Art designed to Inspire

We have moved!

Don't fret, you can still find our free downloads, tutorials and how-to articles on our website: www.kellypanacci.com, Instagram @kellypanacci and Facebook @kellypanacci.

We have loved being a part of the Typepad community and since January 2009, we have posted here on our blog:  ART DESIGNED TO INSPIRE - a total of 156 posts. And we've had 166,348 page views. Wow! Thanks for coming here and sharing our journey. But it ain't over yet! We'll continue to blog and post regularly at www.kellypanacci.com so c'mon over to continue learning and creating with us.

Most sincerely,

FREE SHIPPING

For years I have been resisting selling our art products because they have been readily available at retail shops around the globe. Online and brick and mortar shops carry our latest fabrics but sometimes you want our discontinued lines too. I've decided to open a shop (in progress) but in the mean time, I thought I would test the waters with an offer of Free Shipping till the end of October. Here's a sampling of what's available. Our #RoadTripFabric and #TreePartyFabric Fat Quarter bundles (18-fat quarters) are CAD$72.00. Also available: yardage and 1 yard bundles of all our fabric lines with Riley Blake Designs. To order, email: kelly@kellypanacci.com

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Truck & Trailer Applique Block

Have you been following along with Lori Holt and Riley Blake Designs latest sew along? Lori made an amazing quilt called "Bee Happy" and she shares tutorials every Monday to show you how to do it too. Here is her quilt. Isn't it awesome?

If you've been following me you know I'm at the beginner level of quilting and I'm just getting my feet wet with appliqué. Lori's method is new to me, but I really like it! In her tutorials she easily explains her technique with photos and videos so you'll be able to make cute quilt blocks too. Even if you want to try just one appliqué block, it's a great way to start. That's what I did. I chose the Truck & Trailer block - no-brainer - obvi: I love cute vintage trailers!

I love Lori's design and her fabric collections too, but I wanted to make this block with my own Road Trip fabrics by Riley Blake Designs. I looked through my stash to find some fat quarters that had small scale prints to work with this appliqué design. I used some of RBD's Confetti Cottons too (solid colors).

 

Here are some other things you'll need for the project including Lori's own Sew Simple Shapes by Riley Blake Designs:

Here's a photo of my progress after a few hours of fun! All the pieces were cut, sewn and at this point I'm almost finished the embroidery (still have the window on the truck left to do).

"Art imitates Life" I think you can see who and what inspired my color choices for the dog and the trailer. Sonny is our daughter's dog (yes, he's our granddog) and loves to go in the truck. He's a sheepadoodle so I had to add some white acrylic paint and floppy ears so he wouldn't look so much like a black lab. And we have our own cute vintage trailer which is green, so I had to use that as reference too.

Here is the finished Truck and Trailer Block. I like the idea of a functional piece so I'm thinking of making it into a pillow for our trailer. Maybe I will edge it with some pieced together strips with more of my Road Trip fabrics. Hmmm, that will be next week's project.

 Thanks for joining me here on my blog. If you're following the sew-along, I'd love to hear/see what you're making too. I'll post updates on Facebook too. Enjoy your day lovelies!

 

 

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Decorating an antique Copper Boiler for the Holidays

Last year when we downsized, we got rid of a lot of household contents including our cast iron urns and large pots, so when it came to looking for a container to put on our new front porch we headed to the farm. In our barn, Mario ran across an old copper boiler and suggested I use it - every once in a while he has a good idea - LOL! While we were at the farm we collected fresh Cedar, Fir and Pine boughs along with Red Dogwood branches and White Birch branches that had fallen on the forest floor. We brought it all back to our wee house in town to assemble. I'm quite happy with the finished tub. Scroll down to see the step-by-steps.

Here is my process: 1. Choose your container  2. Gather all your supplies and tools (I am guilty of starting my project and then remembering that I didn't bring my garden gloves or shears) 3. Put weights or something heavy in the bottom of container (I used bricks).  4. Place white birch branches at the bottom of container and stuff green floral foam all around and in the cavities. You'll notice that I also used wood scraps and sometimes I've used newspaper to stuff into the container. I didn't have a lot of floral foam on hand so I just used what I had (and saved some $$ too). Make sure you have enough floral foam spread around so you can poke the evergreen boughs into it. (I added more floral foam after I took the photo below).

5. Start adding fresh evergreens starting with sturdy Fir boughs at the back of planter. I use Fir boughs for the back of the container because they stand up nicely and don't flop over -  they act as the foundation for the other fresh evergreens that will go in front of them. 6. Add fresh Cedar boughs in front of the larger Fir branches. With my pruning shears, I cut a variety of sizes of cedar pieces and stuff them into the pot trying to catch some of the floral foam so they stay put.

7. Continue adding evergreens and lastly the Pine boughs at the front of the planter. Remember to stand back from time to time to look at the container from all angles. I like to add the Pine boughs at the end. They are lovely and delicate and spill nicely over the edge of the tub. If you want any pine to stand up in the middle of the container, just make sure you choose a sturdy branch and secure it by poking it into the floral foam. Sometimes I do that but not in this planter.

8. Select a bunch of Dogwood branches and cut them all about the same height. Stick them temporarily in the container so you can adjust the height before cutting the branches to desired lengths. Poke the branches into the pot so they catch the floral foam. Put some in front and back and middle and arrange them so they look like they're fanning out. I also used 5 orange Willow branches that a friend gave me - you may be able to notice that they stand out slightly from the red branches. Don't forget that you can save the Dogwood and Willow branches for next year. Their colour stays true for many years if stored away from sunlight.

9. Decorate with festive balls or other trims. This is where you can make it your own. You can choose a color or a theme to work with and even festoon it with lights. I won't add lights to ours but we'll shine a floodlight on it so it can be seen at night. Have fun decorating!!

To see a cast iron urn that I decorated for the Holidays a few years ago, you can click HERE.

Last Stop on our Road Trip Mini Blog Tour

We're finishing off our Road Trip Blog Tour with a bang! Today we're sharing more fabulous sewing projects and Give-aways too! It's Carla Peicheff's stop on the tour and she hits it outta the park with 2 awesome designs that are perfect for a road trip. To see all the photos and close-ups, check out Carla's blog by clicking HERE.

Here's another pic of Carla's Sew Together Bag. I love all those separated zipper compartments! It would be perfect for carrying items for a road trip or even a crafting trip - better yet - how about a crafting road trip?  C'mon, I can't be the only one. That would be awesome!

Thank you for following our Road Trip Mini Blog Tour! I've been fortunate to have so many talented designers join me on this adventure and I couldn't do it without them and Riley Blake Designs. The fabrics will be shipping any day now so we'd love it if you'd ask for them at your local fabric shop. To see the whole collection click HERE. To end our celebration, we're giving away Fat Quarter bundles of ROAD TRIP.  Head over to Instagram to @kellypanacci  and @cpeicheff  for 2 chances to enter to win the bundles of Road Trip goodness. Good luck!!

 

Road Trip Mini Blog Tour Give-Aways

on Instagram

@kellypanacci and @cpeicheff

2 chances at 2 give-aways

We will draw 2 winners on November 17 at 8pm EST

 

Good luck and thanks again for following our Road Trip Mini Blog Tour!

 

 

Road Trip Mini Blog Tour Stop # 4

All I can say is Wow!! Melissa of POLKA DOT CHAIR has made a beautiful waterproof picnic blanket with our Road Trip fabric and she is blogging about it today. As a bonus, she is sharing how she made it. Click HERE for the pattern and tutorial. I love how Melissa chose to feature the fabrics in her patchwork design. And look how it rolls up so neatly - what a great space-saving design!

Don't forget to come back tomorrow for out last post and give-aways. Check out the handy list below to see the full itinerary:

ROAD TRIP Mini Blog Tour and Give-Aways

 Nov. 3 - Kelly Panacci Inc.

Nov. 8 - Shari of Doohikey Designs

Nov. 10 - Jina of Jina Barney Designz

Nov. 14 - Melissa of Polka Dot Chair

Nov. 15 - Carla Peicheff

Nov. 17 - Give-Away Winners Announced on Instagram

 

Another Day Another Bag or 2

This has been such a busy week for our Road Trip Mini Blog Tour. Today takes us to Stop #3 at Jina Barney Designz. Jina has outdone herself and made not 1 but 2 amazing bags with our Road Trip fabric. I can't even stand how cute that lil patchwork bag is and oh how I love the spool embellishment on that amazing tote bag! Thank you so much Jina for lending your expertise and design flair to our blog hop. Check out Jina's full blog post HERE.

If you haven't been to Stop #2 and Shari's site, you should go there now. She even posted a PART 2 to her blog post. You can see it HERE. See the list below for the next stops and GIVE-AWAYS (November 15). Thanks again to the wonderful women who are sharing their beautiful projects and to you for following along. I hope you're enjoying all the eye candy as much as I am : )

ROAD TRIP Mini Blog Tour and Give-Aways

 

 Nov. 3 - Kelly Panacci Inc.

Nov. 8 - Shari of Doohikey Designs

Nov. 10 - Jina of Jina Barney Designz

Nov. 14 - Melissa of Polka Dot Chair

Nov. 15 - Carla Peicheff

Nov. 17 - Give-Away Winners Announced on Instagram

 

Road Trip Mini Blog Tour Stop # 2

Today's stop on the blog tour is Doohikey Designs. Friend and fellow designer for Riley Blake Designs; Shari Butler generously agreed to participate in our blog hop. And I am go grateful she did. Just look at this Road Trip tote bag! It's darling! Shari did a great job of  featuring our Road Trip prints: from the red floral print on the outside to the mini florals on the inside  and check out those deep pockets on the exterior! That's where I would put my keys and cellphone - I'm always fumbling around searching for those when I need them ; )  Click over to SHARI'S BLOG for Stop # 2

Shari used 4 of our prints on this bag. You can see the whole ROAD TRIP collection at Riley Blake Designs by clicking HERE.

Shari is also the designer and creator of BINDING BABIES™  That is one of them with a wee bundle of our Road trip fabrics, but there are loads to choose from and you can custom order by hair color, skin tone and even seasonal designs too. They are super cute so you should check them out while you're visiting Shari's site.

Don't forget to come back for more posts and give-aways on our Road Trip Mini Blog Tour. Scroll down to see the previous post for dates and more inspiration. Have fun on the blog tour!!

Road Trip Mini Blog Tour

Thanks for stopping by - I'm so glad you're here!! We're hosting a mini blog tour for Road Trip and it starts here today. Together with a handful of my very talented designer friends, we'll be featuring the bright and colorful fabrics of ROAD TRIP. And we'll be offering some wonderful fabric bundle Give-Aways on Instagram so don't forget to check there too. Here is another RoadTrip Photobomb for our poster. I couldn't help but exploit the cuteness of our first grandbaby - this is Henry's first appearance on my blog. I think a plaid shirt and owl hat are perfect for a Road Trip; don't you agree?

It's pretty tough to compete with the cuteness of Henry but I think this amazing tote can carry it's own (pun intended)! It was created by my friend Natalie Cox of @carryhersbynatalie on Instagram. She makes her own patterns and sews up the most beautiful bags. You could use this bag for kids toys or a carry-all but I'm going to use it as a picnic tote until Henry gets old enough to steal it away from me : /  I've already filled it with melamine plates, napkins & cutlery and some bits of my vintage Tupperware. I love that it's now all packed up and ready for a Road Trip.

The tote easily hinges open to reveal the inside which is as cute as the outside! It's lined with our "tablecloth" fabric and check out those ample pockets that Natalie included in her design. Very convenient for our cutlery and napkins.

The lime green alligator vinyl is practical as well as beautiful. Natalie used it to cover the hinged bag frame and on the bottom of the bag for easy cleaning and durability. And it coordinates perfectly with the bright colors of our Road Trip fabrics!

You can see all of the prints from ROAD TRIP on the Riley Blake website by clicking HERE

Thanks for joining us on the ROAD TRIP blog tour! This is stop 1 but there are 4 more stops and Give-Aways too, so check the list below to see when and where to go next. Enjoy the tour!!

 

ROAD TRIP Mini Blog Tour and Give-Aways

 

 Nov. 3 - Kelly Panacci Inc.

Nov. 8 - Shari of Doohikey Designs

Nov. 10 - Jina of Jina Barney Designz

Nov. 14 - Melissa of Polka Dot Chair

Nov. 15 - Carla Peicheff

Nov. 17 - Give-Away Winners Announced on Instagram

My Road Trip Photobomb Series

If you read my last post about how our recent life events and travels inspired the Road Trip fabric collection, then you'll know what these pictures are all about. Over the past year I took photos in some of the beautiful provincial parks here in Ontario. Most parks close for the season in October but you are permitted to enter by foot, cycling or skiing - and that's just what we did. With the digital art for the Road Trip collection complete, I'm able to take the design icons and elements and place them on top of my photos - hence the idea of the Photobomb Series. Here are a few of my favourite photos:

On the shores of Georgian Bay of Lake Huron (Collingwood) in September 2015 at Craigleith Provincial Park. We walked along these shores almost daily as our condo rental was directly across the highway. It was on these walks that I first had the idea of a camper/glamper fabric collection and I would go home and sketch my observations.

 Here is my cameo appearance with our wee vintage trailer we call Rosebud (that's me on the folding chair). This photo is the only one that isn't taken at a provincial park, it's actually taken about this time last year at our farm in Prince Edward County. Every once in a while we would travel from our vacation rental in Collingwood (a 5 hour trip) to our property for a short visit. Yes, we camp on our property - there is no house there. Oh - and the bear is imaginary - we have no bears in the County because it's an island and black bears don't like swimming - but they do like to fish!

Sandbanks Provincial Park is an amazing place and well known for it's sandy beaches on Lake Ontario. After we left Collingwood in December we wanted to try living near our farm in Prince Edward County, so we rented a cottage withing walking distance of the park. It was wonderful to see the park in the Winter, Spring and Summer. This photo was taken in early May. The wildflowers and trilliums were just starting to pop up from under the leaves. This park filled up with hundereds of campers soon after this photo was taken, so this photobomb isn't too far from reality.