The Domestic Nest Blog

Thanks to everyone who entered our giveaway!

Congratulations Shel, you’re prize is on the way.

I really enjoyed reading about what everyone will be toasting to in the coming months. What a great reminder of just how many things we have to celebrate!

Matty & I will be toasting on Mother’s Day this coming Sunday. We’ll reflect on how blessed we are to have our moms & how much we still need them despite being “grown-ups.”

Salud!

We have some new leather wine bottle covers in our etsy shop!

I think they’d make a swell hostess or house warming gift. The leather can be folded down and left on the bottles while you serve, to help keep drips off your table.

Do you want one of these? Comment for a chance to win!

Tell us what your next toast will be about!

Or tell us your favorite wine, favorite wine pairing, or favorite place to enjoy a glass.

Giveaway ends Tuesday, April 27th at midnight. Winner to be chosen by random.org.

Cheers!

It got cold here in Southern California this week. That’s right, we finally dipped way down into the frigid fifties. A warm tea or coffee was all I could think about at work today.

In honor of our cold snap, we’re giving away one of our leather coffee cuffs with a $10 Starbucks card.

Our coffee cuffs are made from reclaimed upholstery scraps and the snaps are made in the good ol’ U-S of A. Learn how we make ‘em here.

The winner can choose from gray, brown, or orange and will receive the cuff & coffee card just in time to give it as a gift to their favorite caffeine junkie OR treat themselves to a hot beverage of their choice.

Here are the rules…

• To enter, leave a comment on this blog post (one entry per person)
• Comment before Tuesday, December 15th, midnight (west coast time)
• Random.org will choose a winner & we’ll e-mail you to get your address

You can say what you like in the comments section. We’d love to know what “cold” is where you live. Is that 60 degrees or 20 below? Or tell us how you warm up when the mercury dips in your neck o’ the woods.

P.S. These were one of our best sellers at the Holiday Hit List indie market this past weekend. Thanks to everyone who stopped by our booth, wished us well, or bought our stuff. We had a great day!

Congratulations, Ashley! Hope you enjoy the apron.

Thanks, Ali, for hosing the giveaway and for sending us your button. We’re so excited to list you as our first fave!

The bookmark winners are numbers 4 & 28! Your bookmarks are in the mail & should arrive soon.

Thanks to everyone who participated! You just added LOTS more books to our must-read list.

For those who read our blog, mention our blog in the notes to seller section for free shipping during the month of October.

We recently added this new item to our etsy shop.

It’s September, and everyone’s back in the swing of school. For all you students & teachers out there, hopefully your school year is off to a fabulous start & you’re actually enjoying all the reading you’re doing!

There’s more steps to leather tooling and dyeing than I’d imagined, but we make several of these at once, so there’s lots to show for a couple of hours of work. I’m just loving learning how to work with leather! Here’s what we do to make these…

• Wet the leather & let it dry to just the right dampness
• Use a metal stamp & special mallet to imprint the design
• Apply 1-2 coats eco-flo leather stain
• Apply a protective finish
• Punch the hole to add the eyelet & fringe

I think these would make a great office or teacher gifts, look super cute tied to a package, or even serve as a unique wedding favor.

Interested in the giveaway?

Leave a comment & tell us what book you’re reading, or which color & design you like the best. OR, just say, ‘hi.’ That’d be fine too.

Random.org will choose two winners. The deadline to enter is by the end of September (that’s midnight this coming Wednesday.) If you’re the winner, we’ll customize a bookmark just for you!

celebration banner

..dun dunnuh dun dun da da dah, woohoo! No one knows how to announce a party quite like Ronald Bell. Well, it’s party time at Domestic Nest today. We made our first etsy sale last week, woohoo! And I got through my first week back to work, woohoo! In honor of all the fabulous going-ons, we’re having our innaugural giveaway. We’re giving away the lovely celebration banner you see above. It’s a new item we’re going to take with us to farmers’ markets. If you like it, and you comment, and random.com selects your numero, it’s YOURS! Here’s how ya do it…

• Click on the ‘comments’ link just under the post title
• Scroll all the way down and fill in the boxes (your e-mail will be kept private)
• Comment away, say what you’d like, I’d really love to know what celebration rituals or traditions you have
• Comment before Friday, September 11th midnight (west coast time)
• One entry per person.

This banner is meant to replace disposable ones and is sewn by moi with scrap material left over from other projects. I could see it in a kid’s room, at a shower, or at a cookout. Make it a tradition for Birthdays at your house or at the office. Or, hang it up and surprise someone on a random day, fix them dinner and tell them how special they are to you. How romantical. The possibilities are boundless.

If you’re lurking, go ahead. Be brave. Comment. And if you only comment when I’m giving stuff away, it won’t hurt my feelings. Here’s to a happy week!

P.S. If you want to make your own, download the pattern & tutorial here.