Picking Up the Needles

As if arthritis wasn't enough to make me slow down knitting this summer...the colonoscopy socks were. link  I didn't read ahead into the pattern. They are tube socks. No heal to turn = NO FUN just 16" of tube and then a toe.  Well those are nicely stashed in their bag until another trip to the Dr's or hospital brings them back out.
I saw this on Facebook the other day and I had to steal it.

Doesn't my Skip look cute with those needles in his head.

 

Etsy knitting and weelambieknits are taking a new direction this year.  I am in the process of combining my two shops. I will just have Weelambievintage and in it there is a Knits by Wee Lambie  section. link
I have some items that are being moved over from Weelambieknits.  The majority of this little shop will be devoted to fingerless gloves and cowls.  I love making these.  No Wee will not be having a 'sock' section anytime soon.
Here are some of what is being offered.

Garnet Cowl for Fall here a deep rich garnet color is super squishy bulky soft yarn. 

Blue Fingerless gloves for fall. Agate Blue! link

 

All my favorite Etsians are busy getting ready for the Fall and Holiday Season.
Big topics for conversation are packaging tips, where to get the best value for tape.  Finding good sources for recycling boxes and packaging.  My garage is starting to look like a warehouse as carboard piles up in ready.
What ever you're working on I hope you're enjoying it.  

And if you need to get the perfect Christmas Dress for your little girl look no further than my friend's NannaJustbananas. Take a look at her creations.

Girls Christmas Dress from NanaJustbananas

Teri is a Master seamstress and all her creations are perfection and made from the highest quality fabrics and notions.  Get your orders in early.
you can find her shop here: link  Teri also has an amazing line of wedding flower girl fashions....even the cutest shoes you ever dreamed of.

Weelambie/Anne

Shabby Chic Finishing Part 1

I was in a gray mood today. Paris Gray.
While the rest of Florida was preparing for Isaac's arrival I was busy on the lanaii painting.

I wanted to try and do some dry brush painting that I had heard of.  I had a large wooden vintage jewelry box to refinish. 
This is my version in the new technique.

Step 1.
I lightly sanded the wood and painted it with white paint.  The trick is to put very little paint on your brush.  The wood got a quick covering in white and dried quickly in the Florida sun.  I also had time to wash the brush and let it dry.
Step 2.
With gray paint.  I am calling it 'Paris Gray' and again using very little paint on the dry brush I covered all the white paint with gray. 

 

You can see how streaky the white paint is on the side of the box.  The top has a coat of gray.  I should have taken a close up picture for you.

 

  

 

Step 3.  With a little piece of sandpaper I lightly sanded the piece. I like to sand off just a little paint at a time.  In this way I can be in controll of how much of the underlying white paint shows through as well as the original stain and the wood. I sand primarily on the corners and around any knobs.  I want it to look like it was worn away over time with lots of use.

 

This box has a red velveteen lining.  It is almost perfect.  There is only one drawer that has any staining in it.  I will attack that in tomorrow's lesson.

 

 

 

I also had time to put a coat of  Paris Gray on this candle stand.

 

In my next post I will cover cleaning the drawers and waxing for the perfect finish to this Shabby Chic project.   

 

'Paris Gray' 

 

Gray is a trendy color right now.  Here are some major gray pieces from my friends shop's on Etsy. 

 

 

Vintage Stetson Fedora Hat

  

  Vintage Stetson found at The Inspired Trader you can shop for it here...

 

 

Vintage Grey Linen Skirt

Natalia has this sexy skirt for sale in her shop located here,

 

You just might want to add a splash of color to these pieces and there are plenty to choose from here...

 

Olympian Blue Art Deco Brooch

Visit Gail's shop The Vintage Funkery for this great pin...
 

 

Hurricane Isaac is heading up towards the Gulf of Mexico and I am getting ready to 'hunker down' as they say here on the Gulf Coast of Florida.  We have bottles of water, candles and batteries and food supplies all ready. 
The schools have been notified to stay closed on Monday and the RNC is being delayed one day.  
Pray it is just a lot of rain and some wind. 
Anne

 

Packaging and Shipping for Etsy Shop

Everything is always in the details.
Wrapping and packaging your Etsy parcels is no different.  Being the proud owner of an Etsy buisness means you wear many hats. This post is about wrapping and shipping.
I love to wrap packages and make them pretty.  This is no different from wanting to open beautifully wrapped packages. Time and budget have to be considered.  Wrappings are expensive and hard on the evironment.  I recycle every possible thing I can to wrap parcels.  Boxes I get from work.  When shipping US Priority Mail the USPS provides the boxes.  I save and reuse bubble wrap and styrofoam.  I also collect these from work and recycle them. 
Making labels and hang tags will use up bits of card stock, paper, greeting cards, ribbons, stamps, stamp pads, tape, lace....limitless really.  I have seen lovely hang tags made from slivers of wood and from sea shells. 

Tea stained hang tags with stamp designs and ribbon. Directions here: http://talkingtomydog.blogspot.com/2012/07/tea-staining-hang-tags-diy.html

Wrapping paper is another area where recycling plays a key role for me.  I save wrapping papers, and tissue papers of all types.  I save bits of ribbon and lace. I buy new tissue paper from the Dollar Store when I have to.  I also buy used sewing patterns at garage sales and thrift shops.  The vintage patterns that haven't been cut I can sell!  The ones that have been cut or are not vintage I use for wrapping.  Sewing patterns make lovely wrapping paper and the little cut out bits are great for stuffing boxes along with bubble wrap.  News papers can be used for stuffing also but they are a bit heavier and you have to consider the weight against the cost of buying bubble wrap or paying more for postage.

Wrapping a box within a box! Weigh everything!  In this huge box is a large Shabby Chic shelving unit.  It was wrapped in Pattern paper and given a hang tag and lovely satin ribbon.  Then the corners were all wrapped with cardboard for further protection. I stuffed crumpled newspapers around the whole lot and used miles of tape.  I get wide celephane tape at the Dollar Store.  Stapping tape is used in the corner spots and outside seams of the box.  It is more expensive and used judiciously. 

Buying a good scale was the smartest thing I did for my buisness.  It was surprisingly not very expensive.  I got mine on Ebay.  It is easy to use and I can weigh up to 50 pounds with it. 
Postage can be purchased on line as well.  I use the USPS or Paypal.  I also print my customs forms online.  It was all a bit tricky at first.  Having a scale has taken lots of running back and forth to the post off ice out of my day (and my husband's) and makes quoting prices so much more accurate.
So here we have wrapping and shipping. It is a lot of work.  Make it enjoyable and be kind to the environment and your bottom line by recycling.  My husband helped me wrap that big box up there.  He made a suggestion later on in the day.  He has a way of doing this.  He starts out with, "if I may make a suggestion..." His was to make and ship smaller projects!  I agree, but if another wonderful wooden shelf or table makes it's way to me I would find it very hard to pass it up.
I also ment to tell you my mother taught me to save wrapping paper.  She also taught me to iron it and the ribbons when you use it the second time round!

~Weelambie / Anne~