WEEKEND SALE IS ON...

THERE IS A WEEKEND SALE GOING ON IN THE SHOP. ALL PURCHASES ARE 30% OFF WITH USE OF THE COUPON CODE. THE COUPON CODE IS "WEEKEND30". THERE WILL BE A COUPON CODE BOX TO ENTER THE CODE IN WHEN YOU ARE CHECKING OUT. IT WILL CALCULATE YOUR DISCOUNT FOR YOU. HAPPY SHOPPING!

Quick and Easy Holiday Cloth Napkins...

I am blessed to be having Thanksgiving at our home this year with matt's family. Today I took a bit of time to put some special cloth napkins together for the table settings. I thought it would be fun to share the quick and easy how-to.

I used...

1 recycled cream bed sheet

a large foam stamp

green craft paint

paint brush

1 wooden stamp

black ink pad

sewing machine

iron

First step is to cut 2-12 inch squares for each napkin.

Next get your paint ready to stamp, I paint the stamp by hand. I chose to stamp the napkins before sewing 2 pieces together to make sure the paint did not bleed through to the second layer.

Let you stamp dry for awhile.

Add the second layer of wording once paint is dry.

Let dry again...

Take napkins to sewing machine and sew right sides together-then turn right side out.

Take napkins to iron and press flat. I use a scrap piece of fabric over the stamp to heat set it and make sure none gets on the iron.

Take back to machine and run a top stitch along the edges for a finished look.

Have fun with this-the possibilities are endless!!!

WEEKEND SALE IS ON...

THE WEEKEND SALE IS UNDERWAY...

ALL PURCHASES ARE 25% OFF WITH USE OF THIS COUPON CODE-

**********************"WEEKEND25"

SIMPLY TYPE IN THE CODE IN THE PROVIDED BOX AT CHECKOUT TO RECEIVE THE DISCOUNT....

HAPPY WEEKEND TO YOU!!!

UPCYCLED BED LINENS SALE TODAY ONLY...

HELLO MY FABULOUS CREATIVE FRIENDS! JUST A QUICK NOTE TO LET YOU KNOW THAT ALL RECLAIMED BED LINENS IN THE SHOP ARE 25% OFF TODAY. THIS INCLUDES BED SHEETS, PILLOWCASES, FAT QUARTERS, QUILT SQUARES, BED LINEN YARDAGES AND FLAT RATE BOXES. I HOPE YOU ARE HAVING A LOVELY DAY!!

Linens Sale Today...

I am having an upcycled bed linens sale in the shop today. All reclaimed linens are 25% off. This includes bed sheets, pillowcases, quilt squares, fat quarters, yardages, and bed linen flat rate boxes. Happy shopping.

SOME NEW MITTENS ON THE SHELVES....

A while back I shared a bit about the process of making mittens here. So now with the designing being behind me, the sewing machine and I have our work cut out for us. I was even able to bring my mittens along to a conference Matt and I went to last week. There was some down time in between sessions that gave me a chance to do a bit of sewing. I have all the mitten stages sealed in zip lock bags and stored in a handy little fabric tote which made it super easy to travel with!

Here are some of the new mitten designs for this winter.

FABRIC SALE TODAY ONLY....

ALL FABRIC IS 30% OFF TODAY....

LOTS OF FUN NEW PRINTS ON THE SHELVES.

WEDNESDAY DOUBLE SALE...

THE SHOP IS HAVING A DOUBLE SALE TODAY...

*********************ALL HANDMADE ITEMS ARE 20% OFF...

********************ALL VINTAGE CLOTHING IS 50% OFF...

Thursday's Upcycled Bed Linen Fabric Sale is Underway...

THE THURSDAY BED LINEN'S FABRIC SALE IS UNDERWAY...ALL BED SHEETS, PILLOWCASES, QUILT SQUARES, FAT QUARTERS, BED LINEN YARDAGES AND FLAT RATE BOXES ARE 25% OFF TODAY. THE DISCOUNT WILL BE REFUNDED THROUGH PAYPAL OR A REVISED INVOICE CAN BE REQUESTED AT CHECKOUT.

FABRIC SALE TODAY ONLY....

THE SALE IN THE SHOP TODAY IS FOR FABRIC PURCHASES. ALL FABRIC IS 20% OFF. THE DISCOUNT WILL BE REFUNDED THROUGH PAYPAL OR A REVISED INVOICE CAN BE REQUESTED AT TIME OF CHECKOUT. HAVE A BLESSED DAY!!

FRIDAY NIGHT SECRET SALE....

A SECRET SALE WILL BE RUNNING THIS EVENING UNTIL 9PM. 35% OFF OF ALL PURCHASE WHEN COUPON CODE IS ENTERED WHILE CHECKING OUT. TYPE IN "SECRETSALE35" TO RECEIVE DISCOUNT DURING CHECKOUT. HAVE A FABULOUS WEEKEND!

******sale has now concluded**********

Coming Soon...

After a long week of Drs appointments, it felt good to have them behind me and to be able to sit outside while the kiddos swam this afternoon and fold fat quarters for the shop. I have been sluggishly cutting the sheets this week when I was feeling up to it. My husband helped me do some of my supply run Monday night, sweet man. He is no stranger to the thrift stores. Actually, when he was driving me to one of my appointments this week, he went the wrong direction and guess where he was heading? He went on my thrifting run. He said, when we get in the car alone together, that is what naturally happens-poor thing-I think we need to change it up a bit, and not with Drs appointments:) Anyways, here is a quick peek at some of the prints that will be in the shop soon.



I am anxious to share a bit about our youth group kick off "fight night" too! It was a night full of energy and excitement, mess and laughter and of course Jesus!Also, Matt and I were able to take our littlest man Noah on a fun date last weekend to "A day out with Thomas" He is a huge fan, so Matt and I were extremely excited about this day-ok, I was a bit giddy even. Being a mom makes you goofy for sure!

Is that not the craziest face-oh my does it make me giggle. Just a quick peek from that day.

SURPRISE SALE...

I AM HAVING ANOTHER SURPRISE SALE IN THE SHOP FOR MY BLOG READERS. ALL PURCHASES WILL BE 50% OFF WITH USE OF COUPON. COUPON CODE MUST BE USED AT CHECKOUT TO RECEIVE DISCOUNT. TYPE IN "SURPRISE50" IN THE COUPON CODE BOX WHILE CHECKING OUT. THE SALE WILL RUN UNTIL 8PM THIS EVENING. HAPPY SHOPPING.

********UPDATE-SALE HAS NOW CONCLUDED. REMEMBER TO CHECK BACK OFTEN FOR SURPRISE SALES. BLESSINGS, MANDY

Wee One's Elastic Skirt Tutorial

So here it goes. I am not always the best at teaching something, but I guess that is what practice is for:) A few days ago, I did a post about some simple elastic waist skirts I had been making for my girls and the shop. I had been working on a tutorial for this to back right up to that post, but I have been wrestling with our internet provider attempting to deal with a very poor connectivity. It is quite difficult to run an online business without being on-line-huh:) who would have thought! Any ways lovelies. Here is the tutorial for these skirts. And if I fail miserably at making this sound as easy as it is-I won't be offended if you look up the blog world for help-there are so many of these little ditties out there.

First thing-I tend to always use reclaimed linens, it is just a little ol' obsession with me. But cotton, cotton blends, knits, polyesters, etc work just fine for these. The lighter weight, the better. You need to first determine the length you want the skirt to be and add 1 to 2 inches for the bottom hem depending on how wide you want the hem to be and 3-5 inches for the waist band depending on how wide the elastic you are using is going to be. I have been using a 2 inch wide elastic because that is what I have on hand and it seems to be super comfy on little tummies. As far as the elastic measurement...each type of elastic is different and each child is different, so I always stretch the elastic around my child's waist to see what is comfortable for them.

Next you need to measure your wee one's teeny little waist and multiply that by 1.5 for a less gathered look or by 2 for a fuller look and that will determine the width of the fabric you cut. For a size 6 which is shown on my daughter, I cut the fabric 18 inches long by 36 inches wide.

Now you are going to fold the fabric in half and sew up the side seem. It is best to finish the hem so it does not unravel in the wash. There are a variety on finishing stitches, you can use your favorite on the machine you have. I tend to use a wide zig-zag for my daughters skirts.

Next you will want to iron your bottom hem before stitching. It is a simple double fold and helps to use the iron.

After you have sewn the bottom hem, take it back to the ironing board for work on the waist band. Bring your elastic with you. First I fold down the about a half inch and iron flat.

Next fold is to make the casing for your elastic. I use my elastic for a quick guide line. Remember to leave enough fabric to stitch the tube shut but leave enough room for the elastic to slide through.

Take the skirt back to the machine. You are going to stitch the tube almost completely shut.

But leave a little opening for the elastic to be threaded through the tube.

I use a safety pin to help guide the elastic through the fabric.

I also pin the tail near the opening so it does not get accidentally lost inside the tube.

When you get the elastic pulled through the tube, pin the two ends together and stitch together. Makes sure to reinforce it well.

Slip the elastic band all the way into the tube once it is securely sewn together. You will then need to sew that little opening shut.

And there you have it. Just even out the gathers and the skirt is finished. BUT-I add in one more step on mine especially when I am using a wider elastic that can tend to twist and fold inside the tube you created for it. If you are using a thin width elastic, this step is not needed.

I place my waist band on my machine and let the needle down through the elastic and fabric.

I sew through the elastic stretching the waist as tight as I can until it is flat. I work in small sections of the waist as I go. If you do not stretch the waist as you sew through the elastic, you will no longer have a stretchy waist.

Here is how it looks with the second stitching.

Thank you my Bell who has patiently modeled each new skirt I have made.