Best Bib and Tucker

Have you heard the news?
We are expanding our Handmade Market!

Here’s an idea of what we are looking to consign. We also have a board on Pinterest of tutorials and photos of the types of items we are looking for.

Have another product idea? Send it our way!

Accessories

• Hair clips, jewelry, scarves, coin purses, wallets, wristlets, purses, and totes

Bridal

• Garters, decor, jewelry, hair accessories

Kitchen

• Towels, pot holders, oven mitts, utensils, aprons

Laundry Helpers

• Detergent, dryer balls, ironing board covers

Paper

• Greeting cards

Home Decor

• Pillows, artwork

Maternity

• Belly bands, nursing covers, diaper bags, baby shower decor, baby slings

Soaps/Beauty

Acceptance of products depends on space availability, whether similar items are already carried, and whether the style of the product fits in with the other items in the shop.

• Our handmade consignors receive 60% of their items’ selling price
• No space fees or work shifts required
• BBT covers costs for all wrapping, bagging, tagging, and credit card processing
• You may include your own tag with logo/website
• BBT handles all sales tax collection and payment

Our well established shop will promote your items on our website and social media (Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest) as well as through artist and product features on our BBT Tips Blog.

To submit your item(s) complete this quick form: Product Submission Form

Have questions or want more info?  Send us an email!

Did you love yesterday’s One Shoulder Swim Cover-up Tutorial? Here’s another favorite way to tie a summer scarf.  This Twister Halter tie works great as a swim cover but also looks fabulous over a tank and leggins.

Twisted Halter Swim Cover

Begin with your scarf around your back and the ends brought front and center.

Twist the ends and cross them over your chest.

Wrap the ends around each other once to secure them in place.

Double knot into a halter behind your neck.

A note on scarf sizes:
The scarf shown in the photos above is 45″ wide x 60″ long. A width between 30 and 45 inches works well. Shorter widths will cover less of your leg while a 45″ scarf will work as a maxi length on most women.

A 60″ long scarf will work up for size extra small up to a size 14/16.

More summer scarf tying ideas

What to Wear Wednesday: Summer Scarves

One of our favorite ways to use scarves in the summer is to turn them into swim cover-ups.

One Shoulder Swim Cover

Place your scarf around your back and bring the ends to one side of your body.  Tie a small knot in the ends as shown above.


Give the end a twist to create a loop for your arm.

A note on scarf sizes:
The scarf shown in the photos above is 45″ wide x 60″ long.  A width between 30 and 45 inches works well.  Shorter widths will cover less of your leg while a 45″ scarf will work as a maxi length on most women.

A 60″ long scarf will work up for size extra small up to a size 14/16.

More summer scarf tying ideas

What to Wear Wednesday: Summer Scarves

Twisted Halter Swim Cover-Up Tutorial

Just because temps are rising doesn’t mean you have to put your button-ups away.  They make great layering pieces for chilly evenings, can be fun swim cover ups, the sleeves can be rolled up, AND long or short sleeve they are an office staple year round.

Here are 3 of our favorite ways to wear one:

Layered with your favorite cardigan. Roll up the sleeves and add a belt!

Pair your button-up with your favorite jacket and a statement necklace for an on trend professional look.

Roll up the sleeves and tie a bow with the ends to wear over spring and summer dresses.

One of our “new shop” projects has been making toys  for the kids playroom.  Going along with the addition of our Handmade Market, we’d love for all of the these toys to be handmade, creative learning, or art focused.

We are currently looking for a small table to transform into a play kitchen.  Keep your eyes out for us!

This week we finished a rug made of t-shirts.  It was a bit time consuming- start to finish (cutting, knotting, crocheting, sewing, and finishing touches) on the upside of 10 hours.  But, it’s not a complicated process so much was completed while watching evening TV.

Up-cycled T-Shirt Rug Tutorial

Materials (for a 3.5 foot diameter rug)

• 20 Adult size T-shirts- We used a mix of junior’s XS to men’s XL
• 6mm Crochet Hook- Get a metal one, the plastic ones will break
• Spool of Thread- We used nylon thinking it would hold up better and less likely to break while sewing
• Scissors and a Hand Sewing Needle
  

Step #1 Cutting
Dollar Store Crafts has a simple tutorial for cutting a t-shirt into yarn.  For this project your strips should be 1.5″ wide.

Step #2 Knotting
We knotted the pieces together to make one continuous piece.  I didn’t think the loose tails would bother me in the finished product but they did.  So we spent some extra time sewing the knots and trimming. If I did it again I would sew the pieces together with my machine before crocheting.  The Dollar Store Crafts link mentioned above also shows a no-sew way to link the pieces.

Step #3 Crochet
Start with one end and tie a knot to form a loop. Put your hook through the loop and use it to pull a small portion of t-shirt through the loop. This will tighten to create a new loop. Repeat many times!

*Note The plastic crochet hook snapped in half after about 2 t-shirts. Use a metal one!

Step #4 Sewing
Your needle should be sharp and strong enough to work through the fabric but you don’t want it so thick that it leaves gaping holes. We used a 2″ needle.

Grab one end and start circling.  Once you have a few rows start sewing them together.
Tips:

• Laying the rug out on a flat surface while sewing will help keep everything flat and circular.
• If you pull your thread too tight the rug will get bumpy.  Give it some breathing room.
• Keep all stitches hidden or at least only visible on one side.

Finished

Looking for inexpensive ways to entertain your kids this summer? Tracy from Hall of Fame Moms has put together a great resource.

The Ohio Family Fun Summer Survival Guide is available to her blog subscribers and “likers” of her 1000 Things to Do Stark County Facebook page.  Click here to visit her page and download the guide from the “Only Likers” tab.

This online guide includes links to area attractions, tips, reviews, discounts, and stay at home activities. You’ll even find a spotlight on our BBT Tips Blog and a link to our weekend road trips.

To kick off the Guide she is giving away 4 waterpark passes to Fort Rapids Indoor Waterpark Resort!

What are your Ohio summer exploration plans?

Pretty, inexpensive, easy, and quick.
This is my kind of craft project!

Tissue Paper + String = $3-4 per pom pom
If you are making several you can decrease your costs by buying larger packs of tissue paper.

Here’s what you’ll need:

10 sheets of tissue paper
scissors
2-3 feet of string (depending on how long you’d like your pom pom to hang)

Start by straightening 10 sheets of tissue paper on a flat surface. The sheets I used are 26×20 inch rectangles and made a pom pom with a 13 inch diameter. I was a little concerned before I started about not having square pieces, but they turned out round!

Fold your stack accordion style.  I used a 1.5″ fold.

Tie your paper together using string, thread, wire, thin ribbon..whatever you have handy.  I cut an arms length of nylon thread and tied it so I had a long tail remaining to hang from.  If you need a longer or shorter length you can always cut it or add a longer piece of string.

Cut the ends.  My scissors wouldn’t go through the whole stack so I cut them a fold at a time.

Gently begin separating the sheets. Start on the top edge and loosen all the way around the arc then towards the center.

Repeat with 5 sheets on each side, then flip over to complete the other half of the circle.

Hang and admire!
We’re adding ours to the “Coming Soon” window display at the new Best Bib and Tucker!

For more wedding ideas, tutorials, and local wedding spots read our entire Wedding March series.

Today’s Wedding March Local Business interview is with Natasha Gotto from BabyCakes Bake Shoppe in Hartville, Ohio.

If you are like us and seek out small shops and restaurants you’ll love discovering BabyCakes. What started as a small cupcake shoppe has grown to include donuts, cookies, cakes, pastries and more! And oh my do they make amazing cupcakes.

Enjoy!

Tell us a bit about what BabyCakes has available for brides.
At BabyCakes, we have 2 pastry chefs who create all of our gourmet cupcakes.  We have almost 100 flavor combinations and have custom made different flavors by request for wedding receptions (for ex: for a groom who didn’t love cake, but liked tiramisu, we made and still offer a tiramisu cupcake that he loved). We can match bridal colors and we offer rentals for our cupcake towers, as well as a beautiful silver cake stand.

We also can create wedding/shower cakes, brownies, cut-out cookies, individual cupcake centerpieces, cake pops and cake truffles for favors or dessert tables.  Anything we make can be customized.

Oh and Ah over the pink ombre cake

Do you offer tastings?
We offer a complimentary tasting of up to 6 cupcakes when a customer books their event with us.
Note from Megan: If anyone needs assistance with their tasting I’m happy to come along and lend a hand!

How far in advance should a bride make a reservation?
To book a large event, we ask for a non-refundable $50.00 deposit that goes towards their final invoice.  We have weddings booked right now through October 2013, so we recommend 6-9 months to “save” the date, if possible.  But, we do have openings this summer still for last minute people. 

Is the price of a cupcake similar to a wedding cake?
For wedding desserts on a budget, cupcakes are a great option because when purchased by the dozen, they are only $1.67 each for an individual dessert for each guest.  A tiered wedding cake starts at $2.75 per serving and goes up with the level of difficulty and options (for fillings, fondant and decorations).

Which to choose? Black Forrest, White Christmas, Chocolate, Peanut Butter Bombshell, Bella Tiramisu, and Raspberry Sweetie

Do you have any other tips for our brides-to be?
We normally recommend that our brides choose up to 5 flavor combinations and guests then can enjoy choosing one of their favorites.  Some of our top sellers are our:

• Peanut Butter Bombshell- Chocolate cake filled with peanut butter mousse and peanut butter frosting with a Reese Peanut Butter Cup garnish
• Coconut Snowball- Vanilla cake filled with coconut cream and vanilla buttercream coated in flaky coconut
• SeaSalt Caramel- Chocolate cake filled with dulce de leche and chocolate buttercream with a caramel drizzle and crunchy seasalt.

Many of our brides rent the cupcake tower for their cupcakes and we make a 6″ cutting cake for the top.  That way they can do the traditional cake cutting photos.

How can customers reach you?
BabyCakes Bake Shoppe
1138 W. Maple St. Hartville, Ohio
www.babycakescanton.com
catering@babycakescanton.com
330.877.9161

Anyone else thinking “I need a cupcake”? Check out the daily menu on the BabyCakes Facebook page.

For more local wedding ideas, DIY tutorials, and shabby chic ideas read our entire Wedding March series!

We’ve added lots of pretty wedding items to our shop this month! Check them out here: Top Drawer Finds

We’re happy to arrange for local pick up at the new shop!  Use the code LOCALPICKUP at checkout to remove shipping costs.

For more wedding tips, tutorials, and local venues read our entire Wedding March series.

Vintage luggage is perfect for a wedding.  It’s the start of a new adventure! Plus they are oh so pretty.

We usually have a case or two available in our Top Drawer Finds Etsy shop and you can always count on Faded Velvet in Hartville, Ohio to have some cuties to choose from.

1. Cake Stand
No words necessary, this is just stunning!

2. Card Collection
Card banners will be available in the wedding section of our Handmade Market, opening this Spring!
3. Signs
This case has been painted on one side with chalkboard paint. Erase and use it for home decor after the big day!

4. Bridal Shower Buffet Table
Tissue Paper Pom Pom tutorial coming later this week!

5. Seating Chart
Just add wire and clothespins! We are planning on trying something similar for our earring display at the new shop.  Tutorial coming soon.

For more DIY wedding ideas read our entire Wedding March series.