Gemmilou’s Wooden Dolls {Review}

December 5, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Dandies, I’m going to let you in on one of my favorite hobbies lately: painting up peg people!  I stumbled across this darling Etsy shop, called gemmielou, and kind of went crazy ordering and painting peg dolls!

iusb_760x100.5996777First, I ordered a small family set to paint up my family:

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Then I bought a bundle of little girls to make for my nieces:

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Then I painted up a little family for my brother-in-law’s family.  PS–you can order a wood family about this size for only $2.25!!

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And THEN I just couldn’t stop :).  I neeeeeded a Nativity set!  Gemmilou has all sorts of wooden doll shapes and sizes, and she is more than happy to make custom listings so that you can only order the people you need.

woodShe made up a custom order of just the pieces I needed to make up a Nativity scene.  Everything always arrives in the most darling brown paper, tied up in strings, and the wood is solid, smooth, and ready to paint.  This is what I started with:

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The wood is perfect for painting, and most things only need one coat of basic acrylic paint found in any craft store.  These dolls are SO affordable!  We’re talking $2.25 for a family, $1.75 for a set of four little girls, or even 30 dolls for $9.00!  Think about how fun these would be for REUNIONS!

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This took a couple nights with some holiday TV in the background, and I think it turned out just how I envisioned!

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Did you know there are other Etsy sellers who sell a painted nativity for $225?!?!  Isn’t that ridiculous?!  You could make this yourself for less than $10!

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I hope these pictures inspire you to order your own peg people and make up a family, a nativity, or even a bunch of characters for your kids to play with!  The sky is the limit with these dolls, and they’re just so dang fun to paint up!

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Checkout all the darling dolls from gemmilou and get started!

Online Store

Merry Christmas!

…

*The product(s) in this review was provided to me free of cost for the purpose of conducting this review.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own are not influenced by monetary compensation. 

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Countdown til Christmas!

December 3, 2013 by Leave a Comment

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Now that Thanksgiving is past and gone, its Christmas time for real, and I can hardly stand it!  I’m a sucker for Christmas countdowns, and here is a super simple countdown you could make for your home!

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Start by making 24 pockets.  I outlined them in double-sided white bias tape because it curls so nicely around curved edges.

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Make a strip of fabric for the binding, and paint up twenty four buttons.  I found these blank wood buttons on eBay for cheap cheap cheap.

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Sew button holes in the pockets, then lay everything out on a big quilted rectangle and sew the pockets down around the outer curve.

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   We used a dowel rod: painted it white and drilled holes in the ends to run a string through.IMG_8807

Then chock it full of candy and treats!IMG_8811This turned out really big–about a door’s width, so hanging on the back of a door might be a great idea for saving wall space.

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 Merry Christmas!!IMG_8797

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Knit Pumpkin

October 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Remember my knit pumpkin tutorial from a few years back?  Wow.  Where does the time go?  I cannot believe it has been 2 years since I made that little pumpkin!  He only makes his presence known around here during the fall season, but he is still alive and well.  And looking ever so fine gracing our stairs with the other fall fixtures I might add.

Although our staircase is updated from that old picture, so I think that’s even more dandy!

Maybe it’s time I made another pumpkin…

 

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Happy Birthday!

September 23, 2012 by Leave a Comment

My friend Shannon owns the coolest modern fabric shop in the entire country and it’s right here in St. Louis.  Fabric Nosherie has been around for one year now, so yesterday they threw a party.  Of course I attended and of course is was a grand time.  I got some holiday shopping done for my sewing family and friends.  And…  Fabric/pattern designer Patty Young was there and she gave a very impressive lecture.  She talked about how she got started in the business and shared some of her favorites from her pattern book Sewing MODKID Style.  Loved it!

Patty and Shannon

 Happy Birthday to The Nosh!

Maybe one day Shannon will want to do a guest post on the Dandy with a sewing tutorial or something???  Maybe.  😉

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Fat Quarter Shop {Giveaway} ***ENDED***

August 13, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I’ve been searching high and low for the most perfect fabric to reupholster these chairs for our study:

They are from the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis and quite rough looking.

After all they spent who knows how many years living in my uncle’s attic…

I want something unique for those chairs.  I want something gorgeous.  I want something designer.  I want something perfect.  Where would I go to find the most perfect fabric?  Well, we’ve already well established that I buy lots online.  It’s the best, most easiest way to find a great deal.  In my mind there was not a moment of hesitation on who to ask about fabric.  I know a fabric designer.  She’s really super.  Her name is Laura Gunn.  Here’s just a sampling of her talent:

So friend Laura mentioned that one of the best places online to view designer fabric is at Fat Quarter Shop.  She said that they use high quality images to display their fabric, so you can really get a feel for what the fabric looks like.  And of course she was right!

Plus, Fat Quarter Shop has all my favorite designers…

Carina Gardner

 

Heather Bailey

 

 

Amy Butler

 

The list goes on and on.  Oh and don’t even get me started all on the fantastic quilt kits:

Or…

All the fabric on sale, because there’s certainly a lot of it!

  

I’m thinking I need to order that fabric to make a cute dress for Ruby!

Who’s ready for a giveaway???  Two very lucky winners are going to receive a $25 gift certificate to spend at Fat Quarter Shop!

*This giveaway is open to entries worldwide.

*Winners are not notified through email, so you have to check back to find out if you won! The winner of this giveaway will be posted no later than the evening of Monday, August 20th. Be sure and check back then to see if you won, so you can claim your prize.

 

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This posting and giveaway were sponsored by Fat Quarter Shop, but all opinions are strictly my own.

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Chickadee Vinyl {Giveaway} ***ENDED***

July 30, 2012 by Leave a Comment

 

Decorating Ruby’s room has been a dream.  There’s just something about all thing decor for baby girls.  Don’t get me wrong.  It was fun decorating the nursery for Banjo, but decorating for a baby girl is just so sweet and cutesy!  Maybe it’s because I’m a girl and deep down I like girly things.  Even though I’m not that much of a pink gal.  Too much exposure to the color in childhood gave it a bad wrap in my mind.  I’ll admit that I’m slowly warming to the idea of dressing Ruby in pinks.  Although for her room I didn’t want anything pink.  So maybe I’m not quite to that point of being fully accepting of the color pink.  😉  I knew right away that the color combination of gray and yellow would be perfect for her room, because I love the color yellow.  In terms of decor we also wanted a room that didn’t scream baby, so it could in fact grow with her.  Who wants to decorate over and over throughout childhood???  So I chose a bird theme that I thought would be perfect for a nursery, but also in a little girl’s room.  The challenge was the one wall that we selected to leave white behind her crib.  How ever was I going to tie the room color in on that wall without being overbearing?  Enter the cutest wall vinyl that I ever did spy:

That cuteness is from Chickadee Vinyl and I was able to order it in the colors of my choosing.

It looks so adorable in my little bird’s room:

Thank you Chickadee Vinyl!

At Chickadee Vinyl you will find so many different kinds of wall vinyl from elegant:

To fun:

Chickadee Vinyl also has wall decor perfect for any living space in your home.

Family Rooms:

Bathrooms:

 

And I couldn’t resist showing you this super cute subway art:

I know you saw something that you absolutely need for your home.  Didn’t you?

Guess what’s being given away from Chickadee Vinyl?

One very lucky winner is going to receive a $30 coupon code to use at Chickadee Vinyl!

*This giveaway is open to entries in the US only

*Winners are not notified through email, so you have to check back to find out if you won! The winner of this giveaway will be posted no later than the evening of Monday, August 6th. Be sure and check back then to see if you won, so you can claim your prize.

 

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This posting and giveaway were sponsored by Chickadee Vinyl, but all opinions are strictly my own.

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Jocole Patterns {Giveaway} ***ENDED***

July 2, 2012 by 19 Comments

I know that I’ve hinted before about my obsession with fabric.  Okay, so I may have even taunted you for a while now with the fact that I have a fabric stash and have kept the appearance of it a secret.  Well today is the day that I reveal what it looks like.  Kind of.  Honestly when I walked into the closet to step a picture I got a little embarrassed.  Okay a lot embarrassed.  Maybe one day I will reveal to you the true extent of my problem, but for now I’ll settle with the disclosure of a partial shelf of the book case:

Yes my fabric is housed on many book shelves.  Also in bins and bags that are yet to be inventoried.  Oh and if we aren’t planning to have guests for a while then the day bed in the room of the closet gets covered with fabric…  Admitting my problem is the first step, so I think this was a really good thing for me.  I really must start using the fabric to create some additions to my children’s wardrobe.  My wardrobe.  My husband’s wardrobe.  Okay I really have enough fabric to create wardrobe additions to clothe a small city.  😉   My start will be to make clothing for Ruby.  Want to see some things that I think would be perfect for filling her closet???  (All in size say 18 months to get her well stocked for next year.)

  

Darling, right?  And where can I (and you) find the patterns to create all that darlingness???  That would be in the Etsy shop Jocole!  (They can also be found here.)

The patterns from Jocole are sew *wink* adorable.  I can’t help but share another favorite design:  

Did you catch that PDF bit?  Yep these patterns an be sent to you right through email.  Making it sew *wink again* easy to go pattern shopping!

And…

Have a look at just how easy the directions are to follow:

Can you tell that in addition to being obsessed with fabric I am now obsessed with patterns from Jocole?  Definitely true!

Want a really dandy deal on some patterns?  Just enter coupon code “dandy” for 25% off anything at jocole.com!

I’m really jealous of this giveaway, because one very lucky winner is going to receive a $35 bundle pack of patterns from Jocole!  The winner will get to pick 6 patterns of their choosing!  🙂  Yep this is a way dandy giveaway!

*This giveaway is open to entries worldwide!

*Winners are not notified through email, so you have to check back to find out if you won! The winner of this giveaway will be posted no later than the evening of Monday, July 9th. Be sure and check back then to see if you won, so you can claim your prize!

 

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This posting and giveaway were sponsored by Jocole Patterns, but all opinions are strictly my own.

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{Giveaway} Sew Sweet Patterns ***ENDED***

June 11, 2012 by 17 Comments

It no secret that I like to sew.  My family knows it.  My friends know it.  Basically anyone who visits my home will know it when they walk into my dining room.  🙂  The table is usually covered with my latest project!  Sure I have a whole extra room upstairs that is set aside for sewing.  It shares the space with the elliptical and guest bedroom.  But if I want to work on a project during the day then I need to be where I can keep an eye on the kids.  Which means I need to be on the same floor of the house that they are.  Do any of you remember my life long dream?  Well, let me refresh your memory or share it for the first time with a new reader.  My dream is to build an addition on the first floor to have a room for sewing.  The addition will also contain an extra room for a main floor laundry.  Currently that is housed in our unfinished and majorly drab basement.  We shall see if that dream comes true.  For the time being the dining room with suffice.  😉   I’m too ecstatic to share with you this feature giveaway, because it’s for the most adorable patterns I have ever seen.  Sew Sweet Patterns is the place and I just know that I’m going to have too much fun sewing away on styles like this:

It’s reversible!

 

And this:

 

 

This:

 

 

Oh and this:

 

Okay, so I had a really difficult time selecting which patterns to share with you.  There are seriously so many to choose from and they are all adorable!

Sew Sweet Patterns even has cute patterns for the boys:

 

Sew Sweet Patterns can also be found here on Etsy.

What will you have too much fun sewing?  I know that you found several must haves (like I did) at Sew Sweet Patterns!

Want to win?  One very lucky winner is going to receive a three-pack of child sewing patterns from Sew Sweet Patterns!  I’m sew (wink) incredible jealous of this giveaway!  🙂

*This giveaway is open to entries worldwide

*Winners are not notified through email, so you have to check back to find out if you won! The winner of this giveaway will be posted on Monday, June 18th. Be sure and check back then to see if you won, so you can claim your prize!
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This posting and giveaway was sponsored by Sew Sweet Patterns, but all opinions are strictly my own.

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Seamingly Smitten {Giveaway} ***ENDED***

May 21, 2012 by 9 Comments

I have long been smitten with fabric. The colors. The prints. The textures. *sigh* I’m also smitten with sewing. Most recently though I’m majorly smitten with Seamingly Smitten. How could I not be? Seamingly Smitten combines my love of fabric and sewing together into their darling patterns!

Patterns like this:

 

 

And this:

 

 

 

Oh and this:

 

Told you. Darling! Now hands up for who the newest smitten by Seamingly Smitten. Yep. That’s all of you!

Seamingly Smitten also has patterns for women’s clothing:

 

What did I make from one of the patterns I was sent from Seamingly Smitten?

This adorable A-line dress for my sweet baby “Ruby”:

She loves it! Can’t you tell? 😉

The patterns are so easy to follow and perfect for a beginner!

Ready to get sewing??? Well, lucky for you the winner of this giveaway is going to receive a 3 sewing pattern pack (emailed via PDF file) from Seamingly Smitten!

*This giveaway is open to entries worldwide!

*Winners are not notified through email, so you have to check back to find out if you won! The winner of this giveaway will be posted on Monday, May 28th. Be sure and check back then to see if you won, so you can claim your prize!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This posting and giveaway was sponsored by Seamingly Smitten, but all opinions are strictly my own.

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Forshee Designs {Giveaway} ***ENDED***

February 27, 2012 by 103 Comments

         

 

Last summer my laptop had a little accident.  It involved a full can of Diet Dr. Pepper and unfortunately the soda can won!  This forced me to do my blogging work on the Mac Mini upstairs in my office space.  I felt shut away in there from the rest of the house let me tell you!  It made it really difficult to get work done.  After all I had a little Banjo to keep track of and contend with.  One of my fellow bloggers asked if I could get some work done while Banjo played.  Are you kidding?  He can’t be left anywhere in the house by himself.  Ha!  Only kidding.  He’s a good little boy and doesn’t do anything bad.  He just likes to “help” sometimes.  This “helping” includes answering the front door.  My office space is quite distant from the rest of the house and I would constantly worry that he was going to answer the door if I didn’t hear it.  So this of course led to my spending many late nights tucked away with the Mac Mini.  I missed my laptop dearly!  For months and months I saved my pennies to purchase a new one.  It took awhile, but I FINALLY had enough to justify getting a MacBook Pro!  Do I drink anything near it?  Nooooo!  Of course I’m very protective over it and knew that I needed a padded laptop sleeve to keep it/carry it in at all times.  Lucky me Forshee Designs allowed me to pick out a custom laptop sleeve:

 Isn’t it soooooo pretty?!

It’s Dandy Damask.  Don’t you just love the name?  🙂

Forshee Designs has so many gorgeous fabrics to choose from.  For all the laptop sleeves, but also everything else that they design!  Like:

Aprons

iPad Sleeves

And…

Camera Strap Covers

 

 

Forshee Designs even has patterns for purchase as well as personalization.

I’ll gather that you found plenty that you absolutely need from Forshee Designs!  Well, start entering to win, because…

The winner of this giveaway is going to receive a $25 gift certificate to spend at Forshee Designs!

*** This giveaway is open to entries worldwide***

There are 7 chances to win. Be sure and leave separate comments for each entry on this posting to enter. **If you qualify for all 7 chances then leave 7 separate comments**

(1): Leave your name, email address, or whatever you feel most comfortable leaving in a comment. (ex: “Dandy Smith”)

(2): Go to , Forshee Designs, have a look around, and then tell us what you will spend the $25 on if you win! (ex: “Dandy Smith = I love anything in the Dandy Damask! )

(3): Join the Forshee Designs Newsletter (found at the top the Forshee website).  (ex: “Dandy Smith= newsletter”)

(4): Like Forshee Designs on Facebook or if you already do.  (ex: “Dandy Smith= like”)

(5):  Become a fan of Dandy Giveaway on Facebook or if you already are.  (ex: “Dandy Smith= like Dandy”)

(6): Follow Dandy Giveaway on Twitter and then tweet about this giveaway. (ex: “Dandy Smith= twitter & tweet”)

(7): Become a follower of Dandy Giveaway through Networked Blogs (in the right hand sidebar) or if you already follow through there.  (ex: “Dandy Smith= follow Dandy.”)

***Remember*** Winners are not notified through email, so you have to check back to find out if you won! This giveaway will be open for entries until Sunday, March 4th at 5:00 pm CST.  Be sure and check back on Monday, March 5th to see if you won, so you can claim your prize! ***Remember*** Winners are not notified through email, so you have to check back to find out if you won!

This posting and giveaway was sponsored by Forshee Designs, but all opinions are strictly my own.

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