Drawing Time!

I've been wanting to do a drawing for a while now--I've recently passed a few milestones and want to celebrate!! Sooo--how about if I do a drawing for this pretty drawstring bag?? It's easy to enter--just leave me a COMMENT here in this post AND tell me what is YOUR FAVORITE COLOR COMBO (just for fun!)--that's it!! I'll stick all your names in a hat next Thursday (March 20th) and let one of my goofy kids draw a name. Be sure to leave me some way to get ahold of you--so if you win I can let you know!

Here is one of my newest creations. I scored a few vintage magazines recently--and one, from 1952, has a big 3 page spread of sewing patterns with these adorable illustrations! I love them! It was hard to take that first cut into the magazine (even though it is in far from collectible shape)--but I had to do it. Listed in my Etsy shop--Mrs. Kwitty's Cottage.

I actually made 2 collages, but one is on it's way to the lovely GeorgiaPeachez (who happens to have several of my collages already)--Thanks Suzy! Go check out her etsy shop--GEORGIAPEACHEZ--she makes the most beautiful bags, many with vintage fabrics--just scrumptious

I also made a new bookcover--just because I felt like it! LOL That floral fabric ended up on the top of one of my teetering stack of fabric--and was calling my name! It just goes so nicely with the gray swirl--I may have to make one of these for myself. Perfect for carrying your paperback books--with handy pockets all around. Available in my SHOP.

The remodelling is coming a long quite nicely--see the freshly stripped woodwork! We have 3 of the 4 walls almost done--it's down to the trim and door painting now. Here's my sweety, paintbrush in hand (see, he's got his paintin' pants on! ) Isn't that a pretty color? Next up *cue scary music * dah dah DUM! the computer wall!! EEEEEK! OMGosh--we have to tear down the computer and reassemble it in the other room so we can strip the piano window and paint the wall --and then tear up the carpetting. Ugh. * It will be so nice when it's done, it will be so nice when it's done, it will be so nice............*


OK--so remember to sign up for the drawing, spread the word, have a fun day--and I expect you all to show up here on Monday to help me move all my computer and other junk over to the other room--'ok?

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED FOR ENTRIES AND A WINNER HAS BEEN DRAWN!! SEE THE MARCH 20TH POST FOR WINNER!!

Thanks so much for all of you who entered and for all the kind words--I appreciate each and every one of you!! God Bless!

Play it again Sam

Thinking Pink in Mrs. Kwitty's Cottage

Fun and easy to do too--stop by and make one for your blog--
Well, I managed to goof it up somehow--see that post above! LOL

Shadow-boxing

A cold, clear, crisp Saturday morning here in MN. I guess we should feel lucky--everyone else is getting the snow and terrible weather this spring and, besides the cold temps, we have had a really mild one. Hope my friends out there in Blogland have fared well through some of the terrible storms last night. I was happy to find a new batch of shadowbox frames, and a couple new old magazines--so I've been having little collage fun in between sewing bags! Here's my newest--just listed in my ETSY shop . I had a little fun with this one and the colors of the 30's! Ginny--of iSew--sent along some cute feedsack quilt squares with the last monkey I ordered from her (yes, she DOES spoil me so!) and I used some of them for the background of this fun little collage. Add in some cute images from a 1952 pattern for doll clothes , a fun vintage button, trims, and other doodads--and frame it all up in pink polka dots! yeah! Click the pic and it will take you to the listing :o)

Speaking of Ginny--she has her shop iSew, where she sells many wonderful things that she sews (see how cleverly she ties that name in there LOL!) and recently opened up the MonkeyTravelClub --where she sells all her fantastic little monkeys! Oh, I love them all. Purses, gadget holders, cup huggies, keychains, and other cute-as-heck monkey things! You know what else is fun? She has a Flickr site where people who buy a monkey from her can take a pic and post it there to show where the monkey has travelled (see--another clever tie in! lol--bow to the queen!). What fun! I had to submit this pic--it's my poor Hannah--she is a cup huggy and I use her to protect my fingers from getting hot when drinking my favorite cappuchinos. I am fasting cappuchinos for Lent this year, so she has been just sitting on the shelf above my computer--happily biding her time until Easter! lol She is in good company though, with the pretty little decoupage ornament I got from the lovely Aggie of Pareo on Etsy.

I recently passed a bunch of new milestones--blog visitors, hearts on Etsy, and sales on Etsy--and am going to do a prize drawing!! Yes! Tune in tomorrow--I should have the details figured out by then. Have yourselves a great weekend and take good care! Blessings!

Here Comes the Bride

Hello friends! Not too much to report today--been working on the Loopy order (yes, still!) I tried so hard to find a particular fabric for them--but I'm now convinced that there is no more of it left on this planet! lol So I had to go and find another fabric that goes with the one I did manage to find, yada yada yada--finally found something! This is my newest little creation--isn't it cute?!! I was lucky enough to find an old Good Housekeeping from 1952--and ran across this darling bride doll and just HAD to do something with it! Total girly pink rosy glittery vintagey goodness. I was thinking that this would make a really cool wedding shower gift for the shabby chic type gal! Or a doll collector! or......(stop me, I could go on all day! lol)

The remodelling is coming along well. We've got the big doorway done, two of the regular ones done, and the other regular one has been heat gunned and had one coating of zip strip--I think one more will do it. That will only leave the piano window and the stripping will be done. Do you see now why we left this room for last? All those doorways and a window in one teeny tiny little room! lol

I was just looking around on Etsy and found JennMaruska's new project bags--they are so cute (and made to perfection in true JM style!) You have to check them out!

Well, I have to get to bed--I'm a bit wiped tonight. Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you soon!
Smiles, Karen

Fluff and Stuff

Here's a bit of fluff and sweetness! Just listed, Miss Bertie--a pretty little springtime bird sits on top of her little fluff and jonquil nest on the top of a little satin covered box--just right for holding some of your favorite trinkets! Or fill it up with goodies for someone special at Easter this year!

So, Linds and I are just hanging out on a Saturday night. We just got done baking up a big batch of Toll House Cookies, with double walnuts of course! Mmmmm. I'm gonna finish up my computering and we're gonna watch "Sydney White"--looks like a fun little movie--good for a "girl's night in".

Lindsey just wrapped up her first season in the Dance Line at school. It was a lot of fun and hard work--she really enjoyed it. They had a Parent's Night on Wednesday--so at the basketball game half-time we (Mark and I) got to escort Linds out onto the court and take a bow! lol I feel like such a star Mom! It was very nice, and they had a little reception afterwards and an opportunity to get some good pics. I like this one--such nice smiles! (Linds is the one in the middle.)

Oh, one more thing--I have bought a lot of vintage buttons over the last couple months (to use one the embroidered hearts ) and ended up with a lot of really grubby buttons that were unusable until they got cleaned. The other day I had a brainstorm! (yippee, yes, it does happen every leap year!) I had just filled up the washing machine with hot soapy bleach water to soak the whites and it hit me---it would be nice if I could wash my buttons in the washing machine so I don't have to wash a bajillion buttons by hand....hmmmm...... So I quickly sewed up some little fabric bags and popped a bunch of buttons in each bag, stitched up the top and went around and double stitched over each seam (I didn't want the bags to rip open in the wash!) and just popped them in the washing machine with the clothes. They came out beautifully! Tah Dah!!!

Well, time to go watch that movie!! Have a blessed Sunday everyone!

XOXO Karen

Bitta this, bitta that.....

First off--check out this beautiful assortment of goodies!! All mine. Yup. I was the lucky winner of the 200th blogpost drawing from Becky at Hospitality Lane. I couldn't believe it when I got the package in the mail the very next day! Just an absolutely beautiful bunch of prizes and so generous, wow! That beautiful teacup and saucer in the front is filled with the most heavenly smelling candle that looks just like a nice cup of tea! Becky actually sells those, so if you really want to treat yourself or send a nice gift to someone--that's a great idea for ya! Thank you so much Becky--I am stunned and delighted!

Check this out! Is it crazy to have a pink potbellied ketchup pot?? I found this cute little set of vintage potbellied ketchup and mustard pots while out on my last treasure hunt. They even still have the little plastic spoons with them! They were painted tomato red and mustard yellow, of course, and were pretty grubby and when I tried scrubbing them up, the paint was getting scrubbed off! So I scrubbed them really good and decided to give them a little paint job! I finished them off with a few clear coats of poly so you can wipe them clean. It's listed in my Etsy shop (if you would like the mustard pot too, just let me know and I'll give you a shipping deal!)
AND some good news about a dear friend--Miss Bufforfington finally updated her blog!! Yeah. I wrote her a silly comment about getting her rear in gear--and she did! LOL Please stop by and say HI to her, and let's see if we can encourage her to come back to us more often! (just joking around Dinah--I'm just excited to see you back!)

Well, I should go get some work done--then I have to shower up and get ready for my Mammy-smashing this afternoon! Fun! Remember gals-- it's not a very pleasant thing, but it's important to get those mammograms on a regular basis--keep "the girls" healthy!

xoxoxoxo Karen

Sweet Little Bears and Street Teams

Here's my newest little creation! Isn't she sweet? I was at Seaman's Treasures yesterday to see if she had any new buttons in--and found some of these sweet vintage flocked bears! Awww---brought them home and decorated this one up with a pretty flowery hat and some ribbon and lace--and even made her a pretty heart from wood and a sweet birdy image from a vintage greeting card! Available at Mrs. Kwitty's Cottage.

I haven't actually been able to work too much on new designs--been busy with a custom order (which I did finish up today--yeah!) and another order for the Loopy Ewe. Keeping my busy, but I am really looking forward to having a little time to doodle around with some new design ideas that are rattling around in my melon!

So, we all know that a big part of having an online business is the promoting. The constant promoting! lol It's really not that easy finding fresh ways to get out there and let the world see your new creations. One way is to join in on some street teams--that way you get to hook up with some people who are pretty much in the same boat that you are--you know--power in numbers. I belong to 3 different street teams--and I really love them all. Good people and between the 3, I feel that most of my items are represented properly. Each one has a different approach to promoting too, which is good!

1) Cottage Style Street Team-- CSST We represent the cottage, vintage, and shabby chic stuff! Oh my! Just gorgeousness, really. This team has a NING group and a daily thread in the Promotions forum on ETSY each day. Just type CSST in the search bar "titles and tags" for fresh and beautiful cottagey goodness--new items listed every day. AND type CSST in the forum search bar to catch the thread each day, find the best and newest items added by the members and other goodies that they run across in their travels through Etsyland each day of the week. A real fun and sweet bunch of people.

2) Olde World Shops--OWS. We represent traditional crafts and methods being kept alive and well in today's world. Fantastic craftsmanship abounds here! Woodworkers, ironsmiths, pottery, painting, etc. The main promotions with this group are promotional mailings and one of the members is putting together YouTube videos, with a theme song and everything! Check it out (I'm in this one)

Just type OWS in the search bar and check out the wonderful crafts!


3) EtsyMom--- We are representing the Moms on Etsy. The ones who are dealing with raising the families and trying to squeeze in a little craft time on the side! lol There are lots of things for the little ones--fantastic beautiful things--but that is not all. Sometimes I feel like maybe I am a little old for this group, but hey--I have crafted for sanity and profit since my children were babies--and even though they are teenyboppers now--I'm still Mom and I'm still trying to squeeze in my crafts around their schedules! lol It's a wonderful group and I'm proud and happy to be a part of it! Type Etsymom in the search bar and see what you can come up with!!

Remember--there's still time to sign up for the drawing for this planner and keychain wallet--open until Thursday.....see the post right below this one for a link!!

Check this Out!

Hi! What do you think of this cute set--a 2008 planner and a matching keychain wallet?? Well, would you like to have it? I have some fun news: I was featured, by the sweet and marvelous Angie, on The Downtown Boutique blog! She was kind enough to do the feature, interview, and showcase several of the items from my Etsy shop--and I provided this set as an item she could offer as a giveaway! Please stop by and read, look, and leave a comment to be entered into the drawing!! Yeah--thank you!

I'm Baaaack

Good Morning my fine friends (or what ever time it happens to be when you read this--it's 7:15 a.m. for me right now). How y'all? That's right, I'm a southerner from northern MN! How y'all like that? huh? *grin*

Well, I decided I'd better get back to my blog! I've missed you all so. I'm not sure what happens to me at this time of year--I just get so weird and home-hermitty and don't feel like doing anything. I recently talked to my doc (2 days ago actually) and she seems to think I may have a mild case of SAD--which has to do with depression that comes from lack of sunlight. I think in the old days they used to just call it "cabin fever". PLUS, I gave up cappucinos (sp?) for Lent--and I think I'm having withdrawals!! Anyways, I'm sick of it and I need to get back to talking with my friends!

Are you thinking Easter yet? The big thing about doing business online is that you have to think so far ahead on the Holidays and once the holiday is actually here, you are already onto the next one! lol I've resurrected (good choice of words huh? resurrected/easter! yeah) my little bunny pins from last year--they are just so little and cute!

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Oh! tomorrow I am being featured on this blog The Downtown Boutique and I've even offered a goodie for a Prize Drawing--so you will want to check that out tomorrow!!

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The kids are off school all this week, it's so nice to have them home. Hub and I have started on our remodelling project for this winter--it's the big foyer room, which also happens to be my computer room! The cracks in the plaster have been ripped and patched and the wood-stripping has begun (ugh!). Stripping wood has got to be one of the most boring and nit-picky things in the world. Let me tell you, if you've never done it, don't just think that you can just zip-zip-it's gone---nooooo, uh uh. It is so tedious and time consuming. Especially if it is wood that has varnish topped with a couple coats of paint. Heat gun the paint and then paint remover for the remaining paint that the heat gun doesn't get off and the varnish--smelly, gooey and you have to nit-pick over every little nook and cranny. We are blessed with some beautiful detailed wood work in our home, but MAN we have had to work at it to uncover it's beauty.

Ok--enough babbling for one day, lol, have a fun day and I'll be back soon--promise!

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Oh, WAIT! One more thing--caught this great funny on YouTube that you need to check out--cracked me up!