New Neutrals: Creamy Off-White and Subtle Striped Shimmer Light Gray...

Two new scarves listed today in the Vintage Dutch Girl Etsy shop: neutrals!

A creamy off-white smooth heavier knit blend infinity scarf found HERE.

And a subtle striped lightweight heathered gray infinity scarf with a hint of shimmer found HERE.

Happy scarf shopping!


-Amanda - Vintage Dutch Girl

Mustard Yellow Love...

Mustard Yellow Love... by VintageDutchgGirl

Playing in my virtual closet again! This time a warm winter outfit with mustard yellow accent colors. This outfit features the Vintage Dutch Girl Mustard fleece infinity scarf:

A great scarf for super cold climates. We are at 23 degrees today at 8:10 AM and I am hoping for snow for Christmas this year.  It doesn't happen every year so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!


Amanda - Vintage Dutch Girl

Come, Ye Thankful People, Come Free Thanksgiving Print...

There's just something about old hymns that resonate within my soul.  I think it's because I feel connected to the church of the ages, all those Christians who have gone on before us.  I think about multiple generations of my family who must have sang this hymn every Thanksgiving.

I've decided I need more hymns in my life. Not just SINGING them, but reading the rich words.

I have another printable for you! This .png printable is free for personal use only.  It is a full (no white frame edge) 8x10. Just right click, save and print.

I pray you and yours are having a wonderful Thanksgiving season!

Blessings,

Amanda - Vintage Dutch Girl

Sparkly Chiffon Circle Twirl Skirts...

I sewed an elastic waist chiffon sparkly circle skirt for my Lil Chick to wear for her garden fairy costume.  Oh what fun she has had twirling around and around!
Circle skirts are so much fun and once you figure out your measurements it's a cinch!  I followed the tutorial at Ikatbag.com. It is complete with good directions, diagrams, and a template.

Also, I have been overly enjoying tagging anything I sew with my new woven labels. (See above in the bottom right photo.)  After working really hard on a project: seam ripping errant threads, remeasuring, fitting, taking in, letting out, trimming etc...it feels like such an accomplishment to tack that label on!   I love them!

Happy Costume sewing! I better get going, I still need to finish a bat costume for Bubbalu!

Amanda - Vintage Dutch Girl

Travel Trailer Makeover, Part 9: Bunk Beds and Windows

Pigs are flying, we finally made it to Part 9 of the Travel Trailer Makeover Series: the Bunk Beds and Windows!

I really decided to abandon the idea of color matching the entire trailer and instead customized the bunks to each kiddo.  Here is what the trailer bunks looked like right from the dealership:

Rather boring, pretty dull. Ruffly curtain in hunter green leaf patter...well. I WANTED to burn it but kept it for possible future resale purposes.

There was too much beige going on in those bunks. I like COLOR.  Back to fabric shopping! I still used premier prints fabric because I LOVE it. I had a few ideas of fabric patterns and combinations but let each kid pick their color and pattern.

Bubbalu chose a navy and orange chevron and coordinating stripes print, Lil Chick picked chocolate brown and light pink elephants and a coordinating polka dots print:

Yeah. Those don't really match. At all. Oh well! It's COLOR.

Also, I decided that in order for me to be able to get away with sneaking into the kitchen area of the trailer at night and eating chocolate necessitated some sort of privacy screen or curtain.

I used a tension rod and these little stick and screw on holders designed for shower curtain rods to hang a polka dot curtain:

I made a tie-back thingy out of the chevron multicolor fabric and velcro, then just screwed it into the side of the bunk bed. Is this a permanent fixture? With my kids? Probably not. How do I know this? Because they have already hung on the curtain and pulled it down.

Twice.

So, the picture above is ALMOST the same, just imagine that the curtain tension rod has a large dent in and is no longer straight. Then yes, it's the same.

For Bubbalu's bunk I make him reversible curtains and valance so that I can change it out if I ever feel like it...and bonus, I didn't think about or notice it until after I was done with the redo but you can see them from the outside and they are cute!

Lil Chick got pink, pink and some more pink.  And some chocolate brown. And polka dots. And cute elephants. Same deal as Bubbalu, reversible everything:

I also decided to do sheets and blanket instead of sleeping bags because I envisioned kids wiggling during sleep and those slippery sleeping bags sliding off the bunks onto the floor with the kiddos in them! So. I cut down sheets and made a custom bunk sized fitted bottom sheet and top sheet with a fitted end (so it would NOT pull out of the bottom).

I was out shopping for trailer stuff and saw the madras plaid and the pink and brown polka dot blanket and pillowcase sets on super clearance!  WITH an extra % off coupon....Score!! I was shocked - Lil Chick's blanket is a PERFECT match color and polka dot size/spacing! I was so excited!

I'm thrilled with the infusion of color and each kiddo feels like they have their own special space.  Add in some tote bins in the very back of the bunks and you have a mini playroom as well! The kids LOVE playing or reading in their bunks. And Mama gets to sneak chocolate late at night. Everyone is happy happy happy! :)

So, here is the official Before and After shot of the bunk bed portion of my Travel Trailer Makeover:

I think this is the last tutorial/talk through of the Travel Trailer Makeover series! Goodness gracious it only took me like 14 months to do 9 posts! Yay me! I should get a bloggy professional procrastinator award or something.

Maybe I can make it an even 10 and do the full trailer walk-through. Yep. I'll do that. In a few months or so.

THANK YOU for joining me on my Travel Trailer Makeover Series! I hope you have been inspired to add a little sass and custom style and COLOR into your travel trailer or RV!

Amanda - Vintage Dutch Girl


Check out all the posts from this Travel Trailer Makeover Series!

• Part 1: A sassified Shower Curtain

• Part 2: The "before I tore everything apart" Tour
• Part 3: Bright Bold and Beautiful Fabrics
• Part 4: Wallpaper removal, A Dismantled Trailer and New Side Curtains  
• Part 5: Cornici Recoving! 
• Part 6: Dinette Cushions Madeover!
• Part 7: Couch Slipcover
• Part 8: Master Bedroom and Privacy Curtains
• Part 9: Bunk Beds and Windows 

HUGE Etsy sale milestone...and a Gray Chevron Infinity Scarf Giveaway!

A ginormous THANK YOU to all my fabulous wonderful loyal customers to the Vintage Dutch Girl Etsy shop! The shop hit it's 3,000th sale yesterday and I am overwhelmed!

THANK YOU for allowing this Mama to fuel her creative fire, avoid housework, and visit her therapist (sewing machine) on a daily basis!

Blessings to you all and from the bottom of my heart THANK YOU!

 And you know what?

 "Milestones" translates in Amanda-speak to: GIVEAWAYS!

Yep, there is a giveaway going on over at the Vintage Dutch Girl Facebook Page! Go on over HERE and enter to win! Also, a coupon code for 15% off your next purchase at the shop will be sent out after the giveaway has ended to all entrants.

Go over! Enter! It's FREE to win! :)

Hmmmm. Have I given you the link yet? 

Oh yeah, it's

HERE!

Amanda - Vintage Dutch Girl

Feather Print Infinity Scarf

I am LOVING my new feather print infinity scarf!  Awesome jewel tones with pops of bright colors perfect for matching and coordinating with fall colors...and I love jewel tones. They go with my coloring very well. Pastels? Mustard? Oh no. I look HORRID. But saturated deep teals, oranges, greens, blues? Oh yes.

And now that the weather has turned chilly I am wearing jeans, one of my infintiy scarves, and a cardigan nearly every day! Here is the latest outfit design board I created using the Feather Print infinity scarf:

Find more outfit ideas on my Stylin' board over on Pinterest:


And oh yes, you can purchase your own Feather Print Infinity Scarf in the Vintage Dutch Girl shop here by clicking on the photo:

Happy Fall!

Amanda- Vintage Dutch Girl

Pumpkin Madness...

After spending WAY too much money on pumpkins last fall I decided I should try to grow them myself this year.  My parents have a lot that they will be building a new house on later this year and have a huge garden and extra space.  In exchange for weeding they said I could plant pumpkin starts. Sweet!  I planted two varieties: Jack o Lantern and Pumpkin Pie.

Well:

We had PERFECT growing conditions this summer: Super warm, humid, just enough rain...and lots of fertilizer. We were so excited to see our efforts rewarded with a large amount of perfect pumpkins! It was SO fun to go and harvest a bunch of them and decorate my front porch.

Lil Chick and Mama:

Easiest way to move a large amount of small to mid size pumpkins? Tossing them :)

Yep, filled the back of the car!
 

YES we plan to carve some of the big ones in a few weeks....YES I plan to roast some of the pie pumpkins and freeze the filling (no canned pumpkin needed here!)....and YES I like my front porch looking like a pumpkin patch advertisement.
 

I think I shall make some more of those Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies I've fallen in love with and make every autumn. Recipe is HERE.

I LOVE pumpkins!
 

Happy Fall Y'all!

Amanda - Vintage Dutch Girl

Happy Fall Y'all! Free Printable...

As of this past Sunday it is officially FALL!

I love the colder nights and the foggy mornings. And of course the cozy clothes: Scarves, boots, sweaters.

And pumpkins. I have a THING for pumpkins :)

I made up a fun free printable for you today! It is a square but could be cropped to your desired frame size.

Enjoy!

Right click to download and save. Enjoy!

Amanda- Vintage Dutch Girl

Travel Trailer Makeover, Part 8: Master Bedroom and Privacy Curtains...

We have, er HAD, two ceiling to floor plain dark beige curtains instead of doors to separate and give privacy to the queen bed area from the main part of the trailer:

Just like the shower curtain project, they are attached at the top with glide tracks and glide tape sewn to the top edge of the fabric.

Glide tape is flexible plastic strips with little clips every 6 inches or so:

So, I pulled out the fabric and got to work.  The curtains were simple to design, just rectangles with hemmed edges.  I just copied the original beige curtain measurements. Actually, I added in more yardage width wise so it hung nicer and not so stretched flat.

For attaching the glide tape: Using a zipper foot on your sewing machine, set your (hefty upholstery size) needle to a side position:

and sew along the top and bottom of the plastic glide tape strip directly onto the top inside of your fabric:

Aaaaaaand.....Done!

I just snapped the holders into place along the glide strips. See how the extra yardage made those pretty ruffles? (Please don't tell my hubby I said "pretty" and "ruffles" to describe Lumi our trailer in any way shape or form.)

In order for the curtains to hang nicely I pulled a 'use what you have' trick and put fishing weighs in the corners of the curtains and safety pinned them into place:

The previous velcro tie backs were fixed to the wall with a special screw so I just replaced the blah fabric with chocolate brown, the same fabric that I used to recover the valances. (See valance project HERE.)

Add to that a new mattress (yeah, um, the trailer came with a 4 inch thick "mattress" to sleep on. Nope. Nada. Not happening. We spend A LOT of time camping.) and new bedding and the master bedroom area is looking very nice! Ahhh, it felt good to see nice fun colors and have the trailer looking more like us!

And if "by us" that means a wild and crazy mix that happens to blend, then YES, it looks more like us :)

Reminder of what this space looked like: Bedroom and side curtains BEFORE:

And now: Bedroom and side curtains after!

Next will be the last post in this series: the Bunk Beds! Oooh my FAVE part of this project!


Amanda - Vintage Dutch Girl



 Check out all the posts from this Travel Trailer Makeover Series!

• Part 1: A sassified Shower Curtain

• Part 2: The "before I tore everything apart" Tour
• Part 3: Bright Bold and Beautiful Fabrics
• Part 4: Wallpaper removal, A Dismantled Trailer and New Side Curtains  
• Part 5: Cornici Recoving! 
• Part 6: Dinette Cushions Madeover!
• Part 7: Couch Slipcover
• Part 8: Master Bedroom and Privacy Curtains 
• Part 9: Bunk Beds and Windows

Tribal Infinity Scarf Shopper Outfit...

Tribal Infinity Scarf Shopper by VintageDutchGirl

Featuring the black tribal knit print infinity scarf found in the Vintage Dutch Girl Etsy shop HERE:

Amanda - Vintage Dutch Girl

 

Fall is coming! Mint and Orange outfit...

Featuring the Mint green/Aqua and orange floral infinity scarf found here:

Amanda - Vintage Dutch Girl