Tuesday, March 31, 2009

tidbits

Ok I know I have not posted in a while but I have been busy and life interrupts my blogging sometimes.

I wrote another article for http://handmadeinpa.com which will be out Wed. or Thurs. I show a dress I am making from upholstery fabric.

I had some custom orders to get out and I sold my vintage dress so things are really picking up again! I have three more custom orders to do and a bag for my friends daughters wedding in June, plus I am making some kids clothes to sell down in the New Hope store.

I recently acquired a dozen vintage aprons that are so cute! Some I will use in other projects, others are just too cute to rip apart. I will post about what I make with them and put up some pics also so you all can get some ideas.

It is slowly warming here in PA and I bought the seeds for my garden yesterday. We are expanding ours this year and I am trying to grow everything we eat as a family. I wish I lived on a farm and could have my own chickens and cows but that is not allowed here in my development.

Not much else is going on so I will keep it short.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

The Wearin' of the Green!

Happy St. Patrick's Day Weekend to all my Irish friends and those who wish they were! Today is our annual St. Pat's Party so I will make this brief because I have to get the corned beef's in the cookers!

Every year we invite family and friends over for corned beef and cabbage, we laugh, drink, and sing Irish songs. The kids love getting together and putting on acts for us which is a riot. I took over the tradition a few years ago from my Uncle Jim who lost his brave battle with cancer in July,2006. He was famous (in our huge family)for his annual St. Pat's Day Gala which was a talent show. It started at his apartment in Little Falls, NJ with just the immediate family and close friends. Over the years, it grew to fill the Belmar Fishing Club in Belmar, NJ with about 150 people.

His best friend would don a tux and be MC each year. Some of the acts were hysterically funny and some showed real talent. I have had my share of fame with singing with my sister and my daughter and my cousin's. It was looked forward to and people rehearsed their acts for months ahead of time.

When he grew too sick to host it, I decided to just have my mom(his sis)and dad and my sis and her family and some close friends so that we could look back and relive the good times. It is my small tribute to him and I hope he is smiling today from heaven having a Guinness with us!

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

News Update!

FYI, I wrote an article for http://handmadeinpa.net on what to do with old fabrics. It is the first of a series I will be writing for the site and it is up today! It's weird seeing my name as a byline!
Swing by and check it out for some great repurposing ideas.

Also on the site is the giveaway for my Olive Green clutch. The deadline is Friday so don't forget to comment and enter for a chance to win!

Monday, March 9, 2009

Partridge's


I made this charming tote today from this adorable Retro fabric. I listed it on Etsy and named it "The Partridge's Summer Vacation Tote" When I named this I was thinking of "A Partridge in a pear tree" because of the birds shaped like them and the upside down pears on the fabric. I didn't want people to think "Christmas" so I thought it would be funny to wonder where the partridge goes for sumer vacation.

I had to laugh because when I was on the Etsy forums and asked if anyone thought the name was too long, most people thought I was referring to "The Partridge Family"! I hadn't thought of that but hey, if this makes you smile or better yet, buy it, then good for you!



Sunday, March 8, 2009

Yippeee!

My meeting went great!!! I now have 15 of my handmade items in a really cool store that is in a fabulous location. I couldn't ask for more. The store is adorable, My things are totally unique, and she was so impressed with my work and said my prices are great. She said that definitely have found a niche because no one seems to sew anymore.

The Grand Opening is Saturday, March 14th 10am-9pm. If you will be in the New hope PA area, make sure to check out Simply S.O.T.A. at 26 North Main Street. Great store, great artists, great owners.

Big Day Today

I am a member of a great group called http://handmadeinpa.net . This is a site dedicated to artists and crafters of handmade items in PA only. Tara Gentile the founder of the site works tirelessly to promote handmade in PA and lets all of us Pensy crafters know what is going on.

Through this site I was put in touch with Patti Cilenti who is opening a consignment only shop for PA crafters in New Hope. Only PA crafters and artists can sell their items in this unique shop, and after contacting her about B Stauff Designs, we set up a meeting for today. I was told to bring all my work, and a pricing sheet so I am very excited at this great opportunity to get my work seen, and hopefully sold!

New Hope is a thriving, eclectic community of artists, crafters, boutiques, and restaurants and they get a lot of tourists from all over the country. If you would like to check out Patti's site or if you are in the area, please stop by for the grand opening on 3/14. Tell her I sent you, and make sure to look for my items!

Simply S.O.T.A.
State .Of .The. Arts.
26 N Main St New Hope, PA 18938
http://www.simplysota.webs.com
215-862-1865

Thursday, March 5, 2009

And The Winner Is.....

Audrey from http://audreyscountrycrafts.etsy.com ! She is the lucky winner of my makeup bag! I am so excited for her and I hope she loves it!

Thank you very much for everyone who entered! There were 132 entries for my first giveaway and I value all the kind words you all had to say about my shop!

This coming Monday I will be the featured artist as well as giving away my olive Roarin 20's Clutch on http://handmadeinpa.net/ . Be sure to check it out and enter to win this great bag!

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Why does my dog do these weird things?

I have a beautiful pure bred Yellow Lab. Buddy comes from a long line of field/hunting Grand Champions, has all the markings and measurements to conform to breed standard and is a beautiful specimen. And then there is his reality. He is crazy, hates to be outside, hates the pool, and has a long list of weird fetishes.

I have to be thankful that he has never ruined any furniture, shoes or toys in our house. He is a great dog 90% of the time. It's the other 10% that drives us crazy.

He counter surfs so no food can be left anywhere when we go out or even leave the room. He has eaten loafs of bread, with the plastic, raw meat, avocados, oranges, bananas,tomatoes(an entire basket full), cheese, plates of food, bagels, sandwiches in one gulp, and butter.

All the taboo foods that supposedly could kill a dog? Yeah he has eaten them. Last year he jumped up high enough to pull down my oldest daughter's Easter basket off her chest of drawers and ate all her candy. There had to be 2 pounds of chocolate in there, he never even burped.

He has eaten an onion, about 15 packs of sugar free gum(stolen out of visitors purses), and grapes which are supposed to be bad for them too.

His strangest delicacy is paper. He is addicted to eating napkins, paper towels, t.p., and tissues. He hunts through the garbage to get every last tissue so he can feast on it.

Another tasty treat is Rabbit poop. We have hordes of bunnies in our backyard and Buddy loves to chase them. But, he also loves to snack on their droppings which is so gross I can't begin to talk about it. (Let's just be thankful he isn't a big kisser!)

Other than his constant watch dog barking at anything that may move out the window, the fact that he gets locked in my studio and cries to be set free about 10 times a day, his jumping on visitors, his steel tail and 90 pound body knocking over visitors, his habit of sleeping on the sofa when we aren't home and licking his feet so there are wet stains all over it, his asking to be let out but then not going out due to the weather, and his anxiety over people being in the pool that causes him to bark incessantly and pace, he is a great dog! Really. He is.