My new love: my scarflette

What's a scarflette you ask? 

Yeah, it's just some word I made up. 

Kinda cheesey. I know.

But I love my little scarflette, which is, as you guessed, a shorter, sassier version of the plain old scarf. One that just crosses around your neck. You really need some sort of closure for this.... I didn't add one myself, but might go back and add velcro. For now, I just pin it from underneath, which is fine, because it is so cute and cozy that I typically want to leave it there all day.

Ir's still comforting and warm, but not as bulky as a long scarf. Don't get me wrong, I love long scarves, too. But I thought this could be a nice change of pace. 

I had some fun making this little fabric flower. Every time I make a fabric flower, I hear Michael Kors complaining about things looking like craft projects on Project Runway. But whatever, I'm not on Project Runway, I'm not trying to make Fashion, and this is indeed a craft project. So fabric flowers it is. Mine is made of fabric and felt scraps and is stitched in place.

I have had this splattery-grey, mensware-looking fabric in my stash for more than a year. I picked it up at Arts and Scraps. I don't know what kind of fabric it is, but it had a bit of stretch in it. Then I picked up the old-man, red-and-black plaid flannel from the remnant bin at Jo-Ann's. I got home and decided they were destined to go together.

Altogether the fabric for this little project probably cost me about three bucks, at most. Yay. Love that.

We had a really glorious early October, with many days in the 70s. Well, those days are gone. Now, it's blustery, gray and chilly.

Why yes.... it's scarflette weather. 

I'm going to enter this in the Stitched in Color, Celebrate Color contest. Fun times!

Also linked up at....
 

One of those, "Please vote for me!" posts!

 I entered my Fall Felt Rosette Wreath into the Celebrate Color contest on the wonderful blog Stitched in Color. It was sort of on a whim. I didn't expect much. But gah! I'm a finalist!

Now there are five finalists, and the ultimate winner is decided through a public vote. Which means... will you vote for me? I'd be so delighted. You can do that right here. My wreath is in the first category, home decor. And you don't have to join anything or even leave a comment. Just click the button by my wreath and hit vote.

It's open until midnight tonight. So excited! The winners gets an AWESOME stack of 21 fat quarter solids. I would die. Die! 

Aisle 3 Giveaway winner!

Thanks to all who entered the 100 followers giveaway! We have a winner for this cute prize....

I used random.org to pull up a number, and it picked....

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 11 
(This was really 1-15, I don't know why it says 100!)

And No. 11 was  NISHBA!

Nishba said...

I like the dangly earrings... they're so dang fun! :)

August 18, 2011 9:47 AM  

So that's cool because No. 11 is my favorite number. Fitting that it was picked for my first giveaway!

Congrats Nishba! Email me your address at tharshesews@gmail.com and I'll drop your pretty prize in the mail!

Spending money I don't have at DIYpsi -- and a giveaway!

BootsNGus

My Marigold

Sparrownests

I spent part of my Saturday afternoon in Ypsilanti supporting the local handmade community at the DIYpsi indie craft show. I just love these craft shows. There's always something on almost every table that I want to take home. I walk in with the best intentions to buy just one thing, and gah, I walk out with a bunch of cute, locally made items that I apparently can not live without. It happens every time. Maybe it's time to call it what it is -- an addiction.

Let's see what caught my fancy this time.

Aisle 3 Etsy shop

I loved everything on the Aisle 3 table. It was all upcycled goodies made from vintage buttons, curtains, neckties, linens, etc. The artist was very sweet, and is from my almost-home-town, Flint. And I just learned on her blog that her son's name is Milo, which was my favorite name -- alas, not my husband's -- this last pregnancy. JEALOUS!
I guess we have similar taste, because I wound up buying this cute guy....

And when I selected it, she picked up her own identical pouch. It's the one she carries herself.  I feel extra cool now. The pouch is simple in design, but I love the vintage-ness of it and the cheeky animal-cut-into-portions print. The lining is lovely, too. It has a nice sheen. I think I'll use the pouch to carry my essential makeup, since I usually put it on in the car. I'm sick of carting my big travel carrying case around! This size is perfect for my lip-gloss, eye concealer, tweezers and mascara.

I also like her cute tag:

It's the little things, right?

What else?

Etsy shop: cefische.etsy.com

Also loved all of this jewelry. The artist, Courtney, was so sweet and we figured out we live like less than a mile away from one another. She does "vintage inspired jewelry with a natural element." I could see myself wearing almost any of these. What did I pick?

These dangly earrings! Love them. Have worn them twice already.

 Web: amepix.net

I was also quite delighted by these magnet sets.I wound up buying an ABC's in sign language set.

These are cool, don't you think? Now I just need to brush up on my sign langeuge skills, so I can use em correctly. 

I brought many cards home with me. If you're looking for something unique, creative and handmade, here are a few other Michigan-based people to check out.

sparrownests.com

sloeginfizz.etsy.com

bootsngus.etsy.com

miodiocollection.com

tumbledown.etsy.com

chubbylove.etsy.com

bettula.etsy.com

sparklepants.etsy.com

sandwichseat.com

lovenicolet.etsy.com

So, to celebrate my recent milestone of hitting 100 followers, I did a little shopping at the DIY fair for one of you. Tough decisions. I hope you like what I nabbed.

A fun vintage sewing-pattern coaster AND another one of those cute pouches by Aisle 3! (Yup, I bought two, one for me, one for you.) One winner will get both of these prizes. Here's the rules:

-- Leave a comment on this post before noon on Friday, Aug. 19. Tell me what item you saw in this post that you think you'd have wanted to buy.
-- I will use random.org to select one winner. Must be a US shipping address -- sorry!
-- Make sure your address is linked with your account, or leave it in the comment.
-- If you're a follower, you get an extra entry. Just leave a comment telling me how you follow and if you're a new follower. Thanks!

Yes, I entered the Prudent Baby embroidery contest

And I'm so glad I did!

Not because I think I'm gonna win or anything like that. This is my first attempt at hand embroidery. No, I'm so glad I entered because I had a ball learning something new. I'm a geek like that. And even better, I just adore my finished project. Here's a sneak peak.

But first, the details: The contest was to "Use Your Words" and embroider a fabric object of your choosing with whatever words you like. The winner -- based on style, originality, workmanship and presentation -- gets a Brother Embroidery and Sewing Machine. My heart goes pitter-patter thinking about it.

So I busted out my embroidery floss, for basically the first time. I knew nothing of hand-embroidery. I nearly gave up several times because I couldn't even thread the damn needle. Have you ever tried to cram six strings of embroidery floss through a regular needle? Yes, I'm that idiot. I even joked about this on the Prudent Baby Facebook page, and one of the girls responded something along the lines of, "Oh haha, don't you just love needle threaders?" And I was like waaaah? Needle threader?!? Who knew such a tiny, nearly invisible little thing even existed -- and could be so damn useful? Why does no one tell me these things!

A trip to JoAnn's, and that stupid threader was mine. And once I got my damn thread through the eye of the needle, it was on. A few nights hunkered on the couch with my floss turned into this:

Here's another nice close-up of the embroidered words.

If you're not familiar, that phrase is the chorus of the Bob Marley song, "Three Little Birds," which is the theme of Jack's nursery. I love the message of that song for a baby, even if it is probably really a drug-induced one. I really don't want him to worry about a thing! 

 In the song, the birds are "...on my doorstep, singing sweet songs, a melody pure and true. Singing, this is our message for you-ooou-ooou." Hence the big brown felt door. I sewed it on with a decorative stitch.

I love the birdies. They're simply ironed on with Heat N' Bond. I bought the no-sew kind mistakenly, so I didn't add any stitching to them. I just hand-embroidered on their skinny little legs.

The festive flag banner is a nod to the Ikea curtains in his room. Also ironed on, and then the string was hand-embroidered. See how non-worried this pillow makes my sweet guy? Success!

 The back is an envelope closure back done in the same red-and-white polka dot fabric found in the flag banner. The buttons as eyes are hand-sewn on. I know they're a baby hazard, but they're cute, right? Worth it!

The pillow will live here in this chair. Our nursing-rocking-reading spot. Seeing the pillow there, it makes me so so happy. I really wanted Jack's room to have that personal made-by-mama touch, and I'm all at peace now. Cause it does, and I love it. 

It would be awesome to win, of course. But I am really excited to have this new skill up my sleeve. I'm thinking about enrolling in the Wild Olive embroidery class. I'm just itching to learn more.

So, do you love? If you also entered the contest, drop me a link to your project (assuming you blogged about it). I'd love to see!

Linked up at...