Weeds or Wishes

Do you see weeds or wishes? Dandelions and they seed puffs are some of my favorite things. They make me think of the joy of being a child. They see wishes. Never weeds. Watching my children, or any children, with dandelions makes me see wishes too.

("Some See Wishes" by Vol.25)

Craft Hope

Some time ago, I stumbled across this amazing oragnization's website. Craft Hope is a group of people from all walks of life, from all over the world. They organize projects based on the needs of various organizations, again, all over the world. And then crafters get working and the items get sent on their way!

They have sent dresses to orphanages Mexico and Brazil. Boys and girls in an orphanage in Nicaragua received handmade baby dolls. The Miracle Foundation was given blankets, hats, and booties for the newborns they serve. Young burn victims at the Firefighters Burn Institute were sent sock monkeys of all shapes and sizes to love on as they recovered from their injuries. Beautiful handmade quilts were given to homeless children through Margaret's Hope Chest.

And the newest project is scarves, which will be sent to the Orphan Foundation. The Orphan Foundation helps children who has been in the foster care system. They have "outgrown" the traditional system, but are in need of help getting to college and need support while they are there. The scarves will be added to the care packages students are sent several times throughout the school year.

I know just the most basic of knitting and crochet stitches, but I am really excited to make some scarves to send.

I love the idea behind Craft Hope. Check out the photos in the site, especially of the girls with their dolls. The thought that there was someone they had never met, who took the time to make something that they could call their own, to hold onto at night and play with during the day... It warms your heart just to see how happy they are!

I'm off to check out my yarn stash!

Etsy Goodness

These awesome Etsy finds are all inspired by my new studio walls - Aqua Chiffon!


Water Blossom Flower Broach by JujaCrafts. It makes me think of summer and water and sunshine! All good things since I am watching the snow fall as I type this.






Chic Baby Pettiskirt by ChicBabyRose. So fluffy and fun! What little girl wouldn't love to dance around in this?









Vintage 50's Dress by RedBoxVintage. The aqua sash against the white chiffon - gorgegous!

Hope your new year has gotten off to a great start!

From Sewing Room to Studio - Part 1

The transformation has begun! I forgot to take pictures before we tore the room apart, but you can still see the dreary color that covered the walls and the trim. It has been this way since we bought the house 5 years ago. The room was sort of a catch all room, and until we knew what it's true purpose was, I didn't want to commit to choosing colors.



And how about the ever so pretty crystal chandelier? Seriously! What does a Cape Cod style home need a chandelier for?



The walls are now Aqua Chiffon blue - receiving a second coat as I type. It is sooooo pretty. The trim will be Belgium Waffle. (I want the job of naming paint colors!) The chandelier will be going to a home more suited to it's sparkliness and a new lighting fixture will go up. I have some new storage waiting in the wings - thanks to my awesome sister-in-law who found a great old dresser for me.

I'm so pumped to have a room that I can actually call a studio to work in!

Good-bye boring walls!

New Beginnings

I have fallen off the blogging wagon & am finally ready to return. I have lots of thoughts and plans running through my head to grow my Etsy shop and revamp my crafty space in 2010. Coming back to my blog as a way to help me stay focused and inspired is part of that plan. I hope to have lots of fun things to share with whoever may be interested in hanging out with me here! I hope there are a few of you who will visit and share your thoughts and ideas with me too.

The Cuteness of Madge

I don't always comment on the fun things I have highlighted in the section to the right I have named "SO Love This," but I had to today!

Check out the absolute cuteness of Madge! I found her while browsing through Etsy. Leah is a mom and designer in Australia and as you can see from her shop, she does a lot of one of a kind work, using vintage chenille. Her whole shop is full of beautiful things, but I have to say that Madge is my favorite!

Forgotten!

I just found this photo saved on my desktop.

Last summer I got the inspiration to make what I called "bunchy bags." They were awesome! The sides were, you guessed it, sort of bunchy, gathered and tied at the top. They were super roomy - but didn't look it, because the gathering sort of disguised that.

I think I made exactly 4 of them. All of which sold very quickly, which tells me several things... There are others who thought they were awesome too. I so need to make more of them. And that I need to look through my old files more often for inspiration!

They will be in the shop soon!