Shop Work...

Thanks to Amy, I had the chance to work on my packaging for the pendants. I decided to go with a matchbook design. What do you think?





This weekend after playing with all my new fabric, I decided to make up some free gifts to go along with my etsy orders. Here are some bookmarks made out of my new vintage fabric...

I think its a fun way to really showcase the fabric and hopefully give my customers something functional as well. The more I go through my fabric the more I fall in love with it. I can't wait to start creating things with it. (I will not hoard, I will not hoard, I will not hoard.....)

We interrupt this program...

Sorry, we have to take a little break from the book review so I can brag about my fabric score today! You know when the classified's ad says "Quilting material from my mom's closet and some of grandma's too" that its going to be good. But I never could have expected this...

See this pile of of quilt squares. 50 cents. Yep, 50 cents for ALL of them! I have no idea what to do with them, but aren't they beautiful?

And this pile? These were all of the scraps. Some are clothes that have been taken apart, some are parts of pillowcases, some just plain old scraps. How much for all of these you ask? FREE!! At this point I was starting to feel a little guilty, so I actually spent money on the rest...

Ten whole dollars to be exact! The bad part is I didn't need one more scrap of fabric in my house. But honestly, how could I not, right? After I go through it all (and my mom goes through it, and my sister, and probably you too Sara, right?) then I will list some of it on etsy. We'll see if there is any left!

Here are a couple of my favorites!

In the meantime, I am planning a major sale on any current fabric in my etsy shop to make room. I'll be adding some new stuff and slashing prices on current things. Take a look!!

Thrift Store Book Review - Part III

Are you ready for another? Getting bored? I have to say I am having a great time...I honestly haven't look this close at a lot of these books before, its kind of fun!

Today - A Treasury of Needlecraft Gifts for the New Baby copyright 1972.

This book has a lot of quilt and softy patterns in it, along with some really cool applique patterns and of course tons of felt projects! Funny, after rereading that sentence I realized I could just as easily be talking about any current craft book on the market! Do you ever feel like there are just a limited supply of ideas floating around out there and we just keep making them over and over again with just a little something changed every time? Honestly though, I don't feel that in a bad way, its kind of cool to see the cycle.

Anyway, here are some of my favorites...

They did some sort of free motion machine sewing to create these pictures.

With the right fabric, this could be a really cute quilt!

The have a whole section in here on making gifts for the older sibling. This is a softy made from the kid's drawing supposedly. It doesn't really look like how any kid I know draws, but still a really good idea!

Another cutie - this stuffed hen could be great!

The whole book has these little drawings all over it. Wouldn't these be adorable for applique or embroidery? Here are just a few of my favorites!

The book's only real downfall is the lack of pictures in color. Then again, that may be for the best!

Thrift Store Book Review - Part II

Today's book is another 25 cent beauty from the thrift store. Farm Journal Christmas Idea Book, copyright 1973.

The first third of this book is recipes which I haven't looked to closely at yet, but the other 2/3 are on decorating and gift giving. One of the first projects to catch my eye was this wall decoration. Doesn't it remind you of the Alexander Henry fabric from last Christmas called Merry Modernica? You can check it out here (sorry, kind of a bizarre link, it was the only place I could find it! I know I have a yard of it hidden away somewhere though.) The only difference? The wall hanging pictured is 5-1/2 feet tall!!

And do these remind you of anything? Martha thinks she is sooo smart! :)
For all you patchwork lovers out there...how about a poncho? Or a nice vest for your man? A classic look, no? He, he, he...
Now, these I think look like fun. It is felt glued on painted plywood then sealed. Some very cute possibilities for kid room decorations.
Hoped you enjoyed this one! I'll be back tomorrow with more. Would you like hints on entertaining from the 50s & 60s or needlecraft gifts for the new baby from the 70s??

Thrift Store Book Review - Part 1

Hi All! Not much crafting going on around here, even though I have a million and one ideas. I am supposed to be working on some marketing stuff for my brother-in-law's auction company, and thus have put myself on a sewing ban until I get it done. In the meantime though, my house is getting really clean! Procrastination is the best way to motivate the cleaning machine in me.

So, even though I don't have any new projects to show off, I thought I would share some book reviews from my ever growing pile of sewing, crafting, entertaining books from thrift stores and garage sales.

Book One: Women's Day Bazaar Best Sellers, copyright 1983

I found this book at the Salvation Army for 25 cents. All library discards are 25 cents there - I love it!! There are a lot of basic crochet and knitting patterns in here.

And some sewing....some patterns just need a little fabric update...

While other are just plain hilarious!

And of course a few classic food magnets thrown in for good measure! I think Sydney would get a kick out of these!

Overall my opinion is a big thumbs up - worth every last cent!

Finally!

I finally finished some pendants to list in the shop! The jump rings went through MULTIPLE versions, but I am really happy with how they turned out. I will gradually be listing the pendants you see above. [HINT: Those planning to give etsy ago in the future, this is the key to making it work. Don't list it all at once! Your stuff will just get lost out there in the shuffle.] They probably look better on their own, but I am so excited about them, I think this is how I would wear them! Next I'm working on my packaging -- marketing freak that I am you know. Assuming I actually sell any, I want the packaging to really fit the feel of the jewerly. As always, I'll let you know how it goes!

Have a great day!

Fall Lumberjack Fashion

I've been working on this bag for a while now. I actually took my time and enjoyed the process this time! Once I sew on a snap and slap a logo on it, this one is going into the shop.

The plaid is vintage wool. I had sort of planned on selling the fabric instead of using it, but I was inspired by it and decided to use it myself.

Funny story that the plaid reminds me of...at the bottom of my blog you can see a counter. It links to blogcounter.com and provides a ton of rather interesting info on who links to me, where people are coming from when they come to my blog and the top google searches that bring people here. My all time highest google search (a whopping 4) is "lumberjack fashion" which I mentioned as a joke way back here during Mary Ann's fabric challenge. I think it's hilarious that people actually are searching for this. Anyway, I think this bag has some lumberjack qualities. And, if you arrived here via a lumberjack fashion search, welcome! I hope you find what you are looking for!