Sanity Calls...

I said at the beginning that I would blog as long as time and sanity permit.  Sanity is not permitting currently and it will not permit in the forseeable future.  So, here I am hanging up my hat for a while.... I'll be back eventually.

Keepin' it Sane!
Kristin

Did you forget?

Last week, I featured Barb from Quilted Hugs Bibs and she offered to give one of you her very pretty Hand Appliqued Autumn Leaf Bib... We are extending the date for entering this giveaway until September 28th at Midnight PST.  Click here for the lowdown on how to enter.  Don't forget to tell your friends.  ;)

Keep on Spreadin' the Love!
Kristin

Featured Artist: The Crazy Elephant

Please give Michelle from the Crazy Elephant a warm welcome!  She is one of my EtsyKids Team friends and she has some really cute things to offer that promise to lessen your carbon footprint!

On Etsy

Boo Boo Pack

What do you make and what was/is the inspiration for your shop? I focus on items that help your family to be more evironmentally friendly. I started with making items for myself and my son and it led 
to selling to people all over the world!

What is your favorite item you have ever made?  What inspired you to make it? The reusable pantiliners I made for myself. I loved them so much that I decided to make some to sell. I thought they would be a great way to use up my flannel scraps and they turned into one of my 
best selling items.

Are you trained as an artist?  If yes, what degree(s) or certificates do you hold and where did you earn it/them? If no, how did you learn to make the items you offer in your shop? My husband and I went to school for animation and when our son was born we turned our artistic creativity toward more practical activities.

In what other areas of your life (or interests that you have) do you see your creativity shining through?  We use our art based skills to create educational materials for our little homeschool and signing graphics for our church and business.

Snack Bag Set

Where can we find you?  

http://www.facebook.com/thecrazyelephant

http://www.twitter.con/#!/thecrazyele                                                                                                                                                            

http://www.thecrazyelephant.etsy.com 


Keep on Sharin' the Love!
Kristin                      

Burp Cloth

                                                 

Live: Hang on!

Image Source: Love in Bloom Boutique on Etsy

On Friday, I got a call letting me know that my daughter has been accepted to one of the two charter schools we were interested in.  I am elated and sad at the same time since we loved her old school, but now she gets to go tuition free!!   I LOVE her new teacher!! She is really on the ball and I am excited to see how Princess Peach will grow as a person this year. But this change really throws a wrench into my blogging life since it means she has to be at school a 1/2 hour earlier.  All the coffee in the world won't help me if I have to get up any earlier without any extra sleep since I have never been, I am not now, nor will I ever be a morning person.


Keepin' it Real!
Kristin

Bloom: Since we Rely on Power...

Last week, we had a power outage... A big power outage covering parts of Arizona, California and even Mexico.  It was a good thing we had plenty of icepacks and squirt guns since it was over 90 degrees in our house and I do NOT do well with heat.  We turned on the lantern, gathered around the piano and stayed up later because of the heat. My dh was smart enough to hook up a fan and a light in our boys room to the battery of one of our cars so they could fall asleep the way they always do.

I found this great post by Bill Farrell that I thought I'd share with you that connects the idea of how we rely on electricity with our need for God's power and contrasts the ways people view those who rely on electricity (all of us) with those who rely on God too (some of us).  I think it makes for an interesting read.

As for us, we were better prepared than some, but we did find that there are a couple of things we would like to add to our supplies namely a quiet generator and fuel, more extra water, some extra cash to have on hand, and extra batteries. Beyond preparing for the physical needs that occur in any emergency situation,  it's also important to prepare for times when our life hits crisis mode.  God isn't going to walk away from us, but in order to see His power shining through our lives, we need to stay connected to Him every day through the basics of faith.  Reading, studying and memorizing, His love letter to us, the Bible, talking with Him in prayer {all the time} and spending time with people of similar faith are all ways to do this. I guess the question becomes, "Since we rely on power, how well is each of us connected to the one who gives us power to make it through each day?"

Image Source: Ara133Photography on Etsy

Craft: Making Changes Here AND Shadow Art II... {It's completely different!}

You ARE in the right place, I just changed the template and design of Live Love Craft Bloom!  I hope you like the changes as much as I do! I will continue to change things around here a little at a time, so please pardon the dust and enjoy!                       

♥

This week at preschool we wrote our child's name in white crayon on white paper and watched our children's amazement as their name appeared out of nowhere when they watercolored their papers.  So, I was messing around with this at home trying to approximate a different resist technique that I did as a kindergartener, but we didn't get there... {I think I figured out what I am missing though, and will bring it to you in another post on a different day.}  Anyway, I made an abstract-ish design on white paper using colorful crayons instead of white and painted the whole paper with black water color.  That is what you see in the first picture below.  Princess Peach thinks it looks like a sidewalk chalk drawing on asphalt... I'm undecided.  But I wanted to do more and the kids were still drawing so I turned my paper over after it dried and used several different colors of dark marker to doodle-on the graphic design on the back because the markers are old and need to be replaced.  I would have preferred just black, but oh well! Then Princess Peach says to me, "Mommy, what does it look like in the window...?" To which I replied, "Let's find out!"  So we did.. and it's a hit with the whole family!

I love how making simple things together leads to a sense of adventure in our home!!

Keepin' it Crafty!

♥ Kristin

P.S. What are you doodling up these days?? E-mail me and I may include it in a future post. {K}

Featured Artisan: Quilted Hugs Bibs

QuiltedHugsBibs.Etsy.com

     All of you have to meet Barb, the very kind woman behind Quilted Hugs Bibs!  She has made the outstanding leaf appliqued bib and pacifier clip shown below for one of you!  It's perfect for Thanksgiving or any autumn day!   This set is valued at $19.00, but the lucky winner pays only the minimal shipping charges as seen on the listing in her shop.  For a chance to win you must comment here with the name of your favorite item at Quilted Hugs Bibs AND like her Facebook Page by midnight PST on September 20th. Invite your friends to join us for this!! Now, on to the interview!

Giveaway Set

What do you make and what was/is the inspiration for your shop?  My shop features quilted bibs and accessories for infants & toddlers. They’re quilts that happen to be bibs...all items are individually quilted and finished with coordinating cotton backing/binding. When my granddaughter was born in 2009, I turned my love of quilting to making her quilts, soft toys and quilted bibs...I got a great response and after many “You should sell those!” I decided to do just that! I chose Etsy because many of our friends and family turn to Etsy when they’re looking for unique and creative gifts...so here I am having a blast quilting & making bibs using all types of cool fabric!

Tell us how your creativity has woven itself into your life’s journey to make you what you are today. (What instances helped give you the confidence/motivation to pursue this as a career?)  I’ve been sewing since I was a girl (too many years ago to count!) and when the USA celebrated our Bicentennial in 1976, I was introduced to quilting...there was no going back to “regular” sewing after that! Quilts are now part of most of what I do.. they and the fabric to make them are everywhere in our house.

I started my quilting career by making quilts with traditional patterns, and then realized that hand appliqué and quilting were my favorites. I began teaching quilting during that time...it’s wonderful watching a new quilter gain confidence and start creating pieces on their own...and I got my National Quilting Association Judges’ Certification shortly thereafter – it seemed like the kids and my husband were learning as much about quilts as I was – you should have seen them at shows, telling ME why a quilt won a ribbon! 

In the early 80’s the focus of my work changed to specializing in pictorial appliqué quilts, mainly with ice hockey and baseball themes in collaboration with my sports fan husband. That led us to meet many great people and having one of my quilts selected to be part of the permanent collection of the Hockey Hall of Fame & Museum in Toronto, Canada...that then led us to meeting a bunch of wonderful Canadian quilters.

I’m never far away from a quilt or quilt idea, always on the lookout for new fabric and techniques. My family has been an integral part of my creative journey whether critiquing a quilt-in-progress, accompanying my on a quilt shop tour or becoming a “quilt judge” when I was working through the certification.

In addition to working on making my Etsy shop a success, I’m working on a series of family pictorial quilts...so many quilts, so little time!

Ready for Some Football!

What is your vision for the future of your business?  I come from an entrepreneurial family, so working for myself is in the blood including my landscape design business, so I’d like the future of my quilting business to become the major focus of my creative life...it’s especially easy with a family to quilt for, a supportive husband and an adorable granddaughter to keep me on my toes! It’s been great to have my daughter-in-law close by and always eager to give helpful advice on Mom-preferred materials, hot styles and a sounding board for new ideas!

What is your favorite item you have ever made? What inspired you to make it?  I think my favorite item would have to be making the quilt titled “Welcome to the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field”...there was a big controversy in Wrigleyville, Chicago when it was decided to put lights into the baseball field – prior to that, the residents of that neighborhood prided themselves in playing baseball “the way it’s supposed to be – on natural grass during the day”. So when the lights finally went in, my husband and I started talking about how this was the end of an era...what better way to celebrate the tradition than to make a quilt commemorating the original field. The quilt is hand appliquéd and quilted showing the field and surrounding buildings (no lights in sight)...all baseball fans know about the ivy covered brick wall behind the warning track in the outfield, so the quilt features a pieced “brick” border with appliquéd ivy.

A couple of years after I finished the quilt, we were at a baseball card show with Ernie Banks (“Mr. Cub”) and Willie McCovey (San Francisco Giants) as guests...instead of getting a baseball card signed, we asked that Mr. Banks be in a photo of us with the quilt. When he saw it, Mr. Banks called down the hallway “Hey, McCovey, this is what real Cubs fans do!”...it was a day we’ll never forget.

Are you trained as an artist? If yes, what degree(s) or certificates do you hold and where did you earn it/them? If no, how did you learn to make the items you offer in your shop?  In a word, “no”...I’m lucky to have a good sense of color and design (that you really can’t be taught, I don’t think) so that has helped me tremendously in my quilting. My background in sewing translated easily into quilting and I took my cue from the old saying...”How do you get to Carnegie Hall?...Practice, practice, practice!” Making time for me to practice quilting techniques and buying a good sewing machine has made it easier to develop my style. Having good tools is so important because working with inferior equipment will sap the creativity right out of you!

I belong to an online quilt group (Quilt with Us sponsored by Connecting Threads) and one of the discussions was about learning paper piecing (sewing fabric onto a paper foundation to increase accuracy and make quilt & block assembly easier). One of the projects was a quilted bib with a paper pieced center medallion and the light went on in my brain. I made several bibs for my granddaughter and the rest, as they say, is history!

Dress for Success

In what other areas of your life (or interests that you have) do you see your creativity shining through? (gardening, music, performing arts, writing, creative ‘foreign’ language expression etc.)  I’ve always loved crafts (they took a back seat to quilting early on), so that’s been fun. My creativity is also poured into the landscape designs I create – not that much different from quilting I’ve learned...you take bits and pieces, then put them together to improve your client’s living space.

What is one thing you will be going out of your way to learn more about in the coming year to benefit your business?  It may not be strictly creative, but I’m going to learn to use my Etsy website to promote my business...there are a lot of bib makers out there, so I have to separate myself from the crowd. My husband says that me and computers are dangerous together – I know just enough to make me think I’m a geek that almost always gets me into trouble!

There’s a lot to web design and I need to learn more about it!

What steps are you taking to ensure your products follow applicable child safety laws?  I’m very careful not to use components that would be dangerous...I use a NO PVC plastic liner to make my bibs waterproof and the pacifier clips I use are certified lead free. All the bibs are made from 100% high quality cotton fabrics (prewashed to remove any excess dye & sizing) and I stay away from metallics and/or glitter since we all know that kids put everything in their mouths and I’m not sure how safe that would be.

I don’t have a brick & mortar store or a blog…yet…so please visit my shop or FB page!

Etsy: www.quiltedhugsbibs.etsy.com

FaceBook:  https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Quilted-Hugs-Bibs/149620581769485

Keep on Sharin’ the Love!

Kristin