Houndstooth Blanket

My new favorite method of finishing off a fleece blanket...with bias tape! I have grown tired of the fleece tied blankets, (No offense if that's your thing) and to be honest there aren't a TON of fleece prints that I even like, but this houndstooth one aught my eye when JoAnns was having a super fleece sale this winter, so I picked up a bit. I also scored this pretty green-ish blue-ish bias tape from the NPS store for .79 cents a package. nice. It only took my like 25 minutes to finish this SUPER easy blanket. If you don't sew a ton, you can for sure do this little blanket, but if you do sew a ton, then you know what a cinch this will be right?!

Added my little PLaY logo, looks so professional right?!

Aaaand we have a winner! Everett likes it too.

Sooo snuggly

And fun for playing Peek-a-boo!

I seriously use this blanket all the time, watching movies, in the car, sleep-overs, you name it. LOVE it!

NPS store

Okay, I know I'm totally stuck on sharing thrifty stores right now, but I haven't been able to make much these last few weeks becasue there's still so much unpacking and organizing to do in the new house, maybe I should give myself an hour or so each day to create something just for fun...we'll see :) For now, I want to share with you another favorite good deal store of mine.

It's called NPS

(if you're in Utah, the address is 1600 South Empire Road, Salt Lake City, UT 84104, it's in this warehouse section of town...)

It's similar-ish to Canned food warehouse (Rainbow) but it has much more. But the idea is similar, nearly expired food items and overstock. Some things are a GREAT price, and some are the same as other grocery stores. I do buy a few food items there, but what I really love is the other side if the store, where the fabric and home goods section lives.

This is the fabric section. It's nothing fancy, but it can be totally awesome! I have found countless amazing ribbons (like a spool of 100 yards of 1 1/4 in. brown grosgrain ribbon for $5), and trims (like an 18 yard spool of pom-pom ball fringe for $2) and really cool fabrics (like a yard of grey eyelet that is 60" wide that I'm going to make a cute tunic top out of for $2.50).

In this little cubby of a room there are bolts upon bolts of cool fabric, all at least 60" wide!

Below: spools of 50-100 yards of velcro for like $10 and some kind of fancy doily things :) {also, in the top right of the pic below doesn't that look like a "PINK" mannequin from Victorias Secret? I think it is}

There's also this home goods section of pillows, rugs and usually there's some really cool furniture here, not today though...

Also, not pictured is a "dollar store" section, where everything is a buck. I have found cool stuff in there! Like t-shirts, bags, etc.

Anyway, that's the NPS store. It's really cool, and fun to see what you can find.

What kind of cool stores are there in your neck of the woods?

ikea as-is section

So, our new house is like 10-15 minutes form Ikea. :) I love wandering the great expansive warehouse of inspiration and coolness that ikea is. My favorite part of Ikea though is the "as-is" section. Markdowns, returns, items once used for displays, discontinued items, it's like a treasure trove of sorts! If you've never been, the "as-is" section is at the end of the store, after the place you pick up your furniture boxes, before the checkout.

Sometimes there's nothing there worth taking home, but sometimes there totally is...like thrifting...or like a box of chocolates....you never know what you're gonna get!
They have things somewhat organized by type, and its fun to sift through
These cool soap dispensers (above) were discontinued so they were clearanced out...$4, I took one home with me :)
And here is a bin of linens, curtains, blankets, etc...that plum colored sheet came home with me too for 5.99, I'm going to make myself a maxi-dress out of it! Nice!

I LOVE clearance. Even at less expensive stores, like Ross, I go straight for the clearance...I can't help it!

Do you know of any other stores that have killer clearance or as-is sections? Do tell!

Perfumed Body Powder

{DISCLAIMER} Not intended for the male species to read...

Do you put on body powder after your shower? I do. I use a puffy powder puff, and puff it all around my body, it's so nice. I put powder anywhere that might get er...sticky during the day...lol...armpits, back, thighs, it's the best in the summer especially because I don't like my chest skins to touch (yes I mean my boobs) when it's hot out, YUCK! BOOB SWEAT! it makes my underclothes feel SO soft, it's kind of luxurious. I also like to put some in my shoes (like dress shoes, or flats) when I'm not wearing socks, makes my feet nice and dry and soft :)

I haven't always been a wearer of body powder...never even gave it a second glance. But my mom is, and has been for as long as I can remember. Something else about my mom...she smells like heaven...always. It wasn't until this last Christmas that I realized why (besides her natural sweetness) when she mentioned to Santa's helper (that would be me, I'm in charge of relaying messages to the man who makes the magic happen at Christmas...aka my dad) that she was almost out of her Estee Lauder "beautiful" body powder. She wears perfumed body powder! That's how come she smells soooooo good, and so does her pillow, and clothes, and when I hug her, it's so...good!

So, since perfumed body powder is expensive, and I don't have moolah to be a throwin around where it needn't, I set out to make some myself. I read a few methods from different places, and came up with this one that works pretty good for me. I have been smelling good for months now! Here's how I did it...

You'll need:
-a cotton ball
-a glass jar with a lid (not pictured above...forgive me)
-your favorite perfume (Mine is Calvin Klein Euphoria, a V-day gift from the hubbs a couple years ago)
-some shower to shower, body powder (I got mine at the dollar store, it's "scented" but that doesn't matter because the perfume will be stronger)
-Something cute to keep it in (could be a tin, a paper mache round box ...I've seen them at the craft store) I got my glass jar from downeast for $2...lucky I know

STeP 1: Drench your cotton ball in perfume (I used 30-40 sprays)

STeP 2: Place the cotton ball in the bottom of the jar and dump the body powder in after it, leave a little room at the top so you can shake it...

STeP 3: Put the lid on tight and shake it...really shake it.

STeP 4: Let it sit for 10-14 days, shake it up a bit every day,
this is the hardest part, to let it "cure"

Then put it in your pretty glass jar and use it...you'll love it! And you'll smell like heaven too!
I don't even put on perfume anymore, I just have a subtle yummy smell about me...just ask my hubby!

More ties with suspenders

Okay, so I have been without the internet till now, we are officially into the new house!!! YAY! Putting things away is so fun, when you have plenty of room for everything! I have been so busy, these are another custom order for a client, who is a local photographer, we're trading goods, she'll take Everett's photos when he turns 1! I LOVE trading like that! Anyway, she requested super bright and cheery colors, and wanted 2 sets that coordinate because she's photographing twins this week who are turning one...SO CUTE! I can't wait to see how they turn out!
I am happy to be back with the internet! I had a GREAT weekend shopping with my sis, and cousins-in-law Joanna and Jessica (who is in town from Cali, check out her AMAZING craft blog here...yeah she's totally legit, and has a huge following and everything...crafty genius) We went to four fabric stores, hit up some garage sales, and went to downeast...so fun!

I'll be back tomorrow with a little su'm su'm...

Ties and suspenders, for a client

So, I made up these CUTE ties and suspenders for a client whose grandson is turning a year old tomorrow :)

I embellished this PB onesie that I got from downeast, and made the pants out of an old pair of linen pants I had

I used the bowtie tutorial from Lemon Squeezy home,

but made mine a little smaller for a wee one :)

These suspenders were SOOO easy! Literally like 10 minutes...a tutorial is in the works :)

And since the mini-mister is 10 months old today, I had to have him try them on...couldn't help myself

Paper Blossom Tutorial

Welcome to my first ever tutorial. I had no idea they were so tricky! It took me much longer to make the tutorial than it did to make this flower lol! Enjoy!

I used a roll of brown craft paper found at Walmart in the paint section, it was around 6 bucks for the roll, but you could use ANY kind of paper, scrapbook, card stock, butcher paper etc...

If you don't want to see the staples, you could use glue dots, or hot glue, I prefer the staples because they're so quick, and I kind of like the look of them :)

Now, stick it up on the wall and admire...cute! Now make a whole bunch more, they are SO easy and quick! Wouldn't they be SUPER cute in bright butcher paper for a party? Or using vintage book pages? I'm making up a bunch to put in my craft room! My SIL had me make some to use in her photography studio! You can make them big or little, bright or muted, let me know if you make them I'd love to see!!!