And the Winner of Giveaway #8 Is.....

Mandy!!

She is the winner of my 8th giveaway, the Momoka Knit Cuff. Please check out her blog and Etsy shop, helloladies.etsy.com!. :)

Thank you very much to all who entered; I truly appreciate your comments, tweets, advice and suggestions! Also, my apologies for not getting this post up sooner--since there weren't very many entries I wanted to wait a day in case there were any stragglers. ;)

One Snowy Day...

I am sitting here wrapped in a shawl and quilts, with my notebook, sketchbook, pen, and needles, next to a large tower of yarn and books and jewelry-making treasures just on the other side of that, in my now (somewhat) clean bedroom, where what little daylight there is reflects beautifully off of the 10+ inches of snow outside. And so I'm trying to decided what I want to do on my self-designated "day off." And I remember...my poor little abandoned blog that I promised I would write in more often! When will the neglect end?!

FIRST--before I forget, don't forget to enter the GIVEAWAY!!! There is still time, a winner will be drawn tomorrow. Please check it out!

Also, the most exciting news of the day is that I am now featured on the lovely Toni's art blog, Who Said Mermaids Can't Tango? She did an interview with me which you can find here, and after my ramblings, she went on to say some lovely things about me and, consequently, gave me a big head. But truly, it makes me so happy to think that my little craft things can bring a smile to others' faces!!

Though business is a little slower than I'd like it to be on the Etsy front lately, I am grateful that I was able to do a custom order for this talented lady. These are the finished mitts, ready to ship out! I used the same pattern that I wrote for the Peachy Keen mitts that sold a week ago. (Some day when I quit being lazy I'll actually offer this pattern at the shop.)

And as I was writing this--I received two convos notifying me that I've been featured in two gorgeous treasuries!! Yay!

Coffee Stains

Shades of Gray!

Okay, now off to do something productive...or just make some mischief...

Leslie and Lettuce

So....last Friday I received the most fabulous thing EVER in the mail, the new Leslie Hall album, Back 2 Back Palz. I love it. Most people would probably hate it, but I'm weird.

And I had planned on writing a review of it, but then I realized that I had no idea what I was doing and that I should leave that to the experts. Sadly there probably aren't any experts who would review it. But you should totally go to her MySpace page and listen...

{the talented "Mother Gem"}

So instead of writing a ridiculous album review last night, I decided to work on an interview that an Etsy friend of mine asked me to participate in. I am pretty excited about it! It should be up on her blog in the near future {here!}

{finished product of the creative process as displayed in my interview with Toni...it's also for sale here!}

And lastly I wanted to show off my lettuce babies. Actually I guess they're my mom's, she planted them. But I'll be eating them, too. Sadly my herbs aren't up yet! I guess they're supposed to take longer to germinate. We'll see...

ps--don't forget the giveaway!!!

"An Ode to the Farm"

YAY! I just wanted to take a moment and brag: one of my items, Feed Sack Fete (a cotton zipper pouch), is currently being featured in Etsy's blog, The Storque!!

Feed Sack Fete - Sweet Cotton Zipper Pouch, $14

Also--remember to enter in my current giveaway! A winner will be drawn Saturday. And for those who've entered already, thanks so much for the comments! Details here.

It's . . . . . .

. . . . . . GIVEAWAY TIME!!!!

The lovely "Momoka Knit Cuff" is hand knit from a silky soft yarn (50% superfine acrylic/50% superfine polyester) in a cheerfully sweet peach color! It is a lace pattern, and features to funky retro-style buttons with a brown and yellow plaid print. It is adjustable depending on where you fasten the buttons, any size up to 9"!

Wanna enter?? First you must read my ramblings!!! :

Okay, here's why I'm changing the blog. It's not that I don't like it, and I'm not trying to make it better, necessarily, but it just doesn't feel right, you know?? I have received compliments on how lovely it is and I really do appreciate that, and I think it's lovely myself, but it's not my ideal blog ("ideal," of course, being very relative!)

What do I want? A little less stiffness maybe, a little more personality. Not, like, SUPER-personal, (I'm not going to start discussing Aunt Mabel's rash with you or anything), but I want to loosen up a bit, and for it to be a bit more "me." It's not that I haven't been myself on here. It's just that I've only been my "business" self, I think.

And this is a goal I may not achieve, but I'm going to try. So I'm going to try to blog at least 5 times a week, even if I don't think it's the least bit interesting! Yay for my readers, right?! Well, practice makes perfect... ;)

So, this is how to enter this week's giveaway!

I usually allow up to three entries, but in this contest I would like to limit it to TWO per person.

Ways to enter:

1. in one comment, give me some advice! what is your favorite writing exercise, what motivates you, or inspires, etc.? (don't worry if someone has posted your idea before you, just put it down again!)
2. to enter again, blog or tweet or even post this giveaway on your facebook status to spread the word and let me know in a separate comment.

GOOD LUCK!

{ I forgot to mention: the winner will be drawn on Saturday, January 30th. Sorry about that! }

Changes Coming Soon...

Within the next week or so, I plan on mixing things up a little...and I mean very little....lolz.

Coming up: yet another new look for my blog and a GIVEAWAY!

Stay tuned.

You + Me = L.U.V.

Just in time for Valentine's day...

{ {I just have to brag on this adorable heart featured in my mom's shop!} }

JustPuff.etsy.com creates lovely, original ceramic pieces,

and her latest design is this personalized heart, made from clay,

fired once, and then painting.

This would also be a great gift for weddings or anniversaries! Only $15 plus shipping.

(: [Click HERE to see the listing] :)

Etsy Finds: Anticipating Spring

My Etsy finds for today were inspired by my favorite new

hand-knit hand warmers, which are, as of right now,

available in the shop! (If they're sold, contact me via Etsy convo

and I will do a custom order for you!)

Enjoy these bits of spring as we wait for everything to thaw...

Egg Sprouts by Revisions, $12.95

Wood buttons by pleasanthedges, $4.50

Peace to You Banner by madeforfun, $17.00

Chrysanthemum ring by TheBrassHussy, $14.00

Leather Hip Pocket by jennyndesign, $56.00

Handspun Bamboo Yarn by kittygrrlz, $22.00

Rock Garden Ring by AdornJewelry, $38.00

Spiral Aloe by Horticopia, $20

Vital Bicycle Shirt by Vital, $18.00

Strap Wrap Chameleon Shrug by malam, $114.00

Go Get 'Em!

Yeah...that's what I'm gonna try to do!

At the risk of sounding like a braggart, my local Etsy team, Wichita Handmade, is already pretty awesome. We've been in a parade, held craft sales, Craft-in-Public events, and over Thanksgiving break, you may remember me posting photos from our guerilla art/knit tagging event.

And now we're kicking it up a notch! (Pardon the unoriginal and somewhat corning phrasing.)

In addition to all the great events we've had, (which I suspect will be even GREATER this year), we are also holding workshops on various subjects. Our old agenda included a regular meeting every month. Now, we are still holding those meetings, but every other month, instead of discussing business, we will help each other with various things, whether it be working on a business image or converting old t-shirts into sassy dresses.

So, if you're in Wichita (or the area) and are an Etsy seller, please join us the second Tuesday* of each month at the Secret Gallery, 7 pm. [Click HERE for location.]

*March's meeting will be held the FIRST Tuesday this year.

New Year, New Craft...

Jewelry!! Yay...jewelry. I've always loved beads and charms and the like, but haven't been able to put them together quite like I wanted, until now...NOW, for some reason, I've discovered I can! I only have three listings in the shop right now, but once I get some supplies that I need, I'll be makin' more.

Luck O' the Irish Necklace, $29

Gentle Winds Carrying Your Love Necklace, $20

Prairie Rose and the Wagon Wheel Necklace, $28