Etsy Love

It's been quite a while since my last Etsy Love post!  I've recently been re-bitten by the vintage bug, and I've found myself on Etsy quite a bit more these days.  Here are some of my current favorites!

This vintage dress from The Kissing Tree is so similar to the yellow one I just thrifted.  It's so classy and airy!

How darling is this porcelain ring from Misako Mimoko?  I wouldn't be able to take it out of the packaging!

These prints from Depeapa are so perfectly sweet and simple!  They would look great in so many parts of my house! 

This necklace from Opal and Gold would work with almost anything!  I'm in love!

I need to add this Nasty Woman patch from Sweet and Lovely to my denim jacket.  Pronto!

What are some of your favorite Etsy shops right now?  I'm especially in the market for art for my bedroom and pretty vintage finds!  Have a wonderful weekend, friends!

Craft Night Wall Hanging

My Crafty Babes group just celebrated a year of gatherings!  To refresh your memory: we started out as a beginner's knitting group.  (Also, holy cow!  Check out those bare walls!)  To make it more inclusive, I switched gears a little and turned it into a general craft group.  The whole goal is to build community here in Springfield, and I definitely feel like that's happening!  I adore bringing people together and I've met so many rad local ladies!

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago we made these pretty wall hangings at one of our gatherings.  It's SO easy and I thought you guys might like a peek at how it's made!


There are so many different ways to customize this, so let's just stick to what I did for this one.  Grab a metal hoop and some pretty yarn from the craft store.  *I actually snagged this yarn from Michaels over a year ago.  It was on sale and too lovely to pass up!*  Cut lengths of yarn twice as long as you want them to hang.  Fold the middle section of the yarn over the hoop and pass the ends through.  This is called a larkshead knot.  Then repeat, repeat, repeat!

I wanted a little extra texture to mine, so I added some square knots in the upper area.  They aren't as noticeable with the yarn as they would be with string or rope-- it's just a nice bit of texture.  I finished mine off with some vintage millinery flowers I had laying around.  See?  So easy.


We're getting together tonight to learn to make beautiful fabric flowers!  I can't wait to show you how it goes!  Happy crafting, friends!

My Valentines

This Valentine's Day was another good one here in the Shelton house.  It was Poesy's first year of being in school and having a party, so I had to bring my class-mom game back out.  I haven't made a box for Valentine's Day in YEARS, and I was definitely a little rusty.  It served its purpose, though, and we had a lot of fun making it together.

After Poe made it home from school, we took the girls out for a special lunch, Johnny got us small gifts (that Ron Swanson pin-- aaaahhh!), had our yearly heart pizza for dinner, and snacked sweet treats from our wonderful neighbors.  After the girls were in bed, Johnny and I got dressed a little fancy and went out for a bit.  I love having babysitters we trust these days!


How was your Valentine's Day?  Did you do anything fun?  Did you pamper yourself?  I've been loving seeing all of my Galentines opening their gifts!  Thank you to everyone who has sent me a little something in return!  I hope to continue this tradition every year!

Valentine's Gifties

Happy Valentine's Day, friends!  This year I had a lot of fun participating in the Crybaby Club Galentines exchange.  I just gave you a photo spoiler of what I sent out to 15 ladies in my group. Oops.  Pretty hankies with encouraging words were exactly what my crafty heart wanted to gift this year.  I'm well aware that Valentine's Day isn't the happiest day for everyone, but I love helping to make it a little better where I can.  Let's just scrap the whole "you've gotta be in a relationship to enjoy V-day" vibe and see it as a day where we remind each other of how great caring for someone truly is... whether it's romantic or not.  Also, can we just take that mindset into every other day of the year?


Here's a behind-the-scenes peek at my crafty project.  Hankies, an iron, and some fusible letters can make a pretty gift in a jiffy!


I can't wait until my ladies receive their gifts!  I even saved one for myself because WHY NOT?  It's the perfect addition to my studio decor.

I hope you all have a wonderful day!  You know my kids take holidays VERY seriously, so we'll be spending our day making it another fun one!  xo.

I'm On A Podcast!

Have you guys heard about the Shailey and Katie Podcast?  Well, these funny, smart ladies invited me in to ramble, even though I had to disclose that I'd never listened to a podcast before.  Also, their theme was how to be a "cool mom" which was a sweet sentiment, but please know I don't really think of myself as that.  Actually, my default is to be as dorky as possible in person so I don't have to try to put on a mask of "coolness".  

Real talk, though: it really was a good time, and it's been a while since I've stepped back and looked at how much I've grown into myself, and how much kinder I am to myself these days.  Katie D. also made us do surprise karaoke and I drank so much coffee my hands were literally shaking because TOO MUCH CAFFEINE.  All fun things!  If you're a podcast person (my goal is to become one), give it a listen!  These girls are hilarious and great!  I'm thankful these gals wanted to have me on their show!

Sewing Clothing Isn't As Scary As It Seems

I remember a time in the past where I was completely in awe of anyone who could make their own clothing.  I was a novice, at best, and would practice my skills by tailoring friends' t-shirts (very poorly).  I discounted EVER being able to sew my own clothing because it seemed impossible. *Way to believe in yourself, past Katie*  Oh, yeah.  And don't even get me started with how intimidating I found the fabric store to be...

Well, I was wrong.  It's not that hard to sew your own clothing.  Honestly!  If you're rolling your eyes at me right now, hear me out.  We all progress in steps, right?  Starting out sewing straight lines turns into sewing napkins or buntings or pillow covers.  Learning to sew on a curve leads to more detailed projects.

Practicing your skills without fear of failure is key.  You are going to fail.  Let's just get that out of the way.  We all do it.  There have been times where I ruined really pretty fabric because I just wasn't paying close enough attention.  Or, I spent hours on something and it just ended up getting scrapped.  It was a bummer, but also a learning experience.  Every messed-up project is a learning experience.  Oh, and let's just put that "F" word away.  I never did like it much, anyway.


I'm super high and braggy on my friend, Tilly, and her patterns because they are simple to follow and they have photos to help you grasp the "stitch language" a little better.  I just stitched up the Cleo Dungaree Dress (in my free time, HA HA) and I think it came out adorably.  Oh, yeah.  Remember when I said I was intimidated by fabric stores?  Tilly is actually selling KITS with everything you need to sew the dress already included now.  It's great for newbies... and lazies like me.  ;)


There she is in all her glory.  This was a just-for-fun sewing project, and honestly, I've been needing more of these with all of the noise happening in the world right now.  Sewing can be so therapeutic.  Right, fellow stitchers?  This is just a little post to *hopefully* either help boost your confidence in sewing clothing, or inspire you to stitch up something fun this weekend!  I already have fabric picked out for my next dress!  Happy stitching, friends!

New Skunkboy Creatures (Finally)

First of all, I just want to say THANK YOU 💖 for every single comment on my last post.  It filled my heart with so much joy knowing that there are so many of us feeling the same way.  I love you guys.  We are not alone as long as we stick together, and I will keep reminding myself of that.

Secondly, Mom's getting back in the sewing creatures game!  I posted some peeks over on Instagram, but I thought I'd share some of this guy's details here.  Poesy has named him "Cotton Flower" and right now she's all about learning to sew animals... which warms my heart, of course.  She told me that she thinks it would be great if we could just sit next to each other and be stitching buddies while we watch Powerpuff Girls.  Sold!

I'm not sure how long it will take me to sew up enough animals for a proper shop update (that feels so weird to say), but I will definitely keep you posted!

I'm off to knock out my to-do list.  Happy Wednesday, friends!