Adorable Little Skirts

I made some adorable skirts last night.  The plan was to make one for each of my daughters but a yard of the fabric didn't cut it.... so instead I made one for baby girl #2 and her little friend.  Even though her friend is 7 months older they are about the same size so it was easy!  I found this adorable lightweight corduroy fabric on clearance at JoAnn's and had the jumbo ric rac in my stash:

I used a really basic tutorial found online (there are so many great skirt tutorials out there!!!) and adapted it a little bit to how I sew... not very straight.  :)  I love the detail the ric rac gives it - just a little something extra, ya know?

And of COURSE, big sister was jealous so I went back and got enough material to make her and her friend one too!  Gotta love it!

New Valentine Decorations

I did some major crafting last year for Valentine's Day so this year I decided to scale it back a bit.  I did make a couple of new items though and thought I'd share them here.

Kraft letters with Mod Podged scrapbook paper and craft paint:

These cuties look great on my mantle - a couple of things I think I'd do differently next time though - #1.  pick brighter papers.  The rest of my mantle has bright red and these are a bit muted in color in comparison.  #2.  NO GLITTERED PAPERS!  Duh?!  The "O" and "E" have the cutest paper - it's a pale pink with a bronze glitter polka dot pattern but seriously - right up until I was going to brush on the Mod Podge did I realize that the glitter was just going to smear everywhere.... and it totally did.  Oops!  They still look great from far away though!

My second craft was making a Valentine's wreath for my front door.

I LOVE how this turned out - I tried to use yarn I already had on hand but it ended up a bit too mismatched for me (ivory, red/marroon and pink) so I got rid of the red and purchased some more candy pink.  I LOVE the shabby flowers and mother of pearl buttons on here!!!

Have You Heard of Stitch Fix?

So... awhile back while looking at some blogs I came across one that mentioned something called Stitch Fix - I was intrigued!  The blogger talked about getting her 'Fix' and how excited she was and I had to learn more about it.  So, I went to their website: https://www.stitchfix.com/ and requested an invite.  I would say it took a couple of weeks and then I received an email saying I could get started and sign up for my first 'Fix'.  

Once you've been 'accepted' into the program (and I use that term loosely - it's like a lot of the flash sale sights where you ask for an invite first) you go back to their website and create your style profile.  In this profile you give your basics - height, weight, what sizes in clothing you normally wear.  Then you get more specific: how you like your clothes to fit (loose/form fitting/tight) and what your style preferences are (classic/bohemian chic/glamorous/romantic/etc.).  Then you say how much you'd prefer to spend on pieces of clothing/accessories and you can also classify what type of articles of clothes/jewelry/accessories you'd like included in your 'Fix'.  
(I basically said 'all of it'!)

Then you sign up for your 'Fix'.... they give you dates on a calendar and you pick one and they say they'll send it to you the week of that fix.  You also pay $20.  Now the good thing is that $20 is a credit towards what you buy in that 'Fix'!!!!  (I'm assuming some of that goes towards shipping too.)  

SO - then you wait!  And wait and try to be patient but then you email the company because you really want your 'Fix' and then of course that same day your box arrives.  (oops!)  

Anyhow - it was SO fun to open the box and see all the goodies inside!  Here's what I received:

Item #1: BB Dakota Kitty Sleeveless Cable Print Tank

It looks just like a cabled sweater but it's a gorgeous silky-like material!

Each article comes with a description and a couple different ideas for how to wear it - LOVE THIS!

and with that description - PICTURES!  (this is exactly like having your own stylist come right to your house!!!)

Item #2:  Angie Moni Stud Detail Woven Top - this is the one that I was immediately drawn to - the sheerness, the stud detail, the adorable feather print.... Mommy Likey!  But - was it too much like other items in my closet AND practical with two small children?  Those are the big questions!

Here's an extra peek at the cute stud detail and neckline

Another look at the outfit suggestions for this shirt - LOVE these!

Item #3 is by Honey Punch - Canberra Plaid & Sheer Sleeve Blouse.  This one was intriguing.... I'm a sucker for gingham and the sheer sleeves definitely create a wow but I just had awful thoughts of snagging one of the sleeves on a piece of jewelry or getting baby food spilled on it.  :(  Also - hard to tell but the color is more of a chambray blue, not a grey like my picture wants to show.

this picture does it a little more justice

Item #4:  Miilla Saxon Jacket - how rocker chick is this?  TOTALLY not something I would ever pick to try on myself - seems way too 'tough and confident' for me but I really loved how it looked on!!

How cute do these outfits look?!

The last item in my 'Fix' was this pretty necklace - I think all four of those delicate little circles are supposed to line up but it was super tangled when I received it and I didn't want to risk breaking it by attempting to untangle.  :(  This necklace is By Philippe and is called the Mini Circle Quartet Necklace.  

So that was my 'Fix' this time around!  The deal is that if you order everything from your 'Fix' you get a 25% discount - awesome!  All together everything in my box was around $300 - that's probably a bit on the high side for me (especially at Christmas and considering it was all for me!)  but with the $20 credit from ordering my 'Fix' in the first place and the 25% off everything - I could have gotten everything for $200!  That's pretty amazing!  

For me - I looked at these items in the following way:
#1.  what would add to my closet/wardrobe the best
#2.  what would I most likely wear the most
#3.  what works best with my lifestyle (stay at home Mom who likes being stylish but let's face it - is home most of the time)
#4.  price

I ended up only purchasing/keeping one item from my 'Fix'.  The price was great - with my $20 credit and then a referral credit of $25 that I'd gotten when a friend signed up I got the item for a crazy low price.  I loved the funky jacket but it was a bit expensive and I wasn't sure how much I would be wearing it.  The cable knit tank was also at the top of my list but I wasn't sure how much I'd really wear it either....  so I picked:

the feather print top!!!!!

I am SUPER excited to wear this shirt - I see it with black leggings, I see it with skinny jeans and I DEFINITELY see it with a black pencil skirt for church tonight!  :)  A great Christmas Eve outfit if you ask me!

So what do I do with the items I didn't keep?

Stitch Fix actually sends a pre-addressed, pre-paid USPS Mailer along with your 'Fix' so anything that you don't keep - you just pop in the mailer and drop it at any post office or blue mail bin!  How stinkin easy is that?!  SUPER EASY!!!!

So what did I think overall of Stitch Fix?

AWESOME - what a cool 'gift' to yourself!  For a Mom with small children - shopping at the mall is not an option most of the time.  And I love fashion but never really feel like I know how to put outfits together well - it really felt like a stylist actually picked out items and put together outfits for me (thanks to the awesome picture cards that go with each item). 

Now I do think that I'll probably wait awhile to get my next 'Fix' - I just can't afford to get something like this all the time but every few months?  Heck yes!  Sign me up for March please!  :)

I will be going back in to my style profile and tweaking things a bit.  I really don't need jewelry so I'm going to opt out receiving any in future fixes.  

If you'd like to sign up to check it out for yourself - click on this link:

http://stitchfix.com/sign_up?referrer_id=3033524

Tell them Amy sent you.  :)

Insulated Cup Liner with Fabric & Mod Podge

Hey y'all!  I've got a NEW tutorial to share!  I think it's pretty fun and hopefully you will too.

Have you seen one of these snazzy cups yet?  I LOVE mine and use it all the time.  It's a double-walled insulated Starbucks cup.  This is the larger sized one and I've had it now for probably a year or so?  Originally they didn't come apart so this tutorial would've never happened if Starbucks hadn't revamped the cup.... now you can unscrew the inner 'wall' of the cup from the outer 'wall' of the cup making it easier to clean - and now DECORATE!  Why not add some pizazz to your drinking cup, right?

So here's the deal - awhile back a friend posted a ridiculously awesome Washington State Cougars cup on Facebook and I quickly cried and begged for her to get me one too.  Well, she was nice enough to do so and it arrived all gorgeous and shiney and glittery and I loved it BUT - the snazzy, glittery Cougar part was just plain paper printed with a WSU logo and some glued on glitter.  :(  It didn't last long before it got wet when I was cleaning it and that's when this idea was born:

MAKE ONE OUT OF FABRIC!
(Isn't this Coug fabric the best?!)

Here is how you TOO can make your own SNAZZIFIED Starbucks insulated cup!

What you need:

fabric of your choice

Mod Podge (I just used the standard Matte version), brush/sponge applicator, 

a thin piece of cardboard and this template:  

http://wikisend.com/download/758526/Starbucks Cup Liner Template.pdf

And of course your Starbucks cup*

(and some waxed paper wouldn't hurt either)

Ok - cup out your template then pin it to your fabric

sometimes ironing your fabric first helps but you'll see - not totally necessary (I was lazy)

then use your template to cut out the lining backing.... 

I used a cereal box but any 'thin cardboard' like this will do

the finished product!

Now get painting with the mod podge!  (Here is where the waxed paper comes in - I put it underneath the cardboard to save my crafting table from excess Mod Podge.)  I'd recommend using a sponge applicator rather than these brushes.  These brushes are not as durable as I give them credit for.  You'll see later - bristles begin coming off and you'll soon have numerous pieces of the brush that just couldn't bear parting from the project.  Annoying.

Anyhow - once you're all done painting shift it around a little so it doesn't stick to your waxed paper

Now lay your fabric carefully over the cardboard that you just finished painting with Mod Podge.  Try and smooth out any air bubbles if you can.

Then ask your 3 year old to help you paint on some MORE Mod Podge on top of the fabric!  As you probably know, Mod Podge dries clear so you don't have to be particular about brush strokes, etc.  (This is why it's ok to let your little one 'help' - this project is super hard to mess up!)

If you look REALLY closely you can see all those random brush bristles that are permanently adhered to my liner.  Grrr.....

All dry!  It'll curl up at the edges a bit but it's not a worry.... you'll need to curl it back in on itself to insert it into the cup and create the liner.  You might need to trim some edges/corners to get it to fit well but your inner 'wall' should fit in nicely and the cup should screw together perfectly!  

(Remember - a thin cardboard is important here!!!)

The finished product!

Full of Christmas cheer and ready to hold all sorts of ice cold beverages 

(and keep them cold ALL DAY!)  ;)

*Disclaimer - I have not tried this project using any other cup than my Starbucks insulated cup.  Please let me know if you have success with any others!  

Here's a look at couple other fabric designs I've made liners with:

Another cool addition are these snazzy straws!  I picked up a set at our local Target Starbucks early in November - so cute!

sparkly red, candy cane stripe and evergreen green  :)

Camera Strap Covers

I recently compiled some pics of fabrics I have that could be used to make camera strap covers.  I picked up some new colors recently - pinks & purples.... pretty gorgeous!

Any interest in getting a camera strap cover in any of these fabric combinations?  Contact me!!!!