Strolling in the Garden

I love flowers, and have always wanted to have an English garden. Unfortunately, I'd need an English gardener, too. I don't particularly like to work in the garden; it's too hot, it's too messy, and it hurts my back. (Other than that, I'd be okay.) Anyway, I enjoy looking at flowers in other people's yards, and buying bouquets, and using floral fabrics in my quilts. I have floral paintings on the walls, needlepoint flowers, floral upholstery and linens. And I love checking out the floral art of my fellow Etsy Interior Design Team members, examples of which are shown at left.

Lovin' the Craft

The EtsyBlogger Street Team carnival theme this week is"Lovin' the Craft." Everyone on the team has an Etsy shop, of course. But our blog carnival post is supposed to feature crafts other than the art we sell.

Over the years I've enjoyed ceramics and needlepoint, but my favorite hobby was building miniatures. Starting in 1985, I built and decorated the dollhouse shown above, and made most of the furniture from kits. The project took almost five years, and I loved every single minute of it! Miniature building is an expensive hobby, so I'll probably never make another house, but I have this one on display in my home and I enjoy seeing it every day. You can read about the building process and see many more photos on my web site.

Featuring Alicia Mae!

Alicia Mae is the featured EtsyBlogger Street Team member for June 2008. Alicia has three Etsy shops: AliciaMae offers jewelry, masks, and trinket boxes. AliciaMaePrints carries photographs, artwork, and bookmarks. RandomSupplies sells....well, random supplies, for the crafter in you!

Alicia ships worldwide, and combines shipping charges across all three shops. If you hurry you can take advantage of her big "Moving Sale." This week only, as Alicia prepares to move from North Carolina to New Hampshire, she is offering sales in all three shops. Then they'll be closed until she's settled again, in mid-July.

You can read more about Alicia and her artwork on her blog. Have a good move back to snow country, Alicia!

Pup & Duckies

When I make a baby quilt I always use the leftover fabric to make a coordinating mini quilt, which I attach to the paws of a stuffed animal. I include these with the baby quilt. The puppy and mini quilt above mark the first time I've sold these separately. One of my steady customers requested it for a baby shower gift. The mom-to-be likes duckies, and the gift-giver loves dogs (she has FOUR yellow Labs!) So I used a rubber ducky print for the stars, and the puppy to hold the quilt. I think I'll make more mini quilts for the shop, just to have a wider spread in the price range. Probably more table runners and placemats, too, for the same reason. Also, these smaller items will be easier than quilts to transport and display at craft shows.