Flip Flop Refashion

A little late in the season to be finally showing this off, I know..... but it's just so COOL!!! (if I do say so myself!)

I can't take the credit for this great idea, I found it here at Make it and Love it

Basically, you start with a plain old pair of flip-flops, and pretty them up! For full information on how to make them, I recommend you to visit Ashley's tutorial, since she did such a great job!

Velcro is one of the greatest inventions in the whole world! It's the oh-so-important behind-the-scenes player in this refashion!

I bought some ribbon that really caught my eye at the local Wal-Mart (blue with polka-dots and the damask-ish brown one). The fabrics came from my stash, as well as the pink and green ribbons. I'm not so sure about the pink and green set, I haven't even worn them yet, but I'm sure I'll find just the right outfit to wear them with!

I'm sure by the beginning of next summer, I'll have a MILLION more options. Maybe one for each day? :)

Etsy Finds

I just made a purchase from a great new Etsy shop I found called Simple Serendipity. (Don't tell my husband, he thinks I already have enough jewelry!)

I came across Sara's shop through a giveaway. I swear, all I was doing was trying to win a gift certificate!!! All I had to do was look through the shop, pick my favourite and put it in the comments section of the blog holding the giveaway. But then I got browsing around.... and found that everything is absolutely stunning, AND.... all UNDER $5!!!! Now how does anyone expect me to resist that! So.... I bought these beauties:

Simple Groovy Black earrings

Simple Chunky Red bracelet

I know, I know, they're both black and rather subdued, but surprisingly, I need some black in my jewelry box! I have a lot of turqoise, purple, browns, etc, but running low on black (and red). So, that's what I found.

What will you find? I know that once you look, you'll find something you just can't do without!

2010 Women's Health and Lifestyle Show

Well, I did it. I got the last minute e-mail invite to be in the show on Friday morning. I accepted. I sewed until 4am, then out of bed at 7am to get ready for the show. I found childcare for monkey, and decided to bring sweetie with me, since she always begs to come to shows with me. (Mac was working nightshift, and needed to sleep during the day)
Of course, sweetie woke up with diarrhea..... great. But, we pushed on and got there on time, set up (with a little help from Krista - Avery's Garden), and started to sell! (Don't worry, sweetie started to feel better - I didn't bring a sick child to the show!)

This is the new (and improved?) display. I found a great stand that is supposed to be for drying hockey equipment. I saw another use: bibs and aprons! It's on the floor on the far left there. It needs to be painted, and tweaked a little, but it turned out to be a good piece. So that freed up space on the green metal rack that sits on the table. That's where my new spring/summer weight scarves are now being showcased! I need to photograph the scarves individually, and will post the unsold ones on my online market here.

Here's a closer look at the new stand:
And a closeup of the green metal stand with my scarves showcased:
Of course, at the last minute, I decided to introduce yet another new product: bookmarks. I LOVE fabric covered buttons, so I just HAD to try this out. They are paperclips with buttons at the top. I also did a few on the little bulldog-style clips. They are handy, and oh-so-stylish for your nightly reading! I'll also be photographing these and listing the unsold ones in my online shop. I'd better take advantage of the sunshine today, since the next 4 days will be rainy and gray!
(Although hot glue gun use at 3am is not recommended, these worked out quite well!)

I didn't know if I was going to regret the decision to bring sweetie. She can be really sweet and fun, but at the age of 6 (almost 7), she can also get bored and a bit whiny. She did SO WELL!!! She is not shy at all (she's a bit like her mother!), so she wandered around and made some great friends. She oohed and aahed at all the beautiful jewelry, cakes, scarves and purses, and dragged me around a couple times because I just HAD to see them! Her absolute favourite piece was a necklace and earring set she found at the doorprize table. It had it all: flowers, sparkles, and to top it all off, it was PINK! The wonderful ladies from the Weekend to End Women's Cancers were great and allowed her to put her name in the draw.

Well, wouldn't you know..... SHE WON!!! :) She was ecstatic! (just look at that gap-toothed grin!)

Angela from Yoga Bliss Fitness was an absolute GEM! She was doing reflexology sessions, and sweetie wanted one so badly! She waited and watched patiently, and when that chair was vacant, she ran over and asked very sweetly if she could have a "hand massage". Angela even had stickers with her, and gave her one before her massage. We will certainly be checking out her yoga classes for kids.
So now my stock is seriously depleted, so I've got to get sewing again. Not to mention the custom orders I secured while at the show! Yippee! Things are taking off, and going quite well! I just need to get going on the photographing of all my stock and get it posted for all of you to see (and purchase!)

Once again, the hottest seller were my flaxseed ouchie bags. They are so tactile and colourful, and customers just can't help but pick them up and ask about them. Some were purchased and even used by the vendors during the show - how's that for advertising! I have made a few custom ones for doulas, who like to use them with clients. I also received an order for a custom eye pillow size (20 of them! yay! Thanks Angela!). If you're interested in different shapes, sizes and weights, let me know, they are easy to make to your specifications!

Thanks to all of you who picked up my card at the show, and are now reading this blog as a result. Your praise and comments on my products are sincerely appreciated!

Have a wonderful spring day!

Bellies, Babies and Beyond Baby Bonanza

Only one more day!!! I'm so excited to be a vendor in a new show that is debuting in my hometown. The Bellies Babies and Beyond Baby Bonanza is on Wednesday, April 14th from 7pm to 9:30pm at the Strathroy Seniors Centre (137 Frank St). Please bring a food donation for Strathroy's Women's Rural Resource Centre as your admission.

 

Who is the host? Who are “Nurturing Mothers”?
Nurturing Mothers is a community organization. Born out of the passion, education, and life experiences of 5 Strathroy mothers, Nurturing Mothers was created to enhance community awareness, offer education, and provide access to local supports, services, and goods for mothers and their families, from preconception to motherhood. Please look forward to the launch of our website at nurturingmothers.ca for more information about them!

Of course, the missbossypants creations will be sold there (I'm a vendor!), and my sister-in-law will have her sweet little hair clips there as well. You can see her fun clips in her etsy shop here: www.averysgarden.etsy.com

To all of you who are local in Southwestern Ontario: Hope to see you there!

Valentines goodness

Remember these?









This group of barrettes was just the start of the feverish crafting this week in preparation for the kids' Valentines parties at school.




Many more were crafted and finished for 16 lucky little girls. I hope they like them! Each set was clipped onto Valentines that were free downloads from some great blogs. Of course, Monkey chose a Valentine with Dinosaurs on it - is there anything cooler? Not in his mind!



















And for the boys - well, I had to do a lot of thinking on that one. Valentines day is so girly with its hearts and pink and cuteness..... My aunt gave me the idea to make zipper pulls. And who doesn't love a yummy looking chocolate chip cookie?
Sweetie told me that one of her classmates thought it was real and tried to take a bite out of it! They are about 3 inches in diameter, so kind of big for a coat zipper pull, but I think they're great as a cute decoration on a backpack zipper. I hope to see lots of bobbing cookies on backpacks as they run for the bus!



















I struggled with what I should make for the teachers. Monkey has 3 teachers at his daycare, and Sweetie has one full time teacher, so I had to think of something, and make 4 of them! (and get it done quickly - it was close to 11pm the night before when I STARTED these!) I came up with these... a twist on the zipper pull idea, but not cookies (I used up all my "cookie-coloured" felt). Cute pink and red heart zupper pulls to adorn a purse, tote, backpack, whatever they choose. I received a message on Facebook from one of Monkey's teachers, and she said she was so excited to receive it. I'm glad she likes it!










Now that Valentines are done, I'm on to my next project - my niece's birthday outfit, and a prototype cake. I feel the need to test run the little girl's birthday cake for next weekend, so we'll be indulging in some "birthday" Valentine/Family day celebration cake. Wish me luck!

A nice, warm, cozy ipod

I've sewn things for myself, my kids, my kids' friends, our dog Sunny, and my craft shows, but Mac had not yet been the lucky recipient of my sewing. There just wasn't anything I could think of that he would actually wear or use. UNTIL he decided to treat himself. He decided that he needed an ipod. not just any ipod, it had to be the Touch. I imagined him throwing it inot his coat pocket, and it being jostled around with keys, phone, change, etc. That precious screen would be toast in no time flat. So I decided he needed an ipod cozy. Out came the felted sweaters.

Ok, navy blue, nothing too wild or crazy.... a cute, yet not overstated button... I even remembered to leave a hole in the bottom for the earphones to come out! I did, however, forget the label with I was sewing the side seam (how could I forget that!?! I found just the right spot to put it, where it actually worked to reinforce the elastic sewn to the back.


I left it for him on the kitchen table for him to discover it when he came home from an afternoon shift. He says he likes it!
....although it hasn't left the house with him..... we'll wait and see...
I have an ipod shuffle, which will need a much cuter, more showy cozy. in time, I'm just waiting to find the PERFECT fabric..... :)

Girly Valentines

For Valentine's day, I wanted to make a cute little something for Sweetie and Monkey's classmates. I decided rather easily what I would do for the girls. White, red, pink, hearts, it definitely lends itself much easier to girly gifts!

These ones are made from Dollar Store hair clips of varying colours and designs. Unfortunately, you can see the colour a little through the light pink felt, but oh well, they're still cute all the same! Besides, will a group of 6 and 3 year olds even notice?!? I think not, they'll be excitedly pinning them in their own hair!

This is a collection of some of my favourites.....

And the whole lot of 18. The original plan was to just give one clip per girl. I had 17 done, thinking that would probably be enough for both kids' classes, but Sweetie's class has 9 girls, and I thought, oh what the heck, just make one more, and there are enough for a set for each of them. So, now I have 18 clips.... that all face in the same direction. Kinda forgot a set needs one in each direction, or one of them will be upside down on their head! So, perhaps 18 more to come!
Oh well, they come together pretty quickly, and I do still have some time (9 days to go until the parties on the 12th). I will definitely be making some more to stay in our hair clip collection!

Great new etsy store!

My sister-in-law (and fellow craft show vendor) has opened her own etsy shop. Krista makes really cute hair clips, and she has been known to make the odd tutu as well! Check out her offerings on etsy here.

She's been a busy girl today - she set up a Facebook page for us to show off our crafty wares and to announce what is new. We are planning on some craft shows this year, so watch for some upcoming announcements!

How to tie a scarf

Just a little note for those of you who like to wear scarves as an accessory. I found a little tute on various ways to tie your scarf! Find it here.

Enjoy your enhanced accessorizing! :)