Going Green

and red and orange and blue and purple..... The girls crayons have become such a mess. Half of them are broken and the rest are dull. I hated to just toss out perfectly good crayons even though in their current state, they were unusable by a 4 year old and a 3 year old. So I searched through the vast array of knowledge that google provides and came across several how-to's on recycling or up-cycling crayons! Perfect!

This morning I ran to Michaels and bought myself a mini-muffin tin and a $1 pack of 64 crayons, in case I completely mess things up, the girls will have a back-up. When I get home, I enlist the littles to help me rip off all the paper and group the crayons according to color. Set the oven to 200 degrees, fill the muffin tins and wait. And wait and wait and wait. Most of the websites said 10 minutes, apparently at high altitudes that translates to 30 minutes. And 30 minutes to a 3 year old might as well be 5 years. But the wait was worth it. Aren't they pretty?!

I might have to go back and find some fun shaped molds. As while these are super easy to grip for any age toddler, M got a bit frustrated at not being able to hold them "correctly" and she wasn't able to color within the lines with as much precision as she is used to. But she did like the swirly/rainbow effect of the new crayons.

Even more Progress!

By last Wednesday I was 2 days behind schedule with making the cheer bows. I had 2 migraines and had caught a cold between Friday and last Monday which knocked me completely flat for 2 days. How does one catch back up?! Besides finally making an appointment to get the proper medicine to fight migraines (though my insurance doesn't deem them necessary so I got to pay full price, woohoo!) one needs to have a bow-making party! Invite your friends! Make it a fun evening of ironing and heat-bonding as well as fellowship and emotional-bonding.

Thats what we did. Our dear friends, D & P, had already been invited to have dinner with us on Wednesday and with their permission, we turned our board-game plans into bow-making. After a great dinner of BBQ'd burgers and putting the littles down to bed; we rented a movie on AppleTV and made bows. D and Hubby ironed the layers together - the manly strength was needed to get all 4 layers to bond nicely. P and I marked and pinned the bows to be sewn.

Layers of sequin fabric (already bonded on silver ribbon) and navy ribbon ready to be bonded onto the white ribbon - these are the large Competition Bows.

Hubby ironing with all his strength while laughing at Jim Gaffigan

D & P helpin' out

Both the large Competition Bows and Game Day Bows ready for the machine stitch

Because we got so much done on Wednesday night, that brought me almost back up to speed in my schedule. I was able to get the rest of the bows marked and pinned and all of them are machine stitched and ready for hand-sewing. I have given myself until July 5th to do all the hand-sewing. Then all I have left is adding the center knot and attaching the pony-o!

Progress

The ribbon for the cheer bows arrived last Thursday. Since then, Hubby and I have cut over 20 yards of Heat-n-Bond into about 325 strips of varying widths and lengths; we have cut 550 yards of ribbon into about 400 strips of varying lengths; and we have cut 10 yards or so of sequined fabric into over 100 strips of varying lengths and widths. I am spending my day ironing the Heat-n-Bond onto the ribbon and am hoping to be back on track with my schedule (I am about a day behind currently due to a migraine on Friday). Here are some pictures of our progress:

What 550 yards of ribbon look like!

Sequin fabric all cut!

Hubby helping me - he's such a good sport.


And just for fun - this is a rainbow (if you can see it!) we saw on Saturday night. It was raining in the distance and the rainbow was just a burst of light on the horizon. This was taken at 9pm - it stays light late here in the summer!

Less than 2 days left on Capris Set auction!

I have a beautiful capri set up for auction! It started at just $5 for a flower appliqued top and matching ruffle capris. The auction ends on Monday at noon - less than 2 days left! Grab it at a great price - this set would normally sell for $40 or more in my shop!

Click on the picture to be taken to the auction. The auction is for the appliqued flower top in size 3T and for the mint-green, up-cycled, cordoroy ruffle capris. The fabric is Vintage Dots in Breeze and Blush by Sandi Henderson. Super cute fabric, one of my favorites.

Look whats coming my way!

I bought a set similar to this one (minus the number fabric, but including a food print fabric) tonight. I won't be able to sew anything for a while as I am currently super busy with my Cheer Bows and will be until July 14th. But its on its way and have several outfits in mind to make with it. Who wouldn't love an outfit for their little one made with The Very Hungry Caterpillar fabric! Its so cute - I can't wait to get it!!!!!

Grand Opening TODAY!

At 5pm PST, the Avant-Garde Congo is having our Grand Opening! There is a ton of stuff in this little "mini-mall". Slings, Mei Tai carriers, fitted cloth diapers, pockets diapers, soft-soled shoes (think Robeez), my hairbows, nursing covers, fleece soakers, hand-made soaps, jewelry and more!

There are penny auctions, lotteries and giveaways! There is a newborn boy gift set that is listed as a lottery for less than half-price! Its a collaboration between 4 different shops - there is an apppliqued onesie, a clutch ball, embellished burp cloths, soft-soled shoes, an embroidered cover and a soft sherpa fitted diaper. All coordinated in a sports theme. Its adorable!

All the designers and artisans are living right here in the Pacific Northwest and all are great ladies to be working with. Check out the shop and anyone who purchases something in this first week is automatically entered into a drawing for a set of brand-new dryer balls. If you don't know what a dryer ball is - its a ball created out of yarn that you put in the dryer. It cuts down on static without you having to use dryer sheets. Good for the environment and good for your wallet.

Click the blinkie to be taken right to our shop!

I just ordered 550 yards....

of ribbon. This is my biggest order yet and I have to be fast! I am making 215 bows for a cheerleading squad in San Ramon. 2 different styles (Game Day and Competition) and in 2 different sizes (small and large!) equals lots and lots of work. And they want the bows in hand by July 17th. That gives me 5 weeks to make 215 bows. I need to make 43 bows each week, 7 bows a day, just to make it on time. Thats if I start tomorrow - but I just got the final numbers tonight which means I just ordered the ribbon tonight. If all goes well, I might get the ribbon in hand by Monday, which means I actually only have 4 weeks to get the bows in the mail. 215 bows in 4 weeks means I need to make 54 bows each week or 8 bows a day. And these are complicated bows. The competition bows are especially complicated. See that sparkle ribbon?! I have to hand-make that ribbon! Its sequined fabric, cut into ribbon widths, then heat-bonded onto other ribbon.

They are beautiful bows though. And this will fund my new MacBook so its well worth it. I can't wait to see pictures of the girls during a game or a competition!

Competition Bows

Game Day Bows

Giveaway at UWIB!

This is the second giveaway and its open to anyone! This time the prize is this gorgeous necklace by JMJ Creations. You can check out so many other lovely items at her Etsy shop here.

You can enter the contest at the UWIB website. Just leave a comment to be entered. Good luck!

Twirl Dresses are a girls best friend

Little girls at least. My girls love to twirl and twirl with dresses on. The bigger the twirl, the better, in their mind. I have made a few dresses that they love and now feel good enough about the pattern to be able to offer custom slots for the dresses.

The Apples & Pears dress is available in my Etsy shop right now and I will be creating a listing as a custom slot soon.

To whet the appetite here are a few pictures of the dresses I have completed. My girls are in love with this style.

And the Winner Is.........

We had a much bigger turn out this time! I hope you all come back next month on the first Monday for July's giveaway!

This months winner is.......

Comment #22:

GapGirl said...
Oh and Im now a faithful follower....
June 4, 2009 4:50 PM

Congratulations GapGirl! Send me your address and I will get your bows to you as fast as I can make them! Happy Friday Everyone!

Stay tuned as I hope to have new photos of some finished twirl dresses up by tonight!

June Giveaway!

Its the first Monday in June - its also the first DAY in June. So its time for another Ellie-Jayne Giveaway! This month I am offering up to the lucky winner a pair of Double-Layer Patriotic Toddler Bows. These have been flying off the shelf in my Etsy shop for the last month, along with the Firecracker Clippie. And since next month is the 4th of July, it seemed an appropriate giveaway.

To enter all you have to do is leave a comment. Want to have two entries? Become a follower of the blog and add a second comment saying so (or if you already are a follower, make a second comment stating that) Want three entries? Sign my guestbook at the bottom of the blog and right a third comment saying that you did!

I will use random.org to choose the lucky winner from the list of comments on Friday, June 5th. Please make sure in the comments you give me a way to contact you - either through your own blog, blogger profile or valid email address.

Happy Entering and Good luck!