A day at the beach

Yesterday I went with my father to the coast to keep him company while he did some work. This means I was not around to post yesterday - or really get hardly any work done at all.

However, I was able to tkae some pictures of the ocean to be used for future paintings. The morning was cloudy, foggy and rough waves. By lunch time, the sun had started to come out.

Enjoy the ocean break!

Undiscovered stores for today

It's that time again. Time for me to promote Undiscovered Etsy Shops.To qualify for my personal list, stores must have no sales, more than 10 items for sale, have all their information filled out, include pics with the items, and catch my eye for being different, interesting, pretty, funny... you get the picture.

WearMyColors http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5895446 Fun & unique jewelry and accessories

Bee Trendy Floral http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6004173 silk flower swags and wreaths

Taylor's Eclectic Jewelry Shop http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6018802 Very interesting jewelry items

almondtreeframes http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5932638 Innovative framing design solutions

JustaGirl http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5612909 Wedding and Jewelry

Bella Beads Originals http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5917602 handcrafted one-of-a-kind jewelry

Creakit http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5926475 DIY baby shoes kits

Come take a look at these new shops before they become famous and raise their prices! lol

Make their day and be their first sale. So many great items to choose from.

Plarn Plus

I have discussed Plarn before, but in case you missed it, Plarn = PLastic yARN. It is made from grocery and produce bags.



Plarn Plus is when you twist other materials with the plarn as you are working. To the Left is a close-up of what it can look like. In this case, it's strands of black and white scrap yarn twisted with plarn that is white with black lettering.


Pros and cons to Plarn Plus:

Pros

*By adding recycled or scrap yarn, you keep it from looking so plastic-y, and have many more options with colors,

*While the plarn itself is pretty spongy, adding yarn also adds a softness,

*Adding yarn adds additional strength

Cons

*While is still can be rinsed and air dried, it takes more time,

*Yarn does add more weight, so it is heavier when empty,

So, do the pros outweight the cons? It all depends on what you want to use it for. As a general purpose bag, Plarn Plus works better. But for groceries, where you want to insure that it is clean, regular plarn may be the better option.

(This black and white Plarn Plus Tote is currently available at our Etsy store. Comet ake a look. http://www.fullhousecrafts.etsy.com)

Busy week

This week, I made two new quilts, 1 new painting, dealing with a vehicle that won't start, towed it to a new mechanic, ran hamburger night at my American Legion Post, did our big shopping....lots going on. I also set up an on-line portfolio of my favorite items for sale. You cannot make purchases from the site, but it does direct you to our Etsy store.



http://www.freewebs.com/fullhousecrafts/



Here's the last two new items - Bald Eagle quilt and After the Storm.
















Have a wonderful weekend!

Would ya like to take a survey?

"Do you like beans? Do you like George Went? To you like beans with George Went?"

Sorry for the Animaniacs reference, but it always comes to mind.

Pricing is always a huge issue for sellers of hand crafts items. If you have a moment, I would like to direct your attention to a survey by another Etsy seller about pricing. You have have the time, and have not done so previously, please fill it out.

http://ringier.frequest.com/index.php?did=4hmNGoADqV

Since we are on the topic, I'm going to show you several items from my store, with a short description and current price. Please leave a comment, telling me if you think the prices are too high, too low, or just right. If they are too high or low, please tell me why. Prices do NOT include shipping.

Lap/wall quilts, ranging from 30' - 40" square.

Wolf in Grey pictured.

Current price: $50.00

Original one-of-a-kind paintings, acrylics on stretched canvas. No prints authorized.

Moonrise pictured.

Current price: $70.00 plus shipping

Photography pritns with digital manipulation.

Sepia Series; Memories of the Past Altered to add a slight blur and fog to represent memories. 4" x 6"

Current price: $4.00 each, or $17.50 for the set

Wheelchar/lap afghans

A special design for wheelchair/chair comfort

Manual machine knit w/ hand crochet border

Acrylic blend yarn.

Feeling Blue shown

Current price: $12.00

Thank you in advance to everyone who takes the time to leave a comment. It truely is appreciated!

The making of a quilt - picking colors

I wrote before about how to pick colors for a quilt. I just did a new one yesterday, and I wanted to show you a bit better what I was trying to explain previously.

So, several years ago, I found this material. It was designed as a pillow, with one image on the front, and a different image on the back. The store had three different ones - a wold, an eagle and a tiger. You've seen the wolf - the Wolf in Grey quilt features one of those panels. I'll show you the tiger today.

This is a close up of the center of the panel.

I pulled material that I had, which incorporated the white, orange, brown and greens.

I laid the materials on the floor in several different ways, until I found the best layout - in this case, a simplified version of the log cabin.

Once I found the best way, I sewed them together. This was the result.

Now he needed sashing. I went through several different materials before I decided on these. To get a good look, I just folded the materals and layered them to see how they would work together.

The brown strip at the bottom was a piece of the bias tape that I was considering.

Once decided, I cut, sewed and such, until the quilt was complete.

Here's the final result!

More pictures of the final product available at our Etsy store.

http://www.fullhousecrafts.etsy.com

Rice + herbs = ???

I spoke previously about rice pillows. In case you missed it, a rice pillow (or flax seed, or cherry pits) is used for pain. For muscle pain, you heat the pillow in the microwave. A standard 3 minute heating will keep the pillow warm for at least an hour. For nerve pain, the pillow goes into the freezer for 2-3 hours, then will stay cool for at least an hour. Besides pain, you can use the pillows cold to cool you down in hot weather. Used warm, they are helpful to heat up hands and feet where they are cold due to circulation issues.

But rice pillows often have herbs added. Different herbs assist with different things in different ways. Some herbs are used just for their scent - referred to as aromatherapy. Other herbs it's both the scent and what happens when taken internally, via teas or pills, or on the skin, as a salve or tincture. While rice pillows obviously are for external use only, when the herbs are headed, some of it is absorbed by the skin.

Here's a few of the herbs I commonly use in rice pillows, and why I use them.

Lavender - aromatherapy; relaxing
Citrus blend - aromatherapy; relaxing, refreshing
Chamomile - relaxing scent, calms muscles
Mint - refreshing scent, sooths sore muscles (mint blends are often used in sport balms)
Milk thistle - green scent, calms muscles, assists in milk production in nursing mothers

(For our current selection of rice pillows, come see our shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5874665&section_id=5480491)