New Product + Black Friday/Small Business Saturday/Cyber Monday Sale!

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First off, thank you all who left comments here and on facebook about the new web site! What an encouragement each of you are!

As promised, I’m back with a new product to launch just in time for the black friday + small business saturday + cyber monday shopping-fest that is this weekend!

Introducing…

I made these for us (I was going to make some last year, but was a little busy getting married and being on a honeymoon and all that bidness) and I decided to offer them to y’all, too! I wanted something classic, timeless and beautiful. No matter what color scheme we choose for the year (if it changes), these will still feel right at home. I designed my own pattern, so they’re pretty one-of-a-kind in my book! They’re made from natural linen and fully lined with 100% cotton. The large stocking is big enough to stuff full of goodies (measuring at approximately 18″ long and 6″ wide at the top opening), while the mini stocking is perfect for including the furry family members (be they human or animal, this will vary by family in your holiday mantlescape. You can choose from three different trims: double-layer lace, mini pompoms or large pompoms.

Mini stocking available here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/115783211/mini-natural-linen-stocking

Large stocking available here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/115782070/large-natural-linen-stocking

 

Now…about this sale…

Visit the shop here.

 

But most importantly, before any of this, please enjoy Thanksgiving wherever you are and whatever you’re doing. Stay safe and enjoy what you have!

 

P.S. I’m working on a few new things to add to the shop in form of camera straps and camera strap covers…if you’d be interested in one, tell me what your dream strap/strap cover would look like and how much you’d be willing to pay for it!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

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Finally…I was able to decorate for Christmas…my favorite time of the year! With the exception of my front door wreath, I don’t do much, if any, seasonal decorating. So, when Christmas rolls around, you know I’m on it the night of Thanksgiving and the day after! Last night we bought and decorated our Christmas tree (seriously hilarious timelapse video below) and today I crafted some finishing touches.

You’ve already seen the stockings I made earlier this week, but I also made the tissue paper tassel garland hanging above them. I participated in a local handmade swap put on by The Red Barn Outdoor Market (a.k.a. my sister)–there were six women in my group, so we each are making handmade gifts for the other five women and getting a gift back from them! These were inexpensive, but time consuming! So of course I made one for myself.

I knew I wanted to make another garland, so when I saw this post on Elsie Marley, and remembered I had tons of striped gray & white straws that had been cut in half leftover from our wedding, AND that I already had chunky red yarn  to make giant pompoms with…

…it wasn’t long until I had this adorable garland draped across the mirror in my entryway!

On Wednesday, I bought some glittery silver paper to make some pinwheels out of, so I got that done today, too! All of the glass bottles I already had there were the perfect place for them.

I mentioned above that the only thing I change out seasonally is my wreath; well, I actually use the same wreath, but buy different faux branches by season. Last winter, I had red berries, spring & summer, I had some small yellow flowers, fall, I had colorful leaves and berries and now these for this winter! I love it because I can have a “new” wreath every season for just a couple of dollars!

This arrangement is sitting on my dining room table. The red berries were leftover from my wreath last winter and I made the 3-dimensional cardboard stars last week out of cereal boxes.

 And FINALLY….the tree! Cowboy and I bought our tree last year on Thanksgiving night and wanted to continue that tradition, so after leaving my parents’ house, went home to get his truck and off we went to find a tree! We found a beautiful tree for $30 (!) and while he was slicing a layer off of the bottom of the trunk, I went inside to set up my camera and laptop to take a timelapse…and his brother showed up just in time to make it HILARIOUS. I think it’s partly so funny to me because I know these two so well and I was there, but I seriously die of laughter every time I watch it! So, if you don’t enjoy it, that’s OK…I’ve probably laughed enough for all of us.

Christmas Tree Timelapse 2012 from Alina Strain on Vimeo.

Are you guys decorating for Christmas, or do you wait just a little bit longer?

How to: Paint a Herringbone Pattern

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First of all, I’m sure there are hundred of tutorials on this very thing and many of you will scoff at the fact that I even took the time to write this out because OBVIOUSLY you already know how to do this. Wellll….I wrote it anyway. While sorting through before-and-after pictures of furniture I have re-done (for the upholstery & sewing services page!), I realized I had taken photos of my herringbone dresser during the painting process, but never had time to share. So, since I already have the photos, I’m writing the tutorial. I hope it’s helpful!

Let’s back up…some of you may remember the red dresser with hand-painted herringbone drawers I did back in April for The Red Barn Outdoor Market. Some of you might be newer than that. So, here she is…seriously one of my favorite pieces! It sold to a lady who was putting it in her son’s nursery, which makes it that much easier to let go of!

And this is what she looked like when I picked her up…

Not pretty, but she had good bones! So, I sanded her down and painted her red (with a coat of mint green underneath to peek through!). Unfortunately (or so I thought at the time) there was some graffiti in the bottom of one of the drawers, all done in permanent marker, and even three coats of Kilz Stain Blocker wasn’t doing the trick. So, I decided to camouflage it and really go the extra mile on the drawers! I thought about doing a chevron, but wasn’t sure if customers would be completely tired and over it, so I decided to go slightly different and do herringbone.

I sort of made it up as I went, but it worked well, so here’s how I did it!

1. Choose your two colors. In my case, I wanted white and gray, so I painted the bottoms and sides in white.
   
2. Decide how big you want your pattern to be. In my case, I made wanted the colors to alternate every 2 inches from top to bottom and every 4 inches from side-to-side. So, I measured out my pattern, marking every four inches on the top and bottom. Because I wanted to paint on one side of the tape first, I didn’t center my tape on the lines every four inches, but rather placed my tape to one side. It will look uneven! The concept is the same as if you were painting stripes on a wall. Once those “vertical” pieces of tape were in place, I marked every two inches down the side of the tape where I would be painting the herringbone. I then took smaller pieces of tape and placed them on a diagonal from one mark on the left to the next 2-inch mark below on the right Once I had everything taped off, I painted! It took two coats to get enough coverage, but I removed the pieces of tape while the second coat was wet and set them aside to reuse. You now have half of your herringbone!
   
3. Once the second coat is dry enough to place tape onto (I waited until the next day so I wouldn’t have to worry about pulling it up), repeat the process, filling in between the first round of diagonals. You’ll now want to make your diagonals go down from right to left, opposite of what you did the first time. And make sure you’re painting the “off” rows, otherwise you’ll end up with a chevron, which is fine, but definitely not a herringbone. Your tape should look like this before you paint:

And voilá! Does that make sense? It was a pretty “quick” process once I had done my math and figured out what I was doing, so you might just have to DO IT for it to make sense, but I hope this takes some of the guesswork out of it and provides some direction! Are you guys still loving chevron? After spending HOURS familiarizing myself with the construction of the herringbone, I feel a certain attachment to it, but it’s definitely not caught on in the fabric world (which, obviously is the main medium I’ve been working with lately). Well, I should clarify that I haven’t found any modern takes on the herringbone. Always a classic, I suppose.

Grandma's Mustache In Wedding Photos

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Photo and tutorial at Etsy Weddings Stories and Advice Do you love this idea? Originally from Paper + Craft, a great book available on Amazon or from your local independent bookseller, it was published online on Etsy's link (see below the photo).  Can't you just see the great photos of you and your groom? Not to mention your guests and grandmothers! Add lots of fun to your wedding without adding a lot of cost. You can make these yourself and just add them to your drinks! This one is perfect for pink lemonade! Get some great color straws and get to work! Click the Etsy link to get the tutorial.  Go and pick up your copy of Paper + Craft by Paper+cup Designs, Minhee Cho at your local independent bookseller or order from Amazon. Your independent may not have it in stock but they can order it for you and you'll be supporting your local economy.

A Smart Bride's Way To DIY

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DIY Butterfly Cloche courtesy of Country Living Magazine Have you considered making centerpieces out of glass for your wedding day? The Butterfly Cloche above from Country Living Magazine would make a great highlight for a wedding featuring butterflies or nature themes. For the tutorial (and other great craft ideas) go to Country Living Magazine.  Mini dome DIY project from Country Living Magazine No bride wants to get so bogged down in a diy project that her wedding planning starts to become work. For a bride planning a DIY wedding, choosing extremely difficult or time consuming projects takes away the fun factor!  If you are looking for a less formal look, try these mini domes. They are made using glasses (turned upside down of course) with tiny keepsakes inside. Personalize your guests' wedding tables with 'a few of your favorite things.' To find the tutorial go to Country Living Magazine online. I love the personal look these give you. You don't have to use them for all the tables, but they would be cute added to your guest book table or other side table.  The best part of these DIY projects? They are rated EEEBCDI (easy enough even Bill can do it).  For those of you just starting to read my blog you may not realize I am not crafty, but my husband is worse. I mean he's great at some things, fixing things, putting things together, but not tiny little projects like this. So I test out the ease of the tutorial by having him try them out. If it's rated EEEBCDI, your groom should have no problem either, which makes these projects all the more fun. Or if you are all thumbs, they will be easy enough you can do them without the stress no bride to be needs during her wedding planning! Have fun, that's the whole point of this!  

Oh Hey, Internet....Didn't See You There (An Update)

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I suppose it would be a bit of an understatement to say I took a hiatus from blogging, unintended as it was. It doesn't feel like it's been four months, but time does seem to scurry on a little faster than normal with a baby. Speaking of, when we last left off, he was two months old.

And then he was three months...



And four months...



Then five...



And suddenly my little big boy was a whole half a year old. I got a little carried away with his monthly photos this time around...


I ditched the onesie and dressed him in the one adorable preppy outfit he has, fearing this would be the last time he'd fit in it and threw in a stylin' hand-me-down hat for good measure. And then somehow, inadvertently, he ended up looking like the lead singer of Fall Out Boy. Ah, well...

My husband and I also hit a milestone, as we celebrated two years of marriage earlier this month, though the way we spent our anniversary was curled up on the couch at my mom's house because we both caught a nasty stomach bug on the same day. What's worse that getting sick at the same time as your spouse? Doing so when you have a needy baby. Thus we ended up spending the night at my mom's, who graciously took point with Harrison and allowed Charles and I to be pitiful. A few days later we were feeling much better and we snapped this photo to document our 2nd Year:


Look at that hotness. :-D I'm hoping to make taking a family photo a yearly tradition for our anniversary so we can line 'em up and see how the family grows. Hopefully not width wise.

Luckily before the crazy sickness set in, we celebrated our anniversary a couple of days prior with brunch, general relaxing, and massages (in honor of the 2nd anniversary traditional gift: cotton - husband's idea!) while the grandparents watched our little man.


So basically it's been a busy couple of months for us...what about you?

Votin' time.

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Please Vote tees & totes by Baltimore Print Studios

We have about a month and a half to figure out which of these local & national dodo's we want as president/mayor/city council/senate/etc, and which pieces of legislation we want to push forward or push off a cliff.I won't tell you who to vote for but I will be perfectly frank about this:We live in a country in which, all complaints aside, we have a very unique and wonderful right to vote for who we want in these offices. As a woman, I know I wasn't handed this right, someone earned it for me. As a citizen, I take this right very seriously. So although I normally wear exclusively Red Prairie Press apparel, I'm willing to make one small exception around this time of year for a special clothing line, also made in the finest city in America (hint: in my opinion, that city starts with "B-a-l-t-i-m-o-r-e..." and ends with everyone cheering). In all seriousness, let's not take this great place for granted. Someone fought for our right to help decide our leaders, representatives, and guidelines. We ought to take that right and wear it proudly on our sleeves chests.

Apply to HOLIDAY HEAP '12

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It's been a very busy couple of weeks for us here at RPP. We had a great trip to Chicago last week, and almost immediately turned around and headed to NYC for a wedding and a consequential full-on family reunion in Brooklyn, where I confirmed I still have the most fun and lovable cousins in the world. We made it home in time to watch the Raven's lose an embarrassing game to the eagles, and then we slept like rocks last night. This week, we're into full on prep mode for the upcoming holiday season. Speaking of which:

Applications are officially open for Holiday Heap - a super cool craft fair in Baltimore that we help organize through the Charm City Craft Mafia each year. 60+ craft vendors from all over the country, food, music and good times. Always a great show, and a huge crowd shopping for the holidays. Plus, it's in the greatest city in America. You literally can't go wrong.Applications are due October 5th, but don't wait until the last minute to apply! CLICK HERE and do it today!

I hope you're having a fantastic start to autumn. It's my favorite time of year, and it's also a busy time for us, so I have to remember to stop and enjoy it from time to time. Hope you do lots of the same.