Don't Forget Mom!

Mother's Day is less than two weeks away -- have you gotten your mom a present yet? Or at least a card? Or are you one of those buy-whatever-is left-at-Walmart-that-morning types?


Well, inspired by my own cool Mom, I've just added a new journal to my shop. I call it my Invincible Mom mini-notebook. Every mom needs to be invincible, whether her battles be with tantrum-throwing toddlers, cranky cashiers, or the occasional fire-breathing dragon. This journal celebrates Mom's strength, but it also recognizes her need to daydream once in a while, if only to escape her battle zone for a bit.

Like all my mini-notebooks, this gem is only $5. Would your mom love to unwrap this on May 10th? Better buy it before someone else does!

Get a Free Journal!

I've just been featured by the Ozark Scents blog -- here's a link to their post about me. There's a fun little interview, plus pics of a bunch of my items. I'm so excited that they decided to feature me!

But the really awesome part is that this feature includes a giveaway. Yup, you could win my "Off the Beaten Track" journal absolutely free! They even have ways for you to get entered in the drawing multiple times by doing things like following my blog or their blog, etc -- check out that post for the official rules. If you blog about this giveaway on your own blog, you'll actually get THREE extra entries! So go check it out right away!

Happy Birthday, Bard!

Today is William Shakespeare's 445th birthday! It also happens to be my 29th birthday. So to celebrate, here are some of my favorite Shakespeare-themed items from other Etsy sellers. Most of them revolve around Hamlet because that's my favorite of his plays (to say the least).

This Hamlet journal comes from the Immortallongings shop run by Elizabeth E. Schuch. Her tender portraits of various Shakespearean characters adorn everything from journals and bookmarks to cards and jewelry. I bought two of her Hamlet bookmarks a few months ago, and I adore them! I'm seriously considering buying this journal with some of my birthday money because it's just so delicious.

Probably the best-known phrase from Hamlet -- and perhaps any of Shakespeare's plays -- has to be "To be or not to be, that is the question." This quirky necklace from Reworkd displays the phrase in an original way. It would make a great gift for someone who loves Shakespeare, Hamlet, or even typewriters.

Another well-known line from Hamlet adorns this groovy pendant from Lpjewelry. The reminder to be true to yourself would be a cool gift for a graduate, don't you think?

This necklace displays one of my favorite Hamlet lines. It's a bit existential, perfect for any deep-thinkers out there.
And finally, this nifty bag from Hamncheezr is a useful way to display your devotion to the Bard's immortal prose. I've never seen anything like it on Etsy -- this is truly one-of-a-kind.

Happy birthday, Shakespeare! You made our language so much richer, I can't imagine what it would be like without you.

Busy Moms of Etsy Blog

You may have noticed this button appear in my sidebar -- it leads to the Busy Moms of Etsy street team's blog. Visit that blog and find time-saving tips, recipes, funny stories, shop features, and more! It's just getting started, but already there are some great posts up. Definitely a blog to follow.

I joined this street team about a week ago and have met so many groovy moms on it! This is a fairly new group, but it's growing rapidly. If you're an Etsy seller and busy mom looking for a laid-back, yet energetic bunch of people to hang with, check us out!

Chicken and Asparagus Kabobs

Whenever asparagus is in season, my husband and I make several recipes a week using it. I made this one a couple nights ago, and it's so yummy I just had to share!


Chicken and Asparagus Kabobs

Dipping Sauce

1 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp sesame salad dressing
1/4 tsp pepper


Marinade

1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp crushed red chilis
1/4 tsp ginger


Kabobs

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts -- cooked and cut into 1" cubes
1 lb thick-stemmed asparagus -- trimmed and cut 2" long
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt

Mix the sauce ingredients and set aside. In a sealable container, mix the marinade ingredients. Add the chicken and toss to coat. In a second sealable container, toss the asparagus with 2 tbsp. olive oil and salt. Thread kabobs, alternating chicken and asparagus. Broil until asparagus is crisp/tender, approximately 5 minutes, turning once. Serve with dipping sauce.

Makes 4-5 servings, 2 kabobs each.

A Fistful of Fun

I'm adding a new line to my shop, cute little crocheted finger puppets. So far I've listed a puppy and a kitten, and I have a little white bunny ready to take pictures of too -- I hope to list it tomorrow.

I'm actually making up my own pattern for these, as none of the patterns I've found are quite what I want. They're either too big or too complex or too floofy -- I just want plain, sturdy little puppets that allow for imaginative play. So I've made these. Dano gets to keep my first attempts at each different puppet, and I make new ones to sell. He loves them! I have lots of ideas for more, so keep an eye on my shop to see what else I come up with.

Ahoy, Matey!

I'm in a new treasury! Or rather, me piratey little sachet is. Many thanks to the ladies at TwoKnit for including it. Go check out the treasury -- it's full of piratical plunder!

Under the Lilacs

When I was a girl, I read every one of Louisa May Alcott's books I could get my hands on. She wrote quite a few besides the Little Women series, you know. One of the ones I liked best was Under the Lilacs, and as I was thinking about it this afternoon, I decided to blog about some pretty lilac and lavender things I've found on Etsy recently.

The first is this beautiful lavender jade bracelet from NewHopeBeading. Isn't it breathtaking? I love silver jewelry, and while I don't wear bracelets often, I definitely would wear this one. I completely adore it.

I also love these Corrie hoop earrings from SilverSunshine (and I love her store name too, don't you?). They're simple and a little playful, and those lilac and aquamarine beads make me think happy Spring thoughts.

Finally, this isn't precisely lilac or lavender, but opals always look slightly purple to me. This silver dragonfly from WaveJewelry makes me yearn for summer, when I could wear open-necked shirts to show it off.

Well, those are the three pretties I've marked as favorites lately. Any of them would be a great addition to your spring wardrobe -- or mine! My birthday's coming up, after all.... :-D

Scrumptious Scrunchies

I've added something new to my shop: scrunchies! You know, those decorative hair elastics people use in their ponytails or braids. Prettier than a plain band, but still very functional and useful. So far I've listed two, one orange and one grey. I'm kind of trying to make them in colors you don't see made into scrunchies as often. There are lots of pretty pink and purple and blue and yellow hair accessories out there, but so many of them seem aimed at younger girls. I want to list things that adults would like too, that are in colors adults wear. Not that girls/tweens/teens wouldn't like these too, of course :-)

"Christy"

I picked up Christy: The Complete Series on dvd a few weeks ago, but didn't get a chance to start watching any of it until today. I put on the pilot episode as soon as the boyo was down for his nap, and pulled out some craft projects to work on while I watched.

I'd forgotton how good this series is! And how much I like Dr. Neil MacNeill (Stewart Finlay-McLennan). And how, the first time I saw Sarah Michelle Gellar on TV, she reminded me of Kellie Martin. I'd watched most of this series when it was on TV 15 years ago, and while my little brother wasn't much of a fan, Mom and I dug it.

Sadly, the pilot lasted longer than Daniel's nap, so I'll have to finish it tomorrow. But I did finish pinning together some little reversible purses I'm experimenting with. Now I just need to find time to pin them together. Two of them are made from this lovely springtime fabric, and I can't wait to see how they turn out!

Opinions, Please

I'm considering changing my "Five Dollar Fun" section in my shop. I'm thinking of renaming it "Little Luxuries" and putting things under $10 in it, instead of limiting it to $5 items. What do you think? I'm also thinking of moving the $5 sachets into the general Sachets section so people don't get confused about why some are in one section and some are in another. Any thoughts about that as well? I'd keep my little crocheted flowers in the Little Luxuries section, as well as my mini notebooks (which I'm going to make more of as soon as I wrap up a couple other projects). But do you think the name change, and moving the sachets so they're all together, will make things easier for potential customers to find? And is it too confusing to have my mini notebooks not in the Journals & Address Books section?

Am I just thinking about all this way too much?