Essential Oil Pouches

Last week we received our much anticipated Young Living Essential Oils.  

Can I just say I'm in love so far!

So of course I had to make a holder to protect our investment!

I looked all over the internet to see how 

people stored their bottles and saw lots of ideas!

The idea that stuck with me the most was a pouch 

that has inserts to make my oils easily transportable and keep them safe!

I wanted something that would hold up to taking the oils in and out without wearing out, 

so I decided little padded pockets were my best bet.  

Making them into an insert for my zipper pouches fit my needs exactly!

Apparently I did it right because they have become a hit on my website and Pinterest!

I truly love seeing people excited about something I made! 

It's so humbling and rewarding seeing your work appreciated by others!

 It really is pretty awesome!

Oils are becoming a big part of my life and sewing has always been a major part,

 so I'd say there is a happy union coming together!

 

The essential oils zipper pouches are just the right blend of cuteness and function!

Endeavor

If you know me you know I'm a homebody, 

but when your bestie invites you to her home 

near Los Angeles  you set up a mini family vacation!

Since her home is so close to LA my hubby wanted to go to the 

California Science Center to see the space shuttle Endeavor.  

A bit of research later and we discovered there would also be a 

Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the time of our visit.

Little did we know everything else the center had to offer!  

It was an amazing place and I know we didn't get to everything they had on display.  

Talk about delivering more than we had hoped!

As we made our way to the Endeavor we got to see so many amazing things, 

but nothing compared to walking into the Endeavor hanger and seeing it in person.  

Tears filled my eyes more than once as we wondered under and around the Endeavor.  

The sheer awe of something that amazing took my breath away!

I think we could have spent the entire day just soaking it all in!

The California Science Center was so much more than we thought.  

It had something for all age groups.  

I was really impressed!  I highly recommend it to any family!

Handmade & Homegrown

Yesterday was the first craft fair sponsored by The Looking Glass!

Handmade & Homegrown was so much fun!  We had a great day!

I learned a hard lesson though about outdoor shows 

when a gust of wind knocked over my shutter doors! 

 

My neighbor vendor saw it happening, 

but there was nothing she could do to stop it from going down.

Fortunately nothing was damaged (except my nerves!).  

What a great community I am a part of in the crafting world! 

 

My neighbors helped me pick everything up and zip tie the shutters to the canopy.

I was rattled, but was able to get everything back together pretty quickly.

 The rest of the day went great!

I loved the booth set up!  

Seeing your vision come to light is pretty amazing!

 We even had some people trying to buy our display pieces...

pretty awesome!

 

Everything tied together so well...

I think we've really found our set up now!

The best part about the display pieces is that, 

for the most part, they are decorations from the house!

Pretty bags on a coat rack from my sister 

and a fun apron on one of my best yard sale finds ever!

 So another show is in the books!

It is so much work...but the fun we have is totally worth it!

If you see something you like head to Amy's Monkeys online shop!

If you're local go check out The Looking Glass!

Busy Bee

Hello!  

So life has been crazy busy...

I know everyone is busy...definitely is the season!

My busy has been prepping for the Handmade & Homegrown Craft Fair this Saturday!

The Looking Glass is hosting the event and it looks like it is going to be great!

Amy's Monkeys will be there with lots of new goodies!

Would you like a peek at all the busy-ness 

that has become my life for the last few weeks?!?

(If you follow me on Instagram you've seen some of these...)

I decided I needed a visual reminder/helper to get all the aprons I had cut completed.

It totally worked on this visual girl.

18 aprons finished in 12 days...not bad for being in my classroom too!

A sneak peek of all your apron choices!

Since I had time...Crayon rolls are restocked!

 My display background is getting a much needed update too...

bye-bye Putty hello Ocean Mist!

 I finally got to transform the sheets I had been using for the tables 

into beautiful fitted coverings!  

So much more professional!

 After all the prep work was done I was able to start playing with my displays!

So thankful for a hubby that finds me great treasures from the neighbor's junk pile! 

Saturday can't get here soon enough! 

 I'm so excited to share all the goodies I've been working on the past month!

 

I'll be adding anything I have left from the fair to the online shop, 

so stay tuned if you're not local!

Happy Makeover

Believe it or not, sometimes I sew for me!

I know, shocker!

This happy makeover came about because I didn't really want to spend $40 (or more) 

on a new basket for the living room afgans.  I already had some baskets 

that didn't have a job anymore, so I started plotting.

A little spray paint and a new liner and that dark old basket 

could fit quite nicely in the living room.

Let me say it took a lot of spray paint to cover that dark stain.  

I covered it with white and almond as a base and then layered the yellow.  

I went through a few almost empty cans and then bought 

one more can of Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch in Sun Yellow (my favorite brand of spray paint) 

to finish it off.  I still have a bunch left, so more projects will see the yellow!

After I got the paint finished up I used the old liner as a pattern to make the new cheerful liner!

I didn't have quite enough of the main fabric to do the entire liner, 

so I used a scrap to make the base. 

Happy accident I say!

Rather than making ties I went through my ribbon stash and found this darling gingham.  

Just the right touch!

So for maybe $10 I was able to get a "new" basket exactly the color and style I wanted!

Not too shabby!

*Rust-Oleum Spray paint is my favorite, but this is not a sponsored or affiliate post.  

However, if Rust-Oleum ever wants to send me paint I would gladly take it! :)

How I Work

Everyone has a process they use to get things done.

Ever since I really started focusing on Amy's Monkeys I have adjusted 

how I go about getting the most out of my limited amount of time.  

I don't have all day to get things done, so the time I have must be used efficiently.

I really embrace the Henry Ford assembly line philosophy.

Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.

I have a few steps I use to keep things going smoothly and as organized as possible.

This is how I piece together my zipper pouches.

 

First, I pair all the fabrics for my creations...seriously the most fun part of creating!

 

Then, I iron, measure, and cut all the combinations and interfacing.
Next, I iron all the interfacing onto the outside prints. 

 

After that, it's all about the ruffles!

Now, it's time to get the ruffles and tags attached.

 

Show time...

zipper, iron, top stitch, repeat, stitch all around, add gusset, flip out-side-right, 

stitch closed, smile at the new zipper pouch!

 Rinse and repeat until your to-do pile is gone and your product pile is overflowing!

Assembly line production has really streamlined how I get things done!

It's all about tackling projects in chunks.  Feeling that sense of accomplishment helps 

keep you going when you're tired and just want to quit!  

Trust me I know that feeling!

I'm not sure my process will help anyone, but it really does make a huge difference!

a thought for the day...