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Archive for the ‘Crafting’ Category

Lovely Letters.

Posted in Crafting, Inspiration, Things I Love, Writing, tagged , , , , , on November 10, 2012 | 2 Comments »

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Corresponding with my pen-pal, Felicity (Flick for short) has been wonderful!

Shell of Kitty + Buck has worked so hard with Nat of Modern Buttercup to manage this letter exchange, and I’m so very grateful for the effort that’s been put in! My pen-pal is so much fun! We’re having a blast writing and decorating letters to send to one another and the ice-breakers that are posted for us to try are insanely fun.

One of the tasks we were given was to ask each other 10 questions. I love how Flick packaged up each of my questions separately! Each was so thoughtful and exciting to open. This project has been such an inspiration for me and although I haven’t had much time to dedicate to my letter writing, I try my very best!

When my brother was living in Germany, the letters we got from him had these red, white, and blue stripes around the edge. I was thrilled to see them grace the border of my first letter from Felicity. Somehow that’s what it took to really sunk in that she was on the other side of the Earth from me. Funny how little things like that can make such a huge impression. This is such a big world!

I’ve always loved getting mail, but I think the letters I get from her are my favourite. And even though we’re grown ups, I still think having a pen-pal does something really great for a lady. Check out the flickr page for snapshots of other Lovely Letters!

Have a wonderful weekend!

xx.

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Suzy Bishop – a costume from scratch.

Posted in Crafting, My portfolio, New Hampshire, Our personal history, Sewing, Style, The Holidays, What We Wore, tagged , on October 28, 2012 | 15 Comments »

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I’ve never made a dress from scratch before.

I’ve done a lot of alterations, hemming, taking things in, changing necklines, straps, or sleeves, but this dress is the first one that I’ve ever made entirely myself. It was somewhat intimidating at first, but I managed it and I’m really excited.

The first second I set eyes upon Suzy Bishop’s darling dress, I knew I had to make it for myself. Knowing that I work best with deadlines, I decided to be Suzy for Halloween. I ordered the fabric, zipper, and a similar dress pattern a couple of weeks ago, and got to work on the dress this week. The pattern had to be altered a bit and added to, so, as is usual for me, I was right down to the wire. My Moonrise Kingdom costume was finished around noon on Saturday, right before I went in for work.

We had two parties last night to attend, and both were fantastic. The first was a big bonfire party hosted by Ryan’s and my boss. It was wonderful! Such a fun group of people with great costumes and fabulously fresh air. The second was our usual Halloween party  at Rob + Pam’s. We stayed for the night and today did a bevy of fun fall things like piling up leaves and burying ourselves. I love the smell of crisp and dying leaves.

Happy Sunday,

xx.

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“August” Giveaway with Olive Manna! – CLOSED!

Posted in Crafting, Free Giveaways, Home Decor, Shop Talk, Vintage + Thrift, tagged , , , , on September 6, 2012 | 32 Comments »

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When it comes to giveaways it’s better late than never, right?

The bulk of online stores these days sadden me because of their lack of a regard for their social or environmental impact or their capitalistic tendencies. Yet, there are still shops out there with integrity who seek to make a living doing what they love without compromising their ethics or selling out. I found Olive Manna only just a few weeks ago, but immediately loved everything in her shop {crafting supplies, vintage housewares, handmade decor, even iPhone covers!} and wanted to be able to share her beautifully curated collection with you, my readers. So I contacted her to see if she would be willing to participate in a giveaway.

She generously offered to provide one lucky reader with a $25 voucher to her online shop and a 15% off code {enter JEEZEJULIA15 at check out! Good until Thursday the 13th!} for those readers who don’t win, but would still like to pick something out. Then, she stunned me with her integrity; as is common with blog giveaways, to enter, one often has to “like” a page on facebook, follow on twitter, etc., etc. but Natalie of Olive Manna said she preferred not to gain followers in this way because she wanted to know that those who favourited her shop, read her blog, and kept up with her listings were doing so for genuine reasons. How refreshing! I’m so honored to have Olive Manna working with me on my August giveaway and I’m happy to support her shop for so many reasons.

Here’s how you enter: Just visit her shop and pick out your favourite item then leave a comment on this blog entry telling me which it is! That’s it! No nearly-endless list of social media links, no half-hearted tweeting – just pick out one thing you like the best from her and you could win $25 towards purchasing it! The contest will close Sunday night {September 9th}, so make sure you don’t wait too long to enter! I’ll be announcing the winner sometime next week, so don’t forget to check back in otherwise you may not know if you’ve won!

Good luck, everyone!

xx.

P.s. This giveaway is now closed. Check back this week to see the winner!

{Click photos for sources!}

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DIY How To | Make your own coasters

Posted in Crafting, Home Decor, My portfolio, Tuesday How-Tos, tagged , , , , , on August 30, 2012 | 5 Comments »

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I’ve been meaning to try this out for awhile now!

Ryan and I love to collect vintage and antique furniture, but part of the problem with that is it needs to be carefully cared for, ie. get coasters. Rather than buying some I wasn’t really all that in love with, though, I thought I might as well just put some fabric scraps to use and make my own. I’m always getting pretty fabric from Goodwill to use in my Etsy shop, and I hate to throw out the tiny pieces that are left after I’m done, so this was the perfect solution. Here’s how I made my coasters…

For supplies you’ll need: Cork board, Mod Podge, a paintbrush, a pencil, scissors, something circular to trace like a cup, fabric scraps, and about fifteen minutes!

First step | Make sure that the cup you chose is wide enough so it will cover the entire bottom of the cups, mugs, or steins that you will be setting on them. I turned this teacup over and used the mouth of it to trace since that’s bigger. Trace as many circles as you want coasters onto your fabric scraps with your marking tool.Second step | Carefully cut out the circles of fabric that you just traced.Third step | Trace and cut the same number of circles into your cork board.Fourth step | One at a time, cover one side of the coaster with a generous amount of Mod Podge. You’ll want it to seep up through the fabric a little, so don’t be shy about your application! Diluted Elmer’s glue might do the trick, too!Fifth step | Place the fabric circles one at a time over the Mod Podge and press firmly so the glue comes through. Make sure you press over every part of the coaster, including the edges so they don’t come up after the rest of it has dried.For some fabrics this may be all the Mod Podge you need (my stripes were fine with just this amount!), but with others you may need to apply another layer of glue on top of the fabric after this first application has dried – such was the case with my floral fabric. So, wait for it to dry just from pressing and test the fabric to see how well it is stuck to the cork board before assessing whether you’ll need to add more.
Sixth step | Let dry! My striped coasters were dry after only a few hours, but the floral ones needed a little longer to dry. Every type of fabric will absorb the glue and dry differently, so just pay attention to yours to see what it needs.

Pretty easy, right? You may also need to trim up the edges of the fabric with scissors if it hangs over the edge a bit. Make sure you wait until it’s completely dry and all of your layers of glue have been added before you do this! Have fun with it!Thanks for stopping by! I hope your scrap pile got a little smaller and I would love to hear your small project ideas for fabric pieces. Even after making these coasters I still have two clementine boxes full of them just waiting to be given life. Think you’ll give this project a try? I’d love to see how yours turn out!

Oh, yes, and these would make great housewarming gifts!

xx.

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Update a thrifted lamp shade – DIY

Posted in Crafting, Home Decor, My portfolio, Vintage + Thrift, tagged , , , , , on August 20, 2012 | 8 Comments »

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Hey, thrifty ladies {and gents}!

Last night craft-fever hit me hard! While Ryan relaxed and settled down for the night I found myself getting all in a tizzy over recreating a thrifted lampshade. We bought this lamp and shade separately from Goodwill months ago, but it’s never looked exactly the way I wanted it to until now that I’ve added my own vintage fabric to it. Here’s how you can update an old lamp, too:

You’ll need a lamp {duh!}, scissors, fabric, hem tape or double sided tape, measuring tape, and a marking tool. You could also add some cute rick-rack or stitches to it depending on how much time you want to spend and how detailed you want the shade to be! I first thought I might do some stitching, but didn’t want to get holed up in my studio for too long on a night off, so I sprung for the tape.

First step: Strip the lampshade. When we bought ours it had ribbon hot glued to it from the previous owner. We took this off immediately, but the glue itself has been there ever since. Depending on your shade, you may choose also to take the fabric off entirely and have just the wire frame, but since our shade was white we knew it wouldn’t make a difference to the look at the end of the project, so we left it on.To make sure that you cut the right amount of fabric, measure the height of your lampshade as well as the diameter and write down both of your measurements. Then, add one inch to the height and one inch to the diameter so you’ll have space to fold over the edges.

Mark this new measurement on the wrong side {the side that won’t be showing when the project is finished} of your fabric, then snip, snip, snip!

Add the hem tape to the top and bottom edges of your fabric keeping in mind that you added an inch of fabric {a 1/2 inch for the top + a 1/2 inch for the bottom} for these adjustments. Folding the raw edge in will make the project look nice + neat.

Next you’ll fold both edges in a half inch and press down on the tape to stick them in place. Your fabric should now measure from top to bottom the same as the lampshade does. Almost there!

Add a strip of tape up the lampshade to hold on one of the sides of the fabric.

Add tape to the bottom and top edge of the shade, then, making sure your fabric is smooth, turn the lamp and attach as you go.

When you get to the end, remember that you added an inch in the measurement for overlap, so you can fold the fabric under as you stick it in place with the double-sided tape. Et voila!

I’d love to see how yours come out if you decide to give this project a try! It’s a simple way to spruce up your home and to dig into that gorgeous fabric stash I know you have hiding away.

Have a wonderful night!

xx.

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The ultimate DIY thrift find!

Posted in Crafting, Environmental Consciousness, Home Decor, My portfolio, Travel, Upcycling, Vintage + Thrift, tagged , , on August 14, 2012 | 4 Comments »

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Hello, my dears!

As you know, I was away last week for the Goodwill Summer Conference in Miami, Florida! It was hands down one of the best experiences of my life! I got to connect with so many amazing people who value thrift, creativity, and community as much as I do in a city vastly different from anything else I’ve ever seen. It was remarkable! My session was so. much. fun. Jenna Isaacson, Evette Rios, and I chatted about Goodwill, shared our favourite thrifting stories, and sipped sangria with our audience before I presented six easy DIY projects with one good ol’ fashioned thrift store staple: the mason jar. You can check out my post with the project ideas here! More on the trip later in the week…

So happy to be back in the Shire!

xx.

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A peek into my shop…

Posted in Crafting, Home Decor, Home Tour, Sewing, Shop Talk, Vintage + Thrift, tagged , , , on August 6, 2012 | 11 Comments »

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This year Etsy opened up an About page for every shop!

It’s a space where each shop owner can go into greater detail about their process, inspiration, and work space, and I love that idea! So I’ve been very excited to update my own and this week I put the finishing touches on it! I’m so pleased with how the page turned out that I thought I’d share it with you. There’s only space for five photos on there, so the extras here are just for you. Enjoy!

First stop is the sewing station {above} where all of my products come to life. Bess is my trusty sewing machine, always ready for more work and easy to run. It’s smooth sailing when we’re working together…most of the time.

Also in my shop space is Ryan’s Grandmother’s old sewing machine / my packing station. I stitch all of my packages shut to avoid all of that obnoxious packing tape {photos of my packages here!} so having two machines is a real help.

With every order I tuck three snapshots inside. They’re all freshly printed from this station, but some of them are photos taken of my family throughout the years. The rest are little moments that I couldn’t stand to see disappear.

More photos of the room itself later! Thanks for visiting.

xx.

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July Giveaway – CLOSED!

Posted in Crafting, Environmental Consciousness, Free Giveaways, Home Decor, Style, Upcycling, Vintage + Thrift, tagged , , on July 23, 2012 | 24 Comments »

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Happy giveaway day!

Two of my lovely sponsors have graciously decided to participate in this month’s giveaway! They’re both wonderful Mainers who understand and appreciate the importance of supporting local and thinking green – two major ideals in my life, too. They couldn’t be more wonderful if they tried! One lucky winner will receive the following from their respective Etsy shops:

WorthyGoods is my go-to place for any new fabric I purchase. Dory carries the dreamiest, comfiest, most unique assortment of organic fabrics that I’ve ever seen and always tucks a little something extra into her orders. She recently sent me a tiny vintage bobbin like these and it makes such a lovely display item in my studio! I’ve got some ric-rac that I scored at a yard sale and I plan to use my bobbin to keep it in line instead of just sticking it in a drawer. These beautiful bobbins could help you organize your yarn ends, ribbon, or twine so you can keep them out and looking nice without getting them all tangled up. Plus, these babies are from old textile mills that were powered mainly by water or steam, so they’re a little piece of American history!

MaineBelle vintage is a fun and friendly vintage shop with colorful items mainly from the ’60s through ’80s and Michelle’s offering the winner their choice of any one item from her shop! Personally, if I were the winner I’d go for the plaid spring rain jacket {good for fall, too!}, but that Marilyn Monroe dress is pretty tempting. And the pastel blouse is made up of my blog colors, perfect or what?

To enter the contest: Leave a comment below telling me your favourite summertime activity, then make sure you subscribe so you’ll know if you won when I announce the winner later this week!

* here’s a little something for everyone: Enter coupon code JEEZEJULIA15 at checkout and save 15% on any purchase at WorthyGoods Textile. This coupon is valid now through 6 PM Sunday, July 29th, and even if you don’t sew there are plenty of ways you can use Dory’s gorgeous fabrics. I use them for backgrounds all the time when I’m taking photos {my Photo Booth Friday heading is one of her fabrics!}, but you could also do something like this or this.

Good luck, everyone!

xx.

P.s. This contest is now closed! Stay tuned to find out who won!

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Upcycling thrifted picture frames!

Posted in Crafting, Environmental Consciousness, Home Decor, My portfolio, Social Consciousness, Upcycling, Vintage + Thrift, tagged , , on July 14, 2012 | 2 Comments »

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Mornin’, dears!

I hope this Saturday morning finds you well! This week I spent a lot of time thrifting for picture frames at Goodwill, coming up ideas for repurposing them, and executing said ideas. I always have so much fun challenging myself to think outside of the box, so I wanted to make sure that I passed along the link for you to see, too! Hopefully this will encourage your creative juices to flow. This month we’ve opened up my decor + DIY blog post to include a photo slideshow tutorial with me giving instruction so the format of the post is a little more extensive than it has been in the past – exciting! Take a peek if you’re interested!

Enjoy your day!

xx.

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Functional home decor: clipboard remakes!

Posted in Crafting, Home Decor, My portfolio, Social Consciousness, Tuesday How-Tos, Upcycling, Vintage + Thrift, tagged , , on June 16, 2012 | 8 Comments »

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I always like to pass along links to my Goodwill posts,

just in case you missed them. And another of my posts went live yesterday! So, if you are as inspired by office supplies as I am, you may want to take a look at this one. I share a couple of cute ideas of how you can use a clipboard at home for not-so-official tasks and spruce up some wall space in the process!

Hope you’re well!

xx.

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