Bigger Pictures on Blogger : How to

I came across this "how to" make your pictures appear bigger on Blogger via Meet Me At Mikes blog, one that I follow. You have to have a Flickr account to do this......everyone should have a Flickr account anyway!! Flickr is the best! So, the first image was the "medium" selection and the second picture is the "large" view that I had to make smaller so I didn't cut my daughters head in half. I will continue to play around with this process but I like being able to have more control over the image size that the options offered by Blogger. Thanks Pip!.....if you want to learn how to make your images larger on your blog head over to Meet Me At Mikes and check out the tutorial plus tons of other really cool stuff.

Toilet Paper Roll Art

So, my daughter has been collecting toilet paper rolls.......I ask her what her plan is and she just tells me they are telescopes and they are for sell! Well, this weekend I was browsing the DIY section of Design Sponge and came across this cool project. Basically, you just cut the rolls in equal parts then glue them together to create this organic wall sculpture. I thought it was the perfect solution to the toilet paper roll collection...she agreed! Here we are working together on gluing the parts together ( just with white glue) and deciding on our layout. She opted for flowers... of course. I thought it was fun and a quick result project to do with kids, not to mention the recycling lesson. We thought about painting it but we would like to add some more at a later time. Maybe in the end it will get some color. Check out the source of the project here.

Baby, it's cold outside!

Yeah! We finally had a bit of snow! Although, if you live in rural KY and the tinniest bit of snow falls.....then they shut down the whole place. School was out for two days....I love when schools out so it didn't bother me! We had a great time....snow ball fights, reading books, making soup and lots of playtime with all the new toys. I was able to get a bunch of organizing and cleaning completed while my kids played with the new fairy house, playsilks and Lego's. Studio work has been small.......I am working on some "made to order" stuff and gearing up for an entire store re-stocking. All I need is time.....

Imaginative Play = Self Regulation

My Favorite Handmade Gift I Gave in 2009!!

Both of my children were born right after Christmas......so you know what that means! I have to plan out what I am giving them for their birthdays before Christmas. This year I commissioned my friend Juliane, whom I met through Flickr, to make a handmade doll for my daughter. I received the doll in the mail from Sweden back in September......she is so beautiful!! I could not wait to see Lyra's face when she opened the box! Just as I imagined......she was over the moon! It was the perfect gift for the sweetest most special five year old!! Thank you so much Juliane!

P.S. She danced with her all day and decided that she was her little sister and named her Zoe Isabella Duffy.

Tree Hunting In LBL

So, I am still on cloud nine from my Etsy featured seller last week! Not to mention all the "made to order" stuff I am working on too! I feel kinda like a little elf......but, at the same time I have not been able to get any Christmas-ness going on in the Duffy house. This weekend we (I) finally made time to go get our tree! We live near Land Between the Lakes (it's a National Park) and drove out to the Welcome Center to get a permit to cut down a cedar tree. This is a program they offer free to the public! Santa just happened to be there....my daughter told him she wanted a "movie theater" popcorn popper and my son told him he wanted to be surprised. He has decided this year not to ask for anything and just see what he gets! The weather was beautiful that day..... as we were driving we saw deer grazing in the forest, red tail hawks swooping over head....pretty amazing! We eventually found several up on a hill near the lake. Amongst those trees was the perfect tree! A little big but we trimmed until it fit. I'll let the pictures tell the story..........

I'm the FEATURED SELLER ON ETSY!!!!!

I am so excited today! I have been working like a little elf these days trying to get my shop stocked up for this featured seller day! It has arrived! Go check out my interview..........I tried to keep it short and sweet, because I am known to be a talker! Thank you so much Etsy, I heart you!

Campfire Tote featured on Sew Mama Sew Blog

Thank you so much for featuring my work on your wonderful blog.........seriously, if you have never visited sewmamasew.com you need to check it out! They have tons of fabulous fabric, patterns, features and free tutorials! Lucky me!

Winters Land Tote in the Etsy Gift Guide

Halloween 2009

Here we have one Luke Skywalker.......specifically from the movie "Return of the Jedi". Which I believe is the only movie he wears all black. Then we have little miss "Snow Princess" or "White Kitty" or "Lamb"......she kinda morphed from one to the other. I like a versatile costume that can be worn for years to come! It was so nice having it on Saturday and the help of a bright sky with the full moon. Although, I noticed that L scored much more candy than K.......I guess the "cute" factor is an advantage when it comes to portions on Halloween. Last year K told everyone he was allergic to nuts and made out pretty good.....receiving money at some houses. This year he had a different strategy, he traded his "contaminated" candy with is friend for stuff he could eat. Clever Kid. Hope you all had a good one too!