Jorge was asking me the other day what my favorite holiday is? I kind of chuckled and stated "my birthday" - however this is a first for me...
But on the norm it was Halloween - think about it... Not for the spooks of it but for the crafting paradise it allows us to create. Every decoration has to be so different from everyone else's - customs don't win unless the creator has a wide range of vision... Vision equals a lot of work for the crafter. Done deal - well not really as a child yes and then getting right with God had me thinking...
Is Halloween Ethical?
By Rob Elder
Ghosts dance, witches fly, skeletons dangle. Soon packs of costumed children will be ringing doorbells, crying "Trick or treat!" Now's the time for parents to ask themselves whether their kids are going to celebrate Halloween in an ethical way.
This is not the same thing as arguing about Halloween's history. Undoubtedly the origins are both pagan and Christian. If your faith causes you to disapprove of the pagan overtones, that's a matter of religion. My concern is with the ethics of how we celebrate America's second most commercialized date, on which we spend $6.9 billion a year, at least some of it promoting greed and vandalism.
But again it got me thinking even more. Seeing cute little Minnie Mouse with a bag to hold all her candy treasures and smiling so big - how can that be evil? I think America has taken the whole celebration whether religion or pagan beliefs and ran with the whole - wow I can really get something for FREE "Treats" - Maybe we should have a food treat day - maybe hunger will disappear then - one can dream can't they....
It is a holiday that has a lot of creative crafting going on... Do you know how fast Halloween fabric sells at stores? dang super fast (I have to always order mine on-line now)...
Now I do have another favor to ask of you. Since you have so many followers on your blog could you ask a question for me. We are wondering if I can run my Featherweight 221 off the inverter. Or my Janome 8077? We can't seem to get a straight answer from anyone. We have asked at many of the quilt shops I stop at that sell machines. I went online ask a guy that specializes in Featherweight re-builds and repair and no one seems to know. Perhaps if someone that sews or quilts that boondocks may read your blog and has run their machine off an inverter can answer my question.
Hugs
Paula
Surfing the web for awesome crafting finds and this is what I landed that made me think of some of my friends that are either new Mums or Mums again and so I honor them with this!! Now wouldn't you just agree how clever cute this is....???
Check out our Fresh Living TV Segment (under crafting chicks) that Brooke and I did YESTERDAY on incentive charts to motivate the kids! This segment gives a few more details I think you will enjoy.
My poor husband. His entire custom order work goes smooth as ice. Down to the last 10 belt and WHAM wrong color. He so freaks and is currently at the store in a panic looking for hot pink ribbon - and would you believe they don't have what he is looking for. We hope by the end of next week he'll relax enough to laugh about it. And then to top it off - this little sickness bug made its way into my body - how dare he... So tomorrow I am to stay in bed with computer, notepads, pens and pencils - and work from there. I have to start working on a business letter for a client ( an important client wink wink)of mine and with great joy will have finished by Monday. I am glad for the work it will keep me busy and down at the same time... Let's see if I have any fun pictures for ya.... Oh yes but snuck it off a friends facebook page - they won't mind "they rock"....
LOL guess which one is me.... Leave the comment!! You know the drill...
I so love this and thank you CampGround_Crafters for posting this in our group... I am becoming more and more of a knitting doer... So having Celebs help putting knitting on the map even more so helps us, that is those who depend on their knitting skills to make an income.
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I started this at 11am and worked up until about an hour ago and I am sorry to report I need a lot of practice... A LOT!! The poor things is just NOT CUTE... I was going to give my Bear to JuneBug my cat but then decided that I am going to attach a key ring to and put it on my backpack. Why Not?
I should say something positive about today's project. I have never casted on after or added stitches to a working progress - So I rock at that now. I have never binded off with out using crochet hook and I can now bind off. So there you go I succeeded in my quest to learn something new!! Job well done and my pat on back is now done....
Now on with the giggles....
Jorge and I where chatting up a storm today and I had said "you know this May for Me is so good for us because it's allows me to challenge myself and put aside my fears. It forces me to put a time frame and do the best that I can on my chosen project" And it's working sort of lol... Will I make another? Sure only this time I will use a bigger needle - this was done on sports yarn and using a size 4 needles - I have never worked on a project with small needles before.
This rad, vintage sweater was made in the eighties by Biba Pariscop of viscose,wool and angora with big shoulder pads and ugly fluffy pink teddy bears! The tag indicates size II (odd size!); please refer to the measurements to insure a perfect fit. Contact me with any questions!
Measurements (in inches, unstretched):
Around chest: 44
Sleeve length: long
Total length: 26
Vintage, from the elegant to the absurd!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Condition:This item is in excellent, previously owned condition.
It is free of stains, tears, odors and excessive wear.
QUESTION OF THE DAY:
MAKE THAT 2 QUESTIONS...
What should I name my bear?
Have you ever crafted something so ugly that you just had to keep it?
Customer are often asking me how I can work so much with my hands and not complain about the pain. It's simple - I don't get pains. Like with any labor job if you want to continue doing a good job you need to take better care of yourself. Otherwise the younger folks will sweep away with your job. And so I exercise my hands and fingers not just before I start a project but many times a day. I watch my husband struggle with RA www.ra.com and I really do have to respect him because it's hard to do any form of crafting with his condition - trust me he's in pain 24 hours a day.
I think that's why I push his items more then my items in our stores because he works with pain and I feel it's worth the sales. The shots to help him deal with the pain is over $1500-2500 depending on the brand per shot (shot last for 3-4 months before a new shot would have to be given) without insurance in which he is one of millions that do not carry it. Don't worry he'll have some with in the next month thanks to Medicare because of his disease.
I do have insurance because I am a diabetic type 1 and require to be on insulin (lucky me 2 types of insulin I am on) up to 3 times a day on a bad day but only twice a day on all other days. This is over $400 a month in expenses even with the crappy insurance program. So as you can imagine our stores mean a lot to us...
So taking care of our hands are most important to us because our depended income. I will go over the exercises that we do first and then talk about the cream we use and how you can buy your own.
MASSAGE HANDS, WRIST AND FINGERS
I always do this first and dry (do not add lotion). I will use my thumb and do mini circles around the entire wrist. And then grip the wrist and rub. And then I will do the same thing over the entire hand and then work my fingers with a slight pull (not too hard) and take each finger bending and moving them in circular motion. I work each hand for a least 5-10 minutes per hand.
MAKING FIST MOTIONS
I will do this for about 10-20 seconds. make a tight fist. Make a fist and hold position for 10-20 seconds. And then release the pose and relax your hand for about 5-10 seconds. Repeat to 5-10 times (I do it 15 times)
CIRCLES
Take your hands and make circles going the same direction for about 10-20 second and then switch directions. Do about 5-10 of these. This helps loosen up your wrist.
WAVE
Now you know how to wave of course but instead of waving side to side. Flap your hands from back to forward (like your going to slap me lol).
MASSAGE
One last time very quickly. This time it should feel a little differently.
LOTION ABOUT 20 MINUTES BEFORE YOU START YOUR PROJECT FOR THE DAY
It will take about 20 minute to have fully dry hands... And if you work with yarns you know how important it is to have dry hands when working on a project. Some yarns are very scratchy and having moisture of any kind enhances it big time
I use BLUE-EMU (my husband winter boss got us hooked on it this winter).. Like I said this works for me but doesn't do a thing for Jorge. http://www.blue-emu.com/ will explain how it works and all the information to why you should use it including info on it's omega rich oil. I am telling you how it feels - I love it... My hands feel free and loose and I wish I could slop it on my whole body but at $17.99 a container is just too expensive for me. You can pick this up from any www.walmart.com in the country. The best part is that the cream is ODOR FREE
When I crochet or knit I have been know to put in 8 plus hours into any given project - so maintaining good hands is very vital... And it's never too late to start!!
Welcome to Soapfun. We make quality Bath and Body Products. Each product is handcrafted and hand wrapped. Top of the line ingredients are incorporated into each item we sell. Feel free to browse our shop. We are sure you will find what you are looking for. Don't see what you want, we can probably make it for you.
Any of our products can be ordered unscented. Want a custom label? We can do that too. Send an email and let us know your wishes.
We ship to the USA and Canada at this time.
A free sample will be shipped with each order
QUESTION OF THE DAY:
Do you workout before crafting?
And How?
Your comment help newbies...
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Catherine Campbell is an artist working in Melbourne, Australia. This is where you will find prints of her work, original pieces and other hand made goods.
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When ever I am trying to learn something new in the crafting word - I am always running to YouTube for the videos... And today with the wind blowing and nothing really major to do - I surfed YouTube today and found some cool videos... Flip flops season is here...
When you shop here you are supporting a Military Wife! A Mum and a Wife wishing for peace so she can have her husband home again!! I wish this for her and all the military spouses!
•Need an Ad button? I'll design it for you! •You will receive the ad in photo format and html- it can be used to promote your business on any blog or website! •$5
I woke up this morning feeling a lot better. It's amazing what sleep can do for you. And so my 3 things I do first thing in the morning are. Coffee, ETSY, Email (and in that order too)... I am so not kidding when I say that.
So the coffee of course was and is good. No sales with ETSY but some activity. And an overload in my emails - the norm. BUT I have to share with you an email I received from one of my followers from this blog. I love it when I get a request or a question whenever dealing with the blogs.
She asked me about my table. How do I manage to work in such a small rig. She pointed out that sewing is a challenge for her in her motorcoach (that's like triple the size of my rig easy). And storage is a problem.
And so as I was getting ready to email her back I said a quick thank-you to http://www.csnofficefurniture.com/ because I would be pulling my hair out and just having a daily melt down. You see I have a fold up table that is just beyond perfect for RV folks like me who need the work space but can't afford the leg room in our tiny but fun home "OUR MOTORHOMES".... Here is what I am talking about
You will notice this table is higher which makes it more workable for us sewers and such. Jorge of course you know is a beader and can sit on the couch and use the table and view the tellie and watch movies while he works.
And get this - duh for us you can take the table outside and work out in the natural sun light which makes the whole crafting world open up along with our eyes - lol...
Beth: Go to the link I posted above and check them out - they have a ton of office desks and tables for every household you can think of. And with you being a teacher I do know they are having a sale on their Collapsible Crates (under $10). But I would defiantly check out their tables - I think we paid like $60-70 I can't remember it's been awhile).
But for the rest of you the store is pretty cool - it has everything you can imagine. With Spring just next week I know the sales are going on - we need to get an RV friendly lamp for Jorge so he can work on his beading at night - the RV lights installed are not the greatest by far and so we need to some shopping for him.
I am going to save the ETSY Feature for later - I will be back on later to blog but wanted to let Beth know that I do answer emails and will do anything for my readers. Let me know what you buy at MY store of choice in the comment form.
QUESTION OF THE DAY:
At the web link I provided which is the best buy you found?
Let me know in the comment form so I can check it out - believe me your comments can help other people out so don't be shy about telling us.
I am one happy cookie right now. We have completed another bucket list for our goal in trying out in the crafting world. No and not with yarn - YET... But with our sewing machine.
I do sew but today it was all about Jorge and his machine. See he doesn't think about little kids and how the kids world of merchandise sells quicker and better then any ole boring adult stuff. And that we need to get with the program.
And so he has started.... Today is just a simple pattern just so we can the product out there showing the world that is can be done by MrCraftyRVing... Of course we posted on FaceBook just to see if anyone notice and we had some comments already which is always a great thing.
But here is the kicker - one of the three pictures below is a of a dress I made... LOL bet you didn't know I knew how to sew. It's just easier to let Jorge do all the sewing so I can do all the knitting/crochet/computer stuff. He's much quicker then I am...
So grand-daughters, daughters, friends, little people it's almost Easter time and by then we'll have a grand selection of them... BUT we seem to be mastering in custom orders - so if your looking for a certain pattern, style or color - we are your people.... Any one who buy 5 or more at one time will receive a discount code to use in your check out - however do email me first on etsy to get this code. If no code then no discount and that is only for orders over 5...
But the blog is to tell you how proud and excited I am to announce that we now have Barbie Doll clothes to our line of products... Soon we'll have diaper covers, bigger doll clothes for baby dolls and cocoons for newborn prop pictures that seem to be the only way babies make their debut to the world. Maybe we'll have to take an online program about business, or better yet, just get some pointers from Marketing Degree Online.com.
And so because I am so excited about this blog of bragging rights - I will now feature AGAIN an item I found of etsy (I love this because the blog is published before they find out they are featured)
$480.00 and I have seen them for a $1000 or more and this is one hell of good price!! This seller has 21 items for sale very much worth checking into..
Now here is my question for my readers... What is the most expensive craft item you ever bought?
My love for http://www.youtube.com/ is so real and a site I have to visit almost daily and even multiple time a day even. I am a knitter who dream for the day when I can say yes I made that sweater and "oh so you like my knitted socks"? I shouldn't beat myself up because I have come a long ways - it's only been a year since I started knitting.
The BEST place in the world to be if your a crocheter or a knitter RAVELRY web site http://www.ravelry.com/people/MrsCraftyRVing to get patterns in any catagory (they have thousands of FREE patterns too). I come here when ever I feel brave enough to try something new. This is a great site to network with other crafters. Everything from finding friends to reading members blogs to getting patterns and show casing your complete projects.
I found this hat & scarf pattern on RAVERLY- I love the turquoise color which seems to be the in color of 2011.
New to knitting? watch the video I've included on here... Enjoy - keep at it!!
Please be sure to click on any of our sponsors to this blog site. You never know what great deals you may come across.
Feb 16, 2011
Shamrock a summer plant of Ireland. A common idol for Celtic artwork. Legend has it that St. Patrick used the shamrock in the fifth century to symbolize the divine nature of the trinity when he introduced Christianity to Ireland. "The Wearing of the Green" also symbolizes the birth of springtime. Irish legend states that green clothes attract faeries and aid crops.
by Rebekah:
I am a shamrock
Who hides on the ground.
When you come and find me,
Don't make a sound.
Pick me up very carefully;
Don't let me fall apart.
You can make a wish from me
By holding it close to your heart.
I am new to the Shamrock world of crafting. I can now make Shamrocks in which my GranMum would be so proud. It's who we are. I have other MUTT qualities running in my veins as well. It just so happens my favorite color happens to be green too.
I am also excited that someone thought I had talents worth buying. For I sold my first set of Shamrocks on my ETSY STORE. I hope to continue doing so as we approach St. Paddy's Day. I am often asked where is the best place in the USA during our celebration of good ole Patricks day. EASY Philadelphia.... Not only for the pride of the city but for the food, beer, and best of all the company. Been there and done that for many years... However I am not an Eagle Football fan - and happen to love NY Giants - but Philly don't hold that again me lol.
Here are my Shamrocks in which can be used in a number of projects. Place a pin and wear proudly, sew on a blanket, bag, towel, jacket, tissue box and I can go on and on but you get the idea...
Another short blog insert. Crafting for the store is a bit slow only because we are on the move. Making our way to OR to visit our dearest friends. But for the last 24 hours we have been stuck in the middle of a winter storm. But here are some pictures of final projects we manage to finish up with in the last couple of weeks. The good news is that I bought myself a new computer so I'll be able to start blogging more often. Sorry so short and I do hope you enjoy our finished completed project that are up for sale.
