So, what have I been up to ?

Sorry, folks. I just wasn't feeling very bloggy the last few days.

I was, however, fairly productive. I spent my week sewing, crocheting, hand-dyeing and painting onesies. Some were for orders, some for gifts (like the Pooh bear) and a few were for new merchandise in the shop. Here's a sample of all that was happening on my little work table:
There are still a few works in progress, too. Like this one: Then there was the "accidental painting" - yep, that's a blotch of black paint on my pajama top. One fact about fabric paint : It's PERMANENT. Which explains why I prefer to paint in my pjs each morning. It also explains why I don't entertain a lot while painting, too!

And, yes, they are flannel jammies. It's gotten quite cool here. The Big Guy actually turned the heat on last night because HE was cold!!! (That doesn't happen often.) Ooooh, it felt sooooo good!!!

It is supposed to warm up again over the weekend. I hope so. I'm not ready for coats and such. I don't DO winter. At least not of my own free will.

Here's hoping you have a happy, creative, productive and warm weekend, wherever you are.

***P.S. Don't forget about the Autumn Harvest Extravaganza over at The Nuthouse. My contribution to this huge give-away event will be awarded to some lucky entrant tomorrow. It's not too late to enter and it's really easy to get in on a chance to win any of a number of Fall items.

New stuff for Fall and Halloween!!

It's Fall!!

That means it's time for pumpkins, candy corn, ghosts, witches, black cats, bats and trick or treat!!!

I've been busy adding Halloween items to my etsy shop, Splashin. (That's why I haven't been able to stop by and post much this week. I'm also in the throes of Fall housecleaning. Now, there's a drag on one's time!!)

I just wanted to show you what I've been up to:

This baby hat is straight out of my personal pumpkin patch.









And don't you just love candy corn? Who can resist it?


Little ones don't need hats? Then how about a completely safe, squeezable (and machine washable) Halloween toy. There's absolutely nothing here to break or pull off, making them safe for even the tiniest baby.
Of course, there are Halloween onesies there for the little ones, too.


















Maybe you just want something to show off the pretty Autumn colors. This angel both hangs or sits, so she is equally at home hanging on your door or wall as she is just sitting on a bookshelf.









I've got so much more to add this week, so please stop by the shop and see what's new.

Lost Monday

Okay, I'll admit it. I seemed to have lost most of Monday.

We had a last-minute house guest arrive for few days. Though we had minimal prep time, we always enjoy visits with her so it was well worth the quick spit'n'polish to the house and a dinner prep. We even convinced her to watch the Ravens' game with us. We promised not to tell her friends and family back in Steelers country. (If you don't know, the Ravens and the Steelers are mortal enemies!)

While our guest took care of some business today, I finally took some time to get back to my painting. I started the detail work on a lamp base today. This is the first lamp I've done and I think I'm liking it. Here's a sneak peek:Or, two:

There was a lady on TV today talking about decorating trends at the moment and she was really pushing decorated lampshades. So, I took some time to add the lampshade I painted last week to my Etsy shop. Woo Hoo!! I'm actually in on a trend!!
The lamp and the shade are separate projects and not meant to be compatible. I think I like doing shades, too. I can only hope folks like buying them.

Back on line and finally cooling off!

Well, I'm finally back on line. At least for the moment. I approach the computer with caution each day as our internet service has been extremely fickle. I think I was going through withdrawal today!! Late this evening, we finally got connected again. Service went out part way through me working on this post on Sunday night and, while we regained pieces of service, I could not access Blogger at all dince then. Keep your fingers crossed for us, that we'll stay connected from here on in.

I hope y'all have had a good week. For numerous reasons, I just haven't been able to post quite as often as I want to lately. Life keeps getting in the way and it has been really frustrating. This is a new week and I hope to get back on my old schedule of about 5 posts a week. Please wish me luck!

The Big Guy has found some unique ways of keeping cool!
(That's the freezer pack from a cooler.)

We've all just been trying to stay cool lately. The heat here has finally broken some. We're still hotter than normal but at least we're down below 100 on a daily basis although the humidity has been very high so it's still somewhat oppressive outside. Our temps are still running about 10 degrees above normal and this has gone on for over three weeks now. I wonder if we ever will get used to this sort of weather.

While holed up inside, I've done some creating.

This is one of my newest designs and has already proven to be a popular shower gift!! In fact, I've even had a tween request a special design based on this for herself. I'm calling it the "Babe of the Month" and it can be ordered for any month. It's in my Etsy shop now.





I've actually been producing quite a bit of merchandise for the last week or so. Some were for specific orders, some were gifts I needed and there's been lots of leftover pieces that have found their way into my etsy shop. I had neglected the shop for a few weeks and it seems
happy to get some attention. I've still got quite a few to add in the next few days, too. Won't be too long and it will be time to get busy adding holiday merchandise. Christmas is, actually, just a little over 5 months away!!


The hot weather did prove inspirational and gave me a few ideas for some summery outfits. This onesie is now in my Etsy shop. (You'll have to come up with your own bottoms, though. these are just plain red shorts.)




We've got a new addition to the family coming soon and she's already being called a priness so I designed a special outfit for her. The pants are plain in front but have the word "princess" across the bum!



I showed it to a few folks who liked it so much, I've also added this item to the shop.





This onesie has been in my shop for a while, but a customer wanted to expand on the theme for a more complete shower gift, so i added a matching hat and some socks to complete the look. I'm always open to such ideas and concepts. Many folks have requested extras to match a particular item. The onesie is still available in the shop.





This is just a small sampling of all the new items I've been working on. there are still more that are now in the shop and more to be added each day. Please stop by and see what's new!

So, what's new?

Couldn't think of much to write so let's go for a little shameless self-promotion!!

This is what's new in my shop this week!! Check these and more out at Splashin or just click on the pic that interests you!



Baseball playing fish ?!? Sure to score!









Seahorse Tote! Great to run to the market for just a few things! (Do any of us REALLY only get a FEW things?)


The fish actually "flow" when this skirt sways!! (Great Mother's Day idea!!)


This is another great M.D. idea!!! What Granny doesn't want to boast about her little "Stars!"





"I think I can..." (But then, do toddlers ever really have doubts about what they CAN do?)




Just think how many things I could get painted if I had this many hands to work with at once!!!

Back to the routine....

Hope y'all had a great Easter. I know we did. All in all, it was a fantastic weekend! after a dinner picinic in the park on Thursday evening, The Big Guy and I spent the day together on Friday, just the two of us enjoying each other's company. We arrived home to find our saucer magnolia tree had burst into full bloom while we were out for the day. (Yep, it happens just that fast. Unfortunately, the blossoms are already beginning to fall off.) Saturday, we attended a family party celebrating twins turning 2. Turned out to be the first cookout of the season. That grilled burger tasted great!! We had dinner with the family on Sunday and spent a leisurely day just sitting around chatting. (That's where I got those pretty flowers !!)

Oh yeah, I spent a few frantic hours both Friday and Saturday night, making candy! Somehow, I got it all done, though.

I feel like I neglected both my online shop (Splashin) and this blog for the last week or so. I got busy with orders, birthday presents to be made and candy making. Something had to give. (I'd already given up sleep!!) I resolved to get back on track and list something new in the shop each day of April. Well, I messed up on that goal already!!

I did get the cupcake apron and potholder set listed tonight. That actually counts as three listings as you can buy them as a set of apron and potholders or just the apron or just potholders. They're just the start of all those food oriented items I was making. Look for more later this week. (You can check it out here.)

So, what was keeping me busy all week?

I made a beautiful skirt for a custom order. It's ankle length, made of lightweight cotton/polyester suiting fabric and features fish all around it. I was really pleased with the finished product. I haven't decided whether to add it to my regular merchandise line yet. (I often get new product ideas from custom orders.)

I needed presents for those 2-year-olds, too. For the boy, I came up with an underwater baseball themed outfit:

I'll definitely be adding this one to the shop! (The family tots are often the inspiration for new

products for my shop.)

For the female half of the pair, I did something a little more artsy - a painting octopus! I haven't decided if this will make its way into the shop or not.

There are other items I was working on, too. It was a very busy 10 days or so. I'll be adding some of those things to the shop and some were simply for custom orders.

Hope y'all are having a great start to Spring, too.

Weekends are just too short!!!

It's been another busy weekend. I had some orders to work on as well as some new merchandise to photograph for listing purposes. I did get some of the pictures taken but still need to work on the descriptions before listing them in the shop.

Want a sneak peek?

It seems I've had goodies on my mind so I've been fixated on items featuring baked goods. (Maybe it's Easter coming up that put the sweet stuff in my head.) I've made a few aprons, potholders and even kitchen plaques and accessories.

These items will begin going in the shop on April 1st in plenty of time for Mother's Day buying.

I fell off the listing wagon during late February and March. The weather just kind of shut down my creative juices then and I had some motivation problems. So, I'm climbing back on and plan to list an item a day in April. I hope I can stick with that plan.

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We ate Maryland style today with our first steamed crabs of the season! Ummm, ummm, good!!! They're not quite in season yet, but in just a few weeks, they should become a weekly staple for us until the season ends in November. I'm not sure how we make it through the winter without them!

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With the better weather comes a much busier schedule as we begin outdoor events and activities. Festival season will soon be upon us and for our household, that means a lot running around the region. We enjoy our music, crafts and festival food. As KCBS BBQ judges, we're committed to a number of contests which, in essence, are all-day commitments.

We're looking forward to the first competition of the season (in our circuit) which will take place in Salisbury, Maryland in mid-April. Probably the largest BBQ event East of the Mississippi, the 2010 Pork in the Park competition will feature 125-130 competitors and three days of great live entertainment. If you are anywhere in the area, it is well worth the trip.

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Hope y'all had a good one, too. (I've got to get back to finishing up my orders tonight so I can start working on making Easter candy tomorrow!)

Just another day in paradise, er. I mean, the ice palace!

As most of you know, this post-blizzard period is about as far from paradise as my mind can conceive.

I'm still doing quite a bit of reading and cooking as I am not one to venture out in the cold and snow if I can help it. The road leading to our house is still in poor shape with just a very narrow lane clear, allowing only one car in the block at once. This happens just past a sharp curve in the road at the lower end of a hill. It can be nervewracking to need to back up or sit and wait in this area. This is what we have AFTER the plows and front end loaders have worked on it. The last few days, the county has actually had someone out hand-shoveling the roadway here.

The last bit of road we need to use to get to and from the main drag is also on a steep and curving hill and, until this afternoon, was less than a lane and half wide at the peak of the hill. At that point, the snow piles are about 12' high making it difficult to see oncoming traffic as you approach the point where only one car fits. The Big Guy said they were working on that section today when he came in. Hopefully, we will have passing room there tomorrow.

All driving is complicated by pedestrians in the roadway as they simply have nowhere else to walk. The sidewalks along those stretches of roadway are owned and maintained by the county and are not in front of residential homes so no one has cleared the walkways. Although there has been some settling of the snow, one still needs to wade through snow that is well-over two feet deep if you are to attempt to use the walkways. For this reason, our school systems are still closed. Bus stops are impossible due to the piled snow, many residential streets are totally impassable and children cannot walk to their local elementary schools. For many folks, tomorrow will be the first day they return to their normal work routine.

Impossible as it seems, we dodged a bullet today and the snow they had predicted didn't happen! It did snow lightly for about two hours this evening but it didn't stick. So, while they are calling for some flurries through the night and a few snow showers tomorrow, we shouldn't pick up more than an inch or so from that.

I do usually love watching the Olympics but I have to admit, I'm having trouble getting into them this week. I think I have snow overload. I just can't stand seeing more.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel though, pro-baseball pitchers and catchers report to training camps this week!! Spring MUST be coming!! (Even with the home team record the Orioles have maintained for the last 12 seasons, we remain staunch baseball fans.)

I did manage to get some new listings up in my etsy shop, Splashin, this weekend. I'm trying out some mini-signs featuring cute sayings about all sorts of things. I've never put these in the shop before but they are a solid part of my show stock and have been for years. I believe everybody needs some sort of bread & butter item at shows that are priced low and have some appeal for everyone but this is the first time I've tried any "little" items in the online shop. I wonder if they will sell well enough online to make it worth all the photography and listing time involved. Only time will tell.

A little shameless self-promotion for Valentine's Day!

Roses, flowers, chocolate, a little romance -- what do you want for Valentine's Day?

Maybe now's the time to place a few good solid hints. (Of course, if your man is like mine, a hint won't cut it. You'll have to be more obvious than that!!)

I consider myself lucky if he manages to bring me a bag of candy hearts that say what he'd never think to say out loud. A card would be a total shocker!!

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Speaking of CANDY HEARTS....
O.K., that was just a way of easing you into a little shameless self-promotion for my online shop, Splashin. I've got some really cute lovies for the little ones.

I played with the candy heart concept for some onesie for the very young. These were fun to create.Since they seemed a little saccharine-sweet for the bigger kids, I worked some cuddly animals into the hearts and flowers theme.



Now, I'll admit these seem pretty good for the girls but they don't say "I love my little boy!" Hearts, flowers and lace just don't translate well into B-O-Y !!

I do have things boys love - like hamsters, trucks, cars and tools. So if you're in the market for a little outfit to tell the little ones in your life how much they're loved stop on in and take a look around.

"The hurrier I go, the behinder I get !"

I've always been told that's an old Amish saying, but I've never heard the Amish speak that way. We do a lot of business in Amish country and, while they do have some unique sayings, I sometimes think this one is just part of the myth about the Order.


It does , however, speak the truth. It seems the more I set out to do, the less I'm accomplishing. I'm choosing to blame it on The Big Guy. He distracts me and misleads me along the way. When he's at work, I usually get a lot done and I cross things off my list at a steady pace. When he's home, I seem to get very little done and then, only do things grudgingly. He's been home since Wednesday afternoon. Not much has gotten done.


Today's big activity was going out to breakfast, something we try to do every other week or so on the weekend. Seriously, we went to breakfast and came home. That's it. We were back snug in our warm living room before 10 a.m.!! That's exactly where we've stayed. (Baby, it's cold outside!!)


The most constructive thing I did was read my e-mail and add one listing to the shop.

Yep, I added the first of the hamster shirts to the shop! My offline sales of this one are rolling pretty good. What can I say? Hamsters are BIG at the moment!! You can check out the listing here.


So, I'm already behind for the year!! (I didn't add anything yesterday!) One of my Business Goals was to add one item per day for the month of January. This should accomplish several things.


First, it will rebuild the shop stock. (You can't sell what you haven't got!)


Secondly, it will bring my shop to the front of the line at least once each day. I'm not a big believer in relisting for that purpose. I consider it a waste of money as it hasn't worked well for me in the past. I know I personally get tired of seeing the same merchandise day after day as sellers relist simply to get their name out there. I would prefer to get there with new listings.


As an added push, I've made a habit of putting at least 10 blurbs in the promotion area of the Etsy forum each time I add an item. Again, I'm not sure this is useful but it takes little effort and costs nothing. I have found the best way to get views is putting a blurb on Twitter when I list something new. The promo section of the forum got me 2 views in 40 minutes today. Twitter brought 18 in less than 2 minutes. I feel most of those coming from the forums are sellers who are just taking a gander. Folks on Twitter actually have to make the effort to change sites and may actually have an interest in buying. I have had sales traced directly to Twitter.


One of my Home-Related Goals was to add at least one freezer meal each week to my stockpile. This goal was for a specific time period, after-all, my freezer isn't that big. At any given time, I like to have 5 or 6 meals stored up that can simply be pulled out and heated. These come in handy when the schedule gets tough, the weather gets bad and limits runs to the grocery store, we have surprise company (this happens a lot around here!), or even when I just feel lazy. The holiday rush completely wiped out all stockpiled meals.


I just barely squeezed that one in tonight by putting a pork shoulder in to cook overnight. (I slow cook it for about 13 hours.) I'll get up in the morning and make a large pot of pulled pork. We'll eat some and stockpile the rest. I often do two shoulders at once but I only had one on hand this time.


I really had hoped to have a more exciting start to the year. It feels like I've already WASTED valuable time. On the other hand, I've spent quality time with my man!


Okay, I've at least spent a fair quantity of time with him this week!!

Still driving that paint brush at warp speed!

It's been a busy weekend. I've spent many hours painting (and sewing) to complete the orders I have. Surprisingly, I've had more off-line sales than online. (I had anticipated the opposite!) I'm pleased so many of my old customers have returned with customized orders.

Here's a peek at some of my recent work.

Duckie finally got his wheels on and his finishing touches.

I'm eager to get to my Christmas delivery deadline this week so I can get busy and complete the items on our own gift list. Otherwise, I'll be one of those folks shopping at the last minute at Walgreen's!!!

I was also motivated as we have houseguests arriving on Monday for several days. I'd like to spend some quality time with them instead of holed up painting or staying up all night to get the orders done. (Been there, done that before!)

We did get our tree and it is in the house but not yet decorated. It has a nice, somewhat sporadic, array of lights on it. We tested them all before stringing them onto the tree but once up, half the first string stopped working. The Big Guy played with it a bit and it started working. he went ahead and hung the second string. These were all good but that string won't blink. About half way through the third string, half of that one stopped working!

The Big Guy was getting a bit tired and grumpy at this point. He had done a really good job of tucking the lights in and really integrating them into the tree branches. He managed to rearrange the working half od the third string so the tree had lights at the top and we agreed to have a dark bottom foot or two of tree.

At this point, he has done his job. He gets it in, stands it up and puts the lights on. The rest of the job is mine although I do ask for some help for the highest ornaments and the angel. (He's tall and doesn't need a step stool. I'm klutzy and have visions of falling into the fully decorated tree while using a stool to reach!)

Maybe after I get these shipments out in the morning, I'll get a chance to sit down and write one of the many posts I've had rambling around in my head these last few days. I know it will get hectic once our compnay gets here.

Hope y'all are getting all your preps done.

Finally - A creatively productive day!!!

I spent the day painting both orders and some new holiday items for the shop. I have a bunch of stuff to photograph and list by next weekend when I believe (or at least fervently hope) folks will hit the computers with their credit cards handy and start buying - a lot!!

I did get some holiday potholders listed yesterday and I've already sold a few of those. I was also able to list a product that I've been selling off line for a while but had trouble working out a practical means of shipping until now. I haven't sold that one yet but it did get quite a few views yesterday when I first added it to the shop.

In between painting, I also did some major cooking and even caught a little interesting news along the way.

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Did you know, you could actually be arrested for refusing to tip a waitress?

It happened in Bethlehem, PA recently! A group of eight friends reportedly spent a little time at a pub and racked up a $73.00 bill. Service was awful. It took over an hour to get their order and one of the women needed to get up and get their own napkins and silverware. The place was busy but this was a bit unreasonable. They even had to go up to the bar themselves for a soda refill as the waitress "never came back."

When the bill arrived, there was an 18% ($16.00) gratuity tacked onto the bill since it was a large group (not an unusual practice). This was just too much to bear for one of the couples. They went to the bartender in charge and complained about the gratuity when service was pretty much non-existent. Supposedly, the bartender offered to comp the food but demanded the gratuity be paid. They refused to pay the tip but paid the bill for the food in full. The bartender called the police and the couple was actually arrested and charged with theft since the gratuity was officially a part of the bill.

They have a Court date scheduled for next month!

I know they felt it was a matter of principle, but wouldn't it have made more sense for the establishment to simply forgive the tip in the interest of customer service, OR, in the alternative, wouldn't the customers have made out better to pay the tip under protest but accept the comp on the food? To quote my b-i-l, "Let's pretend one of us wasn't stupid here..."

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On a sad note, the U.S.P.O. has discontinued Operation Santa. There's hope it will be resurrected. The Alaskan town that serves as North Pole Central is frantically working to resolve the issue. I'll tell you about this one in tomorrow's post.

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Okay, now for something a little lighter...

Let's look at some of my new stuff!!!!

Here's one of my handpainted tables that I've finally been able to list in my online shop.

I love painting these and they sell fairly well offline but I had been unable to find a practical means of shipping them. I could not locate boxes for packing them and could not afford to swallow the costs of having one of those shipping stores box it for me. (Boxing and packing is where those guys make their profits!)

Recently I read a thread in one of the Etsy forum posts about shipping framed artwork and it was suggested they use boxes available from the U-Haul Stores referred to as "mirror boxes." I checked this out and they do have an appropriate box at a reasonable cost. The actual shipping, once it was boxed, was not outrageous. Look for more of these tables in the shop in the future.

I was also able to get some holiday potholders listed yesterday and today.

Want more details, simply click on the pic for a link to the listing at Splashin (my online shop).

Santa and Frosty are all smiles. Wouldn't these be great Secret Santa items?

I'm sure Granny and Great Aunt Mable would love them in their kitchens, too!

Then there is Mr. and Mrs. Ginger, "the cookie couple." I listed these this morning just before lunch, ran out to the grocery store and came home to find they'd already sold! So, I listed a second batch of them.

These have proven to be the most popular in my offline sales, as well.

This is Ray the Reindeer, he's the lesser known cousin of Rudolph. He wasn't blessed with a glowing nose so he's been relegated to helping Mrs. Clause in the kitchen!

****There's a bonus Christmas Cookie recipe included with every potholder purchase.

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Oh yeah! I mentioned cooking today, too. Seems we bought some oversized produce this weekend. What can I say, I can't resist a bargain. Among our purchases were a bag load of bell peppers at 4 for $1 ( I cut these up for the freezer. We use an inordinate amount of peppers around here. They're as much a staple in my kitchen as flour and eggs!) and a giant head of broccoli for 75 cents! We do love broccoli, so we just cut that up and have steamed some every night this week. (I believe I will be ready for a different green veggie in the next few days. I like it, but enough is enough!) Then there was the large economy size head of cabbage, weighing in at close to 6 lbs!! This was the deal at only 50 cents!! I couldn't resist taking their picture ( the soda can is for size perspective) and sending it off to my b-i-l the "bargain king". He's so jealous!!

Today I shredded all that cabbage and I'll be cooking it tomorrow. I have a great recipe for a hot spicy slaw that tastes like a richly seasoned sauerkraut but is much more colorful. it really looks "harvesty." (Is that a word?)