Polka Dot Pancake

Back To School!

2010-08-02T15:17:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe, but back to school time is upon us! When I was a kid, nothing was more exciting than going back to school. Obviously, I was a dork because what kid would rather go school supply shopping than to a water park? Also, I liked to hang out with the librarian during PE, but that just solidifies my point...

Going back to school is fun. You get to see old friends and how they've changed since last May. You get to buy fresh notebooks and colored pencils and big colorful erasers. All that endless creative possibility fascinated me! I looked more forward to school starting back than I did school letting out!

Now that I am a grown up, few things have changed. I am a teacher, so that means I've never NOT been in school in some way for nearly the last 20 years. I still get excited about school supplies, and I still get butterflies when I think about the first day. I obsess over what to wear so I will look "cool." The biggest difference is that I ABSOLUTELY prefer the last day of school over the first!

We have gathered a list of inspiring items for back to school, as well as one of our own that celebrates reading, writing, and 'rithmetic. Click here to see our treasury of apple-themed back to school items.

Here's to that first day of school!

Girl Scouts Are Good for More Than Just Cookies

2010-07-10T09:31:00.000-07:00

I have been a Girl Scout for a long time. I mean a loooong time. When I was a kid, I spent many fond hours in church basements at meetings reciting the Girl Scout promise, singing songs and learning new skills. I can build a fire faster than most of my male friends, maneuver a swamped canoe, and make intricately knotted keychains from plastic gimp. I even spent two summers as a counselor at a local Girl Scout camp. In fact, most of my craftiness has its roots in Girl Scouting. Between all the Christmas crafts and projects, the smell of a hot glue gun still reminds me of Girl Scout meetings. So when I ran across a stash of GS badges and patches my mom had squirreled away from her days as a troop leader, I was instantly inspired.

In her basement, I found tons of these old project badges and patches commemorating various trips and achievements. I knew they would be perfect for kitschy and retro projects. My friends Katie and Stephanie Frost were the guinea pigs for the first of said projects. I made a brooches and hair clips for them using a couple badges and scraps of felt and fabric. I researched the meaning of the badges so I could choose one that would suit each girl's personality, and here's what we ended up with.

Stephanie's hair clip (on the left) is made from the "Your Outdoor Surroundings" badge. She is an outdoorsy girl who enjoys kayaking and weather, so I loved using this one for her. It's made with yellow and blue felt layered on top of some crazy Day-Glo fabric I bought at a yard sale months ago. I zigzagged around the edges with bright thread, and added a metal clippie to the back. Besides being nature-y, Stephanie likes bright, wild colors and different accessories, and this was perfect for her.

Katie's brooch (on the right) is made from the "Model Citizen" badge. Katie is one of my best friends, and although she has a couple tattoos and a nose ring, she is a precious and wonderful person and she makes a difference in the lives of her students. I used gray, red, and aqua as the color scheme, and added polka dot fabric which I love. I made hers into a brooch that she can pin to a coat, purse, or bobby pin to her hair.

This was one of the most fun projects I've undertaken in a while! I loved being able to create an accessory with a certain girl in mind and incorporate details I know she'd love. I've started on three more Girl Scout badge pins that I'll be adding to our Etsy shop very soon, and I'm giving you a sneak peek today!

Apparently we are bad at blogging...

2010-04-24T00:33:00.000-07:00

Well, well, it has almost been a year since our last post. We certainly don't get a gold medal in blogging! Callie and I remain so busy with our day jobs it leaves little time for creating, much less blogging. Sometimes I sit down to post but I just zone out and have no idea what to say. Well, here is a heads up... It is probably two in the morning here in lovely Alabama and I am up waaaaaay past my bedtime. But I'm feeling random and chatty so here it goes...

*I am spending the night with Callie tonight. We had a fantastic trip to Michaels (craft store extravaganza), ate a crap ton of yummy food at Jim and Nick BBQ, and caught up on missed Glee and Office episodes. I am looking forward to a day full of crafting tomorrow! I really treasure the time I get to spend with such wonderful friends, Callie and her hubby, Chad are two of the best!

*I freakin' love the t.v. show Glee! If you don't watch it you should start. It makes me just want to bust out into song (which I do sometimes, anyways!) I so should have been in show choir. There is this really dumb cheerleader character on the show. She always comes out with these great one liners. My fav so far this season is, "Did you know that dolphins are just gay sharks?" I almost peed a little. Callie and I got attacked by dolphins at the beach one summer. I swear I'm not lying! So, that comment was especially funny to me. Maybe dolphins really are just gay sharks? Hmmmmm? Makes you think, what other animals are gay versions of other animals?

*I'm excited because Callie and I are going to try a new "project" tomorrow. It has been such a long time since we have done something "brand new". My favorite thing to make is jewelry and sometimes I don't think about branching out much. We took a trip to the local thrift store this week and picked up some great picture frames we are going to spiff up. Think spray paint, buttons, flowers, lovely paper, and woodland creatures. Wish us luck and keep your eye on our Etsy page to see our results!

*I have just recently purchased an MP3 player, I know I'm a little behind, right! It is so awesome to have all my favorite music at my finger tips. Music really speaks to me and I am often inspired by music to create new things. In all the musical fun I have decided I want to make a list of my top ten favorite songs of the moment and make a piece of jewelry for each song. Maybe I can get Callie in on it too, even though all ten of her songs would be Hanson songs! :) Does anybody have a song they think could be translated into a piece of jewelry? If you do please comment!

*Polka Dot Pancake will be taking part in a festival the weekend of May 14th in Trussville. We have never done this festival before so we are pretty excited!

Wow, this is probably the most incoherent and random post ever BUT there is no better time to update a blog than three in the dang morning! I'm going to take my butt to bed now! Hopefully it won't be a year before our next post but I'm not making any promises!

Love,
The Bran half of PolkaDotPancake

Summer, get here soon, please...

2009-05-08T12:50:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe we havn't updated since January. *(My sincere apologies)* I realize I (Brandi) am no good at blogging. I can barely keep up with what day it is. I know I can speak for Callie and myself when I say that things have been quite hectic. We are both teachers and spring is such a busy time in the schools with testing, parent meetings, paperwork, projects, field trips, and cramming in a little time to actually teach :). The end of school is drawing near and I am so flippin' excited about a summer chock full of making stuff! Callie and I will also be taking our annual beach trip with the college buddies in July. Wahoo! That trip last year is when Polka Dot Pancake sprang to life.

I love summer becuase I can romp around in tank tops and flip flops. Summer is also a perfect time to rock some fun, attention grabbing jewelry. Yay! I've got several fashion/accesory trends I can't wait to try this summer...

*Right now I'm really into water shades like aqua, turquoise, and beautiful blues. It seems like all my latest clothing purchases are in these hues. I love jewelry made out of turqoise. I really want a chunky turqoise necklace with some coral colors mixed in.

*I'm telling you what, you can't have enough pairs of linen pants. They are comfy as all get out and they look so effortlessly chic. I've picked up pairs recently at Target and Old Navy.

*I want to be brave and try the headband trend. Callie, who can pretty much pull off anything, got a fun headband with a feather on it. I want one with a flower on it.

*I picked up a huge Zebra purse the other day at ROSS. I love anything animal print. I will surely be rocking my zebra print purse this summer.

I hope you are all as excited about summer as I am! I am getting excited just thinking (and blogging) about it!
Love and syrup,
Bran

Treasuries Featuring Us

2009-01-28T19:26:00.000-08:00

So sorry we haven't been around much lately. Getting a whole new year started is hard work! But we've added some awesome new stuff that Brandi spent days on end working on during Christmas break, and we have a treasury to share with you!

Thanks to Nansglam for featuring us in this awesome retro treasury!

2009, oh my!

2008-12-31T20:21:00.000-08:00

Well, it will be 2009 in just a couple of hours. I can't believe how fast this year has passed. It has been a crazy year for both of us pancake girlies, new jobs, a new business, moving, and so many more little things. I always feel a little weird when the new year rolls around. I don't really do the resolution thing becuase I never can keep them. But, I have been thinking about some things I would like to do this year...
I think I am going to sign up for an aerobics class or something, cause excersice is good for you... and, I have a big butt :).

Stretching the boundaries of my creativity is always something I strive for. I am constantly inspired by new things. Right now it's the music I'm listening to. I would love to channel this inspiration into some jewelry creations. I would also love to improve my sewing skills.

I need to be a little more organized. Okay, alot more organized. My craft room is a disaster right now. And it always seems the supplies from my craft room always end up all over my living room floor.

We'll see how these non-resolution resolutions work out. I'm sure I'll do okay, well, except for the excersise one.

I'm really excited about what this year will bring. I'm especially excited about polkadotpancake stuff. I just keep learning more and more. Hopefully we'll continue to be able to live out our dreams (cheesy, I know, but so true.)
To anyone who reads this, first of all, sorry about the grammar and spelling :). Second, I hope you all have a fabulous new year! May you be happy, healthy, and successful!

Love and syrup,
Bran

Spreading the Polka Dot Pancake Love!

2008-12-10T15:26:00.000-08:00

We are very lucky and excited to be featured in a couple awesome blogs right now.

First, Heather wrote a Polka Dot Pancake review here that we would love for you to read and comment on.

Also, Lauren has written a review/interview with us, and you can read it here. We are also sponsoring a discount offer and giveaway through her blog, so check it out!

Christmas is getting closer, and if you still need to know what to buy us, visit our new treasury on Etsy. It's colorful and loaded with Polka Dot Pancake favorites.

Have a great Wednesday!

-Callie

And a Crafty Good Time Was Had by All...

2008-12-07T06:27:00.000-08:00

Ever since Brandi and I discovered our crafty inner selves, one of our favorite pastimes is weekends spent together amidst of mess of beads, wood tiles, acrylic paint, and Mod Podge. We like to stake out a spot in the floor with Friends or The Office on in the background and go to crafty town. This weekend was a veritable crafty overload for us! We spent Saturday at a craft show, and managed to get a sweet deal at Hobby Lobby...

Friday
On Friday the Hubby the Roadie and I drove up to Oxford to stay with Bran so that we could get prepped and organized for Saturday, and we promised not to stay up until 3 A.M. tagging merchandise! We got our stuff ready, and priced some new jewelry too (more about that later!). We worked while Hubby watched (and by watched I mean fell asleep to) deleted scenes of The Office.

Saturday
We got up early-ish and headed over to the Oxford Civic Center for the Hanna Holiday market. The Hanna Holiday market is a fundraiser for a local elementary school, and being teachers, we can get down with that. It's a small show; nothing like others we've visited and participated in, but we figured it would be good exposure and a chance to spend the weekend together. We got inside, and were met by huge portable heaters. The boiler had gone out, and there was NO HEAT in the entire building! We were on a top level on the end, and holy shnikes, it was cold. We bundled up best we could and put on a happy crafty face.

I have to admit, this was not what you would call a successful craft show. I think we made enough to cover our booth fee and pay for an awesome dinner at Mellow Mushroom for the two of us and my Hubby the Roadie, which was okay for us! We watched the SEC Championship on the big TVs (Roll Tide!) and tried (to no avail) to get warm.

To soften the blow of the Crimson Tide's loss to Florida, we headed over to Hobby Lobby to restock. We discovered that if you go an hour before closing on Saturday, you can receive the discounts for both that week AND the new one! Just another trick of the trade, ladies and gentleman.

On another note, we have recently unearthed a great love for garden gnomes. The little guys are so cheery and hard-working, like we all should be! We sold these earrings last week, and hated to see them go...

Well, anyway, we discovered a stash of fabulous garden gnome statues at Hobby Lobby and had to document it! We named these guys "Frederique" and "Pappy."
We were inspired by Frederique's little polka-dotted mushroom, and Pappy's little nest of birdies. You can look forward to some gnomies with polka-dotted beads, and woodland creature stuff too. :]

Speaking of new stuff, we've got it! We are hopelessly obsessed with all things Twilight and Edward Cullen! Here's a little sneaky peek at some Twilight-themed stuff we'll be adding to our Etsy store very soon...

We hope you've enjoyed your weekend, and that maybe it was as crafty as ours! Stay close by, because Christmas is upon us, and we have some deliciously wonderful Christmas jewelry for your holiday pleasures!
Love and syrup!
Callie

Tryptophan Comas and Black Friday Rush

2008-11-28T18:17:00.000-08:00

Whew! I don't know about you, but I'm kind of glad Thanksgiving only comes once a year. I mean, it is a very special holiday; you get time off work, time to spend with family, time to relax, but by God! There's only so many different types of casserole a human can consume in a 24-hour span! I hate so much at lunch yesterday that I was straight up miserable. Then, I took a nap, and ate a whole entire other plate of food! As it turns out, I make an excellent vegetable casserole. Good enough to make my grandmama proud. It's really only good because the mayonnaise, butter, and Ritz crackers. I could give or take the vegetables personally, but that's how southern girls do it.

Another reason I'm glad Thanksgiving only happens once a year is because that means the day AFTER Thanksgiving only happens once a year. Now, we are not the people camping outside Best Buy at 4:30 AM. We meandered down to the Quintard Mall (Oxford, AL) around 8:45 AM, but still! One needs stamina for the hardcore bargain hunting we did! And not only do you need stamina for digging through stacks of disheveled merchandise and toting shopping bags that feel as if they're filled with boulders, but you need stamina for visitin' with all the folks from high school and back home you'll inevitably run into. While shopping today, I saw 6 people from high school, 3 children I teach, and effectively avoided 4 of my ex-boyfriend's family members, not to mention various church folks and "How do I know that person?"s. Nonetheless, we had a fun time, even if I didn't get up early enough to get that $388 plasma screen TV at Wal-Mart.

In Etsy news, we're featured in 2 EtsyOWLS team treasuries right now. Check them out, then check out the EtsyOWLS blog for more awesome sales and savings from other team members.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=23926

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=23681

Check out the OWLS blog too!
http://etsyoffthewall.blogspot.com/

Happy Thanksgiving and I can officially begin to say, "Merry Christmas!"

Callie

Gonna Be Eatin' Some Turkey Soon!

2008-11-26T14:42:00.000-08:00

Hi ya'll!

Happy Day Before Thanksgiving! I'm a teacher, so I have been looking foward to this break for quite some time. I thouroughly enjoyed sleeping late this morning. I love Thanksgiving, but I gotta say, the day after Thanksgiving is what I really look foward to. For years I have been going shopping with my mom and grandmother the day after Thanksgiving. We leave at super early in the morning and shop ALL DAY! And let me tell you, my seventy year old grandmother can out shop me and my mom! I really need to sit down and make a list of what I want to buy for people this year. I would love to get most of my Christmas shopping done on Friday. I'm also planning on making gifts for many of the people on my Christmas list. Handmade gifts are extra special.

Callie and I have been making a lot of Christmas jewelry and Twilight themed jewelry to put in our etsy store. I know there are several people on my list that will be getting Twilight jewelry for Christmas this year.

Happy Thanksgiving! And for you shopoholics out there, Happy Day After Thanksgiving! May you find all the good deals!

Saturday Mornings are my Favorite

2008-11-15T09:00:00.000-08:00

I hardly know where to begin. We (being Brandi and Callie) have started this blog in the hopes of sharing our little corner of crafty heaven with the world. We usually have Mod Podge glue dried on our fingers, calluses from opening and closing jump rings, and always an idea rolling around.

Today we have a lot going on. Brandi is probably getting geared up to watch the Alabama vs. Mississippi State game (Roll Tide!), and Callie just took her kitty, Smudge, to the vet. We've got custom orders to roll out, consignment orders to fulfill, and lesson plans to write!

Last weekend we finished one of our first custom photo charm bracelet orders, and it was absolutely wonderful. We actually made a necklace for a girl in Australia named Von and her baby daughter Olive. Here is a picture of the finished product!

How precious is she?!

We hope to be able to make lots more of these necklaces/bracelets soon. But for now, it's back to work.

Have a wonderful, crafty Saturday. Drink coffee, pet your cat, hug your husband, kids, and friends!

Callie