Black and white goodness...

Another treasury! My black and white apron is featured here in the treasury made by lovemyhoneybeezz

I think I need to go play over at Etsy and make a treasury now... especially since I still can't find my car keys.

Treasuries Galore!

It's no secret I love treasuries on Etsy. I love looking at them, making them, and feel super fancy when I get featured in one! So imagine how fancy and honored I felt when I found out I was in not one, but two treasuries! I just revamped my Etsy store, so I am so glad that other Etsians are finding me again :) Thanks so much to Gaia's Gatherings for featuring my little witch hat in her spooktacular witchy treasury...

And thanks to Bubbletime for putting my newest creation, flour sack towels, in her pretty autumnal collection...

I love this time of year - witchy goodness and warm autumn colors... The boys and I decorated for Halloween this weekend, and then we carved pumpkins :) I made a delicious batch of pumpkin seeds (and ate waaaay too many) and plan on getting more pumpkins at the Farmer's Market tomorrow.  I think the food and the decorating are my favorite things about this time of year... and of course the Halloween holiday specials! I love Linus and his quest for the most sincere pumpkin patch...

What do you love about this time of year? I'd love to hear :)

Big Sales, a treasury, and don't forget to Play with the Pixies!

I love the holidays, and I love my family, but let me tell you... I am glad for things to get back to "normal." Everyone goes back to work and school tomorrow, and the schedule-lover within can't wait for the routine to resume. Of course, now that I am updating this post, I have two little boys home with coughs camped out on the couch watching cartoons and drinking apple juice...

My mom and dad assured me the turkey was fabulous, and they agreed that the pecan pie was the best they had ever had. I love my folks! I was sooo nervous hosting my first Thanksgiving, but it went pretty darn smoothly! I made all my pies the day before, and prepped my casseroles the night before. I even watched an episode of the Martha Stewart show about preparing a turkey... I didn't use a cheesecloth or brine ole Tom in white wine, but I did slather on the butter like she instructed :)

So now I have a refrigerator full of yummy leftovers. My husband has to have a simple procedure done on Monday, and has been on a liquid diet. Nothing solid since Saturday morning - and fabulous wife that I am, I said I would do it too. Misery loves company and all that. Plus I would feel bad loading up my plate with turkey and stuffing while he sadly sips bland broth... I'm trying to remember if he gave up coffee with me when I was pregnant...

I didn't brave the crowds this weekend, opting instead to stay in my jammies, eat broth and put up the Christmas tree. I have a big sale in my Etsy shop, though - still doing the *Buy Three, get one FREE* card sale, and am also offering free shipping on all goodies! I also plan to list some seriously sweet paper cupcakes today. I think all this broth and liquid nonsense is manifesting itself into my crafts - all I want to do is piece together cupcakes...

Oh, and I am also featured in a treasury! As many of you know, I am obsessed with treasuries! Nightlady made a super pretty treasury of Blue Christmas, and my paper flowers are among some really pretty blues...


Don't forget that the latest challenge at Pixie Cottage is "Getting Stitchy!" I am having camera issues, and hope to get that resolved asap - I want to share my stitching on my card for the challenge! But have no fear - the fabulous design team has lots of pretty cards for you to look at on the Pixie blog. You have until Sunday, December 6th to enter, so lots of time yet!

I hope you have a great day. I can't wait to raid the refrigerator tonight...

Wait a minute Mr. Postman! Etsy Treasury...

For those of you who have been reading my blog for a while, you know I just loooove making treasuries on Etsy. It feels like winning the lottery, because it can be tricky to get a slot in time. A treasury is basically a gallery of Etsy items made by an Etsy member, the curator. Sometimes these little treasuries become the front page on Etsy, which is pretty cool :) Anywhoo, treasuries are awesome because they offer a snapshot of fabulous handmade goodies on Etsy, a gallery of the creative talent found in the handmade marketplace.

With my new found love of card making, I decided to create a treasury to showcase some of the amazing card makers that are creating on Etsy. Here is my treasury! I think you may recognize some of these artists - I follow quite a few of their blogs!

The "ghosted" images are the alternates, and I usually rearrange the gallery once or twice so that I can give exposure to as many artists as possible. There is such lovely talent out there... You can click on the picture to be taken to the treasury if you like :)

Like my Figure?

I am so pleased to be featured in an Etsy treasury! Look at the pretties that are keeping my altered dress form collage company :) I have more of these little dress form collages to list... so much to do, so little time...

Be sure to check out some of the other pretties in this treasury. There are these darling cupcake soaps that look soooo delicious!

Good morning! I have been up to my elbows in paper, fabric and ribbon! I have been getting ready for the Sisterhood of the Traveling Trunk Show, finishing up a few orders... and finishing my Tuesday sketch that I wanted to post a few days ago. I think it is worth the wait, however :) This sketch features my signature "quilt squares" that I stitch onto my scrapbook pages. Each little square is about 3x3 on this sketch, and when I make this layout I stitch the blocks together. If you aren't a sewer, or don't want to bother with a sewing machine, you could use rub-on stitches. I personally like the texture of the thread, but sometimes my machine goes on strike, and the rub-ons look quite lovely :)
Oh, and I also was able to make a treasury today! How exciting is that? I have been brewing the idea of a "time for tea" gallery, and when the treasury opened up, I jumped in and was able to make this little collection.

You will see that the last column is a little "ghosted." That is because these are my alternates, which I will be mixing in and swapping spots with the other lovely selections. The curator is usually the only one who sees the alternates, but I had to share my entire collection here; twelve spots are not enough for all the pretties I selected! Keep checking the treasury I created to see the most updated version...


Well, I am off to cut, ink and distress, layer and sew. Hope you have a great day :)

How was your weekend? I know, they go too fast, don't they? Especially if you had nice weather :) My sister and I had a little garage/antiques/handcrafted sale on Friday and Saturday. It was pretty hot (and a little too rainy Saturday morning) but other than that, it was successful! We sold some display pieces and vintage furniture (justifying future purchases, but don't tell my husband - he thinks we were cleaning the garage) and met some lovely people! My new favorite friend, Dee, stopped by and had a quick cup of lemonade and bought some pretties. She came back on Saturday, and guess what? She had a pack of pretties for me and my sister! How sweet is she? Dee adores Halloween as much, if not more, than we do! She gave us some fabulously spooky ephemera - cards and magazines, bingo sheets and more! I can't wait to play :) Thanks Dee!

Oh! And I have to tell you to stop by The Queen of Re's blog, because she is hosting this fabulous giveaway. An amazing set of business cards/calling cards by Vintage Bella could be yours! I am drooling over the Edwardian actresses myself, but also adore the children, the Halloween cards... Entering is easy - picking a favorite set will be the hard part! Just head over to Queen's blog to learn more :)

Another lovely thing happened today too! I have been included in a cutie treasury :) This one was created by betsybensen. I feel so fancy!

Sketchy Template Tuesday 3, a Tea Party, and a Treasury

I love when my posts lend themselves to alliteration...

I am pretty sure I deserve some serious chocolate, because I have remembered to create a template for three whole weeks in a row. Seriously. Those who know me know that I get easily distracted, and often forgetful. So here it is: Sketchy template Tuesday III

As for the tea party, if you were one of the many fabulous hostesses on Saturday's Mad Tea Party, my hat off to you! What a lovely assortment of parties I attended! Of course, I was often a late arrival, but because of the magic of blogs, party goers can still attend days after the event! I am most certainly going to have to host my own fanciful tea party next year! The even is hosted by A Fanciful Twist, and I hope she is going to do another Halloween Party this fall!

While I was sketching this layout, I was playing on etsy, and saw that the treasury list was at 341. My pulse began to quicken, because I knew it was just a matter of time before that lovely, magic number of 332 would pop up, meaning that the treasury was no longer full, and if I got that golden ticket, I too could make a pretty treasury! If you have never made a treasury, my friend, let me tell you - it is way super fun. Etsy has a "how-to" with information and such on their blog. You should check it out.



Here is the treasury I created:


Hope you all have an enchanting, creative, and productive day!

Anyone feel like going to the carnival?

I love carnivals! Especially the small hometown variety. There is something oddly, and terrifyingly, alluring about thrill rides that can be dismantled faster than a fake Christmas tree... I love the food (elephant ears are a personal favorite) the sounds (cranking gears mixed with cheesy organ music, a mingling of screams from the brave souls on the thrill rides) and the sights! The colors, the fanfare, the baubles... Little kids are perched on parent's shoulders, balloons and lights are festooned to every possible surface - I love it!



Carnivals, though, are kind of eerie. The good kind, of course. Darkness falls, the lights become stage lights for the participants of the carnival theatre, and magic abounds. Old couples holding hands, young men tossing baseballs to win stuffed toys, and little ones up waaay past their bedtime make an instant holiday, no matter what day of the month it is.



Check out the TREASURY I created on etsy. Inspired by thrills and wonder, popcorn and sodas, and fortune telling, I made a mosaic of mystery for you to enjoy. So come with me down the fairway and see what the carnival has to offer. Don't worry - there are no clowns at my carnival (they freak the bejezus out of me) just some popcorn, elephants, fabulous rides, and a slightly spooky fortune teller...