Sunday, March 31, 2013

Treasury Thanks - Easter Edition

Happy Easter, Happy Spring, and Blessed Passover!  We FINALLY have a sunny day -- and the frozen prairie is thawing.  Alleluia!

This was an incredible week for treasuries!!  Sit back and have a nice cup of tea and feast your eyes on the wonderfulness I'll be sharing from the shops of the 18 creative curators who featured items from my Etsy shop, Pasque Flower Creations, in their treasuries over the past week.  A huge THANK YOU to those curators.  Please feel free to share some love with these shops.

Maya Ben Cohen of maykobags featured my black and white chevron oven mitt in her treasury, Gifts for Her.  Maya is an upcycler extraordinaire who makes recycled and quality leather and rubber products.



Margaret of Splendid Little Stars, one of my Blogging Business Artisans (BBA) teammates, featured my reversible yellow chicks bib in her treasury, Exploring Color Combinations - Yellow and Green.  I'm waiting to see some pretty yellow and green daffodils -- maybe in a couple more weeks.  This beautiful hand dyed silk scarf from Margaret's shop would feel right at home in her pretty treasury:


Edi Royer of memoriesforlifesb, our BBA Team captain, featured my pink chevron oven mitt in her Pretty in Pink treasury.  Pink is Edi's favorite color BTW.  Edi has been making several new jewelry items for her shop -- like these striking pink chevron ring:

Katrina of KatrinaRaeArt featured my yellow chevron oven mitt in her very sunny treasury, Ready for Spring to Begin!  It's been a LONG wait here on the frozen prairie.  I love this abstract green wall art landscape from Katrina's shop.  It reminds me of the pasture on the farm where I grew up near Ramona, South Dakota. 


Lea Marino of CalicoJunoJewelry featured my aqua chevron oven mitt in her treasury, Aquamarine.  Lea has some incredible jewelry pieces in her shop.  I just love these pretty, pretty tanzanite and peridot earrings:


Judy of JNOriginals, another BBA teammate, featured my green chevron oven mitt in her fresh green treasury, A Touch of Green.   This pistachio green headwarmer from Judy's shop features her signature large flower accent.  So pretty!!


Natasha of StalkingTheWildSnark featured my poppies on teal oven mitts in her windswept treasury, March Winds.   Natasha is one of the newest members of the BBA Team -- and what a source of creative energy she is!  This wonderful Celtic knot hair clip will tame your hair, even on a windy day!


Antiquity Travelers featured my blue man pillow cover in her Moody Blues treasury.  (I am old enough to remember The Moody Blues.)  You will find some AMAZING jewelry at Antiquity Travelers, like these
boho zen earrings.  They are so cool, it almost makes me want to pierce my ears.  Yes, it's true.  I'm 59 years old and still have virgin ears. 


Linda Pruitt of Pruitt Creations, another BBA teammate, featured one of my fabric covered journals in her treasury, Colors in My Box.  I'll bet many boys and girls will be getting new boxes of crayons in their Easter baskets today.   These colorful cup cozies from Linda's shop would be a pretty and practical gift.


Judy of JNOriginals also featured one of my fabric covered journals in her lovely treasury, Lavender Lovely. This lavender-licious scarflette would feel right at home in her pretty treasury.

Pheinart of 1006Osage featured my poppies on teal oven mitts in the treasury Poppies.  It was hard to pick just one favorite from this browser-friendly shop, but these blue and white tulip mugs are my current faves:


Engin Comert, a Baby Boomers teammate, featured my yellow chevron oven mitt in the treasury, T 360.
If you are in the market for an accent pillow Engin's shop has dozens and dozens to choose from!  This hand woven kilim pillow cover has such amazing design elements:

DEMET featured my aqua chevron oven mitt in the treasury, AQUA.  DEMET's shop is a knit and crochet boutique.  I fell in love with this precious baby girl blanket.


Valeria Shapira of ShelyJewellery featured my aqua chevron oven mitt in her treasury, Aqua Breath.  Aqua is a color that just feels like a breath of fresh air.  This beautiful opal and silver pendant has those same pretty aqua hues:


Heidi Wade of LoopandBuckle featured my aqua chevron oven mitt in her unique treasury, Fire and Ice, full of orange and aqua retro kitchen accessories.  Heidi specializes in vintage accessories.  This unique Zuni stone animal necklace caught my eye!


Val Pullam of LilMonkeyDesigns featured my aqua chevron oven mitt in her treasury, Mother's Day Gift Ideas.   Val's shop specializes in party invitations and children's decor.  These bridal shower invitations were so pretty yet classy:


Pat from artypharty is from the UK.  She featured my black and white chevron oven mitt in her bold
treasury, Let's All Do the 'Chev'.    Pat sells vintage stamps -- perfect for collectors, scrapbookers, or mixed media artists.


Sharla from Beaded Tail, a BBA teammate who, like me, is counting down the days until the end of tax season, featured my rainbow chevron oven mitt in her cheery and whimsical treasury, Bunnies, Cats, Spring, and ... A Carrot.   I just love this Live.Love.Hop. journal .  The beautiful cat in the photo, Angel, is NOT for sale!


Whew!!  Thanks, again!

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

Monday, March 25, 2013

Piled High and Deep


It's Shameless Commerce Tuesday, and although I have listed a new Spring table runner and two new baby bibs in the last couple of days (you can see them on the scrolling widget in the upper left-hand corner of my blog), today I've decided to share what has become the biggest part of my Etsy business this month --- custom orders.  

Pictured above is a stack of 120 batting layers (3 per side x 2 sides per mitt x 20 mitts) --- actually only 108 are in this photo, because I've already finished quilting two mitts.  I have also cut out all 20 oven mitts (40 pieces) -- and all but 2 were chevron mitts that required some fussy cutting to match side seams and extra time to quilt.  These mitts will be gifts for guests at a cooking-themed birthday party.  I guess the birthday girl will pretend to be Rachel Ray  for a day?  Cute idea!!  I'm sure they will have fun, and each guest will go home with new recipes and a new handmade oven mitt in a color chosen for her by the hostess,

Earlier this month I made custom Easter rompers for twin toddlers along with 3 bibs.  This week I made a Spring table runner.  I'm in "Convo mode" on two more possible custom orders, and I have a local custom request for a prairie dress, apron and sunbonnet for a 4th grader's Pioneer Day... And two wedding registry listings... And a custom baby gift set with bibs and burp cloths... And it's still tax season!!!!

While custom orders can be quite time-consuming (lots of back-and-forth communication, hunting for special fabrics, etc.), and sometimes stressful,  it is a joy to help a buyer create exactly what he or she wants for a special occasion.

Often an item I've initially made as a custom order leads to a new product listing in my "regular" Etsy store -- orange, green, pink and black chevron oven mitts, for example, all started as custom orders.  And I didn't start making bibs for the Etsy store until after I'd made a BIG batch for a custom order in 2011 --Now boutique baby bibs have become one of the largest Sections in my Etsy shop, Pasque Flower Creations.

T minus 20 days until the end of tax season and counting!
Gotta go sew!

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






Sunday, March 24, 2013

Treasury Thanks

It's another snowy day on the prairie, but signs of Spring abound in the Etsy treasuries that featured items from my shop over the past week.  A huge THANK YOU to all the curators of those treasuries!  You'll find some amazing items if you visit their shops, I promise!

Trina Prenzi of trinasclaycreations, a Blogging Business Artisans teammate, featured my aqua chevron oven mitt in her treasury, Happy Blues!

Trina makes incredible figurines from polymer clay.  This cute girl graduate reminds me of granddaughter Erin who will graduate this May. She plays the viola, and, I'm happy to say, she'll be attending the University of Nebraska here in Lincoln next Fall.  Go Big Red! (Sad to say, I still haven't finished her graduation quilt.)


Jane of JacarandaDesigns featured my poppies on teal oven mitt in her treasury, Red Poppy Love.  Jane's shop has such pretty, pretty things -- like this pink beaded necklace, perfect for Mother's Day:


Veronique, a buyer only from Louisiana, featured my green chevron oven mitt in her treasury, Fresh & Exciting.   Thank you, Veronique!  We Etsy sellers could not exist without loyal Etsy shoppers!


Kimie Sagisaka of  tomoandedie featured my red chevron oven mitt in her treasury, Mother's Day 2013,  If your mom loves red, this treasury is for you!  

Kimie makes wonderful fabric creations from vintage kimono fabric.  I just love this bobby pin decorated with Japanese vintage kimono fabric.



Margaret of Splendid Little Stars, a Blogging Business Artisans teammate, featured my lion's roar baby bib in her treasury, In Like a Lion.   I just love this pretty hand-dyed rainbow silk scrunchie from Margaret's shop,


Tina of ketchupize featured my orange chevron oven mitt in her kitchen-themed treasury, Making Dinner, full of great Mother's Day gift ideas.   And if you would like to escape from cooking and housework, put on a pair of these fantastic Aztec print sunglasses from Tina's shop.


Rose of SewEcological featured my poppies on teal oven mitts in her treasury, She.   This hand knit baby sweater from Rose's shop would be a wonderful baby boy gift!!

Bonnie Sernesky of BonniesSewCrazy, a Baby Boomer teammate, featured my red accent pillow in her red-themed treasury, Mom's Favorite Color.  Red was my mom's favorite color, too.  She would have loved this pretty red sandwich pounch.



Zhivana of ZhivanaDesigns featured my aqua chevron oven mitt in her pretty treasury, Rainy Day at the Cottage.   This beautiful aqua necklace with vintage glass beads would feel right at home in her treasury.


Ashlee Counts of SimplyBeWhimsical also featured my aqua chevron oven mitt in her treasury, The Love of a Mother.   Ashlee is having a sale on all pillowcases dresses in her shop this weekend -- $10 off!  So if you know anyone looking for an adorable and affordable little girl's Easter dress, you might want to visit SimplyBeWhimsical and do some shopping!

For the younger set, this simply safari bib set would be an adorable and practical baby gift.



Binnur Yildirim of ByBNFaccessory featured my red chevron oven mitt in the treasury, Red Trends.  I thought of my blogging buddy Edi when I saw this frilly pink scarf -- so pretty!


Katherine Stone of FoxxCrowe, a Team Nebraska teammate, featured my rainbow chevron oven mitt in her treasury, Rainbow on the Great Plains.   Katherine's pretty Pillow Full o Posies is a rainbow bouquet in crochet.



Miki Ben Shushan of MikiBeFashion  featured one of my buntings in the treasury, Spring in R&B.    Love these wild and crazy tights.  My daughter and her twenty-something friends would LOVE this shop!!

Jane and Rhiannon of JustPlainJane (Team Nebraska) featured my floral hobo bag and my floral Easter bib in their treasury, Easter Love.   They have the CUTEST pins and brooches, and lots of other goodies in their shop.  I just loved these patchwork cat and dog pins!   It reminds me of a poem I used to love as a little girl.  It began, "The gingham dog and the calico cat side by side on the table sat."  And my Great Aunt Anna had gingham dog and calico cat salt and pepper shakers (in her collection of hundreds).  



Aren't they just the cutest things EVER?   Love the tiny bells - -and the color!

So -- meow and woof woof -- and
TTFN
LeAnn aka pasqueflower
http://www.etsy.com/shop/pasqueflower
http://www.facebook.com/pasqueflower
http://pasqueflowerponderings.blogspot.com

Monday, March 18, 2013

Easter Egg Mitt


It's Shameless Commerce Tuesday, and today I'm featuring one of my newly listed oven mitts.  The 100% cotton fabric is by Riley Blake Designs, with a bright pink Kona cotton solid for the lining, binding and hanging loop.  (I will be making more of these mitts with yellow polka dot lining, but they aren't listed yet.)

The colorful rainbow chevron reminds me of the Easter eggs I used to see in coloring books.  (I never actually saw a chevron Easter egg in real life.)

This pretty pastel mitt would also be a nice Mother's Day gift, wedding shower gift, or housewarming gift for a new grad.  You can find this and other boutique oven mitts in the Kitschy Kitchen Stuff section of my Etsy shop, Pasque Flower Creations.  Or you could add a touch of Springtime to your own kitchen all year long.

Thanks for stopping by.

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




Sunday, March 17, 2013

Treasury Thanks

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  

The luck of the Irish must have been with me this week.  I have many curators to thank in this week's Treasury Thanks blog post!  So sit back and enjoy some fantastic items from those curators' Etsy shops.

Elizabeth Enriquez-Phillips of MoonBunny Syndicate featured my Spit Happens baby bib in her cute treasury, April Showers Bring May Flowers and Babes.  What great ideas for an April baby shower!

This newborn preemie lace cap would make a beautiful baby gift.


Tutto from Latvia featured my poppies on teal oven mitts in her treasury, In Red Poppy Meadow.  I just love this adorable little baby girl hand knit hat from Tutto's shop:


Thongbai Tatong of the Netherlands featured my orange, gray and white baby bib in her beautiful treasury with an orange, gray and white color scheme, Waiting.  Thongbai designs incredible handmade clothing and accessories, like this unique A-line skirt:


Sarah Cadman of CuteConcepts featured my floral baby girl bib in her treasury, Easter Style for Young Ones.  Some cute baby boy will be all dressed up for Easter in this cute little onesie:


BBA teammate Natashal of StalkingTheWildSnark featured my purple cloth napkings in her treasury, Pretty In . . . Purple.  As some of you know, purple is my FAVORITE color.  Natashal designs incredible jewelry, like this sterling silver square knot ring:


Valerie McKeehan of LilyandVal featured my orange chevron oven mitt in her treasury, Baked with Love.
Val's shop is full of wonderful chalk art creations.  I have such a bad case of Spring Fever!  So naturally this Happy Spring chalk art caught my eye.


Charissa Laarman of SnippetsByDesign featured my green chevron oven mitt in her treasury, Going Green.  Won't some lucky mom just love this cute handmade tulips Mother's Day card:


Another BBA teammate, Paige of OhNostalgiaDesigns, featured my aqua and brown utensils oven mitts in her aqua and tan themed treasury, Rustic.   Her treasury is a piece of art!  I moved to the opposite side of the color wheel in choosing this fabulous coral bracelet:


Rose of RandomCreative featured my pink chevron oven mitt in her pretty, pretty treasury, Soft Spring in Pink and Green.   This beautiful pink and green beaded bracelet is part of Rose's Leaf series:



Melissa of ElegantRoseBoutiqe featured my green chevron oven mitt in her treasury, If Only I Could See Green.  Melissa, I share your wistful longing for Spring!  These pretty green cedarwood sage soap bars would be a pretty in any bathroom:


Valerie from Valerie Tyler Designs featured my pink and white chevron oven mitt in her treasury, Gifts for Mom.  Mother's Day is only a few weeks away.  Are you ready??  If not, check out Valerie's unique jewelry -- minimal, modern and industrial.  These wonderful double gold hoop earrings would be a thoughtful gift for a young at heart mom:


Katerina of MayaHoney featured my aqua and white chevron oven mitt in her treasury, Blue and White.
These Czech beads in aqua blue from Katerina's shop are just stunning!


Jane Keener of Just Plain Jane featured my pool party bunting in her cheerful treasury, Happy Birthday, Nebraska!  As you may have guessed, Jane and her niece, Rhiannon, have Nebraska ties, and are members of Etsy's Team Nebraska.  Just Plain Jane is a "must see" shop!  Check out all the wonderful handcrafted pins, like this too, too cute and colorful kitty pin:


Emma Segasture of Astarix featured my gray chevron oven mitt in her treasury, Mother's Day.  I fell in love with this 1930s blue art deco vase.  Wouldn't this be pretty filled with a bouquet of daisies or tulips?

 
And last, but certainly not least, Pages of Ages featured my poppies on teal oven mitts in her treasury, Spring Fling.  Pages of Ages rescues abandoned books one page at a time.  This dictionary art print with robins and roses has me longing for Spring:


And this concludes another wonderful week of treasuries!  THANK YOU to all the talented, curators who were kind enough to feature items from my Etsy shop, Pasque Flower Creations, in their treasuries over the past week.  And thanks to each of you for stopping by!  Do you have a favorite feature?

In closing, I will share the opening words of an Irish Blessing:  May the road rise up to meet you, and may the wind be always at your back.

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