instruct shee ons

so i feel bad, i always show these cute things and then you always want to know how to make them and i never tell you SO lastnight when i was finishing up yet another project {finally} i decided to take some pictures.

how to make cute coasters from fabric scraps, you will need:
4 - 5x5" squares of fabric.
4 - 5x5 square out of patches of coordinating scraps. these will be your coaster fronts.
4 - 5x5" squares of batting.
masking tape, as small or as large as you want. you'll be using these as a guide for your quilting lines. i think i'm using 3/4" tape.

so put the batting on the back piece of your coaster, place your tape lines, and sew in between the tape, like this:
this is what you'll get when you take off the tape:
put your coaster front and back together, facing each other, wrong sides out and sew around each side, leaving a couple of inch opening to be able to turn inside out:
like this:
once you turn it inside out, press it flat and then sew a seam around the outside edge which will close up that opening you left for turning it inside out.

now look what you've got, a stellar set of coasters to protect your IKEA furniture:

today's the day

to announce the freebie winners!!!

i'm so excited. ok, so the way i worked this, i put all your names in a cup and pulled the winner out old school style. i pulled for the gretta first, so everyone who commented on all three would have a chance at that. then i went for the keyfob and the pendants.

so here they are people:

the amy butler pendant and chain go to: SARA

the kute keyfob makes its way over to: KELLI

AND...the gretta bag goes to: ANNA LEA!

Thanks to everyone for participating, this has been really fun for me and hopefully for you too...winners: email me your mailing address to tinkerellenATyahoo.com and i'll get everything out this week!

productivity came into town

creative productivity that is. the husband hopped on a plane at 5am and i've been up since, which is unusual. the usual would be me cozying up under the covers until at least ten.

instead i stayed up, watched some tv, went to the bank, hopped on the train to target, returned a sweater and was back by noon. then i sat myself down in front of the sewing machine and put together four grettas for the shop. once i get the handles in the mail i can finish and list them, both in super cute amy butler fabrics.

i also made this little clutch for moi out of some awesome fabric i bought on clearance at jo-annes, titally should have bought more than half a yard, it's really beautiful in person. i think i need to redo the strap so it's long enough to wrap around my wrist. the husband and i do a lot of walking around town in the evenings, so i really just need the essentials, ya know?

oh and did i mention the banana chocolate chip bread? oh and the new banana chocolate vivanno at starbucks is delish.

international shipping is no more

for the time being anyway. i kind of struggled with this because although i don't ship outside the US a whole lot, it does happen and i hate that i can't let certain people buy my etsy items. BUT i also like to get items in the mail within two days and in order to ship outside the US i have to fill out a customs form and go to the post office to ship anything. well, our new post office within walking distance sucks, they have long lines all the time, and i might not have as much time on my hands within the next couple of weeks. {more on that later...}

this is not to say i won't ever ship outside the US, in fact, if you're really really wanting something, just send me an email and i'll let you know how soon it would ship. if you're ok with the shipping time, then consider it yours! also, for Christmas i'll open it up to everyone again, since i'll have more orders to ship at once, and i won't be standing in line for a half hour to ship five dollars worth of stuff.

all of the decisions i try to make regarding my shop, are always in the interest of keeping my prices low, so everyone can order cute stuff without having to dip into the take-out budget. to be honest, my profits are ridiculously low, but i love the feeling of someone wanting something i've made myself, so for now, i'll keep doing this. in the future...who knows?

so i hope this doesn't disappoint too many people, especially since i just updated the shop with new keyfobs, hairclips and pendants!! {oh and no worries, you can live outside the US and still win a freebie!}

freebie threebie

this is the last freebie for the week. an 18 inch ball chain and a new amy butler pendant that's not in the shop yet.

post comments on all three until sunday at midnight. monday morning i'll announce the three winners. you only get entered once for each freebie, no matter how many times you comment. once i announce winners you can email me your address and i'll ship everything out next week!

good luck!

i told you i had good freebies

so in a tinkerwiththis first, i'm giving away a GRETTA bag. it's a bit summery and i was hoping to do this earlier, but it is what it is, and you can always get lots of use out of it next year.

so here it is, just comment! any comment will do. there WILL be a different winner for each item this week, so unfortunately you can't win it all BUT your chances of winning SOMEthing are pretty great. especially since i don't have a million secret readers. good luck!

freebie week

cause i'm just feeli' happy this week will be full of freebies.

i got to spend time with me mum. so in order to win this stellar little keyfob which no city girl should be without (and which is made with cute japanese embroidered ribbon from m&j trimming) just comment what you love about your mum.... seriously, it's so simple to find my keys floating in my oversized carry-it-all bag...

ps: happy 7th anniversary to us. yay!

clean house

so i'm here in rhode island, cleanin' out grandma's apartment. let me just say, she never threw anything out. but let me also say, i think she was the queen of reuse and recycle, i think she just forgot the reduce part. she found an alternate use for everything from rubber bands to old broom handles to plastic baggies. it really is amazing. anyway, back to it, i have adorable pictures of my nieces for when i return along with some old incriminating childhood photos...muwahahahaaa....ok, no evil laugh, scratch that.

never let it fade away

thanks for all the nice comments and thoughts about my grandmother and our family. i'm leaving late tomorrow night for rhode island, so i'll be a bit quiet until next week.

since i hate posts without pictures: these are the pillows i made to bring a little color to the black everywhere, white walls living space. the fabric is from big lots (crazy that they even sell fabric) and the pillow forms came from ikea. i think it cost about 10 dollars to make both.

to be so missed as this

my last living grandparent passed away yesterday afternoon. luckily my mothers flight was problem-free and she was able to say goodbye to her mom. as for me, i chose not to see her that way since she wasn't really responsive or awake. instead i chose to remember her as the most awesome, strong and independent person i've ever known.

my grandmother was shorter than 5 feet but taller than us all in spirit and personality. my earliest memories include her, some nick at night, a smoky house, and banana and butter sandwiches (gross right...). she made the best meat pie (not gross, trust me..). she used to tease my husband relentlessly. i have stories upon stories to keep her fresh in my mind and heart. like all our shopping sprees to ann&hope. that time she smacked me clear across the face in the restaurant (i totally deserved it). yellow footy pajamas and sleepovers at her house. i will miss her sincerely and often. pray for my family, we all loved her so much.

it's a jungle out there

it's not every day you see bright colored stuffed animals floating around our place, but i couldn't resist these little guys at ikea yesterday. they're waiting patiently for their new wee owners. our first guests will be here tomorrow and i'm officially excited. and not just because it's a good excuse to eat out.

i took advantage of the free ikea shuttle yesterday and returned a few things. i also bought some extra drawers for the wardrobes (we use those instead of dressers) and some pillow forms to fill the couch pillows i sewed up the other day. i also bought an aloe plant. i've always wanted one...isn't that vierd?

i also sucked it up and went for the flickr pro account. which basically means unlimited storage. so old blog photos won't be mysteriously disappearing. thanks to the demise of ringo i had no choice.

well, see you all next week. i'm planning a doozy of a contest so stay tuned.

is this home

since i don't have a job yet and we've been 'settled in' for a few weeks, i'm getting a bit antsy. so i'm nesting. if nesting is what i think it is. if it's making new pillows and a bed skirt and organizing and reorganizing closets. finally fixing that pile of clothes. making a jewelry holder for the closet door. etc etc etc. i find myself trying to find something to do that doesn't require money. in nyc that's harder to do than you think.

maybe i should take this time to learn how to cook, or take some yoga classes, or volunteer somewhere. or get a haircut. i don't know. i'm just ready. for something. else.

there's a little shop update with some new rings and earrings. i have a few more things to photograph and put up. and i'm thinking of a contest here in the next couple of days. that'll keep me busy.

dinner anyone?

here's our cute little dining area. the table pulls out to seat four more. and of course it's from IKEA. the dark tan wall color was left from the last renters and honestly i love it. i asked them to leave it if they could. so see manda, we have a little bit of color.

so to answer some questions from piper:
Do you eat out alot? we're trying not to, just to save money. but at the same time there are so many good restaurants around here to tempt us.

Do you walk to get groceries? i do, just a couple of blocks but you really pay attention to what you buy. if i've grabbed too many heavy items i'll put some back and get them next trip. and reusable grocery bags are great, they hold more so you have less bags to struggle with and you can throw them over the shoulder for easier carrrying.

What do you miss the most since moving? besides everything? i really miss my house but i really don't miss cleaning it. i miss our schedule, we usually had something to do every day of the week. i miss my friends from upstate. i miss my job. i however will not miss the snow.

What do you love the most about living there? i love walking everywhere. at first it was exhausting but once your body gets used to it, you really start to enjoy it. but you must must must wear good shoes, my feet are covered in blisters so i'm still learning which of my shoes can walk exactly how many blocks.

happy belated fourth

so we took a last minute trip to connecticut this past weekend. sorry for the silence. and thanks for all the nice comments on the last post! i'll be posting more pictures of the place and answering some questions tomorrow....

this weekend we're getting our very first visitors, YAY. i'll have to think of some inexpensive kid-friendly things to do....

le apartment

so here's the bedroom. nyc apartments are a little different. most of your furniture is tall because many of the apartments have high ceilings but low square footage. a dresser is a huge waste of space. and rarely do you see a place with lots of closet space. ours however is decent, three closets but still not enough room for all our clothes. the black and silver wardrobes are basically dresser substitutes in taller form.

anyway, another way to make space is to buy a bed with storage underneath. and if you're like us you buy bed risers and cram all your winter clothes tubs under there as well. unfortunately this leaves a big ugly mess of visible stuff under your bed, so i made this bedskirt from thrift fabric and magnets. metal bed. it's not the greatest but it hides the storage and makes it look less cluttered. which is essential in a tiny apartment.

a little synopsis about this place: we live on the top floor so there's no one above us. it's a four-story building so height-fearing people like me appreciate that. the roof deck is right above us and the stairway there is across from our door. there's an elevator, a doorman, a gym, a bike room and storage in the basement if we want to pay extra. the grocery store is two blocks away. the target is one mile away. the IKEA is two miles away. it's really really quiet at night.

any questions? see this is why i don't write long posts. i'm not sure who's still reading...

pause, rewind

i realize it's been a while since i posted, but i haven't had a lot to write about. i've been spending most days applying to jobs, taking walks, running errands and getting to know my surroundings. i'm working on some projects for around the apartment, i'll post once i get them done. for now here's a pic of our lovely roof deck. well, not ours, but we get to share it. more tomorrow!