Feature Shop: Storybook Styles

We have so many creative moms on the SAHM of Etsy Team, and I hope you are enjoying meeting them as much as I am! This week, meet Jennifer of Storybook Styles. If your kid loves playing dress up as much as mine does, you'll want to read about Jennifer and the clothing she creates to spark the imagination! Cheers! -Cori of Peace, Baby! Batiks

Jennifer and her family

What is your name? 
Jennifer

Where are you located? 
New Lenox, IL

Tell us a little about yourself.
I am a stay-at-home mom of two children and have been married for 12 years. I used to work in advertising but decided to stay home seven years ago when my son was about six months old.

What type of merchandise will shoppers find in your shop? 
Costumes and children's boutique-style clothing.

How/why did you get started?
It started when I was making Halloween costumes for my kids. I made my daughter a Little Red Riding Hood cape, but the pattern ended up running large so I thought I would list it on Etsy to see if anyone wanted to buy it. Well, the timing was right before Halloween, and I ended up making many more of them.

Little Red Riding Hood Costume

How long have you been sewing? What got you into sewing in the first place?
My mom sewed some of my clothes and most of my Halloween costumes as a child. I always thought those items were special and wanted to do the same for my kids. I learned a few things from my mom, but also took classes and have been sewing more seriously for the last two years.

Where did the idea for Storybook Styles come from?
It all started with the Little Red Riding Hood cape and my family's love of books. I have also been very disappointed with the quality of children's costumes and dress-up clothes, so I wanted to make something that is more durable and can be used for more than just one day.

Tinkerbell Fairy TuTu

Why do you think dress-up play is important?
I feel that children playing dress up helps them to grow their imaginations and to act out real life situations, which helps them grow creatively and just as people in general.

What inspires you to create?
My kids' interests, books, and movies, as well as the satisfaction of making something that other people enjoy.

What is one thing you need to have with you while you craft? 
My sewing machine and music playing in the background.

Child's King Queen Princess Purple Cape

How do you balance mothering and running a small business? 
Being a mom is my first priority, so I end up doing most of my work for my shop when they are at school or when everyone is in bed for the night. But sometimes my daughter will sit next to me and pretend to sew which always makes me smile!

What is your favorite thing to browse Etsy for?
Children's items (clothing and hair accessories) as well as unique home decor.

When you're not crafting, what are you doing?
Just being a typical mom, taking care of the kids and the house.

Madeline Costume

Where can we find you?
www.storybookstyles.etsy.com

What is your favorite shop (not yours) on Etsy currently?
I have many -- it is hard to pick just one! Sweetie Pie Cake Topper Shop, Thomas Park Gifts, Aidille, and Old Barn Rescue Company are just a few.

Girl Gnome Costume

Craft Tutorial: Home Made Recycled Crayons

I've been wanting to try out the homemade crayon ideas that I've been seeing around, and I thought this would be a great thing to do...that ALL of my kids could help out with! I have a nine-year-old, seven-year-old, four-year-old, and two-year-old, and they ALL love to color and make stuff! My kids are huge recycling/reusing fans, so a lot of our projects are repurposing things...this was a perfect fit for them! (Pay no attention to their uncombed hair and mismatched clothing, please...)


We started out by gathering all of our odd crayons from around the house - most of them were in an empty diaper wipe container that I keep them in. Then we all helped peel the wrappers off and break them into small pieces. We sorted the colors (sort of) by color families into small plastic containers.


Then distributed them among the muffin cups. I'd seen this done with both silicone and metal muffin molds, so I gave it a try in my good old-fashioned aluminum pan! (Some sites recommend that you spray it with non-stick spray first, but I didn't want to deal with making sure it was wiped off before they could color.)



Aren't they so pretty?

I put the tin in a 250 degree oven and baked it for about 10 minutes. After that I let it cool a bit on the stove-top. (Sorry - I forgot to take an in between shot!) When the tin had cooled a bit and the wax was mostly solid we put it into the freezer.

After about 10 more minutes we took them out of the freezer and popped them out of the tin, onto the counter. (Putting the muffin tin in the freezer helps the wax shrink away from the sides of the muffin tin, and makes it easy to pop them out, without much clean-up afterward!)

And here are the finished beauties!




Some things we discovered: the cheaper crayons (ie the ones not made by RoseArt or Crayola) didn't color very well after the melting process, but they also didn't color well before, either. They also separated from the better quality crayons during the melting process, and floated to the top of the mold.

Happy coloring!!!

This was originally posted on Sarahndipities.blogspot.com on January17, 2011. (http://sarahndipities.blogspot.com/2011/01/make-something-monday-homemade-recycled.html)

-Sarah @ Sarahndipities