lost little things: December 2011

Nautical Bedroom

Source: google.com via Tara on Pinterest

Its many little boys dreams to have a nautical themed bedroom, well its this big girls dream too. It all started when I came across these adorable pirate prints from Monorail Studio at a show back in August but I second guessed myself and didn't get them. Finally after swooning over them for months I found the girls at another show and bought them. I didn't know what I was going to do with them at the time I bought them but I knew I had to have them. When I got home it hit me! A nautical bedroom. Something fun and whimsical with earth tones and vintage flare. Below are a few ideas I found to get me started.

Source: etsy.com via Tara on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Tara on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Tara on Pinterest

Source: thebookofsecrets.tumblr.com via Tara on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Tara on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Tara on Pinterest

A Handmade Christmas

Over the years its become a tradition in my family to make, exchange and/or buy handmade Christmas gifts. This year was the first year I went 100% handmade on Christmas gifts to my mom and sisters (only 90% handmade to the rest of the family). For obvious reasons I cannot divulge further information on that subject at this time so I thought I would share some past Christmas projects and presents that I've made.

What is the basis for most holiday decoration? The Christmas tree! We went miniature this year due to the lack of space with the new baby. Our 2+ foot tree sits upon our bar stand and is covered with my favorite ornaments I've collected over the years and is topped with a license plate star I made. My license plate ornaments that I now sell started as personal Christmas projects for family members years ago.

Every year I try and accomplish a larger Christmas project for myself. I have made a lot of stockings over the years, usually needlepoint, my favorite. :) I've also made several quilted wall hangings, some on pre-designed fabric panels and some from scratch like the Santa hanging on the right.

As much as I love jolly ol' Saint Nick I adore a good ol' snowman even more. I have started a small collection of snowman given to me by family members as well as a few I've made or bought myself. The adorable handmade snowman on the left is one of my favorites my little sis gave me two years ago. The one on the right is one I made at a ceramic shop when I was a kid. I managed to move it all over Idaho and 1/2 way across the US without braking it...I'm pretty happy with myself for that!

Several years ago my mom and I saw these festive wine bottle lights at a craft fair and thought they were pretty cool. The next year for Christmas I decided to make them as gifts for everyone. I found these metal leaves at a thrift store, picked up some grapes, lights and accessories and voila! We loved them so much that the next year we decided to have a family craft night and make these fun lights out of glass blocks.

Last but not least, we can't leave out the dogs! I made Achilles this cute sweater out of yarn scraps from other Christmas projects (cowls and mobius scarves). This year we got the dogs and cat handmade toys from Lizziebees. At least I can't ruin it for them by telling you. :)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!

ACR Make & Take @ Cherrywood

Spent the day making cool crafts at the Austin Craft Riot make & take booth at Cherrywood Art Fair. Got to see tons of cool handmade artists, food vendors, The Wondercraft and more. I'll be there again tomorrow along with all the fun holiday shoppers from 10-5pm at Maplewood Elementary School. Come by to make a paper origami ornament, snowflake or bottle cap magnet!

NEW Shop Name!

R+R Design has a new name and a new look! R+R Design will re-open as lost little things in January 2012. In order to improve my brand and expand my shop to include more vintage inspired items I made the decision this fall to change my name. lost little things will carry all the same great recycled products that I currently carry but I will be expanding my product line to include more vintage screen printed home decor, game night jewelry and home decor, geekery, re-purposed vintage pieces and more.

You'll find that I've copied over some of my favorite blogs of 2011 from the Restyle, Reuse, Redesign site. You can still find all my old blogs at rrdesign13.blogspot.com but I will no longer be writing there. I will now be writing here on my new site with an emphasis on my shop, vintage inspired design, crafts, my new baby boy, thrifty finds, craft shows and lots more.

So here's the technical details....

My R+R Design Etsy shop has been shut down for the month so I can focus on Blue Genie and spend time with family and friends. This week I will be transitioning over my current Facebook fan page and Twitter profile to the new shop name and logo. So don't freak out!! Please stay a fan of my new shop for all the latest updates, photos, shows and more.

As you will notice my "SHOP" link takes you to a Big Cartel site where several of my most popular products are already in view. Over the next couple weeks I will be working to develop this site with a larger selection of products than were previously available on Etsy. Don't worry, I still have an Etsy shop (lostlittlethings.etsy.com) and will continue to have a presence there too. However, I opened my new shop before Etsy announced the ability to change names so please, please, please if your a current fan go to my new shop at lostlittlethings.etsy.com and ♥ me! Both of these sites will be active with new products for sale starting January 2nd, 2012.

In the mean time you can keep track of me here at lostlittlethings.com or on Facebook where I will continue to blog and keep you updated on new products and Blue Genie.

There's more! To kick off the new shop and the new year I'm giving you a chance to win a custom set of Bottle Cap Wine Charms and a TX State License Place Ornament!! There are several chances to enter. Here's how...

1) Follow my new blog! Become a follower of lostlittlethings.com and leave a comment below about the new website.
2) Blog, Tweet and/or Facebook about lost little things, then come back here and leave a comment with the link.
(you can leave up to 2 links for a total of 3 chances to win!).

The winner will be chosen at random and announced on January 2nd in correspondence with the official opening of the new site. You can leave comments for your chance to win until midnight on January 1st, 2012. It is truly chosen at random so family and friends are welcome to enter! I will also be having a opening sale on my Big Cartel site starting January 2nd. For a promotional code to receive 25% off your entire order please email me your address at lostlittlethings@gmail.com.

P.S. lost little things may not be available until January but you can still find R+R Design at Blue Genie Art Bazaar until December 24th!

Thanks!! I ♥ my fans!

Blue Genie Art Bazaar

The Blue Genie Art Bazaar opened with Preview Night on Tuesday, November 2th at 6pm. Blue Genie is a month long Christmas showcase featuring over 130 local handmade artists including me! It is open daily until December 24th from 10am-10pm at the Marchesa Hall at 6226 Middle Fiskville Rd., just across the street from the Highland Mall.