Thursday, April 30, 2009

Coffee bean sack after a MRR DESIGN make-over

I gave myself an Atta Girl
when I saw the story below in 
the May, 2009 issue of Country Living 
because I was ahead of the curve.

and constructed recycled green memento boards to commemorate
2008 Earth Day
check out the post here
 
Both bulletin boards are effective reuse of materials.
I am just partial to my creation;
I like the extra dimension of the puff and lattice
rather than a flat covered tack board.


I read recently about a sofa covered in burlap
not my idea of a comfy couch!

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Embroidered ribbons
click on picture for close-up
ribbons ready for frames
I have used two very good embroiderers in the past
but the work on the ribbons is very pesky
and not too many people like it.

If you know anyone who would be interested in doing
embroidery work for me - please let me know.

In the meantime, if you need any embroidery work done:
mongrammed towels, bags, tee shirts, you name it,
contact Maureen at Personally Yours
MPersonallyYours@aol.com
Maureen is lovely and so easy to work with.
I just wish the ribbons were easier to do.

Friday, April 24, 2009


so busy yesterday I forgot ...

last friday of the month 
spring is here 
enjoy saturday with maira kalman 
click here for her blog on the nyt's website 

here is a teaser
pomegrantes are a favorite of mine

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

 In honor of EARTH DAY

via swissmiss again (4/5/09)
I can't help it. 
She posts such great stuff,
I must forward it along.
Maybe many of you readers already read swissmiss?
but for those who don't...

(click here to enlarge for readability)

This manifesto is the same as my mantra:
use it up 
make it do 
do without

and it really drives d.h. crazy
but it make so much sense.

Check out the repair manifesto in action in my world:

Bathrobe
Torn on the back from hanging on the hook for so many years, 
so I had some new fabric sewn on top of the rips.
Good as new!


Jeans
Miss Is loves these red engines
so we have patched and patched the knee tears


TV Table
This was an old sewing table that someone gave to me.
I painted it black,
cut a circle out of plywood and painted it black too,
added a piece of glass
and some fun black ball fringe.
Voila!

Sunday, April 19, 2009


MRR DESIGN
SPRING 2009

Heather Bailey
#1 Sunflower (l)
#2 Paisley (r)

Heather Bailey
#3 Aqua Ice
#4 Green Ice

Anna Maria Horner
#5 Roses on Chocolate (front l)
#6 Pink Flowers on Mocha (back l)
see below for frame on right

Anna Maria Horner
#7 Indian Green
#8 Indian Rose

#9 Aqua Clouds (back l)
#10 Aqua Daisy (front)

#11 Mingle red

#12 Mingle pink/green

another view of #11 and #12

Denyse Schmidt
#13 Circles w/ aqua ribbon
#14 Circles w/ green ribbon

These checks are nice for birth announcements or photos
#15 Aqua check (front)
#16 Light pink check (back l)
#17 Rose check (back r)

Sis Boom
#18 Lime wallpaper

Sis Boom
#19 Pink wallpaper (front)
back in another view of Lime wallpaper

Sis Boom
#20 Flower Power blue (front)
#21 Flower Power pink (middle)
#22 Green/Blue (back)

another view of #22 Flower Power Green/Blue 

another view of #21 Flower Power pink

Sis Boom
#35 Paisley green/blue (front)
#36 Paisley pink/blue (back)

Fun, Fun, Fun
Seersucker patchwork 
#23 Seersucker Patchwork w/ aqua ribbon (front)
#24 Seersucker Patchwork w/ bright pink ribbon (back l)
#25 Seersucker patchwork w/ light pink ribbon (back r)

another view of #23

#26 Pink Maro Flowers (front)
#27 Pink Decals (back)

Whimsical Heather Ross
#28 Mermaids

Whimsical Jay McCarroll
#29 Ants in Woodpile (front)
#30 Bending Trees (back r)

For the happy baker
#31 Beaters

#32 Aqua Pucci (front)
#33 Aqua Circles (back)

#34 Sis Boom stripe

Contact Marnie about wholesale orders and prices.
(203) 216-8717
or marnie@optonline.net

Frames are sold at the boutiques listed below. 
Sea Beans Studio, Wilton, Connecticut
Darien Sport Shop, Darien, Connecticut
Milestones, New Canaan, Connectiuct
The Goody Shop, Westport, Connecticut
All She Wrote, Chicago, Illinois
All She Wrote, Winnetka, Illinois

If you are not close to one of these shops,
please contact MRR Design directly or visit my etsy shop.

I also do custom monogramming.
Great for graduations, birthdays, new babies.

If you know of a shop in your neighborhood
where you think the frames would sell well,
please tell me.
I will pitch the product and if I receive an order,
then you will receive any frame from my collection as a 
THANK YOU.

Just slip the photo between the fabric and ribbon.
Cheerful, fun, and so easy to change the fabric.
Perfect for 4x6 photo, birth announcement or postcard.
These new-fangled pictures frames are created by me!
Copyright protected 2008

Saturday, April 18, 2009

The weather has finally turned,
the wind is from the southwest.

Daffodils - a welcome sight after the long, cold winter.

And Susan Boyle's stardom continues to grow
Talk about Spring and Rebirth
She will be singing on Oprah soon
and talking with Larry King
and she has a fan site: Susan-Boyle.com

Read the lyrics:

I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high,
and life worth living.
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving.
Then I was young and unafraid
When dreams were made and used,
And wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung,
No wine untasted.
But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hopes apart
As they turn your dreams to shame.
And still I dream he'll come to me
And we will live our lives together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms
We cannot weather...
I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living
So different now from what it seems
Now life has killed the dream
The dream I dreamed.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Success 
is peace of
mind which is a
direct result of self
satisfaction in knowing 
you made the effort to do the
best of which you are capable.
John Wooden


A STAR IS BORN

YOU MUST WATCH THIS VIDEO
click link here

I tried to embed this video clip but the embedding feature was disabled.
Trust me,
this you-tube clip is worth watching.

Susan Boyle performed on April 11, 2009 
on Britain's Got Talent Show
and 3 days later this you-tube video clip had 3.7 million hits
(and growing rapidly)

I also listened to John Wooden on Swissmiss
click on link above
good stuff

Monday, April 13, 2009


Piece by piece

to yield a fun patchwork

Going once, going twice, SOLD to paddle #-----

A donation to my daughter's school fundraising auction,

a one-of-a-kind memento board,

along with a LAX picture frame
& picture of girls lax team.


Thursday, April 9, 2009


Yo-Yos
not the child's toy
but these fun circles sewn with scraps of fabric


You have seen quilts made with hundreds of these yo-yos.
Sis Boom has a tutorial.
I read it - but decided I needed to sit down with someone 
to figure out this yo-yo thing.

This winter I attended a how-to session offered by Ambler Farm.
A wonderful lady from the deep south
showed us how to make yo-yos.
Painstaking work but i figured it out.
I have a new appreciation for those yo-yo quilts.
 

modern take on Yo-Yos

new hair accessories as seen on habitually chic

and a painted version by Nantucket Mermaid
love the colors and organic shapes 

painted box above 

shrinky-dinks below
Jeanne turns these into fun pins and earrings


everywhere 


i keep seeing circles

crocheted jewelry as seen on Hidden in France


Preston Bailey's circle designs 


not sure where this lamp came from
it is made from cut-up plastic containers

sometimes i feel like i am chasing myself around in a circle


contemporary fashion yo-yos  

button wear

last but not least, circles of needlepoint 
stitched by moi as a special birthday present for d.h.