My Atlanta Sister's Punch Needle and Folk Art on eBay

My Atlanta sister has decided to start selling on eBay. We spent a lot of time on the phone yesterday getting her seller's account set up and making sure her photos looked good. I made her an auction template, and we walked through how to use it. I have to say that was the easy part!

So here's a peek at what she has listed on eBay now...

The sheep make-do is her own design ~ I think it turned out pretty awesome! The sheep punch needle pieces are Brenda Gervais designs, (With Thy Needle & Thread), of Country Stitches.

You can check her out, (see the link below), and if you decide to purchase one of her pieces ~ tell her Mary sent ya!

kindredspiritsmercantile

Til next time,

My Virginia Sister's New Punch Needle Embroidery on eBay

My Virginia Sister, (I have to say that now because my Atlanta sister just started selling on eBay yesterday as well!), has some new punch needle embroideries listed this week on eBay. We're always brainstorming about new and unique display options for these little works of art. This week she's mounted a piece on a wooden serving tray under glass, and another piece ~ her own design of a rose and forget-me-nots ~ is mounted to an old china plate with forget-me-nots...so shabby chic! Here's a look...

You can view all the details here:

Magpie1217

Coming up next ~ my feature on my Atlanta sister's eBay auctions this week. Yeah, we'are all just a crafty bunch! I have another sister up in New York State who is a very talented crafter as well, but so far she doesn't seem interested in selling.

Til next time,

My newest eBay Creations for Sunday, July 27th

Hi all!

Just wanted to give you a quick peek at 2 new folk art creations that I will be listing tomorrow night. These were made from a Prims By Kim pattern ~ Kim is such a uniquely creative and whimsical, talented artist friend of mine! You can view Kim's patterns and dollies listed now on eBay here:

prims_by_kim








Here's a quick link to take a closer peek...

Sew Dear To Me

Thanks for visiting! 'Til next time,

Wow ~ A New Award!

Somebody's really reading this stuff?!! LOL! All kidding aside, I was surprisingly tickled to receive the "Brilliante Weblog" Award from Primitive Peddlers

Thank you Cathy of Hazelruthes!

From what I've read, the criteria for receiving this award is that people think you are brilliant in your life and creations. Hmmmm...must be that French Drain project post I did awhile back! My Dad didn't think I was too brilliant when I was calling him and grilling him about the importance of the grade elevations (he's a retired construction superintendent). I had him downright ugly, but wouldn't give up until I was sure I understood completely! Hey, that detail is critical to the success of the project!

The rules for receiving this award are:

1) Put the award logo on your blog.



2) Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4) Add links to those blogs on yours.
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

Wow, this is hard! There are so many awesome blogs out there on the vast world wide web! But here are some of my very favorites:


Cedar Hill Rustics

My KSGP "Sista" ~ Crowing About Primitives

Deena's Story~An inimitable inspiration to every woman!

Kim Hardt Originals

My friend Lara at Dusty Bear

The Feathered Nest

The extremely talented Nancy Malay at Vintage Whimsy and Folk Art Originals

I have posted a message on each of their blogs, inviting them to pick up this award with no obligation to pass it on. Lara at Dusty Bear will soon be adding a new little bundle of joy to her family, and Deena has to take care of herself. However, do be sure to check out all of these talented and inspiring ladies' blogs ~ I guarantee you will be entertained and motivated to make the most of life and your God-given talents!

Til next time!



Postscript

This very same award was bestowed upon me today, July 26th, by my grahics design hero ~ Sara of Graphic Pretties! Wow, I consider that a huge honor! You can visit Sara at her blog here:

Graphic Pretties

Her blog has a link to her website ~ be sure to visit to view all of her wonderful designs! It's really unfortunate that eBay will soon be disallowing javascript and flash in their auction templates ~ Sara is really a master at incorporating smoke, candles flickering, music, moving fonts and other graphic images into her designs.

Thank You, Sara!

Quilting!

I just got the latest issue of Better Homes and Gardens Quilt Sampler Shop Hop magazine. Oh how I love to "travel" across the country to see the wonderful shops featured! It's been a long standing dream for me and my sister to open a quilt shop. Unfortunately, she lives 5 hours away from me and neither of us have the inclination to move.

Through the years, wherever we've moved (7 times in 9 years!), I've maintained a quilting studio. My sister would come and visit me, or I her, and we'd have a "quilting bee", working on special projects ~ A "Loon" quilt for our dear aunt's anniversary, a "signature" quilt for our Mom & Dad's 50th anniversary, and "manly" quilts for husbands and sons. On these special occasions, of course we'd work in some quilt shop hopping! Lots of horsetrading would also go on in my quilting studio. I've amassed quite a collection of fabric over the years! Every time I would make a quilt, the scraps would go to my sister. Sometimes she's squeezed a much as 2 quilts of the scraps from just one particular line of fabric! This girl epitomizes the saying ~ "When Life Gives you Scraps, Make a Quilt"!

I thought I would share some photos of my quilting studio and special projects ~ such happy memories!








I have never offered anything other than a handmade and/or hand quilted doll size quilt on eBay. But in paring down my treasures while finalizing the decor colors in the house we bought a year and a half ago, I've decided to part with some of my larger quilts. This one's on eBay today:








You can see all the details here:

Anna's Starry Night on eBay


Till next time,

A Few New Launch Items!

Just wanted to pop in and show you my 2 new items for our "Broomsticks and Black Hats" Launch, brought to you by our eBay Group ~ American Folkart and Primitives Mercantile!







I would love to give credit to the pattern designer for these, however, after searching high and low, I was unable to locate the patterns. I had seen these done up on eBay last Fall and meant to buy the patterns, but never did. If anyone knows who it is, I would really appreciate your letting me know.

So, I ended up sketching out the pattern myself to create the little darlins'. I think my version is shorter and not as wide, but I was satisfied with how they came out. I used a hole saw bit to create the painted pattern on the pumpkin guy! LOL! I love using my vintage buttons in my creations ~ I think it adds a special something that makes the piece more unique. The cat has bone buttons down the front of its vest, and the pumpkin has black glass. The black glass vintage buttons date back to the late 1800's. In an attempt to research the age of bone buttons, I found very little but this: Bone buttons are made only rarely now but are more common on sites predating 1850. Although simple and utilitarian (they were commonly used as underwear buttons), they are quite old!

Our Launch is running through to the end of July, so bookmark us and check back often! Here's the link again...

AFAPM Launch

My goal is to create much more by the end of July, so I better get into my (quilting) studio and make it happen! Although my studio started out with the primary purpose of creating quilts, it has evolved into any any and all art media place to create. The testament is the paint splatters all over my self-healing cutting mat. That's going to be rough on the rotary cutter! The room has become so disorganized, with little wall space to remedy the situation. If anyone has any tips for organizing all this necessary stuff we must acquire to pursue our artistic endeavors, I'd love to hear about it!

Til next time,

American Folkart & Primitives Mercantile Launch Starts Today!

Today our fairly newly formed eBay Group, "American Folkart and Primitives Mercantile," kicks off it's very first Launch to introduce ourselves to eBay! We're calling it "Broomsticks and Black Hats," and it could just have something to do with Halloween creations. LOL!

Here's a peek at my launch items ~ everything will be up by later this evening...











You can click on the link below to pull up all the listings ~ hope you'll take a peek!


AFAPM Launch

Thanks for looking!

Free 4th of July Graphic

Hi friends! Thought I would make up a little freebie graphic for the July 4th Holiday. Feel free to use as you wish!



Have fun grilling, lounging around at the pool, camping, visiting friends and family, or whatever you choose to do over the long weekend. Stay safe!

Happy Fourth of July Weekend!

A nice long weekend coming up! Yay! We don't have any special plans, just a little R&R at home. DH works such long hours during the week that when the weekend rolls around, he doesn't want to do ANYTHING! Poor baby. It makes it hard for me, not working, and being home alone all week. With the price of gas, I try to plan my weekly outing for groceries and other errands for one day, planning out my route in the most efficient number of miles.

Back in the craft room this week, I'm working on some Halloween launch items for our American Folkart and Primitives Mercantile "Broomsticks and Black Hats" Launch! I had a ball designing our auction template!



The launch starts on July 7th, and we're all so excited to introduce ourselves to the eBay scene! Just type "AFAPM" in your eBay search menu to see what we come up with.

I've been busy this week with a couple of new customers, a brother team selling on eBay. They were wanting some custom designed auction templates, and although designing for the type of goods they sell is a little out of my primitives and folk art design comfort zone, I was able to deliver what they wanted. The whole key was the excellent communication I had with them. They were really nice folks to deal with, and they knew exactly what they wanted. Soooo much easier than getting out my crystal ball! LOL! I am really looking forward to doing additional business with them. Their comments about what a great graphic designer I am was almost embarrassing! Being totally self-taught, without any formal design education, I started out on this path mainly as a hobby to make a little extra money, AND because I just LOVE playing with graphics. They want to expand their business as well to launching a web site, and I had to tell them that I just don't have the expertise. I did refer them to a couple of my graphic design heroes though, so hopefully I will have helped them achieve their goals. I wish anyone trying to have a successful business these days an abundance of blessings and good luck. It is so tough.

I picked up a custom order of my Betsy Ross Vintage thread spool flags! A lady wanted 8 of them, so I got busy, made up 12, and have an extra 4 that I'm offering as a set on eBay this week, as well as some punch needle embroidery items.




You can see it all here:

sewdeartome

Just like clockwork, my younger sister is offering a new round of her punch needle embroideries. I especially like the one she mounted to the top of an antique cheese box! Not your average cheese box, this one has metal trim around the top ~ Kewl! Isn't her work gorgeous? (sorry...link broken)

You can see the details here:

Magpie1217

Wishing you all a glorious July 4th weekend!

Til next time,