What she wore!

Remember the fun fabrics I picked up several weeks ago from Hancock Fabrics?  Well, here is the first outfit that came from those finds!  I made this for her to wear to our Thanksgiving dinner.  It's hard to tell from these grainy pics, but the pants are knit, and they are SOOO soft!  I embellished them with a cute little label, but they are hand made.  I'm calling these the Shortcake Pant and I will be posting a pattern for them as soon as I get it graded for ya!  It will be a two in one, with an option for a wide leg, no ruffle as well.  With a super comfy yoga waistband, these are my new fav pants!

BLACK FRIDAY EVENT!

FREE Ear Warmer Headband Pattern!

I have been wanting to make one of these for so long, and with the cold weather nearing I was finally inspired to try out this free pattern.  This pattern is a little more difficult than making a scarf because of the increases and decreases, but it's still fairly easy.  The author has a link to a page of tips too.

Free Ear Warmer Headband Pattern

Here is a pic of my finished project.  Oh, and by the way, I got my yarn at the Dollar Tree, and it's nice looking...not too cheap I promise.

And for those of you who love the look, but are not the knitting type, here is a link to my friend Jody's store, Bagabow where she has really cute ones for sale!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FASHIONISTAS!!!

Hand painted Farmer's Market sign

 

I have been drooling over the signs in these photos for quite a while now, and I decided to create one for my own kitchen.  For those of you who know my family, we have been on special eating program called the GAPS (Gut and Psychology Syndrome) diet for the past 6 months.  "GAPS what?" you say?  Well, you can google it for now, but I will be posting more about this amazing diet in the future.  We have become regulars at our local butcher and farmer's market and eat a lot of raw milk, organic fruits and veggies, and pastured eggs...thus the inspiration for my sign!  We also eat a lot of liver and fat too, but somehow these foods just don't have the same charm, do they?  Here is a quick tutorial to make a sign like mine.  Of course you can use any wording you like, but I'm including a pdf of my artwork if you want to recreate it exactly.

Tools:

• print out of artwork.  Download my artwork HERE.

• piece of reclaimed wood OR painted sign from craft store

• soft pencil or carbon paper

• acrylic craft paint - background color and text color

• paint brushes - I used an angled flat brush to help create the straight lines in the text, and a large foam brush for the background color

• thin chain for hanging

• picture hanging hardware

• cup hooks

1. Paint your piece of wood with your background color.  Rather then trying to find a piece of reclaimed wood somewhere, I found a sign at Hobby Lobby that was the perfect size and 50% off.  It had words already painted on it similar to this one, but I just painted my cream color right on top.

When painting the background, I didn't worry about perfectly straight edges...I like the rustic charm of the rough edges.

2. Enlarge artwork to the size of your wood, and print out in tiles.  Tape tiled print outs together where they line up.  In order to transfer the design to the wood, I like to use a soft pencil and color the backside of the artwork with it.  Make sure to cover all the outlines you will need to trace.  Alternately, you can skip this and just use a piece of carbon paper to transfer the design.

3. Once the paint on your sign is dry, place your print out over the surface, and line it up so that it's straight with the top and bottom edges.  Use tape to secure it, so it doesn't slip! With a pen trace the outlines of the artwork so that it transfers to the wood below.  Check periodically to make sure it is transferring...you may have to use some pressure when tracing.

4. Now that the outline of your artwork is transferred to the wood, you are ready to start painting!  Take your text color and paint inside your outlines.  I like to paint the outlines of each letter first and then fill in to ensure straight lines.  This may takes some patience, but I find the process to be very relaxing.

5. Attach picture hangers to the back, top corners of your sign, then hook one end of each chain to the picture hanger, and hang the other ends of the chains from cup hooks in your ceiling.

If you like you can rough it up with some sandpaper once it's all dry, or rub a little bit of stain or watered down paint onto the corners and outer edges for a more vintage look.  Since my house is very modern, I kept it clean.

And VOILA, my finished hand painted sign!  I love how it brings the eye upward and fills the space without creating a wall.  It was super easy to make, and now one of my favorite pieces because I made it personal.

 

Fall Goodies

I am just crazy about the beautiful designs produced by companies like Matilda Jane, and Persnickety Clothing.  The designers for these collections are brilliant and I love EVERYTHING they produce.  Problem is, I can't afford to dress my child in their clothes all the time, so I went to my local fabric store - in this case Hancocks - and picked out some fabrics for a couple of new dresses.  Since good knits are hard to find, and generally more expensive, I chose mostly woven prints.  There are so many companies out there now that make super adorable collections, and you can usually find these near the quilting section.  Depending on the look you are going for you can either find several prints that are coordinating, but I like to throw in a print that is totally unexpected, and isn't so matchy-matchy.  This is sometimes hard to do, because it's easier to just buy coordinates, but I think this gives the outfit that extra "wow" factor.  Here is what I came home with, and the best part was the total for all 6 pieces was less then $10.  I can't wait to start sewing!  Check back soon to see my progress, and a free pattern for my favorite pants!

A glimpse into my insanity...

If I had a dime for every time someone said to me, "You should start a business doing (whatever it is I'm creating at the moment)", I would be a very rich girl!  I think if I didn't have at least 4-5 projects going at any given moment I would probably stop functioning.  You see, that is what makes me tick...I love creating, but turning that passion into profit would take all the joy away for me.  So, instead of making a business out of my ideas, I'm going to share them with you!  I always have something in the works, so here you will get to peak inside my brain, and hopefully become inspired to create things for your own home and family.  

My dream for this blog is to share craft tutorials, original sewing patterns, and even my favorite...knock offs for less!  I will also be showcasing the amazing company I represent, Paparazzi Accessories.  I will be updating my inventory photos often, and promoting our fabulous goodies.  Oh, and by the way...everything is $5!  Yeah, you read it right...$5!!!  I am the $5 Fashionista...welcome to my world!