linques design speaks

happy monday!

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. I sure did! I went home again and me and my mom went to some city wide garage sales. It was fun. I also got to check out her new car, and I'm happy to report it's great! I've been focusing a lot of time and energy into Deerly, and I have to admit I really enjoy it. It's fun to play with beads, and take pictures of them! Who wouldn't like that? Here are some new beads I just listed--

I just love flower beads. I use them a lot, and was really happy when I found these pretty lucite ones.

Now it's some show and tell time. I told you before I was very lucky with my birthday presents! I wasn't kidding. Here are some fun new things to play with --

I also wanted to share some of the wonderful things LeeAnn sent my way. I don't want this post to be too picture heavy (which it already is!!), so I'll just share a few things. She was way to generous! So thanks again!!

Isn't this gorgeous!? This is a Jenn Maruska business card holder, and it's so beautiful. Just the little details, like the soft wool and ribbon make it so perfect.

Stripe Out

Cosmo is doing much better. He has to either stay on the couch with us, or in his crate. I have to admit it's a little boring sitting on the couch, but it's worth it. He has to go outside for mini walks three times a day, adding more time each week. He's starting to put his leg down already, which is pretty good!

Derek and I found this fantastic new-ish fabric store near us. It's sew cute! Haha. I would post a link, but I just tried their website listed on their card, and it doesn't seem to be an actual site. Maybe it's in the works. If you're in/near Columbus though, you should definitely check it out- it's called Sew to Speak and it's on N. High Street.

Do you like the scarf I made? I love summer scarves, but I have a hard time finding cute ones. So I've put this one here!

crafting for Cosmo

Well I'm not selling my belongings, but I did craft all day today, just for Cosmo. I figure the more things on Etsy, the better my chance to sell things there to help pay for Cosmo's surgery on Thursday. I made three of the same bag design, and I love it! It was (of course) inspired by some of my Japanese books. The bottom of the bag is pleated, and it looks beautiful when you're using it. They've also got zippers instead of magnets. Here's my favorite version, made out of a Lotto print that I bought and was saving for myself. Oh well, Cosmo needs my help so I figured I'd use it for "him!" You can see the bags here.

Next up: keychains.

pretend

It's fun pretend shopping on my mom's site. To start, I'd get these 3 things:

A cute dish for my strawberries.

A pretty plate for my pins. (yes I often use plates for pins!)

And this little owl just because!

pure and simple

I picked up one tiny skein of Rowan purelife (organic cotton) and immediately put it to good use. (Both of which are available here.)

I've got some more ideas for these pretty necklaces in the works too!

quilt along, week 1

Here's my first block for the Quilt Along! I chose a darker tan for the background, and the actual prints are really pretty muted ones in greens/blues/pale violette. It was fun to make because I've never really done star blocks before. My block is a tad small though- it's supposed to be 12.5 square, and mine's about 12.25 square. I know my seams are all 1/4", but maybe I cut some off? It seemed to go together well, so I don't know. I think I'm just going to keep at it, and see what my block looks like next week before I redo everything.

I finally found something for my front bathroom! I've lived here for 2 years and that bathroom is bare. I got this print from Yumi Yumi, and just love it. It's the perfect color for my towels. I got the frame and mattes at JoAnn's on super clearance, so this was some pretty inexpensive art; just the kind I like!

wow!

My mom was able to make a treasury! Check it out!

patched

Thank you for you nice comments/e-mails about my Etsy issues. So nice of all of you! Thank you thank you! I'll just continue to keep chugging away.

I told you I had some more to share, the main and most exciting being this:

Yes, my quilt top is done! Finally! It didn't hurt to be able to finish it on my new machine. This thing is huge! Just what I wanted. I don't think I'm going to put a border on it, but I haven't made the final decision yet. I have no idea how I'm going to quilt it yet either. In the ditch? Along the X's? Free motion? I don't know.

I also patched up some jeans for a coworker's children. They're just play jeans he said, but the knees were in bad shape. He has been kind enough to lend me many books, and said he could also suplement them with garden fruits and veggies this summer, so I happily mended! I've never patched jeans before, especially such itty bitty ones! I just used some old jeans and wonder unde. On the bigger jeans I also put a patch on the inside with some light, soft cotton since the holes were so large. I then shoved the legs under the needle and zig zagged it all in place. Worked perfectly!

Well today is beautiful out, so maybe I'll take a drive. I normally work Wed-Fri, but I was lucky enough to be able to switch that out this week and work Tuesday instead of Wednesday. I get the joy of taking Cosmo for an ortho consult Wed. His vet can't find anything wrong with him, but he's still limping. She said if ortho doesn't know then we can try neuro. Seriously?! I'll do it all since I'm not going to leave him uncomfortable, but he's a 9 lb little Chihuahua! I hope he appreciates it!!

etsy pitfall

So the other day I was super excited - my tote I put on Etsy sold right away. Except I didn't get payment notification. So I waited because I heard some rumors that paypal had been slow last week and sometimes even kicking back payment. Still nothing the next day either though. So I sent a friendly convo to the buyer, letting them know they could reach me with any issues. I still didn't hear anything, so I had to look up on Etsy what to do if you don't get payment. I found out there's a 3 day grace for payments and that you can file to cancel a sale. I emailed the buyer one last time to advise of this...and finally just got a response. All the buyer said was they wanted me to cancel the sale. Ick! So I'm bummed. I had to file an Etsy report and leave feedback. I left neutral feedback instead of negative because at least the buyer finally responded. Has this happened to anyone else? I had the impression it was very rare on Etsy, but of course it happened to me and my teeny little store.

On to happier Etsy news (for my mom anyway), Jen's Closet has become quite popular! She has sold WAY more than me in a very very short timeframe, and has more favorites as me too. Way to go! And she decided to start a blog too (on my account) to promote. Her ideas of promotion are a bit different then mine, but who am I to judge when she has me so obviously outsold?! And no buy and dash buyers either!

I've got more to share, but not now as it is midnight. I just wanted to vent a little for now!

small things

Thanks to some help and info from LeeAnn and my mom, I just made my first chicken broth and then chicken noodle soup. Yum! I'm turning into a little baby chef. Small steps, right?

I also sewed up that dress I mentioned yesterday. I didn't get any pictures of it today, so I'll try to snag a few tomorrow. It wound up very cute. I also made a little pleated wristlet. This Ginger Blossom fabric is adorable!

What I love best about this bag is the zipper. It's a vintage zipper with metal teeth, and it's mint green! So cute. Why did they switch to plastic?  Oh, more inexpensive and longer lasting? Who needs those!