Thursday, September 30, 2010

The Perfect Protest

One of my favorite people, Brene Brown, is working to change the world (yup - one person at a time) with her Perfect Protest.

She's protesting the need to be perfect. I love it. Because perfect is painful and exhausting (not to mention totally unattainable!).  I'm joining the protest by writing this on my chalkboard this morning. And I MEAN it! :-)

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Rock Hard Determination

Remember awhile ago I told you about my neighbor's dogs who desperately worked to get under their wooden fence to escape into the free world? (If you didn't see it, you can peek here.)

Well, you can imagine how I giggled when I saw this yesterday...


Now if those cute little buggers can get through that - they're my heros! :-)

Monday, September 27, 2010

Yikes Almighty!

I'm a-floating here. No, it's not because of the recent torrential rains we had in Minnesota and Wisconsin. I'm a-floating because I just got my first communication about selling WHOLESALE to a shop in Colorado!

I'm sooo excited - and sooo nervous! I have a lot of work to do to get ready for all of my already-in-place fall commitments and now this. I'm not complaining....but just wound up with lots of wool spinning around in my head.

Since I haven't finalized anything with the shop owner yet, I won't give details. But as soon as I can, I'll update you with all the fun info. It looks like a creatively great shop and I'm just sorry that I'm not closer to it so I could visit it in person.

More info to come...

Lavendar Jane's all in a row.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Hoot Hoot, Peep Peep!

One of my (many) Etsy goals is to get one of my items featured on the front page of Etsy!

Today I met that goal! Imagine my excitement when I received an email early this morning that my little peeps were on the front page! At first I thought they must be kidding. Come on....my little peeps on the front page!?!?  But it was real!

I'm so pumped I could just Peep! :-)  Here's what my email said:

Hooray! TheLavendarTree has been featured on the Front Page recently!Featured Item Felted Wool Peeps -Neutral - Recycled Felted Wool SweatersAt 7:00am EST Sunday September 26 2010Item Views 390Item Hearts 37List made by sweeteverythingsView the archived Treasury list

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Treasuries and Peeps

I initially posted my "peeps" back in the spring. But I recently re-posted a pair that were done in gray and off-white.



Since I reposted them, they've been popping up all over. Within the last couple days, these little chicks have been featured in three Etsy Treasuries.  Fun!

You can peep.....er, I mean peek....at them here, here, and here!

Friday, September 24, 2010

Choosing Our Thoughts

I'm reading a book called You Can Heal Your Life by Louise L. Hay.

It's very intense, soul searching, and getting at deep-down feelings that you may not even know you feel kind of book.

I'm only on Chapter 1. She suggests you read each chapter and then take some time to think about and work through the things talked about throughout the chapter.

One of the sections that was helpful to me is titled: Believe It or Not, We Do Choose Our Thoughts. It goes like this:  We may habitually think the same thought over and over so that it does not seem we are choosing the thought. But we did make the original choice. We can refuse to think certain thoughts. Look how often you have refused to think a positive thought about yourself. Well, you can also refuse to think a negative thought about yourself. It seems to me that everyone on this planet whom I know or have worked with is suffering from self-hatred and guilt to one degree or another. The more self-hatred and guilt we have, the less our lives work. The less self-hatred and guilt we have the better our lives work, on all levels.

Just something to ponder...

Friday, September 17, 2010

AaaaChoo! Bless You!

This week has been busy and fast. Sorry I haven't gotten any new and exciting posts up. My mind has kind have been on overload and it seems like when it gets like that I shut down. I think that happened this week.

One thing I did do last weekend was make some tissue holders to stuff in your purse for those little "bless you" moments.

My friend and I saw this idea when at the fair earlier this month. It was quick and easy.


Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Falling for Lavender...er LavendAr

Today I created my first Etsy Treasury! It was quite fun.

Let's see...(I say to myself) if I were to create a treasury, what could be one key word or theme that I could start with? Purple you say? Then purple it is!

Check it out here!

An extra fun thing about creating your own treasury is that you can also include one of your items that fits in the theme. I decided that my little Penelope Sue would be included. She smiled. :-)

Monday, September 13, 2010

Fall Falls So Quickly

Why is it that as soon as fall hits, it seems like the days and weekends are full and fleeting? Maybe it's just my schedule and so many things going on for me this fall. I'm not sure - but it's how I feel today.

I had a minor panic attack today thinking already of how quickly the months of September and October will go.

Geez Ann, slow down and relax a bit. :-)

I think I should pause and gaze at the lovely bouquet of hydrangea's my friend brought me last week from her mother's garden.

Aren't they lovely?






Sunday, September 12, 2010

Rose Hips and Happiness

I don't know what is it about rose hips but they make me feel warm, cozy, strong, and stable.

Really. I don't get it - but I love them.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

I Treasure Treasuries!

I'm so excited to be included in a couple more Etsy Treasuries!

My bird pillow was included in a treasury called "Love Love Birds".


And my cottage flower picture is in a treasurey called "Cottage Shabby Chic Decor".


Yippie Skippie!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Mr. WS Man - Snowman Ornament Tutorial

I decided to call this fella a "warm" snowman because he's surrounded by wool - thus his name - Mr. W. S. Man (W. S. = Warm Snow).


This little guy is easy-peezy to make. I've found that the most difficult part is finding the white, off-white, beige, or light gray sweaters to felt.

To begin, trace and cut two circles the same size of your main fabric. Choose any size you want your ornament to be - just remember you'll have a small seam allowance included. I use my handy left-over lid from something bought long ago.



Using an orange-ish colored piece of recycled felt, cut a lumpy carrott nose for Mr. Man. A jiggly-hand is needed for this part of the project! (You don't need to make a nose template - but I did since I was making so many.)


Hand sew on two black buttons for eyes, the carrott nose, and black yarn french knots for his smile.




Sew the two head pieces together - right sides together - leaving a small hole somewhere around the circle for turning and stuffing.

Turn head right-side out and stuff with polyfil. Stitch together stuffing hole with coordinating thread. Attach a piece of yarn/twine/ribbon/or whatever you wish to the top of ornament for hanging.

Make as many Mr. Warm SnowMen as you wish! Enjoy for yourself or as a fun gift.

Shrubs

Saturday I decided to trim my bridal wreath shrub. Uhhh...I think I got carried away.




Now I have to dig it up. I'm not in a panic though, because thank heavens I have a nice new shrub to go in it's place. I just wasn't sure that was the spot. I guess I'm sure now.

This is actually the second spot of my weekend handiwork. I also managed to dig up two other old-scraggly shrubs in my back yard as well and replaced them with a beautiful new hydrangea bush.  I'll take photos later to show you. Trust me - it's an improvement.

But, my oh my, I could sure tell that this old body is waaay out of shape! I was so stiff and sore on Sunday that I could barely bend over. Is this a sign that I should do a little more landscaping this fall before the snow falls? Or does it mean that I should just sit back and...



Tuesday, September 7, 2010

I Was Framed

Remember when I showed you a mirror that I got at a local thrift shop?


Well, this weekend it went into transformation mode.

First, I did a little online looking for information about the mirror (utilizing an original sticker and trademark on the back). I am not one to encourage decreasing or defacing the value of something old - if it's worth a nice chunk. But if it's just so-so - then I say do what you want to make it more likeable for you. And if I have the information available, I usually try to do a little research on the item before making any changes to it.

So this is a Syroco Mirror. I took about  1 1/2 hours searching the internet for possible value of the piece that set me back $7.00. Most everything that I could find that was similar to it was in the $25 to $50 range. Now, don't get me wrong - $50 is a nice price - but I decided to bite the (gold) bullet and spray paint the gold mirror frame away anyway with my handy-dandy heirloom white.

After considerable consideration (well, maybe about 5 minutes) I decided that, for now anyway, I wanted to just hang the frame by itself and leave the mirror out.

I thought this little candle sconce hanging on the door on my back porch might like some company.


A couple small nails later, it was up. I liked it.


What do you think?


IMPORTANT DUMB NOTE:  This morning when I jumped on the internet while preparing this post, I did a quick search for the Syroco name again - you know, just to make sure I spelled it correctly. What do you think was the FIRST google search that came up in the list? Yup - a picture of a mirror - not exactly - but very similar to mine - valued at $299.  What?  Where was that picture when I was searching on Saturday? Either I was extremely blind or it was posted after my very thorough weekend search.

So what's a girl to do? I had no choice but to just giggle and shake my head. Another financial opportunity in ruins.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

My Young Mother

I recently was fortunate enough to see some photos of my mom when she was a young girl that I had never seen before. My cousin brought an old album (hmmm...remember "photo albums"?) to one of our family gatherings. I immediately knew I had to get copies of the photos for my collection. I decided that it worked just as well to take a photo of the photo and actually had nice success with that process.

I adored my mom (and dad) - and even though every mom is special - I guess I happen to think mine was "extra" special.

Mom. They lived on a farm so had many family dogs. She always loved animals.

My mom and her mom (grandma). I love their sweetness and simplicity.

Mom and our cousin, Fred. Mom and Fred were good buds. Oh my, I do believe they look like they were up to something in this picture. The look on Fred's face says mischief.

Mom. Always smiling.

Mom starting to "grow up". She was probably in high school in this picture. High school means time to fix the hair much more fancy.  :-)

Thanks for visiting my mom with me today. It was fun! :-)

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Making Snowballs

I'm working frantically...ok, not really frantically...but semi-frantically - on my wool items.

I've completed some scarves - with more to make.

I've completed some mittens - with more to make.

I've completed some pin cushions - with more to make.

And I'm close to completing some snowball/snowman ornaments. Oh ya - with more to make.  :-)

Friday, September 3, 2010

The Catalog Has Arrived

I just reviewed the most recent Sundance catalog.

Oh my. They have some great goodies for this fall!

I can't help but share some of my favorite things with you...grab some coffee...there are a few...

Just LOVE that Sundance!

Oh my goodness. These are SO cute!

Very fun! Cut off boots!

Did I mention that I like boots?

Darling wrist/arm warmers. It gives me a fun wool idea...

Cool, cool, cool! The purple ones are my favorite!

Great colors.

Did I mention....oh ya - I have a thing for boots.
  
Oh how cute they are.

These look so comfortable. Do you think they will guarantee flatter stomachs?

Darling.

How incredible is this quilt?

What? It's mine for only $2,195 plus $400 shipping?  NOTE:  Oh geez...my girlfriend just corrected me on this....it's the BED that is this cost. No wonder it's a hefty shipping price! Guess I needed to slow down and read better! :-)

Gotta love knit-wear.

More boots?  See, I can't help myself.

As they say - I love-love-love these shirts!

Did I tell you I adore watches too?

Very classy.

These are the coolest things! Snow sneakers!

Thanks for all the great temptations, Mr. Redford.
(All photos taken from 2010 Fall Sundance catalog.)