Tuesday, December 15, 2015

At Etsy Get a Discount When Buying 3 Patterns

I've never done this and to be honest I can't believe I haven't since I see other pattern designers do it. If you go to my Etsy store you can now buy 3 patterns and get a discount.


This photo shows the patterns for $7 & $8 but there is also one for $9 & $10. I also have them for my tatting patterns!

Speaking of tatting patterns the last Season of Mini Quilts - Summer is being edited. Once it's deemed ok I'll get the e-pattern up.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Happy Thanksgiving at Etsy Store -10%

I want to wish my customers a Happy Thanksgiving by giving you a coupon code to use at my Etsy store for 10% off all purchases $10 or more! It will work thru Nov. 30th.

Here's the code you enter when you pay: THANKSGIVING2015

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Been posting at Facebook instead of here

I've been posting at Facebook when I have the time instead of blogging. I just can't seem to find the time for both.

Yesterday I took the cover photo for the next season of tatting pattern. This one is summer. I had way too much trouble with the last pattern for it. I was all set to put the 4 tatted pieces on a fabric banner but couldn't find fabric I liked so I looked for scrap paper that matched. I found the perfect tablet of matching papers and extras stuff for decorations. After cutting out the rectangles and triangles and starting to decorate them I stalled again. It just didn't "talk" to me so I knew it wasn't what I was supposed to be doing with the tatting, I set it aside for 2 months, coming back to it again and again but not moving forward with it. Two weeks agao I knew I had to put it all away and come up with something new. That's when it came to me, another bag. I finished it quickley so now all that needs done is finishing the directions and ordering the cover photos for those who prefer a printed pattern.

Of course saying that's all that needs done doesn't mean I can finish it quickly, not with the puppy. She takes a lot of my time. With so many interuptions I find I can't concentrate on writing for very long.

Here's a peek at one of the patterns from the new Summer Pattern.

Friday, October 2, 2015

Are You a Fan of Alice too?

I LOVE Alice books and read anything based on Wonderland. Right now The Philie library  at  rosenbach.org  is celebrating 150 years of Alice. If you are lucky enough to live in or near Philie the original manuscript is on display Oct 14 - 18. I'm on the other side of the state so it's a no go for me.

If you are looking for free e-books of the Lewis Carroll stories go to http://www.gutenberg.org They even have a file of drawings. LOVE Gutenburg for old books!



The picture above is for an 'Alice in Wonderland' series I recently read. It's set a YA series and is set now. The difference is that it's about Alice's descendants and is a bit dark. That makes it different from any other Alice book I've read. Here's a link to the writer's blog. I love the cover of the first book! I got it at my local library and the colors are beautiful.

Barnes and Noble and Amazon have some free e-books with reference to Alice. I have a nook so I go to B&N. There's the Kingdom series by Marie Hall.  There's a Wonderland story with quite a twist. A crazy mad hatter is searching for an Alice and finds his match in one from Hawaii. Definitely different love story.

I also found a mystery that centers on the main characters love of Alice but has no trips to Wonderland. Murder In Wonderland by Leslie Leigh

I just DL Insanity (Mad in Wonderland) by Cameron Jace so I don't know what it's about yet or if it's any good.

Oh, and if you wonder about the riddle, why is a raven like a writing desk? Here's what I found while researching.
Carroll's answer to why a raven is like a writing desk? "Because it can produce a few notes, tho they are very flat; and it is never put with the wrong end in front!" Originally, it was supposed to be a little funnier than that. Carroll spelled 'never,' as 'nevar' — 'raven' spelled backwards — but a proofreader erased the inverted pun before it was published. Personally I prefer puzzle expert Sam Loyd's answer 'Because Poe wrote on both'. Makes the most sense of any I found online but then should anything to do with Wonderland make a lot of sense? :)



Monday, August 10, 2015

What did you do yesterday?

The reason I ask is that yesterday, Aug. 9, was National Book Lovers Day. Here's how I spent mine:



I LOVE books and have a big collection, on shelves and in my nook. The books in the pic are my newest additions and I won them when Meghan had a giveaway on her blog a few weeks ago.

I became a fan after finding a free ebook of Dowser book #1, Cupcakes, Trinkets, and other Deadly Magic, at Barnes and Noble on a Free-Book Friday list. It was exactly the type of book I'm enjoying reading right now. I liked it so much I went in search of her website,  made by meghan , found her facebook page , and then added her to fav authors on my goodreads list.

On her website I found recipes for many of the cupcakes she features in the Dowser books and that's how I found out about the giveaways she was holding. I missed entering the first one but was in time for the second. When I learned I won the 5 books plus an ebook of her newest Dowser #5 I was beyond elated. Let's just say I was happy I was home alone with a only the cat and dog to see me jumping around. Winning is not something I'm familiar with so I went way excited.


So anyway, Sunday was spent reading book #2, painting my nails (Flower by Drew Barrymore, color Go With the Flow-er), and doing laundry with Ion TV's James Bond Marathon playing in the background. By 1am I finished book 2 and had to start 3. Love this series!

In case you're wondering some of the things in the pic are the 5 books and 3 stickers I won; my fav drink, a chocolate vanilla iced coffee; charm bracelets I collect and wear joined together as a necklace (there's a tiny wedding ring set on 1!); and the hand is mine.

One last thing, I sent her a thank you card with 2 gifts, a tatted ring and bracelet. Just because I won something for free doesn't mean I won't show my gratitude. I mean really, it was the least I could do was to send a thank you gift when she shipped the box all the way from British Columbia.


Sunday, August 2, 2015

Woodland Crazy Patch That Makes Me Crazy



Here's a photo of a square crazy quilt I've been working on and off for years. I'm not even sure how many any more cause it's been too long. I did most of this embroidery done last year and hadn't picked it back up until recently when I moved it back to my UFP (unfinished projects) basket. I also have a shelf with more UFPs.

I start a lot of things, get sidetracked then store it. Somethings I never finish, I just try to recycle the materials into something else or toss it. This past spring I finished 2 rabbit girls I had started 3 years ago. Today while searching for some mini bottles I bought cause they looked like 'I Dream of Jeannie' bottles only clear, I found all the supplies I bought to make microscope slide jewelry. I could never decide what I wanted to put between the glass pieces so the small crate of supplies has sat for years. I don't even want to talk about all the mini quilts and blocks I have cut out, sewed, but never did anything with. Oh, BTW, I don't know what I ever had in mind for the bottles. Now I'm thinking about turning them into jewelry.

I did have a small clean out of craft supplies I thought I'd never use in May and guess what? Yesterday I came across a craft I wanted to make but now don't have the foam balls I got rid of! From noe on everytime I even think about getting rid of any supplies I'm going to search Pinterest first just in case I find something using it I'd like to make.

Here are some more close-ups of the woodland quilt.


This is the upper corner. I had a beautiful large goldfish embrodered here but decided it was too large so cut off all that work and made these smaller ones. I prefer the smaller ones but it was really hard to destroy that goldfish. I was so perfect just way to big. Below is the pond in the middle. I love the blue heron I made. My husband took some fantastic pics of one at a local park and that gave me the idea of putting one there.



Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Preview of new mermaid pattern and tat shuttles


I'm beginning to work on the new version of my Mermaid and seashell pattern. Here's a look at all the fabric and other supplies I've gathered. It took me a while to decide on which fabric to use. I knew I wanted to do a "goldfish" mermaid but I had a lot of orange fabric to choose from. Since I took this pic I have sewed up the new body and tail, stuffed everything, and painted the face. I'm moving slow (just like always) because I'm working on so many projects at one time. Here's one of the other projects.


I'm also working on decorating new starlit shuttles! Here's a look at some of the fabrics and papers I'll be using. I'm doing 6 now and after they are done I'll start on the next 6.

I'm also still tatting the last pattern for the spring tatting pattern. Don't forget you can get the other 3 months at my etsy and Patternmart stores. I'm also trying to keep them up for sale at ebay now, too. If you don't see them there check back a few days later. The listing may have expired and I haven't relisted it yet.

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

PDF version of Spring tatting pattern up for sale!



Look for A Season of Mini Quilts - Spring tatting pattern at my Etsy store and Patternmart for $12.00. It's $2 more than my other tatting patterns because the directions for the finished projects are much more involoved. I've also included a how-to-print page since I've had a few customers ask about this.

I'll list the printed version next week when I get the photos from Snapfish.

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Almost forgot... a new shuttle and more at Etsy store



I just put this shuttle and lanyard set up at Etsy yesterday. It's been a while since I listed a decorated shuttle. This one has stickers that look like tatting! I plan on making more like this but with different colors of backgrounds. I just bought a dozen new blank shuttles so I'll be working on decorating them.


This is a photo of new tatting gauges and lanyards I also listed at Etsy. I also have new ones with wriststraps, too. Monday I listed new tatting shuttles. I've been out for  a while so if you need Aero, Aerlit, or Monnlit shuttles have a look at my Etsy store. Best thing about ordering from me is that I keep the shipping cost as low as I can.

New Tatting Pattern Coming Soon!



This is the cover of mt next tatting pattern. This is the spring pattern in the seasons series. You get 5 tatting patterns as usual plus the directions for the card, basket, book cover, and the clutch. The tote is one I purchased to sew the tatting to.

Once I'm finished editing and ordering photos for the printed versions I'll get them up at my Etsy and Patternmart stores.

SALE on 2 Cloth Doll Patterns!



I've decided that I need to update these 2 patterns so I've put them on sale until I either run out of cover photos or until the new versions are done. You can get the printed versions at my Etsy and Patternmart stores. Since Patternspot doesn't offer printed versions I decided it would be the only place to get them as a PDF.

I'm planning quite a few changes. One will be that there will be only one doll and one shell or seahorse. Faces will be slightly different as will clothing (tail) and hair.

The price will now be $4.00 instead of $7.00.

Nor sure when the new ones will be ready so take advantage of the sale price now!

Friday, February 27, 2015

Some New Tatting Gauges at Etsy Store


Here are the newest tatting gauges I've listed at Etsy. I made shrinky charms and shuttles for the stitch markers. The ones below just have a small shrinky charm. I've got 8 gauges with lanyards to list but it's too cold to get outside to take photos. Guess it's time to make a light box for indoor photos :)


I made the charms below to hang from my purse. There's a cat, bee, butterfly, and sayings I like. I'd like to make them to sell but I'm not sure about copyright info on them. 


I've become a big fan of shrinky plastic. It's a lot of fun but you really do have to be careful when baking it. I'm finding lots of links to tips on Pinterest.

Saturday, January 24, 2015

...and now for something completely different - combining lipsticks



I know this is a blog mostly about what I make and sell but I thought this would be a good tip to share.

I bought some lip balms from Avon last fall. I love their Care Deeply lip balm. It goes on smooth and has no scent or flavor.  For the first time I tried Dew Kiss ( which I LOVE!) and the one on the left side of the picture, Slick Tint. I'm not a fan because it's too pink for my lips. It goes on looking like I had pink lipstick on and now it's mostly worn off. My lips are too rose of a shade to wear it so it's been in my make-up drawer till today.

I was tidying my make-up drawer when I got the idea to melt some of the Slick Tint with some of an old lip stick to get a darker color. The result is the tube in the center of the picture.

Here's what I did to get a perfect color for me:

1. I twisted up the Slick Tint half way (1") and cut it into a small glass bowl. 

2. I next added about 1/2" of Care Deeply lip balm. I thought it would make it smoother and it did.

3. I cut about a 3/8" piece of Revlon Moon Drops Very Berry 250 lip stick and dropped it into the bowl.

4. I put the bowl in my microwave and set it for 1 minute. After 30 seconds I stopped it and stirred the mixture with a wooden toothpick. I restarted the microwave and when it finished the full 1 minute I stirred it again. Now your microwave may be strong enough that 1 minute is enough but mine wasn't so I have to do it for another minute.

5. Once it was melted I carefully poured it into an empty clean lip balm container. I save them when I finish a tube of Care Deeply. I used a wood popsicle stick to scrap the bowl. If you are worried about spills put a layer of paper, plastic, or wax paper under the tube.

6. Let it cool and it should firm up. Mine is creamy but as long as I don't over twist the tube it won't break.

7. Clean up was easy. I used paper towels to wipe out the bowl so it would be easy to wash.

Hope this gives you some ideas of what to do with lipsticks you've bought and then found you didn't like them once you got them home. I bet this would also work if you have a lipstick that goes on dry looking. Mix it with your fav clear lip balm some a smooth and creamy lip stick.

Please be advised this worked for me but I'm not a scientist so I can't guarantee it will work for you.


Saturday, January 17, 2015

Free PDF calendars at my web site



I just put up 2 free PDF calendars for 2015 at both of my Heisler Creative Stitchery web sites.

One is for a 1 page calendar with all 12 months on 1 page, as shown above. The other has the 12 months on separate pages so you can print them as you want them or all at once.

Here are the links:
webs.com site for free stuff

tripod site for free stuff


You'll find some free patterns there, too!

Monday, January 12, 2015

Happy New Year 2015



Just realized I made this but hadn't posted it. Dillon will be 2 years old next month but still looks like a puppy in this pic. The kitten, Jingles, 'adopted' us last month. He was so tiny and scared it took 3 weeks to tame him enough to let us touch him and then another week before we could get him inside. I had towel padded kennel crates set up for him outside to keep him warm. He's fitting in really well and loves to play with Dillon. Guess someone dumped him in the neighborhood since no one claimed missing a kitten. He's made Jack happy so he's very welcome here. For those keeping track of my husband's illness, he has 2 more cancer treatments so we're hoping and praying for the best! Please keep us in your prayers.

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Happy New Year 2015! New decorated shuttles at Etsy


This is one of the new tatting shuttle I've decorated. It's up at my Etsy store. You get the matching mini bag and pin cushion, too.




Here's another shuttle and bag set I've put up at Etsy. The shuttle has the clock pattern on one side and the gold pattern on the other.


I haven't gotten this set up yest but look for it soon. The fabric is a pattern designed by Mary Englebreict. LOVE her work!

Wishing everyone a very happy and healthy new year! I know we could use a better one than last year.