Gnome Sweet Gnome :)

In my opinion, there are really only 2 kinds of gnomes. There are the evil ones that are scary looking and you just know that they eat slugs and frighten baby birds as soon as it gets dark outside and I'm sure they have something to do with all the things that go missing from the garden....
Then there are the totally sweet gnomes that work hard all day in your flower beds with their tiny wheelbarrows and help the flowers grow, singing a happy tune the entire time. Those are the kind I'm in love with :) I have always loved their little pointy hats and their sweet disposition! I decided to try my hand at making a pattern for one of these adorable little guys and this is Karl :) I've added Karl to my shop today to see if anyone else has room in their heart and home for him and if so, I'll make some more :) Happy Valentines Day everyone!

* Update on Karl - he didn't even last 4 hours on Etsy. Guess it's time to stitch some more :)

New Stuff :)

 

This has been a week of new stuff for sure! I added some new pin cushions and some new ID / Business card wallets to my Etsy shop. Also I received a wonderful package from my dear friend Amy! We are doing a pillowcase swap together with our friend Regena. Amy knocked it WAY out of the park with the amazing new pillowcases she made for me! I love everything about them! You can see from the picture that she put alot more in the box then just the pillowcases :) Then yesterday I got a surprise visit from my swap partner Jeanie who made a special delivery right in my front yard! She brought my new Valentines apron and a bunch of new goodies as well as a huge heart shaped brownie for my birthday! You can see more details here. And today I'm waiting for UPS to deliver my new dishes. They are an anniversary gift from my hubby and I can't wait to open them up and wash them and place them in their new home :) So what's "new" with you?

Wearin' My Birthday Suit :)

Wow.....1/2 a century! How did that happen? 50. It's a big number. It's a good number :) Pretty soon I'll be able to wear fun hats and gold shoes and not care what anyone thinks! I've always admired older women who dress just for themselves. You know the ones.......they always look like they are going somewhere special....even if they are just waiting for a bus? For most of us while we're young, we can get so tangled up in what we "should" look like or trying to fit into the mold of what everyone else is doing. I'm looking forward to the "everyday is a party" phase of my life. Bring it on! I'm sooo ready! 

And I'll bet you are ready to see who won the random giveaway?

The winners are:

#5 - Amy

#6 - Jayepea

#8 - Torkmonkey

#11 - Jillytacy

#13 - Mary Lea

Congrats ladies! Please go to my profile and email me your names and addresses.....and then watch your mailboxes :)

Sorpresa! Sorpresa!

 For those of you who are not multi-lingual like moi.....sorpresa means surprise in Spanish :) Tomorrow I will be 50 years old....a proud age for sure :) So when my darling Sister-in-law invited us over for lunch on Sunday under the guise of saying "thank you" to my hubby and son for installing their new heater last Saturday, I was none the wiser. We were planning to celebrate my birthday together with my daughter's birthday this coming Sunday after church. My hubby orchestrated everything. He's handsome AND clever....a good combination! I was totally caught off guard for sure. Even my mom was in on it. She comes upstairs to the nursery at church just as the service is over, almost in tears and tells me that she isn't feeling well. She's forgotten to take her heart medication and I need to take her home right away. She was supposed to get me to take her home to keep me away from my own house (where my amazing cake was secretly stored in the outside fridge) so that Kristina could scoot over there and grab the cake and take it to my brother's house before I got home. My mom was NOT supposed to freak me out by telling me that she needed her heart meds.....but that's what she came up with. Even Kristina was worried until my mom smiled at her as we were rushing out of the nursery. I'm almost 50....I dont' need this kind of excitement!

 So after I get my mom to her apartment and she goes upstairs to take her medication and comes back down to the car, she tells me that she is starting to feel better. Maybe it was anxiety over forgetting to take her pill. I tried to convince her to stay home and rest but she insists on coming because she so enjoys having all her children and grandchildren together at the same time.....
I drove back to my house to meet up with my hubby and then the 3 of us continued on to my brother's house. When we got there, I had no reason to suspect anything out of the ordinary.

 My sister-in-law did such a great job of decorating with balloons and cute decorations and was clever enough to make sure that nothing could be seen from the front door. I walked in to find everyone standing there yelling "Surprise" when I came in! I've only had one other surprise party in my life and I was 28 at the time. Many moons ago! This was a truly special day that I will remember always! My hubby even had the cake decorated to match my Etsy shop! I mean....look at those Owlies! The cake was almost too cute to eat. ( I said almost....I'm not crazy!) My daughter was in charge of ordering the cake and knows of a wonderful bakery close to her home. The cake was lemon sponge, with lemon curd and raspberry filling. OMG! I had some Sunday. I had some yesterday for breakfast, then for afternoon snack and after dinner. Thank goodness we gave some away on Sunday for people to take home, otherwise I'd need some kind of intervention for sure! I also received some of my birthday gifties. My son is making an awesome picture frame filled with silly pictures of my children and grandchildren. How cool is that? I love it that he is making me something this year. I love all the thought that goes into handmade gifts. My daughter made me the most lovely scrapbook filled with pictures and verses from Proverbs 31. (I think she loves to make me cry in public) After all is said and done, there is no greater gift for me than my family and the love we share. All the ups and downs of life have brought me to this point and I am so thankful for every day that I get to spend with these wonderful people! I can't wait to see what the next 50 years bring!

Tis better to give, than receive GIVEAWAY!!!!

One of the coolest things about blogging for me so far has been all the awesome crafty women I have met and continue to meet. I was reading my new blogger friend Jennifer's blog the other day and she was doing a fun giveaway to the first 5 people who left a comment. She will send them something handmade by her at some random time during the year. I love suprise mail...don't you? So I thought I would take the concept and switch it up a bit. Since my birthday is next week and I'm going to be 50 I thought it would be fun to do a birthday giveaway in the same vein as Jennifer's. If you leave me a commment and tell me what your favorite color is and what your favorite thing is (like my color is red and I love chickens) I will pick 5 random winners on my birthday, February 9th to receive a handmade item from me during 2011. It could be anything from an apron, an owlie, earrings, handmade cards, etc. Anyone can leave a comment and you only need to comment once. I will be using the random number picker to choose the winners. Good luck everyone!

A Love Story......

It all started the day my first package from Vintage Vogue showed up. Sure, I've made things out of felt before: the generic felt that you can buy at Michaels or JoAnn's, you know the kind I'm talking about. But this wool felt was unlike any other felt I had ever "felt" before! It's like this magic fiber that can be made into anything you want. Like the play-doh of the fabric world! I'm so totally in love with it! I have a container to keep even the smallest scraps that can be used for eyes or flower petals or the occasional owl beak. The possibilities are endless! Last night while the hubster was watching a movie with knights and swords and blood and killing....I was happily sitting next to him making this little "dunny" pencil topper. I think she just might put a smile on somebody's face :) at least I hope she does!

3...2...1...Launch!!!!

Today I am finally opening my Etsy shop! Boy..it's alot of work to take 5 photos of every item, then crop and edit them. Then resize them for Etsy and write descriptions. *whew* Anyhowzers.....I have all the Owlies and Owl pendants listed and now I have to photograph and list the aprons and ID/Business card wallets. I mentioned earlier that I would have a special deal for my blog "followers" (yes...all 18 of you :) If you are interested in purchasing anything from my shop, email me for a coupon code for 20% off your first purchase. This coupon code will only be available to those of you who are currently listed as my 18 followers. I will be offering special deals from time to time throughout the year to all those who "follow" this blog. So even if you don't qualify for this particular discount, you can always become a follower and you'll be included in the next one. Either way, I'm really hoping that you'll stop by Etsy and check out my shop!