Friday, November 30, 2012

friday i'm in love {11/30}


Not a super long list this week, but here are the things that caught my eye as I was attempting to be good and get grad school applications in. Enjoy.
peace&love,
Jill

Thursday, November 29, 2012

holiday review

It has been a full week since Thanksgiving already - can you believe it? I can't. I've finally had a chance to process some shots from last week and so here is a little snippet of my trip home. Enjoy.
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peace&love,
Jill

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

weathered

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Something about wearing this sweater makes me feel so wise. It's old, quite old in fact, and it was probably worn by some retired professor of romance languages. Or at least that's what I tell myself. I feel like it's been weathered by a full and cozy life, hence the adopted wisdom I feel when I wear it. It is just scratchy enough to require full body covering underneath it, but I forgive it because it is so darn warm and snuggly.

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I hope you're settling back into full time life this post holiday week and that your toes are staying warm. Because mine are currently cold and I just couldn't wish that on you, or anyone for that matter.

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Necklace by Favoring Brave

peace&love,
Jill

Linking up with:
What I Wore Wednesday at the Pleated Poppy

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

craft fair-ology: fabric covers for mobile walls

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If you're just joining me, this is "Craft Fair-ology," my regular feature on helpful tips and hints for selling handmade goods at craft fairs.

But wait, you don't have to be a craft vendor to learn something useful! I will be mentioning how to apply these tips and techinques for display and storage to other aspects of your life as well... truly win-win! 

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So last week I shared my method for creating a frame for mobile walls and so this week we will cover the creation of cloth covers to inclose your space.

The covers I'm going to show you are made to fit the specific panels I described last week, so head back to the last one to check those out before you jump in here.

The first thing I did was lay out the back wall piping and cover it with my cloth to make sure that it would cover it completely. I used muslin. For my 8x6 back wall I needed 3 yards of 52inch fabric, and mine cost $10.32 at $3.44/yd.

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Next I measured it out the same amount of space at the top and the bottom and pinned it up. Trick I learned in costume design: Pin vertically and you can leave your pins in while you sew on the machine, like so:

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Because I have a stabilizing bar running up the middle of the back I needed to have an opening in the hem for that joint. To make sure I knew where to stop sewing on the hem I used two pins close together to show me where the hole was supposed to be, as shown below.

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For the sides I used a more unorthodox technique. I knew that fabric for the whole booth could potentially cost a fortune, but I happened to have a ton of tulle lying around from my wedding and I decided to try something with it.

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Tulle is a great option for walls because it lets light through, it can be very versatile, especially when the colors are neutral like this. First I tried keeping the tulle bunched up and wrapping it around the frame while the frame was attached to the back wall lying on the ground. This is a good option if you have a lot of tulle in one piece, but mine were already cut into pieces, so I took a different approach.

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Instead I spread the tulle out completely, which was about exactly the width I needed for the 4ft walls and wrapped it around the frame out flat, as in the picture below:

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When you stand it up it looks like this!

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Then I laid it back down, with the back wall on the ground, and pinned up and down along the top and bottom to make sure everything stayed in the right place. Then I carefully removed the end piece so that the fabric was wrapped between two freestanding poles. I gently slid the fabric up off the poles and laid it out on the ground.

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Tulle is very hard to sew by itself, so I chose to add ribbon to make it easier to sew, but you can also sew along a piece of tissue paper if you don't wanted the added embellishment. I pinned the ribbon along the length of the top and bottom to give me a sewing guide.

It's also worth mentioning that I left a LOT of space for my "tubes" at the top and bottom. The bigger the space the easier it is to just slide the pipes into them, and believe me, you don't want to be fighting for every inch getting a pipe through a tight tube when time is of the essence.

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All done and time to sew! Set your machine to a zigzag and get sewing.

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Repeat for the tops and bottoms of all sides. If you were smart and pinned vertically it all goes quickly, but just make sure and pull them all out!

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Here is the finished product. The sides are the tulle and the back is the the muslin. Not too shabby, huh? 
 
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See you then!

peace&love,
Jill

Monday, November 26, 2012

fall-ify: sequin tank and jersey skirt


Happy Cyber Monday! 
To celebrate, get FREE SHIPPING on ALL Favoring Brave orders this week, 11/26 through 12/2 with the coupon code CYBERMONDAY.

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Are you getting tired of summer clothes for fall yet? Well today is the last day, so cry in joy or pain, whichever makes more sense to you. The pieces today were a sequined tank top and a green jersey skirt. Here's how I wore these pieces over the summer in my post market uniform.


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Now I know it doesn't look like I'm wearing the tank, but I am. It's actually peeking out at the shoulders, but my skin is so colorless it actually serves as a sort of sparkle top camouflage. If it was in person you could tell. Promise.

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peace&love,
Jill

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P.S. Have you heard about the 50 States of Brave Blogger Search? If you're a blogger in the US, you might want to get involved! Go here to find out what it is and what you need to do! 

Sunday, November 25, 2012

fall-ify: tie dye dress

Happy Cyber Monday! 
To celebrate, get FREE SHIPPING on ALL Favoring Brave orders this week, 11/26 through 12/2 with the coupon code CYBERMONDAY.


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I'm back with another "fall-ified" outfit today. I took a silky tie dye summer dress and made it into a a fall staple! Here's how I wore this dress over the summer in my post dyeing for a cool front.


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I've decided I'm a serial belter. Everything involves a belt - and rolled up sleeves. You can check the archives for yourself - there are few things that I can't cinch in a little bit more, or long sleeves that I can't make more 3/4 length-ish. True story.

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peace&love,
Jill

Linking up with:

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P.S. Have you heard about the 50 States of Brave Blogger Search? If you're a blogger in the US, you might want to get involved! Go here to find out what it is and what you need to do! 

Saturday, November 24, 2012

50 states of brave introduces: ms. texas!

If you're just joining us, 50 States of Brave is a blogging project that celebrates the little opportunities we have to be brave everyday and the women who make these habits a way of life. As part of the project, everyone blogger is sending in a story of the bravest thing they've ever done for all of us to get to read, which makes us pretty excited. 

The whole project is sponsored by Favoring Brave, my Etsy store. Each lady gets to pick an item from the store to model in her post and keep as a souvenir of her bravery!

Wanna see all of the brave ladies already featured? Visit our lovely archives or Pinterest page of bloggers and their Favoring Brave picks!

Wanna join in the fun and represent your state? There's more info about that at the bottom of this post.


Alright here's the good stuff:

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Today I have the pleasure to introduce you to the lovely Ms. Texas, our first official member of the 50 States of Brave....
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Sara,  from Sincerely SK

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Isn't she darling? Here's her story of bravery:

When Jill asked me to be apart of her 50 State of Brave, I could not be more thrilled. I was honored to be featured alongside fellow women and bloggers around the country sharing stories of bravery. Although, whenever I sat down to write a story of a time I felt brave, I froze. You know, I never thought of myself as “brave”, and it took me a while to come up with something I felt was good enough to share. 

After much thought and looking back, I realized that one of the times I have felt the most brave was right now. I am a newly graduated college student, no job, no money, just a life full of mystery. If you were to know me at all, you would know that I am a planner, a control freak if you will. So since at this time in life I have no solid “plan”, life is quite scary and I have to admit I feel brave. I have chosen to use this time of the unknown to explore, life freely, and feel excited to see what will come next. It is not always easy; it’s actually quite difficult for me. But I am thrilled and excited to see what comes next.

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Hop over to Sara's blog and here more about her life right now... and see what adorableness she's wearing.

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Sara is modeling the Santa Fe Coin Earrings by Favoring Brave.

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Think you have what it takes to represent your state? Awesome! Here's what you have to do to apply:

1. Follow Favor the Brave through GFC or Bloglovin.
2. Send me an email at favoringbrave@gmail.com with your name, you blog address, what state you're from, and why you should get to represent your state as it's resident brave lady!

Some states are filled already, but there are lots of openings left!

peace&love,
Jill


Friday, November 23, 2012

here we go!


Just hours before the first lady will be revealed, the lovely Ms. Texas, I wanted to share a little bit more about the 50 States of Brave Blogger Search that's going on right now to peak your interest. Hope you'll plan to stay with us for the whole show!

peace&love,
Jill



Thursday, November 22, 2012

give thanks

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Happy Thanksgiving, from my family to yours.

peace&love,
Jill

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P.S. Have you heard about the 50 States of Brave Blogger Search? If you're a blogger in the US, you might want to get involved! Go here to find out what it is and what you need to do! 

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

craft fair-ology: frame for mobile walls

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Welcome to a brand new blog feature called "Craft Fair-ology" will take place every Tuesday from now until I stop having helpful tips to give you! 

But wait, you don't have to be a craft vendor to learn something useful! I will be mentioning how to apply these tips and techinques for display and storage to other aspects of your life as well... truly win-win!

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Me and my plain Jane moveable walls - you'll find out how to fancy them up in the coming segments!

If you've ever sold at a craft fair, you know that there are a lot of factors to consider - the audience, the space you'll have, the items you want to take, the temperature - everything! You never know who you'll be set up next to, whether you'll be near a wall, what the color scheme will be in the room - sometimes you're not even sure of the dimensions you'll have to work with! It's easy to get overwhelmed. There's so much to be prepared for!

So here's a great way to deal with some of these stressors and grab a little bit more control: build yourself some easy, DIY, moveable walls.

So whether you are an entrepreneurial DIY-er or a Scentsy consultant, a crafter or a person looking to be creative with your living space, this easy technique for mobile walls is for you!

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Welcome to my living room.

Okay, so, here's how it works:

These walls are made out of fabric and PVC piping. Today we will go over the piping - what to get, how much to get, and how to put it together. Hop back over here next Tuesday for the full tutorial on making the fabric covers for the walls and putting it all together.

My wall strategy is to have what I need to make booths from 8x8 to 10x10 without changing what I bring with me:
  • When I am at a show with 8x8 booths, I have one 8ft long x 6 ft tall back wall and two 4 ft long x 6 ft tall side walls so the front half of the space is not enclosed, as in the picture at the top of this post.
  • When I am at a show with 10x10 booths, I have one 10ft long x 6ft tall back wall, one 2ft long x 6 ft tall side wall and one 4 ft long x 6 ft tall side wall, which makes for a pretty open space.
My booth space is not fully inclosed, since I like to keep some camaraderie between my neighbor vendors and myself, but this tutorial can be adapted to make any size enclosure, just be sure to adapt the shopping list accordingly.

I bought 1/2 inch PVC pipe precut into 2 ft. sections.
  • If you are ambitious/like power tools/have a bribe-able handy person in your life you can buy the 10 ft long pieces of PVC, which are significantly cheaper per foot, and cut them yourself. For us mere mortals, this is unnecessarily messy/complicated and so we bite the bullet and buy the stuff pre-cut.
Six feet tall seems to be a very good height for these walls, as they are tall enough to enclose the space, but aren't so tall that the fram gets too heavy for itself. Each vertical piece requires (3) 2ft pieces and (2) connectors.

It's also a good rule of thumb not to have more than 4ft of horizontal piping without some kind of vertical support, 6ft at the most. This is why I always plan to have a "crossbeam" in the middle of the back wall.

Shopping List (For my version):
  • (31) 2ft sections of 1/2 inch PVC piping
  • (18) 1/2 inch PVC pipe connectors 
  • (4) T connectors (for the stabilizer bar down the middle of the back, an the bottom front corners)
  • (4) Ninety degree 3 way connectors (to connect the side walls to the back wall)
  • (2) Corner connectors (For top front corners)
This all cost me about $68, even buying the pipes pre-cut. You could potentially cut this cost by half if you cut all the pipes yourself.

Here's how to put it together:

Lay out the back wall on the ground first. (Excuse the fact that the upper left corner is not connected with the 90 degree 3 way connector like it's supposed to be. Use the 3 way connectors at all 4 of the outside angles.)

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After you've assembled the back, add on the two sides WHILE IT'S STILL LAYING DOWN. You WILL get frustrated if you try to do it standing up. Trust me. Please. Have some one grab one side will you grab the other and slowly pull on the frame to stand it up, making sure to keep both sides even at all times.

And just as a side note, I sell by myself all the time and shows and there is always someone around, another vendor, a helper, an organizer, who is more than willing to help stand it up for you. It's the only step of the process that requires help.

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But here's the best part: when you pack up, this is how much space this takes:

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Yay!

And there you go! Step one: done! Come back next week to get them all covered up and looking pretty!

peace&love,
Jill


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P.S. Have you heard about the 50 States of Brave Blogger Search? If you're a blogger in the US, you might want to get involved! Go here to find out what it is and what you need to do! 

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