This is why I went on Vacation!

I have been fortunate enough to go on several vacations and trips this summer. For those of you who don't know, I am a high school English teacher (in my spare time.) Teaching affords me many "luxuries," a long summer break being the best one. So since school let out at the end of May, I have gotten to go to Alaska, Dallas (twice), and a recent mini-vacation to Colorado. You may ask: Why so many trips? Well, for one, I like to go and the other is that I NEED A BREAK!! Just to illustrate why, this is a picture of my 2 year-old daughter. As I was packing to leave for a trip to see my two best friends from college, she got into my make-up bag, and this is the result.



Ah well, they say that they only get to be more of a challenge as they get older. She is such a mess, but I have a feeling she will be worth the trouble! I love you, baby girl!!

Sugi Celebration

With the help of Clare from Silk Cat Design, I got these two scarves. I am so excited and feel like this is now a technique that I can continue working with. Yeah!! I think these two scarves are going to go to my college friends that I am going to go see this weekend.

I have recently been in contact and receiving tips (really lessons) via email from a very talented artist named Clare. She owns Silk Cat Designs and her scarves are breath-taking! She has been kind enough to send some instructions for some of her Shibori techniques and I am practicing at this very minute.

Stop by her site and admire her creations. She also creates beautiful jewelry and other accessories. I hope to share some of her influence when I get them washed and dried. http://www.silkcatdesign.com

We celebrated our 4th of July by setting up shop in Canyon, Tx for their annual 4th of July Celebration. We had a great day and had a great time talking to people about hand-dyeing. But the "hit" of the day--Donna Sharp Tote Bags. I sold tons and I was so happy to see people leaving with stylish and fun bags on their shoulders! I have already placed another order and I hope to have those ready to go for our next show.

Here are a few pictures of our set-up!




After the festival we spent a great evening at my sister's house. She lives right next to the park in Amarillo where they shoot off their HUGE fireworks display. It was like a front row seat. We hope everyone else had a great holiday, too!

ETC First Monday SALE!!

At Etsy.com, I am part of a street team called EtsyTexasCrafters where we spend a lot of time promoting our shops and hand-made crafts from Texas. As a part of this, we hold a group-wide sale on the first Monday of every month. Below is a list of the participating shops and their specials--which last only until midnight today!! Hurry on over to etsy and support these amazing crafters!

http://etsytexascrafters.etsy.com/

Update on 7/12/07--I removed the HUGE list, so visit the ETC store and look at the favorites and watch for next month's First Monday Sale!

Show Season About to Begin

I have spent quite a bit of time over the last few weeks finding some new and confirming shows for this year. I haven't done any shows since before Christmas, and I am ready to get back out there. I found several options, but have decided to go with the shows listed below. I am still working on a couple more--I would like to have at least one show a month until Christmas. If you are in the area, please stop by!
July 4th--Celebration on the downtown square in Canyon, TX
July 21-22--Pansy's Parade of Shows at the Amarillo, TX Civic Center
October 6-7--Christmas in October at the Amarillo Civic Center
October 13--Fair on the Square in Canyon, TX

I have also recently joined EtsyTexasCrafters, who are a group of crafters from the great state of Texas all working together to promote our handmade crafts. Watch for our "First Monday Sale" which will happen again on July 2. Many shops will be having specials, and it is a great opportunity to support local handmade crafts.

Watermelons are blooming!!

It was 77 degrees in our area of Texas yesterday and it is already 75 degrees at noon today. With all this warm weather, I really long for summer. But since school is still in session and we are months away from our real summer, I did the next best thing. I started dyeing Watermelon Dresses.
The colors just remind me of a refuge in a hot summer day. But more than that, these dresses get me excited for my summer craft shows. I really enjoyed doing crafts shows last year and these dresses were by far my best sellers. The project idea comes from dharma trading company, but I have added several of my own twists. All of the smaller sizes come with diaper pants that I dye with the same green as in the dress. With a little practice, I have developed a technique with an accordian fold to create the look of a watermelon. I also developed the look in an adult t-shirt and a tank top set. I am always a little sad when I sell these dresses, but I know they are going to good homes.

New Year, New Etsy

I have had some items on etsy.com for a while, but have not really done much to promote them. Etsy.com is a marketplace for handmade items. Since the new year has rolled around, I have been working with my etsy shop more and more, trying to see which venue (etsy vs. website) seems to sell more items. In the future, I plan to use my etsy shop to sell more of my fabric pieces or even surplus fabric from other projects, as well as my surplus, out of season, or one of a kind clothing and scarves. I hope you will check out my etsy shop and then browse around to some of the other shops it the etsy world. There are some amazing artists and creative individuals flourishing on the site.

Visit our etsy store at http://www.miaropa.etsy.com