Gray in the Modern Nursery

What a fabulous neutral gray is! And its popularity in the modern nursery showcases its endless versatility. Itching to paint the nursery, but it's too early to know if you're having a boy or a girl? Gray walls can be paired with just about any color imaginable. Pair it with yellow and you have the perfect gender-neutral nursery that you can later embellish with pink, navy or teal.


1. Ava 4 N 1 Crib
2. Color Edge Curtain Panels
3. Yellow Pouf Ottoman
4. Nursery Art
5. Chevron Owl Pillow
6. Dresser with Hutch
7. Giraffe Crib Blanket
8. Owl Crib Mobile
9. Gray Check Chair
10. Paint Chip from Sherman Williams
11. Yellow Zig Zag Rug



1. Nursery Art
2. Custom Crib Bedding
3. Pink Stripe Table Lamp
4. Mini Dot Curtain Panel
5. Glider with Ottoman
6. Fabric Storage Basket
7. Pink Nursery Shelf
8. Gray Flowers Paper Lantern"
9. Handmade Crocheted Bunny
10. Handmade Plush Squirrel
11. Cloud and Butterfly Mobile
12. Three Drawer Dresser
13. Paint Chip from Sherman Williams

Christmas Came Early This Year

In July 2010 I purchased a little hutch at a yard sale to house my sewing and crafting supplies that I used the most. It fit perfectly into the last little bit of wall space we had, right behind the kitchen table where I do my work.
I was thrilled with it. I still had to keep more seldom used supplies in plastic bins in closets and in our outbuilding, but at the time it was a really good solution to my craft overflow problems.


Here's what it looked like the day I moved it in.





See how neat and tidy everything is? Later I purchased an armoire/entertainment center off of Craigslist to accommodate some of the overflow and also some kitchen apparatus and other clutter.
Flash forward to December 2011. My business has grown and accordingly, I've acquired a lot more fabrics and supplies. A lot more. The Christmas shopping season arrived after a ho-hum summer and fall, and suddenly I had enough orders to keep me working 12-15 hours a day for weeks on end.
And here's what my work area looked like last week.





And this was in addition to the bins and boxes piled in closets and in the outbuilding. I started to have some serious storage/shelving lust, and last weekend I went to an estate sale in the neighborhood and ended up buying a huge Ikea Pax "wardrobe". Here's a picture of the area looking like it'd been hit by a hurricane as we moved it into the house:





After working all day, I finally have most of my supplies in it. I still have some fabric and yarn in a closet, but the bulk of it fits with room to spare. I could use a couple more shelves to get it to maximum efficiency. I am beyond thrilled. Being able to get to things without the constant threat of an avalanche of supplies falling on me is going to do wonders for my efficiency, not to mention my sense of well being.


I have no familiarity with what it must be like to go buy exactly what you want with no regards to cost. I also have no idea what it's like to have a roomful of furniture that "matches". I'm sure there's something out there that would have been closer to my personal taste, but for now this is just perfect.

Christmas in July

"Record breaking temperatures." This phrase is so ubiquitous it's almost lost all meaning. It's been in the triple digits here in Austin so much lately that when the heat tops out at 99° it actually feels cool out. In December, we Austinites will be enjoying 70° days, and may have to don a light jacket in the evenings, but December is still a very, very long time from now. Or is it?


Every Christmas I promise myself that next year I'm going to get an early start. I vow to buy a gift here and there throughout the year and tuck them away. I tell myself that when I see a great deal on something that I know my husband/sister/mother-in-law would love, I'm going to buy it on the spot to save myself the stress of the holiday shopping crowds. I will get a head-start on any handmade gifts I intend to give, sewing a little here and there throughout the year instead of spending 12 hours a day at my sewing machine for the last two weeks before Christmas.


Well... it's July, and I have yet to purchase or make a single gift. But I have found some lovely incentives to get started, as dozens of EtsyKids Team members are having a Christmas in July sale. This is a great opportunity to pick up some wonderful hand crafted items for the mini-humans in your life. All sales are valid through July 2011. Here are just a few of the shops participating:


PetalPetal offers the most gorgeous modern flower girl and special occasion couture, and is offering a generous 20% off your entire purchase with the coupon code "SUMMERISFORLOVE". Her creations are so beautiful I find myself wishing they came in adult sizes!







*Photos by Marta Locklear


For the Christmas babies and new moms in your life , 2 Sprouts Stitchery has all kinds of wonderful offerings, like this chic All in One Diaper Clutch and cute toddler loungewear. She is offering 10% off with the coupon code: "christmasinjuly"










Bison Girl is offering 15% off her adorable handmade cotton baby booties. Lined with faux sherpa with faux suede soles, these booties will keep tiny feet snug and warm in the winter months. Use the coupon code "summer15" at checkout.








Apple N Amos offers whimsical wood toys and has something for tiny babies and older kids too, from teething rings to wooden yo-yos! I just love the wooden memory match games and stacking cups. Use the code "JULYSALE15" for 15% off everything in the store!








Chipper Cute Girl makes the sweetest "memory books", and is offering 20% off storewide using the code "EtsyKids20". These beautiful fabric covered journals are "divided by grade level, each page (left for mom - right for daughter) is filled with prompts and free space to capture the essence of each of you - together."







Happy shopping!

Birthday Presents

I managed to finish the second doll for my niece Madison, whose 3rd birthday is this weekend. I'd already made the kitty doll and was determined to make a puppy companion to go with her in time for the birthday party.


I will definitely be making some revisions to this pattern so that future dolls come together a little bit easier. Sewing the head and torso pieces together is incredibly difficult to do with all of the pre-stuffed limbs tucked inside, and I had to wrestle the pieces through my sewing machine. Future dolls will be a little more rotund, but overall I'm really happy with how they turned out.
I hope Madison likes them!

Made for Me.

It seems I'm always sewing something. There's rarely a day when my sewing machine doesn't get used, but I very seldom make anything to keep for myself. So when I picked up a copy of 101 Patchwork Projects at the bookstore last month, I knew I wanted to make the beautiful patchwork pillow covers featured by Lunden Designs.
I'd been sitting on some fat quarters from Joel Dewberry's "Aviary 2", collection, and this was the perfect project to use some of this fabulous fabric.


I only have one finished so far, and wanted to get some pictures of it before it is destroyed by children and/or pets. I have the second one pieced together and still need to finish it.

"It's freaky looking."

"It's freaky looking." Not exactly the response I was looking for when I showed my husband the doll I'd been laboring over for hours. How little he knows about the doll world. I've seen much freakier dolls than this one.
After posting a pic of it on Facebook, the consensus is that he doesn't know what he's talking about.

Ladies' Craft Brunch

I'm kicked up in my bed with my laptop, and a nap is on the horizon for sure, but I wanted to post some pictures from brunch today. I had a few friends over for (way too much) food, mimosas and crafting.


My sister and niece came over last night and we made cute little toppers for the quiches I'd made.







I found inspiration for brunchy goodness at Clockwork Lemon's blog, and roasted some baby red potatoes then tossed them with apple chicken sausage, caramelized onions, arugula and smoked cheddar.
We also had this lovely Lemon Pull-Apart Coffee Cake, which is just sinfully good; soft, tangy and sweet. Here's a pic before it got slathered with cream cheese icing.







But enough about the food. We also actually did do a bit of crafting. As a fabric hoarder who can't stand to throw even the tiniest scraps away, I have accumulated quite a few very small pieces of fabric; perfect for covered button crafts. I gathered the scraps up and they looked so cute in the little fabric baskets I'd made, especially paired with my new scrappy jelly jar covers that make charming little vases.





Annaliese was the only one who would consent to having her photo taken, and you should have seen the horrified looks my other guests gave me at the mention of the words "camera" and "pictures". I thought everyone looked lovely though.





And here's a picture of the fruits of our labors. We made fabric covered buttons in various sizes and then turned them into fridge magnets, bobby pins, earrings and ponytail holders. I had so much fun, can't wait for the next craft brunch. If anyone has any good ideas for group crafting projects, I'd love to hear about them.

Dr. Seuss Fabrics!

Given my limited budget for fabrics, I spend a lot of time searching for the cutest prints and the best deals.
Getting a new batch of fabrics in is like Christmas morning for me. A stack of brand new fabrics waiting to be pre-washed, cut and sewn makes me so happy.


When I received an email from one of my favorite online fabric stores, The Fabric Fairy, about a pre-order special they were having on the new Robert Kaufman line of Dr. Seuss fabrics, I knew I had to have some. I put in a pre-order for seven different prints, but I'm sure I'll be back for more. The hardest part was deciding which prints to order; they're all so cute!


Here's just a sampling of some of the prints in the collection.

Owls and Cowls

Owls are so ubiquitous on Etsy that it's something of an inside joke amongst sellers; incorporate an owl into your work and you just might have it featured in one of the coveted Front Page slots.

Or maybe the owl craze has died down a bit...

Given the ubiquity of plush owls, I was surprised when I received a request from a potential customer to make one.
Well, a sale's a sale I guess. Here's what I came up with:






Turns out the request came from a someone who likes owls and is a Spankers' fan. That made a lot more sense.
I do like the way the little owl turned out. Maybe I'll make a few more and see how they do in the shop.

Yard Sale Score!

It's Sunday, so I didn't really expect there to be an abundance of garage sales today, but I checked Craigslist and there was one on the way to the grocery store, and I needed to pick up a few things anyway, so I put the kids in the car and we went to check it out.

Score!





I'd been wanting an armoire or some sort of shelving for this spot. I desperately needed a place where I could organize my craft and sewing supplies, which have so far been stored in bins and boxes around the house and out in our detached office/storage building. I was wasting so much time searching for the things I needed and having to sort through a huge plastic bin of fabric every time I needed a particular one. A lot of stuff was stored in the baby's closet (the only closet with any space in it), so if I needed something from there and he was sleeping, I'd just have to wait.
Now I have almost everything I need within arms' reach of the kitchen table, where I do most of my sewing and crafting, and I can easily tell what fabrics I have and how much. My sewing machine fits in the bottom part easily so it's a breeze to put everything away if we want to use the table for say, eating. The best part; it was only $30! I also walked away with a couple of wool sweaters that are felting in the washer right now. I'm not sure what I'm going to make out of them yet, but I'm pretty sure they want to be turned into plush toys of some sort.

More Handmade Gifts

In a few days we're headed to Louisiana to visit the in-laws, and then off to my sister's new home near Mobile, AL.
There we will be celebrating three birthday's; my middle son's, my niece Madison's and my other niece, Breanna's.
I made a Waldorf-style doll for Madison, so decided to make Breanna's gifts as well.

I found the cutest little free purse pattern here. The first one I made, I reduced the size of the pattern to accommodate the fabric I was using since I didn't have enough for the full-size purse. The result was cute, but so tiny I decided it would be better as a little play purse for Madison (who's turning two), so now I had two gifts for Maddy and still nothing for Breanna.






The next purse seemed like a the perfect size for a nine-year old girl. The pattern is easy to use and these little purses can be whipped up in about an hour's time. I might have to make a couple for myself, although I would probably lengthen the strap a little.






I also made some polymer clay charm jewelry for Breanna. This was a foray into two previously unexplored crafts; polymer clay and jewelry making. Seriously, hats off to anyone who works in either of these mediums, because you need to have some serious patience and good eyes for this stuff. I think they turned out pretty cute, and given that the charms are tiny, I have a TON of clay leftover for future crafts.
I made her a strawberry earrings and necklace set:





Another earring/necklace set with cupcakes:





And a little charm bracelet with various treats:





I'm really looking forward to our trip. Hope the girls like their gifts!

Adventures in Doll Making

I decided I wanted to make a doll for my niece's 2nd birthday, and have been really enchanted with Waldorf style dolls lately, so I set out to make my own.


Since the traditional Waldorf dolls are made with all natural materials like wool roving for stuffing, cotton interlock for the "skin" and mohair yarn for the hair, and because those materials can be very expensive, I decided I would make a "practice" doll with materials I had around the house.


I didn't have any wool roving on hand, but there's usually a giant bag of polyfill around so I decided to use that. And instead of the gauze tubing I used a knee-high stocking to form the head.






There are a few different tutorials on the internet that show how the head is constructed. I consulted this one and this one.

The skin colored cotton interlock that most doll makers recommend for these style dolls is extremely pricey, so my next improvisation was to use some bamboo velour I had leftover from making cloth diapers. It seemed like the perfect choice as it was a close approximation to a skin tone, and it's so soft. I wrapped my shaped head tightly in the velour and hand stitched it in place, then embroidered the facial features. One more improvisation; traditionally these dolls' cheek color is applied using a beeswax crayon, one more thing I didn't have. A regular old Crayola brand worked just fine. Now I had something that was actually starting to look like a doll!



The hair was definitely a challenge. I used a bulky acrylic yarn that I had picked up at a flea market, and I really wanted to make a her wig using the crocheted cap method detailed in this tutorial, but ultimately found this yarn too ungainly to crochet with, so instead I used this tutorial.
I couldn't manage to sew the hair on with a length of yarn as instructed. The yarn was just too thick to pull through the head fabric, but I sewed it on with thread and it seems like it's tacked down pretty good. I anticipate that she may be carried around by the hair a bit since she's a gift for a toddler, so I really sewed the hair down.
I think her hair may be my favorite part of her!

I'm not thrilled with her body; she's a bit long in the torso, and I should have curved her arms, so I guess it's back to the drawing board to make a new body pattern, or I might just break down and purchase one, but all in all I'm pleased with how she turned out. I made her a little cotton dress with matching bloomers. I had to put her out of sight from Lennon, because he really loves her and I don't want him to get too attached; she started out as a practice doll, but she's definitely going to my niece, and I guess the next doll I make will be for Lennon.

I wonder what Maddy will name her? She looks like an Emily to me, but I'll let Maddy decide.

This ain't my first rodeo, kid.

Your diaper is dry. Your belly is full. And the doctor has given you a clean bill of health.

I know you're faking it because there are no tears, you keep casting sideways glances at me to see if I'm watching you, and if I were to pick you up the crying would cease instantly.

Not being allowed to pull every CD off the shelf is not going to kill you or cause you any harm at all, so get over it and go play with your toys.

I refuse to be manipulated by a 14 month old. You're STILL crying? Wow, you really have stamina! No, you cannot play with the CDs. I can block out your fake crying; it doesn't bother me at all! It just blends in with the other household noises like the refrigerator's hum or the AC kicking on.

That's almost 5 minutes now! I like how you wind it up to a fevered pitch, then go into the pathetic sobbing for a bit, then wind it right back up. One has to admire your dramatic range! But no, CDs are not for babies to play with.

Here! You want to play in the tupperware cabinet? I'll unlatch it for you. No? Not even the prospect of being able to scatter plastic bowls all over the place has any appeal? You really want to play with those CDs, huh? And you're still crying. Doesn't that hurt your throat after a while? Well, I'm sorry, but CDs are not for...

you know what kid? Knock yourself out! They're all backed up on the computer anyway. Take 'em all off the shelf, open 'em up and spill their contents. I don't care anymore.

Just please stop crying.

Lagniappe

The Wikipedia entry for 'lagniappe' (pronounced LAN-yap) defines it as such: "Lagniappe refers to a small gift given to a customer by a merchant at the time of a purchase (such as a 13th donut when buying a dozen), or more broadly, "something given or obtained gratuitously or by way of good measure."

In other words, a little something extra.

I wanted to include a little lagniappe when I shipped out orders; something just a little more special than "thank you" written on the back of my business card. I also wanted something I could do with all of those fabric scraps that seemed too small to use, yet too big to just throw away. I needed something that wouldn't break the bank. Most of my merchandise is under $20, so it wouldn't make a lot of sense to give something away unless I could keep the cost down to about 25¢.

I decided on fabric-covered button magnets. I'd always known about the fabric covered buttons you can easily make yourself, but was delighted to discover that you could purchase "flat back" versions of these; perfect for gluing a magnet to the back.

All you need is fabric scraps slightly larger in diameter than the button size you'll be using. I used a 1 ⅛" diameter button, so I cut out the fabric circles about 2" in diameter. This task was made extra easy with the second-hand die cutting machine I purchased off of Ebay.

Making the buttons is pretty self-explanatory. Lay your fabric circle, right side down, in the button mold. Place the dome piece in the mold, tuck the fabric edges in, place the button back on top and then press it in. Then pop your button out of the mold.
Glue a magnet to the back and you're finished! I used rare earth magnets, which are surprisingly strong.

I then use some removable glue dots to affix the magnets to a little hang-tag, also made with my handy die cutting machine.
I add two hang-tags to the product itself; one with care instructions, and a larger blank tag so that my customer can use it as a gift tag to write their own message on. The magnet hang-tag is affixed to the outside of the bag, with a little note from me written on the back of the tag.

The Little Details

I just crawled out of bed, and while I was grinding the coffee beans I was struck by a thought, and then really surprised that the thought I was struck by didn't strike me much sooner.

A little bit of backup story: My dad busted his leg up pretty bad recently and required surgery. His recovery requires him to have the leg elevated for 6 weeks and daily physical therapy, thus ruling out any possibility of my mom being able to care for him at home during this time. Once he was out of the hospital, he was sent to what is essentially a nursing home type facility, but they provide him with the medical care and physical therapy he needs.

I haven't been able to visit him yet. I was on tour, then when I got home my mom warned me not to come yet; a week spent in the hospital and she had picked up something and was sick herself. She didn't want to spread it around to me and the kids.
Halloween weekend is my last free weekend before I leave for another tour, so I'd been talking with my sister about her Halloween plans. I could come down and we could take her kids and my kids trick-or-treating together, and the she could take the bigger kids to a Halloween party afterwards.

My sister emailed me the other day. She was going to go have lunch with Mom and Dad at the nursing home on Halloween day. "I'm going to let the kids wear their costumes. The old people there really like seeing the kids."

I've been so busy this week. Lots of band duties, meetings, a photo shoot, parent-teacher conference, volunteering at the school Book Fair, Etsy stuff. Whew! I'd been trying to think of everything I would need to do in order to get out of here early enough on Saturday to drive to Houston and meet up with all of them by lunchtime, and had been going through the mental checklist of everything I'd need to pack and also trying to keep track of everything I still needed to do over the next couple of days. All the time I'm thinking that it would be fun for my kids to wear their costumes to the nursing home too. Then I was grinding the beans this morning. Coltrane is dressing up as the Grim Reaper this year. I can't take the kid into a nursing home dressed as the Grim Reaper. My sister's words came back to me, and I'm thinking that the old people would probably be less than delighted to see a miniature Grim Reaper wandering the halls. Maybe he could just stick his head in their rooms and say "Boo!"

What strikes me most is how this didn't occur to me sooner. What if it had taken longer? I was picturing myself hastily stripping Coltrane's costume off of him at the entrance way to the facility; us standing in front of automatic sliding doors with me struggling with the knot in his cloak or pulling his mask off. Trying to hide the 4 foot long plastic scythe, while explaining to him the inappropriateness of his costume in this kind of setting. Well, the whole thing made me giggle a little.