tamdoll's workspace

101 Reasons

tamdoll@comcast.net (tamdoll) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 19:24:00 +0000

Click the badge to see the 101 reasons from artists, designers & shop keepers.

I buy handmade because there’s nothing like a unique item, one-of-a-kind, made with care by a real person. And because I make things like that, I know how much it means to a craftsperson when someone else appreciates your work so much that they’re willing to pay for it.

What’s your reason?

Link to Poppytalk via Chakra Pennywhistle.

Being Thankful

tamdoll@comcast.net (tamdoll) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 18:33:00 +0000

These are pies from my library’s Once Upon a Pie Competition held last weekend. I’m so thankful for the library! Without it I’d be broke, because I love to read, and my kids do, too (video here).

I’m also thankful for my family & friends who have endless patience with me. I’m so grateful for that.

I’m thankful for for my internet friends (that’s you!), because I have a place to share and connect with and about the things that I love – crafting and art!

And one more picture of something yummy. I made this cake after getting an email from Betty Crocker. I usually wouldn’t bake from a cake mix, but this looked so delicious, I just had to make it. Bringing it to a friend’s house later today. (Click it to link to the recipe.)

Happy Thanksgiving and Enjoy your weekend, whether you’re celebrating or not. I believe there’s always something to be thankful for and to appreciate.

Team Work Tuesday

tamdoll@comcast.net (tamdoll) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:21:00 +0000

(It’s hard coming up with blog post titles… )

On the bottom of the right-hand column of my blog you’ll see an Etsy Bloggers link. Each month there’s a featured blogger & this one is a delight. Becky has a great blog full of delicious eye-candy – The Fab Miss B. She’s been interviewed over at the team blog – here – and you can read about what she has to say about her world travels, her favorite things to make, inspirations, challenges and Etsy advice.

Her blog is really charming to look at, her photography, and the items she features are all impeccable. She has some fun DIY projects (see the labels in her sidebar) with how-to’s.

Of course I was drawn to her Etsy shop, beckykazana, & my favorite pick is so unique! I’ve never seen anything like this -

Love the name, too - “Sophisticated Lady Happy Birthday Banner” – who wouldn’t want that hanging on their wall for a special celebration? What a creative use for vintage pattern pictures.

Aside from baby announcements, I don’t remember every using banners before, but with something like this, I think it would be very charming to start a new trend.

Stop by Becky’s blog & shop, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed!

Holidays this Month

tamdoll@comcast.net (tamdoll) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:54:00 +0000

November is full of holidays:

and these are just some of the more light-hearted ones I came across, there were tons more when I searched online for “November holidays”.

Etsy Bloggers Team question of the week: Most countries around the world have a day set aside to give thanks for a bountiful harvest. Here in the US, it's Thanksgiving. What do you celebrate wherever you live and how do you celebrate?

I have a different answer for this every year. It’s been many years since I’ve celebrated with family since this always seems to be a crazy weekend for traveling. Most Thanksgivings are celebrated with the four of us, neighbors or close friends here at home.
Frankly, I’d rather visit with distant family when there aren’t holidays to think about preparing special foods or gifts for. No matter what, those things always add an element of stress for me. But, since holidays are when the kids have vacation from school, it’s usually unavoidable.

Well, there’s one thing, that no matter where we are, or who we’re with on Thanksgiving that is always the same. I make Sweet Potato Streusel Squares. They’re fattening. Decadent. Oh, so good. The recipe is from Bon Appétit Magazine, 1995 and that’s a link to it on epicurious.com.

Not surprised to hear my holiday memories revolve around food, are you? I would love to hear if you have favorite recipes, too, or if you try this one. One of these days I’m going to have to make a non-dairy version so I can enjoy it some more myself.

Planning for Chanukah? Then check out the giveaways & these sales at the EtsyChai blog, promotion ending this Sunday, November 22nd.

Thinking

tamdoll@comcast.net (tamdoll) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:18:00 +0000

I’ve been thinking about this blog.

And I’ve been crafting – but – not too successfully. Worked with some deliciously soft silk and wool yarn last night, knitting and ripping. Knitting and ripping. I wanted to make something wearable. Something to sell. But it’s just not working.

I’ve also been thinking about making dolls again. One series of something dark that’s been brewing in my mind. Maybe I need to take a break from all the tiny little projects that I have in progress. I was going to start the dolls in January – but why wait?

It’s been years since I really worked on dolls. And here I am as “tamdoll” all over the internet. Ha!

Usually, when I try to change modes, I’ll be drawn to something else – who knows, maybe I’ll start working on dolls and then have inspiration and success at some new wearables.

There are ornaments I want to make. Rings, necklaces, bracelets that I want to create out of fabric and yarn. I have lists of gifts that I’d like to put together. So many things, I’m overwhelmed. It’s not a bad thing to have all these ideas in my head – it’s just bad when I work on them for a while and they go wrong. I think it’s worse when I don’t get any ideas. I don’t have enough patience.

I’ll have to make some lists soon and see what to do first, or at least… make a list. Prioritize it I think. And go from there.

Practical Crochet

tamdoll@comcast.net (tamdoll) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:25:00 +0000

	I got a new cell phone, and was afraid that when I was travelling this month that it would get scratched up. So, before my recent plane trip, I grabbed a ball of yarn, a needle, and sat down for a 5 hour flight with an idea and some podcasts (one of my favorites is CraftyPod).
	The yarn I used was TOFUtsies (50% superwash wool, 25% soy silk, 22.5% cotton, 2.5% chitin made from shrimp and crab shells!), a sock yarn with antibacterial properties! (Which is kind of funny since I don’t buy antibacterial soaps, but I loved the yarn and the pattern displayed with it when I bought it over a year ago.)
	I made it snug to fit, and it whipped up in about an hour.
	I used Futuregirl’s foundation crochet stitch to make a sturdy starting row (the woman has amazing tutorials!). It was about 10 stitches long and then I went round and round that base row, adding a few additional stitches in the corners to round it up. After that it was just sc till it was a smidgen taller than my phone – added a loop and a crochet button to complete.

Very satisfying and practical project. I love it when I can use what I make. Now my daughter wants one, so I’ll have to add that to my to-do list. <cringing> Which reminds me that I need to write out my to-do list for the next month and I’m scared that I’m going to be overwhelmed when I actually put into print the mammoth amount of things I’m expecting to complete before 2009 is over. Will put it off for just a few more days…

Miracles of Hanukkah Promotion Sale & Hunt

tamdoll@comcast.net (tamdoll) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:25:00 +0000

Hanukkah (Chanukah, Hanukah, Hannukah, etc..) is coming, and the first EtsyChai & Etsy Israel Team's Miracles of Hanukkah Contest and Sale is going on now.

There are sales to be had and prizes being given away. For more information and to see all the participating shops, click the logo to be taken to the EtsyChai blog.

I’ve been working on the blog posts for that site and have donated a prize to be given away, too. I hope you’re thinking of holiday shopping early this year and supporting handmade artists. Or, will you be making gifts this year or thinking of other creative ways of celebrating the holidays?

Make Your Own Whimsy

tamdoll@comcast.net (tamdoll) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:52:00 +0000

Try to find whimsical Chanukah jewelry. Just try it. Better yet, try and find a creative, wearable use for tiny, tiny jelly donuts you’ve crocheted.

Well, here they are. I have two pairs of these earrings I’ll be posting to my Etsy shop ~~later tonight.~~ ... one pair is listed now.

And come back by Monday to hear all about a promotion I’m going to be a part of, it’s going to be fun.

Jelly Donuts

tamdoll@comcast.net (tamdoll) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:27:00 +0000

I've been brainstorming some projects lately & thinking of Chanukah. It's been pretty hard trying to translate motifs of this holiday into the kind of projects that I like to make. Dreidels? Too childish I thought. Menorahs? Too complicated to think of all the candles. Stars? Well, I made some of those and I need to work on them some more. Then, of course, my thoughts turned to food....

Jelly Donuts (or Sufganiyot) are a Chanukah tradition – Lots of Chanukah foods are fried, remembering the miracle of one day's worth of oil lasting eight days.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah#Hanukkah_foods

I crocheted a few large donuts last year and since I love miniatures, I decided to work on those. But when I was done, and had almost a dozen miniature (nickel-sized) jelly donuts, I didn't know what to do with them. They sat on my desk, rolled to the floor, took up space, haunting me. Until inspiration struck!

These are some donuts you can wear on your wrist, not on your hips. To be seen in my Etsy shop ~~by tonight...~~ Now, here!

Ingredients: Cotton dough and jelly, Polyfil, beads and novelty yarn sugar-coating.

Yes, it's silly. You wouldn't even know they were more than an interesting decoration on the bracelet unless you were reading this. But, why not have a little whimsy to wear?

And for some variations on how to spell “Chanukah” – check this out.

Baking Cookies

tamdoll@comcast.net (tamdoll) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:11:00 +0000

Baked some cookies this weekend. Haven’t done this in a while, made a small batch – only about 100! (That’s 200 cookies sandwiched together with jelly.) There was a 40th birthday … I just had to.

Shopping Online

tamdoll@comcast.net (tamdoll) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:00:00 +0000

I bought this pillow for a wedding gift & I wanted to share. I thought it was so unique when I saw it on her blog, that I messaged the seller and inquired about it & sure enough, she made one for me. Rikkianne was so great to work with, and her shop Chakra Pennywhistle is so charming. (& yes, I’m going to a wedding next week!)

I often search Etsy for unique gifts, haven’t blogged about this before, though! Once in a while I’ll have an impulse purchase, but I try to keep those few and far between.

I wish I could make something as nice as Jacqueline at So Cute it Hurts! She’s been working on a wedding gift and it is so precious. Here’s a peek: Go look, she’s a wonderful creative artist, with her own Etsy shop, too.

What about you? What’s your first go-to for online shopping? Do you have an impulse shopping budget or price limit?

E.T.T. Shop of the Week - Linda B's Beaded Jewelry

tamdoll@comcast.net (tamdoll) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:37:00 +0000

This week’s Shop of the Week is Linda B’s Beaded Jewelry, and I have to say upfront that she’s a wonderful Etsy seller! I work with Linda on the EtsyChai Team and she’s great. Here work is wonderful, too!

This necklace caught my eye, it’s so striking and bold & that’s how I like to wear my jewelry.

There’s a great interview with her over at the E.T.T. blog… and… a special! In honor of her November 1 birthday, Linda is offering a week long discount: “20% off purchases totaling $10, excluding shipping November 2 - 8” Go & celebrate with her!

Halloween was Scary

tamdoll@comcast.net (tamdoll) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:04:00 +0000

Had fun at the party. But my costume wasn’t as flattering as I had hoped. I guess that’s what I get for waiting for the last minute … like trying to find snakes to wear in my hair Halloween morning, or 1/2 hour before the event, making alterations in a hotel room.

That’s as big a picture as you’re going to get here. (I really, really wasn’t happy with this.) What’s that on my head you say? A pony tail, with braids, desperately holding onto these heavy, slimy feeling snakes:

Next year I will either plan earlier or suck it up and buy a costume.

‘Tis the Season to be Orange

tamdoll@comcast.net (tamdoll) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:33:00 +0000

HuayruroPeru is always on the ball with making Treasuries, click and visit!:

Makes me think of Vitamin C with all the sniffles around me, too.

Teams!

tamdoll@comcast.net (tamdoll) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:50:00 +0000

I stopped doing many weekly blog posts about team members because I felt that was all I was doing. And I was busy. Not making stuff, but just busy. I’m still involved in teams, but just in different ways. For instance, I love the Etsy Twitter Team and my Tweet Deck is usually running in the background of my pc while I’m working at home. Follow me on Twitter if you like.

This week’s E.T.T. Shop of the Week is Cape Cod Jewels and Things. I thought her creative use of jewels and puzzle pieces was really creative. There’s a great interview with her at the team blog. And her shop is really charming, filled with all sorts of beautiful creations. Spooky Halloween sale going on now, too! Here’s one of my faves:

I also love to blog and the Etsy Bloggers Team is a perfect fit! Since one of my recent posts was for a “Blog Carnival” – you can read what other etsy bloggers have written about in the same category by checking out A Keeper’s Jackpot blog.
Next week there will be a post here about my participation with the EtsyChai Team and an upcoming promotion for the holidays.

Oh, and just one more. The EcoEtsy Street Team is one I’m not very active in, but finally, one of my nominations was put up on their blog!

How involved do you get with your Etsy Teams?

Project Storage

tamdoll@comcast.net (tamdoll) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:34:00 +0000

It’s one thing to have yarn or fabric stashed around the house in piles, boxes, footstools, under beds, closets, (well… you get the picture), and it’s another thing when you have to find what you need to work on a project.

Last week I got overwhelmed – so much yarn lying around, copies of patterns I’d seen online or Ravelry that I wanted to make and lists of who/what/when I wanted to make them for. At least my needles were organized & easy to find! (read this post if you hadn’t seen how I did that.)

The point is, as I was looking for bags to store projects in, I found these sheet/comforter-set bags stashed in the closet. These are fantastic. Zippered all around. And clear! Very important, because for me – out of sight is out of mind. And, inside, a little pocket where the picture of the original product used to be – perfect for storing patterns and needles. One of the bags even has a handle. I matched up patterns with yarn and stacked them up in the bags. Now I’m ready to go with projects to throw in the car, and I don’t have to worry about yarn spilling out and getting dirty.

Do you take projects to go with you? I never leave the house without something to do in case I’m kept waiting.

Almost Midnight

tamdoll@comcast.net (tamdoll) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 03:30:00 +0000

(In my part of the world, it’s almost midnight. I love that readers can be anywhere at anytime though!) I almost forgot to put up my blog post for the EtsyBloggers Carnival! The question I’ve chosen to answer is all about… Halloween! “What are you doing to celebrate this year?”

I’ll be doing a couple of things this year. First of all I was invited to a Halloween party & want to dress as Medusa. I had a plan for my hair and a few snake embellishments… but the dress was driving me crazy! I saw a costume in the shop but it was $45 and I really didn’t want to wear one of those plasticky things. So… I ran to the consignment shop, got a 10 minute parking spot outside, saw a grey dress in XL and bought it quickly:

It’s a long top and a long skirt & I’m sure someone’s mom looked great in it at their wedding. And for $25 I have a silk outfit with thousands of beads to play with that’s going to be super comfortable! I’m going to [try to] take off the sleeves and maybe use some of the sleeve liner fabric to tie/gather under the bust to add some shaping to the outfit. I may gather the top of the removed sleeves and wear them lower on the arms, too. I’ll add snakes to my hair and around my hand, maybe upper-arms, too. Heavy grey eyeshadow, maybe face-paint? Not sure about that one. Of course, I’ll probably work on this last-minute sometime during the week and post pictures after the party.

The other thing I’ve been working on are some Halloween cuffs. I seriously have to add crafting to my daily planner & put holidays on my to-do list months in advance. I’m pretty lax about this, but really, can’t get the motive to work on winter holidays in the summer-time! Maybe one of these years I will… For now, I finished a handful of cuffs and delivered them to my favorite local shop, Apotheca:

and this one taken out of my Etsy shop:

For now I packed away my Halloween supplies and will try to remember to work on these things next August. And fyi: drilling tiny holes in Scrabble tiles is tricky! I broke a few bits and a few “B”’s – and there aren’t too many of those in each game box!

I can’t wait to read the rest of the blog carnival and see what other folks have planned. Have any Halloween plans? Or.. how far ahead do you do your holiday crafting?

Multi-tasking

tamdoll@comcast.net (tamdoll) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 05:30:00 +0000

I think that’s what all moms do, right? A part-time job here, another there. Volunteering. Taking care of the kids. Hobbies. Reading books. Helping with homework. Blogging. Keeping the house clean. Shopping, cooking, cleaning. Make stuff for etsy shop. Blog for my group. Make gifts. Make lists. Cutting coupons. Scheduling. Tweet. Go to the gym. Answer the phone. Sewing, knitting, laundry, planning, driving, arranging, blah, blah blah. Not complaining, just a fact. So much more can be added here! Was typing in something at my goodreads account and thought, oh, I should blog soon.

Well, here’s my latest blog post. I started keeping my “to-read” list on goodreads after my last computer crash. (I had had a file on the pc to keep track of interesting titles and lost it, was so annoyed.) This is different for me than a shop wish list, easier to keep track of books that I want to read and books that I’ve already read. Re-read a book this year and didn’t even realize it till 1/2-way through. Ever do that?

Well, if you read sci-fi/fantasy/vampire books, I’d love to see your recommendations, become a friend on goodreads if you like. (I try to escape reality when I read for leisure, can you tell?)

Giant Pumpkin Regatta

tamdoll@comcast.net (tamdoll) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 22:59:00 +0000

Once again, the NH Giant Pumpkin Growers Association have descended on our small town and their 2009 weigh-off was held yesterday. These guys were big.

What do you do with a giant pumpkin? Here, we hollow them out and decorate them:

Then, normally sane adults climb inside, add a motor and race them up and down the river:

More pictures at the flickr group.

Ephemeral Entrelac

tamdoll@comcast.net (tamdoll) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:42:00 +0000

Not in substance, but in existence.

Not enough yarn to make a long scarf. Too scratchy to make it into a closely-worn cowl. Unraveled to begin anew… as what???

One skein Colinette Skye (Aran weight/10ply wool) yarn with size 8 needles. Taking suggestions.

Clearing my desk!

tamdoll@comcast.net (tamdoll) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:10:00 +0000

Used up most of my recycled sari silk on this new basket: I ran out of this yarn just as I approached the top… well, actually I have one skein left but the colors are completely different, so I’m glad I found that soft suede yarn to finish it with. That [twig-studded recycled] yarn really does a job on your fingers. Gave it to my daughter and she promptly filled it with her own yarn to keep her projects in it.

And baby sweater #3 of the fall… So pleased with this one and the yarn is super-soft. Thank goodness my friends keep having babies, it’s been fun making these tiny projects.

Now I’m off to whip up some Halloween goodies!

Making the Best of Things

tamdoll@comcast.net (tamdoll) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 01:34:00 +0000

I’m working on a tiny project that I don’t want to put up here just yet. I don’t want to spoil someone’s surprise if they happen to follow my blog. I think I’m done with making baby sweaters for a while (unless anyone has any more news to share?????)

Working on another Crocheted Stash Basket from the Purl Bee with this recycled sari silk yarn. I’ve had it for a while, got it on eBay (in 2008 I think) and it’s not my favorite. The colors are great, but when worked up it’s very, very heavy. And there are lots of twigs in it. The thick/thin quality of it doesn’t bother me, but at first I thought I had been ripped off. Since then, I’ve read other people’s reports about it and it seems to be standard for this type of yarn – the twigs and scratchiness of it. So… I finally have a pattern for something non-wearable that I can use it for. Should have it done this weekend to photograph.

When something doesn’t turn out as planned, what do you do with it?

A Confession

tamdoll@comcast.net (tamdoll) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 01:48:00 +0000

I read comics. There it is.

Today was 24 Hour Comics Day, so I stopped by Double Midnight Comics to see what was going on and to see what’s new. I read about Umbrella Academy & wanted to check it out… they didn’t have any so I’ll have to return in a few weeks. I don’t visit the store too often (twice a year?) since it can get pricey… (not as expensive as yarn, I know..) I also wanted to see what Emily the Strange was all about, but couldn’t find anything about that.

Who’s in the picture? That’s Dan Larson, local artist and author of Stick-Man, after a night of drawing. Click the links, go visit and see for yourself.

Did you read comics when you were younger? Do you still? Which ones? Any other confessions you want to make?… I promise, only folks that read the blog comments will ever know….

Finally Friday!

tamdoll@comcast.net (tamdoll) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 01:24:00 +0000

I don’t have my camera at the moment, so instead of w.i.p.’s here’s some of my Flickr favorites: How much do you like Flickr? Pretty addicting place for lots of eye-candy.

Check out the latest post at EtsyChai if you’re interested in reading about the latest Jewish holiday and what Etsy sellers have in store for the coming months.

More to laugh about – over at CraftFail, 11 out of 11 folks who commented thought my bead-fail was an edible creation! I sent them off to Care, who has an amazingly creative blog, Obsessively Stitching, you should check it out!

And here’s a piece I almost forgot about!

Is it too late to work on Halloween projects? I think I’ll have some free time this weekend, and expect to get started on a bunch of new things. Whether I finish any of them is a whole different story.

What are you going to do this weekend? I hope your days are filled with lots of fun activities!

In My Night Kitchen*

tamdoll@comcast.net (tamdoll) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 02:10:00 +0000

Sometimes I stay up late just so I can get some baking done without anyone bothering me in the kitchen. I made 2 of the 3 loaves of No-Knead Challah during the weekend and this last batch, decided to make it easier on myself and instead of braiding, just added it to the pan as balls and brushed the top with water to give it a crustier texture. Middle of the night photo:

By the next night, nothing left.

I’m not sure I’ll use that recipe again, it was heavier and sweeter than my usual sweet yeast-dough recipe but it was soooo simple and quick.

Do you like baking? cooking? What’s your favorite thing to make?

*Yes, that’s a reference to Maurice Sendak’s In the Night Kitchen book.