☆ Holiday Flowers ☆

I think I've started thinking about the holidays a bit early this year. Maybe because of the two batches of snow we have received already here in Colorado. I made a few holiday flowers for my etsy shop, including these roses and a single poinsettia bloom.

I was also lucky enough to snag a treasury this morning, so I filled it with red poinsettia flowers. Here's a picture of the treasury:

Maybe all this holiday talk will bring us weeks of warm weather. That would be great !!

♪ Honey From the Bees ♪

This is the end of the season for our first year of beekeeping. The bees need most of the honey they made this year to get through the winter, but a bit of it will also be enjoyed by us. Here is a frame removed yesterday that is partially filled with honey:

The wax frame expands as the bees fill the combs with honey. The bees then cap the cells with bees wax. To get the sweet liquid out, we will have to extract it. This wiki page gives good information about how that is done.

Here is another picture of the unopened honey combs, a bit closer:

I'll let you know how the honey turns out once we extract it from the honey combs !!

✈ Venus Flytrap ✈

Can I grow this unusual plant on my windowsill? Time will tell I guess. Isn't it pretty, all fresh from the nursery?

I was at the store checking out what I could do about my violet's gnat population. While there, I spotted this adorable Venus Flytrap. I decided it would be fun to try to keep alive in arid Colorado.

The wiki page on Venus Flytraps tells me that this plant likes humid air and wet peat moss for soil. The pot came with an inverted clear cup, so I plan to keep that on top of the plant to make the humidity. I won't transplant the fella for awhile, but when I do I'll use peat moss and wet sand. I read on another website that the mix should be 50:50. If you get a chance, visit the wiki page and check out the cool animated pictures that show the traps closing.

Here is one of the traps on my plant close up. Some of the traps have a red tint inside. They really are facinating and I'm sure this will be a fun adventure. Leave me a comment if you have any suggestions to help.

♥ Celebrating Customers ♥

As of today, my etsy shop has 196 sales. It is pretty exciting to be getting near the 200 mark! I have my wonderful customers to thank for getting me to this point. As a way of saying thanks to the customers, I'm offering a special treat to whom ever becomes the customer to tip me over the 200th mark.

Here is how it will work: these roses will be given to the first customer to purchase a mailable item that puts me over 200 sales. For example, if the 200th sale is an emailed pattern purchase, then the next mailable purchase after that will be the winner. I will cover any additional shipping costs over your original purchase.

These roses are made from wool yarn, and are my popular 10" long stems. They look great in vases by themselves, or mixed with other stems. They also make nice gift decorations. Use your imagination and leave me some comments on how else you think my rose stems can be used.

Thanks again to my customers for getting my shop to this stage of success !!!

✻ ✻ First Colorado Snow of 2009 ✻ ✻

There are parts of the state that have already seen snowfall, but here along the Front Range, this is our first snow of 2009. The weather forecasters are calling for only an inch or two, so it shouldn't slow anyone down much.

I have some crocheting to do today, so it is perfect weather for me to stay inside and play with yarn. From my window I can see the flowers of the summer covered in white fluff, including some now dry wild sunflowers, and my potted marigolds.

Here are some pictures I snapped this morning of the lovely white snow on the flowers:

☆ Sunflowers ☆

Today as I was crocheting some Sunflower Coasters, I thought I'd take a look around etsy to see who else made things with one of my favorite flowers. Here are my coasters:

Doing a fast etsy.com search on "sunflowers crochet" turned up a couple of real head turning creative items. Take a look !

In SturmDM's shop I found this wonderful Sunflower Hat with an adorable bee perched on top. What a unique and beautiful creation !! Click the picture to go to the listing and see more pictures of this special hat.

Next I found a bright and cheerful crocheted Sunflower, which as it turns out is a listing for a crochet pattern:

RippingYarn's shop is a great discovery for me. Besides the pattern for this lovely Sunflower, this mother and daughter team has other lovely crochet and knit patterns available. I am going to enjoy looking around this shop !!

As often happens, I enjoy exploring on etsy. What are you looking for? Check etsy and you'll be amazed with what turns up !!

♪ Crochet Studio Move-in Day ♪

My little studio is ready for my craft things to move back in !! Yippee !! This building has been a side project for a few years, giving me a place to do my creating. We have been putting it together when there was time, and even though the walls still need finish work, they are insulated and sheet-rocked now. I will unpack and use the studio while other projects move forward.

Here is what the building looked like before we finished the exterior:

It has 16 sides to make a circle, and inside it is 20 feet wide all around. In the center inside stands a natural wood post that supports the roof. The stucco is a clay pot color. Here is what the building looks like today:

Inside my crafting supplies have all kinds of room to spread out. Here are a few pictures that show my yarn, vases, and shipping supplies:

So I'm slowly finding all the supplies I packed away about a year ago when the wall project began. Some boxes have been packed for a few years, so it will be a treat to open them and find what treasures I socked away back then. All through the construction, my little friend Kiwi, the whippet, has been with me. Today she was enjoying being back on her blue couch, watching me go about my hobby.

Be watching my shops for more variety in my products, since I have access to more supplies to make them from. What fun !!