S-Renee Designs » Blog

4 Simple Goals

Stephanie — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 22:39:16 +0000

I ran across Elsie’s 4 Simple Goals post and decided to do this myself! These goals are supposed to be simple and personal, but simple is key here! They are to be accomplished by 2011, and I will blog about them when they are achieved. I hope I can do this, cause every other list I’ve made with a time frame to finish, hasn’t ever been completed. I think a lot of this has to do with the fact the I’m easily distracted.

Photo by Kelsey Cliche!

1. Take more photos of Zee. Last year I took so many pictures of my little girl, and now she’s growing so fast. I barely get out the camera any more, and I want her to be able to look back at pictures of her when she was little. Since I started my job last October I don’t have a ton of extra time, so I just don’t think of it anymore.

Photo via BurdaStyle

2. Sew more clothing. Whether it’s for me, Zee or just to sell, I need to sew more clothing and keep my tailoring skills fresh. I also want to start drafting my own patterns again, just need to make the space to do that, and that’s where #3 comes in!

Photo via decor8

3. Organize & De-Clutter my apartment. This was going to be just my sewing area, but I also need to go through all of Zee’s stuff. Her things are beginning to take over our entire living space. Just need to get rid of what we don’t need, take the stuff we are saving for later to storage, and organize what is left. I am going to make my space work for me, and this should also help to keep it clean too.

Josh made chicken cordon bleu last week (via Allrecipes)

4. Learn to cook. I do enjoy cooking, but it’s not very often cause I cook what I’m comfortable cooking. I want to venture outside of that and cook a new recipe every week. If I need help doing it, then I’ll ask Josh to help, but besides that I will help cook dinner and not just hang out waiting for dinner to be done.

Things got a little messed up

Stephanie — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 02:44:35 +0000

So I’m not sure what I did, but now that I’ve started blogging again, and I HAD more posts, I accidentally deleted my entire website…I will now be trying to update things from where I left off, and I will also be re-adding my 30 days of truths. Maybe Kelsey will want to do this with me this time, and then I will have a reason to keep on track. I’ll also be updating with links to Mackenzie’s two year pictures again, and I’m hoping to begin blogging regularly with what’s going on in my life, my business, and my crafty lifestyle.

Lara from Handmade Pretties has an organization to her blog: Around our House, Recipes, Products, DIY/Crafts, and a few more. I want to do something like that on my blog, and I’m just trying to figure out what my “categories” should be. If you have any ideas, please comment to let me know.

Things I’m planning on blogging about:

tutorials/diy
what we’ve been cooking: Josh is an amazing cook and I think I’m going to start blogging about what he’s cooking, or maybe I can get him to do it…haha
new stuff in the etsy shop
30 days of truths
restoration of my vintage Hawthorn cruiser
life and what’s going on
parties that I’ve planned and will be planning (got a job to do one at Zee’s party!)

Zee is Two!

Stephanie — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 03:01:20 +0000

From Zee turns two!

My baby girl was born two years ago today in Seattle. I didn’t take pictures at her party that we had Sunday, if anyone reading this has pictures from the party, please let me know!

All photos taken by Kelsey Cliche!

Lots of new stuff

Stephanie — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 21:24:11 +0000

I’ve got a ton of new items in my Etsy store! Please check out all the new items, and more will be added daily.

While reading some of my usual blogs I came across Noodlehead’s Gathered Clutch Tutorial. Then recently she created a pattern for people to buy if they want to make the clutches to sell. And you know I couldn’t pass up that opportunity to make these adorable clutches to sell!

I’ve also started selling my items locally at Domestica. Domestica’s goal is to promote the quality and value of handmade/cottage industry craftsmanship; planting the seed of great design that’s kind to the environment, kind to the artist and kind to your pocketbook. Our focus is cool stuff for your home, but we’re just too girly to completely glaze over personal accessories – we have so many favorites, we have to share. I love to go into the cute store and walk around there’s always something new to find, and when I’m in the need for a gift, that’s the first place I hit up!

Spoonflower Apron Contest

Stephanie — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 19:48:54 +0000

Spoonflower makes it possible for individuals to design, print and sell their own fabric designs. I have been on the site for awhile, but not until recently had I decided to try my hand at designing something. Then I read about the Apron Design Contest and I knew I had to do it! Check out all the designs I’ve made here.

Mine was featured in the email, as shown above, but here’s a closer look at it:

Please head on over to Spoonflower’s contest page and vote!

Juice Des Moines

Stephanie — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 23:42:54 +0000

I was in this week’s issue of Juice: check out the full article here! These are just a few of the things that are in the article.

Why you should know her: Bracelin helped organize Des Moines Swap-O-Rama-Rama, a clothing swap and series of do-it-yourself workshops that takes place 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday at Impromptu Studios, 300 S.W. Fifth St. Find more info at dsmswap.org.

My guilty pleasure is: Designer fabric and vintage metal teeth zippers. Designer fabric is so hard to find in Des Moines, so when I do, I snatch it up and I have a problem of holding onto it until just the right project comes along. My first two yards of Amy Butler fabric I got the summer of 2006, and I still have about a yard of left.

Website I always check: Dana-made-it.com. I love this one because she does lots of reconstruction projects for children’s clothes.

I like to shop local at: KangarooBoo (415 Fifth St., West Des Moines) for toys, Creekside Quilting (9926 Swanson Blvd., Clive) for fabric, Market Day (May 29 at Impromptu Studios) and The Living Room’s Art/Craft Market (117 Fifth St., West Des Moines) for local handmade goods.

Snow Day

Stephanie — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 04:30:25 +0000

Today we were stuck inside all day, so I decided to sew. I finished a custom order of diapers and wet bags, so take a look:

Somebody also sent me an email awhile back asking if I could make those reusable bags for snacks and sandwiches that replace baggies, so here’s my try at that. I used the waterproof PUL on the inside and velcro as the closure. I basically just used the leftovers from the custom diapers to make my reusable baggies.

Now I need to get to work on my latest sewing job, of recovering cushions. Yeah, it’s not the most exciting job, but that’s totally cool because I’m getting money doing what I love. Don’t forget to contact me if you have a specific sewing project in mind. I ship all over for custom orders.

New Website Design

Stephanie — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:59:05 +0000

I’ve finally finished Kelsey’s website, and I love the final outcome! While going through her photos for her portfolio, I fell in love with the image above. So I decided to use this image and extend the background for her home page. Go ahead and check out her site, and let me know what you think!

Mackenzie's One!

Stephanie — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 02:50:59 +0000

Mackenzie turned one July 23rd. Sorry it’s taken so long for me to get her one year pictures up online, but here they are! Click the picture to view them all. Don’t forget to view her party pics here.

I’ve also added new items to my etsy shop, so don’t forget to check that out.

Swap-O-Rama-Rama This Saturday!

Stephanie — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:57:15 +0000

Saturday, August 1st – 11am to 3pm
Des Moines Social Club – 1408 Locust Street, Des Moines

$10 + a bag of clothes at the door

Bring your unwanted clothes and swap them for other people’s stuff. We’ll show you how to modify your finds to make other garments, how to print on them, how to embellish, and a number of other cool things too! We’ll also be having a fashion show made up of local designers that embody the idea of upcycling materials.

Be one of the first 30 in the door and receive a swag bag with assorted handmade goodies from local artists. We’ll also be having a raffle all day to give away items like prints, books, and gift certificates to local shops! Preview these items at our blog: dsmswap.wordpress.com

Advance tickets are available for $8 at Mars Cafe and Vitae Design Collective until Friday, July 31st.

SORR is a non-profit event and all proceeds go to cover costs.

Interested in volunteering? There’s still time to sign up, and you get free admistion + time to enjoy the swap!

For more information visit our website or email us at dsmswap@gmail.com.