Quiet Book: Mr. Potato Head

One of my crafting challenges that I've set for myself this year, aside from just getting back into crafting, is to create a quiet book for Ian. If you've never heard of a quiet book, it's essentially a book, usually made of felt, that has little activities, puzzles, and games for your toddler/preschooler to play with.  It's great for car rides and I think the original purpose was for kids to have something to keep them quiet at Church.

There are some amazing quiet book inspiration pages out there and I have a whole Pinterest page dedicated to it. You'll also find a lot of blogs with instructions or whose sole purpose is the quiet book.  I found one such blog that had fun templates like a Mr. Potato Head activity page.  I decided that seemed pretty simple and would be a good starting point.

You can get the templates to make your own Mr. Potato Head quiet book pages here.  Once I downloaded the templates, I cut out the various pieces to assemble my quiet book.  I ordered my felt from Etsy - I found they had the greatest selection of colors to choose from and reasonable prices.

I also have a very extensive collection of embroidery thread. This isn't even the full amount - I have a lot pulled aside for current embroidery projects.  I used a combination of hand-stitching with embroidery threads (especially on the small pieces) and my sewing machine on the large pieces.

I made a whole bucket of various pieces to attach to Mr. Potato Head.  They all get stored in the bucket and Ian can pull them out and piece them on to the potato in whatever way he chooses.

My goal is to create one quiet book page or set of pages for Ian a month until his second birthday. By then he should be about ready to really enjoy the quiet book and he'll have a whole set at that point. I've already completed some of the next pages so I'll share those shortly.

Ian's Mustache Bash

A few months ago, I shared some of the party preparation I was doing for Ian's first birthday. He's now almost 15 months old, so his birthday is long past, but I wanted to share the final result.  I did A LOT of crafting for his birthday - starting back in November. Yeah, I might have gone a little overboard, but I was so happy with the result.  The final look was everything I pictured it to be (thanks, Pinterest), but above all that, I had a wonderful time celebrating with friends and family.



Almost everything we did for his party was homemade. I made paper chains for behind his high-chair, the smash cake and desserts were made by myself and my mom, the bunting, birthday boy message cards, food labels for the tables... I ordered a couple of things from online, just because I didn't have that time or expertise.  Luckily, my new Silhouette made everything else extremely do-able and fairly easy.  I never thought I would veer from my sewing/needlework crafts, but this machine is definitely convincing me otherwise.







This birthday party taught me a lot. The main lesson being that I will never throw a birthday party like this again. At least not until any future babies turn one. It was a huge undertaking and I would totally say I went overboard. It's hard not to get sucked into all of the pinterest ideas out there. I don't regret it, but I don't think it's really necessary in the future.  A couple of things here and there, but I think I'll just focus on activities for kids. At this party we had a little area gated off so that kids could safely play in a small ball pit. I also had a local children's story time performer come in and sing some songs to the kids. I have some great memories from the event and luckily plenty of pictures to remember all of the craziness that went along with the planning.

New Crafting Medium: Heat Transfer Vinyl

While I've been quiet on the blogging front, I've been very busy crafting. I've been having a hard time finding the mental balance of making things and actually writing something up about them. I feel like I've taken a lot of pictures with the intent to eventually post something, but I somehow never get around to it.  I'm hoping to write a few posts to be released in the near future - maybe it will help to inspire me again. So, if you're still with me... thanks. :)

One of the newest crafts I've taken on has been working with the Silhouette and therefore: vinyl, heat transfer vinyl, and just a little bit of paper-crafting.  I have enough sewing materials, fabric, patterns, yarn, and books that I don't necessarily want to stock up on all new craft supplies, but I've been able to reign in my Silhouette crafting to a so-far reasonable level.

I started by doing a few vinyl projects. Mainly, labeling my water bottles, buckets for Ian's outside toys, etc, but eventually tested the waters by making HTV shirts for a run that I recently did. Don't act all impressed - it was a beer run. A 4k where at every k, you drank a beer. Classy.  But hey, it got me running.

I ended up making all of the shirts for the ladies I ran with, but it made me want to get a better understanding of HTV.  I was frustrated with the pressing process and about ready to throw in the towel by the time I got to the end.  But, through some of my Silhouette Facebook groups, I found some designs that convinced me that I needed to try it again on shirts for Ian.  I did a bit of research and short of buying a press, I think I found a pretty decent method for applying HTV using an iron.  I may still end up getting a press one day, but in the meantime, the iron does the trick.  But I'm happy to share the method with you.

To iron on  HTV, you will need:

• the garment to iron on (I stuck with cotton onesies). If you're going to use something other than cotton, you will need to do a quick search to make sure the HTV won't melt it. You press down for a long enough amount of time that you will want to be sure before ruining a garment.
• iron
• pressing cloth. I used a piece of scrap, cotton fabric. 
• firm, iron-safe surface, such as an ironing board
• your design, printed in reverse onto heat transfer vinyl. For this project, I used the Silhouette brand HTV, but you can use any kind - your press time may vary slightly depending on the type, so check with the manufacturers directions.

First, prep your HTV.  Weed out any designs that you don't want to iron on to your surface. If you have text printed on your design, make sure it's a mirror image as you will apply it in reverse to the shirt - which then adhere's it in the proper direction. Make sense? You'll see.

Then, prep your garment. I did a quick iron of the onesie to release any wrinkles and warm the surface up a bit.  Make sure you only have one layer of the garment on the side of your ironing board. Otherwise, you may end up bonding the HTV through your article of clothing.  To adhere the HTV, set your iron to the 'cotton' setting.

Place the HTV, with the clear sheet attached, to the shirt. I used a ruler to center the design. When the HTV is flipped onto the garment surface, the design is readable. See? Told you.

Lay the pressing cloth on top of the HTV/clear sheet.  Press your iron down on the pressing cloth for one minute*. I turn on the stopwatch on my phone. Repeat this process on various part of the design (depending on how big it is) to ensure that all sections have been adhered to the garment.  Remove iron and let cool for a minute or so before handling.

Remove pressing cloth and begin to slowly peel off the clear sheet from the HTV. With letters and small pieces, you may need to be especially careful. If something is not adhered enough, it may either need more time to cool, or may need more pressing time.

Once the clear sheet is removed, your design is done! I do a quick press with the pressing cloth directly over the design, then with the shirt inside out.

I went a little crazy and made a few designs, including one that layered two colors. I can definitely see this becoming an addiction with customizing some of Ian's clothing.

Have you worked with HTV before? How was your experience? Please let me know if you have any other tips to share.

*I pressed my HTV for one minute. I believe the Silhouette instructions said 20-30 seconds, but that did nothing other than cause frustration.  You may want to test on some throw-away garments or vinyl first, but I found that one minute was the only way to get the HTV to actually adhere to my different fabrics.

Sweet Treats Saturday: Sugar Cookie Cupcakes

These cupcakes are so decadent. They really emphasize the 'sweet' in 'sweet treats.' But they're so delicious, and would be the perfect compliment to a platter of sugar cookies.

Don't believe me?

That's how I served them.

It was a tough decision.  Sugar cookie... cupcake... alright, one of each.




Sugar Cookie Cupcakes
Recipe from le creme de la crumb
Makes approx 12 cupcakes

Ingredients for the cupcakes:
1/2 c butter (1 stick), softened
1 c sugar
2 large eggs
3 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 cup half n' half

Ingredients for the frosting:
2 tbsp cream cheese, room temp
1/2 c butter (1 stick), softened
5 1/2 c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4-5 tbsp half n' half
Optional: Food coloring

Directions for the cupcakes:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin.
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Mix in vanilla extract and eggs until blended.
3. In a separate bowl, add flour, baking powder, and salt. Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture, alternating with half n' half. Mix until blended.
4. Spoon batter into cupcake liners. Bake 15-20 minutes until just browning on the edges. Let cool on a wire rack.

Directions for the frosting:
1. In a large bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter. Slowly add powdered sugar and mix until smooth.  Add in vanilla. Slowly add half n' half until frosting is smooth. Mix in food coloring until desired color is achieved. Decorate cupcakes... and enjoy!

Sweet Treats Saturday: White Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Raspberry Frosting

In my ripe old age of... well, early 30's, I've started to like desserts with fruit flavors.  When I was a kid, you couldn't get my to touch them! Well, mainly fruit fillings. Why would you want to ruin a cake with that?? Now, though? Love it.

I saw a similar recipe to this online, but it was in a different language, and the conversion measurements just didn't seem to be adding up to a full batch of cupcakes. So, I improvised! I went off of a combination of multiple recipes that I had in my head, and made my own variation of white chocolate chip cupcakes, topped with a raspberry cream cheese frosting.

I'm even impressed with myself.

I gave these out at a holiday market as a fundraiser for the church that rented us the booth space. The market patrons had nothing but good things to say, and we had snacks on hand in between sales.

We really didn't eat that many... but it was tempting. They're REALLY good! How perfect would these be for Valentine's Day??

Hopefully you'll enjoy them too!

White Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Raspberry Frosting
Makes approx 24 cupcakes

Ingredients for cupcakes:

1/2 c butter (1 stick), softened
1 c sugar
3 large eggs

2 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 c milk
3/4 c white chocolate chips

Ingredients for frosting:
1/2 c butter (1 stick), softened
4 oz cream cheese, room temp
3 1/2 c powdered sugar
1/4 c raspberry jelly (seedless)
red food coloring

Directions for cupcakes:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (approx 2 minutes). Slowly add in eggs.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.  Slowly add the dry mixture into the butter mixture, alternating with the milk until blended.  Stir in white chocolate chips.  Spoon mixture into cupcake liners, filling approx 2/3 of the way.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until light golden around the edges and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Directions for frosting:
1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and cream cheese until smooth. Slowly add in powdered sugar and mix until blended.
2. Add in raspberry jelly and blend. Add red food coloring until desired color is reached. Use to frost cupcakes.

First Birthday Party Planning

Believe it or not, my little guy is approaching his first birthday. Doesn’t it feel like yesterday that I even announced he was on his way?

I’ve taken this birthday party planning business seriously, and though I was torn between multiple themes over the past six months (yes, that’s how long I’ve been thinking about this), in November I made the final decision to do a ‘Little Man’ theme and have gone full-blown ever since.  Because I’ve had plenty of time to think on this, I was able to take advantage of some great deals, including black Friday and after Christmas specials.  I also made the leap over to the dark side: vinyl and paper cutting with the purchase of a Silhouette Cameo.  I’m kinda addicted.

I want to share with you some of the party resources I've found.  Stores and online shops to buy supplies from, and places of party inspiration.  Today I'm going to focus on the theme, invitations, and favors, but later posts will include decorations, party prep, and, of course, food.

Starting with the theme. I wanted to do something that he probably wouldn’t pick for a future birthday. This ruled out trains and cars (just from what I’ve seen in little boys birthdays, they seem to gravitate towards those topics). I was torn between little man, Where the Wild Things Are, and Dr. Seuss. I may do one of the latter two for a future birthday, but once I found this mustache fabric from Hart’s, I instantly ordered two yards and declared it the winner.  Choosing a fabric to go off of really helped, as I didn’t have to choose from a wide range of colors… they were already selected for me.  And luckily, mustache’s are really popular right now. Etsy is swimming with them for all occasions, Target and Walmart have bits and pieces (Walmart actually has a small section right now with party supplies in the mustache theme), and there are so many inspiration posts in the blogosphere.  If you don’t believe me, check out my Pinterest on the topic.

I made the invitation myself, using Adobe Illustrator and the Silhouette to cut out the pop-up mustaches. I gathered my inspiration from various designs on Etsy, and made it into one that fit the party.  You could pretty easily make one yourself, or again, check out Etsy for some amazing sellers.  Some of my favorites were:

Petite Party Studio

ChelsiLeeDesigns

I got the invitation paper from Paper-Source and with shipping, it can be a little pricey (as card stock goes). I miss the days of having a Paper Source 15 minutes away.  I’ve been told that Michael’s actually has really good card stock, so I’ll have to check next time I’m in the area.  I didn’t know how many paper invitations I would need, as I’ll also be distributing an invitation electronically to most of my local mommy friends, so I went with 50.  I’m going to use the extras to make stationary, so it works out in the end. You can never have too much stationary sized card stock.

I used foam, adhesive dots to raise the blue mustaches on the invitation. I love the effect that it gave it. I also printed the back of the envelopes with a little teaser, and I used mustache printed washi tape to add the finishing touch.

Next, I want to share with you the goodie bags that I put together.  The average age of the kids at this party will probably be from 8 months – 2 years.  There will be a few older (I think from 3-8 years old) kids there, so I wanted something that would be toddler safe (with supervision), and also fun for the older kids.  I really spent a ridiculous amount of time figuring out how to package these things. Seriously, I don’t think normal people do this. I was torn between paper, cellophane, and burlap type bags.  I did a lot of price comparisons and thoughts as to how everything would be displayed when making pretty much every decision on this party, and with my love of fabric, I ultimately went with the muslin bags.  I found them for a reasonable price (again, lots of price comparison shopping), and once I figured out the contents of the bags, I ordered the size I needed.  They came with a twine-type ribbon that matched the bags, but I had ordered plenty of bakers twine in blue so I swapped it out.  It was a little bit of a pain to do as I had to slightly cut the openings of the top of each bag but the twine looks so good with it that I’m really happy with the extra work.

I love the 'goodies' that I found for the bags. They all went with the mustache theme, and aside from the sidewalk chalk, all came from Oriental Trading Company or Century Novelty (both are bulk party supply stores), so they were really inexpensive.

Mustache Whistles
Rubber Duckies with mustaches
Stickers
Mustache shaped sidewalk chalk



The finishing touch on the favor bags were tags that I made on my Silhouette. I designed the top, 'thank you' tag on  Adobe Illustrator, then cut that and the black/blue hanging tag bases on my Cameo. I used the foam adhesive to elevate the two levels, and tied them onto the bag. I used card stock from AC Moore which, sadly, was of disappointing quality. It does the job, but I'm going to check out my other craft stores as I've been told they have some better options.

If you're doing a mustache theme'd party, there are so many awesome products out there! Just in my search for links to share tonight, I saw that Oriental Trading Company has added even more items. As much as I would love to splurge, at this point, I have quite a stash and don't want to be accused of going overboard. Ok, I might have already been accused of it, so too late there.  Regardless, check out resources like your local craft stores, Etsy galore, Target, Wal-Mart, dollar stores... you can find some hidden gems out there and get some great deals!

Holiday Crafting and Felt Ornaments

Holiday crafting is in full swing. My friend and I were invited to participate in a local holiday craft fair with a European theme. We were thrilled to have the opportunity but we needed to come up with some new items along those lines. I decided to try my hand at felt ornaments as I had a stash of the fabric and I've been wanting to dabble in it for a while now.

Can I say that I'm in love?

I know, dramatic. But seriously - stitching in felt is so awesome! It's smooth, easy to work with and manipulate, and it got my creative juices flowing. Once I got started, I couldn't stop! I made over 40 ornaments over the course of two weeks. Intense, yes, but it felt so nice to be crafting like that again.



I think our display ended up looking beautiful, and the craft fair was a lot of fun. There was tons of foot traffic and we met a lot of great people.



I'm really proud of all of the stuff that I made up for the fair, but I do need to get my Etsy shop updated with some of my newer baby items. I did get a chance to put some of my holiday ornaments and decorations in though, and readers of this blog get a holiday discount! Just use the code '10PERCENT' for 10% off of your purchase. I can ship pretty much immediately, so there's still time to get things for the holidays.  Here's the link: What's Up, Cupcake? Etsy Shop



Isabel made up some adorable onesies in fun holiday designs. She also had these new onesies with a crochet flower. The flower detatches to make for easy washing. How clever is that?? I need her to help me clean up my crochet skills. Her work is so delicate and intricate, and to be honest, I feel like mine can be a little sloppy.

Aside from ornament crafting, I have a few new baby lovie designs to stitch up. I'd love to get that done in the next few days so I can ship them out as well. I've already had some mommas asking for them in my online groups. And then, I'm hoping for some R&R. Spending time cuddling with my little guy and enjoying the winter weather with my family.



I hope you, lovely readers, are doing well, and enjoying this holiday season! I have some more yummy treats to share with you and I'm going to be cutting out my Zinnia skirt soon. It feels good to be at the sewing machine again!

Sweet Treats Saturday: Sugar and Spice Cupcakes

Sugar and spice and everything nice!

I've been craving spice cake. It happens every Fall. Ok, really... year round. But I remember it every Fall when I smell spices in the air or think of mulled cider. This time, I decided to try my hand at a spice cake recipe.

I still feel 'new' in the area. North Carolina, that is. I've met so many new people who don't always know about my love of baking. Well, the word is getting out. These cupcakes brought about some new converts and I can't hide my secret (ok, really, it isn't much of a secret) much longer.

Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting
Frosting recipe from I Wash You Dry
Cupcake recipe makes 24 cupcakes

Cupcake Ingredients:
2 1/2 c cake flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 c butter, room temp
1/2 c light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 c granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 c buttermilk

Cupcake Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line two cupcake pans.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a mixing bowl and using electric beaters), cream butter and sugars. Once fluffy, slowly add eggs and vanilla extract. Beat at high speed until light and fluffy, approx 5 minutes.
4. Add dry ingredients, alternating with buttermilk, mixing until just combined.
5. Pour batter into lined cupcake pans, filling 2/3 of the way. Bake for 15-18 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack.

Frosting Ingredients:
1 c brown sugar, packed
1/4 c water
1/2 c light corn syrup
4 egg whites
2 tsp vanilla extract

Frosting Directions:
1. Mix brown sugar, water, and corn syrup in a medium saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil (being careful not to burn yourself as the mixture will rise). Let it boil at medium heat until the syrup drizzles from the spoon in a hair-like string. This will take approx 10 minutes but may vary so keep an eye on the mix. Remove from the burner and set aside to cool.
2. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff.
3. While beating the egg whites, slowly pour the hot syrup in a thin stream into the egg whites. Don't rush this step! Continue beating until the icing holds peaks, then add the vanilla.
4. Let cool until room temp and frost the cupcakes when ready to serve.

Thankful

I have so much to be thankful this year that I couldn't even begin to list it out. But of course, what I am most thankful for is my happy and healthy family.

Wishing you all a very happy Thanksgiving and start of the holiday season!

Sweet Treats Saturday: Goat Cheese Sugar Cookies

Ok, if you've made it this far, you are in for a treat!

Yes, the sugar cookies have goat cheese in them. No, you will not taste it. What you will taste is a delicious, crispy, buttery, sugar cookie.

When I saw this recipe come up on my Pinterest, I was instantly intrigued. I'm a sucker for goat cheese - on my pizza, in tarts... and apparently in my sugar cookies. But I'm also the type of person who would pick a sugar cookie over chocolate chip, anyday. My husband calls it blasphemy.

The ingredients (other than the goat cheese) were things I would normally have in my pantry. And I actually had the goat cheese on hand as I planned on using it for pizza night later in the week. And while we are at it, how about sprinkles in fall colors? Perfection!

These cookies were so easy to make and so crispy and delicious. I love a sugar cookie all rolled up in sprinkles and these were probably on my top 5 sugar cookie of all time list. Yes, I have such a list.

Surprise someone and whip up this batch of cookies. I didn't tell anyone the secret ingredient, and they never would have guessed anyways. But they were all raving about how delicious they were!



Goat Cheese Sugar Cookies
Recipe only slightly modified from Love and Olive Oil

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 c sugar
1/3 cup (3 oz) soft goat cheese, room temperature (I used the crumbled kind)
6 tbsp butter, softened
1/4 c vegetable oil
2 tbsp milk (1% was fine)
2 tsp vanilla extract
sprinkles or sanding sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to sift. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, goat cheese, and butter. Mix with an electric (or stand) mixer until it forms a smooth paste.  Slowly add in oil. Then add egg, milk, and vanilla extract, stirring until all is blended and smooth.
4. Slowly add in flour mixture until it is all blended. Batter will be soft and may need to be placed in fridge in between use.
5. Fill a small bowl with sprinkles or sanding sugar.
6. Use a small cookie dough scoop or tablespoon to scoop out dough. Scoop into bowl and roll around until mostly covered.  I leave space on the bottom but you could cover the entire cookie. Arrange on prepared baking sheet. The cookies do not spread too much but leave a little space in between each one.
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes until cookies are set and slightly golden.  Cool and transfer to wire racks.

Craft Fair Recap and Lessons Learned

This past weekend, I had my first craft fair. I teamed up with some local moms, and we rented out some tables under the name 'Milk Mamas.'  We all met from our local breast-feeding support group so it was a pretty fitting name.  All of our items are hand-crafted and primarily focused on the wee ones.



The craft fair was put on buy the local Junior League chapter. It's the first or second time they've run it so it was a smaller affair. It was in their local Community Outreach building and there was about a dozen vendors total participating.

I was up late every night of the week, frantically churning out burp cloths and lovies. It's been ages since I've participated in a craft fair, and never selling goods like these... I really didn't know what to expect. My Etsy shop has been doing pretty well, considering I do minimal advertising and it's mainly with online mommy groups.  My lovie's are definitely the top seller as I'm usually advertising them on sites specific to the swaddle brands that I use. But would they perform as well in person?



We arrived early and I covered the tables in my pastel table-cloths. I brought them 'just-in-case' but they definitely came in handy to cover up the drab, plastic tables.  We divided up the tables between the 5 of us and arranged our goodies for display. In the future, we could definitely use more space. We all had a lot of great stuff! ILH Designs and her onesies could have taken up two tables alone as she had so many cute designs available! Her friend was selling Norwex cleaning products at the far end of the table, and the other two ladies had some adorable bows, infinity scarves for babies and adults, and felt quiet books. I think that with the combination of all of these items, I can safely say that we were one of the most popular tables at the craft fair.  We all sold a few pieces - not quite as much as we would have liked to do, but with approximately 50 people coming to the fair (one of the vendors counted), I think we made out pretty well.



Once I got home, I also reached out to my local online groups and mentioned my items, and was able to get quite a few more sales directly through my Etsy shop. So in the end, it came out to be a successful day. I made back what I spent on the table, which was really my main concern, I got my name out there, and was able to gauge what people were interested in.

Much to my surprise, the burp cloths were equally as popular as the lovies. Not that I don't think they are a great product as well, but on Etsy, they don't sell nearly as well. I feel that my pricing is very competitive, but I think Etsy is pretty saturated with burp cloth sets.  I'm going to keep at it though, focusing on them at shows like this, but also keeping really cute designs in stock. In just the last week since the fair, I picked up some new prints that are ridiculously cute. I'll list them online after my next craft fair, tomorrow. Yeah, that's right - back-to-back craft fairs. Tis' the season!

One quick craft that I whipped up for the fair were some little name labels for my items. At the time, I was just doing burp cloths and lovies. Again, since the fair, I've been on a bit of a crafting spree and was inspired to come up with a few new things. More on those after this weekend. I stitched these each up in about 30 minutes.  I made a quick little cupcake and plotted out the spacing for the words. I love how they turned out, and tied my two little baskets together. Now I just need to make a couple more for my new goodies.

So overall, what did I learn from this craft fair experience? Sorry, it's about to get a bit wordy, but hopefully you will find this useful.

1. Don't set too many expectations. Try to find out as much as you can about the fair itself so that you can anticipate how many people will come. Who will mostly make up the audience? I knew that this was a fairly new fair, so I didn't expect a huge turn-out, but I definitely had more products than I needed. It's good to have variety, but you also don't want to over-do it and bring too much clutter. Through this all, you can still find that even though you did the research, you just didn't get a lot of customers. While I think you should take a look at what you are selling overall, making sure it is something people are interested in, you also don't want to go in to your first (or even later on) craft fair expecting to be wiped out of everything. Just be realistic about what to expect.

2. Price right. Be competitive, but make sure you're not underestimating yourself and what your time is worth. Etsy has some great resources to help you calculate how much you should be selling your items for in order to make a profit. If you are finding that your goods are priced too high, you need to figure out how you can keep costs down... better vendors to buy your supplies, more time-effective solutions to make them, or maybe it's something you just need to pass on.

3. Adding on to the topic of price, are you really incorporating ALL costs into your goods? We had one person who was not charging extra for custom prints. It doesn't take her much extra time to do, but something that was missing from her calculations was the cost of getting the end product to the customer. At the fair, you hand them their item, the transaction is - in a sense - over. Custom items require a little extra work but they also do not leave the customer standing in front of you with the goods in hand. The items either need to be delivered in person (if local, and willing to meet) or shipped.  This adds gas costs or just shipping and packaging costs. While it can be exciting to get the sale, you also want to be sure that you are not completely eating away at your margins only to find out you're now in the red. Custom orders may require an extra couple of bucks added on... or more depending on what is actually involved.

4. Listen to your customers. What is it that they are looking for? What are they saying about your products (or the products of the person next to you). For our baby items, what I heard the most was that people wanted a good variety of items for boys, girls, AND gender neutral. It seems obvious, but you may need to take a closer look at your items to make sure they are offering a good variety of options for all customers.

5. Little things count. Keep your stuff neat, easy-to-see, and fun. This draws people in and can impress them with your professional appearance. While some people may like the Becky Homecky look, most people want to buy something that is presented well. Again, seems obvious, but you would be amazed at how some people display their items at craft fairs. If your booth is a mess and it's hard to get an idea of what is actually for sale, you probably won't draw many people in.

6. When possible, let people really SEE your product. I left a few lovies out for people to touch and play with because they are so soft. The rest were neatly packaged up, but this way they could see exactly what they would be buying.

7. What's your follow-up plan? Did you make any connections at the craft fair? Anyone you need to reach out to or custom order to begin working on? Do these things in a timely manner, while your memory is still fresh and so is the customers. It's also just good customer service to get back to them when promised (or sooner). In my case, I didn't have custom orders, but I saw my small supply of burp cloths had a big dent. I needed to replenish before the next fair, so I went out to get more supplies. In doing so, I saw new prints that met #4... listening to what they were asking for. Some cute, new, gender neutral prints, and fun designs that I think will be really popular.  I also advertised online, and ended up selling twice as much as what I sold at the fair in person.  I was already in the shop frame of mind, so it only took me a few minutes and got me a few new customers.

8. Finally... BE FRIENDLY! I saw some vendors with a frown on their face for most of the show. One thing I noticed about them... hardly anyone went to their booth.  You don't need to be a cheerleader, but people probably won't want to stop by if someone with a giant scowl is staring you down.

Alright, I think that's it! Did I miss anything? I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences!

Sew White Dress

What's this?

An actual dress, you say?

For the first time in... well, I'm too lazy to go back and look - let's just say it's been a loooong time. I made a dress. For myself. In fact, it took so long that the dress is just slightly out of season.

For my first foray back to sewing, I eagerly set out to make the Anna dress from By Hand London.  I snatched up the pattern and tried to plot out what fabric to make it in. I looked around my sewing space before I ventured to my local fabric shop, and saw a few yard of white eyelet that I had picked up.  I was inspired to buy this fabric at one point because I saw a black lace dress that I totally thought I could make myself. Except, I couldn't find lace that I wanted to use, or it was too expensive. And then it wasn't black. So I looked at eyelet instead. But still... not inspired by what I saw, and black eyelet is not so easy to come by. So I switched it to white. And then I finally found this eyelet design and bit the bullet. So, it's not what I originally intended, but it could do the job.  I had never used a pattern from By Hand London so I decided I wouldn't be too heartbroken if it didn't work out.

I picked up a thin, white cotton fabric to go underneath the eyelet. We wouldn't want it to be see-through, now would we? I treated the lining as if it were one with the fabric. It made it easier to cut out and assemble the dress, and I didn't want to have to deal with the logistics of a lining.

The pattern was super easy to put together. The hardest part for me was remembering how to do a pleat (I looked up the designer's tutorials, just to make sure I did it right) and installing my invisible zipper. It had been a long while since I did one so I didn't want to make any mistakes. I took it slow, and referred to Colette's sewing handbook instructions, just to be safe.



Now, in California, I could totally wear this dress in the Fall. Except for the whole 'no white after Labor Day' but is that still a thing? Since I've been planning this dress for a while, I probably could have worn it in the early Fall... except we are far enough into the season here in North Carolina, that it's pretty chilly. I could wear it with a sweater, tights, and boots... but I'd probably still be a little cold.  So this will probably get tucked away into my closet until the Spring. But I do like it, and overall the fit seems to be good. I was worried that it wouldn't fit, but it feels perfect. The pictures make it look like it's straining at the bust, but I didn't see that in person, and my hubby denied it too. Regardless, by the time I wear it in Spring, I won't be breastfeeding anymore so I have a feeling the size will be different in that respect. Is that TMI? Trying to be realistic.

So, it's a lovely dress! I will definitely make it again, though I think with the v-neck option instead. Now I need to get realistic about cold weather sewing options. Do you have any recommendations of favorite patterns? Maybe the new release from Colette will be something fitting...

The Facts
Fabric: Approx 3.5 yards cotton eyelet, from stash
Pattern: Anna from By Hand London
Year: Contemporary
Notions: 16" zipper, hook closure
Time to Complete: Approx. 4 hours
First worn: For photos
Wear again: When it's warmer

Sweet Treats Saturday: Cornflake Cookies

Everywhere I go I have to stop whenever I see a bakery or cupcake shop that I haven't tried. Being that we're in a completely new home, I'm having to stop an awful lot.

I popped in to a little bakery near my house as I heard they had amazing brownies.  The brownies were alright but in the process I spotted a cookie that I'd never heard of... I think they called it a 'rocket' cookie? Its description said 'cornflakes, coconut, and pecans.' Cornflakes in a cookie??  I was intrigued.

I brought it home and nibbled on a corner... which promptly turned in to devouring the whole thing. It was so good! For the sake of my wallet, I thought I should figure out how to make them myself.  I did a search on 'cornflake cookies' and nothing sounded quite right. I finally found one that sounded exact - minus the pecans. So I whipped up my own version.

I think they turned out almost exactly the same. I would be tempted to get another one just to compare, but what I baked was a buttery, crispy, mildly coconut-ty cookie with a little crunch from the pecans and cornflakes. The coconut isn't overwhelming and the cornflakes have a mystery about them. These may be my new sugar/oatmeal cookie addiction.

Cornflake Cookies
Recipe modified from Allrecipes

Ingredients:
1/2 c butter (4oz)
1/2 c brown sugar, packed
1/2 c white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 c cornflakes cereal, crushed (I poured into a ziploc bag and crushed them by hand)
1 c old-fashioned oats
1 1/3 c flaked coconut
3/4 c pecans, chopped

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until smooth and fluffy.  Stir in the egg and vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Stir into the creamed mixture. Add the oatmeal, crushed cereal, coconut, and pecans, and mix until combined.
4. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto a prepared cookie sheet. Cookies should be about 2 inches apart. Bake for 9-12 minutes until edges are light brown and the tops are golden. Remove from baking sheets and cool on wire rack.

Lovies and an Etsy Shop

I've been doing a lot of sewing lately, though still not a garment for myself - mainly crafts.  One in particular has been little lovie blankets for babies.

Having Ian introduced me to many things... baby love and snuggles, dirty diapers, breastfeeding, and the world of baby accessories being just a few of them. Within this world, I found muslin swaddle blankets.  When I first heard of them, I couldn't understand the appeal.  Sewing muslin does not usually bring to mind the softest of fabrics.  I found that this muslin they speak of is actually cotton gauze. A soft, lightweight cotton that is perfect for swaddling little babies in.  There are a few big designers, especially Aden and Anais, Swaddle Designs... and it seems like so many more are constantly popping up.

Tilly recently featured a post on Selling Your Handmade Stuff. It was a good read, and had a few things I had to consider when coming up with my shop.  I checked out the existing market for lovies and found that most were made from minky and cotton fabrics... but why not from these beautifully designed blankets? I set to work. I made a few designs and offered them within my online mommy groups. They performed really well so I thought it was time to reopen my Etsy shop.  I've made a little inventory and had my first few sales... and I'm really pleased with the results. I think the lovies turned out beautifully and I think they will make many a happy baby. My little guy loves his.  I have a few more versions to make before the holidays but I'm trying to squeeze them in between my own personal sewing projects.

Ian on one of his swaddle blankets

If you would like to purchase a lovie, you can get them from my Etsy shop with a 10% discount for blog readers. Just use the coupon code '10PERCENT'