Spring!!!

AHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! The first signs of spring!!! Our trees are blooming and the leaves are popping out. This is one of our Bradford Pear trees. Most Bradford Pears bloom beautiful white flowers in March and then, after about two weeks or so, the blooms fall off and the leaves come out. For some reason, we always seem to pick trees that bloom for one day and then the blooms fall off and the leaves come out. So here, you can see that it's barely even bothering to bloom this year. The leaves are just coming on out!

Yeah spring!

I will survive with....Love

Katie from Ktmotif included my Bleeding Heart Earrings from Pink Pear Designs in her "I will survive with Love" Treasury.

Katie's etsy shop sells custom scrapbook pages and really cute gift tags. I like this one:

Her scrapbooking pages are very creative. They have alot of detail and really great designs. And she does custom work!

Thanks so much Katie, for featuring my earrings in your beautiful treasury!

Fabric for next 2 skirts and roses

Here's the fabric for the next two skirts I'm making. I'm mostly finished with the one made out of the pink fabric on bottom. I plan to finish it today and start the black one. I bought some really cute dotty ribbon to make the drawstring for the black skirt.


And, here's a pic of the beautiful roses my DH got me for Valentine's day. Thanks, babe!
I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day.

My New Skirts

Well, I didn't have a featured etsy artist this week because the person I contacted never responded to me. That's the second time that's happened :( Oh well.

So instead, I'm going to feature the new skirts I've been making for myself. I have fairly good sewing skills, but I'm a little rusty and a bit slow when I sew. But I love wearing skirts and can never find ones that fit right and aren't too short. Also, I like skirts made of cotton and other natural fibers that are cool to wear in the summer.

So I started searching the internet and found this blog that had a tutorial for making wrap skirts. Her instructions seemed easy to follow, so I tried it out. I carefully measured my waist and did the calculations just like it says in the blog. Then I made a pattern. I went to Hancock Fabrics looking for some cheap cheap fabric - just in case I messed it up. I found this blue "tie dyed" looking fabric for $1.99 per yard plus it was on sale for 40% off.

Once I had cut out the fabric and sewn all three sides together, I realized that the person in the blog must have meant for this to be a skirt for little girls who don't have a bit of a "baby pooch" stomach and hips. So I had to alter the pattern from how it was originally described in the blog. Basically, what I needed was 4 extra inches of fabric on either side of the skirt. The back panel was OK but in order to get good closure and not be afraid of exposing myself on a windy day, I needed 4 more inches per side. So my dear hubby said, "why don't you just cut out the extra 4 inches and sew them to the sides of the part you've already made". So that's what I did. With the pattern on this fabric, you can hardly tell I've added two extra panels. I finished the edges with bias tape and used the bias tape again for the drawstring. I didn't line this first one since it was sort of an "experiment" but I am going to line the others I make.

I like this first pic because I think it makes me look thin!

Well? What do you think??

Yes, I know there are wrinkles.

I have one more almost finished - it just needs a button hole and drawstring. I have another all cut out. I'm loving these skirts and can't wait to wear them. I'm thinking about making one out of Micky Mouse fabric for our vacation this year. They're perfect to wear with tank tops and flip flops. I think they'll also be great to wear over my swimsuit to go to the pool this summer.

Let me know what you think. I'm pretty excited about them.

Love to a Stranger

Valentine's Day treasury by MaisyandAlice. Thanks so much for including my Soaring necklace!! What a lovely, peaceful, and beautiful treasury. I'm honored to be included.

MaisyandAlice sell beautiful felt jewelry. I love their felt beads. My favorite from there shop is here.

ETC has SECRETS!

Guess what? The Etsy Texas Crafters Team (ETC) Has Secrets!Play along with us and find them!!

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Celebrate 3rd Mondays with the Etsy Texas Crafters by finding our Secrets!Our team mascot, Armadillo Tex, is hiding in several of our members' shops. Find him and purchase the item in which he is hiding, and you will receive a FREE gift as your reward!http://www.flickr.com/photos/26516432@N03/2616800663/in/pool-teametsytx

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ETC Secrets are only available from 12:01 am to 12:00 Monday, 2-16-09, Central Time (that's 1:01am Monday to 1:00am Tuesday, Etsy Time).Each Secret in which Armadillo Tex's picture appears will specify the free gift to be received with the purchase of that item. This will vary from shop to shop, and possibly between items in the same shop.There will be no more than 2 Secrets in each of the participating shops.

I have 2 secrets in each of my shops!! Come see!!

For the complete list of participating shops, click here:
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6044725

Simply Lovely

A beautiful treasury by boriginals has been created here and features my White Dove necklace from Pink Pear Designs.

Thanks so much boriginals for featuring my necklace!!

Check out boriginals shop for photo cards, birth announcements, etsy banner graphics and more!

Valentine's Day Treats

I love sweets!!! If I could, I would just eat sweets all the time. So when holidays roll around, it gives me a good excuse to make something sweet.
I made these yummy treats yesterday as treats for a couple of friends and my family. They are sooo easy - the perfect little project for your kids to help you with. Yummy White Chocolate Covered OREOS with red sprinkles.

Here's the recipe:
1 cup of white or chocolate morsels
1 tbsp. veggie shortening
A bag of Oreos.

Melt the morsels and shortening in the microwave slowly. I set it for about 20 seconds each time, then take them out and stir. Once they're all melted, just dunk the cookies in one at a time. Have wax paper ready on a cookie sheet to put the covered cookie on. I roll mine around in the chocolate with short tongs, then lift out. Sprinkle with colored sugar or sprinkles to decorate.
Once I'm done with all the cookies, I slip the wax paper covered cookie tray into the refrigerator so they will harden.

Then all you have to do is eat them! YUMM!!

They look so pretty in little treat bags to give to friends, teachers, kid's treats, or just to eat all by yourself.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

New Earrings just listed!

I just listed these gorgeous vintage looking earrings in my Pink Pear Designs etsy shop. I think they really came out great and if someone doesn't buy them quick, I'll have to keep them! LOL

No featured artist for today

I failed to find a featured artist for today what with my kiddo being sick and other stuff going on. Oh well, I try to do better next week :)

Yucky weather and no pics

We have hardly had any sunshine in these parts for the last few days. Today there was sun for about 15 minutes while I was making lunch. Of course, by the time I was through, it was gone. So I took some pics anyway, hoping that my swifty new camera would just make great pics for me anyway.


Welllllll, they were ok.

Here are some new pillow boxes for my supply shop, Whimzy Supplies. They are made with the Amy Butler "Sola" collection cardstock. I have many more to take pics of and get listed. Let's hope the sun cooperates tomorrow. :)



And, a new bookmark for Handmade Whimzy which I hope to get listed tomorrow.

Our luck has flown the coup!

Well, we've been really lucky so far this school year. No days missed!!!!!! That is so awesome for my little kiddo.

But alas, our luck has flown the coup! It's stomach virus time. YUCK!

Hopefully, it will at least be sunny tomorrow so I can take some pics and get some stuff listed in my etsy shops while I nurse the sicky :)

Wednesday's Featured Etsy Artist

This weeks featured etsy artist is Valerie from AdditionsStyle (http://additionsstyle.etsy.com/)
Valerie creates jewelry and accessories from items found in the hardware stores, for women, men, and teens.

I think her jewelry is really cool. What a creative idea - using nuts and bolts to make fun jewelry!

I asked Valerie about her design process and this is what she had to say. "The hardware itself is very inspirational for me. I find myself thinking ahead about experimenting with new combinations, adding texture, and using color. I spend hours in hardware stores searching for my next new piece of metal. I may not know the intended uses for each new discovery, but I can envision its future."

Valerie has been making jewelry for about 10 years and has a line of sterling silver art jewelry that she sells to shops and galleries. The Additions line was started about a year ago. Valerie says her teenage daughter helps her to keep the line young and fresh.

Valerie says, "I love to create! Discovering new material and finding new ways to use it, really excites me. I feel very lucky to be able to do what I love!"

Thanks so much, Valerie, for allowing me to feature you in my blog!!

You can also find Valerie here:

http://additionsstyle.1000markets.com

http://additionsstyle.blogspot.com

Something Yummy for your Tummy!

Everyone who has high cholesterol knows about the constant struggle to find yummy foods that are high in fiber. We need fiber because it binds to the bad cholesterol in our bodies and carries it right on out.

I have found several foods that I love that are high in fiber including Kashi cereal (although it did take me awhile to get use to it).

And now I've found something else. Heavenly Chocolate All Natural Granola from Bare Naked. OMG, it is sooooo goooood. 1/4 cup equals 3 grams of fiber. Perfect for a snack and it's CHOCOLATE! Yummy! I just eat it right out of the bag.

Yum!

Etsy Texas Crafters First Monday SALE!

~~**~~ETC First Mondays~~**~~
24 Hours of sales & special offers held on the first Monday of every month (12:01am - 12:00 midnight, Central Time / 1:01am Monday - 1:00am Tuesday, Etsy Time).

♥♥25% off all items in my Handmade Whimzy shop (excludes Clearance items) all day Monday, February 2nd!
and
FREE Shipping on all items to the US and Canada in my Pink Pear Designs shop!
To see all the participating shops, check out this etsy thread: http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6025307♥♥

Happy Shopping!