KO TWO Designs Featured in a Starbucks Wedding Shoot |

The Post is Up! The Wedding Chicks Blog picked up the photo shoot, put together by Blossom Events, that several of my designs are featured in.

Click HERE to see the blog post on The Wedding Chicks Website.

And Click HERE to view all of the items I created for the shoot in my Etsy Shop.

** Be sure to click on 'View Entire Gallery' at the bottom of the images to see ALL of the images.

Images from the post featuring my designs:

Shop Local...Online!

I think it is awesome to support local artists instead of buying from large main stream companies and chain stores. So I thought I would do a feature on a few cute local shops that I came across on Etsy. Shopping local is already close to home, and now it can be even closer by shopping local ONLINE, from the comfort of your home office / computer desk!

Here are a few of the neat local online shops I have come across |

London Ontario's Fancy Cuts - They sell adorable iron on appliques for baby's onesies, children's clothes and more! My favourite items are the iron on ties for on little boy's onesies and shirts.


London Ontario's Neck Candy Collars - A neat shop for pet owners who love to stylize their pets in hip and colourful collars. My favorites are the bow tie and flower collars!


Kitchener Ontario's Merrily - A shop that is everything Retro! I LOVE her 50's style aprons, they are very affordable and would be a great addition to a retro bridal shower gift.


Kitchener Ontario's Hawt Home -This shop has beautiful throw pillows in it that are made with funky and vibrant fabrics. They even do custom monograms and words such as 'love' and 'home' and even 'Mr. and Mrs.' pillows making them a great gift option for weddings!


Kitchener / Waterloo Ontario's Craftabulous - She sells some really unique items. My favourite are her 'Love Measures' earrings and pins. She uses various colours of seamstress measuring tapes to make these items, they would be so cute to give to friends who love to sew.


Hamilton Ontario's Adeline's Attic Vintage - This shop has amazing vintage pieces all organized by decade. A great shop for anyone who loves wearing vintage or who is needing costume pieces for an event or photo session.


St. Catharines Ontario's Bombshell Blooms - She creates gorgeous hair flowers that would be great for any occasion and I think would be especially nice for bridesmaids to wear!


My Online Local Shop - KO Two Designs - A shop full of handmade wedding creations.


Do you know of any fabulous local online shops? Let me know about them n the comments area below - or post a link to your own online shop in the comments! It will be great to have a directory of awesome local shops for people's personal and gift buying needs!

My New Favourite Guest Books

I came across these awesome fingerprint guestbooks in Bleu de Toi's shop on Etsy

They are so unique and are a great interactive and personal way to get your guests to 'sign' your guest book.

They make beautiful custom pieces of art to hang in your home as well!

And there are many different styles that would suit multiple events, not just weddings.

Plus, let's be honest, these guests books also serve the very practical purpose of getting your guest's true identity up front in case one of them gets a little too rowdy and breaks a few things, you will be covered as you will already have their finger prints on hand! hehe

The Balloons and Bicycle style would be great for a birthday party guest book.

Balloon & Bike Style

The "Just Married" Car would be so cute to use as a wedding guestbook:

Just Married Car Style

The house with balloons coming out of the chimney would be great for a house warming party.

House Warming Party Style


The beautiful tree option would be great for a wedding guestbook or even an anniversary party:

Tree Style

My personal favourite is the Flying Pig style which I think would be really cute for a child's birthday party and would look really cute hanging in their bedroom afterwards:

Flying Pig Style

And I love the wreath idea as it would be great for a family reunion guestbook or to have at Christmas or another holiday for all the family to 'sign'.
You could even then make prints of the original copy to share with family so that everyone had a copy.

Wreath Style

Thanks for your awesome creations Bleu de Toi - Check out more on Bleu de Toi's Blog HERE

Green With Envy...Over Emerald Earrings!

I am not usually the type of person to see a fashion item that I HAVE TO HAVE, but every time I see Kyle Richard's beautiful Emerald earrings on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills I just LOVE them!

She wears them with such grace and ease. I don't think I could pull off earrings of that size BUT I found a similar pair that are perfect for me in Designs by Jocelyn on Etsy.

This is the pair, I love the leaves and the wooden look to the gold surrounding the emeralds:

This pair of earrings is also a lot cheaper, at $28.00, than the Kyle Richard's pair that were made by Jennifer Miller. Her pair can be found HERE for $125.00 (A surprisingly low price!)

More Beautiful Emerald Finds:

1 |Fitzy Sparrow 2| LaaLee 3| Coalescence Designs 4| LiuLiu Designs

Chocolate Buttons |

I came across these chocolate buttons today in Emmaline's Marketplace!

I could NOT believe how beautiful they were!

They are made by Andie's Specialty Sweets.

If I had found these prior to my wedding they would have definitely been on my wedding cake!

I Love Buttons - I Love Candy - Buttons + Candy = Happiness!

Cute Kid / Baby Hoodies |

I came across these adorable children's hoodies on Etsy today!

Thought I would do a little preview on my blog and direct you to 'Penny's Stitches' Etsy Shop.

These sweaters are so cute for any time of the year! They could even be worn as Halloween outfits.

Check out more cute hoodie options in the shop: 'Penny's Stitches'

You can even buy the patterns to crochet your own hoodies in Penny's Shop!

Creative Crafter | Sarah Cashin

A lot of busy university students who also volunteer in various ways, who are involved in various groups, who have a job AND who are currently a Maid of Honor in a friend's wedding
MIGHT shy away from crafting.

But not Sarah, she is a great example of a "Creative Crafter on a budget" as she finds awesome items and ideas online and instead of buying them she makes them herself!


Some of Sarah's Recent Craft Projects...

Hexagon Afghan |

Sarah is currently working on a Hexagon pattern Afghan that to buy would cost on average of $200 with some larger afghans costing upward of $1,200!
She got the idea/inspiration from this site that gives step by step directions on how to create this pattern.

Despite the intricate look of this afghan, Sarah says that it is quite an easy pattern to crochet.

This DIY project is a great example of how something that looks difficult might actually be quite simple to craft yourself, not only saving you money but also giving you a great sense of satisfaction and pride knowing that the lovely piece on your couch or bed is a
hand-made creation.


Kusudama Flowers |

Sarah has also recently made Kusudama Flowers. She found the step by step instructions on this site making it easy to follow along and produce some really neat paper flowers.
Sarah made sets of 12 flowers and formed them into balls to hang up with ribbon, she also used them for Christmas gifts (making them in a Christmas color scheme).

Kusudama flowers can be used for many different things:

- Decorating a gift or card

- Hung as a garland, a room divider or as curtains

- Made into a hanging ornament (such a a Christmas ornament) or use the flower ball in a smaller scale for on the Christmas Tree.

- Used for jewelry such as broaches, earrings, rings or necklaces

- They also look nice just as individual flowers in a clear vase.

- And can also make beautiful bridal bouquets!

On average Kusudama floral bouquets cost $40.00 plus shipping - so if you can make them yourself for your wedding, or a friend's wedding, it is totally worth the effort.

The colours can be totally customized to fit the wedding decor and theme and interesting paper such as sheet music or pages from novels or the bible can also be used to create a personal and custom flare. (*Suggestion: Print out sheet music, novel pages, poems or bible passages on card-stalk from your home computer as apposed to ripping out pages from books) :D

Here are a few images showing how great Kusudama Bridal bouquets look!

Buy/View it HERE in 'Posh Studio's' Etsy Shop


Buy / View it Here in 'Posh Studio's' Etsy Shop

Buy / View it Here in 'Posh Mis Mosh's' Etsy Shop


Crocheted Shamrock Garland |

Sarah made Shamrock Garlands in honour of St. Patrick's Day. She found the 'how to' on this site that gives the step by step directions on how to complete the project.

This is an image of one of the garlands that Sarah made. She gifted this garland to her Irish landlord who just loved it!

Here is a close up of the crocheted Shamrocks:
A Similar Shamrock Garland costs $25.00 + Shipping on Etsy! Making this project a big money saver with only the cost of a ball O' yarn!

A few more cute crochet garlands:

View/Buy it HERE in "The Lovely Lily" Etsy Shop

View/Buy it HERE in "Maria Konstantin's" Etsy Shop

View/Buy it HERE in "Sycamore Lane's" Etsy Shop


Thanks for much for sharing your 'Crafty Ideas' Sarah! Your crafts provide some great examples of how crafting and DIY projects can save a ton of money and can give our homes a homey and handmade aesthetic for less!

Creative Bride | Lauren Brown

Lauren is a newly married bride from Florida!

She and I met online via my personal wedding blog while planning our weddings at the same time.

We were both budget conscious DIY brides and were able to share ideas with each other.

Since our weddings we have both been able to use the ideas and projects that we came up with for our own weddings and now turn around and create and sell these various wedding items to others!

There are lots of brides out there who LOVE the look of DIY but don't have the time to create it for themselves. So creative women like Lauren are able to give these bride's the custom DIY flare they want for their wedding days without the time and effort involved in producing it!

Wedding Wishing Wands!
(so fun to say!)

Here is one of Lauren's DIY wedding projects on a budget that she now sells in her ETSY shop

Lauren's Description of her project:

I wanted something different as an exit at our wedding. I didn't want the typical rice being thrown in my face or being covered in sticky bubbles. I came across this DIY project online to make wishing wands and thought it was such a neat and fun idea, especially for children and guests!

I purchased dowel rods, gold paint, ribbon in my wedding colors (pink and ivory), and glue sticks for my glue gun. I hand painted each dowel rod (over 250!!!!) and had my "now husband" start cutting the ribbon. I used 4 ribbons on each dowel rod, 2 pink and 2 ivory. I used the glue gun to put glue around the edge of the top of the dowel rod and tied the ribbon in a knot.

It was a very simple and easy project! Probably one of my favorites! That was a lot of fun!

* The above photo is of Lauren and her groom on their wedding day with their guests waving the wedding wands upon their exit! It looks GREAT! *

Want Lauren to make you personalized 'Wedding Wands' for your Big Day?
Click HERE to find them in her Etsy Shop.

Lauren is also a photographer serving Bristol Florida and the surrounding areas!
Check out her photography facebook page HERE.

Thanks for sharing your creative wedding DIY project with us Lauren!

Creative Quilter | Debbie Lindsay

Debbie's work is the exact essence of my 'Creative Women on a Budget' post series because her quilting style is what she refers to as 'ScrapPileStyle'.

What exactly does this mean?
Well Debbie creates quilts and also designs and sells patterns that are written to assist quilters to create projects utilizing their leftover fabrics.


Debbie's work is impressive for several reasons:

1. One of Debbie's designs, the “Circa Charmer” (pictured below), was recently published in the Oct/Nov 2010 issue of “The Quilter” magazine. This quilt was designed with reproduction fabrics from the circa era and is a quilt style that would utilize a quilter's stash...to make a beautiful frugal quilt.


2. Debbie has an ETSY shop called
'Scrap Pile Styles Patterns'
where she sells her patterns and some of her DIY projects
sharing this style of quilting with others.


3. Debbie is currently working on publishing her new book "Quilting with Scraps" and she has gracefully shared the introduction to this book with us!
(Read this introduction at the bottom of the post).


Here is a description of one of Debbie's ScrapPileStyle projects:

Cabin Trails Placemat - Skill Level: Easy

This log cabin block placemat is simple and fun to make, with only strips to cut, assembly of this placemat is quick, as sections are cut to length as you attach them. Purchase pre-cut strips or dig through those remnants my detailed instructions will walk even a beginning quilter through all aspects of quilt making with specific instructions that teach how to make and attach your own binding using either square and mitred corners – A potential stash buster project!

- Debbie Lindsay

Why Debbie has a passion for this budget friendly DIY Style of quilting:

"I grew up in the scrap box of my mother’s sewing room, dressing up dolls, dogs and little brothers, completing my first quilt at 16.

A career in financial management, attending college, a family business, and three small children continually outgrowing clothes; piecing scraps together became a way of life. The art of fabricating treasured gifts from remnants became a passion. Wedding and baby quilts have become cherished gifts, each creation stitched with memories, prayers and love.

My lifelong passion of quilting and “making the most of” leftover fabrics inspired me to share this gift by providing patterns that appeal to quilters of every skill level. Simplifying the steps of the process with reference charts and instructions I walk quilters step by step, as they utilize the resources of their scraps, creating unique quilting projects – ScrapPileStyle."

- Debbie Lindsay

The Introduction to Debbie's upcoming book:

Quilting with Scraps...

A Scrap Management Resource with guidelines, techniques and interchangeable patterns.

Leftover fabric is described as: scraps, bits & pieces, a stash, remnants, leftovers, waste, surplus, extra, remaining, additional, excessive… I prefer to think of them as “essential potential thrifty projects”. In today’s “go green” world, making use of leftover material is not only appealing, but in keeping with the “reduce, reuse and recycle” philosophy. Women when faced with hard times found it a necessity to piece every last bit of fabric to create necessities. Fortunately today, most of us are not faced with such devastating hardships; we are however exposed to the adversity of rising costs and overflowing landfills. Learning to utilize leftover remnants is the art of being innovative, frugal and environmentally conscious, reminding us of our grandmother’s words “waste not, want not”.

You will find a broad range of unique and exciting projects; small enough to complete in a reasonable time frame, but large enough to use up some of those highly treasured leftovers! The question becomes what “can we” do with these remaining…excessive pieces of fabric. This dilemma, in essence, was the inspiration that motivated me to put together a book with a unique selection of inspiring quilting projects that walk the reader through an assortment of interchangeable patterns with numerous variations as I demonstrate the potential in utilizing that untapped resource of scraps.

You will find this book an indispensable resource of guiding principles, interchangeable blocks, multiple layouts, finishing options and techniques along with strategies for organizing and integrating scraps into a variety of intriguing projects. Unique, as it guides quilters through the concept of creating their own pre-cuts and project packages. Charts for fabric calculations, binding estimates and guidelines for quilting “scrap pile style”, along with instructions for adaptable finishing and border techniques all clearly outlined for some 38+ quilting projects. From potholders, table quilts and cloths, placemats, pillowcases, front door decor, lap and crib quilts and my most popular “Block of the Month - Scrap Pile Style Quilts”, I’m sure you will find these and many more treasures to quilt out of those colourful, excessive leftovers from that ever overflowing corner in your sewing room.

"How do you ScrapPileStyle?"


Interested in ordering one of Debbie's patterns?

Click HERE to visit her Etsy Shop

Have a question for Debbie?

Email her at | debbielindsay57@gmail.com