---Shop News--- Summer Distractions

I have been trying to spend 2 long days a week only working on Etsy, this has been a real challenge.  There are so many distractions!  I am making headway but not at the pace that I desire.  Here is my Thursday this week...supposed to be Etsy all the way but....

I did get this Vintage Spice Rack photographed and listed...

I sewed some eyes and whiskers on these Seal...something new coming to EcoCutie 
& a start cutting flower puppets

 


Then Runa had to out so I walked up to the garden and found an armload of summer squash ready.  One cannot wait when it comes to zucchinis, and the like, or you end up with monsters.  So I got busy blanching.  This is why I have a garden, to put food by.

I had planned to photograph and list these Buntings and all these Tendrils but I lost the light as well as my steam.  At least you can see I have been busy creating!

So I went outside in the little covered patio we call The Bear's Cave.  I thought I would try to do a little Etsy Teams work on my Ipad while enjoying the cooler evening air...until...

...I noticed this reflection in the table top.  I was so pretty. I began to reflect on reflections.  It was such a nice summer evening.  I just got up and began to wander about.

I spent the rest of the evening watching the light fade.  There will be another day to work.  But I wonder if these moments of reflection could really be our true employment.  It certainly makes all the other busy times more worth "wild"...at least for me!

I leave you with this lovely quote by Wendell Berry~~ Love & Light

“There are, it seems, two muses: the Muse of Inspiration, who gives us inarticulate visions and desires, and the Muse of Realization, who returns again and again to say "It is yet more difficult than you thought." This is the muse of form. It may be then that form serves us best when it works as an obstruction, to baffle us and deflect our intended course. It may be that when we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work and when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings.” 
― Wendell Berry

---Shop News--- InJoyEcoCutie

****FACEBOOK GIVEAWAY****
 https://www.facebook.com/injoyemporium/posts/745295765490081

On Monday March 17th I will have a random drawing from the COMMENTS at the post at the provided link.  So LIKE & COMMENT at that post and you will get to choose one of these new items from my shop www.injoyecocutie.etsy.com .  Upcycled Tote bags made from my Duck food feedbag!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/181980537/shopping-tote-bag-upcycled-feedbag-eco?ref=listing-shop-header-1

https://www.etsy.com/listing/182159243/shopping-tote-bag-upcycled-feedbag-eco?ref=shop_home_active_1

Bag Making in Progress!

Other News***During the snowstorm I started designing a Bunny Puppet***

*** Here is Prototype Rabbit***

Prototype Rabbit needs some more engineering so the bendy ears will stand up better. 

 AND maybe a more smiley face?  

Or is it just the weather????

Celebrating Upcycling and Eco Creations Treasury!

teamupcyclers

---Shop News---PURPLE

I may have a new disorder called, EOCD, Etsy Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.  I have been a bit crazed these last couple of weeks.  You'd think I would slow down a bit after the holiday hubbub...no, not me.  I am obsessed with the idea of getting 100+ items in each of my 4 shops.  I had "slated" January as a month that I would focus on all my UFO FIBER ART pieces.  But I got excited when I read, according to Etsy, the color of the year is PURPLE...well "orchid" if you want to get fancy.  So I got into a color purple mania.  I love purple!  I go back and forth between Purple & Green being my #1 & #2 colors.  It has been #2 for awhile but I think this year I will give it #1 status again! (Really LOVE Purple & Green together too!)

This morning I did make 100 items in the InJoyGathering shop with this item!

With this  Purple Tendril!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/175978502/valentine-orchid-purple-violet-glass?ref=shop_home_active_2

Yesterday, I went into a sewing frenzy of Garlands for InJoyEcoCutie.  Then I DECIDED it was time to shift...last night at 9:00 PM.  My sewing room looked like a Eco-Felt tornado had hit...time to shift my energy by cleaning up my workspace!

Really too embarrassing to show the disarray up close...but here is a peek through the veil of Garlands. 

A fun night shot of yesterdays sewing!

Awoke this morning with a sense of order.  Starting Monday I do ART! (except for a little bit of photography to get these Garland listed)  But I am proclaiming to the World I need to do ART to reset my Soul!

Clean Floor...I even swept!

The before picture was too scary!

Made some tiny Garlands with Scraps of Scraps ~ Note: the new Clean ironing board cover!

Stuff slated for the attic...don't even ask me about the attic...YIKES!

and

Finally! in celebration of PURPLE and the Wonderful MaineTeam a Treasury!

https://www.etsy.com/treasury/MzQ0Mzg3MTh8MjcyMzAwNjE2Mw/color-of-the-year-maine-style-purple

Finally~Finally A bouquet of flowers "sent" to me by one of my readers ~~ THANKS!

Perfect!!

---Shop News---ABOUT & Treasury of the Week

Where the "magic" Happens!

What's it all ABOUT?  That is what Etsy wants to know!  Etsy has a great feature that links customers and browsers to information ABOUT the seller.  At the bottom of each listing is a link to a sellers ABOUT page.  It is a wonderful way to tell one's story and share one's process.  My trouble has been getting to doing it!  BUSY! But Etsy is going to require ABOUT pages in the near future...so...nothing like a deadline to encourage me to get something done! 

So what comes next is the thinking...what IS this ABOUT for me?  What can I share that is meaningful and connecting?  It has been good for me to think about, ABOUT, sort of hones my mission statement and helps me to understand what I am doing and why.  With the DownEast Magazine Feature I decided I would start with the InJoyEcoCutie Shop.  So here is what a wrote....one down three to go...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Weaver of Dreams * Spinner of Yarns * Sewing to Mend the Soul

I am In Joy when I am creating.  I really love to make and collect things!  

Everything in this shop 100% handmade by me.  I hand cut upcycled & ecological materials to create the  variety of cute items you see in this shop.  I do the sewing, the shipping, the bookkeeping - everything!  I am inspired by the natural world and my lively imagination.  I have 3 other Etsy shops each with a different theme...I am a very busy gal...loving every minute of it!

I was given my first sewing machine at age 5, an old hand crank singer, I taught myself to sew!  I can not remember a time when I wasn't making something.  As a girl I nailed boards together to make "boats".  Give me a pile of old socks and I would turn them into doll clothes. (guess I was upcycling before it was a word!) Since my childhood I have taught myself to weave, spin, woodwork, garden, build, and more.

I spend my life creating, gardening, mothering a teen (now college man!), being a partner, caring for creatures, reading, wandering, & wondering on 30 nice acres in a house built by he and me in Freedom, Maine

 https://www.etsy.com/shop/InJoyEcoCutie/about/

Treasury of the Week~ Team Upcyclers!  

Great Eco Gift Ideas!

https://www.etsy.com/treasury/MzM1ODA4MTN8MjcyNTM3NjQ5MA/upcycled-gifts-for-everyone-on-your-list

---Shop News---Plaid Friday & Small Business Saturday

Today is Plaid Friday!

 "The name Plaid Friday was conceived from the idea of weaving the individual threads of small businesses together to create a strong fabric that celebrates the diversity and creativity of independent businesses. Plaid Friday is the relaxing and enjoyable alternative to the big box store “Black Friday,” and is designed promote both local and independently owned businesses during the holidays" 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Plaid-Friday-Shop-Local-and-Independent/147245538642349

You won't find me at the mall of the big box store today!  I pledge to make all my holiday purchases from small businesses ONLY!  It is so easy too!  You can shop online and support small as well as local businesses.  If you want to get out of the house, head to your local small town or the local Main Street and have an enjoyable experience with plenty of savings and holiday atmosphere.  

Here is a "breaking" the rules Etsy Treasury (one is not supposed to do a treasury with anything from your own shop or more than one shop...it is all about spreading the love on Etsy!)  But I say break the rules TODAY and skip Black Friday and shop small...and plaid!  So plaid stuff from all my shops!(mostly...plaid)

https://www.etsy.com/treasury/MjYwNzk4NjF8MjcyMjc4MDkzMw/in-joy-plaid


Here is a "legal" Treasury I made earlier this week to celebrate the small online MaineTeam businesses!  Make Holiday Shopping Happy and Relaxing for all!  Happy Happiness!

https://www.etsy.com/treasury/MjYwNzk4NjF8MjcyNTMyNjU1Mg/maineteam-mad-about-plaid?ref=pr_treasury

---Shop News---

https://www.etsy.com/listing/166987730/maine-brown-moose-toy-animal-hand-puppet?ref=shop_home_feat

Well, my Moose is on the Loose!  He is being featured in Down East Magazine, December 2013, pg 78, item #13...want to give you a very clear map to find your way...I am only a little bit excited!  But this isn't my first brush with "fame".  I have been in the newspaper 4 times, on TV 3 times, and Al Gore had his arms around me!  

My first newspaper exposure was a front page photo of me when I work at the Young Adults Conservation Corp in Shelton, Washington.  I was wearing a Smokey the Bear hard hat, steel toe boots and I was peeling a log!  Years later I had a feature piece done in a Maine paper about my hand weaving.  Then I was photgraphed once while in the Coast Guard Reserves during a rescue.  Then finally at another rescue as a paramedic.

My TV debut started with the USCGR...another rescue op.  Then I was one of the folks who said "Good Night" on the evening newscast while working at the Unity Co-op.  Finally, I once was interviewed at a community rally that was fighting to prevent a nuclear waste dump in Unity Plantation, Maine.  Those were exciting times!

And here is me with Al Gore...

Late 1990's ~~~ You can see my son was not too impressed with politicians...

So here is my present 15 minutes of fame...

And in celebration I created a Moose on the Loose ~ All MaineTeam ~ Treasury!

https://www.etsy.com/treasury/MzM1ODA4MTN8MjcyNTMwMzkxNg/moose-on-the-loose?ref=pr_treasury

---Shop News--- & Etsy MaineTeam Cash Mob

Now that the Gardens are DONE 

(well my new list is getting pretty long...but just a lot of little jobs...) 

Thread has been flying!  

3 new puppet are listed in  www.injoyecocutie.etsy.com 

Moose ~ Rose ~ Monarch Butterfly

I thought I was done making puppets.  I started making them back when I tried to sell handweaving at craft coops and fairs 20+ years ago.  Weaving is a tough to sell so I made puppets to make my rent at the craft coop.  My patterns have been stored away in the attic for years. When I opened my EcoCutie Shop they started to call me.  The truth is I love puppets!  Not just making them but playing with them too.

Mr. Moose is a totally new design this fall.  Have you ever hear of the book, If You Give a Moose a Muffin, by Laura Numeroff?  (love this book...read it many times!)  Well, if you give a fiber gal a fleece she makes a Moose Puppet.  Back in September at the Common Ground Fair I swore I would NOT buy a fleece...I have enough stuff and enough to do!  But then I found this beautiful, to me, 5 pound Cotswold yummy brown fleece for $3.00 a pound!! I couldn't pass it up.  It has nice light brown tips that I noticed matched this light brown felt I had recently aquired....well I saw a MOOSE!  It took 3 prototypes to get him right...I just love him.  He is a bit of a ham too!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/166987730/maine-moose-brown-hand-puppet-kids?ref=listing-shop-header-2

Puppets Make Great Tree Toppers!

Add rose oil to the mouth of Ms. Rosetta then she won't have stamen breath ~ LOL 

Really, it is another way to give a roses to someone!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/166999411/pink-rose-hand-puppet-kids-toy-eco?ref=shop_home_active

Not all the Monarch Butterflies have flown South!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/166989782/black-orange-monarch-butterfly-hand?ref=listing-shop-header-0

(here is another blog post about my puppets if this isn't enough)
http://injoyemporium.blogspot.com/2013/06/shop-news.html

ANNOUNCING ~~~ ETSY MAINETEAM CASH MOB!!!

Go to Etsy and type in maineteam <--- one word ---> to start deciding what you want so you can <3 ahead of time.  Buy Local on Line (for my Maine Readers). Many shops will be having specials that day including me!  For November 8th ONLY use coupon code cashmob13 in any of my 4 shops and save 30%!  This will be my only sale this holiday season.

https://www.facebook.com/MaineTeam