A Splash of Color

one of my all time favorite sources of inspiration is african fabrics, as i've probably mentioned. i love the bright colors, the big/fun patterns, and pretty much everything there is to like about it. they have a sort of free-spirt quality that other fabrics don't posses.

with that being said, i was very excited to see the amazing collection of authentic african fabrics that the fabric store had the other day. i decided to help out with a kitchen spruce up!


isn't this great!


before:


after:

YouTube

hooray! i didn't get many professional photographs from the RAW event like I was hoping, but this video is pretty fun! It keeps deleting for some reason, so if it doesn't play, just type in "Rachel Wines" in YouTube



here are the two pictures i did manage to get done of my paintings

A Lovely Yard

today i brought my darling to my heaven place....SAS Fabric...only the most amazing *DISCOUNT!* fabric store i've ever seen, to finally make curtains for his empty windows. at SAS, you can find everything from fabric to tiaras..from sequin and lace trims to buttons, appliques, etc. it's giant. i'm not sure if it's just an arizona place, but here is the site
http://www.sasfabricssuperstore.com/

i came across this beautiful piece of fabric, and realized...i guess i don't have to upholster ALL of my chairs in my own fabric designs. that would stop me from searching for cool fabric. check it out....$4.99/yard!


the picture doesn't show it well, but it's a navy blue, with black velvet leaves. i can't wait to play with it. here is my collection of chairs i get to choose from:

Etsy

well, i finally did it. i set up my pillows in an etsy store. i'm sad that i don't own an amazing camera, so the prints look muddy...but here's to hoping i get some luck out of it!



http://www.etsy.com/shop/itsrachel25

The Pillows

The pillow project was the second time, besides the chair, that i got the supreme satisfaction of seeing my prints on a piece of fabric. something to me, that is just as satisfying as eating your favorite chocolate. i felt like i could run around the block, which says a lot for someone like me who prefers sitting as much as possible.

how fun is that???
my camera, nor my camera phone did these colors any justice, but here are some in yardage form:














then it dawned on me: i was never taught to sew. i have 8 pillows to make in less than a week...my supportive boyfriend bought me a great sewing machine for christmas, and his mom (who owns "THE CADILLAC" of sewing machines, and did the alterations to my giant bridesmaid gown flawlessly) bought me the go-alongs...like scissors, pins, pin tomato, etc. SO what's the best thing to do? haul everything, including the big dog who panics in cars, over to her house.

then...she introduced a magical thing to me....A SERGER.


i was NUTS about it. i zipped through all the pillow cases in about 3 hours or less, while slamming chips-ahoys, looking like i've been doing this for YEARS. and voila:
















i wonder what my next project should be?

Oldies but Goodies

so, when i was a kid, my mom used to pick the trash. literally. on the way to school, if it was trash day, it was christmas day. she would pick up antiques, furniture, things of that nature that no one felt like selling, and would shove them in the car, and drive away while i was mortified and disgusted. i swore for years that i would NEVER do such a repulsive thing. now, here i am...making over sad, old, forgotten things into new treasures.

my fun Goodwill finds!









Got this set from Craigslist...one of my favorite treasure chests, for $35. no, sadly this isn't my fabric..this was before i started printing my own. THIS is an IKEA fabric special:

Evolution of a chair!

i am currently working on making this page look amazing, so please be patient =)

so here it is...i finally made my fun dream come true...to see my print in production, and used on a piece of furniture. who needs to hide behind some brand name label? my style is too bold for most as it is... i've decided to go independent

the first photo (which is the last one on the post) is of the quirky inspiration I had for this print...an amazing design that my olive oil made in the pan right before making some yummy chicken tacos. I decided to take it and run with it, and here we are, with my very first (of many) chairs. let the dream come true begin

after many, many hours of sanding, pulling staples, sanding, pulling staples, being scared to death of my air powered staple gun:

stretching fabric, giving up, then pulling it together, she's finally done!

RAW artists, Phoenix

so i got invited to be a part of "RAW"...an organization that supports starving artists, such as myself to get out there.
http://www.rawartists.org/

what was so great about it, was that it was the first time i saw a small collection of artists, and an enormous crowd of visitors in AZ that weren't sipping on wine and inspecting paintings of cowboys, running horses, mountainous terrains, or anything else western for that fact. sure, all of that is dandy, but enough is enough already. let's see some style!

i only had 3 weeks to prepare for this. i designed 5 new prints, refurbished 3 older prints, ordered them, bought pillow forms, sewed pillow covers, whipped up a small painting, a block printed piece of fabric, and went for it. despite the large (and some literally) groups of people that decided to sit on my display/pillows/ etc...it was still a rewarding experience, and refreshing to be around people who have the same passion as i do.

here is the fabulous dress that i wore, that i read a review on a blog saying it was 'disturbing' and something pebbles flinstone would wear. here is my blog, objecting:


i didn't get many photos, because there were professional photographers there which i am still waiting on. but here are some snips, at the end of the night...so excuse any wild, unruly pieces of hair, or crooked paintings:

here is the spot i got to transform


and voila...i had both couches, but at the end, i moved everything to the one...oh, and people had already sat on the other couch so much that the pinned fabric had fallen off =)





i am also really into stenciling, as you can see in the orange painting behind the chair, and these: