Highlight Challenge Winner

Every week on HandmadeArtists.com there is a highlight challenge, and there are really nice prizes awarded to the highlight with the most comments.  I hosted last weeks challenge and the theme was "Calgon...take me away".  Anne from On Fire For Handmade won this set of 4 crochet dishcloths from my shop.  I have 2 other sets listed if you like these...sage green/country red and candy (which is orange, yellow, and pink).  And now here is the winning highlight.  Just click here to visit the highlight at the site, and from there you can click on any item to get to that shop.
 



And now for some information on Anne and On Fire For Handmade.   There is so much to cover with Anne, she is tireless when it comes to promoting handmade.  She promotes the shops at HandmadeArtists AND she runs the OnFireForHandmade treasury team on Etsy.  AND she promotes on her own site...OnFireForHandmade.    AND there you will find a wonderful Gift Guide of amazing shops, AND What's Hot in Handmade.  AND she has her own shops also, Oaklies Fashions on Etsy (crochet scarves and accessories), AND My Helping Hands on Etsy (graphic designs).  She is one busy woman!!!  So click on any link and see for yourself all these wonderful sites and items.  And join us at HandmadeArtists.com.  Maybe you'll win the next highlight challenge.

Be blessed,

Debbi

Cool pets

I took the girls to the pet store today. I love the local pet store in my home town, Pets Plus in Lockport New York. They specialize in unusual animals. Here's a few the girls and I enjoyed.

Our fashionable hats

I know that Wednesdays is usually the day that I share a HandmadeArtists.com artist, but since I've had an unusually looooong and difficult week,  I wanted to share an accomplishment of mine first.  I finally completed a new section in our fashion Etsy shop!  Hats!

The first one is this sunny and bright "Summer Stroll" beanie.  The pattern is from the Lion Brand Yarn website (of course) and I thought it was a perfect style for this bright yellow yarn.  It was a fairly easy pattern, and I added this detachable pink and green crochet flower pin for an added spot of color.

Here is our "Safari Hat".  Following another Lion Brand Yarn pattern and using a soft creamy worsted weight yarn, this hat was fun to make.  I used a peach  yarn to accent the band and button top.  While Lion Brand had this listed as a costume hat for halloween, I love the style for all the time wear.  Once Amanda gets some time off from work, I'll make her pose with all these hats....

 Next up, I just love the mustard yellow color of this "Newsboy" visor cap.   I have a stash of yarn that I "inherited" when an older woman had to downsize after moving from her home to an assisted living facility.  (You can read about it here).  And when I dug out this yarn, I went searching for the perfect pattern, and I found this one...at Lion Brand Yarn! ;p  I added these vintage, made in Czechoslovakia, buttons for some added sparkle.

And last, but not least, is this wonderful vintage "Gibbe' Hat" that I discovered at an estate auction a few years ago.  My favorite part is the rhinestone accent.  This is such a classic looking hat.  And again it needs a live model for you to see just how cute it is.

So rush over to the shop by clicking on any of the above links, or check out everything we have to offer by clicking on the tabs at the top of this page.  And keep watching for more new items....coming up, woven belts, vintage supplies, jewelry, and more home decor.

Be Blessed,

Debbi



a new craft

A couple of years ago, I was at a civil war re-enactment with Hannah when I saw a woman weaving on a small(ish) table top loom, and was instantly bitten by the "I gotta try this" bug.  So I went home, did some research, and got Chuck to build me a loom.  Then it sat for the next 2 years.  Now don't yell at me...I didn't mean for it to sit for 2 years.  It's just that life kept going on until the other night I determined to weave, no matter what.  It took me a few hours to load the yarn on the loom.  Mostly because I did not read the directions fully, and had to unload and reload several times, lol.  Then the yarn I was using, well, it turned out that I only had 1 ball of that color and it wasn't enough.  So yesterday I took a trip to my local store.  And they did not have the same color yarn as what I already had on the loom.  But they did have this totally awesomely bright pink/yellow/orange.  So last night I spend another hour taking off the old yarn, and putting on the new yarn.

The picture is from my cell phone because it was late and my camera was in the studio and it was dark outside. heehee.  Plus I was so excited to start that I had even forgotten to take pictures of the loom before I started this process.

Here is the start of my weaving adventure.  This will be a belt for our Etsy shop.  Oh the ideas floating around my head....I even told Chuck that I'm going to need a bigger loom for placemats and stuff. hahaha.  Check out these great handmade loom weaving items. 

Click on the links to see them upclose.

On the left is an authentic, from Jerusalem, hand woven prayer shawl.  You can find this and several others at Weaving Creation on Zibbet.
On the right is a handwoven silver / blue / green scarf from Loom on the Lake on Etsy.

And go ahead and subscribe to my blog for all the future updates on my weaving experiments.

Be blessed,
Debbi  

Remember the blue lady?

Do you remember some time back I shared with you the blue lady we came across at a local antique shop?  Here's the post, and her picture to refresh your memory.

Well, yesterday we took a trip to the antique shop just a few doors down and we found

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Her Cousin!

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

Debbi

spring time is for chickens

Last week I was looking through the sales papers and discovered that Tractor Supply was running a sale on baby chickens, and had a really good deal on a roost and coop, so we took the plunge.

This is the spot we chose for our chickens, shady with still lots of sun.

The coop...it's one you (Chuck) assembles yourself.  We got the last one in the store.

Owen loved the chicks.  He giggled every time he put his hand in there and they scattered.

Hubby's handywork.  He only put one side on upside down. LOL

Say "chickens".

All finished.  We plan to modify it and put wire on the ground so no animals can dig up under the fencing.  We are starting to have some issues with coyotes in this area, and of course, all the neighborhood cats likes chickens.  But for now, we are keeping my new "babies" in the box in Chuck's workshop under a heat lamp until they get bigger.

Now all they need are names.  Any suggestions?
Debbi

a craft collectors dream

I have been so swamped lately, I think my to-do list has learned how to reproduce while I'm sleeping. Not only do I have my normal housework, my responsibilities to my children and foster care, I am redecorating (very slowly), switching all our business stuff from ourhometoyours to yankeeburrowcreations, and taking new item pictures to update our listings.  Well, the other day Chuck's son brought me a truck full of crafting...stuff. It seems an older woman they know was moving into a nursing home and they were helping her clean her house. She graciously allowed them to have all her crafting supplies, which they brought to me. I love those kids!

In this pile of bags and boxes we found...

knitting and crochet projects started but not completed, the needles and instructions included,

needlework kits,

leather working supplies,

hoops, needles, floss, storage boxes,

yarn, yarn, and more yarn.

All this made me so delightfully giddy!!!!

Right now it's all just dumped in the middle of my studio, Chuck has graciously agreed to help me build racks and on one wall I am going to make cubbies for all the yarn.

But first...my kitchen floor is sticky from spilled koolaid...

Debbi

Hickory Lake

Some of you may have noticed that I have not hosted a linky party in a while.  I figured that while we are busy revamping our site and setting up shops, I would wait and then have a big GRAND REOPENING PARTY!  So until then, let me share with you some pictures of our latest day on the bike.  We went to Lake Hickory looking for a good fishing hole.

I love drift wood.  I asked Chuck if we could bring one home for our yard, but since these pieces were bigger than our motorcycle he said no.

There were tons of tiny little sea shells, but it was hard to get a good shot while not getting the garbage in the pictures.  Why do people do that?  Nature is so beautiful, yet there was broken glass, plastic bags, and even a dirty diaper on the trail.  Nasty.

This is the "shelf" that Chuck plans to stand on while fishing.  I, on the other hand, will be reclining on a blanket with the picnic basket and a good book.

Hello Bilbo Baggins...are you home?

Lake Hickory is at the top of the Duke Power Dam.

The flip side of the dam.

And this is a shot of what my dream ranch would look like...

And that's just the horse barn!  I love it!!!!
Everyone have a blessed weekend, and I'll see y'all again Monday.
Debbi

Farmer Owen

It's hard to believe that this will be our 12th summer down here in sunny ((HOT)) North Carolina.  It's been in the high 70's most of the month so far and it's only March.  And all this beautiful weather turns our minds towards....our gardens.  I have a rose garden, a butterfly garden, and an herb garden.  We started with a small vegetable garden, and I think there have only been a few years where we didn't plant one, but when we did, it got bigger every year.  Now that Chuck has his new tractor....well, let's just say this will be a busy summer here on the "farm". lol  He's turned over almost a quarter of an acre, and Owen is loving the dirt!

He's got on his cowboy boots, and my hat, and he's off to help Poppa.  I missed the shot, but he refuses to get on the tractor, he just follows it up and down the rows.  He likes to walk in the furrows.

Here Poppa is showing him the corn kernels.  Owen wanted the whole bag, and got mad when he only got a few at a time.  We are planting corn (we love), potatoes (our first try), carrots (I love), radishes (no one loves), eggplant (for Amanda), lettuce, squash (Chuck), peppers,

 pickling cucumbers (I'm gonna try that again), watermelon, and of course....tomatoes!

Here he is covering the corn.  I tried several times to show him how to use the hoe, but he would just grunt at me and turn it upside down.  He's a boy that knows his own mind.

He finally just reverted to his own hand trowel.  I often wonder why Amanda sends him to our house dressed in anything white. :~P  There's Tater Tot in the background.  He's not happy because this was part of his pasture.  So y'all stay tuned to see if we survive this summer of weeding, and harvesting, and canning.  I do have to say that fresh organic food tastes so much better!

Debbi

On Fire Team Treasury

Well, I didn't do too much today.  The sun was warm and calling our names, so Chuck and I took a nice bike ride after prayer meeting.  Then we went to lunch, stopped to visit Owen, (he loves the bike, but hates the noise).  Took the kids out to dinner, and now I'm home relaxing.  I didn't want the day to be totally workless, so here is my contribution to this weeks treasury challenge from the On Fire For Handmade Team.  Guess what I'm looking forward to....

'Dip your toes in this sea of turquoise blue' by ourhometoyours

Getting ready for summer and the beach...with these beautiful blues! On Fire for Handmade and StatTeam Treasury Challenge #40 Featured Shops: Jewelry by Nala www.etsy.com/shop/jewelrybyNaLa Dominican Lounge www.etsy.com/shop/DOMINICANLOUNGE

Caribbean, Teal Blu... jewelrybyNaLa $20.50	Scarf. Jewelry. Nec... dallasdesigner $22.00	Larimar pendant Lar... DOMINICANLOUNG... $35.00	Shabby Chic mosaic ... ginalimosaics $225.00
Silk Scarf - Moonli... Palettepassion $27.00	Turquoise and Coppe... MyGemstoneDesi... $32.00	Dish or Wash cloth ... JanetLongArts $12.00	Teal Turquoise Butt... KapKaDesign $27.00
Turquoise Earrings ... LBlackbournJew... $36.00	Painting of Great B... artbyjae $400.00	Knitting Stitch Mar... yarnpumpkin $7.00	Pocket Pouch Bag, O... bmizendesigns $50.00
Swarovski Turquoise... DesignedByVal $86.00	Blue Cockatoo Danci... lovelandshadet... $42.00	Dragonfly Blue Stai... uniquenique $20.00	Light Teal Counting... TJBdesigns $9.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.