Not Your Ordinary Birthday Card

I've been wanting to write this post for weeks. That's how long ago I picked out my Aunt Becky's birthday card.

Aunt Becky loves ladybugs...and everybody who knows Aunt Becky knows that, so we can't possibly look at a ladybug without thinking of her. So when I was browsing around etsy one day I spotted something that practically screamed at me "BUY ME FOR AUNT BECKY!"

So I did. I wanted to share pictures of it and brag on the wonderful artist who made this as soon as I bought it. But since I'd given Aunt Becky a link to this blog, I thought she might see it before I had a chance to give it to her. I had to wait until after her birthday to do that.

So, here's Aunt Becky's Birthday Card:





The artist also sent along a Thank You card to thank me for my order:





I was so impressed with her work that I added her blog to my favorite blogs listed here. Let me encourage you to visit her blog and you must go see all the wonderful things she has in her etsy shop, Cornerstone Designs.

EtsyMom Promos

I've been keeping both of my button machines busy making promo items for the EtsyMom Street Team.

I got permission from plainjanedesignz (plainjanedesignz.etsy.com) to adapt the design she did for the banner used by the EtsyMom Yahoo! Group and the EtsyMom Blog and make it fit the round format of a button. Then I made a design of my own using the phrase she had used for that banner. I also adapted the standard orange Etsy button for the EtsyMom group.

Now I have several options posted in my etsy shop. I have 1 inch buttons with pin backs and with magnets. I have 2 1/4" buttons as keychains and magnets, too. And I have these grouped by style and also in mixed sets and the 2 1/4 inch magnets are sold individually.

Now I'm toying with the idea of making some 2 1/4 inch pocket mirrors, too, but I'm waiting to hear from the other moms and see if anybody is interested in those.

When one of the admins of the EtsyMom group suggested that I make these promo buttons I was delighted to give it a try and even more delighted to hear the moms liked what I came up with.

Captain John Smith and Annapolis

Although I enjoyed Disney's "Pocahontas", the history major in me had to laugh at the sharp detour it took from actual documented events. That's okay...nobody expects Disney to be historically accurate. I couldn't help but think of that as I visited downtown Annapolis, Maryland last weekend to see the replica of a boat (a shallop) used by the real Captain John Smith to explore the Chesapeake Bay. For details about this boat and its remarkable journey, go to johnsmith.org where you'll find interactive maps and video clips.

Here are some of the photos I took of the boat and its crew at City Dock in Annapolis:

World's Smallest Puzzle Ball

Well, at least I've never seen one smaller! I finished this one last night:





And here it is in comparison to the other Christmas ornament Puzzle Balls I have listed on my Etsy site:



I don't know if I can make one any smaller, since I still have to leave enough room to turn the pieces inside out and stuff them. I may try to do a size in between these two. It was fun working with this little guy, though, so I'm sure I'll be making more of these. The trick is finding Christmas prints with a small enough pattern!

Any comments...anybody...?