Getting my Martha on - Pillow Cover Tutorial

Hi peeps!

I finally, finally, finally got around to breaking out the sewing machine and whipping up my pillow covers, knocking another thing off the list. The first thing I had to do was build a table for my sewing machine. I used to sew at the dining room table but that's not really an option any longer. So first Young Master Beads and I made a trip to IKEA and made and assembled a couple of $20 tables. It was really fun having him help me put it together. I think I'll have to do something like that more often with him. Young Master also likes to help me cook and I find it really enjoyable too. :D

So here they are! I made five pillow covers in total using a fabulous tutorial I found here.


Hubby was a little sad to see his Georgetown Hoya pillow was covered up but he has somehow found the strength to carry on. Plus it's totally removable so he can take it off when he has a jones to see the doggy. ;P

I know you are all like Nina where did you get that sweet orange patterned fabric? Well from this fab seller who I've talked about before on the blog, Jenny of HomeSweet. I got the fabric last summer at Crafty Bastards in DC and have been holding onto it since then. :D

In this last picture is what I call my home decor book cover. That is if I ever were to write a book. lol!

Since I opened the shop back up I have been slowly filling it with new, ready to ship goodies. Once I stopped beating myself up for taking a vacation rather than a working vacation, I actually did some work...You can find these lovelies in the ready to ship section of the store.

UNMOTIVATED

Sorry you guys for being gone so long. I forget that some of you actually READ my blog. Shout out to Cape Town and Pittsburgh!!!! I have been feeling totally unmotivated recently. I closed the shop last week for some r&r and with the hopes that I would take the time to work on some new pieces that are in my head.

But no such thing has occurred. I'm a little disgusted with myself to be honest. Maybe I'll keep it closed this week and really get to work.

Though I am not feeling inspired, perhaps these pictures I took down in DC during the Cherry Blossom Festival, might inspire some of you!

xo,
Nina








*EDITED FOR UPDATE* I forgot that I did end up making another pair of "XOXO" cuff links (referencing past post here) that I forgot to show you guys. I used a different texture for the raised edge that I'm really happy about. If you click the photo, you can see it in the shop even though the shop is closed.


Oh and I also made a pair of rose gold studs that I haven't photographed yet, and I have sort of been working on a pet project involving metal, so maybe I should cut myself a little slack. *smooches*

Giveaway Time!

First we had Treasury Time and now we have giveaway time. :D Pop over to the GetTogetha Blog and enter for your chance to win your very own Spiral Horn Necklace!

Click the picture to be taken to the entry.



Have a great weekend!
Smooches,
Nina

Treasury Time

I love making treasuries on Etsy. Being a curator is so much fun but it is sooo tricky getting a treasury. There is talk that in the future I won't have to give myself a heart attack trying to snag at least one a month. That's good because I'd surely do more if I didn't have to give up my first born to make one. Here is my latest collection. I hope you like it! It will be up for one more day on Etsy but up here FOREVA!!!! ;D Click the link to see it on Etsy.

I've gone Mini!

Click the top pic to be taken to the listing in the shop!

why the second pic? Why not? A gal's just got to do a good face scrunch sometimes.

I survived and I win!

Hi everyone! I just want to let you know that I did NOT get mauled by Girl Scouts and in fact had a wonderful time! It was a treat to be around hoards of excited young girls. Not to mention the Girl Scout cookies involved. Yum!!!

In other news, my friend Carolyn over at Autumnleavesjewelry was hosting a giveaway and this was the BEST kind! It's the kind where you can actually win based on merit as opposed to randomness. At least I know I have a better shot if I can sort of control my destiny. :D Care is participating in the Washington Post's Peep Diorama contest. She has been hinting about her diorama for weeks and showed a sneek peepk (he he he) the other day. Her contest involved telling her what scene from what movie was depicted and who the major players were in her scene as well as providing other information.

Well guess what? I WON and in large part due to my friend Jon and my husband! I had not seen the movie but Care gave great clues so I was able to figure out what the movie was. My movie buff friend helped me with some specifics and my husband checked to see if I'd given the right answer while I was out running errands. Well do you know I was wrong by ONE question and so Mr. Beads kept pursuing the right answers until I he found it and I WON! I'd like to thank my team for their help. It was clearly a group effort which as far as I can tell was not against the rules. Yay!!!!!!

And I'm uber excited that I'm going to get one of her fabulous Spinner Rings!!!

Have a fantastic weekend!

"Local artisan mauled by a pack of Girl Scouts"

This is the headline running through my mind right now for my afternoon tomorrow. That's right. And it's not because I took all their yummy girl scout cookies without paying. Beads in the Belfry is going to be doing a jewelry workshop for a local Girl Scouts troop. Wish me luck! It is to help them get a merit badge. Which one I can't remember. Probably something along the lines of arts and crafts.

I was a Girl Scout and one of my fondest memories is learning how to make friendship bracelets. Don't you know that as soon as I did, I begged my mom to get me a kit and then I went on to sell some of my creations to classmates? lol. And so it comes full circle. :D

I'm surprisingly not nervous about the teaching aspect as I have worked with large groups of children before in a teaching capacity. I'm also not nervous about the project which I have done hundreds of times. I'm going to do a workshop on how to make my tree necklaces with them. It will be slightly modified to make it easier (I hope!) for smaller people. What I'm nervous about is the fact that I'm not actually nervous. Which makes me slightly crazy I think.

Anyway, wish me luck! And not the kind that involves something like this...

;P. Why couldn't the headline in my head read "Girl Scouts shower local artisan with praise in the form of Samoas?"