While I was out this afternoon I was featured on the front page of Etsy again. I think this is the first time it didn’t result in an immediate sale, but I love to see my stuff out there, and especially see how many hearts it brings, so thanks everyone!
This weekend I asked my mom’s husband to help me make some wooden buttons. My mom and I took Ash out back on “an adventure” and found some old cherry wood branches from a couple of years ago that were dry. Derek brought out his miter saw and through a bit of trial and error, we were able to cut through them without the pieces flying away, never to be found again.
I brought the pieces home, dremeled some holes and sanded them with a couple of different strengths (or whatever you call it) of sandpaper and finished them with some pure beeswax, which made them extremely gorgeous, and voila. Done. I just love the way they look!
I’m going to handsew them onto the next series of cowls that I make. I’m even starting to sew children’s ones, so stay tuned!
I’ve started on my new collection of autumn neckwarmers (aka cowls), and they’ve been great at making it into the treasuries. Or maybe people just like the pictures of my chin, haha.
Here are a few great print screens of the treasuries who’ve featured me.
Pieces of Yesterday by DreambyDay
A Touch of Grey by CallMeCaptain
We’ve been in our new apartment for a couple of weeks now, and last week I unpacked my boxes of fabric and even destashed a LOT of it (but then I went shopping and found some real treasures… it’s a never ending cycle…) but it wasn’t until this week that I was really able to start sewing again.
There have been issues with the kid not wanting to fall asleep early, or me just needing to do chores around the house, or feeling just so wiped out at the end of the day the inspiration to sew just doesn’t come. Once I get started, though, the enthusiasm to see the finished product soon actually becomes overwhelming and I start daydreaming about being able to bring my sewing machine into my day job, or sticking Ash in front of some vintage Sesame Street just so I can get something accomplished (neither of which I do) (Cookie Monster youtube videos are strictly reserved for when I’m showering!).
I found this black and white fabric the other day and immediately fell in love. It’s so hard to find either black or white when second-hand shopping, so I scooped this up and made three bags out of it. I bought some sliders (to make adjustable purse straps) on Etsy a while ago, but they haven’t arrived yet, so I went to our local shop and bought a few so that I could finish these sooner than later. I don’t know why I didn’t learn how to do it sooner, it is surprisingly easy to make purse straps adjustable, but I can’t learn everything at once.
These are the most well-constructed bags I’ve ever made in my life, and- dare I say it- don’t even look handmade (not that my other ones did, but these REALLY don’t). As someone who is completely self-taught, I feel pretty proud.
This body form (and the barn wood wall) is from my day job, I went in there today for a couple of minutes to take some shots, and I love how it looks. It’s going to have to be something I do from now on.
Clive was awesome and took care of Ash for most of the day (he went fishing last Sunday for about four hours while I took care of Ash, so he owed me… also: tag teaming is AWESOME) so I was able to complete over a dozen new cowls. I have added a few on Etsy, and will be adding more in the next couple of days. Believe it or not, it often takes more time to photograph them and then do the required editing than it takes to sew the damn things.
I’ve recently developed a fascination and utter love for Moss Terrariums. I’m not sure where it’s come from, other than seeing a lot of them on Etsy. I love their simplicity, I love the emotional connection I have to moss as a childhood plaything (I think this is a weird fact about me), and I especially love all the accessories people are coming up with to accompany them.
I especially love these, little gnome-sized clothes lines, complete with the day’s washings. And look at this! A fairy house with a swirly roof! To die for, people.
I started collecting some containers from Value Village this weekend to make some of my own for our new house.
Speaking of our new house, have I told you the news? Our current lease was supposed to end the first of August, leaving us homeless until August 20, which is the earliest move-in date for the new place, but by a stroke of good luck, our landlord is letting us stay here until that time, despite needing to get all the windows in our apartment replaced (which will still happen, just with us here). So, this is great news and it makes Clive and I feel like everything is sincerely coming together. He and I can’t wait to move. We’re so cramped in our current apartment because of the extreme lack of storage space available and how much we need in order to have a comfortable and cozy home. It seems like such a small detail, but it turns out it’s extremely important for our quality of living. I even started taking stuff out of my mother’s attic for the first time in my entire life (read: ten years worth of photo albums with an extrodinary amount of embarassing pictures) because I’ll finally have somewhere to keep them. I can’t wait to show you all pictures (and for those IRL friends, to have you over for Ash’s second birthday party).
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Have any of you Canadians been so fortunate to try Tim Horton’s breakfast sandwiches? This is not a light statement for me: they’re about 10928325x better than Egg McMuffins. Go try one if you haven’t already. They’re seriously fucking delicious.
For the rest of the week, all Canadian buyers can ignore the “USD” and pay in LOONIES instead! When you checkout, do not pay- instead, wait for me to send you an invoice in Canadian dollars. Happy Canada Day!
It’s a gift guide, which means that people must like nautical stuff as much as I do…
I am ALWAYS on the lookout for wooden toys for my son. We’ve got a small collection from Plan Toys, but find them really expensive, and we have some from Melissa and Doug, and even though their website feels misleading and you get the idea that each item is handcrafted in their basement, they’re actually made in China and Taiwan (and other places far, far away). They’re readily available at Winners, Chapters and Calendar Club around xmas, which I think is great, even if they are made in China, because they’re still not plastic and they give wooden toys a chance in the mainstream (which is dominated by plastics, of course).
We occasionally find wooden toys at Value Village and other thrift stores, and I usually buy them even though I don’t know what the paint is made up of etc. My son is past the putting things in his mouth stage, so it’s not a huge of a concern as it once would have been.
We have a very limited collection of plastic toys, I can probably count them on one hand, so it’s a very conscious decision to choose wooden and cloth. I’ve been a member of Etsy for a couple of years, but have just recently came across a few wonderful wooden toy companies. I haven’t ordered anything from anyone yet, but it’s SO tempting!
Here are a few of my favorite finds! (If they’re sold by the time you click on the link, just go to their main shop and find another listing for the same thing.)
From Little Sapling Toys
From Small Town Toys:
From Clickity Clack:
(Great for party favors)
My mom has an old coworker that loves to quilt and sew, and she sent me a bag of her remnants the other day and in that bag was a small piece of cotton with a cherry print, and I immediately knew it was destined to be a bag! Luckily I had some complimentary red poly/cotton in my stash and they were a perfect match. It took me one of my son’s nap times (two hours) and a couple more hours in the evening to finish it, and voila! Complete!
My sister offered to take it to her art school and try to sell it to anyone who would compliment her on it, but I think she just wanted to use something so glamorous and not have to spend any money!
I found these coasters yesterday out shopping and immediately fell in love. If I had any furniture that was at all worth protecting I would be keeping them for my greedy little self. Instead, I’m passing them on to someone else who can use (read: cherish) them. I think they’re awfully pretty.
