A Memorable Birthday

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I'm one tired 29 year old! I had such a warm, surprise filled day thanks to so many loving people taking the time to celebrate my birthday with me. You have my gratitude! I'll be back on Wednesday to share some details but I'm calling it a night. It's been a grand first day to my 29th year!

xoxo,
Rachel

Beautifully Organized Space of the Week

Cookbooks organized by color on open kitchen shelving and pans hung neatly on a rail.

Giveaway Day - MuchLove-Illy

"My name is Ilene - but my fiance calls me, 'Illy' (thus the name of my lil' shop). I'm currently in the midst of transition - moving out of Chicago (my home for 8 amazing years) and heading back South to be with my family and to start wedding planning (I recently got engaged - so yes, wedding planning looks like another outlet for creativity for me!).


I'm obsessed with anything creative, all things green, spending time with family and Ryan, coffee with lots of creamer, painting my nails with only bright colors, buying books I dont have time to read, and traveling the world. Besides my etsy shop, i have two other creative outlets - my own personal blog (www.muchlove-illy.blogspot.com) and a collaborated inspirational blog called sulu (www.sulublog.com). My current motto is to savor life 'cause it goes by way too fast. That's all, folks! Much love!"
xoxo,
Illy

This giveaway is for a $25 gift card to MuchLove-Illy! She is also offering Smile And Wave readers a 10% PayPal refund from all shop purchases. To enter to win, leave your name in the comments below. Winner will be chosen Wednesday.

xoxo,
Rachel

Small Craft Video Sneak Peek

Hi! Elsie and I spent a good part of today filming videos for Small Craft, our upcoming online class. We are each doing 3 projects in video sessions! While we were at it, we filmed a quick little sneak peek video for you...

Small Craft from elsie flannigan on Vimeo.

This is one of Elsie's favorite projects. It's called the 'Gramma Chic Diaper Bag'! I'm pretty sure this is what I was wanting to do with my mustard yellow train case when Ruby was born. I still have it and I think it's going to get a makeover for fall!

Don't you love those adorable handmade dresses on our 'studio' backdrop?!

P.S. Earlybird registration includes a download of all 6 of Elsie's paper doll designs as a fun bonus! There are 5 girls plus a cute dress set that you can print out at home! Register here. (all photos Elsie's.)

xoxo,
Rachel

Giveaway Day - Blue Bird Lucy's

"Hi all!! It's Kim here from Blue Bird Lucy's, a crafter, thrifter, and mother of one 1 year old whom decided not to take a nap today and is banging on the the keyboard as I type..I suppose she just wanted to say hello as well:) Anywho... I'm a newbie here and I just wanted to stop by and say how much I've enjoyed meeting you guys and wanted to thank you for stopping by my little blog and shop:) I've so enjoyed all of the comments you all have left and look forward to meeting more of Rachel's lovely readers!!


Today I'm offering one of my new crocheted charm necklaces of your choice from my shop, a $25.00-$28.00 value, as a little thank-you:) These are one of my favorite new items for fall so I hope you all will enjoy them as much as I have!! Please be sure to stop by for a visit as I'm also offering a 10% discount to Smile and Wave readers, please just enter 'Smile and Wave' in the notes to seller during check-out and I'll quickly send you a refund through paypal."

xoxo,
Kim
For a chance to win this lovely giveaway, leave your name in the comments below. Winner will be announced on Wednesday!

xoxo,
Rachel

Giveaway Day - Sunday Morning Sugar

Malori from Sunday Morning Sugar is just about to open her new shop featuring hand knit items so keep your ear to the ground! In the meantime, she is offering one Smile And Wave reader a custom hat, scarf, or pair of fingerless gloves from among her designs! Leave a comment below for your chance to win. Winner will be announced on Wednesday.


xoxo,
Rachel

Giveaway Day - Donna's Decembers

"My name is Liz and I have been crocheting since I was just 7 years old. I started Donna's Decembers blog and shop in January 2010 in memory of my grandmother, Donna, who taught me how to crochet and had just recently passed from cancer. Donna's Decembers blog is where I like to discuss my every day life of being a high school English teacher, my latest crafting projects, DIY projects I find online or make myself, and any related topics I stumble across that pertain to the fashion and craft worlds!"

xoxo,
Liz


This giveaway is for the crocheted necklace above valued at $20! (Winner can request color of choice.) Leave your name below for your chance to win. Winner will be announced on Wednesday.

xoxo,
Rachel

Giveaway Day - Gussy

"Accessorize this fall with Gussy ruffles! Inside the shop you'll find headbands, clutches and tote bags in warm, bold colors that you can easily add to accessorize your outfit. Buy a Gussy for yourself or give to a friend -- either way it will come adorable wrapped and sealed with love."
XO! Gussy

This giveaway is for $30 shop credit! Leave your name below for your chance to win. Winner will be announced on Wednesday, Sept. 1st.

xoxo,
Rachel

Sofa Transformation

This morning I thought I'd share with you a few snapshots of a client living room transformation I currently have in progress. So far we've had new flooring put in, had the walls painted a lovely tint of blue, and most recently, made-over the outdated sofas using slipcovers and and new pillows. Below is the before and after of one of the sofas:

Before

After

I love that slipcovers and accessories allow you to update a space without spending money on completely new furniture. The pillows were surprising finds at Ross (you can't really tell from the picture but the middle pillow shown above has such a cool texture and the two blue ones are incredibly soft!) and the client made the slipcovers herself using dark brown fabric she scored for less than $10 a yard. There's still lots to do in this room, (like update or replace the entertainment center, have curtains made, bring in a rug, artwork, etc.), but I'll be sure to share the final result once it's all done!

Don't Hate Me For What Is About To Happen In Your Mouth

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Brett and I have been watching a lot of Pushing Daisies these last few days when the stars have aligned and both kids have taken long naps AT THE SAME TIME. (Noted: This is when I should've been cleaning.) The result has been an overwhelming urge for a piece of pie. Or a pie sampler.

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So, I told Brett that I wanted him to take me to a pie shop for my birthday and he agreed it was better than going bowling, which was my first suggestion. We have a bowling joke but it's only funny to us.

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We plan on going to see Eat, Pray, Love before we enjoy our pie because I finally finished the book this weekend and the first third is all about indulging in delicious foods. For those who have and will ask, I enjoyed the book. It was an indulgence in itself.

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Speaking of indulgences...

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I love food with a sense of humor.
If today was the first day of your new diet, I apologize.

xoxo,
Rachel

Happy Weekend Link

Hi loves! Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend! Things were busy busy for me this past week and was unable to post everyday as usual. Today with the pace a bit slower, I wanted to take the opportunity share a lovely link to the absolute cutest slide show.

photo by Stephanie Rausser

It's called Kiki & Coco in Paris and its by the talented photographer Stephanie Rausser. If you have a few leisurely moments check it out if you haven't already. It will surely make you smile :)

Digging Out From Under The Laundry Pile

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So my house has slowly turned into a disaster zone with piles of projects needing to be finished, laundry to wash and/or put away, shoes without mates, toys stuck in every nook and cranny of the kids' room, an organ that doesn't work and is STILL in my house, and three extra chairs that need posting on Craigslist. Whenever I have a moment or an hour to myself I think,"You should probably use this time to tidy your studio or fold that clean load in the dryer." And then I look at myself sternly. However, I'm not afraid of myself and I tell myself to put my feet up and catch up on a few blogs or make something just for fun. And the cycle continues.

So, I'm wondering...how do you set the stage for a good old fashioned deep clean in your house? Hire a sitter and order pizza? Send any extra people out for the day so you can focus on the dust bunnies? Take it an hour or two here and there all week in order to fit it in with your own busy schedule? Medication and loud music? Ha!

I know you'd love to see a photo for proof but I dare not loose something of this nature out into the great wild web. You'll just have to use your imagination on this one. ;)

Messy but happy.
xoxo,
Rachel

Today I Will...

Prettiest stack ever.

* Sweep my floors
* Refold the piles of fabric in my studio
* Find a place on the curb for my broken organ
* Make pizza with Sebastian
* Water my grass
* Teach Ruby how to do the dishes

Enjoy the last weekend in August. I'm pretty fond of this time of the month.

xoxo,
Rachel

It's Starting To Feel Like This...

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I hear fall is nearing.
What are you most looking forward to?

xoxo,
Rachel

Decluttering for Better Health

I consider anything that doesn't serve me and helps me live my best life to be clutter. Recently my husband and I got rid of our microwave for several reasons: (1) we rarely used it, (2) it was ugly and taking up valuable counter space, and (3) we'd rather not ingest radiated food (According to Carolyn Scott, microwaves transform the chemical makeup of foods on a cellular level. While the little waves are heating up, they mutate the food -and mutated food not only loses it texture and taste, it loses all its nutrients and causes us to ingest radiation).

L: counter before with microwave; R: counter after with wheatgrass

We used the newly freed up counter space to grow our own wheatgrass and install a juicer. Not only is it a much healthier thing to have in our home, I think it looks a lot better too! Now I just have to be consistent with growing the grass, making the juice, and drinking it everyday. Admittedly it's somewhat time consuming but wheatgrass is highly alkaline and the health benefits are absolutely worth it.

August Sponsor Highlight

I've had some lovely new sponsors this summer as well as some loyal returning ones. These are a few of my favorites from their little corners of the internet.

Welcome cool weather and fall colors in this pretty headband.

So cute with bangs!

Wrap up your Pumpkin Spice latte in this!

For the lactose intolerant or not.

Get ready for fall with this cozy hat.

A place to keep your pretty things!

One of my favorite new designs from Lisa Leonard.

Sunday Morning Sugar is gearing up for a shop opening but has a fun tutorial and a giveaway in the meantime!

See what she's up to at Blue Bird Lucy's!

Thanks for stopping by!
xoxo,
Rachel

Your Ad Here

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Smile And Wave has ad spots available in it's pretty little side bar for the month of September. The fall season is the best time to start advertising your shop or blog as people are gearing up for a season of indoor crafting/reading/sharing! Smile And Wave is getting between 3,000 and 4,000 hits a day from crafters, moms, DIYers, students, artists, and vintage lovers alike and would love to have you join us.

Each sponsor receives an end of the month highlight and giveaway option to increase traffic to your shop or blog. You can see single and package rates here or contact Leigh-Ann for more details: Frecklednest (at) gmail (dot) com. It's cozy over there in the side bar!

xoxo,
Rachel

p.s. SMALL CRAFT registration post below.

Small Craft Online Class [Details & Registration Information]

I'm thrilled to introduce you to our brand new online class called Small Craft! Small Craft is a six week class full of fun projects for kiddos (newborn to age 10). Projects are primarily designed to make as fun gifts for kids with some interactive projects that children can participate in as well! This class is designed for anyone who has a cute kiddo in their lives that they'd love to craft for!

What is Small Craft?

This 6 week class is open to students worldwide. Tutorials are posted throughout the week and students are encouraged to work at their own pace, there are no deadlines! The class includes 30 Project Tutorials with 6 video sessions included in those projects! The class starts September 13th and runs for 6 weeks. There are two video Q&A sessions with Elsie & Rachel included (Students get to ask questions in advance and we answer them in one big private video... it's so much fun!). Note: There are a few sewing projects included in this class that require access to a sewing machine.

SMALL CRAFT
$60

*These are just a few peeks at projects we've created for this class! Rachel and I both agree that this is one of the most inspired classes we've created. We've had SO much fun developing it together.

Meet Your Teachers...

I'm a work-at-home mom of two! I love coming up with D.I.Y. projects for my son, Sebastian, and daughter, Ruby. I love interior design and have created some amazing kiddo bedroom projects for this class!

Elsie is a full time independent boutique owner and proof that you don't have to be a mom to be in love with creating pretty things for little people. She's an aunt and loves making things for the kids in her life as well as for her shop! ♥ We're both excited to share our projects and know they'll be so fun to work on into the fall season and through the holidays!

Projects include: Pretty, Pretty: Customizable dress pattern for all sizes, The Well-Styled Child: DIY scarves for fall, A Mid-Century Modern Fort, Abra Cadabra: Bedroom makeover tips and tricks, Here's The Skinny: Two necktie patterns and embroidery samples, Use Your Words: An art journal just for them, Traveling Puppet Theater, Modern Geometry: A block set you can both live with, What's For Lunch: DIY lunchbox, Monster Bibs, Snack Attack: Fun snacks for little fingers, Storybook Plushies, The Starving Artist's Smock/Apron, All Dressed Up And No Place To Go: Fun photo shoot ideas through imaginative play and handmade props, Upcycled Dress Up Chest: Includes three felt mask patterns and tips on creating costumes....and more!

Class cost $60 (only $10 per week or $2 per project!) Payable via paypal (button above) or through credit card in our online store.

*Private blog info will be sent within 36 hours of payment.

Questions? Please e-mail racheldenbow(at)gmail(dot)com

Hope you can join us!! We've put a lot of extra love into this class and can't wait to share it with you!

xoxo,

Rachel