A new project

So, part of the reason I have not been blogging and not been posting any new things in the Etsy shop and really posting anything at all is that I have been completely immersed in this very special and very very outside of my comfort zone show coming up this very weekend. It's the Philadelphia Buyers Market of American Craft and I applied on a whim and some how got accepted and have been in a mild state of panic and stress and shock since! But here is my idea, as I am actually seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, is to share my adventure on this blog. I mean - what does one do when they need affordable, cute promotional give-aways? Where do you get BIG posters made of your work? How about catchy business cards? What the heck is the difference between PAR 30 and PAr 20 lighting??? These are all things that I have been stressing/pondering over for months and I want to put it all out there for anyone who may need it. You all are probably a bit more savvy then myself, but I still feel like I have almost survived the battle and would love to help anyone that may be in a similar situation! Okay, so no photos or tips or hints just yet - soon though - keep your fingers crossed - it's almost a day away until show time!!!!!

And now for my next trick . . .

Truth be told - on my work desk right now is a batch of ghosts and a batch of snowmen . . . I know, I don't blame you for not wanting to see them either - July is upon us and too much weeding and mulching and tending to outside things like sunshine and walks and grills to think about ghosts and snowmen. So, here instead is a picture that I took right before dinner, which we ate outside as a storm loomed - fresh vegetables, chilled white wine, brown rice . . . now THAT is summer and so is this:

Back Again

I'm back again - at least I think - the good news is, I have weathered quite an adventure. The bad news is, this is what my studio looked like about an hour ago:

The good news is this is what my table looks like now:Sorry for the terribly dark pictures!

Hopefully, many little felt creations will be marching their way completed off of this table very soon!

Alphabet Revisited

I couldn't resist showing you this image from one of my very lovely customers - the entire Flowers A to Z project all together in one place!!! Because I did them in batches, they were never all here at the same time.

They do look lovely together, I have to say.

Sunny Skies, Leafy Trees, Flowers in Bloom

These are a few of my favorite things these days. It has been beautiful these past two days and I have loved every bit of it!

In celebration of the weather and the (final) arrival of spring, I have picked up some other crafty habits (besides stitching of course.) The first is stamp carving - I got a lovely Japanese craft book on the subject a year ago and I am FINALLY on my way to making some stamps and stamping with them! (Like these two:)

(This card set is already available in my DaWanda shop!)

I love how clean the designs are and for someone who spends lots of time making lots of little stitches and details - these are a nice and easy break.

I have also been doing a little painting - and I have some ideas, so more on that when I have something to show for it!

I hope that where ever you are, you are enjoying the same weather that we have been having - gorgeous!!

You wouldn't believe it even when I tell you . . .

'Tis true Ladies and Gentlemen. I barely believe it myself.

I am done!

Finished!

With the "Flowers A to Z" Project!

Weee-ooo!!!

In my excitement to finish, I took these terrible photos of the last four to show and tell you. I will take better ones, but for now, I present . . . (Drum roll) . . .

W is for Wall Flower (I am not making it up - one such flower exists!)

X is for Xanthium. I know, stretching, but that darn letter U and X!

Y is for Yucca - oh how you grow so wildly through all of my gardens - totally clashing with any type of theme or design I may try.

And last but never least, my very favorite flower of all time . . . (hint hint if anyone ever wants to really knock my socks off)

Z is for Zinnia!!!!

YAY!!!

Hand-stitched Bunny Says . . .

Happy Easter Everyone!

Me Again

It's me again, it's been a month! Since last time I've typed, Spring has sprung, and then winter has just returned for (hopefully) one last kick in our behinds and I celebrated one of those birthdays (again!?) Oh and there was the mini-vacation/girls weekend to Berkeley Springs - so lovely! But I haven't stopped making and doing. (It's just that, as usual, I am working on things that aren't really "in season" to post about here - anyone want to check out my batch of Jack O'Lanterns while the tulips are beginning to bud? I thought not!) But soon I will have two things to share that I think (I hope) you will like too!

For now, I want to share with you this. You might be wondering what a felt- sewing gal like myself is doing with this totally chic, totally fancy and totally gorgeous furniture site - Well this site belongs to a good friend of mine, Rebecca Malik who you can find more about here at her blog. She is doing great work and her eye for design is just so spot on. Way to go Becky!!!

Lucky Charm!

So this is a lovely little item that came across my computer today and made my day.

My shamrock pin is in the Etsy Voter!!! Totally cool! If you haven't already, check it out (and if you are feeling up to it - vote for my little pin!)

(Many thanks in advance!)

They fell in love at the diner . . .

One thing that I have been trying to do more of is taking photos of my work whenever I finish a batch of stuff. Normally I take individual pictures, but I get such a kick out of seeing a whole bunch of one design all together . . .

Like this.

But I couldn't help but notice that these two were giving each other "the look."

So what I decided to do was make them available together as a set here and here.

I would hate to be the one to break them up.

A Little Felt Garden

This batch of colorful lovelies are from last month. I thought that we could all use a little color therapy as we forge ahead to the end of the winter and (hopefully) the beginning of an early spring!!

I have added a new design to this series - a simple, small one-flower pin:

I have also added some St. Patty's day items to the shop so check them out!!!

A verrrry long time . . .

An embarrassingly loooong amount of time has passed since my last installment of the "flowers a to z project" - so long that some of you might not know what I am talking about.

Well, it began here and continued until here.

After my long vacation from researching flowers, drawing and sketching them and pattern making, I am back at it!

We left off at "R is for Ruella" so here is "S."

Sunflower of course and a mighty large one at that! (Almost 5 inches!)

T is for Tulip (and while making - I got excited thinking about the gorgeous tulips that pop up in our side garden bed - soon!!!)

Here is where I ran into a bit of a snag. (And for future knowledge - if anyone out there knows the answer to this - please send let me know!!!) What flower begins with the letter "U"!?

Umm . . . I know, I don't know and I have looked and asked and searched. I have come to the conclusion that it is a very exotic and well-hidden one! So what to do with the letter U? Well, maybe this was cheating, but I did it any way - the terribly noxious and rash-inducing thistle called "urtica" has a somewhat of a cute little pod on it - and so, here we have the letter u's entry:

Urtica pod. (Of course it is now my one of my favorites!)

Another of my favorites - I love how this turned out!

Pretty little violas for V.

Hope you like them!

Monkey Cakes

I made these for one very special man in my life. He turned five on Saturday and requested "Monkey Cakes." I was lucky enough to have the latest Martha Stewart in which there happened to be a "monkey cakes" cupcake recipe - viola!

Happy Birthday George!

New Toy and New Work

After many times thinking "I should get one of these" I finally got my grommet/eyelet setter tool - big stuff in the Pea Soup studio! (Almost as big of a deal as when I got my desktop tape dispenser.) And oh man! I want to grommet everything. Ed is truly concerned for his belongings (and rightly he should be.)

So what was my first test drive with the ol' eyelet setter? This little number:

My first felt necklace! I am not sure what is in store for this baby, I am definitely planning on making more - I loved how this one turned out - the ideas are churning . . . .

New Banner

Making a new banner for my Etsy shop was no easy feat.

Was it because I am not very skilled in the art of photo editing software? Perhaps that had something to do with. Was it hard to wrangle a half-dozen fairies armed with spools of thread and tiny fabric scraps?

You betcha.

Two of Us

Isn't that such a sweet song? One of my favorites and I had never heard it until I started dated Ed - then it became a special song for us as we would hear it quite randomly at just the right times. So it seems like an appropriate title for these two - they are pretty in love - just crazy for each other . . .

Can' you tell?

I made them for the special holiday that is quickly approaching. The gentleman has a little red rose on his lapel. I made them as a set, I don't think they could stand not staying together. They are soon to be in the Etsy shop.

Happy February and I think I speak for everyone in this neck of the woods when I say -

GO STEELERS!!!!!!

Fabric, Stamps and Felt

In the midst of gathering up and organizing all of my receipts for tax purposes (yawn!) I have finished up a little set of pins that are a little different than my normal style of work. These were originally going to be pendants, but I just couldn't get behind the pendant idea and so they are all pins and I think they turned out sweet and simple (in a good way.)

The inspiration for the designs was this - if you have ever inherited a treasured sewing box or button tin from your grandmother or great aunt, you know how special it is to sift through the bits and threads and buttons and cards of needles and snippets of fabric saved. It's quite magical for sure, especially if it comes from a loved one. It's even quite magical when you find a sewing box at a yard sale and can create your own story about the person who owned it. These pins remind me of all those little saved bits of fabric at the bottom of the sewing box - worn, wrinkled, frayed at the edges and smelling of antique-y things.

To go along with this idea, I used my beloved set of stamps from my Great Aunt Sade (the rabbit, bird and tree) in a pretty sepia ink. I also used colored pencil to give it a blush and tint of color. There are a couple of these pretties here and here and more on the way!

WOW!

Happy New Year! (Oh, and Happy Holidays and Happy Thanksgiving is in order too!) I think that about covers all of the events that I have missed in my blog absence. Wow! Is the title of this post because I am amazed that it has been so very long!

I will get right to it then, since if anyone has checked in here lately they have been looking at those three little gift ornaments for almost 2 months - I have a few new things that I have been working on. I have been enjoying every minute of working on new designs. I do feel, for the last half of '08, that I had been playing catch up, making custom pieces, filling orders, stocking for shows and haven't had a minute to play and create and try out new ideas. Let me tell you (and for those of you that make things - you know this) when I get to sit down and just leisurely make and sew and paint - ahhh . . . so relaxing and rewarding!

Okay, so I have a few new designs that I was in the progress of photographing when my batteries went kaput, so I have half of my new card set ready to show and tell. (One is the first picture of this post.) This set is just in time for the holiday of love and sweetness that is up-and-coming and that is of course Valentines Day and what better way to celebrate with your sweetheart than a"Bugs in Love" card! Yep, that's right, along with the butterflies theres . . .

Worms

Ladybugs

I have covered many bases with my card sets - there's "Breakfast in Love"

"Produce in Love"

"Sweets in Love"

"Crafts in Love"

The first three designs are up in both shops here and here.

More to come as soon as my batteries are back in working order - and really, though I breezed through my well wishes at the beginning of this post - I truly hope that you all had a wonderful holiday season and I am wishing you a very joyous and peaceful 2009!!!