Another Milestone.

Today is my 2 year Etsy Anniversary! Makin' stuff just rocks. And if I can make stuff that people wanna buy, well, that is the most awesome & insanely rad thing EVA! Thank you to all my customers!! And potential customers! And window shoppers! And anyone who's ever blogged about my crafty stuff!

So, to have a wee bit of celebration & fun I'm gonna give a bag full of random & mysterious WhiMSy love goodies to someone who comments on this post TODAY. Ends tonight. Midnight. PST.

And for those of you who are itchin' for some sweet WhiMSy merch: Everything in the shop is BUY ONE GET ONE HALF OFF!

Week in Review

I was surrounded this week by happy thrifted fun & sure signs that Spring has sprung. Oh, & I cannot put my book down. I'm speaking of Twilight. I scored a used copy for 4 bucks. Sweet. It feels so weird to be reading again. I was a reader as a kid, but as I got older I read less & less. I really like how I can enter a different world when I pick up a book. It feels nice & something I look forward to.

My mom's b-day was this week too. We had the most rushed & hurried party for her. She & my dad had to leave town quickly to get over the snowy mountains for round 4 of 5 dilation treatments for my dads "throat". The docs are still trying to fix his swallower. He's so skinny now.

My little WhiMSy casa is trying to get over the sickies. For the last few weeks we've all just been a chorus of coughs.

The girls are on spring break this week. I look forward to lazy mornings & keeping my jammies on just a little longer than usual.

*Click on the mosaic for a photo play-by-play.

Saturday Night Special!

There's lots of Vintage Button Rings in the shop---a great accessory for Spring or Easter!! For anytime, really. Check 'em out. Find 2 you like & pay only 15 bucks. (That's BUY ONE GET ONE HALF OFF!)

*Sale ends midnight PST.

*Does not include Vintage Button Ring of the Month Club.

*Make your purchases & I'll refund the difference through paypal ASAP.

{spring}

The little seedlings emerged from the heavy wet soil, now-hollow seed pods still attached to their newly born leaves. "Hello world," said one sprout, "it's nice to meet you." The other sprout, covered in dirt & feeling itchy, only sneezed.

Loss.

Losing a loved one is very painful. And oh, it hurts. Not sure what to say, or how to talk about this. Just know that I am extremely sad. Our family recently lost a very special person. Though his decision will haunt our family forever, he will not be any less loved. We'll ache. For a very long time. Hunter...we will miss you with the greatest misses there ever were. And we will continue to love you in your absence as much as we loved you in your presence. I wish you were still alive. Our family will never be the same again.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a 24-hour, toll-free suicide prevention service available to anyone in suicidal crisis. If you need help, please dial 1-800-273-TALK (8255). You will be routed to the closest possible crisis center in your area. Call for yourself, or someone you care about. Your call is free and confidential.

I will leave THIS LINK as it has helped me.

Faux Adirondack

Me wants.

I was out window shopping yesterday & I found these sturdy plastic adirondack chairs at Big Lots. Only $19 each!! Just looking at them makes me so excited to get my yard all cute. I never made much of a dent last year with all the marvelou$ idea$ & plan$ I had. We have no seating in our backyard, so these would be PERFECT! I think I'd only pick two though. Yellow for sure. And either pink or blue.

P.S. Ok, I changed my mind. I want all 4.

Felt & Button Elastic Headband Tutorial

These are so simple & fun to make!! And they're perfect for Spring! Make 'em to match your Easter attire!

The supplies: scissors, pinking shears, small bits & scraps of felt, marker, thread, needle, buttons, thimble, headbands.

(About the headbands: I got mine at Target. They also come in pastel & other colors. Wish I'd had the lighter bands for this project, but I just used what I had!)
Draw various flowery shapes onto the felt.

Cut them out & choose a button for the center.


Stack your pieces together.

Simply stitch your pieces, stacked all together, onto the headband, sewing up & down through the buttonholes. You may or may not need a thimble here.

This is the back view.

The light pink flower was made by cutting out a sort of dogwood flower (or 4-leaf clover) shape & adding a small grey circle to the center, topped off with a pearly white vintage button.

For the brown/blue combo, I cut a larger organic blobby circle shape from tan felt & a smaller similar organic shape using a dark mustard colored felt. I cut three strips of light blue felt & snipped the ends into a "V" shape. I topped it with a vintage button which had a broken shank. After the felt pieces were sewn onto the headband, I just used E6000 to glue the button right on top.

All the felt floral embellishments for the headbands measure approximately 2 1/2" across.

Here's the 'WhiMSy love' girlies modeling the new sassy creations:

Happy Headbanding!

Birthmom Buds

I was recently contacted by Birthmom Buds, an organization that provides support to birth mothers & pregnant women considering adoption. Every year around Mother's Day (one of the hardest times of the year for a birth mother) they hold a special event for birth mothers to come together & support each other.

As an adopted child, having met my birth mother & knowing the hard time she STILL has about "giving me away" this is something close to my heart.

They're looking for prize donations & items for goodie bags (25 of each item) for this event. I'll be sending some WhiMSy love goodies & I wanted to extend an invitation to any of my blog readers that may be interested in donating handmade (or other items) as well. The event is May 2nd. Click HERE to read about the event & see pictures of past gatherings.

If you choose to donate, a link to your blog/store will be posted on their website & their event program. Please email me at whimsy-girl [at] hotmail DOT com if interested & I will give you the contact info. Thanks!!

Week in Review

Lots of happy Spring fun this week! Jumping, planting, crafting, thrifting!!

And it seems my weekends involve at least one movie. So, here's another movie recommendation:The tag line for the movie is: "Make believe. Not war." Son of Rambow is set in England, early 80's & it's about 2 boys from different backgrounds who set out to make a movie inspired by First Blood (the first of 5 'Rambo' movies by Sylvester Stallone). After watching the movie, Mr. WhiMSy love's comment was: "I wouldn't have EVER rented this. But I liked it."

I also saw Twilight this weekend, for the first time. I wasn't sure if I'd like it or not, but I LOVED it! I've never read the books, but am really excited to go out & get the first book. (Said the non-reader.) Let me just state the obvious: Edward Cullen = HOTNESS. I have about half the music tracks added to my blog playlist, even some of the score. I'm like a giddy, geeky, obsessed 7th grader. (No offense to giddy, geek 7th graders. I speak from experience.)

*Click on the mosaic for a photo play-by-play.

Fabric Burn Test

This weekend I was able to get all scientific & experimental for crafty purposes. What fun! A customer purchased some fabric in my shop & asked me if it was 100% cotton. I wasn't 100% sure. I quite frequently purchase fabric at thrift stores, antique malls & garage sales. You see, my customer is a quilter. She let me know that "the deal with poly and cotton is that cotton shrinks whereas blends don't so you can't mix the two fabrics in quilts."

What was I to do? I grabbed a match, tweezers, a 2" x 2" piece of my fabric in question & an ashtray (or other fire-safe container).

I lit my fabric with the match & let my senses do the rest. It smelled like burning paper, I saw the fabric produce an afterglow & when I touched the ashes, they were soft & turned to dust.

I also held a clump of threads from the fabric in my tweezers & held a lit match near them. The fabric ignited as the flame drew near. Synthetic fibers curl away from the heat & tend to "melt".

My experiment led me to believe that it was, indeed, 100% cotton. But please visit THIS link--(where I got all my info from)--for more detailed steps about performing a burn test. You'll also learn what to look for if your fabric is something OTHER than cotton.

Rainboots.

My girls never get to wear their rain boots 'cause it doesn't rain much around these parts. So, today, we took advantage of the damp weather & had some fun! And I got to thinkin': I want some rainboots!!

Anyway, I don't know anything about growing stuff. The only plants I have living in my house are 3 little African violets I've had for a few years. Really, it's a miracle they're alive. In fact, the hubby gave me a calla lily plant this Valentines Day. It's dying a slow death. So, the girls & I planted some sunflower seeds outside today. (Too early?) I have no idea if they will survive or not. I think we'll do an experiment & start some seeds in little pots INside too. (To see which die first. haha!) Not really.

We just really want Spring to show its face!

Happy Spring!!

'Nuff said.

random.

My "random" file is filling fast, so I thought it was time for another "random" post...

Do you see what my 6 year old's breakfast leftovers looked like this morning? I love it! Hard-boiled egg yolk eyeballs & a peanut butter toast crust smile.

Someone asked me a little while ago (sorry, can't remember who!) what the "MS" in "WhiMSy love" stands for. OK, are you ready for the answer? Here it is: absolutely nothing. I just thought I'd be so ever so "artsy" & "whimsical" & make some of the letters bigger & some smaller & so that's what came about. I COULD make up something clever though. Any ideas?

Today I'm wearing my green corduroy pants. Mr. WhiMSy love HATES them. When I wear them he sings "O Christmas Pants" to the tune of "O Christmas Tree". I don't care. I like them & they are comfy.

I keep getting a lot of hits on my blog from THIS WEBSITE. But I can't figure out why or where or who or huh?

I also had a few of you ask what I sent my partner for the latest Owlie Swap I participated in. Click HERE for Jessica's blog post about it.

Have you ever driven up to a STOP sign & waited for it to turn green? Or come home from running errands & stood right outside your front door trying to unlock it with the keyless remote button from your car? Yeah, me neither....

I went thrift shopping today! Look at all that yummy bright perfect-for-spring-&-summer yarn!!! I don't knit. Although, I've been thinking of learning to crochet. (2 needles scare me. 1, I think I can handle.) I am using this yarn for a project I've had in my head for a while. And the cool thing is that I went to the thrift store SPECIFICALLY for yarn, hoping to get colors exactly like these. SCORE!
I also picked up a couple treats for the 'Vintage' department in the shop. This 80's see-through Conairphone is totally rad. Seriously, I look at this phone & Madonna's "Lucky Star" echoes through my head. And I see visions of mall hair & my favorite oversized neon sweater.
And, of course, I couldn't leave the thrift shop without snatching a few old books.

I haven't tweeted in a while on Twitter, but the other day I noticed that someone 'following' me has me sandwiched right between Jimmy Fallon & Ashton Kutcher. haha!

Today is the last day of winter! YIPPEE!!

Ok, enough randomness for one day.

Clothespin Butterfly Tutorial

Here's a great craft-- perfect to do with kids --to celebrate the upcoming arrival of SPRING!!! Here's the supplies you'll need: scissors, glitter, mod podge (or tacky glue), clothespins, fabric, beads, wire, wire cutters, paintbrush, iron-on adhesive, pinking shears (optional) & fishing line for hanging (not pictured).
The first thing you'll do is slap some glue all over your clothespin. Use the peg-style clothespin. And I shoved a chopstick between the "prongs" so I wouldn't get all goopy & I could do this step all in one crafty swoop. (I'm holding the chopstick/clothespin with one hand, using my teeth to hold the messy paintbrush & taking a photo with my other hand. HAHA!)
Sprinkle with your choice of glitter.

{I heart glitter.}
Now, while THAT is drying, you can move on to the next step...
The only reason I use the iron-on adhesive is to fuse two pieces of fabric together & to give my fabric more stiffness. (So the wings won't be floppy.) If the fabric you're using is a thick, heavyweight material, don't bother using the iron-on stuff. However, another reason I like using the iron-on adhesive is because BOTH sides of my butterfly will look sassy. If your material is too thick, it won't fit correctly onto the clothespin, so keep that in mind as well.

You'll need a butterfly pattern. If I knew how to do all that fancy schmancy "click-here-for the PDF-of-my-template" I'd do that. But I don't know how. So, to get a symmetrical design, fold a piece of cardboard in half & draw one side of the butterfly wings with an inch of space between the sets of wings. (I know mine is more than an inch in the picture, but I altered later on because I found my measurement to be tooooooo long.)

Next, cut out a piece of iron-on adhesive that will fit your pattern. Iron this onto the WRONG side of a piece of fabric that is slightly bigger on all sides than the adhesive piece. Then, iron ANOTHER piece of fabric on TOP of the adhesive. You'll have a fabric sandwich with the sticky adhesive holding it all together.

You could also use coordinating pieces of fabric so that you'd have a lovely reversible butterfly!

Trace your pattern onto the fabric...

...& cut it out. You could use your pinking shears to do this part too, for a different look.

When your glittery butterfly body is dry, you'll want to make the antennae. I used 24 gauge wire 'cause that's what I had on hand.

Twist the wire onto the "head". You could just curl the ends of each wire & leave it like that, or add a big bead to each end...

...but I used seed beads for mine.

Stack the beads almost to the tippy-top of the wires & loop the ends so the beads won't fall off.

Then twist the beaded wires into the shape you like.

Slide your fabric onto the clothespin. That extra bit in the middle of the fabric is to give it some bunchy staying power. The back end of your fabric might start wiggling out. You can just dab it with some hot glue & tuck it back in to keep a permanent hold on it.

Tie some fishing line onto your butterfly & hang it up!

Other ideas for your clothespin butterfly:

*Make 'em from oilcloth! (To hang outside!) (With oilcloth you'd probably want to omit the extra bit in the middle of the butterfly pattern.)

*Hang a whole flock of butterflies for a sweet spring celebration! (Above a bed would be sweet!)

*Make a garland of butterflies!
*Let the little ones get involved: Use felt!! It's stiff enough, so no need for iron-on adhesive. Let the kids glue on gems & doo-dads & crafty bits for their own unique butterfly creation!