Floral Sheets

I have been hoarding floral sheets lately- mostly vintage but some just pretty. At first I was just buying them for fabric but then I've been starting to want to use them. Actually all of my bedding is "pre-owned". 

Recently I was going to look for a coffee pot at the thrift store and my hubby asked me not to because he thought it was gross to buy a used coffee pot, to which I said "you do realize that all of our bedding is used, right?" I relented though and bought a coffee pot from the store- marriage is all about compromises people. 

I had the great idea for this particularly gorgeous twin size sheet to use it to make a pillow case for my body pillow so that it can remain a beautiful part of my bedding rather than being shoved in my closet because it is ugly. 

Turned out great, don't you think?!

Emmy

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Mario Batali Costume

Saw this idea on "the Chew" about a week before Halloween and knew I had to do it. Why fight the red hair- I say work with it, plus I already had the orange Crocs, actually I didn't buy anything for this costume. It got a good laugh out of everyone and was cheap and easy- win win win!

How cute is that ponytail?

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Costume Time

It's that time again, so let's review the Halloween projects we've done in the past. First Wise-Old-Owl-Glasses- the perfect costume for someone whooo doesn't want to dress up (see what I did there?)

http://emmyinthemaking.blogspot.com/2012/11/wise-old-owl-glasses-diy.html

Next the perfect costume for any momma who thinks fake body hair on an infant is hilarious: Circus-Strong-Man

http://emmyinthemaking.blogspot.com/2012/11/strong-little-man.html

And finally a really cute and easy DIY-Raggedy-Ann

http://emmyinthemaking.blogspot.com/2011/11/i-had-fun-time-putting-together-this.html

So what's in the line-up for this year? So far I really like Clark Kent, Rooster Cogburn, or Ell-i-ot and ET as costumes for Huck. If you have any stellar ideas please share!

Emmy

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baby shower craftiness

My sister in law had a baby shower last Sunday so I made baby Gunner a few gifts for his cowboy/farm nursery.

I made him this burlap banner using a freezer paper stenciling technique. I also had a lot of fun putting together this little basket of baby things; I made a blankie that is cow print fur on one side and baby blue minky on the other side, and I found some vintage little golden books that were cowboy or farm themed. Wish I had some better pictures- Curse you, Canon! I didn't mean it, come home soon camera, I love you.

I also made this bulletin board for her a while back if you remember. Baby stuff is too fun! 

Emmy

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DIY Fabric Blinds on the Cheap

Ok, you probably noticed in my post from yesterday that I have new curtains- just nod...

Well I'm pretty proud of them, but it was hard to get a good photo of them so I hope you can see the glory from these. I got this idea from some lady named Martha Stewart, you probably haven't heard of her. 

Ok, I will tell you the secret of these curtains- there are a few so listen up:

A. You need 4 pressure rods
B. You sew a tube at the top AND bottom of the curtain compared to normally you would just need a tube at the top
C. Put a rod through the top and bottom tubes, and insert the top into your window- then you have to decide if you want them open as pictured put the bottom pressure rod in the center of the window, or if you want them closed put it at the bottom.
D. The final and most exciting (to a tight-wad like me) feature of these curtains is that I used a 25 cent garage sale table cloth to make them. Plus $2.17 per pressure rod brings this to a grand total of (hang on while I get the calculator) $8.93!


Emmy


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table re-do or re-don't???

I got these awesome old wood nursery chairs from a church rummage sale and decided it was time to get a coffee table so Huck could sit and color (eat crayons) and I have seen some fun chalkboard tables on pinterest that can act like a coffee table and a kid's activity table at the same time

like this one

I found this table the other day for $15 and the chairs were $2 each. But now I can't decide if I want to paint it or not. It looks so clean and nice now. hmmmm..... 

If I don't paint it with chalkboard paint where will Huck sit to eat chalk???

What do you think? Re-do or re-don't?

Emmy

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I made that.

I wanted to try to make some kids clothes this summer just for fun and to get better at sewing.

Yesterday I was thinking that I should make some of my rosie the riveter headbands for kids so I made Nora one and then thought "hey, I should make her a matching jumper."

She was napping while I was doing this so I based the sizing off of one of her onesies.

On the first go I sewed the back up into a skirt, but when I tried it on her is was like a baby pencil skirt- not good. Re do- and voila!

The inside is nothing but unfinished raw edges, but for my first try I'm pretty happy!

EmmyPin It

Snapshots

4th of July is over, man I love that holiday! Now we have someone new to share the love with- he was pretty fond of the 4th of July parade!

Life is a whirlwind this week- God's gentle reminders that life is unpredictable are keeping me on my toes!
Last week was a great holiday week- I didn't have any babysitting to do, and Jim took off most of the week. We didn't do much, but it was fun. Over the weekend we went to KC to see my friend, went to the zoo and a Royals game. Which is where we discovered fountains and back-flipping polar bears!

   I started watching another kid this week, so far so good. You tell him it's nap time and he goes and lays down. What's up with that? Can I clone him?

I have made 20 sales in the last 30 days on the ole Etsy shop- that is so good for me! I am loving the new wave of views, favorites, sales, etc. I don't know exactly what has made business pick up, but it makes me super-duper happy!

Looking ahead to the tentative schedule of fall craft shows is really exciting- we are very motivated at this point and the schedule reflects that- once it is finalized I will share- but this is all that is finalized for now:

Red Dirt Roadshow Springfield, MO: August 22-23
2 Friends and Junk Joplin, MO Sept 28-29
2 Friends and Junk Springfield, MO November 15-16

Speaking of crafts, I made this bulletin board for my sister in law's soon to be farm/cowboy nursery. It isn't quite done- I think the frame needs some distressing still.

My birthday is in 15 days- I will be the big 2.7.
Yowsa! I had a little kid the other day guess that I was 18- I tip my hat to you, little kid.

Well that is all I know for now, I'm going to soak up some solitude before naps are over!

Emmy


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I drank too much coffee...

Have you guys ever made cucumber water? It is so easy and amazing! I'm amazed anyway- drinking it right now, going to keep it on hand all summer!
Instructions: Slice up a cucumber and a lemon, put it in a pitcher of water in your fridge- keep adding water as you go- it really is that easy, and the flavor is really intense!

I am getting ready to launch some vintage items in our Etsy shop and I'm so excited! I actually don't want to sell them, but then again I do- it's a conundrum. You need to go check them out.

Also I'm super excited about how photographic the new color in my living room is!

Oh and I'm in LOVE with the freezer paper stenciling we did for craft night- the girls made some great things!

Well, those are the things I'm high on for now- have a great weekend!

Emmy


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Turban Headband DIY

These little turban headbands that have been all over pinterest turn out to be the easiest thing I've ever done. 

 I just took a couple old t-shirts that I was going to throw away (because they had pit-stains (whoa TMI!)) cut across the middle about a 3 in section, twist it in the center twice into a figure 8, then put on. That probably didn't make sense, but just get started and you'll understand what I'm saying.

Looks way better on Nora than on me, but, she's pretty cute so I'll let it go.

Try it, you'll like it!
Emmy


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Dress Re-fashion

 I got this dress at a garage sale a few weeks ago. I thought it was really cute, but when I got home I saw it was a little girl's size and when I tried it on I saw that it was really tight on the chest and flattened my boobs, and I could barely breathe. So I either wanted to make it into an apron or a skirt.

As you can see I decided skirt. All that had to be done was to cut off the top and sew under the waistband. I cut off the zipper and reattached it at the top, but didn't put any stoppers at the top so when I zipped it up the zipper came right off. So in the end we (my sister was over helping me) had to put in a new zipper.

I love the result! The design was already so cute, it just needed a little tweaking for me.

What do you think?

Emmy



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Apron Curtains

My recently thrifted vintage aprons make adorable curtains, don't you think? Originally I was going to sew loops on and put them on a rod, but for now they are just pressed in with thumb tacks (I will never add loops and a rod, let's just be honest).

I think I need to search for another sheer apron. I'm still considering adding 2 more aprons at the top of the window as well. 

What do you think?

Emmy

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Date Night Outfit

Last night the hubbs and I took advantage of $5 movie night at our local theater, and my dear friend who loves to babysit, and had a date night- which meant I got to dress up which rarely happens for me these days.

It has been really fun for me lately to thrift for clothes with an open mind as to what a garment could look like with a little tweaking. I have done a little "tweaking" lately and I finally got a photo taken! 

Now all I did was hem this skirt up a bit, but that was all it took to take it from this old lady ensemble into an on-trend look. Floral skirts are great for spring AND it has pockets, yay! 

Skirt, belt, necklace- garage sale, shirt- JCPenney, Shoes- F21Pin It

Product Photography

Have you ever noticed that most products that make it to the front page of Etsy are nice clean, bright, white background photos? Go ahead check it out right now, I bet I'm right.

I don't have any nice blank walls at my house and I have poor lighting, but I wanted a way to get that effect with my photos. 

If you are a professional, just stop reading this right now- this is from one amateur to the next. 

Go out and buy a poster board- like $0.97. Use the matte side of it and get near some natural light.

 Take a few photos, play with your angles. It's ok if some of your other background gets in the photo.

 It is all about the cropping. I generally do an auto adjust on my photo editor to fix lighting and color, etc. If I like it after that I leave it along, but often I increase the brightness a little because I like that look.

As I said- totally not a professional, but I think this has helped the look of my shop, so i wanted to share.

Want to see some pictures I used to post on my shop??

They just don't look as nice. Plus when you put a lot of photos together on one screen in your shop- if they all have different backgrounds it looks very messy and cluttered.

Ok, that's my advice for the day!

Emmy


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Song Lyric Valentine... sealed with a kiss

 

 

Simple and sweet, I simply stamped these song lyrics onto a piece of cardstock, donned my red lipstick and topped her off with a big kiss.

Hopefully Jim doesn't look at my blog before V-day- he's a sweetie and does that sometimes.

What are the odds my lip-print would come out right on the first try?? Its kismet!

EmmyPin It

Peter-Pan Collar Onesies

This is my beautiful model Nora. She is modeling some onesies I made featuring peter pan collars. 

So cute for any season! 

To make all you need is a onesie, some fabric, and a sewing machine, or you could sew them on by hand. Some iron on adhesive would make it easier, but I did these without it and you can too! I made a pattern with a little trial and error. Getting the right size curve to make it hug the neckline is really the hardest part. Try it, you'll like it!

Emmy

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