Smile And Wave

> Vintage Here, Vintage There: Handmade Edition

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January has had an underlying handmade for kids theme so Rubyellen and I decided to end our last January VH,VT post with some handmade included in our wardrobe shots! First up is my new handmade velvet turban from Red Velvet's newest collection. Elsie let me take this sample home a few weeks ago and I love it! It's my new favorite accessory. They'll be available from the new Red Velvet site February 7th if you need one, too!

Like Rubyellen it's been awhile since I've made something for my Ruby to wear so it was a great reason to try something both new and a little more challenging than things I've tried in the past. I took one of her vintage dresses and used it as a rough pattern guide to create this smock. The little one was moving quickly and we were starting to get rained on so I don't have much of a clear shot of the front.

Basically I used material from a vintage shirt I bought for Brett this weekend that didn't end up fitting ($3) and the bodice of the vintage dress that also didn't fit ($2) to create this little smock for Ruby. The colors and prints worked really well together and it's a fun way to remember the little adventure we took as a family! The rest of the dress will be reworked into a skirt for me and the rest of the shirt is looking like another version of a smock.

It was a quick sew once I figured out what I wanted to do with it but it still needs a snap closure added to the back. I avoid button holes whenever I can so snaps it is.

I temporarily held it in place with a safety pin and will need to fold one of the sides under when I attach the snaps so it will lay correctly but it worked for the afternoon! It gives her plenty of room to move and with a few adjustments to the shoulder width and overall length, I'd say it's my new favorite dress pattern for the spring and summer!

I picked this dress up at our local D.A.V. and cut off about three inches. It's made of polyester so I'm not going to bother hemming it as it probably won't fray. It's a little clingy but I loved the color and pattern and hope to feel even more comfortable in it down the road. I have a pair of brown boots in this same style that I've almost worn out so it was fun to find a vintage pair in this hunter green. They're so 1984. Am I right?

This is my pre-jump shot.

I'm wearing: Handmade velvet turban, Red Velvet Spring 2011. Vintage polyester dress, thrifted. Tights, Target. Vintage boots, thrifted.

Ruby's wearing: Shirt and pants, Target. Smock, handmade by me. Moccasins, Old Navy.

Here are some links to previous tutorials I've shared for making simple smocks for little girls and links to the three lovely interviews that were shared on Smile and Wave during Handmade for Kids month. You can browse through Meg, Rae, and Dana's blogs and find a variety of free tutorials and great inspiration for your next handmade project!

Rubyellen has some fantastic new additions to her daughters' wardrobes so head that direction and see what kind of fun they had this weekend!

xoxo,
Rachel

p.s. The epic snowstorm is on it's way!

> A Little Bit of Happy News!

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When I was invited to contribute to this quarter's issue of Artful Blogging a few months ago I had to read the e-mail twice to make sure I wasn't making it up in my head! I've kind of had a secret wish to make it onto the pages of Artful Blogging since they first started showcasing some of my favorite blogs in 2007 and to make things even sweeter, Ruby's little mug made the cover!

I got a little more serious than I usually get in this space as I reflected back on what blogging meant to me. It's been quite the wild ride these last three plus years and blogging has played a major role in the way my family's story has been shared and how it has developed.

It's been a place of inspiration and a way to share my favorite ideas. It's challenged my creativity, introduced me to some fantastic women, and taught me how to crochet a granny square (among other things)!

It's afforded me the built-in community I've needed during these sometimes lonely years at home with little ones and shown me how to be a better mom. It's affirmed and encouraged me in times of self-doubt when one or both kids were causing me to question our parenting methods and allowed me to feel okay about things when I realized I wasn't the only mama who occasionally used bribery to get her son in the bath.

Blogging has not only documented our lives these last few years, it's allowed me to be at home with my children while contributing to my family's financial needs. Like so many other bloggers, it's been a platform for sharing new product, introducing online classes and e-courses, and featuring sponsors that have chosen to advertise with Smile and Wave. It's the best kind of job!

It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to reflect and share how much blogging has meant to me these last few years but mostly I'd love to thank you, my fantastically supportive and loyal readers. Your comments, shared stories, and general presence have meant the world to me and made this place pretty special. It wouldn't be the same without you!

xoxo,
Rachel

ADDED: I have had a number of people ask where to purchase this issue and I'm not 100% but I think all major bookstores carry it (Barnes & Noble, etc.) Can anyone who has seen it there confirm this? You can also subscribe on their website. See links above. Thank you for all of the sweet words! It means a lot!

> January Sponsor Giveaway: The Missing Sponsor!

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EEEK! I didn't mean to leave out another one of my lovely sponsor's, The Little Illustrator. You'll find some info about her shop and the chance to win TWO PRINTS of your choice below! Don't forget to check out the two giveaways posted below as well.

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The Little Illustrator

My shop, The Little Illustrator, is all about making cutesy fun art for everyone to love and enjoy. My main objective with my art is to brighten people's day!!

As noted above, this giveaway is for two prints of your choice from The Little Illustrator.

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To enter to win share your favorite free time activity in the comments below!

Giveaway open to U.S. and Canada residents only. Comments open until Monday night, January 31st. Please leave a way to contact you in case you are the lucky winner!

NOTE: There are still a few mini ad spots left in the side bar for $20 if you want to join Smile and Wave for February. Just send your info to hello(@)frecklednest.com with Advertise on SAW in the subject line.

xoxo,
Rachel

> January Sponsor Giveaway: Group 2

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January's sponsors have been ever so lovely to offer a ton of giveaways that I've divided up into two groups. One lucky winner will receive all of the items in this post if their name is picked from the comments section. Another lucky winner will be picked from the second group! Please stop by and see what my January sponsors are up to in their shops and blogs. They make so many good things possible over here at Smile and Wave!

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Gingiber

"Hi! My name is Stacie. I run an online print shop called Gingiber and a purty little blog called Gingibersnap. I specialize in quirky little doodles and handmade gifts for momma and kiddos alike. My art is inspired by my childhood experiences and memories.

For example, my new Valentine's Day print "Mon Petit Chou Chou", is a french phrase that I learned in the 1st grade. It literally translates to "My Little Cabbage". It is a term of endearment, and I loved secretly calling all of my friends and loved ones cabbages. Now that you know what Mon Petit Chou Chou means, I challenge you to let all of the little cabbage in your life know how much you love them.

I'm giving away to one reader an Mon Petit Chou Chou Poster.

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Owl and Fawn

I learned to crochet when my daughter was born 11 years ago. My grandma taught me- over the phone! I am a web consultant/ photographer by day, and at night when all the kids are in bed, I spend my time whipping up hats and scarves. I love using huge crochet hooks and really chunky yarn! I also like to try all kinds of fibers- acrylic, wool, cotton, bamboo... and soon I'll be offering items made with hand spun yarns.

Rachel is generously offering $50 shop credit!



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Wild Olive

Hey! I'm Mollie from Wild Olive, and my favorite things are embroidery, cute things with faces, and putting those two together. On my blog I love sharing patterns, printables, and other fun stuff that I make, do and create!

I'm giving away a 2011 membership to my Pattern of the Month Club. Each month members receive a new set of embroidery patterns along with a mini-newsletter.

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To enter to win share your favorite seasonal drink in the comments below!

Giveaway open to U.S. and Canada residents only. Comments open until Monday, January 31st. Please leave a way to contact you in case you are the lucky winner!

xoxo,
Rachel

> January Sponsor Giveaway: Group 1

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January's sponsors have been ever so lovely to offer a ton of giveaways that I've divided up into two groups. One lucky winner will receive all of the items in this post if their name is picked from the comments section. Another lucky winner will be picked from the second group! Please stop by and see what my January sponsors are up to in their shops and blogs. They make so many good things possible over here at Smile and Wave!

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Gussy Sews

Hi, this is Gussy and I'm the designer behind Gussy Sews, a sassy shop full of ruffled accessories (totes, wristlets, headbands). I live in Minneapolis and have recently celebrated my 8th month of being on my own -- running a handmade blog & shop is AMAZING! I'm so thankful for this community of handmade. xoxo

Gussy is generously offering a giveaway for $40 shop credit.

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One Pearl Button

Hello! I'm Alli of One Pearl Button. I'm a graduate student, crafter, photographer, vintage-lover, and scooter-rider, currently shivering the winter away in Ohio. My blog is where I document my creative life and connect with other creative people - stop by sometime; I'd love to get to know you! I also own a shop, OPB Studios, which features prints and other items made from my original Polaroid photographs.

Alli is generously offering a $25 gift certificate to her shop!


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Come On Over, Clover


Hi there, I’m Kara from ‘Come on over, Clover!’ and I’m very excited
to share this giveaway with all of the lovely Smile & Wave readers.


I love all things paper and all things pretty and would love to offer

$25 store credit so that you can pick something you love! We stock
handmade stationery, including gift cards and tags, as well as some
cute vintage finds. My blog is also about all things pretty, and is a
place where I gather images that I find as well as display my own
drawings and artistic creations. Good luck and I look forward to
seeing you around!

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Crafted By Mei

I'm a Malaysian, living here all my life & loving the multi-racial neighbourhood. I have been beading for years, selling my pieces to locals for 2 years now, the encouraging response I got from my local buyers prompted me to try the international market by starting an etsy store in April 2010. It's so exhilarating to know that my handmade stuff are being worn on the other side of the world, places I have never been to!

Mei is offering the Glam bracelet below as her giveaway item. Valued at $30.00.



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To enter to win share the best part of your weekend thus far in the comments below!

Giveaway open to U.S. and Canada residents only. Comments open until Monday, January 31st. Please leave a way to contact you in case you are the lucky winner!

xoxo,
Rachel

> Vintage Findings: This Week ' s Loot

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The family and I took off on Friday morning after Brett's PT to visit some friends in Camdenton, MO and meet their new addition! We loved seeing little Poesy and her teeny, tiny fingers and her teeny, tiny face and teeny, tiny yawns. I kept telling Katie and Johnny I had completely forgotten babies started out that small. Ruby looked huge next to Poesy and was trying really hard to 'play' with her. Thanks, Katie and Johnny for letting us visit and drop off some goodies!

P.S. Hope has the coolest bed fort but it sounds like it's about to get even cooler!

After our visit we went exploring through town and hit up a few of the thrift and antique stores that Katie and Johnny had shared. Brett occupied Ruby while Sebastian and I went looking for treasures and we both found some fun things! Our first stop was an animal shelter thrift shop where I found these boots for $2! I also picked up a floral sun dress from the 90's that needs to be reworked and found a vintage shirt for Brett.

Then we stopped in at Bear Market and I found this fun vintage blanket. It's headed to my MIL's Etsy shop sometime in the next few weeks. The vintage 'IN' sign was the bargain of the day and was picked up near Lebanon at a larger flea market. I'm not sure where it's going in the house yet but I love it, cracks and all!

Most of all, we had a fun little family adventure on our way home that involved driving through a field, a derelict building, and a pretty sunset. Photos to come.

I'm posting January sponsor giveaway's later tonight! I hope you're having your own adventures this weekend!

xoxo,
Rachel

> Project ReStyle: Week Four With Keiko Lynn

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This week's Project ReStyle is brought to us by the fabulous miss Keiko Lynn. I love how she completely restyled this matronly lace dress. I can imagine it was a mother-of-the-bride dress from 1985! It looks stunning now and makes me want to go out and find one of my own!

Before: Long 80s dress with a lot of rust stains near the top, big shoulder pads and long sleeves

After: Trapeze mini dress with 3/4 sleeves and scoop neck

Here's what I did: I started by removing the sleeves and discarding the shoulder pads and rose that was sewn at the hip. I knew I wanted it to have sleeves, so I shortened them (at the top, to avoid extra hemming) to my liking. I had to get rid of the top of the dress, because there were several rust stains. I cut off the damaged area and worked from there. cutting new arm holes and a scoop neck. After putting the newly shortened sleeves back on, I hemmed the neckline - and it was finished!

Originally, I was going to make an elastic casing for the waistline but decided against it, in favor of the trapeze cut. This way, I can wear it loose for a 60s mod feel or belt it for more definition. From start to finish, this project took me about 30 minutes - including threading the serger and sewing machine and winding a new bobbin. Plus, I was able to save a little old dress from its deathbed.

Great job, Keiko Lynn!

Here are a few of my favorites from this week's Flickr group.

Doily lamp makeover by Margot.


Chair makeover by Miriam.Madmim


The after and the before by Sara Schmidle.

These projects are great and there are so many more to fantastic ones in the Flickr group. I LOVE the way everyone is rethinking their stuff and making things new again. What have you been working on this lately? I've got about three more projects to tackle next week that I'm hoping to add to the Project ReStyle group myself. I love a good challenge and making things work in a new space is making me think hard!

xoxo,
Rachel

> Another Public Service Announcement

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Inspired by William Edmonds' piece.

I've stopped short of tattooing this across my forehead.
It's my new motto for life on those days when I feel too tired or want to wing it.
Phoning it in, as they say.
I want to be ambitious in everything; as a wife, as a mother, as a friend, as the creative director of my surroundings, as the manager of my household, as my own boss and now my own motivational speaker.
This is my new pep talk.

xoxo,
Rachel

> Handmade for Kids Month: Interview with Dana of Made

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I'm pleased to share this interview with another one of my favorite creative mamas, Dana, of Made as part of my Handmade for Kids month at Smile and Wave. Just try to walk away uninspired!

* Why do you make things?
Hmmm. Well, I can't really imagine not making things. I think that creating is just part of how I think; how my brain and hands work...as I'm sure most creative people feel. I truly find joy in taking fabric and turning it into something useful or recreating an old shirt into something new and (hopefully) cute! It may be an addiction. But I think it's a healthy one?

As women especially, I think we all have a longing to create. And creativity comes in a variety of forms. My athletic friend once told me "I'm not creative; I run marathons." But creating doesn't have to mean "art". Some women create organization within their families, some are fabulous cooks, some create math equations and solutions to problems.

My favorite quote by Dieter Uchtdorf sums it up perfectly, ""The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty."
Sorry to get serious on you in the very first question! I'll try to lighten up a bit...

* Have you always been a crafter/maker/manipulator of surroundings?
I think so, in various forms. I remember as a kid cutting up photos to create funny picture collages with people's heads on different bodies. And I've always loved coloring with crayons (and still do--good thing my daughter Lucy asks me to help her). Pumpkin carving, gingerbread house decorating, valentine's making...these were all my favorite creative nights at our house.

But as far as sewing goes....my Grandma taught me to sew when I was 10. We just sewed straight lines on a brown paper bag, no thread. We made simple little bags and gaudy 80's hair bows. And by 12, my mom showed me how to read and use patterns. I made all sorts of elastic waistband pants, simple skirts, and dresses for church.

It wasn't till I was an adult that I realized I could sew and create from the ideas in my head--that I didn't need a store-bought pattern. So I started deconstructing clothing and learning how garments went together. And that's how most of my sewing is done these days. I either draft my own pattern or use existing clothing as a size guideline. It's liberating and exciting!

* Where do you find your inspiration?
Everywhere--watching kids play at the park, the weather, trends, walking through stores, requests from my kids. But most of my inspiration comes from the photography aspect of my projects. It sounds a bit backward, but I often come up with a clothing design after I've thought about a photo shoot location or concept.

Blogging is the best of many worlds for me. I get to share creative projects but I also get to showcase photography. And this might be my favorite part. Whenever I'm out driving, my eyes are always looking for interesting photo locations, cool houses, colorful walls, beautiful fields, ratty old fences. I actually came up with the Market skirt after spotting a bright orange wall near a Mexican market. Clothing creation is art but the photographic presentation is the bigger art, to me.

* What does your crafting space look like and how do you keep it organized?
I've got a sewing nook in our office room. You can see a little tour here (along with other FAQs). And in true creative form...I'm already itching to redo it. When we first moved in last year my husband thought I'd be in heaven (and I was compared to my old sewing space which was our kitchen table). But I knew I would outgrow the space quickly. I told him that one day I would need a whole room for my stuff, with various painted walls for photography. He laughed. And now he understands. Mostly, I need more cabinets to house fabric and trims, so there won't be any boxes sitting around. On a good day I can get it pretty organized in there because I do love sewing in a clean space. But that's not realistic.

I will say this though....If you really want to devote more time to sewing, designate a space in the house for your sewing machine to sit and NEVER put it away! This can be a computer desk in the corner of a room, your kitchen table, a folding table in your bedroom--whatever! If you leave your sewing machine out, you'll be far more inspired to sit down and sew for a 1/2 hour here or there, instead of yawning at the idea of pulling it out of the closet and messing with the set-up. Try it for a few months and see what happens!

* Do you finish your projects in one sitting or over time?
Um, both. I love fast projects that come together quickly, that I can photograph, and have ready for the blog in a day or two. But there are plenty of projects that start and then sit for months. In fact we started working on a project for our backyard that is 95% finished but won't happen till Spring time (because of the weather).

I like that though; part of how my brain works again. I need to have my hands in a few projects at once. And when the timing is right, they come together. This also helps with projects that have reached a point of frustration--mostly due to my own mistakes. The instinct is to throw it away and move on to the next thing. But usually I put the project aside for a month and when I come back to it I'm excited about the original concept again and have the energy to "make it work".

* What happens to projects that don't make the cut?
Well....in all honestly, I hardly ever leave a project unfinished or un-fixed. It just eats away at me. 99% of the time, there's a way to fiddle with something and make it work. And often, these are the times that I come up with a design idea that I never would have done originally.

The Christmas In July dress was supposed to be sleeveless. I had finished off the armholes and then hated it. So I added sleeves to the finished edge, which is odd looking but I love it. The aqua velvet dress was similar (a skirt that wasn't working turned into a double-banded bodice). I've found ways to fix holes on blankets and if I burn a hole in a swimsuit....well.....I just have to start over.

* What are some of your favorite online resources for tutorials, fabric, inspiration?
Oh wow, this could become a laundry list. Here are some of my favorites--and many of them are not sewing blogs but rather sites that inspire me visually:

Cool French blogs:
Mimi Mouse
Sous le Parasol
13 & 3

Roundup blogs of design and craft (both Spanish but great photos)
Hola Mama
Kireei

Food:
Good Life Eats
Joy the Baker
Smitten Kitchen

Pretty photos, pretty sewing, eye candy:
Vermilijoen
Adore Vintage
Grosgrain
No Big Dill
Cakies
Katie did--though she no longer blogs but has fabulous ideas like this
Birch and Bird - vintage home interiors
Famille Sumberbelle
Elizabeth Dye
Garden by the Sea

Thanks so much for putting this incredibly inspiring and resourceful post together, Dana! I appreciate the love and thoughtfulness you put into all of your work and the way you share it online. Your blog is such a happy, colorful space! If you're looking for some new projects Dana has many tutorials available for non-commercial use here. Go take a long look!

xoxo,
Rachel

p.s. All photos courtesy of Dana.

> Happy Thoughts

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1. source, 2. source, 3. source, 4. source, 5. source

xoxo,
Rachel