I finished this little purple bird today. The purple matches perfectly with the purple lupines that are blooming now. I finished my latest batch of pottery chickens with a few cats too. I just listed this little funny cat.




Softies Central featured one of my needle felted roosters on May 29th. I particularly like the red and black color combination. I sold this particular one in early April. I have rooster with red and green spots that remind me of green olives though the green is much brighter.

Meanwhile I guess I am looking for any excuse not to keep cleaning house (for the imminent visit from the grandparents). Obviously I shouldn't be finishing up birds, photographing, listing new items, and blogging, when I have so much yet to do. But I just can't help but procrastinate. I even watched a PBS program about the possibility of life on other planets (I was supposed to be dusting the multitude of nicnacs I have in that room). I was so mesmerized by this that I didn't get much done at all.

Chicken girl

I have been wanting to make a few little dolls for my shop but only managed to get this little one done.


I guess I am a bit rusty on doing this. I have made so many over the years as birthday gifts, party favors, Christmas decorations, but its been a while since I had the opportunity to do this again. I dreamed of this little chicken girl a few days ago and wanted to try it. I couldn't decide whether to make the precious hen black or white but settled on black in the end.

A set of my little pottery chickens is in another Etsy Treasury called Big Cocks by poorlulu

I have my hands full the next few days trying to get the house cleaned up for visitors. Both sets of grandparents will be here later in the week. It is always a struggle to get all this done since nothing stays clean for long. Even the grass won't cooperate. I try to get help from the girls but only small self contained tasks seem to work. Cleaning their room definetly won't get anything productive done.

Earlier this spring Scoutie Girl included some of my etsy items in her blog in March.. At that time I had almost no clue what a blog actually was. But I was thrilled to have someone actually find my shop.



One of my needle felted birds is included in an Etsy treasury called Sing a Song by ayeyet.

Holiday!

I gave up the morning to set up our inflatible pool but in the end there were a lot of disappointed faces. The dark blue inflatible ring began loosing air shortly after we inflated it so we abandoned the idea of filling the pool with water. I wonder what we will do for the summer now and I was more than a little disappointed to do all that work and not get any results. It takes a bit of effort to put it away in the fall too and I usually do most of the work for this myself.

I set up a small kiddie pool for the younger kids and while I watched them I finished up this little bird and the veil on my bridal couple.

Memorial Day Weekend

I have been enjoying the nicer weather and steadily working on gardening chores. It's difficult to keep up though with so much going on. We spent the day in Boston yesterday for the Earth Fest concerts. The girls enjoyed it but we were hot sitting on our blanket in the sun amongst the crowds of people. My oldest got a T-shirt autographed by Vega-4 and was so excited. We let her run up to the stage when then approached the audience too.




Today we enjoyed a beautiful day for our town Memorial Day Parade. Every year we look forward to this and the lovely ceremony they have down at the bridge along our river.




The girls still love it but of course they are happy to run into friends too. We ate chicken and hot dog barbecue down at the town common and listened to the first town band concert of the summer. Attendance was sparse but the girls enjoyed a good water fight and running around on the green.


It ended earlier than we expected so we decided to fit in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie tonight instead of tomorrow. None of us liked it as much as the first but it was entertaining if a little confusing too.

Featured Etsy Artist and Shop: Sarah Knits

I have always been in love with babies since I first held one. So when I saw these wonderful hats and booties knitted by sarahknits I couldn't help but remember fondly when my own children were that small. The little white booties and hat looked so adorable and soft -- so perfect for that sweet little baby in your arms. Well I can dream anyway... So while I dream, let me introduce the wonderful shop created by Sarahknits -- so you can join the fun.


Sarahknits...
Tell me a little about yourself...
I just finished up my first year at Whitman College and am planning on majoring in geology and physics. I love math, crazy, I know. That's part of what draws me to knitting though, figuring out the number of stitches I need, etc. I live in the pacific northwest, and can't imagine living anywhere else. Being surrounded by the wheat fields of Walla Walla for nine months taught me that I need trees and mountains to survive, and I can't really see myself living anywhere else, except maybe somewhere in Latin America, but for that my Spanish will need to improve.

Describe your shop and your work.
I love knitting, and I see my shop as an excuse to buy even more yarn than I already do. Currently, my shop features mostly baby items, since this is what I have been inspired to knit lately (I get to knit cute baby clothes without having to have a baby, who could ask for more). I try to use all natural fibers whenever possible, or at least blended yarns with some natural fibers. I think they have a much nicer feel than most synthetics. Right now, I'm working on some hats from Noro's silk garden yarn, one of my all time favorite yarns because of the color combinations and soft feel.

How long have you been doing this and what inspires you to do this?
Well, I started knitting a little more than three years ago. I decided one day that I wanted to learn to knit and searched the entire house for a pair of knitting needles. Finding none, I picked up the closest thing I could find, some skewers, went online and taught myself to knit. Since then, I've gotten some real needles, more than I know what to do with actually, and I rarely put them down. I love being able to turn a mass of fibers into something you can wear. Hats are my favorite, because they're the one thing that you can go crazy with in your wardrobe. I have a rainbow striped hat made from noro yarn that I wear all the time. If it was anything else, I'd never wear it, but as a hat it's small enough, I guess.

What are some of your interests outside of your work?
I love making things with my hands, and always have numerous projects in the works; jewelry, bookbinding, drawing (though I'm not very good at any of them, still, it's fun). I also love spending time outdoors gardening, or hiking and backpacking. Oh, and photography, I'm really into that too.

How would you describe your experience within the Etsy community?
Well, I just found Etsy a few months ago, and I just set up my shop only a few weeks ago, but so far I've loved every minute of Etsy. I've posted numerous questions on the forums and have gotten excellent answers every time; the Etsy community is terrific! I've only bought one item, some silk roving from copperpot, which arrived very quickly, but I'm sure I'll be buying more soon, as soon as I get my summer job figured out.
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So if you have a baby or know someone with a little one don't miss the opportunity to buy one of these sweet little knit items from Sarah Knits. Keep an eye on her shop for other items too. You can visit her blog to learn more about this new Etsy artist.

Oh! I've been tagged!

Yup that's right. In the world of blog land I've been tagged by nycole. This means I have to list seven random things about myself.

1. I grew up in a family as the eldest of 3 girls and have 3 daughters myself. I love my children and enjoy watching them grow. I do wish they could stay little a bit longer though. I love watching the children play happily. When they are fighting and whining I feel pretty grumpy and annoyed. I enjoy making them happy and am pretty frustrated when they aren't happy.

2. I've written and illustrated three as yet unpublished books. Someday when I have more time I keep promising myself I will further pursue the publishing of them. I do attend a monthly writers group but haven't worked on anything new in some time.

3. I love creating things and wish I could do this every day. Its nice having a shop on Etsy because now I don't have to feel guilty making things since I'm selling them. I would much rather create something new than clean the house.

4. I collected chicken salt and peppers shakers for several years and though I have many displayed I have several boxes full of them now. I actually like the pottery chickens I now create myself a lot better.

5. I love gardening and being outside working in the gardens. I love lots of flowers and my gardens tend to be on the natural side and less formal. I don't like weeding out new seedlings and have created many more gardens just by moving these seedlings around. I don't think I can handle any more gardens now. Watering during the summer can be a big chore. I really like making planters and garden sculptures out of hypertufa and cement.

6. I love reading a good book but haven't had much time recently to do this. Once I start one I usually have to stay up all night to finish it.

7. I dream about sitting on my porch and relaxing but there is always so much to do that I rarely sit very long. It's difficult to keep up with things.

These are the people I am going to tag...
magscrafts
artsyclay
lilyriver
purposedesign
soloartworks
ahna

I need to set some goals regarding the photography for my shop. In general I am pretty happy with what I have, but it does take up a lot of my time. Maybe if I was better streamlined it wouldn't end up as such a time sink. I was just reading Enthral's tips included in one of her blog posts. I do manage to follow some of these but I really have to find out more about this macro setting on my camera since I am sure I must have one. I do hate reading manuals though. But I have the tripod so if I just set up a little area to photograph I think I would have better success.

My littlest had her kindergarten end of the year show this morning. They were all so cute dressed in red, white, and blue. Their sign language singing of "God Bless America" and "America the Beautiful" was adorable.

Another rainy day...

I finished this little french hen or "la poule" today. Craft night with my friends is tomorrow night and I'm really looking forward to it. I started work on another wedding couple and I may be doing a custom order for an upcoming wedding. Exciting! Anything to do with weddings is so much fun.

Well it looks like rain in the forecast for the next few days too. I think this will mean the end of the lilacs for us. My beautiful white crab apple only had 2 days before the rain spoiled the flowers. Here is the last photo of the lilacs I took while the sun was out. The deep purple is already fading.

You can't sell it! It's mine!

Yes, that is what my daughter proclaims after everything I make now. But who can blame her -- they are pretty cute. So I often end up making her a version to keep as well. She has a few chickens now and this morning when I finished my little white kitty and grey mouse she protested again. When I wouldn't give in she ran off and brought back a dollar for each. That ought to do it mom, right? Arghh!

My items are listed in two new treasuries today. The first is called "You Animal" by montezumamudd.


The second is called "Teachers Pets" by Majo.


Between the thunderstorms I worked on a new label for some of my things. I would like something a little different for the wedding items. This picture was taken yesterday of our crab apple tree.

Tuesday....

I finished up this little bear and his stand today even with my daughter home from school. We ruled out a fracture yesterday but the bump on her head is huge still. While I worked on this bear she sat down and drew up ideas for other needle felted works. For 6 she has some pretty creative ideas.
My bride and groom birds on Etsy sold yesterday after reaching over 3000 views! They were linked to on a blog called MightyGirl. I was surprised to see such a huge jump in views so fast!


This is a photo of the wind chime thing I made up on Mother's Day. The spring was found by my husband along the old railroad track. He was good to carry this heavy thing the rest of the way on our walk. It makes a nice sound when the door straps clang against the spring.

The space between the notes...

It is a beautiful Mother's Day. I really love these cool sunny days in the spring. On Mother's Day I get breakfast in bed so I am forced to linger around the bed a lot longer than I would like. This morning everyone was busy in the kitchen getting breakfast ready, flowers cut, and cards made. Amongst all this was the usual fighting over who does what, who is not sharing what, and so on. There never is peace with young kids -- or very infrequently anyway. Today I wasn't minding the noise though. The breakfast was delicious - crepe suzette and espresso.

Soon after breakfast we were off to church. My husband played a beautiful piano piece today. He really played so lovely. As I listened it dawned on me why I find this specific type of music so relaxing and meditative. Those brief hesitations and pauses between the notes seem to stop time and we wait on the brink for the next note. I marvelled at how perfectly he played this and how those pauses seemed so absolutely perfect. If they had been shorter or longer everything would have been off. The children's choir also sang and they were so adorable. This is the first choir group that has worked hard learning their songs and they did so well.

I spent the afternoon doing odds and ends. I made a driftwood and railroad spring sculpture to hang off the porch. I also used a few antique strap hinges with that so when the wind blows they ring like a bell against the spring. I had to use some plastic coated electrical wire to hang it because it was so heavy. I also made a bunch of repairs to the other driftwood, sea glass, and old bottle wind chimes I have had about the yard for a few years. They all look so beautiful again. I also put up our rather naked christmas tree to make another bottle tree. I don't have enough blue bottles yet but I will have to keep my eye out for them.

A day for reflection and remembrance

It was a rather sleepless night as I slept beside my youngest with her huge head bump. She was rather uncomfortable all night long. And I was a little worried that we should have made a hospital visit. That and my cousin's funeral today kept me thinking too much.

My cousin was too young to leave us at 46 years old. I regret that I had not seen her in so long too. Once my grandparents passed away the annual family gatherings pretty much ended except for weddings and then again funerals. I remember playing with her and her brother in their basement while the grownups talked upstairs. My younger sister joined us in playing hide and go seek amongst the many interesting things they had stored down there. Our own basement was not one you would want to linger in let alone play in and was the source of many of my nightmares growing up. But their basement was more like an attic with and assortment of things to explore and awesome places to hide. When you are young and in the moment you don't realize how fleeting these times can be. You take for granted that Christmas parties will go on forever, grandparents will never die, and families won't drift apart as children grow up and have families of their own. I can't help but feel nostalgic for those times even though I am thoroughly enjoying parenting my own family. I look at my children and am sad for my aunt and uncle and for what they have endured. The loss of a child at any age is a difficult thing to cope with. So on this day I remember my cousin as I remember her -- a beautiful young child with a bright future ahead of her. I pray for the strength to endure whatever our futures hold and the peace to enjoy those beautiful moments in life.

Yankee doodle chicken

I had most of the day to myself while my youngest went on a school fieldtrip that ended up being rained out. I finished up work on this patriotic little hen. I had to make another hen for my daughter since she is so in love with them. She came home with a huge lump on the head after being chased by a boy in the playground. Ouch!
I am going to do a few more little birds and chickens on these little wooden containers/stands. We have a shop within a half mile of here that sells unfinished furniture and lots of wooden trinkets.

Getting through the week...

I am getting dizzy driving my kids to and from activities. With three of them there always seems to be some overlap of activities so its difficult to work this out. With my husband now working so much farther away I can't count on him for "pick ups". This will all be over in another month and then we can relax a bit, I hope. In the mean time I am more than a little stressed.

I finished up my little hen and chicks that I had been working on for a while. On Monday me and my youngest took a walk over to the nearby antique store and found the base for this. An antique salt container missing its chicken top was perfect. My daughter also collected a few little glass figures there too. It is difficult to shop with a child who would rather talk a walk outside. She pestered me CONSTANTLY. But once she picked up her little trinkets she was quiet.


My needle felted penguins are featured on another Etsy treasury. This one is for felted items and was put together by kraftymomma.


My daughter and I checked up on the lilacs and they are really so beautiful. We cut some and put them in water to bring inside. I wish I could do this everyday of the year. I suppose since these things are so temporary we treasure them more.

Beautiful Day!

It so lovely outside but a little too hot to garden. The lilacs are finally starting to open up. They smell heavenly. We enjoyed them while waiting for the school buses.


I did get that dreaded mammogram done and it really wasn't so bad. Not that I would want to do it too often but it was pretty quick after all and the tech doing it was so nice.

I finished up this little family of ducks with two way too cute ducklings.


I also re-photographed my wedding birds because I didn't like the line created by the paper backgrounds. Photographing these things is so hard to get right. But I just happened upon the lace idea and I think it works well.

Tuesday

I have been busy working on a sweet wedding couple based on a request I had on Etsy. The bride is a sweet white bird with a veil and white flowers. The groom is black and white with a tuxedo appearance and a cute felt black top hat. I was going to work on a base for this couple so they would work better as a cake topper. But I am still thinking out how I want to do this so I went ahead and listed the pair in my store on Etsy anyway.


Tommorrow I am going to the local hospital for my first mammogram. I am seriously dreading this but being 43 now means I am definitely overdue. I hope it doesn't turn out to be too bad. Getting older is NOT fun.

Enough whining.... One of my chicken families was included in an Etsy Treasury titled "Family" by ayeyet. It is such a cute treasury.

Did I do that?

This morning I woke up before anyone else and snuck out to my little studio area off my bedroom. I really does feel like sneaking because you have to duck into this very little door to get into the room. This meant I didn't have to wake up the dogs and have them wake up the rest of the house too.

As I sat at my drafting table needle felting a new pair of birds I spied a colorful painted board far under the table and propped up against the wall. It was partially buried by other things propped against it. As I bent down to investigate further what do I see but a sign I painted 2 summers ago and guess what the words on the sign were -- The Hen House. I thought this was particularly odd since I was only thinking yesterday what a great idea it would be to paint a sign with exactly those words (inspired by that flickr group). And I really did have that feeling "DID I DO THAT?" I laughed about this all morning while I worked.



I managed to get out of the house and away from the computer and my projects to do some gardening. With the kids we prepped some of the vegetable garden beds and planted some lettuce, spinach, beets, kale, and snow peas. I wandered about the yard cleaning up random things left over from last year. The lilacs are almost blossoming too!

The Hen House

I really like the name "The Hen House" and may just make a sign for our little hen house with just those words on it. The french word for this would be Le Poulailler and this would be cute too. There is a group on flickr called the Le Poulailler or The Henhouse and I joined this group very soon after first uploading pictures to my flickr account. I love looking at pictures of chickens and even shared a few of my photos with that group. My little hen illustration was just voted picture of the month for April. I'm glad they like it. I named it "Did I do that?". And I know that is how I sometimes feel about many things.


My flickr account
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rainsend/

Le Poulailler flickr group
http://www.flickr.com/groups/henhouse/

This little ACEO is still for sale in my shop.
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=5456496


I finished and mailed out this custom ordered bluebird this morning too.

I love May!

I finished up photos of my latest creation. I can't seem to get the photos quite right but I think they will do for now. This is a little orange bird mounted on a decoupaged circular box. I really like it and hope to do more of these. When I was cutting up the vintage music I was a bit nervous. I really have a hard time doing this to old things. But I love the box and can use the music for more projects now.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=5890934

We are on lilac watch now as the flowers are starting to emerge. These are the photos taken over the last two days. Every year I promise to enjoy them as much as possible since I love them so much. This time of year passes so quickly.













I also listed this little nest today. I just love the blue of the eggs.


http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=5892206

A beautiful day for a trip to the city

I helped chaperone a school band trip down to the state house today. The ride was a bumpy one through traffic but the city was beautiful. The tree leaves are almost out and everything looks so green now. The children did an awesome job with their music and the state house was awesome.


I brought along my needle felting to continue a project on the bus. The kids were really interested in the process. I was a bit nervous going through security at the state house with my sharp barbed felting needle but it was in with my purse full of so many things (small measuring tape, loose coins, tick remover tool, various pebbles and rocks, a few marbles, earings, and many receipts). That must of looked odd on the scanner!

Rainy day project

I have been thinking about doing a little advertising locally with a few t-shirts for my kids (I know -- shameless) and maybe a canvas bag for myself. On the canvas bag I wanted to have my Etsy shop info on one side and the Etsy logo on the other. I had a package of T-shirt transfer paper and I designed the logos on my computer -- remembering to flip the image so the text came out readable on the transfer.



I put a piece of flat (with out ridges) cardboard inside the canvas bag to keep it flat and protect the other side of the bag. I placed the transfer right side up and face down on the fabric and with the iron on its hottest setting without steam I ironed for close to 3 minutes. You have to be careful to get the edges to because when you peel off the paper once it cools they might not be adhered properly. I iron on the transfers for both sides before I peel off the paper or I will have problems with the transfer coming off while I iron the other side.



Once all my transfers are ironed on I let the bag cool a bit. When it is still warm to the touch I begin to carefully peel off the paper part.



Looks pretty good but I think I over did it on the ironing and it seems to have yellowed a bit.



Here is the t-shirt I did for my daughter.

May Day

After yesterday's craziness running errands, today will seem so much calmer. My husband started a new job yesterday and it seems to be going well. My youngest has no school today again and will have a friend visit for the day. They play so well together and are so intent on their play too. It is really fun to see them playing so nicely -- unlike siblings which seem to have so much conflict.

I just sold this little pair of pottery chickens and they are off to Australia. I would like to think I could travel around the world in a little box. It would be so much easier. As it is, with 3 kids we don't get much travelling done.

I picked up some relatively inexpensive rolls of 1 inch ribbon yesterday for the May Pole. They were more difficult to find than I expected. The ribbons that we had used for years were so frayed and tangled that I finally got rid of them. I am hoping to set it up for the girls today. We started doing this when my oldest was about 4 and have kept it up every year. Those first years we usually invited a group of kids over for a little May Day party. It was so cute.