Oregon Trail and a Smartphone

Whew! What a summer! It seems to be flying by; and I've been keeping busy making bee soaps galore, for weddings and baby showers all over the country; which makes me feel really *fancy*; who knew a year ago; when I found the bee mold at the thrift shop; on the clearance rack; marked down to a dollar, that it would facilitate my business! Serendipity indeed!

I'd been so busy all summer; that last week; when I had a lull in my business, and all packages shipped, and nothing pressing; I jumped on the opportunity to take my boys on a little day trip. Now up to now; I'd never driven too far from home; I had a terrible fear of the interstate; and would use surface streets whenever possible. But driving from Las Vegas to Barstow in the middle of the night on our way to San Diego gave me much more confidence in my driving abilities; and I wanted to take my boys somewhere far(ish) away; all by myself. So we set out in the morning with a picnic lunch; and my new smartphone proved it's mettle; as I was able to respond to a customer who contacted me on etsy; and got another wedding favor order while out! We arrived just in time for a gold panning demonstration, in a water trough that was seeded with real gold; although the park ranger reminded us that if we DID find gold; we would not be able to keep it!

I gave it a try myself; it's surprisingly tiring; the heavy pan of sand and water has to be swirled around and around, and then filled back up with water as it becomes dry. All my boys gave up fairly quickly and started playing with the water instead; except Bentley; who was determined to find the gold and stuck it out the longest. After his arms got tired, we went back inside to look at all the exhibits; which are very moving.

I've always wanted a sunbonnet, ever since I was a little girl who was obsessed with Laura Ingalls Wilder; and at the gift shop they had a huge selection of authentic sunbonnets; in fun fabrics; and I just had to have one! I actually loved it so much I wore it the rest of the day, to the embarrassment of my children, and the amusement of the employees of the restaurant we stopped at in Baker City! But, it's one of those things that I HAD to do, on my bucket list!

I'm determined to squeeze every last drop out of summer; because when school starts again my schedule is going to be nearly impossible; so I've been neglecting my little blog! I have kept up with the blogs I follow, though; and I loved this recipe from the first blog I ever followed,  The Vintage Wife and I plan to make it tonight, with a few variations. If it turns out; I'll be posting my "new" recipe later in the week!

Happy Wednesday!

Potion, Potion; Make me a Potion....

As much as I like to smell nice; I am not a perfume-wearer. My allergies hate perfume; and I always seem to get a headache when I wear it. That's part of why I love to make natural soap and lotion; it leaves a nice scent without being "perfumey". But the other day, I was dashing around as usual and decided to use a little sample of perfume I've had hanging around forever; it was a freebie when I placed an order at a place that I can't tell you about; because its a "secret". Well, my husband couldn't stop raving about how great I smelled! He has similar feelings about synthetic fragrances, and loves that I don't douse myself in scent; but something about that particular silly perfume he loved! Honestly, he complimented me so much it was getting ridiculous. So, I had an idea: there's a wonderful shop on my Bath and Body team on etsy, Mermaid Lane Perfume, who makes wonderful, natural, perfume; a woman on the team got some samples from her and loved them! I decided to find out what was in the "secret" perfume and try to get a custom blend. It turns out this perfume my husband loved is described as a "fruity floral" and has jasmine, bergamot, and a million other things in it, so I decided to have a sample made with similar notes. The owner of the shop gave me some wonderful info; telling me that the perfume my husband loved is 99% synthetic, so the blend she makes me will smell differently, but hopefully better! She will e-mail me a questionnaire about my preferences, then for a few dollars, she will mix up a sample for me, if I don't love it, she'll try again. I have to tell you, I'm not getting anything for promoting this shop; I just think it's so wonderful to have the talent to create custom scents, and I'm so excited to have my own scent that is natural! Of course, it is not an inexpensive prospect, but she says with care, your scent will last a long time. I know some feminist-types would cringe to hear that I want a perfume mainly to please my husband, but isn't that what we all want as wives? Getting compliments and having your husband think you're awesome is certainly not without benefit on my end; so I'm willing to save up to make an investment like this. My 12th anniversary is coming up, I think this will be my gift to my husband! (or his gift to me?). I should be able to save a few dollars each week from the grocery budget, or my etsy money, to buy a bottle of lovely, natural perfume. I so wish I had a talent like this, although I think I have a good "nose" for scents, and work with essential oils and botanicals in my craft; I know nothing about the complicated process of top notes, base notes, etc. It's so wonderful that what she does brings people joy! And also, I'm a little bit obsessed with mermaids, so I love her shop name!

I'm starting my day in a very tidy house; courtesy of my husband, who stayed up until the wee hours folding laundry and cleaning; after my late-night sewing took it's toll and I was dead to the world! Tomorrow, I will be spending the afternoon with my best friend; revisiting a drive-in restaurant that we used to go to as small children, followed by watching the new 'Alice in Wonderland' movie. Such fun! 

Happy Friday Everyone!

My Name is Brandi; and I'm addicted to patterns.....I'm also REALLY bad at math!

Ok, full disclosure; the post I made yesterday; about homemaking: I just realized now that 1951 was in fact; 60 years ago; not fifty....

Wow; no more late-night blogging for me!
*embarrassing*

Today I woke up, ready for action; and while checking my etsy shop; noticed that one of my favorite shops Vintage Treasure Huntn had added some new patterns; and there were a few I just could not pass up; even though I have lots of patterns, lots of fabric; and almost no time or energy left! The one above is the one I finally decided to purchase; after justifying the expense six ways to Sunday and vowing to make it worth it by not buying new clothes for the next decade, at least!

Fortunately, Vintage Treasure Huntn has very reasonably-priced patterns; very much in the grasp of a budget-minded mama like me! The fact that it is my size made it seem like Serendipity; I just couldn't say no! It is a "half-size" pattern, which means a petite, but it's very easy to alter that, and the fact that I'm only 5'5" makes it even better. I have some fabric that would be perfect for this, probably the pink linen that I posted a picture of earlier, although I have to say I'm completely in love with the blue/grey with contrasting cuffs and belt, as shown for view A. I also have some navy blue and white polka dot, that may work, and the red accents for that would be darling. I'll have to wait until I get it, once the pattern is in my hands, inspiration just seems to flow better!

And I must, must, must make more time to sew this week; I don't want all my beautiful patterns to go to waste!

Midnight Madness

Well, it's midnight...and as usual, I have just finished the laundry, and was thinking of taking time to unwind, since all my boys and men are asleep and I can do as I please. I always have such a conflict, I have so many projects I'm dying to work on, but part of me feels guilty for staying up half the night, because I don't want to be tired and grumpy tomorrow. It's always a difficult choice for me, the back and forth of wanting some time for myself, yet feeling like I can't completely enjoy it because there are so many, many things that need to be done at all times, and I feel like I should not allow myself to become too sleep-deprived. I've been testing my limits for some time, seeing how little sleep I can not only survive on, but feel well all day on. I've found that I can do very nicely on five hours, any less and I feel tired all day long. It doesn't leave me with much time in the evenings, though; by the time we get the boys truly settled for the night it's usually around 9pm, then I watch a little TV with James, return e-mails and manage my etsy shop. All in all, it's never sooner than 10pm when I have a little "me time", and often it's not until closer to midnight. So here I am, at midnight, a little tired, but planning on finishing the romper I started for Elvis; it's so close to being finished and I hope to have it done and have pictures posted tomorrow. It does have buttonholes, however....pray for me!

Buttonholes and Buttermilk....

I've had such little time to work on my sewing lately, but finally on Sunday afternoon, I was able to at last sit down at my machine. I did have one little boy sitting beside me tracing the revolutions of the needle carriage wheel with his finger, and another little boy underneath the table pushing my foot down on the pedal, but it was still great to get going on my little trusty Singer! I'm still laboriously working on a dress that would be a simple project, if I were able to work on it for more than 20 minutes at a time, but; alas! The life of a mama! This pattern (the one I have pictured in an earlier post atop the vintage black and white check fabric) has a hidden button placket, which is perfect for me; since I have a rather embarrassing secret....I am the worst buttonhole maker in the world! It is silly, I know, for a person who has done as much sewing as I have, to produce such terrible, shaky, crooked buttonholes, and the fact that my machine has a semi-auto buttonhole setting makes it even more embarrassing. I don't know what it is about the thought of making presentable buttonholes that makes me go all to pieces; but there it is! I have also given up on marking dark fabrics with the typical white or silver dressmaking pencil, and so my other embarrassing secret is that I use Crayola colored pencils....not professional, I know, although the markings are either covered or they are fairly easily removed. After my usual trial buttonholes, my first was still fairly shaky, although I was able to cover up the deficiencies by reinforcing it; then just when I was about to succumb to buttonhole despair; I produced a quite presentable, straight buttonhole! I'm so proud of it, I may post a picture! I hope I am able to finish this particular dress in the next few days, since I'm so excited to begin my swimsuit pattern, and I've promised myself I will do all my projects in order, start to finish, for once! You may be wondering where my buttermilk reference comes from; I had a rather strange soap making experience involving adding buttermilk to lye; it changed to the strangest reddish-brown; I had heard of a similar reaction, but never had I seen it before, normally when I use buttermilk for soap it turns a orange-y color, but never this! And when the search box in your google search has the words "buttermilk in lye; reddish brown color", you know it's going to be an interesting day!

Great new shop on Etsy!

It's not often I find and favorite a shop that makes jewelry; since I'm not one to wear a lot of jewelry; in fact I only own two pairs of earrings, both gifts from James; a pair of tiny white gold closed hoops, which I've had for ten years; and a pair of pearl studs which were my tenth anniversary present. I also have a sadly outdated charm necklace that I no longer wear because it has two little boy charms, and I fear if I added the three more I would look like a rapper! So those items,  along with a white gold bracelet I don't wear because...I just never think of putting it on, concludes my jewelry stash. Not impressive! I've always admired people who put together accessories daily, but I just don't have the knack for it, and would rather wear something that expressed my personality and was meaningful that I don't have to think about or fuss with. So, every morning I put on my pearl stud earrings and call it good. But the jewelry in this shop may make me decide to change that. Such wonderful, delicate and affordable earrings! I also loved the pearl charm bracelet I have pictured. Such a great new shop, I had to share! And the owner favorites my shop, too! Check it out! Pier 12

Vintage pattern heaven!

Whew! I've had a really busy week, several new orders from my etsy shop (Yay) and <drum roll please>, my vintage patterns from Vintage Core Patterns arrived! http://www.vintagecorepatterns.com It was so exciting, I love vintage patterns, but I've never had such a wealth of vintage goodness at once! I love looking through them marveling at how this little envelope full of tissue paper has survived for 50+ years, and how it's a time capsule to how my counterparts lived, once upon a time. The fancy antiques never move me, when I go to an antique store I love to look at the unopened beauty products and magazines, the minutia of life; what life is all about. I think that is why I love vintage patterns so much. It's not an interpretation or a reproduction of what women wore, it's the real deal, with priceless fabric suggestions that allow you to truly recreate an outfit. I also received as a gift from Maggie a wonderful dress pattern; factory folded; such an amazing gift! I'm also trying to do better at balancing my new interests with my family life, therefore, after this post I am going to "close up shop" and spend some time with my poor husband over California burgers!

Where does the time go?

I have been so, so, busy these last few days! Getting my boys back on a school schedule has been a little challenging (and for me too!). I have been dying to cut into my first vintage pattern, and over the last day or two I have been slowly cutting out the pattern. It's almost my size, but I need a couple extra inches in the bust line and my five-babies waistline. I found a great article on resizing patterns, and although I found that I had virtually none of the needed supplies, I figured I was an experienced enough seamstress to draw out the re sized bodice directly on the fabric. Even I would not have attempted this except that the pattern was very nearly the right size...it would not have worked at all on a pattern that was a few sizes too small. I think I did all right, I guess I'll see once it starts going together, I went on the premise that you can always make something smaller, so I added ample room, thinking I could take it in easily. The skirt then had to be re sized along the side seams, which is a no-brainer, but this skirt pattern has soft pleats along the waistband, and I had a mental block where I couldn't figure out whether I needed to move the pleats or enlarge the pleats to the measurement I added to the bodice. Eventually I moved the markings, but I may just have to redistribute them once I get started on the skirt; I've found that often pleats have to be moved, anyway, even if the pattern is the right size. Also, tonight, I remedied my sad lack of dessert making by making oatmeal chocolate-and-vanilla-chip cookies, my boys will be thrilled, since they've been bereft of "treats" lately! On the agenda tonight, lots of laundry, fabric cutting, soapmaking (Briny Depths Sea Kelp Soap), and a glass of Riesling wine (my fave!).

Pretty little houses all in a row....

Today I finally did a little project with my boys that I have been putting off for way, way, too long. I am ashamed to admit I bought these darling little birdhouses and the paint while I was still pregnant with Elvis, thinking it would be a great little project to do during the summer. I had this idyllic vision of myself in postpartum splendor, with my perfect sleeping angel in his bassinet, serenely painting birdhouses with my, of course, calm and non-fighting older boys. It must have been some kind of pregnancy-induced delusion of grandeur. I soon realized that simply getting everyone dressed in the morning was a struggle at first, never mind doing arts & crafts! I had forgotten how exhausting it is to give birth, and how much care a newborn required. I also had never fathomed what taking care of five boys entailed, never having done it before. So this, along with many of my other lofty ambitions, was postponed...indefinitely. So much so, that in the intervening six months, Dorian turned from a babyish 2 year old who had no interest in crafts, to a little 2 and half year old man, who is potty-trained, and loves to play Play-Doh, color, paint, and use copious amounts of Elmer's glue to stick papers to each other. This meant that the fourth birdhouse, which I had picked out for myself, turned into Dorian's very own creation, despite the heart-shaped doorway! I do wish I hadn't kept procrastinating about this project, it turned out to be surprisingly un-messy and was over in a blink. I hope this will teach me to embrace these little projects; I want these precious times to be what my boys remember when they grown up, hopefully it won't be overshadowed by all the times I said "no" because I imagined what they were asking to be too much trouble.