Smocked Dresses

Smocking is an art. It was originally used in England to give elasticity and flexibility to fabric before elastic was invented.

 I remember as a child I used to wear smocked dresses for every birthday party and special occasion. However, recently this trend has been somewhat forgotten. Sadly, given the craftmanship of smocking is something so beautiful and now a days rare. Young women do not have as much as an interest in learning how to smock. Is this an art, that with time, will be lost to older generations?

A few year´s ago, after my second daughter was born, I got a wonderful gift in the mail. My sister's friend who lives in Italy but is of Venezuelan descent sent me three beautiful smocked dresses handmade by her eighty year old grandmother. It has been one of the most amazing gifts I have ever received, a wonderful treasure for me to keep and pass on to my generations. My oldest daughter fell in love with these dresses and wore them to every event. She got all complements, given they would stop me to ask where I had gotten such beauties. I hope when I am eighty I still have the hands and eyesight to sow like this!

 

I believe children are a reflection of their parents. New moms now say these beauties are not practical, however my little girls have always worn them and have gotten nothing more than compliments.

So, given vintage is back in fashion and in the midst of being creative and designing our first line of little girls dresses, we have decided to give smocking a new air. Inspired by beautiful smocked dresses from the 1940´s and 50´s  (some of these patterns are still available for sale on Etsy) we have found a wonderful seamstress to create our inspired designs, and bring back what once was forgotten.

xoxo,

Caro 

Masculine Flower Arrangements

I love entertaining. At parties, I am the guest that appreciates if you went the extra mile to make your guests feel welcomed. So, when I entertain I try to do the same.

Last friday, we were hosting a small party for close friends. We were celebrating the birthday of one of the most important men in my life. I started looking for masculine centerpiece ideas.

Coincidentally, I've been meaning to make a terrarium for myself for awhile, so inspired with this idea, I came up with an easy succulent arrangement that took me not more than 10 minutes. To my surprise it came out lovely and with the earthy feel I was going for.



I bought some wooden plant containers at a local hardware store, and filled them up with scrunched up newspaper at different heights. I introduced my succulent pots, and covered them with moss. For the newspaper not to show through the dents I filled them with more moss. By adding a few river stones, I gave it that masculine touch, plus my kids had a lot of fun helping me place the stones.

Not only where they a piece to talk about, but now I have all the succulents I need to make my terrarium. Here are some pretty terrariums I am looking into for inspiration on creating my own.



http://floralverde.com/blog/?p=479



http://littlethings-online.blogspot.com/2011/05/succulent-terrarium.html



http://designstudiob.blogspot.com/2010/12/invasion-of-succulent-terrariums.html

Hope you were inspired!!

xoxo,

Caro

I learned to appreciate things that are handmade by watching my Mother and Grandmother: sew, knit, crochet, make flower arrangements, and just about anything you imagine.    They always seemed to get such sheer enjoyment and contentment from these activities, although they were sometimes huge projects.  This led to my desire as a small child to be able to cater my own parties, sew my own dresses,  make my own flower arrangements, and make my own decorations.  

Ambitious? Yes. I've yet to fully learn everything I set out to learn, and the list keeps growing.  As does my project list.  Creating has always been a way of life.  Funnily enough, Caro and I seem to speak the same language.  Our lifelong friendship is a testament to common interests and loyalty.  And from that friendship, and lifestyle Egg's Nest was born.  With the idea that people who seek to learn new skills or inspiration, and want to share their ideas and projects will have a community of like minded friends.  Welcome to Egg's Nest!

-Mish.

Fantasy Football Craze

If you are married to a Fantasy Football lover, than this entry is for you! About two years ago my husband entered one of those Fantasy Football Leagues. I was excited for him considering in my own way I am a football fan (Go Saints! and Go Wolfpack!) However, I didn´t know a thing about Fantasy Football. It wasn´t about sitting down sunday night and enjoying a football game, it was about sharing a couch with my husband while he switched channels to every ESPN we could possibly have ( I didn't even know there were so many!) to check how his players were doing.

In the long run, I guess I am greatful for football, for it is a healthy hobby. Plus, I have to give him credit that he knows his football, given last year his team won. So, this year in my crafting craze I decided to try mixing them both for a cute decorating idea for my sunday night gatherings.

I have been meaning to try decoupaging for awhile. Decoupage is "...the art of decorating an object by gluing colored paper cutouts onto it in combination with special paint effects, gold leaf and so on." (Wikipedia) The word itself inspires you, and it turned out to be quite easy and fun.

On my weekly supermarket trip I bought some inexpensive glasses, wide enough to hold a tea light. I had some paper matte mod podge, and I printed some images I found of his league´s players and some fun comics and quotes. They turned out very cute and fun to look at.

 

Needless to say I will probably be using these for next years Superbowl Party!

 

xoxo,

 

Caro







Men Homemade Gift Ideas

Continuing my fascination with finding great homemade gift ideas. I decided to find the perfect gift for the men in my life.

Men are so hard to shop for, I usually find myself undecided between the latest in electronics or some clothing item that I think would be a great addition to their wardrobe and its usually not! Plus, have you ever noticed how much more expensive it is to shop for men than women?

This is how I came across this great website www.simplicity.com and found a free unisex pijama pant pattern, which became the perfect birthday gift.

With this in mind, I went fabric shopping, and found some nice lightweight flannel and chequered cotton. I was really excited about this project, particularly because living in Guatemala, there are not many places where you can find nice pijama pants, not to mention they are fairly expensive.

So, I printed out my pattern, and then assembled it like a puzzle. It was fun and easy. I initially cut out the Large pattern considering my birthday boy measurements. The instructions were easy to follow and the first pair took me about an hour and a half to make. It came out a tid big. Thank goodness baggy pijama pants are not a bad sleeping option. So I let them be, and cut out the medium pattern for the second pair. These came out perfect! and I was able to make them in under an hour.

I finished up my present by personalizing tshirts with Avery t-shirt transfer paper for inkjet printers. This is an amazing product. It washes well, and its fun and easy to use for adults and children! (with adult supervision ofcourse).

It was a wonderful surprise for my birthday boy. Personal yet useful and I didn´t break the bank.

xoxo, Caro

Home Made Gifts

Starting a company is a huge slump on your budget. So, this year I decided to make my own gifts for birthdays and Christmas. Fortunate for me, this has become highly popular, and there are many free ideas on the internet and magazines that you can make or use as inspiration!

I must begin then, in August, because that is the month when my family and loved ones birthdays begin piling up.

So, it is a perfect opportunity for me to try new ideas I’ve been meaning to make. My sister in law loves yoga! Good for her, don’t we all need an exercise we love to do. So I decided to try the Amy Butler Nigella Yoga Mat carrier pattern. I was very excited to try this. I personally bought some polyester blend fabric, because it’s a little stiffer and a bit more stain resistant than cotton. I made it all with the same fabric. It would have looked nice with a different fabric lining, but considering it was the first time I was making this pattern I decided to make my life simple and just go for one fabric.

I printed out the instructions and must say , they were fairly easy to follow. Except for the finshing touches at the end, I improvised a bit, but it still came out pretty ! My sister in law loved it. Especially because I had taken my time to make her something that was important to her.That is what I love about home made gifts, and that is my definition of gift giving. Looking into the likes of the other person and making them a gift they love.

The yoga carrier turned out to be  a practical way to carry your yoga mat and even to store in your car, given you can cross hang it on the back side of your car seat.  Thank you Amy Butler for your free patterns! www.amybutlerdesign.com
 

 

xoxo,

Caro