I just found the cheapest, simplest craft to keep your kid busy!

And not busy like with tv or computer games, which is often what my Finley is busy with. This was honest to goodness fun. Kind of like how my husband always tells Finley "A jar and a lid, kid, that's all I had for toys." He says it as a joke of course, but it always cracks me up and at the same time makes me cringe a little thinking about all the plastic toys laying around the house.

But I digress. Today, Finley was wrapping presents and by chance we found out we could create our own mini stickers with good ol' scotch tape and wrapping paper. Well, at least it worked with our cheap wrapping paper from the dollar store. :) Love that place (though I did get into a bit of a fight with the manager once, but that's a whole other story.)

This kept Finley busy for nearly an hour. And the steps are so simple, that maybe I'm the only nut out there whose never done this and you are all reading this thinking I am nuts ;)

Step 1. Cut some 'Magic' Scotch tape in any length and lay on gift wrap, keeping your finger on the tape at one end so you can peel it off without picking at it for 10 minutes ;)



Step 2. Smooth tape down with finger.



Step 3. Peel tape off.
Step 4. Put on a white piece of paper.





Step 5. Marvel at the quiet filling your house as your kid stays busy with this craft.







We even did a triple :)




I just had to share.

Now tell me, honestly, have you all been doing this and keeping it a secret from me?
:)

xo,
shari

SLD in Print!

I am so excited to be the one artist the local newspaper featured to advertise one of the largest craft fairs in Jackson Hole! Finley had SO much fun at the photoshoot and she was SO excited this morning to see her picture in the paper! She showed it off to everyone at school :)

Here is the article! Boy, now if only people would stop hounding me for autographs on the streets. HA! ;)



xo,
shari

Black Friday / Cyber Monday starts on Thankful Thursday....

I can be a very lousy business woman. Why? Because I love ( I mean, LOVE) to give stuff away. I've always said that I would love to have a business where I get to pack up boxes full of cash and send them to people! How fun would that be!! :)

But, until I can get that particular business rolling, you're stuck with upcycled stuff in a box ;)
I try to do my best to give my customers great savings. it's not because I don't think my items are worth their full retail price, but it's because I am seriously thankful. It's really so simple. Without you, there would be no business. There would just be some cute clothing hanging on racks in my home with no one to love them, wear them, and enjoy them. That is quite simply, no fun.

So to add fun into the mix I decided to do my Black Friday/Cyber Monday etsy sale today, on Thanksgiving day. Why? Because it's my small, teeny tiny way of saying thank you.

Yup, that's right, you. I mean it. YOU. The person taking the time to read this. Taking the time to look at my clothes. You, the one who emails me with feedback, or custom requests. Or some of my favorite emails include those of you with kids wearing my items. Or the emails I get about how much one of my items brightened a little girls day after a round of chemo. Or making a tee with all the seams on the outside for a young boy with sensory disorders (who never gets to wear cool clothes).

You make my heart melt with each and every email. I read them to my husband. I read them again and again to myself. Because I am thankful.

So thank you, my friends. Thank you. :)

xo,
Shari

Oh, see, I am a lousy business woman. I nearly forgot to share details of my sale! Sheesh!
Use code Gobble at my etsy shop for 20% off anything in stock from Nov 25-28. Then get a chance for an extra 5%-15% off via my facebook page! Have a very very happy thanksgiving :)

Getting ready for the holidays....with candy :)

Finley asked if we could buy a wreath for our door the other day, because she saw one at the neighbors. I said "Pshaw! We're the crafty kind of folk, we'll make something!" and she wholeheartedly agreed! My little google search first led me to Miss Martha's site, where she made this pretty white gumdrop wreath.

But another quick google search brought us to this beautiful picture, which to a four year old is like the holy grail ;)

She was salivating at my lap so I relented and agreed to pick up all the ingredients we would need to make this gorgeous little gumdrop wreath. Full instructions on how to can be found here, on the Kiddley Blog.

Here's what we bought:

Total bill was about $7 and included a dollar store floral sponge round shape, gumdrops, ribbon and toothpicks. Please, if you are trying this at home, do not skimp on toothpicks! I bought the cheap flat toothpicks, instead of the round ones. BIG mistake! Sheesh, are they ever flimsy. Splurge the extra 50 cents for the good stuff ;)

We sat down and decided to taste the goods. :)

Mr. SLD and Finley got in there....

Immediately they were thrown back into the bowl! (see the green flashing thing?) YUCK!

Turns out, little did I realize that I bought 'Spice' flavored gumdrops. Mistake number two. These things taste terrible!! At least it saved us from eating the entire wreath! ;) But seriously, avoid these (sorry gumdrop maker, I just don't like these. Sue me (no don't, please.)


And look how easy it is to make! We found it easier to assembly line it...Mr. SLD made the little Gumdrop trees for us to use.





Anyhow, regardless of the toothpicks, or crummy gumdrops, look how PRETTY they look! Seriously pretty stuff. Like a Pretty Overload :)





Anyhow, we've finished the wreath, but now I realized I don't have a hook to hang it with! oops...so you'll have to see our finished product at another date. trust me, it's cute, including the button beadwork Finley added to the bottom. :) Here's the last photo of it that I took!




What's your favorite holiday craft? I want to try more!

xo,
Shari

I'm totally inspired by the "Nix the Auto" Challenge!

I've been using a point and shoot camera forever. Sure, I'd love a fancy schmancy SLR camera, but I can barely make my simple camera take a decent picture! Why bother spending the money?

Until....the Lil Blue Boo "Two Weeks of Photography" blog posts came about. It's only day 3 and I am already taking my camera everywhere!! This morning I had to run to the post office so en route home I stopped the car and captured these.



Who knew mailboxes could be so interesting!

Then I stopped the car in the middle of the road (no one was behind me!) and got this one....



The interesting thing is I past by that structure every day for years when we lived here (before our move to California and back) and never quite saw it like this. Or this.....



This Barn is right down the road from me. And across the street, look who I found.....



I practiced playing with my light and taking pictures with lots of light coming in (is that called aperture? I can't remember anymore! LOL) and then balanced it out.....





Do you know how long I've yearned to achieve that blurry background without the help of photoshop?! :) A LONG time :) I'm not there yet, but oooooh, it's starting to feel close! :)

Now, I hope they'll tell me how to take better pictures of my dresses. because those pictures still suck ;)

Head on over to Lil Blue Boo....plus, did I mention there's a contest? One for amateurs and pros. Which one should I enter? HA! ;)
xo
shari

Things that make you go Hmmmmmmm.....

So many people ask me (wait a minute, that's a major exaggeration! LOL. Let me start that again).

Every once in a while, someone asks me how I was inspired to do this 'mosaic' style of upcycled clothing. I never really knew the answer, until this weekend, duh, it hit me right in the face.



Yup, these are my paintings. Very old ones mind you....but look at what I was painting!



I did an entire series called Maps for about 3 years. I have so many of them at my mum's house, I'll have to get pictures one day. But here's another example.



It's interesting that at the time I was really interested in color (as well as lack thereof ~ I'm big into monochromatic work!) but now in sewing this habit has evolved to print and color.

When I look at these images.....well, it all seems to make sense to me now :)

So there you have it...my answer to the masses ;) of why I create this style of upcycled kids clothing. And that's my personal lesson of the weekend.

xo,
shari

A pictorial on our first day of this long weekend....

This weekend we decided to labor on Labor Day. My husband, not the handiest in the bunch (shhhhh), alerted me we would be sealing the driveway. On our own.

Having a decade of painting experience from working in art galleries, I was actually pretty excited. There is something very relaxing about painting to me :)

Finley has caught some kind of bug this weekend, so she hung out in her jammies and checked in on us every once in a while. Yes, in about a year when she outgrows them they will become part of an SLD dress ;)

I have to admit, I was a little nervous about leaving her in the house all afternoon while we worked. I've always been one of those mothers, hovering on being a helicopter parent (pun intended ;) because for the most part, Finley was never very easily 'entertained' and often needed a lot of my attention. But my husband convinced me she would be fine.

At a certain point (probably from boredom ;) she had some kind of Cinderella moment and ran inside to put on her dress and start sweeping.

The disapeared inside and began the crafting extravaganza.

She worked for several hours, on her own, and marveled at her handiwork.

She was so proud....

The artist busy in her studio.... No matter what I did, she wouldn't pay me any attention.

And, wait for it.....Lesson of the Day:



My kid kicked butt entertaining herself!! She did me so proud! I know, sounds weird to be proud of your kid while you technically are neglecting them. Ha! But she learned a massive lesson too. She doesn't need me every few minutes to entertain her (though she tried for quite a while). She created about 8 'detailed beyond belief collages' and went through two rolls of tape. Her creativity was through the roof, and I couldn't be more proud!

Even though this was the aftermath ;)



Next project? Apparently we are pressure washing and staining the deck tomorrow. Should I bother cleaning up the studio? ;)

Why I make dresses....

Based on my dismal performance last night in the kitchen, I realized my Lesson of the Day:


I am not a great chef. Who am I kidding. I am not even a great cook. :) I can follow a recipe and make things like that, but when I try a recipe that I make up...well, not so great ;)

Yesterday we had a BUNCH of gorgeous looking radishes from a friend's garden. And after asking people on my Facebook page what I should make with them, we decided on Radish Chips.

Look at the pretty Radishes. I even pulled out my mandolin, which I am deathly afraid of because it seems I am bound to chop off a finger (Yay, I didn't!!)!



Then I baked them in a hot oven with some oil and salt. I even threw in some carrots to try mini carrot chips. Anything to attempt to get vegetables into my kiddo without relying solely on V8 Fusion juice :) They looked pretty decent....but slightly pathetic.



Finley happily gobbled up about 3 'chips'



And then promptly spat them out. I won't share that photo ;)

So although I finally had my a-ha moment of "man, I can't really cook very well!" it also gave me an a-ha moment of what I CAN do well. I sew cute dresses, and I'm proud of that :)

I feel like I should form a 12 step group....

"Hi, my name is Shari, and I make dresses because I can't cook."

xo,
Shari, the non-cook, even though I've always wanted to be able to.

I gave Finley my camera yesterday.....

And this is her photo montage....Here are the titles I imagine Finley would have given them....

Why is Mummy Blocking the View?:


Self Portrait of Feet:

My Mum is such a Scene Stealer!:

I still Can't Figure out what this is:

Mummy isn't Sure what to do with a Magic Wand:

And so.......Lesson of the day is:

Give your kid a camera. It's awesome to look at the world through their eyes and imagine what they might be thinking. :) I am actually thinking of giving her the camera once a week or month to ask her to take pictures of her favorite things and see what she comes up with. Wouldn't it be neat to then create a photo book out of it? Such great memories, cause they grow up so fast!! :)

xo,
Shari