And B is for.......

First off I must tell you I am participating in the A to Z Blogging Challenge so you will see and hear alot more from me than normally! The posts will be short and sweet.

Today's letter is B and an easy one for me!

buttons

Braden

buttons

boys

Baba

blog

buttons

baseball

bananas

and did I say buttons?!!!!

Imagine life without buttons...

Can't believe I left off my name from that list!!!! Barbra....

A is for Apples

For 2 days now I have been thinking about apples. I have a recipe to make for next week which is basically apples and walnuts and a few other ingredients, a semi-sweet concoction.
The recipe just says 'apples'.....Delicious? Granny Smith? Macs? Macoons (can't get them here anyway)? Fuji? Cortlands? Honeycrisps? Galas?
Life was so much simpler with fewer varieties but some new things make life so much better. I'd like to do a taste test of apples one time....fun, not fattening.
But I haven't yet decided on what type of apples to use. Maybe I'll mix it up since I need about 5 but maybe that will muddy the taste.
Questions...Does the color of an apple affect its taste? Size? What's your favorite?

Why Reading Labels Is Important

Lately, the past 5 years or so,I seriously read all labels. Whether I am buying a food item, a gift, an article of clothing or an item for my house, I read the labels carefully.
Regarding food items, I am always watching my diet. Although I fortunately don't have any food allergies, I check fat, carb, salt and calorie information as well as the ingredient lists. Shopping may take longer but it is well worth it.

Clothing.........almost nothing is made in the USA anymore but I still look and hope. Though it is hard to find American made clothing, there are definitely countries I will not buy from....that's another blog post, maybe! Of course, materials are important as I do have a wool allergy, so I check that as well.

Home and gift items.......here's the stickler and the provocation for this post. Today I was in a store downtown that advertises itself as an "old fashioned general store". They sell clothing, home goods, shoes, candy, etc. Do or did they have these stores in Vietnam? China? Rangoon? I walked towards some tiny sock monkey key chains....made in China. Nearby were local college mugs and sports paraphernalia...made in Vietnam. Across from them were embroidered towels made in Thailand....you get the picture, I'm sure.
And then I was reminded about buying handmade....items like sock monkeys and embroidered towels and sports paraphernalia that don't have labels because they are made in the USA by wonderful craftspeople with their blood, sweat, tears, talent and love.
So read labels. Be informed and when tempted to choose an item, check out handmade for similar and probably better items that keep your dollars local and support your neighbors. I certainly know price is often an issue, an important one but.....!

By the way, they had magnetic bookmarks, similar in concept to mine, with the store logo on them. I sell mine for $3.50....their's were...are you ready?......$0.99. Here are some of my new ones and I will unabashedly say bigger, prettier and well worth it. Oh, yeah, theirs were made in China but you knew that!

See Saw Balance

Remember see saws from the playgound? Being flipped up in the air or landing hard on the ground? Trying to hold steady, straight across and balanced? Hard? YUP!

A partial, from memory,list of handmade venues:
Zibbet
Etsy
Artfire
Recycled Market
Folksy
Storenvy
Bonanza
EBay
GroovePress
SilkFair
Big Cartel
eCrater
Cafepress
Zazzle
RubyLane
(After I wrote this list, I Googled "handmade venues" and 3,460,000 entries came up...!)

A partial list of sites to promote the above partial list:
Facebook
Google+
MySpace
Flickr
Blogs
LinkedIn
Twitter
Forums
Ning Groups
IndiePublic
and all the sub groups within each of those...overwhelmed yet?
You should be!

How about all the e-mail newsletters you must/should subscribe to to learn the ins and out of online selling, how to take photos, the way to handle the oodles of money you're making and to be notified when your favorite seller is having a sale?
In-box clogged?
It is!!!

Some conflicting truths:
The most seasoned & novice amongst us have to step away from the computer at times and resume normal (HA!) life.
The newbies must realize posting an item online will NOT get them tons of sales without hard work and long hours promoting online.
The young parents and full time workers must not be online all the time until 3AM to work this business.

So I'm saying take a break from the computer but work hard online?
Yes...
We all need to establish a balance. I try to do it by closing the door to this room and spending time in another. Maybe in the studio creating. Maybe in the kitchen cooking. Or outdoors, gardening.

Whatever you do, balance. Create,photo,promote BUT step away from the computer whenever you can. You will also lessen the chances of  back trouble or carpal tunnel syndrome!

Refresh. Relax. Balance!

Love It Or List It!

There's a show on HGTV called "Love It Or List It". Homeowners have to decide if they love their newly renovated homes and will stay or still need to move and list it with a broker.
I have a love/list problem with my work! There are some things I just LOVE to make,so I make them & list them online but they may sit...that's okay because I loved making it. There are other things I'm not as crazy about and will not list or repeat if the first is sold. I really have a problem doing a good job if I don't love it to some degree.
So I have a love it and list it issue in another sense.
I am loving working on small hoops with stitchery and other props. I started a grouping of craft pieces, the first knitting and the 2nd, sewing.
I love them.
They are listed.
If they don't sell, they give me joy and I count!
Now, what craft should I do next???

I Love Hearts...♥♥

I do love hearts. I have heart jewelry and wear a gold heart all the time. I love heart shaped wall decor, house decorations and ornaments. I even have a heart shaped wrought iron piece outside that I am training a vine to climb and cover.

I am not a particular fan of Valentine's Day but enjoy the heart displays so I thought I'd display some from my shop for you...♥! 

Hearts & Buttons

I ♥ hearts! And of course, buttons! To incorporate the two is such great fun. For the first time, I'm sharing with you a simple button heart project that will not come out identically as mine but will have your ♥ and button stamp of approval! My hoop measures 8" and this time I chose all white and cream, mostly vintage buttons. I used over 100 buttons. But don't let my choices stop you, go for color, go larger or smaller in the hoop measurement....go for it!

Materials:
1 wood hoop, any size
fabric piece at least 2" larger than hoop. Best not to use a knit but a woven like linen or cotton.
assorted buttons-2 or 4 holed work better, not shank as they will wobble!
needle & thread
pencil
white glue

Lightly freehand a heart shape onto your fabric piece using a pencil.
Fit fabric in your hoop and pull to make sure it is snug.
Begin sewing and placing your buttons within the heart. You can just sew them side by side and have the fabric show through or you can slightly over-lap to not let the fabric be seen.
Continue until the heart is filled.
Trim excess fabric to within 1/2".
Turn hoop over and lightly layer some white glue on the inside of the wood hoop. Work in small sections and roll the excess fabric onto the glue. You can use clamp binder clips for a few minutes until set.

Ta da!!! You have completed a one-of-a-kind heart hoop button sampler.
Tie a ribbon at the top for decoration if you wish.
Hang on the wall or place on an easel for display.
Wonderful gift or room decoration for a fellow heart and button lover...you?!