Etsy Shop is up!!

Woohoo!!! The Etsy shop is officially open! I listed all 7 of the Crinkles I listed below today...hope they find homes soon :-) I'd love for you to check out the site - please let me know if there are any suggestions you may have.

As a thank-you for reading my blog, enjoy the following coupon code for my etsy store - an exclusive one for my blog readers: BLOG15. This code will get you 15% off your order from http://www.sillysweetpea.etsy.com/ and expires August 31, 2011.

New school year equals new crayons!

Being that Art was one of my favorite classes while in school, I absolutely couldn't wait to get new art supplies at the beginning of the school year. Fresh new markers, sharp colored pencils, perfectly pointy crayons. Nothing like new crayons...they color wonderfully, the paper wrappers are clean and beautiful...heck - they even smell great (don't deny it!). Now, it used to be that once those crayons came home, they came out of the package and into one of those plastic pencil holders. A few months would go by and those beautiful new crayons would look so sad - the once perfect points would either be dull or broken from rattling around in that plastic box and the wrappers would have a myriad of colors on them from all the jostling around. Just thinking about it makes me sad!

It's time we start treating those crayons right, ya know what I mean? Wouldn't you know it...I have a solution! You're welcome! I started the first batch of Crayon Keepers that will be sold through my etsy store: http://www.sillysweetpea.etsy.com/ Able to hold 12 standard sized crayons, these Crayon Keepers will keep crayons safe and sound in style! Not only are they perfect for classrooms, but they're great for allowing that inner artist to emerge while on-the-go. No more searching through plastic pencil boxes or dark crayon boxes to find the elusive Cerulean...you'll be able to see all of the colors perfectly, at once!

Ok...enough of me - check 'em out!

The Crayon Keeper lays out flat. See those pretty hearts on the outside??

Every crayon has it's own home.

It rolls up in a handy little package!



Love them!!

But wait, there's more!

I had an early doctor’s appointment this morning, so I was up way earlier than I have been getting up recently. A little bit of sunshine would have helped to wake me up, but this is what I saw outside the window:

Yuck, right? Another dreary day! After seeing the rain (and driving through it…what a mess!), I decided that I somehow needed to bring some sunshine to the day. What comes after a rainstorm when there’s sunshine? A rainbow!! (by the way, if you happen to find that pot of gold, let me know where it is…I’ll be there in no time at all!) A dreary morning turned into a productive afternoon allowing for the creation of 4 more Crinkles…one with a rainbow theme!

Check them out:

This will conclude the making of the Crinkles for now…figuring lucky number seven will be enough to stock the etsy shop for now. Fingers crossed that they will find happy homes! I’m thinking crayon rolls for tomorrow…after yet another doctor’s appointment (of course!).

Aren't these cute??

Got a head start on stocking my new etsy shop today! I'm planning on making a whole bunch of items and then posting them all at the same time so that I have a full shop for the grand opening (keep an eye out for an exclusive coupon code!). The name of my shop is "Silly Sweet Pea." Came up with the "Sweet Pea" part after a board that I frequently post on...the babies that will be born in September have been nicknamed "Sweet Peas." I added the "Silly" part because I figure that Sam will most likely be silly (like me!). Always nice to have a good sense of humor and a positive outlook on life, right?? Anyways, sfter making a few of these little snuggly toys as baby gifts and one for Sam, I managed to make 3 for my shop today. Here's a quick look at them:

The second one is very similar to the one that I made for Sam. All of the Crinkles (that's what I've decided to call them...since they do crinkle...read on!) pictured are an 8"x8" size - perfect for little hands and super easy to throw in a diaper bag or attach to a car seat, stroller, anything with one of those plastic links. As a special education teacher, I am all about sensory items - the more sensory stimulation, the better! The Crinkles pictured have a super soft minky fabric on one side along with a super smooth satin on the other side. At least 8 different kinds of ribbon, with varying textures, were used to make each one. When squished, the Crinkle actually crinkles! There is a super secret layer in between the minky and the satin that allows for this auditory delight. All of the ribbons on the Crinkles have been reinforced to the fabrics by sewing each one *4 times* onto the fabric - super duper tough, huh?

I'm hoping to make some more tomorrow. Also on the list of items to make to stock my shop: key fobs and nursing covers. I am also considering making some crayon rolls and embellished burp cloths...what do you think??

I'm off to bed now, early doctor's appointment in the morning. I have three this week!! Aren't I lucky?? At least I'll get to see my little guy a whole lot this week!

Art for Sam's room!

The little one's name will be Sam. He already has awesome taste in music - his favorite band is The Beatles, just like his mommy! We have decorated his room using the John Lennon Music Parade collection and have some various Beatles-themed decorations on the wall (Abbey Road and Penny Lane signs from our trip to London/Liverpool last year!). Early on in the decorating, though, I had no idea what to put above his crib. I had seen so many people put the baby's name over the crib, but I didn't want to do that. I decided to make some art that had lyrics to a Beatles song. After a trip to Michael's to pick up some scrapbook paper, I got to work using my Cricut and Sure Cuts a Lot 2 software to create lettering for this:

Awesome, huh?? Do you think he'll notice that I put the "do not cry" on it's own line?? Nothing wrong with a little subliminal message! The letters were cut with the Cricut and I drew/cut the rest of the shapes. All of the animals are similar to the animals that are on the bedding (by the way - the bedding was created using drawings that John Lennon made for one of his sons...I know...bad Beatles fan can't remember!). After having Chris paint the canvas, I used Mod Podge to attach all of the paper pieces to the canvas. Then, Chris sprayed it with a shellac spray sealer and it was all set!

I also made this using the same technique:

This is hanging on Sam's door. I used the Cricut to cut out the letters, the orange part of the giraffe, and the leaves for the tree. Super easy and super cheap - I was able to get the canvases at Michael's during one of their 40% off sales (and used my teacher discount, too!! yippee!!).

Welcome!

First off, thanks so much for stopping by my *brand*new*blog*! I've tried to do a blog before, but haven't been very successful - this time will be different! I've started this blog with the goal of sharing some stories about the new baby (should be arriving in about 4 weeks!! Holy Cow!!) as well as sharing pictures, and perhaps some tutorials, of some of my crafts. I am lucky enough to have a husband that supports me in whatever I do. As a result, the bonus room on the second floor of my house has become my craft room! Over the past year, I have learned how to knit (basically...still working out a few kinks), attempted to crochet (hopefully to attempt again at some point), made some jewelry, got a Cricut machine and a sewing machine. Out of all of my new crafts (can you tell I love to be creative?), I would say that the sewing machine has gotten the most use. I have since created a decent size stash of fabrics that I have used to create Christmas presents, birthday gifts, baby shower gifts, decorations for the house, and now items for a new store I'm working on through etsy.com. While I have always loved baby stuff (6 years spent working at Babies R Us will only encourage that love), I've only found myself even more interested in creating items for moms and their little ones since getting pregnant (he'll be here soon!!!). SO...with that said, I'll be sharing many items that get posted for sale in my shop as well as items that I've made for personal use. I hope you enjoy the new blog - let me know if you have any questions or if I can help you out with any crafty endeavors you may have!