When I went to Berlin a a couple months ago I visited a kids shop that had an extensive assortment of the most amazing fabrics I had ever laid eyes on. Picking just a few to take back with me was agonizing. After an hour of browsing, I chose three. I think they were about eight euros for a half a yard. You can see my selections in this post.

I haven’t used the fabrics yet but I pulled them out yesterday and noticed a name on the selvage. I googled the name Michael Miller Fabrics and low and behold they’re from the US. There I was thinking I had stumbled upon a serious find. And that explains the price. I’m ecstatic that I’ll be able to buy these fabrics easily now and for a more reasonable price. The patterns are so inspiring it makes me want to sew again ( I went to fashion design school and haven’t touched my sewing machine in 8 years).

I picked out a few choice swatches but there are so many more it will blow your mind. They don’t sell off they’re site but you can check out all their designs there. Don’t let the home page fool you dig in and you’ll find all the fun crazy stuff. You can also buy Michael Miller fabrics at J&O and Fabrics.com.

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Growing up I was always making my parents and grandparent gifts. Usually, said gift was a frame, painted or decorated in some way with a picture of yours truly inside. I also made a lot of collage boxes and furniture items. The art of cut-n-paste is kinda my forte. Thank goodness I had honed my skills all those years because who knew the economy was gonna go into a free fall and I’d have to start making gifts again! Take a look at my personal step by step guide to making the perfect collage…”Grandparent’s live for this shit!”

Step 1: Go to Michael’s (Obvi my new favorite place!) buy frame, stickers, and fake flowers. Also, not shown here, you must pre-order images off IPhoto of collaging. 

More after the jump…
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