Etsy Tour Tuesday

It's time for another edition of Etsy Tour Tuesday. We take time to highlight our newest etsy listings and share some other shops who also donate to charity.

To start, we've added back our Clearance section! All items in our clearance section are $5 or $10. They are items that we will no longer carry or need to go to make room for more fun items. So get them while you can!

We have 3 items like this in our clearance section for only $10 + S&H!!!!!

Our charity of the month is Cranio Care Bears!

Their goal is to "spread awareness, support & compassion through loving care packages to families of children facing surgery for craniosynostosis."

There are only a couple of other shops selling items to benefit children with craniosynostosis.

 

Leaps of Faith Designs has an Ultimate Survival Bracelet. 50% of the proceeds benefits a Craniosynostosis Charity fund.

Cat O'neal Designs has this Cranio Grandma Fabric Key Fob. 100% of the profits will be donated to Cranio Care Bears. 

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Etsy Tour Tuesday

Today is the day we set aside to show off our new shop items and to share other shops/items we've found on Etsy who also donate to charities.

We have quite a few new items listed today! Just click on the picture to take you to the listing. 

First up this fun black crochet wig (pattern by CrocheTrend)

The rest of the Hoot Owls are listed. We now have one in each size and can be contacted if another color should be desired! (It's a hoot pattern by The Hook Hound)

New for summer, a 10 pack of mini flying discs, perfect for party favors! (Pattern by Playin' Hooky Designs)

And last one for today, our first listed afghan!

Since our Charity of the Month is the American Heart Association, I thought I'd highlight other shops raising money for this cause and other heart related organizations. Click on the pic to visit the treasury.

That's it from us today! Happy Tuesday!

Our Reason to Relay - Muriel E.

Today we take the time to remember my grandmother, Muriel E. who lost her battle with cancer on September 1, 2012. 

She was my grandmother by marriage, not by birth, but I was welcomed by her with wide open arms. My grandma was a very special woman, full of devotion and love of her family.  She never forgot a birthday and was always kind.

It was she who taught me how to crochet. I'm so happy to able to use the skill she gave me to raise money for the American Cancer Society. 

Thank you, Grandma, for the gift of you being you. You will be greatly missed!

Update on our Relay 2012 and my health

We know a little more about what we're looking at and facing in the near future. I have a severely infected kidney which has resulted in an abscess. This is not the first time I've experienced this and so the consensus has been that I have an unhealthy kidney that will continue to have these severe periods of down time. My other kidney looks quite healthy with no problems, so the best plan for me is to have the offending organ removed. Before that can happen, the current infection needs to get under control. Once that takes place (around the end of July), a removal date can be set. I'll be back in the hospital for 3-4 days then home to recover again. Personally a little bummed as this cannot be done lapriscopically, but rather old-fashioned flank incision.

Enough about me. I'm recovering nicely from the infection and have no doubt with my family's love and care, I'll recover quite nicely from surgery, too. This will, however, take time. This extra time recovering means that we will not be participating in our Relay event this year, at least not in booth form. We will try to make it out to support the other teams on an as feeling basis. We will have items in the Silent Auctions, so for those who donated to that, thanks again as it allows us a way for fundraising even when we cannot be available. I had HUGE hopes for a 1st annual sale to take place in August. That will be taking a back burner for a while. While I feel like this, I cannot crochet. So all our shops have been closed/placed on vacation status. If you have any question about anything we sold/sell, please email or message me. I can either recommend someone who makes items almost identical and I've also helped by letting other's know what I charge. If you have any questions in general, feel free to contact me. I'm not online as much as I was, but am checking email at least twice a day.

We want to give you, our supporters, a great, big, huge round of applause! Because of your generous support throughout the entire year, even with this slight hiccup in our fundraising, we will finish the 2012 season raising more money than we did last year! GREAT JOB EVERYONE!!! YOU ALL ROCK!!!!

2012 Sponsor Thank You

We have been honored to have been sponsored by a few artists who have graciously donated items for us to use in our fundraising efforts.

Today's goodies come from Kris of Laughing Vixen Lounge (etsy and blog). Kris' pieces just scream cool to me! I own one of her photo deluxe bracelets and it is my fave bracelet! Kris was a 2011 sponsor of our team and she contacted me this year asking if we still needed donations. That's a generous spirit!

She sent us four compact mirror pill boxes. If you're lucky enough to be attending our Relay, you just might be able to score one of these awesome pieces. 

If you're not local, but agree that these are wicked cool, check out Kris' etsy shop. She's taking a quick break, but trust me, it's worth it to sign up to be notified when she opens up again. You won't regret it! 

THANK YOU, KRIS!!!!

W.I.P. Wednesday

It's time for another edition of Work In Progress Wednesday!
I'm actually going to give a sneak peek of a gift I'm making for someone special. 
It's my first attempt at a pattern considered Expert and while I'm able to accomplish it, I still would not classify myself as an expert by any means! LOL
I'm making a Tree of Life Blanket. I'm using Caron Simply Soft Bone color instead of the recommended Lion Brand Wool Ease so I'm pretty sure it will be a tad smaller than the original, but still nice to throw on the back of a couch and cuddle with.
Here are some pics of where it's at currently:

And, yes, I've made mistakes, but they're only noticeable to me and any actual expert so I left them in. Makes it completely original, right? :o)

I'm also working on this for my hubby. It will (crossing fingers) eventually be a shawl. I've no pattern except for the Batman logo chart which I found after someone shared these awesome potholders. The rest I'm making up as I go along. This was my first time carrying colors and was a valuable experience as I could definitely do better next time. :o) But he likes it so far and that's really all that matters!

I shipped off the baby gifts I had made and they've been received by their recipients so I'll share some of those finished pics.

Baby Goshalosh Boots

Pattern by The Lovely Crow

Star Stitch Mitts

Pattern by My Crimson Clover

Chris' Skull Cap

Pattern by Mamachee

Little Sports Saddles Baby Shoes

Pattern by The Lovely Crow

Star Stitch Mitts

Pattern by My Crimson Clover

Chris' Skull Cap w/Rose

Cap pattern by Mamachee

Rose pattern by The Hook Hound

I will be adding sets like these to the shop as I can (I really wish I had more hands or time LOL). 

That's been it for me for April. Looking forward to adding more hats to the shop (scored some really awesome patterns!) and possibly some of my Frank N Monkeys. Enjoy your Wednesday!

W.I.P. Wednesday

I'd love to say I have grand Works In Progress on this W.I.P. Wednesday, but my work in progress today is getting the craft room cleaned up. It's getting hard to relax and be creative when there is a mess everywhere I look! I've taken some before pics to show just how claustrophobic it's becoming! Hopefully by the end of the day I'll be able to add the after pics of my tranquil, calm, relaxing space I once enjoyed. :o)

BEFORE:

Awful, isn't it? Well, ok, the last one with the yarn isn't all that bad. :o)

AFTER:
Off to work on getting ready for some awesome after pics later!

Enjoy your Wednesday!