New Favorite Earrings

More Christmas gifts I bought on Etsy. Some green earrings (similar to these red ones) from Beadstylin went to my sister who loves them. These are even more gorgeous in person than they are in Jeannie's excellent photos. Her shipping was lightning fast too. While I was there, I bought a black pair for myself, my new faves. The pink ones from NicholasandFelice are dainty and perfect for my daughter. They came in a gift box with ribbon, which I really appreciate too. When I ordered, I asked them to remove a couple of the links so they would be shorter for my 8 year old, which they did with no problem. I love Etsy for the personalized service you can get by buying directly from the artists. I also purchased a hammered wire ornament from them (that will be a later post.) The quality was such that I can confidently recommend these silver and pearl earrings.

How I spent yesterday afternoon

At Heartbeat Quilting. My daughter came with me and was extremely helpful. (She inspired the silly pose...or maybe I should blame it on my ponytail...Note to self - do NOT pose as a little teapot, you will not like the results...Note to self - check left boob for thread - Oh, I have some there now...) I wanted a picture of both of us, but we worked until closing time. My goal in the New Year is to have duffles ready to ship and not do as many made to order. (Honestly, I didn't even decorate my own Christmas tree this year because I was too busy sewing duffles. I vow not to repeat that next year.) Of the six I quilted yesterday, three are already sold. I can hardly wait to show up at the quilt shop with an actual quilt instead of duffles - I do have a great one in the works...better get back to it now.

New favorite Tees

Kicking off a series of posts on the great things I bought for gifts this year on Etsy. First the shirts. The mushroom tee is my 15 year old's new favorite shirt. It is incredibly soft, and the printing is excellent. You can't even feel the ink, which makes me wonder if they are using direct to garment technology. The colors are gorgeous. I highly recommend CritterJitters tees. My 11 year old asked for a tuxedo for Christmas. He loves the actual tux jacket we got him, as well as this tee. It's a fun design, well made and priced right. You can find it in pink as well over at DirtyRagz. Did you find any new loves in your gift giving this year? Do tell.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas
Originally uploaded by studiocherie

Six duffles from my own pattern. They are off to become Christmas presents for some very lucky bridesmaids. Wedding colors pink and green. I can just see them all traveling together. P.S. My fingers are sore from stitching up the insides. I finally learned how to use a thimble though!

Shop Online Local Spokane

Thought you might like to snatch up some of these lovelies to round out your Christmas shopping. I just did!

Christmas Traditions

Cookie pan by Wilton found at JoAnn's note to self: buy another one. We have baked both gingerbread and scotch shortbread in this pan, and I love it. Just roll the dough into balls and press into the forms and bake. These few were overdone, so that is why they were left to photograph. There is a whole baking isle at JoAnn's that I never took seriously, but I would rank this pan up there with William Sonoma products. Obviously, we are not the cookie artisans we aspire to be. Just take a look at how the experts do it at Gingerbread Street. The photo below is their Gingerbread Bears cookie/ornament. How cute are those? Gabrielle had to make a list of Christmas traditions for class, and our family came up embarrassingly short. (Mommies tradition is to sew like crazy, buy lots of handmade gifts, and beg for help with the housework.) Cookies seemed like a simple tradition to add. My friend Allison reminded me that I had participated in a cookie exchange one Christmas long ago. I felt a little like Scrooge (see the Muppet Christmas Carol if you haven't - Michael Cain is my all time favorite Scrooge) seeing myself as a young person with nothing better to do than make a dozen dozens of cookies. Actually it was so relaxing to let go of work for a while and enjoy making cookies with my daughter. We will be doing more of that.

Shop Local

1900 Gestalt, one of my new favorite places to shop in Spokane. Located at 114 West Pacific. Passing this on. Great affordable unique ornaments. I loaded up the other day to start the kids collections this Christmas. Now I'll have to go back and pick up one more at 25% off. This is a great home decor shop, and downstairs is Buttercuppity, Spokane's best kept secret for great fabrics by Amy Butler and gang at incredible prices. More about Buttercuppity after I dig out from under Christmas...

Thank you KnotOriginal

I don't post it here everytime I am on Etsy's landing page. It is a pretty big deal though, and something we all strive for. My pattern made it there last night for about 3 minutes and 3 people bought it. As soon as it was purchased, it got replaced by an alternate. I wish I had upped the quantity of patterns in that listing. I wonder how many I could have sold if it had stayed up there for the full hour?
If you are still Christmas shopping, check out KnotOriginal, Sharon is in Gig Harbor and she is a talented and creative knitter, as well as an excellent treasury maker.

Art Opening

I know this is short notice, but if you are in the Spokane area, I wanted to invite you to my friend Kathleen Cavender's art show. She is an internationally renowned oil painter, and I am very excited to be attending the opening tomorrow night at the Art Spirit Gallery in Coeur D'Alene.
Here is the link to the details.

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