Giveaway Winner

Hooray Nathalie, you were the winner of my headband/wallet giveaway! You will need to choose two fabrics from my stash for the headband, and two for the wallet. I will send you an e-mail to work out the details.

Thank-You so much, everyone, for giving me your hearts. Even though I didn't win the contest, I feel like a winner!

Now for a little apology: I have been very absent from my posting lately. I'm sorry. It's summer, and I just don't feel that I can always take the time to keep in touch that I would like to. So I'm officially "On Vacation" for now. But that doesn't mean that I'm abandoning you! Don't worry! I will return on a regular basis in September. Until then, I will post on occasion, and will skulk (My Mom's word) around reading your posts when you least expect it. Bronwyn is doing well (she lost another tooth!), and we're all warm from the sunshine and well fed from the garden.

Happy Summer Everyone!

Virtual Housecleaning and a GIVEAWAY!

I'm trying something new: First off, here's a new look for my blog. I'm sorry if you feel a little discombobulated; I do, too! But I think this format provides a less cluttered look for everything. I might change my mind tomorrow, though. I'm fickle like that.

Second, I've found another online marketplace to sell my wares. This is a super cool site called Artfire, and I think I might like it even better than Etsy *GASP* We'll see; I'm still just starting out. But one thing that I really like about artfire is that I can let people buy my work directly from my blog! Pretty cool, huh? See the little list off to the side there? You can actually click on one of those pictures and buy the product right here. Not that you're here to shop, but shucks, you never know! Also, it is cheaper for me to have a presence on artfire, which I really appreciate. What remains to be seen, however, is if I will actually make sales there. If I don't then all of those fancy whiz-woo's and gadgets don't mean a thing. I do really like Etsy's aesthetic; it's very clean and easy to navigate. I find Artfire a little bit jumble-y to look at.Third: I have my work up on Paper n' Stitch's platform again. Paper n' Stitch offers a great deal to us sellers each time we subscribe to sell: Whoever gets the most "hearts" wins a cash prize and a free month on the site. Normally I don't go in for these types of contests because I hate to put pressure on my good fans. But it's cash and free promotional space, both of which I could really use right now. So here's the deal: I'm going to do a giveaway of a custom little card wallet AND a headband in exchange for your hearts on PNS. Here's how it works: you log on to Paper n' Stich and go to my shop there. Give me a heart (the heart is right next to my picture with a plus sign in it; click on it and the number will go up by one). Come back here to the blog and leave me a comment, which will be your entry to win the wallet and headband. The deadline for submission is July 15. I will announce the winner on July 16th, and that winner will be able to choose from my giant assortment of fabric for the creation of a wallet and a headband (or choose one that is ready made). Now if this is all too much work, and it's giving you a headache just thinking about it, don't worry! I know you love me (you do, right?) and so it's not mandatory to play this game to stay in my good graces. It's all just for fun, and maybe a little extra along the way.

Story of a Bag: The End

This is the end of my tiny story of two big bags. Remember in my post a few days ago, I said that I wanted to take some better pictures of the Fireweed bag? Well, I sold it before I got the chance! So we'll have to make do with these cloudy day pictures until I make the next one. And while making these bags I remembered a great little tip that was passed on from my Great Grandmother, Ina. To keep her pins sharp, she would scrape the pin lightly through her hair before she inserted the pin into the fabric. The purpose of this was to put a micro layer of oil onto the pin so that it slid more easily into the fabric. I had purchased some new pins and they were very "sticky" when I was trying to work with them. I tried Grandma Ina's trick, and it really works! She actually would stuff her pincushions with the hair from her hairbrush and swore that it kept her pins in fine working order better than anything else.

I also have a little bit of news from my other shop at Art Garage Sale: there's a BIG BIG giveaway happening sponsored by 16 artists from the Art Garage, including me! You can enter the giveaway at ScoutieGirl for your chance to win ALL 16 items! This is a value of over $600.00 worth of great handmade items, including one of my wallets. HOORAY for free art!