Not Country Club Material

Last night I did a show at a local country club.  I had no idea what to expect, but when someone contacted me to do it, I said sure.  It was only three hours and I didn’t have any other holiday shows lined up. 

When I got there to set up I just laughed to myself.  My show set up is pretty DIY, vintage table cloths, handmade buntings, etc.  This was so posh, every table had big boofy puffy table skirts and white linens on them.  I started grabbing my Target baskets and my empty boxes I’d wrapped in holiday paper and started setting up.  I was going to get self concious, but screw it, right?  I like my stuff, I am not a country club gal, whatever.

I think it turned out just fine, if I may say so.  It was good practice for the show I have coming up on December 8th.  I didn’t sell too much, but I did get at least my table fee back, which is all I ever ask for when I do a show!  And it was super fun to people watch a bunch of old ladies with lots of money ooh and ahh over really gaudy scarves and jewelry (which is what was next to me…)

They’re Heeeeeeere!

Yep, the holidays are upon us.  I have been super busy, and therefore lax on the blogging. 

First of all, my bibs have been selling like hotcakes at the two stores I sell at in Milwaukee, Little Monsters and the Waxwing.  Hooray!  So I have had endless stacks of bibs in various stages of being finished laying around my sewing table and ironing board. 

Also, the owls have been a hit, so my hands have been getting a workout sewing those bad boys up.  Every stitch is hand sewn, people.  The only thing I have done to speed up the process is I started buying die cut circles from I Felt Sprightly for the eyes.  That has actually helped so much!
 

I also had a custom quilt to make for a woman.  I had such a good time working with her on this, as she seemed to love all the fabric choices out there as much as I always do!  She needed a simple quilt for her daughter, and after much discussion, we came up with this elephant/herringbone combination.  I hope her daughter loves it!

And last but certainly not least…I have two holiday shows coming up.  I have been going crazy trying to keep up with everything, I think my kids are sick of hearing me say “Mama has to run downstairs for a sec, I’ll be right back up!”  Then I get sucked in and they end up wandering down to the basement looking for me.  Luckily we have lots of toys down by my sewing area, and both kids love to play with dolls and fabric scraps, so we can usually all be content. 

If you are in the Milwaukee area, come see me at the Tamarack Waldorf School’s Winter Fair on December 8th from 10am-5pm!!  I’ll have bibs, blankets, burp cloths, owls, and more for you to snatch up for some holiday gifts!

Sale Sale Sale! (Help Me Redo My Kitchen.)

I finally figured out what I want to do with my little kitchen!  My family and I live in a colonial, many of which were built in the 40s in the area.  So, odds are there are a bunch of houses that look exactly like ours that are for sale, which always makes me curious–how much are they going for?  Which ones need major help, which ones are redone?  I checked online yesterday and found a house with the exact same layout as ours, but they had redone some things.  And they looked fantastic!! 

I have been completely stymied by our kitchen, it’s a basic galley kitchen with a door in the middle of one wall and a window at the end.  I had no idea how to make it work for us!  It just seemed awkward whatever I tried to envision.  BUT!  This house has an amazing little kitchen, something totally doable!

So…let me help you help me.  I am having a sale until Sunday night (October 21st) at BOTH SHOPS!  Just use coupon code THANKS20 for 20% off every single item in both shops.  Amazing!   So head on over to Applesauce Crafts and/or Toadstool Vintage and go shopping!!

Wooden Toys

My good friend just recently had twin boys.  In a burst of excitement, I went shopping on etsy that night to get them a wooden teether.  I am a sucker for anything cute and wooden, and in my search for a good wooden teether, I found tons of awesome wooden toys!

The teethers I ended up getting are from Wisconsin based Little Sapling Toys.  I have been eyeing their teethers since I was pregnant with Otis but never did end up buying anything until now.  They have these amazing state shaped ones that are just so freakin’ cute!  I also got a turnip shaped one, because really, why not? 

Another shop I found while searching was Woodenplay.  They have a great selection of wooden animals, cars, and my favorite, the lumberjacks!

Something I’m dying to get Otis for his birthday is a wooden camera.  I had it in mind for last year but decided to wait until he was a little older.  I had narrowed it down to a couple, one being this one from Smiling Tree Toys.  I love it!

With the holidays approaching, I will be on the lookout for even more amazing little toys for the kids.  Be sure to let me know if I’m missing a good etsy shop!

Back to School Time!

I used to love back to school time when I was a kid.  NERD!  I loved the fresh pencils and new crayons.  I would get a brand new pair of pinstriped Lee jeans every year, which was very cool since I was usually given hand me downs from my sister.  Then I got to college and I hated going back to school…I was not made for higher education I guess.  I hated the fact I was spending money on a degree I knew I probably wouldn’t use.  I just wanted to be a  mom, you don’t need a degree for that.  Although sometimes I think you should.

Anyway, I’ve been free of back to school time for years since I dropped out of college but this year my oldest is going into K4, so we are back on school time, no vacations until school breaks.  Blah. 

Over at Toadstool Vintage I’ve just listed a bunch of fun new fall items.  There’s no reason your tot can’t have new duds for back to school just because they’re too young for school!  Click on the picture for the link to the shop!  Enjoy!

New News

What’s been happening over at Team Liddle’s house?  We finally painted the trim in our dining room!  I went to Ikea!  We still haven’t made our paver patio!  This homeownership is hard stuff.  The list of to-dos gets longer and longer and I want to do them less and less. 

I went to a friend’s house the other day and she was like “oh, this is such a work in progress, but we’re getting there.”  I wanted to shoot her, as she had spotless rugs, hung artwork, shelves in every room, toys put away.  My house is a mess at all times, it seems like.  My inlaws gave us a new rug for our dining room, an indoor/outdoor one that I thought would be a cinch to clean.  Alas, blueberries and avocados smooshed in do not come out of anything, I guess.  Toys do not put themselves away.  Dog hair does not stay on the dog, it ends up on every surface of my house.  And I have brackets and shelves lounging up against the wall, not actually hung on the wall.

But we’ll get there.  I think.

New Expedit shelves from Ikea!

In other news, I sadly did not get into Art Vs Craft this year.  I was pretty upset, cried a little on Brendan’s shoulder.  But I was not totally shocked, as they moved venues this year and were letting in 25-30 less vendors.  The silver lining is it kicked me in the ass to get going with this whole business thing!  I sat down and found some more shows to apply to.  I contacted some local places to see if they’d be interested in selling my stuff there.  I had to really think what I wanted to do.  This whole year I’ve had a show on the horizon, something to work toward.  And then suddenly…nothing.  Which is how it used to be, I just slowly made things for the etsy shop and left it at that.  But now I see how fun shows are, I want to do more!  I want to have a reason to get stuff done, not just my sporadic etsy sales.

So, I applied for a show in Madison.  I am going to apply for Hovercraft here in Milwaukee, which I should get into.  It’s the first of December, so lots of holiday shoppers!  I talked to a lady at a high end kid’s store and we’re meeting to discuss a wholesale order.  And there’s a little vintage shop in a cool neighborhood that is also interested in selling bibs.  I’m makin’ it happen!

House Stuff

I love having a house.  I love knowing we’ll be here for awhile and I don’t have to ask anyone if it’s okay if I paint.  Well, I should ask my husband but he’s easier to convince than a landlord…

Our dining room looked like this before:

I hated the orange.  It was too southwestern for my taste, and made the room look really small.  In my humble opinion, the husband didn’t seem to see a problem with it.  But I did, so I looked on Pinterest and found some ideas.  I seemed to keep going back to a light blueish turquoise color, like these:

Off to Home Depot I went to snag a can of paint and some brushes.  And then the other day I woke up determined to get it done, even though I had two kids running around wanting to “help.”  Somehow I finished the room, don’t ask how, I don’t even know!  And here it is, just little bits, as I haven’t painted the trim yet, and I still have to get a new dining set (we have some beat up old Ikea stuff, not looking too pretty anymore.)

 

 

Now to paint trim and find a dining set.  I really want to find something old and round and paint it white, but I’m not having too much luck.  I’m determined, though!  And then I can have one room completely done!