Friday, July 27, 2012

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

The Monarch Caterpillar





My mom is a retired first grade teacher. Every year, she would do a unit with her class about how the Monarch Caterpillars turn into Butterflies.  We were trained from a young age to spot the monarch caterpillars in a patch of milkweed.  I have many fond memories of playing in the milkweed patch with my sisters and cousins, who lived across the street from my grandmother's house.  I grew up in rural Maine and my grandmother's house had lots of little trails and fields out back with a healthy milkweed patch.  As a little girl, I loved to pull the dried milkweed pods apart and feel the milkweed silk with the seeds.  We would pretend that we were princesses and the silk was part of our treasure.  Now as an adult, the true treasure is the wonderful childhood memories.

The tradition continues now with my children.  We went to Maine last week and saw my folks.  While my husband and I sought out our own adventures, my parents took my kids out looking for caterpillars.  When my husband and I went to pick up our little ones, Dave, my 5-year-old could not wait to tell me about the caterpillars he had found with Grammy and Big Guy.  We have 3 little caterpillars that were only a few millimeters long when we got them.  They eat a lot of milkweed and are getting bigger everyday.  We anxiously wait for each of them to form a Chrysalis in preparation for the Butterfly Transformation.  Time to add The Very Hungry Caterpillar to our bedtime reading list!  Stay tuned ...

Christmas in July - A Frenzy of Etsy Giveaways! Parker Storybook Scene

Monday, July 23, 2012

Promoting Creative Friends: Scavenger Hunt - BIG PRIZES


Welcome to the CHRISTMAS IN JULY SCAVENGER HUNT!
Over $360 in prizes to be won!


The contest will begin at 9:00am EST on July 21st, and will run until midnight July 31st.

There are 34 participating shops, and all will have a hidden picture (below), in one of their listings, that you will have to "hunt" to find! Each of these shops has donated a prize worth at least $10; that is a minimum of $360 in prizes!!! There are 7 prize packs available to be won, each worth a minimum of $50. Winners will be chosen at random by random.org, based upon the number of complete entries received. 


********************HOW TO ENTER*******************
First go to: JemLouProductions. Find the candle image in one of the listings and then follow the link to the next shop on the scavenger hunt list! Every time you find the hidden picture, that item description will give you a link to the next shop. As you go through the shops, make a list of all shops in the order that you are given them. At the very last shop, you will be given an email address; you will send your completed list to this address. If anything is incorrect, you will be notified, and given a chance to re-do the hunt again to get it right!

****WANT MORE CHANCES TO WIN? READ ON!!!****
Everyone who sends a complete shop list, in the correct order, will receive one entry to win a prize pack. 
If you "FAV" all the shops in the hunt, you get another entry.
If you "FAV" one item from each of the shops in the hunt, you will get a third entry.
If you promote the event on your Blog, on Facebook, Twitter, etc, and send Nichole (kidd.robin [!at] ymail.com) a link to the promotion, you will get 5 extra entries!

***SUPER DUPER PRIZE PACK DETAILS***
 MINIMUM $360 VALUE 

In addition, all the participating shops have donated second prize! All 36 prizes have been combined into one HUGE prize pack. This pack is valued at a minimum of $360!!! The winner of this super duper prize pack will be drawn from entries made by shopping at PCF Team (Promoting Creative Friends Team) shops during this event. Each dollar spent at a PCF Team shop during this event will earn you one entry...each dollar spent at one of the 36 shops in the hunt will earn you 2 entries. The more you shop, and the more you shop the more chances you have to win! Please send transaction links of all purchases to Nichole at kidd.robin [!at] ymail.com. Please include the transaction links, dollar amounts for each purchase, and the shop name you purchased from.


Winners will be chosen on Aug 3rd :) They will be announced here and on the PCF Team Facebook page atwww.facebook.com/#!/pcfteam, and will also be notified via email. 

Good luck and have a very Merry Christmas in July!


***** all entries and PCF shop purchases must be submitted by midnight July 31st
....and NO entries will be accepted after this time***

Friday, June 15, 2012

Meet Marya Matryoshka Doll



Meet Marya - the "Wished for Child". Marya is a Russian girl's name derived from the Hebrew name Miryam. The Latin form of Miryam turned into Maria; the French then went with Marie; and finally the English chose Mary.  


Marya the doll or pattern are available for sale in my Etsy Shop.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Sea Turtle at the South Carolina Aquarium















We had a fun day at the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston, SC!
Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

The Promotional Frenzy Team on Etsy: The Rainbows Are Coming!!!

The Promotional Frenzy Team on Etsy: The Rainbows Are Coming!!!: WHO: The Promotional Frenzy Team WHAT: Rainbow Treasury Event WHEN: Wednesday, April 4th WHERE: Etsy Treasury Pages ...


Fruit Salad Wipe & Wash - Go Green Baby

Saturday, March 24, 2012

TeamDream BNS Colors of Easter Round 2



Please stop by HERE and let them know that you were invited by me! Have a great weekend!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

What's Spinning?

I started spinning wool last year when I took a 2 hour workshop at the NH Sheep & Wool Festival. Spinning wool into yarn is very relaxing and quite rewarding when your end product is some lovely spun yarn. The wool shown in this post is pale pink Alpaca, which is getting to be one of my favorites to spin! The yarn shown on the spindle above is single strand. I will have to remove it from the spindle and re-spin it in the opposite direction to ply the yarn and I will end up with 2-ply yarn.

I now own a few drop spindles as I have learned that different weight spindles are required to produce different classes of yarn. I was lucky enough to attend the Spin Off Autumn retreat this fall. It was held in Manchester, NH, not too far from where I live. I was able to try out several spinning wheels to see which one I liked the best. I think that a Ladybug by Schacht might be my favorite so far. However, it will probably be a while before I get one. I have two little ones at home. I need to wait until my little girl is old enough to follow directions, so that she understands my spinning wheel is not something to climb on!

If you knit or crochet, I think that you would like spinning too! Check it out at the next local handmade festival in your area! Want to see some of my 2-ply handspun yarn? Click Here to see a post that I wrote last year.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Work In Progress - What will it be?

I usually know what the end product will be when I start a project. However, I started this project thinking that I was going to make a rag crochet basket. I have come to the point where it is time to start forming the sides of the basket and I find myself wanting to continue crocheting round and round on the level. I think that this well intended basket is going to turn into a lovely area rug. The last rug I made ended up being a room sized rug custom order for a friend - shown below. We'll see!


Tuesday, January 24, 2012

BNR Treasury Promotional Frenzy Team Tonight!


BNR LINK:
www.etsy.com/treasury/MTI4NDExNDh8MTkxOTU3Mjk3OA/preview-mode-opens...

✿ ˜˜˜˜˜˜ ✿ ˜˜˜˜˜˜ ✿ BNR SPECIALS ✿ ˜˜˜˜˜˜ ✿ ˜˜˜˜˜˜ ✿

✿ List your Coupon Code, or Special here for our BNR!

1. SymbolicImports.etsy.com - Coupon code FRENZYSPECIAL for 25% off any orders over $10 please (after shipping)

2. mtbaldyglassworks.etsy.com - coupon code BNR15 for 15% off

3. Lexiekinprints.etsy.com - Couponcode BNR15 for 15% off

4. KatersAcres.etsy.com - Coupon Code FRENZYSPECIAL to save 10% on $10 and over only please.

5. MagicByLeah.etsy.com & TrinketsByLeah.etsy.com BNR10 for 10% off

6. nashpop.etsy.com - BNR20 for 20% off

7. ThoughtfulGemsCrafts.etsy.com - BNR10 for 10% off

8. krystalsjewelry.etsy.com - FRENZY10 = 10% off

9. Bellystickers.etsy.com - BNR25 - 25% off

10 NewCreatioNZ.etsy.com- BNRLOVE for 10% off any item over $10 (not incl shipping)

11. Peelirohini.etsy.com - 10OFF for 10% Off Valid till 1/26.

12. GreenhouseGlassworks.etsy.com - PFBNR for 10% off!

13. Bountyofbeads.etsy.com - 35% Off anything sold from "Other Findings" Section ONLY (refunded via paypal)

14. Trinketsnwhatnots.etsy.com - 30% OFF any order over $25 (not including shipping) COUPON CODE: FRENZY

15. oohleelapets.etsy.com - 10% off anything in my shop - coupon code: BNRHAPPY

16. NewEnglandQuilter.etsy.com - 15% off with coupon code FRENZY15

17. Crystalphotography.etsy.com - 20% off with sns20 coupon code

18. Beachseacrafts.etsy.com - BEACHFUN -10% off any purchase

19. www.etsy.com/shop/krystleskrafts - BNR20 for 20% off entire shop

20. www.nangatesdesigns.etsy.com - BNR10 for 10% off

21. crochetedbycharlene.etsy.com - GRANDMA for 25% off