free hair clip friday!

phew! we made it through the week!

let's celebrate with some free goodies, k?

today only,
with each order placed at my shop, the pleated poppy,
i will include 2 sets of chubby button hair clips!

each set comes with 2 matching clips, made with a covered button and a silver contour snap clip.
i only sell these at boutiques and craft shows, so this is a special thing!

you will get a set of blue/green clips

and a set of pink clips

you will not find these in my shop.

but if you place an order today, you will find them in your package!
(fabrics and patterns will vary)

enjoy!
-lindsey

guest blogger nicole: bubba's tie dye party

{in case you're new here, nicole is my bff, and she guest blogs on here occasionally for me.
before i get 15 emails asking me, SHE DOES NOT HAVE A BLOG!!!
but she does have 4 beautiful kids that keep her busy enough.}

drew (nicknamed bubba) turned 4! and fortunately, this was the only sad moment at the party...the candles were melting too quickly when i captured this shot! i love how he is looking right through that camera lens at me... seeming to say, "stop giggling mama, i am really not happy about those candles". the real tears came when baby bro, looking over his shoulder, started blowing them out before the song was over...

the invites were easy. here is the tutorial on how to tie dye the paper.

the prep: we pre-dyed shirts for everyone in the fam

i bought things in all of the colors i normally avoid... tissue paper was perfect everywhere. it overlapped in some places and mixed colors just like the dye does.

i made these big, sloppy poms to hang everywhere.

and this hid-e-ous tie dyed fabric came from walmart...but it was perfect for the birthday banner.

....and the hat. drew loves a party hat so we make him one every year.

the table was prepped with examples...more tissue paper-cut up this time...and all of the supplies. i purchased white boys' t-shirts and a tie dye kit from wally's (sounds so much better than walmart). these bottles in the kit make things really easy.

the kids and i prepped their shirts (while others were jumpin' on the trampoline in our garage) with rubberbands

during lunch, they each came up and dyed their shirts... IN MY SINK!!!! don't do it any other way people! unless you can go outside! we sent the kids home with their shirts in a bag with instructions on how to wash them the next day.

the cupcakes were crazy! linds sent me this link... and because we frosted them white, the kids were super surprised to see inside! i wish i would have done the colors a bit different, but overall, i was happy.

check out the cupcake wrappers...

super fun party! and after consuming too much nasty dye and sugar, we all slept well!

we're " dyin' " to do it again!

:)nicole

{don't forget to come back tomorrow for free friday!}

today's 5 fave

just popping in for a quick hellooo!
i am busily working away on those notebook covers, so i won't stay long.

i haven't had much free time, but if i have a second to check some blogs on my google reader, here's the first 5 on my list:
(i'll share a longer version of my list at another time)

joy's hope

a favorite for a long time.
julie is always a guarantee for some crafty inspiration, and if you don't get that you are definitely going to laugh.
the girl is hilarious.

it's the little things

lisa has been a good friend (in real life) for years now.
her blog is just beautiful.
she has been seriously honing her photography skills and blessing us all with them.
and her jewelry is pretty sweet,too ;)

simply joy

she's one of my closest friends.
i love her transparency on her blog.
i love that she loves jesus.
and i love her kids (they are all marrying mine).

a chronicle of life's little surprises

jeannett, again, is a real life friend.
she's got a great story that rocked her world (it'll rock yours, too).
she's hilarious, sarcastic, dry (in a funny way) and witty.
go there for a good read about a real mom, putting it all out there in honesty.
and she's been doing some amazing giveaways lately, too!

the lettered cottage

layla and her husband are renovating an old house and making it beeeeeautiful!
they are learning as they go and teaching us along the way as well.
i geeked out on layla when i met her at blissdom - i was totally starstruck.
but her house is beautiful and clean and calm (no kids yet!).
go there to covet, er... i mean be inspired!

what are your top 5 blogs?
not just the ones that are super amazing, but the ones you must read first?

ok, folks!
i'm out like trout and off to give my sewing machine a good workout tonight!

-linds

a nice little saturday

we ventured out for a bit saturday afternoon
and stopped by a little (tiny) flea market.
definitely picked over, but still such beautiful patina on the leftovers.
i was tempted by the old truck grill
(how awesome would that be in silas' room on the wall?!)
but the $400 price tag was just a touch (*cough*) out of my price range.
instead i settled on a lampshade frame
that i'll eventually cover with a tutu or ruffles and hang as a chandelier in my girls' room.
just another project to add to the list...

-lindsey

the amelia shirt

i gave a little teaser last night about my post for today.
and NO! i am NOT pregnant!
but i guess i'm glad you feel comfortable telling me i look preggers.
i think?

moving on...
awhile back i was wanting to make amy butler's sun surf halter, but it really looked like too much work, required soo much fabric, and was a little pricey for the pattern.
then a sweet reader pointed me in the direction of the amelia shirt!

it was a perfect substitute.
i was craving a really funky print and settled on trellis in rose (drawing room/anna maria horner).
i cannot tell you how much i love this fabric - but more on that later.

on to the pattern.
it was so easy!
i was a little sketchy about making the bias tape and attaching it around the arm opening.
but the steps were so well written that it was really simple.
i love it when things work out like that because it totally gives me the confidence to try something a little harder next time.

then there were the button holes.
again, scares the crud out of me.
if you don't know much about them, you just have to know that if you've done them wrong, you've pretty much ruined the whole project.
so i got out my sewing machine directions for button holes and read them over and over.
i think that right sewing machine directions in another language because they are not clear.
at all.
sooo... i then practiced a couple times on scrap fabric until i finally felt confident.
and it worked!
i could have left the straps to tie like in the pattern picture, but i had it for awhile and it kind of bugged me.
and i felt like the buttons made it look more finished.

my only con to this project was also one of my biggest pro's.
the fabric.
i love the large print for the shirt, but its a home dec weight fabric - meaning its a little thicker than i would've liked.

so i'm going to say thats why you thought i looked pregnant,
because the fabric is a little stiff and puffy.
right?
it has nothing to do with the fact that i haven't exercised a smidge in a year and a half, i'm sure.

and because the fabric is a little thicker, i didn't like wearing it higher around my neck like in the pattern picture.
but when i make another one, i'll use a thinner fabric and try wearing it like that, because it is so cute!

and i also wear this with a fitted long sleeve shirt under and its super cute, too!

shop closed!

just for tonight.
i have a local boutique i'm selling at in just a bit, so i need to close shop for a few hours.
i'll be tweeting while at the boutique, so if you want to virtually join me, i'd love to have you!
its always more fun to do a boutique with friends than alone!

come back tomorrow for details about this:

and don't forget:
if you want a shey{b} discount, go here!

-linds

a new favorite!

i met shealynn a couple years ago through our blogs.

we had an instant connection with kids at similar ages and our oldest daughters sharing a birthday.
not to mention sharing a love of all things fabric!

since starting our blogs, we have both began our own at home businesses, learning to find balance between family and work.

i'm sure you have seen shey{b} products before.
it seems like everyone has one!
it wasn't until just last week that i finally got my own.

and let me tell you,

it is purrrrty!
and super comfy, which really was an unexpected bonus!

shealynn does high quality work at very reasonable prices, and has been coming up with new designs like crazy!

as you know, i love me a good ruffle, so that's what i went with on mine.
but she also has the knot,

the bow tie,

the cora,

and the tuxedo (how fun for a wedding photographer?!).

since shey and i have become online buddies, stitching the night away together, she has generously offered all my readers 10% off her products in her new shop!
just enter POPPY at checkout for your discount!
thanks shey{b}!

-lindsey

a few more covered journals

i listed 10 new covered notebooks last night, and before i even finished listing them 2 had sold!
i mentioned them to my twitter friends and they snatched most of them up!
but there are still 4 left!
if you missed out on the last couple batches here's your chance!
these covered notebooks are so versatile.

not only are they refillable with standard sized composition notebooks,
but they have so many uses:
journal
grocery list
student notebook
honey-do list
a place to doodle
great for conferences
guest book
prayer journal (recommended last night - great one!)

inside each covered notebook is a small pocket to hold pens/pencils,

and it closes securely with a button and elastic closure.

i also made some new full aprons last night!
i'll be listing them as soon as i trim the 24,935 threads....

-lindsey

healthy girls night out!

attention locals!
join me this thursday for a healthy night out of pampering fun!

-lindsey

ps - anyone want to help me figure out why my pics are so fuzzy when i enlarge them?

free posy friday, er... monday!

so, as you've probably noticed, i've been neglecting my little blog here a bit.
ok, a lot.
i bet you thought i'd come back from blissdom with fabulous ideas and new things to implement on my blog.
oh, i did!
but actually doing them is entirely different from just learning about them.
i'm still catching up.
on work.
on bills.
on snuggles.
in fact, i'm typing with only my left hand right now since the entire right side of my body is quite busy wrapped around a certain hunky 2 year old that just woke from his nap.

all this to say, i meant to have a "free posy friday" on friday.
and i forgot.
i was too busy shooting at zurg, navigating tourists carrying balloons, and pointing out giant disney characters.
but if you follow me on twitter, you'd already know this!

i didn't want to punish you more and make you wait until next friday, so today it is: free posy monday!
the first 20 customers who make a purchase get a free blissdom posy!
what's a blissdom posy?
i handed these pretties out to lots of sweet new friends last weekend at blissdom.
it's been really fun seeing them pop up all over the blog world in lots of blissdom recap posts!
so if you want a free posy, hurry on over to my shop!
all you have to do is place an order and i'll send you a posy!
i'll let you know here when they are all gone!

*update: they are all gone now! thanks for being such wonderful, supportive customers!*

-lindsey