Pretty Much Picasso

Gardeners everywhere rejoice with wonder and delight as the Proven Winner company has introduced one of the most popular annuals in recent years. Pretty Much Picasso, a delicious new supertunia has made the world take notice at it's incredible colorway and non-stop trailing habit.

I'm lucky. My parents own this awesome (not so little) greenhouse biz in Central Illinois. Hart's Greenhouse. They send me starters every spring that I transplant into 4" pots and later transplant again into my container gardens.

Pretty Much Picasso stole my gaze this last March. It has that vibrant deep pink as it's predecessor purple wave and a spectacular lime green edge. I spend most of my day gazing at amazing fabric and this flower reminds me so much of that. Lime, fuchsia...what more could a girl ask for?!!

First came the petunia. Gorgeous, spring to fall bloomer, lots of care (deadheading). Then came the wave petunia. It was amazing. Nothing we'd ever seen before. You plant 3 plants in a very large container and it would spill out, over the edge, uncontrolled.....perfect. Then, the Supertunia. An even stronger trailing habit, yet this annual has elimanated the need to deadhead. Even though I still find myself plucking off those dead blooms, if I don't get to it for a few weeks, the blooms will keep on coming.

You'll have to head to your local garden center to see if they carry this amazing annual. It will go fast so don't delay! Here's a look at my Picasso newly planted in it's 4" pot home for the next month. Not to worry. You'll get another look in a month or two as it grows, as it paints a home that is, well.....pretty much picasso.

Jayna

Mother's Day Gift Guide

We love our mothers. Even though they may drive us slightly crazy some days, this is one day of the year that it's appropriate to show some sort of "thank you". You may ask yourself, "what makes a good mother's day prezzie?" Well, in my opinion (being a mom), it's something that will be enjoyed by just mom. Not a blender, not a new jug of laundry soap. It's about selfless giving. Some of my favorites being flowers in a vase or even bedding flowers to plant, concert tickets and a babysitter (for some day other than mother's day), or even a day at the spa.

Mother's Day this year is Sunday, May 9th. If you choose to give a gift, it doesn't need to be much more than a handmade card but can range all the way to a new car for those husbands who are overly eagar. (Honey, may I point you to a new Honda Pilot?)

I've assembled a nice little gift guide for some ideas, and hopefully it'll help you choose the perfect sentiment for your wife, mom or grandma.

This makeup bag/clutch from KaraMiaSofia is a great ETSY find for any mom, modern or traditional. Ranging in fabrics from Amy Bulter to Sandi Henderson, there are many colors and designs to choose from and with a price of $14, this is a great gift for a tight budget. It's lined and has an inner layer of interfacing, making it sturdy and best of all, washable. If you have a bit of extra cash left over, I suggest pairing this with a bunch of fresh cut red tulips from your local shop.

I love this necklace from LoveStamped. Two Sterling Silver discs handstamped with children's names or anything you please, I suppose. I just love the family tree on the top disc. It's earthy and chic all at once. At 1" in diameter, it's not overly big, but just the perfect size. It even comes with a chain, which is great for mom to put on her neck out of the box. The price for this handmade treasure: $22.50.

For the sewing mom, this is perfect!! I actually bought this pincushion from TheDailyPincushion for my mom's birthday back in January and she LOVES it! It's handmade and handsewn and is much more gorgeous in person. It was gorgeous out of the package, perfect for the mom that lives in another state. Purchase this beauty for only $28. Cathy was great to work with and has many other great designs, like her pillows...so gorgeous!

Of course, a basket full of body essentials is a time-tested favorite. This gift set from ETSY's savannahsoapkitchen is great, because for $25, you can choose 5 products from her store, in the flavors/scents that you want. The products include handmade soaps, yummy salt scrubs, body lotions, solid perfumes and much more.

Dads, for those of you who don't already know...this is supposed to be essentially from the children, so having them make a handmade card may be the best present of all. Also for those of you who may be expecting your first child when Mother's Day approaches, giving a little something for the mom or even baby-to-be will score you extra points. Even if she's preggo, she's a mom (I guess that should read, "especially if she's preggo..."). Pairing the above body basket with say, this book and a shoulder/foot massage; you'd make up for any stupid comments made over the last 9 months.

Like mentioned before, it's not the gift, it is truly the thought. I promise. Treating her special or baking cookies for instance, are all things that don't cost a ton, but the thought is enriching.

Thank you mom, for all you do for me and molding me into the best mom I could possibly be. Without you, I simply, would not be.

Jayna

Reveals and Revelations

I gasp! Amy Butler has revealed a new fabric line, Soul Blossoms that is coming out in September of 2010. You can view some of the fabrics on the manufacturer site, Westminster Fabrics. Oh, I live for this day, when Amy Butler reveals her newest genious.

Looking at the fabrics, it's obvious that the Laurel Dots will be outragously popular.



Right away I notice the colors periwinkle and mist that are present in her previous collections, which means that these should coordinate just perfectly (picture me drumming my fingertips together).

I'm also infatuated with the Temple Tulips design.



Wanna know what else I discovered today? Amy Butler sells rugs. That's right....gorgeous, stunning rugs that are available for purchase. I visit her site at least twice a day, but I only go for the fabrics. I guess I'm after something specific so I don't dwadle, but holy cow!! Wall decor, rugs and so much more.



But, my most favorite of all is her Desktop Collection inspired by her most recent, LOVE collection. Seriously, how fab is this stuff? Do you mean that I could use file folders and binders decorated in the same designs as my most favorite fabrics? WoooHoooooo!

Here's a great pic from Amy's website of the Desktop Collection. Notice how the little knobies on the drawer-thingy are covered in Bali Gate as well? Simply awesome.



and a recent cribset I created as well:



Thank you Amy Butler, your designs are divine and leaving me gasping for air. Gotta love that.

Happy Friday!
Jayna

*thank you Westminster Fabrics and Amy Butler Designs for use of your photos.

My New Favorites

Like a little kid checking the mail every day, every hour, the mail person finally arrives with my new Kona Color Card. I think I even shrieked a bit as my hands were actually shaking with delight as I opened the package. Unbelievable.

Kona is a solid color fabric made by Robert Kaufman. There are over 220 shades. Again, unbelievable. I opened the package and unfolded it like 6 times until I was completely entranced by the most amazing rainbow of fabric swatches I had ever seen. This card of 221 colors is special because they are actual fabric samples, labeled with each color name.

This way, when trying to match a solid to my fabric, I can hold it up to the card and actually pick the right shade and order it online without hauling my butt over to the fabric store. (imagine angels singing here)

My other new favorite is the website www.fabricshopperonline.com It's awesome for those of us who are addicted to fabric through no fault of our own. I order fabric every week and this awesome site tells me which shops are having a sale and the coupon code! I'm a thrifty gal and this suits me well. What's even better about this site is that the shops feature their newest fabrics, keeping ME in the loop about the new lines showing up on the showroom floor every week. Thank you fabricshopperonline, for being so money-savingly awesome and thank you Mr. Kaufman for your ever-so-divine way of making us spend those savings.

Peace,
Jayna

I Hate Spring Cleaning

Ugh...that time of year again. I mean, Yay!! That time of year again! I hate cleaning. What's worse than the fact that I hate cleaning is that I have NO time to clean. I sew all day, then make dinner for the fam, kids to bed and then resume sewing.

However, today I made time to clean. I even dusted. Being that I'm allergic to dust, I never dust. You'd think I might keep up on the dusting due to my allergy, but it makes me sneeze so much, I don't do it all all! Good thing I have a husband that loves to clean:) I'm not joking by the way, he loves to clean.

Now that I have successfully cleaned most of my home, I feel like there should be something else I need to do that I have put off. I've been tossing around the idea to start making crib mobiles and start selling them on RockyTop, but I rarely have the time to experiment with the design. I love these birds that my friend made and featured on her blog, Tots and Bottoms...they are so cute!


For the mobiles I'm thinking birds, butterflies, little fabric balls and so on. I could make mobiles to match the bedding for my customer, making the set super duper cute! Much like the cleaning, eventually the time will come when it must be done.

Hobby Lobby has some nice fabric that I love from Brother Sister Design Studio. You can view some of my favorites here and here. I think some of these fabrics would make the perfect experiment fabric for my mobiles. Of course, I could use the several hundred yards of fabric that have already accumulated in my studio. But, that would be so boring, haha.

I guess for now I'll just keep on sewing and ignoring the cleaning and the mobile making. What's a girl to do? I know, I know. I'm supposed to do the cleaning, make the mobiles and run a successful business. Ugh.

Happy spring to you!
Jayna

The Dots Have It

It was my fault. Staring at those blueberries at the new Sprouts in town. 4 packages for $5. How could I go wrong? Seriously, how could anybody go wrong with 4 packages of blueberries stacked precariously in their fridge one on top of the other. You know how those flimsy little cartons pop open by themselves all the time. I made the mistake of touching the delicately balanced, quivering tower of goodness. It's almost like a car accident. You know it's happening and you see it all in slow motion. I saw them falling ever so slowly. Falling, falling until I saw 3 packages of blueberries all over my (not so clean) kitchen floor.

My girls exclaim with delight as they help to pick up/eat the berries. It's like a speckled mess; eloquent dots all over the floor. Dots...hmmmm...is this what Michael Miller sees when he has a thought for one of his fabrics? I mean, he is quite literally the king of dots. As I pick up the berries one by one I tried to count how many dot patterns this modern master of fabric design has in his present repitoire.

I was able to count 7 in my head, only to sit down at my computer to find more. Ten. Ten dot patterns that lay in print at this time. Even more that don't actually have the term "dot" in the name of the fabric. Hoopla Dot, Play Dot, Disco Dot, Dumb Dot, Ta Da Dot, Quarter Dot, Lolli Dot, Ooh La Dot, Ring Dot and PinDot. They all come in different colors, some reversed, some just in black. All gorgeous.

Dots are great. They coordinate so perfectly with most any pattern. Damask, stripe, other dots and so many other great patterns.

Speaking of patterns, did you know the secret to mixing patterns? They have to be of different scale. Ever wander into someone's home and see all of the different fabrics and textiles they have? They have so many patterns, so many colors, and they all seem to go together so well. It's because they are a differnt scale (aka different size). We're not talking centimeters or half inches different, we're talking a large difference that is easy to see. There, that's one of my secrets. I hope you're happy.

So, the dots have it. Not only are they loved across the world, but they're so easy to love. So symetrical; much like a beautiful woman's face. Looking for an easy pillow to accessorize your already-decorated living room? I suggest a dot.


Have a lolli dottie day,

Jayna

Your Guess Would Not be My Guess

So often I put up a new color palette thinking that one or two of my most favorite fabrics will be the focus of that palette. Not so often I find! I am constantly amazed by the fabrics that emerge as the most popular.
So how do these trends emerge? I suppose most of it comes from the governing minds that decide what colors we will like this spring, this fall and even the next fall for that matter (aka, Pantone). There was a time that I thought colors just became popular for no reason, just like it magically appreared. Ha ha, not so.
I suppose our eye is also drawn to plain, good design. If I were to pick up a brush and paint, I’m not so sure you would be drawn to what would emerge. In fact, I’m very sure you would not be drawn to it. But, I think about fabric designers like Alexander Henry, Laura Gunn, Heather Bailey, amoung others; and how I relish on the design that is clearly the pulling force to ones contentment. Several weeks ago I stumbled up on Laura Gunn’s Line, “Poppy” and practically had to wipe the drool off of my netbook.
I suppose in some ways, the fabrics I predict that will be ‘hot sellers’ do end up being just so, but in other ways, I am way off base. While I like Herny’s 2D Zoo in Pool, I could have not predicted the massive amounts of that specific fabric I would purchase in the last 6 months. So, I will keep on guessing, supposing what my customers will drool over. But, in the meantime, I will keep adding fabric to my store that would not be my guess.

Who Is This Chick?

Hello! My name is Jayna and this is my blog. I’m an optimist by default and to a fault. I will find the positive in anything you put in front of me; it drives my husband crazy I think. I used to be a radio DJ and I was really good at it, too. Someday I’d love to do that again. Speaking of music…what’s your fav? Mine is Bluegrass. Yup. Banjos, mandolins and dancing. Nothing more fine.
I am the owner and main creative force behind RockyTop Design. At RTD, we design and create custom crib bedding. It’s unique because the customer gets to choose the fabric and the pieces and we make the bedding. It’s actually a ton of fun and I love it.
I have one employee, her name is Jennifer. She’s awesome, too. She’s been designing and creating children’s clothes for years. Her shop, Mairsy Dotes is filling day by day with gorgeous children’s clothes. She’s an excellent seamstress, which is why she works for me, too!
Who am I? I’m a young mom of two little girls that has a wonderful husband that fully supports my career. I have my own studio within my home, which makes me super lucky. This is my studio

I started out making things like personalized bibs and diaper bags. I still make those things if requested as I really enjoy the speed of those projects. I was actually pushed into business by a wonderful group of women (thank you, ladies), who saw some work I did as a gift and pressured me into selling my wares. I am forever in debt.

As it turns out, this crib bedding thing just kinda popped into my head one day and there it stuck. I suppose someday it’ll grow, but I’m okay with the size until my kids get into school. Too much too fast is not always a good thing. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you do often.
~Jayna