Fairies Nest

It's all about the dolls for me...some people just gravitate to jewelry, I'm instantly drawn to animals, dolls, little people. Maybe I just didn't have enough of them as a child. I was pretty much a tomboy though..

Here is an artist, Fairies Nest, that is spectacular.

If you don't instantly just fall off your chair with your jaw hanging open and drool dribbling down your chin, then I just don't even want to know you!

Now, if I was shopping for dolls, and had the good fortune to find this shop, I wouldn't know which one to buy, because all her work is so magnificent. Look at the details!

Incredible.

Just puts a gigantic smile on my face, and I HAD to share.

:0)

Valley Green: A Story

I grew up outside of Philadelphia. Across the street from our little house was a park, and through the park meandered a creek, Wissahickon Creek. The creek traveled through an area known as Fairmont Park. Fairmont Park is big - many miles - all the way into the city of Philadelphia. With the Wissahickon as it's center. There is a jogging/biking/horseback-riding trail known as Forbidden Drive, which follows the Wissahickon.

I grew up there, playing in the creek, riding bikes and horses on the trail, exploring in the vast woods that surround it all. It is an awesome place, filled with magic. Oh, the stories that I could tell...

A long time ago, Forbidden Drive was known as the Philadelphia turnpike. There is an Inn along the way. An historic place, hundreds of years old. It is a restaurant. It borders the creek. There are ducks and geese and it's in the middle of the woods, with vast tall trees surrounding it. As a child, it was where we went for celebrations. The food was always wonderful - the fires in the fireplaces were enormous. And you could always go outside and play with the ducks.

Years pass, many years.

I met my husband, Eric, and fell hopelessly in love. We got married - at Valley Green Inn. On an October evening, with just a few friends and family. On the banks of the Wissahickon.

Years pass.

We take our children to the Wissahickon, often. We bring bread for the ducks, we skip rocks in the creek. We ride our bikes and take long walks. We explore.

Years pass.

My father passes away. He requested that his ashes be cast into the Wissahickon. We found a special little place, and did as he asked.

Now we move away, across the land to the southwest. Ah, we miss the Wissahickon. We talk about it, we dream about it. We bought a little land; we have our dogs and cats and horses here.

We name our land:

Valley Green Ranch.

(note: pictures are by an artist, Nicholas Santoleri. My husband purchased the first one that you see above, as a wedding present to me. Valley Green is often painted and photographed, we have many paintings of it hanging in our home.)

MUSIC!!

Musical pendants! For the girl in your life that loves music! What do you think?

(shameless self-promotion!) Just had to share to my blogger friends....

Wholesale!!

It's been my goal to do wholesale work. It's a way to expand my business - to reach WAY outside of the Etsy world. My work has been accepted at an online Waldorf-type shop, and I am SO EXCITED!!!!

Here is what I've finished so far:
2 ponies and 3 acorns...!! More to come!

YAY!!!

Ponies

This little pony is about 6" tall. She is knit from all wool, and stuffed with clean carded wool.

I'm not sure I'm listing these in my Etsy shop - they might be somewhere else. I'll let you know.

;0)

A Bug's Life

Wow. I went to open the kitchen door early this morning, and was greeted by a rather LARGE bug. Just hanging out on the screen door.

I sort of feel like I stepped into the movie, A Bug's Life. If you've never seen it, rent it sometime - it's a great kid's movie, but fun for adult's too.

Anyway, the bug is about 4 inches long and it's a GRASSHOPPER. I would like to point out that we live in the desert, and there is no grass here. So where did he come from? Should I invite him in for tea, or coffee, or...what do grasshopper's eat??

Say good morning:

The Art of Needle Felting

I have such admiration for the artists that utilize the technique of needle felting! It is MUCH harder than it looks - I've taken two classes. In the first class, we needle felted a teddy bear. Such a dismal failure, that I didn't even care that our kitten got a hold of the teddy and shredded it.

My second class was much better, I did a bunny that is for sale in my etsy shop.

HOWEVER, check out Cozy Cottage Creations! Now, here is somebody who has truly perfected the fine art of needle felting. Her work is fabulous! The details are astounding. somebody already bit into that apple!

I'm going to go have strawberries for breakfast!!

Carla Sonheim

As you know, Etsy is filled with wonderful artists. I mean, the kind that can draw or paint. I can't. Not really, anyway. Although I kind of like to. But I have zero faith in my abilities. Anyway, one of my favorites is Carla Sonheim. She does these wonderful whimsical scenes, like this one:

AND she has this wonderful opportunity in her Etsy shop, to purchase transfers of her work. So I did. And I sewed it with embroidery thread onto the back of a felted clutch, in orange.

Check it out! What do you think?

Craft Fairs and a Wonderful Shop on Etsy

Wow it's incredible how I have little luck at craft fairs. Did one yesterday (after showering in the morning with pool water - see previous post) and hardly anybody came. It was at a small private school, their "spring fair". Really, I think it was simply a fundraiser for the school - at $25 per booth, 40 booths, the school made $1000, and I'm quite sure not a single booth sold more than a couple of items.

I sold NOTHING.

However, the head of the school, gave me work - she has an afghan that she needs to have finished. So I will finish it - so it wasn't a total loss.

So I came home to a sale on Etsy, and had one the previous evening. Here are the two items I sold this weekend:

I sold Caroline the little lamb to an incredible Etsy shop that I "discovered" the other day, because she was on the front page.

You have to check out her shop - Fantiny. And LOOK at this:

Is that amazing? I would like to point out that other people must have discovered her as well, cause she's made a lot of sales in the past few days! Yay!

UH OH

The well is dry. Not as in, the creative well. NO, the Real Well. The one that holds the water. The 10,000 gallon well, that pumps the water for our house from the Tucson aquifer. So that we have glorious spring water that comes out of all our faucets. Not anymore, no spring water here.....
Isn't it weird? Our water comes from a well. We share the well with 3 other houses. And there's a problem. There's a leak, or the pump isn't working, or there's a crack in the pipe 700+ feet down.
So the water guy came today, to fill the well. He filled it 3 times, with 2000 gallons each time. And between the 2nd and 3rd trip to fill it, the water level dropped. Where did it go? Not to my house, not to the house that nobody is living in yet cause it's under construction, to the house on the corner that also has nobody living in it full-time?
All I can see are dollar signs. Flying away....or should I say floating away......on the water that is NOT coming into my house. I'm told it could be close to $10,000 to fix it. Possibly.
Maybe. Um, I do not have that kind of loose change right now. So I did not sleep last night. And cannot forsee sleeping until I have water again.
SIGH

so just to prove that the creative well isn't dry yet, I'm showing pictures of little Russian Matroyshka dolls that I sewed onto felt and then put pins on the back. Just little pins....I'm going to need to sell a LOT of them to pay for my water.

SIGH

Featured

Yay! Buster and boo was featured on a blog today! Come visit

beautiful greetings. In addition to a wonderful article on MOI,

you can also check out her shop for awesome greeting cards!

Thank you!!

FaerieRebecca

Exquisite. In my previous post, I was talking
about things "speaking to me". These dolls
are SHOUTING to me!

FaerieRebecca has such amazing talent.
First - we have a needle felted Native American
doll. LOOK at her! amazing.

Then, we have "California Girl", a true
Waldorf style doll. Did dolls like this exist
when I was a girl? I don't think so....

I just had to share....
Enjoy!!

Henry

I finished Henry today. I fell in love with him...he's knit from my friend Kathy's handspun kid mohair. There is nothing like it on the face of the earth. I'm not kidding! It is beyond soft.

Then I stuffed him with clean, carded wool. I dressed him in overalls. I embroidered his face - no plastic safety eyes, and I love how they came out! When I first started making animals, all I wanted was safety eyes. Been using them for over a year now. But....I really like how the embroidered eyes came out!

OK, I'll stop singing my praises now...and it's not really like I'm touting my own abilities, cause as I'm making these little animals, they take on a life of their own. They speak to me.

Yes I know I'm crazy.

:0)

He's listed here. Just in case he speaks to you too.

this was fun

I was just wasting time in the Etsy forums, and found a thread "make me laugh and I'll put your etsy mini on my blog". Being a desperate woman, I immediately tried to make the OP (original poster) laugh.
Guess what? I did!
Here's what made Chris laugh:

bumper sticker:A day without sunshine is like, you know, night

So check out Chris's blog !
Thanks Chris!!!!

Tagged again

Ozknits tagged me! this one is different from the last one:

4 THINGS
...4 JOBS...
Media Buyer
Knitting Teacher
Riding Instructor
Media Buyer (been doing this for a really really long time)

FAVORITE MOVIES ...
Sound of Music
Wizard of Oz
Fiddler on the Roof
Rent
4 PLACES I'VE BEEN..
Chincoteague Island
Martha's Vineyard
San Carlos Mexico
Dominican Republic
4 PLACES I'VE LIVED...
Geneva NY
Philadelphia
Bruce Springsteen's sound guy's house
Tucson Arizona
4 FAVORITE TELEVISION SHOWS...
Gray's Anatomy
American Idol
Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network
Anything news related

4 FAVORITE RADIO PROGRAMS ...
I do not listen to the radio anymore
When I still lived in Philly, I only listened to WXPN, UofPA's radio station
4 FAVORITE FOODS...
Home made bread
Home made brownies - I have the best recipe in the world
Home made shortbread cookies
Home made Chocolate chip cookies -
do you see a trend here?
4PLACES I'D RATHER BE....
Retired
On the beach
Retired living on the beach
Retired owning a beach this is exactly what Oz said, and I could not have said it any better

Now I have to tag 4 bloggers. It's your turn dogeatdog, thinkingmama, pamperingbeki

Mothers Day

I'm in a gift guide!
come visit here here and get some great ideas for Mom's day gifts!!

One of my favorite shops is also featured in the guide - quiltlover - her work is absolutely amazingly beautiful.

Morning

Just wanted to share some morning pictures with you - Happy Thursday, is it the weekend yet?
things bloom in the desert. I have no idea what kind of cactus this is, but it has really pretty flowers. this is a view of our front 'yard', we have some trees! and it really needs a good raking. What are you doing this weekend??


Dozer is worried about the camera, Belle couldn't care less. Dozer moves away to be nearer his girlfriend, it's safer in the herd.

Have a great day!

NEW pendants!

YAY! I love my new pendants - so cute and fun! Come visit Buster and boo!

I'm really excited and so pleased with how these pendants turned out. I throw quite a few away - but all of these came out perfectly! Yesterday I got my new shipment of Chiyogami papers - so georgeous!!! What do you think????

Tag!

uh oh, I've been blog -tagged again! Woodmouse tagged me. Rats. I have to give up 6 tidbits of information about myself, and then name 3 unwitting bloggers to do the same. ok, here goes:

1. I was a hippie in the 70's. And a bit radical: Marched on Washington. Worked for McGovern. Was a member of SDS (Students for a Democratic Society). My Republican father was horrified.

2. I had my kids late in life. Noah was born when I was 38, Max when I was 40. Max is soon to turn 13. Now you know how old I am!

3. I went to an all-girls private school, from 4th grade through 12th grade. Prep school. I was not a preppie. Hippies were frowned upon. It was a difficult time.

4. My best friends die. It might be best to not be my best friend. Seriously.

5. I'm a bit psychic. My cousin is a medium. Seriously. If you want to talk to any dead people, let me know and I'll put you in touch with her.

6. I am not in love anymore with my day-job/career/whatever you want to call it, but there is no way I can quit cause I have the mortgage to pay. How do you start a new career at 53? Open an Etsy shop. :0)

OK, now who shall I tag?????

fairies nest, mosey and dragons-spark! you're all IT!

Thanks Woodmouse!!! (the goatie at the top of the post is one of woodmouse's creations, that is now mine, and sits here with me, I love him)

In Awe

I live in awe of some of the Waldorf-style art that is available on Etsy. I remember when Noah was about 2 - I totally splurged on a plastic farm set for him. Barn, animals, little farmer men and women. He loved it and played with it a lot.

But imagine if I had known about this:

This wonder is made by Wool Comes Alive at Etsy. The little bales of hay just absolutely FLOOR me. So now Noah is 15, and believe me, has absolutely no interest in anything HAY related (well, at least I hope so, if you know what I mean). We have horses, and the high-school version of Noah has little interest in them. He will feed them, but that's about it. So Sad.

Wool comes Alive makes all kinds of wonderous items. I rather want everything in her shop. You can buy these trees to put with your barn, and pretend you have an orchard.

Then, to make your wildlife scene complete, check out this little guy:

Incredible!!!

Looking for an Etsy Coupon???

Come visit Etsy Secrets! Just getting started, it's a great blog

that features COUPONS to wonderful Etsy shops! Of course,

I added a great BOGO coupon for a Buster and boo pendant.

Come see if your favorite shop has any coupons available, or

add one of your own!

Buster and boo

Did I ever tell you where the name for my new shop

came from? I have four dogs -

Teddy Bear, Sugaree, Buster and Boo. Teddy and Sugar

are cockapoos - cocker spaniel/poodle mixes. Buster is a

mutt - Springer spaniel/ poodle/ whatever. Boo is my puppy

- I got her for my birthday in November. She is little, she's a

peekapoo that we got from a neighbor. She is the sweetest

thing in the world - has no idea that she is littler than the others.

I adore her, it's a bit ridiculous. I promise to work on better

pictures, but here are some for your viewing pleasure.

and another giveaway

How do you promote your online shop? How do you get known?

I'm trying different tactics, and one of which is doing giveways

on blogs. The readers of those blogs are not my readers - they

are new views. If they do not win, maybe they will remember

my shop for a future gift-need. The winner will wear her prize,

or give it away, and then I will reach new people.

Visit HERE for the pendant giveaway. It ends soon, so hurry!

Knitting and Felting and Promoting

The Transformation!

1. Knit something. In this case, a sheep. It looks flat and limp

and stringy. It's knit on slighly larger needles, so the stitches

have spaces between them - loose looking. See picture 1.

2. Throw it into the washing machine. Low water level. HOT.

Put a pair of jeans in there with it. Let it agitate. The woolen

fibers mesh together. It shrinks! The stitches are no longer

visible as individual stitches. It is now a solid - material.

It is now a - SHEEP!

This particular sheep was donated to the Tucson Waldorf

School for their silent auction. It's (hopefully) a good way to

get my name out there (locally). And it is also reaching an

audience that I want to reach - that is likely to purchase my

product. The auction is this Saturday. I can't wait to see how

much my sheepie goes for (people bid on the items in the

auction).

I'll let you know!