balloon animals are cool again

when they're gigantic.

so i'm here, halfway through my first work week. woohoo. well i have lots of stuff to catch up on, and no time right now, but i promise to try my hardest and keep this blog happy and cool and updated. often. i don't know how i'll do that when i'm gone every day from 8 to 7...

this is a shot from last week when jen and baby maddy came to visit! while daddy was off studying paintings, we were discovering that the MET has a way cool roof deck. with giant metal balloon animal structures atop it! i also offered to take a photo for some visitors in front of a giant balloon heart and it just happened to be their 20th anniversary, how cool is that? or 30th. i can't remember...

as you can see baby maddy was way into nyc. she slept across the brooklyn bridge, she slept in the subway, she slept in the MET, she's so adorable. and heavy.

alright, off to grab all the stuff i want to bring into the office tomorrow, cheers!

bird on a wire

sorry it's been a while. we've been busy busy, oh yeah, and busy. a visit from cousin jen and baby maddy, the met, the park, walk across the bridge and some shopping.

hopped in the car for a last minute connecticut trip with a stop in greenwich for a gorgeous view of the ocean. then to bridgeport for some free shakespeare at the zoo. yesterday we were peach picking and today we were back home.

i've spent the night preparing for a little thing i happen to be doing tomorrow, going to work! yep, it happened, i was finally blessed with an incredible job that i hope to love and enjoy. getting a job with ralph lauren is feeling a little rachel green, but i love it. now if i could just get a huge rent-controlled apartment near central park, my sitcom would be complete...

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.