Trunk Show: September 27th!

Pssstttt..... I'm going to take part in a Trunk Show featuring our own West Michigan Etsy Artisans! Mark your calendars for September 27th...

Who: 10 Etsy West Michigan members

What: Trunk Show

Where: Gymnastiks Unlimited in Hudsonville

When: September 27, 2008

Why: Because You Took the Handmade Pledge!

Current projects...

I have several projects I'm working on. I have my knitted/felted candy cane ornaments almost ready...I can't wait to see how these turn out. Here's a "before" pic:

They look like a mess this way, right?

I'm also working on some great hostess gifts...felted wine bottle cozies.
Wait, they're not done yet!

And just this week, I've started some coasters. I'm glad school has started as it gives me some "me" time after my son goes to bed!

Antique Roadshow - con't

So, I was expecting to stand for hours and hours in line...happily, that was not the case! Our time was 9:00 AM and it was recommended that we get there about 30 or so minutes before that. We got there right at 8:30 (after making sure to have breakfast & coffee!). Looked like we were the 2nd main group. There were still several lines left of the 8:00 group. Many people brought chairs. I'm glad we didn't as we really didn't have time to sit. We might have been at a stand still for a few minutes..but then we move right along a few feet.

After only 1 hour, we were at the front of the line...the front of this line that is! We were at the area where they gave us tickets telling us which lines to take our items to. We had: photography, Asian Arts, and pottery/porcelain. So, off to photography we went. This is where we waited the longest...close to 30 minutes. And we were only about the 5th ones in this line. However, I think our expert had taken a break. After she returned, things moved along much faster. Then we hit Pottery/Porcelain only to be told that my tea set was worth about $125.00. Off to Asian Arts where I was told my bookends were worth about $30.00. We were done! In about 1 more hour.

Hey, this gave us time to take in an antique store, the local farmer's market, check out a new restaurant for lunch, and a few more stores...and still get home when hubbies were expecting us. All in all it was a fun day. I hope I can do it again sometime!

Antique Road Show

So...a few months ago, one of my friends asked me to apply for tickets for the Antique Roadshow as it was coming to Grand Rapids for the very first time. I didn't want to at first as I'm not a huge antique-y person. But I did...I figured she and her husband could go. Of all of the people she asked to apply for tickets, I was the only one lucky enough to win a pair. And since her husband didn't want to go, I went...and am I glad I did!

Figured as long as I was going, I might as well bring a few things....at first, I could only think of one thing to bring: a set of Snow White & seven dwarfs figurines that my mom bought years ago at an Estate Sale. Here they are:

But, these have absolutely no markings on the bottom...and quickly browsing some collector website, I couldn't find anything like them...leading me to think they might be everyday ordinary figurines.

So, I looked around and spotted a couple of other items I'm interested in learning more about. I took a few quick pictures and put them on Flickr...then went to the Etsy forums and asked which of the three people thought I should bring. Here are the other 2 items:

A Japenese teaset and Indonesian carved wooden book ends.

Almost everyone said I should bring the teaset and the bookends...and that was my gut feeling so that's what I brought.

Stay tuned for more later!!

Etsy Day in Grand Rapids

So...if you're familiar with the Grand Rapids Michigan area, you have probably heard about the Fulton Street Farmer's Market. It's been there as long as I can remember and I'ved lived here over 27 years!

What you might not have heard about is the Fulton Street Artisan Market (FSAM). Same place. Takes place on Sundays from 11-3. Artisan's only. And, on August 17th, it's going to feature our local West Michigan Etsy Artisans. How neat is that?

Come on out on the 17th...it'll be some great shopping.

Basic Black Beautiful Bodacious Bag

So, I made something for the first time...and I'm so happy with how it turned out! I made this bag as part of a trade over on Etsy:



I was browsing some blogs and came across Handmade By Annabelle's blog
http://www.handmadebyannabelle.blogspot.com/ where I just fell in love with her rag coiled basket in blue & brown. The basket is a gorgeous shade of blue with brown dots and the liner is brown with dots in the same blue. I asked Annabelle a question about the diameter of this basket and in the same convo, asked if she might be interested in trading. She answered my question, but said nothing about trading so I figured she wasn't interested. We traded a couple more convos and then she asked if I ever made purses. Well, not yet I hadn't but I have been wanting to try. A few more convos later, we had decided on this bag. So, I've been busy knitting and felting...and just finished it up today! I hope Annabelle loves it as much as I love my basket!

My basket is a great size. I love that the liner actually has the "right" side of the fabric on both sides - that's attention to detail! I'm going to throw some of my balls of yarn into it - won't that look cute?


Well, let me know what you think of my first attempt at a purse. I added removable handles. The ones I'm including with the purse are black felted wool. But, they can easily be removed and replaced with ribbon, a scarf, chain, etc to change the look. I can just see someone putting a hot pink or red scarf through this to match that special outfit...Wow - I've got to go start knitting one for myself. I may just have to needle felt the letter C. U. T. E. on mine as advertising...


Have a happy day!

OMG - My Van Is Gone!

What a way to wake up yesterday! I got out of the shower...and was pouring my first cup of coffee when I happened to glance out my back window. And my jaw just dropped to the floor - my mini-van (yes, I drive one - it's great for garage sale-ing or craft shows!) was gone - right out of the garage. I quickly went through the house to make sure all our drivers were still tucked into beds...husband - check, 18 year old - check, and my older daughter was already at work and her car was gone - check. But I gave her a call anway. No, she didn't take my car. But, she did notice that my van was gone when she left for work (and she didn't think to check on that - have I failed somewhere?) but she just thought daddy took it. She also noticed that someone had gotten into her car (parked in back of the house) and the junk car.

So, I call the police...report it stolen...no, I haven't given permission for anyone to take it. They take the details and say they'll send someone over. He's there pretty quick. As he's taking down the information, his radio goes off: "we think we've found it...corner of x and x...occupied". He quickly gets up and tells me he'll be back. Wow, that corner is only about a block away!! A few minutes later he's back telling me to grab my keys as it is my van! Hooray...I think. Wait, I wonder if it's damaged...did "they" do anything foolish like a robbery or high-speed chase while driving it? He assures me it looks fine. We get there and it does! However, I can't touch it until they process it for fingerprints.

So...they get done and I'm free to take it home. Wow, I'm a mess by the time I get home - literally! Have you ever dealt with fingerprint powder? It sticks. It sticks good. I call in to work...um, I'm going to be a bit late. They're fine with it, really, I have a great boss! A bunch of paper towels and Formula 409 later, it's much better. I can actually touch things without my hands turning black from that powder.

So, did they take anything? Yes... They also left things behind. They stole the van and then went shopping for deoderant, toothbrush, toothpaste and some lotion. They also went to a fast food place. Left all of that stuff when they ran as soon as they spotted the cops. And no, they weren't caught - took off running. I have some items missing...phone charger, a used pair of Sketchers, and a portable CD/Radio player (used because my radio isn't currently working in the van). Make a mess of everything else in there...

All in all, I'm happy to have gotten my van back that quickly! About a 1 in a million have that happen the cop told me.

Free Shipping through July 31st!

It's Christmas In July time over at Etsy.com. A number of shops are participating. I'm offering free shipping on my whole store. I've blogged more about it here: http://thatissocute.blogspot.com/2008_07_01_archive.html#3644127131142647348

Come on over and get an early start!

A sneak peek at my newest items

I'm so excited. I was out looking at blogs and came across one by this Etsy seller, Handmade By Annebelle. Just fell in love with one of her coiled baskets. I convo'd her with a question and asked if she would be interested in trading. She answered my question and when she didn't mention anything about trading, I figured I'd have to save for it. About 2 convo's later, she asked me if I ever felted purses! Not yet, but I've been wanting to. So, we threw around some ideas and came to an agreement. This adorable basket is now mine: http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=9521500

I've got her bag knitted and will be felting a load later tonight. Once it dries, I'll attach the handles, list the reserved bag and it's on it's way to her. Here's a sneak peek at the bag:

and also a few other new items I'll be felting.

bet you can't guess what these will be...

how about these?

check back to find out!

Christmas In July over on Etsy.com!

Come on over to Etsy. We have probably at least 200 sellers who are/will be doing a Christmas In July sale. Wow - over 200 - and you're asking "Sure, and how am I supposed to find them?" It will actually be pretty easy. We've had a number of forum threads about this and the main thing all these stores will have in common will be that tag "christmasinjuly".

What are tags? How do they work? Tags are keywords used to sort items on Etsy.

To shop the Christmas In July sale, simply go to http://etsy.com and then on any page in the top banner, in the empty box just to the left of the word "search" type in this tag: christmasinjuly. Yes, leave the spaces out! I just did this and found 32 pages of results. Then I added the tag "ornament" and my results were down to 4 pages. So, if you're looking for something specific, add that word. If not, just enjoy looking around!

Each seller is deciding what they are doing for their sale...it could be Christmas items, it could be a percentage off sale, it could be free shipping or gift wrapping. I'll be checking out the shop announcements to see what the seller is offering.

Most shops are running the sale from July 20-31. A few have mentioned they'll be running a sale all month.

Any questions? Leave me a comment and I'll get back to you.

thanks!!