Welcome to My Online Journal

What is the purpose of this blog? This is a place for me to express my ideas, thoughts and dreams...Lillymagic Designs, family, love, self, book, quotes, receipes, handbags, fashion or whatever else comes to mind...join me on my journey and be blessed on yours.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

The Hair Cut



After my youngest son's graduation from kindergarten, we headed to his Aunt's work for a haircut. He had been talking about this for weeks.

Did I mention he wanted a mohawk? Don't forget the color; green!


That would be green for him, blue for his brother and pink streaks for his sister. It's summer. Why not?

Albert, Adam, and Phoebe with their Aunt Amy all smiles about their summer hairdos.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

One Hour Skirt


Yesterday I linked a post from Grosgrain about a twenty minute skirt tutorial. I thought about it during the day...when I got home I hit my stash of fabric. First of all my skirt took me about an hour to make for a couple of reasons. I didn't use my serger. I had to sew a narrow hem as my selvage was printed on one side with designer information. I also used about two yards of fabric, because I thought the flirty fabric of the skirt would look cuter if the skirt was fuller.


It was a fabulous and quick no-pattern project. I finished in about an hour. It was fun making something so quickly...especially when I have been working on my neighbors cushion covers lately.


I would absolutely use this method to quickly make skirts for my ten year old daughter.


I also have a time saving tip, I remembered in the middle of the night last night, for serger users. In the tutorial she serged the upper edge of the fabric and then folded it down and sewed with her sewing machine. If you fold your casing down and then fold in back to the right side of the fabric(like an accordion fold), and run the three layers through the serger, you have encased the edges and sewn the casing in one step.


More pictures to certainly come. I've been thinking about skirts all morning. I also have an idea for a similar project to make a tube top!!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Twenty minute Simple Skirt Tutorial AND GIVEAWAY!!!!

A great tutorial. A simple skirt anyone could make using a yard of fabric, according to her in twenty minutes. Check it out!

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Sunday Laundry Shirt Dress



The giveaway is over, but I fell in love with the pictures. It makes me want to pull out my dress form and fabric...I love the soft dress paired with the boots. What a great look.


I've got some great ideas about little dresses I can throw on over my jeans when I go out. I'm just not as inclined to wear dresses as much as I did when I was younger...I'm not sure why. Maybe I just need to find the perfect little summer dress.






Here's to inspiring your dreams of summer dresses to come!

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

"Bug" in a Rug


My newest endeavor. I'm crocheting a rug out of two inch strips of fabric for under my dinning room table. The rug ended up being about seven feet long and seems to take about a yard of fabric to finish a row. So needless to say, I'm finding a use for my stashes of fabric I have failed to do anything with.

My cat lovebug thinks it is a huge cat toy. Every morning I can tell she has been tearing it up during the night. She also thinks my pile of torn fabric not yet rolled into balls, makes a great bed.

Friday, May 22, 2009

My Favorite Poem

I've spent four days looking for my book I have poems written in...then this morning something told me where to look...I wanted to share my favorite poem with you...

A White Rose
The red rose whispers of passion,
and the white rose breaths of love;
Oh, the red rose is a falcon,
and the withe rose is a dove.

But I send to you a cream-white rosebud,
with a flush on its petal tips;
For the love that is purest and sweetest
has a kiss of desire on the lips.
-John Boyl O'Reiley(1844-1890)

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Handbags in History

A woman’s purse is an intricate part of her life Anything and everything might be found within it.The history of the handbags we carry today dates back long ago. It may surprise you that women did not even carry the first handbags .

In Greek and Roman Civilizations men carried a small pouch to hold coins. In the middle ages, during the Crusades, men carried bags hung on girdles around their waists, filled with alms for the poor. At this point in time, women wore chatelaines, hook like clasps ant their waists attached with necessities such as scissors or keys.

The development of the pocket came in the Sixteenth Century. They were much different than the pockets of today. These early pockets were tied around the waist with long ribbon sashes. They were worn under clothing and accessed via slashes. It was not until later that pockets were sewn onto clothing.

Current fashions in the Eighteenth Century necessitated a new direction; reticules. Often made of luxurious fabrics such as velvet or silk, and embellished with ribbons and tassels, these bags draped daintily at the wrists of the ladies who carried them.

The Industrial Revolution changed everything. With the onset of women’s rights, work and travel (trains, autos and airplanes) needs were rapidly changing. The precursor of our current handbags have their roots in the railroads. Luggage makers made leather bags with handles, similar to luggage, but designs to be hand carried. Fashion trends, necessity and our desires continue to dictate the handbags we carry today and into the future.