Philip and Jenny Cain « InspiredElectrons

New Hosting!

Aug 1st

We just finished up switching philipandjenny.com to a new hosting service, DreamHost. DreamHost really is a dream when it comes to running a website. I highly recommend it. If you find any problems in the RSS feed or elsewhere on the site, let me know.

I also just upgrade to WordPress 3 and converted to a multisite install. Now we can start setting up jennycain.com (Jenny Cain Candy?).

Name Suggestions Needed!

Jul 31st

Posted by Jenny Cain in Fashion

6 comments

This summer there was a different twist to my activities – sewing! I pulled my BEAUTIFUL machine (husquavarna viking) out from the closet and set up shop. I was pretty ADD at first with it, jumping from one project to the next, barely finishing each one. But finally I settled on these purses!

And now it’s time to open up shop. We’ve purchased jennycain.com, and Phil has designed this label for me:

So here is where you come in – I need help with the sub name. I.e: jennycain threads. But that’s too generic, too blah for me. I need something that pops! As of now, the things I will be selling include things I hand-make, mostly by sewing. Items soon to come will be a duvet cover, linen napkins, place mats, curtains, etc. I hunt for vintage or recycled materials (like old sweaters and coffee sacks!).

So please leave a suggestion! And if I like your idea and decide to use it, you’ll win one of my purses! If you’re a guy, well you can give it to your gf (bonus points) or I can make you a bow tie suited to your tastes.

Good luck!

Rejected Clothes Get a Makeover

Jul 23rd

Posted by Jenny Cain in DIY

2 comments

Several months ago, I decided to monitor what clothes in my closet are being worn and which aren’t. Using this helpful strategy from lifehacker, I am aware of my closet rejects hanging around. (Haha, get it? Hanging around?) As I grab them out of my closet to wistfully part with them, I get a burst of creativity. Instead of giving them away, why don’t I see if I can modify them to give them a more updated look. This also goes along with my “shopping diet” plan.

disclaimer: despite all the articles I’ve read on getting good pics for your blog, it comes down to the simple fact that my camera just sucks. Hint, hint Honey!

First up:

Pink Lady!

This isn’t anything too terrible, I know. I think it’s a little long for today’s craze of minis. And just too much pink! I love the ruffles, but… snip snip! Here’s the after:

A new mini

I left the under-slip peeking out too. I thought that was a fun detail!

Next up:

Clowning around!

What is with that collar? Guh. I look like a clown. I don’t know why I ever bought this shirt, and I have not worn it once in an entire year that I have owned it. However, I do like the pattern of the fabric, so out came my seam ripper and…

Buh bye clown collor, hello ruffle straps. I also removed the sleeve as I just felt it was too much “print” and still too much ruffly-ness with them on. I’m totally wearing this right now.

Finally, a simple number that involved NO sewing!

I know, I know – totally cute dress, right? What could be wrong with it? Nothing, fashion wise. The reason I never wear it is because the length says “hello summer!” and the long sleeves say “hello winter!” I’m so confused. And yes, I’ve worn it with tights, I’ve worn it with jeans, I’ve worn it un-buttoned as an over shirt. But it just never did it for me, but it’s so dang cute I’ve kept it. So one simple adjustment – I cut the sleeves to mid bicep. I didn’t even need to hem the edges because I could just roll them a few times. (I apologize for how this next picture really doesn’t show what I did very well, but more shows me playing dress up…)

Hello officer!

Perfect little military dress, fit for summer now. I think I’m going to wear this to Laffs tonight!

DIY Plant Labels

Jul 19th

Posted by Jenny Cain in DIY

2 comments

This conversation has been repeated many times in our kitchen while cooking dinner together:

“Phil, will you get me some mint from the garden?”
“Uhhhh, which one is mint?”
“The green, leafy plant by the stepping stones.”
“Honey, they are all green and leafy!”
“But it’s the only one that smells minty!”
“I’ll finish chopping the veggies and you go get the mint.”

There have been many variations to this banter involving basil, parsely, cilantro, chives, etc. Finally, Phil requested that I make labels for all the plants. Sigh, ok. But keeping a garden of my size adds up, and I was reluctant to spend more money for essentially a non-essential item. Especially when I have 30+ variety of plants in there.

I had a few of these, a find from Target’s dollar spot a few years ago. I adore these. Such a simple design… Hmmmm, how can I just make some myself? Well after digging around in closets inside an out, looking for reusable materials, even though I didn’t know what materials I wanted, I came across these:

Why I ever saved these is a mystery to me. But I’m glad I did. They are already made to stake in the ground and label plants! Next, I needed to make the label different, obviously, and much bigger (not digging the teeny tiny print). I pulled out our trusty duck tape and got to work.