Mason Jar Christmas!

I've enjoyed looking at all the mason jar ideas on Pinterest these past few months.  So, I decided to make this a Mason Jar Christmas! We have a very large family and to keep the costs down and still cover everyone, this seemed like a good idea!  I've been talking about it among my online friends and they wanted to see what I have come up with.  I hope my family doesn't decide to take a look at my blog before Christmas!! :)  I will take the next few days to show the various jar contents.  Today, the jar for all my littlest grand girls:

I made bath mitts from terrycloth and scraps of fabric in different colors  and a bit of elastic.  Super easy!

I bought some cute little soaps from another Etsy seller:

And packed them in the jar with  rubber duckies taped to the top. Added bows and tags and there you have it!

These will go to LaRaya, Bella, Vivi, Ada and Jubilee!  Aren't they cute?

Hope you're holiday season is going well!

Book Review!

I rarely do book reviews, but I found this little book by Aimee Ray called Doodle-Stitching and I just knew I had to recommend it if you like hand embroidery as much as I do! The sub title is "Fresh & Fun Embroidery for Beginners".  If you've not tried embroidery, this is the starting point for you!

I do hand embroidery in the evenings when I am sitting in my easy chair catching the news or my favorite TV show.  I have a basket beside my chair with my latest project in it.  I also keep a plastic container with all my embroidery threads and my embroidery scissors handy on the end table.   It only takes a few minutes time to sew a cute little design when you are set and ready!

Samples by Aimee Ray from her blog 

The reason I like Aimee's book is that it is simple!  It shows you how to start, using your own doodling designs.  She has a neat stitch library and shows you the stitches in the plainest way that I have ever seen!  Some books can make their stitch descriptions and illustrations soooooo confusing, but not this book! She explains  the split stitch, back stitch, stem stitch, chain stitch and many more! If you just knew these few, you would be well on your way to pretty embroidery!

Another reason I like and recommend this book is that it is contemporary and not stuffy!  It allows for current design--your design! If you are a doodler or like to design, you will love taking your images to the next level of creativity!

my own work available in my Etsy shop

The third reason that I recommend this book is that Aimee is a fellow Etsyian!!  Yay!  Be sure to visit Aimee's Etsy shop here.

Doodle-Stitching was published in 2007 by Lark Crafts, An imprint of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. of New York.  I am sure you could obtain a copy on Amazon or another online site.

Another giveaway!

Abby was kinda tired today, so no story about resting or napping . . . . but the writer, me-Linda, noticed that I have 86 followers! So, this is it . . . . I will send a free pair of earrings of my choice and a cute handpainted Angel gift bag, to my 100th follower!!!! Be sure to leave your email or someway to get hold of you!!!!

I'll be watching the followers! Thanks!~!

Elementry Readers!

One of my granddaughters is in the sixth grade and loves to read! (Her mom has been known to stay up nearly all night "finishing" a book--her aunt too!) Anyway, recently I gave Kayleigh and her sister, Taylor, a couple of my handmade ribbon bookmarks. Apparently Kayleigh takes her book with her everywhere and her school friend, Mark, liked the bookmark so much that she asked me for another one for him. I had only one in stock that was not girlish, so she took it for her buddy.

This little story is so inspiring to me, because usually this age kid is not into reading! It's more like constant video games and wii. Now, don't get me wrong, Kayleigh is definitely a "techie" who knows all about computers and games and videos but when a little thing like a bookmark is a "sharable item" with one's elementary friends----that's inspiring to grandma! There are so many good books available for young readers, that it is just too bad when young people spend the bulk of their time with games---that's just a grandmother's opinion!

Check out Kayleigh's book recommendation listed in the 'Books I Recommend' section in the right column.

Creative People Awake!

Times are tough. Everywhere we are faced with layoffs, financial fiascos and unfortunate stories. I just heard a TV story about an auto maker who is laying off factory employees because they can't sell cars. No reason to be productive, if there are no buyers, if they can't move their product. Well, this hits the little guy too. The HANDMADE industry is hurting also, because buyers have a lack of disposable funds and plenty of fear. I say, back to basics---buy local and buy handmade when you can. Support the people's economy. Talk to you friends about supporting the local creative sellers--you might just put food on the table for someone in your community! And if you have no extra cash--get creative yourself! Here's a picture of our own thanksgiving, with a homemade Thanksgiving Banner decorating the wall!

It's also a tough environment for those of us who try to be creative. But . . the economy should not be an excuse to not create! Creative items increase our delight, both for the buyer and for the creator. These items hopefully raise us from possible depths of despair, if only for a short time. We can all use a lift these days. Let's not give up creativity just yet!

What's an "etsy shop" you ask?

"Etsy" is an awesome website where HANDMADE items are sold by the artists themselves. There's lots of fun ways to browse i.e. by color, by "pouncing", by showcase, by treasuries of other sellers, by birthday's the same as yours or simply by category. You can get ideas, or sell your stuff, or shop for gifts! Check it out! http://www.etsy.com/

Also, take the challenge to buy HANDMADE! Support cottage industry! - lp