a bit of a backstory...

okay, so who is themerryhomemaker and what is mix? long story short(ish), about two years ago i started selling on etsy.com. {i love etsy!} after buying on etsy for a few years, i took the plunge and opened our childrens shop FlutterBerryStudio.etsy.com! we make items for tea time, play time, party time and baby time. i say 'we' because for about a year now my mom and sister have joined in on the fun by filling orders, helping me come up with new products, shipping and so on.

here are some of the products that we enjoy making and have offered on flutterberry...

 i say 'i took the plunge' but really i struggled with the shops concept, name {my daughter helped me with the name} and the items i wanted to sell on it for almost a year before i actually decided to go forward with the venture. about two months after making it official with flutterberry, the idea of themerryhomemaker.etsy.com literally just popped into my head! clear as day was the concept, the name and the goodies i wanted to sell in my shop. the two words 'retro red'  became a bit of an obsession. i like to think it was kind of gift from my grandma jo who has passed and whom i love and miss very much. that night i opened the shop and within a few weeks i made my first sale. 

i sell handmade, vintage and repurposed housewares like these..

merry little housewares that i could imagine a 1950's homemaker would want to use in her clean and tidy kitchen. p.s. i am NOT themerryhomemaker. my kitchen is rarely tidy! though it is filled with vintage Pyrex, fun mason/ball jars and cute towels like i am sure themerryhomemaker has in her well organized cooking spot!

i found this fun little retro baker graphic from karen at thegraphicsfairy.blogspot.com. take note of her fun little hand held mixer ;)

there is the story behind themerryhomemaker. now for mix...

mix is the store front and creative work studio for our etsy shops! can you belive it?! we went brick and mortar! my mom and my sister AND i have moved the crowded work/shipping spaces OUT of our homes into a new space! the masses of fabric, product and other supplies for our etsy shops went along as well. they are right at home living in our shop that is housed in an old brick building on the main steet of my little oregon town. the building was built in 1912 as a bank! and yes, the vault is still there! we use it for our kid's playroom! lol!

when we moved our supplies, we also started selling them to all of our local friends and of course on etsy. we offer quilt quality bright, playful cottons that all have a hint of vintage/retro fun to them from companies by riley blake and lakehouse dry goods.

we are having fun decorating mix in the same way. bright and playful with lots of vintagey, retro touches. many of grandma jo's knick knacks and such live there, which makes us feel comfy and cozy in our new space. here is a little sneak peak of it. with more to come soon, i promise!

wishing you many merry hours of sewing, crafting and vintage fun finding!

til we meet again! ~alanna

a little needle keep...

so with all of the fun hexie projects that i have been seeing from my fav quilters, crafters and sewists, i felt it was time to try hexies for myself! i ordered some paper hexies from amy over at pinkedfabrics.etsy.com and have been slightly obsessed ever since! i love to work on them and i swear hand stitching lowers blood pressure and is a great way to relax!

here are some of the 1/2" hexies i have been working on. you will be seeing more them in a future posting ;). i keep all my supplies in a little cookie tin that is easy to carry around and closes really, really tight so my curious 4yr old can't get into it and darn it if i don't lose my needle like every time! there is nothing worse then looking forward to relaxing with some sewing, finding that comfy spot you plan on nestling in for the next hour or so, pulling out that pretty fabric you've been thinking about all day and grrrr.... where is my needle?! so irritating right?! it was time for a needle keep for my hexie box. luckily i have been waiting for a project to use some aqua felt that i have been stashing for sometime. i ordered from my fav felt supplier Margaret at ILOVEfelt888.etsy.com. she ships from Taiwan and it is sooo worth the wait!

the aqua and polka dots make he so happy! it is premium felt that is great to work with. we use it time and time again for our tea time strawberries for our childrens etsy shop. another sweet little thing i have been itching to use for a project is this cotton tape from Riley Blake.

 i also have a friend, Sandy, who crochets the cutest appliques out of embroidery floss for our shop and i knew i wanted to include one of her creations.  

 see? aren't they cute?! she has a lot of fun making them and you can find them and the Riley Blake cotton tape here in my merry little fabric shop mixfabrics.etsy.com.

i didn't have a pattern or anything, i just took out my scalloped pinking shears and started playing. i also have pinterest board where i pin needle keeps so i have been getting lots and lots of inspiration from there too. after about an hour of cutting, rearranging and checking in with my sister and mom for their opinions, this is what i came up with.

what do you think? i will officially have a better time with my hexies now. plus it was fun using some of my crafty stash. it is always nice to take some time out of the day and get creative. and yes, my new little needle keep is feeling right at home in my hexie tin!

til next time! ~alanna

a beginning...

pip pip hurray! pip pip hurray! i finally began my blog today! call me 'bloggy naive' but i had no idea that there were blogs dedicated to quilting, crafting, thifting and sewing until about 2 years ago, around the same time i discovered the totally addictive world of Pinterest. wow! had i been missing out! so many inspiring and beautiful blogs and bloggers sharing such wonderful things! i am excited to join in and share all the things that make me 'merry'...

fresh, bright fabrics...

playful vintage wares...

 sweet handmades...

and vintage sheets!

lots and lots...

of sugarsweet vintage sheets!

 

til we meet again!

~alanna