Creative Connection Friends

Country Mouse and I are still recovering from our time at The Creative Connection Event last week. It was an amazing experience and a wonderful place to connect with so many other creative minds. We had the opportunity to hear Mary Jane Butters and Amy Butler talk about their background and how their businesses evolved. 

We loved hearing their stories of how they got started and what they view as important creative business practices. So inspiring! I was ready to give my resignation notice at my day job when I returned on Monday...but my husband wasn't in agreement with this quite yet :) 

As part of the Handmade Market we got to meet lots of other vendor friends...here are a few of our sweet neighbors...

I Sew Lucky

Jenna Lou Designs

And we had celebrity shoppers! Heather Bailey stopped by, Vanessa and Danielle from Etsy, Mary Jane Butters and her daughter, and Kris and Kim from You Can Make This! It sounds like Nancy and Jo plan to do another one next year and we hope they decide to keep it in Minneapolis so we can be sure to join in the fun again.

Inspiring Sewing Spaces

I really, really want to reorganize my sewing room/office. And I know my mom (Country Mouse) feels the same way.  We both dream of a new desk, shelving (LOTS of shelving please!), and a large workspace. Oh and some pretty lighting fixtures as well. Are you with us?


These two ladies recently purchased ironing board covers from our shop and we've fallen in love with their sewing spaces and honored that they chose to add one of our covers to their lovely decor...let's take a look...

This is Bonnie's sewing room...just look at that long work table AND a cutting table! and cabinets! So much room to spread out projects! And the sewing table is just perfect in front of the window. I adore her ruffle cafe curtains and the pop of the yellow chair. *sigh* You can see which ironing board cover she chose for her sewing room here.


You simply must head over to Bonnie's blog Going Home to Roost to see more of her gorgeous home (or as she's says - roost) and also check out her Etsy shops: The Kitchen Roost, Home to Roost and Old Renewed for goodies to add to your home.


Next up is a sewing room makeover by Naz...

I love the light fixture she chose and all of the creative ways she has used things she already owns or thrifted to get organized. Her shelves are so organized! She shows close up pictures and tips on how to organize those shelves on her blog. And she reminds me...I MUST get an inspiration board on my sewing room wall!


To see the before picture you'll need to head over to Naz's blog Make it, Bake it, Create it. She also has an Etsy shop Oliver Rue where you are sure to find the perfect gift for Mom if you still need one for Mother's Day. I have my eye on this pink vintage wine stopper.


Now if only my yardwork would be done so that I could work on redoing my sewing room. In the meantime I'll gather my inspiration from these ladies and make plans to someday (soon please!) redo my sewing room as well as Country Mouse's sewing room!

Interview with Glorious Hats

Just a quick note to let you know Jane from Glorious Hats interviewed us on her blog today! We are part of her fun series titled "Etysians who Drive a Sewing Machine." Jane creates wonderful one-of-a-kind items in her shop just check out this Mustache:



AND she is a fellow Minnesotan, so of course she is warm and friendly :) You can read the interview here.

Our First Pattern!

I mentioned a while back that we would have some exciting news to share. And we've been oh-so-busy working on this project :)

It all started when we had a request from a sweet customer (Lori), wondering if we would ever offer a pattern for our oven mitt. Country Mouse and I had talked about several ideas for a pattern but it just simply had not made it to the top of our priority list. That is until we heard from Lori. We sprung into action putting our instructions and photos together.

We just needed the skills of a graphic designer to help us with the finishing touches. Our dear etsy friend Whitney of Whisker Graphics created a dreamy layout while we struggled with a name. Just when we were about to settle on one, Whitney emailed us with a suggestion from her daughter and it was perfect...drumroll...Please welcome the very first City Chic Country Mouse PDF sewing pattern: Sew Hot Oven Mitt!

Just in time for you to start sewing your holiday gifts (yes, it's that time already!) This is a fun pattern for a beginning-sewer as well as advanced. There are a few options for extra creativity (like adding an applique or yo-yo). 6 color pages filled with step-by-step instructions and color photos to guide you through making your oven mitt.


It will be emailed to you within 24 hours and you can start sewing immediately! No waiting for the mail. And the other thing we really like about this pattern is that it takes a small amount of fabric - just two fat quarters! If you are like us, you probably have tons of fat quarters lying around just waiting to be made into something beautiful.

You can find the Sew Hot Oven Mitt pattern for sale in our shop now. Happy Sewing!

Blog Love

This week City Chic Country Mouse was featured on two wonderful blogs. You must stop by and check them out.

Heather from Gathering Spriggs has a vintage inspired design blog. She is constantly finding the best shops and interior designs with inspiring colors. It's always candy for your eyes when you visit her blog. And she doesn't stop at blogging...


She has two amazing etsy shops as well! Visit Gathering Spriggs for vintage and nature inspired homegoods, art, and more. And to satisfy your love for vintage, stop by Gathering Vintage. It's worth stopping by to enjoy the pictures of the items in her shops, she is an excellent stylist.

We were also mentioned on Quilting on a Budget. And I wondered, why hadn't I come across this blog before? I'm know as being thrifty and love blogs that share this value. Be sure to visit Quilting on a Budget if you enjoy sewing, quilting, being crafty and don't want to break the bank while doing these activities.

We are always amazed by the friendly blogging community, there are so many thoughtful bloggers and readers out there! Thank you all!

A Sweet Summer Surprise

My husband and I have been working so hard at the other house in the little spare time that we have to get it ready before the open house. This has made me turn into a little bit of a crabby pants the last week or so. But today that all changed! I arrived home to a sweet little unexpected package in my mailbox from my friend Whitney over at Whisker Graphics. I managed to take a few pictures before the package got ripped open from excitement!


Isn't she a sweetheart? So much fun and color in all these goodies! I couldn't help but be in a better mood. I just love surprises. Well, good surprises. Not the kind of surprises your cat leaves you when they don't feel like using the litterbox.

If you would like to brighten someone's day take a look at how she put this sweet package together over on her blog. I must order some of the Japanese masking tape that she has found so many creative uses for.

Thank you Whitney for making my day!

Hello Victory!

I came across the most wonderful vintage shop the other day and wanted to share! The lovely shop is Hello Victory on Etsy. Don't you just love the name? After snooping around her profile I see she has already been mentioned on some major blogs including decor8, so I don't know why on earth I had not hearted her yet. And to top it off she is located in Northern Minnesota where I grew up! Our hockey teams were actually rivals. But we are grown ups and I think we can be friends now, right Kate? I covet many, many items in her shop including...

this lovely pink hairdryer would be a gorgeous display in a girlie room

how about this cutesy party decor for a little one's big day?

I'd love a little company from this guy on my desk, might just make my office day job tolerable

and last but certainly not least, a little mouse. Can he come live at my house please?

Seriously, where does she find these treasures??? I would like to know. For those who can't wait to see what is added next to the shop, visit the Hello Victory blog.

Don't her photos show just how stylish vintage can be? I'm inspired to map out some sales for a treasure hunt one of these upcoming weekends. Anyone else? My husband has not learned to appreciate how much fun my weekend treasure hunts can be. Like the time there was this terrific estate sale down the block form us and I figured I could easily walk back any purchase I made. I ended up with a whole trash bag full of vintage fabrics and could hardly handle walking back home. Some people drove by and laughed at my bag lady self, but I kept smiling about my treasures. My husband on the other hand wanted to get me in the house ASAP so the neighbors wouldn't see the true bag lady treasure hunter I am.

If you don't have time to treasure hunt this weekend, be sure to head on over to Hello Victory and check out her shop treasures. Happy treasure hunting to all and to all a great weekend! Jamie

images by Hello Victory

psst...Sale in One of my Favorite Shops

It's just about summertime and I can't think of a better way to celebrate than to add some inspiring garden prints to your home...

Don't these just make you want to get out there and plant something? If you are like me and not blessed with a green thumb but really enjoy the beauty of flowers, try adding some of these gorgeous prints to your home. Surrounding myself with images of beautiful flowers will improve my gardening skills, right?

Head on over to one of my favorite Etsy shops - My Fine Garden by SLGdesigns - for her 1 year anniversary sale on these prints and more! A full week of 25% off in her lovely shop when you mention "1 year" in the notes to seller and then wait for your revised invoice! See the details her blog. Happy shopping (and gardening)!

images by slgdesigns

A Little Photo Shoot

The lovely Shanon from My Fine Garden came over last week for a little photo shoot. I have been drooling over her prints for quite some time and finally purchased the Buttons print, the perfect piece for a sewing room, don't you think? I also downloaded the free wallpaper for my laptop from Kindred because I am so fond of it. You simply must check out her Etsy shop to see all of her other lovlies. Her prints show details of the simple things in life we may pass over each day. When I see them it reminds me to stop and admire the beauty that surrounds us in the everyday, fast-paced lifestyle we live in.


The photo shoot was for our post on Etsy's blog the Storque! If you have not read the Storque, make sure to add it to your reading list. They have excellent posts on how-to's, interviews with shop owners, and a wealth of other informative articles and videos as well. Please click on over and you will read about another exciting project that we just finished working on! I will tell you more very soon...


p.s. A big THANK YOU! to Shanon for working her magic with us!

all images by Shanon of SLGdesigns