Hidden Treasures: Pretty as a Peach

If you're not part of the Etsy community (yet), you're missing out on an incredible place that is totally committed to the art of the handmade.  It's a wonderful place to find everything you need, or just want, while supporting fellow crafters and artists.  It's also just a treasure trove of  great ideas and inspiration.

For something new this year I thought I'd post a treasury of various Etsy sellers each week.  Click on the thumbnail to visit the shops and see what else you can find.  And while you're hanging out at Etsy you can feel free to visit me at the Etcetorize etsy shop~

If an item doesn't have a selling amount below it just means that it's already sold.  Check out the seller's store for similar items, you never know what you'll find!

'Pretty as a Peach' by Etcetorize

Ancient Roses, Czech glass n... karmelidesigns $	Cat Collar with Pearl / Adju... AmandaBrewerTe... $	6 TRIO GUM PASTE FLOWER ROSE... MissErikas $29.97
Morning Dew - 8x8 flower pho... elgarboart $30.00	Lace Tunic In Light Peach Lirola $	The Secret of Secrets - 8x10... JenMurray $25.00
Peach Full flower and filigr... HauteHouseFlow... $10.00	PANDORA STYLE CZ PEACH CATS ... MYASJEWELS $13.99	Flower Hair Pins Fall Bridal... hotpinkchick $
Peach Rose Flower 30 seeds $	Peach Bellini - Pure and Kno... whimsypie $33.00	Discounted One-Off PEACH Col... orrkiki $16.50

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Check it out: Blog Guidebook

While I was linking up to Krafty Kat's linky party this week I came across an interesting post of hers talking about the The Blog Guidebook .  I had seen their icon on other pages but I had no idea what a cool space they have.

                                                        

The Blog Guidebook is an excellent resource for new bloggers.  They post all kinds of tricks and tips to help you have the best blog out there.  They also have great tutorials and lists of other resources as well as freebies, who doesn't like a freebie!  And I haven't even told you about their awesome list of blogs that you can add your site to for FREE.  And right now, if you do a post on their site telling your readers about them you can add your button to your blog listing for FREE too!  What a great way to spread the word about a cool resource and to get your name out there to all kinds of people you might not normally reach.

This is a limited offer and I'm not sure when it ends, so check out the Blog Guidebook and get in on the list ~

A New Year, A New Stitch

I promised to share another spool knitting stitch with you so here it is!  If you're new to spool knitting make sure the check out my post on how to make your own Spool Knitter and you can go here to learn the basics of casting on and off and the beginner stitch.

I'll try to do some screen grabs below for those of you who aren't able to watch the videos, buy trust me, it makes much more sense in the video...

                        

                        


Steps:
1) Cast on as usual.

2) On your second section, loop your wool under and up through the wool on the front of the section.

3) Bring the whole section of wool up and off of the knitter.

4) Place the loop down on the knitter, it is now at the front of the section.

That's it, that's the stitch.  Just repeat that over and over on every section and you'll end up with a nice texture to your piece:

I made mine into a short tube and made a toque out of it, but there are so many other fun projects you can make with this.  Let your imagination run wild!



Dreaming of a day when I don't have to wear a toque!

I'm leaving the Spool Party tab open for one more month so that you can share your projects.  I can't wait to see what you come up with!

I'll be posting this at all the linky parties throughout the week
so make sure to check out all of the fun links on the linky party tab up top.

Did you notice???  I've harnessed the power of the linky and have reorganized all of my pages up top so that you can find projects and other posts easily.  Let me know if you like this new format.

Inspiration Shot: African Rainbow

What draws you into this photo?  Is it the rainbow?  The trees off in the distance?  Maybe it's the thin grey clouds slowly inching away.  For me, the most fascinating thing about this is actually wondering what's hidden in that dry golden grass.  How many sets of eyes (and teeth) do you think are staring right back at us?


Masai Rainbow

Even if you don't see it, beauty is all around us.

Show and Tell: Just a couple of things I made this week

AH!  It's already Tuesday.  I had Monday off from work and now my week is a little topsy turvey.  I thought I had another day to get myself organized, but it looks like time has run out.  So, this week I'll just show you a couple of little projects that I whipped up for myself the other day.

Another peasant dress:

I'm having a bad hair day so I had to cut my head off~

This was the inspiration:



Sorry, I can't remember the source of this image.



And it's a variation of this top that I made for my shop:

My closet is half full of peasant dresses and tops so it's not like I needed another one but I really do believe that the style is perfect for almost anyone.  I love, love, love the fabric.  It's hard to tell from the picture but there's a beautiful sheen to it and it's nice medium weight that lets it fall just right.  It sounds silly but you sewers out there will understand when I say that I wait for the fabric to tell me what it's going to be.  And this was just screaming peasant dress to me.

Wooden Beads Necklace:

I picked up these beads at the Salvation Army Thrift Store for a whopping 25 cents before Christmas.  All I did was string them onto a pretty ribbon but I find beauty in the simplistic.  I can get all artsy on you and talk about the juxtaposition of hard and soft, lightness and darkness, etc.  But the truth is that I thought the beads were nice enough on their own and didn't need a whole lot of anything else.  Plus I'm beginning to dream of far off hot places for vacation and this fits in with the island vibe that's going on in my head right now.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think~

Hidden Treasures

If you're not part of the Etsy community (yet), you're missing out on an incredible place that is totally committed to the art of the handmade.  It's a wonderful place to find everything you need, or just want, while supporting fellow crafters and artists.  It's also just a treasure trove of  great ideas and inspiration.

For something new this year I thought I'd post a treasury of various Etsy sellers each week.  Click on the thumbnail to visit the shops and see what else you can find.  And while you're hanging out at Etsy you can feel free to visit me at the Etcetorize etsy shop~

If an item doesn't have a selling amount below it just means that it's already sold.  Check out the seller's store for similar items, you never know what you'll find!

'Pretty as a Princess' by Etcetorize

FREE Necklace Blue Hummingbi... ccvalenzo $	Applique art quilt poppies, ... AsianArtAndQui... $	Luxury Silk Persian Blue Eye... BibBon $
The Silver Crystalized Butte... crazy4jewels $	Pretty and Pink on Canvas 20... SallyMatthewsA... $140.00	Fresh Rose Ring - FREE shipp... lizhutnick $
Pretty Round Rose Flower Pos... BenAndOliver $6.75	reserved for somaliz please ... endorajewelry $	Chic Cocktail Butterfly Dres... onor $79.00
Lovely Spring - 8x12 Fine Ar... HeyZee $35.00	Edible Butterflies - 20 smal... SugarRobot $	NewYear SALE Marie Antoinett... MagnolijaDRESS $98.00

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