Amy Butler Cameo

Amy Butler Cameo has arrived! Well some of it, there will be more to come but it's taking it's time. I'm so taken by the Folly print, probably because it's got a horse and buggy. How can you go wrong with that?

Folly

Forget me Not

Angelica

You can Make it! Wrap Dress

Browsing o'er the internet the other day I came upon this Bettie Page dress (I'm a big fan of Bettie Page dresses, if you are in KC you can find them at  Donna's Dress Shop) Anywho, I like this sweet brown and pink number, it looks like the skirt would have a great twirl.

I also thought that you could make something similar using the Colette Crepe Pattern. I don't wear much brown so I would use the Cornflower solid voile paired with the Cherry voile for a little color boost.  The crepe is a great pattern because it's a wrap dress. I think the voile would have a great drape and (most importantly!) twirl.

V and Co

Have you seen the lovely quilt patterns by V and Co? I love the simplicity of the patterns and I think they are so soothing in the colors she has chosen. They would be great made with the Kaffe Fasset shot cottons we carry. Or, imagine how soft and gorgeous they would be made with solid voiles? That would be yummy.

Ruffled Argyle pattern

Just Dandy pattern

Little Sprouts

Jane Coslick

Warning! After reading this post you will spend the rest of the day yearning for tiny houses and huge waves.

Do you know the work of Jane Coslick? She is a designer based in Savannah, Ga who has done amazing work restoring beach shack's on nearby Tybee Island. Most people see a tiny rundown shack as something to be torn down and replaces with a behemoth of a house. Jane Coslick sees beyond the chipping paint to the personality waiting to come out. And these cottages definitely have personality. Go to her blog to see more of her gorgeous work. Now I'm totally ready to move to the beach!

bon bon birthday celebration!

Bon bon is 6 years old this week! Join us this Saturday, July 28th from 12-2 to celebrate. We'll have ice cream sandwiches, door prizes and 10% off the whole store. Thanks for six great years of bon bon, we look forward to lots more! See you Saturday at noon!

Christian Dior Resort 2013

So, I think that this season is officially (in the fashion world) considered pre-Fall. Am I right? We are at the end of June, getting ready to gather our fall wardrobes, dreaming of tights and sweaters. Except for one thing. It is really blooming hot outside. And the first thing I saw when looking at the pre-fall collections was Yves St. Laurent's head to toe leather. Leather. I got in my car today and it said 117 degrees, the thought of putting on anything heavier than cotton makes me cringe.

So I decided to go further into the future, beyond fall, to a time where we will all be planning our winter vacations on sunny isles, a time called resort 2013. In resort 2013 we will be dressing in Christian Dior, sipping champagne cocktails on a veranda overlooking a beach, with a cool breeze. (Oh, for a cool breeze!)

Join me friends, in this future world. Perhaps you don't want Dior? You can find another resort collection to suit you here.

Needlepoint! Catch the wave!

Well,  you know how I found myself enamored with Crewel work? Well it looks like there is a new needle carrying sheriff in town, needlepoint. I hesitated to try needlepoint, mainly because, let's face it, it's a pricey habit and I'm already the proud and broke owner of a closet full of fabric. Why start something new?

Then I found this kit at the antique mall for $20! I mean, that's a steal! Sure the colors are kind of heinous, but I figured for a practice piece, I couldn't go wrong.

As you can see, I've still got a long way to go!

It takes a little bit to get the right tension with the yarn, but I'm hoping by the time I've finished this whole canvas I should have it down.

Admittedly, not the prettiest yarn on the block. 

Then e found this book in an antique store in Chicago and said I had to have it, and she was right. The Needlepoint Alphabet Book by Meredith and Gary Gladstone. It's so awesome and I have a burning desire to needlepoint the entire alphabet. How could you not after seeing these groovy patterns? Needless to say I'm working hard on my kit, practicing for the day I am ready make my own awesome B pillow.

You can make it! Long sleeve knit top

A few weeks ago I shared a blog that I found called Make This Look. I really liked how they showed you to remake a commercial outfit. So much so that I'm going to do the same. Except not as well, because they had you all decked out in accessories and everything...

The reason I'm doing as they did is that I found this outfit on JCrew.com. It struck me that the shirt is the perfect thing to make out of our Bamboo Sweater knit that we recently got in at the store. It is a beautiful fabric, super thin and so soft. So thin and soft that I think people are afraid of it. But it would be perfect as this shirt!

You could use Sew-a-holic's Renfrew pattern. You can find it here or if you are local, the Bernina store on Metcalf has it. Shamefully, we are out of it and need to reorder!

 If you want to go all out with a polka dot skirt, there is some really great black and white dot Faille Taffeta here. 

Farrow and Ball wallpaper

I've never used Farrow and Ball paint, but I feel well acquainted with it, as it tends to pop up in books set in England. I think we all know that I tend to read a lot of those. What those books didn't tell me was that Farrow and Ball also do lovely wallpapers. I was on their website and although normally I go for something a little more fancy and detailed, I was struck by these simple stripes, dots and metallic (!!) diamonds. I love the metallic diamonds.

For something just as sweet check out the gold metallic polka dot vinyl wall decals from urbanwalls. They actually come in all different colors, but how could you pass up the gold?

KC on BBC

KC got a nice shout out on BBC travel as a Midwest destination. Even better, our favorite restaurant the Westport Cafe and Bar got a mention about their drinks. You know how we like their drinks. Which reminds me, is it time for a Pimm's Cup?

Store Refresh

I was an absent blogger yesterday, but with good reason. The store needed a major refresh so I made a major mess and spent most of the day moving product to a new home. Here is a peak...

Oilcloth takes center stage in the window.

Along with some oilcloth ideas of course!

Buttons and ribbon greet you as you walk in the door. 

As does our mood board.

Washi tape is always popular

And we are so excited to be carrying Taschen books!

A new bookshelf by SB is holding up the paper

And the fabric section is holding it's own...and squeezing out into other areas!

St. Louis Trip

E and I took a little trip up to St. Louis this weekend to meet the St. Louis Modern Quilt Guild. We started out on Friday afternoon, fortified with snacks.

Still hungry, we went to our favorite restaurant, Herbie's (which used to be the glorious Balabans) in the Central West End. This is the most beautiful restaurant ever, from their French cafe style bistro with a million windows, to the proper restaurant which has huge French posters, light fixtures with gold feathers and a black wallpaper with gold flowers that I love dearly. We managed to eat our weight in french onion soup, morel mushroom pasta and topped it off with fried chocolate and ice cream. YUM!

After that gigantic meal we went to our hotel, the Seven Gables Inn, which is super pretty and has a courtyard!

The next morning we got up and went to the St. Louis Modern Quilt Guild's meeting. It was exciting to be there on their second anniversary, and we were so pleased to meet so many lovely new friends! We hope they will have us back someday...

Thanks to the St. Louis Modern quilt guild for inviting us to visit, and giving us a little get-away! We really enjoyed meeting all of you and hope to see you again soon!