Frilly Scarf

Looky what I made! As you may know, I haven’t learned to knit or crochet yet (although my first wonky attempt at crochet DID turn into a super-cute pillow!). However, on Thanksgiving weekend my daughter-in-law Tiffany showed me how to make this frilly scarf out of the Sashay yarn I won from Ginny’s spring giveaway. The lace is already part of the yarn, so all I had to do was crochet through the openings at the top . . . easy even for me! I found out that the back of the yarn wrapper has directions for this same scarf, but it was way better to see someone model the steps in person. Thank you, Ginny and Tiffany! ♥

Global Girlfriend Love

Have you discovered Global Girlfriend yet? Besides my friends’ shops, it’s my favorite shopping spot EVER! This fair-trade boutique sells handmade clothes, jewelry, handbags, accessories, bath and body products, and paper goods from all over the world, and the money goes to help craftswomen make a living to feed their families. They also have gift certificates, which the special girls in my family LOVE to get for their birthdays . . . even though it can literally take hours to decide which gorgeous items to spend them on!  Right now, in honor of Earth Day, Global Girlfriend is offering FREE SHIPPING for $25 U.S. orders (code: FREE25) and $50 international orders (code: FREE50). Please check them out if you get a chance . . . it will definitely brighten your day! They’re also on Facebook here  and my Shop Love! page here. P.S.  Below is one of my favorite GG purchases, a set of inspirational cards made from handmade paper. I love them so much that I’ve also displayed them on my office wall! ♥

A Fun Find!

As you know from my Shop Love! posts and page, I’m all about supporting small businesses.

That hasn’t changed!

But . . . I found a “big” business item that I just have to share!

I bought these gorgeous scarves from the Kohl’s Cares Jennifer Lopez Collection for FIVE dollars . . . and ONE HUNDRED percent of the net proceeds goes to breast cancer research!

The collection includes other scarf designs, too, as well as t-shirts, pajamas, tote bags, jewelry, and other items . . . all priced at $5, $10, or $15.

Who doesn’t love fun and affordable accessories??? Oh, and if you haven’t already, please visit my other recent “accessory” post and sign up for the Origami Owl blogger locket giveaway! ♥

Lizzie Rose Jewellery

We had such a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with our family!  And I have the week off . . .  and the sun is shining . . . and I have lots of fun projects to do . . . I could go on and on! 🙂  But instead, I’m going to share my newest Shop Love! post in honor of my blogging friend Catherine of Lizzie Rose Jewellery.  I absolutely love these feather earrings, which will be a lovely birthday gift for someone special in my family.  Catherine also creates bracelets, necklaces, anklets, and charms and sells the cutest ribbon . . . like these measuring tape and button designed ribbons that will definitely be appearing on some of my projects this year!  AND, her packaging and customer service are superb!  Catherine is originally from England but now lives in Singapore, and her shop is named after her daughter.  You can read Catherine’s blog here and visit here Etsy shop here from this post or anytime by clicking on the Shop Love! page above.  Thank you, Catherine! ♥

Peppermint Headband

After making a peppermint wreath and peppermint Christmas tree skirt, I had three little felt peppermints left, so I wrapped a headband in red bias tape and stitched the candies on top to make a festive accessory for a special little girl. This was another free-to-me activity since I already had all the supplies on hand . . . don’t you love it when that happens? There’ll be no more peppermint projects for me this Christmas since I used up all my red felt remnants and have vowed to use up my stash before buying more fabrics (we’ll see how THAT goes!). But several of you have said you’re on it now, so I can’t wait to see what you make! Now . . . on to some Christmas gifts . . . and Christmas pillows . . . and . . . ♥

Lace Bracelet

When I recently received a collection of laces as a gift from Josée of Cul de Sac, I immediately fell in love with the bright purple one and used it to a-la-mode a placemat tote. Then, while toying with the leftover bit the other day, I realized it was just the right length for a bracelet!

I had some fasteners left over from my button necklace, so I simply turned under the ends of the lace, hand-stitched with matching thread, and stitched on the fastener pieces.

Making the bracelet only took about 15 minutes, and I LOVE it! Now I can’t wait to go through the rest of my laces and make more! ♥

Black Beaded Bracelet Beauty

Today I’d like to feature ANOTHER amazing blogger who had a giveaway . . . Evgenia of Being Zhenya. Yes, I was the winner of one of her three handmade beaded bracelets! (I got the skinny one!)  The other two winners were Brande of Victory Vintage Style and Beth of The Renegade Seamstress. We’re SO lucky!

When you visit Being Zhenya, you’ll read about “Fashion, Beauty, DIY, Thrifting, and so much more!”  Thank you, Evgenia! ♥

Reversible Lace Belt

Although I found this intriguing lace belt tutorial by Toni of Make It Perfect quite awhile ago, I hadn’t tried it yet . . . until my gift of lace inspired me to hop to it! Along with the lace, I used a strip of the denim from the tote bag in the same post and a strip of the floral cloth ribbon from my spiral zipper wristlet. I made a few adjustments to the instructions based on the widths of the materials I had at hand, but it was just as fun and easy as Toni said. I can’t wait to make more! ♥

Thank you!

Like many Americans, I decided to deck out in casual red, white, and blue before heading out with family and friends for the 4th of July.

• Denim capris and white peasant top . . . check!
• Red leather belt and red canvas shoes and tote . . . check!
• Silver earrings and bracelet with red beads . . . check!
• Headband (because I LOVE headbands!) . . . UNCHECK!

So, I headed for my remnants and found this pretty red/white stripe left over from a snowman pillow I made last winter and a little strip of elastic and had it ready to wear in about 10 minutes.  But this isn’t a “what I wore” or “headband tutorial” post  . . . it’s a thank you to all of YOU who constantly inspire me with your creativity and resourcefulness so that I didn’t even think twice about figuring out how to make what I needed out of something I already had. You’re the best! ♥

T-Shirt Headbands

Craft Snob posted a fun tutorial on making headbands out of old T-shirts. Being a headband fan, I just had to try it. Here are my first two, made from a gray ribbed tank top that was ready for the rag bag. My flower is a little smaller than hers, but I like it, and the other one has a sort of cornucopia-shaped decoration for a-la-mode. They only take a few minutes to make and are VERY comfortable . . . strong enough to hold your hair back, but light enough that you don’t even feel them.  I’ll be making more! ♥