Decorating New Spaces for Christmas

Yes it has been awhile but I am posting now. It may be awhile again but who knows. I am at our Laughlin house so that I can take part with my sisters in weekend vending at the Mohave Trading Post. That has been fun, and sales are okay. Could they be better? Of course, but I am satisfied with how it is going.

Back to today. This was my first chance to putter in my own new house and get it looking like Christmas. It pleases me to have the tree up, the lights on and the ornaments placed with care. The tree holds a mix of my own handmade, some of Jim's laser cut ornaments, and commercial ones from years ago and our travels.

Since we don't give gifts anymore, I put some stuffed animals and tins under the tree. Those things fill the space very nicely. This is the only thing I have stuffed animals for, never anywhere else at any other time. For under the tree, they please me.

I put out for the first time in many years a large garland that we bought to go on the mantle in our Utah home. I just haven't a good place for it, but I do now. It fits very well across a console table in my dining area of the great room. I think it looks good there along with my favorite lamp and a nativity scene.

Back with more again soon.

Take care and stay cozy!

Etsy Favorites

A long time ago I created a list on Etsy named "Made Me Say Wow". I filled it with art and such I stumbled across while browsing. Today I want to give a shout out to four of the artists and shops that are on that list.

This handsome fellow comes from the shop CarlaKurtArt. It is titled "Afternoon Reflection".

You can find this charming bird in the Etsy shop "JohnHarmonGallery". You can order several sizes of a signed print there.

In the mood to treat you and your home to a luxury piece of handmade furniture. Shop for this and more at the Etsy shop MSTRF.

In one of my favorite mediums, watercolor, you can find this Harbor Seal print in the shop of Dean Crouser. This artwork is a high quality print in a limited, signed and numbered series of 400.

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!

An Overdue Visit

We are nearing the end of organizing in our new spaces. Jim has so much time on his hands he mopped the garage floor. I have been keeping quiet and not making any honey do demands on him so he can figure out how he wants to fill his days. 

I am trying to figure out when and how to reopen my Etsy shop. The time keeps getting pushed back as he comes up with ideas for all the trips he wants to take. We are considering trips to Utah and Hawaii. After that I hope I can stay home for awhile and get my shop stocked for a good fall and holiday selling season. I have so many hats, shawls, scarves and more already made that I need to get to new homes. Wish me luck from the sales goddess.

We have made one retirement trip already to southern California. Now I remember why I don't want to live there again, traffic! 

My mother recently joined the ranks of the fully vaccinated. Jim and I got our shots months ago. With all of us having been jabbed we felt safe taking a short road trip to visit my mother. She will be 87 this summer and it has been more that a year since I have been to her home. 

Our visit was about 3 days which is plenty long since having company upsets her routines and wears her out even though she loves having family come to see her. When I look around her house I always see things I have made. I am sharing pictures below of a few of them. Some of these items were make more that 30 years ago. Yes I am that old and have been crocheting and occasionally quilting much longer that that. 

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!

Todays Thoughts, Photos, Shop and End of Summer

What's On My Mind Today?

I must confess not a whole lot. I have been thinking about what summer was since we are now a week or so past Labor Day Weekend. The summer started in California going to Sea World and seeing family. This summer ended with a day on Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park. In between there were other family times here in Jackson and a cruise to Alaska. All of it good and I will share scenes in future posts.

I have come up with what I hope will be a new format that I can stick to. The headings tell it all. First "What's On My Mind Today?" which can be about nearly anything. Next is shop news and I hope to have new listings to share here soon. Last I decided to go through my pictures and choose a photo that catches my eye and share it. Any way we will see how this goes.

Shop News

 I choose a few items from my shop today to promote on twitter. These dishcloths we something I tweeted. I just love the cheerfulness of the colors in these. Just looking at the colors made me happy as I crocheted these.

I am also looking forward to seeing if we can get a nice group growing on the EtsyBloggers team. Got an Etsy shop? Got a blog? Join us!

Photo of the Day

Somewhere in Arizona

I will admit that after nearly 5 years in the Phoenix area I never really grew to love the harsh desert landscape. What helped was that in the central part of the state not far from Payson you could see views like this.

Til next time.

Newest Infinity Scarves

Here in Jackson there is a chill in the air. The nights leave a layer of frost on everything. It is that time of year when having a soft scarf around your neck can go a long way to keep you comfortable.

My newest listings are perfect for keeping you cozy. These scarves were knit in a medium weight very soft yarn. The colors are as soft and pretty as the yarn.

You can see these and more styles of scarves, both traditional and infinity, cowls and more in my shop.

http://cozy.zibbet.com

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 I sell - Zibbet
I blog - A Cozy Life and Group2020
I pin - cozyatoz
I socialize - on Google Plus and on Twitter .

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With your hands, young and old

I loved watching the children knit. What do you think about the ideas in this video?

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.

Wordless Wednesday-Handmade on My Tree

Art In My House

Today I am continuing to show you the handmade things I have around me everyday. The 2 pieces today are watercolors and hang in my bedroom.

The pictures to the right shows a forest scene that I bought for my husband one Father's Day. I loved the colors and beauty of the trees and he did too. Unfortunately I do not know the name of the artist and the piece is not signed. I bought it at a Quilted Bear store in Murray, Utah.

The painting on the left is one I have had since my high school days. We had a family friend named Claude Lepine who painted. Our families would get together sometimes and during one of those visits he told each of us we could chose one of his paintings to take home. This was my choice that day. I like the shades of spring greens mixed with the brown of the cattails. It looks to me as if a slight breeze is just barely bending the tops of the tall grasses.



Do you have handmade things surrounding you in your life? If you have posted about them leave a link to your post in the comments for others to see.

More Handmade

This is something I made long ago. It has had a couple lives so far. the little doily started out in a wood embroidery hoop to hang on a wall or in a window and I used it that way for a long time. I took it out of the hoop when I was looking for something to place a new reed diffuser on. It is made of cream colored crochet thread and uses almost every basic crochet stitch there is from single to triple with a few clusters thrown in.

One of the nice things about creating with cotton crochet thread is that with a bit of care it can be a very long lasting piece of work. I wash my things in the washer and lay them out to dry. To keep things looking nice I press them with a steam iron and some spray starch to help it resist dirt.

Handmade at Home

Today I am continuing to show the little things that are part of my daily life that are handmade. Having things from hands that care whether your own or another persons just makes it all more meaningful. To me it creates a connection to the thoughts and feelings behind the creation. In a mass produced world the only thought behind the creation of objects is probably "When does my shift end so I can go home?"

The little basket today isn't much. It started out plain white and I sponged the green paint on it. The flowers inside were left from the center pieces on the tables at my oldest daughter's wedding reception. That event was a lovely day and lots of fun. So you see at a glance I can feel better just thinking of the happy time behind the creation. This sits on the edge of the tub in the master bath so I get to see it several times a day.
As for any purists out there I will admit this is not made from scratch but rather the basket is hand altered and the flowers just placed in it but those ideas were put together by my hands.

Handmade Home

I always seem to have a hard time enforcing time lines on myself. I can meet everyone's deadlines and schedules but struggle with my own. I tend to ignore myself. Do you think that comes from the years of being a mom when making sure family members did all they needed to do on time without regard to what I might want? Enough of that silly self examination and on to what I really want to share today. I hope to do this kind of post much more regularly. I think I will try for about once a week. We will see how that goes won't we?

Over many years Jim and I have collected handmade things here and there that we like to have around us to see and enjoy. In the early years of our marriage of course much of it was small and inexpensive. We may have admired the work of an artisan and just got pieces we could afford. Some were gifts and we certainly appreciated the generosity of the gift.Frankly I don't remember where or when we got this tiny little oil painting. It has just always been around tucked here and there as I move things around in my house. I am known in my family for always rearranging things. It is only a couple inches high and wide and right now lives on a shelf in the master bathroom but I took it outside to take its picture. I do think that making things tiny takes a special skill and it makes me happy to look at this little bouquet of flowers each day.

Handmade in My House

I have set out on a new series of posts here at Cozy's Stitches. I will still feature artists and crafters and their work but a couple times a week I will be showing you what I have in my life that is handmade. I will show you the things that I made myself and the things Jim and I have collected.

To organize this project I will go room by room and show off the big things, little things, decorative things and useful things. We are starting in the master bathroom with something I made. This useful rug tickles my feet and dries my toes every morning.I found myself with a lot of that fabric that you wonder why you really every bought. You sewers know exactly what I am talking about. The kind of stuff that calls to you from the clearance table. You don't have a project in mind but maybe you just might use it someday. This rug used a lot of that kind of fabric up for me. I crocheted a base and latch hooked short fabric strips onto it. The rug is thick and heavy and feels wonderful to step on.What do you have in your life that you use or enjoy every day that is handmade? Feel free to leave a comment about it and even a link if you have posted about your handmade life on a blog.

Just Relax

For today I want to share with you a find from my favorites list on etsy.com. In the future I plan to make this type of post a regular feature. My list of favorite things is much more that you see in the Etsy Mini on the left and I want to show them off.

This Cozy Creature is from kraftychic's shop. Here is what she wants you to know about it-

Heat therapy goldfish is constructed from four layers of 100% cotton fabric. It's filled with rice, cloves and natural lavender. Not over-powering, a faint relaxing aroma.
Ideal for all aches and pains! Especially for the ladies during their menstrual cycle…place underneath lower back or on top of lower abdominal. Perfect for sore muscles, arthritis, cramps, headaches and many more uses. Not only will it relieve your aches it will also add a smile on your face at the same time.
Place in microwave approx: 90 seconds. If prefer hotter, replace and check every thirty seconds for desire temp.
If chosen to use as an ice pack, place in a large Ziploc baggy (included)before placing in freezer.
Measures:11 x 8.5 inches.
Nice size-not small!

All of this cozy comfort is just $12.00US. Take a look ! I can think of so many times where having this would be so wonderful, can you?

Handmade = Heartmade

I would like all of you to consider buying somethings handmade for the upcoming holiday season. I know that may not be possible for every gift you purchase. Each of you will have on your list a few who will insist that they receive what will make giant retailers rich and 3 of every 5 on this planet will have on Christmas morning. Please remember however that when you give or receive a handmade gift that it comes from the heart of the creator every time for every item. All handcrafters know that realistically they will never get rich but struggle with design and creation anyway. It is a drive from within that flows out to the world with high hopes and much love. I ask you to consider some of the things I have found on Etsy.com that I think would be well received by many on your gift giving list.


This bird feeder was hand thrown on a wheel from porcelain clay. The roof lifts up to fill with seed. It was high fired so will withstand most of the harshest winters, which is when the birds need help with food the most. Chickadees and titmice love 'em. Our cardinals try, but they are too big. This is my first bird feeder to feature my original hand made decals. Click the image for a detail look at the designs. If you have concerns with squirrels, try safflower, squirrels don't like it. The best feature of my feeders is that they are dish washer safe. When they get moldy and cruddy, pop them in the dishwasher and they come out brand new!

The bird feeder is by khphillips.etsy.com

Morgan Street soaps are all handmade from scratch using the cold process method. They contain all their naturally occurring glycerin. Glycerin is so important because it is a humectant, it draws moisture from the air and brings it to your skin where it is much needed – can you say bye-bye dry skin? This bar has DOUBLE shea butter in the recipe & poppy seeds for exfoliation! This one's definately for the GUYS! __________________________________________________________ PATCHOULI & BAY RUM: A combination of mood calming Patchouli essential oil and Bay rum essential oil. Bay Rum has a sweet spicy aroma that helps calm the mind. Patchouli possesses a warm, mellow, earthy scent that was especially popular in the 1960’s - a popular stress reliever. This one's a definate manly man scent!
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Handcrafted for you by morganstreet.etsy.com

You may ask yourself why buy from JPATPURSES?
I take an extra step that no other Etsy Shop does that makes my handbags, purses and accessories unique. Due to my special bat quilt interfacing technique that I developed, each item has structure, strength and stability yet are still so soft and comfortable to carry. An original JPAT is quality you can carry!!!

Again handcrafted love and quality by jpatpurses.etsy.com.

These are just three of the sellers and treasures I have found browsing etsy. There are literally thousands and thousands more sellers and products. I truly believe that you could find something for everyone and I challenge you to try and let me know how it turns out.

Showing off Favorite Pumpkins

I belong to Etsy Bloggers Street Team and it is a great group. The goal is to spread the word about Etsy and the artists and crafters found there. This post today is themed for Halloween and gave me another reason to spend quite a bit of time cyber window shopping to pick out the items I wanted to show off today.

When I started thinking about this project the first symbol to come to mind for the fall season and this holiday was the pumpkin. In true creative Etsy fashion there are hundreds of pumpkin items all different, unique, and as I like to say about myself, created by people who don't know how to stop.

The earrings are by candysart.etsy.com. Aren't they beautiful? Not your typical Halloween earrings are they? These could be worn any time of year.

artTherapy.etsy.com made the Psychedelic Pumpkin. If you purchase one of these you know you are getting a one of a kind item. Can you tell I tend to like nontraditional things? What about you?

As for nontraditional what about Pumpkin Panda by GlassDragonBearsEtc.etsy.com? I don't think the part of the world he comes from celebrates Halloween but that certainly doesn't take away from how cute he is. The things in the picture with him (tree, jack o lantern basket and polymer clay candy corn) are included with him to make a complete display.

You can learn more about the Etsy bloggers by clicking here. You can see this carnival and others by clicking on the bloggers carnival info in the sidebar to the left. You can learn more and explore a wonderful handmade world by clicking here.

As always, if you have any, comments are welcomed.
Kathy

It's About Etsy

Going through knitting blogs about 2 years ago I ran across a mention of a website named Etsy. I wish I could remember the name of the blog but it has disappeared from this old lady's memory. After that mention I checked it out and fell in love with it. I have crafted one thing or another for as far back as I can remember - knitting, crocheting, embroidery, quilting - anything with a needle, hook or thread. I did a little tole painting in there somewhere too as well as leather work. I started doing craft shows off and on in the early 1980's in San Diego, Ca. With a move to Utah I started doing craft shows there as well.

With the growth of the web I knew someday there would be a place for crafters and artists. I checked out site after site never quite finding a place that felt comfortable. Then one day surfing the blogs on a lunch break as mentioned before I found Etsy. It was wonderful to look around. The site design was and still is made so the products are the stars. Everything on the site is made to show off the creations of artists and crafters. The community spirit in the forums is amazing. The range of works this site has attracted is so wide as to be unbelievable.

Please if you value handcrafted work of any and all kinds check it out. You can look at individual sellers, shop by categories, check out what has just been listed or sold and see little user created mini galleries called treasuries. Where else can you find an arts festival 24/7/365 around the world with not hundreds but thousands of vendors?

Thanks to the people who created this place. The world needed it.

Let me, and everyone else you know, hear what you think about Etsy after you check it out for yourself.