Just your garden variety weekend project

A couple weeks ago, The boyfriend and I finally were able to make it to a local food truck gathering that happens every Tuesday night in the local home depot parking lot.  This event always sounded like so much fun to me, but we always seemed to forget about it whenever a Tuesday rolled around. Well, we finally remembered! We got there just as it was starting but there were still a few of the trucks that had not quite opened yet.  So, The boyfriend suggested we walk over to the Home Depot garden center to kill some time until the other trucks opened.  As we looked around, I casually mentioned that it might be cool to have a garden if I had the space.  The boyfriend replied "You can totally make a little garden on your balcony!" Now, The boyfriend has actually gardened before and loves it.  The last time I gardened, I was probably 4. (which means it was really my Mom who was doing the gardening.) With not too much effort, he sold me on the whole garden idea.  However, it was hotter than a pepper sprout outside (no pun intended) and we were STARVING!  So, we settled on eating now, and making my balcony garden happen next week.  We grabbed ourselves a variety of tacos from several different food trucks. YUM!

The " Hollywood chicken" tacos from the "Dos Chinos" food truck were my favorite! We also tried a lobster taco and pork. OH, and can't forget the yummy garlic fries!

So, this Monday morning (or afternoon rather by the time I woke up) we headed off to the Home Depot.  My balcony is not huge. So, as much as I wanted to grow all kinds of fruits and vegetables, we stuck to a few that we could reasonably grow in my space.  We decided to do strawberries, tomatoes and jalapenos. We got 3 different kinds of tomatoes. Beefsteak, and red and yellow cherry tomatoes.  Herb wise, we got sweet mint, orange mint, basil, cilantro, parsley, and German thyme.  We grabbed some hanging plant troughs and headed home.

 

The next day, we stopped at Costco and grabbed the soil and got to work! The boyfriend decided that he was really hungry.  So, since it was Tuesday, what better meal than tacos?! (I'm "world famous" for my tacos) I got to work on dinner while he assembled and hung the planters.

 

 

We then paused to eat dinner.  With our bellies now full, we filled all our planters with soil and got to planting.

 

 

 

I also purchased a hanging basket of flowers.  I may add one more basket of flowers soon.  The boyfriend wants to move them so that they hang over the planters and we can reduce our water waste.

 



 

I just LOVE how a simple garden brings so much life to my little outdoor space! I'm excited to be using it for something other than storage and dust collecting.

 





 



I can't wait for the first little strawberries and tomatoes to start growing and for my nieces to be able to step out onto the balcony and help me pick some yummy snacks! This was such a nice little project for us to work on together. Lets hope that I can keep them all alive! Fingers crossed everyone!

Guess who is turning One?!?

Its hard to believe, but my Etsy shop will be one year old on May 27th!! They say that time flies when you are having fun and I can certainly attest to that! It has been such a blast making my bags and other items.  We have had quite a few custom orders, which only adds to the fun for me.  I love working with people to find fabrics and create that special piece just for them.  I have had loads of fun coming up with new products and the couple of blog reviews that we have been featured on have been so amazing! Ultimately, I  am having the greatest time being creative and doing something that I love.  Its hard to put words to the humbling yet fulfilling feeling that comes when someone is willing to spend their hard earned dollars on something you created!  Even more fulfilling is hearing the wonderful reviews from people who love their items as much as I do!  It is because of the incredible support from all of you that I get to do this amazing thing! So....here comes the fun part....CELEBRATING!!!

To celebrate the first birthday of Sew it Seams, we will be having a WEEK of deals! (Cuz a birthday week is always better than just one day....am I right?!) Here's how this will work.... Every day, starting May 21st, will have its own special "Deal of the day".  Every day I will post the code for the Deal of the Day on Sew it Seams Facebook page. So, if you haven't liked the Facebook page yet, now is a great time to do so! Don't miss out!  The Deal of the day will be good for that day only. Offers are good for custom orders also!** I am posting the schedule of deals ahead of time so that you savvy shoppers can plan out what days you would like to take advantage of and plan ahead. :)

**DEALS OF THE DAY**

 

MAY 21st- 10% off for all first time customers

 

May 22nd- Free miscellaneous 3 pack of flannel burp rags w/ any diaper bag purchase

 

May 23rd- Free shipping (USA only)

May 24th- $5 off mesh tote bags

 

May 25th- $9 off diaper bags

 

May 26th- Free coordinating mesh zip bag (medium sized) w/ purchase of a tote bag

 

May 27th- **SEW IT SEAMS First Birthday!**

20% off for all repeat customers

 

 



I can't wait to kick off the festivities and thank you all for giving me the wonderful opportunity to do what I love! It is an incredible blessing! Thank you all for making this year so fantastic. Here's to many more years of creating together! Which deal are you most excited about?? Happy shopping!


 

 

**FOR CUSTOM ORDERS
Deals of the day are absolutely applicable to custom orders! HOWEVER, your custom order MUST be purchased on the day of the deal you wish to use. To insure that your custom listing is up on the Etsy store by the day with the deal you want, I suggest that you send me an Esty email ASAP so we can work out the details and I can create a custom listing for you. I will post the listing and then you can purchase your custom listing on the day with the deal you would like to use.  If you are a procrastinator (aren't we all sometimes) you can certainly chance emailing me the day of to work out the details. I do have the Etsy mobile app so I can certainly respond to emails, it just may take me a little longer to create the listing from a computer. ***Some of you have seen or read the blog post on the extra large tote bags, they are also available for custom listing so shoot me an email if you would like to custom order one.***

Etsy Craft Party-2014

I am so very excited to announce to all of you that I will be hosting a party! An Etsy Craft Party, that is. Every year, Etsy runs a global craft party to promote crafting and meeting.  They have a theme every year, and different Etsy members and fans can host parties for their areas. You basically get together and craft! How fun is that???  I had no idea that such an event existed and when I stumbled upon it at work yesterday, I knew I had to see what it was all about. To my shock, no one near me was hosting an event! So, I decided that I had to do it! I went to my local JoAnn's craft store today and reserved their craft room for the party. I am BEYOND excited! This year's theme,

 

 

RECAPTURE:bringing new meaning to your photographs

Etsy comes up with a theme for the craft party every year and different hosts come up with different ideas that fit in with that. They always have a few suggested crafts as well. I am still brewing up some ideas, but I do have some cool projects in mind involving embroidery, making our own post cards and coasters. (Got you thinking haven't I?) I am really looking forward to this event and hope that I can attract and meet some fellow Etsy sellers as well as new crafty people in my area and welcome old friends.

Now comes the part where YOU can help! Follow the link below to RSVP for your tickets to the Etsy party. Etsy is VERY into encouraging creativity and if I can get 25 or more RSVP's by May 16th, Etsy will send me a credit to be used towards purchasing supplies for the party!!! (yeah, I know, I am late jumping on this bandwagon so please hurry!!) So, that means that the more people I get to RSVP, the cooler the supplies we will have for the party! I hope you will all attend and please pass along the word to your other So-Cal friends! I would like to make this a fun annual event, so lets kick it off with a bang!

Event Registration Online for Etsy 2014 Craft Party:Buena Park powered by Eventbrite

55 years

This year, my Grandparents celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary, and decided to throw themselves a big party to celebrate with family and friends.  When I received their adorable invitation in the mail, the creative wheels started turning.  My sister and I had volunteered to make decorations for the party.  My sister suggested that we mirror the style of their invites and do the party in a chalkboard theme and keep the same colors featured on the invite.  With that, we divided up the duties and  got to work. (My sister lives in a different state than me and would not be putting both our halves of decor officially together until the day of the party.)

My sister was in charge of part of our centerpieces. She took mason jars and applied blue painters' tape, in the shape of a heart,on the center of them and then spray painted them with chalkboard paint.  Once the paint dried, she peeled off the painters' tape to reveal a heart shaped, clear area on the jar.  She then tied a piece of yellow or teal ribbon around the top of each one and drew details onto the jars with chalk.  During the party, a tea light was placed inside each of the jars and lit.

My contribution to the centerpieces was quite simple.  I got 14 different picture frames from the dollar tree store and disassembled them.  I then spray painted half of them yellow and half of them teal.  Once they dried, I put them all back together and placed different old pictures of my Grandparents' together into each frame.  Each one was placed on one of the tables with a mason jar with a contrasting colored ribbon.

My sister also made this beautiful photo collage chalkboard that was placed in the entry-way to the party. It was filled with all sorts of pictures from my Grandparents' lives together. I really love how this turned out!

I was also in charge of streamers.  I took yellow, teal and black card stock and traced small (3inch) hearts onto the paper and cut them all out. Once they were cut, I took a white paint pen and wrote "R+S" on all of the black hearts.  I then strung them all together on a continuous strand of bakers twine.  On the morning of the party, we pulled out lengths of them and taped them up around the edges of all of the tables.

We had a bunch of leftover black hearts, so we "sprinkled" them around the tops of the tables, around the centerpieces.

My Grandparents had also found some decorative hearts that they wanted us to use somewhere at the party.  To help incorporate them into the theme, I added some further details.  I cropped each of their faces from their wedding picture into its own 5x7 size.  I then mounted each picture of a separate sheet of 12x12 black scrapbook paper.  I cut a nice oval around the pictures to frame them.  I then drew some added flourishes on them with the white paint pen and they were then hung from the bathroom doors as fancy bathroom signs!

I think they turned out pretty cute!

 

 

My sister and her husband also made a really lovely slide show video of photos from throughout my Granparents' lives and marriage. They did such a great job on it and my Grandparents got a kick out of watching all the old pictures.

 

 

They also had catered in food and a lovely caked that  they had made, featuring their wedding photo.

 

 





It was a lovely party that highlighted the incredible journey my Grandparents have traveled together and the wonderful family they have built. A great time was had by all the guests and almost all of the family were able to attend.  Those that weren't able were certainly there in spirit!

 

It was a wonderful celebration and just like the song says... "All because two people fell in love!" What an inspiration it is to have such examples of longevity in a society where the disposability of relationships is commonplace! I feel very blessed to have such an example before me. Love you Grandma and Grandpa!

 

 



Ottomans and Tea pots

In search for the perfect birthday present for The boyfriend's Mom, I came across a really cute idea on pinterest to add some details to a plain white tea pot. (Jim, if you are reading this, don't share with your wife just yet, I want it to be a surprise) I headed to a local shopping center with both a Tuesday Morning store AND a Target. I swung by Tuesday Morning first, thinking that they might have a wider variety of tea pot options. Sadly, I was mistaken.

However, on my way out, I passed through the furniture section and to my surprise happened upon the most lovely ottoman!  I have been searching and searching for everything from fabric ,to upholster my own hand made ottoman, to finding one already perfect but with no luck.  I have found quite a few that were very nice but who knew that ottomans ranged from the $160-$800 range?? For a place to put your feet? Who knew? I was almost afraid to look at the price tag on the ottoman I had stumbled upon, but was so excited when I did! It was cheaper than any of the others I had seen and was so wonderfully set to my current decor. In a place like Tuesday Morning, I knew I had to get it then or it would be gone! So I quickly brought it to the register and was out the door and on to Target.

I could not wait to get my new purchase home and see how it looked with all of my decor!  I think you will agree that it fits right in!

 

 

I just LOVE the finished look it brings to my living room! I had hoped to build my own ottoman, with some assistance from The Boyfriend, but when I was having SUCH a hard time finding the perfect decorator fabric and with our crazy schedules, I had no idea when that might actually happen. But I am so pleased with my little bargain furniture piece! Take a look at the close-up of the fabric, I just love it!

 



And with that, my living room re-do is complete! :) I may re-finish some nice old fashioned wine crates or something for storage underneath my ottoman, but I am VERY happy with my new room.

With that done, it was time to move on to The Boyfriend's Mom's birthday present. I selected a plain white tea pot and two matching teacups from Target. I grabbed 3 coordinating bottles of blue paints from Martha Stewart's paint collection. (from left, "beach glass", "surf", "pond")

 

I rubbed down the tea pot and cups with a cotton ball and rubbing alcohol to prepare the surface for paint. While that dried, I grabbed a paper plate and some toothpicks and poured out a bit of each color.

 



I started with the tea pot and the darkest Blue paint. I made several large dots in a varied pattern and then around each large dot, I painted on several random small dots. I repeated this with the other 2 blue colors to create a somewhat even pattern.

Once this step was done, I went back through and filled in open spaces with small dots to connect everything together. I made a few "swirlies" with dots around the outer edges of my design to make it appear more purposeful. I had no idea what shape my pattern would take when I started, but I just went along with it and I think it came out very nicely.

I repeated the same concept with the cups and I like this set so much that I am seriously considering making a set for myself!

I can't wait to give it to The Boyfriend's Mom. I hope that she loves it!  I know that I promised you all a post on my Grandparent's anniversary party, but I am waiting on some pictures from my sister. I hope to have all the juicy details for you next week. Have a great week everyone!