Time for a new project!

I am a great one for buying something with the good intentions of creating something wonderful...only to have it sit around for a long, long time. Well last night as I was rifling through my fabric stash I came across this kit for a Christmas Tree skirt, who know how long I have had it! So out it came, the fabric is beautiful, from the Thimbleberries collection, with stars, and pine cones and holly berries. Now today, it is a wonderful rainy day and with any luck I will have it done by dinner! So keep your fingers crossed and wish me luck.

Better get onto crafting,
have a wonderful day :)
K&K

Autumn Inspiration

The colors of Fall always provide such an inspiration for artful creations. The large maple leaves turning from green, to yellow to orange; then finally falling to the ground, covering the ground with such a beautiful display of leaves. Each leaf unique, creating such texture and softness to the landscape.

Most of our trees here on the North Coast are evergreens so it is always pleasant to spot a maple changing colors among the greenery. The maples are stretched few and far between along the 101 corridor, yet they still captured my attention and were the inspiration for my 'Autumn Harvest Quilt'

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=34023394

Hope you all are enjoying Fall in your neck of the woods :)

Holiday Decor Accents

Love to decorate your home for the holidays? Well I certainly do! I have some great items in my Etsy shop for the upcoming 4th of July holiday. Check them out!
All my items are handmade in the USA, from a smoke free/pet free home, and all are
ONE OF A KIND!
Each are designed individually and items can never be duplicated. These are just all around great pieces to compliment any red, white and blue decor.
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=23200846
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=26369807
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25163868

www.kandkkrafts.etsy.com

Thanks for looking :)

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Recycling, one of my favorites. I am a big supporter of recycling; here at home I have roughly 6 to 10 recycling bins here there and yonder; one for compost, one for paper, and one under the sink as a collection spot until it goes outside into the sorting bins (we live an hour from a recycling center that will take everything so I wait till the cans are full before I make my trip in). My husband would complain now and then about how MANY I had, but I kept reminding him that every time I filled up a recycling can it saved him $4.50 (that’s how much it costs to take a can to the dump). So he relented to creating my own recycling space. A little shed off the garage where I can ‘keep’ all my recycling until I have enough to go to the recycler, and now I’m happy and he’s happy, works out well.
Recycling is something I firmly believe in because it is something that if everyone participated in, everyone could see results. I’ve had the unfortunate pleasure of visiting a landfill, more than once, and it is really sad! And stinky! But just take a moment to think about all your garbage, and then multiply that times the number of houses on your street. Where does all the garbage go? Well I’m here to tell you, they just pile it up! Not pretty. So do your part and recycle. Once you gain a rhythm it really is no big deal. RECYCLE, RECYCLE, RECYCLE. Everyone’s doing it!
I really try to take my passion for recycling along with me everywhere in life and that includes my quilting studio. I have a really hard time throwing out a piece of fabric knowing that it is big enough to use somewhere! The only problem with this is that it creates a very large pile of small scraps. But now I found a person in my community who loves all my scraps, so when my bag gets full I track her down and had them over. It makes me feel better knowing that someone else will be using what I couldn’t.
There are times though, when I go digging thru my scrap bag before I pass it on and it is always surprising what can come out of my scrap bag. Yesterday I started working on a new project that is mainly comprised of scraps from leftover projects. I do confess however, the lining for the bag and one large square I gathered from my stash; but everything else was pieced together using leftover triangles, bits from leftover quilt batting and old jeans that were too small, or had too many holes to be wearing in public anymore! With any luck I will be able find enough time to finish my recycled, repurposed bag today and then soon thereafter it will be posted at http://www.kandkkrafts.etsy.com/.
Thanks for taking the time and I hope I’ve inspired just one to recycle more.
www.kandkkrafts.etsy.com

A Few of My Favorite Things

I recently read a post in the Etsy forum talking about karma. It was such a nice post it gave me the inspiration for my second blog, the need to praise others along the way. http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6124770

Surfing around on Etsy I often come across an item that I really, really like; and unfortunately I can’t buy everything I like (although I often try my hardest :) ). I’ve also thought it would be great to post a note somewhere to tell the artist I just love this item because….and since I think it would be a little weird if I took the time to drop every artist a line every time I came across an item I liked I figured that I would just include my finds in my blog post. So, that’s what I’m going to do today. Post my favorite items (just a few), from Etsy, here, in my blog. And I think today’s theme will be jewelry.

My first item comes from www.handmadewithlovejd.etsy.com. Turquoise is one of my favorite colors. Grandma had many turquoise pieces, hence the fascination. I like this piece because of it’s simplicity and recurring pattern. Two styles I’m a big fan of.
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25526759

Next item is from www.hollywoodspotlight.etsy.com . It’s a pair of vintage earrings that are WAY COOL! I don’t know where I would ever wear such a pair, but they are just beautiful!
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25742304

Then, we have some more earrings from www.Bizeebeecreations.etsy.com. I am so impressed by how creative Bizeebee is! I have these marked not only because I love them, but also because I want to give them to my sister! She would wear these not only to birthday parties, but whenever she could! So hopefully Bizeebee has 2 pair! http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25611166

Lastly I will wrap up today with a bead from www.beadberrygems.etsy.com. Personally I would never have the patience to create such a lovely piece! I can’t imagine the time involved. One of the reasons I like it so much is because it reminds me of the trees in an area not far from where I live.
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=20671427

So I hope that you have enjoyed my picks and that you will take the time to look at one or two.
Thanks for checking in,
K&K
www.kandkkrafts.etsy.com

Oh My, Oh My, Where Will We Go From Here

Ok, so I’ve decided to start a new career path (hopefully a successful one), and I’ve dove in head first into the world of online selling. For the past 10 years I have been playing around with different creations, crafts, and I have decided that I am now ‘good enough’ that others might enjoy my creations too.
Well! Have I ever gotten an awakening! I’ve always been quite content to sit in the back, keep my mouth shut and just soak in whatever was going on around me; but here, in this online marketplace, I’ve discovered that the one with the loudest mouth (so to speak) is the one that gets all the attention. From what others say, online social networks are the way to go in todays world. Even Costco featured an article outlining the many online social networks, and how it worked for one of their members.
Competition here is tough. I have a few quilts for sale (www.kandkkrafts.etsy.com), so I went to the search bar at Etsy, typed in quilts, and came up with over 3000 pages! Needless to say I did not find my quilts as there is not enough time in the day for me to search through 3000 pages. Personally, I find myself getting bored after about 3 pages, tops!
So here I am, writing my first blog, wondering where it will end up, who will read it, and where we’ll go from here.
That’s it for now, signing off from sunny California (hahaha)
K&K Krafts