Adelaide dolls

Been busy making Adelaide dolls for a friend.

Miss Brown Eyes.

Scruffy flower.

Miss Hazel Eyes

Three pretty little ladies. 

This post has been linked up to Holly's fab blog!

So long?

A week and a half since I posted last?  A week and a half?  I'm afraid that could leave you with the wrong idea.  I haven't forgotten my blog, or you.  I've just had a couple of HUGE projects set in my doorway, and I need to pick them up and finish them one at a time, whilst not forgetting my little family.

Basically life catches up with you sometimes, and although I normally love to blog often, sometimes things pile up.  I think this might be normal.

There are soooo many fun things I will be finishing and posting about in the next few weeks.  We'll get there.  We can get through this.

But until then, here are some super fun projects for you to enjoy.  I love featuring artists I find on Etsy.  So inspiring.

I love how elegant simplicity can be.  You can find this mug at redhotpottery.  They also feature little nesting bowls and cups.  I love little pieces to put my jewelry in.

Paper box elephant puppet, found in jackiehaltom's shop.

Can you believe this!  A moving elephant in a world of beautiful designs!  I love the colors.

In Krakracraft's shop I found these charming dolls.  They are so unique.  Again the colors make me so happy inside.  This shop has me hooked right now, go check it out!

Occassionally I like to look into handmade cards and their graphics.  I died when I saw this little guy and how anxious he was to tell you something.  So sweet.  He's in diskgrunt's shop.

Oh how I would love to have one of these in my entryway one day.  The colors are so bold, aren't they fun?  OldNewAgain has amazing home decorations from wood.

And this one is for all you quilters out there.  DashasCreations are simply beautiful.  This makes me want to go make a quilted bag myself!

I hope some of these inspire you!  I love looking through my Etsy 'favorites' and seeing what they are up to!

Favorites

My lack of posts this week is due to my taking time to make a quilt.  It is one of the first I have made and my first patchwork quilt.  Don't worry, I'm almost done and I don't make quilts often, so I will be back to posting a little more often very soon.

I was thinking of some of the things that I fill my little jar of inspiration with and decided to share some of them with you.  Here are some Etsy shops and items that I have marked under my favorites:

Oh how well this shadow puppet would fit into my children's future rooms.  I dream of telling stories with fun props like these.  From Isabella's Art.

From brightcolorart's shop comes this darling miniature painting of a little girl and her birds.  I absolutely love the colors and how simple and sweet it is.

I found these candy colored dolls at Little Pink Posies.   They come with a variety of little girl accessories, or you can simply buy a small group of them.  The artist sure has a knack for making each unique.

From Little Pink House I found these sweet hand embroidered pictures.  They remind me of some sweaters I had when I was little, with little images on them.

You can sure tell that this artist loves what she does.  The time she puts into her toys and dolls is just astounding.  You can find more like this little pony from SugarElf's shop.

This mouse has been an inspiration for me from the beginning of my doll making.  I can't even explain exactly why.  I love how whimsical and simple he is.  I found him at colourspace.

And I just thought this little guy was so colorful, I know you'll love him too.  Find more at Kathy Panton's shop.

I'll be sure to post about my quilt when it is finished!  

Bedtime Tales Shop Opening!

Finally, after months of preparation I'd like to announce the opening of my Etsy shop!
You can find it at http://www.bedtimetales.etsy.com/
I will be the first to admit that there isn't much of an inventory yet, but I'll continue to add as fast as I can. Most of what you find on here will be in my shop. I will be making more dolls soon and they will hopefully be available by the time I announce the winner to my first giveaway.

Thanks so much for all your support!
You are welcome to check out my shop!

Friends, Workspaces, and My Shop!

I'd like to introduce to you some of my very talented friends who have Etsy shops. First off, let me explain what Etsy is.
According to Wikipedia:
Etsy is a website that provides the general public with a way to buy and sell handmade items as well as vintage items and craft supplies. Handmade items cover a wide range including art, photography, clothing, jewelry, edibles, bath & beauty products, and toys. The site follows in the tradition of open craft fairs, giving sellers personal storefronts where they list their goods for a fee.
The first shop I want to introduce is owned by my darling cousin. She focuses on painting and portraiture. She does wonderful pieces for children's bedrooms. I absolutely love her old automobile collection. If only I had a boy...
You can find her shop here.
The second shop is owned by my awesome former-neighbor. She is an extremely talented crocheter. I feel so lucky to be able to own some of the booties and one of the sweet sweaters she has made. Her shop is here.
I'd also like to mention that I will be opening a shop soon (within the next two weeks). I've actually been dreaming of it for a very long time but only just recently decided to make it a reality.
Since we've moved to Virginia I decided to dive right in. Here are a few pictures of my workspace. Haha, it is nothing fancy I promise you.


I think one of the things that has held me back from opening a shop until now is that as I have looked into the lives of several very successful artists I've come across and I began feeling like there is no way I could ever be as professional as them. It's only recently that I started hating that notion and decided to not compare successfulness but having-fun-doing-what-you-want-to-do-ness. So anyways, here is my office. It's in the corner of our bedroom. Which happens to be the only room in the house (our baby's crib is in the dining room). All of those stacks of fabric are made up of scraps. I have very few large pieces of material. I very rarely buy a whole yard at the fabric store, mostly I just go through the remnants bins. I was also given some of those piles of scraps from my darling mother, and many are very old. So even though most of my material is less than two feet by two feet, I still love it and cherish every piece. The bookcase I use for shelving there was bought for five dollars at a garage sale. The back fell off our trailer when we moved.
It's hard to see, but there are four large glass jars in front of the bookcase that were cleaned after we ate all of their applesaucey goodness. Two hold scraps, one holds buttons and zippers, the other I use for a garbage can. And on the table there is one of my current projects.