Christmas is Coming BUY HANDMADE

Ok, I can now talk about Christmas. Here I sit at the computer on black friday proud that I have bought nothing today!! Partly because I am almost done with my shopping but mostly because I refuse to become part of modern day ultra-consumer holiday of giving too much. I believe in a simplicity in giving (and receiving) things that are needed or thoughtful and as often as possible HANDMADE. My friend Val actually has a really cool tradition on one side of her family called "Make it or bake it" you can guess, but they all draw a name from the hat and have to give something yummy from the oven or something made by their own hands. Now I know that not everyone is a craft addict like myself and there are definitely lots of people who don't either have time to make things or don't really care to. I am sure my husband wishes I was one of these most days when he patiently maneuvers around my projects and piles and longingly imagines a home pristine and free of clutter. Anyhow, this inability to go through a day without creating is where people like me and the amazing handmade community that is Etsy come in.
I can't offer huge sales due to the nature of what I make and the time it takes to create my items, but I am pleased to offer a free ring sized bowl for every $50 spent in my store! Besides me, lots of sellers this year are having fabulous sales and giving great deals. Don't get me wrong, these are not Wal-Mart prices, but you know you will be supporting some fabulous entrepreneur who made that wonderful thing with their crafty hands.

I now am descending from my soapbox and do thank you for your time. I would like to give away a felted coffee cuff or a $12 credit toward something from Gretchen's Creations to a lucky reader who has made it through this e-mail. All you have to do is visit my store on Etsy and leave a comment here on something you liked there. If you want a bonus entry, search around a bit and tell me about another Etsy store or item you found that you love that I should know about. I will take entries through Friday December 3rd at 5pm. To do this giveaway I need at least 10 entires, so tell your friends!


Cheers and here is to a happy season of giving!

Winter?

Seriously! I logged in to blog and realized sheepishly that the last post was titled Fall! Oh how embarrassing. Once again, where do I begin? Fall was l...o...n...g around these parts. When the ground finally cooled enough to plant bulbs in early November we had 2 busy weeks of gardening. The funny part is that the trees still haven't dropped all their leaves so there is work to be done perhaps even into the first week of December. This week was a quiet one. It has been cold and although they were calling for snow and quite a bit of it we saw a skiff at the most. Someday I will learn to not put stock in the weather people. It is good that I was off work this week though for a couple of reasons.
The first is that my poor little guy is feeling the one down side of not going to daycare. Tuesday he developed croup! Poor little man had to get steroid shots on Tuesday night and then it morphed into an awful bronchial cough complete with hoarseness and low-grade fever which resulted in another visit to the doctor - I am pretty sure he has been to the doctor a total of 3 times this year and that includes this week. So I have been home with him catching up on laundry, playing games and complementing lego creations, making muffins from scratch, Sneaking extra garlic into everything I can, listening to podcasts of The Splendid Table, Radiolab and Story Corps and most of all getting caught up on my stitching! I am crocheting bowls constantly and when I can , needle-felting a whole lot which is where I am ultimately heading with this post. I have lots to share! All are in my Etsy store and as always you can reach the listing by clicking on the picture. I do want to stipulate that I do not decorate for Christmas until the first of December and after the very wonderful holiday of Thanksgiving is past, but I do need to start listing items in my Etsy so that people have a chance to shop for and receive these items with time enough to enjoy them for the season. :-) I say this mostly because I posted a semi-rant about the skipping over of Thanksgiving on Facebook today. Silly Me!