Craft your fingers to the bone and what do you get?? Boney fingers!

Hi--it's boring old me again! lol I have nothing new to talk about. Just crafting and doing the Mom thing--as usual. I have a little extra running to do now--Joe joined the Academia Squad in his ROTC class and Lindsey just got into the Dance team at school--so proud of them both! So that means even more taxi service for me! lol I swear I spend half my life in the car. Another reason to love the portability of embroidery.

Trying to get ready for this show this weekend--which I'm really looking forward to. I go in with a friend--we get a big space and split the cost and just combine our stuff. Her and I have been doing the shows together for about 5 years now. Last summer she and her husband sold their home in town here and moved up to their cabin--about 5o miles from here--so I don't see her much anymore, AND it is a big deal for them to get to town for the shows. So, we are only doing this one show this year together ( I may do another one or two myself, MAYBE-- if I run across any that sound interesting). I may just hang in and see what happens with Etsy this year--I don't really know yet. You know, just flying around here by the seat of my pants--living reckless! LOL ;0D

Oh, and I spoke with Misty today--she is doing so well in her new place! It just makes me so happy that she is doing so well. Thanks so much for the prayers on her behalf--they have really helped so much!

Well, I'll leave with a few pics of some of the new things I've been whipping up. I will have to bring a lot of the stuff I have in my ETSY shop with me to the show, so if you have your eye on something, you may want to grab it now!

This is a 2008 planner--with a handmade colorful cover and lots of pockets, ofcourse!!Retro Verde Coaster Gift/Desk set. I reached back--way, way, way back--to my high school years , the 70's, for the inspiration for this newest desk set.How about some really colorful cuteness?? Another little tin bucket pincushion--in such a fun fabric, not for shrinking violets!

***a little add on--I've decided to run a special from today until Friday afternoon--10% off orders over $20. See my shop for details!***

Hooked on the Caps

Who else out there loves the cappuchino's? Huh? It's awful, I start craving them right about 2:00 every afternoon--and I KNOW they are fattening as heck! Dang!

Been busy trying to get things made up for the show on Nov. 4th, but also been having quite a few custom orders rolling in--so I'm not making as much headway as I would like! Oh well, I'm only one person and I can only do what I can do--right?!! That's what I keep telling myself as the panic starts to fill up my throat! lol

I've been doing up lots of little stockings in pink and blue.

I took a little trip down to my fav little antique shop--she always gets the cutest sewing and crafting stuff in there! I found these fun buttons this time--they are white milk glass and have a raised design of a grand piano in gold! So cute. I did up a crafting goody card with 2 of the buttons and some vintage white/gold rick rack and some vintage wedding dress lace--it's listed in my Etsy shop. I also did up a new needlebook with another patch made with my new toy! I did have a few people asking about it--it's not an embroidery sewing maching thing--it's just a little patch maker. I got it at a second-hand shop. It's really easy to use, and I think the end product is nice! The biggest problem that I forsee is that the thread cartridges are not refillable, so I have to try and find them online (I've found some on Ebay, and they are a little pricey, but I think they last quite a while each) and it comes with special leather like fabric that has a bunch of holes punched in them to hold them in the little frames that they go in while you embroider. I have been experimenting a little to see if I can somehow make my own fabric patches and save a few bucks that way! Here is what the machine looks like--Well, that's it for me! I'd better go get dinner going. Big hugs!!

Quicky!

A little late night quicky!!

I have been working on some ornaments--and did up this in some non-traditional colors. So now I have a big stack of little fuzzy stockings sitting on my coffee table, just waiting to be embroidered. There's a lot of stitching on each little stocking, but I think the end product is worth it!


Joe had his ROTC halloween party this week so we transformed this clean-cut handsome young manInto THIS!!A mix of that guy from KISS, Marilyn Manson, and Rob Zombie! LOL He was thrilled with his new look--and the fact that no one could figure out who he was under all that make-up! He won the best hand-made costume contest! He wasn't very thrilled that the lipstick didn't really wash off that well, and his lips had a definite rosy hue to them the next day! *snicker*

I was going to show off my new feedsack fabrics wallet and bag--but blogger is being a stinker and won't let me load any more pictures.

So, I guess I will just go to bed. Tomorrow our church is having their annual Roast Beef Dinner and I am the official beef dipper (5 years running now!)--They cook and slice up enought roast beef to feed about 1000 people, and I get to sit and put it all in hot au jus to heat it up---ALL OF IT! There really is a knack to it, too much and its tough, too little and it's cold. I guess I do it "just right" because I'm the only one Ron (the guy who runs the show) will let do it. I will stand there for 5 hours and dip beef--sounds fun huh? LOL Blessing to you all--and if you can make it to Duluth--stop in for a delicious roast beef dinner!

You heart me...you really heart me!

A few random tidbits today--first of all--I'm having SALE in my shop!!

All the drawstring bags are 10% off-- DRAWSTRING BAGS

These make great gifts for knitters and crocheters, you can put your yarn in the bag and feed it up through the top and pull the top closed--wah lah! You yarn stays clean and doesn't run away from you while you knit! They are big enough to hold the project while you are working on it too (well, all projects that aren't big afghans or something like that, lol!) Of course, they can have many other uses--gift bags, lingerie bags, pajama bags, storage bags, lunch bags, etc. Use your imagination!

Go ahead and purchase--put Bag Sale in the notes to seller, and I'll refund the 10% back to your paypal account!

Secondly--check out this cute little fella!! I just got an embroidery machine that makes these little patches. Fun new toy! lol I did this little doggy as my first project and turned it into this fun and colorful needlebook. It's quite a bit bigger than I usually make the needlebooks, so it will hold lots of needles, and I added a couple inside pockets too! I found this cutey feedsack that features little kids and dog playing--which I thought would be perfect for this project. He is available in my Etsy shop. I've also been working on some more of the little bird needlebooks--I did finish up this little yellow one and have it listed in my Etsy shop. I have a couple more of these in various color schemes in the works right now.

Guess What??? For those of you who are not Etsy fanatics like I am--Etsy has a way for people to mark and keep track of shops and items that they like and it is referred to on Etsy as "hearting" or "hearts". Well, I just received my 1001st heart! YUP!! I feel so flattered and excited by this! I am going to do something special in honor of this occassion--I just haven't figured out quite yet what I want to do--so stay tuned!

Have a great day!

OMGosh---Christmas is Coming

Yeah!! I finally finished up my wholesale order and got it off in the mail--here it is:I sell to the cutest online yarn shop--The Loopy Ewe--and she orders 20 drawstring bags and 20 knitting needle cases at a crack. She gives me full artistic license (which means she lets me pick whatever colors and style I feel like at the time) with each order, which is fun! It is really a challenge to come up with fun and fresh colors each time and the order usually takes me around 60 hours to complete. That is why I tend to ignore my blog for a week or so while I'm in the midst of her order! lol

My niece, Rissa, had her first horse riding competition this weekend--and she cleaned up on the ribbons!! Congrats Riss--all your hard work really paid off! I'm proud of you :-) I used to have a horse when I was about her same age (15) until I graduated from high school and moved out of the house. I spent many happy hours riding, and jumping, and just taking care of and loving my horse Precious. Sigh.

OK--who's starting to feel the Christmas season breathing down their necks?? Huh? Is it just me. I have a big show coming up the first weekend in November, and I don't have anything done. Panic is starting to rear it's ugly head! lol It's just so hard to think Christmas at this time of the year. Time to get in the zone! I usually do a couple new ornaments each year and I have people who seek me out at the fairs to get the new ones each year--so I would hate to disappoint them! So I am going to really try and get myself in the mood starting tomorrow morning! I'll have to get my Christmas albums out--and maybe put some twinkle lights out down in the craftroom!

I did get a couple new items made up today. I bought this gorgeous new fabric on Saturday, in a beautiful brown and robin's egg blue--paisley and dots. I just love it. I did up some of my checkbook covers and some bifold card wallets with the birds on them--which I will be listing in my Etsy shopI couldn't get the color right in these pics, but the bird is really a pretty pale blue with brown dots.

I also did up a pretty and girly drawstring bag in a peachy pink and blue. This will be listed in my Etsy shop too!Well, I guess that's enough gabbing for tonight. I have to get to bed early--Christmas is coming! :-D

Hi!

Just thought I'd better check in--I've been working on some custom orders (the picture above is one of the custom orders I just finished up), I have a small wholesale account whose order I've been working on, and I'm trying to get ready for the one big craft fair I'm doing this year, which is coming up in a couple weeks.

The kids just got done with Spirit Week at school--they are enjoying the high school experience so far! Can you guess what their school colors are?? lol

I worked on a new bag design this week too, this one has 4 good size pockets on the outside (2 on each side) and the inside is divided into 2 sections. A good bag for keeping organized. I did it up in a hot little houndstooth wool blend with a retro jacquard trim! Classy and sassy! It's listed in my Etsy shop.

Getting in the Groove

Well, I think things are settling in a bit--I can get on a more regular schedule. The kids are in school, Misty is in her apartment, and I have a little peace and quiet during the day so I can get back to my crafting! I try and keep a regular schedule --you know, treat my crafting like an actual job. If I don't do that, other things tend to take over my craft time. I try and put in a regular 6 hour shift in the craftroom each day--and then still have time to do the house stuff, like shopping and cooking and cleaning and being the taxi-Mom and the homework helper, and all that junque. Things have been a bit nuts the past few months, but now I can get back to normal, yeah!! I went on a bit of a bag-making spree this week--here are my newest creations

Old World Romance--with roses and cherubs and swirly scrolly things--and such a soft, pretty palette! Sigh.Prettiful Pansies--I love pansies! With their little sunshiney faces! I used some of that gorgeous rayon rick rack that I got from Ginny--and a pretty, pretty crocheted pansy that I got from Ang at Norththreads. So this one is pretty special--a lot of friend love going on here! Chintz Roses, vintage art deco lace, and a polka dot yoyo--need I say more? And last, but not least, is another stitchery that I did up "Prayerful Reminder". This one is based on a favorite prayer of mine--a little way to remind me to pray and listen. Here is the prayer--found in an old little prayer handbook that I found at a garage sale several years ago. It really struck a chord with me. Written by D. Sue Jones Horton

Speak loudly, Kind Shepherd,
Lead clearly the way,
For this once wandering sheep
Does not wish to stray.
Stay near, oh, so near me
So, most surely I'll know
That the path I am walking
Is where I should go.
Give deliverance, Kind Shepherd,
From the course of the foe,
To this wee clinging sheep
Who does love You so.
With Your constant direction
Guiding all of my days,
I shall safely abide
In the path of Your ways.
Amen.

Drawing winner!

This morning it was time to do the drawing to see who will be the winner of my "End of the Month Special"--custom drawstring bag! Yeah!

So I got all the names together and wrote them out on little slips of paper--

Then I folded all the little pieces of paper and put them in a hat and enlisted the help of my ever so helpful and smiley teenagersBut--as so often happens when dealing with teenagers--things soon took a turn to the goofy
Even Daisy had the sense to stay a safe distance from the Goof Squad when they are in action!But, in the end--a winner was named!! MargeryManheim is the winner! Congratulations Margery! Hope you enjoy your prize!