2010 Calendar

I know this post may seem to be a little late. Originally I was waiting to share because I was giving away several of these and I didn't want to ruin the surprise. Then the Little Miss got sick and everything just sort of got put on the back burner and forgotten about. I purchased this Calendar from an Etsy shop called Govango. I was looking for one in PDF form so I could print it myself as many times as I needed. I wanted to use them as small Happy New Year gifts for some important ladies in my life. I love how they turned out (but not how the pictures turned out. Sorry I'm not a professional photographer). Buying calendars like this is fairly inexpensive, and you get something pretty unique. Something for you to think about for next year. Or if you still don't have a calendar for this year they are still available.

Social Networking

There are way too many social networking sites these days. Way. Too. Many. I took down my myspace a while back. I tried twitter, but I just couldn't get into it. So that came down too. I haven't used my Flicker account in a while. I'm thinking of taking that one off too. Facebook is OK, I'm keeping that one. I do have some issues with that though. Does anyone else feel guilt if they deny someone's friend request? Or do you ever feel like it is sucking the life out of you? Like you have to know what that one girl from the seventh grade is doing right now. Right now? I do love my blogs. I'm pretty sure I will never give those up. There are just so may things out there and I always feel like I have to give them a try. Why is that?

Well the new one is Tumblr. I'm intrigued by it. So I'm giving it a shot. Don't be surprised if it doesn't stick though. I'm fickle remember. Has anyone out there tried it out? What do you think?Anyway go to my new tumblr page Mini Sweetly Nostalgic to find out the deal with this little guy. A little something that made me laugh the other day.

Not About The Hair Clips

They just happen to always take center stage though. I needed someway to present them to their new owners. They needed a little packaging I guess you could say. So I picked up a pack of these white merchandise tags from Office Depot. I was just going to put the hair clips on them plain, but when I did that it just looked too boring. So I cut pieces of vintage sheets and zigzag stitched them to the tags. Then I attached the hair clips. There you have it. A million times better don't you think? It was really easy and really fun.I love vintage sheets. I love the patterns. I love the colors. I love the feel of them. So soft and... well... worn in. You can find them at pretty much any thrift store for super cheep. However I found the coolest shop. I know what you're thinking. She is ALWAYS talking about Etsy. It's true I am. I just think it's a great resource for finding materials, and I think it is important to support artists & crafters in their handmade small businesses. Anyway about this shop. Whimsie Dots has been collecting vintage bed linens for a long time. She cuts them into quilt squares, fat quarters, and half yards. Then she matches them up by color or theme. It can take months of collecting from thrift stores to have enough patterns for a blanket. So she has done the work for you. Her prices are really fair too. And doesn't it feel good and green to re-purpose them into something new?

Right When I Get Into The Swing Of Things...

I have to take an unfortunate break. I have a lot of great things I want to share. However we had to take Miss.S to the hospital for a condition called ITP. We will be with her there while she recuperates for an unknown period of time. I will blog when I can. Please don't give up on me, and even more important please say a little prayer for our little miss.

A Steal of a Deal

A couple years ago I posted about how much I loved my reusable grocery bags on my private blog (back when it wasn't private). I do. I love them. But I have a confession to make. I forget them 75% of the time. I've tried everything to remember them, but alas they remain forgotten. They do me & the environment no good sitting at home.

I figured out that I need some bags that fold up really small so I can keep them in my purse. I've been eying these from Envirosax.However the price tag seems a little steep. One for $8.50 or a pack of five for $37.95. To some of you this may not seem like that much. But for me I just can't justify spending that much on grocery bags. Especially since the ones I have were a dollar. Well today I was picking up some supplies for a project at Office Depot and in the check out isle I spotted some very similar to these. OK the patterns weren't as cute, but they weren't bad. They are similar in shape and size. The best part was they were $2.99! Less than half the price. So I think they will be fine. I'm a firm believer in you get what you pay for. I'm sure the Envirosax are better quality, but these will last me a little while though. We'll see how I do keeping them in my purse at all times. Maybe by the time these wear out I will be more willing to spend a little more on the more expensive ones. I'll report back soon to let you know how it goes.

Vintage Embroidery Hoops

Sorry this is a day late. We had a sick house yesterday. We are all on the mend now after a day of napping though.I first saw this idea on A Little Sussy and thought what a fun easy way to add a little color to a room. So I made these for Miss. S's room a couple summers ago with the help of my Mom. About half of these hoops came from the DI in Logan Utah and the other half my Mom gave me. They were handed down to her from my Grandma B. I loved the idea of using this small family treasure in a new way for my little girl. They hang in her room above her crib. Sadly her crib bedding was washing the day I took this picture. I'll get a picture soon of the whole effect.

I'm posting this now for two reasons. #1 I think I'm going to change the fabric out of them soon (Except for the S). I'm updating a few things in her room and the fabric that is in them now probably won't go. I wanted to document what they look like now.

And #2 I think this is the perfect post to explain why I chose Sweetly Nostalgic for the official name of this blog (no more changes). I love items whether for your home, to wear, to play with, anything, that evoke a feeling of nostalgia. I have a lot of family heirlooms that have been handed down to me that I love and use in my home. I also love shopping for and using vintage items. Even new items that have a vintage feel I am drawn too. I love certain memories that mere objects can stir up in your mind. When I look at these embroidery hoops it makes me think of the women in my life my Mom, Grandmothers, sisters, and Aunts. I'm reminded that I come from a long line of ladies that were and are great at making something out of nothing. That have wonderful talents and make beautiful things.

If you want to make these it's really easy. Start collecting embroidery hoops and fabric. I would say 8-12 different sizes and patterns would be sufficient. I usually like using odd numbers but this ended up being even. It really doesn't matter. Place your fabric in the hoop and pull tight. I used a hot glue gun to secure to the hoop. Last trim the access fabric and hang. The poor little one at the bottom broke when Miss. S began standing up in her crib, and could reach it. So if you are hanging it over a crib make sure you hang it out of reach of little hands.

Fun Fact

I am super busy today so I won't be able to post what I had planned. However I did want to post something really quick and say I'll be back tomorrow. Did you know that Pantone declared turquoise the color of the year?Turquoise is one of my favorites. It is just a color that brings joy to my day. Pair it with red or yellow. It is just such a happy color. So enjoy Turquoise in 2010!

Today I Made...

...twenty of these little pretties. This is the easiest and most fun project I have ever done. Really. Etsy is a great resource when you are looking to do any jewelry or hair related project. You can find so many shops that sell the floral cabochons and even more shops that sell jewelry bits at great prices. I made these in 15 different colors. The five pictured just happened to be my favorites. It took me no time at all.To bad these babies are all being given away this week. I guess I'll just have to order me up some more supplies to make more. I think they are just so pretty and dainty.

A Time Waster

I found the perfect time waster. If you go to this site make sure that you don't have anything else to do cause it might just suck you in (Miss.S has been a little under the weather... we stayed in today). I love colors and patterns. This combines both brilliantly. Go play at BgPatterns.com.Found via How About Orange

Hair Clip Tutorial Revisited

I remember a long time ago I planned on reposting all of the tutorials from Absolutely Cheesy on this blog. I got around to doing the Applique with a few modifications, but then didn't do any others. So here is the hair clip tutorial. It reminds me that I haven't made any recently, and all of Miss.S's are starting to look a little worn. So maybe I should make her a whole new batch. Enjoy!
For my baby shower one of my good friends gave me a set of these hair clips. They were one of my favorite things to receive, and now I give them away at all the baby girl showers I go to. I love them and they are so easy to make. You can easily whip out a set of 10 in a half hour. This is a tutorial on the "easy" way to make them. Meaning with a glue gun. If you are too good for a glue gun then I can't help you. There will be no hand sewing hair clips today.

DISCLAIMER: I'm not a writer. I don't do grammar, spelling, and all that nonsense. So please don't be offended if my writing is bad. Also I'm not a very good photographer. Enjoy!

Materials
Hair Clips (box of 100 $4.99 @ Sally Beauty Supply)
Glue Gun
Ribbon
Scrap Booking Brads
Silk Flowers


1. Cut length of ribbon. About 4.5 inches.
2. Clip the hair clip onto ribbon length wise.



3. Glue top of clip over opening. Fold ribbon over being sure to keep flat and straight. This will seal inside and outside of the top of clip together.






4. Glue end of clip and push ribbon in to cover the part you pinch.







5. Glue back side of the pincher and fold ribbon over to finish. I like to keep the main part of the back of clip plain because I feel like it grips the hair better. You can cover it if you would like, but it doesn't really show.




6. Deconstruct your silk flower. Throw away the center but keep everything else.






7. Arrange petals and pick out a scrapbooking Brad. Stick the prongs of your brad through the center of your petals. If you feel like your petals are lying too flat then you can use the extra plastic piece from your silk flower to add some lift. I usually like to use 2-3 layers of petals. You can make them as big or as small as you would like.


8. When you get your flowers looking the way you would like them too glue to the top center of your ribbon covered clip.






That's it you are done (see photo at the top of post). I use a lot of variations on this idea. For lazy days when I just put the munchkin in a onesie I will use a clip that is just covered in ribbon. For church I use the flowers or I have made them with bows too. You can put anything on these babies and they will look adorable. But my favorites are the flowers!

And yes I am having a giveaway. The lucky winner will win a set of 10 clips. 4 flowers, 3 ribbon, and 3 bows. So leave a comment below, and link this post to your blog or website. Do this by Monday Sept. 1. The winner will be announced on Tuesday Sept. 2. Anyone can enter and the winner is chosen randomly by my DH out of a hat.

Make some! You will be surprised by how easy they are and how cute they will look in your kiddos hair!

Deep In The Heart

People in Texas have a lot of pride in their state. That's one thing I really like about living here. I've lived here for about two years now, and truely love it. So to commemorate our two year Texas anniversary here are some things I've found on Etsy that I think any true Texan would adore.
Texas Pillow found on Love California a little ironic since we moved here from California.Don't Mess With Texans Necklace found on kalliARTTexas Letterpress found on 1canoe2San Antonio Skyline notecards found on Architette also available in Dallas, Houston, and Austin.

I pretty much want all of these things! We really have grown to love Texas and are happy to live in a state with such pride.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

A couple of days ago Miss S (or shall we call her Super S) looked at me, and with a very serious expression on her face she told me "Mommy I want to make something important". It made my heart melt. My first thought was Oh how I hope she does someday. I hope she makes something or says something or does something very important. I'm not sure she really understood what she said. Does she really know what the word important means? She is only two after all. I'm just going to pretend that she fully meant what she said though. The mind of a child is a wonderful thing. The future is far away and they get to dream so big.

It got me thinking about myself though. I turn thirty in about three months. I've always looked forward to this birthday. Instead of dreading it. It makes me think though at twenty nine have I done anything important. I thought about the first eighteen years of my life and thought about how badly I messed them up. Then I thought about the next seven or so years and how they progressively got better. Then it dawned on me. I have done two very important things in my life and nothing else matters to me at this point. I married a wonderful man and created a perfect little girl. A little girl who is the most important thing I have done yet. Thank goodness for children who remind us in small ways how wonderful life is. How even the smallest acts can be very important.

You Brightened My Day

Not that my day was off to a bad start. It wasn't. It was just shaping up to be an average one. Until I checked my mailbox at lunch . I have been waiting with baited breath for my winnings to arrive. You might be thinking "What's that she said? Winnings?". You got it. I won something for the first time in my life! The best part is YOU can win something fantastic too. I heard about The Bright Side Project a while ago. Maybe spring of last year. I entered several of their fantastic giveaways (they have one everyday). Then in November the Granddaddy of all giveaways, the giveaway that made my heart skip a beat showed up on my google reader. A chance to win not one but two gift certificates to Lisa Leonard Designs. I entered thinking "I'm not really going to win this but I have to try anyway". Well much to my amazment I did win. And you know what? It did brighten my day, and month actually, and now that today has rolled around it brightened my day all over again. Because I got this little lovely in my mailbox.Isn't it pretty. I love it so much I'm not going to take it off for a long time. Probably not until I get the Heart Strings necklace that just appeared on her website. *Hint Hint Honey. This little number is called the Family Crest necklace. Go to her website. Buy beautiful things. Go to The Bright Side Project. Win beautiful things. You will be so happy you did.

Oh and in case you were wondering. I gave the second gift certificate to my amazing big sister. She just had baby number three. A little girl named Eli (cute huh?). I thought she definitely needed some Mommy jewelry. A Christmas/Push Present (wait are those only from the Daddy?).

I Love A Fresh Start

I love what a New Year brings. A fresh start. A chance to look back on your accomplishments the previous year, but also an opportunity to look forward to where you want to go next in life. Last year I made a list of what I wanted to do in 2009. I achieved about a quarter of my list. Hey a quarter is better than nothing right? This year maybe I'll get to a third.In 2010 I want to sew a lot more and become a lot better. I want to organize my home and keep it that way. I want to make my bed more often. I want to laugh more and cry less. I hope to get my eating habits under control and work out more. I hope to read more scriptures and pray a little harder. It would be nice to maybe add one more to our little family. I want to spend more time in the Hill Country and at the beach. I want to breath in and relax a lot more. I hope to get things done and not stress about them. I want to love life and be happy now. I hope 2010 is my best year yet and yours too!