What? No craft night?

I know it's unfortunate that there's no craftacular tuesday this week, however, i'll be back in full force next week with a super sweet craft to make up for it. this week don't skip on being creative. try coming up with a project yourself. i'd love to hear some of your ideas and inspirations.

i'll miss you all this week.

xxoo.
emily

fuzzy baby booties

seems like so many people i know are having babies these days... (i for one am not. been there, done that.) i thought a cute little craft this evening would be to make baby booties to adorn all those little tiny feet! the above picture was made using felt and some recycled blanket. very cute, but it got late and i didn't finish. i will complete mine tonight because i'm making this pair for someone in particular. come join us in making a pair!!!

as always, come get crafty from 6:30-8:30 at anomaly! i provide all you need to make your project, you just show up with 5 bucks, friends (if you'd like), and a cheerful attitude. see you this evening for some crafty goodness!

RE:Style old zippers have a new look!

I didn't have too much luck at the flea market today, but what i did get was well worth the trip! i scored a supa sweet shoe box FULL of vintage notions!

One of the many ideas on my "things to make" list happens to be a zipper flower. It was my lucky day because this box was FILLED with zippers! There's quite the assortment. Some fashioned from ivory cotton, yellowed with time and lined thick silver metal zipper teeth. Some are a deep purple and others olive green, or there's the skinny polyester ones circa 1970's and 3 are even still in the package! As if the 15 zippers wasn't enough of a treasure, the box also held 2 packages of unopened needles (just broke my last one on Friday night!), a bunch of ribbed poly cord perfect for handles for tote bags, a few yards of elastic, buttons galore, and other miscellaneous sewing trinkets. I'm not going to even tell you how much I paid for it. You wouldn't believe me anyway.

I have a tremendous appreciation for vintage packaging. A few of the buttons in my stash were still on the original cards. The back of one of the cards caught my eye.


Such a simple little sales pitch means so much more now that when it was printed. Women have really escaped the confines of being a housewife (although if you ARE a housewife and enjoy, there is nothing wrong with that either!) and have risen to great achievement. From being a doctor, supreme court justice, a senator, and even the proprietor of an independent shop, (wink, wink) women have much more credibility in this world than they used to!

That being said, there is part of me that's a little sad. About a month or so ago I was sitting outside the shop enjoying the weather and working on the handstiching of an owl pillow for RAM. 2 elderly ladies were walking past me and one stopped and asked what i was working on. I told her and she replied, "You just don't see that kind of handwork any more. It's so nice to see that." The making of things is quickly becoming a thing of the past. People are so busy with the chaos of life that it's easier to run to Target and pick up some mass produced item than to take the time to craft something by hand. We've got to keep crafting alive! Let's be inspired by ideas and techniques from generations before us and craft in a way that is modern, fun, functional, and of course, CUTE!

I digress... back to my project... I fashioned up a couple flowers this evening and this is what i came up with... Add a bobby pin or pin back and you've got yourself a cute little conversation piece!

Please join the crafty crew this Tuesday (and every Tuesday!) for Craftacular Tuesdays at Anomaly! As always, it's BYOB, $5 (includes supplies) and we looooove seeing new faces! Hope you can make it. Feel free to call 904-354-7002 if you have any questions!

xoxo.
emily

Don't forget your sewing machine...

Forgot to add this to the post for tonight's craft, but if you have a sewing machine please bring it. I only have one and depending on who shows, we will all be sharing that. Everyone shares nicely, thankfully, but it's still nice to have multiples to use if possible. Thank you so much and see you this evening!

this week we're taking it up a notch...

summer sewing spectacular project #3: an adorable little bag
a little more challenging than last week's... but i know you can do it!

craftacular tuesdays is so great. each week it gives me the chance to hang out with a diverse group of ladies AND gentlemen. it also forces me to try a new project and challenge myself each week. some weeks, i will admit, i may not give it 100% and the project doesn't turn out as i'd like. and yes, some weeks are better than others, but it's always something different and equally fun! last week's project was a hit! 15 people of all ages and skill levels came out to tackle sewing his/her own reusable sandwich wrapper!

since we're doing our summer sewing series, this week i thought we'd tackle a bag. it's a really simple pattern with a total of 3 pieces: a lining, outer fabric and braided handle. i fashioned it out of vintage fabric (of course!) and then added a fabric flower at the end to jazz mine up a but. we will be focusing more on the construction of the bag, but i had time to jazz mine up a bit with a vintage flower made out of the bag scraps. the options are endless as to the adornments you could add to give your purse more personality! this is the part where you can let your creativity run wild. and don't say you don't have any, i don't buy it.


it's hard to get a good visual of size in the image above, however i made it small. the actual purse pouch measures a little larger than 4x6 and a dainty ribbon (i used vintage lace. i'm in love vintage lace.) closure ties at the top to keep all your items tucked safely inside. this is the perfect size for just an evening with just a few necessities.


i know say this without it ever coming to fruition, but i am really hoping to get a tutorial together for this project. i took all the step by step pictures while i was putting the bag together AND they are already uploaded to my computer so here's hoping it will happen!


as always, craftacular tuesday is from 6:30-8:30. BYOB. 5 bucks*. i supply everything you need to make something super sweet!

looking forward to an evening with friends!

xxoo.
emily

*just had to mention that we are doing an amazing craft that my friend torrey told me about in a couple of weeks... her friend did it at a craft night in NYC... it was $65 for the class and $25 for supplies. i was floored! don't worry, you will never find those kind of prices at anomaly!