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Ellie's Bow Tie Club Flickr Group

Do you have one of my handmade bow ties?  If so, join the club.  I've started a flickr pool for all of you.  Please upload your photos and add them to the pool or e-mail me (ellielaveer@gmail.com) so that I can add them.  Also, If you want, add your comments about your bow tie in the comments section so that everyone can know how much you like it.  I'm also going to add the pool to the sidebar so that you can have easy access to it.   I can't wait to see what you come up with! 

Cheers!

Crouton Crusted Tilapia

I forgot to take pictures, but I thought I'd share today's dinner recipe. It was easy, healthy, kid-friendly, inexpensive and quick. My favorite kinds of meals.

1-Thaw out some tilapia (or whatever kind of fish you want really) - I run mine under cold water for like 5 minutes
2- Coat with mayo or eggs - I think mayo keeps it moister
3- dip in crushed croutons (little hands like to help with this part)
4- bake at 425 for about 15 minutes on parchment paper if you have it
5- enjoy!

In Many Shapes and Sizes

Andy wore a pretty cool converted necktie with a fish emblematic on Monday. He'll be sad to part with this one when/if it sells. I might make him submit a higher bid if he wants to keep it!

Here are examples of alternative shapes for bow ties: diamond-point and straight. I've been selling a lot of diamond-point all of a sudden.

I've posted these ties (The Romancer and The Editor) into the humble blog store.

I'm Also playing around with an Etsy store so you can see them there too.

In other news: I finally got around to mopping the floor today. Ew. The next project is to clean up the patio enough so that the mail man can actually get to our box without danger of riding a plastic fire engine down the hill.

Today's Thrift Shopping Bounty

This afternoon, I set off with-out children to the thrift stores. I had no real idea what I was looking for, I just wanted to get out of the house for an hour or so.  Here is the strange mix of things I came home with after spending around $30.

1- A french drip coffee maker - most likely never been used - circa. 1975.  A great way to brew coffee with really hot water - a must in our house.

2 - A wicker towel rack.  Totally weird, I know, but I just thought it looked cool.  I'm thinking I will use it to display a quilt in my new sewing room.

3 - 3 new ties to add to death row- They are now waiting to be converted to bow ties.  I have so many standard looking ties in my collection, I'm now trying to find ties that are a bit more wild.  I thought these fit the bill.  Fun, huh?  I can't wait to see how they look in a bow.

4 - Weird cabinet thing - I don't know what this is, but I thought it would look alright in our 50's brick ranch home.  It's really just a wooden cabinet.  My husband things it used to be mounted on the wall, but I don't want to do that with this one.  I'd like to re-line the top, possibly paint it and use it to store linens in our dining room.  For now, it's a fun place for my 1 year old to hide and that's about it.

5 - Throw Pillow- My newest addition to the random handmade and thrifted pillow collection is currently posing as a coal tender for my 3 year old's train (The one with the diagonal stripes and tassels).  He likes to line all the pillows up in a row and pretend they are a big train, then he walks away and the dog thinks he has a new bed.  Once I get around to picking them all up, the whole process starts over again, sometimes involving houses made with couch cushions.  Oh... life with little ones under-toe.

More Necktie to Bow Tie Conversions

Here's a really cool fishy emblematic that I made this evening that I'm throwing up for sale in my store.  This tie is a narrow (2 1/4") tie.  I'm so happy with how it turned out!

Also, here's a photo of 2 ties that have been mailed to me to convert.  This gentleman is an avid bow tie wearer and is so excited to find someone to give new life to his old neck ties.

Bow Tie Onesie

As I was making this last night for Owen, my husband agreed that this shirt screams "My mom is a big dork".  Somehow, I don't really mind announcing that I'm a dork with children's clothing.  I asked my 3 year old if he wanted a bow tie shirt and he said no.  Maybe a neck tie shirt for the big guy?

The best part is that even when he's really mad, I just look at him and laugh because he's so darn cute.

Two new super fun ties-

Ok, here are two ties I made out of cotton.  The first one used to be an Ann Taylor madras skirt and the second Ann Taylor pants.  Andy couldn't tell at first that the pink polka-dotted tie actually has two diff. patterns- one is white on pink and the other is pink on white.  It can be tied three different ways, I like the one with the contrasting (but not really that contrasting) knot.  What do you think?  I'm adding them to the store.

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Striped Bow Ties Converted From Neckties

Yesterday, I made up a batch of striped bow ties.  I think that converting neckties into bow ties is so fun.  It's great to take something that is slightly unwearable- be it a stain, strange pattern or a really wide tie and make something really fun out of it.  All of these are available for sale, but I have one gentleman wanting first dibs on the yellow/black so I'll have to see if he still wants it.  As always, the ties are $23 and e-mail me at ellielaveer@gmail.com if you want one.  There is only one available for each design so act quick. 

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Also, Today I got a package in the mail from one of our favorite elders at our church in Columbia.  It had about 25 ties in it that he is donating to me.  So many fun ones to choose from.  I've got a lot of work to do!

My first T-Shirt Overhaul

I know there are all sorts of crafts out there involving turning your old t-shirt into something cool and fun.  Yesterday, I got so excited when I found this (Rediculiously easy) tutorial on Cutoutandkeep.  Now I'm going to be fishing around for T-shirts in all sorts of colors to make cute little shrugs.  If you don't know how to sew, you should try this, it's very hard to mess up.  The only thing you need to know is to use a knit stitch on your machine.

I know you're jealous of my pink tile bathroom.  Just admit it.

R&D with Patch Madras - Bow tie, belt and neck tie

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Today I made up a few little patch madras things. I bought this fabric before I went on vacation but haven't had the chance to work with it until now. I have quite a bit of this fabric so I should be able to make as many bow ties as people want over the next month or so. I also made up a belt and children's neck tie just for fun. I'll try to put them up on my store soon...once I get my computer up and running. I'm learing that it is tradition to leave our charger in Nashville. It's leaving me rather unplugged but I've been surprisingly productive this week so go figure.

As always, if you see something you like, e-mail me or leave a comment and I'll get back to you.  Bow ties are $23 and belts...well, what do you think I should charge?