Now You Can Own It Too!

Well I posted about the coolest custom order I have had to date not too long ago. I had made up my mind that after the holidays I would set to work offering up Growth Charts for the masses in my Etsy Shop. Well mission accomplished! You can now personalize your own growth chart in one of four colors! I'm still going back and forth on whether or not to offer them in Purple and Orange as well. Here is a look at all of them together:

I think they look pretty neat.  And of course I keep saying to myself, "How come I never thought to do this earlier!?" Either way, you can get 'em now! 

ps. Thanks to Janae for encouraging me to add these to my shop! :)

Cool Custom Order

I just had to quickly write about the neatest custom order request I have had to date. Yesterday Janae from claireandjanae asked me if I could make 5 separate squares that would form one long growth chart. I had never thought about making such a thing before but figured I could give it a go. I happen to think it turned out super super cute! (perhaps I am biased?) I thought I would include a picture of it here because I had a lot of fun putting it together. She simply asked me to go with a background color of my "G is for Giraffe" print and add a bunch of the alphabet print animals to a basic growth chart. The picture is what each square looks like when lined up next to each other, pretty cool huh!? 

(ps, you should definitely click on the picture to look at the enlarged version)

The Tree is Up!

Okay so in all actuality the tree was up December 1st and I just never got around to posting a picture of it. This is the first year we went artificial. Really this is a step up for us as we went tree-less last year! The reason for the fake tree comes down to one thing. Piper. I love her to death but her curiosity would definitely have a real life tree tipped over in mere seconds. This tree is up high in our bay window where her curious little paws can not reach. I was surprised just how many of our ornaments I could fit on it though (the majority of which are hand-made).  For a pint size tree I think it packs quite a punch! :)

 Happy Holidays!

Weekend Activities

I went to one of my favorite places this past weekend. The Italian Market in South Philly. If you live in or around the lovely city of Philadelphia this should be a place you love. (If not go, and fall in love immediately.)

I'm not sure what it is about the place I love so much but I'm suspecting it might have something to do with the fabulous cannoli from Anthony's. Also I just like walking down the busy streets and wandering around all the neat shops. 

The latest trip to the market was with quite a few family members from out of town. We went to Ralph's. Delicious italian food, and a neat little place to eat! I recommend the eggplant parmesan. mmm mmm mmm! Now don't you want to go to the Italian Market immediately?! 

Fueling an Obsession

Normally you wouldn't catch me out in all that Black Friday shopping madness, however there was a local pottery sale on that fateful day and you bet I wasn't going to miss it! My first degree is in ceramics, and I'm a huge admirer and collector of all things clay. After being the first person through the door (of course I was there the second the doors opened) I managed to grab a porcelain mixing bowl, ice cream bowl, and two beautiful cups (one for me, one for Lee). What? That doesn't sound like very much for an obsessed pottery collector you say? My grandmother purchased two dinner plates, one salad plate, and two bowls for our everyday eating dinnerware collection, and my mother purchased an additional plate for our collection. Oh, and I'm making my grandmother truck back up there to purchase a pin I've decided I need for some of my knit scarves. <---These last gifts are for Christmas. (you'll see pictures as soon as they are in my hands) I guess Black Friday shopping isn't so bad! (You won't catch me at any mall though)

Wish List

So if you are out there wondering, "Just what should I get Stephanie for Christmas," you have come to the right place! While my wish list is much longer (and grander) than what I have here, these are a couple of things I would just loooove to see under the tree come Christmas morning. 1. Felted Coasters from rosetutu I love the floral motifs she adds to the coasters, and I orchids just happen to be my favorite flowers. ever. 2. One of the Symbiosis zippered pouches from UnikatHK. I really love the yellow one pictured, but honestly I'd love it in just about any color! 3. Absolutely ANY skein of super bulky yarn from beeskneesknitting. Anyone who even slightly knows me, knows that I love yarn. I don't even need to have a project in mind, if I like the yarn, I want it. This is no exception! 4. Last but not least, a sugar and creamer set from whitneysmith. I do not drink coffee (in fact my hot beverage of choice is rose hip tea) but I love this set. I figure I don't really need an excuse to want it, it's beautiful and who doesn't want beautiful things on their table?! I already own one of her red dogwood plates, and it is gorgeous!

So there you have it.  A short but wonderful list of things I would love to find under the tree come Christmas morning. Have your own Christmas wish for under the tree? Let me know, it might inspire a second (or third) list!

Oh, and obviously, Happy (early) Thanksgiving! :)

It's About That Time!

Yes that's right! I'm having a sale over at the Etsy Shop! From now until December 18th I am having a Buy 2 Get 1 Free sale on every item in my shop. Here's the deal: Buy 2 of whatever you like and then pick a 3rd item of equal or lesser value for free! Instead of purchasing the 3rd item, simply leave me a message in the 'notes to seller' during check out saying what it is you would like for free. It's as simple as that. Happy Shopping!

I Have a Secret Talent

Actually it's not that secret and I'm not that good, but I just love to knit. I learned how to last year and I haven't looked back. In preparation for this coming winter I've made myself a tam (slouchy beret actually). My very long hair is actually quite wavy and I get sick and tired of crappy looking hair from being out in the snow. As long as no water touches my hair I'm usually okay to be out in public. :) I'm hoping this hat keeps my hair nice and dry. If not at least I'll (hopefully) stay warm. Or look cute. I'll take 1 out of the 3!

If you like the hat and want to knit one for yourself you need to go here and click on the Gretel pattern. Or if you are a member of Ravelry you can get it there. (just search for Gretel) 

I'm in Love (part II)

Today my second package of Red Flannel Elephant cards arrived in the mail!!! :) After receiving my first set I knew that I would have to make a point of getting every other card offered, because these are some of the most beautiful illustrations I've come across. I now own all the cards you see to the left, plus just about every other card in her (that would be Gretel Parker) shop! 

She slyly added a cute new card, 'Wheely Bird', which I will own at some point. (He's the adorable yellow bird with blue wheels pictured below.) Okay maybe she didn't slyly add it, but I'm glad she did because now I have an excuse to purchase more of her cards at some point!

Do yourself a big favor and check out one of her two shops (if it they aren't already in your Etsy favorites!) 

This is where I live

Ahh...perhaps I should clarify. There is what I live NEXT to. (A girl can dream can't she?) This is what I like to refer to as the 'back half' of Valley Forge. For all I know it could actually be the front half, or the right half, etc but we discovered this section earlier this year and lovingly refer to it as the back half. The reason I've decided it to be the back half is because it seems that far fewer people are found in this area. Most people tend to flock to Washington's Headquarters as well as walk the main path up near Varnum's Headquarters. During the summer, and even now there are tour busses in the popular areas, so we went on a mission to find more secluded walking paths for our two dogs. The beautiful home I like to pretend is mine is actually the Knox Estate. Down the road from this home (and the beautiful but tragically left to fall apart green house) is a single lane covered bridge that leads to a beautiful walking path along a river. In the summer this is usually quite full of people, but come autumn it dies down to just a few walker/joggers. This is where we chose to spend most of our Sunday:

It is probably the last time we'll be down there until spring, so until then I think we'll walk around the old Farm house (which I must sadly report is not listed on their website). I suppose I will have to get back there a.s.a.p. so that I can post some pictures of it on here. It is sooo pretty, and you can easily get to the Mount Joy trail from it. Okay, enough of Valley Forge. I really need to find something else to obsess over, as I have blogged about the place at least half a dozen times now! Hope the rest of you had a fun weekend! :) 

Christmas Cards and Love

I'll start off with Christmas Card news. (It's been a LONG time coming.) There are currently 5 Christmas Cards up in the shop -3 designs, with 2 sets being offered in 2 color choices. I really really like them, and am happy to have finally gotten around to photographing them! My personal favorite is the green and peach mistletoe ball. Look for them here, and check back for a few more designs I have in the works. (Did you think I could resist making a bird-themed Christmas card? No!)

Okay onto the longggg overdue post about the beautiful housewarming presents that Mitsy sent to Lee and I! She sent us a lovely card, and two packages. I received a growth necklace on organza ribbon (soooo pretty) and she sent Lee a little felt-house keychain. Of course she didn't have to send anything, but she did it because she knew it would make us smile. But how could you not smile upon opening a package with those happy boys and girls smiling up at you! It's impossible. I should know as I have 5 of these happy people hangin' around the house with me! Thanks Mitsy. You already know that we loved the gift, but I thought I'd let everyone else know how much they were appreciated!! :) If you've never seen her work, you had better check it out right away. I've been on a personal mission to own a necklace in every color, so you might want to get your own before I take them all. :) 

Dinosaurs can be Cute

I have been working tirelessly on some Christmas cards (you will see them by the end of this week) and was really getting sick and tired of it! I have had this idea to do some dinosaur prints for my animal series and it seemed like the best reason to take a break on the cards for a little bit! I think they turned out pretty darn cute:

I was trying to pick a favorite earlier, and after staring at them for a bunch of hours I think my favorite is the  Stegosaurus.  

They come in the blue, pink, orange, and green that you find me using 9 times out of 10. Why I am so easily amused by these simple little drawings I will never understand! Anyway check them out here, and if you feel so inclined, let me know what you think!

I'm Back!

I admit it, I've taken way Way WAY to long of a break from my little blogging world! In my defense I have been busy with the new house (pictures coming this weekend). It is much more time consuming setting up a house than it is to set up an apartment! Anywho, my favorite Etsy lady, Artmind , has passed the Kreativ Blogger award to me. I'm not sure why as I have taken about the longest break from blog just recently, but none the less here are 6 things that make me happy:

1) My dogs, Nicholi and Piper

2) The ocean

3) Knitting

4) Sushi

5) Long walks in Valley Forge park (esp. in the fall)

6) My brand new home! :)

And back to Mitsy (artmind) really quick, she sent me the most special house warming gift ever! Not only that, she sent something completely adorable to Lee as well! I have just got my camera back and am going to take pictures of everything before I tell you all what she sent half way around the world. :) Thanks Mitsy, Lee and I were positively giddy when we opened your package! 

Just Incase

Just incase I disappear and you never hear from me again, I most likely was lost and never found amongst these:
And that is just one side of the living room. It gets worse as you enter the hallway, my workspace, and the spare bedroom. On a positive note, 3 days until we move! AHH!!! :) Good thing too, because I just can't seem to be productive AT ALL living in this mess of boxes.

Birds, Birds, Everywhere

For some reason I just love to draw birds. More often than not though, they are usually very realistic depictions for my cards. I had every intention in the world to draw some Christmas-y birds for some holiday cards, and instead I came up with this little guy. I enjoyed him so much that I decided to turn him into one of my animal prints. :) Maybe tomorrow I'll get around to those Christmas Illustrations! Oh yeah, and it is a mere 8 DAYS until we move!!!! Here's hoping I can move my little studio from one home to the next!

I'm in Love . . .

And can you blame me!?!! A set of 12 amazing cards from MarchPanePig arrived on my doorstep last evening, and I was blown away when I saw them in person. As a card maker I usually just use my own cards when I need to send one out, but when I saw these I couldn't resist getting a set. Now that they are here I don't think I will be able to mail them to anyone! I chose the custom 12 pack where you are able to choose which cards you'd like. Everyone should be going to her shop right this minute and snatching up a set of these for yourselves! (I think I'm going to have to go back and get every card that I didn't pick out in my 12pack)

Red Delights

I woke up to a wonderful surprise this morning! A fellow Etsy member left me a screen shot of my treasury because it had made FP around 3:30am. Not only was finding out my treasury made front page wonderful, but seeing that a fellow member, who has never spoken to me, take the time to send me a picture of it just incase I missed it, just gives me even MORE reasons to love Etsy. I have never met a nicer group of people!! -Thank you cindyjoy for taking the time to send me that picture! :) And for anyone else who might have missed it, I thought I'd show it to you here!

Like a kid in a RED candy store (I want them al)
There were 3 sales as a reult of making FP, so I guess I won't have them all for myself!

Sticky Sticky

After taking a little break from creating after finishing the alphabet series I'm back. . . With Stickers! This has been something I've wanted to do for a while now, but seemed to keep getting put on the back burner. I've already listed a bunch of Sticker Packs in the shop, but I do have more to list yet, so check back! Here are two pictures of just a few of the stickers available:

Famous

dandelions in the newspaper

dandelions on the street

dandelions on a magazine

dandelions in the city

It appears my dandelions are everywhere! I saw this on artmind's blog and decided I wanted to have a little fun with it too :) Want to join in on the fun? Go Here. Happy Wednesday!!

Finished!

My animal alphabet series is finished!!! I can't believe how fast I actually completed this series. I really enjoyed making them, and I absolutely love how they turned out! Each one is available individually in my shop, or you can purchase a bundle package of every letter for a discount.  What a great way to start the weekend! :)

We Have the Winners!

Congratulations to Ana and Carol! Ana won first place for my birthday giveaway, and will be receiving the dandelion notecard set. Carol, who came in at second place, will be receiving 2 ostrich ntoecards (one in each color). Thank you to everyone who participated, it was a lot of fun!



And in shop news, for today and today only I'm going to have a buy 1 get 1 free sale! Simply purchase what you want, and in the message to sellers tell me what you'd like for free (of equal or lesser value). Have a great day!

I am Lucky!

How lucky am I to have won a giveaway!!? I hopped over to Stephanie Fizer's blog the other day and saw that she was having a giveaway. I usually do not win anything like that but I thought the little pendants were so cute that I'd put a comment down and see if maybe I'd win. Well I did! (1 of 3 winners) My raccoon pendant arrived today and I thought I'd show off a picture of it! It's sooo cute. Check out her shop for the matching print. I also included a picture of the 2moo cards of hers that I now have. I have moo mini cards myself, and I think they are such a cool option to the regular business card. What a wonderful package to receive in the mail 1 day before my birthday! :) Thanks Stephanie!

Good Thing I Love Her

Well I was hoping to get lots and lots accomplished today (including a decent post here). I did manage to get four more alphabet prints up, which you can find here. Aside from that however I barely managed to do anything else. Here is the reason why:

That is fluff from a pillow on our sofa. And yes it is attached to her face. Apparently she's trying to tell me that we need to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather, rather than to stay inside and get any work done! (I think her brother agrees)
So much for doing what I wanted! We're headed to the park for some sunshine!

Happy Girl(s)

I just returned home after a weekend at my family's for my birthday. I pretty much knew what I was receiving for my birthday (new mirror from crate and barrel, handmade ceramic plates, $$ for our new house). I had a sneaking suspicion I was also going to get a new growth necklace from artmind's lovely shop, and of course I was right!

I am now the proud owner of the olive AND dark turquoise necklaces! Lucky Me!!! On top of that Mitsy (creative mind behind artmind) also sent me a necklace for my birthday from her! She is just about the coolest/nicest person I've met on Etsy :)


Pardon the yarn in the photo. Since we are moving I've packed up the lightbox, and I had to improvise to take a picture of the necklace. She made it in green, which is my favorite color. I've already told her a million times, but thanks Mitsy! Your necklace was the highlight (and biggest surprise) of my birthday!
Besides my awesome felt necklace collection, we had the most delicious lemon raspberry cake:

We played some mini golf, hit up the driving range (not the highlight of the trip for me), and went for a long walk in the woods to play in the waterfalls. The puppies had a lot of fun too, and today is definitely a recovering day from all the fun and festivities.

Even though my birthday is not until the 14th, my birthday weekend with the family was a lot of fun! I didn't even mind the rain that came on and off through out the 5days that we were up there. All in all my (early) 24th birthday has been a ton of fun!

I'm as happy as all these girls :)

How About a Giveaway!

So for all of you who do not know next week is my Birthday (yay!) I have been thinking for a while now that it would be fun to have a giveaway, and I figured the week before my birthday sounded like a great time to try it out! So here's the deal: Leave a comment on here from now until August 13th. The morning of August 14th (that would be my birthday) I'll pick one winner at random, using random.org. The Winner will receive one of whatever they want from my etsy shop, be it one print, or one set of cards. . . you get the idea. All I ask is that you leave me a way to contact you in the comments, as well as what you'd like if you are picked! Good Luck!

Moving is Difficult

I wish I had some better updates, but unfortunately my life has become completely about moving! We have less than two months to pack up and head a few miles across town, but I feel like I'm moving to a new country! My once neat and orderly work area has become a mixture of boxes and bubble wrap, though our puppy Piper has found that bubble wrap is better than any toy we've ever bought for her (much to our dismay). Luckily I am still getting closer and closer to completing the alphabet series. A mere 7 more animals left until completion! On that note, I just have to add that a really nice woman named April recently purchased 4 letters for her son's room that made up his name. For whatever reason it never occured to me that you could spell out things with the letters! (Let's just blame this on lack of sleep, and temporary insanity due to moving) I have to say, it's pretty darn cute!:

My fingers are crossed that all my letters look this cute next to one another! Hopefully next month I will be able to post some pictures of our new place (post one or two minor renovations). I think the best thing of all is that we're still going to be nice and close to Valley Forge Park. I don't think it will ever be possible to get tired of the view(s) from the park.

Half Way There!

Well I am finally just a bit over half way finished with the alphabet series. This has been quite a bit more challenging than I had anticipated, but I love love love it! The hardest part about keeping up with them is the fact that I've been really really busy getting ready to move! Goodbye apartment life!! Thank god our new home is a mere 5mins from where we live now! I am going to finish these animals before we move. That means I have until the middle of September. Oh boy. Here is what I have finished so far:

I just have to add that I am so PROUD that the letter X is finished! And thank you to whoever decided to name a fish an X-Ray fish. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Fantastic Felt

So Monday was all about knitting, and today is going to be all about felting! I have tried to felt on and off for a while now, and all I make is a mess. Luckily there are people out there who can make the most magical felt creations I've ever seen (made even more impressive to me after my many horrible attempts to felt). You need to go check out the shop of, Artmind, felt lady extraordinaire! I am the super proud owner of this beautiful olive green growth neckalce:


And I mean SUPER PROUD owner! I wear it pretty much all the time. Not only that, she is one of the nicest Etsians I've had the pleasure of getting to know. So go check out her shop, immediately, and grab up one of her necklaces. They come in different styles and a million different colors. I will probably own one of everything. Just give me time. :)




And if you're into felt, but not wearing it, then go grab up one of her cards! They are truely original and would make such a fun surprise in the mail! And don't hesitate to purchase that beautiful new home card and send it to me, as my husband and I just purchased our first house this week! ;)

Knit and Purl

One of my favorite relaxing activities is knitting. I only learned how to knit about 1year ago, but I've come a looooong way, and I'd say I'm a fairly good knitter now (not to toot my own horn. ha ha) For any knit or crocheter's out there I hope you have all joined ravelry. If not, get on the waiting list. It's soo worth it. While I was on Etsy I was scoping out different knitting related prints, and I ended up getting this amazing print by Stephanie Fizer:

(Knitty Girls in Blue and Green)

Not only does she have a vast assortment of awesome prints and other paper goodies in her shop, she will gladly work out a custom order for you. I prefer square prints for absolutely no logical reason what so ever, but she happily turned this awesome print into an even MORE awesome square print for me. Check out her shop, and her blog too. She has some great entries pertaining to owning your own business. And now for a couple more examples of the fabulous work Stephanie makes:

Showing The Alphabet Some Love

I've finally been able to start my new series (I'm sorry to talk about ANOTHER one!) for my

animal prints. I've been wanting to do an alphabet series of animal prints for quite some time now, and have finally taken a break from my notecards in order to work on it. So far there are 2 of 26 completed and in the shop, and I'm hoping to add at least two alphabet animals per week until

all 26 are completed.

I've got a couple more letters in progress, but the bear is by far my favorite so far.

Check them out here!