A Periwinkle Day

Hello there!

A few life changes here. We have moved state and traveled from Illinois (urgh) to Nebraska (yay!) and currently reside in scenic Omaha. We love it.

In the midst of moving, there was so much miniature stock that I decided to get the Etsy shop filled up again. I was on a roll for awhile there and then my hours at work got so out of hand that the shop suffered. Well, that job was lost ages ago so plenty of time for painty days. Joy.

I guess the miniature teams have had a shuffle on Etsy so I've moved from Team MIDS (it was disbanded) to Team Miniature Art. Great to be back in the swing of things again.

Started the ball rolling with periwinkle (my favorite) and this adorable cottage dresser. Periwinkle things nearly always stay in Jemjoopland but we'll sacrifice just this one *wink

Currently listed in the shop


(I know, right?!)

Happy Mini Making!

Cute Handmade

How exciting, Brooke at http://www.cutehandmade.com/ is featuring my Etsy shop "Jemjoop" on her blog today. Thank you Brooke! :O)

Check out her cute Etsy promotions and submit your shop or recommend your fave Etsians.

She also Twitters at http://twitter.com/cutehandmade

Paris Etsy Treasury

Haven't made an Etsy Treasury in a little while, and it took me most of yesterday just to snag a spot! It's called
quiet paris afternoon and I couldn't help sneaking in a pretty Blythe doll.


How exciting, it made the Front Page of Etsy about 5:00 a.m. EST on July 4th

Thanks Etsy and congratulations to all of the artists!

Flowers Just Listed

1/12 Terra Cotta flower pot with three tulips & 1/12 Pink Roses in a Tin Can (sold and relisted, thanks Deb!)

Coming Up Roses!

1/12 Scale Dollhouse Miniature shabby cottage style roses just added to
my shop!

Happy Memorial Day!

Have a great weekend! I'm not sure what we're doing this weekend besides barbecuing, planting the vegetable garden, and visiting the local Veteran's Field for it's annual fundraising carnival & fireworks. But, whatever it is, I hope that it's relaxing. And that there is ice cream.

Some patriotic Etsy finds:


Set of 6 blank cards for $8.50 from
patrioticpapers



Handmade wooden yard luminary by SperryLaserWorks



Lake Cottages gorgeous print by
catherineholman



swanmountainsoaps

Needle-Felted Easter Egg

Hello Spring!

I just love, love this needle-felted egg by Etsy seller Made By Laura. Such a clever idea. It's got Spring, Easter, trees, blue sky, grass, everything that's good in the world. And such pretty colors too. She's outdone herself this time!

Laura is a Twitter, blogger, Etsy, Flickr friend and I got one of her lovely sparkly needle-felted bowls as a treat to myself for Valentine's Day. Her work is just so lovely. Bravo!

Link to egg:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=22517109

Her needle-tastic shop:

http://madebylaura.etsy.com

She's always blogging something interesting:

http://made-by-laura.blogspot.com/

Blythe by kimbergercreative

Blythe is a gorgeous 1:6 Art Doll from a new Etsy Shop called kimbergercreative

Don't Forget Your Manly Man on Valentine's Day

Love Bot cards here

Miniatures: Facts and Fancies

Miniatures: Facts and Fancies
a wonderful Etsy Storque blog article written by the Etsy MIDS Team (Miniatures in Dollhouse Scale) BlueKittyMiniatures, GoldenUnicornMinis, and wanderinon. With pictures and minis by NJDMiniatures.

Back to Work & Bookathon

Monday!! Okay, I'm not usually a Monday person but this one saw the kids back to school after their holidays. A break is nice and likewise so is getting back to routine. And back to business for me creating and selling on Etsy. This morning I'm painting an order and packing up another to go out. I have Valentine's Day supplies at the ready - always one holiday ahead (at least) is part of this deal. And also some cottage style supplies to make things for my LolliShop.

Still figuring out the new schedule for baby Oliver who is 3 weeks old. Cranky baby was just cranky for the day so he's back to being a happy little guy. I managed to eat breakfast by 10:00 a.m. today and he's quietly snoring in his swing at the moment. Maybe tomorrow I can beat that time and actually get dressed too :o/

So stop yammering on and what is this Bookathon you speak of, is that what you're thinking. While browsing through the Etsy forums last night I came across a thread by PoshMommaStore who has decided to read 100 books by December 31, 2009 and she was looking for reading buddies. No re-reading books and at least 25 of the 100 to be non-fiction. A resolution that's actually fun! Sign me up. Anyone else interested? Her blog post is here Resolution Amendment: Bookathon

I've always been a big reader but 2008 was a busy one for us with a little stress and reading sort of fell by the wayside for me so I figure this is a great way to get back into it. Guess I'm a sucker for deadlines and accountability-and I'll get to use the heck out of my brand new library card. I'm currently reading an impulse buy paperback from the grocery store; She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb.

A gadget called "100 Books" has been added to the right at the very bottom of this blog under the playlist to keep track.

Baby Announcements for Oliver

First stop was Etsy to buy these super fun Blue/Lime Green Polka Dot Blank Boxed Notecards from boxedcards. Gorgeous, shabby robin's egg blue exterior with white spotty dots and a cheery lime interior.



I happened to have a brand new eBay baby details stamp on hand for card making (little did I know the first use would be for our new little one) I believe it's called Baby Arrival and it's from Holly Pond Hill by Susan Wheeler



Next I finally got to place an order with an amazing Etsy & LolliShop papercrafter, whose work I simply adore;

SunshineandRavioli

She made the sweetest It's A Boy! embellishment tags for the card fronts. I just love them!

The final cards all ready to go out...



Welcome to the planet little Oliver!

Christmas Cards

Well, it looks like I've started blogging. It's a snowy Wednesday afternoon outside my window in Northern Illinois. We're headed straight into the holiday season; fasten your seatbelts!



Yesterday, I finished making Christmas cards with some supplies that I found on Etsy. Started with a set of black toile cards from eBay and added some paper from Michaels and then finished them off with Elle and the Snow Dove Tags from belleandboo.

The envelope seals are going to be these sweet little Christmas Tree Stickers from BrambleberryLane

The tags came prepared with those pretty ribbons that I just tied into a bow and used sticky dots to attach. It might have been nice with grommets or brads but I was afraid they would be too front-heavy and swing open when they were hung up.

They're done, signed by hubs and the two boys, and ready to go. Little one went artistic with a few and did his best snowman, gingerbread house, and polar express train drawings on the insides.





I worked a bit on some baby announcements (trying to stay ahead of deadlines this Christmas!) but more about those another day.

UPDATE: Dec. 4th what a coincidence! belleandboo are Featured Etsy Seller today