Etsy Love

I don't just sell on etsy, I buy and trade as well. Today seemed like an excellent day to share a little etsy love and pass on info about some great sellers and products.

Normally, for some reason, I seem to have a neon sign over my head only visible to all the biting nasties in the summer air proclaiming "All You Can Eat!" But this year, I've kept them at bay with some wonderful handmade soap from my friend SmileyMoo

Bugs Be Gone Soap

This soap smells great to me, but not to the little buzzy guys. It's a great way to shut down the buffet and feel clean and fresh. No more spray on repellent for me! And as a bonus, Smiley also has the best lip balm I've ever used!

When I finished a prayer shawl for a good friend, I decided I wanted a nice shawl pin to go with it. OutNumberedNovelties has so many beautiful wooden pieces in their shop, they were the first ones I asked. I was not disappointed in the least! Through a series of convos, we collaborated on exactly what the finished product would look. (I'm not going to share the pictures of the one I got, because I still haven't sent it or the shawl off and I'd like a little surprise left) Much like me, making one just wasn't enough for Out, so there are more in their shop, each one totally unique.

Wooden Shawl Pin and Ring

One of the favorite things in my jewelry box is a pair of earrings that belonged to my grandmother. They are a pair of little gold wire birds' nest with tiny pearl "eggs" inside. I have loved them ever since I was little, but I never wore them. They always seemed too casual to wear any time I might wear a string of pearls and I just didn't have any other necklace to wear with them. I found the solution in the fantastic shop of thecuriouscupcake.

Cupcake and I traded the pendant for a pair of tatted earrings. This little baby may be all mine, but there are similar ones left and loads of other cute items!

So what are you still doing reading my blog? Go shop and find yourself some great items, too!

I also want to note that all the pictures above are from the individual sellers and I only borrowed them to show you all some of the amazing things out there ;)

Why Michael's Is Out to Drive Me Crazy

I finished tatting the most amazing choker the other day, by far my favorite yet. I needed ribbon clamps to finish it off and, of course, didn't have any on hand. If all were the way I wanted it to be, I'd just put in an order to Fire Mountain Gems for them, but this plan had two flaws. 1) I'm far too impatient to wait for shipping when I'm so close to being done and 2) we didn't really have the money for me to put in an order because Wal-Mart screwed up the hubby's paycheck (but that's another rant for another time). So off we trek to Michael's where I've always gotten my ribbon clamps in the past.

I stare at all the findings for a few minutes. Where are the ribbon clamps? I must have missed them in this massive wall of head pins, eye pins, clasps of all sorts, cell phone charm ends, and, what the heck? wine bottle stoppers and badge clips? Really? Badge clips? Whatever. As long as I find the ribbon clamps, I don't care what other pointless stupid supplies they have. But, alas, there are no ribbon clamps. No, I scream in my head, that can't be! They're here somewhere! I mean, there are badge clips for crying out loud! Deep breath. Okay, new plan. Get all the other things I need and then order the ribbon clamps from Fire Mountain Gems when I get the money together.

After ten more minutes of comparing and contrasting the beads available with the imaginary ones I had my heart set on, I grab what I'm willing to settle on and make one last desperate search for the ribbon clamps. Nope, they didn't magically appear while I was debating the merits of various beads. Dammit! Okay, I'll just get this other stuff and . . . wait, what's wrong with me? Why am I willing to give any of my money to this chain that doesn't have the one thing I really need? Okay, plan C, shove everything back on the first hook I can reach and leave the store.

That's pretty much how it happened. I pouted all the way home because I wasn't going to be able to finish and list this awesome piece. Then the miracle happened.

I found a pouch I'd been using for projects around Christmas and had abandoned when I'd gotten something better suited as a gift. I opened the pouch to pull out the handful of vintage buttons I knew were stashed away there, hoping to distract myself with a totally new project. A little glint at the bottom of the bag caught my eye. I reached for the small package and, would you believe it, RIBBON CLAMPS! I found some I didn't even know I had! So here we go:

Vampire's Kiss Tatted Velvet Choker

Evening Sky Tatted Velvet Choker

So there they are, new totally new choker and the one I've been working on off and on for a good long while. All finished and listed :)

Busy Saturday

I believe I've accomplished a lot this afternoon so far. I finished and listed a new pair of tatted earrings:

Jayne Hat Earrings

I made two treasuries: Cunning, Don't You Think? inspired by the earrings and Not Another Necktie in honor of the Father's Day gift cliche.

And I added some more to the Queen Anne's Lace Doily:

Now it's time to type up some of the story idea that's been banging around my brain for about a week! So much for Saturday being a lazy day, lol.

I Live!

Once again, I have been neglecting my poor blog. It seems that I just end up leaping from project to project without giving myself a break. I've honestly been avoiding the computer a little lately as well. I'm trying to break myself of bad habits like sitting playing silly facebook app games all day long.

I'm been doing a LOT of tatting lately. My tatting calluses have calluses and my fingers are beginning to get a little achey. I've finally learned at least one method of making split rings with the shuttle and spent some time experimenting with that. So far, I haven't come up with anything great, but I'm still working with on it.

We've been driving around listening to audiobooks a lot. One of the best things about this is that it's wildflower season. I've been staring out the window at butterfly weed, tigerlilies, and queen anne's lace (my favorite) for hours and found a little inspiration.

I've been working on a Queen Anne's Lace doily. It's been trial and error so there's a pile of twisted, discarded false starts at least as big as the doily so far. I'll post more pictures as it continues to take shape.

Settling In

I am officially tired of boxes. I'm also a little tired of the fact that we don't seem to be doing anything about them. I love my hubby, but sometimes he just doesn't see the same point that I do. He wants to put off getting the storage units I want for the craft room and getting that room organized. He wants to tackle the boxes in the bedroom closet first.

That's all well and good, but he's not the one desperate to have a sewing machine up and working. The one who feels an overwhelming urge to make some cards. The one who wants to know what's in her yarn stash so she can organize and purge.

I don't think he realizes that the longer we put this off, the more I'm going to want to keep because I'll have more and more ideas for what to do with it!

Being stuck in the apartment for a week because of the snow piled on the sidewalk didn't help either. I'm feeling stir crazy. More than that, I'm feeling creatively antsy. I need something to do. I can't even add to the box of completed granny squares for a shawl ministry project, because I've run out of accessible worsted weight yarn. I'm starting to feel like I'm losing my mind!

I have a really awesome idea for a messenger bag. If I ever get a sewing machine set up, that is.

How to Feel Settled

I think I finally figured out why I don't feel settled in the apartment yet. It's not the huge stacks of boxes in the computer room. I've been working on the laptop in the living room, so I don't see them on a daily basis. It's not the boxes in the kitchen or the living room. There aren't many of them to bother me. It's not the little everyday things I keep realizing we don't have anymore like a vaccuum cleaner (because of the stupid storage room thieves) or a toilet brush (because we had one of those disposable ones and just haven't unpacked the handle or replaced the pads yet).

It's the kitchen. The dishes are unpacked. Most of the pots and pans and utensils are unpacked. We have the microwave, the tea kettle, our brand new coffee maker (thanks, Andy, awesome Christmas present, btw).

We don't have any sugar. We don't have chocolate chips or self-rising flour or yeast or anything I need for baking. Last night I was struck by a sudden need to bake something. Cookies or cupcakes or something sweet and I couldn't do it. Yes, I know, the last thing I need to do is bake up a batch of cookies or cupcakes when there are only two of us to eat them, but sometimes it's about making them rather than eating them. Not for long, but initially it is. We got some Bisquick at Sam's Club, so I can make some pancakes, but I can't make chocolate chip pancakes. And we only have a few bottles of spices. I want to bake some bread or something, but it's just such a pain to get everything together when you aren't starting with some of it in the cupboards.

So that's when I'll feel settled. When there's sugar in the cupboard.

Resolutions

A few of my friends have been asking what everyone New Year's resolutions are. As for me, I have many resolutions because I can't narrow anything down in any part of my life. But here's my major resolution:

Not to tell the world what my resolutions are so that I don't have to own up to it when I inevitably fail.

There, now stop asking, everyone! :)