Perfumes

So I have to admit that I never was really into perfumes. I was never a smelly person, even after a hard work out at the gym! Through high school I would use some popular chain store 'body splashes' but as we all know, they don't last very long. I started wearing a lightly scented french perfume, Lemon and Verbena, when I came over to Poland. I started getting compliments from many people that I smelled really good and that's when I got into wearing more and more. I guess positive reinforcement really works!

It started off slow, buying some perfume here and there of some basic scents, nothing too fancy. Then a year ago I found Etsy. That's when the real problem begain. I stumbled upon Modern Atelier on Etsy. I started looking through her shop and couldn't decide what to try out first. I ended up buying 4 of the sale scents to see how good the perfumes really were. I got them in the mail and you could smell the perfume through the envelope - and let me tell you that they smelled good! I was trying to go through a bottle of perfume I already had before I started anything new, but that didn't keep me from buying more! I ended up buying 4 more..some 'winter' scents and some 'summer' scents. I only got through one of my winter scents during the winter and now I'm using a summer scent. They all smell wonderful and I love that after my 1oz bottle is out I get to try something new out!

The next perfume seller that I have purchased from is The Starshine Company. They make both home fragrance oils as well as perfume oils. Since I am already addicted to perfume I thought that I would probably love home fragrance oils as well. I was right. I ended up purchasing 3 perfumes and 3 home fragrance oils. I use the home fragrance oils daily and they smell devine. The perfume oils also smell super but I haven't had the chance to try them out yet.

Both Modern Atelier and The Starshine Company shipped quickly and securely. I recommend them for any perfume that you plan on purchasing for yourself or as a gift!

First Tutorial Up for Sale - the market bag

I have purchased quite a few tutorials & patterns on Etsy myself, so I thought maybe I should make one too! I love handmade patterns and tutorials because they are completely original. You know that someone put a lot of time and work into their project and it shows through their work. I also like the step by step with color pictures along the way and the ability to email the author with questions or comments about the pattern. It's so personal! Being an advanced, but self taught seamstress, I sometimes find that I do not know certain 'tricks' or techniques that many have learned through conventional ways. That is one of the main reasons why I also by handmade tutorials, so that I can learn these tricks and techniques to better my skill set.

I have been thinking about making a tutorial myself for a while but kept putting it off. I wanted to make something that was pretty straight forward, something that may teach some 'tricks' to other seamstresses and of course something that I haven't seen made yet. I would say the most popular things right now for sale are small pouches, aprons, purses and of course things for children so in making this market bag, I knew it would be one of the firsts on the (Etsy) scene with it. The best thing about this pattern is that it can also be shrunk down or blown up and be made into almost any size that you would need! This project took me about 6+ hours all together with the sewing, picture taking, writing, and the designing of the pattern then putting it all together into a PDF. It can be found in my Etsy shop for $8USD and free shipping! I hope that those who purchase the tutorial can send me some pictures of your completed projects for me to post on here!

Summer travels

It's already June, the weather is warm (or at least here in Poland it is!) and the thing on all our minds? Vacation. I have already booked my tickets for some summer traveling. Last week I was in Berlin, at the end of the month I am going to London, and in July I will be in Barcelona, Rome, Malmo, and Copenhagen. That's a lot of traveling!

I am not only thinking about traveling though - I am thinking about all the great crafting supplies I can pick up along the way! I have already started to make a list of some great fabric/craft stores in each country that I will be visiting. I know it probably sounds crazy that I am looking forward to the traveling as much as I am looking forward to my fabric finds, but really, when will be the next time that I will just hop over to Barcelona to pick up some great Spanish fabric? Probably no time soon, so I am taking advantage of this opportunity!

I am also busy sewing up some great summer outfits. I have added four skirts and one dress to my wardrobe, and have ideas for many more floating around in my head. Now, only if University would end soon, so I could get to some more sewing ;)

Market Bags & Patches

Feeling torn about buying a market bag with a great screen print on it and making one myself, I started to search for some great patches. I found and bought some great patches that I can sew onto bags that I make myself - a perfect compromise!

I got this patch from andyeatsonlycandy

The next two patches I got from RMIA. The first one is for recycling and the second one is perfect for any crafter - DIY Do or Die
Go search for your own patches and make some rockin' customized bags to your liking!

DressGreen

Again, with my bath and body addiction I had to try out products from DressGreen on Etsy. All of Lauren's products are 100% natural and free of all that yucky stuff that is found in commercial products.

I placed a rather large order: Coffee Exfoliant, Snow Day Exfoliant, Green Tree Moisturizer, Pomegranate Juice Moisturizer, Orange Blossom Moisturizer, Purifying and Blemish Controlling Body Serum, Toning and Clarifying Facial Serum, and finally the Lusty Lip Lush. I have to say that the exfoliants smell heavenly and work great! They aren't too greasy but leave your skin lightly moisturized. The body and facial serum are my new favorites! I use them on my face after washing as a moisturizer (and they help combat blemishes!). The Moisturizers go on smooth and smell great and the lip lush is just wonderful!

In addition to great products, Lauren strives to provide great customer service. She is very accommodating and lets you know whats going on during the whole transaction. Shipping was extremely fast and everything was packaged beautifully in green tissue paper. She even included a little card explaining her products and some cotton pads for the facial serums! I know as soon as I run out of these products I will be back for more!!!

Birthday Present

So my little sister's birthday is coming up and she is turning 7. For Christmas she got an American Girl doll so I figured this would be the perfect time to make her doll some clothing. The price of clothing for this doll is outrageous (in my opinion, and my mom's) so I sewed this dress, shrug and purse up for her last night. This was the first time that I made something so small, but it really wasn't that bad. To be honest, I find it much easier to make larger items than smaller, just because of all the detail that needs to go into these smaller pieces. It was fun making it though, and I know when I was little I loved having a variety of things for my dolls to wear. I haven't seen my sister for a while now, so I don't really know the exact things she is into (at her age, things change daily!)

Hopefully she will like what I made for her and when I get more time I can make some more clothing. I know I love getting packages in the mail and I want her to feel special on her birthday by opening up her gift!

Morgan Street Handmade Bath and Body Care

If you haven't noticed already, I am a little obsessed with natural bath and body care. In December I emailed Sharon asking her if I could purchase some smaller sized versions of her products because I am always weary to buy full versions of things and then find out that I hate them. I ordered from Morgan Street a full sized pumpkin spice whipped body butter and her cuticle balm and Sharon was kind enough to give me generous samples of her soaps, body scrub, foot scrub, foot soak, and foot salve - much more than I was expecting, and all included with my purchase for free for me to try out!

I was more than excited when I got to use her products, but to be honest, I was expecting the same stuff that I've tried out there before. The first thing that I tried out was the black raspberry vanilla body scrub. This was honestly the first scrub that I've tried that I would have to say was perfect - not too oily that you felt like you dumped a bucket of oil on you but just moisturizing enough that you honestly don't even need to use a cream afterwards.

The next thing that I did was give myself a mini pedicure where I used the foot soak, foot scrub and foot salve. This was really the best combination of products for my feet that I have ever had - I would have to say it was at the same level as what a spa would have, just at a fraction of the cost. My feet are still smooth and and look great even during this cold winter season drying out my skin.

I honestly fell in love with all of Sharon's products and I most definitely will be back again, but this time with a huge order with one of everything (well almost ;) )