Christmas at the Fowler House 2009.

Jared and I had a quiet Christmas together for our very first Christmas as a married couple. We woke up a little late, let Logan open up his gift first (the biggest rawhide we could find) and then exchanged gifts and stockings full of toothbrushes and deodorant. The big surprise of the year was a sleeping bear bean bag for our living room from Jared that he got from Chic in Design Dot Com! It's super comfortable and so cute in the corner of our living room.

Logan's eyes were so big when he figured out that it was in fact a real rawhide and nomed on it the rest of the morning while we got ready to go to my Grandparent's house for Christmas dinner.


Other etsy gifts this year was:

• I am a Ninja hoodie from Steppie for Jared from me.
  
• Handstitched Leather Wallet by Office of Minor Details for Jared from me.
  
• Snow Owl Print by Sharon Montrose for me from Jared.
• Happy Sloth Necklace by Mary Mary Handmade for me from my sister in law.
• Frames with wedding photos from DA Custom Frames for all our parent's and grandparent.
• Oriel Earrings in Mint by Lost & Fawned for Jared's mom from us.
• Bird Henley by Blonde Peacock for our sister in law's girlfriend from us.

It was a very etsy Christmas around here. :) Hope you all had a lovely holiday!

Holiday Decor - Our Apartment

Jared and I bought our first tree last weekend. Everyone was sold out of lights so we finally got some the other night and decorated. I made some little acorn ornaments from acorn tops outside our apartment. I think they turned out pretty cute. Jared loves them.

Our stockings came out pretty well. I used the left over Skinny Laminx fabric from our telephone table and backed them with linen. I also made some felt garland for the kithen window (see it in the background of the photo below?).

I also finally got around to hanging our letterpress type drawer and start filling it with my little knick knack collection. I need to find the rest. They seem to have gotten misplaced in the move.

I'm pretty happy with our quiet christmas decorations. Our new furniture should be here this week! Then it will really feel like a home. I'm having new danish modern legs made for the sofa in January. I'm really excited about it.

Christmas came early this year.

Jared decided there were a couple gifts I would want to use as we got ready for Christmas this year. He was right! He game me my new limited edition plaid Gingher fabric sheers first. I LOVE them and they are so much better than the crappy ones I've been using forever. I used them to make our new stockings first. I'll have photos of those later.

Next he gave me a large box wrapped in these adorable Zakka Japanese linens. He picked out a bunch of adorable fat quarters I can't wait to use on some little projects for the kitchen and maybe a little coin purse for me.

In the box was a special something I'll post later. It's AMAZING and I never expected I would have one so soon! I'm so excited. I'll give you a clue... it's pistachio green.

Setting up my new space.

I've been busy busy busy moving into our new apartment and today I am nearly finished setting up my new work space. I need to sew a new cover for Logan's "den" as well as a new cover for the birdies but generally it's coming along quite well. I think I have set up a nice spot to photograph pieces and it's pretty well organized (with the exception of the closet which I'm setting aside for another day).

Meet my shipping and handling "department". A pear crate I found at an estate sale fits shipping envelopes and jewelry boxes quite snugly.


My cheering squad has been moved to the office from the bedroom and they seem to be pretty happy with their new home. Logan is learning to leave them alone and loves watching them (sometimes he gets a tad too excited and needs to walk away for awhile).

Meet our flock of finches, 3 of which we hatched ourselves). Pictured are Fred and Ron (the boys with the red cheeks) and Jane and Lydia (the two light colored girls in the left photo). I believe that is Olive's tail that is poking into the frame. They were very curious about camera.


My fabric collection needs to be organized as well. Right now it is on my cart in the corner covered with a sheet of linen I use to photograph. I haven't decided how to organize it yet. Perhaps I need another shelf. Any ideas?


So that's about it. My desk is a mess so it was omitted from this photo drop. Back to work for me! Have a lovely afternoon everyone!

Moving is time consuming.

(Vintage Book Bundle No. 2 from Lost & Fawned HOME.)

Sorry I've been so MIA lately. Moving is taking it's toll and between unpacking and the holiday rush I've hardly had time to get anything done. I will try to get better about it. I'm off to start cooking dinner and going to finally do some grocery shopping tonight (we're having Jared's parents over for dinner Wednesday and we're planning on serving Pesto Salmon). A few orders are also going out tonight.

Exciting things...

So we are nearly officially moved into our new apartment. We started sleeping here a couple nights ago and tomorrow we will move the rest of our stuff out of storage and 100% be out of the old place. We are waiting for our sofa and living room furniture to be delivered but it SHOULD be here before Christmas at least. The kitchen is about the only room that looks like a real home so I spend most of my day in there working. I'll post more photos when it's looking less sparse and more home-like.

Also, Jared and I frequent a local pet store to get all Logan's food and such and for 3 months now they have had this one bunny. Every time we would go in we would visit him and marvel that no one have taken him home yet. Last night we went in to get Logan a new collar and walked out with a rabbit. Meet Col. Brandon, our new bun.

Successful Ikea Trip

Jared and I trekked down to Ikea in Pittsburgh this weekend after we picked up our new keys! We got there before they opened on Sunday morning and they were serving free breakfast for black friday weekend. We knew we wanted the Nordmyra chairs and were unsure how many they had left so as soon as they opened we raced through the marketplace and into the warehouse. We grabbed out chairs packed them in the car and then made our way through the store more leisurely.

We managed to also get the Bjorkudden table as well and got the "seize the deal" for the day grabbing up a gorgeous kitchen caddy that was originally $60 for $20!
To set our table we picked up the Dinera set in gray-blue as well as the cups and saucers to match. We also grabbed the Fornuft flatware set and some glasses. We have all the basics now and I can't wait to pair them with my new mid century place mats and trivets I treated myself to.
My fabric should arrive this week from South Africa for my telephone table. I'll be sure to post before and after photos as soon as it's finished. I'm so excited to get it finished. We are trying to decide what to do about a sofa. Our living room may be a little empty for awhile. We'll see.

I'll be sure to post pictures when everything is moved in and ready!

Pumpkin Pie by Amber Alexander

One last post before I sign off until Monday! I hope everyone out there has a wonderful Thanksgiving (even those of you outside the US). Relax, eat lots of turkey and spend some time with your loved ones. Remember my sales and free shipping while you start your holiday shopping this weekend.

I love this print by Amber Alexander. It totally reminds me of my husband. Pumpkin pie is his favorite and he gets the same look of quiet contentment when he gets a slice of his mom's pumpkin pie. Find more of her prints in her etsy store.

Holiday Kick-Off Sale Begins!

That's right everyone! Last night I sat in bed and knocked the shipping off all jewelry in my shop and tagged them all. I also added a bunch of items to the Holiday Sale section and will continue to add new pieces in there over the course of the sale.

I'm also still running my free pair of Margaux studs offer throughout the sale for orders over $25! Get your holiday gifts and a little something for yourself!

Things are starting to fly off the virtual shelves so make sure you stop in and order by Monday so you get free shipping! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

"Black Friday" FREE SHIPPING

To kick off the official start of holiday shopping I'll be offering free shipping to US customers on all jewelry orders from my shop from Wednesday the 25th through Monday the 30th (at midnight)! Shipping will be refunded after purchase in full.

I will also be continuing to offer my free pair of Margaux Studs with all purchases over $25 as well. So shop with me and get a little something extra for you or a lucky giftee!

Also be sure to check out my limited edition deluxe holiday gift bags that can be added to your order for it to be wrapped in a beautiful handmade gift bag! Make things a little easier for yourself and have your gifts arrive at your door wrapped and ready to go! (All purchases do come in a box as well)

Happy Holidays shoppers!

Animals by Sharon Montrose

I love my husband. And I love when our styles come together and meet in the middle. The other day he sent me a link to Sharon Montronse's shop, which I had been eyeing for months. He loved the idea of her reindeer photo as a holiday decoration (I was naturally so proud of his good taste). Yesterday he picked up there two prints for our new place. The reindeer we'll put up for the holidays and we plan on expanding our creature collection ever season with a new animal. I haven't decided if I want to group them year round or if I want to switch the creature with the season.

Regardless I am SO excited to be the proud owners of some of her beautiful prints. Make sure you check out her etsy shop and beautiful website for more of her critters.

Mellow Working Wednesday Playlist

Just put together a few songs to play while you work this Wednesday. It's pretty mellow but it's a nice list to craft to or drain out the chaos of a desk job. I have a long day ahead of me and I'll be needing music to get me though the day. Hope you enjoy it!

New Pin Cushion Caddy from "Seams to Me"

In order to play with all the new beautiful fabric I bought I got a WHOLE bunch of books out from our local library. Poor Jared had to pick them all up and carry them home for me. He's such a champ. I'm having so much fun making little projects for myself to practice and HAD to share this project with your from the book Seams to Me: 24 New Reasons to Love Sewing by Anna Maria Horner. The whole book is full of beautiful projects and helpful tips. This was my first project out of the book and while it gave me a little trouble (I'm about an intermediate sewer) I love the way it turned out.

It's a little pin cushion caddy for all your sewing goods and lots of room for your pins. I've found it's perfect to keep next to your machine with your threaded bobbins and thread snips. Make sure if you try this project to get really stiff interfacing for the inside of the tube or use a piece of stif board (I used a piece of a cereal box) before you stuff it. I used scraps of fabric for the outer ball and some of my new Amy Butler Love fabric for the rest.


Currently in the works is a fabric basket for our mail. I've done a few practice drafts and have some linen on order for the real one. I'll make sure to post photos of it when it's finished done. In the mean time, go pick up Seams to Me from the library or order it. Happy sewing.

Numbers.

(Oriel Earrings in Rosy Pink from Lost & Fawned.)

Just wanted to do a quick little number post as things have been going well and and I have some milestones on the horizon...

• 101 Blog Followers: Thank you!
  
• 399 Twitter Followers: One more until 400!
  
• 179 Sales: 21 until 200 sales!
• 939 Shop Hearts: 61 until 1000!
  

Thanks to everyone who has supported me and Lost & Fawned. Lots of exciting things on the way! I love you all!

Lindsey

New Lamps & a New Apartment

Just wanted to share a recent estate sale find that is one of my new favorites. We found these lamp bases at an estate sale for $4.50 a piece! I love the buttery yellow (they will go with my new felt pillow!) and the shape. I'm trying to decide if I want to put a crisp white shade on them or something with a bold contemporary pattern. I think they will probably go in my office or maybe in our bedroom. We'll see.

Also, Jared and I got approved to move into a new apartment! We went looking this weekend and found a little place that takes dogs and is in our price range so for the time being we will be there until I find a job. We are pretty excited. We'll be moving in the first weekend in December and will be driving to ikea to furnish a couple rooms the weekend after. I am so antsy and would move in tomorrow if we could! I'll be sure to post photos when we're all settled in.

I want to learn to crochet for two reasons.

(Photos from Yvestown Blog.)

First I'm tempted by those adorable amigurumi animals I'm seeing everywhere right now. We just bought a giraffe for our niece. I was looking at amigurumi books last night on amazon and when I wake up this morning and check my feed I find this tutorial from Yvestown. It's a sign. I hear if you are bad a knitting, crocheting comes easier. Any personal experiences? Tips?

DIY Results - Felt Rosette Pillow

So I finished my felt rosette pillow I mentioned yesterday. It was very time consuming, and I ended up making the rosettes a bit more dense (probably used more like 80 circles instead of 60) but I love how it turned out. It was a nice project to do in front of the TV since it was so repetitive. I also added a pillow sham overlapped back instead of a zipper. I can't wait to put it on the lounge chair in my new studio. I may save this idea for a gift this Christmas for someone.

It probably took about 5 hours total and I worked at a leisure pace. I used vintage felt from an estate sale so the whole project cost me maybe $2.50 (including the DIY pillow form).

The tutorial can be found here and check out Kathleen from Twig's & Thistle's version here. If you give it a try I would LOVE to see how yours turn out!


I also didn't have a pillow form this size handy so I made one out of an old sheet and some stuffing. It turned out just as cute! Since the felt is so thick you can use a pattern underneath and it doesn't show through.

Lost & Fawned Bridal Party

Earlier this summer I worked with a bride named Jessica to create some custom Jill Earrings for her bridesmaids. I loved the marbleized pink Czech glass beads we used and I was SO excited when she sent me some photos this morning! Jessica looks just gorgeous and the earrings looked perfect with her bridesmaid gowns and the pink roses. Congratulations to Jessica and her husband!

Her photographer was Mike Sidney out of Maui. Check out his website for more beautiful Hawaiian weddings.

Today's Project: Felt Rosette Pillow

I saw this tutorial from Anne Kyrrö Quinn on Etsy's Storque awhile ago. It's a project featured in her fabulous book Felt Furnishings. I thought it was so beautiful and this morning when I woke up and check my feed I saw Kathleen of Twigs & Thistle's version and was inspired to give it a go myself. I happened to pick up a box of vintage felt at an estate sale a few weeks ago and just pulled out a lovely buttery yellow that will go beautifully with my new lamps I picked up this weekend. I think I'll modify it to be a sham rather than a zippered cover and I'm considering backing it with a pretty print.

I'll make sure to post photos when I finish! I've already got half of the rosettes cut out and hope to have those sewn on by the end of the day. I'll need to pick up a pillow form next weekend.

Good Morning Monday.

I'm having a hard time getting going this Monday so I figured I would share this adorable new etsy shop. You won't be able to help smiling when you see Christine Weed's Dogs in Ties collection. These two are some of my personal favorites but there are so many more that are just as sweet. Check out her shop for more.

Hope this brings a little sunshine to your Monday morning!

Christmas Time in Stow Craft Show

Want to see me in person? I'll be selling at the annual Christmas Time in Stow Craft Show in Stow, Ohio this weekend! I've been busy preparing all week and I'm so excited to do my first craft show since I graduated!

There is no entrance fee and it's on Saturday, November 7th from 9am to 4pm at the United Methodist Church. There will be a variety of Christmas crafts and gifts and food of course. Stop by and say 'hi' if you are in the northern Ohio area!

Now on Flickr!

I've been taking pretty pictures since I was in high school but lately I've been really playing around with my camera. So I've finally started up a proper flickr account! Check out my photostream and add me as a contact! I would love to know what you think and see your lovely photos as well! There are so many super talented photographers on the site. I've really been enjoying browsing galleries and admiring other people's work.

Also, new pieces come to my etsy shop! Lots more early next week after the craft show!

Coming to Lost & Fawned this winter - Clutches

Just wanted to you give you all a heads up! Coming this winter I will be adding framed clutches and other bags and sewn goods to the Lost & Fawned line! I'm so excited to finally put my love of fabric to good use! I've been stocking up on beautiful Heather Ross, Amy Butler, Joel Dewberry and vintage fabrics and perfecting my technique.

Ideally I would like to have them out by Christmas, but I think it's more likely you will start seeing them around the new year. I am so very excited to share this news with you all!

What do you do to get in a creative mood?

"My Muse" Photo by The Blue Balloon (aka winter_mitts on Twitter).

Last week I had one day where I was just struggling to get in a creative and productive mood. To remedy it I went and took a shower and put on some clean clothes. For some reason I just can't get down to business and really work if I feel gross or really frumpy. I started thinking about how funny it was that we all seem to have our quirks.

I tweeted about it and asked my followers to tell me what they do to get in a creative or productive mood. It was really interesting to see the responses roll in.

heartsabustin2
Get off the computer. ROFLOL

thriftonista
Taking a walk and just being in nature tends to be very inspiring. Or going to a museum or art gallery.

winter_mitts
Tea and music!

EdinaVintage
-I find watching TV really unproductive, so if it's on I always try to have something else to do with my itchy fingers!
-also, I never fail to be inspired by the awesome stuff other people create! Etsy is a mine of ideas and inspiration!

missHinterland
Definitely coffee and reading a few passages of poetry. Words always make me feel creative.

yourluckyduck
I look at color schemes, I browse brand name websites (gap, anthropologie, etc) for trendy items, I browse Etsy stores...

TheMissinThread
What helps me get in a creative mood is having my house all clean, then I can relax with a nice cup of coffee and create!

gogovivi
I turn on This American Life. Always works for me.

So what gets your creative juices flowing? Post it here in the response or tweet me about it! Next time I'm feeling like I'm in a creative slump I'll probably take a look at this list again and try some of these out.

Oh My Cavalier - By Julianna Swaney

I have a new favorite artist. For some reason her Victorian ladies and little creatures really speak to me. I love the subdued colors and the way she seems to combine simple almost child-like forms with really ornate costumes and floral motifs. PLUS she doesn't just turn her pieces into prints but also beautiful brooches and her little mechanical animals. Check out her beautiful etsy shop for more. I'm dying for one of her beautiful prints for my studio for Christmas.

Sweet Stocking Stuffers: Nostalgia Organics

A few days ago I stumbled on the sweetest little gift while browsing soaps on etsy. These adorable little bundles from Nostalgia are made with the end in mind. Not only is the packaging so cute and the soap scrumptious, but the label unfolds into a pattern for, in this case, the sweetest little strawberry pincushion that you make from the limited edition patterned bag! The pattern and fabric changes seasonally including a little chicken egg cozy and soft doggie.

The whole product is so thoughtful and well executed. The patterns seem simple enough I could give them to my non-crafty friends and family and they would still be able to create them. I know what I'll be giving as hostess gifts this year.

I may order some of these soaps just for the packaging and custom printed fabric. The lovely smelling soap is like icing on the cake! Just flawless. Did I mention they have beautiful tins of perfume balms and other soaps? Visit their shop, website or lovely blog for more information and pretty things!