind yourself that just by being you, you bring a unique beauty into this world.  Don’t forget that without you, the world would not be quite the same. 

Take a minute to see it, it is waiting for you.

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Happy Anniversary to Me!

This month marks the 32nd year of business for me.  32!  I didn’t think I was much older than that……

My senior year in high school, I got to thinking….What should I be when I grow up?  I like to cook, I like to sew…..It might take some capital to start a catering business or a restaurant, but sewing?  I’ve got my machine, all I need is some business cards and I can get this party started.

Sure enough, one advertisement for 2 weeks in the local Pennysaver paper and I was off and running.  And then they told 2 friends, and they told 2 friends, and so on.  I sewed many bridesmaids dresses and clothing mostly for businesswomen  and a sweet kindergarten teacher.  She would always ask me if the fabric she picked would “look good with green paint on it” with a little wink.

Then one day, a friends’ sister called up and said she wanted me to cover her couch.  She was sure I could do it, and in fact had bought the fabric and would like to know when she could bring her couch over!  Thus began Phase 2 of my career as a seamstress.  (Or as we are often called now—a sewist).

I have been blessed beyond measure to work from home, providing some creative relief for myself and a bit for the family budget.  When my oldest was small, I was a single mom for her first 2 years. I had the fortune to be able to stay home with her and work while she was napping and late into the night.  With God and my trade and help from my family and friends, our interdependent life flourished.

I am thankful to all my clients over the years, and look forward to meeting many more!  I have some projects brewing that involve clothing and home decor, with possibly an Etsy store.  Also pondering teaching basic sewing classes—I have been asked so many times if I could pass the skill on.

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Shhhhh……..

 

In the dark and quiet of the wee hours after my dear hubby leaves for work, I remember one of the good reasons I get up with him to get his breakfast and pack a lunch.
When the kids were small, and our budget, it seemed, smaller, I wanted to make sure he had a lunch to take because otherwise there wasn’t going to be a lunch for him. And I felt it was a small way I could let him know I appreciated him being faithful to this thing called “supporting the family”. I had the privilege of staying home to raise and homeschool our 5 kids. The least I could do was to make sure the man was fed! A secondary, but no less important facet to this challenging ritual was the fact that I had a few minutes to myself before the chaos of our day began.

Now that our kids are older, and don’t feel the need to get up so early (thank you, Jesus!), this time has taken on a different meaning. As the light begins to creep into the sky, what I hear is………quiet. This quiet has become as a balm to my very soul. In our constantly connected world, I must purpose to find time to be unconnected.  To listen, to hear my heart beat, to take care of myself, to ponder, to dream, to pray. This quiet is an organic way of waking up, to take time to set my intentions for the day and live out of that sense of order.

We don’t always have the time or resources to take time away. But we can find time every day to regroup and recharge our hearts and live our lives intentionally.  This looks different for each one of us, at different times and places in our journey. Do you have intentional quiet in your life?  I would love to hear what that looks like for you.

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Setting Up Shop

Today was a different kind of a day in the Land of Miscellany!

My sweet hubby works at the Home Office of Costco Wholesale.  Today was their twice yearly Employee/Family and Friends Craft Fair.  I set up shop, looking forward to meeting new people and transforming their furniture.  For fun, I added some little goodies for spring oohing and ahhing.  The girls helped me make these spiffy little wallets…

…..and these covers for the widely popular Kindle or Nook, and for iPads.

I also made up a few totes.  This is one of my favorites:

Although my slipcover business is going gangbusters, it is so fun to shake it up a bit with little projects that can brighten one’s day with a little bit of color and a design pleasing to the eye.   A friend of mine has a little shop on her blog, Simply Stork, which gave me the idea to give it a try myself.  So on my sidebar you will note that I have a shop!  Up to 5 items at a time, just a little bit of Marvelous Miscellany when the whimsy grabs me =).  Enjoy, and remember, I can sew pretty much anything to your specs.  Color, size, details, it’s all up to you.  Contact me if you have an idea or a question, I would love to hear from you!

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Breaking Radio Silence…..with a Comfy Chair

I have discovered something I think most of you must know: You can’t type and sew at the same time. I can listen, or smell, sometimes eat, and most definitely touch while I sew.  But when the chairs are in line at the door waiting to be transformed, I can’t sew and blog.  I know many are successful at this, and I admire you.  When our day of homeschooling is completed, though, the sewing commences.  And when the sewing is done for the day, I need a little time with my honey–!  And then a good night’s sleep. Therefore:

Creative glee in the studio=absent blogger…..

And I am ok with that!

Now that my disclaimer is in place, I want to share my first project of the year.  I have a friend named Emma.  She is a lovely, beautiful young lady who recently celebrated her 16th birthday.  Her talented mama, Tami, arranged the flowers for my daughter’s wedding this summer as a gift. These are long time family friends who we admire and treasure. (If you want beautiful flowers arranged professionally for a special event, contact me and I’ll get you in touch with Tami.)

Tami told me back in September that for Emma’s birthday they were going to redecorate her room and would I please cover a chair for her?  I was so excited! The challenge was to find a fabric that would work with the robin’s egg blue and chocolate AND add some of the other colors Emma loves: orange, purple and red. So they hunted around on the internet with some links I gave them to try and found some of the most vibrant and lovely fabric I have ever seen.

But before I reveal the finished product, you have to see the before picture. This chair was bought at a yard sale, I believe, maybe 20 years ago for $10. Tami gave it a ticking makeover that was fun at the time , but a well loved piece of furniture needs to be loved back after awhile……

Are you ready?  Drum roll, please…….you are about to be amazed and astounded

Photo courtesy of Betsey Mae Design

Isn’t that fabric just so amazing?  Everything they were looking for.  There are already discussions about the chair staying at Tami’s when Emma moves out.  There you have it.  Proof positive that a $10 chair has potential if you just give it a chance!

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The Holidays are Here!

Do you have a favorite advent calendar?  Did you have them when you were a kid? My brothers and I  always enjoyed them when we were little, and my kids are no different.  I was the youngest of 3 and the only girl in my family, and we would take turns each night having a special treat.  One of us would open the advent calendar (no candy involved….), one of us would plug in the electric candles in our front windows, and the 3rd would plug in the Christmas tree.  It was serious business! So fast forward a few years, and with our 5 kids, waiting for your turn at the Advent calendar got really challenging, especially for the younger ones.  So we have ended up with 5 advent calendars…..

Our school’s Holiday Bazaar is coming up in 2 weeks!  I have been busy creating fun stuff for this show, lots of little items, for kids to buy for gifts.  But I had to share The Calendar. I have this one left, but our Bazaar isn’t until the 10th, so it needs to find a home now!…..

This is burlap, with large damask pockets big enough for a goody for each child, (or for you=) so YOU don’t have to have a bunch of calendars.  Trimmed with red, and a rustic twine hanger.  $45 + shipping. Let me know if you are interested, I’ll get it sent to you before December 1st.

It snowed here yesterday, and so let the holiday magic begin!

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A Helping Hand

I have been meaning to post this sooner, but I have been busy creating items for our school’s Winter Bazaar that is coming up in a month!  Boy, did I have fun today=) Anyways……

Our family has always felt that it is a privilege to help people in need.  I like volunteering in general—-at school, in our community, etc.  My husband and I have decided that it would be good to start out on that foot with regards to Marvelous Miscellany, in the same way we do with his salary.  We have several projects we like to support: Toms Shoes, Heifer Project, Walkers for Knockers, Sky Valley Food Bank to name a few.  We often help people directly in our community when we become aware of a need. This week we got to buy socks that are going to soldiers in Afghanistan….

Be informed: 10% of the labor fees from each job I complete goes to one of these projects.  I hope that soon that will be more than 10% =).

Thanks for being on this journey with me.  It’s been fun, and I have every confidence it will continue to be.

Kids Getting a Pair of Toms

Child with a goat from Heifer Project

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Sit Down!

So I am falling in love with the form and shape of chairs.  How many times have you seen a chair at a yard sale or the thrift store that has the best shape, but the Ugliest Fabric Known to Man on it? Just a bit of new fabric which inspires you and you have a new treasure, a bit of beauty and function to spiff up your room.

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In the Meantime

I can sew almost anything.  But computers and pictures?  I am so glad there are people in this world who are good at those talents. We need each other! I have several items from the Ruffles and Rust show that need new homes, so my 12 year old daughter Pearl had fun with a photo shoot on Saturday.  She loves photography, as my computer’s hard drive can attest.  Who knows?  If she doesn’t make it big as an actress in Musical Theater, another passion of hers, maybe she’ll make her mark through the lens of her camera.

I hope to tear myself away from my sewing machine long enough to start up my Etsy store soon.  But now the news is out that the creators of Ruffles and Rust, Come Junk With Us, will be hosting another show in February, so my little fingers better get busy!   In the meantime, enjoy the pics below.  All items are for sale, or I can make any one of these custom for you in your own fabrics/colors. Contact me at marvelousmiscellany@gmail.com.

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An Amazing Weekend of Fun and Creativity

Photo credit Tres Birds Photography

So the show was incredibly fun! Thank you, thank you to Timi and Jay from Come Junk With Us , who gathered forces together with a variety of talent to make this event a success! Many people were so happy that they had discovered someone who could cover them OR their furniture=) And Josephine in her Uptown Coat was very popular also. It’s a great coat that looks great on a variety of shapes. Patricia from Tippy Stockton was gracious enough to wear her very own Uptown coat, in a wonderful cream wide wale corduroy and keep a stack of my cards on hand.  So many people came and chatted about sewing.  I got to talk with my booth neighbor, Katherine from Fussbucket, who will be sporting an Uptown Coat as soon as her busy creative schedule allows for fabric shopping.  On the other side of me was the clever and kind Minda from Cedarbough—who had baskets full of vintage fabric!  Wendi from Trendi Wendi wowed my shop companion Betsey Wilson and I with her bright and cheery booth.  Wendi got to spend the show with her best friend helping–they have known each other since they were 7! From them, I learned about Quilt Sandwich….oh my.  I do believe I have  truly rediscovered my inner fabricaholic …..And when I met Rachel from Quilter Girl? There is going to be some collaboration going on!

I should have more pics soon, but just wanted to say what a great experience I had and how much fun it was talking with people about what I love—creating new beauty with fabric.  Thanks for coming along with me on the journey!

Oh, I almost forgot!  Beatrice did get her outfit, which was won in the drawing by Kerri Russell!  The lovely cowl is by my other booth companion, Annie Wilson. She repurposes old knits into new. =)

Beatrice sports Amy Butler's 'Liverpool Tunic'

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