So little time...

Wow - I can't believe I still haven't been able to finish all of my cell phone cozies...I've finished about 5 but can't get nice pictures yet. Bought new felting needles but haven't found the time to finish needle felting. Still have this great idea rolling around in my head that I haven't gotten too yet either!

One reason: health - not mine but my husband's. He found out he had bronchitis/pnemonia. Got on meds for that...but still is weak and doing lots of coughing.

Another reason: cotillion - not mine but my daughter's. She has been taking classes, writing her essay, and selling ads for this great event. I've been running around spending money for her...shoes, dress cleaning, hoop rental (yes, I said we had to rent hoops to go under the dress!), get her hair done, tux rental for the boyfriend...it went on and on it seems! But, it all came together last night. Out of the 31 participants, she won the essay contest! How neat is this? She also won 1 of 11 scholarships given out. I'm so proud of her! I'll post a picture when I get a good one loaded on my computer.

This week we are off to Washington DC for her college open house. I'm hoping after that, that things will slow down here...but I know that high school graduation is not far off for her.

Wish us luck with all of this!

Bigger Than A Cozy; Smaller Than A Bag: What Is It?

So, I'm on the etsy forums and we are looking at the shop of the person who posted before us, and we're supposed to make a suggestion of something new they could put in their shop. Which is a really great idea for a forum post anyway!! And someone suggested that I make bags...and my response is "there are so many sellers who make fabulous purses" and then she tells me she means something small enough to carry a few little items...and I think I can enjoy trying this out! Smaller means I don't have to worry about lining a purse (since I HATE sewing!). They could match my bottle cozies and my cell phone cozies....whoa! I'd better go look through some books and come up with a plan!



Later!!

So, I've been mulling over a new idea...

and I'm not sure how to carry it out. It would involve making laminated , well I'll just call them laminated charms. Something I will make or salvage and then laminate. Then turn into charms for earrings and/or other jewelry.

Something funky. Something unique. Something trendy. There, did I confuse you yet?

One of my daughters suggested that I do earrings, with 1 saying (or implying) screw and the other saying (or implying) you. I'm just not sure that's the message I want to be sending...selling...know what I mean?

back to the drawing board for me!

ewww, the flu!

Well, I have not been able to get back to my cell phone cozies to finish any of them! My little guy (4 years old) came down with the flu last weekend...and was fighting a fever for several days. It would come & go, but you could tell he wasn't feeling himself. I stayed home with him on Tuesday (the worst day) and he took 4 naps! The rest of the week, he just wanted to cuddle up with me when I came home. He's finally almost better (a slight cough is lingering) but his appetite is back and so is his energy!

Of course, towards the end of last week, his dad came down with it. And over this past weekend, I came down with it! So, no crafting for me in over a week!

Here's hoping you all stay healthy!!

Stocking up!

Wow - I can tell I've been watching too much TV lately...but I can call it work now! I've knitted up 14 more cell phone cozies. It's fun trying to come up with new color combinations and finding new colors of yarn. As I knit one up, I try to "picture" what it will become and decide if I should add fun fur or leave it plain and needle felt on it later.

I recently bought some Cascade 220 for the first time. I think I picked up about 5 colors - two pinks (light & dark), yellow, green, blue (reminds me of demin). When I was checking out, I was accused of taking all their bright colors and leaving that section very dark. It's true - I did take all the brights - there weren't very many of them!

I think I'm going to try something new with this batch...at least a few of them. Instead of needle felting (hmmm...maybe along with needle felting) I think I'm going to add some beads right on the cozies...maybe outline a flower/leaf in beads....what do you think?

The plain blue cozies are going to become "jean pockets" to carry your phone or Ipod - this is the one I'm most looking forward to finishing. They are finishing up air drying today...

Probably won't get any finished tomorrow - after work I have an Etsy Street Team meeting...cross our fingers that this one won't be cancelled because of the weather!

Stay tuned for pics or visit my store!

My newest idea: book thongs!

yup, you read that right - book thongs. I recently made up 9 of these for a mini bazaar we did at one of our NAWIC membership meeting (http://www.nawic194.org/). This was a fund raiser using the chapter's seed money and a competition to see who could turn the seed money into the most money raised. Results have not been announce yet. I participated in 2 mini bazaars. At the first on in December, I made Kahlua Kits and homemade chocolates. They went pretty well. At the February bazaar, I brought more Kahlua Kits (yea! they were requested this month!) and my own creation Book Thongs.

How did I do? I sold 8 of the 9 book thongs! I plan on making some more soon to list in my Etsy store. I had to demonstrate as most people got a confused look on their face when I tried to explain how to use them...mind you, this is the ONLY way I would/will ever demonstrate a thong! LOL

I came up with what I think is the neatest way to display these. I made what is almost another bookmark. On this, I wrote the product name, a saying about reading, and my Etsy store address. Then I laminated them! Cut two slits to slip the book thong through and wa laa - it's done.
Here a picture...

Shades of Jealousy or How To Make All The Other Cats Jealous

Do you love to spoil your cat? Want to make all the other cats around jealous? Here’s how! It’s the ultimate way to say “I love you” to your cat. This hand knit cat bed is just the thing for your cat to snuggle in for a quick (dare I say it?) cat nap!

Check out my previous post for the "before" pics. I only have the "after" pics of 2 of these cat beds because I sold one before having the chance to take pictures! I just listed the green one on etsy - go check it out if you're interested. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=9625245

Let me know what you think of these!

What Will These Be?

Ok, I'm working on my newest creation. Yes, they are once again knitted and felted. Well, so far only knitted. My next step is felting - probably tomorrow (2/10/08). Please take a look and let me know what you think these will be. There are 2 pics of each item.

The first correct guess gets 10% off any item in my Etsy store! It can be an existing item or if you want to, you can wait for one of these to be completed. Just let me know which item you'd like and I'll reserve it for you at the sale price. Please guess by leaving a comment here or back in the forum threat on Etsy. I'll be back with a link to that thread as soon as I post it. Here is a link to that thread: http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5461277

Good luck everyone!!

Cozy Cell Cozies Are Finished

Ok, I previously posted a picture of my cell phone cozies after they were knitted. That was just step one! I then machine felted (or fulling actually!). Once they air dried, I added grommets on the sides for the handles. On some of the cozies I added some needle felting: a heart, curlicues, and just abstract colors. Then, I added coordinating ribbon and beads for the handles. I may end up beading some handles for these. The only problem so far with that is figuring out a way to easily take the handle on/off the cozy so you can attach it to a purse handle or even a belt loop. Please leave me a comment if you have an idea.

I tried some key chain things, but they were to hard to get over the grommet. Lobster claws are too small. All that means back to the drawing board!

Please check out my esty store for more cozies.

I finished my birdhouses!

If you look at my previous post, you will see pics of my birdhouses before they were felted and finished. It is a multi-step process to finish these little guys.

First thing after knitting them is to machine felt them. Then, I air dry them. Once dried, I get to see which of these I want to do additional needle felting on. I of course have to needle felt the "hole" in each of these. On a few of these, I added polka dots to the roofs. Then, I have to go out and gather the twig perch. Stuff with fiberfill. Add the ribbon to hang from.

And then, before I can do anything else, I have to take pics! Here they are. If you are interested, a few pair are for sale at http://www.thatissocute.etsy.com/