Join me on Saturday

...November 7th at Community of Faith UMC's 4th Annual Arts and Crafts Fair!

The Fair will be open from 10:00 am until 3:00 pm. It's close by for all my Reston Market friends at 13224 Franklin Farm Road in Herndon, Virginia 20171

Click here for directions.

Stop by and start your holiday shopping early!

See you there!

One week left this year...

...with all my friends at the Reston Market

This season just flew by! Next Saturday is our last market day of the 2009 season.

I'll be posting my local pre-holiday fairs and markets within the next few days.

Thanks to my time at the market this year I've developed a few new case and bag designs and brought back an old favorite. I'll be taking photos and posting new items on my sites shortly.

See you on Saturday!

Starting to make a little headway...

on Facebook thanks to some helpful souls on Etsy!

I'm enjoying it and exploring the possibilities. In the meantime, I love looking at all the beautiful things and the creative way they have been presented...art in itself.

Visit my fan page when you get a chance by Clicking here. I'm working on a contest that will start soon. Let me know if you have any suggestions!

Facebook Fan Page

Well...I decided I'm ready (I think) to take the plunge into the world of the Facebook Fan page!

Any suggestions or reflections...and of course fans would be greatly appreciated! CLICK HERE

or take a look to the right...I was able to get the gadget done at least

Looking for a Case that's Just Right for Your "Diva" Sunglasses?

I make 3 styles of soft, padded cases for your big sunglasses...



The first is a sleeve type case with a stitched opening at the top <-------------- The second is a rounded case





And the second is a zip top case with an optional swivel clasp
--------------------->



The third is a rounded top case.
<----------------------------

All aremade with 100% cotton fabric and fully lined and padded with either needled cotton batting or pre-quilted lining and measure approximately 4 by 7 inches.

Click on the photos to view details of the cases.

Stop By and See Me...

...this Saturday, May 2nd, I'll be at the opening of The Reston Market at Lake Anne in Reston, Virginia.

I'm back as one of the exhibitor vendors at the market on Saturdays from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm from May through October. The market is adjacent to a wonderful farmers market. I can't wait to see old friends after a long winter!

If you've never been to the market here are the directions:

From Route 495 (Beltway)

Take Dulles Toll Rd. (Rte. 267).

Continue on & exit at #12, Reston Pkwy.

Turn right onto Reston Pkwy. Go to the 3rd light & turn right onto Temporary Rd. At the stop sign, turn left onto North Shore Dr. Continue on North Shore Dr., past Lake Anne E.S., (on your left), & through one light to the entrance to the Lake Anne Village Center on your right.

See you there!

My Marley

Some of my family and I watched "Marley and Me" after Easter dinner on Sunday.
I'd read the book shortly after it came out partly because it looked like a good read, but mostly because the picture of Marley caught my eye.

Marley was the spitting image of our family dog Max. And as I read the book, there was no doubt that Max and Marley were kindred spirits. At the time I read it Max was in the last years of his life...mostly in low gear with bursts of energy now and then. So the read was a tear jerker in the end but I remember it as mostly funny and familiar(not just Marley's antics, but I grew up in PA and my parents were from Philly)

But now that Max is gone as well... and though I liked the movie, I must admit, I cried more than I laughed. It's just amazing how deeply a pet can touch your heart.

I love the way the author, John Grogan, captured the love, joys and trials of a regular family and their dog. If you haven't read "Marley and Me" pick up a copy.

For more on our Max click here

(Max with his May/December romance, Sassy)

A New Look for Chickadee Fabrics

I have a little Etsy shop for de-stash, overflow, finds new and some vintage.
I decided I needed a new, cleaner look and thanks to
Erin of Erin Bradley Designs at Etsy, I have one!

I love Erin's style! If you get a minute check her out.
Also click on over and see my new look...

I found a Great new Fabric Vendor on Etsy

Just couldn't be happier with the new Etsy fabric shop I just found!


She has a great selection, super communication and customer service, and the fabric was out to me the same day and arrived packaged wonderfully.

It was an all around pleasent experience! And ohhh how I love to buy fabric!

Take a minute and take look at ScabooFabrics !

Rapid Cart from Artfire

I've just added Rapid Cart from Artfire to my blog. After some research that seems pretty postitive, I thought I'd give it a try. You'll find it over to the right.

I'd love to hear from anyone that's had some experience with it!

Thanks in advance.

Our First Cookout of the Year...

It was just one of those spur of the moment things...
It felt like spring.
It wasn't too warm or too cool.
The birds were singing.
The kids were playing ball.
The pups were chasing the kids playing ball.
The pups were stealing the ball.
The bugs hadn't found any of us yet.
It was just one of those spur of the moment things.
The food was simple but yummy.
An extraordinary, ordinary day done just right!

New Spring Colors!

I've just finished some Gadget cases in newly released spring fabric from Red Rooster.

These larger padded gadget cases a have been a big hit. The Padded Gadget Case and Padded Gadget Wristlet have the same size pouch but different "connections". The Case has a swivel hook that can attach to your belt loop, purse, diaper bag, keys, laptop or backpack. The Wristlet has a fabric wristlet attached to a swivel clasp that can either attach to the zipper (that way I'm sure mine is closed before I pick it up) or to the ribbon loop on the side.

They both are lined in fleece or quilted padding and gave a 4.25 by 6 inch pouch to fit a cell phone, Blackberry, Treo, FlipVideo, small digital camera, iPhone, iTouch, iPod, Mp3, glasses, you name it! It can also make a nice hands-free take along for dog walking with room enough for some treats and some baggies. Custom features can include either an inside our outside pocket, different sizing or fabric.

Yeah! Happy Spring!

Tweet Tweet!

Okay, I'm enjoying this Twitter thing. Can't say I really "got it" at first. I mean, I got it, I just wasn't sure I wanted to. It looked interesting, maybe even fun and if it helps my business, that's a plus but....just how do I fit even one more little thing into my day?!?

The answer came with a big Ah-ha for me. I don't have to fit it anywhere! Imagine that! I do it just to enjoy it. A little here, a little there. Okay, maybe more than a little sometimes....I do more hopping like a little bird from one place to the next than "tweeting". Or is that part of the tweeting. I don't really know. And I have a feeling that if I try too hard to find out it might loose some of it's charm.

So I'm off to do a little tweeting...

Oh, and if you'd like to "tweet" with me click the little birdie over there on the right!

I got a Makeover...

I've been looking for the perfect update to my brand for my online stores and my retail and I found a great designer on Etsy at OceanfrontStudio.

Neil did a great job adapting one of his wonderful creations to my sites. And he gave wonderful customer service, as well.

If you're contemplating a new look or your first set-up, pop by OceanfrontStudio!

Never stop learning...

Whoa! Everyday's a new adventure in blog-land!

You start looking at one thing and you just never know where you're going to wind up...
I've found so many cool things (can I still say "cool"?) I just don't know where to start. Or stop, for that matter.

The Vintage Village lead to Twitter....Twitter lead to ByHand.me... which reminded me that I needed to upgrade my Flickr space and then, well I'm not sure where I went next!

So, if like me, you find yourself somewhere(here) and you're not sure how you got here, or where you're going...take a look to the right and check out someplace you didn't plan to go.

Like Helen Keller said... "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."

Something New...

I was looking for a pretty, fun identy for my page on The Vintage Village (more about that later) and came across someone with a great little site who made this wonderful banner and a sweet avatar for me. I'm partial to birds....okay, especially pretty birds. My mom and dad loved birds and we always had feeders all around the yard. I've passed it on to my children and now my two little grandsons who love to sit and watch the birds. It's a great cuddly, quiet time thing to do.

Anyway... you can find LisasMenagerie on Etsy at http://www.lisasmenagerie.etsy.com/

Lisa did a great job, was quick and gave great customer service! She has some great things so stop by and see her!

Now as for finding The Vintage Village...I must admit, I had some help. The creator of The Vintage Village is my cousin, Lora. We come from a family of "vintage lovers". My favorite things in my home are an eclectic collection(oh...say that three times fast!) of old family things, things my mom and I found together when I was young and things I've picked up here and there. I love the pieces. I love the stories and the mysteries. I love the connections. I love the eco-friendliness of it. And, I love the memories.

Take a peek at The Vintage Village on Ning if you haven't already. You can click on the link to the right.

My Bags Are Back...

I finally got time to take a little breath and break out some of the wonderful new fabric I've found over the last several weeks! This is my favorite and most popular bag...

The Perfect Pockets Bag.

Etsy Treasury Post

A big thanks to FoundOnTheBeach for including one each of my Softy Cell Wristlets and my Diva Glass Cases in her treasury seen above.

To visit her wonderful little shop click here... http://www.foundonthebeach.etsy.com/!