kj and the paycock*

i'm back from my visit to nyc and i've finished the cross-stitch project that i was working on. here it is:


this is my first multi-colored cross-stitch piece (well, unless you count the one that i used as my learning piece, which i took over from what my mama had started years ago).
i got the pattern by taking a photo of a piece that i had seen in a book of german cross-stitch samplers.


then i just counted and copied the stitches. it is a lot of stitches.

as per my usual style, i completed one peacock and then i decided that i needed to do another and make some slight changes. the first one i did was the more brightly colored one, where i copied the pattern almost exactly. i did the second one because i was really interested in trying out the darker color scheme and because i wanted to play with and tweak the pattern a little bit. i actually think i like the first one best. maybe i'll try again... i still think there are improvements to be made. for the time being, however i'll leave it as is. i've got other projects to complete; i have to get my butt in gear to start preparing for renegade!

*title is a reference to a sean o'casey drama (which was made into a film by hitchcock). also, the tale of juno and the peacock is my favorite myth; if you don't know it, look it up -- it's a good one. (this is not the best version or retelling -- i prefer bulfinch's, but i can't find it anywhere on the web.)

break out

i'm taking a little break from the studio and spending a few days in brooklyn.
i brought with me my most ambitious cross stitch project to date:


and, just for fun, here is a photo of one of my all-time favorite pieces of street art.


it's on the side of the garden food-market in greenpoint. i love it.

now in stock

okay, peeps.
the first batch of cross-stitch kits are up in the shop. i'm sharing the love with my pattern for the squirrel silhouette. click on over and check out the listing and details in my etsy shop!

this is why i'm...

...crafty and curious


spent a few days at home (mom and pop's house will always be home) with the family and some friends that i had not seen in almost twenty years (eeeeks!). while at home i remembered to take a shot (poor as it may be) of mama's bookshelf. this is where i get it from -- these are the books, bought by the mom, that i grew up with. "back to basics" -- explains my desire to be a pioneer girl and make my own soap and cheese and rugs and everything else. "hundreds of things a girl can make" -- i brought that one home with me. and then there is the full spectrum of books on do-it-yourself home repair, every kind of needlecraft, quilting, sewing, antiquing, gardening, cooking... domestic bliss. i love that i grew up with this. thanks, mama! i love you.

awwwww yeah.

new product coming out of le chez:
do-it-yourself cross-stitch kits!


i'm ready to share the fun and spread the cross-stitch love.
each kit contains a hoop, needle, aida cloth (cross-stitch fabric) embroidery floss and a pattern -- all wrapped up in a cute little bag that i made with my very own hands.
i've got just a couple more details to iron out and then they're going into my etsy shop.
are people going to buy them? i don't know... we'll see!

stu-stu-studio

okay. i've hung up all of the finished and framed cross-stitch pieces that i've got right now.
here it is -- the new inventory:


and i've put away the cross-stitch patterns and materials and brought out the sewing machine.
i tidied up a bit and i'm ready to start some new projects.



yeeeeeeeah, sewing!

honorable mention

thanks so much to poppytalk for the shout out today!

i've got a lot of new x-stitch pieces completed, but haven't yet gotten around to taking satisfactory photos of them.
here's a preview:





yup -- i've been busy. a recent bout of insomnia has been quite instrumental in helping me to complete this much work, too. i reeeeeally want to put down the embroidery needle and thread and get started on some of those other non-cross-stitch projects, but i can't seem to stop! i still have more patterns that i've developed and am anxious to bring to life. more to come...xoxoxxxxxxxxxxxx

i love your golden crown...

(okay, so mister bolan sings it as "broken crown" -- well this one ain't broke.. it sparkles.)


i was about to put down the cross-stitch materials and start in on the sewing projects that i have lined up, but then i got it in my head to do these.
i busted out the metallic embroidery floss again and put it to use for some regal crowns. the three-strand floss is quite difficult to work with -- it frays, the strands come unraveled, and it tends to break a lot -- which makes for much frustration and a lot of time spent working on what should take about half the time, but the results are rather worth it, i think. i'm happy with the way they turn out.
i like how from far away the crown seems to be made of weird rhinestones or beads, but then when viewed up close, the delicate metallic x's reveal themselves..


i did some in silver, too:


oooh, shiny, shiny.

going dutch

holy-moley i am so excited about this new find.
check out this fabric...


it fits in perfectly with my new series/inspiration!
i'm gearing up for the renegade craft fair in brooklyn this june...
turning my bedroom into a one-woman factory.

coming clean

okay, friends...
many of you know that i was working with this new "how-to" website as their "craft expert." i recorded a bunch of little videos (actually, they recorded them --- you know what i mean...) where i am showing how to do various crafts. there were a few on knitting, some on candle-making and soap-making (which, if you go back and look through this blog to about a year ago, i was teaching myself how to do those exact things in preparation for the videos!) and then some kids' activity sort of crafts.
i had told you that i would let you know when it launched. well, it launched -- a few months ago..
things have been so busy with my house that i hadn't been able to look through all of the videos until just recently. (and i think there are still a few more that i haven't watched yet.. ) i wanted to watch them before i gave y'all the link to it -- just in case i looked like a total goober or something like that...
i DEFINITELY look like a nut, but, i guess it is just kinda me being me...
alright -- but here you go...
this is me in one of the kids' crafts ones. it's funny. they are all funny.


go ahead -- check them out. critique. make fun of me. send me fan mail. it's okay. i can take it.
here is my profile page with my other videos listed on it:
http://www.howcast.com/users/Chez_Kimberly

it was actually quite a lot of fun. you should check out the rest of the howcast site, too.
http://www.howcast.com/

super super super SUPER huge thanks to: kevin, my totally awesome director who got me make all of those ridiculous faces, christian and broccolini , my behind-the-scenes men, karin and dewy, my prop, set, and wardrobe/art-directors, dayana, my hair and make-up stylist, paul and heather, writers and researchers and all-around amazingly wonderful peeps, patty, production-manager/motivator, and darlene, producer and maker of things happening. they're the ones who made it all look good.

striking gold (and silver)

this is how much fun can be bought for twenty-five cents at a church rummage sale when you live in a small town. joy.

inventory

i've got quite a collection now! maybe i'm ready to move away from cross-stitch and back to some other crafts...

hare to the crown

okay -- this is the last bad pun for a while.
(i think... but i am not promising anything.)

scroll down to see the others in my latest series of cross-stitch pieces.
*these babies are going up on etsy soon!

tsar-ed and feathered

(i just cant stop with the word play)


the latest.

(also in chez-sucre-chez news: christine and i got notification that we were accepted to participate in the renegade craft fair this summer. hooray! i'll post more details when it gets closer to that time -- it isn't until june, so i have plenty of time to get stitching.. i'm thinking totes and zip pouches with these new designs on them (screenprinted, not cross-stitched -- i'm not that crazy) as well as some baby/kids clothing and toys, and other assorted randomness.)

Roy-owl-ty

(oh my goodness, i love a bad pun just so much.)


i just designed and stitched this new one this afternoon. i'm so pleased i can't even wait until daylight to photograph and post it.

squirrel power!

before i got onto the royal crown and animal motifs, i stitched up some new squirrels.


i am reeeeeeeally loving this new blue-grey cross-stitch fabric that i found. anyways, my return to squirrels was partially inspired by christine, of wonting, who uses them frequently in her work. christine and i applied to get a table together at this summer's renegade craft fair in brooklyn. let's keep our fingers crossed that we get in!

(btw: christine recently featured my house project on her blog; check it out!)

royally re-inspired

i thought that i was over cross-stitch. i did the initials series. i did the silhouettes, the clouds and the coral. i felt like i had done all i wanted to do. i was bored of it.
but now my love for turning x's into shapes has been renewed. my house, the royal, and my new surroundings, the land of the pennsylvania dutch, has given me new inspiration.
here's the first of what i believe just may develop into my most accomplished series:


expect to see more frequent posts and updates here on chez-sucre-chez.

sprouted

here's another photo that was sent to me of a little chez creation in use:


(it's my friend jack's nephew -- jack bought the hat for him at a hearts and crafts affair - and i have had this picture for so long but forgot about it! thanks, jack!)

chez in other people's chez

i have been meaning to do this post for a long time...
beautiful and amazingly crafty emily, from the black apple, bought a few pieces from my etsy shop and then took this photograph of them hanging on her wall and posted it on her blog.


i love how her wall is painted the same color that mine was in my brooklyn apartment. the lighting in that room was so bad, however, that i never got a decent picture of my framed art wall. this is the best i got:


(uhg -- what a terrible picture! -- but note -- flying bird skeleton artwork by dana b!)
anyway -- emily's post drove a nice little surge of traffic to my etsy shop.. thank you so much, emily!

stephanie, from the living room floor, was one of the peeps who was driven to my site/shop by emily. she then photographed the piece i did for her and put that up on her blog:


it looks so pretty! thanks to you, stephanie!

and just today i received a photo from Steff, for whom I just did two custom initials.


(and i do believe that that is a emily/black apple painting hanging there next to my initials.)

clouds are lifting (slowly).

it is definitely taking me more time than i had anticipated to get back into my normal creating and crafting mode after my recent move. three weeks later and much of my art and craft supplies are still in boxes, the studio is nowhere NEAR being ready, and i am still feeling preoccupied with the priority of creating livable kitchen, bathroom and bedroom spaces.
but it is starting to fall into place.
prompted by a request for a custom initial, i've created a comfortable spot where I can do some work and I've broken out some of my supplies.
i'm hoping that as the weather warms, so will my spirit and productivity.

wigging out (am i really leaving this as the title?)

im working away at the royal -- but found a moment to reference a classic french film -- cleo from 5 -7.
here's my recreation of one of my favorite stills (of which i posted a screen shot on here long ago).


see what is happening at the royal: www.threadandbutter.blogspot.com

heart-felt

big kisses, love, and good fortune to all who check in on me through my little blog and to all whom i love so much.
(these felt fortune cookies were in the february issue of martha's "Living" magazine -- they are so cute and so easy! oh -- and, speaking of martha -- greg worked it out for us to go see a taping of the show -- it was rad! watch it on friday and maybe you will see us in the audience (even though we were hiding from the camera).

by ganache i think i've got it

here's an update from last night's baking disappointment.
i covered the animals in ganache... i'm not sure if it successfully covered up or eliminated the vegetable oil taste, (i haven't tried one yet.) but this definitely gives them more of the kind of look i was hoping for.
okay, so now i know what i need to do next time. and oh, there will be a next time.

cast menagerie

i scored this absolutely beautiful cast-iron cookie mold at a back-woods thrift store -- months ago -- and i have been trying to use it (successfully) ever since.


ugh. this has been a project.
it had some funky spots when i got it. so i scrubbed it. and then i tried to season it, and i made a test batch of cookies and they DID NOT come out of the mold -- i had to scrape them out.
so i reaseasoned it. and reaseasoned it.
and then i reaseasoned it again. (and i wasted a batch or two of cookies in the processes.)


i thought about giving up -- but look at those animals! they are fantastic! a walrus! and look at that pig, and the weird sad bison! those animals had to be worth the effort.
well, this time i've almost got it right...
the cookies came out, but 1 -- they taste like the oil i used to season the mold (vegetable oil -- yuck!) and 2 -- they don't look as good as i wanted them to.


so - there will be a next time, and i will post when that happens. when it does, i think i am going to use a chocolate dough, and i am going to press it more firmly into the mold -- to eliminate the air-bubble effect and to make the relief detail a little more apparent. oh, and i am going to use butter on the mold, instead of the oil.

object of my affection

i told you i was distracted.
i'm sorry. i havent been posting.
i havent been making.
i havent been drawing.
i havent been sewing, or knitting, or stitching, or cutting, gluing, tracing or pasting.

i've been dreaming.

(i told you i'm in love.)

chez-sucre-chez is about to take a much deeper meaning for me.
it's brick and mortar now.

home.
sweet.
home.

keep track of it:
www.threadandbutter.blogspot.com

sweet mad-e-line

(sung to the tune of sweet caroline, of course).
laura bought me a madeleine pan... so sweet.
let me tell you, these things are delicious. (and oh, so easy!)

sweater all better

this brand new j.crew sweater lost an arm in a tragic accident.
but i liked the sweater too much, so i turned it into a project...

with yarn, i stitched up the sides,


stuffed a pillowform in there,
used the sweater's buttons to make the closure,


buttoned the buttons,


et voila --
a new pillow.

(coral) reefer madness

i've finally finished a new batch of coral cross stitch pieces. these have been in the works for a while and it's taken me way longer to finish them than i had anticipated... i think i am done with coral for a little while -- my time's pretty short these days and i think i need a break from the shape -- i probably won't get to another batch until at least march. most of the pieces in the photo are available on my etsy site, so if you are interested, click on over!

squealing with delight

the totally awesome sarah b brought me a present today.
she saw this perfect little piggy cookie cutter and bought it for me. how rad is that?
i have seen pig cookie cutters before -- but seriously, never one so great as this.
i was so inspired that i made cookies with it tonight.


at first, i was content with the pink pigs just as they were - straight out of the oven.
but that satisfaction faded as i was just about to put the cooled cookies away and call it a night.
i've come to realize something about myself: rarely do i do something just once and walk away satisfied. more often, i like to do things multiple times, each time tweaking, improving, and pushing the envelope of inspiration.
so -- i whipped up some cookie icing and gave those little piggies some definition.


and then, as the creative process usually goes with me, it is usually after a few times at something that my true brilliance really hits me (um, okay -- brilliant to me .. hey - it's 1:45 in the morning....)
here is where these ended up.


and while i still dont think they are perfect (the lines could be thinner and more perfect -- but the icing wasnt the right consistency and i wasnt about to turn on the kitchenaid at this time of night) -- i think they're cool enough that i can sleep now.

resolution

new posts soon -- i promise. i've been working on no less than five (literally -- no exaggeration) big projects at once these past few weeks -- picking up one, working on it, putting it down, picking up another, putting it aside, going back to the first, moving on to a different project... been feeling a little scattered.. lots going on..
check back in on me in a few days, though -- i've got a goal to finish at least two of these projects before the new year (tuesday?!) and i'll post them as soon as they're complete.
happy almost new year!