going for retro farmhouse chic

Fortunately for me, there is a Joann Fabrics shop just about two miles down the road from my house. I say fortunately because I end up realizing that I am out of some supply or other AT LEAST three times a week and I'm glad that the shop is close enough for me to run there and back without eating up a whole day. Most of the supplies that I need are things like floss and needles, but invariably, I find myself looking at the printed cotton fabrics just about every single time I'm there. Recently, they began carrying a line of fabrics designed by quilter Denyse Schmidt and I've been eyeing them every time a new print comes in. When this one (above) came in, I practically ran over to it to get a better look. To me, it looks so 1940's-ish; reminding me of wallpaper and linoleum flooring prints similar to some of the ones I encountered in my home renovation project. I imagined it immediately as a print for bowl covers and could already see the photo shoot set-up that I'd do for these. And somehow, that photo shoot set-up came soooo close to exactly what I had in mind:


I'm quite pleased with the bowl covers, and the photos I was able to get for this batch. As I think I've mentioned before, getting these things at just the right angle or setting or whatever so that they don't look weird or stupid is kind of challenging. I always think they look so much cooler in person than they do in pictures or text descriptions -- but this is a decent little set of photos I got today, I think!

It was fun setting the scene with some of my favourite kitchen objects as props. The pastry cutter was a hand-me-down from B's mom, who inherited it from her mother-in-law but never used it. The cookie cutters, bunny salt & pepper shakers, and heart & arrow measuring cups are treasured antique/junk store finds. The sifter is one that B bought for me. I just picked up that red candy tin last weekend, and the cross-stitch piece is done by my mom; it hung in our kitchen during my childhood and I bet it's part of the reason I'm now doing what I do.



The "wallpaper" in the background was made by using one of the patterned rollers from The Painted House. I had seen them on Etsy sometime in the fall and was obsessed. Ordering two of them (I also got the deer print one - had to have it!) was my Xmas gift to myself and reward for working my butt off that season. If you've ordered anything from my shop recently, chances are good that the envelope carrying your goods was decorated with one of these two prints. (I'm planning on using these for my spring/summer craft fair booth walls - but already I'm betting that I'm not the only one with this idea.... )

In the same trip that I picked up the DSQuilts fabric, I brought home the gorgeous navy blue floral print that these are made of:




And while I was at it, I did a photo shoot for the bowl covers in red and white polka dots - a fabric I've had and offered for a while, but never had good shots of. Now I do!






That's it for now - and I think I still have another couple of hours of sunshine... Gonna see what else I can get into...