Tiddlyinks

I have found another WONDERFUL etsy artist. She is working on some things for me to sell at the Pea Patch and CedarTown. She is also doing a custom painting of Mattie Claire and Tuck as a Christmas gift. I am putting some old pics up, so she doesn't have to hunt. I got the idea from an adorable!! cowgirl she had in her sold stuff in her etsy shop. Be sure to check her out.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5202680

Here is the cute cowgirl that I fell in love with. She has even taken some of my ideas and turned them into adorable artwork! Can't give away too many details; Christmas is right around the corner.

Luau

Recently did some totes for a luau birthday party. Thought I would share a picture. Hope someone has made a string spider!

Congratulations to Amie--the winner of the Halloween tote. She has already placed her Halloween order, so she will get one of her totes for free! I also have some extra goodies to throw in for her. All of the new commenters were referred by her, so THANK YOU, AMIE!!

Halloween Spider Craft

I will open with--it's not the flu, for me anyway!! I tested negative, but what I have must be a very close relative to the flu. I won't go into details, but I think I am on the mend. I thought I would enjoy a day at home and get some stuff done, but I have slept all day.

As an art teacher, I am constantly searching the web for projects my kids can do. I love working with the elementary students, but ideas and money are always a factor. I often run into projects on the web with unclear instructions and no picture. I have always thought a website that gave easy ideas and included pictures would be nice. With that in mind, I thought I might start including a few projects for my teacher followers or moms who like to do projects with their kids. I am working on crafts with our elementary students to be sold at the upcoming Fall Festival. I did the spider craft with a first grade class, and it was a hit.

1. Blow up a small water balloon.

2. Wrap the balloon with black crochet thread. Do not tie or not, just wrap the balloon in all directions.

3. Dip the balloon in liquid starch. Be sure to cover the entire balloon!

4. Tie a piece of string to the top of the balloon and hang to dry. Remember it will drip, so you may want to put a small pan under the balloon. I allowed mine to dry overnight.

5. Pop and remove the balloon.

6. Thread two black pipe cleaners through the side of the hardened spider body. Twist to hold in place and bend to form four legs. Repeat for other side.

7. I added googly eyes to be quick, and I had them on hand. To save money, cut foam or felt would also work great.

8. As a finishing touch, I hot glued an orange pom pom to the front for a nose. Again to save money, this could be omitted or substituted.

9. We are debating a final step. Some kids want to tie string to the top to hang their spider. I thought this might be cute, especially in a classroom with spiders EVERYWHERE!

I hope this is helpful and inspires as least one mom to create a string spider! If the response is good, I may add more this week.

Painted Clothes

I was recently asked by an old high school friend if I painted clothes. I told her I had never seen that and would check it out. I am sure most of you know what happened next--it slipped my mind, until today. I stumbled across this site on etsy. She paints on shirts, jeans, dresses, shoes, ... The picture above was one of my favorite designs she had done. She does designs from Disney to Dora. She even does the "OLD" frosty cartoon that comes on every year. Be sure to check it out--

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5607284

If I decide to try this out, I may lean more toward doing some LSU tiger jeans or something in that line. I guess I could try a BAMA design, since I have a new follower who is a big BAMA fan:-)

Clown Costume

I had the bright idea for Molly to be a clown for Halloween. I talked to my friend at PiggyTails, and she quickly began work on my tutu. I shipped her a wig, and she even added a bow. Here is a picture she took of what she created. Mine is on the way, but I thought I would share her wonderful idea with my followers. She has some of the cutest bows and tutus. I have mentioned her before when I listed a fluffy butt, but I just had to share the clown! Check her out at:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6358703

More Ornaments

Christmas

If you are an early Christmas shopper like me, you may want to check out my etsy shop. I am cleaning out some Christmas pieces and marking them down. I am trying to get organized for the holiday rush that I am never prepared for, so I am cleaning out the loft. If you are local and see something you like, go ahead and purchase it, and I will deliver it to you to save on the shipping cost.

Final Shirt

I made a few changes to my shirt design. It is a little sketchier than it was originally and will be on a white shirt after all. The kids sizes just don't come in enough pretty colors. Would love your comments! I can't wait to have them printed. They will be for sale at the Pea Patch in Winnfield, Cedar Town, and on etsy. I am only getting a few to see how it goes, so you can always pre-order to be guaranteed a shirt.

Crayon Kids

I found the neatest shop on etsy. It is called Crayon Kids. She teaches low income pre-school students and turns their artwork into the cutest greeting cards. Visit her shop to see the adorable cards and read her profile.
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7847155

Don't forget to comment to win the Halloween tote. I have bought some cute goodies to fill it for Halloween.

Pumpkin Giveaway

Okay, let's give away a small pumpkin party favor tote. I think it would be great for teacher gift filled with Halloween goodies. I will draw next Tuesday. Here's how to enter:

1. Leave a comment-1 entry

2. Refer a friend to become a follower; they need to leave your name in their comment to give you credit--2 entries

3. Visit my etsy shop and tell me what your favorite item is--1 entry

You never know; I might just give you a head start by filling with some Halloween goodies for you, so get to commenting!

Disney Friends

I have the most PATIENT etsy customer I have ever had. Back to school has really slowed me down, and she has patiently waited for her samples. I was so happy to send her a message with some pictures today. I thought I might share them with you. It is a lot of pressure doing Disney characters, because everyone knows what they should look like. Hope she's happy with them. Don't forget to let me know what you think of the Christmas design.

I am hurrying, so I can go root for Jordan

on the season finale of Big Brother!

Halloween Totes

I finally got some Halloween designs done! I have listed the small pumpkin tote on etsy, but the others I am unveiling here first. They can be done on large totes to carry for trick or treating or small totes for Halloween party favors.

I have plans to fill mine with Halloween goodies and tissue to give as a Halloween teacher gift. I can also paint a custom tote for you to match your little ones Halloween costume. Get your orders in early; my calendar is filling up.

Fluffy Butts

I have been blessed to make some great friends on etsy. We make trades and share etsy advice. One of my favorite sellers is making "Fluffy Butts!" They are full toddler tutus, and the best part--THEY ARE ONLY $10. I have bought a couple to put at the Pea Patch, and she is working on Molly's Halloween costume. I can't wait to see it. I thought I would share a picture of one she just listed yesterday; I love these colors. I have also included the link below in case you want to check out the fluffy butts or some of her adorable/original bows and clips.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=30828881

Christmas T-Shirt

I finished a draft of the Christmas t-shirt. I am going to use lime green and hot pink, but they are not showing up as that on this scan. I think I will work on the tree decorations some more, but I love the zebra scarf. My last big decision will be the color shirt. I was originally thinking of doing a white shirt, but I may change it to a hot pink shirt or a lime green shirt. I would love to hear your suggestions, so leave a comment or give me a call!

Christmas Teaser

I have made the decision to do Christmas shirts. My friend/high school art teacher does adult Christmas shirts, so I am going to take over the kid Christmas shirts. I want to "tease" my followers with a little bit about the design. I hope to post a sample tonight. You can see her adult Christmas design on sheltongail.blogspot.com

Thanks to my little friend Mallory, I am hooked on zebra print. So why not design a snowman with a little zebra going on??! My design has a snowman with zebra print and lots of lime green, hot pink, & turquoise. Be sure to keep checking back for the final design. I will be offering a special for shirts pre-ordered on my blog. I am so excited.

My second decision is that I will be doing Cedar Town again. If you don't know what it is, it is definitely worth looking up. Cedar Creek in Ruston has been hosting this Christmas market for 20 years. You could do all of your shopping in one place. There is food, fine art, children's gifts, Brighton, monogramming.... I promise you will not be disappionted!

Back To School

I had an order from a teacher. The request was, "I want to have the cutest door at school." The picture doesn't quite do it justice, because she has the cutest door at school! Her room is decorated in black and white with the primary colors. She is extremely organized, and I would have LOVED having her as an elementary teacher. I hope this canvas is the perfect final touch for her classroom.

Off subject, but I wanted to share that I just purchased two new Cricut cartridges. I am sure there will be TONS of new projects to show soon.

Molly's First Haircut

We have been sporting a semi-mullet for a while. We finally went for a haircut last week. She did pretty good and sat still. We still have a little curl in the back; I hope she keeps it!

Mattie Claire Meets VEXCON!

She is a princess, but that doesn't mean she can't love exterminators and bugs!! The whole Bretherton family did a meet and greet a couple of weeks ago in Monroe. We surprised her by taking her to a meet them. She loved it and got lots of autographs; Mary was her favorite! We have the outfit all ready to be Mary for Halloween. The show will be back on with new episodes in February. You can check out more pictures and information on extermi-nation.com.