Nice People Rock

Not only is the Etsy community ultra-talented, many of the members that I have gotten to know are amazingly kind and generous as well. It never fails to give me extra warm fuzzies when I receive a pair of beautiful earrings in my package *just because*, or when I get a box of fabric or yarn in the mail from someone who "thought I'd be able to use it". Or when a customer who has become a friend thinks of me when she is out treasure hunting, and sends me treats that she knows are just so ME. These are the kind of people the world needs more of, don't you think?

My good Etsy friend Karen, from RunsWithScissors4 is one of these people. Karen has a unique talent and passion for making paper beads, and she makes them from all sorts of things- even leftover Easter grass!! One of her signature products is the map bracelet...an item that you can customize with your choice of 6 or 7 US cities, towns or landmarks. These make such wonderful personalized gifts!

Recently Karen took the time to read back through blog posts and conversations we have had, find locations that she knew were meaningful to me, and made me my very own map bracelet! Can you believe how thoughtful that was? For no occasion? Just because she is really sweet like that? What a wonderful, inspiring, and humbling surprise. Thank you, Karen, and all of you other really nice people out there who do such great things for others out of the goodness of your hearts. Nice people rock!!

~*~

Do you have a shout out for a nice person in your life?

Leave a comment and tell us all about them!!

It's Out, and I'm In!

For best results, this post should be read with the song "What a Feeling" playing in your head. I apologize in advance if it stays there all day!

Craft Challenge: Pillowcase has hit the shelves! My good friend Karen from RunsWithScissors4 actually made a special trip to Barnes and Noble just to find this book. She not only purchased it, but she also sent me photos of all of "my" pages. Wasn't that sweet?

~*~


My copy arrived on my doorstep yesterday. As you can see, I'm not on the cover. Not the front cover, anyway. There is actually a mention of my project on the back cover, though! The book is broken up into three sections; wear, show and live. I'm in the "live" section (page 100). My large bowl has been dubbed "Dream Catcher" and wow, the pictures are just amazing!

At the risk of sounding like a gigantic geek, I will share with you that I just keep opening the book to my section and staring at it- with a huge smile on my face. I have briefly contemplated carrying my copy around so that I can show my pages to anyone who glances in my general direction. I mean, jeez, I can't just put it on a shelf and forget about it, right?

~*~


I am thrilled to do the happy dance with my family and friends, but I admit, there is the teeniest dream that Oprah or Martha or Rachael will spy the book and just *have* to visit my shop- they'll order custom rugs and bowls for their many homes and invite me to be on their show for a fabric crochet segment. Am I carrying the fantasy a little far? Perhaps. OK, probably. But, there you have it...What A Feeling! What are you celebrating today?

Ideas Please

Would you believe these beautiful beads are made out of paper? They were made just for me by the talented Karen at RunsWithScissors4! She used gorgeous rosy paper in my favorite shades of pink and green. Now, I need to decide what I would like to make with them! My initial idea is to use them as embellishments on crochet flower gift tags. Or maybe little tassel ends for a drawstring bag? I would love to hear more ideas if you have some!!