Wordless Wednesday - Stumped

Cuddle Weather

This fun Cuddle Weather mug was crafted by Etsy newbie Enlee Creations.

I’m predicting that because of all the “cuddle weather” we've been having, beginning with Frankenstorm in October, and all through this L-O-N-G winter, there may be a baby boomlet from late July through November of 2013.  

I mean, what else is there to do with no lights, no TV, no computer, no iPhone charger??  And baby, it’s COLD  outside!   And, according to The WashingtonPost there is at least some evidence to support the theory, dating from a blackout in NYC in 1965, to major snowstorms in 2010. 

Just sayin’…

  

So, with that in mind, I have added several new boutique baby bibs to my Etsy shop over the past few weeks. (It IS Shameless Commerce Tuesday.)  

These reversible 100% cotton bibs are a pretty and practical baby gift for under $10.  A layer of preshrunk cotton flannel is sandwiched between the outer layers for extra softness and absorbency.  I use capped metal snap closures -- no Velcro to catch in baby's fine hair.

To see more of my boutique baby bibs, browse the scrolling widget in the upper left corner of this blog, or visit the Baby Bibs section of my Etsy shop, Pasque Flower Creations.  Here are two of my newly-listed bibs:

TTFN

LeAnn aka pasqueflower

http://www.etsy.com/shop/pasqueflower

http://www.facebook.com/pasqueflower

http://pasqueflowerponderings.blogspot.com

Treasury Thanks

I would like to take this opportunity to extend a huge THANK YOU to all the talented curators who featured items from my Etsy shop, Pasque Flower Creations, in treasuries this past week.  Judging from the recurring treasury themes -- Spring and Green -- it appears that I am not the only one suffering from a severe case of Spring Fever!

Amy Wright of overthefenceart featured my orange and gray baby bib in her treasury, It's an ORANGE and GRAY day,  Amy's shop features photographs with a lighthearted touch.  This cute dog photo is for all you animal lovers out there:

Trina Prenzi of trinasclaycreations featured my tangerine and green oven mitts in her treasury, The Greens of SPRING.  Trina's polymer clay creations are amazing.  This laid back green frog reminds me of Kermit the Frog crooning It's Not Easy Being Green.

Vicki from SlatterHouse5 featured my yellow chevron oven mitts in her treasury, Geometry Lessons.  Vicki's shop features beautiful vintage items, like this vintage china egg, perfect for Easter.

Paige of OhNostalgiaDesigns featured my gray chevron oven mitt in her treasury, Pastels.   These pretty light purple pastel earrings would feel right at home in her treasury.

Margaret of Splendid Little Stars featured my aqua chevron oven mitt in her treasury, Daydreaming of Warm Ocean Breezes.  Margaret's silk velvet scrunchie in shades of green, blue and aqua, includes the colors of a tropical paradise.

Jennifer of jennifertcyu featured my aqua chevron baby bib in her treasury, Aqua and White.   Jennifer is a buyer only, but she definitely has an artist's eye for color.

Linda B. of lindab142 featured my green and white chevron oven mitt in her treasury, Shapes.  Check out these beautiful emerald green Swarovski earrings from Linda's shop!  They are on trend with Pantone's color of the Year -- emerald.  And St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner.

Heather from IHartFelt featured my yellow birds baby bib in her treasury, Big Ideas.  This Easter owl plushie from Heather's shop is just TOO cute!

Flor Garcia of TacaMaca featured one of my baby bibs in her treasury, Orange Explosion.  Flor is from Barcelona, Spain. Her shop features handmade screen printed items, like these wonderful journals.

Engin Comert, a Baby Boomer teammate, featured my yellow and white chevron oven mitts in the treasury, Yellow White.  Engin's shop features an amazing assortment of pillow covers, like this beautiful hand woven kilim pillow cover.

Goga from CocosRetroCloset featured my green chevron oven mitt in her treasury, Yearning for Spring.  Love this classic green plaid pencil skirt.  Looks like something from the Mad Men era.  Sadly, I'm shaped more like a pear than a pencil these days.

Boulder Canyon Paper Company featured my fabric covered journal in the treasury, For the Love of Owls.  I just loved these silver branch velum tea lights from this shop.

Zane of akwiinas from Latvia featured my green chevron oven mitt in the treasury, Fresh Spring.  This geometric silk tie would be a great gift for that special young guy on your gift list.

Edith of LaserBeads featured my yellow chevron oven mitt in her treasury, I Need More Sun.  Don't we all!
On these gray winter days, these pretty yellow Czech flower beads  can remind us of sunny days ahead.

Deb Baroff of storybeader featured one of my boutique baby bibs in her treasury, Going Wild with Color.   I love the colorful turquoise beads in this bracelet kit.  I'm thinking tween and teen granddaughter project here!

Martha from MarthasXmasCrafts featured my yellow chevron oven mitt in her treasury, Yellow Items to Bring Spring Into Your Home.  How about a glass of wine while waiting for Spring to come?  This wine tote from Martha's shop would be a lovely hostess gift.  (Or use it to carry home an extra bottle of wine while trudging through the snow.)

Teresas from IntimateRetreat featured my green chevron oven mitt in her treasury, Green.   Teresa's shop features vintage lingerie, like this beautiful peach 40s nightgown.

Repeat after me, "I'm too sexy for my ... blog!"  And that's a rap --er, I mean wrap.

TTFN
LeAnn aka pasqueflower
http://www.etsy.com/shop/pasqueflower
http://pasqueflowerponderings.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/pasqueflower

Iso Aiti Doll

Today my hubby received a box in the mail from two of his "girl cousins," Mavis and Phoebe.  Inside was this adorable handmade Aiti doll.  It was one of MANY made by my husband's paternal grandmother, Venla (Kyt) Frobom.  Venla was born in Finland, immigrated to Hecla, SD, married and moved to southwestern North Dakota.  After being widowed at a young age with 7 children, she moved to Ottertail County, MN.  She was known by her grandchildren as Iso Aiti (which is Finnish for big mom -- grandmother), or Aiti for short.

In 1974, at the age of 53, she wrote this reminiscence for her grandchildren:

DOLLY-MOLLY

Now I tell you a story. When I was a little girl, I used to be

alone. Always. Because I had no playmates. My sister pushed me

out. I bother her, she shouts.

My brothers always out of sight: my Ma thinks I get along all

right. But, so lonely I feel -- and downhearted all the time.

So my sister makes me a rag doll. She takes a lump of cotton

and covers it with some white cloth. She takes a rag and rolls it,

making Dolly-Molly hands. She rolls more rag, so Dolly-Molly gets

two feet. She sews a pretty dress and cap. Now Dolly-Molly’s ready

-- indeed. But she has no face. No eyes. No nose. She has no mouth.

No lips. How can I give her a kiss?

Then came my uncle Matt. He thinks that my Dolly-Molly

needs a cradle. So he thinks he is able, and makes Dolly-Molly’s

cradle.

But I was angry with my uncle Matt.

Because he paints my Dolly-Molly’s cradle BLACK!

GranMa

Written by Venla Frobom during the winter of 1975. Computer file entry by John Meyers on

May 27, 1994.

In her later years, Aiti hand stitched rag dolls for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  My hubby doesn't recall her ever using a sewing machine.  Each doll was unique.  And they all had embroidered faces - eyes, noses, and lips to kiss!

And under the fancy coat and hat was a cute little dress with buttons and bows:

And under the cute little dress was a slip with lace trim and muslin underwear:

The dolls often had buttons from Aiti's button box.  This little doll has a gold colored shamrock button sewn on the top of her cute little leopard print hat.   Aiti's granddaughter Phoebe is a water color artist, quilter, and talented maker of 18" doll costumes.  Aiti would be proud!

TTFN
LeAnn aka pasqueflower
http://www.etsy.com/shop/pasqueflower
http://www.facebook.com/pasqueflower
http://pasqueflowerponderings.blogspot.com

Happy Anniversary . . . to ME!

Happy Anniversary to  . . . ME!

Today is the second anniversary of my Etsy shop, Pasque Flower Creations  As I look back over the past 24 months, I've come a long way.  From those first 3 months of waiting for my first sale to my current 412 sales and counting!

I've learned so much, "met" so many new cyber friends, and sold more oven mitts and other "fun and functional fabric items" than I ever imagined, but the journey is far from over.

Who knew?!

Even during the craziness of the holiday season, I love my Etsy life.

Special thanks to all my Etsy teammates who have inspired and challenged and encouraged me along the way.

LeAnn aka pasqueflower
http://www.etsy.com/shop/pasqueflower
http://pasqueflowerponderings.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/pasqueflower
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Image by Clipart by Franck Boston - http://clipartof.com/50245

Wordless Wednesday

6th Grade Art - Culler Middle School

Foxy Baby

It's Shameless Commerce Tuesday (even though it feels like Monday), and today I'm featuring one of my newly-listed boutique baby bibs.  This cute fox print was designed by Sarah Watts for her Timber & Leaf collection.   I used a soft blue print from Aneela Hoey's Sherbet Pips collection for the reverse side.

I call this my Foxy Baby bib.  My mom used to use the term "foxy" as a synonym for pretty, fancy, or cool.

You can find more of my boutique bibs (and 8 more new designs to be listed soon -- waiting for a sunny day to photograph) in the Baby Bibs section of my Etsy shop, Pasque Flower Creations.

Thanks for stopping by!

Busy week ahead ---

TTFN
LeAnn aka pasqueflower
http://www.etsy.com/shop/pasqueflower
http://www.facebook.com/pasqueflower
http://pasqueflowerponderings.blogspot.com

Treasury Thanks

Each Sunday I try to thank the curators who have featured items from my Etsy shop, Pasque Flower Creations, in their treasuries during the past week.

Memet Solmazgul of Atelier Mina from Istanbul, Turkey featured my green chevron oven mitt in her green themed treasury, 0005.  Mina's pretty green lace and crystals collar is one of the many beautiful accessories found in her shop:

Jaclyn from TheLandofCraft featured my aqua and brown oven mitts in her treasury, Housewarming Gifts.  I just love this cute St. Patrick's Day wreath from Jaclyn's shop:

Edi Royer of MemoriesforLifesb featured my dew drop baby bib in her treasury, What's New Pussycat.
One of the new items from Edi's shop is this chevron wood wedding invitation.

Emily Liu of Cappuccino Jewelry from Shanghai, China featured my poppies on teal oven mitts in her treasury, Spring Meditation.  This statement necklace would be a great accessory for a new Spring outfit.

And there you have it.  Another inspiring week of treasuries!  I finally curated my monthly team treasuries for the Blogging Business Artisans Team, Thinkin' Spring,  and the Baby Boomer Team, Green Green.    You can tell I have a bad case of Spring Fever!

Speaking of baby boomers....One of my coworkers at the tax office has two granddaughters (sisters), ages 5 and 8.  The 5-year-old complained to her mom about her 8-year-old sister, "She can't be the boss of me.  She doesn't even have boobs!"  

TTFN
LeAnn aka pasqueflower
http;//www.etsy.com/shop/pasqueflower
http://pasqueflowerponderings.blogspot.com
http;//www.facebook.com/pasqueflower

Valentine Clearance - A Poem

My mom died 8 years ago today after a long struggle with COPD and emphysema.  I wrote this poem shortly before she died.  It was later published in Whispered Words:  An Anthology of Poetry, Amanda Read, ed. (Dogma Publications: 2005),

Valentine Clearance

Beneath the dusty cellophane

faded ribbon and

wilted silk rose

Soft-centered chocolates

huddle

in their heart-shaped box

Awaiting their expiration dates.

Still sweet.

Miss you, Mom.

TTFN

LeAnn aka pasqueflower

http://www.etsy.com/shop/pasqueflower

http://www.facebook.com/pasqueflower

http://pasqueflowerponderings.blogspot.com

BBA Challenge - A RED Heart for Valentine's Day

The February Challenge for the Blogging Business Artisans Team is to make something RED.

Valentine's Day seemed the perfect opportunity to play with some of my red fabric scraps.  I created this heart-shaped red and white polka dot zip pouch using a Heart Pouch Mini Tutorial by surprisediy.com that I found on Pinterest.  My Repin has been Pinned over 500 times!

I used a red and white stripe fabric I purchased with a gift certificate I won in a Fab Shop Hop holiday shop hop for the lining.

The cute little zipper pull is from Zip It, my go-to source for very reasonably priced zippers and zipper pulls. Kung Fu Cowgirl's selection is absolutely amazing!

I plan to give the pouch to my 7th grade TeamMate as a belated Valentine when we meet for an extra long sewing session tomorrow morning.

Wishing everyone a Happy Valentine's Day!

TTFN
LeAnn aka paqueflower
http://www.etsy.com/shop/pasqueflower
http://www.facebook.com/pasqueflower
http://www.pasqueflowerponderings.blogspot.com

Wordless Wednesday

6th Grade Art - Culle Middle School

Spit Happens

It's Shameless Commerce Tuesday and today I'm featuring a newly listed baby bib I've dubbed "Spit Happens."

This adorable raindrops print is Dew Drops fabric from the Prince Charming collection by Westminster fibers.  It reminds me of the song composed by Larry Morey from the Walt Disney classic, Bambi, "Drip, drip, drop little April showers..."  That movie was my daughter's favorite.

It also reminds me of that soggy teething and drooling stage when you think, "How can such a little baby produce all that spit?!!"

The reverse side is a nice mellow aqua and green geometric print from Amy Butler's Midwest Modern fabric line.  Something green for baby's first St. Patrick's Day perhaps, sans shamrocks.

To find this and other reversible cotton baby bibs, visit the Baby Bibs section of my Etsy shop, Pasque Flower Creations.   A pretty and practical new baby gift idea for under $10.

All my bibs are made using a ModTods pattern:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/modtods.

TTFN
LeAnn aka pasqueflower
http://www.etsy.com/shop/pasqueflower
http://www.facebook.com/pasqueflower
http://pasqueflowerponderings.blogspot.com

Treasury Thanks

This post is dedicated to the talented curators who featured items from my Etsy shop, Pasque Flower Creations in treasuries during the past week.   A huge THANK YOU to you all!

Sekla Ergun from Ankara Turkey featured my green chevron oven mitt in her treasury, Sweet Green.  Sekla's shop, PaperOnly, features fun paper products like this Valentine's Day heart memory game.

Stephanie Girard of LarkRoadRhymes featured my poppies on teal oven mitts in her treasury, Gifts for the Hostess.  Stephanie's wall art, Levitate with Love would be perfect for Valentine's Day or an anniversary.

Chrystal Simmons from thetullebox featured my poppies on teal oven mitts in her treasury, Poppy Princess.  Chrystal makes fabric housewares.  This clean or dirty dishwasher magnet would brighten any kitchen. 

St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner.  Steph Pellegrin of StephPellegrin featured my aqua chevron oven mitt in her treasury, May the Road Rise Up to Meet You  (the first line of an Irish blessing).  Steph's shop specializes in vintage glassware.  I love these vintage milk glass mugs.

Cathy from LayOfftheBooks also featured my aqua chevron oven mitt in her treasury, Airy.  Cathy's shop is full of chalkboard wonderfulness.  I just love this chalkboard arrow

Kelsey Taylor Weireter of TreasureHunterGather  featured my purple cloth napkins in her treasury, Purple Rain.  Kelsey's shop features classic vintage clothing and hats.  Check out this Evan Piccone dress for only $25.00.  Such a deal!

Emma, an Etsy buyer, featured my retro-inspired red clutch in her treasury, Solid Brights.  Emma is a senior in high school hoping to become a dance therapist.  She clearly has a designer’s eye for color! 

Nannyg's featured my green chevron baby bib in her treasury, Nannygs Likes Many Treasures.  Nanny G's shop features handmade children's clothing.  I just love this cute peasant dress with flower.

Carolyn O’Grady Gold from 3leggeddogjewellery featured my yellow chevron baby bib in her treasury, Dreaming of Spring.  I just loved this personalized bracelet with gem stones made with sterling silver:

SUPERSOCK featured one of my oven mitts in her treasury, HER -- an earthy brown and olive throwback to the 70s.  SUPERSOCK is a treasure trove of vintage super hero items.  Check out this Batdrive USB flash drive.  Holy Batmobile, Batman!

Wanda from saffronfields featured my gray chevron oven mitt in her Baby Boomer Team treasury, Creations and Collections.  Wanda is offering 25% off on all wreaths as a Valentine special.  This desert sunset fall wreath is SO pretty!

Steph Pellegrin featured my poppies and teal oven mitts in her treasury, Poppy Love.   This red Pyrex mixing bowl  caught my eye.  I have my mother's vintage Pyrex bowls -- love them.

Brenna Larson from BonPaper also featured my poppies on teal oven mitts in her treasury, Say Poppy.  This Love Letters hand stamped greeting card set would make someone's Valentine's Day extra special.

Kate Brooks, an excited grandma-to-be, featured my aqua jungle print baby bib in her treasury, It's A Boy!

Kate does incredible work with mosaics.  I just love this one of a kind fused glass pendant.

And there you have it.  It's still tax season, where every day feels like a Monday, and there are no weekends ever!  But I am grateful to be busy, grateful for the extra paychecks, and glad that the hectic pace will slow a bit after April 15.  

TTFN

LeAnn aka pasqueflower

http://pasqueflowerponderings.blogspot.com

http://www.etsy.com/shop/pasqueflower

http://www.facebook.com/pasqueflower