Handmade Hot List: Halloween Decor

Fall finally made its presence known here in Richmond, as yesterday and today the weather is down to a super chilly 50 degrees compared to Saturday's 80 degrees and sunshine. I must admit, I am NOT ready for the cooler weather, and if the acorns falling all over my driveway are any indication, all signs are pointing to a cold and possibly snow-filled winter. I am just. not. ready.

But, before the weather got wet, I did grab pumpkins and mums and got myself in the mood for decorating for Halloween. What?! Did I really just type that?! I know, for those of you who remember my post from last year on Halloween decorating, you'll remember my personal loathing for the holiday. However, this year, due to some strategic fabric purchasing, I have warmed up to the idea and am actually GASP! looking forward to it. So, just in time to give you a bit of inspiration, here's a the Handmade Hotlist for Halloween Decor. And, I made it a bit more fun and kept it Black & White themed, as a way to mix it up. Enjoy!

Crepe Paper Wreath by designerkym on Etsy

I am such a sucker for cute wreaths made out of unexpected materials, and I just LOVE this wreath! It is made out of hand-dyed crepe paper. And, isn't the bow just amazing?!

Black Crow Tiered Stand by The Orchard Playground on Etsy

Having a Halloween party or gathering? Use this fun two-tiered stand to hold cupcakes or other spooky treats. I love tired stands for table decorating, and this one caught my eye as it is so unique - perfect for an adult, kid or family friendly party.

Happy Hauntings Banner by Green Jazz Face on Etsy

 This adorable banner is the perfect thing to update your Halloween mantle decor. And, I just love the styling of the photo - gives lots of great ideas!

Witch Silhouette Printable from D & P Celebrations on Etsy

Silhouette's continue to be popular, and I just LOVE this cute witch printable. It has just the right touch of glam to make it fun. And, I love the instant gratification, as you can print it after purchase for a fun DIY touch.

Wicked White Pumpkins by Southern Sky Art on Etsy

These small white pumpkins add the perfect touch of class to our black and white Halloween decor theme. I love white pumpkins as they are cute and classy, and these with a stamped letter and cute ribbon finishes them up so nicely.

So, there you have it! Which item is your favorite? Keep your answer in mind, as there will be a SUPER FUN Halloween Decor Giveaway here tomorrow that just might feature one (or a couple) of these items!

Baby's Got A Brand New Bag {New Girls Ruffle Tote Bag}

Girls Ruffle Tote by Love Elaine

Introducing the newest tote to the Love Elaine family - the Girls Ruffle Tote! Measuring in at 9" tall by 12" wide at the bottom, with a RUFFLE detail along the bottom and a tie closure - this tote bag is sure to be the perfect accessory for any little girl. The inside also features 5 pockets - perfect for holding treasures or dance shoes.

I am so excited for this bag, as its been in my mind for a long time, and I finally had the opportunity to whip one up (well, two actually) for my friend Sandi who is getting married and giving these totes to her flower girl nieces, Charley and Andie. Don't you just LOVE the purple and orange?! Those are the wedding colors, and this bag just makes me absolutely GIDDY!



Girls Ruffle Tote by Love Elaine

I am SO in LOVE with this bag. It was a great bag to put together and exercise a bit of creativity for me this weekend - not just the same old! I can't wait to make up a bunch more in different fabrics and have stocked up in the shop for Christmas. What little girl wouldn't want a bag with her name on it and a RUFFLE?!



Girls Ruffle Tote by Love Elaine

 And, now that I think of it, I might just have to make a few BIG girls totes with ruffles, since I am loving it so much. So, tell me what you think. Are you in love as much as I am?! Let me know what you think and what color combinations you think would be best for little girls OR big girls!



New Beginnings - My Week In Photos {InstaFriday}

via JayHell on Etsy

Today I have a milestone to share, as today marks the end of my first week of unemployment. Most of you might not know that I had a full time job in marketing, but now it is no more. I can't say I was shocked, as I knew it was coming since the beginning of July, however, I wasn't really prepared ( I don't know anyone who ever is?!). 

Out of all the emotions that I have experienced since finding out, this week has truly been about embracing the situation and trying to navigate the right path. I've been struggling for many months with having a full time job and a growing business, as Love Elaine usually gets the "left over" time after work and me time (working out, cooking, cleaning, etc), and I have been blessed as Love Elaine has flourished anyway, continuing to grow, almost in spite of the little amount of time I am able to give it.

So, what's next? I'm going to look for a full time job, because unfortunately Love Elaine isn't at a place to support me with a comparable salary, Love Elaine just isn't there yet. But, I think the important thing I've learned through all of this is that it will be, soon, and that I want it to be.

In the meantime, while I look for the right job, I'm going to put my all into Love Elaine for the first time in 3 years since I started the business. I'm going to be blogging, and sewing, and tweeting, and facebooking (yep, that's a verb!). Oh, and I'm going to work out, and take time to cook my meals, and I'm going to water and pick vegies from my garden (I haven't done this as an adult, on my own, ever). And, I'm going to have lunch or wine with friends - ones I see often, and ones I don't. I'm going to go to the pool, work on my tan (which I haven't had since starting full time employment) and read trashy romance novels. While this time is SUPER scary and I often want to break down in tears with the weight of it all, I'm choosing to be positive and look at the time as an extended working vacation, a working vacation for me, as an investment in my future. So, without further ado, here's my week in photos :)

Ruffled Tea Towels by Love Elaine

This week I finished up a wholesale order for Handmade Happiness in Chester. Yep, now you can get your Love Elaine fix in person! Mary Ellen's new store (while I know its in Chester) is a MUST VISIT - all handmade items by local artisans - everything from jewelry, aprons, prints, totes, paper goods, you name it! And all handmade!



Cloud 9 Fabrics - Geocentric and Simpatico - LOVE!

 

Interesting measurement device at Pleasants Hardware - a sewing field trip!


I also finished up a tutorial for a fun beach/pool tote for Cloud 9 fabrics - be on the look out for the tutorial on their blog soon! I am just in LOVE with their new canvas fabrics. And, what isn't more fun than Navy & Orange or Grey & Yellow?!

Baby Quilt in Riley Blake Indian Summer by Love Elaine

Finished up a baby quilt - don't you just love pink and green? I am also a big sucker for large floral prints and that polka dot makes my heart go pitter patter! Just LOVE these fabrics!



 This is the first ripe tomato from my little container garden out back. It was definitely a proud moment for me! I usually have a black thumb for all living plants, but my garden is doing great after a slow start. So far in the past 2 weeks I've picked 3 cucumbers, 1 pepper, 2 tomatos, and 1 yellow squash. I've got at least 10 tomatos on their way, plus numerous cucumbers, and a few squash! (Can you tell I'm excited?!)

And I'll leave you with this shot. I was there earlier in the week, and I'm headed there now.

Happy Weekend Everyone!

Insta Friday {My Week In Photos}

Well, as most of you know since I posted about it earlier, but this week I celebrated my birthday! It was a wonderful weekend spent with friends and loved ones - looking forward to another year ahead for sure!

 Last Friday during my lunch break, I headed over to a local fabric shop, UFab (I LOVE it there) and did a bit of pre-birthday fabric shopping. I can't resist grey & yellow!

No birthday week is complete without a bit of shopping at Target :) I found these two throw pillows on clearance (ps - it is actually the same pillow, they are reversible!!!) to get me started with accessorizing my living room. Can you guess which color I'm adding in there?

Speaking of decorating, I took this to show my bf's parents that we finally got one of our Christmas presents out of the box! The Ronan Sideboard is from Pier 1 (LOVE it there) and matches our table. It also features another Christmas present, my vase from Anthropologie! 

 While out and about getting supplies for an upcoming order, I saw this GORGEOUS quilt hanging in the window at Quilting Adventures! Seriously, this quilt is my happy place right now! Officially on the to do list for 2012!

And, I leave you with this gorgeous dessert I had on Monday at my birthday lunch with my boss and coworker! Let me tell you, it tasted as good as it looks, if not better!

I hope you all had a great week! And, if you haven't been by the shop in a while, I've listed a few new items, including 2 baby quilts! I don't know about you, but I have quite a few babies on the way this spring - can't wait to start sewing for them!! 

My 2012 Word of The Year {Embrace}

This year, I've heard so much about choosing a single word as a theme for the year to replace the normal list of New Year's resolutions.  As someone who is always looking for ways to simplify, I quickly got on board with the concept. Then, I saw that Layla over at The Lettered Cottage was hosting a Word of the Year party, and I wanted to share too!

via Pinterest source lost in paradise

My word of the year is - Embrace

I've been thinking about this word for a couple of weeks and it seems to fit all of the things I hope to accomplish, both personally and business-wise for Love Elaine.  And, by putting it out there for the world (let's be honest as the whole world won't see) to see, I'm hoping to hold myself accountable and see where this word takes me. This year, here's what I hope to to:

Embrace Opportunity

Opportunity can come in many different shapes, sizes and ways into your life. This year, I want to keep my eyes, ears and heart open to whatever opportunities come my way.

Alexa's Angels

Embrace The Moment

Too often with everything going on in my life, I forget to live.in.the.moment. As a born goal setter, I often overlook today in favor of a goal set for the future and miss out on the enjoyment of today. Not anymore!

Source Funnelcloud on Etsy

Embrace Imperfections

Being a perfectionist to my core, having a handmade business has taught me so many things about that side of myself. I've spent hours tweaking something or completely remade an item that wasn't "perfect" to my uber-critial eye. And in the end, the only person who noticed the flaw was me. So, I'm slowly (hey, a girl's gotta start somewhere, right?!) learning that my best is good enough and that there is perfection in life's imperfections.

Source dazeychic on Etsy

Embrace Happiness

This is a follow-up to the previous one, and by far the most important for me this year. While I'm mostly a happy and pleasant person, I DWELL on unreached expectations on almost a daily basis. Things that most people chalk up to "just life" can sometimes put me in a tailspin. Not this year. This year, I will choose to embrace happiness - laugh more, celebrate more, and just do more, just for me, just because it makes me happy.

Ok, so now its your turn. Have you ever had a "word" for a year as a theme? What's your word for 2012?

Oh, and if you haven't already entered, click here to get details on the clutch giveaway to celebrate my birthday!

Work Not In Progress

This week's post was supposed to be very different - as I had planned on making a ton of progress and finishing a custom order for a bride by today and sharing lots of amazing photos with everyone! However, Hurricane Irene had much different plans for me, as we are now on day 5 without power. I must say that we fared better than most, as the storm hit the Richmond area harder than we were expecting, and many people are still without power. Some even had trees fall on their homes and cause a lot of damage. And, to make matters worse, the current estimate for power is FRIDAY! By that point we will be a week without power.

Tree down on power lines in our neighborhood.

View from our front porch during the storm - luckily no homes or cars were damaged!

So, no power = no sewing. And no sewing = no finished products to show you. However, I do have this photo as a sneak peak of some linings I was able to cut during the day on Sunday.

Don't you just LOVE the bright colors? I am so in love with all of these patterns! Anyone want to guess what they are going to be?

Hopefully, our power will be on soon and I can get back in the sewing room to finish these custom orders! And with that, I'll leave you with something I did get to finish last week - a gorgeous pink & green fabric wreath!

Hope everyone on the East Coast weathered the storm! Hopefully I'll have some updates on finished projects soon!

Voted Richmond's Best Local Etsy Shop

I'm very humbled and honored to announce that Love Elaine has been voted (in a 4 way tie with three other amazing shop owners) as Richmond's Best Local Etsy Shop in Richmond Magazine's Annual Best & Worst Issue! You can imagine my surprise and excitement when I received a phone call from a writer at the magazine last month letting me know I had won - I didn't even know I was nominated or in the running! If you haven't been in a while, check out my shop on Etsy.



The paragraph gives a quick summary of all of the businesses, and at the bottom of the paragraph where it talks about Love Elaine it says:

"Love Elaine owner Christen Barber's inspiration for sewing came from her mother and grandmother. Her relatives also inspired the company's name. All the women in her family have the middle name of Elaine, and Love is her Grandmother's maiden name."

Thank you to all of my wonderful family, friends, fans and customers who continue to support me and Love Elaine - this honor wouldn't be possible without all of you!

Also, congrats to fellow local Etsy shop owner and friend (who has taught me a lot!) Linda at Burlap & Blue! Be sure to check out her shop and blog - I'm a regular shopper and visitor of both!

Smells Like Fresh Cut Grass

Or at least that is what I can smell when I view all of the lovely handmade items in chartreuse that can be found on Etsy right now. I've always had a very love-hate relationship with green until recently. I just can't get enough of chartreuse here lately (plus, it sounds so fancy, I just love to say it too) that I've made a table runner, replaced the pillows on the couch, and today I bought a lovely kona cotton solid yard to use in an upcoming project. You can say I'm 'Crazy for Chartreuse"!

All of these items make me think of days as a young girl, walking to the bus stop through dew-covered spring grass...

Yay for spring!

XO,
Christen

Tuesday Treasury: Sunshine on A Cloudy Day

This morning I woke up to an overcast sky, complete with frigid temperatures and a "freezing mist" (its just as gross as it sounds, I promise!). I could have used a bit of sunshine to get my day started off better! Lately, I've been very inspired by they grey and yellow color combination, and I'm starting to see it everywhere (even in the latest West Elm catalog). So, for my first installation of "Tuesday Treasury" I wanted to share some of my favorite items on Etsy that have both colors - because everyone could use a little sunshine on a cloudy day!

The "Studio" Gets Organized

This weekend I was finally able to get my sewing space organized. I use the term "studio" lightly, as its really just the second bedroom in our tiny, rented townhouse. It also serves as my dressing room (as it holds my closet with all of my shoes and clothes), the laundry room (as it has the washer & dryer), our guest bedroom (as it has a single bed pull out couch), and general storage catch-all (as it currently has the box for a our new 47" TV that is waiting to be brought to the real storage unit!).

A few months ago, I put up shelves with bins (from Home Depot - the bins are Martha Stewart Living and in Love Elaine branding colors) for all of my fabric, and I bought a rod with hanging containers from Ikea (love it there!) to put on the wall to hold my scissors, rotary cutters, pens, zippers, etc. to get them off of my sewing table to leave more room for fabric as I'm mid-project. I finally put the rod up this weekend and I couldn't be happier. I also put up 2 clip-boards ($2 each from Target) - one to hold the notes about the current project I'm working on and my pattern, and the other for my current orders. I also can't forget the wall-mounted, magnetic "pin cushion" (also from Ikea). The one I was using on my sewing table previously always used to get lost under fabric scraps and projects in process, so I love that this one never gets lost and its really easy to access with only one hand as I'm holding pieces of a project together with the other.


So, there's a glimpse into my "studio." I'd love to know how you've organized your sewing or crafting space.