Amy Butler is a fab friend of DIYStyle. See what she has been up to…….she’s one busy (and talented) lady!

Cindy

From Amy:

It’s been an incredible summer! The season has been full of many exciting launches and loads of new product development. This is one of my favorite times of year! My gardens explode and I love watching the drama unfold before my eyes, it brings me so much joy, I love hanging in the garden in the evening at the end of a long day. The Lotus bog is soothing and if feels wonderful to be surrounded by lush plants in bloom. All the hard work in the spring nurturing the beds really pays off! I was able to extend my “August experience” this year with the launch of my newest home decor collection of prints for Rowan…. “August Fields”.

The collection is made up of four diverse color stories celebrating the inspiration of gardens and wild fields in high season. Everything peaks in August! Poetic combinations of elegant natural prints and modern textures make it easy to mix and match designs for your next home dec or fashion project. Here’s a sneak peak below with some fun shots of my AF photo shoot last weekend at my friend Brian’s house! I’m using AF for everything! Bedding, pillows, bags, ( of course right?! ) and clothing. My friends here at DIY Style will appreciate the fashion focus with this collection! I’ve made tons of beautiful garments. Check out some of the shots.

In the first shot above my friend Andrew captures Jesse in one of my new dress designs! And his beautiful shots follow!

Drenda is wearing on original necklace made by my dear friend Kim Mettee. You have to check out her Etsy shop…… amazing, crazy cool jewelry. She uses rare materials and gems to create her organic and spirited masterpieces. Thank you Kim! I love to work alongside my friends and loved ones, it makes the creative process even more thrilling and rewarding.

Here’s Mr. Butler caught red handed in one of my sets! We had an incredible day of shooting. Just the night before he had a rock and roll show with his band the Black Owls! I don’t know how he looks so rested…….. he’s my Dave!

Here are my friends Christina and Nichole shot by Mr. Butler just a few minutes later. The girls are wearing my new apron design made out of August Fields!

Here’s the props room with all the details and goodies to embellish my girlfriends.

I’ve staged all of the props and accessories by color stories….. of course! Everything on hand to style my ladies!

The details in and of themselves tell a beautiful story! Color explosions everywhere! I love it!!

Another long awaited addition to my fabric mix has also launched this summer! Amy Butler Solids. The material is beautifully woven with a gorgeous feel, my solids come in both home dec and quilting weights to coordinate with all of my print collections with Rowan. The pretty colors will enhance and compliment any project and are sure to stir your creative passions! I have a fun mix of projects on my web site that feature both the home dec and quilting weight collections. I also have a great free quilt pattern you can try……. I named the quilt after my friend Thea, she’s a wild creative fire! I just love her. You can grab the project as a download under my “free patterns” section on the site.

This month I will be introducing my newest quilting and fashion weight collection for Rowan. The line is called Daisy Chain and it is embellished with artistic flourishes that give a nod to our free spirited past! Daisy Chain is filled with earthy chic prints with a modern folk feel that harmonize in the four zen like color palettes. These romantic prints are perfect for fashion, home dec or quilting projects. I had a blast creating several fashion pieces to show off the range! It’s the best when all of my worlds collide…… color, prints and fashion. Building the story with my style shoots is one of my favorite things to do. This shoot we invited our friend Andrew Baasch to take some pics with Dave. The results are amazing! You’ll have to check back on my web site soon to see all the gorgeous inspirado! Enjoy!!

Drenda above models my Angel Dress and Christina is styling in her Daisy Chain head scarf, lounging on my new Daisy Chain quilt. The quilt will be a FREE pattern on my web site soon! I can’t get over the color of her eyes and how she blends so beautifully with the navy DC palette! These shots were captured by Dave…….. gorgeous Mr. B!

One of my most recent product launches featured my new GIFTWRAP GREEN collection with the Giftwrap Company. The line is made from 100% post-consumer recycled paper and is printed with soy inks. The line includes gift wrap, bags, and giftcard boxes. I’m very proud of this partnership with the Giftwrap Company, we worked very hard to create an ecologically sound line. It’s incredible to be able to offer a green alternative to gift giving and entertaining.

Alongside the gift wrap & bags, we’ve developed an eco line of paper tableware (plates, napkins & guest towels) that coordinate. The plates and napkins are printed with 100% soy ink, plus the plates use a water-soluble coating so that they can be rinsed and recycled too! I had my family for the 4th of July and it was great to rinse the plates and then toss them in the recycle bin. The plates are very sturdy as well as stylish! The perfect combo!

I told ya I have a lot of fun Projects and books releasing this season! I love my new Little Stitches sewing book! It’s lavishly illustrated and inside you’ll find charming and contemporary projects for the nursery, baby wear, soft toys, and many more surprises! The projects are designed for babies 0-12 months and their mothers, featuring beautiful photos of the finished designs by our friend Colin McGuire. It was fun to produce these little treasures, and I think you’ll find many projects in here for all the wee ones in your world.

Here are a couple of my favorite projects……. the Cheeky Monkey Laundry Bag and the Sleepy Snail with removable Shell Pillow. The other detail I love about the book is that I rated the projects by difficulty level so you can ease right into a project that’s perfect for you. This is a keeper! A great book to keep on hand for gift giving!

I wanted to give you a little peek at my upcoming December launch of Midwest Modern 2! This small release includes brand new prints to compliment Midwest Mod 1. Here are a few shots from my camera that I took during our shoot at Brian’s. Luscious and floral inspired! You also get a peek at my new apron pattern for Fall!

I hope you’ve enjoyed our time together. I sure have……. thanks for spending a piece of your day with me and my dear friends at DIY Style! DIY Gals……….Keep doing what you’re doing and sharing all of your lovely inspiration and ideas. What a fun, creative and loving community we work in! Thank you everyone!
XO Amy

Hey from Sarah Cecchettini! I’m guest blogging again today, and let me tell you, Heidi Klum doesn’t have anything on us. Give me a magazine, some tape, scissors, and a plastic bag and I’ll give you a whole new designer outfit! That is what happened here recently on campus with our production of “Project Greenway”. The program was to help make students aware and excited about recycling.

The participating halls made outfits from whatever recyclable things they could find. The supplies ranged from newspapers and cardboard to Capri Sun juice boxes and soda cans. And let me tell you, we looked…so fine!

I modelled a wedding dress designed by my roommate Mi. It was made from trash bags, fishing line, and magazine pages. My shoes were cardboard, my ring was a bottle cap and I made my bouquet with origami flowers. It was a pretty amazing outfit, but extremely hot to wear.

The night of the show everyone brought their creations to the stage for judging. As each model was being announced, we strutted all we had on stage. It was so much fun. As I was turning in the middle of the stage I accidentally stepped on one of the pages of my dress and tore it off, but fortunately, I was not over exposed! During the remainder of the show, my dress was in everyone’s way. Don’t they know they should be watching out for the recycle-savvy diva? All went well though and no one slipped on it.

The evening was highlighted by an eco-friendly organization that came to the stage and told about upcoming events and ways to recycle. I think it also made everyone more aware ways to bring fashion into all aspects of life, even recycling!

To help out the world around you, you may want to whip up an eco-friendly grocery tote project. It not only saves on the amount of bags you would normally use when shopping, but also uses recycled juice envelopes, and it’s darn cute. (That always helps.)

Till next time…
Sarah

Hi, my name is Sarah, and I’m guest blogging on DIYStyle today. Thanks so much to the Creative Chicks for giving me a little piece of the website to say hello. I’m a student at Missouri State University in Springfield, majoring in international business management and minoring in fashion management and Spanish. So far, it’s been great! The work load at school hasn’t been that outrageous yet…I am keeping my fingers crossed that it stays that way.

The newest episode of DIYStyle (#9, check it out later today) has a section on how to do needle felting projects using a tool from Clover. That’s where I come in…I’m the how-to lady! In the beginning I was nervous; I had no clue what to say. Once we got rolling, I was able to relax; Cindy (she’s the director) and Matt (he does the filming and editing) were very laid back. If I messed up, we just took another shot, which was a huge relief. The best part was at the end when I saw myself on a TV. To my surprise I didn’t look as nerdy as I thought. You’ll see me in an upcoming episode with another cool project and how-to, so stay tuned!

Aside from school and the occasional vodcast (smile) I work as a model here in town, on campus, and in St. Louis. I’ve done fashion shows and print work. I have a small confession. To me, there’s nothing more fun then putting on pretty clothes and having someone do your hair and makeup! This photo of me was taken during a shoot for Allyce’s book, so if you pick up a copy, you can find out how to make the top I’m wearing.

A big tip, if you love watching movies like I do (mainly for the costumes) you must check out “Marie Antoinette”. The costumes in this movie are out of this world. They are full of color, the fabrics are so luscious, and they were made with of yards and yards of beautiful trims. Ahhh…

Till next time!
Sarah