WHY NOT TRY ETSY FOR CHRISTMAS?

Why buy on Etsy? Have you visited etsy.com? It will only take one trip to find thousands of items for sale. I personally list all my cloth dolls (my Simply Dimples line) there. Each doll has it's own little treasure held tightly in its arms as well as a little blanket hand crocheted by me. They're child friendly and cute as could be for your little sweety. I've also listed my needlefelted dolls/sculpture there. They're one of a kinds. They are not mass produced. They are made by hand with love. Here's a picture of "Joaquin" named after my grandson:

You can't go into any major store and buy as many beautiful hand made dolls, toys, jewlery, paintings, T's, miniatures, hand-made stationery, hand-made soaps, etc. It's endless. Even better there are aritsans from around the world on Etsy. You can find some of the most unique gifts in the world and you won't find that in a department store. I feel why support BIG business when you can support THE LITTLE GUY who is a talented artist making their wares with love of their trade. We're the JOE THE PLUMBERS that need YOUR support. If you get a chance, take a trip on the internet to etsy.com. My site is ardene.etsy.com. Let me know what you think. Here's a picture of Deenie Dimples.


Stop in for a visit!

BRAIN TEASER!

I came across an "OLD" recipe for apple crisp. Heaven only knows how old it was because it called for a tsp of "Sweet 10". Neither me, my daughter, or my 86 year old mother knew what Sweet 10 was. Today, however, I seem to recall it was an early alternative sweetener, a liquid, in a tall skinny bottle. Does anyone else remember Sweet 10? I was just curious because 9 out of 10 times I'm usually wrong. If so, please let me know so we can appease our curiosity.

I'm Back!

I'm back from my short trip to New Jersey for my grandson Joaquin's first birthday. It was so hard to leave my granddaughter Mia and Joaquin but at least I had my mother to talk to on the trip back. She's now moved down here in South Carolina with us and I'm sure she'll be very happy here. The weather is better for older folk. The gas was $2.79 a gallon in New Jersey. When I left SC it was $3.49 or so and hard to find, but by the time I got back to SC the gas here too was $2.79. Finally! The weather up North was almost exactly the same as the upstate SC while I was there and it was just beautiful. I guess now it's time to get back to work and finish my needlefelted indian, Cheyenne. I can't wait to show you how beautiful she's coming along. I guess it's time to watch what I eat too since I almost existed on Hoagies and Philly Cheesesteaks while I was up there. You can't get that taste ANYWHERE! My cousin Linda told me about something called O3 that I can mix with water and drink before meals. It turns into a soft gel in your stomach within 30 seconds and helps you feel full faster and keep you feeling full until you flush it out again drinking water. I can't wait to try it. It's all completely natural and safe. If it can keep me from snacking between meals I'll be elated. A funny story before I end this post. My grandson Larry told another homeschool mother that "Not all scientists are right!" The woman asked him why and he replied "Well, some scientists believe that the dinosaurs are all dead from breathing in their own farts!." It took all the woman could do to maintain a calm exterior. Later she told him mother Alicia and she asked Larry where he had heard that. Larry replied "From Daddy!". God love those Dad's! I hope you all have a great day today. Keep smiling.

Out of Touch Rest of Week

I'll be out of touch the rest of this week. I'm traveling North to New Jersey for my grandson's 1st birthday and picking my Mother up while I'm there and bringing her back to South Carolina to live with us down here. I'll be checking my Etsy site daily in case I have any sales while I'm away. Everything is preboxed ready to do "just in case" and my daughter in South Carolina can just mail out anything that happens to sell so there will be no delay to the customer(s). My next blog probably won't be until October 13, 2008. So I'm spending the day in the law office making a list of everything that was "on the fire" so the others I leave behind can refer to my list with any questions on a file they might have. I'm really glad I wasn't bombarded with dictation as well today because that would have left me exhausted at the end of the day when I have to start driving. Stop by my shop [ ardene.etsy.com ] anytime. I welcome your patronage. I hope you have a great week. Bye for now.

Xmas Shopping????

If any of you are Christmas Shopping, I'd like to invite you to visit my shop at Etsy, it's called ardene.etsy.com. I have several needlefelted doll sculptures and an array of cloth dolls made the old fashioned way of rolling, tying, and hand-decorating. Each doll holds in it's arms a little baby crocheted animal and blanket. I've reduced my prices on these dolls in the hope that they'll find loving homes for Christmas. I have a couple crocheted doilies there as well as a decoupage vase I made a while back. Drop me a note and let me know what you think of my shop and my dolls. Have a great day.

One Cow Off

The other day on the way to work I saw a huge black bull right up against a fence to my right. On his hind quarters was a giant white number marked - 5807. He was like an illuminated billboard. I thought to myself, I should play that number. I guess it's been a year since I actually played the lottery other than a scratch off or two. So that night on the way home I played 5807 and that evening I went on the internet to see what numbers hit. To my surprise the number 5806 had just hit. I was one cow off. Too bad number 5806 wasn't the one standing by the roadside that day. The story of my life is one cow off or a day late and a dollart short. Oh well as long as you have fun along the way and learn to laugh at those lemons that keep getting flung at ya. You know what you can make with them don't ya? Yummy lemonade. My cousin Nancy and I think that after all the adversities hard knocks we have went through and survived still able to laugh the house roof could most likely fly away and we'd just say, oh well, we're gonna need a new roof. There's something to say about strength from surviving adversities. I just don't know how those who had to survive overwhelming trouble can do it without a strong faith in God. The faith that it will still be OK. As long as we can take a breath it will all work out in the end. I pull from that strength everyday. It helps you to always look on the bright side especially when there's not alot of bright to see. There's always at least one friend to guide you through it and brighten your day, or a little child's laughter, or a hug. No matter how small it's enough. I feel like right now I'm kind of like a weeble. I might wobble but I won't fall down.

Cheyenne

Good morning everyone who reads this. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. I've started on my next needlefelted doll/sculpture called Cheyenne. She's going to be about a 13" indian girl that will be poseable. I've named her after my cousin Johnnie's daughter Cheyenne. She's kind of made in conjunction with my horse "The Ghost" and, when finished, she will be able to ride him should she wish. I just finished the face on her head so I've just started but I think she's going to come out great. I would like to see needlefelting grow as a craft/art form. You absolute can do so much with it. I found out that you can actually darn old favorite socks with the process so you don't have to throw them away. Just slip the sock over maybe a goose egg size and shaped styrofoam egg and needlefelt over the damaged area with a like colorwool. I've began teaching my nine, soon to be ten, year old grand daughter to needlefelt. I sit right there with her and talk her through everything for safety's sake so she doesn't injure herself but she did great with her first try, a little sheep holding on to a star from Ayala Talpai's book The Felted Needle. Now, if a nine year old can do it why not research a little about it on the net like I did. Stop in a Felt Alive. That'll get ya goin.