Thursday, November 27, 2014

Behind the scenes -- backyard view!

We love living in Oregon. My back yard is so peaceful and beautiful, even though I live in the middle of a suburb. Somehow, Oregon manages to make that suburb feeling go away -- each of us having our own bit of sanctuary. Even though it is green year around, summer green is intoxicating. 

Each house in the neighborhood is nestled by green!  
 This view is over our back fence.

Out my studio window!
Okay, lousy picture! I took it out my upstairs studio window -- through the glass. I want you to know I work very hard -- but washing windows is not one of my frequent labors!! But look how lush it is! The fall colors are coming on and yum!


Thursday, November 20, 2014

Hide Your Stuff!

Here's a few more pictures of our first epattern, Hide Your Stuff!

Uses one fabric!

Uses two fabrics!
Uses three fabrics!

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Epatterns are here!

The time has come! We have finally gotten around to writing epatterns. We are getting more requests all the time and always knew the day would come. So we are finally starting. Yeah! We wanted to start with tons of downloads but in reality, it is not that easy! So we are going ahead and posting the first one and then we will go from there.

My epattern format is a little different than our paper versions. With epatterns, we can add color graphics, which really enhances each illustration. On our paper versions, that is not really practical. It will take some time to convert a paper version into an epattern version but I think it will be worth it!

Our first pattern is an epattern only and does not have a paper version. It is called "Hide Your Stuff ..... in the closet"! It is a clever little caddy you can hang in your closet and hide stuff like cash or jewelry. When you hang the bag amidst your clothes in the closet, the bag is almost undetectable. It is great for traveling and hiding stuff in hotel rooms! Makes a sweet gift, especially for friends who travel a lot!! Very easy to make, and in my opinion, very well written!!!!



The pattern will be available for download on our website www.VanillaHouseDesigns.com .

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Red and green thing!

Okay, this red and green thing is not actually a Christmas item, but it would be a great gift for your favorite quilter!
 So this tool is mostly for quilters and though I am not a major quilter, I still love it. The whole Color Tool has three aspects to it. 1) numbered color swatches, 2) fabric preview windows, and 3) -- my favorite -- red and green value finders. Value finders help you determine contrast without the distraction of of color. They are amazing to work with to get your fabric colors to balance out in a project. Kind of have to use one to understand how they work -- so go get one  -- it will be worth it!

3-in-1 Color Tool by C&T Publishing (www.ctpub.com)