Announcing Lina and Vi + Bundled Michigan!

I'm super excited to formally announce that Lina and Vi is partnering with Bundled Michigan to provide our handmade, burlap zipper pouches as part of their Build Your Own Michigan-made gift boxes! I mentioned earlier this month that I had the opportunity to sew up several of our burlap pouches, and now we are officially live in their online shop. Hooray!

Bundled Michigan is a rising small business based out of the metro Detroit area that is owned and operated by two local best friends looking to make individual and corporate gift giving easier by offering gift packages of different items made by local Michigan artisans. In their own words, their mission is "to use hardworking makers and small business owners to create thoughtfully curated gift bundles that serve a variety of purposes." The best part is that they partner with a local organization to provide job opportunities for adults with disabilities, which is amazing. I suggest taking a quick look at their Our Story page on their site to learn more about them.



Lina and Vi burlap pouches are now available in their Build Your Own option. You can select your choice of packaging and then select a number of different items ranging from apparel to bath and body to packaged food. You can also select a prepackaged bundle if you don't have time to select individual items. There are themed gift boxes ranging from baby to his/hers to holiday. Aside from Build Your Own, Bundled works with corporations to design custom boxes for employee and vendor gifting so if you are local business order, I recommend contacting them for more information on their corporate gift giving services.

As we head into the holiday shopping season, I suggest visiting their online shop for quick and thoughtful gifting this year without the hassle of buying individual items or managing the shipping. If you decide to Build Your Own, please think of Lina and Vi's 4" x 6" burlap pouches!

I'm thrilled to have my handmade burlap zipper pouches available with Bundled Michigan.  This is the fourth new local business we are partnering with this year, and each time, I say the same thing - I can't believe where this journey has taken me in the past few years. Thank you for supporting small, local businesses, and thank you for your support with Lina and Vi.

Erica

Tips for Custom Etsy Orders

Hello friends! I'm back with a few short updates on what has been keeping me busy as well as a few tips and tricks on ordering custom items on Etsy as we head into the holiday shopping season. As expected, this month is flying by for me. I've spent the last two weekends traveling and spending time with my husband and friends, celebrating anniversaries and upcoming nuptials. In between the busy schedules, I've been working on replenishing our burlap zipper pouches. If you have a few minutes to stop by the Lina and Vi Etsy shop, you will see a number of new burlap pouch gift sets with two and three zipper pouches, and a few single pouches for sale in a variety of new lining fabrics and burlap prints.

In my post from earlier this month, I alluded to a number of personal changes that have happened this season. I wish I could say that I have a handle on them all and am feeling balanced, but I cannot. I'm still working on juggling my commitments each day, while at the same time, I'm trying to add smaller, positive activities throughout my week to help me feel more balanced (such as exercising). The season of change hasn't stopped, and I'm learning how to manage the effects it has on me so I can learn to roll with the punches a bit easier.

While I don't have any new projects to share today with you, I have been working on a number of custom burlap pillow orders from our Etsy shop this month. Most of the projects are personal to each customer, so I won't be sharing them here on the blog. However, I do want to point you to a list of tips and tricks I recommended around this time last year for how to effectively request a custom order on Etsy so that your experience is positive and your item is just as you'd like. You can find my 10 tips for requesting a custom Etsy order here. Even a year later, these still stand true from my perspective.

I hope you are having a great start to your week!

Erica

Blue Sound Burlap Cross-body Bag

First of all, thank you for all of the interest in my last DIY post using my Silhouette Cameo to make a "Grow Old with Me" wooden sign. Although I didn't time this intentionally, I finished that project earlier this week and my third anniversary is actually today. Talk about timing! I hope that you were able to get some inspiration for projects around your own home out of it.

A few weeks ago, I came across this beautiful, blue fabric that I snatched up and figured I'd find some way to use it. The best part of shopping the remnant bin is that you never really know what you will find. I love coming across new, interesting fabric that I can use as lining in the Lina and Vi pouches and tote bags. I purchased this leftover fabric because of its interesting design, with varying shade of blue watercolor-like waves against a bright white backdrop. I was sold, and the outcome became our latest burlap cross-body bag to join the collection, the Blue Sound. 

The Blue Sound burlap bag is a medium-sized rectangular purse with a flap top and wooden button closure. The flap is sewn from that very blue and white wave fabric, along with the one interior flat pocket and the strap loops. The bag features a mostly plain tan burlap panel on the front and black, bold text on the back burlap panel. 

I really enjoyed working with the blue fabric. It's weight is very similar to the reinforced burlap, so it holds its shape while still providing the mostly neutral front with interest. I kept with the warm tone throughout by choosing to use a chocolate brown wooden button and cotton belting strap. Two metal claw clasps allow the strap to be detached easily. The interior is a simple solid white cotton. 

This is a great, casual bag that is typically worn across the body but can be worn over one shoulder as a long purse. You can shop this bag now in our Etsy shop, and you can always find me sharing on Pinterest and Facebook.  

Have you ever found a diamond in the rough fabric amid the discarded remnants? What did you make with it?

Erica

DIY "Grow Old with Me" Distressed Wood Wall Decor

Today I'm sharing a recent DIY that is not sewing related. We all need to take a break time and again to try out new skills and materials. I recently had the desire to swap out another DIY wall canvas to brighten up my bedroom. The black and white enlarged photo of logs I had taken while up north a couple of years ago added to the darkness of the room. Keeping with the same black and white palette, I opted to create a white wooden wall hanging that would pop against the beige walls and bring more interest above the bed. And sticking with the DIY theme, I used my Silhouette Cameo and my handy husband to create this fun design.

I asked my husband for his help to create the wooden pallet shape, and he was up for the challenge. He purchased cheap grade 2"x4" wood at the local hardware store and used a hand saw to cut them into varying lengths. The hand saw tool was his idea, as he thought it would give the overall design more of a rustic, distressed look which is what I wanted for the end product. He staggered the pieces and screwed them to two vertical wooden pieces that form the back of the pallet. That was it. He handed it over to me to paint it and seal it.

Like many, I have grown to love the HGTV show "Fixer Upper" this past year, and I was inspired by a square metal wall hanging offered in the online Magnolia shop with this exact saying carved into it. I knew that I did not want metal in my bedroom. With a room already having a dark and masculine color scheme, metal felt like a material that was too harsh and cold for my bedroom. I borrowed the idea to use this saying, which originates from a Robert Browning poem, and used my Silhouette Cameo to electronically cut the words on adhesive vinyl.

I spray-painted the raw wood with spare black spray paint leftover from another project. After the paint was dry, I opted to use this crackle paint medium that I also have leftover from a previous project. There are a variety of different mediums you can use depending on the look of the final product. I found my medium at my local craft store, and it worked great to provide another element of distress. I then stuck the vinyl words to the wood and used leftover white house paint to paint over everything. Once dry, I peeled off the vinyl words to reveal the black underneath. Finally, I touched up the letters with black paint and painted a clear sealer on top.





Aside from the wood, everything else used to make this wooden pallet sign was material I already had in my crafting stash and garage. Overall, it took a few evenings to make this sign given the time needed to wait between coats of paint. This project is extra special because it was a joint effort between me and my husband.  This sign now hangs above our bed, and it really brightens up the space and makes it feel much warmer.

It feels like I've said this a million times here, and to any random person who will listen, that I truly love my Silhouette Cameo. It makes projects like this so much easier. I'm excited to see what I do with it during the next few months as we head into holiday decorating season. I started a Pinterest board to collect ideas for my Cameo, and I'm always looking for more tips and tricks so please share!

Thanks for stopping by,
Erica

September Transitions: Eastern Market, Burlap Pouches, and More

A new month has started, and we are now in the middle of the fall season! These past few weeks have been full, but more on that later. I'm excited for what the new month will bring, and for me, it is a busy one. I will be traveling a bit over a couple of weekends as well as trying my best to attend a number of happy events including a wedding shower, baby shower, first birthday party, and so on. I recently read a book that offered some advice that I am trying hard not to forget - a busy life is a full life. I am working on changing the way I think about it so that it is positive, not negative, and it acts as a reminder that I should be grateful for everything that makes my life full.

When I look back at September, all it makes me think of is, what a month of transition. I turned a year older at the start of the month, and of course, the seasons changed as we head into cooler weather here in Michigan.  My husband and I celebrated a close friend's wedding and spent an afternoon walking around Eastern Market in Detroit while stopping to try a new restaurant, Green Dot Stables. I did some horseback riding, and in the last two weeks, I experienced some unexpected career changes that are now keeping me on my toes.

I had the opportunity to spend a good portion of the month sewing to fill an order for the local Michigan business, Bundled Michigan, who will be packaging our handmade burlap zipper pouches in their gift boxes. Of all the events in the last month, this opportunity is one of my absolute favorites! I'm thrilled to see how Bundled incorporates my burlap pouches into their boxes. I'll be sharing more about it in the coming weeks.

So this wraps up another month and kicks off a brand new one. I'm working on a new set of burlap zipper pouches for the Lina and Vi Etsy shop this weekend which I am very proud to share in the next few days. Remember to follow us on Facebook where you will find more frequent and behind the scenes photos of projects in process and late night sewing adventures!

Happy October!

Erica