New Duke & June Items Coming Soon!!

I have some little men in the making and I am SO excited to start posting them in the shop in the next week or two! Here is a sneak peak of my little prototype.Isn't he handsome!?!

Duke & June: A Giveaway!

Be sure to swing by my Duke & June Facebook fanpage for a chance to win this sweet little "Mini Momma Go Clutch!" All you have to do is "Like" Duke & June on Facebook and comment on the profile picture. :) Giveaway ends Friday, March 9th.

Duke & June: A Sweet New Handmade Shop

Hello followers of my very neglected blog! I have been busy chasing my toddler who apparently thought it was time to start walking and getting into EVERYTHING...I think we have that situation under control now...sort of.

While away I spent a bit of time contemplating whether or not to reopen my Etsy, Red Planet. While trying to pull it together I decided the best thing to do was to start completely fresh and that is when I started my new Etsy, Duke & June. A shop inspired by my little "Duke" and all of my lovely friends and their adorable wee ones.

Duke & June has sweet items for Modern babies and mommas. I will be having a give away on my Duke & June Facebook later this week so be sure to "Like"

Post 192: Procrastinator...

Hello, my name is Mandi and I am a habitual procrastinator. sigh.

SO way back on July 10th some beautiful women threw the most fabulous baby shower at a tea room for me and Lucas. It was adorable and it could not have been more perfect. I suck for not getting these out sooner. I just got around to mailing their thank yous out today. These things have been sitting on my desk for over two months now!

I could have sent out the cards right away but I really wanted to send something more. And being pregnant at the time I had to keep it quick and easy...but I still managed to fail at getting them out at a decent time! Dangit!

Anyway, I guess now is better than never. I hope I do not seem ungrateful :(

If a friend was this terribly slow at getting her thank you to you what would you think of it??

Post 184: Last Minute Projects

I finally finished Luke's crib 'quilt'...It was supposed to be a quilt at least, but I got lazy and it ended up being a patch blanket. It is cute none the less (if you ask me). :D

I'll post nursery pictures next week so stay tuned!

Sooo, nearly every woman I know is expecting a baby in the next month or two so I have been sewing my tail off trying to finish up shower gifts before baby Luke gets here! It has actually been quite fun to work on some quick easy projects. I like seeing the results so soon! It is also a fantastic way to use up all the bits and pieces of fabric I have gathering dust.

Lil' Taggies:

(I was going to post more pictures but they are all blurry!) My mind and photography skills went out the door once pregnancy hit. ah!

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!!

156: Makin' Thangs.

Soooo, besides reading about chickens this weekend I did get to do a little bit of crafting. With everything tossed away in storage crafting has really been put on the back burner. This weekend I completed a small project for Baby's room using cheap items I could find at Alco (since I was too lazy and cheap to travel into town.)

I am pretty pleased with it.

Also, this handsome guy arrived in my mailbox this weekend. I was so excited!

You have no idea how much I love this and how perfect it will be in my soon to be fantastic nursery.

Sorry for the dark pictures it has been pretty dreary here the past few days :(

Post 153: Unicorn Promenade!!

"Like a phoenix rising from the ashes or something similarly awesome, SugarPickle is back!"

In honor of re-opening her other Etsy shop, Sugarpickle, my BFF, Leanne, from Folk Craft is having a fabulous GIVEAWAY!! (that means FREE folks!)

Talk about one fabulous blingin' pincushion! 10 coordinating pins are also included! woot woot.

Post 122: Woo Hoo!

Soooooo, guess who made it to a gift guide?!??!

Bet you didn't guess it was little ol' me!

That's right! (And, YES those are my mad photoshop circle drawin skillz. Jealous?)

I would have never even realized I made it here if lovely Amy of Ponder & Stitch hadn't ever so kindly messaged me to let me know. It seriously made my week! Thanks Amy. Thanks Etsy!

And thank you Admiral.

The Admiral - Clutch $28.00

Post 119: We partied like it was 1999

10 years ago......we were nerds.

Leanne of Folk Craft on the left and me on the right HA!

Those were the days...I'd like to think in these past 10 years our tastes have been a bit more refined. Buuut if you take a look at our Etsy shops Folk (Leanne) and Red Planet (mine,duh) you can still clearly see our personalities hehe

F O L K

R E D P L A N E T

Post 117: Waiting and Wishing

Soo, we are still waiting for an answer on the house. The reason for the long wait is the people who own the house (on 9 acres next to a 'nature park') have offered the land and house to be purchased by a nature preserve (owned by an attorney) at a higher price than our offer.
I honestly think this 'preserve' is bogus and will eventually be turned into a housing compound soon enough, but that is me being a pessimist. Although the house is not mine, and MAY never be I cannot help but daydream about the things I would LOVE to have for such a fantastic mid-century home. Daydreaming is always fun right? (fingers crossed)

Click images to visit the shops!


I love this, not only because it is fabulous, but it reminds me of the infamous green couch in our first apartment . :)

Thes green chairs are great *drool* as well as EVERYTHING else in this shop!



I am in love with this lamp.

I looove this and its gray! (Gray and I are having a love affair.) This shop is also chock full of fantastic mid-century modern furnature. (p.s. i love the Tabasco ad)

With the house being out in the woods this would be just perfect!
And I would like to throw this in for good measure since it is where I REALLY want to be :). Cute huh? (If you love this there are a few other states in this lovely print collect just click the image)


Now who wants to donate to my shopping fund?!? :p

Post 115: Woot Woot

It is Friday! Aaaaaand Leanne of Folk Craft has posted a lovely little interview about ME! So check it out!

Post 113: Custom Order Complete!

Sooo this weekend I finished up and sent off my first custom order! I really enjoyed making this diaper bag! I think just knowing that I was making it for an actual person gave me that tingly feeling. :) I had my husband help me take a couple of pictures and lets just say he isn't much of a photographer, I was lucky to find one that didn't have a finger in it! hehe The interior is a nice bubble gum pink oil cloth that can easily be cleaned. and there are several pockets that make this perfect for Mrs. Amanda's Baby Bug!

Just a reminder that LOVE LOOOVE doing custom orders. I sit and imagine the people they are going to and take my time to make them extra, extra beautiful. Annnnd I am more than willing to work with you to reach a price that you would be happy with. Just convo me at Redplanet.etsy.com.

<3

Post 109: No Ordinary Apple

Okay, so I am a bit of a complainer. I hate the cold. (When I say hate I mean absolutely despise.) I am not a big fan of fall because it is a sign of what is to come. I have lived in Illinois for 3 years now and I still have not yet become accustomed to all the snow and ice and below zero winters. Buuut, I must say, Illinois does have the most beautiful fall I have ever seen. The leaves are GLOWING red, orange and yellow! I am also enjoying fall much more this week since the sun has finally showed up and it has been in the mid 60s. The discovery of Cinnamon Apple Tea has also been fantastic....soooo i might not hate fall so much after all. :)

And as a tribute to fall, apples, and this delicious tea I made this today! [Sorry for the poor pics I have been really lazy with the cam these days :( ]

And the embroidery detail "No ordinary apple" (I got a little inspiration from the movie/story Snow White).....aaand here is the other side

It also has a tiny apple embroidered on the flap with a nice big red button! Aaand it is lined in a dark brown satin :D

And I have a bit of a dilemma! I cannot decide if I want to gift it, keep it, or try and sell it on my Etsy!

Post 108: Show your tartan!

TARTAN: A plaid textile design of Scottish origin consisting of stripes of varying width and color usually patterned to designate a distinctive clan.

The Scott in my blood makes me love tartan...I am told that our colors are/were some combination of the blue and green tartan...but who really knows. I love it all aaaand Etsy has some BEAUTIFUL tartan treasures. Enjoy! (click on images for more info)

Red Tartan Neckwarmer by Malam $53.00

Earrings by MistyAurora $9.00

Purse by Country Lou Bags $40.00

Hair clip by Botique De Banddeaux $11.00

Skirt by Sohomode $60.00

3 Small Notebooks by Corrupiola $12.00

Cloak by Folk $33.00

Post 101: Another GIVEAWAY @ Folk Craft!

I. AM. EXHAUSTED.
And have to pry my eyes open just to type ....I have spent the entire day trying to organize my mess...A few months ago I moved my work space from the guest room to the office/living room. I did this thinking that I would be able to keep my eye on the pup and not feel so secluded from the rest of the house when I was working on things.... Bad idea. Don't even try it. My house was looking like a tornado! Soooo, after spending several hours on cleaning and organizing I started working on the fam's Christmas gifts. (which gets me soooo excited) Aaaanywho I think my house is back to square one...I really need to work on this...


Oh and now the reason I started this post in the first place...Not only do I have a GIVEAWAY buuuut my BFF Leanne at Folk Craft is also having a giveaway! This lovely plaid clutch is perfect for fall!

It is so easy to enter! And soooo worth it!

With that I say gooooood night.

Post 98: Little Things That Make My Day

Miss Bri got her costume on Friday (it only took one day to get there!)! Aaaand she loved it! So of course it made my day. Here she is showing off her super hero muscles. The belt doesn't quite stay on since its a silky material but nothing a good ol' safety pin can't fix. And the tulle could use some trimming (oops)

Annnnd of course an action shot. This one cracks me up! (Thanks to my step-mom for sending me pictures right away!)Another little thing that made my day....

My Morticia Clutch made it in what i think is the most fantastic treasury ever! (sorry for the poor screen shot I don't quite have that down...)

Post 93: Mission Complete...sorta

So, I finally completed my baby sister's Halloween/dress up costume (first mentioned here)! I am fairly pleased with the way it came out for not having a pattern or a whole lot of experience making clothes in general. To be honest, the most intimidating part of this was making sleeves...but I did it! (sorry for the fairly poor pictures) I could have spent more time getting it perfect but I have to remind myself it is for a messy 4 year old and probably won't last too long no matter how much time i spend on it! She loooves to play dress up aaaand she is quite the girly tomboy. I am sure it will see some rolling in the dirt and getting snagged on swing sets soon enough...

Hehe, i just had to add the tulle (above) to give it a touch of princess! As well as the ruffles around the cape! (below)

And the material is so soft and silky, not stiff and scratchy like most Halloween costumes!

Thanks for looking. Now I just have to keep my fingers crossed that it fits her and that she loves it as much as I do!