Vampy Vampire Woman

http://www.etsy.com/listing/82599157/vampire-woman-towel

Sexy vampire woman, perfect for your halloween decorating. Soft, cotton towel.

Notes From the Handmade Highway: A Functional Fall

Notes From the Handmade Highway: A Functional Fall

 My beautiful embroidered  pillow is featured in the Handmade Highway blog today. I am so excited!  It is one of my favorite pieces.

Half Price Sale

Today only! 12/14/09

Any twitter follower can purchase one item from either of my etsy shops for 50% off!
Just convo me and I will adjust the price. Click contact to convo me.

Both shops
http://mustlovehomedecor.etsy.com
http://craftsfromtheheart.etsy.com

Fast shipping, great gift items.

50% off one item

Happy Birthday to Me

Good Morning all! So today is my birthday. I got a card from my husband and a hug from one of my sons. Both were very nice to receive. I am not sure if I will hear from my older son because he crashes at friends' homes during the week to attend college and rehearsals. I would love to at least get a call (hint hint).

As we get older, we moms, don't want fancy presents that will bankrupt our children. We want a simple thank you for all we do. A nice handmade card would be wonderful. It may sound selfish but I think we all want to have our birthday acknowledged no matter what the age.

Well, happy birthday to me and to all those that share my birthday, even Britney Spears. :) We moms have to stick together, especially moms of boys.
Linda

Online Selling Venues

I am spreading my love around. Well my products anyway. I am not only on Etsy but also 1000 markets, artfire, and silkfair. I am finding this very time consuming and leaving little time for actually making items. I need to be able to find a balance between computering (is that a word),
sewing, working my day job and taking care of a household oh yeah and sleep. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated. By the way, a cleaning person is out unless I can find a volunteer that works for home decor rather than money :)

Here are my new links
Visit my etsy.com shops for your home decor needs and fun items for yourself and gift ideas.

http://craftsfromtheheart.etsy.com
http://mustlovehomedecor.etsy.com

my silkfair shop

http://craftsfromtheheart.silkfair.com

and my artfire shop

http://craftsfromtheheart.artfire.com

and my 1000markets shop

http://lindaparedesigns.1000markets.com

and of course my website

http://lindapare.com

Happy Etsy.com day

Today is officially Etsy day. Come visit http://etsy.com today for all your handmade, vintage and craft supply needs.

http://craftsfromtheheart.etsy.com
http://mustlovehomedecor.etsy.com

Or just http://etsy.com

BLACK FRIDAY TO CYBER MONDAY

Both my shops have 20% off all items sales.
No need to leave your house for some great bargains.

http://craftsfromtheheart.etsy.com
http://mustlovehomedecor.etsy.com

I accept RME, googlecheckout and Paypal.

In message to seller mention 20% revised invoice.

boys need tote bags too

Boys need to tote things also so I made a few that are boy-friendly

PIRATES
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6300972
BLACK GLOBE
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15476838
RACE CARS
http://en.dawanda.com/product/902038-Racing-Care-tote-bag-good-for-school

Bags and purses for Christmas

Tote bags are great items for gift giving. Teachers, babysitters, gym members often carry around lots of "stuff" and could always use a new bag.
Check out this showcase today for great bags.
also more at
craftsfromtheheart

Animal Print with Red Fringe Skirt for Girls

I just finished this great one of a kind skirt for a little girl. I think it is just precious. It has an animal print with a flirty little red fringe.
I love sewing items for girls because I have two grown boys and never had that chance to buy the pretty fabric and notions that girls adore.
I hope you take a look in my shop. If you would like me to make something for your little princess just let me know.

Window treatments

I have just added some great new valances to my etsy shop. I would love to make some in your color palette. Just visit my shop and click contact under my username and we can discuss details.
Linda

Music to my eyes clothespin and gift card set

I thought it would be cute to honor those music lovers in our lives. Do you remember that special vocal coach that helped you or your child's first piano teacher? Would it not have been great to give them a special set like this? They can use the clips to hold their sheet music together or to mark a special song they are working on.
Show your child you appreciate the hours they put into practicing and every little squeak their instrument may make.
Surprise them with this on Valentine's day or just a whenever gift.

Landline vs. Cell Phones

So evidently today's youth do not realize that using a landline phone is not the same as a cell phone. Case in point, my average landline phone bill runs around $45. Since my son starting dating a girl who lives in another state my phone bill has been over $200. He says, "Don't we have free nights and weekends?" Um no! That is on cell phones where we already pay over $100 per month for service.

Now who should be responsible for this bill? My almost 20 year old for just not thinking or knowing such things or me for not educating him. Mind you, these calls are all placed after midnight and were over 3 hours long. If I had known this was happening I would have put an end to it immediately. I guess for this one time I will have to cover it but he better have learned from his mistakes.

Each generation is growing up with such different technology it is hard to keep up and make sure both the youth and the "elders" are educated on how each works and the finances involved.
I am now in the process of switching to a service that provides unlimited long distance calling. I hope this helps the pocketbook or as the younger generation would say the ATM card.

Brothers and Sisters

How romantic was that wedding last night? When they were exchanging their vows, they just seemed so genuine the way they had tears in their eyes. And I love the way they left the wedding early. I just really enjoyed last night's episode and hope the quality continues throughout the season.

For your shopping needs
http://craftsfromtheheart.etsy.com

Etsy on the Today Show

Etsy.com is a website filled to the brim with wonderful handmade creations by artists and craftspeople. It is a global site so you can buy items from around the world and have them delivered to your doorstep. What can be better?

The Today Show had a piece about buying from etsy.com on their show today and we couldn't be prouder! Etsy is an established site and is here for the long term. If you are a crafter you can buy your supplies here and there is even a vintage section for you collectors. So come shop today from the comfort of your own home.

While at Etsy.com visit my shop http://craftsfromtheheart.etsy.com and support a craftsperson rather than a large retailer that will not provide the quality and service that we can.
Linda
Crafts from the Heart.

Fall is here

Time to start pulling out the pants and long sleeve shirts. Ain't fall grand. Football games, soccer games, basketball, fall has it all. Let us not forget Halloween which is becoming bigger than Christmas as far as decorating the home goes. People love to deck out their houses and will spend lots doing it.

The little ghosts and goblins will appear at our doors, with the occasional teenager - just dressed as themselves looking for candy.

I have some capes that I am selling in my etsy shop that have glow in the dark trim to help keep them safe on those dark halloween nights and some cute totes for them to carry.

Come take a peek

http://craftsfromtheheart.etsy.com

Back to school

My son starts school tomorrow. He is a sophomore in high school so this is not a new phenomenon but I will miss our summer together. I like the lack of schedules, the lack of watches on wrists and just knowing he is safe.

Tomorrow things change. He is out of the home and into school. Parents used to await this eagerly. Let the teachers watch them for a while. Today things are different. We worry about shooting in schools, drugs, teachers having sex with students. School is no longer a safe haven for our children. I am sure perception is much worse than reality but does that really make one feel better?

Tomorrow I will see him off and I hope his teachers, admin., coaches and other students treat him with respect and care as I expect him to treat them. If you fell your child is a danger to himself or others please get him/her help. Do not send them to school and rely on professional there to help them. They are overburdened as it is.

Tomorrow I will have a smile on my face and wish my son a great day at school but inside I will worry. That’s okay that’s what moms do.

I am on trunkt

I am so excited that my handmade pillows have been accepted to appear on the website trunkt.org. It is a juried site that produces minimags and catalogs to potential commercial buyers.
I feel like it gives me a legitimacy that I questioned when starting online sales.

It is hard to judge when creating an object how others will feel about it. You may think wow this came out pretty well but it will just sit in your shop. Other times you will sell things that may not necessarily be your own style and get wonderful feedback.

I think it is true that we are our own worst critics. Even with my 98 sales on etsy and my acceptance on trunkt there is still that little girl in me that says it is all a fluke. Although, you know that voice is not as loud as it used to be.

Sampler of my items

A Sampling of what you will find at my shop at
craftsfromtheheart.etsy.com. Enjoy shopping!

Not much to say except $1 cards for sale

I'm clearing out part of my online shop at etsy, so, I am selling individual handmade cards for a buck each. Can't beat that. Sets are only $3.00. Come help me clear out and achieve a goal of 100 sales. Thanks.