Yay!!! It is great to be back at Etsy!

It's about time. I finally got my act together and listed my trees and cards at Etsy.

Here is what's cookin' for the holidays in vintage button landia:

Vintage Button Trees

I am in love with the plush ribbon in this tree. Colors are Peacock, Teal, and Winter gray. Yum!

and......

This tree has some of my most favorite vintage buttons.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/60384581/brown-vintage-button-tree-christmas-tree

I've also listed several holiday cards including Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Thank You's and more.....

...and Birds on a Branch. I love making these!

LGB back in the house.

the LGB is back in the house for the holiday season!

the Little Green Button is happy to be back almost in time for the holidays! It's been re-cake-ulous (ridiculous) busy and I will only have a few things up for the fall / Thanksgiving season, but plenty in store for the winter season, Christmas, and Hanukkah and any other winter holidays you celebrate!!

funniest shop I've ever seen....ever!

OH WOW.....be prepared to laugh. No, seriously (long pause), really be prepared to laugh. If this isn't the funniest Etsy shop you've ever seen, you have to let me know! Gary's Fine Jewelry and Stuff (8088Design's shop) offers beautiful necklaces made from razors, doll heads, lemonade containers, and more. It is actually quite refreshing! Here is my favorite and Gary's in his own words:

"I'm all out of lemonade so heres another necklace" cost: $29.64

Gary:

"i drink lemonade with my vodka every night and im all out of lemonade. i dont know what to do oh wait i know ill make a new necklace. kevin is a stupid failure of a son and bought me a pack of juicy fruit the freshmaker he said it would help me stop smoking. i told him ill help his freeloader butt get a job. 30 years old and still lives with dad maybe he should be the one making necklaces. he has no motivation and he gets that from his dumb worthless mother ok brb phone ok im back it was those damn phone thieves looking to steal my money. i work hard for my money! i ran out of beads so i stole a whole bunch of stuff from kevins room. i dont know who heavy d and the boyz are but i know i dont like them already

the rock id for size comparison. i like to rock. my jewelry rocks."

A close-up of " i'm all out of lemonade so heres another necklace "

In this next necklace Gary uses his wife's razors and animal figures to get back at her. The beginning of the description reads:

"i hope you like living with steve he's fat and he smells like crap. i found some of your razors and makeup so guess what theyre mine now while you're at it why dont you take your worthless son too. you took everything else!!!!"

Here is the first close-up of this awesome necklace appropriately titled:

"take this Julie all of your razors are now part of my pretty necklace"

This close-up is even better. He's stuffed one of Julie's little fox stuffed animals in the toy's head. It's like he's hiding it.

Needless to say, crying-laughing, rolling on the floor, it took me a good 35 minutes to get through his 6 listings. You absolutely HAVE to check out 8088Design's shop and Gary's Fine Jewelry! His shipping policies and pricing are hillarious!

Hoarders

Ok, I've decided it's time. Or, as my husband would say, it's time to call "knock it off." Our basement storage area is out of control. All that comes to mind is the show Hoarders. Have you seen this on A&E? It's terrifying. We have lived in our house for one year and the piles of randomness have been slowly building.

Time is up. I need to get serious and invest in some organization! Here are some finds that have inspired me to get my act together.

Suitcase, bin, shelve, hook. I need to start to use these!

I love love love this vintage case by Get Ready, Set, Go!

Great for DVDs, CDs, Computer and Camera wires, cables, etc.!

20 of these on my wall would be a good start.

Perfectly simple hooks by Altered Iron.

Tired old ugly cardboard boxes no more.

Shelves of bins like this would keep anyone inspired to be organized all day long!

LOVE these upcycled billboard banner storage bins by NottyPooch

And for a little extra room! I can find all sorts of things to store in this

1960's vintage storage box by Julie McCorkle!

So, now that I have the proper inspiration, I need to execute the cleaning and storing of the randomness that is my basement!

attitude check!

Nothing like the Winter X Games to make you feel lazy! If you read my previous post, you know I'm digging deep to embrace the Fa-Reeee-Zing temps. After watching awesome snowboarding and skiing events in the Winter X Games my husband and I decide we need to stop whining about the cold and get out for the day.

♥Here are some awesome finds to help me embrace the season♥

Snow is in the Air by Red Bird Ink

So, do we rent some snowmobiles or going skiing. What to do with this cold snow!? With a 4 and 6yr old, we decide cross-country skiing on trails with small hills would be a great start. We had a blast! I think my four year old, Frankie did the best.

this vintage pocket mirror has to be in your pocket when skiing!

"Snow Bunny" by McYarnpants

what a great shot of a Cedar Waxwing. the iced-over berries look yummy!

Winter Bird by Erica Takes Pictures

Erica says: "I was at my great-grandma's house on a very cold, snowy Sunday morning and decided to get out my camera and take some pictures."

Seriously, If Erica can get outside on a cold day with her camera, sit, and wait for the shot.... we have no excuse!

the novelty has worn off!

Last year was our first winter back in MN after living in the South for 10 years. We had fun skating, sledding, shoveling and reacquainting ourselves with winter fun. I'm over it. The novelty has definitely worn off. It is not even the end of January and my 6 year old asked when it was going to be summer again. I seriously could have cried. I think I did a little.

Thankfully my husband surprised me with an extra ticket to his work conference in Orlando in a couple weeks. Do you think he detects my self-diagnosed seasonal depression? It's crazy, the minute I read the itinerary to Orlando the kink in my neck disappeared. My body is ready for some Vitamin D! Anyone else feeling chilly this month? I'm guessing the second winter back is the toughest!? That is to say, the year I need to get through to break me. no?

Did Hallmark really create the Valentine?

Seriously?

As I was crafting the other day I remembered hearing someone say that Valentine's Day is another holiday created by Hallmark. Gross, right!? I did some research and found the following info. at a couple of websites reviewing the history of Valentine's Day including Wikipedia (they're always right, right?). I knew they didn't create the holiday, but I was really curious about the Valentine itself (i.e. love note, letter, card). Here is what I found:

The real Valentine was a Roman Christian martyred during the third century A.D. by the Emperor Claudius II for marrying men and women when the men were at their "fighting prime," and best suited for Claudius' armies. Prior to his death, Valentine continued to minister in prison by witnessing to his prison guards. When the Emperor heard about this he was furious that Valentine was still making converts even in prison, so he sentenced Valentine to death. Just before being led out to his execution, the young Christian fell in love with and wrote a note to the jailer's daughter, signing it, "From your Valentine." The first valentine was really a Christian witness. Growing out of this story we participate in a custom of sending cards to people we love.

After St. Valentine's death, the practice of sending love notes on Feb. 14 grew in popularity. "The sending of Valentines was a fashion in nineteenth-century Great Britain, and, in 1847, Esther Howland developed a successful business in her Worcester, Massachusetts home with hand-made Valentine cards based on British models." Maybe Hallmark has capitalized on this holiday, but they were certainly were not the originator of the tradition.

So, don't be so pessimistic and share a valentine this Valentine's Day! If you want to stay away from the mega-stores and the commercialization that Hallmark brings, check out some neat handmade Valentines. I've put several up at Etsy crafted from vintage buttons and recycled papers. There are several other sites selling unique handmade Valentines this year.



_____I came across this quote recently and wondered to myself why this never seemed odd before, but it is odd, very odd!

I don't understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentine's Day. When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon. ~Author Unknown____________