Girly Floof and Fluff..

FINALLY got bit by the crafting bugs again.

I was thinking about my Lil Chick and there is no reason why I can't come up with some sassy head decor for her. Ya know, hair clips, headbands, the normal floof and fluff that comes with a little girl.

I'm back to rolling flowers! It's a GREAT way to use up your odds and ends just can't quite throw it out fabric stash. So far we have a mini flower garden blooming:

...yet with all those flowers I've only managed to put together ONE lil doodad for Lil Chick:

Goodness gracious, I'd better get back to it!

Sorry for the blah pics. Guess what!? It's dull and overcast and raining! I'm, like, SO surprised, like for sure!! (insert Valley Girl hair toss)

A

C'mon over and CHAT a bit...

Sassy Aprons in the Shop....

First of all, if you are reading this in a reader, c'mon over and see my new blog outfit. I got WAY too sick of boring gray and white and needed some COLOR in my blog life. Check er out.

Alrighty, you asked for em!

First of hopefully many sassified aprons for sale in the Vintage Dutch Girl Etsy Shop:



SUPER fun to make! Not sure I'd get a lot of actual cooking done while wearing this one...probably just stand around with a wooden spoon lookin purty and eating a chocolate lava cake.

Ya know, being a good hostess and all...

Amanda

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Retro Polka Dot Apron...

I have a THING for the red and teal/aqua color combo....and I have a THING for polka dots....and I have a THING for ruffles...and I have a THING for fabric flowers...and I have a THING for retro inspired clothing.

Put all those together and you get:



Yup! Finally finished my apron that I started back on Sassy Apron Sewing Sister (errr) Day!

I am in love. I may have to wear it non stop for the next few weeks. Praise team Sunday will be interesting. Doesn't really help with the whole, "keep attention off yourself" mantra that I try to repeat when choosing my outfit on those Sundays.

But I can wear it when driving to church!

Now THESE are what I call ruffles:



Fabric flowers? Yes please:



Now, to figure out what to actually COOK for dinner while wearing my sassy retro apron...

A


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Sassy Apron Sewing Sister (errr) Day....

My brother and sister-in-law were visiting all last week. The girls decided to get together to do a sewing project.

AKA: Sassy Apron Sewing Sister (errrr)Day! SASSeD! (thanks Amy ;)

Pretty sure the serger was smoking. Lot's of bright coordinating print fabrics and some DELISH margaritas. LOVED it. Not sure I sewed straight lines but loved it nonetheless!

So far what we've come up with is:

One sweetheart neckline mod floral print:



And one super sassy apron with fabric flower detail and tiered ruffles:



And.....that's it so far.

Of course, I have yet to finish my own apron and my Mama's, but I'm really close. Here's a teaser pic of the fabrics that I currently have piled on my sewing table:



Oh yes, there is a retro 50's theme going on!

Can't wait to show you all the finished products! Hopefully I'll escape to my sewing room for a bit today to get them completed. Once my apron is done I'll be able to flit around my kitchen cooking up a storm in my sassy apron. I'm convinced it will make my cooking taste better. Or maybe it will distract people enough they won't even be able to taste what I've made. They'll be too busy looking at the accent colored rolled edges on the ruffles to notice. My evil plan is working!(enter sinister laugh.)

What about you, would you wear a sassy apron in the kitchen?

Amanda

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BACK. IN. STOCK...

SO very excited to have the popular, previously sold out, brown and tan woven plaid infinity scarf BACK IN STOCK:



This scarf was featured in an Etsy Finds Email for gift ideas for men or women and was completely sold out (including backstock!) within three hours of the email being sent out.



With the many many requests of "Are you going to have this scarf back in stock?" still in my convo inbox I was giddy to find more of this FAB fabric today.



I also scored these four previously sold out scarf fabrics! Wahoo, BACK. IN. STOCK.

Large square lumberjack plaid:


Multicolored Argyle flannel:


And multicolored Argyle print on a chocolate brown fleece:


And the fun Sherbet Plaid fleece:


Oh yes, my shopping cart was jammed so full of bolts of fabric I couldn't see over it...and nearly knocked down a few diplays on the trek to the cutting counter. However, it worth the strange looks and raised eyebrows!

Does anyone like Polka dots? Or Houndstooth? How bout versatile black and white? Stay tuned for more springweight infinity loop scarves coming soon...

A

***SERIOUSLY? New posts in my Facebook news feed? That's R.A.D.... A Really Awesome Discovery ***

Jewel Tones...

As a very very dark brunette, my best complimentary colors are those in saturated shades. No light peach for me.

I was browsing online (yes, again. Anything to avoid laundry) and found a few SERIOUSLY drool worthy jewel toned items.

Not a big shock, but I love this deep teal. A great outfit base that you can add funky jewelry, patterned shoes or a sassy cardi or scarf and good to go. I'm thinking tall brown cowboy-esque heeled boots and a wide brown belt - a sexy YEEHAW!!! :

(Modcloth)

A. Dorable and great for those of us are pear shaped. Just needs red high heels:

Yes, you heard what I said. Red and purple? Uh-huh. Be daring.
(Modcloth. Again)

This piece doesn't need an intro:

(Of course, Modcloth)

And lastly, these made me gasp. Out loud. Guess that would be GOL. Yep, I'd wear these sassy red boots to Church, wouldn't you?:

(You should know by now where to find these)

Drooling yet? I am. Cause I can't justify $218.99 on one pair of boots. Y'all know how cheap and thrifty I am. But DANG those boots are cute.

Amanda

***Say WHAT? New posts added to my Facebook activity feed? Shut the front door! ***

Nautical Stripes...

NY Fashion Week showed Nautical inspired wear is back! I LOVE this type of clothing. Simple, clean cut lines, casual yet preppy dresses, All American colors (Red White and Blue!), and STRIPES. I LOVE me some STRIPES. However, you and I both know how stripes can look on a person.

WIDE horizontal stripes across a (*Ahem*Postpartum x2) belly? Forget it.
TINY horizontal stripes?? A bit better.
Vertical stripes? Acceptable.
Cleverly placed slimming asymmetrical stripes? AWESOME! I would classify it as the optimal clothing optical illusion.

Stripe Example #1:


Hello slenderization! The angles will accent your lower ribcage (smallest part of the torso) and the layers across the (*Ahem*Postpartum x2) belly are pure disguising brilliance. Just add cute jeans, a pop of color in accessories, flower pins, or shoes and good to go.

Example #2:

Tiny ticking-esque vertical stripes? Winner! I don't know about you but I LOVE the bow....which makes this skirt: Winner Winner Chicken Dinner.

Example #3:


As the national spokewoman for Females Who Are Pear Shaped (FWAPS!), I heartily recommend this dress. Emphasize the upper twins, de-emphasize the lower twins. YouknowwhatImean.

Example #4:


Same logic as #3. Hello comfortable. Summer chic anyone?

Not on my recommendations list (Horizontal stripes on small fitted shorts? NO) but I have just one question:



Why do her ta-ta's have wings?

Happy stripes shopping!

Amanda

(All clothing from Modcloth.com)

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Changing Lives, One Flat Iron At A Time...

Raise your hand if you own a flat iron/hair straightener.

Raise you other hand if your flat iron has so much baked on hair stylin' crud you are embarrased to call it yours.

Dont'cha just hate it when your hair straightener shreds and damages your hair? Me too. I have a good four years of hair junk built up on it. So much junk that I was shopping for the best deal on CHI flatirons. Cause they are the best...and I have LOVED my Chi. Until the baked on crud started to affect my mental state.

Girlfriends, I'm about to change your life.

I googled every possible way to safely clean your ceramic flatiron.

So far over the past few months I've tried:

* Washcloth with water and scrubbing flat iron while hot. Lots of steam but no crud-clearing.
* Washcloth with hand soap and water- nada
* Washcloth with shampoo and water-mininal help. My fingers cramped up after a 1/2 hour.
* Qtip with rubbing alcohol- nada
* Qtip with non acetone nail polish remover- nada
* Picking off junk with my fingernail - some help but I put a tiny chip in one section of the ceramic plates - Not good. Not recommended.
* Yelling - nada...but I swear that thing smirked at me.
* Smashing again the counter - once again, not recommended

I'm lying in bed trying to fall asleep and I get one of those bright shiny light bulb AHA! moments. Lay in bed, try to ignore the brilliance of the idea and fall asleep. After all, it IS after midnight and the kids will be up poking my eyeballs at 6 AM.

Doesn't work. Mind is whirling.

Finally sneak outta bed and try my idea out.

Schneikees it WORKS! My going on FOUR year old CHI looks brand-spankin NEW. No joke.

(Well, except for that little aforementioned chip I inflicted.)

Any guesses to what I did?

Two words:

MAGIC ERASER.

Thank you, Mr. Clean, for once again bringing your A game to the VintageDutchGirl household. Extremely pleased with eraser performance and will definitely be using again in the near future. Thank you for not damaging my wonderful Chi flat iron in the cleaning process.

Only problem is, it's 1 AM and no one to call and celebrate with. Ah well, that's what a BLOG is for, right?! To take one simple little thing and turn it into a full blown conversation.

Alrighty ladies, get scrubbin those flat-irons! Let me know if it worked for ya!

Off to find warm milk and maybe some soothing, sleep inducing chocolate chip cookies...

A


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*I have been in no way endorsed or compensated for this post by Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Which is too bad, because I'd make an EXCELLENT spokeswoman. I have LOTS to clean*

More Infinity Scarfyness...

I've been CA-RAZY busy whipping some delicious scarves together to get the Vintage Dutch Girl Etsy shop ready for the holiday season.

Oh, you wanna see some? OK, here you go:

A funky and fun Argyle Flannel infinity scarf:



A sassy Zebra flannel infinity scarf:



For those who don't like a colorful scarf or loud pattern, a SUPER Cozy ivory infinity scarf made of sweatshirt material. This scarf is C.O.Z. Y. I made one just for me!



A chic Brown and Tan Plaid Infinity scarf:



Ahhh, so much fun! Stay tuned, I've got at least six more coming in the very near future.

And because I love my readers so very stinkin much, you'll get a coupon code for a discount on Black Friday through Cyber Monday!

OK, the snow is really coming down here, I think I'll wrap my cozy sweatshirt scarf around my neck and grab a cup of white peppermint hot chocolate to stay warm!

A

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Ruffly Winter White Prettiness...

My newest creation for the Vintage Dutch Girl Etsy shop is a delicious ruffled winter white infinity scarf:



AKA: What I do instead of Laundry.

A

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RePurposing Bubbalu's Button-up Shirt For Lil Chick....

I LOVE little boy button-up collared shirts. I have Bubbalu in one almost every Sunday and a few days of the week too. It never fails to make me smile. They make him look like such a cute lil man!

I'm also digging the whole Women's boyfriend shirt thang:


Urban Outfitters


American Eagle


Nordy's

Being that I have a ton of these button-ups of Bubbalu's and this fun women's wear trend....you can pretty much guess what I did, right?

In order for Lil Chick to wear these hand me down shirts of her older brother, they needed some tweaking and embellishing. Some Sassifying, if you will.

First of all, I wanted them to fit her in a bit more feminine style. Most boy shirts are extremely boxy and unshapely. I could have taken in the sides but really didn't feel like measuring and all that jazz. Because I'm slightly lazy.

Enter elastic thread. LOVE THIS STUFF. Use elastic thread in replacement of your bobbin thread and you will have lovely gathered, flexible, fabric scrunching. It's delicious.

Mark off a centered rectangle section on the back of the shirt at the approximate waist area:



Replace your bobbin thread with elastic thread and start sewing.Making sure you bobbin will sew on the UNDERSIDE of the shirt, start on one corner of your marked rectangle and, backtacking first, sew a straight line the entire long side of the rectangle:



When you reach the end of your marked section you'll need to sew a hairpin turn and then sew across making a second line. CLEAR AS MUD?? OK, I'll draw you a picture to show you what I mean:

Start sewing at the red star, end at the green star. VOILA.

You'll end up with a gathered section that looks like this underneath:



That's ALL I DID. Threw it on Lil Chick and snapped some pics.

See how the gathered section adds a girly touch?



Of course I HAD to give her a flower pin:


(Yes, she DOES have two piggy tails, one is just hiding. I'm not trying a new hair fad on her)

This shirt looks great on her with jeans, or leggings and sparkly flats. Love that I can easily repurpose Bubbalu's old shirts into something fun and sassy for my little lady...without spending a cent.

I'm off to sassify some more button-down shirts...

A

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Linking up to these FAB crafty parties:

New Plaid Flannel Scarves...

In honor of Plaid Flannel Party week....and to reduce my sizable plaid flannel stash, I came up with some new scarves for the Vintage Dutch Girl ETSY shop.

First up, another Wide Ruffle Edge Scarf in Red and Black Plaid on sale for $15:



Remember the original Wide Ruffle Pink Plaid Flannel Scarf? Yup, I've got another one available:



Next I created some infinity scarves. You know, the ones you loop twice around your neck and they STAY THERE. Yup, no long ends that flap in the breeze and swat you in the face (no offense to Mrs. Ruffliscious up there). These are EVERYWHERE right now. Super stylish and easy to wear.

I made some for myself as well as the Etsy shop and am LOVING them. Super cozy and easily added to sass up a boring outfit....because I tend to dress rather blah monochromatic.

First up was a delicious Chocolate brown, Cream and Burnt Orange Plaid Flannel Infinity Scarf. Of course, I added a flower pin, I HAVE to. It's a rule around here. This $20 scarf includes a removable Vintagey lace flower pin:



Our little family at the pumpkin patch this year. It's hard to see but I'm wearing my infinity scarf that matches the one above:



I found this charcoal, yellow and cream plaid flannel and fell in L.O.V.E. So, what did I do? Bought 7 yards. Cause I'm silly like that. Good for you though, plenty of fabric to make a delicious Charcoal, Yellow and Cream Plaid Flannel Infinity Scarf. This one is only $15, perfect for chilly Fall and Winter mornings running the kiddo over to preschool:



Guess what? That charcoal plaid shown above that I LOVE? Well, it came in red too.

Uh oh.

Yep. LOTS more yards of Plaid Flannel fabric to turn into scarves. A Charcoal, Red and Cream Plaid Flannel Infinity Scarf with a removable coordinating deep red sheer flower pin for $20:



Think how lovely your girlfriend, sister, mother, aunt, daughter and granddaughter will look wearing one of these. A handmade scarf is a delicious surprise to open on Christmas morning!

OK, OK... you could just get one for yourself :)

Have a happy chilly fall day! I'll be busy trying to figure out how to continue decreasing my Plaid Flannel Stash and listening to my Glee playlist and wishing there was a Glee club here in my town that I could join. I'm no Lea Michelle but I do love me some singing...

A

p.s. The Plaid Flannel link up party is cancelled for tomorrow. Let's see if I can get my act together for November. There's always hope, right? Yay optimism :)

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