Domestic Retro Diva

2010-11-24T08:01:00.000-08:00

I'm so in love with Heather Bailey's Paisley Fabric (Can you tell). The moment I glanced at this beautiful fabric, I knew I'd be buying a lot of it. The first thing I did was make pillow cases, way easier than I thought! Of course my favorite color is turqoise and yellow makes everything cheerful. I have to give a huge thank you to my awesome mother for making me this quilt. Maybe one day I will assess the qulting skills, but for now I'm sticking to clothes and small projects ;-) I love the quilt and luckily my husband hasn't had any complaints about the colors hehe. Did you get the hint that I love this fabric yet? How excited was I to run across a mouse pad made with this fabric on Etsy.com!! Some may say I'm going overboard, but now I can actually say I have a matching mouse pad for my bedding LOL! Thanks Heather Bailey for making such beautiful fabrics! Check her out at HeatherBailey.com

2010-11-19T06:59:00.000-08:00

Did you say I could wear Navy?? Whew, not limited to Purple, I was able to incorporate Navy blue into my conference wardrobe! I got the dress pattern idea from my friend Janet's daughter who recently made it in some gorgeous Heather Bailey Fabric. I chose to use two fabrics from Anna Maria Horner's Garden Party collection and even though it was mostly Navy, it still had some of my beloved Purple :-P The dress is one of Project Runway's patterns, but here's a tip...it looks way better if you leave out the loops for the sash belt!

2010-11-19T06:55:00.000-08:00

2010-11-19T06:46:00.000-08:00

Sporting my finished dress at the conference with Coach's vice president, Jim Offutt. It was so comfortable for shaking my booty on the dance floor :-) and I recieved many compliments on it! Since the pattern doesn't give many details, here are some tips. I used two pieces of elastic for the waiste. First, I measured the a strand of elastic around my waiste to get the right amount of give, but not too tight. Then, I pinned ends together on one side of the dress and the middle of the length to the other side of the dress (on the wrong side of the fabric). Measure 1/4 the length of the entire piece of elastic and pin to the front center of the dress and same for the back. As you sew between the 4 pinned areas, pull the elastic so it is flush with the fabric. It took 4 hands (thanks again, mom) to pull and run through the machine, but turned out perfect!

2010-11-18T12:22:00.000-08:00

I started out by using the same Fabric she used on her dress but in a purple fabric (of course). It was extremely easy to put together and super comfortable to wear. I can't wait to make another one!

2010-11-18T12:16:00.001-08:00

I recently attended the store manager's conference for Coach in Orlando and one of the traditions of this yearly conference is dress code colors. There are only certain colors you can wear and this year was my least favorite, purple BLAH! But, I embraced it and decided to make my wardrobe for the event! One of the dresses I made was ispired by a post on Anna Maria Horner's (no relation) Blog. It had the pattern for a museum dress so I thought I'd give it a try!

2010-11-17T06:24:00.000-08:00

What is more fun than cupcakes? During a shopping trip to our favorite Fabric store in West Palm Beach, my mom and I were talked into buying a pattern for this adorable cupcake oven mitt. Of course, it didn't take long for the lady to talk me into getting it and I instead of working on our original project (Pleated Skirt), we spent the rest of the afternoon making this cutie cupcake! Oh how I wish there were 5 extra hours in the day so I could make everyone a cupcake oven mitt for Christmas..sigh... maybe one day.

2010-11-17T06:10:00.000-08:00

WOW! It's been way too long.....A lot has happened in the past 6 months that I have been disconnected. My husband and I moved from Alabama to Florida and started new jobs and it has taken a while to get used to our new place and surroundings. We are now settled and finished with unpacking and can now relax and enjoy the Florida sunshine! Did I mention it's 70 degrees in the middle of November....lovin' it!

There has been a lot of sewing going on all summer long and I can't wait to share the photos of my creations...thanks mom for helping me and I'm totally spoiled with your amazing sewing machine. Now I have to coerce my husband into buying one for me ;-)

2010-05-13T08:48:00.000-07:00

These are my two new loves I recently purchased from Anthropologie. As soon as I saw these on their webiste, I could not resist! I only purchased two of the seahorse glasses but I think I might need two more ;-) The seashell measuring spoon is so fun and I will probably use it more for decoration but it is there if I need to measure something! Check out all their cute new ocean inspired products on Anthropologie.com

2010-05-13T08:43:00.000-07:00

2010-05-13T08:18:00.000-07:00

Ok, so mine is in it's middle stage, I still have to sew on the seeds and the little flowers on the top of the cap. It was a lot easier than I thought! I can't wait to make some more in different colors. They make great ornaments, decorations for dinner parties, or embellishments for gifts!

2010-04-15T06:37:00.001-07:00

Ok here I am half way to finishing my strawberry pin cushin. All I have left to do is attach the cap and do the final details.

2010-03-12T20:29:00.000-08:00

I'm in the process of making this strawberry pin cushion by Heather Bailey.....we will see if mine looks as good as this!

2010-03-12T20:22:00.000-08:00

We threw a baby shower for my good friend, I used Heather Bailey's pattern for the paper flowers and had a blast decorating!

2010-03-12T20:19:00.001-08:00

Another elephant I made for a friend's baby shower!

Recent crafts

2010-02-06T08:15:00.001-08:00

While I was visiting my family down in Florida, my mom and I had a blast doing some crafts. We started with the pleated skirt and got hung up on doing the pockets a little bit. She ended up having to finish it without me...thanks mom! We also made these fun little elephants from Heather Bailey's pattern. It was harder than I thought, but I love them!!!

2010-01-21T13:51:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine was helping clean out her husband's granmother's house who had recently passed away and came accross these adorable canisters. She thoughfully snatched them because she knew they would go perfect in my retro kitchen. I absolutely love them!! Thanks again, Teresa!

2010-01-21T10:30:00.000-08:00

These are my three favorite magazines! I love Coastal Living because it reminds me of where I grew up in South Florida. We never lived more than 5 minutes away from the Ocean especially since my father was in the Coast Guard! I love the style and colors of coastal design and it always bring pleasant memories of my childhood.

Country Living magazine is also a big fav of mine. I love the old vintage appeal and shabby chic looks. Now that I live in Alabama, it helps me connect to the southern way of life :-)

When it comes to buying home accents and clothing, the first place I look in Anthropologie! Sometimes I just walk around the store and embrace myself in the imaginative decor and it always gets my creative wheels turning!

Love the 50's

2010-01-20T14:44:00.001-08:00

Everytime I walk in my kitchen, I'm inspired by the turquoise colors of my stove and refridgerator. Unfortunately, last time we moved, my husband tried to move the stove by himself and accidently dropped it on it's side....one day we will get it repaired, but for now it just adds to the vintage look ;-)

2010-01-20T13:46:00.001-08:00

This is a paper ball that I made from a Heather Bailey project. It is made of scrapbooking paper and can be used for centerpieces, decorating, or even place it in a flower pot with a dowel rod and it will look like a flower. To get the instructions on how to make one, visit

My first blog

2010-01-20T13:41:00.000-08:00

I have a passion for crafting, bright colors, and anything that reminds me of the beach. I thought it would be fun to post my thoughts and favorite pictures that inspire me. Enjoy!