The Nifty Foodie's Life

After months of dreaming and hoping, I finally got the courage to open an Etsy shop.

It’s a huge leap for me. Just last November, my Mom was laughing at the fact that I couldn’t figure out how to thread my Singer. She forced me to sew a dishcloth after Thanksgiving dinner. I owe it all to her for getting me started, seriously.

I now really enjoy sewing. In fact, I regularly find myself in stores telling myself that I can totally make this (in way cuter fabrics). It’s pretty fun when I actually make that happen too!

When we first got Millie, I brought her to the groomer for a bath and nail trim. They offered us a bandanna, and I just loved how cute it was on her! I had to make her MORE.

As you can see, these don’t tie on. Rather, they loop through the collar. These can’t fall off of your pup!

Millie now owns about 10 bandannas. What can I say? I love the way she looks in them!

After a few months of working on these for her, I looked to Etsy to see if they had reversible versions. I could have poor Etsy searching skills, but I was happy to see that there weren’t any out there!

I’ve had so much fun making these, and there was no doubt in my mind that these would be the product of my Etsy shop debut.

Keeping up with the whole “nifty” theme, I got some great help from my friends to help me name my new little shop.

Forgive my lack of GIMP skills. This is all I can really do. I like it though…simple like my blogs.

Here’s the link to my Etsy shop!!

So, without further ado, check out my first product, The Nifty Woof!!

Halloween/Autumn

Christmas/Winter

These come in three sizes: Small, Medium and Large.

I also have a few fun print Nifty Woofs in my Etsy shop. More of those will be coming up soon, but I really wanted to make some holiday ones first.

Of course I wouldn’t just put you through this long post without a giveaway, right? To celebrate the debut of my shop, I’m offering one reader a free “Nifty Woof” of their choice!

To enter, just leave a comment letting me know which Nifty Woof is your favorite in my shop or even a suggestion for an upcoming Nifty Woof!

For an extra entry, follow my new Etsy shop’s Twitter: @thisseamsnifty and comment that you did!

**This giveaway is valid for residents of the continental US only. Comment by Wednesday, October 20th to be entered for the giveaway!!**

I can’t believe it’s already October. I walked outside of my Louisiana home and was greeted with weather in the 40s! I had to dig out my sweater and have finally surrendered (happily) to the fact that it is now Fall. Whew!

Being that it’s October, I just wanted to give a little update on the Christmas Quilt Block Swap! For those of you participating, you should have received an email a little over a month ago with details and an address to send your blocks to! I already received one package of blocks…super cute! I’m so excited to see what everyone comes up with.

Just a reminder, the deadline to get the blocks in is October 15th! That’s 11 days away!

I ended up being a cutting/ironing machine over the weekend. These pics are taken using the Hipstamatic app on the iPhone. It’s so fun!

Here’s a little sneak peek of the three fabrics that my blocks will be made of. The “ribbon” will be Kona Snow and a Kona cotton in some red color. Shows how much I pay attention to detail.

Aren’t those fabrics so fun? I tend to lean towards whimsy with Christmas.

A minor hiccup though…my machine is acting up. It needs to go to the shop to get looked at or something. I hope this doesn’t take too long, because I can’t WAIT to show y’all the final blocks!  

Are you guys super excited to see what everyone is coming up with? I know I am! For those of you who are participating, how are your blocks coming along?

I can’t believe it’s almost ::gulp:: September! It’s almost pumpkin spice frappuchino time, football season, cooler weather and well, time (for me) to start thinking about the holidays.

I can’t help it. I really can’t. I love the holiday season in an unhealthy obsessive way. Hubs will jokingly put on Elf at random times, and when I hear the opening credits, I can’t get the song out of my head for a solid 2 days. Heck, now it’s in my head. Ahh Buddy the Elf!

Since I am now sewing, I really really want to stay true to one of my 101 goals.

I can’t believe I have less than a year to complete those goals, too! Eek!

Goal #6:  buy handmade or make all Christmas gifts for family and friends one year

Crayon Roll
Handbags
Laptop Sleeve
Garden Tote
Garden Tool Belt
Make-Up Pouch
Camera Strap Cover
Simple Scarf

I have TONS of fabric to use after my spree and about 4 months to do this. **I think I can, I think I can….**

Are you thinking about the holidays already?

UPDATE : The Quilt Block Swap is now full. All of those who commented are in. Please keep an eye out for an email with full details about the swap! Can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with! YAY!

Keep commenting or emailing though…if there is enough interest (12 more people), we could do 2 group swaps!

Oh yes, you read that correctly. I’m thinking about Christmas. With this sweltering Louisiana heat, it seems hard, but lately, all I can think of is cooler weather, a kitchen smelling of cinnamon and a Christmas tree adorned with presents underneath.

Since starting my sewing hobby last November, I’ve been thinking about the day when I could add handmade Christmas decor to the house. Last Christmas, I was lucky if I was able to make a tote bag, much less a Christmas quilt.

My blogging friend and fellow ‘bee, Jennifer of Moonlight and Magnolias, also sews and quilts. She actually brought up this Christmas quilt idea , since quilting has become such a fun hobby!

We want to involve you guys: our readers. How, you ask? A centralized quilt block swap! Are you intrigued? I sure hope so! This is going to be fun!

Image credit

Now, here’s the deets. This is the quilt block we will be making, which is from Moda Bake Shop by Doug Leko. While that quilt has 35 blocks, we don’t want to make this super daunting on every participant (35 blocks is  a lot to take on and that makes a huge quilt). So, this will be a 12 block quilt.

As you can see, the quilt blocks themselves are fairly simple, so most quilters can participate and end up with a great quilt in the end!

Each participant would make 12 quilt blocks (using Christmas-y quilters cotton…there’s tons of fun prints out there, so GO WILD!) and send them to us by October 15th (you have plenty of time). Please  include a paper name tag pinned to the back of EACH your blocks, so the recipient will know who else has generously swapped. Name tags should have your first name, city and state, and blog if you have one.

You would then take your finished blocks to the post office without sealing the package. Have them weigh your package and buy that amount of postage, plus $.20 to make sure, and stick that on your return envelope. Place that envelope in with the blocks and send it on its way.

Once we receive all of the blocks, we will assemble the new kits of 12 blocks and send them your way. You should get your package by the November 1st.

After that, it’s up to you to make the quilt. When you’re done with the quilt, send us a picture of your finished project by December 15th, and we’ll do a quilt block swap round-up on our blogs!

Since Jennifer and I are participating, all we need are 10 more people to make this quilt block swap happen! If you are interested, just leave a comment here with your email address by September 15th. To keep shipping simple, we ask that participants must live in the continental U.S. The first 10 commenters on either blog will be in. Please only comment if you will truly commit to this swap, so everyone will end up with their 12 blocks in the end.

If you have any questions, please email me at niftyfoodie at gmail dot com or comment!

I’ve been in such a funk lately, but don’t judge me too harshly. I’m living in the Louisiana Summer right now. The afternoons went from pleasantly breezy to horribly disgusting. It’s to the point where my car air conditioner JUST balances out the searing heat, but I never feel cold in my car anymore.

Most of the time, I can’t help to think of all the negatives that summer brings. It takes a good awakening to realize that things are, in fact, amazing.

Millie had a 3 inch long coat of fur a week ago (she’s been groomed since). It’s the border collie in the Heinz 57 that she is. She decided to look up at me and just smile in the middle of the summer heat. Sure, she’s probably hot as hell, but she’s still amazingly happy. I love her for that. I need to think like her.

So, I thought of the positives of summer. LSU is out, so traffic is substantially less. The tomatoes are ripening and peppers are finally growing. Snowball stands are open (even though I’m on diet, I will occasionally splurge on my wedding cake snowball). And also, summer parties.

I’m very excited to be having my family over next weekend. We’re throwing a huge party, and I’m going all Hostess with the Mostess with party colors/theme. I know it won’t be as pretty as her parties, but I’m hoping it will impress.

I even found inspiration at Hobby Lobby today. It’s not quite the 4th of July yet, but I can’t help but do some red and (aqua) blue.

Yes, I’m sure you’ve been seeing that color combination everywhere lately. Go ahead, call me a copycat, because I’m going with that color palette.

I love hosting parties with the hubs, and seeing everyone have a great time. Parties also make me super excited about my food blog. I enjoy it when I have quite a few fun recipes to blog about.

So, it’s time for me to get out of this funk. I need to remember that there are some positives to think about and enjoy in this hot, gloomy Summer. However, if I ever forget, I know I’ll have this face to help me remember.

What are some positives that your summer is bringing?