Lent

I've never given up something for Lent before. My religion doesn't call for it, and really, giving up something doesn't sound very fun. But this year I'm going to challenge myself to change one of my bad habits. I'm going to give up Target. It's gonna be tough - I go to Target on my lunch breaks, I buy groceries there, and I use it to just pass the time when I'm waiting for something. Target has become a good friend that hardly ever lets me down. I know that buying the things I need elsewhere may cost more, but overall I think I'll save money by not buying all those extras I don't need. I'm already trying to figure out where to buy cat food that won't cost an arm and a leg. Oh, and I can't just replace Target with another store like Walmart or something. Really, aren't I helping stimulate the economy by spreading the wealth around?

Etsy Finds Friday

Look at me! I'm actually following through, it's amazing! I was inspired by the very Spring-like weather going on this week. So, without further ado here are my finds:

Lemon Verbena Soap by SwanMountainSoaps
Vintage Embroidered Pillow, Stitched Bird Collage, and Pink Bird Dish from SweetLoveVintage
Vintage Table Runner and Big Mouth Frog from SarahAnntiques
Pacey the Hoodie Bear by Acrudele
Random Marbles from MidwestFinds
Suspended by RetrospectPhotos

Liberty of London

I have to admit that I had never heard of Liberty of London until a couple of weeks ago when all of a sudden several of the blogs I read on a regular basis started talking about the line coming to Target. Well...now I get the hype...and I'm a little obsessed. The only item I've purchased so far is this clutch:











But I'm planning on getting a lot more! There's a couple of dresses I'll be trying on during my lunch break tomorrow and some chairs that I love. Not to mention this comforter set, which as long as my friend doesn't get, it's definitely coming home with me:











I have a problem, but I'm not planning on getting help anytime soon...

Etsy Finds Friday

I recently purchased Blogging for Bliss by Tara Frey and Handmade Marketplace by Kari Chapin. They have reignited my desire to have a successful blog and to start my Etsy shop. So as an attempt to post more regularly I am going to start taking part in Etsy Finds Friday. My first collection of finds is inspired my my recent acquisition of a set of vintage pyrex dinnerware. I'm trying to find some complimentary glasses, and this is what I've found so far:

The Perfect Retro Juice Glass from HoneyBrownVintage

Retro Aqua Daisy Juice Glass from Epoca

Hazel Atlas Pink Swirl Tumblers from JaditeKate

4 Vintage Tumblers from BeppieBags

Vintage Daisy Drinking Glasses from Kim505Vintage

Milano Lido Glass Pitcher and Tumblers from ComingAroundAgain

Vintage Pink, Blue, White Kitchen Glasses from Vintage Goodies

Vintage Set of 4 Aqua Glass Tumblers from JWhite2

Beautiful Ivy Pitcher and Glassware Set from InstantLiving

Here's a peek at my new set that I got from GirlyQVintage & DecobugDesigns:

Any opinions?

Surprise!

Saturday was my cousin's surprise 40th birthday party. I really want to make gifts for everyone this year...so I headed to the fabric store with an apron in mind. I wasn't really sure what kind of a print I was looking for, but this one spoke to me. Two words: Oh my! I knew it was perfect for her. She loves western themed things. In fact, the ploy to get her to the party was a girls night out line dancing at a country bar.


Isn't the fabric hilarious? When I was at the fabric store the employee at the cutting table seemed to get a real kick out of it. She kept pointing it out to other customers and asking them if they've ever seen it before. One older woman in line said that she'd seen it on a lot of quilts. Quilts? Really? I've never been to a quilting bee before, but now I can only imagine...

Two Bags and Photo Issues

So I have finished the first two bags for my shop. Yay!


This first one I have dubbed "Evil Bag." It will probably never be made again. Getting the zipper in was a pain in the you-know-what. It's a really cute design, but I'm going to have to figure out a way to make it less trouble.


This bag was much easier to make, and looks great because of that. I love the flowery fabric--the colors are so rich.

I would like to make some kind of tags to go in the bags; something to put my signature on them. I'm going to check out Etsy and see what kind of customized label I can find.

My pictures are still not coming out great. They are always fuzzy. I'm using the macro setting on my camera, like all the suggestions say, but it doesn't seem to be helping. I guess I still have some tinkering to do.

Finished!

I just finished the first project for my shop. It's wristlet with a zipper closure. No pictures yet because it's midnight, but I'll have some up tomorrow. This style will probably be the only one of it's kind unless I can figure out a better way to put in the zipper. What a pain. It took me about 2 hours to get it right. The pieces just weren't going together correctly. Ugh. Well, off to bed...