Allyson Hill

New Goods

New to the shop, a petite coin purse made with a vintage hankie.  This hankie was too small to make into a wristlet, so I stitched this up.  I love hunting for unique hankies, though they can be expensive!

Above, another wristlet also in the shop.  Delicate and summery!  Below is a wristlet that was in my shop, but has sold already.  It's a vintage fabric, Eames Era?  I'm not sure, maybe you know?  I have more fabric to make a couple more of these!

 

On another note, if you are looking for some art projects to do with your kids, art teacher Laura from All Dressed In Blue posted a link to some great lesson plans.  These ideas are a little different from your ordinary kid's crafts, take a look if you need some inspiration.       

Day at the Lake

Silly Pippi, it's been a long time since I've read this book.  Her odd manner got me laughing more often than Micah, though he soon would join because laughter is contagious.  My favorite part:

Background:  Pippi takes Tommy and Annika on a picnic.  Pippi has just tried to fly off a tall rock and has landed with a thud on the ground. 

"Pippi got up and brushed off her knees.  'I forgot to flap.' she said joyfully, 'and I guess i had too many pancakes in my stomach.'

At that moment the children noticed that Mr. Nilson (the pet monkey) had disappeared.  He had evidently gone off on a little expedition of his own.  They remembered that they had last seen him contentedly chewing the picnic basket to pieces, but during Pippi's flying experiment they had forgotten him.  And now he was gone.

Pippi was so angry that she threw her shoe into a big deep pool of water.  'You should never take monkeys with you anywhere,' she said.  'He should have been left at home to pick fleas off the horse.  That would have served him right,' she continued, wading out into the pool to get her shoe.  The water reached up to her waist.

'I might as well take advantage of this and wash my hair,' said Pippi and ducked her head under the water and kept it there so long that the water began to bubble.

'There now, I've saved a visit to the hairdresser,' she said contentedly when at last she came up for air." 

Well, our trip to the lake did not save us a trip to the hairdresser, that's for sure.  Only Pippi.  I just love that girl.

The Start of Summer for Us

It's funny to hear that some of you have been on summer break for a month already!  Well this is just the beginning for us.  Micah and I have agreed that Mom gets the summer off breakfast duty.  He prefers pancakes and sausage (vegetarian) and has never been a big cereal eater.  But he is willing to fix his own cereal all by himself every morning (well I agreed to make him a warm breakfast once a week).  So this morning from my sewing station I hear clink, clink, clink coming from the kitchen.  I snuck up to get a picture of him!  Now he sits on my lap while I blog this morning, what a nice change.  He is chattering his head off about Star Wars and making noises with his nose because he won't go get a tissue.  Ahhh I love it!  It's gross, but so cute - only a mother could love that : )  I went antiquing this weekend with my other treasure-hunting buddy, my mom.  Here's my only purchase:

Won't it be fun to drink to the next dot?  When I was a kid we had strawberry glasses with a grid design and I loved drinking to the next line, do you do silly things like that too?  Here's a wristlet made with a vintage hankie, this one's for me but there will be more to come (for my Etsy shop):

Micah insists that I must end my blog today with:

Love,

Allyson

Sigh...

Heading off to the last day of Kindergarten.  Compared to the first:

And as everybody always says, it goes by so fast.

My sweet boy, I will miss your Kindergarten ways.

 

Hey let's have fun this summer, ok?  Party Time, woo hoo!

Make your own Labels

I recently found myself plum out of labels and desperate for more right away.  I ran out to my local Joann Fabric and was so happy to find this printable fabric on a roll.  I had seen similar types at Dharma Trading but couldn't wait.  What's great about this particular brand is the ease of use and the fabric options which include poplin, twill, canvas, and silk.  I couldn't decide between poplin and silk, but I finally settled on poplin because it's thin yet sturdy.

The roll (8.5"x120") cost me 25.00 and with a 40% off coupon it came to 15.00.  You can also buy them in smaller sheet packs, but this is more economical considering I only had one coupon to spare.

   

I designed the labels using a primitive yet super handy printing program called Label Factory Deluxe.  (you certainly don't need this program to create your own labels)  I cut three pieces off the roll measuring 8.5"x11" and gave it a try (after test printing on regular paper first).  The result is not jet black, but I think the shade is just fine.  I want to stress the importance of ink quality though.  Please read my addendum at the very end of this post for the details.

After letting it dry for 15 minutes you iron it and then peel the paper backing. 

Wash it for 30 seconds, blot on a towel and then iron it dry.

Cut into strips, iron over strips and then snip tags.

Squirt some Fray Check onto a plate (not a paper plate because it will absorb, yeah I learned that the duh way) and dip the edges.  Lay to dry on a paper towel or scrap fabric.

The only tricky part I came across was with inserting the fabric into the printer.  Since it came on a roll the edges would curl up making it hard to tell if I was positioning it correctly.  To help, I took a piece of cardstock and inserted them together.  Then I removed the cardstock before printing.

Price:  I broke down the price and here's how it worked out for me, but the results will vary for you depending on label size (I'm able to get 35 - 1.5"x1.5" labels per sheet), cost of ink (I pay 15.00 per cartridge), amount of ink used in your specific design (all black labels = a lot of ink), whether or not you have the 40% off coupon!

350 labels per roll (1.5"x1.5") @ .10 cents a piece = 35.00 (this estimate includes ink).  Compared to "other" online label companies that's not bad at all (average prices I'm finding are 1,000 labels for 270-400 plus shipping). 

The labels I made are so basic, but just think about the possibilities!

+++++ADDENDUM+++++

Ok, I'm so happy about all the response to this simple tutorial...who would've thought that there were SO many people out there with the same exact dilemma.  I wanted to address two issues:

1.  Can these labels be used for washable goods?

2.  What kind of ink works best?

Answer 1.  The labels are not meant to be washed...they are really for non-washable items.  I have NOT tested these labels in the wash so please do comment on your results if you have tried!  Many are interested in knowing so do share. 

Answer 2.  I recently bought some printer cartridge refills off eBay and have found that the ink works horribly with this printable fabric.  The ink bled like crazy.  I took a picture below to show you the difference.  This picture was taken after rinsing under water for 30 seconds and ironing dry.  You can see how the white sections on the top labels are now grey, but the bottom labels are still a crisp white.  I used HP Vivera ink for the bottom labels and found little to no ink bleeding during the rinsing stage.  So...I'm very sorry if others have learned this the hard way as well...you must use good quality ink for these labels.  If anyone has input regarding different inks please do share (Epson?). 

 

The End

 

The Bookmark is closing at the end of July.

It's very hard for an independent bookstore to compete these days and I think we can all understand why that is.

 

I'll continue to whip up goodies for these final weeks.

   

And hope for a new door to open.  (Thankfully the Bookmark's co-owner Sheila is helping me big-time in this department.)

Beach Bag

I saw this idea on Crafty Vegan's blog last week, it's a pillowcase bag from Martha Stewart.  I used a vintage case from my Grandma.  It was very simple and I think it'll be just right for the beach.  It's the kind of bag you can get dirty and toss in the wash.  The pattern was very easy to follow and I made only 2 changes - I sewed down both diagonals (4 diagonals total) so that it wouldn't flop on the inside (hope that makes sense) and I added a snap.  Can't wait to use it!      

Simon Says Fold!

My boy thinks he can't fold.  I bet a lot of you have a little one (or big one) who whines and claims they can't do it.  I admit that it might be overwhelming for the little guy...t-shirts folded this way, pants folded that way, etc.  But really I'm not asking for perfection - just an honest effort.  Well last night this simple solution occurred to me, which brought on loads of laughter and an empty laundry basket:

Simon Says Fold!  Each of you grab a similar article of clothing (ex- each hold a short sleeve shirt).  Then give orders in Simon Says fashion, the whole while being a mirror so your child can follow you visually.  My guy loves the karate chop fold method (simply karate chop wherever a fold is needed).  I think it's a sneaky way to teach your child to fold and I just wanted to share it with you : )  If you have more than one child, I'll bet your kids will argue over who's turn it is to help mommy fold!  (well maybe?)

This is officially the first bag I ever made, a diaper bag.  I love the log cabin design, but the construction is soooo primitive.  I thought it was funny when I ran across it this morning, I totally forgot about it!  Look at these details:

I won't dare show you the inside, all the edges are raw!!!

Ready Made

I rarely buy magazines, but this one I had to get.  Besides, look at that dress in one of my favorite Amy Butler fabrics.  It's got me thinking about making a skirt outta that fabric real soon...

Also a look at 5 Designers from around the country, below is husband/wife team Lemon Twist:

I also added < 15 NEW Litter Bags > to my shop!     

SEVEN

SEVEN random facts about myself, because I was tagged by Sarah P Dot:

1.  Hmmm, I can't think right now...maybe I should do this later.  Well I guess that would be a random fact, I worry A LOT.  I try not to, which means I often go to the extreme opposite and appear not to care and make quick decisions.

2.  I was born in the 70's and so I really like the colors and patterns of that time.

3.  I had short hair for most of my childhood and everybody always thought I was a boy.  It was so humiliating.  Old ladies would tell me to leave the Ladies Room and once a girl in Burger King said she thought I was cute. 

4.  I am a freckle-face so I don't look good with patterns near my face, which is why I love patterned purses, skirts, and lounge pants.

   

5.  I don't think I could ever commit to one plate pattern or mug set.  I love a little bit of everything and wouldn't mind a mismatched table setting.  I would keep all the glasses and napkins the consistent, just mix up the plates.  Someday I hope to have a cabinet full of vintage plates and mugs to pick and choose as my mood desires.

6.  If I see a spider crawl across the floor, I won't kill it (or any other bug). 

7.  My middle name is Vera.

I am going to tag Cheryl, the mind and hands behind Lula Ballou.