Gift bags you can keep!

My friends Alyse and Elliott are getting married!! The big day is fast approaching so I've been getting my crafting butt into gear. They had two bridal showers this past weekend (one with boys, one without) they were both a blast! I think gifts for these events can sometimes get a little boring ex:mixing bowls, crockpots, silverware etc..so I wanted to give my impersonal gifts a personal touch! I got two canvas bags and decorated them with their names and date using the theme colors of their wedding to make gift bags they can keep forever! Heres how they turned out!

My mom introduced me to a magnificent adhesive called "wonder under" to attach the fabric letters and numbers to the bag. She also was a great help easing my frustration when I ironed the wrong side of the adhesive to the right side of the material. This stuff is tricky business! But once I got it down that stuff worked miracles.

Here is the lovely couple with their bags! They were a big hit at the parties, little did people realize just how easy they really are! If you can cut and iron, then you're golden. Try making one of your own to use for grocery shopping!

Thanks for reading, and as always keep us updated on your crafts!

-KB

Short and Sweet on a Sunny Day.

What a beautiful day it is outside! I wanted to do a craft outside and then I remembered that one of my summer projects still needed to be started. Here are few pictures of what I have been up to today:

It's a great day for outdoor painting! I really like the yellow color the chair turned out to be. 

Lastly, here I am pondering how I am going to paint the detail on it.

Stay tuned for the finished project!

E

Necklaces galore+celebrations=long blog post.

Hello again!
Sorry we are so terrible at updating this blog. Life seems to be flying by right meow. Both Kelsey and I have made several different necklaces that we realized we have not shared with you guys yet! First and foremost, the yo-yo necklaces, which we made at the beginning of the summer and never got around to posting:

         The one on the left is mine. I even hand splatter painted two of the yo-yos! The one on the right is Kelseys. She stepped out of her box with the colors but I absolutely love it!

Moving on, Kelsey made a wooden bead necklace with canvas rosettes while I attempted a necklace made out of chain for the first time. Both necklaces turned out super cute.

This necklace is made from vintage brass material. 

The two charms that are in the center cluster read 

"create" and "believe".

My last necklace that I made is a giant button attached to some seed bead strands. I like to colors a lot but I'm still unsure about the button being a little TOO big. Oh well, it's fun.

Lastly, Kelsey made some super adorable fabric covered bead necklaces. I love them both A LOT.

Now! For some news about our lives...Kelsey turned 21 last week! Yayyy! Happy Birthday to Kelsey! Here are a couple pictures from her celebration.

Kelsey and some friends out to dinner at the Saloon and Kelsey with her birthday cake! (notice her cute necklace that she is wearing??)

and last but not least, on the same day as Kelsey's birthday, Jeffrey and I celebrated our 3 year :) I love him a lot. 

Okay thats all for now, but I promise we will be back SOON with more crafty posts :)

Until then,

E

Welcome to the Bopsy Barn!

What you've all been waiting for! Bopsy Barn is a place where Emily and I can share our thoughts, ideas and projects that we create throughout the summer and far beyond. We've answered a a few questions below that you may have:

Q: What is the Bopsy Barn?

A: The Bopsy Barn is a dream of ours. Ever since we started crafting, we have wanted to open up a store to sell local and handmade crafts. For now, we are going to try to sell our own handmade crafts at different local shops around Iowa City. Until one of us becomes rich (which may be never) the Bopsy Barn will just be the name that we sell our crafts under.

Q: Where did the name “Bopsy Barn” come from?

We have been friends since we were in Elementary school because we grew up two houses apart. Emily’s parents always called us the “Bobbsey twins.” Not knowing who the bobbsey twins were, we always thought they were calling us the “Bopsy” twins because we were “teeny boppers.” So, several years later, we decided that our childhood nickname would make a catchy store name. From there, we decided on "Bopsy Barn" and one day home to the store of our dreams!

These are the first couple of headbands Emily and I made last winter displayed so beautifully on a roll of paper towels. We have made several since expanding from our original felt and button materials.

And now an introduction to the Authors of Bopsy Barn!

Q: What are you doing with your life?

Emily (left in the picture): This fall I will be a junior at the University of Northern Iowa. I’m majoring in Interpersonal Communication and double minoring in family studies and gender studies. After I graduate, I plan to attend graduate school and work towards a masters in Human Development and Family Studies. My real interest in parent child communication, so I want to end up doing some sort of family and/or parent education programming.

For right now, I work at a craft store in Iowa City during the summers. I play the cello, enjoy listening to music and podcasts, and spending time with my friends and family.

Kelsey (right in the picture): Hello chaps, I am a junior at the University of Iowa pursuing a degree in social work. After a trip to Philadelphia last semester I found a passion in this field.We were introduced to social injustices that occur in our country without reason. I was inspired by the day, but what inspired me most was returning only to realize these same injustices occurring in my hometown. So my dream job would be to change this. I have a desire to make positive change in a person’s life, a familie’s life, my hometown and beyond, how? Well…I’m still trying to figure that part out. 

Q:What is your favorite part of crafting?

E: I love the end products of crafting, and I love knowing that no one else in the world has the same thing that I crafted. I also think that crafting is relaxing and it’s a good way to de-stress. When I make crafts for other people, I love knowing that I could make someone else happy with my crafts

K: Crafting is my get away from the world. Whether crafting is planned, unplanned alone or with Emily it’s always a nice way to escape reality for a couple hours. I love the bouncing back and forth of ideas (grape juicing if you will…) and the creation of new things!

Q: What is your favorite item to craft?

E: Hair pieces and jewelry. Mostly things that I can wear because they make me feel the most accomplished.

K:Hmm…it’s hard to choose my favorite thing to craft. I love making accessories so I can wear the things that I create but I am partial to painting. I like mixing new colors and hanging new colorful canvas’s on blank walls. I also love how a painting never turns out the way I think it will.

Q: What colors do you use the most often and why?

E: Purple and green! They are my favorite colors ever. I love both of the colors can be both bright and earthy, depending on the tone of the color you use. I’m slightly addicted to wool felt, also.

K: I love deep purples and reds, my room is filled with these accent colors along with lots of black and white. Lately I’ve been trying to use brighter colors for summer but I always come back to these, they are my safety net!

Q: What things do you use for inspiration

E: I use other people for inspiration. I see things on blogs, other people, in books, etc. I very rarely copy something completely. I usually just use the things I see for inspiration only and I add my own little touch to everything.

K: I shop online and downtown Iowa City a lot. By doing this I see lots of incredible accessories, clothes, shoes and art work I love but cannot afford. So lately I’ve been trying to re-create looks I like and find inspiration through other peoples work. Being a poor college student pays off sometimes, it forces us to be creative! I find much crafting inspiration in Emily too! She is always trying out new things and is a constant motivation to me to do the same. I don’t think I’d be where I’m at in this crafting world if it weren’t for her!

Well guys that's it! Hopefully you enjoy the blog and continue to follow us in our crafting journeys. Share your thoughts, ideas and crafts with us too! We'd love to hear from you!

KB and E