Picnic

The Art of Thrifting

It feels like a major parenting milestone when you find an activity that thrills both yourself and your child.  For the most part, I'm having fun if my kids are having fun.  But let's be honest... I really don't need to see the elephants at the zoo one more time or feed the goats celery at Little Farm on another Saturday morning for say, THE REST OF MY LIFE!

With that said, I was super excited for Bijou to have her spring break the week following Eero and Wilder's break.  Meaning we had approximately 30 hours last week to do things just the two of us.  She and I share many common interests so the week felt like a huge vacation for both of us.

First stop... Thrift Town in El Sobrante.  I first heard of this golden treasure of a store from some of my classmates in my screen-printing class.  With 4000 new items a day, it's a great resource for blank tees for screen-printing class.  Bijou loves shopping and has been to the flea market with me a few times but this was her first thrifting experience.  I gave her a $10 budget and she walked out with 6 new items in her shopping bag.

My found treasures included:

these two small pottery planters for 99 cents a piece....

An amazing floor length wrap skirt from India for $2.99.  Due to the imperfections in the pattern, I believe it may be block printed (extra bonus!).

Perfectly worn v-neck tee that goes with just about anything for $1.99...

Fringed scarf with pretty gold thread $0.99...

I saved the best score for last.  This Mexican blanket for $19.99.  I saw this exact same blanket at General Store in SF for $150 last month.  Okay, that was obviously a total rip-off but it did make me extra excited for this deal.  The funny part was the lady at the register must have felt the price was high because she double checked with me that $19.99 was okay before she rang it in.  Umm, YES!, works for me.  This will be the perfect blanket for s'more parties in our backyard and camping trips this summer.

A Groovy Shift Dress

I apologize for the infrequent blog posts last week and this week.  My kids ended up having non-simultaneous spring breaks so I have been back and forth between out of town adventures and home and haven't found any time to sit down at the computer to blog.  Today, is the most beautiful pool-weather day so I thought it would be a perfect time to share this sweet little shift dress I made for Bijou a few weeks ago.  The pattern was so simple and perfect for beginners.  I made it even simpler by skipping the lining layer and the small cap sleeves.  It didn't take away from the cute style, kept it lighter for warm weather and was able to be constructed in less than an hour.  My kind of sewing project!

The pattern came from Carefree Clothes for Girls.  You can purchase the book here.

 

Triangle Printed Shirts

 

I've had a hard semester in my screen-printing class with many failed projects.  A few issues I have chalked up to the well-worn screens we use in class. Other times, it has been too much ink, or too little ink, or that I forgot to use spray tack to mount my fabric to the table and a slight movement in fabric makes for a less than perfect print.  In any case, I feel it needs to be perfect to be worthy of my Etsy shop so my shop STILL sits empty :(

In fear of ruining the above shirts, I paid (gulp) retail for, I decided to go back to my tried and true freezer paper printing technique.  I've posted instructions for this method in this post.

As usual, this technique rewarded me with crisp lines and some Etsy shop worthyness.  Bijou has already worn her shirt to school several times.  

A simple scarf

I often start the year strong, fulfilling my expectations for myself like many of us tend to do with the fresh start of a new year.  For the past couple of years, I have resolved to give only handmade gifts for the various birthday parties we attend throughout the year.  Inevitably, those with birthdays in the early months get something handmade and by the time the fall rolls around, I'm browsing the aisles of Target.  So.... staying true to tradition, Bijou's friend Edith received a handmade cowl scarf made from striped jersey knit.  It's soft, comfy and stylish and when I had B try it on for size, she insisted I make a second one for her.  She wore it to school every day last week and even declared, "I'm going to wear this everyday!"  Happy Birthday Edie!  And Happy VERY Early Birthday Bijou!

Stenciled Onesies

I recently picked up this stencil book at a shop so I could decorate the drawer full of plain onesies before the boys arrive.

 

Stencil 101 by Ed Roth

This is a simple craft project anyone can tackle and could make for a cute handmade shower gift.  One thing to note (which is also mentioned in the book), is that it is best to use a dry brush with just a little bit of paint, painting in layers until you reach a dark image.  If you use too much paint, you will not have a crisp image.  Here are the new outfits for the babies...

 

   

 

Little Boy Vintage

Who says shopping for boys is no fun?

 

Baby Hank Vintage, $12

 

Baby Hank Vintage, $24.50

 

The Fancy Tail, $12

 

Orange Appled Vintage, $5

 

3 Ring Circus, $5.50

 

Orange Appled Vintage, $7.50

       Oh!Sydney Vintage, $4

Spring Skirts

 

The Easter skirt.

  

Another spring skirt.

Spring blossoms in our front yard.

These elastic band skirts are so easy to make that I have started to make Bijou a few every season.  I don't have a pattern, I just wing it but if you'd like me to email you directions, please leave me a comment.  Thanks!

  

Gift Guide- Kids Edition

Almost as much as I enjoy making, I enjoying buying.  Here are some unique holiday gift ideas for your little ones this holiday season, that won't break the bank...

 

My bio little Market by Carton Chic

L'archi-maison by Carton Chic 

The Curious Garden by Peter Brown 

Coloring book by Madame Mo 

Yoko Sweet Mint doll by Madame Mo 

Wooden sail boat by Tweet 

Sandpaper letters by Polliwog Learning Products 

Bunting by Wunderlust 

KoolKid rattle by Mimishop 

City in a bag by Muji 

Iggy Peck Architect by Andrea Beaty 

 

Apron Shirt

My Carefree Clothes For Girls book finally arrived in the mail and I decided my first project would be the apron top from the cover.  A simple sewing project perfect for the beginner.  It did involve a button hole so I had to brush the dust of my machine's manual and re-acquaint myself with how exactly to do that.  I knew it was risky to make something for Bijou that had a button since she has been on a button strike for about 3 years now so I decided to make up a little white lie.

B: "Mommy, I don't like it."

Me: "Why?"

B: "Because it has a button."

Me: "Oh, did you think this yellow thing was a button?"

B: "Yeah."

Me: "Oh no, this isn't a button it's called a lemon drop.  Have you ever seen one? It looks like a button but it's actually a lemon drop.  Come over here so I can try it on you."

B: "OK."

It's that easy!  I hope I'm not racking up bad Karma for this but really, what is the harm in a little button?!

   
 

New Skirts!

My little one refused to wear dresses for the first three years of her life.  She is now in a full fledged skirt/dress phase and I am in full support.  To show my appreciation for her more girlie style, I made her a couple of new skirts to add to her wardrobe.

I'm really into Zakka-style fabrics right now from Japan and since my local fabric shop only carries a small selection, I hit up Etsy.  Etsy never lets me down.  All four fabrics used to make these skirts were bought at Cottonblue's shop.

 

Knowing that she would not be too happy about my brown-tone fabric choice on top, I told her that these houses were where the bunnies lived.  She seemed to approve of the skirt after hearing the story behind it.  I swear, she is my toughest critic.

This one she told me she didn't like so I told her that I would give her a treat if she wore it, knowing that after she wore it once, she'd wear it again without bribery.  For some reason, that's the way it always is.