11.26.2010

Brown Bagging It

Howdy folks,

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We had two nice days - one with my husband's family and one with mine - good food, good memories..... lots to be thankful for!

In between baking sourdough rolls, greenbean casserole, and sweet potato casserole (my contributions to the meals), I managed to finish up another buttercup bag! Here are the pics....





This one is a custom order for someone, but I will be making some more for my Etsy shop! Check back soon for more in my shop, or contact me if you'd like to order one for yourself or as a gift for someone special - I'm taking orders for Christmas! 

Hope you have a lovely weekend!  I think I'm going to go slip back into my turkey coma for a little while!  

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11.19.2010

Another Modified Buttercup Bag

Today is my Mom's birthday (Happy Birthday, Mom!). I thought I would show you all the gift that I made for her. Don't worry - I gave it to her already, so we won't be ruining any surprises....

Mom really liked the modified Buttercup Bag that I made for myself this summer, so she requested one of her own for her birthday. I frantically threw this one together on Saturday evening, just in time for her party on Sunday.


Unfortunately, by the time I finished it, it was getting dark outside,
so I wasn't able to take any very good pictures....

Fortunately, my Mom took a few, so here are hers....

 The purse is made of a very soft sage green wool felt for the exterior. The interior is 100% cotton quilting fabric. The flower embellishment on the outside is made from scraps of both the lining and exterior fabrics, and it is sewn onto a detachable pin, so you can use it on the purse or wear it on a blouse or jacket.

As you can see, I added two little "labels," one inside on the pocket, and one on the outer side seam.
"Bee Handmade" is the newest section of my Etsy shop. Whereas most of my Etsy shop is centered around my original artwork, prints, and jewelry featuring my paintings, "Bee Handmade" will feature one-of-a-kind items like this purse, needle-felted pieces, and other little handmade odds and ends.

("Why all the bee stuff?" you may ask. "Bee" is a nickname my nephew gave to me when he was learning to talk and couldn't pronounce "Beth." And it stuck.... Now my family calls me "Bee,"  I've started accumulating lots of bee-themed paraphernalia, and bees often show up in my advertising and work. Plus, bees are just amazing little creatures. That's why.)

I don't have any purses up in the shop yet, but I plan to have some soon.
I will let you know when I get them made and listed!



If you would like this pattern to use yourself, you can download a free copy of it HERE from designer Rae Hoekstra's blog. She is offering the pattern free for personal use, but asks that you purchase it along with a license if you plan on making any to sell. Just so you know, I purchased the pattern and am now a licensed seller.

The pattern itself makes a TINY little bag. I actually enlarged it quite a bit for both of the bags that I made, and I added the interior pockets, switched out the buttoned tab for the flower, and shortened the handle on the green bag several inches. It's a nice basic pattern, however, and requires very little fabric if you use the original pattern (2 fat quarters, I think). I wound up buying about 1/2 yard of both interior and exterior fabrics since I enlarged it and added the pockets inside. You will also need to use interfacing if you choose a fabric that's not very thick. (I didn't use it on the wool on this bag, but I did on the lining, pockets, and handle. I used interfacing on everything for my first floral bag since I was using thinner cotton.)

Anyway, if you are interested in pre-ordering a custom bag from me, please e-mail me. I would be more than happy to make one for you - it would make a fabulous and unique Christmas gift for any lady on your list! If you would like to choose your own fabrics, that would be fine too. Just e-mail me for a list of supplies you'll need, and then you can send me your picks! Or, just tell me what you have in mind, and I'll try to track down the perfect fabric combo for you!

In the meantime, you can start your Christmas shopping by visiting my Etsy shop! I've got lots of prints and jewelry that would fit right in under your tree! :o)

Have a lovely weekend!

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11.17.2010

On Assignment: Write a Poem!

Alrighty, once again it's time for "On Assignment: The ADD Challenge," where, basically, I give you some random assignment, and you come back a week later and share it with the rest of us if you, in fact, participated, which I very much appreciate.




 

Please note, we have now changed the link party to Wednesdays, and, unless otherwise noted, we will be continuing on Wednesdays forever or until I change my mind again or decide I'm tired of this whole experiment, whichever comes first. Okay.

This week's assignment was: Write a poem, then share it with us. Obviously, you do not have to be a poet to participate, otherwise I certainly wouldn't be subjecting you to my attempts.... This is all in fun. So, link up your poems below let's see what you've got! And please, if you do link up, be kind and reciprocate the MASSIVE traffic you will receive from my blog (ha!) by posting the party button on your own post (you can grab the code on my sidebar). Thank you!

Before I kill your attention with my never-ending poem, I'll go ahead and give you next week's assignment....

NEXT WEEK'S ASSIGNMENT: Since next Thursday is Thanksgiving and no one will have time for blogging, then just give us a list of things for which you are thankful. I will still do the linkup party on Wednesday for anyone who remembers to participate.

And now, without further ado, my poem.... my apologies in advance for attempting to rhyme  snarky with malarkey. I started out trying to write a funny poem, and it sort of morphed into a somewhat-serious poem. Please forgive the jar of transition....

A Blogger's Prayer
by Beth Stone

Shutter flying, keyboard clacking -
Blog post deadline – No more slacking!
(House neglected, dirty dishes…)
Post about my Christmas wishes…?

Blogging is a vast abyss
(One which many people diss:
So many writing to so few,
Quite likely – if we only knew!)

HTML, gadgets, widgets
(Coding sends my brain to fidgets!),
Sidebars, templates, buttons, headers,
Colors and cute fonts for letters…

Looking for my "voice" and theme,
Debating – to, or not to meme?
Am I typing, like a droid
Writing to an empty void?

Checking for comments – Boo! – I've none.
Oh wait, I think I may have one!
Got some new readers – I just checked,
Hello there, Google Friend Connect!

What is it that I want to say,
To readers who will come my way,
To people who will find this space?
I may be their one brush with Grace.

Do I post the daily fluff?
Or dwell on more important stuff?
This blog's an empty slate, you see,
Its purpose is left up to me.

Anecdotes and household tips,
Photographs and movie clips,
Projects and a joke or two,
Something old or something new,

Giveaways and sales and savings,
"On-my-soapbox" rants and ravings,
Recipes and funny stories,
Paintings of blue morning glories…

So many things to blog about,
But should I really take that route
When I can make somebody see
The Truth, with one stroke of a key?

To speak the Truth's my calling plain;
My words are being read in Spain,
And all around the globe they wrap,
There are the red dots on my map.

Each dot is one soul, I know well,
That's bound for God or bound for hell.
Their life's end may be decided
By the Truth that I've provided

If I've been faithful to the call
To share the Truth of Christ with all
Who come across this path of mine,
Some face-to-face, and, some, online.

So speak the Truth, with love and grace
Strive faithfully to run the race,
Shun temptations to be snarky
To a world that's run malarkey.


Be a candle brightly burning,
Before people lost and yearning
For the Truth in the dark night -
Guide them quickly to the Light!

LORD, take this blog, and all I do -
Here let them see, not me, but You.


Now it's your turn to link up!

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11.05.2010

Felting Mania!

I've been making some more needle-felted pieces!

My latest project: a felted bee ipod touch case!


The case has a strap to hang around my neck; I just flip the cover up to access the screen. I can also tuck my ear buds into a special little pocket on the inside of the flap when I'm not using them, and button the whole thing up when I'm not using it.

I love to listen to podcasts while I'm painting, working on a mural, or puttering around at home. There are so many great books you can get for free on itunes - I use a lot of podcasts from Librivox. It's a free, volunteer-read collection of books that are in the public domain. Even if you don't have an ipod, you can still listen to them on your computer. Check them out!
And yes, I nearly always feel the need to embellish. :o) Love those bees!

A friend came over the other day and wanted to learn how to do some needle felting....
She made a sheep, and while she was working on that, I made this little birdie...

 And I had so much fun doing that, I stayed up late after my friend went home and made this tiny terrarium! I'm infatuated with terrariums lately - I want to make a real one, but for now, this will do nicely...(and no watering required!)

 The mushrooms and the moss are felted. The tiny little wooden ladybug came off of a package that was wrapped for me in a cute little store in Athens, Greece when I was there in college. I had been saving it for something special, and this was perfect! The "cloche" is an old jelly jar! I may do something to the lid, which is now the base, to make it look less jelly-jar-lid-ish. Paint it black, maybe?

Hail, hail, the gang's all here!  (Well, almost - I forgot to grab Reepicheep for the shot. He was probably busy anyway - off fighting a giant or some such thing. The little rascal.)

Have a lovely weekend!

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