An Official Etsy Addict

My shop is part of sort of an online "mall" full of only handmade items (and some supplies and vintage goodness) called Etsy. If you have never checked it out, you are missing out of an amazing shopping experience.

What is there to love about Etsy?

One-of-a-kind options it offers.
You are purchasing items that have actually been made by a person, not mass produced.
If you can't find exactly what you are looking for, you can request it, and SOMEONE will be able to create it just for you.
There are so many wonderful and talented artisans that you never would have found without a site like Etsy.


This shop, Dudadaze, is one of my many favorites.

I love the whimsical characters Diane Duda creates. The fun of being a little girl, carefree and happy, shines through her work.



This print, "She Believed in Spontaneous Dancing", is my absolute favorite her shop. It makes me think of my daughter, who can't stop herself from dancing when the mood strikes her. I ordered this one for myself - and every time I see it it makes me smile!




And this adorable print makes me think of my niece. When she learned how to do headstands, she just had to do them everywhere!





The joys of childhood- carefree dancing, and seeing the world the way you want to, so vividly portrayed in Diane's beautiful work!

New Tangled Daisies Goodness!

I have been trying for a while now to come up with a wallet design that I liked. Something that was smallish, so you could carry it easily in a pocket if you didn't want to bring your whole bag with you. But also something that could hold all the cards you use most and some cash. Something that would close securely, but without the bulk of a zipper.

After several attempts (None of which I have anymore, or thought to photograph, which is kind of a bummer, because a couple were pretty comical!) I had a design I liked.

(Drumroll....)









Perfect size. Snap closure to keep it slim. Two pockets inside:




Once I am happy with something I have made I have to put it to the test: Showing it to super awesome friends who provide me with honest thoughts on whatever it is i am throwing at them with the words "what do you think?"

The first wallet was actually stolen from me immediately. (Thanks Lori!) And the next two I gave immediately because their responses were so genuinely excited. (Thanks Claire and Carlie!). So I have to say, I was pretty happy in the end, and think they were worth the tragic results it took to get to the end product!

Why the Happy Dance?

A friend recently asked me what it was I liked so much about working with "found" fabrics. Why these finds would make me do little happy dances in thrift shops. What it was that made them my favorite things to work with.

The best answer I can come up with is that I see the life in inanimate objects. I see old run down buildings or homes that you know were once beautiful. I imagine what it once looked like, what the people who used it once upon a time looked like, what sort of things went on in it, and compare it to the neglect it is facing now. I love the history it holds, the stories of the people and events that once took place there, and value the life it once held in its walls. I can sort of sense the sadness of it now. Not the sadness of the situation, but of the building itself.

Yes, I know. A little crazy. But that is me!

I feel the same way about textiles. That they, especially the vintage things I find, hold a story. About the people who wore them. About the person who bought yards of fabric intended for something that was never made. About the person who spent hours lovingly hand stitching table linens.

I love to take those things, those forgotten things that once meant something to someone, and make them new again.

That's what brings out the happy dance in me!