A Mini DIY Roundup

D. and I decided to flee from the path of Hurricane Irene so we've spent the past few days up with his parents in safe central New York. I was planning a much more interesting post for today, but I left my camera at home! So instead I will share some links to two very cute DIYs.

Rick rack roses, would be cute added onto shoes, or jewelry.

Wrap bracelets in every color!

Christmas in...August?

That's right, I've been Christmas crafting away these past few days in the middle of summer! Normally this is something I would never do, but I foresee a very busy few months fast approaching and I decided it would be a good idea to get a jump start on making Christmas presents. For my sister and her family I am making vintage-inspired Christmas stockings, influenced by the one my grandma made for my mom when she was a little girl (and she still uses every year!) Now I don't have pictures of the mentioned stocking, but trust me it's really cute, with her name spelled out with shimmering star sequins and adorned with felt appliques. 

First step in stocking making: gather inspiration for handmade appliques. I went perusing through etsy and found this cute pattern (notice that the top left corner of the pattern says "Not suitable for chubby girls"). If I had a little girl, I would buy this pattern, learn how to sew and make her this romper. But as I do not have a girl, I made the snowman applique instead.

I added some silver cording to his hat and glove, I affixed it with Fabri-Tac and kept the edges from fraying with Fray Check. I highly recommend both products, Fabri-Tac is the only glue I have found that  will actually work with felt and Fray Check really does keep frays in check.

Next up this pattern featuring Santie Claus and Christmas bells.

I love the Colonel Sanders-esque mustache.

I thought the original appliques from the pattern were a little too stream-lined 1960's, and we're going for sparkling goodness here, so I added some beads, sequins, metallic pom poms and gold trim to the mix.

And finally there are the wreath and the candle appliques. I want to add a halo of gold sequins around the candle, just for some extra oomph! Now that the appliques are done, I just need to find some plain red flannel or felt stockings and some sequin stars. I am quite excited by this little project, but boy is it time consuming!

More Decal Fun!

I've been having fun with the decals from my mom...

These can all be found in my shop and are part of my Vintage Floral collection. I'm sort of impressed that I did an etsy update; a New Year's resolution that I'm following through with.

What's Cookin'?

The other day, I was incredibly bored at work so I began perusing through the cooking magazines that we have for sale. I came across an interesting looking recipe for chicken salad sandwiches (which I modified a teeny bit). Perhaps you are taken aback that it was a recipe for chicken salad since I am a pescatarian after all. Well I haven't fallen off of the bandwagon completely, but I do have my reasons (and a very good one at that).  

Rio De Janeiro Chicken Salad

Shredded Chicken

Plain Yogurt

Minced Yellow Onion

Minced Celery

Lime Juice

Salt and Pepper

Mix all of this in a bowl.

In another bowl add:

Shredded Carrots

Cilantro

a little bit of Olive Oil

Lime Juice

Salt and Pepper

Toast two pieces of whole grain bread, put on a piece of lettuce, chicken salad, and carrot relish. Enjoy!

My Etsy Treasury

So you know those treasuries that are always on the home page of Etsy? Well I made my very first one today in honor of all of my Oregon memories. If you would like to look at my treasury up close, click here. In August, my sisters and I are all going out to Oregon to visit our dear grandparents and I cannot wait!

 When I was younger, my family lived in Oregon but after we moved away I would still go back for the summers. I love my grandparents so much and am really looking forward to seeing them. If you are curious as to each specific memory that the Etsy item represents, just ask...

Latest Project

A year ago my mom sent me tons and tons of vintage Meyercord decals, housewives used to adorn everything from their kitchen cabinets to cotton ball jars with these once inexpensive decals. I've been busy myself with them...

(See what I had for lunch? It was a Veggie Delight sub with extra, extra jalapenos.)

The final product, and here it is in my shop if you would like to take a look.

Me and my Honey

D. and I are pretty bad about taking pictures, but a few weeks ago some pals of ours from Maryland came up to visit us and on our walk to get coffee and play Settlers of Catan, we stopped at took some pictures at an old church. 

This picture makes me smile. :)

Photo by Jim Baker Photography.