I had a wonderful time

It was a nice weekend and even a nice Monday around here. Over the weekend I got to see a granddaughter graduate from preschool. The cutest thing was that the ceremony was at a local community college. She told everyone she was graduating from college. We all had pizza and chocolate cake to celebrate.

I came home on Sunday to an order in my Artfire shop for this headband.

I took the envelope to the Post Office this morning to send the headband on its way to Vermont. On the way home I saw buffalo grazing along the road not far from where I live.

As I was getting some lunch I looked out the window and saw some elk. You can see in this picture that new antlers are growing and covered in velvet. Sorry about getting the south end of the animals but they are a bit fussy about posing for the camera.

I hope your weekends were just as nice and this is the start of a great week for you all as well.

Easy Way Out

Ask anyone in my family and you will hear that I am not the greatest gift giver. When shopping for any of the women and girls in my family I am always looking for unique gifts for her. I am notorious for finding my idea of unique and their idea of and I have heard this out loud, "O my God what was she thinking?". I can take it no more. The easy way out is to give cash.

However I am an easy receiver. That is if you shop for me at any of the handmade sites like Artfire, Zibbet or even though I closed my shop there, Etsy. There is an amazing world of glass, pottery, photography and painting and I would like it all.

Stuck

I belong to the Blogfire guild associated with Artfire.com. Every couple weeks or so we all, well a few of us, post on a topic or theme. Those posts get gathered together in a list that is posted on the guild blog.

This week the topic is "Reflections". The blog carnival will be published tomorrow on the guild blog. I wanted to do a post about mirrors which was obvious or mandalas which I don't think are really reflections but instead are rotations around a center point but look cool or reflections captured in photography because my secret self wants to be a talented outdoor photographer. All of them seemed wonderful and there was lots to choose from. If you search them on Artfire you will quickly see what I mean.

The choices were overwhelming and as I searched I kept hearing this song in my head. Yeah that happens to me sometimes, what about you? Thanks to our leader AliciaMae it has been that way for about a week as I struggled to come up with a post. Finally I realized that I would share the song so it can stick with you too.

When you are done with Diana Ross then you can do your own shopping and maybe start right here.

Mirrors or Mandalas or Reflection
Have fun!

Zibbet Came Back

Quite a bit of worrying and tension online the last few days. Zibbet went offline last week to upgrade server capacity to handle more traffic and growth. These things happen and I guess not too much ruffles this old lady's feathers any more.

Think long term folks. It will be okay.


I have had a few sales on Zibbet as well as Artfire but I know that I need to put much more in my shops and I have the things made. I just have to get all the pictures taken. Now that moving chaos is under control that is my plan.

For now I thought I would show you my favorite listing in my Zibbet shop because you know every blog post or at least as often as possible should have a picture.


Do you like purple?
Well here ya go.

Still Here

It has been a busy week that has just flown by. I sold 2 more headbands, this time on Artfire. I have been packing and cleaning and doing small jobs between the two houses. We had a potential renter look at our current home. Whether they will take it or not is still up in the air.

I got really lost in memories and ideas for a couple hours sorting through my fabrics getting them ready to move. I have so many ideas! I want to start quilting again. Getting my antique quilting frame out of the attic here and moving to a place where I have room to set it up has got me dreaming and distracted.

Don't expect many posts as I go through the moving process.

Awaiting the Storm

As I sit here waiting for the brunt of the coming storm that the forecasters predict will break records it occurred to me that having something soft and scrumptious to curl up in would be wonderful. The backyard is full of puddles and the worst of the rain and wind is yet to come.

I have some scrappy afghans of my own but if you find yourself often in the same situation and don't knit or crochet I thought I would show you some of the best I think artisans on ArtFire have currently for sale in their shops.

From the shop Craftshoot-

This next one in a stunning red is from Elleellee.

Now really how could you not feel cozy wrapped in this lovely color from

Thunder Mountain?

I will tell you that not only do I admire the workmanship in these pieces but I certainly appreciate the difficulty of photographing a blanket and making it look good. I think these talented needleworkers have managed both. Don't you?



This post is part of the BlogFire Guild biweekly blog carnival. You can read more posts showcasing the outstanding knitting and crocheting found on Artfire by going to the guild blog on Friday, January 22nd.

Gorgeous!

Just can't think of another word to describe this bracelet. Gorgeous is exactly what it is. I love the colors of the crystals, the way the whole piece is put together and the gold settings.

I don't wear much jewelry but I do love rings and pretty bracelets. If you like this and would like to see more check out Beaded Jewelry for You on ArtFire.

Visit Beaded Jewelry fou You's ArtFire Shop

Curious

There was a whole lot on the news about Cyber Monday. Etailers were hoping for lots of customers and lots of sales.

Without giving away any of Santa's secrets did you shop online on cyber Monday? What websites did you purchase from? Did you shop for any or all of your gifts at a site that has a handmade focus like Etsy, ArtFire, Silkfair or Zibbet? For ease of shopping which do you like best?

Sorry about all the questions but I really am curious and would love to hear from more of my readers.

Sidetracked as usual

I was going to do some kind of getting ready for Thanksgiving post but I found something else I just have to share with you.

The Lavender and Lace Tea Set you see is from Whimsical Bliss Studios on ArtFire. This set and so much more like it in the shop just took my breath away with the delicacy and beauty of the designs. Just a hint if you love things like this as much as I do. Use the shop link to get details on an exciting holiday sale!
Check out this shop and come back to let me know what you think.

Weekend Work

We got carpet in what has become a guest bedroom rather than DH's home office. We moved a lot of furniture around and exposed a lot of dust bunnies. We are getting ready for visiting family this holiday season. I wish they were as cute as this one from Purrfect Knits on Artfire. I would have kept her if that was what I found. So cute!

What's New Today?

I have made it a policy of not putting the same item on multiple sites. I know it is not as if the world of online shoppers is causing servers to crash with traffic to my shops. I just never wanted to be in the embarrassing situation of having to tell someone that the item they wanted was bought out from under them at another site.

Rather than waiting for things to expire I have started moving off of Silkfair. With all my days interruptions I got two things moved. Now available in A Cozy Life on ArtFire are a scarf in shaded blues and a headband that has colors that I really love.


For the scarf I used a shaded yarn that goes from deep indigo to a cool icy blue. For visual interest I created a pattern that angles the colors at the ends.

I can't help myself. I love calico prints. I think the turquoise crocheted edging makes a pretty frame for this fabric.

As I keep going with this process I will keep you posted right here.

Amazing Creation

The creative world and the people in it amaze me over and over with ideas and creations. I don't window shop to copy but to be inspired to do better by all the lovely or fun work out there. While these are not certified diamonds they sure are cute. I found them with a simple search of the word diamond on Artfire in handmade.

Did you find anything great today?

Thinking of the Moon

Print available from the shop of Carly Laundry on ArtFire.

Forty years ago today men landed and walked on the moon. This was the summer before my freshman year in highschool. All the men who ever walked on the moon had done so before I graduated four years later. It seems so very long ago. At that time I probably imagined that we would have done so much more on the moon than we have.

Where was I that day? Probably sitting in front of a black and white tv watching Walter Cronkite tell us all about it. Where were you?