Inspired by colors

Went for a walk in the Metropark as part of my 3-Day training yesterday, and the wildflowers in some areas were just spectacular. Acres and acres of forest carpeted in emerald green leaves with quarter-sized bright yellow daisy-like flowers on top. And just around the bend, it was completely barren - not a leaf or petal to be seen. Around another bend, big clumps of lily of the valley foliage were up, and a few rogue daffodils peeked out here and there.

Now I want to make a "spring in the park" quilt in those greens and yellows ... it would look sort of like the Emerald City exploded all over the Yellow Brick Road, but at least I would know what it was.

Lazy Dad's shawl pins, now available!

My very handsome and talented father has been carving for decades - actually, we can actually measure it in fractions of a century at this point - so it was no problem at all for him to whip up some shawl pins for me when I started whipping up shawls. They were so beautiful and functional that I encouraged him to make some extras to sell. And the owner of River Colors Studio in Lakewood agreed that they're awesome, so now you can buy them there!

Stop in and grab one before they're gone, because you never know when Lazy Dad will get sick of making these and then they'll be gone for good.

Pimpin' my homies

http://www.clevelandhandmade.com/?page_id=70

The Cleveland Handmade etsy team has an orange-and-black challenge going, with voting continuing until Sunday, October 26, so stop by the site and pick your favorite. Sign up for the mailing list at the same time, and you're entered to win a gift certificate good at any of the participating shops. Just in time for holiday shopping!

Oh, and in case you were wondering, yes, I do have an entry - the Halloween Hexagons quilt. I can't decide whether I like this view better, or the view they used for the ballot - I guess it doesn't really matter, does it?

Show a Clevey some love

The Cleveland Handmade etsy team is doing a series of interviews with featured artists in the NE Ohio area. The first one is SaraKate, who makes really cool purses. You can check out the interview here, and her etsy shop here.

Way to go, SaraKate! You've got much more interesting answers to the questions than I'll come up with ;)

Come meet Lazy Mama!

When: Saturday, April 12th, 10am to 5pm
Where: Birds of a Feather, 36840 Detroit Rd., Avon, Ohio 44011
Why: I'm going to be showing off my new ruffled yo-yo technique, as featured in the shop's April Block of the Month design. I'll also have a trunk show featuring samples of all of my patterns for sale in the shop, as well as some goodies to share with my adoring public.

Have a question about one of my quilts? Hesitant to buy a pattern when you've never seen a sample in person? Curious about whether I really am as drop-dead gorgeous as you imagine? Stop by and mention that you read the blog and I'll have a little something for you!

Showing some love

Found at Huntington Beach this afternoon

With love and admiration to my fellow Cleveys who are obsessed with beach glass and stones:

Lake Erie Beach Glass
zJayne
Kimberly Monaco Designs
stonz

... and possibly some others, but those are the ones I remember off the top of my head.

Thanks for the free press, Valerie!

ValerieTyler has a blog she uses to promote local artists, and she decided to send some love our way:

http://artaddict.wordpress.com/2008/01/23/valentines-day-was-not-invented-by-hallmark/

Thanks for the mention, Valerie!

Brrrrrrrr

Let there be ...

... light!

Gotta run - there's actual natural sunlight entering my home. Could be the last time for months - and I have a LOT of photos that need to be redone. And some basking to do on the living room floor, if I can get the cats to move over.

Lazy Mama merchandise now available IRL!

In case anyone has noticed the sudden drop in the stock level in my etsy shop, it's not because some kind-hearted individual has come and purchased a bunch of stuff. Rather, it's because I've pulled a bunch of inventory from the etsy shop so I can display it at Silly Sprouts, a children's resale and consignment shop that just opened in North Ridgeville (OH).

I was in there last night dropping off my inventory of blankets, mittens, hats and stuffed animals, and I have to say, I was impressed by how organized the store is, especially given that it just opened Dec. 1. It's bright, with nice wide areas between the racks so there's plenty of room for strollers. The stuff is sorted by size and gender, and Nancy (the owner) has a pretty good selection of most sizes. I was especially pleased to note that she accepts most clothes, regardless of brand, as long as they are clean and in good shape. So many of the other shops in the area aren't interested in the stuff from Target or JCPenney, even if it's new, because they're so set in their "it must be Gymboree" ways.

Anyhoo, if you're in NE Ohio and in the market for new and gently used children's items, I highly recommend them. You can find Silly Sprouts at 32668 Center Ridge Road, in Mills Creek Commons (just east of the Education Center).

Congratulations to the contest winner!

Congratulations to fellow etsy seller idiomsyncrasies, the winner of the Show Cleveland Some Love! contest, which ended at noon today. For those of you who didn't win the grand prize, watch your e-mail for a consolation offer from the participating shops. And thanks to all of you who participated!

You've entered already, right?

Because you're running out of time to enter the Show Cleveland Some Love! contest at www.clevelandhandmade.com .

Entries will be accepted until midnight on Friday, Oct. 26th. So if you want a shot at winning a $65 credit to use at any participating Cleveland etsy shop, get a move on!

(and buy lots of stuff while you're checking out the shops in order to enter!)

My plans for world domination continue ...

From a fellow Cleveland etsian:

your blankets were a hit at the showers today! and at the first shower, people said "oh! is that a lazy mama!? i saw those in the contest!" so people are seeing and remembering! sweet!

Hurrah! I'm becoming famous, at least among the hundred or so people who have entered the contest!

Check it out - I got a treasury on etsy!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=12080

No, I'm not in it - I can't be, because I'm administering it. It's got one item from each of the shops participating in the contest ... hopefully this will get us some extra attention. Not that we're doing too badly - last I heard we had more than 50 entries, and that was just by Friday night!

If you haven't entered yet, you can do so at www.clevelandhandmade.com . Prize is a $65 credit to use at any of the 13 participating shops ... and you know you can find some way to spend that, with all of the cool stuff we have!

Shameless self-promotion time (again)

As you may have read already, I'm part of the etsy Cleveland street team. Well, we've decided to try to send a little more traffic to our shops by banding together to hold a contest. Just click on the link above to go to our team homepage, where you can find out all about it. Basically, you just visit our shops, try to find where we've listed our favorite place in Cleveland, fill in a form, and you're entered to win a $65 credit to spend in one of our shops (or a combination of shops, if you prefer).

Of course, while you're visiting our shops is the perfect time to get a headstart on your holiday shopping. Jewelry, purses and bags, hats and scarves, baby gifts - we've got a lot of really cool stuff listed right now. Just remember - our stores sell stuff pretty regularly, so if you see something you really like, go ahead and get it now, as it may not still be there when you come back. Trust me, if you win the contest there will still be plenty of stuff you'd like to buy!

Thanks for your support, and please tell the entry form that you found out about this from lazymamadesigns.blogspot.com - we're having an informal competition to see who steers the most traffic to the contest, and I'm determined to win :)

Congrats, Petite!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6834301

Her bag made it to the Holy Grail of Treasuries - the main page you see when you go to etsy.com! Now if someone would just buy the beautiful thing...

My sisters in all things Cleveland, crafty, and etsy are banding together to have a contest!

The contest will run from Friday, October 12th through Friday, October 26th. People entering the contest will need to look in the profiles of Cleveland etsy members to see what place each shop loves in Cleveland. Fill in a quick form, and you're entered to win a shopping spree at any of the participating stores!

The site isn't up yet, so I can't link to it, but mark your calendars - this one should be fun!

In the meantime, you can get a jump on the contest by visiting my etsy site and noting what place I specifically mention in my shop profile. Oh, and as long as you're there anyway, buy something ;)