I think it's about time

To change my table runner

The Truth

I'm sort of taking a poll about the truth. Is it better to tell the truth......

       I don't like that hat on you, it looks stupid.

or

What's politcally correct.....

      Oh honey, that hat looks marvelous on you.

New in the Shop

There's a panic going on at Etsy due to some policy changes. It happens all the time and everyone jumps ship. I cautiosly followed the mob over to Zibbet but I'm not so sure I'm going to stay. I love Etsy and have had many repeat customers, I'm not leaving. But I'l give Zibbet a try and see what happens. I have made and listed a few new bowls.

Secret Santa - Incoming

My All Handmade by Me Team Secret Santa gift has arrived and is it ever a beauty. This fused glass soap dish was made by Mary at Sunflower Glassworks. She does lovely work, please go visit her shop and say Hello.

 

Thanks Mary, I really love it.

Christmas Greetings

I have been saving Christmas cards for years hoping to use them to make my own. This year I got a bug to make cards for a few special people. I searched around all the craft site but could not find anything that appealed to me. So I repeated a card I made a few years ago, only I substituted some of the old cut up cards instead of standard card stock. I really had a problem making the bows, so I ended up buying them pre-made.

 

Not the best, but not that bad.

When one thing leads to another

It's probably just boredom, but I have been hanging around the Etsy Forums lately (someone should really stop me). I came across a post about a lady who said her neighbor was trying to kill her. It turns out that the neighbor was using some perfumey dryer sheets and the smell was permeating the whole neighborhood. The original poster said the smell was awful, she had to keep her windows closed and that it was even seeping through the walls to get her.
There was, of course, the usual set of replys "Oh I'm so sorry this has happened to you". But there was one post that stood out amongst the rest, the poster suggested that she purchase some handmade felted dryer balls for her neighbor, and of course she just happened to have some in her shop. I was intrigued, felted dryer balls? Never heard of such a thing. This lead me to look them up on Etsy only to find a very wide variety of the item, some big, some small, some expensive, some cheap. There was even a lady who raised her own sheep and made dryer balls from the wool.
I searched even futher to try and figure out why these would be better to use than regular dryer sheets. There is a large amount of information on the subject but I went with the first listing I found (click here). Hmm, not only are they a good idea, but here was the instructions to make your own. That lead me to a knitting shop. Asked the store owner if she had any leftover balls of wool, that she would sell me cheap. I got 4 balls (only needed 2) at 50% off.
So here is the results.......

 

 

 

They may not be as pretty as the ones on the Internet, but they should work just the same. I'll let you know the results.

 

 

 



 

 



Um......seriously?

I have been very good about not making fun of handmade things I have found for sale. I have found some pretty tacky stuff and some serious crap. But then there is the very silly that I just can't find the correct adjective for. I don't suppose there are a whole lot of people who purchase Halloween costumes for their guinea pigs, but if you do, I can hook you up.

Sorry, I just can't stop giggling.

Secret Santa

There was a time when Christmastime was so exciting. I loved the planning, and shopping, and holiday parties. I loved sending and receiving Christmas cards and each year I would send more and more. But times have changed and I just see Christmas as a lot of tiring work. I don't care to do all that decorating if no one is going to visit and see it. I would pass on doing it, but hubby says we have to (we meaning me). I love the homemade cookies and candies but I have no one to share them with so I eat them all myself. Christmas Eve was a big deal when I was growing up. It was the one time all year when the entire family got together in one noisy, joyous event. But since my Mom passed away, I am no longer invited to the big event. It's just another night.
In an attempt to cheer myself up, I joined in on a Secret Santa with one of my Etsy teams. It's all still a big secret, but I think I can share what I have made. I don't think anyone from the team visits here, in fact there aren't many at all who visit here. So here is my very pastel, romantic coiled fabric bowl. I am really pleased with the way it turned out, I am tempted to keep it for myself. It is a tad smaller, but deeper than I usually make, but I am very happy with it.

Christmas is over

Every year I go through the trouble of creating a Christmas section in my shop. I add items, blocks, bowls and ornaments. New pictures, new shipping prices, promote. The odd thing is that I have never sold any Christmas items at Christmastime. I have sold bowls in March, I have sold blocks in June but never between October and December. So here is the last two Christmas items I will be making and selling this year. For me, Etsy Christmas is over.

 

Christmas Green Coiled Fabric Bowl

 

 

Christmas Mittens Appliqued Quilt Blocks

 

 

Treasury

I found a new app which will allow all these beautiful treasury items to be clickable links. So if you are at all interested in any of the items, click away at the picture.

Treasury

It's only 3 PM and I have already been in 5 Etsy treasuries. Too bad, treasury don't equate with sales. Here's one of the 5.....

From the Handmade by me team Honouring shop of the week WyckedPrettyThings

Pearl Tree of Life Bracelet WyckedPrettyTh... $20	MADE TO ORDER Fingerless Glo... MadebyMegShop $25	Lip Balm - Pink Coconut - Ul... pamperedmoment... $4	Pink Elephant Decorated elep... shelikesthis $7.5
Sweet Cat Pendant pink and w... ArtsyClay $6	Baby Pink Coiled Fabric Bow... zizzybob $15	Pink Wand 3PrincessesSto... $9.5	Breast Cancer Awareness Spa ... MoomettesCroch... $8
Suncatcher key to my heart, ... DesignsStained... $25	Pink Swarovski crystal with ... ShimmeringCrys... $21.9	HEART OF ROSES Painted Wine ... FlutterbyGlass $35	Landscape Print, Flower Phot... EyeSeePhoto $17
Crochet rose brooch, corsage... Hippywitch $5	Vintage Style Womens Lace C... SSFDesigns $65	Soft Pink Matte Finish Eyesh... KeepingItNatur... $9	Pink Polymer Clay Covered H... CreativeTreasu... $10

Sponsored by send bulk email from excel.

Itty Bitty Christmas Stockings

I've been making these little gems for years. When I worked in a big office, I sold a ton of them in many different colors and styles. I even made one in Hanukkah fabric for a Jewish friend of mine. I have filled them with candy, trinkets, lipsticks, sewing threads and gift cards, depending on who they were being gifted to. Last year I even made a bunch of them for cast members of the US Touring company of Les Mis. Those were made from a fabric that matched the barricade boys vests.

Today I browsed the Etsy section on Christmas Stockings. I scrolled, and scrolled and scrolled some more. I saw some cute stockings, sophisticated stockings, some ugly stockings, some tutus, some pine cones and some stockings with copyrighted images, but I never did find my little stockings after scrolling through about 1000. I then discovered that there are over 90,000 Christmas stockings listed on Etsy. I guess I don't stand a chance.

Public Forums

Public Forums will be my downfall. Posts most often start out innocent enough, but end up in a dog fight. There was a time when I would jump in and add my two cents, but I have learned to keep my big mouth shut. It really doesnt matter what type of forum, chat room or message board. It could be about crafting or electronics or deer hunting, they all end up the same.
Someone will start off with one of those cutesy posts like.......
Hey, lets all have some fun and eat fudge. The conversation will progress like this....
Oh, I love fudge, especially with nuts.
I can't eat nuts, I am allegic.
I can't eat fudge I am diabetic.
I am so sorry this has happened to you, maybe you can eat sugar free fudge.
Fudge is the reason children in this country are obese and it should be banned.
It's not the fudges fault, it's the parents fault
It's the teachers fault
It's Bush's fault
How dare you say that
It's a free country and I can say whatever I want
Hey, I thought this was a crafting, electronics, deer hunting site

I just want to scream......

Saturday Stitchers Bee

On the last Saturday of every month, the Saturday Stitchers have a bee. I guess you might say it's more of a social event than anything else. I really do enjoy socializing with all the gals. Unlike a guild or club, there are no dues, no fees, no rules, no president or board of directors. There are no plans or specific projects to work on. You can bring all your sewing stuff, crochet, knitting or just bring yourself. There is always ideas floating around tips to be shared, show and tell or maybe someone will share fabric or magazines they no longer want. This is the best idea anyone's had in a very long time.

I

I'm not hard to find

I can be found on Tumblr
I can be found on Twitter
I can be found on Facebook
I can be found on Etsy
I can be found on Pinterest
So how come I can't get a conversation going with anyone, anywhere?

Doggy Days Final Four

 

 

Finished...at last.

 

Doggy Days Part 3

 

8 down, 4 more to go and it's not getting easier.

Dog Days Part 2

Remember the 4 doggy blocks I made for a customer? She liked them so much she has ordered 12 more, all to be different. This is going to be a challenge.

 

 

Disney BeachClub Resort Villas

Then and now.

Greetings from the Dineyworld BeachClub Resort.

Dog Days Quilt Blocks

I get these emails from Etsy from time to time. They are chock full of tips and advice on how to improve your shop. Most of the time it's either bs or over my head, but a couple of days ago,  there was one sentence about doing just one thing out of your comfort zone.
I had just discovered these doggy patterns. I thought they were easy enough but a bit boring. I got crazy and decided to use colors you would never use for a doggy. At first I made a Blue Bassett Hound.

Well that was fun, but not enough contrast between the parts, so I made a Daffodil Daschund.

I put both blocks for sale in the shop not knowing how anyone would react. Today I got a message from a gal who liked them but needed at least 4 in total. So I made Red Rat Terrier,

 

and a Minty Maltese.

I'm still debating with myself on whether or not to make more.

Coiled Fabric Bowls

Six new bowls completed and ready for listing in the shop. The only problem is that is has been raining for a week now and I have no way of taking a decent picture. It is supposed to rain all weekend too.
Maybe you've noticed that I have discovered something new (new to me anyway). It's call low volume colors. Low volume quilts are showing up all over the blog world so I decided to create a few low volume bowls. One is multi colored, one is red, one is blue and I have fabric cut for a few more including a Low Volume Christmas coiled fabric bowl (that's a mouthful).

Fabric Postcards

I started my Etsy shop a few years ago with just a handful of fabric postcards. There was a very popular blogger, at the time, who told me I would never succeed selling fabric postcards to quilters. Why not, I thought, but never did respond to her comment. There are many quilters I know who say they don't know how to make the postcards, and many others who just can't be bothered. Besides, my shop is geared to the whole world, not just quilters.
So just as a matter of information, to date I have sold over 130 fabric postcards in my shop and another 30 at a quilting bee.

Already?

 

Yup, that's right, the craft stores are putting out the Christmas stuff.

Some more Shameless Self Promotion

https://www.etsy.com/listing/107426893/bat-in-the-moonlight-fabric-postcard?ref=shop_home_active

https://www.etsy.com/listing/75372146/spooky-halloween-fabric-postcard?ref=shop_home_active

https://www.etsy.com/listing/30641276/halloween-fabric-postcard?ref=shop_home_active

Blog reader

I have not kept up with any of the blogs I used to read. One of the main reasons is that I'm lazy. But it's also because my laptop has been kind of wonky for a while now, most of the time my RSS reader just gives me jibberish. I have tried to find some sort of reader for my IPad but what I've found so far is too complicated for me. Suggestions?.....Anybody?

So now you know where I grew up