An Unplanned Day

Jim is home today which is unusual for a Friday. Since we have no urgent needs for car repair, landscaping project planning, moving chores or things to do on our rental house the day is free from appointments for him. Since those are the kind of chores he does around here when he has time off.

I think he is planning a small day trip for us. The lady on his Garmin keeps saying, "Please drive the highlighted route." in the other room. If I ask about it I get no answers. I now we won't get as far away as the picture but it is one of my favorites and I like looking at it. This was taken on the shores of Lake Louise in Canada.

Easter Eggs for Grownups

With the coming Easter weekend I wanted to show some of you the options you have that go beyond hard boiled or plastic encased candy. These items take the egg shape and turn it into art.

This first example is from the appropriately name studio The Egg Man. He does all types of images carved into several types of eggs. I encourage you to go take a look.

The next one to show you is made of wood. The inspiration behind the design is earth, water and sky and each of those are represented by a cutout that is part of the egg design. You can find this egg and much more beautiful scroll saw work in the shop ZZBobs Creative Woodworking.

What would Easter be without a bit of lovely color in your surroundings? Much like the earth waking up from the gray of winter, Easter and springtime mean a return of a world with colors in it. These decoupaged wood eggs in Japanese Yuzen papers would bring some color inside your home. The eggs as well as so much more can be found in Catnip Studios.

All of these items are from shops found on Artfire. This post is part of a blog carnival hosted by the BlogFire Guild. The guild's mission is to spread the word about the amazingly talented artists, artisans and crafters who have shops on Artfire. You will find the blog carnival hosted on the guild blog on Friday April 2nd. I encourage you to check it out.

May you find something wonderful.

What's New?

I had a great day yesterday. A couple headbands are going to new homes and I got more things listed on Artfire and Zibbet.

In case anyone is wondering I only list the quantity I have. So for example if I make 4 of something I split them between shops and list 2 on one site and 2 on the other. If it is one of a kind it goes in one place.

My plan is to have the number of items stay about equal on each site. I have designed a spreadsheet to help me keep track of what is listed where and how many items are in each shop.

The other good thing yesterday was taking pictures in my new space. I think it is really going to work out well. The natural light in this room is awesome and works to my advantage. Take a look and see if you agree.

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.

Friday 3.26.2010

I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.

- Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) 

Just something to ponder over the weekend. Maybe it will inspire some as well as myself to keep trying. 

Soft shapes

I love soft shapes made with curves such as ovals and circles. The sense of motion in the elliptical shapes found in this print really impressed me. It is so exciting and yet the repetition and echoing of the lines can create a sense of calm and order. This is a very limited edition of a print titled Fast Dance. Very fitting, don't you think so?

If you want it for your own click right here. The artist explains the technique behind the creation of the image. I would love to watch it happening.

Remembering 12

As I was sewing curtains and listening to Oldies on itunes I started remembering when I was 12. Why? Well because the music took me back there and I have a granddaughter that age right now.

Do you remember that time in your life? I will tell you that for me it was in 1967. Nearly ancient huh? I remember feeling grownup thinking about junior high school the next year. I have a hunch she feels the same. Boys became a big deal and looking good became more important though styles have changed. We went to the local drug store or five and dime. Who remembers five and dime stores?

There are some parallels. We were then and are now a nation at war though I think the bombardment of so many media and information sources diffuses the national awareness of it. I know when what I mainly had in the living room on the black and white television was Walter Cronkite he let you know what was happening. News stations that stick to facts rather than straying to constant editorials are more and more rare. Other less serious comparisons are wearing blue jeans and straight hair. We weren't even allowed to wear pants to school let alone jeans however until I was in high school.

Okay clearing my mind is over. Back to sewing.
If you wish to leave your memories of 12 and the year you were that age here I would love to see them and others probably would too.