My husband Danny and I went to Chicago last week for fun and a little business. What a great city!

Highlights included watching the Oprah show get taped (unfortunately we didn’t get on Oprah’s “favorite things” show.) We learned about some nasty virus and my funny husband bought hand sanitizer on the way back to the hotel.

My favorite part of the trip was our visit to the Art Institute. The exhibit entitled “Miniature Rooms” was phenomenal. Dozens and dozens of replica rooms done in a one-inch to one-foot scale. I tried to take some photos – they’re not the best but it gives you a sense of the detail and intricacy involved in each miniature setting.

I was a passionate dollhouse builder when I was a child, making all the furniture, doll clothes and houses by hand after school. I was pretty excited to see these amazing replicas.

Go to Chicago! And if you do, go to the Art Institute and visit the Miniature Room exhibit.

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For the past couple of months I’ve been making pillows, purses, and t-shirts with my new favorite technique: reverse appliqué. I’m not a technical sewer, so if you’re like me and you like quick projects that look great without the need for perfection, this will be a great project for you.

With traditional appliqué, small shapes are cut out of fabric and then stitched to the top of larger fabric, with little bitty stitches. It’s not exactly the quickest method to do by hand. That’s why I love reverse appliqué: the appliqué fabric is layered behind the ground fabric, stitched in place, and then the appliqué shape is created by cutting away the top layer of ground fabric to reveal what’s underneath. If you’ve never sewn a stitch in your life, I think you can have a lot of fun with this process. Here’s how I do it:

Above are two pillows and two tote bags that I made with my Snow Flower collection from Free Spirit Fabrics. Below is a bag I’m the process of embellishing with my newest Monaco collection for Free Spirit.

To start, choose how much fabric you will need for your project and lay the ground fabric out flat. I like to pencil in my shapes directly onto the canvas to mark where my stitching lines will be. Make sure you factor in ¼” of space between where you will cut out the shape, and where you will stitch.

Once you’ve got your design drawn out, pin the patterned fabric of your choice to the back of your ground fabric, making sure that the patterned side is facing the wrong side of your ground, right side to wrong side. This is because you will be cutting through the ground to show the patterns underneath.

Above is a photo of how the patterned fabric looks from behind when it has all been stitched in place.

Now that your fabric is pinned, you’ll be stitching along your pencil lines with a simple running stitch to join the two fabrics together. I use 3 strands of embroidery floss in coordinating colors. When you’re all done sewing around your shape, grab small sharp scissors and cut out the ground pattern (make sure you don’t cut through the patterned fabric beneath!) leaving a ¼” border between your stitch and cut lines.  You can trim excess patterned fabric from the back as well. Easy, right?

If you feel comfortable with reverse appliqué, you don’t have to stitch on flat fabric and then sew that into something else - you can start with a finished item. It’s a big tougher sewing on something that already has a shape. For my Monaco bag that I’m still working on, pictured below, I just bought the canvas tote bag from J. Crew for $48 and it comes in different colors and is a great basic shape for reverse appliqué.

What do you think? If you end up trying this process, I would love to see what you come up with!

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Some people may go through life without stopping to appreciate a really beautiful window box. Not me! When traveling, I’m usually pointing my camera up at apartment sides instead of the monument that everyone else is focused on.

  A good window box can make all the difference if you’ve been looking for that little extra something to add extra charm to the exterior of your home.  I also love window boxes because whether you’re in an apartment or a house, they add color and life to what you see when you look outside.  Below are some photos I took of window boxes that really enhance their surroundings.

Most of these window box photos were taken on our trip to Italy last year.  Some are uniform and symmetrical with only one species of flower, and others look like mini-forests with all kinds of foliage planted together.  Give window boxes a thought the next time you are looking for a small project that makes a big difference.

The white box full of pink and red geraniums is ours. Surprisingly they bloom year round, how lucky am I!

For more information about different types of window boxes, ideal plants, and how to hang one yourself, check out these websites below.

All you wanted to know about window boxes

How to hang a window box

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In the next couple of weeks, keep an eye when you go to the Post Office for some fun, bright packaging that makes you irresistibly happi! They are my new designs for boxes, mailers, and labels: happi by Dena, coming out just in time for Mother’s Day (May 10th, mark your calendars!) I know I couldn’t take the smile off my face when I received samples of the packaging two days ago. They look so good and I can’t wait to send presents with them. Butterflies and flowers, pinks and greens, it’s springtime!

Let me know if you spot these packages at your local post office and tell me if they make you feel happi, too!

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I’m always on the lookout for functional and creative storage solutions. We all have so many unusual supplies and collections of this and that. It’s hard to store them neatly and still be able to really see your supplies without having to dig through boxes and baskets.

This is my very favorite way to store my ribbons. These hanging storage pockets are from The Container Store.  I think they’re sold for jewelry storage.  But they are so perfect for ribbons and trims. They have clear pockets on each side. This is GREAT so you can see what you have at a glance. I sort my ribbons by color and then roll them up and put them in the clear pockets.

If you have a favorite solution please share! We all want beautifully organized workspaces so we can stay (somewhat) sane.

Happy crafting,
Dena

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