Show and Tell: One yard wonder!

Look what Amanda did with one yard of oilcloth!!! She used the pink forever oilcloth and transformed the chairs that she bought for just $1 each. She spray painted them and cut new boards for the seats and then covered with oilcloth. 

Then she used the remaining fabric to create two oilcloth pillows. She did all this with just one yard, I say that's a brilliant way to spend $8.00!

Happy Summer!

Look what I made...

I needed a web ad for Craftiness is not Optional blog that I blogged about a couple of weeks ago, your remember the super cute Bapron! I knew the hubby was just too busy, so I figured how hard could it be?

I purchased the fancy decorative frames from Pixal Paper's Etsy shop and layered them on top of the Red Fruity wall paper that Don used for the all of our other OCA branding. I love it, even if Don says it not on "brand." But hey, it's done and it's pretty! I'll change the fonts later and it'll be even better. By the way, did you ever here the ending of the shoe makers son story? Well, the son gets to tired of being barefoot he starts making his own shoes!!! ; )

Please head over to Jess's blog and shop and check out all her cute patterns for boys and girls, it all so cute I almost wish my kids were toddlers again.

New Laminated Cottons from Anna Maria Horner

Photo Credit: Anna Maria Horner 

Look what we just got! Four to die for laminated cottons from Anna Maria Horner new fabric line, lou-LOU-thia! I'll be back soon with more photos and links to the new listings!!!

Great Idea: Lined Bushel Basket

Photo Credit: Lorajean's Magazine

I love, love, love this idea that was recently featured on Craft Gossip. Lorajean's Picnic Basket Tutorial reminded me of something similar that was in the Home Girl booth at the Ohio Country Living Fair. (see last photo) I love a bushel basket all by it's fun little self but add a liner and I could die! Don't you think that laminated cotton would be a perfect fabric for this project?

Illustration Credit: Lorajean's Magazine

Laminated cotton is softer and more supple than the oilcloth so it can handle the gathers in Lorajean's wonderful tutorial with ease! (Pun intended!) Plus it's waterproof so it's easy clean up, just wipe clean and hang out to dry.

Home Girls, Country Living Fair 2010

The intended use for the original project was for a picnic basket, which is just as cute as it could possibly be, but I could see this being a great project basket. You could store all the bits and pieces for a single project in basket, the handy pockets would keep everything in it's place. I am thinking this would be a great way to store the two crazy crocheted afghans I've been working on. Unfortunately,  I've been working on them for about a 100 years and they're both still small enough to fit in a bushel basket.

Happy sewing!

Cool Tools: Scalloped Fabric Scissors

Photo Credit: mmmcraft

Here's a little pair of scissors that I've been dying to get my hands on! I've been looking for a pair of scalloped scissors that would work on fabric for a couple of years and I finally found them. 

You know how it goes, you see some great crafter (Linwood Avenue) promoted on a site like Design Sponge, so you go to her website and click around until you find a link to another cool crafter (mmmcraft). Then your clicking and reading all the good stuff she have to say and then you find it, something that you want, need and have to have! So your off to some other website that sells cool toys (tool-tron), I mean tools. And that's how I found the scissors I've been dreaming of!

What do I want to use them for? Laminated cotton of course! I think that these would be so great to use for quick and fun projects. Just think about how cute a little laminated cotton tablecloth would be with the hem line cute in a tiny little scallop. Just perfect for summer dining alfesco!!! 

By the way, we've got 4 new laminated cottons coming in tomorrow so come on back to see all the goodies!!! Off to buy my scissors of scalloped love.

Color Combo's: Great Pairs

Our newest oilcloth addict, Jill, recently bought two 1/2 yard cuts of oilcloth and made herself a great reversible tote. Oilcloth makes a wonderful summer tote -- think farmers markets and trips to the beach!  She loved her project so much she's back and looking for more great combos. I thought I would share the the color combo's with you with you all too, just in case you wanted to try making your own functional tote. Check out Skip to my Lou for a great reversible tote tutorial! Happy summer!!!

Red and Yellow Fruity oilcloth's are great with all the reds, both gingham and dots! The navy gingham is really great too! Blue forever is wonderful with the reds too.

Blue hibiscus is great with the yellow gingham and it works with all the red prints as well.
Pink lace and pink polka dots great too!
Zoya Lime looks great with the pink dot, gingham and lace. I love the Zoya with the yellow gingham too.

Do you have a color combo that you would like to see? Just email me at Kelly@modernjune.com and I'll hook you up. Happy sewing!!!

Q & A: How thick is oilcloth?

Have you ever wondered how thick oilcloth is? Well, recently a customer asked me to show her just that. Here's a little show and tell, it's thinner than a dime!

Color Combos: Pinks

It's hard to see just how colors match up on a computer, so I am going to start a new feature titled Color Combos!! Need to see a special combination of oilcloths of laminated cottons? Just let me know I'll match that up for ya! Pink dot, perky pink gingham (left), pink lace, dusty pink gingham (right)

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

How about a sale to celebrate Cinco de Mayo? Your cool with that right?

Save 15% off your order by using our CINCODEMAYO coupon code at check out! Use your coupon to save on our Mexican Oilcloth, Chalk Cloth or the Laminated Cottons. Sale ends Sunday!

After your done shopping come back and check out how to make these cool papel picado out of my favorite fabric "oilcloth"! Viva la oilcloth!!! (hope that Spanish sentence wasn't too horribly wrong)

Great Idea: Baby Arpon Bib

This is the cutest darn thing I seen in ages. In fact, it's one of those projects that I wish I had thought of. It's perfect, right? Craftiness is not Optional has done a stunning job on her Bapron (baby apron) but we think it could be just a tiny bit more practical if it where made from laminated cotton, especially since we just got another bolt of Anna Maria Horner's Forest Hills print in yesterday!!!

Please head over to Jessica's terrific blog that she's filled up with tons super cute tutorials. Soooo.... cute!

shipping and handling

My lovely tablecloth is made from the green lattice laminate from Sisboom

We are gearing up to makeover our studio space and I've been blogging about it on my Modern June blog for a couple of weeks now. This piece of the puzzle is to help us get your laminated cotton and chalk cloth orders to you in nicely wrapped rolls, so I thought I would share it here on OCA too!

OOOOOOKKKKKKKKK! That's a really big roll of poly tubing...

Kathie (Shipping Junie of Love... yes, that is her official title) and I have been dreaming of the day when we can ship our chalk cloth goodies and our rolls of chalk cloth and laminated cotton more efficiently. For years we've been cutting down Uline's long poly mailers. We've cut them lengthways and widthways, so that we cut down on waste and costs. They cost us $1.70 a pop, so getting four packages out of one mailer was good business. We've also reused the poly tubing that the bolts came it. Often splitting them in half. It wasn't pretty, but it got the job done cheaply.

 

I started squirreling away a few dollars here and there to buy a big roll of poly tubing. I figured that we needed to have it on hand before we made over the studio so we could plan on where to put it. HOLY COW, was I right about that! This bad boy is gigantic! I placed my MacBook in the shot so you had an idea of just how big this thing is.

Well, we had planned on attaching it to the wall that the cutting table butts up on to but I don't think that's such a great idea. Mr. Modern June would have a total fit about that!!! Officially, I am not allowed to hang things on the wall. It's not because I am girl, it's just that I really suck at it. ; ) Heck, I doubted that the rack would really stand up once the roll was put on. Engineering is cool, just like magic!

Who knows where this will end up! Stay tuned...

Color Combo's: Picnic Time

Walnut Wood Grain, Red Gingham, Brown Gingham, and Cherries on White

The other day I had to pull out these four oilcloth prints for a few different orders. As I was carrying them to the cutting table and couldn't help but think that they would be great used together. I soon came up with images of having a picnics outside my imaginary and quaint cabin by the make-believe lake. (Of course there's a dock and a row boat along the grassy shore.)

Ahhh....sounds lovely doesn't it? I can see an oilcloth picnic mat made with the red gingham that is sprinkled with cherry appliques now! And a vintage picnic basket  is lined with all four prints! Summer! All I need is the cabin and the lake...