Sweet Tweets

I've Moved

2009-03-31T13:52:00.000-07:00

I've simplified and have combined my personal and craft blogs! Catch me here!

Dolls, Lemonade and Tea Parties

2009-01-10T10:04:00.000-08:00

Busy week! First off, it was wonderful to have all four kids back in school and on schedules! I thrive on routine! With that, I had some craft time and made these three dolls which are now in the shop.

I also tried my hand at a rag wreath and made great strides in de-stashing my scrap supply! Fun, easy and I can't wait to do another!

Even though we're enjoying cool 60 degree highs here, my lemons, grapefruits and oranges are perfect and providing wonderful homemade lemonade and orange juice.

Which comes in mighty useful for tea parties with this cute girl!

Give Away Winner

2009-01-07T15:55:00.000-08:00

Many thanks for all the sweet comments you left! I'm excited to announce that Mandy is the winner of the Spring Matryoshka Doll! She was selected using the "Random Integer Generator" over at Random.Org!

150 Sales!!!

2009-01-05T13:50:00.000-08:00

That's right! Since opening my very humble little Sweet Tweets shop just under a year ago, I've had 150 sales! It's really been so fun and I'm grateful for all your love and support and the worldwide customer base! I'm uncertain what the future holds with this dark cloud looming, but I feel blessed to have had such a fun ride to this point! What a blessing!

To celebrate, I'm doing a little GIVEAWAY!!! Enter by leaving a comment and a random winner will be selected and announced Wednesday, January 7th at 9PM Arizona Time (that's right, I have my very own time zone!) And between now and then, I'll be making the adorable giveaway prize!

To A Wonderful 2009

2008-12-31T16:38:00.000-08:00

Matryoshka Doll Shirt

2008-12-30T14:56:00.000-08:00

Is it too soon for tee shirts?! Well, I've put a couple in the shop and we'll see! My little Tessa is begging for one too, so I'm off to make her one!

Happy New Year!

Sad News

2008-12-18T08:30:00.000-08:00

Uh~oh. We have trouble with a capital "T"! According to this article by Cool Mom Picks, "Congress passed the ill-conceived Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act, a law which goes into effect in two months and will absolutely decimate the small toy manufacturers, independent artisans, and crafters who have already earned the public trust."

Bottom line, this means that effective February 2009 it will be ILLEGAL for me to sell my handmade dolls. ANYWHERE!

You can sign this petition and for more info and what YOU can do to help, please go here. It took me a mere three minutes to email my congressman to ask for his help in ammending this poor decision!

Spreading Joy

2008-12-16T11:12:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I attended a lovely Christmas party hosted by my dear friend, Audra. Each of the invitees was gifted with this wonderful "JOY" banner! I thought that was such a thoughtful and festive idea! Thanks, Audra!

To make your own banner, go here!

Printable Advent

2008-12-15T07:49:00.000-08:00

I know I've totally missed the boat for making this great project this year, but hey, I'll be so prepared in 2009! Check out the wonderful photo advent calendar you can print yourself at Kodak! You can customize the background ~ what's behind the windows~ with photos, sayings, scriptures, whatever! The free template is here.

Glitter Village

2008-12-13T21:55:00.000-08:00

Have you noticed that the "After Christmas Sales" have started before Christmas?! I was at Joann's yesterday and all their Christmas was 60% off and they'd begun throwing Valentines' Day on the shelves!!! I'm so not ready for that!

Last year I picked up one of the Martha Stewart Christmas Glitter Village kits on clearance after the big day. I was so excited when I opened up my Christmas boxes to decorate this year and found it waiting to be assembled!

The kiddos just loved watching and helped some. It turned out pretty cute and I think it would be fun for them to have their own village to make. Or at least a house.

Here are some free paper house printables here, here and here and here which we may try to make an attempt at. Might be a fun Christmas Vacation project!

Joy

2008-12-10T13:41:00.000-08:00

We stayed up late, granting the kiddos request to watch "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and once everyone was in bed, I was ready for a little spray painting! The dog looked at me like I was crazy, but this frame needed an overhaul! It's much happier being a black frame and my little Christmas "Joy" hits the spot.

It found a home on the top of my piano, snuggled between my flocked trees and happy angels.

Home Goods WAS good to me!

I thought they were so sweet and didn't want them lost on the Christmas tree.

So they're caroling among the trees appropriately placed on the piano...

...which my three boys spend a collective hour and a half at each day, blessing us with melodic love.

It's A Wrap!

2008-12-09T07:28:00.000-08:00

Big sigh.....I think we're all done with the Christmas shopping and can now enjoy the reason for this glorious time of year!

If you have any gift cards you're giving this Christmas, you may want to check out Heather Bailey's free download pattern for these darling gift boxes! So, so cute!

A Letter To The Man

2008-12-05T09:50:00.001-08:00

Dear Santa,

In my spectacular efforts to get my "craftiness" more organized, I came across this adorable sewing basket. I'm sure that you'd be doing both my DH and I a great favor by tucking this under our tree. My poor man patiently maneuvers around the array of supplies so needing arranging and this darling sewing basket would be a great start!

And not to sound greedy, but my bunny statue pin cushion took a nasty fall, breaking it's legs, rendering it near useless. This might just make a fine replacement.

Or this one, just for kicks!

Much Love,

Me

Elf Stitchettes

2008-12-05T07:46:00.000-08:00

If you haven't visited Hillary Lang over at Wee Wonderfuls, don't wait another minute! I particularly love her darling stitchery patterns. You can find the FREE DOWNLOAD of these little elf stitchettes here. How cute would they be on a stocking, dish towel, framed in an embroidery hoop, or on a child's holiday pillow case?!

Oh, Christmas Tree

2008-12-03T12:42:00.000-08:00

I'm just dying over how cute these ornaments by Emily Martin are!!!!!!!!!!!! They'll be up for sale in her shop Friday (if you're wondering what to get me for Christmas.)

Jingle This!

2008-12-02T08:08:00.000-08:00

Shopping, shopping, shopping....I'm such a procrastinator! Actually I just work really well under pressure!

2008-11-27T14:33:00.000-08:00

Gobble, Glitter & Glue

2008-11-25T08:30:00.000-08:00

On a recent thrifting excursion, I acquired two beat up Pottery Barn art display frames. They have a hidden pocket for quick and easy picture exchange in the back. So as I was cleaning out a storage box yesterday, I found a calender with art work by Becky Kelly and thought I'd put November's picture in one of the frames.

I used my handy dandy masking tape to stick it on some patterned paper, added some glitter and a few ribbons and slipped it into my very distressed looking frame. I wasn't going to use the frames until I un-distressed them a bit, but once they're occupied, they don't look so bad.

Christmas Advent

2008-11-22T20:47:00.000-08:00

The Christmas Advent Calendar is a childhood tradition that I cherish and have carried on in our family. If I'm on the ball I'm able to find one depicting the Nativity. Last year, one of the kiddos requested a "candy" nativity. So with November quickly disappearing, I headed to the usual places I'd found the chocolate filled calendars (Trader Joe's... Cost Plus) and found, to my great disappointment, they had SOLD OUT days ago!

Embroidered Felt Advent

So I've been thinking about advent calendars. All year. I love this one by The Pearl Bee. Definitely my speed. Lots of potential infused creativity to go along with their wonderful FREE TUTORIAL.

24 Exclusive Advent Calendar Pouches

I started poking around Etsy for some ideas to "copy" (for personal use only, of course!) I really like these pouches, but I'm a hand sewer...this would be too much work.

Merry and Bright Christmas Stocking

The gals from this cute Etsy shop and myself were mutual vendors at a local craft fair and from my location I kept eyeing these very clever advent stocking! Little pockets for each day! Super cute...too big a project for me though and we already have stockings.

Felt Pocket Christmas Countdown

I found this great advent designed by Jenny Harris over at Allsorts and thought this might just be THE one!

Then, my little dream bubble containing my wish to make a darling advent BURST and three days ago I popped into Trader Joe's and picked up four of these.

Yep!

Chocolate candy advent calendars!

But they're going quickly so head on over!

Kind Of Twisted

2008-11-19T19:43:00.000-08:00

Cute! But guilty as sin!

For more pictures, go here.

Free Shipping! Meow!

2008-11-16T18:11:00.000-08:00

Busy week! We had a great "turnout" for the BOGO sale at the shop and to keep the "sale spirit" going, I decided to run a free shipping sale, following suit with Leigh over at Silly Turnip.

This is just a sampling of some of her great stuff ~ Baby Trees! Aren't they super!

I've been on a "kitten kick" this week. The blue one up top is my favorite...so soft and peaceful and just the right size for little hands!

Tuesday's Treasure

2008-11-11T14:03:00.000-08:00

As a "desert dweller", I was pretty excited to find these acorn-ish things at the park today! When my eye first saw them, I thought of these. Then I called my daughter over, telling her I'd found some fairy hats, rambling on about them leaving their hats behind after their party last night.

So I Googled "acorn fairy hats" when we got home and found this. Over the top cute and I'm thinking that maybe, just maybe I'd take a stab at making one, because if you're like me, you look at something and say "Oh, I could totally make that!" And sometimes we actually do.

Oh, Scrap!

2008-11-10T17:28:00.001-08:00

Thanks to Molly Chicken, I now know what to do with all my extra scraps!

Fun Thanksgiving Crafts

2008-11-07T09:57:00.000-08:00

I've always WANTED to make a "Thanksgiving Tree" with our family...and I think with these beautiful printables, we're set! You can find them here!

A few years ago, I made these place cards and they were quite a hit! Easy instructions here.

And if you have little one's, you can spiff up their turkey hand drawings with this fun page here.

Sweet Tweets BOGO Sale

2008-11-06T11:42:00.000-08:00

I'm having a BOGO sale over at my shop and wanted to

spread

the

good news!

Local pick-up is always welcome!!

Chihuly: The Nature of Glass

2008-11-05T20:45:00.000-08:00

We're pretty blessed! We have this gorgeous blown glass chandelier, The Sun and the Moon, by
Dale Chihuly, hanging in our library entrance! Upon every visit, we stop underneath it's magnificence and marvel.

Now we're doubly blessed to have this exhibit in Phoenix! If you're in the area, it's a must see!

Got Acorns?

2008-11-05T20:28:00.000-08:00

I don't...but if you do, here's something really FALLISH you can do with them!

Lucky #10

2008-11-05T06:14:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to CK! You were commenter #10, winning you the happy little owl.

Thanks to all of you for your sweet comments. I love that you visit this blog and I love hearing from you!

Do Your Duty!

2008-11-04T11:28:00.001-08:00

I Heart Fall!

2008-11-01T23:24:00.000-07:00

November 2nd, and we're still running our A/C. One HAS to look on the bright side, living in Phoenix, and the nice thing about our weather is that it does provide two growing seasons. In the past I've been a much better gardener than I am now. These days, my gardening consists of a squash and tomato plant. I put them in my big pots out front that usually are adorning my yard with beautiful geraniums. But being frugally minded these days, I decided I'd rather spend my money on food bearing plants than flowers. I do miss my geraniums, though.

We took a little drive up to Sedona to enjoy the fall colors ~ because there certainly aren't any around here! We were in heaven with the cooler temps and beautiful scenery. And it got me to thinking...

...with November being here, why not do a FALL GIVE AWAY with this little HOOT as the prize! So go ahead and leave a comment to be entered! If you're leaving an anonymous comment, please be sure to leave your contact info! The winner will be announced on Wednesday morning!

And if you're living somewhere fall-ish, please go outside, take a deep breath in through your nose and enjoy the cool, yummy air for me! :)

2008-10-31T05:42:00.000-07:00

Quilt This!

2008-10-30T16:00:00.000-07:00

Don't quilt? Well, "quilt" your computer by downloading free desktop wallpaper here!

Shop Update!

2008-10-27T22:14:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since Sweet Tweets has seen so much update action! I kept very busy today adding many more little friends to the shop shelves today and wanted to share a few. Joining the crowd is this precious kitten made from a darling Gymboree dress.

This little cashmere bunny dances to her own drum!

Then there's a parade of bunnies of many colors and textures! Some are polka dot...

...while this brown and pink minky bunny just makes me want to curl up and take a nap!

My sweet Mark was just called in to work (at 10:19 PM) and I'm feeling a little guilty heading off to bed while he puts out fires...not literally...his company is installing traffic cams (don't shoot the messenger) so if there's a problem, it's a big problem because the freeways are shut down, blah, blah, blah...off to dream land with heavy lids.

PS. Stop back by Friday for some Give Away love!

Pumpkin Time

2008-10-24T07:37:00.000-07:00

We are such the "traditional pumpkin" family! Nothing too exciting, just the traditional triangle eyes, a nose and mouth with a couple teeth. One year, we let each child design a facial part and that was pretty fun. I truly admire those creative minds that have and take the time to design such fanciful and clever pumpkins! This "Cinderella Carriage" pumpkin takes the cake for me! If you're feeling ambitious, you can find the design instructions here.

Of course I'm a sucker for anything owls. Martha has these over~the~top owl pumpkin designs that I just adore! There are some more great ideas here and here.

Ready, Set, Sew!

2008-10-23T09:22:00.000-07:00

A HUGE thanks to the awesome Crafters who showed up to make "Emily Dolls" yesterday! You are such sweet, dear family and friends and it just made my WEEK to share such a fun activity with you! And to those of you who left such lovely comments about wanting to come...oh, how I wish you lived closer! If you make dolls, I hope you'll share pictures!

Some of us amazed ourselves with our sewing prowess!

Janet is a piano teacher so little "Whimsy" is a musical reflection of her wonderful talent!

My drop-dead-gorgeous babe of a mom came and worked on a lovely stitchery project.

The little girlies amused themselves playing dress-up and munching on yummy sandwiches! (Thanks, Mom!)

Here's Kathee's daughter showing off Kathee's FIRST HAND SEWN PROJECT!!! You ROCK, girl!

Here's my BIG "Emily Doll" made from the pattern and fabric I bought from artist herself! I kind of like her. A lot.

There's talk of another little "craft group" gathering next month...I'll keep you posted...and here's a little hint of what we'd probably be making.

Hissyfits

2008-10-15T22:02:00.000-07:00

I'll be packing up my antique, white distressed barn table and lots of crafty goodness and heading to Hissyfits to set up shop for their Craft Fair! If you're in the area, I'd absolutely love to see you there! It's at the northwest corner of 7th Street & Glendale.

Addicting

2008-10-14T23:05:00.000-07:00

You can't make just one...at least I can't!

Play Day

2008-10-11T20:08:00.000-07:00

I've been dying to make one of Emily Martin's dolls ever since she so generously shared it with her guest appearance on Martha. You can find the pattern here. It's really simple...I even sewed it all by hand.

Although the instructions say to enlarge the pattern, I made it "as is" to see how it would turn out.

She's just the cutest little thing and I can't wait to make more. Of course my daughter was there helping to "stuff" little "Sadie" (sorry, no photos).

And Buddy and Snowball were my faithful photography assistants.

Cheery

2008-10-07T08:53:00.001-07:00

If you haven't spotted her yet, here's the newest bunny to hop into the Sweet Tweets Shop. Turquoise and red are just meant for each other and the white polka dots are just the cherry on top! She also has a couple new friends with her ~ The Red Beaded Matryoshka Doll and T urquoise Cashmere Kitten.

I need to hunt down more of this fabric! I just love these roses! And since I'm in a turquoise and red mood...I thought I'd share some Etsy finds that are quite darling! Oh, and I almost forgot! Stay tuned for a Halloween Giveaway coming soon!!!

Pretty Bird Set of Magnets

Pretty In Posies Felt Clippies

Rainy Day by Lillian

Strawberry Fabric and Felt Puffy Pendant

October For Me Is...

2008-10-01T14:52:00.000-07:00

Cool(er) Weather
Pumpkin Brownies
Crafts
Soups
Creating Costumes
Hanging My Bats

P.S. Those are all links!

Quilt Love

2008-09-29T18:57:00.000-07:00

I was one of the lucky grandchildren who received one of the "Papa Quilts". I don't know the whole story, but apparently, when my Papa lived in Eastern Oregon, there was a local lady who made quilts and he bought many of them.

We use it all the time, and the kids know it as the "Papa Quilt". Although he's no longer with us physically, I love the memories it brings to mind when I pull it out at "movie time" and the kids pile on it with a big bowl of popcorn.

I ADORE this quilt! It was given to me as a baby gift and considering it's age (don't ask!) it's in pretty good shape! The yellow poodle on the top right was always my favorite! At one point I had it hung on Tessa's wall, but then took it down and put it into "blanket circulation" where it's used and loved regularly! Just today Tessa had an armful of babies piled in it.

Don't you just love this Dick and Jane baby quilt!?! You just CAN'T go wrong with mixing "Dick and Jane" and "quilting"! That's some awesome talent and I admit that I have some serious quilter envy going on! But I'll get over it soon...I'm going to go cuddle up on the couch in the Papa Quilt, drink some lemon-honey tea to counter my sinus infection and enjoy my family. Now that's some real quilt love!

Finding The Mexican In Me

2008-09-24T14:58:00.000-07:00

I like to think that I'm a practical person. Even when I'm "thrifting". That's why I tried reasoning with myself when I saw this mirror. I really liked it but thought, good grief ANOTHER mirror!? Not even my style! (What IS my style?) Do I even HAVE empty wall space?!

And then I became "Trevlyn, The Impulsive Thrifter". And it's a darn good thing, because I found a spot that NEEDED something to replace the "mistake" I'd put there, and by golly, we live in PHOENIX, ARIZONA for crying out loud! Don't I NEED some Mexican flavored home decor somewhere in my house?!

My purchase was validated just yesterday when the order-taker at Del Taco was trying to clarify my request asking, "Tortila con queso?"

I answered , "Si!"

The mirror is rubbing off on me.

NieNie Etsy Benefit Sale

2008-09-22T18:40:00.000-07:00

If you have yet to discover the wonderful world of Etsy, now's your chance! The Sale Runs is at this shop and will run

Wednesday, Sept 24th 10:00 a.m PST
Thursday, Sept 25th, 10:00 a.m. PST
Friday, September 26, 10 a.m. PST

You'll find amazing hand made items for sale with the proceeds being donated to the Stephanie and Christian Nielsen Recovery Fund.

Morgan Moore has gone to a ton of work to put this together and I'm even "representing"! Hope you'll swing by!

Monday, Monday

2008-09-22T12:55:00.000-07:00

I'm riding the post-weekend wave. It was really a great "family" weekend overall.

High school football game.

Cousin's baptism and family gathering.

My MEN delivered a truckload of yard trimmings, branches and odds and ends to the dump.

Made a huge pot of taco soup and homemade bread.

Grandma's birthday party(which I missed...feeling yucky).

I hit my favorite "treasure store" on Friday morning (which is becoming quite the tradition) and found this lovely hand embroidered vintage table runner. It's over at the shop if you're wanting a closer look.

Happy Monday!

Lucky 13

2008-09-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Give Away winner (determined by Random Integer Generator below) is lucky commenter number 13!

Kim said...

"Hi I found your blog from Lori
I think your stuff great!"

Congratulations, Kim! Please email me at nally2823@yahoo.com so I can send you the bunny!

Thanks to all of you who participated and for your sweet comments! And if you just don't think you can live without this bunny, her sister is over in my shop!

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

Timestamp: 2008-09-20 11:32:55 UTC

It's About Time!

2008-09-17T15:19:00.001-07:00

I'm thrilled to announce the first give away on my official Sweet Tweets Blog!

Enter by leaving a comment (feel free to gush!) between now and Friday, September 19th at 11:29 PM.

Winner will be announced by 10:00 am Saturday morning, September 20th!

What's the give away, you ask?  Oh, yeah!  This adorable (to me) handmade patchwork bunny made (by me) from a repurposed pillow case is the PRIZE!  She ('cuz it sure doesn't look like a HE!) stands 10" tall and has a cute little felt face with hand embroidered eyes, nose and mouth.  Pretty sweet!  Have fun!

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall

2008-09-16T11:51:00.000-07:00

We did a little shopping this weekend and found this fabulous mirror. Antique, you ask? Oh, no. It's made from a special kind of foam! And I'd know, because I accidently chipped a bit off! Found it at Ross for $29.99! I'm not one to keep bargain secrets. I've heard that getting a good shopping deal releases endorphins and I think my body gives me a little extra because I sure thrill in the hunt for a really good bargain!

In fact, I was looking around the house the other day, doing a little mental inventory of our "home decor" items and realized that most of them are from garage sales, thrift stores or peoples bulk trash piles. That's another fun post in and of itself!

(Warning: If you're just not ready for Halloween yet, you might want to back click.)

Then there are the few homemade items to fill in the spaces. You may remember this one from last year.

I know it's early, but Tessa and I had so much fun pulling out the Halloween box and unwrapping each item. It's fun when children reach the age when they can remember things from year to year!

This is just a silly little trick-or-treat bag I made YEARS ago. I hang it around the house in random spots and the kids check it because every couple days or so I'll slip some treats into it.

Softie Love

2008-09-15T06:30:00.000-07:00

I was checking out "The Softies Kit" and falling in love with the little creations and video they made with the dolls. Hilarious! After trying my hand at making my own dolls and softies I think I'm ready to pick up a few of these books!

I can SO relate to the white bunny's bleeding finger! I'm always stabbing myself with my needle!

An End in Sight

2008-09-12T08:13:00.000-07:00

Well, my friend, the temperatures here are dipping below 100 and I think this will be the weekend I pull out the Halloween decorations! I know it's early, but since I've been running my A/C since the end of April, I'll do anything to make it more fall-ish! Here's a little decoration I did last year and I'm excited to try some more! It's a nice transition into Fall activity! I can't wait to open my windows and doors! It's like our second spring!

Vintage Sister Studio

Here are just two paintings by some of my favorite Etsy artists!

Time With Tascha

Aren't they just adorable! These are definitely my "license to decorate"!

Etsy Love

2008-09-11T07:51:00.000-07:00

Fly Free

My bangs are hangin' a bit long lately and I'm thinking that I could get away with pulling them back with one of these clips from Lemons and Lollis' Couture Hair Candy Collection!

Mushroom House

I just love the detail and attention that goes into these!

Was that some eye candy or what?! Tempted? I am! And with their reasonable prices, I just might have to get myself....I mean, my daughter...more than one!

Priorities? What Priorities?

2008-09-09T15:48:00.000-07:00

Should have been dusting.

Sewed instead. Much more fun!

This sweet bunny hopped on over here.

Pincushion

2008-09-08T18:28:00.000-07:00

Tried something a little different and liked it. It's here in the shop if you're wanting a peek.

I think we're getting close to pulling out the Halloween decorations! These two have been going pretty crazy raiding the costume box and getting me in the mood for some witches and goblins. It helps to remind me that this 100 degree weather won't last too much longer (I hope!)

Puppies 4 Sale!

2008-09-06T17:58:00.000-07:00

When I visited Leigh's Etsy shop, Silly Turnip, I couldn't get over the cleverness of this picture, or the adorableness of the handmade puppies!

So when I saw that she was having a SALE, I could hold out no longer! I had to make "Buttercup" mine!

Well, she arrived today, and was so happy to come in out of the 107 degree heat where she was ooo'd and aaaa'd over endlessly!

Then my daughter and I realized she seemed a little homesick for her brothers and sisters. No amount of consoling would do! There was only one solution!

We asked for "Pickles" to come and join her. That should make everyone happy!

You can check out Silly Turnips adorable dolls here!

Patchwork Bunnies

2008-09-04T15:12:00.000-07:00

I know I'm pretty normal to have a "thing" for bunnies. As a girl, each Friday one of my chores was to dust the living room. I remember two statues in that room. One of a painted ceramic rabbit and the other a statue of a boy holding a bunny. I remember lifting the rabbit one Friday to dust underneath, and in my haste, it slipped out of my hands and crashed to the floor. Poor thing lost an ear.

Maybe that's why I haven't assigned my boys any dusting chores other than their own rooms!

Show and Tell and Eat!

2008-09-03T14:07:00.000-07:00

Happy, happy day! I received the darling fabric bunting that I "won" in the NieNie Silent Auction over at the uber talented Heather Hales Designs blog!

Here's a better picture that Heather posted. My kitchen doesn't have much natural light.

And while you're in my kitchen, thought I'd share one of our family's all time favorite recipes!

These snickerdoodles are the BEST and won't last long!
You can find the recipe here.

Sweet Sale!

2008-09-02T10:50:00.001-07:00

Just a sweet little reminder that today through Sunday, September 7th, half of the proceeds of all the sales at my Etsy shop, Sweet Tweets, will be immediately donated to the Nielsens' Recovery Fund!

Thanks bunches to those who've made purchases to support this event! This is the latest Matryoshka doll to go into the shop and there just might be a few more soon! You'll have to check back often because I'm regularly adding new items!

So swing on by! If you didn't get in on Design Mom's auction, now's your chance to make a financial contribution and get a little something sweet!

Thrifting Jack Pot

2008-09-01T16:13:00.000-07:00

Even though I was busy Friday getting us packed up for our weekend getaway to the mountains, I squeezed in a visit to the thrift store.

I've been wanting a nightlight figurine for my daughter's room for some time now and think I found just the one!

I've been a fan of Little Red Riding Hood for some time now, even did some sketches back when I did that kind of stuff.

So now maybe I can get her to part with the bathroom light!

Also found a cute little cake stand for $1.50.

So perfect for little girl tea parties!

Last are these pillow shams which just made my day! Can't wait to determine their destiny!

Friday's my favorite thrifting day!

A Sweet Winner!

2008-08-29T12:13:00.000-07:00

Thank you all who participated in this Sweet Tweets auction! I'm very humbled by everyone's generosity and compassion for Stephanie and her family and I feel truly blessed to have been a part of this. Bidding is now closed and would "Anonymous" with the winning bid of $70 please email me at nally2823@yahoo.com so we can chat about finishing things up!

Congratulations to Ginna, the Door Prize Winner!

Determined using the Random Integer Generator at Random.org

I'm currently donating 50% of all the proceeds from my Etsy Shop, Sweet Tweets, to the Nie Recovery Fund! So if you get a chance, swing on by! I'm putting new sweets in it regularly!

Praying for the Nielsens!

Nie Nie Day Auction!

2008-08-27T00:00:00.000-07:00

I'm joining with Design Mom and a lovely and caring community of bloggers who are celebrating this Thursday, August 28th, as Nie Nie Day. Many bloggers are holding silent auctions on behalf of the Nielsens. I've been an avid reader of Stephanie's blog, the Nie Nie Dialogues for about a year and a half now, and love starting my day with her daily dose of passion for her role as mother, wife, homemaker and daughter of God. Stephanie and her husband, Christian were seriously injured in a private plane crash and are in need of endless prayers and financial support. Their medical bills are expected to be in the millions. For information about them and how you can participate in their support, go here.

Click on picture for close-up.

So, here it goes! Since Nie Nie's Dialogue s header was often decorated with birds, I thought it fitting to auction off a bird-themed threesome of items from Sweet Tweets!

THIS AUCTION INCLUDES ALL THREE ITEMS!

First is this "Sweet Tweet" Homemade Bird Collage. This "tweet", framed in an 8" x 10" wooden frame, is adorned with a beautiful glitter crown, twig legs and is singing songs of well wishes for a speedy and full recovery for Nie and her husband.

Next in the auction is this gorgeous BLACK BIRD PENDANT. This pillowy square pendant , handmade by Imogen, measures just a little under an inch. The metal loop at the top is sterling silver. I own one of these and love it so much I bought another just to have on hand. Now I know why!

Actual pendant in auction.

Here's an example of its size when worn. (Sorry, chain not included.)

And last, but certainly not least, is this precious Owl Pillow. I hand made this adorable owl from a repurposed soft JCrew lambswool sweater. Her eyes are made from felted wool, cashmere and buttons. Her wings are made from darling floral fabric and her beak is from a repurposed cashmere sweater. She measures 8" x 6".

Auction Rules

How to bid: Bid using the comments section - you can choose to use your actual name, or "anonymous" and email me your info (nally2823 [at] yahoo [dot] com).

How much to bid: Bid in increments of $1 or more (I'll start at $10, the next bid could be $11, and so on). You'll want to check in regularly to check the status of your bid! If someone bids higher than you, go ahead and bid again!

Door Prize: Each time you make a bid your name will go into a hat for a exciting door prize!! It's a doll, pin cushion, featuring two adorable girls (one on each side) all glammed up and skipping rope. I hand stitched this using Oilily fabric. See side bar for pictures.

When will this end? Bidding for my auction will end at 12 PM Pacific time on Friday, August 29.

Payment: Once the bidding closes, I will announce and contact the winning bidder. Then as the winner you will donate directly to Stephanie & Christian's Paypal account and then email me at nally2823@yahoo.com a copy of your receipt. Your "Sweet Tweets" will then fly your way!

2008-08-23T11:41:00.000-07:00

When I saw this Matryoshka fabric, I knew I had to get some.

I think she's too precious on this shirt , which has already made its way over to the shop.

Of course I couldn't pass up this darling owl flannel print...I'm still musing about what to do with that.

And I think this will make a pretty cute little doll. With these colors, I might just have to make one for my kitchen!

Pincushion Dolls

2008-08-18T10:26:00.000-07:00

I had this pair of Oilily pants that I thought I'd sell on Ebay....but I just couldn't part with them.

I just fell in love with these little glammed up ~ mary-jane wearing ~ jump roping girls and wanted to do something with them.

So, I've begun turning them into little pincushion dolls. They're so colorful and playful and have skipped on over to the shop. They seem quite happy.

Bird Lady

2008-08-15T08:48:00.000-07:00

I'm crushing so hard on this AWESOME Bird Lady painting by Tascha. Since I don't have the dinero to buy it, I'm making it my computer background! The Bird Lady is my love for Matryoshka dolls and birds all wrapped up in one sweet package!

Ruffled Feathers

2008-08-14T09:54:00.001-07:00

Now that the "Back to School" dust is settling and we're getting our groove back on, I pulled out my sewing stuff last night and started working on a big "pillow-ish" owl.

I'm calling her "Lily" because her bright colored fabric comes from an Oilily dress. She's really quite the name-brand little "tweet"! A combination of a Talbots merino wool sweater made in Italy, the fun Euro Oilily dress and a felted wool Gap beak.

But don't let all the name-brand-dropping fool you. She's as humble as pie and with those precious ruffled wings, she's ready to flap off to a new home. You can find her here in the shop.

"Fairy Girls" Collage

2008-08-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

I've decided it's time to part with these sweet wand-waving, wing-flapping, crown-wearing fairy girls and let them find a new home. They were so fun to create and I certainly fell in love with glitter during this project!

This little "Trust In Love" fairy girl is one of my favs. Her little pouting mouth is too precious!

Click on this picture to "super-size" it!

You can see more detailed pictures of this collage here in my shop.

The Shop

2008-08-12T12:02:00.001-07:00