Yup. That about sums it up today.

My first etsy sale arrived at its destination safe and sound! I suppose the miles of bubble wrap helped to ensure this. I have been in such a great mood all day because this first sale was so great. Bolstered by the good feedback from this first sale, I felt motivated to pull out the beads today. I've been kicking around the idea to do something red for the upcoming v-day, but truthfully this necklace was made with my first sale in mind. So, this one is in honor of a great transaction and hopefully many more to come!

The shrug is also coming along nicely. I'll post a photo soon. I've worked in a brown stripe to hopefully save some of the teal yarn and now I just think the back and sleeves are going to come out a little wider than they should have. Why, oh why, even when I count everything out do the measurements still get wonky?

My First Etsy Sale

Woot woot! My first etsy sale occured today and this crummy little photo (it's nowhere near Good Photo Takin' Time) shows the package ready and waiting to be shipped out. Andrew thinks I'm going a little overboard with the bubble wrap and bubble enveloping, but hey, this is my first baby heading out and it needs to be safe! Thanks, L! I hope you love your necklace! And here's the First Sale Necklace if anyone wants to see.

OK, I don't really have anything interesting to post today but I had to put a new photo up so that I didn't keep seeing myself larger than life when I opened my blog. Eep. I've recently pulled the large tote bag above and one of the little pouches from a shop that I was consigning them at...I thought I'd give them a go over at the etsy shop. They'll be up as soon as I am home during daylight hours (!) to take some good closeups. The bags themselves are constructed of new materials, but the flower designs on the front are some vintage embroidered napkins and table runners that I found at a yard sale this past spring. The embroidery is really beautiful - - a nubby little stitch that looks like a bunch of French knots (the entire design is worked like this!) and I just thought they needed a new life.

I got my clips from matthea yesterday. They rock. I got these sweet little matryoshka clips and a set with little bubbles. I'm a big fan of hair clips and these will be worn often. Thanks, Matthea!!

In other crafting news my current knitting project is at a crucial point. It's a long story, but a common one (only so many skeins in the shop, fell in love with the color and thought that I could magically stretch the yarn into extra yardage or something,) and now I fear that I won't have enough teal yarn to make the body of the shrug. Oh, did I mention that it was a shrug? So I'm going to have a bunch of the brown left and I thought I'd put in a sporty stripe. Of course, the stripe needs to be in the middle and I'm a good bid past the middle (my delusions of making the yarn last longer than it really could...) so I'm going to need to frog. I need to be in the right mindset to frog and this, my friends, is the delicate balance between me and my knitting projects. The shrug is teetering precariously close to the edge of turning into a UFO and yet I really, really want a teal and brown shrug. Tonight, I shall frog.

In other news I just started rehearsals today for the current community theatre production I'm in, My Favorite Year. I love the beginnings of shows. So much energy and excitement and renewal of friendships...which is all well and good...until the sleep deprivation hits and we all get a little nutty. That, of course, is when the REAL fun begins:)

Critter hair clips are up in the shop! I've made some clips with sheep and these are the frogs. Have a look!

In other news, it's a balmy 75 degrees here today when it should be in the 30s. We got some gardening done (?!) and felt motivated to do some spring cleaning. I suppose that, like the ferns that are popping up in our yard and the forsythia blooming, we can't help being influenced by the weather. Oh well, now that the gardening is done, I'll go take down the Christmas tree....

Here is the latest crafting adventure. Yesterday was spent making about 50 little shrink plastic critters which will become some hair clips for the shop, some buttons for my donation to the Sampler this month, and some thank-you magnets for any orders I get in the shop. I love seeing the rows of these little guys - birds, frogs, sheep. I also like that the birds look like they seem to think that they are a little bit better than all of the other animals. This view is actually of the underside of each critter, from the top they look like they were set in resin or something because you look through the clear plastic to see the image on the bottom. Unfortunately, I noticed that I photographed the underside after rushing to get a picture in with the waning light. Not to mention my batteries died at the most unhelpful moment. So tonight I'll get out some toxic E6000 and finish these all up...then stick 'em in the shop. I think I just heard the birds telling the sheep that they think they'll be sold first...