Sale... Sort of.

In honour of Brye's 4th Bday, free shipping to continental US. Only valid on purchases made January 1st through 7th.

Christmas Spotlight -Dec. Carnival

Etsy :: gnomegrown :: Warm Wishes Penguin Note Card

Warm Wishes Penguin... gnomegrown $5.00

So the most Christmas-y item I have for sale in my etsy shop would be these adorable penguin note cards. Not only are they great to send Christmas notes, they also double for any occasion winter note cards, if you happen to be like me and forget a family member's card. $5.00 for a set of three, with hand stamped envelopes. The cards themselves have a penguin, while the envelopes have an owl and a set of hedgehogs.

December's Featured EtsyBlogger

Etsy :: spottedcowsoaps :: Stocking Stuffer Soap - Seasons Greetings

First things first... OMG I <3 Soap!
I could just imagine the smells of them as I was searching through the listings. Patchouli? I love that. Cinnamon? Check. Now I find myself digging through my essential oils just to feel my house with the scent. I love handmade soap. It makes me feel cleaner, as odd as that sounds. The soaps come in attractive packaging. The link above (thanks to my spiffy new add on - ScribeFire) is to a stocking stuffer. It's a half of bar of soap in a cute little bag. The only problem I have now is making up my mind.

A new find.

I finally installed Firefox onto my laptop.  I found this neat little add-on that allows me to blog without actually being on my blog.   We will see how this works

Anticipation

My new camera is supposed to be delivered today! I am so excited! I have waited forever for this camera. Not only will it help with taking pictures of my items, I hope to further my photography.

Featured EtsyBlogger

This months featured blogger is StoryBeader.

I am not much of a jewelry person, I tend to keep to my earring's and sometimes a handmade necklace. What I really thought was neat about this shop is that each piece comes with a haiku. Very original.

Here are some items that I liked:

fancy jasper caboch...
storybeader
$27.00

painted heart keyri...
storybeader
$15.00

Preschool Totes

Silly me! I volunteered to "make" canvas bags for my son's preschool class. They are not allowed to have book bags this year, so they were bringing home their blankets and sheets in tattered paper bags and occasionally, plastic bags. The bags were pre-made, all I had to do was make stencils and paint the names. Not that bad, except for the fact that his teacher had asked for them and I wasn't done so I had to enlist my husband's help. Honestly, I was afraid at first that he would be careless. It turns out that he done better than me! Since I am a sore loser, I say that it's because he occasionally cuts vinyl at work. They turned out pretty good. I discovered that canvas does bleed a tiny bit.

In Honour of Veterans Day

I was wanting to do something special for Veterans Day, or as I like to call it: Remembrance Day (since I am Canadian after all). I am planing on making some poppies for us to wear that day. There is a veteran who holds a special place in our hearts, Wiser Lee Shaw. Better known as Bill Shaw, or "Uncle Bill" to Brandon. He was in the navy during WWII. He served on USS Mack (DE 358). He told us many interesting stories, from "Banana Milkshakes", "Growing Coconuts, and drinking "green" beer and torpedo juice with Matthew. Unfortunately, he has passed away. I only wish that he could have met our son.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
— Liet.-Col. John McCrae

Poor Sick Baby

Just thought I would mention that my 5 month old daughter is quite sick, so that constitutes my lack of involvement lately with my blog and street teams. We took her to the pediatrician Saturday when they said it was just a little cold. We took her to the ER Last night and according to the doctor, she is on the verge of having fluid in her lungs.

Tarte au Sucre Jaune

For The Blog Carnival, EtsyBloggers Street Team.
My mom and her family used to make this.

Tarte au Sucre Jaune (Brown Sugar Pie)

1 c Brown sugar
1 tb Flour
1 tb Butter
4 tb Cream
Pie crust; uncooked

Mix the brown sugar, flour, butter and cream. Pour the mixture into an uncooked pie crust, covering the top with woven strips of pastry dough, if desired.
Bake at 400F for about 30 minutes.

Featured Etsy Blogger : Baby Friendly Beads

So bear with me as I attempt my first one of these for The EtsyBlogger Street Team.

Baby Friendly Beads

I have to say that I would love one! I am not breastfeeding, but I love the look. I actually left the site up to one that I like so that hubby gets an idea for a Christmas gift. Thinking about it, I could actually use one of these with my daughter so the does not pinch me while I am holding her. But enough about me...
These are not only beautiful pieces of jewelery, they're functional too. The necklace enables the baby's focus to be diverted. So no more pinching and pulling at mommy's hair. The reminder bracelets help track nursing sessions.

"Sturdy and stylish, Baby Friendly Beads are perfect for anybody who spends time with kids. "

Red Jasper Baby Fri...
bfbeads	$45.00

Chocolate Pink Baby...
bfbeads	$28.00

Custom Birthstone B...
bfbeads	$36.00

Thanks Aunt Karen

I see my Aunt Karen about once a year, and I love the products that she makes (I especially love the soap, face wash and healing salve). I have used nothing but her home/hand made soap for about a year, it's the only soap that I use on Freedom. Well today, she has inadvertently branched her products out into a new direction. Or rather, I did for her. I used her Goat's Milk Soap to make myself some homemade laundry detergent. I will be testing it out tomorrow.

Lady Bugs!

So here is something new...
Hair Clippies!
Made with double prong metal clips and the cutest lady bug embellishments.
Check them out in my etsy shop.

I also made some cute clippie holders.
Just working on the photography aspect of them and trying to get them listed.

My First Ever Treasury!

I was featured in a treasury for voting in a contest.
Clik here to check it out.

Possibly

I am about to submit an application for a craft show.
It's a small local one. I am hoping that I will be able to do. Excited because it's my first one, but also scared/intimidated at the same time.
So off to work on some craftiness.

So I am addicted to owls.

I was just thinking about my home decor and realized how many owls I have in my house. I was obviously born in the wrong decade.
So I was thinking that I needed something to show my love for owls OUTSIDE the house.
I did a quick search of the "cafemom team" and now I feel that I need to get my butt in gear and sell some stuff to buy more things for me. The last 4 purchases were all for my daughter.

Owl Scrabble Tile P...
caligirlcrafts	$6.50

Oliver the Confused...
cherriesrockmysocks	$15.00

and I know somewhere that this would look perfect!

The Friendly Owl
BuddyDesigns	$7.00

Donation = Advertising :o)

Would anyone like to donate items to a non profit organization?
We are looking for items that can be used as door prizes and possibly in a raffle.
All proceeds will go to a local charity to benefit pregnant mothers.
Donations of $25 or more will be featured on the sponsor site. Everyone who donates items will be thanked and mentioned our newsletter, events and various forums.
Also, where it's a non profit organization, all donations are tax delectable.

For more information, email me at Melinda@NorthFootHillsMommies.com

I should be a chauffeur

Do these people know they are cutting into my crafting time?
Sure I drive my son to school, but I shouldn't have to spend all day long driving back and forth. If only this town/area had public transportation.
And I wish I would have had time to stop for supplies during my new "job".
MAN I wished I would get paid for that.

Failed.

So I had this vision of an adorable stuffed owl in my head . . . and I failed. Miserably in my opinion. My three year old son could tell that it was an owl, so maybe it wasn't that bad. It's so frustrating when you have a certain idea in your head and miss the mark. I'm going to give it another shot since I think I know what I messed up.

Welcome

Welcome to Gnome Grown Designs.
Thanks for taking time to check out my blog. I plan to blog about crafting ideas, progess on projects and even finished projects.