Shop update - headbands

I updated the shop with a couple of flowered headbands today.  Check them out here!  :)

Giveaway - finished!

I just finished up this little cutie...

from this picture...

for the Sew, Mama, Sew! giveaway day!  Want one of your own?  Check out my shop here.  (PERFECT gift for dads!  Order by June 2 for Daddy's Day delivery!)

Giveaway Day!!!!

What a great way to start the week!  Twice a year Sew, Mama, Sew! organizes a huge Giveaway Day for their readers, and I'm participating!  Woo Hoo!!!!

Here's what's up for grabs from my shop! 

* One custom felted figure from your child's drawing.

I will construct a one-of-a-kind, 100% wool needle felted figure from a drawing you provide.  It looks great displayed in a shadow box, or on a mantle together with the original drawing.   

Some close-up examples (from Jesse's drawings)

Just leave a comment on a blog post this week, with the answer to this question:

What's your favorite thing about Summer?

The fine print...
One comment per day, per person please.  International participants welcome.  Void where prohibited.  A winner will be chosen at random on May 25th, 2012, at 5:00 PM PST, and notified via email (so please make sure you leave your email address with your comment so I can contact you).  After the winner is contacted, he/she will have 3 days to email me a picture for the felted figure.  Your little felted guy will be shipped by June 1, 2012.  Friends and family are welcome and encouraged to enter, too!  Frames and shadowbox not included.  Check out the bunches of other giveaways here.  Good luck!!!
Can't wait for the giveaway to end?  Check out my shop for updates all week long!

Comments are now closed.  Congratulations, Kate!  I sent you an email.  Thank you so much, everyone for your lovely comments, and for participating in this giveaway!

Etsy Shop and Bluffton Village Fest

Good afternoon, friends!

My etsy shop is (FINALLY!) up and running again.  I love making things, but truth be told, I have a really hard time getting my act together to take pictures, write descriptions and post it all in my etsy store.  I'd much rather spend my time creating!  But, after weeks of making, I finally did get said act together, and here are the results (if you're so inclined to check them out).

One of my little owls

I am super excited about a new project I've been working on - creating felted objects out of children's drawings (namely Jesse's drawings, for the time being).  I love taking 2-D art and turning it into a special keepsake.  They're perfect for parents, grandparents, or boosting a kid's artistic self esteem!  (Available here in my etsy shop.)

Jesse's rendition of "Plants vs. Zomies" in felt 

Wool felt butterfly, original drawing also by Jesse

"A Scary Alligator on a Leash" by Jesse Plew, made into a felted figure

I have also been sewing quite a bit, and there are some fun sewn things coming up in my shop (HOPEFULLY by next week.)  Please stop by and take a look.

Also.....We have this adorable street in the historic part of Bluffton called Calhoun Street.  There are a bunch of galleries that sell local artists' work, antique and eclectic shops, restaurants, new and vintage clothing stores.... The street hosts a weekly farmers' market, as well as a number of festivals and special events.  By far, my favorite event is the Bluffton Village Festival.  Thousands of people roam the streets sampling the area's best local foods and wares from a number of talented artists.  I have wanted to set up a table here for years!  Something has always stopped me.... not enough inventory, being on bed rest with Micah, fear of failure (I know that sounds silly, since I've been selling my crafty things since I was little, but I'm really nervous about going out there on my own!).... But this year, I'm just going to do it!  Wish me luck and come out and visit - Saturday, May 12th from 10:00-4:00, Calhoun Street in Bluffton, SC!

Merry making....very late (yet again!)

Well thank you, Ryan Gosling!  I appreciate your patience with my lack of getting my act together.  But how about February?  Hopefully, my sisters, nephew and brother-in-law didn't mind getting their Christmas gifts a couple of weeks ago.  

I do this to myself every year.  I have plenty of time to put something great together for everyone on my list.  But then my mind overflows with these amazing ideas that I can never pull off in time, and end up making only part of the gift that would have been great in itself if I had just put it together like that in the first place.  That totally makes sense, right?

For instance, I wanted to give my sisters little trees with ornaments that they could change with the seasons.  I found these adorable metal jewelry trees at Marshalls.  Then, my initial plan included 8 sets of 10 ornaments for each season (felted and/or sewn).  And for those of you who are still reading this and counting, that's 8 sets x 10 ornaments x 2 sisters = 160 ornaments.  Yeah.  I'm crazy.  So, what I ended up doing is 4 sets x 5 ornaments x 2 sisters = 4 ornaments (a much more manageable project).  And here are the ornaments I made for Robin.... 

Yo-yos for Spring and Summer, Acorns for Fall, Snowflakes for Winter, and....

Hearts for Valentine's Day!

I just love how the candy matches the yo-yos!  (Such a cute idea, Robin!!!)

I hope this sparked some ideas for you, and that you have more sense than I do to start a lot earlier in the year if you want to have something for your loved ones to open at Christmas.  I have much more to post, but that will have to wait until tomorrow!  :o)

Felting Classes

A couple months ago, I mentioned I had something in the works, and now the schedule is posted, I can finally tell you!  I'll be teaching some felting workshops at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina this year!  Yay!  The Arts Center has a bunch of fun classes for kids and adults, and starting in January, I'll be teaching a couple of classes on how to make felted objects for you and your home... starting with hearts like the one below...

Here is the class listing, with link....

Felting Hearts
Valentines Day is coming up and love is in the air! Needle-felt 3 detailed hearts to hand out as valentines or use as seasonal decorations. Hang them up on a seasonal tree or mantle, adorn gifts with them for a special touch, decorate your dinner table with a little extra love – the possibilities are endless!
Instructor: Amy Plew
Date: Saturday, January 28, 2012
Time:  10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Tuition: $40

Thanks for taking a look!  I'm so excited to get to share this craft with other people!

Some exciting news is coming!

No, I'm not pregnant.  But here's a little hint...

And the winner is....

Congratulations, Lizzy!  (I had Jesse draw the winner out of a bowl so it would be fair.)  I hope you enjoy your little felted Fall goodies! 

It's not too late....

Hey, all!  It's not too late to enter your name into the drawing for some hand felted Fall decorations.  Just leave your name and email address on a post from this week, and you'll be entered to win!  Entries close at noon today, and I'll post the winner later this evening!  Good luck!

Made for you - a little gnome

I finished my first gnome order last night, and he will be shipped off to his new home today.  Here he is:

And don't forget to leave a comment with your email address on this blog before Friday at noon to be entered into the giveaway drawing!  Have a great day!!!!

Thanks, Megan....giveaway extended

Hello friends!  My sister, Megan, in all of her vast wisdom, suggested that since it was a holiday weekend, and that people were out having fun, and not hanging around reading blogs and surfing the internet, that I should extend the giveaway for a couple more days.

OK, Megan, I'll give it a couple more days.  I was just really excited to set up my shop, that maybe I made the giveaway deadline a little too short.  How about Friday?  Would that suit you, smarty-pants Megan!?  :o)  OK, then Friday it is!

Just leave a message on this or any post this week (just one please) with your email address so that I can get a hold of you if you win and I'll randomly draw a name by noon on Friday.  So, come on, folks!  Leave a comment for a chance to win some lovely hanging acorns and three Fall leaves...and make Megan happy!

Oh, and since you're back from your long weekend, and you'll need something to do during your long work day, please check out my shop, too.  :o)  Thanks!

Shop update...TODAY!!!! (and a giveaway!)

I've been working really hard on getting my etsy shop up and running again...and today's the day!  Come on over and check it out!  Thanks for taking a look!

And to celebrate, I'm giving away a set of 6 hanging acorns, and 3 fall leaves!

 Just leave a comment and your email address here by the end of the day, and I'll randomly draw a name tonight.  The winner will be announced here tomorrow (September 6th).  Good luck!!!

Felting, sewing, and a shop update (in the very near future!)

I've been a busy little bee around here lately - sewing and felting deep into the night (and sometimes morning) hours, and when the Bean is napping.  Here are some of the things I've made in the last couple of weeks...

A cute little bib tucked inside....

a little diaper cake for a special little girl,

a fabric beach ball using this tutorial for a much-overdue birthday gift, 

bibs for the shop (modeled by the cutest one-year-old in the planet), 

some wool felted owls, leaves, pumpkins, and mushrooms, for my etsy shop, 

(((the pumpkins)))

and a couple of handfulls of  felted acorns for display, and some for hanging.

Which brings me to a little announcement....SHOP UPDATE THIS MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5TH!  WOOOOOO HOOOOOO!

Lydia

My younger sister, Megan, is working on a project I want to share with you here.  Megan's best friend from college, Jen, had her beautiful baby girl, Lydia,  go to live with Jesus a couple of months ago.  I can't imagine how devastating it would be to lose a child, even though you have faith that your baby is now in the arms of our loving God.  Her whole story can be found here on Jen's blog.  Bring tissues.  Lots of them.  It's an incredible journey of faith, hope, and loss.

Jen and her husband, Micah, are in the midst of grieving, but have still set up a memorial scholarship fund in Lydia's name at the Christian school where they met as students, and taught as adults.  Megan really wanted to support her friends and honor the memory of Lydia, and blogs about her contribution here on her blog.  She is making the most beautiful purple felted flower pins with 8 petals, and 8 seeds to represent the 8 months, 8 days that Lydia graced us with her presence on earth.  Every penny of every sale goes towards the scholarship.  Please check it out!  (I've also added a link on my page if you'd like to directly link to Megan's blog.)  And please pray for Jen and Micah as they continue to mourn the loss of their little girl!  Sometimes God does things that I just don't understand.

Busy, busy, busy...

I have been so busy being crafty the last couple of days, and I haven't had a minute to blog.  I've been sewing in very small intervals and felting, but mostly, I've been embroidering.  Embroidery allows me to stay in a reclined position while I create - the perfect bedrest craft!  :o)  Over the next week, I'll be posting a project every day.  So, make sure you check back to see my progress.  Maybe this bedrest thing isn't so bad afterall!  

I'm so excited!!!

I must admit that it's a bit of a bummer being on bedrest. I know that you might think that laying around, doing absolutely nothing sounds pretty appealing, but after a month of barely moving, with little contact with the outside world, it gets really old! I have a huge list of things I'd love to do - get my hair cut, take Jesse to the beach, I'd even clean the bathrooms if I could... I know it will be worth it in the end, and so far it's paid off! Tomorrow I'll be 30 weeks pregnant!!! HOORAY!!!

While I've been on bedrest so far, I've tried my very hardest to keep busy. I've watched a lot of movies and tv series thanks to Netflix, napped, knit a bunch, felted and set up shop on etsy, and entered a squirrel-making contest at the Brooklyn General. Remember this little guy?

Well, he won honorable mention! (See him? He's all the way on the right.)

I received a lovely gift certificate to Brooklyn General (which I cannot wait to spend on their delicious assortment of fabric and yarn)!  And to make matters even better, my little grey squirrel found a new, permanent home in Brooklyn, New York.  I'm just so excited!

Shop Update

Hello, sweet friends!  Just to let you know, I've updated my etsy shop a bit today.  I added a bunch of cupcakes, a felted bag, and few birds, too.  I'll be adding more later this evening.  I hope you're having a great day!!!