The Memory of an Apron

I love aprons for so many reasons, but I have to say the best thing about an apron is the memories it holds.  Once the apron is made, it's fun to think of how many meals, hands, stories, laughs, and tears will be shared in the apron.  My favorite part of making aprons for others is finding THE perfect fabric for a custom order. 
 Something special happened this winter when I didn't have to find the fabric for an order. The fabric found me.  


My dear friend Sommer (see previous Pin-Up post) is a mother of two beautiful boys (Ethyn 7 and Ryan 4) and a baker extraordinaire (Heaven's Gluten Free Bakehouse).  I've known her and her family for about 4 years now.  Sommer sadly lost her mother, whom she was very close to, when she was in high school.  One day when I was at Sommer's house, she handed me a bag full of her mom's clothes and asked me to make two aprons out of them.  She shared with me little anecdotes about her mom that the t-shirts, sweatshirts, and pajamas in the bag reminded her of.  With shaking hands I took the bag from her and immediately thought 1. I can't believe she's trusting me to do this, and 2. I can't mess this up!  I felt honored that she would allow me to create aprons out of something so meaningful.  Something that already carried so many memories.


The scariest part for me was the first snip of clothing.  But after the initial shock, the creative juices were flowing and (semi) confidence set in.  Here are some pictures of the process...

The ruffles on this apron are made from her mom's favorite comfy t-shirts.  The waistband and bib are made from her mom's favorite pajamas.  I loved how thin the fabric was...you could tell those clothes were loved!

The bottom two ruffles are made from more favorite comfy shirts.  The top ruffle is from another pair of her mom's favorite pajamas.  I used this pretty print for the neckties as well.  The bib is made out of a shirt Sommer's mom bought her during a fun day of shopping just before her mother passed.  Her mom was excited to get it for her because Sommer's high school mascot was the Wildcat :)  The back of the bib is made out of her mom's favorite GAP sweatshirt.

And here is Sommer, the baker/mother extraordinaire, who crazily put her trust in me.  I was truly honored to make them for you, Sommer!  I can't wait for you to make many more happy memories with those aprons!

Drum roll please...

Ta da!  Here they are!  I smile from ear to ear every time I look at these photos.  Lisa with lisa d. Photography did an absolutely amazing job!  And the models, Sommer, Barb, and Kelly, are not only naturals in front of the lens but they made my aprons look so sexy!  Remember Hot Chick Aprons are for those with good taste in and out of the kitchen  *wink wink*!

Let's do it all again!!

A million thank yous go out to everyone who helped make the Hot Chick Aprons Pin-Up shoot a total success! I had so much fun teaming up with Lisa Weisberg from lisa d. Photography and all the talented ladies, Tiffany Stoddard, Yvonne Gyolai, and Ericka Pendley, at Aji Spa at Wild Horse Pass. I want to do it all again!!! Lisa was kind enough to give me a little preview before she left for vacation, and the photos I saw came out exactly as I was hoping for...a great representation of the look of a Hot Chick Aprons Pin-up girl.  Here are some pictures I took throughout the day to document what we did for the shoot.  

The (freakishly hot) day started with hair and makeup at the Aji Spa. Tiffany graciously offered her makeup services to get the models into the pin-up girl attitude.

Ericka and Yvonne worked their magic with the pin-up girls' hair. I had no idea hair could be curled into such funky formations:) Ericka and Yvonne have MAD hair styling skillzzzz

After hair and makeup, we made the trek up to Tempe to the run down gas station in that Lisa found. Here are a few sneak peaks of Lisa and the girls in action. A bunch of hot chicks in aprons hanging out on a street corner clearly draws a crowd and some horn honking. One guy asked if he could be in the shoot with us claiming he was Lil Wayne's cousin...no thanks! Another guy offered the girls jobs (get your mind out of the gutter) as models/actresses in some random event/movie/restaurant he was promoting. It was still unclear what he wanted from the girls even after the 4th time he stopped by the shoot. Anyway, here's a look at the girls in action...

The girls worked so well as a team, and they had those pin-up poses nailed by the end of the session. They were such troopers through it all...cat calls, sweat, and streetside gawking. I'm honored to have had the opportunity to work with such cool ladies. They made my Hot Chick Aprons look gooooooood!! Let's do it again!!!

Stay tuned for the final photos from the session.......

Pin-Up photo shoot!

I'm getting soooo excited for the next photo shoot with Lisa Weisberg of lisa D. photography!

I love the cutesy dramatic pin-up look, and I think the style of my aprons goes perfectly with that era. So the theme of this round of photos will be Hot Chick pin-ups. After posting on facebook that I needed models, it was a tough decision but I found 3 girls that will look fabulous! Not only do they all have a classic look, but they're all strong independent women. Just the type I was looking for for the shoot. Lisa's friends are loaning us a vintage car and a motorcycle, and the photo session will take place at a run down garage in Tempe.

I just finished the All-American themed aprons...red, white, and blue with polka dots and stars. I can't wait to get these girls in them!! Stay tuned for pictures...:)

My Third Home in My First Home

My "home away from home" is my desk at school, which couldn't look cool even with the fanciest of iPhone apps. My third "home away from home" is my sewing room in my house. And by the way, this is a picture of the most organized spot in the room...

I can't believe I'm doing this.

It's official. I have entered into the blogging world. I never thought this day would come...much like I never thought I'd have a myspace or a facebook or a twitter account. But again, I never thought I'd grow up to be an apron business owner either! I'm passing no judgement at all to those who tweet or blog, I just remember so many times thinking ugh no one will ever want to read my thoughts about politics, religion, or Charlie Sheen's life. But now that blogging is the new black, I've really enjoyed reading about my friends' lives, lives of my friends' friends, and of course the constantly growing craft culture blogs that make me inspired yet anxious to create, create, create! So here I go with yet another hobby that may or may not turn into an avoidance behavior for facing the real world. Wish me luck!