Creative Quick Fix

Everything I ever plan to do gets put on my "to do" list.

The bad news, I have a long list.

The good news, "make necklaces" is right up 

there next to "call insurance on surgery bill".  

Sometimes crossing something off my list

 involves a little guilt free fun.

I've been collecting vintage clip earrings with the hopes of making necklaces.

 I finally found the perfect chains.

A quiet hour in my day and a little creative energy

 was all the motivation I needed.

Cross that item off my to do list!

Win One of my Laundry Day Aprons

Click on over to Cathy's adorable blog Cap Creations, 

and enter to win one of my child's laundry day aprons.

Giveaway Link.

I first met Kathy through her Thrifty Love link party and have joined in to celebrate her reaching 1,000 followers.  She is hosting a week of giveaways with multiple entries available on each item. 

 Cathy also has an adorable Etsy shop featuring hand stamped custom

 jewelry and vintage lovelies. 

Speaking of shops, I also gave Cathy a 10% off coupon code for my

  Etsy shop to share with her readers.  So, check it out!

A Little Crafting Time-Short but Sweet

With Summer in full swing, it's hard to know when I will get a few minutes at the sewing machine.  Each week we seem to have a different schedule of camps and activities and I'm busy making sandwiches, grabbing drinks for the kids and hanging their towels to dry!  It is a welcome change from the school year, but fast and furious.  I managed to squeeze in a little crafting time this week and make a few of my vintage inspired wine bottle wraps.  I took a few liberties on my choice of "vintage" fabric.  I couldn't resist this bright floral fabric for Summer.  Then again, it might be fun to hunt down some vintage 

Laura Ashley or Lilly Pulitzer fabric and make a few more......

Vintage Inspired Paperboy Apron

I got a little distracted pulling my giveaway together and never got a chance to show off my newest vintage inspired apron for kids.  My son will tell you that girls get all the "fun stuff" when it comes to role play and dress-up clothes, so I was determined to add a boy's apron to my etsy shop.  A vintage inspired paperboy apron seemed like a good place to start.  My favorite part was searching for an old font style and selecting a newspaper name that would lay evenly across the two pockets.

Boys always need big, deep pockets to stash all their stuff and this fits the bill.  

My son has given it two thumbs up!

Vintage Inspired Child's Apron ~It's Laundry Time!

       I have been working on the design for a new vintage inspired child's apron for my etsy shop and have had so much fun with this one.  A huge fan of the embroidered bluebird motifs used on linens in the 1930's and 40's, I have always wanted to work a pair of adorable bluebirds into one of my aprons.  I have also wanted to expand beyond cooking themed aprons and pay tribute to the washday aprons of the past.  After all, the original inspiration for my aprons was a 1930's clothespin apron.  What better way to pay tribute to this traditional style than with a washday apron for today's aspiring housekeeper.  And, if it inspires my little princess to help with the laundry-all the better!

Just a little more work on fabric choices and then my happy pie and cupcakes apron will have a new companion in my etsy shop!

Do you have any fun projects you are working on?

Vintage Bib Makeover

When I'm searching for vintage linens, I seem to be drawn to unique and whimsical children's pieces. It's hard to resist a cute bib or crib quilt, even though my youngest is 5 and "too big", as she says, for any of those things. Still, I couldn't resist this pair of cat bibs.

After enjoying them for many months just hanging in my closet, I knew it was time to find a place for them around the house. I couldn't bear to cut into them, but realized they already had a backing and could be made into pillows (hopefully for my bed since the kids were "too big" for such cuteness). All I needed to do was snip off the neck ties and cut a small opening for stuffing. My big girl enjoyed the stuffing part.

And we were done....... A simple no sew project and 2 adorable pillows. Turns out my daughter isn't "too big" for adorable cat pillows and she has swiped them for her bed!

Luckily, I used the pillows as inspiration for a new item in my etsy shop and now I have my own "vintage inspired" kittie pillows to keep me company.

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