Etsy Finds

So every day I get an email from Etsy with their "daily finds" and sometimes its super hard to resist not buying EVERYTHING!!! However, I generally have good restraint and thus want to share with everyone the items that I would buy today if I thought I truly needed them or didn't have to think about buying diapers and paying for baby stuff.

So even though I won't "own" these items in real life let's pretend we went shopping and then went home and poured all of our amazing purchases on my coffee table.

 Copper Herb Tags

 I would love to have an herb garden one day. In fact I would love to have an everything garden, but condo/city living makes it rather rough. These copper herb tags would patina so beautifully over time and just add that little touch of whimsy. A gnome would help as well :)

Name Stamp

 Sometimes I wish I knew how to write in amazing cursive, but unfortunately I always forget how to write Q and Z and my K's always look like R's. Having one of these on hand would encourage me to send out more handwritten letters. And I LOVE stationary. Especially stationary that looks like it came from the Jane Austen era.

My future Diaper Bag - Yes I think I WILL buy this item :) 

 I actually will own this item. I have been searching for that perfect diaper bag that doesn't look like a diaper bag, but is more functional then just buying a purse. Some purses can totally be pulled off as diaper bags, other purses don't have enough pockets/compartments to make it useful enough. This is just perfect. Not only does it NOT look like a diaper bag (goal #1) I would totally use it everyday for my own stuff (goal # 2) and its made out of upholstery material so it will last forever (goal # 3).

Advent Tree Calendar Decal

I really want a Christmas tree this year, but I don't think we will have the room nor the time to get one/decorate it with the baby coming any day. So my alternative is to buy a vinyl decal for our wall. This one is cool because its an advent calendar that counts down the days for you and you place an ornament over the # of the day to "decorate" your tree. Super cute!

 

Retro Christmas Tree Decal 

Even though the Advent Calendar Tree has an interactive piece which is awesome, this tree really speaks to me. Its just soooo adorable and you can have it made in many different color options. So what do you think? 

Red Velvet Revolution - Bangerang Bake Shop 

And last but not least I wanted to share something that used to be sold on Etsy and now has their own online store because they got sooo huge. It's called Bangerang Bake Shop and they are the originator's of the cupcake in a jar. I bought one of these last year for Hector's birthday and let me tell you... it's worth every PENNY!!! SO AMAZING. I got the Red Velvet Revolution and WOW. So if you are looking to send a holiday pie or a fruit cake to a loved one STOP. Instead send them a cupcake in a jar. They will love it. I promise!

I hope you enjoyed shopping with me :)

Loving All Things Ugly

Last night I had my Monday night sewing class at the Cont. Education College and we were told to bring 1 yard of fabric to class in order to make a gift bag for Valentine's Day. Well, 1 yard of fabric turned into 10 yards of fabric and some fabulously ugly prints. I took some pics to showcase exactly what I mean here.

So this beauty is going to be made into several pillows with a contrasting zipper in Tiffany Blue Teal.

  

And then this gray and striped fabulousness might be made into pillow covers as well, but I haven't 100% decided. It also might be made into several appliques. Which is my NEW favorite obsession. I will explain more in just a bit.

 

Lastly, this pile I wouldn't necessarily call "Ugly", but I am sure most people wouldn't proudly display that plaid in their Casa. However, these pieces work beautiful for this project I just started yesterday, which you can see below.

 

It's awesome right? Kudos to my dear friend Esther (aka Miata) for providing the inspiration behind this piece from a similar wall-hanging from Pier 1 I believe.

A little closer shows you all the different patterns of the fabric. It will eventually turn into a pillow cover as well, with a mustard color zipper. This piece got me so excited I stayed up until 2 am last night designing several other versions with different petal shapes. (**however I must confess that I was also conversing with my friend Carla in Romania and naming our unborn children, her clock was ringing Noon so it was rather perfect timing to be facebook chatting, although I should have been sound asleep)

This last photo shows you the little embellishments I am adding with a needle and thread. I am thinking about adding a rust color thread along with the mustard. I truly am in love with this piece. **mass-production soon to be featured on my etsy shop, unless Anthropologie picks it up and makes my dreams come true ; ) does anyone else want to sell all their belongings and move into that store and call it home?

Lastly, I will show you my rather pathetic "gift bag" I made during class last night. You can tell my heart just wasn't into gift bag making. First, I used white thread on marine blue fabric which could've added a cool design element except that it didn't and secondly the gold ribbon does NOT match the mustard bottom. However, it will be lovingly given to my husband on Valentines Day. For all he knows the gold and mustard are the exact same color and the white thread was meant to be white. Men can be sooo easy to please.... well, sometimes. So without further ado my haphazardly pieced gift bag.

 

I know its not terribly hideous, but I would honestly only give it to my husband or someone who was color blind.