pocket bunnies

i'm not sure why, maybe because i am so craving spring, but i made some little easter bunnies last night. they live in a cute little felt grass pocket and have little tails on their bums.

get them here.

yaelfran

it seems that at least every day i find a cool-looking item somewhere on etsy (front page, showcase, treasury...) that i love, click on and go, oh, i know this shop.

quite often that shop is yaelfran. her things are so unique and so fun. i'm happy every time i happen upon her items!

moblie swap (finale)

i got my mobile in the mail yesterday, all the way from england! it came from AnnieB, who has a lovely blog, overmilkwood.

thanks annie, it's fabulous!

i stole the pictures she posted on the mobile swap's flickr group (sorry, i'm lazy) for your viewing enjoyment.

this will look super on my future patio! thanks again!

paper cloud

i have long loved the adorable designs of paper cloud. you have to check out their website- it's super cute. their products are eco-friendly (linen!) and you can choose your color combinations because everything is printed by hand. cool!

eninaj

oh my goodness. i am in love with the work of eninaj. she combines fabulous materials to make gorgeous jewelry.

must. refrain. from. buying...

cool citrus basil

one of my favorite things as a child was school supplies. i so looked forward to shopping for them each year.

i would have loved to have a beautiful linen pencil case by cool citrus basil to hold all my goodies. heck, i still want one!

the ring!

i'm sure you are all waiting in breathless anticipation, so, without further ado, here's the ring!

it's gorgeous and i love it, and i am so happy to be engaged to the lovely mr. m.

love you, lovie!





i promise my fingers are not that scaly in real life. it's just the light. i do moisturize, really!

pretty glass

i am still in the lovely and warm state of arizona, still having a marvelous time, but i thought i would send a quick post your way.

i love the gorgeous blown glass of corporan glass. isn't it fabulous? the shop is new, so i hope they will be adding more product soon!

big news

i'm still on vacation, but i just had to share my news.

i'm engaged!!!

mr. m popped the question on friday, and i of course said yes.

friends, sorry if this is how you are finding out, but my call is list is huge and i have not made my way through it yet.

i'll post a pic of my gorgeous ring when we pick it up on friday!!

vaca!

hey all. i'm jetting off to warmer weather this evening to see my love. i'm so excited! (photo by mr. m)

i'll try to post while i'm gone (for a whole week!) but i can't make any promises!

oh, and i finished my mobile for the elsie marley mobile swap. actually, i finished it about two weeks ago, but i couldn't decide if i liked it. i let it hang in my house while i mulled it over.

i decided i do like it, and it's getting mailed off today! i hope you like it, swap partner! i can't wait to get mine.

check out some of the other mobiles in the swap here.

owly shadow puppets

i stumbled across owly shadow puppets the other day, and it made me wish i had had some of their fabulous puppets when i was a kid.

we just used our hands to make dogs and other animals that looked a lot like dogs.

these would have been so fun!

front page

i am always so flattered when someone likes my things enough to put them in their treasury, and thrilled when i see it on etsy's front page.

thanks so much districtb! the collection is truly stunning. i LOVE all the grey felt!

what a special valentine's treat!

sugar for my sugars

happy v-day all!

or anti-v-day, if that's what you prefer to celebrate. i'm on the fence this year, as i have a sweetie, but we are unable to celebrate together because he is a couple of thousand miles away. (miss you lovie!)

i thought i would bring you something sweet for today, regardless of whether you love or hate the holiday.

so pardon me while i wipe the drool from my chin, because these treats from fat daddy are making me hungry! i love me some cake!

enjoy, and love to you from me!

nervous system

i am loving the beautiful work of nervous system.

here's what they say about their work:

"Nervous System creates unique, modern jewelry combining rapid prototying methods with industrial materials."

i don't know what that means, but it sure is pretty jewelry!

shop update - new laptop cozies

i thought i could use some new laptop sleeve designs, so after i made my wall art, i set to work crafting two new cozies.

i branched out from my usual color palette for a black, white and yellow cozy.


and i really like the mod flower pillow i made a few weeks ago, so i put the design on a cozy.

hope you like them - they are now in my shop!

rock the (puppy) vote

i really hate to do this to you guys, but i am a crazy pet owner.

the first step is admitting it, right?

so, being a crazy pet owner, i entered my pup in Bissell's Most Valuable Pet contest. at the encouragement of my mother. it's all her fault.

anyway... would you mind popping over there and casting your vote for mr. dusty? if we win this round, we get a new vacuum (and with as much as he sheds, we go really do need three, i swear). if we win the whole shebang, dusty gets to be the spokes-dog for a vacuum, and we get to give $10,000 to our favorite pet charity! pretty, cool, no?

so he really is adorable, and i would love it if you would vote for him! and if you have a cute, furry pet, you can enter him/her here.

thanks!

easy (and fun!) wall art

so it's late and i should be in bed, but i just had to post about this fabulous, cheap and super easy wall art project i did tonight.

i was at the fabric store, again just for a bit of felt for an order, when i spied the embroidery hoops, noticed how cheap they were, thought about my large fabric stash, and snatched them right up.

now, i know i am just about the last person to try this project, and i'm sure there are many who have done it better than i have, but i really love how it turned out.

what do you think?


i think i like how they're grouped, but i'm certainly open to suggestions. (the colors are more true in the first picture.)


i even broke into my kirin & co. fabric (again). it was hard to cut such large pieces out of it, but they look great on the wall!


oh, and i know i promised no more jill projects this week, but you'll just have to suck it up, cupcake, 'cause you're getting another one tomorrow. i was ambitious and created two new laptop cozies tonight. i'll bet you just can't wait!

spring in a can

this is what i need! spring in a can from dandee designs.

perhaps just a touch of green growing things around the house will take me out of my winter blues. fabulous idea!

she also has lots of other lovely things in her shop, so go browse!

susan graham

check out these beautiful wire sculptures by susan graham.

here's what she says about her work:

"These wire sculptures are individually handmade, each one treated as a drawing done in three dimensions. The line of the wire is kept continuous for as long as possible within one sculpture to give both openness and stability to the form. Special attention is paid to pattern, gesture, and how the character and the specific qualities of each creature are best expressed."

very cool.

dreams and jewelry

i love the robin's egg blue of these enameled pendants by dreams and jewelry. makes me think of spring!

the weather forecaster said on the news the other night that we just passed the half-way mark of winter. come on warm weather!

love on the run

if you are in lincoln tomorrow, you must stop at porridge papers for their first annual love on the run!

go to their shop from 10 to 2 and type your loved one a little note, which they will hand deliver to your sweetie on valentines day!

go here for more information, and join in the fun!

skirt love (not made by me!)

so i know i told you you wouldn't get a new post until tomorrow, but i just couldn't wait!

to inspire you to make (or buy!) a skirt of your own, here are some well-made, beautiful skirts from etsy.

enjoy!

love this color! by bobby urban.


i love the texture and layers of this skirt by finnbiskit.


miss braches has some really sassy pieces.


cool denim by small craft advisory.

skirt finale

it's finished! it only took me about six hours to make 29 yo yo's and attach them to the skirt. whew! i took half the day off because i didn't feel well, so i was working slowly. (don't worry, i'm better now.)

so here it is, and i promise not to blog about any more of my crafty projects for at least a week. you probably miss seeing other people's cool stuff. tomorrow, promise!



i really need to fix that zipper. look how far it makes the (left) side stick out! any suggestions?

oh, and check out how much snow we got yesterday. i am so ready to move to phoenix.

i hate the snow, but the dog loves it!

project crazy

i am a nut. i went to the fabric store yesterday to get a little piece of felt for a laptop cozy order, and walked out with two yards of lovely green linen and a skirt pattern.

a skirt, as in real clothing. with a zipper.

this was my first zipper, and it didn't go very well. it probably didn't help that i was installing the zipper at 1 a.m.

anywho, i got it done! in one night! i think i just needed a touch of spring. i'll take it with me when i go to visit mr. m. in phoenix.

for my first article of clothing and zipper, i'm pretty impressed with myself. it's totally wearable!

i think i'm going to embellish it with yo yo's from this tutorial from heather bailey.

now if only it weren't 30 degrees and snowing...

i wish it were a little longer. the pattern was for a five foot six person, and seeing as i am six feet tall, i should have lengthened it, but i was scared of messing with the pattern. oh well!


check out that zipper. yuck!


i'll just have to wear a long shirt to cover up the uneveness. oops!

mail day!

what a perfect day to get a present in the mail. i woke up to MORE snow (boo), and was mildly depressed about it until the UPS guy drops off a little package at my door.

what goes great with a cold day? a scarf! the lovely mabel of dimplegirl*78 and i agreed to an exchange, a laptop cozy for one of her gorgeous scarves that i posted about earlier this winter.

here it is! mable tells me that it is the only blue one she has ever made. i'm a lucky girl!

thanks mabel!



the scarf in action!

new bag (just for me!)

i was bored and lonely on sunday (miss you mr. m!), so to get myself out of a state of lethargic apathy, i decided to undertake a new project. i flipped through my books looking for something i could accomplish in one afternoon, and settled on a lovely bag out of lotta jansdotter's book, simple sewing.

it was a task, but i did it. i measured properly and followed all the directions, and it turned out really well! she recommended using canvas, but i thought a heavy cotton would work just fine. it did, but i wish it were a bit more sturdy. oh well, it's still lovely!

please pardon the crappy pictures, but after i finished sewing i had to deep clean my house for a couple of showings today. cross your fingers!

i had to write on all the pieces, or i sould have gone insane. there were a lot of pieces!

i used a springy green linen for the liner. maybe if this were a heavier fabric the bag would have more shape... god, that picture is terrible.

and voila! it has a cool pocket on the front for a newspaper or magazine and a pocket on the side for a water bottle. in the picture in the book, she had a cool SIGG water bottle. i might have to get one, it would fit just perfectly! do you use the one i got you for your birthday, e? no? can i have it? thanks!

hand painted pottery

i LOVE the hand painted pottery by dolamakes. the designs are simply fabulous!

i have to apologize for posting pictures from items that are sold out, but i just couldn't resist! check out their sold section for more of their work, and i bet if you ask nicely they will make something just for you!

more little bags

ok, i know i posted coin purses yesterday, but when i saw these on the front page of etsy this morning, i couldn't resist!

recycled rings makes bags from craft balls. they look way cooler than they sound. very unique! check them out!





she also makes really cool hand-tufted rings. sweet!