Hart 2 Heart

Renegade is coming!

I'm so excited to let you know that I'll be selling my wares at the first Renegade Craft Fair in L.A. I've been following the fair's events since they started in Chicago years ago, always longing to take part. Alas they are coming to southern California! I've been sewing away, so I'll have lots to choose from! If you're in the area DON'T miss it! There will be lots of awesome crafters on display. Why not start your Christmas shopping early?! Did I really say that? 

Back to our regularly scheduled programming. . .

Food. Yes, garlic is my friend, always a part of any food event. No different on the fourth of July. 

Added to all of these fabulous fresh ingredients, you have the best salsa around! Not bad for a white girl from Wyoming I must say.

Also on the menu was this delicious Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Fresh Fruit Salsa from Martha. Here is is marinating away, in all it's glory.

That was one big hunk of meat. My Grandad Hart (dad's dad) was a pig farmer. My parents were in Iowa over the 4th, visiting the family. Wish I could've been there. Seems food keeps us all connected in some way. We had left overs last night, and it was just as good.

Best of all. . . the Red, White, and Blueberry shortcake! I made a double recipe, which was good, as I did not know what was to occur later in the evening. It all started out innocently enough. Our small group of neighbors gathered in the front yard to watch the giddy man-children light off the fireworks they had been hoarding. Before long, there were about 20 people on hand to view the homemade, but enthusiastic, display. We brought out Sangria for the onlookers, and later, the shortcake! Everyone was quite pleased. The recipe is a simple one, from my Grandma Hart (dad's mom). She loved to make desserts, which could account for the generally girth of the Hart family. Here is her original recipe. Make a batch and enjoy it with your friends and family this summer.

Grandma Hart's Shortcake

Sift 2 cups flour, 3 teaspoons baking powder, 3/4  teaspoons salt, and 3 Tablespoons sugar.

Cut in 1/2 cup butter

Beat in 1 egg, 2/3 cup milk

Bake 30 minutes, at 350 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Funny how recipes from the past are so simple. Women knew how to bake, so details like pan size and the like weren't always included. Grandma knew which pan worked well for shortcake. I used a square 9 x 9 incher. Also, I used unsalted butter, and half and half instead of milk (I'm sure she used whole milk, fresh from the farm's cows, when they had dairy cows.) To make it extra good, I sprinkled sanding sugar on the top for the last 10 minutes of baking. Add fruit of your choice, and whipped cream, and you're in heaven!

Scenes from the 4th

We had a great neighborhood celebration on the fourth. For some reason, I only have pictures of the food. I guess that's how all of my celebrations seem to go.

This one started with Sangria--my favorite summer beverage, which starts with fruit and Triple-sec. Here is my basic recipe:

Cut up 1 peach, 1 apple, and 1 orange and marinate in 1 1/2 cups Triple-sec. A couple of hours will do.

Put the marinating fruit in a big container. I love this fabulous decanter that I bought myself for our anniversary, from Southern Living at Home. To this, add 4 cups of red wine (or Gallo "Sangria"), one cup orange juice, 2 cups of Sprite (or 7-up), and some ice. These measurements do not have to be exact. This is a no brainer, really. Enjoy, and wait for rave reviews from your guests!

I have more to share tomorrow. I think I have some left over Sangria in the fridg. Gotta go. 

Seal Beach exclusive!

I'm so excited to introduce you to Melissa. She is the fabulous proprietor of the most charming children's boutique, in Seal Beach.

Raspberry and Sage is located on main street, which leads you right to the pier. Growing up land locked, I just can't get enough of the wonderful beach communities in southern California. Seal Beach has maintained all of it's small town charm. Main street is loaded with great restaurants, and antique stores--two of my favorite things!

Melissa is now the exclusive Orange County shop for Kelley Hart Creations! She's carrying many of my spring/summer designs and has ordered lots more for fall! I so appreciate her support of my work.

Notice my LOVE hoodies and peace tees there on the shelf?! 

Don't all boutiques need a crystal chandelier? I should think so. In fact, I think my studio needs one. 

A summer tale.

Life is getting busy in the garden. I have a few echinacea plants mixed in my vegetable garden for color and whimsy. I've never used the plant for tea or medicinal purposes. I should look into that. In the mien time, the bees surely enjoy themselves. And boy are they healthy. I'm convinced they are why I have such a thriving garden. Problem is, they are nesting in the side of our house. I few years ago, we had some electrical work done, and the electricians didn't seal up the holes they had created in the stucco siding. Within a year, we had an exuberant bee community living inside our wall. I'm pretty sure they are confined to a small area on the second floor, which is just outside our bedroom closet. Every night, especially in the heat of the summer, they sing us to sleep. It's good to be close to nature.

So here's the rub. The department of water and power needs to do some electrical work and they can't do it because of the bees. They've come, they've tried, they're chicken. So now they've sent me a letter threatening to fine me, blah, blah, blah. Get rid of the bees! Frankly, I've been in denial about the whole situation, as I enjoy the fruits of my bees labors. A year ago, I called a bunch of different bee experts/exterminators/relocators, and got several different takes on the matter. The one I liked best was a nice old lady, who'd been rescuing bees for 30 years. She suggested the bees weren't really doing any harm; agreed. They were contributing to our well being; correct. So why not just leave them alone? My kinda gal! 

(Thriving zucchini plant)

Well, the power company doesn't see it our way. So now I have to do something. The thing is, if you just exterminate the bees (the easiest/cheapest solution), the hives inside the walls will not be maintained and the honey will heat up, seep through the walls and make a real expensive mess. Not to mention the fact that I love my bees, and don't feel like mass murdering them. Another option is to have them relocated. There are companies that specialize in this. Problem is, they have to destroy your wall to get to the bees. Some will even take the honey they find and bottle it up for you! That would be fun. Then there are the repair costs. I guess I should get off the computer and make some phone calls. Any suggestions on what I should do? 

Maybe a good zucchini recipe?

And the winners are. . .

. . .Sandy and Stacy! For your prize, you each get to pick one item from my Etsy shop. Please email me with your selection and your snail mail address. I'll ship it out to you! Congratulations, and thank you all for commenting. 

So, what have I been up to lately?

Dolphins. I had a cookie order for a special 7 year old girl's birthday. I had never made dolphins before, and it was a fun challenge.

And here they are. All wrapped up and ready to swim back east! 

What else is going on? Skateboarding. Not by me, my chiropractor has forbidden it.

This is where you will find Emmet most of the summer, and boy are we glad to see summer. It is day 3 of vacation. What a relief. The weather has been fabulous, and the stress of school is a distant memory. Hope you too, are enjoying a beautiful summer!

Odds and Ends

Just a reminder! The contest for my blogiversary is still on! Leave a comment on my LAST post (not this one) and you will be in the running for a fabulous prize! I will take comments through Saturday. And now, back to our regular programming.

This photo was taken (by Carrie) on our field trip to a most fabulous vintage clothing and textile show in Burbank. There was a guy selling really cool vintage glasses frames, and yes, I purchased this funky pair. I freaked out when I saw the photo. I look so much like my Grandma Hart, but didn't even realize it when I was trying them on. I've been using cheater glasses for a few years now, (if you're half way to 90, you know what I'm talking about!) but I need to go to the optometrist and get a real prescription. This purchase is supposed to motivated me. 

Here I am searching through the MOUNTAINS of beautiful pillow cases at my favorite vendor's booth. She has an unbelievable selection. I showed you some of my find on my last post; here are a few more.

May dad (Grandma Hart's son) loves pansies. I thought of him when I found this one.

Love the crochet on this one.

Who doesn't love yellow roses! These will eventually be turned into baby dress like this one.

So I bought a few things. . .

There was a lot of nice vintage drapery fabric and bark cloth too. So I can make more of these.

Here is the lovely Terri totaling up my loot. So now it is time to sew! It's nice to have new inspiration. See you soon!

It's been a whole year.

When I started this here blog a year ago, I wasn't sure if I'd keep it up, enjoy it, or if anyone would actually read it. Turns out it's all good. My mom reads it the most, and she loves it, at least she tells me so, all the time. That in itself is enough reason to keep it up. As you may have read, my family lives far away in Wyoming (where I grew up), and I only see them about twice a year. 

It's good to stay connected. Blogging is a great way to do that. Other family members, who are scattered all over the country, get a glimpse of what I'm up to as well. Even my husband, who sees me everyday, has a better idea of what I do all day in our home studio. I do have one friend who refuses to read it. She says something about the fact that I'm not writing directly to HER, blah, blah, blah, blogs are weird, whatever. But I press on anyway. 

Then of course there are those great new friends I've met through my blog. Those who are interested in my work, or just found me accidentally. Thank you to everyone who has stopped by over the past year. I am especially grateful to Carrie, who encouraged me to do this, and is so generous about linking me up on her blog (which is fabulous by the way!). Also to Alicia, and Emily, who have inspired me for years with their creativity. I have so much to share with y'all, but I always seem to run out of time to write as often as I'd like. I'll try to do better this year.

AND NOW for a blogiversary GIVEAWAY!!! Leave a comment on this post, and I'll pick two people randomly as winners. Your prize? ANY item from my Etsy shop! Have a great weekend. Hope to hear from you!

p.s. I'll tell you about the vintage textiles pictured above in my next post. . . stay tuned.

More flowers from my "garden"

It seems I'm busier than ever these days, though my activities are rather limited. I sew, sleep and watch baseball. I'm the team mom for our Emmet's Little League Dodgers, so that involves a bit of organizing. AND the big news is, they won the major division championship! So what does this mean? MORE BASEBALL! Next week they go on to the Tournament of Champions for the district. Then of course, there's All Stars; which means. . . more baseball!

I love watching the boys play baseball. They are such focused little men when they're out there on the field. Get them to the pizza parlor after the game, and they become the goof ball 12 year olds that they are meant to be. Since I work at home, a baseball game is a great excuse to get away from my work and take in a sunny day. It's even better when they win.

So what does baseball have to do with the flower appliques you see pictured above? Well you see, when not watching baseball I've been designing and making a new skirt. It was my mission to have them available at my next show, which is this weekend. The problem is, I will miss closing day ceremonies for our Eastview Little League on Saturday. Sad but true. 

I did finish the skirts, and they are crazy cute! Each applique is one of a kind. I made them in sizes 2T through 6, though I'm planning to expand my skirt sizes through 10. Stay tuned! I'll be at the Palos Verdes Street Fair this week end. If you're in the area, come on by and say hi! 

My YO YO obsession

I have a new hand work obsession, YO YOs! I've always loved the look of yo yos in quilts and such, but had never made any. Since I have scraps galore, I thought I'd try to whip up some yo yos, with no particular project in mind. Heather Bailey has a great tutorial that inspired me to get started.

So I made a few, tedious to be sure. THEN I discovered the coolest tool EVER!

Whoever invented this is a genius! Seriously! This clever tool is made by Clover and is available in several sizes. I got mine at Joann's, but it is also available here, among other places I'm sure. I've heard they have a heart shaped one too, but I haven't found it, but I must. Making a yo yo with out the tool may take, oh, 15 minutes, WITH the tool? Like 3, yes THREE minutes--not that I timed myself! The directions in the package are very clear. My head is spinning with things I want to make and embellish with yo yos. For now, I'm making these:

I'll be selling these fun hair clips, at my upcoming shows. I had (and bought more!) cute buttons that I sewed to the yo yo, then sewed the yo yo to a contour clip. 

And since I like to make things cute AND complicated, I decided to make tags and ribbons to coordinate with, and display the barrettes!

Did I mention I was obsessed?

Vintage Skirt Remake

I like flowers. I like fabric. I LOVE vintage fabric with floral prints!

I met a nice lady at a show in Manhattan Beach, who was interested in my dresses. We'll call her Terrie, because that was her name. She started telling me about all of the clothes and fabrics she had saved over the years. Turns out she has a five year old grand daughter. I always tell people that I can take their vintage treasures and create a custom design for them. Usually they take my card and I never hear from them. Not in this case! Later that day, Terrie returned with this fabulous maxi skirt! I think it's from the late 60's. It's made of beautiful cotton, fully lined. We brainstormed and came up with a basic rendition of my classic Kelley Hart dress.

So I made the bodice, found the perfect trim,

. . . cut the skirt to a suitable 5 year old's length, gathered it to the bodice, lining and all. . . 

. . . and voila! 

I'm totally digging vintage 60's prints. I'm on the hunt for sheets with bright floral prints to make some dresses. Are you there dad? My dear daddy is always on the look out for vintage textiles for me. He's come up with some real treasures. When the family comes to visit this summer, we'll have to do some major hunting.