Ninja Apple Cozy!

I have a new item this month that I am happy to say has already sold! I am always trying to figure out ways to use that last bit of yarn. I hate getting to end of a skein or project and not having a enough yarn to complete around or make something else. I had had strips of yarn that I had made up to make a bag, which never happened and on a whim made this:
   I'm pretty stoked about! I'm going to re-list this one after I ship it out and then see if I can't sell another color combo! Yay!

http://www.etsy.com/transaction/57464758

I'm baaaaaaaack!

Hello! I have been MIA! Not just on this blog but in my real life! I just got back from a 6 week stint in the black mountains. I was working at a summer camp up there an honestly it's one of the most beautiful places. But now I'm back! Back to work....back to paying bills...

What was really exciting this summer was that while I was there and sold a few things. For the first time in my life I had 4 orders going on at the same which is great. But I'm still trying to figure out how to balance it all. All in all it's pretty exciting!

What's in the works now? I'm finishing up some custom orders and then photographing them to see of they would sell and then hopefully start making some new stuff. I have a great idea for a cloche and maybe peacocks...Can't wait to show you all!

Reduce, Reuse, Save Money CONTEST!!!!

   It's no secret that this economy sucks and that many of us are struggling just to get by. I work at a school who only pays the staff once a month. This is not a hardship, but I have had to learn how to live on a budget real quick. And technically I am still learning...and learning... and learning...but I digress. What I realized is that I spent so so so much money on yarn every month, 90% of which I was not using and ended up in a box or bag in my room, or living room or my brothers room.
    So I got smarter about my money and have decided to only spend money on yarn that comes directly from sales or custom orders. You think I'm crazy, I know but I have two large tubs and several boxes of yarn and a few bags who are threatening to walk out on me if I don't use them. They're serious this time (they have a union).
   For the month of June I am only going to uses the yarn I have to create new items. I'm hoping I will make many things for my shop but who knows, I might come up with some fab gifts for Christmas, either way it's a win-win-win situation.

   My challenge to you this month is to do they same. Post pictures of the things you are working on that saves resources and most importantly saves you money! It doesn't have to be crochet or even yarn related. You could make grocery shopping bags out of old t-shirts, musical instruments out of recyclables, anything! When you figure out what this is follow this blog and post a picture or a link to a picture showing me all the fantastic things you are making! Every post/project in an entry. The winner will receive my wildly popular WILD THINGS HAT! 

http://www.etsy.com/listing/62884796/wild-things-hat

   This hat is not just for kids, and can be made in just about any color combo you like. So this is free for you. All you have to do is post some picture.

   To prove I am doing the same here are some booties I made this week and a bundle of yarn that will soon become a hat:

All right! On your mark, get set, save money!

This Christmas...

The day after Thanksgiving I got up at 3am to visit my local Target with a friend. I figured I had never done the Black Friday thing before, why not this year? I am a hypocrite and maybe a poser because the day before I made my status "buy handmade and local this Friday! Stick it to the big business' and help the little guys!" But we go and it's just awful. I looked around the store and could find nothing that I wanted to give
 my family. It's all the same! 
   Now I've been on Etsy for a little over a year now. While I haven't sold much, I realized that there are 
some incredible Artisans on Etsy. Like these fantastic shoes http://www.etsy.com/listing/53597636/studio-jellyfish-comic-heels-in-yellow byStudiojellyfish. I adore them! You can find anything and everything. Or if you like to see and touch 
what you're buying first hand, shop local, support your local small businesses. I decided to make presents for 
my family this year and I shopped at 2 different yarn stores to get what I needed. Yes it can be more expensive 
but you're helping the little guys make it through these tough economic times too.
  The point of this long shpeal is this: I want to start a campaign to revamp Christmas. And I've even worked 
out a slogan! "Personalize it, Don't Commercialize it". So the next few week I will encourage you to do just that. 
For phase one of my campaign, I will bring you tips for homemade decorations, ornaments, great places to shop 
local around Atlanta and great items from Etsy. Of course for those new tech gadgets you'll need to go to you 
local giant chain...but why not by a nice casing and personalize it? http://www.etsy.com/listing/62788956/sale-peacock-water-resistant-padded?ref=sr_gallery_2&ga_search_query=ipod+cover&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&order=&includes[0]=tags&includes[1]=title&filter[0]=handmade 


Signing off until tomorrow! Happy handmade shopping!

What's on for this week

Now that I'm home from camp I've decided to set goals for myself in terms of my Etsy bussiness. Some how being at camp helps me to become more focused on my own life goal and opens me up to new possiblities. Every week I will set goals for myself for what I want to do with Morgaine Le Fay and in my own personal life.
      Every week I will try to post 1 item in my Etsy shop. It doesn't sound like much but I have ADD when it comes to crochet projects and tend to take on massive projects. I really need a place to work in my house so my goal is to my desk which is currently serving as a storage shelf into a workspace. So everyday I will find a new home for 5 things in my room so I can clear a space. And lastly I will actually try and post something once a week in this blog. Even if it is just pictures or a video of something I like. Hopefully it will pertain to crochet.
        So this week I have been working on 2 projects. I sold the bath mat I made from sheets which inspired me to make another one, only bigger and with more color. So far I have finished the first layer of colors and have to make the strips for the next color. Hopefully there will be three. I'm also working on a sweater in pumpkin yarn. The yarn is a cotton/Viscose Microfiber/Silk and I got a great deal on it when I was at camp! And I also got a friend of mine to agree to take pictures and her twin sister to model so it should be great!

A song that's been stuck in my head all week:

Frogs

So the Create Crochet team is having a frog-a-thon. Meaning this week we will try and finish up all of the projects that we have started but have not finished. I'm posting my before pictures but I don't have a great deal of faith that I will finish considering most of my projects are massive but we shall see.

A set of earrings for a friend.

A ladybug baby sleeping sack

A cell phone case

A blanket that will probably be ripped out and look totally different

A cotton Groccery bag.

I have a lot of work to do!

Etsy in the AJC

Check this out!

http://www.ajc.com/lifestyle/etsy-com-gives-hobbyists-306141.html

Pretty cool Etsy, Pretty cool.