It's Time For A Giveaway!!!

YEAH!!! I'm super excited to announce my very first giveaway!!! I've been wanting to do one for the last couple of weeks thinking it would be a great way to introduce my new shop, meet new people and....well, because I thought it would just be FUN! 

This giveaway is to celebrate receiving 100 likes on my Facebook page and I really hope you'll enter ~ you have five opportunities to do so ~ because there are lots of pretties in the shop to choose from!

Good Luck!

Felted Hand Knit Wrap Bracelet

i love love love yarn shops and i'm fortunate to have a lovely one less than 10 minutes from my home. i'm like a kid in a candy store when i go....the colors, the textures, the accessories; you know what i'm talking about. it's like a welcomed sensory overload. i get that way in stationary stores, hardware shops, spice markets ~ all places that speak to my creative soul.

lately, my creative soul has been loving wrap bracelets and i finally learned how to make the cute beaded kind that are popping up all over the place. let me tell you ~ easy peasey lemon squeezey. make one (or two or ten). they're totally addicting.





seriously, once you make one you want to keep making others. and don't limit yourself to leather and beads. yarn is wonderful for these too. i have tons of leftover skeins from other projects and picked out some pretty teal wool, picked up some size 5 double pointed needles and started knitting an i-cord. if you're not sure about how to do this, just do a search on youtube and you'll find lots of great tutorials. i knew i wanted to felt it so it made it pretty long. to make the closure loop, i just brought the end of the i-cord around secured it with matching thread. and i attached a gorgeous clear vintage glass button to the opposite end. you'll want to do this before you felt it because the when the wool fibers felt up, they tighten around the thread.






i love the look of it, especially with jeans and a cute t-shirt or tank. and it's one of those pieces that looks great whether you're going casual or dressing up. i even wrapped it around my neck a couple of times and it makes a fun necklace! love when a piece of jewelry can be worn different ways.

Welcome...

So I'm kinda lovin' the versatility of quilting and embroidery hoops. They can be used to hold your favorite fabric for some effortless and inexpensive wall art, as frames for family pictures.....even as little bulletin boards.

Lately, I've used the bigger quilting hoops as frames to showcase old tarnished silverware like this and I absolutely love how they turn out but today I wanted to make something to hang on the front door that wasn't necessarily seasonal and so could be used throughout the year. Plus, I had a hoop that I'd already distressed just waiting for me to put something in it.

I got out my stamps and paint and made a few rolled fabric flowers from scraps of linen, dupioni silk and canvas drop cloth and I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out!





Really simple materials that completely work together and I love the richness of the silk mixed with the rustic look and feel of the burlap. Could be flush against a wall or door or hung from a ribbon and I think it would make a terrific housewarming gift!

Drumroll Please....

My online shop is up and running!!!



I can hardly believe I've actually accomplished this - I think I'm still in the "somebody pinch me" stage. It's funny to me, and probably to every other crafter/baker/designer/etc. out there who's done the same, that when I first started this blog I had absolutely no intention of selling the things I make; it was more of a place to share and occasionally teach. Then, I'm sitting there one morning amidst a table full of craft stuff and a little niggle of an idea starts to take shape (which i immediately push down cause i mean, really, who am i kidding) and then a little while after that a good friend (you know who you are lovey) says, "you know, you should really sell your stuff," and I'm like, "no. that's silly. it's not like I'm a professional crafter." then, "you really think i should?" then, "you really think i could?" And then....you do it. You just jump in and you do it. And it's crazy and fun and frustrating at times when you're learning the process and when you want to just keep on working late into the night but you have to stop and pick up you kids from school and make dinner, and spend time with your family and make love to your husband, and talk to your mom on the phone and....shower for goodness sake!

Then...you sit there, like I am right now, early in the morning surrounded by a quiet house and craft supplies (because guess what I was doing last night...) and you sip on the coffee that you drove out to get at 6:30 (excitement gets me up early) and you watch the day take shape through your open windows and you think....I did it. On my own. At 43. Amidst doubt and in spite of circumstance. Yep.

Okay, so all that to say that if you've thought about opening up a shop, well sister (or brother - i know you're out there too), you just pick up that mat and walk...

I hope you'll drop by and visit my shop ~ MiGi handmade ~ when you have a moment. I don't have any sort of specialty, I'm too much of a flibbertigibbet to focus on anything in particular, so you'll see various and sundry items at any given time; from jewelry to handmade buttons, to garlands, to household items.







WOW! Who knew, right? Be sure to "like" the shop on facebook and check in often because I'll be having specials and give-aways each month.