Thankful day, Buy handmade!

A very warm & Thankful day to you and yours! My shop is on vacation mode to allow me time to get ready for the holidays. I may offer up a sale or coupons (so stay tuned!). So while I work on that, I hope you have a relaxing holiday and time at home. We have already had our first snowfall of the season.

my cat will be sleeping the cold days away

If you must make purchases this week, please consider buying from artisans & small businesses. When you support the arts you help them maintain a business and income. You also support hand made, sweatshop-free, entrepreneurs.

Coming soon & DIY pocket warmers!

The days are colder with some icy wind chill here. But I can't complain too much, we only have a dusting of snow. Where as the Northern states have been hit again and again with some big North Eastern storms - some piling as much as 30"s in one night!

dusting of snow

I've made a very 'handy' project already for placing in your mittens of gloves before going outdoors. You might know them as pocket warmers or hand warmers, either way - they are a smart way to stay warm! I found a lovely blog post with instructions for you to enjoy, so please visit RaeannKelly in this handy link {see what I did there?}. When I made my own I used lentil beans instead of rice, but it seems either will work fine. When I heat mine up to warm them, I heated them at 15 seconds in the microwave. Be sure to heat them in short intervals because these can get very HOT and you could accidentally get burnt! For those with small children, please test the pocket/hand warmers yourself first.

my cotton fabric, lentil bean, hand warmers

And I have decided to start selling some new items in my shop. I have an abundant supply of cute, adorable ribbons. I honestly do ~ I find them and buy them, then they just never get used (but oh, do they look cute!). I will be selling them by the 1/2 yard, which is 18 inches length or 45 centimeters (well 45.72 to be exact). I have so many to sell with a various array of brightly colored prints on them. 

I have: mini taxi cabs, mini trucks, loopy hearts, cupcakes, Sakura blossoms, red cardinals and an "I love bacon" one and more. Needless to say, today I am photographing what I plan to list and sell shortly. I am using natural sunlight since I feel it captures the true colors ribbon. 

my selection of ribbons

I hope all is well for my readers. I know how tough winter can be on everyone. From colds to feeling fatigued, it can take a lot out of us. But it won't be long now, Spring is on it's way! Keep crafting and see you again soon enough. 

Spring has sprung!

Spring has officially arrived to my area. Tulips are up, grass is starting to grow again and buds on the trees. But - what's this, we had snow flurries over night?! Really now, get your act together Nature!

Since my last post, one friend had a baby boy and another is due very shortly. So I couldn't let her not have a handmade gift! I asked what fabric she liked and she said pinks and browns together. So I went, found some adorable flannel print and went to work.

girl baby gift

a bib & a blanket

While I was finishing projects ~ I finished 6 necklaces. I had a friend who saw my pictures and immediately bought a mustache one with chevron print! And I finished the others, made the necklace parts myself and now they are tagged and ready to go. I hope the local boutique will gladly take them in and we can agree on a commission price. 

finished necklaces: mustache & retro glasses

With those projects completely I am ready to start some new sewing projects. I really want to make a tank top or short sleeves top. I have this pretty sheer fabric with butterfly print on navy blue. And since I purchased a dress form a few months ago (my first) I can't wait to use it for this! I wish I could just whip up a whole new wardrobe. But if anyone has sewn before, you know it can be time consuming. And last time I rushed things the item didn't fit properly. 

And just because, here are some cute kitties! I photograph them for a group, they are up for adoption. 

I hope Spring has found you all in good health & spirits. Maybe my next post will have photos of my top! All I know is I have fabric paired up with patterns just waiting to be made. I will share more about that one next post, happy sewing!