peasoup

Love, Love, Love, Love, Crazy Love

2012-01-04T11:31:00.003-05:00

Can you guess what one of my New Year's resolutions was? Yes, do better keeping the Etsy and blog sites updated. Can one resolution be to keep my resolutions for the year? That does sound a little crazy...

Speaking of crazy! I just popped in to show you one of my new designs. I created it late last year for a special order. The original was done with traditional crazy (krazy?) quilt colors like dark reds, black, that pretty gold thread weaving throughout. Of course I didn't get a picture of the originals but here is the Valentine's Day version for this year:

New Year - New Studio!

2012-01-02T15:26:00.003-05:00

Happy 2012 Everyone!

(This is the first page of *one* of my Christmas gifts to myself :) It is a Paper Source calendar! I had been admiring them since about August and since one of my New Year's resolutions was to be a little more on schedule and on the ball with birthdays and anniversaries etc. I thought it was a very fitting gift - to myself ...)

Brand new year, brand new Pea Soup Studio!

Shall I give you the grand tour?

Here is the main working area, the window overlooks the woods - I always prefer to work in front of a window. The studio is actually two rooms (very tree-house feeling!) This is the second room.

The first room (not pictured) houses the computer and corresponding machines. The other side has a little round table for tea and snacks and visitors and a big comfy chair in the corner for reading.

This is to the left of my desk, it has some storage for often used supplies and of course books and more books! I have placed my favorite books here: my collection of Japanese craft books, books from my favorite artists and craft how-to books.

Here is to the right of my desk, felt and all of the tiny supplies - buttons, beads etc. And more books! These are my favorite vintage craft and embroidery books. The framed crewel work at the top was my Grandma Golden's. I love it!
It is back to work at that big desk for me - I truly hope that the New Year brings everyone much joy, good health and peace!

-Nicole

For Being in Love . . .

2011-07-20T10:31:00.004-04:00

Whew! It's been a long while! It is now officially my favorite time of the year - hot hot hot - 95 degrees and sort of murky and the nights are warm and misty and the air feels so alive that you can almost hear it! I know that I am a small percentage of people that love this type of weather but I do love it and am happy as a little pig in mud.

My absence from any regular blog posts was due to the Buyers Market of American Craft show - this year it was held at the Baltimore Convention Center and was a bit earlier than in years past - July rather than August. This show has been truly life changing as far as my little Pea Soup company is concerned and I am forever grateful to all of those that organize it and all of the buyers that come out and place orders and support American handmade art and craft and of course to the friends new and old that are like family to me!

So you can see where the title of the post comes from. I love what I do, I love what I make and I love all the support and encouragement from everyone! Many thanks.

This little frame is also part of the series of small frames that I made as new items this year - I have shown the little nursery frames here a few posts back and this is the same size as those. I just love the way the little girl fairy is looking at the little boy fairy. They are indeed in love.

The Internet Gnomes

2011-06-16T12:49:00.005-04:00

I am beginning to think that there are little gremlins inside my computer that are taking things - Etsy listings, blog postings, photos . . . okay, maybe I just have too many things going on in my brain at once and am not keeping very good track of my Internet work . . . OR it could be these fine gentlemen?

Who doesn't love gnomes??? I honestly don't know why it took me so long to include them in the Pea Soup cast of characters - fairies, elves, gnomes seem like the obvious next step and here they are - they are available in the Etsy shop as a pin or as a larger size ornament. I LOVE their little beards and booties - I had so much fun trying to figure out how to get them just right. We can't have a gnome scurrying about without proper footwear! Which reminds me of this book that I poured over while I was designing these guys. I bought it for $2 at my local library's used book sale - what a steal!! If you get a chance - get yourself a copy of this adorable and so well done and imaginative book!

Jolly Juggling Jesters

2011-06-10T17:41:00.005-04:00

I always go back to the jester - there is just something about him that I love. I have been making this little jester pin for quite sometime -

And I have made a larger version as an ornament now and then. When I first started making the wall hangings - which are a totally new concept for me just this year - I of course made the juggling jolly jester wall hanging first! (And kept one for myself which sits on my work table!) Here it is:

I was fortunate enough to make a batch of these in different colors for this amazing place! And here they are - done in different color combos - talk about a very fun time in the studio making these!

How can you not smile when you see them all lined up like that!?

Oh, and the jester pin was just added for sale here!

Baby Boys and Baby Girls

2011-06-06T22:31:00.003-04:00

There seems to be many little bundles arriving as of late - lots of little cute beans sprouting up everywhere! Many best wishes to all of those that I know and love that have just had a baby or are about to have a baby and to all of you out there that are new parents!!!

These little wall hangings were made for the big February show and I am just getting around to getting them in to the shops - there is a little girl baby bean here.

The super great thing about these is I will personalize them for you - yep, I will stamp the little name right on the frame - and the date of birth too! Fun! And a very thoughtful gift I might add! :)

Calling all Birthday Boys and Girls

2011-05-26T16:05:00.003-04:00

Or at least those of us that should want to buy a special card for said special birthday boy and/or girl . . .

I can't think of a better way to say "Happy Birthday to you" than with a cheeky little felt cake. This card is definitely a keeper. And is available here.

Happy Birthday to you and you and you this weekend and for the rest - Have a sunny, relaxing, and very fun Memorial Day weekend!

Love

2011-05-23T10:23:00.005-04:00

Happy Monday morning to everyone!

It finally feels like summer here and I am so happy about that! Everything is green and alive and it smells amazing - this sweet fresh smell of the flowers and leaves - love it!

So it makes it hard to stay indoors and my schedule is slowly going back to my favorite configuration - work late into the night and spend the days outdoors enjoying! There must be some sort of balance after all!

Speaking of studio, there the Stitcher frame is up in the Etsy shop here.

And an oldie but a goodie - the mended love ornament. Here's one from a recent batch for an order. It is sweet and simple and folksy and I do love the sentiment - it's patched and mended, but still perfect in it's imperfections - sounds like the real thing?

In Stitches

2011-05-19T16:02:00.003-04:00

We have had days and days of rain on end. It is now getting to the point that we forget that it is raining and you don't even think about an umbrella or getting wet - the rain just is. Which has made for some sleepy, mellow, slow-moving days in the studio and not too much else. The good news is, the sun broke free from the grey clouds this afternoon and I immediately ran out to do my errands - just so I could be a part of it for a minute . . .

But now it's back to overcast and back into the studio, getting ready for the first Ligonier Country Market of the season on Saturday (the only day in the 10 day forecast not calling for rain!) And finishing up some of these little ones - another of the framed pieces that I introduced this year.

This one is called "In Stitches" and features a little stitcher in a green sweater and a khaki skirt. She's stitching away on a little cross-stitch sampler.

And will soon be in the webshops too!

Wednesday's Work

2011-05-04T15:30:00.004-04:00

I am really good at meaning to take in-progress photos and then remember only when everything is packed and off it it's destination . . . which is the case today unfortunately BUT I did manage to take a couple of quick snaps of some of the work on the work desk.

This may look like a field of black-eyed Susans, but actually they are Jack o'Lantern eyes.

This is very serious work that I do to be sure, here are a few miniatures for some little school frames. The cursive strips will go above the chalkboard, the chalkboard (on the black card stock) and tiny graded papers (A+ of course!)

Final product!

I am hoping to begin carrying these little frames in the webshops. I do have a little butterfly fairy frame in the Etsy shop if anyone is interested in checking it out!

Blooms, Buds and Babies

2011-04-22T16:26:00.003-04:00

On the work desk this week - blooms and more blooms. The first shot is of a batch of special order zinnias. Every time time I look at them the word POW! comes into my head - they are so bright and comic-book-looking to me. I wouldn't normally work with this color palette and have been very much enjoying the new color combos. They need to be stitched of course to call them done.

But these lovelies are done. These are for an order going out next week. I am in love with the white, orange, turquoise one in the center (fruit loops anyone?)

And last but in no way least - my best friend Susan is expecting! And her shower is tomorrow. I have just finished the favors for the occasion - a little pot with seeds and a little plug of soil to plant - these were wrapped in the green fabric, tied with yellow ribbons and I added a little daffodil. The little card has growing instructions on the back. Springy! And easy and I hope everyone likes them!

May everyone have a wonderful Easter weekend!

Flutter-by Butterfly

2011-04-13T11:38:00.003-04:00

I am so very excited about this.

I started creating wall art/mixed-media pieces for my shows and shops and I am really excited to start adding some to the web shops! The first one is the Butterfly Fairy.

I think that this would look so cute hanging in a little girl's room. Because it is always the wonderful people that buy my work that give me the best ideas - this is where the idea for the framed pieces came from. I had a wonderful customer very excitedly show me a shadow box frame of several of my ornaments that she had created to display them. I loved it. Another customer had taken a fairy pin and framed it for a baby shower gift - brilliant! So here they are all stitched up and assembled and ready for your wall!

More to come in the Etsy and Dawanda shops soon!

Spring Things

2011-04-08T16:30:00.003-04:00

Though it is a very dark and dreary, lamps-on-all-day sort of day, there is an assortment of springy things on the studio table.

A batch of the little flower pins for an order:

Miniature flower pots freshly painted:

Even stamping tags has a spring theme to it:

Who's ready for spring!?

Pea Soup Studio Tour

2011-04-04T14:48:00.004-04:00

I love LOVE getting sneak peaks into other artists' studios. How people work is so fascinating to me. So, I thought it would be fun to share my own studio with all of you.

Here is a close-up of my little tackle box of bits and buttons. . . No, you aren't seeing things - there are drawers labeled "Smarty Pants" and "Jingles" and "Candy Canes" I love my job.

Here is a shot of my work table that runs the length of the "L" shaped studio. There's orders of framed pieces, tooth fairies and my color chart hanging out here.

Here we have the short side of the "L" where all the actual making takes place. It is pretty spiffy in this shot (as spiffy as it gets!)

Hope that you enjoyed the mini-studio tour! Back to work for me!

On a Snowy Thursday in March

2011-03-31T13:19:00.003-04:00

I am having a hard time getting my mind around two things. One that it is the last day of the month of March. And two, that it has been snowing on and off for two days. . . Springtime?!

The cold and gray weather has me inside at the work table (so that is a good thing) and on the table, as always, is an assortment of work . . . flowers, butterflies, fairies, mushrooms - very spring-like and very bright. Just the thing for a snowy day! Here are some snapshots -

Bits that will become flowers -

This may seem very random, but I just made some teeth for some hard-working tooth fairies and was aghast at how real they looked . . . too real. . . .

Yikes, so, to remedy this? How everything is remedy in Pea Soup World - a little blush and a smiley face . . . much better!

On the table - Monday Edition

2011-03-28T12:39:00.007-04:00

I thought it would be fun to give you a little glimpse in to the Pea Soup studio work table - I always have lots of different projects going on at once - right now it's mostly orders that I am working on. I have the tiniest of tiny fairies that will eventually become a small framed piece -

And these little hearts go with the fairies -

And another framed piece features a little jolly juggling jester - of course and no jester is complete with a bit of blush for rosy cheeks!

And five pretty birds all finished and in a row!

Bunnies . . . and my assistants . . .

2011-03-23T14:29:00.005-04:00

There are lots and lots of bunnies that have been hopping around on my work desk lately. Most of them are off to their new homes. I saved a few for the web shops and will be adding them periodically. Here is a little batch of oldies but goodies bunnies that I have been making for some time (in some sort of variation.)

Along with bunnies - there have been lots and lots of lots of things on the Pea Soup work table - I don't even know where to begin! Luckily I have these little ones to help me with all those tiny stitches . . .

Who?

2011-03-17T18:04:00.005-04:00

Sorry.

I couldn't resist the title of the post. And I cannot resist the owls. I know, I am probably way past the style trend on this one, but with almost everything else - I am oblivious to these things anyway. I love owls. I have always loved owls. When thinking about this post (owl post . . . ) I thought about all of the the things that I own that are owl related. My favorite being my necklaces . . .

The one above and this one below are vintage purchased on Etsy.

The last one - I want to say Charlotte Russe for about $6!

Then there is this guy - made of pine cones - I think he's suppose to be a Christmas ornament but NO he lives in my kitchen year-round.

And there's more - so it's no wonder that I would eventually get around to making some owls. I did some owl patches a few years back and sort of taking from that design, I did these pins:

Totally fun to make and with the other new designs for this year (including the trees from yesterday's post) and some that you haven't seen yet - gnomes, mushrooms and the like - they all sort of feel right together and make a nice new batch of designs. Look for these in the Etsy and DaWanda shops too!

Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall

2011-03-16T09:41:00.007-04:00

I am not sure when inspiration struck with this one. I do remember thinking how brilliant a concept it was but not really going to far into the thoughts of actually executing the inspired plan. So the concept is this - one pin of a tree trunk and four interchangeable tree tops - one for each season. (The eight-year old Nicole is screaming with delight!)

And so I set about creating the designs - with the hopes that my buyers would scream right along with the eight-year-old Nicole about how incredible it is - the designs themselves came very easy - snowflakes for winter, little budding flowers and pink buttons for spring, summer, maybe my favorite with a pretty little bird and of course fall . . .

Now for the hard part - how would this work? How could I make them interchangeable and yet sturdy that someone wouldn't be walking down the street and realize they are wearing a naked tree trunk where a tree top used to be. I went with a snap AND a little Velcro - a little Velcro does wonders doesn't?

And I do love it and this is definitely one of those "keep one for myself" sort of items. I am also stitching up some stand alone trees (not interchangeable) because I think those are really sweet to. In fact I am putting a summer in the Etsy shop and a spring in the Dawanda shop very soon.

Flutter-by

2011-03-11T13:15:00.005-05:00

I have been making these little butterflies for a quite awhile. While making a few for an order, I realized that I haven't really ever done any other color combinations other than these three. These were inspired by a vintage fabric bedspread that I had as a little one. Here is the first of the new color combinations:

Its a pretty sort of rose and white color scheme and I love it. So very much that extra for the shops. Here is one if you love it too!

Spring?

2011-03-08T13:56:00.003-05:00

Could it be? Could the season be turning??? Today has certainly been making me think that this may be the case. Lots of green and yellow and pink felt scraps on the floor of the studio and these little blooms for an order that went out today. (Thank you Blendo Past and Present - that is the name of the shop where these are going.)

In case it isn't as spring-y where you are, perhaps these colors will brighten things up a bit??

Dreamy

2011-03-07T13:27:00.005-05:00

I have returned from my adventures!!! The Buyers Market Show in Philly was WONDERFUL (a dream, if you will.) As always, it was wonderful to meet so many great people and to catch up with all of the great friends that I only get to see in real life at this show. Many many MANY thanks to the wonderful shops and galleries that placed orders with me. Pea Soup studio production is in full swing!!!! Here is a little peak at my newly redesigned booth - oh how I love it so!!

So it has been a lot of organizing and getting things back together but I am slowly but surely there - we had a sunny day today (yay!) and I was looking at a little stack of words that I made for a show last fall and thought that they should go into the web shops as they are looking quite sad lying in the studio when they would really love to be up on the wall in a sweet little nursery somewhere - so here is the first one available in the Etsy shop:

Here is a little close up:

The word itself is made of wood, I painted it white and added the little "stitches" and of course the little teeny tiny fairies snuggled up on the letters! There are more to come - stay tuned.

Wishing You . . .

2011-02-16T09:47:00.003-05:00

Here's Lucky. I have been making this little guy and his Little Lucky Lady friend for awhile, when I was making a little batch of these dolls for the upcoming holiday, I had a light bulb moment - "He needs a pot of gold!" So, the new addition to Lucky is his little pot of gold. Ah, I think I am in love!

This post is two-fold. One, it is to announce that I am starting to list some St Patty's day pins in the Etsy and DaWanda shops - leprechauns and shamrocks and the like. The other "wish of luck" behind this post is that very early tomorrow morning, I will be leaving for Philadelphia for the Buyers Market of American Craft show. I am SO excited and SO nervous! So, I am wishing all of my fellow artists who are also participating in the show, the very best of luck for a wonderful show! I will be back soon with a report on the show, until then, the best of luck to everyone in their big and little endeavors today!

Love and Hearts and Chocolate and Hugs and Kisses

2011-02-14T12:41:00.002-05:00

A very happy Valentines Day to you!

May your day be filled with lots of hugs and chocolate and great friends and great partners and romance and secret admirers . . . . all good Valentine-y stuff!!!

Hot Dog! and Hamburgers too

2011-02-10T11:18:00.004-05:00

Hmm . . . once again a post title in reference to a song and once again, if you haven't heard it or haven't heard it in awhile check it out - "Hot Dog" by Led Zeppelin of course.

But the hot dogs and hamburgers I am talking about are two new card designs. I haven't made any new card designs in a very long time and these were sketches in the works for - I want to say years - how is that possible??? There will be more meat-related card designs coming soon but here are the first two.
I like how one hamburger looks very proud of himself and the other is not amused at all? Ah, the subtleties of felt and google eyes.

Sweeter than a honey bee

2011-02-09T15:57:00.003-05:00

The title of this post (and this latest project) have this great song happily stuck in my head. The actual song title is "Queen Bee" by wonderful Taj Mahal. It's a great song to listen to and be happy about - especially this time of year!

I have been working day and night, getting ready for the upcoming Buyers Market of American Craft show - I am so excited and nervous and thrilled and did I mention nervous? to be participating for the first time in the February portion of this amazing show. I have been lucky enough to do the Summer show - so this is a huge honor. There is so much preparation going into it - I am a slave to the to-do lists, but it feels so good to be able to put 100% focus on it and hopefully, no matter what happens, I can say - "Well, I gave it my best!"

During breaks of show preparation tasks, I have been sneaking in a little stitching (I couldn't possibly stop that!) I have just finished up a batch of bees - they are the sweet kind that don't sting. They are in the Etsy shop too!

This little fella just told me "Don't be nervous, BEE happy. . . ."

2011-02-03T16:17:00.003-05:00

Whew! It's been a mighty long time! Luckily, during my very long absence, I have been busy making and creating and doing and I would like to share what has been on the ol' Pea Soup Studio work desk.

Today for example, I have been working on taking pictures - not just pictures but GOOD pictures. This is certainly not something that comes easy for me!! Other than that mountain I am climbing, I have also begun work on a new ostrich egg, just for fun. The first step of doing a batik on an ostrich shell is prepping the surface, which takes about a half an hour of scrubbing it with a vinegar wash. Naturally, the egg shell is almost like porcelain with a lovely shine, but no dye or wax or even pencil lines would adhere to it. By washing and scrubbing the shell, it now has a lovely matte finish to it - perfect to begin the pencil divisions.

More along the lines of Pea Soup, wool felt lovelies, I have been working on a trio of puppy dogs that I have just finished and have even uploaded one into the Etsy shop. These little guys turned out very cute (I haven't made any dolls in a very long time!) And I amso into the idea of giving them as a gift to a little tot that I made up a little "adoption paper" coloring card to go with them. Too much fun! Here they all are together, with their favorite toys, before they are adopted to their new owners:

Here's there "very offical" adoption card:

And they will soon all be up in the shops very soon! That is all for today. . . back to work I go!

In Order to Display - - -

2010-02-27T17:57:00.005-05:00

Whew! Now where was I?

I believe waaay back in July (and July is a wonderful thought isn't it?! Warm and sunny and when the world wasn't covered in 3 feet of snow . . . ) I digress, in July, I had the thought to share my lessons learned from my first year at the Buyers Market of American Craft. (By the way, I will be there again this year! It's in Baltimore, MD August 23, 24, 25!) So, seven months later, it seems like a good idea.

One of the things that I am always keeping an eye out for is great ways to display work. As anyone probably has told you, your displays should be a reflection of your work. It should compliment while not distracting the items that you are selling. For years, I sold only at outdoor festivals/arts and crafts fairs/etc. For that, it was simply tables covered with "pea soup" color yards of fabric, old barn boxes for varying heights, some baskets and a few burlap covered boards with hooks for hanging my pins.

For the Buyers Market, I knew I wanted a very simply display, I wanted my pins (which are all packaged on shipping tags) to look like they were hanging in a salon gallery. So, I went to ABCTarget .com (here) first . But I didn't want it to look cheesy or department store-ish. But I liked the ideas of portable "walls" to hang my work on and they weren't ridiculously heavy, so I bought six 2 by 6 feet grid walls in white (here.)

My original thought is that I would cover them in fabric panels. So, I figured out how many hooks I would need, and then all the proper hardware, legs, connectors etc. and a couple of gridwall shelves for displaying my cards on.

These are the hooks, I got the small ones - I think I got 160? So, I went a little hook crazy . . . )

Okay, so at this point, I am well aware that this is looking department-store-ish and also very non-pea soup-ish. But I was confident I could do something to it.

Here's what I ended up doing - not making fabric panels! I was in a time crunch. What I did was lightly sand all of the gridwalls, hooks, and legs with steel wool (don't skip this step!) and I spray painted (I used rust-0-leum) everything a java brown. Now, if you are thinking about spray painting the way that I did, think ahead to the color you are going to use and buy the grid wall system in the closest color! For example, I should have bought black because white is too light! If there is a missed spot or a chip - you can really see it! I chose brown because on all of my tags, I use brown ink and the tags themselves are a light tan/brown - it complimented my work without overwhelming it.

You may be asking yourself - so when are we going to see the final results!?!?! Here you are, a lovely (blurry!) picture -

Now, everyone's display needs are going to be different. And you are going to want to convey the feeling that your products emit. But all displays have a few good rules of thumb, like keep everything at eye level so that your customers don't have to strain to see your product, keep your displays clean and neat and let your work be the stars of the show! Let the little touches (for me, the color of the grid walls, the fabric on my table, my sign, height boxes and trees) really be the icing to the cake that is all of your handmade goodies!!!

Until next time!

A new project

2009-07-30T00:11:00.002-04:00

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 . . .

2009-06-29T22:12:00.003-04:00

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

2009-06-23T22:18:00.004-04:00

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

2009-04-28T20:53:00.002-04:00

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

2009-04-18T17:34:00.004-04:00

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 . . .

2009-04-16T20:22:00.005-04:00

'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 . . .

2009-04-12T22:38:00.001-04:00

Happy Easter Everyone!

Me Again

2009-04-07T20:42:00.003-04:00

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!

2009-03-03T19:33:00.005-05:00

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 . . .

2009-02-26T18:32:00.004-05:00

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

2009-02-21T18:32:00.003-05:00

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 . . .

2009-02-15T19:19:00.006-05:00

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

2009-02-11T21:42:00.002-05:00

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

2009-02-09T20:56:00.006-05:00

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

2009-02-05T19:57:00.006-05:00

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

2009-02-02T21:55:00.004-05:00

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

2009-01-24T17:25:00.007-05:00

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!

2009-01-11T13:35:00.010-05:00

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!!!

New Holiday Goodies

2008-11-18T20:53:00.004-05:00

Slowly but surely things are starting to get finished, photographed, tagged and in the shops! One of the first things is a new design for the holiday season. When wrapping a Christmas present, I usually tie one of my ornaments on for added cheer - I came up with the idea this year of making the ornaments look like actual gift tags, so it's a tag/ornament/present-topper combo. Perfect! They are in the shops here and here.

There is so much to do and finish but the BIG news is something that I have been working on for a couple of weeks and that is hosting my very own art and craft show for Christmas. The idea came to me late one night a couple of weeks ago and it has sorta "snowballed" (get it!?) ever since. So, for anyone out in Blog Land that happens to live in or around this little town in Western PA, you are cordially invited to . . .

HANDMADE HOLIDAY

ART & CRAFT SHOW

Saturday, December 6th

10 am to 5 pm

@ the Greater Latrobe High School's

Center for Student Creativity

So far, I have 20 lovely vendors selling everything from gorgeous jewelry to photographs to felted goodies to handbags to soaps to sauces and jams and even some fudge. I am very excited very nervous and all around wondering what I have gotten myself into! Okay, back to the to do list. Hope to see some of you at the show!!!

Two Months Later . . .

2008-11-11T21:37:00.004-05:00

Well, I am fairly certain that I have indeed been nesting under a rock for the past couple of months. Yes, it really has been two months. I am not sure what happened from then until now. Just lots of to-dos to do. It had been so long since I uploaded pictures onto my computer, that for a split second, I almost forgot how!!! Anyway, even though the computer-y, blogging type work has been at a very minimum, the sewing, crafting work has been very much happening - can you tell from this crummy tinted photo what I have been busy with?

Let's see . . . we have green felt, red french knots, tiny candy canes and red pom poms! That's right, lots of Christmas sewing! In fact, I have posted my first couple of Christmas items in the shops. To start with - a little snowman, and these guys.

I hope you all have been having a wonderful fall and I will leave you with a picture from my parent's farm - beautiful!

Everybody Needs A Hug.

2008-09-17T23:28:00.004-04:00

Wee-ooo, busy, busy, busy . . . It is a whirlwind of stitching over here, and my studio reflects my mad-scientist vibe I have been feeling lately. One of my projects is still under wraps, but Man, it is great and I am super excited about it! (I hope that you will be too!)

I had done some Halloween stitching back in August and it is getting to be that time that I can show and tell such things. In fact, I have added a new section to my etsy shop that is dedicated to Halloween - there you will find little ghosties, spiders, cats, witches and candy corn haunting about. I will be adding more everyday and over on DaWanda as well. I will leave you with another pic of some of the up coming spooky items that will be available at Pea Soup!

He's Waiting Patiently

2008-09-07T23:33:00.002-04:00

Is it too early to post Halloween stuff? I am just saying, I have been sewing spiders, ghosts and jacks all week . . . too early? It's hard to gauge when you are the maker of holiday things, there are snowmen on my table right now and Santas to follow!

My Dog Mose

2008-09-02T21:20:00.003-04:00

So many things have been going on that I haven't had a chance to tell you about my new dog. Here is the story: About 2 months ago, I was driving along a winding country road, it was a beautiful morning, I was headed to the farmers market. All of a sudden, as I am cruising up a little hill, I come across a very confused looking and incredible skinny golden retriever. He wouldn't get off of the road, he just kept pacing back and forth and cringing from the sounds of the cars in the other lane zooming past him and laying on their horns. He couldn't understand what was going on. I could not just keep driving, but I had no idea what kind of dog this was - mean dog perhaps? And so I pulled off, cars kept honking and zooming by and this poor dog just kept moving on and off of the road, it was a matter of time before someone hit the dog or an accident occurred. I went from door to door inquiring about this dog, no one knew him, but said he had been wandering around for days. I had no idea how I was going to help this poor thing, he was FILTHY and I was afraid he would bite (though he wouldn't come close to me at all.)

Just then, a wonderful man named Steve pulled off the road behind me. Steve had passed me once and saw that I was trying to call the dog off of the road and stopped to help!!! What an angel! Steve and his equally sweet Mother in law and I managed to get this poor dog into the back of my jeep (thanks to Steve who had blankets in his truck!) So, 15 minutes after finding this dog, here I am headed back home with a very stinky, really skinny, totally confused and absolutely adorable golden retriever in the back of my jeep.

After trying to find his owner, I realized that we had found perhaps the sweetest most lovable little animal that I had ever met. He is nothing but kindness, hasn't barked once and just wants nothing more than to be laying at your feet. Ed has spent hours cleaning him and combing out his knots and Ed's Mom and sister have taken him in and made them a part of the family. I can't believe what a sweetheart I have found! Here he is:

Welcome home Mose! (And yes, he got his name because for the first week, he did nothing but mosey around.)

My Trusty Stamp Set

2008-08-28T20:14:00.005-04:00

Here's something that I have never done a show and tell of and that is amazing because of how much I use it! This is my print set. It is from my Great Aunt Lyna Hoone. She was a school teacher back in the time when teachers rarely married and you presided over a whole school house full of students. This was the stamp set that she used in her one room school house and it is the one that I use today to do all of my stamping for my tags and cards. I actually had the thought that I should retire this beautiful artifact when I was out antique shopping with my sister and saw a set of just 6 of these stamps going for almost $30.00!!! But it is one of my very favorite items and it means so much to me. It is actually a little box with three tray drawers, the top one has a tray full of picture stamps and this is the second one full of words and letters and numbers. The bottom tray is empty (I suppose for your school papers!) You can see that I still have the old ink bottles and brushes in there!!!

The reason why my trusty little print set is out is this:

It's show time,! And the first for me of the season this weekend. I am gearing up, lots of stamping, inventory checking and pricing. I enjoy all parts of this, but it is amazing the amount of time it takes me to get my pins ready for their big debut!!!

Have a fantastic Labor Day weekend everyone! Enjoy the summer days, eat lots of good food, and spend your moments with the ones that make you smile!!!!

Back To School

2008-08-24T20:47:00.003-04:00

Man! I can't believe it!!! Don't get me started on my "Where has the summer gone?" rant. I simply cannot believe that it is time to go back to school. While, I have been out of school for some time, tonight really feels like the night before the first day. I remember that it would be a hot and sticky night and I could not even comprehend going to bed at a decent hour. My new outfit and new back pack (with a new notebook inside) and (the best part) a brand new and shiny pencil box with an assortment of pencils and little erasers in the shapes of fruits or cars or something of the like would be all laid out and ready go. Ah, now looking back on it, what wonderful memories (even though I was probably not happy at all about going back to school.)

Anyway, I made these guys way back in June, when the thought of books and pencils were just too ridiculous to even think about. Well, it goes without saying that unlike many little tykes getting ready for their first day, these little guys are ECSTATIC about it!

So Everyone, here's to a wonderful school year filled with lots of fun things to learn and neat activities to do!

Blooms

2008-08-17T20:24:00.004-04:00

My Mom and I are both big fans of zinnia flowers. She has an enormous garden of just zinnias, we save our blooms in big bags and plant them the next year. I personally cannot get enough of them, their colors, so varied and vibrant and their perfectly shaped dome of petals - this is one that I just cut for and inside bouquet

Also, a brilliant rose. Here's the story, we were given a tiny rose bush at the beginning of summer and Ed and I both scratched our heads as to how to tend to a rose bush. Did it need sun? Shade? Special rose bush food? I had no idea, so we just planted it and hoped for the best!! It seemed to be doing okay after the shock of replanting until one day . . . I completely broke the one and only stem off with the garden hose! I was sure that I had killed it, but we tried to save it and lo and behold . . . on this tiny little injured stem an ENORMOUS rose bloomed!!!

A rose bush miracle and perhaps a good life lesson somewhere in there as well. . .

That's Me Too.

2008-08-12T21:02:00.003-04:00

It seems like there are lots of long gaps between posts, and while I am not doing so much of the "showing and telling," I am busy making things (in between tending to the rapidly producing garden and keeping three flower beds alive - whew!) It's funny because most of the things that I am working on in late summer are fall and other holiday things and it seems so funny to post about them yet, so perhaps I will just snap some photos and show them all to you later on.

Anyway, along with my Pea Soup sites on Etsy and DaWanda, I have been slowly working on a different kind of site. This one is on Etsy and it is called "Elmer and Eleanor" (which happens to be the names of my Grandparents.) Here is the shop. I decided in the beginning of the year that I must do something about my absolute crazy love and passion for all things jewelry and bead related. I LOVE jewelry. I collect jewelry and cannot be without one necklace, and at least three to four bracelets on. (Though I never got my ears pierced - weird??)

Elmer and Eleanor will be a shop for picking up some pretty beads and I have also started making pendants. Eventually there will be one of a kind jewelry pieces, I am hoping some really big, interesting "statement" kind of things, which I LOVE to wear. The problem is, the few things that I have made, I have wanted to keep for myself. I am really trying to get better about this, really. The above picture are two pendants that I am working on, they are drawings transferred to wooden discs - very fun to make. Anyway, thanks for letting me ramble on about the new adventure!

New Pictures and Old Favorites

2008-08-05T20:54:00.006-04:00

One of my tasks that I am working on is revamping my Etsy and DaWanda sites a bit, it's been slow, verrry slow, but I do have a tiny bit of work to show for it.

Some of pictures were in desperate need of a redo and so, the light being just right one evening, I got some new pictures of some old favorites:

The Crazy Bug Pin:

The Honey Bee Pin (I just a made a nice big batch of these too!)

And this little lady, I love the picture!! I used to make a lot of these pins and haven't lately. They are so much fun to make with different hair colors and bows, they need to get back into the shops!

By the way, the little bugs are in both Etsy and DaWanda shops, if you are interested!

Good Things

2008-07-29T22:18:00.004-04:00

Wow! Seriously, where had July gone? Wasn't it just the 4th of July? I don't even believe it.

I have been an absent pupil from the blog, and am kind of feeling that way about a lot of things, lots and lots to do and I don't seem to get anything accomplished! But that's okay because I had one of the best weekends ever - beautiful weather, art fairs, live music outside (three times!) music in my own back yard with a camp fire and fireworks! A beautiful day trip to my very favorite place . . . Good stuff.

And you know what else is really good stuff? These two. I could sit and stare and drool at their FABULOUS little creations all day!

Good Energy

2008-07-16T21:09:00.004-04:00

This is one of the very first pin designs that I created. I fell in love with these buttons and it was around the same time that I learned Reiki, and met a lot of ladies that also practiced Reiki and these came in handy as gifts. I have had a lot of people buy them as gifts for massage therapists, physical therapists etc. Pretty neat. I haven't had many in stock in a long time, so it was extra fun to whip a batch up. There is something very comforting about working a favorite pattern that hasn't been made in a while, this was definitely the case with these. I put one here and there are more color variations to come.

I am in the process of revamping and updating things, taking inventory and all that good stuff, hopefully the fruits of all this labor will be visible in the shops soon!

Wiener Dogs

2008-07-15T12:25:00.007-04:00

As many of you that may read this little blog know, I am the proud owner of a miniature wiener dog named Bean. I am very fond of Bean and all of her ridiculous-ness so you can imagine how excited I was when this custom order came in . . .

Close-up:

And now I want one for my very own of my wiener dog (who is black and tan.)

So, what was Bean doing as I was sewing up this pin? Well, she was on my lap of course, but this shows you where we have found her napping more than a few times. . .

Yep, that's her asleep in one of Ed's guitar cases. I wouldn't think that would be comfortable, but she looks pretty okay to me!

R is for Ruella

2008-07-13T21:55:00.005-04:00

Happy Sunday Everyone! I hope that you all had a lovely weekend. Our,s was filled with great friends, delicious food and wine and fancy dresses and a couple of "I do's." Yep, some good friends got married yesterday and it was so beautiful and so fun. I love weddings!

My show-and- tell for today is another entry in the Flowers A to Z project. Again, I had never heard of this flower before researching for this project.

This is my felty take on the ruella flower . . .

And I got to use some pretty little seed beads for the center . . .

Animals

2008-07-09T17:11:00.006-04:00

This isn't a very crafty post, but a show-n-tell all the same. Until very recently, I hadn't been to any type of zoo in many years, maybe I was 9 last time? Well, that all changed when we took our sweet little goddaughter to the zoo for her very special 2nd birthday. Oh my goodness - I had no idea all the stuff going on at the zoo! Like these guys (they really do look like they are in costume!)

And these guys who were my favorite, this one was so close that we were pretty sure we were going to get wet. Such amazing creatures!!!

Okay, so this is not an animal, but I made Ed take this shot of me and this really cool sculpture. I would like one for my own yard!

This is my favorite pic of the day - Ed and Sammy - so cute!

Happy Birthday Sammy!!!

Happy Birthday to You . . .

2008-07-07T15:30:00.005-04:00

I think it is about time that I made a proper Pea Soup birthday card and here it is!

It is a take on my cake card, but I added a little candle and have switched up the colors. I love these cards and can't wait for the next birthday to give one out (That's you Ed!)

I made them in several different color combos, shown here.

I have posted one here and am going to post them all, but until then, if you see a color combo that you are wanting to have - just send me a convo and I can post it especially for you!

Q is for Quince

2008-07-06T21:45:00.003-04:00

Hello All. I have sooo much to catch up on, first though, a very happy and belated 4th of July to everyone. I hope you had a great weekend with lots of picnics and fireworks and sparklers and all that good stuff!

I have been trying to sneak a little sewing in where ever I can. I have this little pin to show you, it is my flower pin for the letter Q in my flowers A to Z project.

I had a handful of letters that I just had no idea what flower to make for and Q was one of them. Luckily, I put Jay (my boyfriend's Mom) on the task and straight to work she went. Her idea for Q was quince. I had no idea how beautiful this flower is and was very excited to turn it into a felt flower. Thanks Jay!

Googly Eyes

2008-06-26T20:29:00.003-04:00

I don't know what it is about them, but googly eyes are always funny. Take an unfunny thing and add googly eyes and it's instantly funny. If you are familiar with my little felt cards that I make, I use ALOT of googly eyes. The past couple days, I have been working on a batch of about 100 cards - that's alot of googly eyes. And even though I have been making these cards for a couple of years now, I never cease to giggle when the googly eyes get attatched to the felt bacon, pear, banana - what ever it is - hilarious.

So, you can imagine my delight when I stumbled upon this skit from Saturday Night Live - it contains both Christopher Walkin AND googly eyes. Enjoy.

Bundles and Bunches

2008-06-22T20:54:00.005-04:00

Today I was doing a little crafting outside after all of my weeding and watering chores were taken care of. I have been working on getting a little sampling of goods together for a press packet of sorts for DaWanda. I am super excited for the opportunity (Thank you Elizabeth!!!)

So here is the outside work table:

Here are my new business cards I have been working on. I felt like they should have a little felt on them, I added a little felt heart from my scrap bag:

And here is the little basket of cards and pins that will be on their way to Dawanda tomorrow!

Other than all of this good stuff, I have been restocking some fall designs and have just started a huge restocking of cards. I will be a busy bee with this for a while, hopefully I will have more to show soon (including flower pins Q, R, S!)

Two old favorites and three new designs

2008-06-10T20:15:00.009-04:00

Years ago, Ed and I were out book hunting in a nifty little part of the nearest big city (nifty because it contains two used book stores, a vintage clothing store aaaaand a bead store!) Almost too much for one little gal to handle and luckily there is also a music store or two in between for my poor boyfriend.

Anyway, among my finds on this particular excursion were two very vintage and very mod embroidery books. (Gotta love those "Golden Hands.")

There are so many great things in these that I don't even know where to begin, but there is a footstool done in crewel embroidery that I particularly love and my three new flowery pin designs are the result of my love for this said footstool.

(Of course, when I bought these two books, I was planning on making each and everyone of the projects . . . that has not even begun to happen yet!) But, here are three new flower designs that will be available in my Etsy and DaWanda shops. I really love these little lovelies and it will be hard not to keep one of each for my self!

Design #1: 5 little flowers

Design #2: 3 Little Flowers

Design #3: 2 Little Flowers

That is all for now, here's hoping you had as beautiful a sunset as we did tonight!

P is for Poppy

2008-06-03T20:25:00.003-04:00

Just a quick show-n-tell today, here is the latest installment of my flowers A to Z project. It is one of my favorite flowers, the poppy. My parents have a red poppy plant in their front yard. It gets more beautiful every year! I have wanted to make a one of these for a long time, really anything with a pretty poppy design on it is okay by me!

Here is a little detail of the stitches:

Little Birds

2008-05-30T22:06:00.005-04:00

This year, it seems like I have been trying out lots of different projects and ideas. One of these things started out as printmaking and has taken a turn towards stamp making. So far, I have attempted a few flowers but this is the first one up for grabs in my shop, a little bird!

I love the very handmade quality of it all and they were very hand made! Each one stamped individually, cut and finished.

There are tags:

And there are flat note cards:

Both the tags and the cards are in both of the shops. Here and Here!

I have lots of other stuff to show you too! For another time I suppose. After a long day of digging flower beds and mulching, I am relaxing with a glass of wine and awaiting on our first thunderstorm of the season.

Here's to a lovely weekend everyone!!!

Ladybugs, Campfires & Squirt Guns

2008-05-27T23:01:00.004-04:00

I hope that everyone had a fantastic kick-off-to-Summer weekend. Mine was pretty wonderful.

Why was it so wonderful you may ask?

Well, here's a short list:

First farmers market of the season

sunshine

planting

picnic

a campfire accompanied by campfire stories

corn on the cob

squirt gun/hose battle with my Dad, sister, brother and two squealing nephews

I don't think it gets much better people!

To celebrate, I have posted this little lady here and here.

Sketching and Sewing

2008-05-17T18:00:00.007-04:00

After a couple of days without a computer, we are finally back in action! And I am back at the studio table, playing catch up and restocking some items. I realized that I haven't shown all of my crafts cards, so here are the last two:

This one is a little drawing card, don't they look happy!?

And this one, it's a little skein of thread and some embroidery! Inside it says this:

All of the little items are hand made, it reminds me of being little and the many happy hours making miniature items for my dolls and their doll house, grocery store, fabric store, department store . . . not much has changed! Sometimes that is a good thing.

Oh, and these are available in my shop!

2008-05-11T23:07:00.002-04:00

Hi.

No fancy pictures or clever titles.

Just a great big "thank you. "

First and foremost to my Mom.

She is an angel and I am so so grateful to be her daughter.

Her strength, beauty, creativity and wisdom are simply amazing. I hope to someday be half the lady that she is!

And also, just a big "Happy Mother's Day" to all of you out there, there is just nothing more beautiful and I am pretty sure that Moms are what make the world go 'round.

Bean At Work

2008-05-09T20:25:00.002-04:00

So I should be posting pictures of all my fabulous and completed projects . . .

. . . well . . .

. . .how about a photo of my dog Bean in what looks to be her typing her memoirs. (She looks sleepy.)

Okay, back to work, seriously.

Flowers L to O

2008-05-06T22:32:00.006-04:00

I know that some of you might be wondering where have the Flowers from A to Z gone? I am still slowly but surely working on them in between my other sewing projects. I have amassed four more and wanted to share them with you (and of course they will be eventually here too!)

Here is "L is for Lenten Rose"

M is for Morning Glory.

N is for (a flower that I had never seen before) Nigella. They have the prettiest leaves! They are very lace-like and vibrant green. (And what a lovely name.)

And "O is for Orchid." I was given a lovely orchid last year for Easter. It didn't go well, but it was a graceful and beautiful flower while it lasted!

That is all for now! The weather around here has been so beautiful that I have been happily hauling as much work as I can to do outside and of course taking long walks every evening. Hope it is beautiful where you are too!

Tadpole

2008-05-05T17:12:00.005-04:00

I have never made a tadpole before, so I was excited ( a little nervous) about this special order challenge. I think that he turned out pretty darn cute!!! I used a dark mossy green felt for his body and a little moss color felt for his tail. I stuffed him (but not his little wings, I thought it would be more realistic that way?) So he has almost like a trapunto effect.

And I love his little expression!

And I couldn't help but have a little photo shoot with him (on water paper of course) before he is off to his new home!

Here Comes the Sun(s)

2008-04-28T18:45:00.003-04:00

Wow! What a great time I had this rainy, chilly Monday morning!!! I was a printmaking machine! I haven't done any printmaking since high school and I was really interested in trying it again. I have sketchbooks full of images I would like to offer for sale in my shop and I think I have just printed my very first design!!! I am so excited!!! I draw images of the sun alot, it is one of my favorites and so it is only right that my first carved prints would be of the sun. The phot above is my studio floor, I printed on everything I had available including: various watercolor, scrapbook, vellum papers, Kraft paper, fabric, even felt! I still have some work to do before they are ready for sale, but it will be soon!

Oh, and remember this old chestnut from last year?

Pendants!!!

2008-04-23T22:19:00.007-04:00

Truth be told, I am a true jewelry fanatic. I mean, I am verging on having a problem. My jewelry box had been outgrown for years, my dear Mom gave me an actual jewelry rack from a retail shop, that too is overworked at this point. I am not ashamed to admit, I am obsessed with gems, jewels, beads, baubles, you name it. If I can tie it around my neck, I will wear it out of the house. I am digressing, but, imagine my excitement when I created these little beauties!

It just sort of happened, I was making them as pins and had the thought that I would love one as a necklace. (Perhaps you too?)

It definitely combines my love of jewelry with my love of felt and hand-stitchery. Perfect. And fun to wear, I just had dinner with a dear friend wearing my very own Pea Soup Pendant. I can't wait to make more!!!

Oh, and by the way, this one is here.

And this one is here.

Purple and Blue (and a little apple too.)

2008-04-20T17:05:00.005-04:00

I posted about these little pins awhile back, but I just had a photo shoot with a few of them to get them ready to post and I just added this one to the shop. There will be many more, I did make a dozen of them and each one is different! Also, I have been working on a batch of cards, just refilling the inventory, and I reworked an older design, this one:

It is part of the "Produce in Love" card set, I changed it up a bit and really like the little apple!

It is also going to be in the shop in a short while.

I Can't Help Myself . . .

2008-04-19T20:38:00.006-04:00

I have seen so many beautiful photos of trees in bloom while browsing the blogs, that I had to share my own. All of our fruit trees, the plum trees, apple and pear trees are all in bloom and it is spectacular! The coming of spring always surprises me by how gorgeous and full of life it is, the birds, the bees and the blooms - everything is so vibrant!

And here they are at night! I just thought it was kind of a pretty sight.

Last night, we celebrated the warm weather with our first camp fire of the season.

Good Times.

Gorgeous Gertie

2008-04-16T21:26:00.004-04:00

This little lady was made a while back, before I even thought about typing a blog. She had a couple of comrades too, lets see . . . there was Fabulous Fanny and Beautiful Bernice. I wonder where those two are now? Anyway, I came across her while packing up for my first show of the year.

Here she is hanging out in the flowers.

I thought I would put her back into the etsy shop. Here she is. I have been meaning to make more of these dolls as they just crack me up. The best part? Her arms and legs are made of wire and are totally pose-able. Now that's fun stuff!

Flowers, Flowers, and More Flowers

2008-04-13T20:19:00.007-04:00

I feel almost back in business!!! This past week had me doing an Artist-In-Residence program at a local jr. high. Very rewarding, but also, I don't know if I have ever been so tired! I would literally come home and head right for the couch. To all the teachers out there that do this every day, every week, every year, I have all the respect and admiration in the world for you!!!

So, because of this said tired-ness, I haven't made a single thing or even thought about anything crafty all week, so I was very excited when I finally sat down at the work table yesterday and finished this:

Yes! It's the next flower in the Flowers A to Z project. This one is "K is for King Protea." In real life, at least from the photos that I found of it, it is an impressive and exotic flower.

Also, I snapped this picture of my birthday flowers which are still simply gorgeous. They are from two of my favorite men, my boyfriend Ed (the peach roses) and my four year old nephew George (the red roses!)

And finally, in keeping with the theme of the post, I had the energy to clean up outside around the flower beds on Saturday, the forsythia is amazingly showy and gorgeous and I brought some branches in for the table.

A big thank you to my Mom, she gave me that very neat and old looking candle lamp. It gives off the most beautiful, soft light. And a big thank you to Ed's Mom, she gave me that sweet little embroidered table cloth!

Celebrations

2008-04-06T20:59:00.004-04:00

This weekend marked a birthday for yours truly! It was wonderful and fun and happy indeed! I have taken a little break in production to enjoy the festivities (and these blooms in the garden that just popped up!)

A Happy Birthday all around!

Somewhere is Here.

2008-04-01T17:34:00.000-04:00

There are many, many reasons to smile and breath deep today.

1. Just take a look at that photo! Taken just minutes ago and already the rainbow has faded. I get so excited about rainbows, I just dropped what I was doing and ran out into the rain, I didn't know that you could photograph them! Although it's not the best pic (and please excuse those yucky power lines) it's still pretty cool.

2. It is April Fools day and I was fooled before my feet hit the floor today! (I love a bit of good trickery.)

3. My birthday is just around the bend (on Thursday.) Let the celebrating begin!

4. I think and hope that it really is Spring.

5. Did I mention it was a double rainbow?

Beads and Bits

2008-03-30T23:41:00.000-04:00

I feel like I have been very absent from here lately. We must remedy this! Here is a little snapshot of the ol' work desk. . .

It is covered in beads!

While I in no way consider myself a jeweler or a bead-er, I have gotten three requests in the past week about making/showing/selling jewelry. I learned a while back that the most important thing to do is say "yes." No matter what it is. If an opportunity arises, just say "yes." And so, I said it, that means I am off to the bead store with a grocery list of things to get and I am slowly but surely making some little baubles and trinkets happen I suppose! I have to hand it to all you jewelers out there, because this doesn't come easy for me! Lots of re-dos and re-works. More photos of some finished products (hopefully) soon!

Sewing is for Lovers

2008-03-26T14:08:00.000-04:00

It is a really gorgeous day and we just got back from a long hike in the woods. The dogs are very happy and tired (and me too.) I am trying to get some good pictures outside of some items that I have been meaning to photograph for awhile. I thought I would post another of my crafts in love cards while I am at it:

It is thread and fabric in love. And is available here.

Also, I started letter L in the Flowers A to Z project. It is turning out pretty so far. I went with L is for Lenten Rose since Easter was just around the corner. I am learning about so many new and pretty flowers! I will have pictures of K and L as soon as they are finished. I also started some new little stuffed animals last night. They have a woodland themed . . . so far so cute! More on that later too!

Hope you all are having a bright and sunny day!

100!!!

2008-03-25T18:21:00.000-04:00

Wow!

I can’t believe that this is my 100th post! And I just realized that I missed my blog anniversary on March 5th! I had no idea! Time flies when you’re busy making tiiny wool felt creations. Well, this feels like an extra special show-n-tell today being that it is the 100th!

Here is what I have to show you and since this is after Easter, this goes under the category “Better Late than Never.”

I finally finished my batch of bunnies that I feel like I have been working on for a long time. I made three, one just like one I had made last year (the yellow bunny) and a white and light brown one. I had a very good time trying to find the perfect calicos for the dresses and of course matching the shoes to the dress (These are stylish lady bunnies of course.)

There is one available here and the other two will be up on Etsy soon after a proper photo shoot!

Welcome Spring

2008-03-21T17:25:00.000-04:00

Happy Easter! Happy Spring!

Cards, Cards, Cards!

2008-03-16T18:15:00.000-04:00

I have been happily busy creating all kinds of little things today. But I wanted to take a minute to tell you about a little card deal that is going on in the etsy shop. I am now offering mix and match card sets, so you can pick your 5 cards (different designs or all the same or a combo there of) and pay only for 4 cards! This is only applicable to my $4 cards. So check it out! Head over to the Pea Soup Paper section, browse around and then make your purchase of the "Mix and Match Card Set." In the message to seller, just let me know which five that you want.

Whippee!!!

Crafts in Love!!!

2008-03-14T16:52:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday Everyone!

I am finally ready to share my next series of cards that I just finished designing and making! This set is entitled "Crafts in Love." That's right, each card is a different collection of craft supplies looking awfully in love with each other. There are five different designs in all, I got to take pictures of a couple this morning before the rainy day rolled in. So, - here they are:

Paint + Brush = True Love

The brush handle and tube of paint are handcut paper collage. The brush itself is felt.

Needles + Yarn = True Love

I actually made little balls of real knitting yarn. I know, I am pretty sure that is a little crazy, but they turned out really cute. The knitting needles are cut paper.

And on the inside of the cards?

The rest of the designs (drawing, stitching, sewing) are on their way. Right now, you can buy these two in my Etsy shop. Also, they will soon be available as sets for all your crafts in love occasions!

My New Shop

2008-03-13T22:03:00.000-04:00

I haven't really talked up my other shop and it is about high time that I did! I am really trying to get the hang of it for sure, but it is over on DaWanda and it is a pretty great site if you all haven't checked it out yet. I am still very much learning, just converting inches to centimeters and dollars to euros has been taking me quite a while to get the hang of! Slowly I am adding more and more. I have had one sale from a gal in Germany. I believe she is also on DaWanda's admin. She was so SO incredible helpful and kind and encouraging! I couldn't have asked for a nicer first customer!! That little pear in the photo was the first item sold! (And featured on Cuteable - YAY!) I just actually finished up a little batch of them too, so they will be showing up in the shops for sure!

Flowers for March

2008-03-12T17:43:00.000-04:00

I have been busy restocking my cards. That means more breakfast in love, produce in love and sweet desserts. I am also very excited about a new set of cards that I have been working on. They are not quite finished yet, so I will have to wait a little bit longer before I can post about that!

But, today I have some more flowers for you. . . First, here is a little daisy patch that will be up in both shops (here and here.) This is like a blown up version of my "smile" pin and it is a little patch that you can sew on to anywhere. I think it would be very sweet sewn onto the front of a little pinafore or jumper. (I was having a lot of difficulty taking good pictures today and the grass green on the background looks too dark on my monitor! )

Secondly, here is another Flower A to Z. Lets see now . . . a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, ah yes,

"J is for Jasmine."

A much more simple and smaller design than the others have been. That's what has been so great about this project, every flower demands it's own style and feel and size!

Back to work!

I is for Iris

2008-03-09T17:32:00.000-04:00

Finally!

Finally, a beautiful, sunny day and finally, some pictures of my "I is for Iris" pin.

I got carried away because irises, to me are such majestic flowers, they are so proud and tall and big. So, I guess this is the sentiment behind this particular design! (By the way, it measures 7 inches tall and over 4 inches at the widest point.)

Some details:

"H is for Hollyhocks" is here in the shop. I am working on J and K, they are not nearly as large as H and I are! More on them soon!

Bunches of Bunnies

2008-03-08T14:11:00.000-05:00

Yikes, I just realized that I was planning on showing and telling my "I is for Iris" pin. Well, it has been so dark and rainy/snowy around here, I wouldn't have had much luck with the photos anyway! I do have these little ones to show you.

This is what I have been working on lately gearing up for the holiday. I made four families: tan, white, yellow and light blue. I just finished the yellow family, the tan is sold, the white bunny family is available here and I am about to start the light blue bunch. I can certainly make more of any color family if anyone is interested!

I also have lots of these little ones and will be posting more slowly - here is one!

H is for Hollyhock

2008-03-05T19:14:00.000-05:00

Busy as a little bee I am.

I have been moving non-stop all day and it has felt very good to get so many things checked off the ol’ to-do list!

I wanted to stop in here and do a little show and tell – it has been awhile since I posted a new flower from the Flowers A to Z project.

But first, let me start off by saying I don’t know what happened with H (and "I" also, I will show you soon) they ended up being HUGE! Really big! That was not my intention, in fact, I didn’t notice until they were all finished.

Here is “H is for Hollyhocks”

And a little detail:

I really like how it turned out (other than the huge-ness.) I love the colors and really, I love anything to do with hollyhocks, they remind me of Beatix Potter stories. Also, when I was showing Ed’s mom, she told me that her and her sister used to make little dolls out of hollyhock petals (the petals being the skirt) and play with them all day. What a great little story!

I will post tomorrow about the GIANT "I is for Iris" pin!

It's Toast-y Outside!

2008-03-03T13:40:00.000-05:00

Sorry I couldn’t help it! From the moment that I stepped outside this morning, I have been so jazzed by the weather we are having today. It feels like SPRING! (I know, I know, it was just a couple of days ago that I was saying how much I was enjoying the winter weather.) Well I am over that! The birds, the sun, the warm breeze! This has been the best day! It makes me feel like conquering all kinds of projects! Poor Ed, I have already proclaimed that I want to knock out a wall in the kitchen, paint the walls, and install a clothes line outside. There is no stopping me today!!!

One of my many MANY projects is working on this little batch of toast cards. Right now, they are still missing their wiggly-eyes because apparently no craft shop within an hour radius carries 3mm wiggle eyes any more! I had to order them online. I really think that I personally bought out all their stock!

Other than this batch of toast cards which are for a custom order, I have been preparing for an egg decorating class that I am teaching tomorrow night and trying to get a couple of Easter items in the shop. So far I have this and this, with much more (hopefully) to follow.

Okay, back to work. I hope that you all are having a day as pretty as the one I am having!!!

Welcome March!

2008-03-02T15:07:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I am a day behind . . . but today really feels like a March kind of day! The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and here is the little gal that is the charity doll this month. (To see what this is all about see this post.)

I have just posted one of her in the shop, so please hop on over and snatch her up if you’d like! Also, just to let you know, I am continuing my charity from last month which is Make-A-Wish. I am planning on donating to a new charity every month, but until things begin to take off, I am rolling over February’s charity into March!

Also, it just occurred to me today that Easter is early this year! That means that I have a LOT to do! Coming soon to the shop, I will be restocking the little bunny families in a bag and some other bunny dolls. Also some bunny pins. This means look out for a special little Easter item section in the shop in the next couple of days with these sorts of goodies:

Also, I am still working on my Flowers A to Z project. I have H, I, and almost J complete. More on that later!

Whew! I have lots of work to do . . . .

2008-02-27T16:56:00.000-05:00

I found myself often taken by surprise when I stop to think what day of the week it is or what date in the month it is. (Meaning I do this a lot "It's Wednesday already? How did that happen?" or "Where has February gone to?") I am always genuinely surprised. Today is no exception, I can't believe it is Wednesday and I can't believe it is almost March.

The other thing that is pretty true about me is that by this time of the year I am totally ready for spring, new beginnings, warm weather, trees in bloom, everything getting a new breath of life. But, for some really strange reason, for the first time since . . . I actually don't remember, I am very happy with this wintery, snowy, cold nonsense that we have. I don't know why. I guess because winter gives me all these excuses to stay in, snuggle, drink lots of tea, sew with wool and knit, it is all so comforting. But don't get me wrong, Spring will be a much anticipated event too I am sure.

So here is something that I am working on (last week I tried to teach myself how to knit and crochet, two things that my Grandma was a total master at.) I am nowhere near that, but I find it very relaxing and comforting. This is a scarf for my sister, to match her bright red wool jacket.

As far as Pea Soup goes, not much has been created in wool felt lately, well except for these guys.

That's all for now, here's to the comforts of winter and the promise of spring!

The Birds and the Bees

2008-02-22T18:59:00.000-05:00

It's Friday! How did that happen so quickly!? Anyway, it certainly is and I don't know about you but we had a snowy/icy/rainy/slushy/gray day here. That's okay though because it sent me into productive mode and that was a very needed thing!

For example, I spent the morning packing up orders to send out (thank you for your order everyone!) Then on my way home from the post office, I stopped at the states store to reward myself with a nice little bottle of wine for later! (We call it a states store here in PA – not so in most places for sure!) Then it was a day filled with cleaning, knitting, cookie making and soon, dinner making as well. Lots was accomplished and that is such a good feeling!

Okay, I have been saying for a couple of days about how excited I am about my latest Etsy purchase. Here it is! It is really really beautiful. I have been really loving these types of necklaces lately, I have this one from chainchainchain that I love and now this one. This beauty is from a lovely seller pickypicky I love that it is "the birds and the bees" (giggle.)

While I very much wanted to make that my last shopping purchase for myself for awhile, I stumbled upon this shop and well, I don't think that there will be any resisting one of these.

May you have a most wonderful Friday evening!!!

More Alphabet Flowers

2008-02-21T16:34:00.000-05:00

I know that I said I was going to show and tell my new Etsy purchase, but I just finished this little gal and wanted to do a little entry on it and let you know that it is in the shop! I have "H" almost finished too! More on that, this and the other after a little afternoon siesta!

Panda, Fortune Cookies, and Fuchsia

2008-02-20T18:04:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone!

I spent the day in the studio and feel a little more caught up as far as Pea Soup production goes! I wanted to do a little show and tell of some new little guys that I am really excited about. I made three little Panda dolls in cute little vests, as always, they are all hand sewn.

You may be asking yourself, what are those little things underneath the panda dolls? Ah, that is an excellent question and one I am very excited to answer . . .

They are these . . .

Tiny little fortune cookies made out of felt and each little panda doll comes with one. They best part? There is a little fortune inside!

I am thinking about just making a batch of these for the site, just tiny little fortune cookies for giving to friends and family, we shall see!

You can see more of this little guy here.

Also, I am very excited about the next entry in the Flowers A to Z project. I think that it might be my favorite so far

– it is “F is for Fuchsia.” My, I think it is gorgeous! I love how the layering of petals turned out. My parents have one of those big wrap around porches and in the summer, they put out hanging baskets between each banister, there are a ton of them! One year, they put out fuchsia and it was really beautiful! (By the way, this design will be available in the shop in the next couple of days.)

That's all of the show and tell for now. Tomorrow, a show and tell of my latest and gorgeous Etsy purchase!

A pair of Luckies and the Shamrock

2008-02-19T19:16:00.000-05:00

Okay, now turning my needle and thread to the next holiday - out with the pink and red and in with a little GREEN.

I have started to slowly add some shamrocks and leprecauns to the shop. Do check them out!