Friday, October 31, 2008

Trick or Treat


Happy Halloween Sale in my Etsy shop through Sunday. Enter code "BOO" at checkout to receive 25% off your entire order (excluding custom orders and personalized items). Please pay through Paypal and I will refund you the 25%. Happy Shopping!

Monday, October 27, 2008

So Much Excitement

I'll start off with the more mild excitement. My craft room got a mini makeover this weekend! I think I've mentioned here several times that my sewing/scrapbooking room is a total pig sty. Like all the time. I cleaned up this weekend and found one of Crafty Papa's dirty socks and some of Matea's (clean) My Little Pony Undies.

My brother in law was in town yesterday and called us from the Geoffrey Beene store at the outlets and said they were closing up shop and selling all of their fixtures. He sent us some pics of these cool tables he was buying but I told Steve we really didn't need them. Thankfully, he stopped by here and once I saw the tables in person, Crafty Papa and I agreed I had to have them. Even better, they were only $15 each and his brother was here to help carry them into the house.















































So, I spent all night last night completely emptying out the craft room, setting up the tables, and then reloading everything. The shelves are so nice and practical. The only bummer is that now everything is within the girls' reach so I'm going to have to do some serious extra parenting when they're in there. If I would have known the room was going to be emptied out, I totally would have painted. Oh well, another day.

While reorganizing my fabric, I came across this fun retro flowers print that I hadn't used in a long time. Kind of a neutral, go with anything bag that still has a little bit of funkiness.

















Ok, now the BIG excitement. I'm hosting a scrapbooking retreat at an ocean front beach house here in January and my favorite scrapbooking friends are flying out to California to attend! I hadn't even mentioned the whole event to them because they're in Arkansas and Wisconsin. Not really practical for travel to the retreat. Anyway, I sent Shanna a link to one of the houses I was looking at and mentioned the retreat. Next thing you know, she, Keeley, and Shana are all flying out here. This will absolutely make my year...and keep me up at night with excitement for the next three months. Keels, Shanna and I used to talk on IM almost everyday and Shanna and I still try to IM at least a few times a week. I am beyond excited about finally getting to meet them in person after chatting online for 2 1/2 years. I hear Dr. Shana cried with excitement and I have to admit that when I start to daydream about it, I get a little misty eyed thinking about finally seeing my girls but then Crafty Papa gives me a weird "what the hell is wrong with you?" look and I snap out of it.

I'm also totally excited to finally spend some time with my friend Jenni without having to take care of our kids. We only get to see each other every few months and we always end up having to stay home with the kiddos while our hubbies go out to the beach and have fun. She is absolutely the nicest, easiest to get along with person I've ever met and I know all of my friends and the retreat will love her.

And Crafty Mama's #1 customer, Heather, will be there too. I met her briefly last spring when she took her Crafty Mama Creations stalking to a new level and hunted me down at an event I did. She went to grad school with Shana so it's a whole 6 degrees of separation thing. I think I might have to whip up a bunch of special bags to tempt her with that weekend.

I got to meet Andrea and Jen at the retreat I went to in August and it was so weird how we just clicked and chatted like we had been friends forever. I know it sounds weird, but it really is amazing how a friendship can develop so well without ever meeting in person. I'm totally doing eHarmony.com if Crafty Papa ever gets tired of putting up with me. Seriously though, those eHarmony commercials really do get to me.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

An Oldie



It's been a long time since I've listed a bag with this funky frogs Michael Miller fabric. There were a few of you who loved this fabric the first time I bought it and spent a lot of time whining at me about how you kept missing out on the bags.

So, now's your chance. The bag is roomy, definitely a good size for a diaper bag or all purpose tote. And, the listing also includes the cute zippered pouch.

Now I'm officially out of this fabric again and don't plan to order more.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Excuse Me



But how is this bag I listed yesterday afternoon still available? It's all the things you guys like, neutral, floral, pink and brown, sweet, not funky, matching zippered pouch.

Seriously though, I really like this bag and am surprised it didn't sell right away. It's a nice smaller size without being teeny tiny and I absolutely love the buttons of the flap.

So you tell me, why is it still in my shop?

Friday, October 17, 2008

Take Two

I'm sure you haven't noticed, but owls are everywhere these days. Clothing, home decor, scrapbooking...as Matea would say, "Eva-whey!". So, I've been working on my own owl pattern for a few days.

Here's take one. Don't tell her I said this, but she's too short and fat. She's now enjoying a loving home with Matea.

















Take two is much better. If this blog was cheesier, I'd say, "She's Fowlbulous". I'm not kidding, there are a ton of craft related blogs out there that say cute crap that. But I won't. I'll just say, not only is she adorable in a funky way, she's only $15 with FREE SHIPPING.
































I definitely plan to make a few more this weekend. I've reserved an Etsy showcase spot for this Sunday and I'm hoping to have a few fun new things in my shop.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Her hair cut is better than yours


Remember how I posted last week about Lena's really cool painted gourds? You have to check out this witch one with the cute hair.

I think she's really fun and a little bit threatening. I swear that even though her mouth isn't moving, she's saying, "Look how sexy I am. My hair cut is way better than yours."

And I can't believe she's only $15. I know Lena was up all night finishing her latest batch and I think she must have been delirious when she priced them. I really want the witch but I have to sell something of my own first. Maybe one of the children. Bella just got out of naughty time so I would definitely pick her.

Crafty Mama for Vice President!

You voted and I delivered. Hey, maybe I should be Vice President of the United States. I hear they'll let almost any woman do it these days. C'mon, you know that was funny.

I finally got back to sewing today and whipped up this little number. Love the color combo in the fabric and it's even more vivid in real life. This listing includes the matching zippered pouch so I absolutely expect one of you who voted in favor of it over there ----------> to buy it right now.











































Oh, and this bag does have some historical significance. For the first time ever, I actually folded and put away the fabric I used after finishing it. I know, it a very new, novel concept. I prefer to let everything pile up until I literally have no more empty workspace. But since my mother sustained injury in my craft room this weekend while spending lots of money buying Christmas gifts for some of her fellow teachers, I figured I could make more of an effort to keep things clean. And to the teachers reading this, if you pay me $100, I'll tell you what you're getting.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Still here

I can't believe it's been a week since I've done any sewing or listed anything new. I've been battling a cold all week, complete with raw throat and missing voice. Remember how I posted about the Duggar's last week and how I wish I could have Michelle's calm and patience? I think the universe heard me because I've had to parent with a gentle whisper the last few days.

Anyway, I'm hoping to be back to sewing tomorrow and am also hoping to do a little catching up this weekend. I'm trying to dig down to the bottom of my fabric stacks to find a few patterns I haven't used in a while. I have an adorable apple print from Sandi Henderson's Farmers Market line that would be a perfect teacher's Christmas gift when paired with a neutral linen but I can't seem to find it anywhere in the black hole that is my craft closet.

I've been thinking about adding a few new items/features to my shop. Crafty Papa gets on me at least once a week about adding a hook for a key ring. Can you tell he thinks order is much more important than I do? We also have weekly refrigerator organization discussions but that's another post. Anyhow, I'd appreciate you voting in the poll on the right.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Basking in my Awesomeness

You're correct, I have no shame.

You may remember me mentioning in our Thursday Night Knitting Club meeting last week that I was starting another crochet project (since my other two projects had turned out so well). Well, I not only started it, but got it all finished on Sunday. I'm endlessly pleased with myself, as evidenced by the title of this post. It is an actual wearable garment.

How cute is this? Notice the adorable rounded collar. And the cute flower button. My grandma said, "That button really makes the sweater." No, the hours of work I put into it makes the sweater:) Did I mention how impressed I am with myself? Just in case, I'll mention it again...I'm awesome.







































I sent Bella to school in the sweater and found her without it when I picked her up. I was horrified until she told me that the button came off so she put the sweater in her cubby to keep it safe. Awww, how sweet. And I'm fairly certain that I can blame the wayward button on my mom since she did all of the weaving in of the ends. (She did tell me that I cut the yarn on the button too short but since I know there's no way she'll sign up for a blogger account and leave a comment, I think it's ok to blame her).

So, I've moved on to my next project. A blanket made from mismatched squares using yarn I have left over from countless failed projects. I've made four 10"x10" square so far, and I use "10"x10" " loosely. I even tried actually counting stitches here and there but it's not working out for me. So, I think my blanket will end up being rectangularISH and I'll just pretend that the "ish" was intentional.

And I know I really need to get back to sewing. It's just not as motivating when nothing is selling. On top of that, I'm still adjusting to a medicine I've starting taking for Fibromyalgia and I don't seem to really be waking up until 7:00...pm. So, during my usual sewing time in the afternoon, I've been crocheting because it requires less movement and actual thinking. Buy something and re-motivate me.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Thursday Night Crocheting Club

Right about now, I'm wishing this was an actual club instead of just me.

I started and finished Matea's hooded vest in one day. She was able to wear it but it looked really funky, kind of puckering and lumping up here and there. Then it occurred to me that maybe I should have actually counted my stitches. Like, maybe that's the reason the stitch count was in the pattern. I'm not embarrassed to show you my fine work but I really can't find the vest anywhere. I suspect Tater secretly threw it away to save us both some misery.

I immediately moved on to an adorable cropped cardigan for Bella. The pattern only goes up to size 4 so I picked a thicker-than-called-for yarn, thinking that would increase the size just enough to fit her at size 5. Not so. I finished the back piece and thought it looked huge. I couldn't try it out on Bella at the time so I just kept crocheting away, moving on to the front pieces. About half way through the left front piece, I realized I had forgotten to change hooks in between the vest and the cardigan and I was crocheting with a hook 3 sizes too big.

The back piece is 8 inches larger than called for. The cardigan (minus the sleeves, which I gave up on) fits me. I'm a size 10 misses. I was shooting for a child 5. A pink, red, and orange variegated yarn isn't really my color. So, I can keep going and Bella can wear it in 25 years
or I can throw it in the dumpster with Tate's vest.

This is why I need a club. So I can sit around and talk, eat baked goods, and not actually try to crochet anything. But since I'm alone in this venture, I'm starting another freakin crochet project as soon as I post this. Maybe I'll make Crafty Papa a willie warmer. That way when I screw up and it ends up 5 sizes too big, he'll just think I'm complimenting him. My parents are going to read that and vomit in their mouths a little. And Shanna, I picked the sock monkey one just for you:)

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

The Duggars and Gourds

Two totally unrelated topics. Actually, for all I know, The Duggars may love gourds. But for the purpose of this post, they're unrelated.

First, the gourds. You must stop by Lena's Etsy shop and check out these amazing gourds she paints. There's a theme/color scheme for every taste, some more funky and some more traditional. She gave me an aqua and brown Santa last year and he's now one of my favorite Christmas decorations.






















I think they would make a great gift for the person who has everything or is hard to buy for. I plan on buying two myself to give as gifts this year.

Now, The Duggars. Are you guys all watching their new reality show on TLC? I've been completely sucked in by it. I find the whole family to be unbelievably fascinating and it's weird, it doesn't really have anything to do with the fact that they have 17 kids and one on the way. I'm just so impressed with how organized their household is and how little chaos there seems to be. Mama Michelle is so calm and patient and Papa Jim Bob is oozing love for her despite her desperate need for a makeover. And who wouldn't want to marry Joshua, even if it means waiting until your wedding day to kiss. While the concept of total purity until marriage (only hand holding is allowed) seems so weird to me, after watching last night's show and hearing him talk about his decision, it all makes sense and seems so right for them.

During last night's shows, I was thoroughly impressed with how well-spoken all of the kids are. You can really tell that while they have strict values, they're all happy and willingly accept their different way of life.

I spent most of last night's show yelling at my children to be quiet. Maybe I should have been thinking, "What would Mama Duggar do in this situation?". Ooooo, there's my new mantra...WWMDD?

Monday, October 6, 2008

Holiday Dolls

I officially have the holiday bug. We went pumpkin picking yesterday and then came home and covered our porch with spider webs, ghosts, spiders, witches, and orange lights. So, I couldn't help but make something holiday-ish today.

It's been several months since I've made any dolls and I had almost forgotten how fun they can be. I love this Christmas girl with red hair and lime green button eyes. Bella really wants to keep her.
























And I wouldn't be too sad if this Halloween doll ends up being mine. I really like her glittery jack-o-lantern tag and of course, the sparkle caught Bella's eye too.
























A great gift for yourself (I have dolls with all different holiday themes that I like to sit on a bookshelf for decoration) or a special little girl in your life. Only $22 for a one of a kind gift.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Cute Stuff, Crappy Pics

I wasn't as productive this weekend as I had planned to be but I did manage to make these two sets this evening after picturing them in my head for a few weeks. The pics are crappy, I finished too late for natural light, but I was so excited about them, I posted them anyway and will probably update the listings tomorrow with better pics.

I think these ruffled onesies and matching pant sets are absolutely adorable but still totally comfortable. You know from my bags over the years, that I love funky fabric combinations and I just think the finished product is really fun. I'd really like to make a few for my girls but Matea still refuses to wear anything I've made (seriously, how does she always know?) and Bella would require pink, glitter and butterflies...totally not my style.






















































Anyhow, be sure to check out the full listings in my shop. They're priced great for gift giving at only $22 per set.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Bargains

No one loves a bargain more than I do and now I'm passing on some fabulous ones to you. Check out my sale section for new items and even lower prices on some older items. A great time to treat yourself or get some early Christmas gifts.

Tomorrow is a scheduling day from hell for us so I won't be doing any sewing and I must work on getting caught up on some custom orders tonight. That reminds me, if you're thinking about a custom order for someone for Christmas, now is the time to contact me. I probably won't accept any orders after Thanksgiving.

This weekend, I plan to list some fun new gift giving items including dolls, aprons and maybe even some felt food. Can you tell I'm in Christmas present buying mode?

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Yes, I'm alive

Has it really been a week since I listed something new? In addition to making my 30th birthday celebration span several days, Matea has decided at the tender age of 2 years and 2 months old to entertain the idea of no longer napping. This really doesn't work for anyone. Matea really does need the sleep and ends up spending lots of time in the naughty spot on the days when she doesn't nap. I need the break from the constant chatter and fighting between siblings. Bella needs a well-rested sister who won't spend her afternoon committed to tearing toys from Bella's hands. And you all need Matea to nap so that I can make fabulous bags for you.

So, she didn't nap today but I earned more points toward Mother of the Year by hiring the electronic babysitter to care for her while I finished up this cute owl bag.



































Owls not your thing? Maybe a sweet little deer is more your animal.























These will be in the shop sometime this afternoon/evening. School pick up, laundry, and a cranky toddler are calling me.