Etsy Treasury!

A very exciting event has happened (ok, to me, anyway)!

My shop made an Etsy Treasury. It's from the SewingMamas etsy team!

Go visit---- :) http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=67428

Shopping

Admitted, I'm a bargain shopper as much as the next person. You see the word "sale" and it's like a compulsion.

HOWEVER, I've been thinking more and more about this mini revolution to return to handmade. It all started when DH lost his job and replaced it with a temporary low-paying-with-smoke-screens-and-dreamy-empty-promises to go on full time/full rate. How on Earth was I going to fund Christmas?? I wasn't. BUT, I *could* make stuff!! I ended up having a really fun time with one of my best girlies and we sewed and sewed and sewed and sewed.... Everyone got new pjs, with the exception of she and I, which I know I haven't even picked up my already cut pair of bottoms and I'll bet she hasn't even cut hers. Lovely how us Moms rate ourselves.. ~sigh~ But I digress..

Then there is the BOOM of Whoremart. All the other chains close down so we're left with NO choices (Bradlee's, Caldor's, Ames, etc etc) and never mind the small shops! What small shops....? And I'll be honest. I was afraid to go in them. Handmade is EXPENSIVE. Or so I thought. Before I continue on that I wanted to post this quote taken from another blog that supports the "Handmade" cause.

Regarding Walmart~

"Take Wal-Mart, the most famously offensive, town-destroying, junk-purveying, labor-abusing, sweatshop-supporting, American-job-killing, soul-numbing, hope-curdling retailer in the known universe, moving upward of $300 billion in cheap mass-produced slurm every year via more than 5,000 landscape-mauling eyesore stores stretching all the way from Texas to China and Argentina and South Korea and Mexico and your backyard. "
--Mark Morford, San Francisco

This really hits the nail on the head. Think about it, people. Think about this recession we seem to be sliding into. All the jobs lost to China over the years. NOW look what's happened! All that has caught up to us and now China is shipping toys laden with lead over here. It should just be a cruel joke but it's true!

So now is the time, All. Regarding my comment before about expensive- I've been to Etsy. I'm *on* Etsy. It's *not* that expensive. Many times, it's completely reasonable! And here I am, going to advertise others' work but I'm in support of this movement and you should be too. Here's a gift that I'd scoop up for a friend in a second! How fun does this look? Or this? Wouldn't some of the other wooden puzzle brands be around this price? The love and care it took to make these items is not going to be found in Whoremart.

Just some food for thought...

Time flies...

.. when you are sewing your fool head off!! LOL

An abbreviated list of pros and cons to having your husband unemployed:

Con:

The mortgage can be difficult to pay

Pro:

You can sew as much as your lil heart desires because there is another adult in the house to take care of children :)

LOL Oh yes, I've been busy. Sometimes I wonder with what... besides making mistakes and becoming overly friendly with my seam ripper..

Here's a little preview:

Hair Clippies~fully lined and heat sealed, of course

Jewelry rolls for a custom order and to fill my etsy shop:

And this little number:A little background:

I've delved into the wonderous land of Etsy. I'm learning the ropes and protocol and looking to sell.. sell.. SELL!~ It's so fun to put all this love and energy into something for a special someone who likes your item enough to trust you to provide it for them~ :) Ok ok, I'm gushing..

This capelet that I've created for Lil Lady is a prototype for an order I am filling for 4 faux fur capelets for a wedding! I wanted to get my hands wet, so to speak, and know this pattern and it's drawbacks before I cut into *the* faux fur, which has been no easy feat to find. (not that I've officially found it yet, I'm hoping to have a local store order it for me)

Aaaaaaaaaaaaanyway, I've been busy :) and excited about it. I simply love my sewing room and it's fun set up with a new coat of paint. The part where I can leave a project and not have to clean it up is probably the *best* part of all. :) So I must get good at this Etsy thing so I can feed my serious fabric addiction *and* help pay that mortgage, all in one!

Until later...

A little credit

I'm going to kind of tell the story backwards but you'll see why..





I got up early, my mind reeling with creative ideas of things to sew and things to create for my etsy shop. I got a very cute remnant of a shamrock fabric that had all Irish sayings on it. About 3/4 of a yard. It was time to create something with it. Well, I set out to make a certain skirt with a certain ruffle and could only find one tutorial with instructions that I couldn't understand.. SO.. I made the standard ruffle. And put it on the waist instead of the bottom. ARGH! Can I tell you how much these little mistakes make me feel like my brain is functioning at a very low level? Those kinds of stupid mistakes really upset me.



That brings me to my section called "a little credit"..



I did finish the patchwork twirly skirt from scraps of Lil Lady's summer dresses. And it came out smashingly. It was my first twirly skirt AND my first patchworking so I do feel a bit of accomplishment ~crowd roars here~ Lil Lady wanted to wear her skirt today so we had to find a shirt to match. I found a good one and she said "I don't like plain shirts".. then the wheels started turning and out came THIS

I do have to watch the fraying on the top (and grab some fray stop maybe?) This may not look like much to some but OMG!! I did this! Myself!! Rather easily!! LOL ok, I'll stop raving about myself LOLA little twirling...I usually don't post a picture with faces but come on, look at this!

So, with my setback this morning, *this* accomplishment has restored my faith in my sewing abilities. At least for now ;-)

My Etsy Shop

Well, this is it!! I'm just finishing up a few more items and taking some pictures and then BAM! I'll be in the 'etsy' world! If you've never heard of it, it's a must see kind of place!

http://www.etsy.com/ is a website devoted to handmade items. Artists of all kinds sell their wares on this site. It's like being able to have your own shop without having to host a website!

Ebay just hasn't been as friendly as I'd like for my handmade ribbons and bows. I think the market is too saturated there, frankly. I've really enjoyed creating one of a kind ribbons and to watch the auctions close without bids, saddens me. I think I need a place that appreciates handmade quality work. Ebay is not the place for that. Ebay is a like the flea market of the net.

Etsy, on the other hand, is a site made for those of us who enjoy crafting with our hands. It's a location where people who are sick of crap from China can go to support others in their handicraft. That sounds rather redundant but I think it's worth stating. With this culture of WhoreMart shoppers, and I mean that in the "I'll sell it for dirt cheap just so I can sell it", handmade items have lost their sparkle. It's all about the bargain and not about the process or the quality or the love that went into making the item. So, with that, please feel free to visit my shop! It should be loaded with goodies by the end of the weekend.

http://www.tonyastemptations.etsy.com/