Giving etsy a try

Have you ever been to etsy.com???  If you love unique, vintage, or handmade items, I suggest you take a peak now.  I apologize in advance if I start any time-consuming or money-burning addictions.

I have wanted to attempt selling items through this type of website for quite some time now.
So, this is a bit of a test "go" for etsy.

Wish me luck???  Here's what I'm selling:

Just a fun little baby/child size blanket created from remnants I grabbed at Hobby Lobby.  It is fun and funky.  The Oh So Sweet pink Minky fabric backing makes this little blanket cozy and warm.

If you are curious...here is the listing :)

http://www.etsy.com/listing/82201635/cozy-baby-blanket-fun-bright-color?ref=sr_gallery_1&ga_search_submit=&ga_ref=auto&ga_search_query=baby+blanket&ga_order=date_desc&ga_ship_to=ZZ&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade

Let's see how this goes!!!

Margo's Room

I made this blanket to incorporate more
of the elephant fabric into the bedding set.

My sister is about to POP!  Margo Elizabeth has been growing in the Belly for 37 weeks and Leanne is READY for her arrival.

This lovely sister of mine has a degree in Interior Design.  She has a wonderful eye for color combinations and organizational design.  Can you imagine how adorable Margo's nursery is???  Well, you don't have to imagine for long!  Most of this post will be showing off my sister's talents.  However, there are a few of my own pieces included as gifts for my sister and my sweet little niece.

The first fabric Margo's mommy chose was this precious elephant print.  One swatch was mostly pink, while another swatch was blue and brown.  I'll give you one chance to guess how she made the final decision on this pink. :)

Margo's elephant :)

I also told Leanne I would make her an elephant themed...well...something... to use as artwork but might also be able to be used elsewhere as Margo grows.  The end result was this soft, cushiony elephant that now hangs over Margo's changing table.  I have never cut a piece of thick foam into such a specific shape before this elephant came along.

To make this little elephant lady, I drew and elephant outline onto a piece of newspaper to use as a pattern.  It really worked out nicely, and I became proud of actually being able to draw an elephant just from look at the fabric.  *I will never claim to have a talent for drawing.  NEVER*

Then, I just sewed her together, adding a border to give her some depth.  I attached the ear using fusible web.  It is very cheap and very easy to use if you ever want to do an applique.  She may not be perfect, but I was very happy with how cute she turned out to be.  :)

Now, explore Margo's room.  I hope you all appreciate Leanne's wonderful talent, put to use with MUCH love for this little blessing of a girl who will be joining us very VERY soon.

I really love this shelf unit Leanne found at IKEA.  It's very cute and very functional.  As for the "MARGO" letters, she and I spent about 30 minutes in Hobby Lobby putting together multiple combinations of their selection of paintable letters.  The awesome pink and white clock was also a Hobby Lobby find.
The green pillow with the brown elephant is one of Leanne's custom creations.

Margo's elephant in her new home.
Leanne covered an old table we've had forever to use for the changing station area.

This is Margo's cozy little bed.
Leanne made the bumpers, the bag that ties onto the front of the bed, and the awesome elephant pillow.  

I think her bed corner is so adorable.  Leanne made the curtains AND the awesome mobile you see hanging from the ceiling.  She talked about the mobile idea so much.  I knew it would be cute, but goodness, the finished product is so beautiful.  I wish I had a closer picture of it.  She is definitely one talented little pregnant woman. :)

I hope you enjoyed your tour through Margo's room!  I just decided today that I am going to make a wreath for her birthing room.  We'll transfer it to her bedroom door when she comes home.  I'll put up pictures once I get it finished.  I just can't wait to meet her!!!  She most definitely has a wonderful place to come home to.

Start a book club. :) OR follow along with ours.

I have a little something extra to share with you today.  I am in a book club!  It's my first book club and I absolutely LOVE it.  I really started to love reading good books during my college years.  I'm not sure why I hadn't found a love for books until then, but I have gotten to where I want to be involved in a book at all times.  I will admit that there are times when I'm reading nothing....then when I start something new, all I can think is "Why haven't I been reading something DAILY?!?!  I would scratch so many more books off of my wish list!" *Which is honestly a list I mostly keep in my head...I should really write some down...*

One thing I love about our book club is the group of women it is made up of.  We are all young, intelligent women with common bonds, but also diverse interests.  Any time you become part of a group, it is so neat to figure out the strengths each individual brings.  Besides this, we have food with our book discussions!  Most of us are bonded together through a background in Family and Consumer Sciences or Nutrition, so of course food is an important part of our gatherings.  We draw inspiration from our books and each contribute something to the meal.  It is FABULOUS!  

We have read 2 books:

 Yes.  The Help.  Have you seen it everywhere yet?  You know why?  Because IT IS WONDERFUL.  This was our first book club read and I absolutely did not want to put it down.  It will make you laugh out loud and a few minutes later, your heart is broken and tears are rolling down your face.  

I have since seen the movie, which is also great.  So, read the book.  See the movie.  In whichever order you choose.  Just do it.  You will thank me.

The Paris Wife.  This was a suggestion from the lovely lady who started our dear book club, Amber Bobo.  I'm not sure I would have picked this up at the bookstore to read on my own, but it was also very good.  It takes you through the relationship between Ernest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley.  *Again, not something I would have picked*  However, I was pleasantly surprised.  You get wrapped up in their relationship from Haldey's point of view and then experience extreme frustration at times, when Ernest is the Hemingway people often think of.  I might just read some Hemingway after this one....maybe.

Our next book is Murder on the Orient Express.  I've always wanted to read this, but never quite got there.  So, I was excited when others in our group were keen on the suggestion.  

So, there's a small peak into our book club.  I'd like to encourage you to check out my friend Amber's blog -   http://amberbobo.com/ 

She is a wonderful cook and I always enjoy here blog posts and recipes.  She also has a section devoted to our book club, if you would like to see pictures of our yummy food and fun meetings.

This makes me want to post about my own favorite blogs to follow...maybe in the near future.  

Now, go grab a book and get to reading!

Project Brycen is coming along!

Remember that really great stack of fabrics I was so excited about a few weeks ago??  Well, some of those fabrics have morphed into precious things for Brycen's room!

My favorite end product in this set is the blanket.  It's somewhat of a re-creation of a blanket made from actual bandanas.  We chose to use our own custom material, and I must say, it turned out SO great.  It was truly one of those things that you KNOW is well thought out before you start working...then, as it comes to being it's even better than you imagined!

The other pieces I've completed for project Brycen are curtains (from the blue material), bedskirt (from the red material), and a hamper bag (from the yellow material).  I must say that I am very proud of the hamper bag.  Brycen's mommy brought me the original bag that fits into the hamper and I got to figure out how to "make it work" (I hope some of you are Project Runway fans).  All of these pieces will have to be photographed in the room when it is all set up, otherwise they don't make a lot of sense.  So, watch for them in the near future!  

For now, I HAVE to finish up the bumpers.  I have almost everything cut out and ready to piece together...now it's time to SEW!