Score!!

Twice each year, our local Salvation Army has a huge garage sale. Sometimes they also have a big antique sale and/or a Christmas Decorations sale, depending on their donations.

So do you want to see what I scored this past weekend at the Spring sale???? Do ya???

Ta DA!!!

What is all that great stuff, you ask? Well, I got some really cool fabric, some embroidery floss, a book, two small embroidery hoops ( I didn't have any this small), lots of different colors of felt, a big, brand new sack of polyfill (for only $0.25) and I can't remember what else. It was so exciting. I spent $9.50. Yay!

What will I make with all this stuff? I don't have a clue. But I'll bet it will be something good.

ETC Design Challenge!

Do you like reading stories?
Do you like looking at cool crafts that talented people have created?
Do you like voting for things?

Then you need to go to this thread, read the stories and vote for your favorite for this month's Etsy Texas Crafters Design Challenge. It was Tell a Story month. All entries designed an item around a story.

Please feel free to vote. You DO NOT have to be an ETC member to vote. We want everyone to participate!!

(No, I do not have an entry AGAIN this month. I just can't seem to get it together for the design challenges.)

Featured Etsy Artist - AnnasTrunk

My blog feature for this week is Christine at AnnasTrunk.

I love romance and romantic things, which is why Annastrunk really caught my eye. AnnasTrunk is full of "romantic little treasures" such as historical reproduction accessories, stationary, and an entire line of items based on Jane Austen.

When asked about her design process, Christine says, "I get inspiration for my designs from any and everywhere! I do some pencil/paper sketching but I mostly use my computer to create graphics for my sachets and mini pillows. I'll go through my stash of vintage illustrations and ponder for a while until I come up with an idea. Many of my ideas hit me at weird times! The middle of the night, grocery shopping, etc. so I always carry a little notebook with me so I don't forget anything!"

Christine has been sewing since she was a child. She also loves to construct and design historical clothing, do needlework, painting, sketching, sewing, quilting, and creating memory books. Christine says that because of her passion for historical fashion and love of classic movies and music, she feels like she should have lived during another era. "I mean, I love things about 2009 (indoor plumbing springs to mind) but I really feel drawn to life in other time periods. I think that's why I create what I create-it allows me to experience some of the nostalgia and romance of those long ago eras." She currently lives in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
Thank you Christine and Annastrunk, for allowing me to feature you in my blog!!

Happy Earth Day!!

Happy Earth Day!!

One of my families favorite Dr. Seuss stories is The Lorax. It's about destroying our natural resources and moving on withought any thought to the displaced animals or the pollution and desolation left behind.

Click here to see the first part of the cartoon version on youtube.

That Dr. Seuss was a wise, wise man - and I speak for the trees!

The Garden is Planted!

Our garden is planted!! YAY!!
We finally got all the veggie plants planted and I de-weeded it. Now we are ready for it to grow so we can reap the rewards.

We planted bush cucumbers (my son wants to make pickles), tomatoes, zucchini, peppers (of course), sugar snap peas and spinach. YUMM!

And here is a pic of my very fuzzy, mean cat, Sparky. She is the hairiest cat in the world. I usually get her shaved about this time every year but she's getting so much older (she's 11) and the anesthesia makes her sick. So I'm debating this year.
Happy Spring Y'all!!

Mother's Day is just around the corner!

Time to start thinking about presents for Mom, Mom in law, sis, autie or whoever is a Mother in your life. Or maybe just a gift for yourself? LOL

That's my kind of Mom's day present!

I've recently listed some bookmarks for mom and grandma in my Handmade Whimzy shop. I can make these in almost any color of the rainbow and if you see another bookmark in my shop that you like better but want the Mom or Grandma charm on the bottom, just let me know! I'd be happy to switch them out.

Both of these (and most of my bookmarks) are $15. More bookmarks are coming soon to Handmade Whimzy!

LavenderLizard

This weeks feature artist over on Subearthen Cottage's blog is my pal and fellow team member, Liz from LavenderLizard.

Check out Subearthen's blog and give Liz some Love!!!

Happy Easter!

Eggs, Eggs, Eggs - but not too girly!

One day recently while searching around the internet, I found this tutorial for how to make fabric Easter eggs with a secret pocket from Sew Mama Sew.

See the little pink bunny sticking out of the egg in the first pic? It's partially hiding in the secret pocket.

Well, I just thought these eggs were toooo cute and I just had to make some. The tutorial suggests that it's a great way to use up fabric scraps. The problem was, since I just started sewing again, I don't have many fabric scraps and none that were springy. So I just marched myself on down to the Hobby Lobby and bought 1/8 yards of 7 different fabrics. Pretty Springtime fabrics.

I have a friend that's been sick and I was hoping to cheer her up with an Easter basket full of fabric eggs - with a treat in the secret pockets. So I made some up last week and sent them off to her. She loved them! I'm so glad. I hope they made her feel better. I even made a special fabric egg for her cat. I just sewed some catnip into a little fabric square and then stuffed the fabric square in to the egg when I was stuffing it with poly fil.

I also asked my son if I could make some for his class to go in treat bags for their Spring party. He deemed them to be "not to girly" and said that I could go ahead and make them for his class.

So here they are!

I just can't believe how cute they are. We had his school Spring party this morning during snack time. There was a meat and cheese tray, crackers, cookies, and cute little egg cakes. Those kids fell on that food like they were starving to death. I have a pic of all their happy, full faces but didn't think it would be a good idea to put in out in cyberspace without the parents permission.

I passed out the treat sacks at the end but they weren't allowed to open them until this afternoon so I won't know if they liked the eggs until this afternoon. I'm sure they went straight for the rubber bunnies in the pockets because you can fling them at each other. LOL

But I had fun making these eggs and it was a good opportunity to work on my sewing skills. Happy Easter/Spring everyone!!

LittlePods!

My Featured Etsy artist this week is Jen at Littlepods! She sells beautifully, handpainted children’s clothing. Oh how I wish I could have had some of her adorable shirts when my son was a baby. Especially, her retro train.

Jen also sells handknitted baby blankets and scarves. She says she has been painting children’s clothing for about 4 years and knitting for about half as long. Jen says, "In my heart, I'm a crafty person. So my head is constantly swimming with ideas. I'd love to sew, and make other types of clothing, and to crochet. But I haven't found the time to learn either trade, so for now, I stick to knitting and painting."

Jen says she is a passionate, loyal and stubborn person. She has been selling on Etsy since January of 2008. Jen and her hubby live in Pittsburgh, PA.

Thanks for letting me feature your shop, Jen! Your painting is adorable and your shop is too cute!

ETC April First Monday SALE!!

It's time again for the Etsy Texas Crafters First Monday Sale!!!
YAY!!

All items in both my Pink Pear Designs and Handmade Whimzy shops are buy one item, get 50% off the second item (of equal or lesser value)!!

Now is the time to buy for Mother's day!!

For more great sales from other ETCers, visit this etsy forum thread:
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6107580

♥I will honor my sale all day today - April 6th and until about 8am tomorrow, April 7th as that is when I will take down the sale announcement from my shops.♥

RabbitWhiskers!!

My Featured Etsy Artist of the week is Judy of RabbitWhiskers - just in time for Easter!. In addition to her etsy shop, she also has her own website which you can access from her blog.

Judy sells children's hand smocked, hand embroidered, one-of-a-kind, dresses. I have to say, I am overwhelmed, awed and amazed by hand smocked dresses. They are incredible. If I had a daughter, I would be hard pressed not to buy every dress in Judy’s shop.


I volunteered for our local county fair’s arts and crafts department for years and there was one lady who always brought in hand smocked dresses that she had made her granddaughters. I was almost afraid to touch them. I can’t even describe how they make me feel. So when I saw Judy’s shop, I just had to feature her.

When I asked Judy about her design process, this is what she had to say – "Over the years I have created my own design style, which involves the combination of hand smocking and hand embroidery. I love animals, especially dogs and rabbits, and I love gardening and flowers, so these have become the inspiration for my dresses. Since I was very young I have loved to fantasize and attribute human qualities to animals and inanimate objects. Many of my dresses have this fantasy-like quality about them."
"Usually, my mood at the time, dictates which fabric I will use and sometimes the fabric will spark an idea for me. Other times, when I sit down to begin smocking I have no idea what I want to put on the dress. I just begin and it's like magic; as if the scene just flows from my finger-tips. I never know what is coming next; it just happens. I never use a pattern or draw anything on the dress front. All my work is done free-hand, as I go. With just a needle and embroidery floss, the scene grows before my eyes. It is purely the design process; the composition, the smocking and embroidery, that I love, not the sewing. I like to think of a dress front as my canvas, the embroidery floss, my paint, and my needle- my paint brush!"

Judy says she made her first smocked dress for her daughter when she was an infant and that these dresses are the only things she likes to sew. She says her dresses get more detailed and complex with every year, making them a constant challenge.
Judy has 2 grown children and 2 grandchildren. She lives in Walnut Creek, CA with her Bedlington Terrier, Pascal.

Thanks so much Judy, for allowing me to feature you on my blog! I LOVE your dresses and wish every success for your shop. Check out RabbitWhiskers - if you order today, I'll bet you would get it in time for Easter!!

ETC Gift Swap Goodies!

My team, Etsy Texas Crafters (ETC) recently had a gift swap where we matched up fiber artist with jewelry designers. I was matched with Lisa from TipTopsDesigns. Lisa sells adorable girls hairbows and ribbon supplies in her etsy shop. Her bows are so adorable, I love this one.

Check out Lisa's shop for all your upcoming Easter and spring hair needs! Her prices are great and her bows are so cute!

And apparently, she's a great seamstress too because this is what she sent me. A pretty, pretty tote in two of my favorite colors, turquoise and bright green and some matching flip flops.

She even put one of those little korker bows on each side. I love it! I think it's so cute and fun. And look, the inside is lined with matching fabric!

Here I am modeling my new flip flops. Ignore my yoga pants. They don't do the cute sandals justice. I'm wearing them today with my new pink Mickey T-shirt and jeans. They look way better with jeans than my yoga pants. LOL

And this is what I sent her. She said she likes handmade beads and greens, blues and browns. She can't wear earrings right now because she has a baby and baby likes to pull dangly earrings. So I made her this pretty necklace. The heart focal and two beads on either side are handmade lampwork beads made by Dungeonbeads. I paired them with Picasso finished turquoise colored beads and amethyst Swarovski crystals. She said she loved it - I'm so relieved!

Thanks so much for being my partner Lisa!! I love my tote and sandals and I'm so glad you love your necklace.