Happy Things!

Ooooh! How I love adding new things to the store. :) Today I added these yummies:

This is Gibson. I'll admit he's my favorite out of our current batch of robot toys.

The little guys will love this monkey blankie. Soft & adorable!

A handmade card... this one is all dressed up for the party in a plaid flower & colorful numbers!

Tomorrow morning, bright and early, we're heading out to drive north for a visit with Grandma & Grandpa 'Gee. First we'll stop at the outlet mall, of course! It's on the way there. ;) Love that. The kids need clothes in the next sizes up, and Aaron has decided that he wants to dress like Dexter. Ben is SO excited to see his paternal grandparents... they recently moved away and he is still used to seeing them weekly like we used to. And I'm excited to just get away from the usual routine for a few days. It's nice to have time to relax with family and not have to worry about this or that. :)

So, the scoop I've gotten from other Etsy sellers is that February is slow. I'm alright with that! I'm learning the ropes, trying to find our niche, and keeping busy making new things for the shop... oh yeah, and being an at-home mom to my two crazy kiddos.

Thanks for reading today! Hope your Friday & weekend will be blissful.
-Brook

Meet Joan

She hates this picture of herself but I think she's beautiful.

When I'm being creative I make: Dolls, toys, bags, blankets, aprons, quilts, and just about anything I can make with a sewing machine and fabric

What CD is in your CD player right now? I have six in my CD player in my car right now. I know I have Go Fish and Philadelphia Chicken's (for the grandchildren of course), Third Day, Casting Crowns, and I can't remember what else because to be honest I'm into talk radio right now.

Which is worse? Being in a place that is too loud or too quiet? I'd have to say too loud.

Something I'd love to learn how to do: I've always wanted to learn to speed read. There are so many books I want to read and not enough time to read them all. I actually bought a book about learning to speed read but I never finished the first chapter. hmmm

If you were a crayon, what color would you be? I would be the blueish green one or the greenish blue one.

What is your favorite drink, alcoholic or non alcoholic? Grapefruit juice...the non-alcoholic kind.

If you could be any animal what would you be? A Cheetah because they are fast. I would like to do things faster so I could get more done. I'm starting to see a pattern here, are you?

Something I need to do MORE: I need to dust more. Who can keep up with dust? I'd have to do it every day....and then I'd never get anything done. There I go again!

If there was an extra hour in the day, what would you spend it doing? I would spend it in my sewing room, there's never enough time to sew!

You run in to a friend while out shopping. Where are you? I am in the grocery store....ugh

Something I need to do LESS: Think about all the things I want to do and don't do.

List two bad habits that you have: Procrastinating and watching TV. It's all starting to make sense.

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Butter Pecan

What is your crafting medium of choice? Fabric

Something that inspires me: Books, magazines, patterns, and creative people

Meet Brook...

I think I look like a cheeseball in this photo... unfortunately I really do look like this.

Hi! I'm Brook... 99% of the time I'm the one typing here on the blog. Actually, 100% of the time. :) But soon to be 99% because I plan on teaching Mom how to blog. Wish me luck!

Today is my turn to share a little bit of random information about myself and tomorrow you'll read all about Joan (Mom). Call it "breaking the ice" or what have you. :)

When I'm being creative I make: Mostly scrapbook pages but I also enjoy making watercolor or gouache paintings, acrylic paintings on canvas, cards, computer graphics...

What CD is in your CD player right now? I'm very into Pandora lately. My station has a lot of Better Than Ezra, Sting, Cold Play, and The Fray-type stuff.

Which is worse? Being in a place that is too loud or too quiet? Too quiet! Can't stand it. If I didn't LOVE Target so much I would never shop there because it is sooo quiet (no overhead music). Have you noticed that? I always feel obligated to fill the silence.

Something I'd love to learn how to do: Be tidy. Be patient. Be health-conscious.

If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Hmmm... probably red-violet.

What is your favorite drink, alcoholic or non alcoholic? Alcoholic: Mojito Non-Alcoholic: iced Mocha's from S-bux

If you could be any animal what would you be? I'm trying not to go too deep with this, but I think I would be a Bear. Tough, strong, social, determined, likes to hibernate, fuzzy-wuzzy... :)

Something I need to do MORE: Sleep. That would be nice.

If there was an extra hour in the day, what would you spend it doing? See above.

You run in to a friend while out shopping. Where are you? Unfortunately, probably the grocery store! :) I would like to say a craft store, Macy's or Brighton...

Something I need to do LESS: Eat. But I like it too much.

List two bad habits that you have: I am a nail-biter. Yes, I admit it. It's a nervous habit. Also I am loud and outspoken. I need to work on the volume sometimes.

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Butter Pecan.

What is your crafting medium of choice? Patterned papers! Paints in every hue. Pretty things that sparkle.... anything with delicious colors.

Something that inspires me: My children, their toys and clothes, sharing ideas with my husband, looking at & enjoying God's creation, and work by people who follow their artistic passion without abandon.

Woo-hoo!!! The shop is OPEN!

Yes, my friends... the shop is finally open! I am sitting here at my laptop just workin' away listing our items with such pride and joy swelling up in my heart. Our works of love... *sigh* growing up so fast... leaving the nest...

LOL!

Seriously, though. We HOPE they will "leave the nest" and find a home soon. See that BIG red square on the left that says "visit the shop"? Click it and check out our Etsy shop if you have a minute, of course it will only take a minute because I only have 2 items listed right now... hahaha. :) But don't worry, before the day is over I will have more. And then tomorrow there will be more. And so on... ;)

And if you REALLY love us (or even if you barely know us) please sign up for our fancy-schmancy E-mail Newsletter! I crafted up something really pretty and I'd love to share it with you... of course, you can always unsubscribe if you decide it's not something you want in your inbox. The Newsletter will be sent every couple of weeks and includes special offers only for subscribers. The form to sign up is on the left hand column of the blog.

Alrighty! Back to work for me! More tomorrow...

Handmade Cards!!!

Send some card love to your friends and family in one of these pretties:

Studded with little candy-like buttons and cheerful messages...

Birds and paper blooms... soooo sweet.

The cards come in assorted (coordinated) sets of three with envelopes. They're blank inside so you can write your own message. And there's nothing like sending a handmade card to show how much you really care. :)

Our Robots...

Robby the original robot toy

It all started with my son's 3rd birthday. Mom made him a priceless gift: a stuffed robot toy. Ben was SO into them (still is) and funny enough, robot toys are not the easiest to find. Right from the moment the robot was unwrapped he was adored by my son! It was the most adorable, loveable, quirky robot I'd ever seen... we affectionately named him Robby. Ben insisted on bringing him with us everywhere we went and slept with him, too. He was a hit at our house.

I was so inspired by that robot and many of my friends were asking where I got it. Mom and I sat down and refined his pattern to improve his design. We were having so much fun that we designed a few friends for him while we were at it!

Meet our new friends:

Webster

Spencer

Emerson

Davis

Gibson

Dulcy

These plush robot toys are so well crafted (mom is a perfectionist) and unique. Their colors are happy and fun. And their faces will certainly make you smile! They are made of soft minky and cotton fabrics. The eyes & dials/hearts are hand-cut felt and the mouths & antennae are ribbon... everything is double stitched with the utmost care. They are very durable bots! And very CUTE!!!

Hi! This is us!

I'm her snookums. She's my mom. :)

A card can say a thousand things...

... well, if you have very extremely super duper tiny handwriting! :)

Speaking of cards, here is another juicy bit you can expect to find in the Snookums & Me store:



Stay tuned for more eye candy!