My Ornament Show and Tell!

Well....seeing that I was totally SHUNNED, once again, by Etsy not featuring even ONE of my Christmas ornaments in their ornament contest or gift guides...I've decided to show them off here. So take that Etsy, and dang you ...dang you to heck. *LOL!*

*****The preceeding paragraph was said with a big silly grin on my face! I'm not really that surprised or mad, just having a little fun, folks!*************

The Blessings of Christmas. I just love this image from a vintage postcard...a lovely creche scene in lovely soft colors. I've printed the image to fabric and then stitched it to a lovely natural linen and frayed out the edges.--all stitched to a lovely deep sage wool. Added a few vintage shell buttons and finished off with some vintage lace for a hanger.

Blue birds with Snowflakes and Sparkly Rhinestones...I just finished these today and don't have them listed yet. If you feel like you need to have them, just let me know and I'll be happy to accommodate you!

A cutey St. Nick...all handstitched with love!

A vintage image of St. Nick printed onto fabric and then handstitched to some felt hearts, with a little beading around the edges for good measure!

There, that's just a sampling of some of my Christmas ornaments so far....there are more in my Etsy shop--you can find them HERE.

Thanks for looking!

Lazy T Crochet

Thought I'd try something a little different ( for me) today--and show off one of my OWS team-mates! Her name is Tricia from Lazy T Crochet. She has a nice BLOG and a lovely ETSY Shop--and is a talented needleworker and a lovely gal!


Wrapped in Roses Handspun Capelet


I admire those who crochet and knit well. I have a brief working knowledge of both crochet and knitting and often joke that I can crochet in a circle and knit in a semi-straight line! LOL It's funny AND true :o)

Mint Mobius Scarf or Cowl

Tricia can crochet both in a circle and a straight line and many other directions too! lol She has a good eye for color and design and the quality of her work is apparent in the broad range of crochet items she offers in her shop.

Soft Cream Button Scarflette Cowl

Her items would make very wonderful and appreciated gifts-- (I personally would love to have any of these items shown here today, so if you were trying to figure out what to get me for Christmas...here you go! *wink, wink* ) head on over and enjoy perusing her lovely items! Click the pics and it will take you there.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Hey, Remember me?

I am so sorry about the lack of posting here, Peeps! I hope you haven't all given up on me :o)

It has been a dang nightmare around here for the last few weeks and I have a hard time when I am under stress--I can't seem to focus on any one thing for any length of time. SO, basically, I just either wandering around aimlessly or running around like a chicken with my head cut off! LOL

WARNING: total lack of cheerfulness coming up

I'll just give you abit of a rundown of the fun we've been having around here.

1) Step-daughter almost kills my new grandbaby, brings her into the bathtub with her in the middle of the night and accidently dropped her (at least this is the story she is telling?? she lies so much we don't know what to believe). Baby stopped breathing--Luckily SD's grandmother was staying there with her and got the baby breathing again. Baby was in NICU for 5 days. The day they were going to move the baby out of ICU, SD was supposed to call me because she had her meeting with Social Services, but didn't because she was afraid I would tattle about her leechy boyfriend living in her apartment (he's not supposed to be there) and get her in trouble with housing and Social Security. Social Services took the baby and won't tell where she is. They also threw SD into the psych ward and have had her in lock-up for the past week. She was also supposed to call this morning as she had a court hearing about all this--but she never called. Now I have no idea who has the baby, if they are going to give her back the baby, and what is going to happen to either them. Argghh!

2) Chemo didn't work for my brother. They did another PET scan and determined that it didn't work so they weren't going to put him through any more. Yale Univ. has some new experimental treatment, and the docs submitted him for the trials---we just heard that they decided to accept him. We have our fingers crossed and the prayers keep on flowing up! Sadly, he has to keep going down to the Univ. Hospital in MPLS for all his treatments and tests and doc visits, which means a bunch of driving for him and his wife (it's about a 2.5 hour drive from here).

Yup. Sigh.

The bright spot is I get to spend some time with this little fella when they head down there.

I said 'Honey, your hat is a little big, would you like me to sew it a little so it fits better?" and he replied "I can just fix my ears and it will work!" Then he flopped down his little ears and snuggled the hat in there--Wah lah! Cracked me up!



Oh, and I got 2 weeks of Jury duty tossed in there too! LOL It was actually kind of interesting, I'd never done jury duty before. I was put on the jury for a rather juicy case involving drugs and thugs from Detroit and a loaded pistol.

On a brighter note, I started on Twitter--which has been a rather fun distraction. If you are on and would like to follow me, here's my TWITTER.

I finished up a new collage yesterday, which I'm very happy with! I originally was making it to represent pregnancy, with the bird on the nest and the flower representing the baby....but I think it can just represent Love. period.

Thanks for listening--it feels good just to get it all off my chest! Hugs to you!

Winner of the Home Tour Doorprize

I'd just like to thank all of you who stopped by the Home Tour and participated--it was a lot of fun and we got to meet great new people (which is always a GOOD thing!)

The winner of the Door Prize here is Felicia of FluffyFlowers!!! Congrats Felicia, it was really nice to meet you!

By the way......Felicia also has a few wonderful Etsy shops, One for Handmades, one for Vintage, and one for Supplies--be sure to stop by and check them out!

I'll be sending her a new planner, which may help her out keeping all those shops organized! LOL

Have a great day!

Home Show!!

You are all in for a such treat today! I am so pleased to welcome you to our Virtual Home Show!!

We are a group of gals who have gotten together to share with you some wonderful handmade gift ideas--for yourself and/or others, in this special two-day event. Stop by for a visit to each of these blogs and see what each one has to share with us--and remember to sign up at each blog for some fantastic DOORPRIZES!! Yeah!

Here are the other wonderful artists involved in our home show:

Sue Bleiweiss who will be featuring some of her beautiful notebooks!

Ginny Harvey with her delightful monkey creations!

Felicia Haywood with her wonderful and whimsical critters!

Lisa Jordan has the most adorable little felted creations!

Jenn Maruska is featuring her delightful gifts for those who sew and embroider!

Julie Thomas with her beautiful pottery


I'm Karen Wittkop-- AKA Mrs. Kwitty -- and I'll be sharing with you some of my gift tag creations during this show!

Thanks to a creative Mom, I began creating handmade items when I was a young girl....and I haven't stopped yet! lol I won't tell you exactly how many years this entails...let's just say it's been a few!

The tag making actually stemmed from my love of sewing. It's all about putting together color and pattern. I'm just as happy putting together lovely papers as I am putting together lovely fabrics.

A while back, I designed a little bird to use as an applique on some of my bags and wallets. One day, while wrapping a birthday gift for my niece, I was looking for a tag to add to top her gift, and saw the bird pattern there and decided to try making a tag with it.....


....and that was the beginning of a wonderful friendship! *lol*


I love the cottage style, which is really a mixture of different things, but all warm and comfortable. Timeworn, whimsical, homey, fun, romantic, vintage...all do their part to create items that feel like old friends-- cottage style.

I'm offering a few lovely DOOR PRIZES today-- The Main one is one of my 2009 Planners--with a cute pocketed cover made from a mix of playful colored and patterned fabrics.

Also, I've put together a couple of little goodie bags filled with a variety of tags--you will also have a chance to win those by following the easy instructions below!



************PRIZES**************

All you have to do to get your name in the hat for the 2008 Planner is go check out my Etsy Shop and find your favorite BIRD! Leave me a comment here letting me know which is your fav and you will be entered. Easy Peasy. :o)

Each purchase made in my shop during this event --November 3rd and 4th -- will add your name to the hat for the Tag Goodie Bags!! Please stop back here and let me know if you have bought anything and how many so I can get your name added properly!

I'll draw for the prizes on Thursday morning--so be sure to check back and see if you've won!

*****************************************************

NOW...I'd like to send off on the next leg of the tour, to visit Sue Bleiweiss and her lovely notebooks!

THE WINNER FOR THIS DRAWING HAS BEEN CHOSEN AND POSTED ! THANKS FOR ALL WHO ENTERED--IT WAS NICE TO 'MEET' YOU ALL!

Just call me Grandma Kwitty!

Well, it took me a while, but here are some pics of my little sweety--Her name is Sarah Marie and she was born 6 lb. 4 oz. (just a teeny little gal!) and 19" long. She's very good natured and likes to stare at you when you speak.

Here she is with her favorite Aunty Linds!!

Babies and Birdies and Blessings

Hello, my friends! (I borrowed that from John McCain, lol) It's high time I got back to my blogging!

BLESSINGS :

It was a crazy week, but brother Paul is home now--a little worse for the wear and tear, but in good spirits and happy to be home. Thank God. I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart--all of you who stopped by with a kind word, and a hug, and a prayer for him and us---you have no idea how much it means to me! I LOVE you gals!!


I so enjoyed my last giveaway!!--and the lovely MaryMarsh was so pleased with her prize that she wrote me a nice little piece in her blog. Thanks MaryMarsh--you're a sweety!!

Speaking of Giveaways.....I was the extremely lucky winner of a giveaway by StarryDeborah. She is a very talented mixed media collage artist and I won this GORGEOUS Paris collage from her! Oh, I just love it, and am a little sad that the picture doesn't do it justice! I guess that is the way it is with most art, right? There is so much more to it in person...depth and texture and emotion. Thanks so much StarryDeb--I absolutely love it and it looks so good on my blue wall!

BIRDIES:

I did a new style of birds this past week--you know, just shaking things up a bit! This style is more old-fashioned and lends itself very well to vintagey wallpaper prints --see for yourself!

I love them! Of course, I am still doing my old style too and have some new ones in the SHOP that have some nice Christmas colors--swing by and see!

BABIES:

You will never guess what? I became a Grandma yesterday!!! Remember my step-daughter Misty? Well, surprise, surprise....she was pregnant and didn't tell us. It's all a bit of a soap opera and I won't go into details but--good always comes from bad--and we have a GRANDCHILD to go meeet today!

AND--our lovely and talented friend PINKY had her baby on Sept 31st--and put up pics of the little fella on her blog --swing by for a nice AWWWWW! moment.

Brief Hiatus

Hi Friends, please excuse me for not posting this week--but the PET scans showed up a couple more cancers in my brother's lymph nodes and on Monday they sent him down to the University hospital in Minneapolis for some aggressive chemo treatments. I've been trying to help out with some of the things back home here while Paul and his wife are out of town. They have to be there all week (they have 2 girls at home yet plus their 3 year old grandson).

The good news is that Paul is under the care of a very good doctor down there, one of the best around--so at least we know that he is getting wonderful care. I just feel worried and can't seem to concentrate on anything this week.

So, I'd really appreciate it if you would take a minute and send up a prayer for him and his family. Thanks so much!! ((Hugs))

Winners!

Well, picture this.....

It's just about 10:00 on Saturday night....Mrs. Kwitty and her faithful helper, Linds, are preparing to draw a name from the Schmoozer's Blog Giveaway. We had a really fun time giggling over the comments as we wrote down all the names on tiny little pieces of paper and folded them in half and put them in the little box!!

Next, it's time to rally the troops--and by that I mean "wake up the cats".!! lol Rosey was kind enough to offer to draw the names for usDaisy, not wanting to be left out, insisted on posing with the winning names:

First drawn is Mary Marsh!! yeah, congrats Mary!

And the second name drawn is Dolly!! yeah, congrats Dolly!!

Check out this comment from Dolly--she totally deserves to win a prize for this fine and creative example of schmoozing!! lol

Dolly said...
"Schmoozing it is....
M.... marvelous
R... royalty
S... sweet as sugar
K... kreative
W... witty
I... intelligent
T... too cute
T... talented
Y... young at heart

need more??????charming, funny, sensitive, big hearted, pretty as a pea, queen of crafts, princess of blogland, nice, cute, purrfect,warm and fuzzy, extremely creative, saucy, kind, gentle, a lil ray of sunshine in my day, fun to visit, great to chat with, and oh did I say a real cutie pie too?
How am I doing so far?If that doesn't work then just look into my puppy dog eyes...Hmmm...Or how about a bribe...I will clean your house for a week, scoop the litter box for a month, cook you dinner everyday for a month, I don't do toilets or take out the trash... I have to draw the line somewhere you know!
Smiles and Hugz,Dolly"

My thanks to all who commented and played along with my silliness--I enjoyed it very much!!!

Weekend Promotion Time!!

Well, I just got some potentially exciting news.....I decided to run a special promotion this weekend--to drum up a little business during this rather slumpy period we've been in. It goes as follows:

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ WEEKEND SPECIAL ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

This WEEKEND --Oct. 3rd, 4th , and 5th--I'll be offering a FREE Page Percher bookmark with each order (my choice of colors)

for example: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14874253

AND each purchase will get your NAME IN THE HAT for a free Christmas ornament--name to be picked on Sunday evening at 10:00cst.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15735368

If you are the lucky winner of the Christmas ornament, I will include it in your package when I mail out your order.

GOOD LUCK!

************************************************************************************

And I just heard from MaryMary at Etsy (one of the admin) that she is doing a special Storque feature (for those who are not familiar with the Storque, it is basically Etsy's blog/newspaper) this weekend on some of the promotions on Etsy--and will be including my SPECIAL in the article, along with others!! Yeah! Soooo... **fingers crossed** I could have a nice busy weekend!

So, anywhoo0--wish me luck! AND if you have had your eye on anything from Mrs. Kwitty's Cottage, now would be a great time to pick it up...you get a freebie plus a chance to win another one.


Also--don't forget to sign up for the my blog drawing--before Saturday evening (tomorrow)--just leave a comment HERE!!