Pennys Top Five Fall Favorites

In my opinion, nothing is more motivating for wanting Fall to come than living in Texas in the sweltering heat!  This summer has been a little milder than others, and by that I mean it has been under 110 most days :), but looking ahead at the possibility of cooler weather makes me want to happen now! 
Shannon inspired me with her post earlier this week, so I thought I would share some of my Fall favorites as well.
 
1. Scarves - ask any of my friends and they can tell you that my absolute favorite thing, hands down, is scarves.  Nothing says fall to me more than scarves do! Now I have tried in the past to make scarves happen in the summer, but lets be honest.........its HOT, too hot for that in the summer! Now for me, I am a black, gray, blue jean kinda girl, and I add color and personality with my accessories. So my fall accessory is scarves, obviously. Honestly, for me scarves are an obsession.  I have been collecting them for many years and in my opinion, you can never have too many!



I love this website scarvesdotnet, which has a plethora of video tutorials on how to tie a scarf other than the norm. They also sell scarves, if you are looking for something new.  I use the website as inspiration and knowledge and I highly recommend you check it out!!

2. Outdoor beauty and smells  - yellowish-brown leaves crunching under my feet, darker skies, cooler air and crisp wind.....oh how the outdoors call my name when fall rolls around. The smells of crackling fires and rain in the air! I LOVE IT ALL! It makes me want to be outside all the time!


I love the look of this outdoor living room that I found at Southern Living/. 
 I am a city slicker, but I dream of the days when I can have an outdoor room like
this..............someday maybe!

3. Soups! - what is it about soup that makes you feel like you have been hugged and comforted? Soup can be hearty, meaty, vegetabaly (ok, that isn't a word), but the point is soup is perfect and warms the heart and soul. And let's talk about how easy soup can be! You can put it into the crockpot and let it cook up while your gone, or you can whip it up real quick on most nights! Perfection!!
My absolute favorite soup, is also super easy, but not quick, Crockpot Potato Soup!


{ source } Easiest Crockpot Potato Soup Ever!!!


Not the best picture, but TRUST ME.....this soup is Crazy
Good!!!

4. Cozy time in front of the fire - I love my family, and there is nothing more enjoyable after a long day than cuddling up with my peeps next to a crackling fire! Especially my super handsome husband :)......but I digress!  Anyway, who doesn't love to sit under a blanket with your honey, sipping on cocoa with marshmallows! Or better yet with homemade whip cream with crushed up peppermints <--- TRUST ME.....give it a shot!


The caption in the photo says it all! BEST EVER
from thefarmgirlrecipes.

5. Thanksgiving - so what is Thanksgiving to you? Is it lots and lots of food? Is it Football? Is it time with family and friends? Is it just a nice 4 or 5 day weekend?  For me, it is all those things! Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays, because it gives an excuse for extended family and friends to come together and enjoy each other! I can remember when I was growing up, we would always go to my Granddads house, with all the cousins, and play games, laugh, tell stories and of course EAT! Everyone shared in the cooking and everyone shared in the fun! As an adult, I try really hard to give my children the same experience that I had, so they too can look back and smile!
Have you ever done a craft project for Thanksgiving? Last year, some friends and I made these super cute t-shirts for our kids! It was so much fun spending time with them, and I left with a unique shirt that I look back on and smile!


This is my beautiful daughter Madison modeling the turkey shirt I made! Isn't it cute?


Well that's about it! Had to keep it to 5, or else I would go on for days at all the wonderful things about Fall!


What are your top 5?

.....................till next time! -- Penny

made it monday {custom orders}

I'm sure you've seen by now that we LOVE to do custom work! When you get a request for custom work, it means that someone likes your skills/product enough that they trust you to make exactly what they need. For me as a crafter it provides a good challenge. It is surprising how challenging it can be sometimes, to make a customer happy! Normally when I sew I use fabrics and things that I am drawn too, when it's custom, anything goes!

The Garaging Mavens have had quite a few opportunities to do custom work, and I'd love to share them with you!

A woman contacted us and wanted some sports themed baby stuff. After a quick conversation we settled on a handful of items. I love them!

I adore these bibs!

This is one of my favorites! A friend emailed me a picture, and asked if we could make her something like it. I'm pretty sure we delivered!

This was a direct result of a request from a friend. I love it, and I'm sure she does too!

This was a fun request, a Velata themed apron for a silent auction! Here it is on the lucky bidder!

And this is just the beginning! We can do custom colors on almost every single thing we have in the shop (pillows, aprons, towels, blankies, etc.), and we can also add monograms or other types of personalization. All you have to do is ask!

We do have a small customization fee, just to help with cost of extra fabrics and things. I know that for me I sew with fabrics that I can find on sale, I love a good bargain, and sometimes when you need something specific and right away, it may not be on sale. We have tried to keep these fees as low as possible! For items $20 and under it's an additional 20% for the first item, and then 10% for each additional item. For items over $20 it's a flat $5. 

I hope the next time you need something special, you will think of us!

my Nemesis!!

nem·e·sis

 

noun

noun: nemesis; plural noun: nemeses

1. 1.

   the inescapable agent of someone's or something's downfall

 

 

Have you ever had a project that you felt was out to get you? Well I have!!!

 

How did you combat the "underwhelming" feelings that you had toward it? Did you give up and walk away? Or did you keep coming back and finally complete it, and have that satisfaction that you did it?  For me, I keep coming back to a certain project, but never really fully completing it!

 

This is what's known as a wristlet bag. 

 

Super cute, right? They are perfect for someone to carry their stuff in and fits right on your wrist (hence the name wristlet)!  But............for some reason, these are trying to be the death of me! 

 

Sometimes you just need a little motivation to get something completed and mine is knowing that they will finally be done and in the shop! :)

 

Here is a sneak peek of all the other colors in the wristlet line, soon to be in the Wishes and Dreams shop.

 

 

 

till next time.........Penny :)

 

 



 

Jackpot!

I finally completed the idea/to do board! It is not what I originally envisioned, but that is sometimes what happens when created juices start flowing.

 

 

I got tired of waiting and searching for the perfect background, and I kept asking myself, should I do metal, should I do cork, should I do both? And then it came to me........how about twine with little clothes pins! JACKPOT!! 

I love how it turned out and it really it accents the wall color so well!

 

till next time................Penny





made it monday

The Garaging Mavens booth in Wishes and Dreams is having an end-of-summer blowout sale where everything is an incredible 25% off! (That's a lot for handmade goods, especially ones that are already fair priced.) All that to say, we aren't putting as many new items in the shop this week, but we still have a few new goodies to share with you. These will be added to the booth next week, but are available for online purchase today!

These little coin purses are absolutely perfect for back-to-school! A great place to tuck lunch money, or extra quarters for pencils. You can bet that my daughter is going to have one of these tucked into her backpack. Tons of colors and patterns to choose from!

tiny heart coin purse {$5}

look at this sweet stitching detail! It's the little things that make it special.

Finally another set of a favorite material pairing in the shop. Love these classic burp cloths, they make a perfect baby gift.

bold and modern burp cloth set {$12}

Here is another new addition to the booth. Cute little cork boards sets with three matching fabric covered tacks. The perfect size for lockers or that odd little space on your wall you've been looking to fill. Keep an eye out for more color combos, or request your own. This set doesn't have magnets, but future sets will have magnets hidden behind the felt layer.

2 7in. fabric covered cork boards with 3 matching fabric covered button tacks. {$12}

It's all about the finishing details. Small ribbon loop makes these ready to hang where ever you please!

And just because I can't resist, here is a little sneak peek of the upcoming holiday season. Lots of fun fall and holiday themed items will be headed to the booth starting September 1st.

holiday hoops, coming soon!

And as always, remember we LOVE to do custom work! If you see something you like, but want a different color, please feel free to email us at thegaragingmavens@gmail.com or message us on facebook via our page.

CUTE little things!

I love cute little things that you can put other things into, and so the moment I made one of these little heart coin purses, I knew I was hooked!

 

 

 

 





 

This is just a little sample, but a whole bunch of them are heading to the store next week! Perfect for little girls or ladies like me who just love cute little things!

 

 

till next time...........Penny

Organizing MUST be cute......continued!

Okay so its been a week since I got that cute HUGE frame to use as an idea/to do board and I'm just too excited to contain! I spent all week looking for the perfect paint, and I think I finally found it.  Here is my inspiration color that I was trying to match.....
 

 

See the vase? It is the perfect color to go against my Sea Foam green wall!! The only problem? I went through a cherry red before I got to this color and so we actually ended up painting it twice....once with the "almost right" color and once with the "perfect right" color!! It is Valspar red from Lowes and it is aaaaaammmmazzzing!!!!!

 

Just a reminder, here is the before....

 

And here is the after.....

 

 

I'm sooooo happy with the way it turned out! Now to figure out what I am going to do with the center! It seems big metal pieces at the hardware store are quite pricey, so I will have to get creative for sure!

But for now, I am just enjoying the color and I will think about the rest tomorrow!

 

 

till next time..........Penny :) 

 

 

 

Organizing MUST be cute!

Surely I can't be the only one that thinks this way..... If I "have" to be organized, then I must have it also look as cute as possible! The fact is I have a smart phone, I have an Ipad, I have a computer BUT nothing touches my visual senses more than a cutsie tootsie frame that is ready to be transformed into my dream idea and to do board! One of my very best friends (and business partner) eh hem Shellie gave me the huge frame to make my dream happen! I plan to paint the frame a coral red color so it really pops off the wall (thank you Shannon for a great idea) and then fabric cover a metal board and attach it! And then this monster can be the best organization tool my studio will ever have! 

I'll make sure and post the progress, but I can say that this will be one project that won't sit around for very long unfinished!!!

till next time.........Penny :)