Dena's Bedding Collection for Bed, Bath & Beyond!

info@denadesigns.com — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 03:00:00 +0100

The below blog mention made me extra excited about our upcoming bedding launch at Bed, Bath & Beyond!

Please paste the below link into your web browser to view the blog review, and be sure to visit your local Bed, Bath & Beyond store in December to snap up the collection!

http://lowtidehighstyle.blogspot.com/2010/08/sweet-dreams-with-dena-des [...]

Tara Reed : Ask Dena Designs!

info@denadesigns.com — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 03:00:00 +0100

Something new and exciting is happening in September!

Noted Art Licensing Industry pro, Tara Reed, has invited me to be the featured designer in her next interactive Q + A on Art Licensing. Tara setup this innovative forum to connect designers who have questions about licensing, with designers currently working in the industry.

Be sure to tune in for the live broadcast next month, and please visit http://askdenadesigns.com/ to submit your questions.

I'm really looking [...]

Alameda Flea Market

info@denadesigns.com — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:00:00 +0100

A visit to the Alameda flea market is one of my favorite ways to spend a Sunday morning. During a recent trip there, I found some creative ways to reinvent unique and beautiful vintage accessories.

Sewing gloves, scarves and ties together makes a charming banner.

Creating tassels [...]

ABC Carpet & Home

info@denadesigns.com — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 03:00:00 +0100

Whenever I travel to Manhattan, I make sure to squeeze in a trip to ABC Carpet & Home. The abundance of eye candy found in their in-store displays always leaves me inspired, and full of creative ideas!

I love the fresh, modern ikat patterns used in this beautiful Madeline Weinrib collection.

[...]

Happi Scroll Tree MagaPack by RoomMates

info@denadesigns.com — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 03:00:00 +0100

I recently started a line of wall decals with RoomMates Peel and Stick Décor. These repositionable decals are really colorful and cool! My daughter, Lisa, and I put up the Scroll Tree design in my new studio, take a look!

There [...]

Before and After: Living Room

info@denadesigns.com — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 03:00:00 +0100

A couple of weeks ago I got a phone call from my friend Sunday, who is a stylist for home dec magazines. She told me that in less than one week, she and a photographer would be at my house for a story! Ah! I had to quickly spruce up my home. My main focus was the living room, because it had changed a lot since the last time it was photographed for a magazine (Mary Engelbright Home Companion.) [...]

McKenzie Collection

info@denadesigns.com — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 03:00:00 +0100

My newest Westminster collection, McKenzie, is up on the Free Spirit website here:

http://freespiritfabric.com/core-pages/gallery.php?gal_id=294&sw_id=4522

These are some projects we've made here in the studio with our samples of the collection:

This is my daughter Lisa in a McKenzie apron.

Painting walls in NY

info@denadesigns.com — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 03:00:00 +0100

This post is so overdue! Back in March I went to New York because I had bedding premier with Nostalgia Home Fashions. They did a beautiful job on the bedding collections, and to make the designs pop even more, they asked me to paint the walls behind each bed. Edit: I've just heard my bedding will be shipping to a major retailer this Fall. I'm so excited, stay tuned!

At the end of April I flew to St. Louis with my daughter, Lisa, to attend the Mary Engelbreit Workshops! I had been invited as a guest speaker, which also meant that I was able to take workshops, listen to the seminars, and explore St. Louis. It was a lot of fun! I felt honored to be chosen by Mary Engelbreit to be on the panel of speakers along with Amy Butler, Marcia Ceppos, and Margo Tantau as the moderator. The talk was really great; we were relaxed up on st [...]

Like-new Outdoor Furniture

info@denadesigns.com — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 03:00:00 +0100

As part of my spring-cleaning this rainy month, I reupholstered 2 outdoor chairs and a bench with some fabulous bright outdoor fabric I got on super sale. The fabric is water and light resistant, a big change from the previous fabric I’ve had on this furniture for many years, which was very faded. Here are a few before and after photos. I just made really simple slipcovers for the cushions and pillows: no zippers, buttons, or ties.

Befor [...]

Leanika Linens

info@denadesigns.com — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 01:00:00 +0100

Here’s a very simple sewing project that transforms a room - table linens!

I used two prints from my Leanika collection to sew a bunch of square napkins and a large tablecloth. The 45” fabric wasn’t wide enough, so I used the coordinating napkin pattern to add 12& [...]

New shelves in a new studio

info@denadesigns.com — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 01:00:00 +0100

For the past many months, we’ve been building a garage on our property. This may not sound so exciting, until you hear that the top floor is now an extension of my studio! It’s still in progress, but the built-in shelves were completed, so I moved my fabric in first thing. Once it’s all finished I’ll have plenty of photos of the new space.

If you would like to see the photo below full size, look at it on my flickr si [...]

A special gift

info@denadesigns.com — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 03:00:00 +0100

The other day I received a small package from my friend. It wasn’t my birthday, and there were no holidays coming up, so I wasn’t expecting anything. She sent me such a carefully thought out, beautifully put together package just to say hello! The theme was dogs, so every little charm and printed paper was about my favorite animal. This is just one more reason I love living the embellished life: a simple greeting is transformed into a thoughtful e [...]

Lavender Sachet

info@denadesigns.com — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:00:00 +0100

A couple of weeks ago I had a business meeting in New York, and I wanted to make it really special by making take-away lavender sachets to leave with the attendees – 60 of them!

To make one, I fussy cut the diamond design from my Leanika fabric collection (Free Spirit Fabric) using [...]

Flea Market Treasures

info@denadesigns.com — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 01:00:00 +0100

If you’ve read my blog, my newspaper column, or if you watched my TV show on the DIY network, you definitely know that I love a good flea market. They inspire me to embellish and create. So I know I am super lucky to live close to the Alameda Flea Market, which happens every first Sunday of the month. It’s Northern California’s biggest market – it takes hours to walk through! Everything sold must be at least 20 years old and you can find some [...]

Happi by Dena at CRGibson.com

info@denadesigns.com — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 01:00:00 +0100

My bright and sunny collection, happi by Dena™, is now available as gift bags and kitchen stationery, made by CR Gibson. Everything looks so great! The bags, recipe keeper, note cards and more are made with special details, like buttons and grosgrain ribbon.

Sleepy Ruby

info@denadesigns.com — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 01:00:00 +0100

Today is a rainy, cloudy, chilly day. But here's a really cute photo! My tiny poodle, Ruby, has become a studio dog this week. Today she's sleeping in a little bed I customized for her with some of my fabric made by Fabric Traditions. Super easy to do, and it makes Ruby feel special.

A Sizzix Wedding Dress

info@denadesigns.com — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 01:00:00 +0100

Hello! Today I would like to hand my post over to my assistant Katrina. She was inspired to create a Sizzix floral wedding dress for her wedding two weeks ago! I work for Sizzix creating dies, and I use my machine all the time. The dress is truly a testament to what can be creative with motivation, time, and a little patience…

Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, there are some cute independent fabric stores. Walking by Piedmont Fabric the other day, I noticed this window display!

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