I'm So Excited, And I Just Can't Hide It ...

...I'm about to lose control and I think I like it...uh huh... Dance with me ya'll! Dance your little feet off! I'm so excited, and NO I'm not pregnant and NO I'm not getting married and NO I did NOT win the lottery. I opened my very own etsy shop!! (Drum roll, balloons launching, marching band heading down Main St.) I hope you will visit my shop and let me know what you think. It's scary putting "myself" out there but I'm still excited!

LeeAnn tagged me a while back to write my to-do list, which I'm just now getting around to. I don't know where time goes but I know that "time" is clicking by much faster than my to-do list is getting shorter. (I hope that sentence makes sense.) This is my latest list...

The only item I can mark off at this moment is "start an etsy shop". Everything else is still left to do, with a few more added in my brain that aren't listed. I've got sewing to do, the Summer Bucket of Fun swap to work on....the list becomes endless sometimes.

#1 - I've got a few small pieces of furniture to paint in Laura Ashley "Stone" color. I enjoy painting furniture, but not walls.

#2 - I still have (3) skirts to make. I bought fabric that I luuuuvvvv a month ago and still don't have them made.

#3 - I need badly to go through fabric in the chifferobe and decide which pieces I absolutely love. I've found that the more fabric I have the harder it is to decide which to use. I also want to take the chifferobe back to my sister in N.C. It's gorgeous, but I wanted it to house my fabric and it just doesn't work so well for that.

#4 - Clean out my bedroom closet. There are just too many clothes in there. Some don't fit, others aren't comfortable and some just aren't "me". I'm tired of seeing so many clothes and wearing only those that are in the center. If I got rid of some clothes I'd have more room for fabric. Yee-Ha !

#5 - Work on my Summer Bucket of Fun Swap. My partner is Christy and she makes pretty aprons I've noticed. I love aprons. (hint hint)

#6 - Try the lasagna recipe I've been carrying around in my purse for 2 weeks!

#7 - Post on my blog 2 times every week!!

I received the origami stars I ordered recently and I just love them! They were packaged so pretty and have been a big hit with everyone who has seen them. I'm amazed that Chantelle makes these little things......with her little fingers......in little ol' Hawaii !! Oh my gosh...Hawaii. Seriously though, these are so unique and very affordable. Check them out here.

Goodies and Wrappings

I commented to someone earlier that my posting was just pitiful, and that it is! Not intentionally though. I haven't progressed quite as much as I wanted to over the last week so I don't have any newly completed projects to show yet. I do have these little goodies I received over the weekend that brought a big smile to my face...

I love Jenn Maruska's needlebooks and pincushions. I had ordered a needlebook from her a month or so ago and when my mother fell in love with it I gave it to her. This comes in so handy for me and it just makes you kind of happy when you pick it up. Jenn is so easy to work with. She changed a little something for me on this and I couldn't be happier with it.

This mason jar pincushion is from LeeAnn over at MintBasil. She has opened an Etsy shop and is a productive little crafter! LeeAnn and I were swap partners in the Pink and Green swap and it was the first swap for both of us so we were both a bit nervous I think. But it turned out fantastic and I'm an avid reader of her blog. She's creative, talented and really gets things done - which I am probably the most envious of. She was a fairly new blogger when the swap began and helped me make the jump to blog also.

She also sent me this pretty embroidered zipper pouch she made from thrifted fabric. The outer fabric is from a linen dress she thrifted and the inner fabric is from a thrifted sheet. (The embroidery she did of course.) How great is that?!! I really like this pouch - it's already in my purse holding my H&B ("health and beauty" per the teenager). I love it LeeAnn. Thank you so much!

One more thing I wanted to say about these orders I received...their packaging is so fun and exciting! (Jenn recently wrote about packaging here by the way.) Both Jenn and LeeAnn take time to wrap the items so nice. Jenn uses colorful paper and included candy and a note. LeeAnn wraps her goods with paper and twine, which reminds me of the "mercantile" days, and she ties on a vintage earring to the twine. This came tied to my package.

I thought that added the cutest touch. I wish I had taken time to get the camera out and take photos before I opened my packages Saturday, but I didn't even think about that until it was too late. I do appreciate the time and effort put into the wrappings though. It's just such a great little addition. The wrapping is something I've thought about for a while now, so I ordered these to add with anything I make and sell. I hadn't seen anything like this before but I can't wait to get them. I'll post about them when they come in.