Featured EtsyBlogger for August...

Memories for Life Scrapbooks! memoriesforlifesb.Etsy.com

Edi is always making something new. You can tell that she really loves it! The EtsyBloggers Street Team has always been a close-knit group, but Edi really surprises me sometimes with her kind comments and vibrant personality. I'm so glad to have become friends with her - and her enthusiasm is contagious!

In her Etsy shop you can find all sorts of fun scrapbooks, photo albums, notebooks, and more! You'll have to stop by often to see what's new. She also does custom word albums and can make a custom scrapbook for any occasion. Some of my favorites include this Family Favorites Recipe Book...

Summer Vacation Scrapbook Photo Album...

Be sure to stop by memoriesforlifesb.Etsy.com to see what she's up to next!

Fantastic Gift Set Giveaway from Cleveland Handmade

Don't miss out on this giveaway from Cleveland Handmade and Covenant Farm Soaps!
Tea Tree and Mint soap refreshes, revitalizes, and contains dried mint leaves that were grown right here at Covenant Farm. The Espresso/Vanilla bar is a rich dark brown and is scented with a Cuban coffee fragrance oil and just a hint of vanilla. A bit of espresso ground coffee gives it some texture and visual interest. Gardener’s Grits contains rosehip powder, orange peel powder, and cornmeal to clean thoroughly, yet gently. Chickweed salve (yes you read that correctly!) is great for itchy, dry skin and comes in a 2 oz tin. Soaps contain olive oil, distilled water, coconut oil, palm oil, sodium hydroxide, cocoa butter, essential or fragrance oils, and botanicals, and are approximately 4 oz each.
For details on how to enter to win, please visit ClevelandHandmade.com! (You have until Wednesday, August 26th and this contest is only open to U.S. residents.)

Seriously?

I couldn't believe my eyes when I opened the mail box on Saturday (August 15th), and found a Christmas catalog!! Yes, Christmas....in August! As tempted as I was to pitch it in the recycling bin right away, I set it aside in hopes to leaf through it for some holiday inspirations. In an earlier post, I mentioned that I'm getting inventory ready for upcoming holiday shows. It's never too early for Christmas, or so it seems!



I don't have time to make Snowflakes this year, nor do I have the desire to work with thread these days, so check out the Crocheted Snowflake Ornaments in fellow ClevelandTeam aniemancrochet's shop! They're so pretty!

CRAFTS N'AT - Going Home Again!

I'm so excited to have been invited to attend a show with the Pittburgh Craft Collective. It's right across the river from where I used to work. If you're around Da Burgh on Labor Day weekend (Saturday, Sept. 5th 10 -6), check it out at The Union Project, 801 N. Negley Ave. The CRAFTS N'AT show benefits the Parkinsons Foundation of Western Pennsylvania, in conjunction with [ gravity + grace ]. Hope for nice weather and I'll see you outside!

Fiber Friday - A Peek at Lion Brand Yarn Studios and Show Season!

According to the Lion Brand Yarn Studio Blog, this piece from Fiber Artist, Joetta Maue, is on display at Lion Brand Yarn Studios in NYC. I had recently started a similar piece (only one scarf, but similar to the seaweed scarf below) with my shop name, to use as a banner for upcoming shows. I'm only partially done with the scarf part though. I guess I had better get crackin' (or knitting)! I thought it would make a cool banner, but I hadn't seen Joetta's work. This is so fun! Visit the Lion Brand Yarn Studio Blog here and Joetta Maue's blog here.

As for my fiber habit, I'm working steadily, trying to have lots of inventory for upcoming shows and the holiday season. I was invited to display some items at a local boutique and I have some designs specifically in mind to take to Shaker Tree, here in Garrettsville. It seems like a sophisticated crowd, so I will be making classic shawls, hats, scarves, etc.....and save the funky stuff for shows and Etsy. I tend to get overwhelmed with ideas this time of year, but have lots of yarn stashed away and ready for fun wraps and wearables, scarves, hats, mittens, and more! While I normally would spend some time making stockings or other Christmas knick-knacks, I'm not sure if I want to do so this year. Time's a-wastin'!
(Visit http://www.alpacafarmgirl.com/ for more Fiber Friday!)

**Lion Brand just announced that all of their patterns are now free! (excluding some by outside designers) Check it out at www.LionBrandYarn.com.

Bake 'N Fill Birthday!

Sarah wanted to bake her own birthday cake this year. She has her very own Betty Crocker Bake 'N Fill set of pans that she got for Christmas one year. When she was little, she would see the commercial for them on tv and kept telling us that she wants those pans! We use them once in awhile. This time, she opted for chocolate cake with Oreo Cookies and Cream ice cream filling, cream cheese frosting which she tinted green, topped with Everlasting Gobstoppers.

It requires two cake mixes, but only uses 1 1/2, so you end up with 12 extra cupcakes. There is an insert pan that sits on top when it bakes, forming the center space. I would sometimes rather fill it with pudding since the ice cream cakes have to remain frozen. Even though we let this one sit out for awhile, it was still frozen cake. And, allowing it to freeze and thaw caused the icing and the Gobstoppers to sweat. All in all it was delicious and Sarah had a blast!

Fiber Friday

I rediscovered a fabulous shop on Etsy this morning. The EtsyChatTeam blog is hosting a giveaway from froggyfibers.Etsy.com. FroggyFibers has an amazing selection of hand-dyed batts and roving, as well as gorgeous handspun yarns. A fellow member of the EtsyFAST Team (Fiber Arts Street Team), LaRhanda of FroggyFibers (almost) makes me want to learn to spin too! Check out the fiber giveaway on the EtsyChatTeam blog and enter to win. If I win, she'll have to spin it for me : )


For more Fiber Arts Friday love, visit http://www.AlpacaFarmGirl.com