Noel Card

Here's another card that will be available when my Christmas card line hits the shop in the next week or two.

Hope you all are having a great weekend. My mom's flying in for a visit late tomorrow night to spend time with her first/only (well, not really) grandson and celebrate my birthday : ) Man, do I miss living near family!

Friday Feature-- Tootsie & Grace

One of the great things about having an Etsy shop is being introduced to talented artists and crafters (many of them stay-at-home moms like myself) all over the world. And since I am a mom (in fact I'm trying to tune out a 2-year-old nap protest tantrum as we speak) and am expecting another boy in February, I was drawn to Tootsie and Grace as my first Friday Feature. I love the variety and quality of Marisa's work--she sews, she paints, she crafts!







Here is my interview with Tootsie and Grace:

What's your name and where are you from?
My name is Marisa and I am from the Bay Area, CA (but temporarily
living in Austin, TX). In about 3 and a half months, we will be moving
to England! We hate moving, but it seems like we do it all the time!


Where does a lot of the inspiration for your work come from?
The inspiration for my work comes from my two daughters, Gracie
and Annelie ages two and eight months. I just adore them and love making
them wonderful things. I only began sewing in May of this year, and
quickly began making baby bibs. I decided to open Tootsie and Grace
because I loved making baby items so much.

Who encourages you most to do what you do?
My husband stands behind me and cheers me on in everything I do.
He is always the first person to say, "I love that. That is my
favorite painting/bib/toy you have ever made." And funny enough, he says that
about everything I make. He genuinely loves my stuff, and doesn't
mind that my fabric, thread, sewing machine, you name it, has completely
taken over our house. He even takes the girls out of the house on a
regular basis, so I can get some uninterrupted sewing done.


What goals/hopes/dreams do you have for your shop/craft over the next
five years?
Tootsie and Grace is a way for me to release my creativity and get
my itchy fingers on crafting material. I would go crazy if I didn't
have a creative outlet. As for my dreams, I am so busy as an at home
mom to my girls, that I just look at Tootsie and Grace as a way to bring
in some extra spending money (well, eventually. I need to make up my
materials cost first!!) while doing something I love. My main creative
goal in life is to become a published author/illustrator. I also think
designing a line of fabric and baby toy and clothing patterns would be
so much fun. I guess I will just have to see where life takes me,
once the girls are in school.

What are some of the challenges you face in running your own Etsy
business?
I am going to be a disaster when taxes are due, of course. I am
also a total mess and have covered my house (in a very disorganized
manner) with all things crafty. And as for time to work... I don't have a
lot of it. It is hard juggling two babies, free time to sew, and the
promoting of my shop so that I can actually get my name out there and
sell. I end up with a lot of very late nights.


What's one thing you'd want readers to know about you and your work?
I put my heart into every item I make. Sometimes it is very hard
parting with something I love, because the majority of my stuff I
probably wont make again. But I am so happy knowing that there is going to be
a child wearing or playing with something that I made. My items are
definitely handmade with love for little ones!

Thanks, Marisa! And have a great weekend everyone!

The Christmas Spirit

I've had to get in the Christmas Spirit early this year to work on my soon-to-be-available Christmas card line. For inspiration, I've been browsing the lovely photos here and listening to this great Sufjan Steven's album.

This card is one I just finished. Check back often or sign up for my mailing list (shoot me an email at arianarmstrong@yahoo.com) to be the first to know when they're available)

Merry (early!) Christmas!

Another Christmas Card

I usually don't like to unveil work before it's up in the shop. But I've been anxious to get my line of Christmas cards designed and printed and have had little time to work on them. So this is just a way of showing progress. The whole line will be available later this month!

Lobsta!!

My husband's boss has a lobster boat and when your boss asks if you want to leave work early to go lobstering with him, you go!


That's one fine lookin' lobsterman!





So now we can check this off of our list of New England-type things to do while we live here. Daniel and his boss, John, pulled about 18 traps while Hudson and I lent moral support. When we were done, John left us at the dock with a cooler full of lobster and no real idea what to do with them! So we made some quick calls to some of our more seasoned lobster-eating friends and dropped by their house with empty stomachs and 6 crawly lobster.



Turns out Annie here (who I think is 94!) used to help her dad service their nearly 200 traps by ROW BOAT when she was a child in Norway. I could tell we were in good hands : )

Welcome October--Buy 1 Get 1 Special

October is my favorite month--the weather, the leaves, my birthday, hot cocoa, football games, hayrides, and pumpkin pie. Ohhh yeah : ) To celebrate, I'm having a brief buy one get one free (of equal or lesser value) sale in my shop Just place your order but don't complete payment and I will send you the adjusted paypal invoice. Thanks! Happy October!

If I Could Upload Smells...

This weekend was wrapped in the sights and smells of fall. We rang in the weekend Friday night by making apple chips and pumpkin pies (I used the good ole' Libby's recipe on the back of the giant can but with 1 cup sugar instead of 1 1/2 and 1/4t cloves not 1/2t). And it took about 75 mins to cook instead of 50, dunno why. It was my first attempt at pumpkin pie, actually, and I don't like to brag but it was probably the best pie anyone has ever made in the history of pies,ever...period. ; )

Hudson and I picked the apples for the apple chips last weekend at a nearby farm. Then Friday night I sliced them up, sprinkled them with cinnamon and a bit of clove, and dehydrated them over night.



Saturday, our town had its fall festival. The highlight--open house at the firehouse. I'm not sure who enjoyed it most, our 2-year-old or my husband.







We topped the fall festivities weekend off with a trip to the fair I think it was Hudson's first experience with cotton candy... and with hog racing sooo...that was special : )