Photoshop makes me a happy girl

Laila, AKA Rawfish on Etsy, shared her photoshop tricks on Flickr. Now I've gone Photoshop happy and I'm not too proud to say it.

Hi, I'm Erin, and I'm a Photoshop addict.

Well, addict is a strong word. I've only made a new banner for Woolyhands and this cute little image as seen here...... but I imagine I'll be spending lots of time on Photoshop this season. There are worse things.

The NWA Boutique show went very well for me today. I sold a bit of yarn, some neckwarmers, a scarf, but mostly jewelry. Sweet, sweet jewelry. I love how you fly off of the table this time of year. I've been working my poor little fingers (and the big ones) to the bone for the past few weeks so I'm only pleased that it's paying off. I have some new colors and beads in my stuff this year and I'm in love. If I'm feeling up to it tomorrow, I plan on taking some pictures so I can show you all of the lovelies.

However, we all know how plans go.

My plans could very well be pushed aside for a trip to Cracker Barrel for breakfast (don't judge me... they have fried applies and hash brown casserole), Hancocks for more plying thread, and Target just 'cause I want to go. So if you don't see new jewelry up in Idyllhands this week, it is because Cracker Barrel got in the way.

Holiday Ideas

I've got so many different Holiday ideas for my fiber shop swimming around in my head and no time to do them and it's killing me! Okay, I'm making that up, I have plenty of time to do them, just not before my next show which is... uhh... two days from now! I had HUGE plans of sticking just to jewelry for Saturday's show but we all know how HUGE plans go. Yeah, they go right out the window.

Oh well, I'll stick to the jewelry, bring some of my fall/holiday yarns and leave it at that. I still have the two Farmer's Market Holiday Markets (too many markets?) to prepare for and I can unroll some of my ideas there. AND there is always next year. Let's not forget that.

I'm quite excited about the show on Saturday. I've been churning out so much jewelry for the past few weeks and some of my new items sold at least weeks show so I just know this weekend will be great. I've been using a lot of pearl and jewel tones in my new pieces (perfect for the Holidays) and even gold which is not something I've done before. I'm please with how they look for this time of year and am itching to get pictures of the items so I can get them up on Etsy in time for some Holiday shopping.

I don't know where this sudden burst of jewelry making energy has come from lately, but I'm not going to complain. I really didn't want to make jewelry the entire summer and was worried going into the fall still not wanting to. Funny how that changes in anticipation of Christmas.

Now, back to my fibery ideas I started this post out with. I want to do more art yarns than I am. Just small bits of yarn perfect to just enjoy in a glass bowl or to add to a project for some pizazz. The couple of Ugly Yarns that I did for Halloween (art yarns gone bad) garnered so much interest and I even sold some. It would be crazy not to do more but not call the Ugly Yarns. Ugly Yarns don't sound too Christmassy... I'd come up with something else. Perhaps, "Someone Spiked the Punch" yarns or another cheeky phrase. I'm sure it will come to me at some point.

I also want to put together some fiber ornament kits. Basically it would be a way for someone who likes to craft, but doesn't knit or crochet, to use my yarn for other "non-tradition" projects. And no, don't ask what I have in mind because I haven't figured it out, but I will... oh, I will!

I have some other ideas too, but I'm having trouble explaining them in writing. If I get to them this year, I'll be sure to post the ideas and pictures to share with all of you.

So, what have you got planned for the Holiday crafting season? Making gifts? Any seasonal items going up in your online shops if you have them? I'd love to hear from you. Sharing ideas and projects really helps get all of our creative juices flowing.

Another one bites the dust

Another show down, one more to go. The Handcrafted Holiday boutique that I participated in on Saturday night was a success. The crowd was down compared to last year but I'm really thinking the random warm spell we've had didn't help. People aren't in a Christmas mood when you can practically wear shorts during the day. Where did my fall go?

I have one more seasonal show on Saturday which should be very good. I shopped at it last year (wasn't a vendor) and it looked great and very well attended... here's hoping the same for this year. I'll just have my jewelry at this show, so set up should be a breeze.

I will say that I'm ready for a break from crafting after all that I've done this season. Maybe I'll turn to baking for the weeks leading up to the Holidays instead of crafting... hmmm, baked goods for Christmas presents anyone?

Speaking of baked goods, I never baked those muffins that I was sure I was going to bake a couple of weeks ago... I'm bad like that. Maybe tonight... maybe tonight.

Did someone say shopping?

Come one, come all to the Handcrafted Holiday special shopping event! Bring a friend, bring 2, heck, bring three and head over to Walton Arts Center's Nadine Baum Studios on Saturday, November 7 between 6PM and 9PM to enjoy some great snacks, tasty drinks, wonderful massages and fabulous shopping!

It's a great chance to buy one of a kind holiday gifts for your friends and family (or for yourself... I won't judge). There will be lots of goodies to look at from a few local artists (my sister and myself included).

And trust me when I say that Santa will put you on his good list for shopping local this year! I hope to see you all there!

Holiday Spin-a-long

And just because I can, I've decided to host another spin-a-long. I had so much fun with the Halloween spin-a-long that I thought it only appropriate to do one for my favorite time of year... the Holiday season! I've posted all of the fun details in my shop. The one difference is that there will be more than one prize awarded at the end! It is the season for giving, after all.

Go here to check out the details and I hope to see you join in!

Finished Halloween SAL yarns!

Finished Halloween SAL yarns!
Originally uploaded by Ehwin

Goodness - where has the time gone this week? The Autumn months are just flying by and I have hardly taken time to enjoy them! Such is life, right? Actually, I'm lying a bit. I have been enjoying my time spent outdoors at the Farmer's Markets and I took a day of work to make this a three day weekend, so not all is lost.

I'm not here to talk about me, though, I'm here to talk about all of the fabulous spinners who participated in the very first Woolyhands Spin-a-long. There were 13 participants in all and 7 who posted finished yarns in my Flickr group... well, 8 if you count my yarn. Aren't the yarns lovely?

The deal was, each person who posted pics of their finished yarn would be entered in a drawing for a gift batt from yours truly. So, without further delay, I shall announce the winner...


I hate just picking one winner - all of the yarns were great :)

The Halloween Spin-a-long was a lot of fun and I'm gearing up for a Holiday/Winter spin-a-long... so keep posted here to get all of the festive, wintery details!

Afternoon

There was something about the way the sun shone into the windows today that created a sort of calm on the west side of the house. The beams of light that were cast across my office and fiber studio warmed me to my toes. It was the perfect afternoon after spending the morning at the Farmer's Market (freezing, I might add). It's days like this that really should never end. The leaves falling outside my windows are vibrant shades of gold, orange and red. The call of autumn birds provided a nice background to the sounds of autumn. The Schmoo cat napped on the corner of the guest bed while flecks of dust playfully floated in the sunlight. The scene left me feeling completely at peace with things... everything.

There was just something about the sun shining into the windows.

It inspired me to card up and label 54 mini batts of fiber for the November Phat Fiber Box. That is a powerful thing as I usually dread the labeling part and put that off until the absolute, last minute. But today was different. Today I'm left proud of my samples, completely happy with the outcome, and looking forward to shipping them off to Phat Fiber Headquarters.

There was just something about that sun shining through the window into the mounds of fiber (seen above). You can't even help but feel comfortable just looking at it.