Finally!!!!

My website was finally launched today. It's been in the works for almost 10 months now. Though it seams like it's been much longer than that! Click on the banner and it will take you there! (hopefully I linked it right)

Oh yeah... my hubby did 90% of the design work and all of the html garbly goop. I did all the pics and 90% of the wording. I'm hoping that I can edit it and keep it up on my own, but I'm sure there will be times when I'll be needing his help.

Felt Foods Article... I'm Mentioned!!

About a month ago a women from the Associated Press contacted me about doing an interview for an article about felt foods. She had seen my felt foods on Crafster and was interested. I did the interview and although I was excited, I didn't expect to actually be mentioned in the article. Well... I was mentioned! I'm really excited. It's fun to have someone outside my own family enjoy my crafts as much as I do. I'm still making felt stuff for the girls and having a blast doing it. The article is very well written and the reporter was very nice to speak with. Anyways... here is the link: http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/house_and_home/story/2621971/

Two Finished Objects!!

Over the past few weeks, I've been working on finishing projects. I've finished my french press cozy (progress post here) and I've also finished my goodwill find felted flower bag. (progress of bag here)

The french press cozy has already seen action. You can see that I've already gotten coffee on it near the spout. I'll be using a darker sweater for my next one. It seams to work really well. My coffee has been staying hotter much longer.

I've been using the flower bag the past few days. It's so springy and happy. I'm finding that it's just the right size to throw a few things in and go. I'll be using this bag often. And, when I'm done with the bag I can still use the flower. It's attached to the bag with a pin back. The stem has a wire through it so I can bend it any way I want.

Twin Daisy

My mother in law gave me this great fuchia daisy plant for my birthday. It has a twin!! I love the color of this daisy and it will soon find a home in my garden outside. I'm hoping that it will bloom with a twin next time too. - This is assuming that I won't kill the plant before then. I don't have much of a green thumb.... but I will make an effort to at least get these great daisies in the dirt before they die.

The Mess Of It All

I swear there are some days when my messy desk feels homey and inspiring. And, other days when I just want to toss it all into the garbage and reclaim my art space. Last night I was feeling the latter of the two. To further explain I'm going to give a description of my space and what I'm doing to try and make it better.

My "Art Space" - It's actually a lot more than just that. It's a play space for the kids to play and the computer area. (my hubby and I each have our own computers in here) The walls are a funky and ceiling are a yucky yellow color and there are three low windows in the space. We've built a custom “L” shaped desk and installed shelving on the one full wall in the room. The other mail wall has a fireplace and more shelving that we built above it. The girls have a corner unit with a t-v, buckets of toys, kitchen set, and a small table and chairs. Beyond the true boundaries of the space is a cubic style organizer filled with some of my fabrics and a cabinet that houses my dolls. On some days this room is fairly tity and on others it's like a tornado went off. In essence... this is the central hub of the house.

How I got so much stuff: No one really nows... Ok... well .. I'll admit that I've been a pac-rat most of my life. And, since having kids I've definitely packed on the extra clutter. But, I've finally hit that wall. And, I've recently been stopping to look to look at our home and each item in it and say "Do we really need this?"

What I've been doing to make it all less cluttered: I've been gutting my laundry room (adjacent to my craft/toy space) to make room for overflow fabrics, craft & sewing books, etc. I've also been sorting through my shelving and drawers trying to clean stuff out and make some room. But, Every time I get one area clean, another gets messy again. I know it's getting better, but it seams to never end. I'm also going through the kids toys and all the crafting supplies that I really don't use anymore. We will be painting to room soon. I can't wait for that to happen. The ceiling will be white!!!! And, the walls will be a really pretty grey blue color. And... nothing is going back into the room without having a space and purpose.

Keeping me motivated: I'm posting this pic for all of blogger land to see. Posting this pic is a way for me to keep motivated. And, to always remember that I can drive down the street to donate things and not just throw them out. This room will be great when it's finished. I just have to keep going item by item.

Goodwill Handbag Find

We went to the Goodwill this weekend. I love going there. Some days we don't find anything and others we fill a whole cart!! This weekend we filled a cart. I found a great wool striped sweater already partially felted, some jeans and summer dresses for my girls, a few tops to remake into jamies for my girls, and my hubby found a few work shirts. But, most importantly... I found a great little handbag. It has green leather handles and dividers inside. It looks like it's never been used (no dust or anything inside) and it's the perfect blank canvas to do something with. And, to top it off, it was only $1.00!! I also found a DIY felted flower kit, new! It has the same green for the stem and a lovely orangey red yarn for the flower. It was $1.49. I made up the flower last night. Felted it this morning. It's still drying, but when it's done, I will complete it and attach it to the bag. I'll post completed pics as soon as it's done. Hopefully tomorrow. There is nothing like a great little unique bag for only $2.49.

French Press Cozy

Every morning I when I sit down to check my emails, blog, daily readings, etc... I do it with a cup of coffee sitting next to me. I use my French press instead of a standard coffee maker. Love it!! But, when I'm ready for that second cup (currently working on not needing that second cup) the coffee in the press is getting cold. I decided to make myself a French press cozy. I started with a felted sweater in blue stripes. I started working on the flap with snaps to hold it in place when I decided that my dad could use one of these as well. I found a great dark kelly green sweater with a nice pattern running through it. I through it in the washer while working on my blue cozy. I made a bunch of flowers while channeling my inner Betz White. I love her style of crafting... I'd love to get her new book. Anyways....the green sweater finished felting and I cut another cozy from it. I wanted a masculine look for it, but I still wanted it to match my mom's kitchen. She mentioned a coffee mug for the front. So, I grabbed some faux black leather and free cut out a coffee mug. It looked plain on the front, so I felted on some "steam". I added some glitz to the roving, to get a bit of sparkle. I used the same black leather for the back closing and used some large silver snaps for easy on and off. I LOVED how it turned out. I almost didn't want to give it up. But, I knew that daddy would love it (yes... I still call my dad, daddy.... I'll always be his little girl) so I didn't have a problem giving it up. I haven't finished mine yet. I' did end up putting a coffee mug on mine as well, but for some reason it looked a bit plain. And, I wanted to use the great felt flowers that I had made. I've decided to make the mug into a "flower" so I can add the other flowers and have it look "cutsy". I'll post some pics when I get it all finished.