More items for the shop - lovely lavender eye masks

A few more items ready to be added to my Etsy shop. These are also lavender eye masks, minus the removable fleecy cover of the previous version. All the same good-smelling stress and headache relief benefits, outfitted in lovely cotton prints.



There's a teal-green swirl version, a colorful batik, light blue stars, a feathery sortof print, blue and turquois fern print, and a funky dotted batik.

New for the shop: Lavender Eye Mask

Putting the finishing touches on some new Lavender Eye Masks for the shop. These have a super-soft, zip-off fleece cover that can be washed, and they're filled with flax seed and organic lavender buds. They smell wonderful and they're great for headaches. I keep one stored in the freezer and use it when I'm feeling a little under the weather or just need a little extra help unwinding at the end of the day. I gave one to my mother to try and she's already given hers away and ordered two more for friends. She's my best sales rep! :o)

Like Father, Like Son

We visited a local greenhouse over the weekend to check out their Fall Festival. The Big Guy and the Little Guy had lots of fun with the Halloween displays...

Little Red Riding Hood

The Little Guy pointed out the other day that his daddy and I both have cozy bathrobes but he does not, and he asked me to make him one. How can you turn down a request like that? :o) So off we went to Joann's, sale flyer in hand, to pick out a pattern and fabric. This went together pretty quickly and I'm really happy with the end result. But even more important, the Little Guy loves it. He's showed it to everyone who's visited our house in the past few days, and models it every chance he gets.

Experimenting with product photos

So I'm discovering that getting good photos of products for my Etsy shop is harder than MAKING products for my Etsy shop. This is the third or fourth attempt and I'm getting closer to what I want. Natural light is definitely best, different color backgrounds make the shop more interesting to look at and I like the little touch of nature in this one.

I'm having withdrawal...

With the garden in full swing and a dozen other things going on over the summer, I haven't had a chance to do much sewing lately. We had a rainy Saturday and I was looking for a quick and easy project to get back in the groove. I found this apron panel in the bottom of my stash. I've had it so long I honestly can't remember where or when I bought it. I ironed it off, cut it out and had a finished apron in less than an hour. I even made it double sided (the other side is a fall print) instead of just hemming the edges to give it a little more heft. I'm thinking it will make a nice pre-Thanksgiving gift for my sister. Shhh, don't tell her!

Leaves & Stitches Etsy Shop is open!

After months of planning, experimenting and testing various recipes, my Etsy shop is officially open for business! I've listed several all-natural bath salts, lip scrubs and lip balms in various fragrances/flavors, with more to come. I have so many ideas for products, I'm not sure where to begin. My craft room smells like half a dozen essential oils and I keep finding lavender buds in the darnedest places...

Check out the shop and let me know what you think. Questions, suggestions or custom orders are always welcome!

Wardrobe Refashion - 1st official project

I joined Wardrobe Refashion for a two-month stint at the beginning of this month but, aside from some embarassingly easy too-short-pants to shorts conversions for the Little Guy, hadn't had a chance to work on any projects. This is my first "official" refashion, beginning with this bag. I loved the fabric and the idea of a hands-free, cross body bag when I bought it, but discovered the bag's structure is just not functional on a very short, busty person. I never used it and had tossed it in the Goodwill donations pile before Wardrobe Refashion.



I dug it back out this weekend and took the bag apart to see if there was enough fabric to create a new bag. Here's the destruction in progress. Round bottom of bag and long strap have been removed, and lining has been separated from all the bag pieces. I was pleasantly surprised to find this left a nice, square shape that could be converted into a decent-sized box bottom tote.



Adding low-loft batting to the lining layer for added strength and structure; one long, wide strap converted into two short, narrow straps...



And the finished product, a much more usable tote bag with a funky button closure.

Happy Independence Day!

I love small-town celebrations. Today started with parades, complete with antique cars, firetrucks, Boy Scout troops, gymnasts, Shriners in little cars, clowns, a high school marching band, local politicians and Uncle Sam.

Today was also the second day of the craft show with Mom. Yesterday was a slow day but more people came by the booth today. Mom sold several baskets and my “sore muscle soaking salts” have been popular. Mom enjoys craft shows as much for the opportunity to visit as she does actually selling her baskets. She still lives in the same small town I grew up in and I think she knew 75% of the people who’ve stopped by her booth. We took turns watching the booth and taking breaks to have homemade ice cream and watch the entertainment (clog dancers, country music and the local dance studio troupe), and we bumped into Abraham Lincoln and President McKinley at the barbequed chicken stand this afternoon.


We finished off our 4th of July with fireworks. This is the first time we've taken the Little Guy to see them. He's six but still really sensitive to loud noises, so we wanted to find someplace where we could see them clearly but still be far enough away to make the noise a little more manageable. He absolutely loved them, and it was so much fun to listen to him ooooh and aaaaah over every one.

Headed to a craft show this weekend

I got a last-minute call to help my Mom display her hand-woven baskets at a craft show this weekend and decided to make up some extra bath salts, lip balms and scrubs to have in her booth. I’d already planned to take some vacation time this week which should have given me plenty of time to make up some products…except the containers I ordered were delayed and didn’t come in until yesterday afternoon…and the show started this morning at 11am. I started mixing bath salts at 3:00 yesterday afternoon and finished labeling the last batch at 1am. When I finally crawled into bed the Big Guy told me I smelled like an herb shop. Here’s hoping Mom and I have a good show! And if we don’t, I officially have enough items to start setting up my Etsy shop.


Here's Mom with her beautiful baskets. The crafty gene runs in the family!