Sunday, November 30, 2008

Redecorating!


So for the past like 2 weeks maybe 3 i have been working on redecorating my apartment! And of course thanks to my good friend Arlene too for really doing a lot of the work! She's like my tall friend that can reach everything i cant! lol Not but really, she rocks! she should be on those HGTV house decorating shows! Her hubby always jokes that he never knows what he will come home to, because she is constantly redecorating! lol

So after living in the same place for like 6 years now i felt it was time to change! Nothing but drab white walls, beige floors, drab olive green furniture... just no color! And if you know me, i love color! i love variety, i am very ecletic! I love where i live! i have the best little townhome/apt ever with my own yard and entrance and everything. Couldnt ask for better for what i pay either, so i dont plan to move anytime soon! So why not make it a home!

So i couldnt really find any old pictures of how my place looked before but i took some pictures as we went along so you could kind of see the process.

So we first started with just doing away with the white walls! Most of the walls are a light sand color, but then we did fun accent walls! this one above is the very back wall of the dining area. Painted a pretty light slate blue shade. (matches my brand new slipcovers) and then the wall as you walk in the door and first see, the archway leading into the dining room we painted a darker slate blue for accent. (see next picture)

Unfortunetly we couldnt change the carpet, but did manage to find the most awesomest area rug on clearance at pier1 (just love that store!) as well as all the new pillows there too!


You can see part of the rug above and the new pillows. love them! But just painting wasnte enough! i had been eyeing several wall decals on etsy for weeks, ok maybe months! but never had the guts to just buy them and do it! when i showed Arlene, she fell in love with them too and we both ended up buying bunches! (yes i converted another to etsy! lol)

so now that wall above with the chair in the corner, i added this ever so cool blossoms wall decal from ceejay77.etsy.com

(side note, the mute square like things in the pic above are just a reflection off of a mirror! lol)



Then i found these most awesome Cherry Blossom Decals from Scribbleit.etsy.com and just knew i had to have them! they show up in the pic as being pinkish but they are a pretty maroon color. and see how they fit so well with the new pillows too?

love it love it! lol :)

Then going back to the back back wall, in the dining area, i found some cool frame/border decals to put around the black mirror arlene found for me and painted black. and instead of candles, i put green apples up for a little color.



Then arlene found these awesome rugs we ended up using as a table runner on my dining table and then on my coffee table! arent they fun! and put my mr froggy on top of it, looks like he's doing yoga in the snow! lol



And then behind the love seat on the side wall as you walk in i hung these beautiful prints i got from MatthewHamblen.etsy.com i just adore them! and again you can see the blue mat and black frames really tie in with everything else.

Soooo if you put it all together, this is what you get as you enter my place. Its not much, but its mine and i so love it! :)



And looking back into the living room.


So thats it for now! Bedroom's next! who knows what i will do in there! :)

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Introducing Sam and Sally the Snowbabies

The Family is Now Complete!


Well, no wonder Sylvester has been sooo protective of his girl Sylvia! She was expecting! They want you to meet their brand new snowbabies, Sam and Sally and their newly adopted snowbaby girl (in the middle yet to be named). We had noticed Sylvia had a twinkle in her eye, who would have thought twins! And doesn't pappa Sylvester look so proud!

To see Sam and Sally up close and personal, you can check them out here! And be sure to check out their new adopted sis here too! She may look a bit different from them, but they dont notice. After all, arent we all different!

So what's next you might ask??? Could that be a snowpuppy on little Sam's wishlist? or a Snowkitty on Sally's? Only if mamma Sylvia Approves! Stay Tuned!

(*Special Thanks to Sarah (theknitbrit.etsy.com for letting me use her snowbaby girl here. )

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Meet Sylvia and Sylvester


So Meet Sylvia the Snowgirl and her new beau Sylvester the Snowman. Aren't they the cutest couple ever? lol I just had to share them with you all!

Sylvia was made by me, at the request of the ever so funny Kim (kimsbeads). She is hand crocheted, with a little red scarf that has a tiny snowflake button on it and matching hair bow. She also asked (or more like challenged if you ask me) for Sarah (theknitbrit) to make one too! So this is what we came up with! lol . Sylvester is hand knitted, with a little red scarf and matching knit cap.

When i saw Sarah's, i just knew they belonged together!

Isn't she all shy and coy, and he's all protective of her! Just like a real boyfriend would be of his girl!

Click here to see Sylvia up close. And Click here to check out her man Sylvester.

Next up.... Snowbabies! lol

Saturday, November 22, 2008

New Tie Cuffs

Well, for a change of pace i'm actually highlighting one of my own items today! I dont do it, really at all, but i really love how these new Tie Cuffs are turning out, i just had to share! So far i have only listed 2 of them, but be sure there are many more to come!

I have to thank my dad too, since he was gracious enough to part with a lot of his old ties. I couldnt believe he was willing to give me such beautiful ties too! What a good dad i have!

But they are all 100% silk ties, all in excellent condition! So many styles and colors and patterns, its been a lot of fun going through them all, planning out how to make each cuff. I also plan to make a Tie Purse here soon too with some of them.

I love the colors on this one above specifically! And the vintage button just seemed to really match it perfectly! Navy blue base, with teal and purple flowers and gold pattern, its really quite cute!

This one, perfect for guys or girls, is wider, which is fun! In marroons, gray gold and teal! Again i adorned it with a fun brass vintage button.

You can find these in my etsy shop, as well as many other styles of cuffs! More to come too! I also welcome custom orders, just let me know!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Thankful Thursday

Time To Be Thankful



The last couple of days have been a whirl wind for me. Lots of up and downs, ok mostly downs. From being sick, and not feeling well, my knee giving me just too much pain lately, then all this work piling up, one thing after another going wrong, it began to feel like i couldn't breathe anymore. I just wanted to cry. Ok so i did cry. But then tonight, i decided i can't let things control me, and i was. Things go wrong, people mess up, and i can't change what's happened, only how i react to them.

Then a friend, Michelle (aka michellescharmworld) actually she was someone i met before i started selling on etsy, sent me a convo, she had thanked me in her blog, because i was the person who first inroduced her to etsy, and helped her get started there. It was such a surprise, such a kind thing for her to do. Sure it was simple in a way, just a thank you and a mention, but in the mess of what has been the last 2 days, it's the first nice thing anyone has done for me. And i thought, i should pay it forward. Instead of wallowing in my own pity, and stressing out about what is to come, why not give thanks to what has been, to what i have been given and the friends i have made in the past year.

Since i couldnt get a treasury to honor them all, i made my own and posted it above. They are the friends i am thankful for. They are my fellow etsy peeps! I couldnt show all them here, because i have met so many wonderful people in the year i have been on etsy. This is just a small sampling.

From Sarah and her pimpin ways, Bella as our mother hen who watches after all of us, Donna who i swap ideas and patterns with, Sabre who always makes me giggle! Raven who brings out my crazy (but will not admit to naughty ) side. Jackie who i know i can always bounce things off of. Silly Kim, who constantly challenges my skills with snowmen on sleds. Kimber, one of the first i met on etsy. Vol,Cozy, Celebrate, and Unique who i can always rely on for support and kind words. Christina with her yummy goodies! lol Everyone really on the hearts thread (you know who you are! ) are all such wonderful people. And to many others who have been there along the way! I am thankful and greatful for you all and what you bring to my life every day!

Thank you for reminding me every day, its good to be alive, its great to have friends, laugh often, and be thankful for what we do have.

Monday, November 17, 2008

And The Winner Is!

It's Time to Announce the Grand winner of our Thanksgiving Contest!!

There were 26 shops who participated!! Making this an awesome and oh so successful event!

We had over 454 hearts (votes) given!!!! wow!

annnnddd!

4453 views! now thats amazing!

Thank you to all who participated, voted, and well, were just a part of this!


Now, who won you might ask?

With 51 votes (hearts) hands down, the winner was:

Kim! aka kimsbeads.etsy.com



with her handmade fall beads http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17299666

WOOT WOOT

WTG KIM! Congrats!

Thank you Everyone!!


and Stay Tuned! i am sure Sarah (aka sarahinflorida.etsy.com) and myself will rally again for a winter/christmas contest! so be on the lookout after Thanksgiving! Mwahahahahahaha :D

Friday, November 14, 2008

Etsy Thanksgiving Contest!

First Annual Thanksgiving Contest!



Welcome all! Participants and Voters alike! First off, Thanks to all the lovely sellers who participated in this fun contest! We hope you all had as much fun creating your items as we did putting this together!
Ok now to the Contest!
Please feel free to browse all the entries above (you will find etsy links at the bottom of this post)!

Voting will be based on item hearts.

So that means if you like an item, heart it! Its that simple!


Then at the end of the contest, Sarah and myself will go through and tally all the hearts for each item posted within the voting period to determine the winners!


We figured this will be a fun way to do it! As, if you cant choose just one favorite, you can heart as many as you like! But, please no making false accounts just to vote (we will know!)


The winners will be announced in the thread at 5pm Etsy time on Monday Evening, the 17th.

The prizes are... a Special Edition Thanksgiving Throw a Fit doll from missknits and a Plushie Turkey from Sarah.


Entries (and their actual links)


StarMountainDreams http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17290723

CreationsbyChristina http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17303305

LuxSpa http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17302872

ArrivingAngels http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17301614

KimsBeads http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17299666

JodisCraftEmporium http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17295342

Sarahinflorida http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17112567

Missknits http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17109520

kjmSILKS http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17030258

thecozyloft http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17250830

quillynilly http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17312768

naptimecrafts http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17315164

theknitbrit http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16361762

Zzazz http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17317051

dancingcircle http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16183877


*Note. all items will be available for sale once the contest ends Monday evening, if you wish to purchase it, feel free to convo the seller and they can hold it for you too!*

Monday, November 3, 2008

The Countdown is On!




To get us in the Voting Mood, I thought it would be fun to feature some awesome presidential political pieces i found on Etsy.


In just less than 24 hours the polls will open and history will be in the making! Its an exciting day to me. I love it. Filled with anticipation, the not knowing, the news casts, the air is even different on voting day! And, no matter who your vote may be for this year, you have to admit it is one for the history books. No matter how it ends up, this is a campaign not soon to be forgot. We could potentially have our first black president, or our first woman vice president. And, honestly, i say its about time!


I won't state my sides here, as there is no need. I believe every person has a right to their own vote, their own belief, and their own rights. And i will never enforce mine on another. But i find it fascinating the stories that are told, the rumors that are spread, the people who follow along like sheep without fact checking first. All i can hope for is, come tomorrow people vote with sound mind, body and heart. And, can only hope, whoever does win, that we will be headed for better things.


*note: I Heart People Who Vote tshirt by likemindedpeople . Obama Briefcase by benfloeter . John McCain Montage by finalscore . Candidates Shadow Puppets by orangemoontoys .


Rock The Vote!