They Have Arrived!!!!

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I have wanted to offer gift certificates in sosorosey for YEARS.  I was stymied, though, by the logistics.  What denominations do I use?  How do people get the certificate?  What if, what if, what if?  Each question I came up with drove me further from following through.

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Last week my desire finally overrode my fears, and I contacted Lynda from Exquisite Expressions- the same wonderful lady who created my Etsy banner.  I could not be more thrilled with my experience or the result!

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Having no idea what I would need or how I would accomplish this task, I was not the easiest customer to work with.  Oh no.  I required lots of patience.  Lots of explanation and hand holding.  Multiple drafts and countless emails.

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I could not have asked for a more professional, courteous, and talented designer.  Lynda is truly one of Etsy's finest.  Pop on over to Exquisite Expressions to see what she can do for you today!

Pop!

I'm pretty sure this one wins the prize for "brightest bowl I've ever made". When I saw this tie-dye shirt hanging on the rack at the Salvation Army, I think I did a little dance. I couldn't wait to get it home, wash it, harvest the fabric, and crochet away. My daughter says it looks like a gumball machine. My husband.... well ... had it been his size, it would have stayed a shirt for awhile longer.

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?

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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?

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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?

New Custom Order Part I

I am currently hard at work on several custom orders, but the most challenging (and exciting) one right now is shown here. The beginning of it, anyway. I love to get a request for something I have never done before, and this is one of those for sure.

Last week I was contacted and commissioned to make a 24" (that's right, 24" = TWO FEET) rag rug style table coaster. My customer wants this to be the focal point of her round, antique oak table. I have some table coasters in my shop that are 8", but this is substantially bigger. You might be thinking, "Yes, Jennie, it is 3 times larger". Ah, but you would be mistaken.

Enter my techie husband, with his larger than life math skills. As I was laboring over determining a price quote for this creation, he showed me that it was a *simple* matter of algebra. Let me say that for me, the words 'simple' and 'algebra' don't belong in the same room, let alone the same sentence. So, what he thought would be a five minute conversation took most of the night. But, in the end, I understood that a 24" table coaster is actually 9 times larger than an 8" one.

The color scheme is to be pink, white, aqua, "funky green", and red. As usual, my first step was to gather fabrics. As it happened, I had all of these colors on hand- perhaps because they are some of my personal favorites. My customer approved the fabrics I showed her, and has given me lots of freedom with the design; her main desire is to have aqua with red and green with aqua. The rest can be worked in however I see fit.

I sent her this picture and two others this morning. As it turns out, she was out most of the day, and did not reply for several hours. I'm pretty sure I didn't breathe much during those hours; as anyone who does custom work, I just felt anxious and hoped that my vision would match hers. It does!! She loves it!!

This is about 10" across so far. The challenge in this coaster, besides color placement, is alternating my added stitches variably so that the coaster stays round versus multi-sided. I've got it figured out, though, and can't wait to add more colors. Stay tuned for Part II!

sosorosey Super Sale!

Four days only! Don't delay!

Pop into my shop and spend $20 bucks (or more) and receive a set of 6 crocheted ornaments/package tie ons for FREE. That's right, FREE!

Sale is from Nov. 14th-17th as part of the Etsyfriends team Gobble Up Handmade Sale. Lots of shops are participating, so if I don't have what you're looking for check here for other great shops and sales http://www.efpromotions.blogspot.com/

Happy shopping :)

Etsyfriends Challenge on the FP!

My Etsyfriends Team has a new challenge activity for November. All team members who want to participate are to offer up their interpretation of "Thankful for Friends". Entries will be listed in shops and will be shown all together on the team blog. Entries are due Nov. 3rd, and voting details will follow. Anyone interested can vote, and there will be prizes offered for doing so. I will share more info as it gets closer.

So, I was especially thrilled for myself and my team when I heard that my entry and our contest got some good exposure this morning. My upcycled BFF (best friends forever) bowls were chosen for this beautiful treasury by utilemud, and that treasury made it to the front page of Etsy! I believe it was on the fp from about 6am-8am EST. So, a big thank you to utilemud for creating such a gorgeous collection, and to Nikki at KaleidoscopeKorner and Karen at BusyBeading for your congrats messages!

My New Goodies!

Prettifying my packages is important to me, as is incorporating my *brand* at every opportunity. While I enjoy putting my own creative touch on my wrapping, I also recognize when someone else can do something better than I can! Many of my item tags and stickers have been happily purchased from other Etsy sellers; I highly recommend promosinasnap, kjpatino, tudorhouse, and wildmagic for their excellent work, communication and customer service.

I am just jumping up and down with excitement about my latest purchase for my shop, though! These appreciation cards were designed and made just for me by Jessi at jessijewels.etsy.com. Every single thing about this transaction was pleasurable. Jessi kept me in the loop with what she was working on and happily made changes as we tweaked the details together. The end result is beautiful, and the attention to detail and professionalism displayed by this shopowner is superb. I enjoy just looking at these in my craft room, and writing a thank you message on them when I send out a package is pure heaven. I LOVE my cards and I LOVE jessijewels!

Unbelievable!

What started out as an otherwise not very good day in the Thoma house got substantially better toward late afternoon. Incredibly, I found myself on the front page of Etsy again. Twice in one week!! This time I have lobello.etsy.com to thank for the honor. I also have several very good friends to thank for their congrats convos which alerted me in the first place. Super big hugs to Ally at iheartthatdance.etsy.com, Sarah at GenuineArticle.etsy.com, Michele at sweetirie.etsy.com, and Jessi at jessijewels.etsy.com for the kind messages! It would be no fun at all to be on the front page and have no one to share it with :)