Seriously Anthropologie???

Seriously Anthropologie????  Don't you ever get tired of people making fun of your crazy prices for things they can make at home???

Apparently not, otherwise why have you listed this lovely chair made from scrap wood for almost $1000???

I get that it's one of a kind.  I get that the wood is from a Dutch fishing boat.  I get that it's "storm weathered".  But come on.  Surely you could've made something much more beautiful than this very uncomfortable looking chair.

If this kind of thing actually appeals to you, you can find it HERE.

Something I don't get....

This is a real tub that's been squashed and you hang it on your wall.  I know, it's art.  I actually studied art, here and in Europe, but I just don't get this one.  You can check out the listing HERE and HERE.

What do you think?  Do you think it's strange to find objects like these in the same store you go to for a pretty scarf and earrings?  Is Anthropologie trying to change it's demographic and I missed the notice?  Do I need to be more open-minded?  Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts~

Heat the Feet, Heat the Heart

For those of you who follow my friend Gen over at Cabin Fevered Gem, you know that she's having a baby.  And recently she found out that she'll be having a baby girl!  To say she's pretty excited is the understatement of the year.  She's over the moon thrilled.

Of course, this means that the sewing can now begin!  So, I made her a little congratulations gift.  One pair of  baby girl booties for every day of the week!!

I used these two patterns:

Still in Simplicity's current catalogue!

This Amy Butler book is full of all kinds
of fun baby sewing projects

And came up with these!!

Let's take a closer look.

Sunday slippers for lounging around:

Some casual but pretty shoes to kick off the week on the right foot on Monday:

Pretty flowers to keep her twinkle toes fresh as a daisy on Tuesday:

She'll have these pretty little pinks to get her over the Wednesday blues:

My favourite, ballet flats for Thursday, just because:

Another pair of slippers to kick back in for Friday:

And the cutest pair of trainers you've ever seen, to run around town with her mom and big brother on Saturdays.

They're all fully lined and I used nice soft lingerie elastic on most of them.  Luckily for me, I was recently gifted a bag of all kinds of vintage rickrack and trims.  So the possibilites were endless!

Gen and her family are Francophone so my gift tag is en français.  Félicitations is Congratulations in French, and the back is supposed to say Warm Feet, Warm Heart but I have a feeling it actually says Heat the Feet, Heat the Heart.  My French is horrible (désolé) but I think Gen will get it.

Both of the patterns were easy to use but I have to say I didn't really follow the directions.  Both of them were a little confusing and Amy Butler tends to over explain things.  This might be good for a first time sewer but it just confuses me when she takes 4 long paragraph steps to say - fuse the interfacing onto the back of your fabric. 

What's you're favourite thing to make for babies?  Do you like sewing for boys or girls?  Does it matter when everything turns out so cute in the end?  Leave a comment~

This project was featured here:

          

Do you Polyvore?

One thing you learn while criss-crossing another country with everything you need stuffed into a backpack is to shop very carefully and only carry what you need.

When I returned home from my trip to Thailand I realized that I have way too much stuff.  Too many clothes, too much jewellery ... just too much stuff that I don't need.

So, even though I'm four months late, I've finally come up with my new year's resolution!  I'm not going to buy things just because they're on sale!  I'm not going to buy things that don't fit with my personal sense of style just because it's a great deal!  And I'm not going to buy things that don't go with anything else in my closet!

This could be easier said than done.

It's not going to be easy to break a lifetime habit of bargain shopping, especially when I have two completely different styles that I wear...straight laced classic for the office and boho hippie chic for home (sometimes they cross over, but I still have too much of both in my closet).

So, in order for me to truly figure out what I'm drawn to and what I really love I decided to try out Polyvore.  My friend asked me about it the other day and I realized I hadn't looked at the site in ages.  Probably since it first came out.

There are a lot more things to choose from and fun ways to create boards (interior design, art, fashion, it's all there).

I played around with a few looks and I think it's very clear where I'm most comfortable.

I even tried to do a fantasy evening look and still came up with this.  I just couldn't do it, because it's not me.

Not very fantasy or evening. Just me.

Yes, it's one more way to waste your precious time, but it's kind of fun.  And no, I'll probably never actually purchase anything I use to make a board, but it's still kind of fun.  And now I know next time I walk into a store...don't even pick up that neon green sequined $4.99 blouse!  You don't need it!  It's not your style!

And I think I've even come up with a boho office chic look!

I've even been making myself wear things from my closet that I'm not crazy about.  If, by the end of the day, I'm still not in love with the piece, it's either handed down to my sister or out the door to the thrift shop, no matter how old or new it is.  I'm starting to feel lighter already!  And I don't even miss all the stuff I've given away.

Try out polyvore and see what kind of styles you're most drawn to and then start going through your closet and weeding all of your crazy bargain purchases out.  I think this is part of my spring cleaning frenzy, even though there's about 3" of snow on the ground today. 

Have you started your spring cleaning yet?  What do your closets look like?  Leave a comment and let the rest of know how you control what goes in ... and out!  If you're already on polyvore and want to share your collections leave your username in the comments so we can find you, I'm Etcetorize over there too~

Make it Great Monday

Guess what I woke up to today....SNOW!!!!  Hopefully there'll only be a few more weeks of this.  Every year, spring seems to take just a little longer to get here.

The good thing is, this means that I can stay indoors and check out more of your fun project ideas linked up from last week! 

Like this pretty crochet scarf from Rachel over at the Philosopher's Wife.  She used crochet thread to get that pretty and delicate look.

Easter is over but these eggs from Pajama Crafters are so beautiful that I had to feature one last egg project.  Believe it or not, these were once super bright plastic breakapart eggs.

Head over to Diapered Daze and Knights for a great vintage suitcase transformation.

And Adele from Mammy Made shared a tutorial on this super easy embroidered T-Shirt project.

If you were featured you can grab a button from side bar.

And now for the rest of you....I can't wait to see all of your creative ideas you've come up with.

Please remember to only link:
1) To your Family Friendly Project Post that you've made yourself, not your main blog page
2) Maximum of 3 projects that you haven't link up before
3) Please, no shops or giveaways
4) Feel free to hit one of those Follow buttons on the sidebar ;)

And, not really a rule, but something you won't regret if you do....go visit some of the other links and leave a comment, we all love comments right~

If you link up, please post my button somewhere on your blog so more people can come join the fun:

<center><a href="http://www.etcetorize.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i1115.photobucket.com/albums/k554/Etcetorize/2012PartyButton150.jpg"/></a></center>  (If you link up you are giving me permission to tell the world how great you are and possibly post a picture or a link to your awesome project either here, on Facebook, or on Pinterest. Make sure you're ok with this before you link up.)

Button Art

This is one of those projects that I've been meaning to do for ages, seriously ages.

I collected all my supplies, even organized my buttons on my canvas and then I froze.  I just could not figure out what to do with the background.  Paint it? What colour? Mod Podge? Fabric or paper?  It was so silly but I just could not visualize how this silly little craft would look in the end.  I always have to see something in my mind before I can make it happen.

Then I realized what my problem was!  I was picturing it in the wrong room.  The second I moved it from the living room to my studio (in my head) I knew exactly how it would look.  And I couldn't be happier with the end result.

Here's all you need:

Steps:
1) First things first, I didn't have the paint colour on hand that I wanted so I had to mix it.  By some miracle I got the exact colour I wanted...peach! (white tinted with pumpkin orange and mustard yellow)

2) Paint your canvas however many times it takes to get the coverage you like.  I was able to get away with one coat~

3) Let your canvas dry.  If you're a free wheelin' come as you are type person, you can skip this step.  If you're a little more controlling and lean toward the perfectionist side of the scale...lay out your buttons in the shape you want.  This ensures that not only will you have enough buttons, but your shape won't be lopsided.

4) Once everything is exactly where you want it, pull out your glue gun and start adhering your buttons to the canvas.  I was originally going to sew each button on but quickly saw how easily I could lose my mind, and went for the glue.

I got these awesome covers to protect my sensitive little fingers when I'm ironing with lots of steam (which is almost always when I'm sewing) and found that they came in super handy with the glue gun.  I'm sure I'd still be sitting there with raw fingertips if it hadn't been for these saviours.

Look Ma!  They all stuck!

I could barely believe it.  Only one button fell off when I stood my canvas up.  I thought for sure I would've missed more.  I just love how it sparkles and shines in the light.  (T is for Tamara in case your new around here.)

To go with my new little art piece I painted a small bulletin board and gave it a very subtle shimmer with my Sparkle Mod Podge.  And because I can't seem to go for even a week without pulling the stuff out, I also Mod Podged these cuties that I picked up for $1.00 each at the thrift store.

They got a base coat of white paint and then I used the napkin and tissue paper you see behind.

I didn't photograph all of the Mod Podge steps because you guys have seen me do it a million times.  Don't believe me?  Check out my entry for the Plaid Pinterest Board contest.  It's almost all Mod Podge projects!

So, this is what my little sewing corner looks like now.

Please don't mind the mess, I've always got
at least 4 or 5 sewing projects on the go.

I'm almost done doing a mini revamp of my studio and I can't wait to show you...soon!

Have a crafty weekend everyone and don't forget to check out the linky party page up top~

This project was featured here:

Martha Stewart Giveaway Winner

You guys are obviously bonkers for Martha Stewart Paints and Stencils so let's not keep you all in suspense.  The winner of the 500 Follower Giveaway is....

Congratulations Serena!  You've won a great assortment of Martha Stewart Paints:

and this set of super pretty Martha Stewart Stencils!

I can't wait to see how you use them.  I'll be in touch with you soon!

A super huge thank you to Plaid for providing the gifts and to all of you who entered. 

Make sure to stick around because there's going to be lots more fun projects and ideas and hopefully more giveaways too!