"Oh Deer" pillow

Hi friends, I hope you are all well today. I just looked over my last post, I guess I was feeling a little discouraged. Sorry about that. Today is a better day. Yesterday I finished up the slipcover for the cabin couch and the curtains for the kitchen, which left me free today to work on this darling pillow. I found this fabric a couple months ago at a local antique shop...I just fell in love with it! I wish I could find a whole bolt of it...it is so vibrant and sweet. Don't you just love the graphics and colors on the vintage fabrics?! It was only a small piece, just one panel about 16" x 25", so I was having a hard time deciding what I wanted to do with it. I decided on a pillow. I finished it off with some old fashioned looking cotton fringe and even hand stitched on some vintage gold colored rick rack to the back. It can be purchased from my Etsy shop, stop on by...and don't forget to visit the other fine sellers there! Thanks.

Checkin' In

I don't have any pics to post today. I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't let too many days go by without posting something on the blog...and with the way time flies by, that means I really have to pay attention! I've been busy making things for gifts, family, and charity and haven't been able to create new items for my Etsy shop. It's a bummer but it does get like that sometimes. We have a big Fall Festival at church every Sept. and I always like to donate a bunch of craft items for them to sell. I've been working on a bunch of keychains this year and some tote bags. Then, my sis-in-law asked me to do some sewing for the family cabin...she wants a slipcover for the couch and some curtains for the kitchen, so I have been busy with that too. It's good to be busy. I have been really trying to advertise the Etsy shop as best as I know how. I know it is crucial if it is to be a success. Not really very good so far, I've only sold 3 things. I am trying not to get discouraged and give it a little time...it seems like I have a lot of people looking but not so much buying. I have to keep reminding myself that I really do this stuff because I love it, not just to make money. I've even been thinking about starting to do some of the summer shows, not just the fall and winter ones. I make a lot of sales at the shows. The biggest problem with that is that it really cuts down on my creative playing...you just have to find what sells and then make a bunch of them. Not really that satisfying...makes it a chore instead of a joy. Wow!!! that got bluesy real fast! I sure didn't mean to sound all bummed out...I really am very happy and I love my family and get a lot of joy from my crafting and sewing. It is interesting what will come out when you just sit down and type without doing too much thinking...just let it flow. Hmmmm, very interesting! Thanks for letting me ramble on and on. I will have some new stuff to show very soon. In the meanwhile...visit Etsy and spread the word!

Gift Collage and another silly keychain

Hello again! Today we had an after the wedding shower for a good friend. They had gotten married in a real quiet ceremony back in February, and they are throwing a big outdoor shindig in July down on the beach...so the sisters threw her a shower today! I presented her with a gift of a scrapbook of her wedding day back in February, but for a little surprise today I made up this cute little collage for them to hang in their home which features a picture of them smooching. She really liked it. Thought I would share it with y'all. I'm also showing a pic of the latest keychain...the Etsy fan keychain...oh yeah, he's a big fan! LOL The keychains are great for getting people to talk about Etsy...I have one that I put a lanyard hook on and hang it from my purse. I get more people ask me what Etsy is...and then I get to blab a little and hand out my card. Works pretty slick! The keychain has been listed on Etsy if anyone is interested. Thanks for stopping by!

Vintage Treasures, Bird Poop, and Flickr

Hello again, I hope your day is going great...keeping cool and all that. I listed a couple new things in my Etsy shop today. I just finished this collage, I call it "Vintage Treasures". I love how this one turned out, it is so warm and cozy looking, all orangey and gold, and sparkly, and slightly distressed wood. Ahhh, just relaxing. The second thing is this silly keychain, Got'cha! A fellow Etsyan, SunDaisyGems, is having surgery today and went on the forums to ask people for funny items she could look at when she was home recovering. I decided to post this for her. I'm not really sure WHY this is funny, I just think it is! Maybe I just have a weird sense of humor, I don't know! *lol*

I tried another new thing today, well, last night and today. I opened up a Flickr account. I was scared, but it really wasn't bad at all! So far I have posted a couple pics of things from my Etsy shop and then a couple "Daisy" pictures...one is of a beautiful daisy I saw while taking my walk this morning, and the other is of my kitten Daisy. Stop by and have a look. And if you have a Flickr account too, maybe we can add each other as contacts...I feel a little lonely as I only have 1 contact so far (thanks gemmafactrix!). Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Nature's Music Collage

Hi friends, hope you are all well today and enjoying your summer. I just finished up a new collage, I call this one "Nature's Music". It features a bird on a background of sheet music, there is a real twig in it, with some silk leaves, a 3-D butterfly, some paper flowers, sequins, and glass beads. All done up in blues, greens, and purples. I even added a line of music and a paper flower with a sequin and bead to the frame, just to jazz it up a bit. It is put in a shadow box frame with a white, bevel cut mat. Please stop by my Etsy shop if you would like to purchase this or any of my other items. Oh, and remember, the anniversary sale is still on until Sunday, June 25...so don't forget to wish me a happy anniversary and get your 15% off! Have a great day!

Anniversary, Graduations, and Keychains

Hi friends! Another busy summer weekend draws to a close. Yesterday we celebrated the graduation of my niece's boyfriend, it is always so nice to get together for the joyful moments in our lives. We had a real strange weather day...these huge rainstorms kept rolling in, drenching us real good, and then rolling right on out of here again and then the sun woould come out. It must have rained about 12 times over the course of the day.

My hub and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary this weekend (it was actually on Wednesday). He took me out for a real nice dinner, something we rarely do, and a few cocktails. It was sweet and romantic. I've been blessed with a real good man to share my life with, whom I love with all my heart....here's to the next 15 years...and another 15 after that!! CHEERS! In honor of our anniversary I would like to offer a 15% discount off any item in my Etsy Shop, just write "Happy Anniversary" in the comment to seller section and I will send you an amended invoice! This sale is good until June 25th, 2006.

I've been working on some cute keychains lately...finally got a couple of them listed in the Etsy shop...swing by and check them out! Don't forget to get your discount (see above). Have a great day...and go give your sweety a big smooch.

Butterflies

Hi friends! I just finished this new altered art collage, this one features three-dimensional butterflies. It's pretty hard to see in the photo, but the butterflies and the flowers just pop right off the page, which is the beauty of working with the shadow boxes. The main color scheme is lavender, pale green, and creamy white. There is also a paper tag that reads "Beauty" and is dressed up with some little glass seed beads. The art is framed with a bevel cut white mat board and I have lightly distressed the black wood frame. There is a little bling to this piece due to the sequins and the glass beads. If you would like to learn more or purchase this or any other of my pieces, just hop on over to the Etsy shop. Have a great day!!

Another in the Altered Art Collage line

Hi again! Well, I finished another in my series of shadowbox collages. This one is called "Bloom" and is made with a lovely lavendar and pale green theme. I am trying to make each one different in it's own right, but have it still have some of the same elements that the other ones have, so you can collect them as a set too. I listed this one in my Etsy shop, so if you are interested, just click the link, and just like magic you will be there! TaaaDaaa!

Sweet Little Bird Collage

Hello friends. I am really enjoying this paper stuff! I picked up these little shadow box frames this weekend and have been working on some little collages to put in them. I call this one "Sweet Beauty" because it just feels so sweet to me. It has a romantic feel to it, and it also has such a nice bit of bling to it because of the sequins and the glass beads. I had a lot of fun putting this collage together and I hope it will find a good home. You can learn more about it and purchase it, if you'd like, at my Etsy Shop. I have started work on a couple more bird collages that will be put in the shop over the next few days. Be sure and check in to see them.

Bet Dad never got a Gift Card presented like this

I was down playing with paper again today! Kind of reminds me of arts and crafts in school, only a little more sophisticated. I want to give my Dad a gift card to his favorite home improvement store for Father's Day this year, and you know, being the crafty old gal that I am, that I can't just stick it into a boring old card! LOL So I came up with these heavy hang tags that have a pocket sewn into the back of the card, just the right size for the gift cards. I am really enjoying doing the collage and paper work so you will probably be seeing a lot more of this type of stuff in the future. Well, my Dad loves to fish, so I went with the fish theme for the tags. I have the colorful Dolly Varden trout tag listed for sale in my Etsy shop and will list a couple others, like a lake trout and a white crappie, in the next day or two. They are only $2.50 so you really can't go wrong there, right? Click on over to the shop and check it out.

Ahhh...Crafting again.

Ahhh...I was able to get down in my craft room and work on a couple things this week. I have been working on the fish, I'm turning it into a purse, but it is a very challenging project so far and so I put it aside and worked on a couple other things. The first one is this mail and key rack. It turned out so pretty, you should have seen it before! It was painted that real fakey blue and white with a big sticky spot on the front of the pocket (you can just bet there was a goose sticker on there), and it needed some repair work done to it. Anyways, I fixed it all up, sanded, and painted it with this beautiful vintage green paint that I custom mixed up for it. I then collaged it with some vintage looking florals, stamps, and lettering. Added some hooks for hanging your keys. TaaaDaaa! LOL I especially like the paper that I found for the top of it, a little bird with a letter in it's beak...just perfect. I also worked on some hang tags. I found these old pictures of crappies and thought they would be great for hangtags for Father's Day...and what is really funny is that I can call them "Crappie Tags"! Isn't that a hoot?!! I put both of these items up on my Etsy shop, swing by and have a look. Don't forget to nose around a little while you are there...Etsy is so much fun and there is so much to look at there.

Tomorrow is the last day of school, the kids are excited, to say the least! My son will head off to high school next year, it hardly seems possible. I know, all parents say this, but it seems like such a short time ago that I helped him put on his little backpack and sent him off to school. We are very blessed to have the school so close to home (only 2 blocks as the crow flys, its right across the park) and the school goes from Kindergarten to 8th grade. Then the high school is about a mile and a half from home and that goes from 9th to 12th grade.

My Brilliant Daughter!

Yeah, the picture loaded! Here is a pic of my daughter whom I was bragging about in my previous post. She is shown here with her cousin, my neice, who is also brilliant! LOL Please excuse me, I am just a proud Mom and Aunt and wanted to show them off a little. Tonight we have the big choir concert, and then I think that that is it for the year as far as the after school stuff. Yeah!

Summertime....Flowers and Lightning

I had the urge to work on a quick and colorful project...something summery. This is what I ended up with. I think it turned out nice, but I do have a thing for hydrangeas... AND lightning, so I may be slightly biased in my opinion, LOL. This pillow is up for sale, you can find it on my Etsy shop. Swing by any time and check it out!

Say, does anyone else have a hard time uploading pictures to Blogger or is it just me? I do have dial-up and my machine is not the fastest around, but really!! It takes at least 8 minutes, and half the time I end up on an error page and have to start all over again. It is so frustrating! I have a blog on AOL too and it only takes, at the most, 2 minutes for a picture. But, I can't be on the cool Etsy Blog Ring on AOL, so I have to put up with this slow crap. Is there some trick to this that I don't know about? Please, I am really pretty new to all this blog stuff, so if anyone can offer a suggestion, it would be well appreciated.

One more thing...my brilliant daughter was awarded 2...count 'em....2 awards at school yesterday! We are so proud of her. She always works so hard at her schoolwork and is a very dedicated student, plus she goes out of her way to help others too. She got one award for scholastic excellence and one for her upstanding character! Oh Yeah...who's the best Mom in the world? LOL Who's the best kid?!! I would add a picture of her, but I don't have enough time! I think I'll attempt to open a new post and add a pic...we will see.