New items and cards claimed

The pif cards are all gone. They went out today, along with the journal.

Also, put a couple of new things up in the shop...

The second in the alpha word series...B is for beautiful

and, another moleskine journal...



That's all that's new for now.

Stuff and updates and venting.

Yay! The journal has been claimed! No more worries.

Yesterday, we saw a bird flying backwards, the wind was that strong.

I definitely don't like the cold - do not miss that part of the Midwest.

Someone told me they will be giving the gift I worked hard and made for them for a secret santa exchange to their friend. I think that was supposed to make me happy. It did not. If you re-gift - one of my all time pet peeves - please don't tell the person who gave it to you for heaven's sake. That's just rude.

I won a giveaway from one of my all time favorite shops - the little red door. What a nice early Christmas present - more tiny houses for my collection. :) No pictures, 'cause I already uploaded today - it's a pain doing it more than once a day.

And...I have a bunch of Christmas cards I made and decided to give away. If you would like one to keep or send yourself, please go to my shop.

Journaling tags

Tuesdays and Thursdays are very busy around here. No time for heavy crafting. So, no new pages to post today.

I did list a new item in the shop. Journaling tags for scrappers. They are made from card stock that has been stamped with journaling lines. I added one of my flowerlette embellishments to the top.



They are available here.

Flowerlette #4

Flowerlette #4 is up. It is a custom birthday card. It says "Happy" on the cover and has the age inside - as in, Happy 1, etc.



http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=27724134

Don't forget to enter the giveaway!

4 down - 9996 to go!

Flowerlette #3

Flowerlette #3 is up. It is a special kind of card. I have a lot of alphabet sets - chipboard, stickers, rub ons, etc. - that I need to use. So, I came up with this idea.

This is a custom card. First, choose your letter. The front of the card will look the same except it will show the letter you choose. Then, choose your word for the inside of the card. It can be a name or any other word, e.g. A is for Awesome! Or, you can leave the inside blank and write your own word or message.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=27686216

3 down - 9997 to go!

Giveaway #1

Giveaway #1 is now active. To enter, leave a comment here. To make is interesting, answer this optional question. "Who should leave feedback first, the buyer or the seller? Or does it matter?" Please leave an e-mail address, so I can contact the winner.

No purchase required to enter, but, anyone who makes a purchase from my shop will receive 2 entries.

The drawing will take place after the 25th flowerlette is sold. Check the countdown in the right hand column. Again, no purchase necessary to enter, but, I will not draw a name until the 25th flowerlette is sold, so, I do not have an exact date of the drawing.

Now, for the goodies. I will be giving away this stamp and ink set, plus, some surprise goodies. The stamp is unused and the ink still has the wrapper on. The stamp says "destiny".



Good luck!

Flowerlette #2

Flowerlette #2 is up in the shop. It is OOAK. The background paper was hand stamped using a set from Papertrey Ink.



http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=27597352

2 down - 9998 to go!

Flowerlette #1

I have four new cards finished which will go up in the shop this week. The first one will go up tomorrow morning (if you're reading this on Wednesday, it should already be up) It is a generic "hello" card. The flowerlette cards will be OOAK, except this one. It is a run of 150 cards I did several years ago, but, didn't sell all. I have a number of them left and will list them until they run out.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=27545785

BTW, the green yarn I used was hand dyed with lemon lime koolade in my dishwasher.

The other three are a set (each sold separately) of a sentiment card; a birthday card; and what I'm calling an alphabet card. Each was made using the same ink, hand stamped patterned paper, and, of course, include a flowerlette.

I am working on my first embellishment kit which will be suitable for card making or scrapbooking. It will include a set of flowerlettes for your use, plus, a number of handmade embellishment elements from the cards in the set. The kit will include a flowerlette "daisy" like the one from card #1 above; hand stamped sentiments from the other cards in the set; a hand stamped patterned paper from the card set; a journaling tag; an element of three (to be explained, later); and more.

I will also be listing some flowerlette mini note card sets and altered moleskine journals. Stay tuned.

1 down... 9,999 to go...

Second

Some more info on my new project - 1024.

My goal is to make a limited edition run of 10,000 flowerlettes. I already have a big pile waiting to be added to a project. They will all be made out of reclaimed sweaters including cashmere, lambswool, and other natural fiber. The flowerlettes will be used in cards and my new knit project; and, will be included in handmade embellishment kits for use in your own projects.

Now, for some extras and goodies. I'm starting a flowerlette fund. For each flowerlette sold, I will add 10 cents to the flowerlette fund. That's for every flowerlette, so, if a project has 3 flowerlettes, that 30 cents. I will keep a running total on my blog. Every time the total reaches a minimum of $20, I will donate that to one of my favorite charities.

Plus, I am going to have some giveaways. I have a lot of supplies I would like to clear out, starting with stamps and ink. I started using clear stamps awhile ago and found I don't like using wood mounted stamps so much, anymore. They've been sitting in my drawer, unused. Some are still new, in fact. The same with ink. I have a lot of ink pads I haven't used because I'm favoring a certain brand, right now, and that's all I'm using. My plan is to put together little packages of a stamp or ink pad and a few goodies and then have giveaway drawings for them.

Drawings will be free to enter, no purchase necessary. However, anyone who does purchase something from my shop will automatically receive two entries per listing purchased. I will have a drawing for every 25 flowerlettes sold and a special drawing with bigger prizes for every 100 flowerlettes sold. Anyone can enter for free, but, I will not hold the drawings until the 25th, 50th, 75th, etc., flowerlettes are actually sold. More details will be coming.

Both will start when the first flowerlette goes in the shop.

Next, I will discuss more about the cards and embellishment kits.

New things 3...shop renovation - sneak peek

I am finally getting started on the major project I have been planning for awhile, now. I will be adding a new line of products to my shop this week. As I have mentioned before, I am concentrating more on the paper side of paper and yarn. However, the paper project is based on a yarn project.

A couple of years, ago, I made a line of cards that included a small flowerlette crocheted out of cashmere, reclaimed from sweaters. I have a large number of leftover flowers. I also have a large amount of reclaimed cashmere, so, I decided to start a new project. I'm calling it - 1024 - pronounced 10...2...4 - as in 10⁴. That's 10,000 for those who do not wish to do the math. As in 10,000 flowers.

I am using these flowerlettes in all my new projects. Each new item in my shop will have a flowerlette incorporated into it. Even new knit items. I will be adding cards, embellishment kits, and a new knit item series.

Here is a picture of some flowerlettes and a sneak peek of a card not quite finished.





But, there is more to the 1024 project than just the flowerlettes. Come back tomorrow for another update...

p.s. all current items will be going into a sale category and will not be coming back.

New things 2...tiny houses

I have three new houses for my collection.



The small one with the green roof is from my favorite tiny house shop - the little red door. The "neighbor" house is from famous noodle and lou. I have wanted one of these little houses for a long time. The "true" house is from a new shop I discovered recently - humbleBea. I hope to get a couple more, eventually.

Packaging

When I send an item to a customer, I like to dress it up with pretty and/or clever packaging. I'll wrap it in tissue to look like a giant candy. Or fold it in an origami envelope. I want it to look nice and be fun to open. And, I always include a thank you note. So, when I receive something from another shop, I'm kind of disappointed when it comes stuffed in a sandwich bag or just loose in the envelope without even a receipt or message.

So, how important is packaging to you? Talk amongst yourselves...

Collections pt 1

I'm a collector. My family would call it being a pack rat. My largest/oldest collection is a collection of frogs. Very specific frogs. But, more about them in part 2. I also collect small wooden boxes; tiny toy critters; tiny glass bottles; and more. Did I mention I like tiny.

My latest obsession is with tiny houses. These sit on the shelf above my desk.

The first one is one I made. It is about 2 inches high. I actually made more and sold the rest. I decided to keep this one and look for more tiny houses. The rest are from this shop the little red door. They are so cute. They are glazed ceramic and the smallest is only an inch tall.

I also like this shop: junque and these houses: wunderlust.

p.s. The beaded items behind the houses are mine and the bowl is by my daughter.

What do you collect??

Whole shop on sale...

I will be adding some new things soon and I want to clear out my knit items. My new items will be more on the paper side of paper and yarn. I have three new categories coming. Eensy cards; limited edition papers; and my biggest project - 10,000 flowers. More on that to come.

In the mean time, all current knit items are on sale. Same deal, enter BLOG20 in the note to seller and get 20% off your order (excluding shipping). Discount amount will be refunded through Paypal.

Happy shopping. And Happy Mother's Day, if it applies...

New week, new sale...

This week, the tea pockets will be on sale. Purchase any tea pocket, put BLOG20 in the note to seller and receive 20% off (excluding shipping). You will receive the discount in a paypal partial refund.

Short post. Hope to have some pictures up this week. Some before and afters of my workspace. And a post about collections.

p.s. For any lost fans...where the heck are Rose and Bernard? Anybody wondering??

Yikes! (and a sale)

Didn't realize how long it's been. You know how it goes. Tax time, etc. Oh, and my baby turned 19 on Thurs. I'm still in denial. Anywho, I have about a dozen ideas and issues I'd like to write about if I only had 4 extra hours in the day.

In the meantime, I'm going to be adding some new items in my shop soon. They will be more of the paper persuasion than yarn. So, I'd like to clear out some of the items still available. I will be having sales on different categories of items. This week, my tissue cozies will be on sale through next Saturday. Purchase any tissue cozy, put BLOG20 in the note to seller and receive 20% off (excluding shipping). You will receive the discount in a paypal partial refund.

I wanted to add my favorite Christopher Walken video - I love Christopher Walken - but, I couldn't find the one without embedding disabled. If you ever want to be entertained, go to youtube, do a search for Fatboy Slim - Weapon of Choice, and enjoy.

I did find one of the SNL skit with the Walken family reunion(embedding also disabled). It was a video of a tv playing SNL. Like they set the video camera in front of the tv and started recording. Okay...

Tea Pockets and Girl Scout Cookies

Introducing - Pockets. First up, Tea Pockets. These are really fun to make. And, they're not just for tea, either.

Also, we looked for Girl Scout Cookies this week and found out that different areas of the country get different cookies. We don't get "real" Girl Scout Cookies - you know the ones with the fancy names - tagalongs, trefoils, etc. No, we get these crappy, full of corn syrup, generic, ones with names like - peanut butter cookies?!?!?! It turns out that there are TWO companies that make the cookies for the Girl Scouts and they ship to different parts of the country. So, I'm on the lookout for anyone with access to the REAL cookies. Anyone?? Bueller??

New work up...

Got some new work photographed today. Actually got a lot of "to do's" done today, for a change.

This is a new set of wash cloths. Included are three bamboo cloths. They are so soft, you wouldn't believe it.



I will be putting up more items throughout the week. Next, I hope to start a new paper goods series.

New work and new feature

I have some new work I need to photograph this weekend. Then, I will update my shop, hopefully, on Monday. I have a new series of knit "pockets" for credit cards or business cards and tea packets. I will also be putting up some bamboo washcloths - sooooo soft. :)

Also, I moved the notice on the right hand column up to the top. I will be adding suggestions for people to do to help stop the spiralling self-fulfilling prophecy of job loss. I noticed the news is finally doing stories about how one job lost affects hundreds and more. How skipping that Sunday brunch can lead to the loss of your own job. Please pass them on.

Snarlies...

Snarlies will be going away temporarily. I will be bringing them back and possibly in a new version.