Cuteness in the mail

I received the most awesome package of swap cuteness today! It could not have come at a better time. . . my little ones have all had some 24 - 48 hour bug, which they have so generously shared with me. I am on hour 36, so I hope to be feeling much better tomorrow. Receiving this package was a day-brightener for sure! (Oh -- and we do not have the swine flu, thank goodness!)

This swap was an embellished onesie/t-shirt swap for little ones. My partner, arimethia, and I swapped 10 shirts, and I definitely came out on the sweet end of this swap! These are so amazing. . . little works of art!

Here is the first group shot:

The Dad and Narwhal shirts are straight off my Etsy faves! Adorable!

And the 2nd group shot:

The angel wings are also from my faves.

And how hilarious is the MST3K shirt! It cracks me up!

This cute little shirt (front):

(back)

(And I love Scrabble, too!)

Here is the last group:

So adorable.

The Alfred Hitchcock one is fabulous, isn't it?

The Mexican wrestler mask is my favorite, I think. Her stitching is amazing! I'm framing this one when he outgrows it, and hanging it in his room:

Here's my Ocho in action:

My little heart breaker:

My sweet partner even included some early Mother's Day gifts for me! So thoughtful:

I am really worried now about the shirts I made for arimethia's little one. . . they don't hold a candle to the ones I received today! Oh, and be sure to drop by her blog, and her cool Etsy shop! (Thanks so much, arimethia! This was such a fantastic swap!!)

Meet my nemesis, the embroidered apron

I fought with this fabric for weeks.

It needed to become an apron for this apron swap I had joined a while back. It was perfect for my partner -- it had both dots and stripes, and spring-y, rainbow-y colors, all of which were her preferences. But these colors are an odd palette, I think. . . ? Every other fabric I put next to this fabric was just awful. Too much, not enough. Too busy, too plain. And then, the question of what to embroider? (It was an embroidery swap, after all.)

I finally, after many, many pairings and headaches, came up with this:

My partner said she liked it. WHEW.

The katamari applique became a cute needlebook (in the top corner):

And the apron is reversible, too. The reverse side was made from reclaimed fabrics -- two skirts. (Thanks for the photos, Lethargic!)

And a sweet mention. . . .

This sweet lady mentioned my sachets over on her site, ChristyNelson.net. Christy has some really neat tutorials on her site (her embroidered eco-bag is so cute!) and sponsors fun monthly craft challenges. Be sure to visit her site and say hello! (Thanks, Christy!)

HAPPY ETSY DAY!

Today is the first ever Etsy Day! Sellers on Etsy have united to spread the word about the return to simpler times, the handmade movement and supporting artisans both locally and globally -- all embraced by Etsy.

Why do I love Etsy as a buyer?

• I love to connect with the artist, who cares about his or her products and the people who purchase them.
• I love that the items are handcrafted, with time, talent and care.
• I love that the items are unique and the prices are reasonable.
• I love supporting another artistan, as opposed to a big box store.

Why do I love Etsy as a seller?

• I get to connect with so many people on a personal level -- people all over the country, all over the world, that I would probably never have the chance to meet otherwise. I've even been blessed with some awesome friendships this way!
• I am able to serve people, and share my talents and imagination with them.
• I learn so much from my buyers -- new ideas, new color schemes, new designs.
• I am blessed to be able to help support my family.
• I love the community of other Etsy sellers! They are a huge support system, and I have made many dear friends in this community.

Thank you, Etsy!

For those of you who have not heard of or visited Etsy before, please check us out, and be sure to tell your friends and family!

You'll love Etsy, too.

Today's thrift store find

We had to swing by a thrift store today (yes, had to -- I needed something to begin a project) and look at the cuties I found:

I think the one in the middle is my favorite. I wish I had gotten a better photo of these egg cups, but my camera batteries died just seconds after snapping this one.

I also wanted to post a photo of my sweet Owen today, on his first birthday. Perhaps enjoying a bit of cake and making a huge mess. But my poor baby spent the afternoon at the doctor's office, with an ear, eye and sinus infection. Please say a prayer for the little guy. Hopefully, he'll be well enough for his birthday party on Saturday!

A beautiful day

We spent this warm spring day at the Ft. Worth Zoo, enjoying the flowers, animals, clear weather and each other's company.

Not even any sibling squabbles to mention, really -- and that is a rarity.

My little Owen didn't enjoy his first trip as much. . . allergies. Poor little guy. He slept through most of the trip.

Some other happy news. . . .

My sachets were on the front page of Etsy today! Yay! Thanks to GrandmaMarilyns, (who has some really neat jewelry) for the screen capture!

And Connie, over on the Sweet Figments blog, featured my sachets, too! A very cute blog, with lots of cool finds and neat tutorials. (Thanks, Connie!)

No peeking, swap partner! and Owen is almost one

I worked on this last week, and I wanted to share this pic in progress. . . .

So bright and happy! (I'll show you later what this became.) Now I want to applique all the katamari cousins on bright fabrics, put each in a little hoop, and hang them on the wall. A bit ambitious, as there are over 30 cousins. . . . but maybe I'll make a few anyway.

Other than making some sachets, winding dryer balls and working on swaps, I'm going to work on Owen's first birthday party! Can you believe it? It seems like it was just yesterday that he was born. . . .

He's very busy now, exploring and/or eating everything. . .

. . . and just learned to walk last week! He's so big.

Oh, and his party is this weekend. Did I ever mention that I'm a procrastinator? Big time? I sooo want to make a cute bunting, like my friend Sophie did. . . please, you have to check hers out. SO cute.

I'll keep you posted!

I feel like Wonder Woman

I fixed the garbage disposal today, and then a running toilet. YAY for DIY!

And check out this sweet swap prize:


I received this lovely apron from Lethargic for an Embroidered Spring Apron Swap. It's so pretty and swingy -- like a skirt! And check out the gorgeous embroidery:

She also sent a few other goodies (I've already used the coffee cozy!):

I'll post pics of the apron I made her as soon as she receives it, which should be any day now. I hope she likes it. . . I sure like mine! Thanks, Lethargic!

Pincushiony goodness

Another pincushion swap, you say? Of course. I swapped pincushions with the lovely anastrophe, and she made me the most adorable octopi!

I don't think I could stick pins in this pair. . . .

. . . but they will be guarding my sewing area and supervising production.

She said she used this pattern, which I MUST check out and try my hand at a few of these cuties!

The post office website says my pincushion was delivered to my partner, so I'm going to go ahead and show you what I made for her. She's a gardening enthusiast, and has little bunnies hopping about, so I went with that theme:

The sides are made from a recycled sweater cuff, and I dotted tiny sprouting plants across the rows. . . it reminded me of a new little garden.

The bunny is a fancy pin, so it can hop about the garden wherever it pleases.

I hope she likes it! I had a lot of fun making this for her.

And a special thank-you. . . .

To the lovely Karen Fields, who featured my mini-sachets on her blog today! Please drop by her blog (and especially her Etsy shop) -- pure, sweet eye candy. Thanks, Karen!

My latest fun thrift store find

This was just too bright and happy to pass up!

I think it once had a lid. . . the lip of the pitcher is grooved like a lid would sit there. That's OK; I like it the way it is.

Happy Easter! and a few eggs

I hope you are all having a wonderful and peaceful Easter!

My husband and I awoke very early to Monkey 7's shrieks of joy, "The bunny came! The bunny came!" It had been storming all morning, so the bunny couldn't hide eggs outdoors. We had a quick indoor egg hunt, and then the Monkeys enjoyed way too much candy -- all before breakfast. We went to Mass, and then ate a simple lunch before my sweet husband had to go to work.

This afternoon, the Monkeys and I decorated eggs. We were inspired by this slideshow, plus this article in Family Fun magazine, so we couldn't wait to get started!

I love that everyone came up with different ideas and techniques:

Monkey 6's little chicken is so cute!

The tiny Frankenstein and bunny are adorable. . . both made by Monkey 5. Monkey 4 created the swirly-dyed egg. . . and has green-stained fingertips to prove it.

Monkey 3 was fond of glitter today. (I wonder if the glitter ever really goes away?) Monkey 2 made the felt-embellished eggs behind the glittered eggs.

Monkey 1 came up with these lovelies:

My sweet husband has to wear a tie to work, so he had plenty of ties we could use for the tie-dye technique:

They turned out very interesting.

Some of us will be enjoying these hard-boiled eggs for supper tonight!