Easy Father's Day Ideas, and a Giveaway Winner!

Thanks to all who entered our Sweet Eventide Giveaway! The winner of Jess's gorgeous Dahlias photo is.....Annie, who happens to be one of my favorite people in the world (but she won fair and square, I promise)!

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Father's Day is sneaking up on us again! I'm pretty sure I had some ideas for great Father's Day gifts at some point, but I made the mistake of not writing them down, and they are long gone! So now we're on the hunt for some quick and easy gifts. If you're in the same boat, here are a few idea's we've successfully used in the past:

• Father's Day Candy Bars--We made these last year, and they were a huge hit! Click HERE to see our original post with the pdf included.

• Hero Supplies--Such a cute idea! From Jordan Ferney of Oh Happy Day! for Alpha Mom. Click HERE to see the entire post and the templates.

photo used with permission

• Root Beer Sampler--Santa brought my husband one of these for Christmas last year, and I'm pretty sure he thought it was the best present ever! You can buy individual bottles of rare and vintage sodas online at BevMo.com and they'll ship them to you. If you want to do this for Father's Day this year, however, you could always just buy a bunch of nice root beers and sodas at the grocery store and make a nice little mix. If your husband is anything like mine, he won't mind that you have a bunch of leftovers. From Erin Jang of Indigo Bunting. Click HERE to see Erin's fun post.

photo used with permission

Shop Spotlight and Giveaway: Sweet Eventide

All photos in this post are the property of Sweet Eventide

Way back when (definitely 2010, but no clue what month!), I happened to sign up to participate in sfgirlbybay's Blog It Forward event. Hundreds of bloggers participated, and we all jumped around every day for weeks and weeks checking out each other's blogs, interests, eye candy, and inspirations. Blog It Forward introduced me to tons of new, gorgeous blogs, but the number of participants was so overwhelming that I don't remember a lot of them now. There is one notable exception: Sweet Eventide by Jessica Nichols. Jess's day to post came before mine. I commented on her post (it was very inspirational, after all), she responded, she commented on mine when the day came, I responded, bada-boom, bada-bing, now we're friends!

Sweet Eventide showcases Jess's dreamy photography, which is available for purchase through her Etsy shop, also named Sweet Eventide. Here's a little introduction to Jess, her blog, and her shop. And be sure to read all the way to the bottom for an chance to win one of her gorgeous pictures!

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M & E: Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Jess: I have a hard time with the bio bit so I'm going to steal from my Flickr profile and my blog's About Jess page: "I'm a writer and photographer. I'm a Virgo who doesn't make lists. I share art, photography and other beautiful, inspiring thing on my blog Sweet Eventide. I'm a mama to one 7-year-old boy that I call The Noodle and I'm happily married to Jeff. I'm a four-time survivor of non-Hodgkins lymphoma and eventide is my favorite time of day. I love all of the following things: bokeh, polaroids, lisa mitchell, surf art and culture, even though I am not a surfer, sustainable food, cities, making stuff by hand, pretty papers, lanterns and twinkle lights, red wine, all things Italy, the french language, and guitars.

M & E: How long have you been taking pictures?
Jess: I first started taking pictures at 15 in my high school's only photography class. I have always had a camera but I began taking pictures in earnest again once I became a mother seven years ago. When I began blogging in 2006, my interest in photography grew more and more intense.

M & E: Do you have any formal photography training or are you self-taught?
Jess: I am a self-taught photographer, minus the one class in high school. My father (deceased) was an avid photographer with a darkroom at times during my childhood so I think there is a genetic component to it.

M & E: Are you strictly a digital girl or do you use film too?
Jess: I am not strictly a digital girl. I fell in love with Polaroids again through blogging and my husband surprised me with an SX-70 last September. When I can get my hands on film for it, I am in camera heaven. I have a small collection of vintage film cameras but so far, I haven't gotten my hands on the right film to try them out.

M & E: When did you decide to start an Etsy shop? And how's that going? For us, we seem to have months of inactivity broken up with little spurts of orders. Funny how that happens! Jess: I had an Etsy shop a couple of years ago because I liked to make cards and invitations. I really didn't make it a priority so I let it go. When I relaunched my blog in the spring of 2009, with a new name and look, I decided to venture back into Etsy and focus solely on my photography. I still really believe that it's possible to get out of Etsy what you put into it, even though it has grown so large and overwhelming since I first discovered it. When I am actively listing items, promoting them and advertising the shop, I definitely see an increase in views and sales. I really dream of my shop providing a steady, part-time income for me.

M & E: Do you have a favorite place to take pictures?
Jess: Yes, my favorite place to take pictures is someplace new to me. Nothing inspires me more than a change of scenery. I am especially drawn to cities. I get to San Francisco and Portland mostly, but boy do I daydream about New York and Europe from behind my lens(es). I also love to be in wide, open spaces in nature with my camera.

M & E: What is your favorite type of thing to photograph? Flowers? Machinery?

Jess: My favorite type of thing to photograph is that thing that most other people don't notice: doorknobs, small objects on a desk, collections of things. I do swoon over spring blossoms so I find my camera pointing that way constantly. I also have a fondness for photographing children's toys after they've been played with and are left strewn about.

M & E: Being a cancer survivor probably affects every aspect of your life. Do you think it affects you as an artist, and how so?
Jess: Definitely. I've been known to say that cancer is the window through which I view the world now. It's not always an intense awareness but it is always there. Survivorship affects me as an artist because while I was always detail-oriented, it is more heightened because cancer has taught me over and over again that life is precious and it is the small moments and the small things that make up a happy, good life for me.

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Jess is generously offering to giveaway one of her gorgeous Dahlia prints in a 4x6 size!

To enter, swing by her shop, Sweet Eventide on Etsy, then leave a comment on this post telling us what your favorite photos are. I'll get you guys started, just in case you can't narrow it down: I love the Satsumas print, and I own the Old Singer print. It hangs just above my desk!

You can get extra entries by becoming a follower of Jess's blog, Sweet Eventide, or by making a purchase from her shop before the giveaway ends. Just leave comments on this post telling us what you've done. The contest will end next Monday, June 14th. Thanks Jess, and Good Luck readers!

New in the Store: Earrings and Aprons and Blankies, Oh My!

As mentioned a few weeks ago, we've been very busy lately. One of us had a baby (not me), and the other sewed up a storm in anticipation of our biannual craft boutique. Now that the boutique is behind us, we have lots of cute, new items in the shop. Our brand, spankin' new items are

Cute as a Button Earrings & Hand-rolled Fabric Flower Bib Necklaces

And we have some updated Oldies-but-Goodies in all new colors and fabrics: Button Bobbies, Itty Bitty Boo-Boo Kits, Little Baby Blankies, Little Artist Crayon Kits, Little Chef Aprons, and Infant Carseat Covers.

Adorable Cake Plates (if I do say so myself)

I love to bake, so it will come as no surprise that I also love anything having to do with baked good presentation. Little boxes, tiny doilies, baker's twine, ribbon, labels, serving platters, fancy toothpicks; I love them all. So when a friend threw a baby shower for Max's mommy and had dozens of cupcakes displayed on brightly colored, many-tiered dessert stands, I had to ask her where she got them. And the shocking answer was that she made them with stuff she bought at the D.I. (For anyone not in the know, the D.I. is just like the Goodwill.) Plates and candlesticks that didn't even match or look cute to begin with were magically transformed into the most adorable cake plates with a little glue and some spray paint. Of course I had to make some too, but I couldn't limit myself, oh no, so I made 6. And I only spent $39 total, including 4 different colors of spray-paint! Here's how you can make some adorable cake plates too:

• Go to any second-hand store and look for plates. They don't have to be very cute, but if they have a nice, raised design or a scalloped edges or something interesting going on along the edge, it'll turn out really cute. Also look for candlesticks. Make sure they have a nice, fat bottom and a flat top. I didn't pay attention to the tops when I bought mine, and one of my trays is wonky because the top of the candlestick wasn't flat to begin with. None of your pieces have to match at all!

• If you don't already have spray paint, go buy some in the color of your choosing. I bought a bunch of Krylon for $3.27 a can at Walmart.

• Remove the price tags and all of that nasty adhesive with Goo Gone, then wash all of your plates and candlesticks in hot, soapy water. Let them dry.

• I skipped this step, but it probably would have been helpful, which is why I'm including it: using a measuring tape or ruler, find the center of the bottom of your plate and mark it. I'm a notorious eyeballer. I never measure anything if I don't have to. And pinning when I sew? Let's just say I've had to pick out many a crooked seam. Ahem.
• Get some really tough glue. I LOVE E6000. Seriously, I use it all the time. Crafts, home repairs, you name it. Anyway, carefully squeeze a thin line of glue all the way around the top of your candlestick. With your plate face-down, place your candlestick (glue-side-down) on the plate. Let it all sit, untouched, for the amount of time prescribed by the glue bottle. If you want to make a tiered cake plate, make several individual cake plates and glue them together after the initial application is dry.
  

• Take your cake plate into the backyard, put it on something like an old cardboard box that you don't mind covering with paint, and spray away. Continue adding coats of paint until you like how your cake plate looks. Let the paint dry completely before touching.

• If you want to put food directly onto your plate, you need to seal it with something, but I didn't have any luck with that, so I can't help you there! The clear acrylic I put on my lovely turquoise stand made the paint blister. My plan is to use my stands for things like cupcakes where the food doesn't directly touch the cake plate, or to put a cardboard cake circle or a doily or something between the cake stand and the food.

Thanks for Stopping By!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by on Giveaway Day. So much fun! I know we look forward to it every time!

Max became a big brother on Giveaway Day. Welcome baby Owen! In his honor, we decided to give away an extra prize. Our winners are dearmrsreese and Genevieve P! You'll be hearing from us soon!

PS--You really do need to include an email!! We had to throw out a few winners because we had no way of contacting them!

May 2010 Giveaway Day!

Ok! Now the comments are closed! Thanks for visiting.

It is here again: Sew, Mama, Sew's May Giveaway Day! If you're coming over from their blog, you have many more places to visit before the day is over, so we'll keep this post short and sweet. Max and Ellie is giving away any item valued at $10 or less from our shop. We have Itty Bitty Boo-Boo Kits, Fabric-Covered Button Bobbies, and Cute as a Button Earrings (get them before we list them in the shop!!), all for under $10*. To enter, simply visit our shop, then come back to this post and leave a comment telling us what items you love! Be sure to include your email address too. We'll close the comments and randomly choose a winner on Thursday, May 20th at around 9:00 AM Pacific Time. This contest will only be open to US residents. Best of Luck!!

*We have lots of items that aren't listed in the shop yet that you can choose from if you win. We'll just send you pictures of everything and you can choose the item you want!

I'm Not Ignoring You, I Promise

So, it isn't that I haven't been busy Max and Ellie-ing. Quite the opposite, actually. I've been working my little tail off (although, not literally; that would be too wonderful, wouldn't it!) getting things ready for a craft boutique. Last Holiday season, a few friends and I threw together a little craft boutique. Much to our surprise and delight, it was pretty well-attended, so much so, that we decided to make it a biannual event. Our first ever spring boutique is coming up next Friday, and I've been cutting and sewing and gluing like a mad woman making this's and that's. To date, I have made:

6 Little Artist Crayon Kits


12 Little Chef Aprons


5 Infant Carseat Covers
(with more to come because Max's mommy is overdue with baby #2 and I told her to just send me her fabric)


20-something Itty Bitty Boo-Boo Kits


18 pairs of adorable earrings and 2 lovely necklaces (with hopefully 5 more to follow)


6 Little Baby Blankies


plus business cards, displays, stickers, etc.

If you're in the Eugene area next Friday, I'd love to see you! Click HERE for the details. And check back next Monday for a fun give-away as part of Sew, Mama, Sew's May Giveaway Day!