Fabric Swap?

Looking to add some fabric to your stash? As I continue to purge my studio, I have been going through hundreds of yards of fabric ... sorting and refolding. I've put together two groups of give-aways so far and thought I'd offer them up to you! So, I propose a swap. I'd love to swap for just about anything... buttons, trim, other fabric, craft books, your designs/artwork... you name it.






































Upholstery Weight...

The first pile consists of all upholstery weight fabrics. These are all new fabrics. From left to right (top photo) ... Medium weight denim with an aged look and floral type design; Screen printed blue on creme toile (5th Avenue Designs for Covington); Laura Ashley English Country Print; Ralph Lauren Paisley (2 pieces); Laura Ashley English Country Print (2 pieces); "Paysannerie" by Thibault. These are all decent sized pieces...some up to 2 yards +/-. I can give exact measurements by request.






































Silks, etc...

The second pile consists a variety of silks and unique fabrics. These are all new fabrics. From left to right (top photo) ... Cranberry Red Nylon Lining Fabric (4 or 5 yds.); pale icy blue silk with creme embroidered dots; Sage Green silk with embroidered flowers; Not sure what type of fabric this is...gold and black embroidered leaves (4 +/- yds. ); Gold dupioni silk with basket weave embroidery; Pleated sage silk lined with complementary colored silk with stitched folds; Variegated silk with black and light sage threads; Not sure what type this is...copper and gold sheen changes color with movement...pieced diamond patter. Amounts of fabric vary. I can give exact measurements by request.

So, leave a comment or send me an e-mail info (at) simplyjune.com and lets swap!

Caps for Kids



















My studio purge is continuing... Yesterday I went through my yarn stash. It is really unbelievable the amount of yarn I have for someone who only occasionally crochets and knits - maybe that is the problem! So, I sorted through a couple of bins keeping only my favorite fibers. Now what to do with all of the yarn? I got in contact with a lovely woman who makes hats, scarves and mittens for Caps For Kids via Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. These items are then distributed to children in various schools, shelters and organizations throughout the Boston area. I'm so excited that I can contribute - even in a small way!

Sampler Party at Spark Crafts

A few weeks ago my friend Zandra (of Zeal) and I headed out to Cambridge to the Sampler: Boston launch party at Spark Crafts. It was so great to meat Alison as well as a bunch of other indie crafters! I'm definitely excited to contribute to future Samplers...but in the meantime, I think she still has a few Boston Samplers left in the shop - go check them out. If you live in the Boston area, a trip to Spark is also a must. The shop was huge and had all of the best supplies from yarn to craft books and beads. The shop is also very welcoming with the sun shining in the store front windows and a little sitting area to curl up and flip through some of their books.

At the party, we each got a cool goodie bag and contributors got a cute tote bag designed by Marissa Falco over at marissaland.

Alison has now added some new bloggers to her website too...can't wait to see what she thinks up next!

Craft Books & Studio Purge




















I have been purging my studio for the last few days. It is definitely a process of making it worse before it gets better... I literally have a mountain of stuff in one corner that I am trying to sift through and decide whether to keep, give away or throw out. We have been doing this process throughout our home in a quest for simpler living...a life of things we LOVE. I think as a visual person, I tend to keep things for sentimental reasons simply because they are visually familiar. I may have little or no real attachment to them, but I keep them for the comfort of familiarity. I have definitely grown as we have gone through the process and am actually finding it quite cathartic now. However, my studio is just a whole new prospect. I have an entire wall of shelving containing clear plastic bins. I'm not surprising a visual organizer. I like to be able to see what I have. I also like creating in the moment and being able to design based on the colors and textures around me. So, it is hard to know what items will bring such inspiration... what do I purge? On the other hand, if I have more than I can store effectively then I lose my creativity to chaos. So, I am trying to find that balance and I'm excited to get back to creating in my studio.

In the few quite moments that I have, I love to read craft books. I love getting inspiration and techniques from other crafters and designers. I am so lucky to have an amazing library system from which to borrow. I have the databases for all of the libraries in our network at my fingertips and am able to request books to be delivered to my local library...brilliant! So, here is a current stack I have been pouring over...

The Bee and Her Flowers - Albina Rose

We have been having dreary rainy and snowy weather her lately... not at all good for taking photographs. A little sun peaked through my dining room window this afternoon, so I quickly took a few shots to share with you over the coming days. This one is a fabulous necklace I picked up on Etsy from Albina Rose...mixed media jewelry. I am a bit addicted to checking Etsy's hand-picked items throughout the day. I love the common threads between the pieces chosen. When I saw this piece, I fell in love with its colors, vintage textures and the overall collective feel of the piece - as if stones and charms found their way to it over time...

Happy Valentine's Day + New RED Shoes

Happy Valentine's Day from the SimplyJune studio! I have been busy needle felting Valentine's and eating heart-shaped Peppermint Patties. Yum. Kolya had a Valentine's party at school yesterday and came home with the cutest little Valentine's...you know the one's with the goofy knock-knock jokes featuring your favorite super hero. Love those.

Jason and I are celebrating tonight after bed time with some Chinese takeout and a movie. Simple and romantic for the parents of a toddler. It has actually always been my kind of date anyway. For some reason, the movie theater just doesn't do it for me. I have to sit in the way back even during comedies so as not to get woozy. Forget about taking me to an action flick. I also have to pee just at the thought of not being able to. :) I'm such a girl... Anyway, so...my couch...a remote control...Chinese take-out....what more could a girl ask for?

Oh, and look what shiny, red, new goodness arrived on my doorstep today! New RED shoes! I've been searching far and wide for the perfect pair of red mary janes and here they are and so comfy too! Oh, and they came packed in the BEST foam for needle felting...I'm such a crafting geek.

Happy Valentine's Day!

"My Oprah" is Getting Married!

Well I have shouted it to every corner of the greater Boston area...so why not blog about it too? "My Oprah" is getting married! O.k. so if you've stopped by before, you know that "Oprah" is my dearest friend Carey... my best friend... my Oprah-Gail. And, no offense to the intelligent, talented, devoted Gail, but hey...we both wanted to be Oprah. So, now we are each other's Oprah-Oprah and she has asked me to be her "Oprah of Honor" in her wedding! I am so beyond honored and excited and want to shout it out...Congrats to Carey and her "Renaissance Man" Tim! (The guy is smart, funny, artistic, handsome and built his own kayaks!)

Here is a peek at the wedding monogram I designed for them...

Valentine Felted Flower Brooches

I mailed cute Valentine brooches to a few of my lovely Valentines today. I picked up a little needle felting kit at my local craft store a few weeks ago and took my first try at this craft and loved it. What is not to love about stabbing wool with a needle into foam...relieving the tensions of the day... I have tried wet felting before in the form of bead making. I love working with a beautiful palette of colors and texture, but it is so time consuming. I was talking to another crafter at a show this winter who makes the most beautiful felted wool earrings. She tends to make a whole array of beads and then selects them for size. She also mentioned that even as you get better at felting, there is no shortening the process. I have a whole new respect for felted items! Check out lusitania's shop on Etsy sometime...

Last week I placed an order for Merino roving from The Yarn Tree in Brooklyn. I'm dying to get a chance to visit the shop some day...maybe on a trip to Renegade? They carry a huge palette of the softest Merino roving and I selected about 15 colors to start my collection. I love the idea of painting with fiber. These flower pins are likely just the start of many new ideas and I can't wait to evolve in my designs. I also love the organic feel of the designs when you use natural materials.

Oh, and the darling "je t'aime" Valentines are courtesy of the Black Apple...head over and print some out for your lovelies!

Poor, neglected blog...

Oh, poor neglected blog. I do still love you. I have been buried in the plans for a Multicultural Fair for our adoption agency. It is sure to be a fun event, but it is definitely consuming all of my beloved "nap time". I have been stealing a few moments for ordering supplies for some upcoming SimplyJune designs. How delightful are those little ladybugs and climbing vines? I've been craving red and white polka dots too... Check out Repro Depot if you've never stopped by before.

Craft Fair ... Zeal

Looking for something fun to do this weekend? Join SimplyJune this Saturday, February 2nd from 10:30-2pm at Newton South High School, 140 Brandeis Road; Newton Centre, MA for a craft show. We will have some of our old favorites as well as some new goodies including children's beanbag sets, new wipe-clean children's aprons and gift tags.

Also stop by to visit our friend Zandra Zuraw from Zeal: Paper Crafts for the Home and check out her colorful and eclectic boxes, frames, coasters, lampshades and more...

Keep an eye out for the upcoming City Sampler: Boston at the Sampler! SimplyJune has contributed 20 hand embroidered buttons that will be distributed in this new featured Sampler. The Sampler is a great way to check out some amazing indie artists and get some great goodies in the mail.

SimplyJune has also contributed a raffle basket valued at $200 to the Alliance For Children's 7th Annual Multicultural Fair to be held Saturday March 29th from 12-3pm at Wellesley High School. This incredible event celebrates the wonderful cultural diversity of our world and includes music and dance performances from Latin America, China, Eastern Europe and more as well as children's crafts, food, raffle and a marketplace. The annual raffle raises money for the Alliance for Children Foundation which is dedicated to improving the physical and emotional well being of abandoned children living in orphanages in Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. My husband and I adopted our son Nikolai through Alliance for Children in 2006 and are honored to support this wonderful organization. If you would like more information about this wonderful event or are interested in supporting the Alliance For Children Foundation through the purchase of raffle tickets, send us an e-mail at info (at) simplyjune.com.

Karen June



















Hand Embroidered Buttons for the Sampler: Boston by SimplyJune













Lampshades by Zeal



















Boxes by Zeal



















Coasters by Zeal

Boston-Based Indie Designers... The Boston Sampler

Check out The Sampler...they have moved to Weymouth and are having a Local Sampler featuring items from crafters and DIYers from the Boston area! Contributions are due at the end of the month. They will also be having a release party at Spark Craft Studios in Cambridge to celebrate!

So, stay tuned for the new city Samplers in their Shop... and keep your eye out from some little embroidered goodies from Simply June.

As a little side note... look what the UPS man brought me today!

Tea Flowers

I felt a little bit as if I were conducting a science experiment when making an afternoon cup of tea... My parents are in town this week and received this curious teapot and teas for Christmas this year. They brought it along to share. The tea comes in a 1" ball of tied tea leaves and herbs and blooms into a garden in the hot water. This particular tea was a blend of lavender, jasmine and green tea...

200 + 30

200 posts! Hurray!

This weekend we had a little celebration for my husband Jason's 30th birthday. I centered the event around a 1930's theme with Big Band/Swing in the CD player...art deco designs...a black and white color palette for the table...chocolate dipped tuxedo strawberries...and Manhattans at the bar. I love that we have friends that enjoy those little details as much as we do.

My 30th was two years ago. 30 was a wonderful transitional year for me. I don't know quite how to explain it other than I just eased into the comfort of being me. My actual birthday on the other hand was notably one of the most weighty days in our family life. We had started the adoption process that Spring and had a referral for a little boy in Moscow. He was 2 years old...charming...beautiful...sad...soulful... He had grabbed my heart. We knew very little about him other than what we could see in the photographs and video. We thought he must be our son. Our life was in slow motion for weeks. We had chosen not to share this part of our adoption journey. There are too many hard details to share, but those long weeks culminated in a grieving process that began with very hard news on my birthday. But, with every growth in life...every transition and awakening comes some pain... some sadness. So, this year Jason and I celebrated together the transition of 30 and the joys of being a family of 3 with our son Kolya...who was so clearly meant to be ours.

Wool & Water

When you have a moment, pop on over to visit artist Amy Earles in her Etsy shop Wool and Water or check out her portfolio at Pushed Under. I recently bought one of her jointed paper doll sets ... Delicate Heart. There is a certain "old sole" quality to her characters...oh and that delightful little dress and ballet laced shoes! This little gal now hangs from a vintage red button on one of my walls...

Posh Peacock

I spent the last few months meeting so many new talented and delightful designers at shows and I hope to introduce a few of them to you in the coming days. I met the stylish, creative and business minded Christine Koh from Posh Peacock at The Cool and Groovy Craft Fair in Cambridge back in December. Take a peek over at her shop for her colorful crisp designs and custom lines as well. I picked up a number of her cards at the show. Her designs, presentation and quality are impeccable. I also picked up this cute set of quilted coasters. Though not typical of her line, they offer up the same beautiful colors and lines and were an offshoot of her daughters bedroom re-design. I'm personally loving her dot monogram flats...

Crazy Jayne's

I hope that you all had warm and peace-filled holidays! Our family stayed home and enjoyed the special time together...exchanging presents, eating goodies and experiencing the joy of Christmas through the eyes of a 3 year old!

Simply June is already hitting the ground running. I have so many ideas for the new year and so many new friends have been knocking on our doors with opportunities. We are so thankful!

The online shop is going to be updated soon with new items and some of the "old favorites". I'm doing a little research before I pick out my new umbrella photography lights...a gift from my parents for Christmas! I'm excited to take new product photos and get the shop up stocked.

Simply June goodies are soon to be found in other shops as well...stay tuned for more news on that!

If you are in the Boston area, stop by Crazy Jayne's who is now carrying our pre-K and children's wipe-clean aprons! The proprietress, Gretchen, is absolutely delightful as is the whole atmosphere of her shop. You absolutely have to go in and take a peek.

Deck the Halls

I'm still here! We recently finished up a successful holiday season of craft shows and then jumped right into our own holiday merriment...decorating our digs, baking cookies, spending time with friends, tearing open presents that have been arriving on our doorstep daily... I have so many things to share and can't wait to fill you in on all of the happenings at SimplyJune.

I decked our halls this week with some new "Merry Christmas" banners that I made and gave some to friends to spread the cheer. Can I tell you how much I love ultra fine glitter? I'm seriously going to have glittered the whole house by the end of the season.

We also priming for a VERY white Christmas here in New England... two snow storms last week and a predicted dusting turned into a day of fluffy white snow falling from above. Our first major storm of the season arrived last Thursday and workers took to the roads early for a safer commute home. Jason was on the road for 5 1/2 hours driving his regular 45 minute commute. We were very happy to welcome him to a toasty warm home.

So, visit again...we're back with lots of little goodies to share.

Matryoshka Ornaments

These little gals along with some of their friends are going to my show tonight. I designed the doll in Illustrator and then my right hand man, Jason, carved it out for me from a linoleum block. Did you do this type of project in school?... I made a zebra in 7th grade. I absolutely loved my art teacher. She was young, fun, a little quirky, totally relateable to an awkward 13 year old. One day she actually brought a whole bunch of her jewelry into class that she wanted to recycle and each of the girls got to pick out something for themselves. I picked a silver ring with three small turquoise stones in it. I still have that ring. As far as I was concerned, this teacher was sharing her precious jewels with us and I felt really special. Anyway, back to the print block...I then used a brayer to spread fabric ink on the block and stamped the design onto natural linen fabric. I then embroidered freehand flowers to dress her up a bit. The back of these stuffed ornaments features a Japanese import Matryoshka fabric...very cute.

I will also be taking orders for these gals until December 16th. They retail for $10 + $2 s&h. They make a perfect hostess gift, stocking stuffer or package decoration.

Embroidered Nataliyas & Wool Buttons

Some new Embroidered Wool Nataliyas will be making their debut at this weekend's show... designs are stitched free-hand, so each is one-of-a-kind. The Nataliyas are sewn from lambs wool coating fabric and would look delightful tucked under the arm of a vintage style wool pea coat...

Anthropologie Wish List

I just realized the other day that there is a wish list on the Anthropologie website ... brilliant! Of course, there should be a "select all" feature as everything in that store is just more beautiful and unique than the next, but here are the highlights on my wish list...

I am reallying loving birds right now and need to add a few to the sparrows already flitting around my kitchen walls...

Bird Watcher's Pillow, Neutral
(Paired with the following pillow on a comfy chair...love the ruffle and tweed)

Bird Watcher's Pillow, Rose
(Embroidery and Patchwork...something I would make if I had the time to indulge...)

blue finches dishtowel
(Have to have... really just not an option.)

counting birds wall art
(Delightfully fun...just noticed a set framed at my friend "Z's" house too! )

Racha Trivet
(Mmm...I can smell the pie cooling on this right now...)

retro kitchen timer
(I keep adding retro splashes to our kitchen...loving this retro red.)

nestling measuring cups
(Delightful colors...seriously can you bake without a set of these?)

mistral eau de parfume

Wild Blackberry (Purple): a heady cocktail of berries and grenadine topped with a dash of vanilla
(I try this one every time I visit their store...I'm sure I'm responsible for using at least half of the tester bottle!)