2.25.2011
pampering party report
the pampering party i was a vendor at was last night and i had such a great time! here is what my table looked like...(sorry about the yellowish lighting)
i made the bunting out of paper pendants and sewed them together with one long straight stitch. i had mustard yellow and light blue elements everywhere on the table...from the dish which held my business cards to the blue canning jar propping up the frames.
i had to supply each guest with a freebie so i gave out these luggage tags...they were a HUGE hit!
the girls modeled different types of hair flowers for me this past week and i made a collage and put a framed copy on the table to give the locals some visuals of just how cute my hair blossoms can be.
each blossom was displayed on these cards i designed in photoshop. here's what they looked like...
it was a really good night and starting this sunday, all left over inventory
will be in my etsy shop and ready to ship to you!
will be in my etsy shop and ready to ship to you!
2.24.2011
life among the amish means....
slowing down for buggies.
learning not to take photos no matter how cute the amish kids on the tire swing are.
and tons of little shops displaying amazing, handmade quilts like this one....
i spotted it in a small quilt shop in bird-in-hand, pa.
it was hanging on a rack, so i asked the nice amish woman if i could take it down and take a picture.
she happily obliged and we chatted for a while as i snapped away
and dreamed of having $700 to purchase this exact quilt.
a few tidbits of info about traditional amish quilts...
- they are sewn on sewing machines. sometimes pedal and sometimes electric.
- they are made only using pieces of fabric leftover from the clothing the family makes.
- if pink is in the quilt you know the family has a little girls, since adult amish women do not wear pink.
- there is no yellow or orange in amish quilts...those colors are considered vain.
side note: a life without orange? i cringe!
- although the quilt top is pieced on a machine, the actual quilting of the layers together (using intricate patterns) is done entirely by hand. yep, every little stitch...hence the $700 price tag.
isn't it divine?
i would love to know if there is a history of quilting in YOUR area of the country/world?
2.21.2011
this week...
i am busily making about a gazillion of these in various sizes and colors.
some attached to pin backs.
some attached to headbands.
some clustered together on barrettes.
this one is a generous 4.5" across.
wouldn't you just love to pin that onto the lapel of your cutest jacket?
heading to a craft fair this thursday with these in tow.
left over inventory will hit my etsy shop this friday!
2.19.2011
Art Canvas Follow Up
Remember this post about getting canvases printed from artscow.com?
Well, I received mine in the mail this week.
I wasn't sure what to expect as this company is in China
and I distinctly remember when I worked for a scrapbooking manufacturer
their samples coming back from China in completely fluorescent colors and botched shades.
But my canvases are perfection!
Even better than I had hoped.
Check them out...
Love.
2.16.2011
Question....
I have a family blog.
And on that blog I share recipes.
Would you like recipes shared here?
Or are recipes not entirely crafty?
What if the recipes had a 4x6" printable recipe card download?
Like the ones shown here.
What if the recipes had a 4x6" printable recipe card download?
Like the ones shown here.
Just wondering.
2.14.2011
{love}
she headed off to school today with a heart covered box
filled with 16 of these handmade valentines
(idea inspired full-on stolen from here).
and the close up....
and 2 of these (there's a tube of pomegranate lotion beneath).
one for the kindergarten teacher and one for her aide.
(idea found here).
tonight we will have a fun family night with small gifts for the kids and thursday
(yes, it was the first day we had free) the Hubbs and I
will go out to dinner somewhere romantic....like denny's.
hope your day is filled with LOVE of every description!
2.10.2011
Book Review: How to Sew a Button
How to Sew a Button: And Other Nifty Things Your Grandmother Knew
by Erin Bried
★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆
I expected to like this book much more than I did. I really agree on the overall premise. I think we could learn a lot and utilize our resources much better if we took a cue from the older generations. I know many women who can't sew a button.
One of the issues is with the writing style which is forcefully cheeky. Sometimes you find this forced humor funny and other times, annoying. Also, the book is peppered with illustrations of various retro women engaging in the tasks being explained, but what it really could have used are a few illustrations to clarify the more complicated instructions.
There is some very useful information in this book, but not any you wouldn't find through a google search in a much more clear and concise manner with pictures included.
Have YOU read this book?
If so, what did you think?
by Erin Bried
★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆
One of the issues is with the writing style which is forcefully cheeky. Sometimes you find this forced humor funny and other times, annoying. Also, the book is peppered with illustrations of various retro women engaging in the tasks being explained, but what it really could have used are a few illustrations to clarify the more complicated instructions.
There is some very useful information in this book, but not any you wouldn't find through a google search in a much more clear and concise manner with pictures included.
Have YOU read this book?
If so, what did you think?
2.09.2011
Featured Book on Shutterfly!
I got an email today from Shutterfly telling me that my ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ME digital Photobook (see it page by page here and then read my follow-up here) is their featured book! Woot!
The lovely email read...
My name is Savannah and I'm the head of Shutterfly's Scrapbooking Advisory Team. I help manage Shutterfly's Gallery and I wanted to let you know that we're featuring your "Encyclopedia of Me" photo book in the "Digital Scrapbooking" section of the Gallery. It's such a great idea for a book. I've seen lots of ABC books, but it never occurred to me to use the same style for an adult book. It works perfectly! Great job.
Check it out here within the next three days...then they rotate for a new pick.
If you miss it, here's the screen shot (click to enlarge).
2.08.2011
Disney's TANGLED Party Invites
In case you don't have small children, this is a wanted poster of Flynn Rider from the Disney movie TANGLED. Ella is having a Tangled birthday party this year, but we are inviting boys as well as girls, so we didn't want the invite to be overly femmy.
I swapped out some of the poster's real words and added our own for a custom invite. We know all the kids from Ella's class at school have seen this film since last month a classmate had a birthday party where the entire theater was rented just for them to watch this movie. A very hard act to follow.
But I'm cooking up some sa-weet birthday party fun! More details to come.
2.03.2011
Book Review: The Handmade Marketplace
by Kari Chapin
★ ★★ ★★
Despite already having a pretty good knowledge of selling my goods online and otherwise, I still learned A LOT of helpful information from this read. The format was very flowing and the tidbits of practical info from various celeb crafters was very insightful.
I highly recommend this book to all who are considering (or who already are) selling their handmade goods. This will prove to be an invaluable resource! And don't just get it from the Library because you're going to want to highlight it...I promise.
Have you read this book?
What did you think?
2.01.2011
FREEBIE: Printable Valentine's Art
As a little gift from me to you this Valentine's Day here's a FREEBIE printable Valentines sign for your home.
Simply click HERE to download, then print on your home printer or at a local photo lab and frame.
Print is sized 8x10".
Here's how it will look printed and framed.
