DIY Country Shelves!

I found an amazing way to make what I will never have enough of in my house - shelves.  They are simple and inexpensive to make; they just take a little time and effort.  And I love how they are turning out.  What are they?
Pallet shelves!
Here's how to make them:
Step 1 -  Retrieve a pallet from the many areas around town where businesses lay them out for people to have for free!

Step 2 - Cut the pallet.  You can make 2 shelves from each pallet, one from each end.  For my first shelves I enlisted my hubbies help, though he is teaching me to do this part myself too.  You then need to remove a board from the middle and use it as a bottom to your shelf. 

Step 3- Sand it till it's smooth.  You will be amazed how nice it looks after a good sanding. 

Step 4- Stain or paint it.  I choose to paint mine white, though for variety when I am selling these (yes you can order one from me~ though they are too heavy to ship if you can meet and pick it up I can make one for you!) I will stain them as well. 

Step 5 - Distress it or finish it.  I love the distressed look, so after painting mine I sanded it again to give it that old vintage country look.  If you have stained it, you would want to put a nice coat of varnish on it now. 

Step 6 - Fill it up, hang it up, and enjoy!  I am still working on this step, as it is a heavy shelf and I will need help finding studs and using wall anchors to put it up.  But I am liking playing around with the possibilities of what to put on it! 

The Quilt part 2

The strips for the top are finished!

Now for the next step, putting a border around my strips to finish out the top.  I am going with a dark blue border.  On my list of to do's for this weekend.  

The Quilt

I have finally started it.
The Quilt.
The quilt that I have been contemplating for the past 6 months, ever since a friend of mine told me that a strip quilt using a jelly roll was easier than I thought.  That if I didn't sew perfectly straight it would still turn out ok, it would still look fine.  I had always wanted to try making a quilt, but I had thought it was above my skill range.  Now I've finally found a quilt pattern I could attempt!
Just in case it is the only quilt I ever make, I decided to go all out and cut up some baby clothes into strips to put in the quilt.  I saved the clothes in a box with the idea that someday I would make them into something, so it was great to finally find their purpose.  Then I found a jelly roll with some matching flannel colors to go with it. 
On a rainy Saturday morning I laid all out all my strips and squares on my dining room table, and arranged them and pinned exactly where I wanted them.  I am not sure of a rhyme or reason to my arrangement, I just put them where I thought they worked. 

My baby quilt layout

Then I sewed each individual row of strips and squares together and numbered the backs in case my 2 yr old (or let's face it, any of my kids or my husband) got into my basket and messed up the order.  Next I started sewing all the rows together.  That's where I am in my work right now.
I had a lot on my plate the past couple of weeks and haven't been able to get past this step, but each time I go to work I am eyeing the material I want to use for the border and the back.  I am quite determined to finish this project, and am excited for it!!!  I will update you on my progress as I go along.
I want everyone who thought that quilting was way too hard for them to see that it can be done, even by a person who doesn't know much more about sewing than how to thread their machine.  If I can do it, so can you!

They're here!

They're here!
My monsters are finally done!

I worked until I had the pattern the way I liked it, and my newest additions to the shop - Ooof and Devilooof are complete.  They also come with certificates of adoption, which I think adds a little fun, too.  I love how they turned out, and I think you will, too. 
Love the pattern and want to try making one for yourself?  It's all crochet in the round, so it's not too difficult to make.  Email or fb message me if you want to give it a try and I'll give you the pattern for my Ooof. 
Click on the link right here to check them out ~ My monsters!

Yes that's right. You can find Essentially Melanie in a store!

That's right folks.  You can now find all natural products from Essentially Melanie in a store.

My table at Bowman's Home and Garden

This feels pretty awesome.  I know it won't make me a millionaire, but it is a wonderful start!  They want to sell my afghans in the fall, so I am excited to learn lots of new, original blanket patterns and have them ready.

  Better get to work. 

Soap!

Packaging up the soaps

So years ago my awesomely crafty sister in law gave all her sister in laws and sisters wonderful handmade soaps for a gift at Christmas, and has done so almost annually since.  I didn't know when she gave us that first soap how she made them or how long it took to do it.  I honestly didn't even know that people made their own homemade soaps!  But I thought it smelled amazing and was a really neat gift.  They were so cute with their country look and wrapping that I couldn't bring myself to actually use them, so I kept them as a part of my bathroom décor. 

In recent years I have been trying to eliminate chemicals in my home in an attempt to help keep my family healthier, though I am by no means a "crunchy/granola mama."  So I decided to break down and actually use these adorable soap bars that I knew had much less unreadable chemicals in them.  I loved them!  But only getting one at Christmas time every year meant that I didn't have enough to use for very long (and still wanted a couple of bars for decorations - they are so darn cute!).  I then looked into making cold process soap myself.  I mean, I was already making my own liquid laundry soap and dishwasher detergent, I figured it couldn't be that big a deal. 

Whoa (read that as Keanu Reeves!)

A little more in depth than I was looking for.

Um...  No.  I was not going to make soap right now.  Using lye and needing eye protection?!?  Waiting 6 weeks for it to be ready?!?  Not for me.  I will just have to wait till next Christmas to get more from my sister in law that I was in awe of at the moment for taking on such a daunting task, or order some from Etsy.

Well it's now a few years later.  I am helping to run an essential oil of the month club, where each month we send out a top secret oil, a recipe card, and most if not all the things needed to make the recipe (let me know if you are interested in joining in the fun in our spOILed club!).  For March it is actually 2 awesome oils, and the recipe was for melt and pour soap using Rosemary oil.  I.  Love.  It.  I love researching the soap recipes to make, getting the supplies ready, making the actual soaps, everything!  I think it is so neat to make my own soaps, and my kids just love to use them.  I want to do more.  I want to make more.  I want to try my hand at packaging it and selling my very own soaps, so I'm selling mini soaps in my Etsy and Scott's Marketplace shops and putting them out for sale at Bowman's Home and Garden Store.  And now I am ready to make the cold process soap!

So I ordered all the ingredients and supplies I will need to make my first batch of goat's milk soap.  My package should arrive in the mail any day now.  I will show you pics from my first batch and let you know how it goes! 

You just jumped in with both feet... now what?

I am so new to all of this, that sometimes the amount of learning I have to do is overwhelming.  Especially when you have to run your house, take care of all your kids, and actually research, make, package, and sell your products while doing it. 

You know the feeling, you just jumped in with both feet, and now you had better figure out how to do it!
Learning about SEOs, boosting your site and page, how to optimize hashtags and label and keywords, trying to use both graphics online and then learning you need a completely different way for print material (God bless my friend Leigh for coming to my graphic design rescue this week!), how to word the titles on your products to get the most views, what time should you post your blog, how you should pitch your business to others effectively, etc.

WHEW! 

But learning new things is also something I thoroughly enjoy, too.  I like new.  I like change.  I like different.  I like finding out how to do things I've never done before.  And when I feel particularly challenged, I've found some awesome people out there that though they gain nothing by it, are willing to help you when you ask. 

Don't be afraid to try something new and jump in with both feet.  Do a little learning yourself.  You never know what you will fall in love with or be totally amazing at if you don't give it go!

A no go...

Another day of trial and error, as we discover more recipes that we don't like.  Yes my whole family is getting involved in this one, as we are trying and perfecting a new shop idea to make the perfect "Melanie's Mash and Mush Soap."  We are still working on it to get it just right, and as you can see we are having a lot of fun working with it!

It is so awesome that my kids love getting involved in my business.  They get excited to help, and it is really helpful for me to get their point of view for some of the products I am making that are geared toward kids.  Working together on these projects is just another bonus to being your own boss, working your own hours, and being able to work out of home!

Grand Re-Opening!!

So after much internal debate, I decided to redo and re-open my Etsy Shop!  I like that Scott's Marketplace is new and small and ONLY for handcrafted items, but Etsy just has so much more feedback and features since it's been around for a while and has such a big online presence.  So now I decided to  have a store in both!

I am all fired up and have worked tirelessly to get it up and running (ok, that's a lie, I AM tired) over the weekend.  It was worth the work; I am really happy with how it turned out.  "If you build it they will come..."(did that date me?) 

Check out what I've got goin' on!  

www.etsy.com/shop/essentiallymelanie