circle art

Another new creation for me - what I like to think of as circle art!

I decided to give it a go yesterday, as the concept of using an embroidery hoop as a frame really appealed to me. So, I gathered some pretty fabric, and using the same inspiration of a coneflower from my bags, appliqued a beautiful flower in felt and tiny glass beads.

The image lends itself well to being in a circular frame. It is finished off with some pretty orange polka dot ribbon covering the outside of the hoop, and more ribbon as a hanger.

I have to say that I love it, and it will not be the last that I make by a long shot - I hope others enjoy it too, as it is listed in my Etsy shop!!

Have a happy Wednesday!

the creative family

I want to let you know about the wonderful book I just read, it is called 'The Creative Family' by Amanda Blake Soule.

It is written to inspire us to live a simpler, but more creative, life with our children, something I think we all need reminding from time to time in this age of technology.

It reminds us that children thrive on the simple things we can give them, like a bowl of nature's treasures; acorns, pine cones, leaves, etc; or a basket of yarn to feel and play with.

Also, for creativity to naturally flow, the necessity to have art supplies readily available, so whenever the need strikes, it's all ready to go and beautiful art can be made. Something I think we, as adults, need just as much as children - having the chance to sketch, or play with color, whenever we feel like it.

This book also has some wonderful projects; like a felt art roll to carry, for art on the go; a tooth pillow; a mock screen printed t-shirt; felt balls, and lots of others for the whole family to do.

It als contains some great ideas for family art nights, and outdoor music machines!

As well as the wonderful book, also check out her website, for more ideas and a great blog. I love this book and hope you will too. Enjoy!

http://amandasoule.com/book

new EtsyBloggers treasury!

Just a few colorful items from the vast and wonderful EtsyBlogger universe of super talented people. It was a rainy day in with the kids today, so I was in a primary color mood, we have out the paints and markers. Fun, fun, fun! More creative people in the making, the future of Etsy!

Happy Wednesday!

Is the tooth fairy coming?

Heres my latest project - a cute tooth pillow!

It was great fun to make, mix and matching cute fabrics, ribbons and button on the felt flower - it was time to play, yay!

It really came out very nice - it has a cute felt tooth pocket, and a bigger personalized pocket for the gift!

Next, I'll have try a boys version - fun, fun, fun!

Have a Happy Sunday!

July's Featured Etsyblogger

This month's featured Etsyblogger is 'A Keeper's Jackpot', and as you can see from above she is the creator of beautiful jewelry.

She actually lives in my neck of the woods, so the Adirondacks must be a great source of inspiration for us both, but in totally different mediums.

I love the nature inspired pieces like the cyan choker, and ceramic donut necklaces, although all her work is stunning.

Check out her Etsy shop at - http://www.akeepersjackpot.etsy.com/, you won't regret it! And, also her blog at - http://www.akeepersjackpot.blogspot.com .

A lazy afternoon at the lake

It was just an absolutely beautiful day today!

Not too hot, not too cold, no humidity - just right!

My kids had tons of fun, of course and I even got a little knitting done, it was definitely a good day!

Before the beach, we had gone to the library to return, and restock, our books and hand in the kid's summer reading lists.

Apart from the reading, the great thing about doing the summer reading program at our local library, is that the weekly prize is a free ice-cream from 'Papa's Ice Cream Parlor' - it's a great place and stocks 'Giffords', which in my humble opinion is the best ice-cream ever! The wild Maine blueberry is to die for, never mind the rest - yummy!

I hope that you had an equally wonderful summer day, and here's to many more!

I got the blues!

I made this treasury yesterday that is full of other talented members of the
Etsybloggers Street Team - it came out so well, great colors.

Check it out - http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=56565

Also, swing by my etsy shop later today, as I'm listing some all new items, and I'm very excited by the new color combination - it's my new inspiration!

I made another sale yesterday -yay! - so new bowls in new colorways will be showing up in the future.

Well, today is a beautiful day and I'm looking forward to taking my children to the library to complete their summer reading list for the week, then we'll walk down to the best ice-cream shop around for some yummy wild maine blueberry in a sugar cone, followed by a long languishing on the lake's beach - that's for me, they'll be doing anything, but languishing I'm sure! It's a good day!

Happy Tuesday!

My favorite creation!

Happy Sunday!







I recently became a member of the Etsybloggers Street Team - which is very exciting as it combines two of my favorite things; Etsy and blogs! - and they have a thing called the blog carnival. The most recent of these gives us a choice, either to write a post about our favorite creation, or our favorite way to keep cool in the Summer.



Well, my favorite way to keep cool is to go and jump in our local lake, but I decided to write about my favorite creation.


It was actually very hard to choose, but I think this won over because it continues to be a source of inspiration, and it has also become my avatar and banner for my etsy shop, and goes a long way towards how I view my overall image.

It's called 'purple coneflower', and is a beautiful small felted bag, similar to a clutch, but with handles for ease of carrying. It's perfect for an evening out, when you only need a few items like money, keys and cell phone. Felting wool is my favorite thing to do, and choosing designs and embellishing it afterwards is just icing on the cake!

It was a difficult choice, as one of my new favorites is my 'spring greens' bag, the same size as the purple one, but in a beautiful green with an image inspired by my daughters painting, which I was also very proud of.

It's great to be inspired to make a particular blog post by the blog carnival - can't wait for the next one! Thanks Etsybloggers.

new enterprise!

So, I thought I'd try something new in my Etsy shop - hair accessories!

They came out pretty cute I thought. Since, I wanted to make some for my daughter anyway, I thought why not post some too!

Ihave quite a few different ones, so go check them out!

Today is exciting as in a little while we're all going to the wedding of friends, and my daughter is going to be a flower girl!!! Maybe, I'll post pictures of the pretty dress later - and, of course, she'll be wearing a pretty homemade pink headband!

Happy Friday, and have a great weekend!

Wow!!!!

What an amazing Men's Final match at Wimbledon today.

I've never seen anything so exciting and nail biting, I was hanging to the edge of my seat, with the only reprieve being for rain breaks!

It was nearly 5 hours long and totally worth watching for every second.

I have to admit, I was rooting for Roger Federer, but Nadal was just as deserving of the title, and proved a humble victor. My blog does not normally include sport, but this was truly an historic occasion! Long live Wimbledon! (But next year will be better for the new roof system!)

Hope you also had the chance to watch it, and have a happy Sunday!

Garden update

Two photos I took yesterday - my first rose to bloom is sooo pretty. It's called 'Heirloom' and smells wonderful, a true tea rose.

The other picture is a poppy head, all the petals have fallen off already - a lot of heavy rain made sure that my poppys didn't bloom for long unfortunately - it just looks cool, an inspiration for some future project I'm sure.

Happy Wednesday!