Patterns: Better Homes and Gardens Pouf

Two lucky BHG subscribers will WIN the one of the ottomans in the photo above. Both are made by Lara Newsom of Handmade Pretties.

Open the latest copy of Better Homes and Gardens and you will find a stitched yellow burlap ottoman made by Handmade Pretties as a set piece. After creating the ottoman as a mere photo prop, the editors at BHG asked me to create a pattern that would be available for free online (all you have to do is register with BHG to download the pattern). For $50 or less, you can create one of your own.

In addition to generating all of the digital pattern files and written instructions, I spent a day working with Amy Panos of BHG on the set of the photo shoot. Two lucky BHG subscribers will WIN the two ottomans in the photo above.

Magazine Feature: Do It Yourself Magazine Spring 2011

Title Page for the Story. I created the dyed and starched candy dishes.

I worked with Jessica Thomas on Eye Candy for the Spring 2011 issue of Do It Yourself Magazine. I spent a good month collecting doilies and lace, dying doilies and lace, painting doilies and lace, and finally sewing doilies and lace. I created the stiffened doily dishes using watered down white glue and a final coat of shellac. I used a similar technique to adhere the lace to votives and a large mason jar vase. I also created the five lace and doily embellished pillows on page 83. The teal pillow in the front simply used doilies as stencils for spray paint. The others featured doilies and lace sewn to the surface of the pillow.


A lovely stack of pillows. I designed and produced all five lace and doily pillows.

A shot of the votives and the mason jar vase.

Magazine Feature: Giant Monkey Block Pattern

The finished dice right before I dropped it off at Meredith.

The Winter 2010 issue of Quilts and More (published by Meredith), features a pattern that I created for an over-sized monkey block. I generated all of the digital files for the patterns and wrote the instructions. Meredith shot all of the amazing photos with the baby (my babies are big girls now). Eventually, I will offer this pattern for sale on my etsy site.


The magazine cover

Title Page of the pattern

Magazine Feature: Do It Yourself Magazine Winter 2010

The title page of the story. I hand cut and stitched the felt artwork for this page.

"We Love Felt" is published in the Winter 2010 issue of Do It Yourself magazine (pg 76). I worked on this piece with Jessica Thomas to create the backdrops and cube props. I created the title page "We Love Felt" piece. Additionally, one of my felted wool brooches is featured on page 79.


I created the felt covered block set pieces for this shoot.


More of the felt block in action.


My brooch is the spiky red orange flower in the foreground.

Handmade Pretties in the Press: Readymade - April 2010

This is the cover you MUST find on your newsstand!

This is the perfect example of why I ALWAYS do my best work with every order I ship. When Shay Ometz purchased a set of rainbow sweater balls and a personalized giant fleece ball from me, I had no idea they would end up in the pages of one of my favorite magazines!

Pick up the April 2010 issue of Readymade and immediately turn to page 70 and 71 to see three of my balls in the amazing East Dallas home that Ometz shares with her husband and two children. A few of these photos were also featured on Design Sponge.

Don't forget to check out page 34 to see Brianne Sanchez' awesome engagement photos. She's a friend of mine who writes for Juice Magazine in Des Moines.

Page 70. I have dreams of a kids' room this lovely.

Pg 71. Divine

Handmade Pretties in the Press: Better Homes and Gardens - March 2010

This cute little shamrock brooch (on page 18 of the March 2010 issue of Better Homes and Gardens) is made from felt, vintage lace, and a beautiful brown glass button from my grandmother's button collection. While I make more elaborate intricately stitched brooches for sale on my website, this brooch is relatively easy to make with just a few supplies like felt, lace, buttons, tacky glue, hot glue, and a safety pin. I simply cut two clover shapes from felt, and then trimmed one down so that it would nest nicely inside the other and carefully glued the lace down with tacky glue. The button is sewn to the center, and the safety pin is glued to the back using hot glue on a strip of felt to cover one side of the safety pin like a band-aid. My daughter and I sewed one on a headband for her to wear at school on St. Patrick's Day.


Page 18 of the March 2010 issue of Better Homes and Gardens. The whole issue is full of beautiful colors and great spring inspirations. Perfect for those of us lost in the land of "Snowmageddon".


Our simple shamrock headband. The clover is glued together and the buttons are sewn on. The whole thing is sewn to the fabric covered headband, although, glue would probably work too.


One of my shamrock brooches for sale on my etsy site.

Handmade Pretties in the Press: Design Sponge - July 13, 2009

I love seeing my work photographed in beautiful homes. This July 2009 feature of Shay Ometz' home shows my recycled sweater balls and my giant fleece ball.

My recycled sweater balls were initially designed as a toy, but so many of my customers tell me they are buying a set for their bed or their living room. As you can see from these photos, the results are stunning.


Recycled Sweater Balls as decorative throw pillow. Photo from Design Sponge


One of my giant fleece balls are peeking out of the bin under the table. I very much remember making this ball, so it is great to see it in it's home. Photo from Design Sponge.

Handmade Pretties in the Press: Recycled Sweater Skirt

Sweater skirt in action!

I have been making my recycled sweater skirts since Fall of 2007. Their one of a kind charm has made them popular on both my etsy site and at craft fairs.

They have been featured in numerous blogs and online magazines. Here are just a few.

The Long Thread - Sept 26, 2008

Etsy Finds - Child-Likes with Babble.com - Dec 16, 2008

Etsy Storque: Handmade Confessional - Dec 17, 2008

Babble.com - Holiday Gift Guide 2008

Baltimore Etsy - Jan 19, 2009

Ozowiezo Blog - April 2009

Kids Trend Weekly - Oct 4, 2009

Tryhandmade.com - Jan 11, 2010


Screen Shot from tryhandmade.com


A screen shot from Babble.com


Screen Shot from Kids Trend Weekly

Handmade Pretties in the Press: Do It Yourself Magazine - Winter 2009

Last year I worked with Jessica Thomas on the "Best of Show" article for Do It Yourself Magazine - winter 2009. My products were featured on the cover of the magazine (the ball in the background and the small pincushion on the desk), and in the article (a ball and pincushion). I also created the Best of Show title ribbon using my large stash of vintage fabrics.

While this magazine had gone under my radar, after reading the last three issues, this is fast becoming one of my favorites! Be sure to join the DIY facebook fan site. They make great posts about project ideas and other discussions.


On the cover: my ball is in the lower left under the lamp, and my pincushion is on top of the pile of books on the desk.


Hours well spent. This turned out so great! I was able to showcase some of my vintage fabrics AND my embroidery...


My ball and pincushion are side by side on the top of the shelf.

Handmade Pretties in the Press: Better Homes and Gardens - Nov 2009

In addition to product features, I have been doing some contract work for Meredith (the mothership of Better Homes and Gardens, Readymade, and DIY to name a few). I created these fun pockets to showcase new pocket sized digital video recorders. Each pocket is made from felt and hand embroidered. This feature ran in the November 2009 issue of BHG.


Here is the feature that ran in the magazine.


Here are all of the pockets I made for the shoot.

Handmade Pretties in the Press: Better Homes and Gardens - April 2009

Last year in the April 2009 issue, Better Homes and Gardens featured my iPod cases. Check my shop for the latest iPod and gadget cases that I make.

Handmade Pretties in the Press: Pregnancy & Newborn - Nov 09

Handmade Pretties has been getting some press lately. Here is a rainbow sweater ball nicely featured in Pregnancy and Newborn.

Here is the feature from the November 2009 issue of Pregnancy and Newborn.