Happy Monday!  It's a little overcast today, but that's ok.  A little rain won't hurt my garden.  :)

Speaking of garden, I have five little tomatoes growing already!  I'm so excited.  Hopefully they grow well.  I didn't plant my garden last year because the baby was just born, but two years ago, I had a ton of tomatoes grow, but right before they would ripen, almost all of them would get end rot.  It was very sad.

I listed two new blankets this morning!

This first blanket is the super secret project that I had talked about a few weeks ago!  You can find it here.

I love how it came out.  The ripple pattern adds a nice touch and I love the colors together!!  I'll have to make more with this color combination.  Here's another picture.

And there's this blanket.  Months ago, someone had contacted me about making this blanket, but when I let her know that it was finished, I never heard back!  So I've listed it for sale.

You can find this blanket here.  I actually have a cute brown ribbon with pink polka dots that can be woven around the border.  I think I may add it and take more pictures.

Let me know what you think!

AliquidTextileJewels Tuesday Feature!

So we had Free Pattern Friday on a Monday, so now we have Monday's Feature on a Tuesday.  That's not weird at all! 

Today's featured store is AliquidTextileJewels.  This is a jewelry maker that lives in Italy and the jewelry is crocheted.  I think that this jewelry is so cool!  The jewelry is different than what you see everyday, but it's definitely wearable!  Take this necklace for example...

It's so different, but would be awesome with a plain black tank top or turtleneck.

And this one...

It's simple but so striking!  Everyone would ask where you got it.

And these earrings are great!

I love how they hang and they're the perfect length.  So cool!  I would so wear these.

Go take a look!  The colors of the jewelry are great and the yarn used looks like it's really good quality and this jewelry would hold up thru a lot of wear without looking used.

Let me know what you think!

Happy Tuesday!

Mon Petit Violon Pattern Store Feature

It was another busy weekend!  But it seems that every weekend is busy with a 10 month old.  This Saturday we went down to the Jersey Shore to visit with my parents.  On Sunday I went to Home Depot and picked out the veggies for my garden!  I got a tomato plant, two cucumber plants, a zucchini plant and seeds for sugar snap peas and beans.  I'm going to try to plant them tonight so that they are in before it rains for the next three days.

So, today is Monday and that means that I have another featured store!  Today's featured store is Mon Petit Violon.  This store is all crochet and knit designs that I love!

Take this for example. 

I love these booties!  I love the cable design and how the cables face away from each other and then follow around the ankle of the bootie.

There's also this pattern.  

Is it a poncho?  Is it a cape?  Is it a cowl?  Any way you see it, I love it.  It's a different design that you don't see every day, which is what makes it so unique!

And there's this little cutie.

I love this little sunhat!  It has a great shape and would be perfect for that little head to keep the sun off.  It's also sized up to adult sizes, so anyone can have one!

These patterns are great.  I love the simple look and lines of each design and the wonderful use of yarn!  There is something for everyone there, so go take a look!

Happy Monday!!!

Finished Baby Blankets and a New Scarf!

Happy Tuesday morning!  The rain is gone, the sun is shining and I have some new finished items!

There are two new blankets listed in my shop!  I had posted about these last week.  I finished the purple blanket last Thursday and listed both this morning!

So they're both done...

And I finished this scarf!  This was fun to make and really easy!

I just need to cut the end of the yarn and sew it in, and it will be ready to wear!  The yarn is soft and it has sequins through it to add a little sparkle!  I really like how this one came out.  I love the big ruffle!  Here's a close-up.

I just have to figure out what to wear it with....

I'm still working on the super secret project!  It should be done soon, but I still can't post what it is until after the first weekend in May!

Turquoise Etsy Treasury as a Monday Feature

Happy Monday!  How was your weekend?  It was a rainy one, here!  But that's ok...we needed it.  I had planned on working on the garden, but that didn't happen.  I'm still deciding on what I want to plant.  I usually get a Roma tomato plant, cucumbers, beans and peppers.  The peppers in the past really haven't been worth the effort.  I've only gotten two or three peppers from each plant and only at the very end of the season.  I was thinking of putting the peppers in the upside down planter this year.  That would give me more room for something else in the garden.  We'll see!

Today's feature is not one store, but many!  I put together a collection on Etsy of all turquoise colored items and the collection is beautiful if I do say so myself!  Here are a few examples

I love this gorgeous necklace.  I'm seriously thinking of buying this for myself.

I love that leaf detail on the side and how it loops around the chain, but it still hangs freely.

I also love this yarn bowl.

I think yarn bowls are so cool.  They are works of art themselves, but they're also functional!  You place the ball of yarn in the bowl and the yarn feeds thru a hole in the bowl.  So the yarn is free to roll around and unravel, but it still stays put and doesn't get tangled!  This one is beutiful, too.

And this little bird is just so darn cute.  That's all I have to say.

Yay!  This color makes me happy.  :)

New listing Saturday!

Today was a day for new listings!  I had finished 2 new baby blankets last week and finally got the time to take pictures and upload them to Etsy and Artfire!

This one is a yellow, green and white blanket crocheted from a brushed acrylic yarn.  It is crocheted in a shell pattern.  It is so soft!  The compact size would be great for a carseat or stroller blanket.

This one is a blue, brown and white blanket crocheted in a different shell pattern.  This one is so lightweight and comfortable!  It would be great for outside on a summer day or inside when the baby needs just a little something!



Now...if only my baby would arrive, I'd have someone to model these...  soon!!!!

I also created another collection on Artfire of monkeys.  That's to come!

Happy Saturday!

Projects in motion and a favorite store

Phew!  This weather really doesn't know what it wants to do.  Rain, sun, clouds, humidity...  Plus the awful weather in the mid-west.  With less than 3 weeks left until my baby is due, I'll be staying inside!!!

So I started the vest that I posted the free pattern for the other day.  Oh my gosh is it adorable.  Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures yet, but when I finish the front, I'll take a few and post them.  I can't wait to see him wear it!!

Meanwhile...below are some picture from one of my favorite stores on Etsy.  I just love her work and as soon as I have a few dollars to rub together, I will definately be buying some of her work.  I go to her store every once in a while just to drool...

There's something about paintings with trees that I just love.  I don't know what it is...  I had put together a treasury a while ago of pictures and paintings with single trees in a landscape.  That's how I found Adriana Oancia's art.  Look at the few selections below and tell me that her art isn't gorgeous.  Go and pay her store a visit.

The colors are just beautiful.  I love them!!

ArtFire is quickly growing on me

So part of the reason that I started a blog is because I also started a store on ArtFire.  I 've been selling on Etsy for a few years now, and I figured that opening another store in another online venue couldn't hurt.  Well, ArtFire is really starting to grow on me.  It is quickly surpassing Etsy as a website that stays open in my browser all day so that I can keep returning to it.  At first, I was confused as to how to navigate thru everything, but once you get the hang of it, it's really pretty user friendly.

So in honor of the contest that ArtFire is having right now, below are 5 of my favorite things so far about ArtFire.

1. The people.  Everyone is so nice!!!  Oh my gosh.  I posted an introduction to myself in the forums, and I received four pages of welcomes and more than a few tips and tricks to use.  Everyone is so friendly and eager to help each other.  It's such a pleasant change from what I had seen on Etsy.

2. The help.  There is a whole page of just tutorials in order to help you get aquainted with the website and how to succeed with your store.  These aren't just little tutorials that give you only half of the information that you need.  They are long and in depth and VERY helpful.

3. With the Pro account, only one monthly fee.  I don't know how the regular account works because I automatically signed up for the Pro account.  For 10 bucks a month, it's totally worth it.  They don't charge you every time you list an item.  They don't charge you every time you sell an item.  They charge one monthly fee.  They're there for the seller, not necisarilly for the money.

4. They work with Etsy.  They don't pretend to think that they are the only website out there that sells handmade items.  They don't penalize you for advertising another site.  They work WITH you in order to make you better.  Wow.  What a concept.  On Artfire, you can import your items that you already have for sale on Etsy.  With just a few tweaks, you have your new item up in both shops within a few minutes instead of it taking forever.  They make it easy!!!

5. Smaller may just be better.  ArtFire doesn't pretend to be this huge handmade marketplace online.  They know that they are smaller and that seems just fine with them.  Etsy is getting bigger every day, but there is a way to become too big, and they seem to be pushing the envelope on that one.  In order to get noticed on Etsy, you need to relist, like, every 5 minutes.  If you sell items that quite a few other people sell (like I do), this is really the only way to get noticed.  Of course, every time that you re-list, you pay Etsy another $.20 per listing.  Hmm...Etsy is getting richer while my listing is already on the second page within a minute.  This goes back to my number 3 with ArtFire's one low price.  With ArtFire, the search lists are generated randomly, to an extent.  It also has to do with how involved you are with your store.  The more involved you are, the higher up the list you go.  This is good for both sellers and buyers.  For the seller, you know that you will be recognized more for your commitment.  For the buyer, you know that if you like something that is listed on the first few pages, you are buying from a seller that is committed to their craft. 


In just the few days that I've been on ArtFire, it's obviously had a great impact on me.  I think that this will just get better, too.  I would recommend to anyone that wants to sell their handmade items to the online audience, ArtFire first, Etsy second.

If you REALLY want to sign up for it, use my referral link.  If you sign up for the Pro account (which I recommend.  Totally worth it), you will get your third month free!!!

Here is my referral link.  Use it, abuse it!

Well, that's my long post for the day.  Fun stuff to come soon!!

Just to reward you for getting to the end of this post, here is a picture of my cat when she was 6 weeks old!

Have a wonderful day!