Etsy Finds

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Baby, it's cold outside!! Really, truly COLD - 8F on the thermometer this morning.

Yikes. Spring is a few months away yet so winter clothing and accessories are what I'm all about in an attempt to keep warm. If you are looking for a great scarf to accessorize an outfit with as well as one that will truly help keep the chill of your neck I have found what you are looking for!

This little Etsy shop Sweet2Sisters has some really great scarfs for sale. They are all handmade, knitted and super cute! Here is my favorite -

I have a few of their scarves and just love the soft texture, colors and how they look when I wear them.

Stay warm my friends!

Link to a Great Give-Away!

Looking for some great holiday ideas to give as gifts? Follow this link to a great blog offering a give away for some great Christmas gifts. One of the items will be from my shop! Good luck - please leave a comment letting Karen from mommysmoments.net know you found her blog through mine!

Erin

SAHM of Etsy Blog

Check this out!! I was featured on the SAHM of Etsy Blog.

Have a good week!! More belated postings to come in the near future!!

Go Fish Felt Fishing Game

As a member of the Etsy community I've had a great time meeting other creators and getting their input on the items offered in my shop. Recently I was approached by a super sweet homeschooling momma who was interested in my Go Fish Felt Fishing Game. After sending her a sample and allowing her youngsters to play with this fun toy she wrote a review about it on her blog. You can check it out here. These felt fishing games can be found in my etsy shop Sapucha on Etsy.

Thanks!

"X" marks the spot - A Treasure Hunt

Treasure Hunt

I'm so excited to announce the SAHM of Etsy Treasure Hunt! It's a great way to explore what the members of the SAHM of Etsy team have to offer! It's also a fun way to earn a really great prize!

The idea is simple. Participating members of the team will have the logo above hidden somewhere in their Etsy store, on their Facebook page, and on their blogs, you just have to find the logo, and tell us where you found it via the this form . For each logo you find, and tell us about you'll be entered into a drawing to win a gift box filled with lots of goodies made by members of the SAHM of Etsy team! You can find a list of participating shops here.

The Treasure Hunt will begin at midnight April 17 and end at midnight April 30. The winner will be announced here on the blog on May 1. Happy hunting!

Rules

-Three winners will be drawn and announced on the blog on May 1. Winners have 24 hours to claim their prize by writing "claimed" in the comments section under the blog announcement

- To enter the drawing you must fill out this form giving the link and position of the logo (for examplel [X-link] fourth product pic, or [X-link] left side half way down), and your name. The information entered on the form goes to a private spreadsheet that only the administrators of the team will have access to.

- You can find as many logos as you want. Your name will be entered into the drawing once for each logo you find. The more you find the better your chances are of winning.

- By entering the drawing, you agree to pay for the total cost of shipping the prize basket to you, should you win.

Good Luck!! Happy Hunting.

Sheep Shearing

This past Saturday we enjoyed a field trip with our great friends, the Allen's at Shady Side Farm in West Olive. I heard about the shearing day via the West Michigan Etsy Team of which the owner of Shady Side Farm (Lona) belongs. This is just one of the great opportunities I have come across while becoming an active member of this team! The kids were encouraged to use all of their senses to learn about the process of shearing sheep, feeding sheep, observing new lambs and experiencing the barn as well as learning what people do with the fleece after it has been taken from the sheep and cleaned. They just loved squishing and smelling the freshly sheared fleece and watching the newly sheared sheep leap up and run down the length of the barn back to the herd. They had to pay attention so that they weren't knocked over by any of the sheep! The baby lambs were absolutely adorable! The girls begged to take one home as a pet which I said when they grow up they can live on a sheep farm and have as many baby lambs as they want - Rian has already named her future lamb "Flower".

After the girls had enough time in the barn we headed across the farm to another building where fiber artists were hard at work showing off their beautiful items crafted with wool. The kids saw socks being hand cranked on an antique sock knitting machine as well as wool being felted by Barb of Pit Bull Lady Designs. Barb was so patient as she was practically attacked by 5 super excited and curious little girls all wanting to watch/touch/see her in action as well as look at her finished products. (Thanks Barb!!). The balls of colored roving were amazing! We all enjoyed feeling the soft colorful texture of the roving and the yarn. The girls also had an opportunity to learn how the roving was turned into usable yarn by watching three women expertly spin the roving with a spinning wheel. They even got a chance to "help" spin a little yarn themselves.

Little Jenny the fairy

My fabric scrap pile has started to grow lately and even though I'd love to use the scraps to make a little quilt of some sort I opted for a quick new project resulting in little Jenny the fairy. She is a cute little gal who loves to play, snuggle or just hang around as a small companion. She is for sale in my Etsy shop http://www.sapucha.etsy.com/ and some of her friends will hopefully follow. I'm leaving the naming of these little ones up to my girls who love being included in this process.

Girls Weekend 2008

10 year Anniversary

2008 was the 10th anniversary of Girls Weekend! Hard to believe this once little idea years ago has become such a wonderful tradition. This year the annual event was held in Fremont (at Dianne's house). This year there were 17 of us including three generations of girls, the farthest of our group coming from Tennessee. For many years the main "events" for this weekend have included food (of course - with chocolate!!), a craft and an outing. Most of the gang arrived on Friday evening and after a yummy pasta dinner we kicked off the weekend with a bonfire, marshmallows and camper pies. Saturday morning rise and shine came earlier than expected due to the noise generated from the MILLIONS of squawking ducks and GUN SHOTS from the duck hunters (apparently duck season is in October). The morning also consisted of more delicious homemade treats to get us ready for our outing to the Heritage Farm for some fall festivities. At Heritage Farm the group successfully navigated through the corn made by correctly answering American President Trivia at each turn. Emma was a real pro - showing off her knowledge of Presidential facts by correctly answering the question "who resided at Monticello?" - of course that Jeff Tom guy (Thomas Jefferson) was her reply! The little ones picked out a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch and we all took turns posing for silly pictures in the field.







Later in the afternoon (once the kiddos were down for a nap) we started on our craft. This years craft was sock and glove animals, instructions courtesy of the book Sock and Glove by Miyako Kanamori. Since the weather was so nice we did the craft on mom (dianne's) porch under the beautiful fall colors of a big maple tree looking out over the lake. Once the creative juices began flowing there was no stopping these girls from creating some of the cutest little animals out of recycled gloves and socks! All this crafting makes a girl hungry! Dinner at Spanky's for the world's best bread sticks and pizza helped us refuel for some a little more crafting to put the finishing touches on the animals. The gang crashed after a long busy and FUN filled day!




Sunday morning started off with the duck and hunter wake up calls as well as a nice spread of breakfast treats. Some of the group had to get back home and get ready for school or work on Monday morning. The rest of us took a road trip to Whitehall to visit Cara's studio. Her latest creation, Uncomfortable Animals, was a hit with the girls! If you missed the studio trip check out her wares on Etsy. We also cruised over to the studio where Chester works to watch him create some pottery. Sunday evening we carved pumpkins down by the lake with the kids, had a bonfire, roasted marshmallows and told stories.




Monday morning the Tennessee girls and the Evans' clan packed into the car and headed back to Grand Rapids to the airport. It was sad to see the weekend come to a close but the memories of our time spent together will last forever. We are so blessed to have people in our lives who love us and so blessed to have such a wonderful family!

See You All Next Year!

(thanks Katie for letting me use some of your great pictures!)