Bath hand towel blue striped with football by mustlovehomedecor

Bath hand towel blue striped with football by mustlovehomedecor

new sellit widget

Craft Fair Season

It's that time of year in New England, USA
leaves are changing colors
days are getting frightfully short
pumpkins are popping up everywhere
and it's craft fair season!
It seems every weekend in many small towns there is a church fair, civic art show, flea market etc.
I will be jumping in with both feet this year. My inventory is up, as are my bills, so off to market I go.
This weekend I will be in Berlin, CT at a Harvest Fair. Weather predicted is heavy rain so it will probably turn out to be a lovely day. The fair info, if interested is:

Harvest Fair
American Legion Post 68
154 Porter's Pass
Berlin, CT

Hope to see some of you there.
Linda
Crafts from the heart

Spruce up the blog for new followers.

Hi New Followers!! You have motivated me to really start working on this blog and make it presentable. Hee Hee.

SALE - Limited Time Only

Hello Everyone!
I am in a generous mood today so decided to add more things to my SALE section in my mustlovehomedecor etsy shop.

Come take a peek. This will be a limited time offer on some of the products. Happy Shopping!
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5987544&section_id=6331473

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

October Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Is there anyone that hasn't been touched by this awful disease. Most women in my husband's family have had it. A few have passed but some thankfully have survived. My mom had it about 15 years ago and now is doing well although lost her breast.

I hope a cure can be found soon and relieve us of this one worry.

To all you brave women out there - this one is for you.

Sincerely,
Linda

New Dish towels added

I have been working hard to get these towels ready for the autumn and winter season. They make wonderful hostess gifts. You can always use a brand new dish towel to brighten up the kitchen.
They are also great for lining baskets and apple barrels.
check them out in my etsy shop or artfire shop.

New Chocolate Brown Clutch from Placemats

No one needs to know this clutch started from 2 designer placemats. The embroidery makes this look like a designer clutch selling in a boutique for lots more money. You being a smart shopper can get it for just a little over $20.

I won't tell if you don't.


This chocolate brown cotton, clutch purse is purely stunning. The embroidered swirls on the front are deep red, orange and copper. What a magnificent purse for the autumn, winter season. The cotton lining is a pumpkin orange.

This clutch has enough room for everything you would need for a day or night out.

I have attached a decorative matte gold vintage button on the front but the clutch has no formal closure. The crisp weight of the fabric will keep it closed. If you find this to not be the case, you can add a strip of velcro or a snap closure.

Do not miss out on this one of a kind clutch purse!


Measurements
13" wide x 6.75" tall
33 x 17 cm.

Keep on Adding on

Etsy Decor

Etsy.com is a website with handmade and vintage items. I have two shops on etsy. One specializes in home decor. I have yet to have anything featured in the Etsy Storque emails promoting Etsy decor items. Many of the items they choose are either vintage or ultra modern. I think this is the current trend of 20 year olds. I am in my 40's and tend to gravitate to the more traditional, cozy feel. I personally find modern and some vintage very cold. Of course this is ONLY my opinion.

I would like to see Etsy.com home decor articles feature more traditional, country, and primitive items sometimes. A little something for everyone. :)

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

New holiday towels, Decorate your home or give as gifts.

I am adding lots of new towels every day. Super premium quality too!

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

New Pillows added

I have really been having fun with my husqvarna viking Designer SE. It can be challenging but the end results are worth it. I have added these items to my etsy shop:

bird pillow angel pillow

Craft Show coming up Sept 12 and 13

I will be in a women's expo in Hartford, CT on sept 12 and 13. I am hoping for a huge crowd willing to spend some disposable income. I know times are tough but sometimes taking home a new trinket or two can lift your spirit. Hope to see you there. I believe we are in booth 115.

Hartford Expo CTR.
Hartford, ct

Is it worth it?

I spent all day yesterday in my computer/craft room on the second floor of an expanded cape. It was freaking HOt!! It took me all day to machine embroider this pillow which I listed on etsy. I love the way it came out. The colors are so pretty and it is super stuffed. My question now is do I make more? The time involved and the supplies used is insane. To charge $42 seems like a lot but don't I have to factor in my time, thread, stabilizer, fusible web, fabric, and broken needles? I know a pillow like this in a boutique would be priced over $100 but can it sell for that much online?
I may try one more and see how it goes. In the meantime, I am sweating it out up here because if I put on the window air conditioner it will blow the items off my craft table. Oh such a dilemna in the life of a crafter
Linda

Make you plans now for this great event

Connecticut Women's Expo

http://www.ctexpocenter.com

Open Date:

Sat, September 12, 2009

Close Date:

Sun, September 13, 2009

Description:

Since 2003, Ideas on women's health, fashion, cosmetics and overall topics of interest.

Additional Features:

Commercial Vendors, Crafts, Designated Parking, Gate Admission, Handicapped Access, Public Transportation

Location:

Connecticut Expo Center
265 Reverend Moody Overpass
Hartford, CT 06144

Hours:

Sat. 11am-6pm, Sun. 11am-5pm

Admission:

Admission Fee

Look for
funkey monkey
Crafts from the Heart
Gotta get it

Michael Phelps Car Crash

Michael,

Do you really need to drive a huge truck like the Cadillac Escalade? I know you have the freedom to drive whatever you want but really? Why don't you try to clean up your image a bit and get a gas/environmentally friendly vehicle. Maybe your visibility may be better and this poor girl you hit would not be in the situation she is in.

Sincerely,
Me

Walter Cronkite Dances

I love this snippet of a magazine article I have. It shows Walter and his son or grandson singing and dancing. It is hand signed by Mr. Cronkite and it shows a side we didn't often get to see. I wish I knew the magazine and date of issue but in the meantime, looking at it gives me a smile.

Happy News!

Glad to say this has been a good day after a few weeks of medical worries. The poison ivy is getting better, ultrasounds saw just simple cysts, and back is getting a bit better. Other good news to come my way involves my items on artfire.com. A wonderful blogger named Chris has added my pillows on a blog for all the world to see! http://www.shopindieonline.com/blog/

It is a great indie blog and will give you lots of choices for creative, unique, well made items.
Check it out.

My blog is being ignored.

I have been very rude to my blog, I must admit. Now that face book and twitter have grown so large, I have been using them to save time. Today I have decided it is time to catch up on my first means of communication online.

I have purchased an embroidery machine. The salesperson could sell ice to eskimos. I bought a used Husqvarna Designer SE for about $2000, I guess they retail for $5000. Well the learning curve has been pretty huge for me but each day I make progress. I know I need to go for lessons to learn about digitizing and more complex features, but for now I am enjoying downloading designs from the net and making cute items from them.

You can see some in my etsy shops
http://www.craftsfromtheart.etsy.com
http://www.mustlovehomedecor.etsy.com

What I did not anticipate was the amount of time it takes for one design to be created. Designs with lots of stitches can easily take over an hour. That would be fine if I could walk away and get other stuff done in the meantime, but you really have to stay close in case the bobbin runs out, it's time to change colors, needle breakage, etc.

I love the look of the finished products and I hope it all pays off in the end but for know it is all about learning, learning, learning :)

Linda