Merry, Merry Christmas!

My Christmas gift to you! Merry Christmas and Happy 2009!

On the 12th Day of Christmas...

Ha! I just discovered I have no idea how to spell "twelthe", "twelveth", whatever...12th! I should ask my Aggie nephews....

Anyway it's the last day of specials at The Lavender Lizard! It's been a hard 12 days, but ultimately worth it.

Today's Special (12/12): Save 25% On Any Order Over $25!

And here's wishing everyone a blessed holiday season and a safe and happy 2009!

On the Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Day of Christmas...

Well, I got behind on blogging my 12 Days of Christmas specials for The Lavender Lizard. Too many sick kiddos finally caught up to me.

So I've decided to extend these 3 specials until midnight on Thursday 12/11. Just let me know in the Notes to Seller that you read about these in my blog, and I'll honor any and all of these three specials. Thanks for your understanding!

Day 9 Special: 10% Off Anything Cups!

Day 10 Special: 20% Off All Accessories (including coin/card purses, tissue holders, lip balm holders, scarves, ponchos, and capelets)

Day 11 Special: 10% Off Tape Measure Cozies and Needle Cases!

The final (and awesome!) special will be good on Friday, December 12! Stay tuned!

On the Eighth Day of Christmas....

The 12 Days of Christmas specials continue at The Lavender Lizard!



Today's Special (12/8): Save 20% On Any Order of $20 or More! Tune in tomorrow for a brand-new special!

On the Seventh Day of Christmas....

Quick post here!

Today's Special (12/7): Save 15% On All Kitchen Scrubbies and Sets!

A new special tomorrow!

On the Sixth Day of Christmas...

Continuing the 12 Days of Christmas specials at The Lavender Lizard!

Today's special (12/6): Spend at least $20 at The Lavender Lizard and receive free shipping (either USPS First Class or First Class International)!

And a hint for tomorrow's special: doing dishes for less!

On the Fifth Day of Christmas....

Continuing the 12 Days of Christmas specials at The Lavender Lizard!

Today's special (12/5) is 10% off an order of $10 or more! That's right -- just pick your choice of anjy items in my shop, spend at least $10, and you'll save 10% on your order!

And I should be listing new items today as well! Have a happy day!

On the Fourth Day of Christmas....

Today is Day 4 of the 12 Days of Christmas specials at The Lavender Lizard!

Today (12/4) I'm offering 15% off all face/body scrubbies! Add a couple to gift basket with handmade soap for a terrific gift for anyone on your list! Or use them for stocking stuffers for your teens or tweens! (My boys use them, too!) They are environmentally friendly and get softer with use!

So go green and save green at the same time! And tune in tomorrow for a brand new special!

On the Third Day of Christmas....

The 12 Days of Christmas specials continue at The Lavender Lizard!

Today's Special (12/3): 20% Off All Scarves, Ponchos, and Capelets! Stay warm and cozy and in style this season for less!

And stop by daily to see the new special from now until December 12!

On the Second Day of Christmas...

The 12 Days of Christmas specials continue at The Lavender Lizard!

Today's Special (12/2): Buy 3 Lip Balm Holders, Get 4th Lip Balm Holder Free!

Either choose 4 individual lip balm holders OR choose 1 set of 3 lip balm holders and 1 individual lip balm holder AND the 4th one is FREE! (Free lip balm holder will be the lowest priced one.)

There are tons of colors and two sizes available, and if you prefer a color that you don't see in my shop, just ask! I can accomodate most special requests!

My lip balm holders have been featured at The Present Professor! These make terrific stocking stuffers, teacher gifts, or coworker gifts! Just add your favorite lip balm, and your shopping is done!

The 12 Days of Christmas Begins...

Hard to believe that it is already December 1.... The first eleven months of 2008 flew by much too quickly.

The good news, though, is that today is Day One of my 12 Days of Christmas Specials at The Lavender Lizard!

Today's special coincides with Etsy Texas Crafters First Monday Sale -- Buy One, Get One 50% Off plus Free Shipping (USPS First Class or First Class International). Please wait for revised PayPal or RME invoice to pay, or I will refund the difference as quickly as possible.

Curious about the next eleven days?? Check back here or visit my shop daily because each day's special is different but all are awesome!

I'm the Featured Brat! And My New Fave Commercial!

Thanks to a wonderful and supportive street team, the Military Brats of Etsy, I'm the Featured Brat! Yippee!

TerryAnn coordinates this feature, and you can read the interview at the Military Brats blog or in the forums at Etsy. Thanks TerryAnn!!

To celebrate, I'm offering free shipping at The Lavender Lizard and at The Lavender Ladybug from now through Monday, December 1. Please mention "Brats" in the Notes to Seller.

On another (hysterical) note, I saw this on TV late one night:

I love Iron Chef, especially the original Japanese show, because of the dubbing and the weirdly different food. Plus this song takes me back a few *cough* years. But be careful, after you've seen this once, the song will stick in your head for hours. You've been warned -- proceed with caution!

The Best Handmade Halloween Costume Ever!

Do you know Domo?

It's No Trick....

The Lavender Lizard is now featured at The Present Professor!!! Can't tell you how exciting this is for me!


Carli from The Present Professor contacted me last week to say she liked my lip balm holders and wanted to feature them on her website. I was floored!!! So to celebrate, I'm giving away 3 of the handy little holders! Just leave a comment at The Present Professor for a chance to win! (The contest will continue until Wednesday evening 11/5).

** Thanks, Carli! You rock! **

Etsy Texas Crafters October Design Challenge

The theme for this month's ETC Design Challenge is War of the Worlds -- not an easy theme when your mode of expression is crochet, it turns out. Well, maybe that's why they call it a "challenge".

I had a tough time with this theme and pretty much had decided to skip it. Then I remembered my latest yarn store find -- glow-in-the-dark yarn in several colors! The first thing I did was make sure it really did glow in the dark, and it does!! It has a fiber that is blended with acrylic yarn that, when exposed to light for 5 minutes, will glow for 5 minutes. I wish I could photograph it, because it really is cool.

So with g-i-t-d yarn in hand, I set to work on crocheting aliens for the War of the Worlds theme. They evolved as I created the pattern (originally the top was the bottom, and the tentacles were antenna). They could sit either way, but I prefer the tentacle look.

Then the aliens needed a ship (I mean, the whole point of WOTW was aliens landing on Earth, right?). So I made a spaceship in grey and added g-i-t-d "landing lights". The spaceship turned out a little chubbier than I had planned, but the aliens are not picky.

To vote for my entry or any of the other cool designs :) please visit this entry in the ETC Team Blog. (The poll is listed on the top right side.) Thanks!

UPDATE: Apparently there have been issues with the ETC Team Blog, so please use this link to vote in the ETC Design Challenge.

Catching Up...

What a busy week we've had...just got back from spending 4 days at the beach. Yes, the beach....yes, it is October, but here the Texas coast is still warm and sunny and only 2 1/2 hours away.

It was nice to get away, and the boys really enjoyed the waves and sand. We found salt-water hermit crabs and one really large shell. The only sand dollars we found were still alive (they are sort of brown and fuzzy), so we admired them and left them behind.

But now, back to work...Some time back a friend of mine (Connie of ReFabulous) told me about a really cool promotion for eco-friendly mom and baby products called The Spotted Box. She thought my scrubbies and washcloths from The Lavender Lizard would fit right in. I thought it was a great idea, but I honestly worried about whether or not I would have time to make the samples.

Then just a couple of days later, Tory from The Spotted Box contacted me because she thought my flower motifs from The Lavender Ladybug would be a good fit for The Box! Well, I took that as a sign that I should definitely do this, so a couple of weeks ago, I sent Tory 60 samples of my flower and star motifs. And I'll get my own box now! Yay!

To get your own Spotted Box, try Etsy or Hyena Cart. But hurry! They go fast!

(And more good news, Connie of ReFabulous is October's Best of the Box! Yay, Connie!! You know I love the lavender sachets! )

ETC Gift Swap

We just wrapped up the 3rd Q Gift Swap with Etsy Texas Crafters. Shop owners filled out a short questionnaire and were randomly matched up with another shop.

My partner was Cheri from itsmecheri2098. She's a crafter who makes jewelry and clay creations. She likes the color purple (hey, who doesn't??) So this is what I made:

It's a tape measure cozy in purple, of course, plus an Anything Cup, also done in purple (but with a twist!) Cheri wrote me that she was very happy with her gifts! Yay!

The person who had me was May from mayzbeadz. She creates lampwork beads, and she made a gorgeous (purple!!!) bracelet for me. (Check out the cute heart-and-arrow toggle clasp!) Thanks, May!!!

Candy Corn!

Yummy! And fat-free, too!
These are the small candy corn motifs I promised to list at The Lavender Ladybug. They turned out so cute! I even made a candy corn zipper pull for my second grader's backpack. (I'll have to remember to photograph it soon.)

New Autumn Items

I spent the last couple of days working on autumn items for both shops. I'll be posting these in the next couple of days.

First at The Lavender Lizard, I created a set of 2 pumpkins for decorating. I used some gorgeous squishy-soft chenille tweedy yarn. They look sophisticated!

I also relisted my Harvest Stripe cotton scarf. I originally made this for the Military Brats Fall Challenge, and it sold the day that I listed it! (Thanks, Anhoki!!! Hope this will keep you cozy!)

I can make it again, so it is listed as a custom order -- I'll just need about 2 weeks to complete it and ship.

Over at The Lavender Ladybug, I'll be listing new pumpkin and apple motifs for appliques or paper crafting. For the pumpkins, you can choose either brown or green stems (everyone in my family had a different opinion, so I made both!)

As you can see from the photos, the apples have a little brown stem and a little green leaf. They are adorable!

Right now, I'm making little candy corn motifs. They are turning out sooo cute! I will list a photo here when I post them at The Lavender Ladybug.

Other new items in the works include a tote bag in harvest stripes and custom orders for slipper socks and baby blankets. Please check back often!

Obsession. Or Ode to the Lindt Ball.

I read the funniest thing the other day:

It was on the back side of my favorite treat:

Are they serious?? These decadent chocolate delights have an expiration date?? Has anyone tested this by letting them sit around long enough to expire?? I know I haven't!

A word of warning: Though it seems like a terrific idea when you are doing it, eating 4 in quick succession will result in an tummyache. So your best bet is to stash these little babies away, and enjoy only one or two a day. I recommend an area high enough to keep your kiddos out. They won't appreciate the smooth, rich, chocolatey goodness....and tummyaches in kiddos are no fun at all.

(I would mention my latest crocheted creations now, but I'm too busy licking the chocolate off my fingers. And chocolate and yarn do not mix!)

ETC First Monday -- Sept 1!

Today, Sept 1, I'm celebrating the ETC First Monday of September with sales in both of my Etsy shops!


At The Lavender Lizard -- Buy One, Get One 50% Off!



At The Lavender Ladybug -- 20% Off all items!

Please stop by and take advantage of this one day sale!

Happy Labor Day!

Happy Birthday Brats!

August 1 marked the one-year anniversary of the Military Brats on Etsy Street Team! Hard to believe how quickly that year went by! We were also chosen as the Etsy Featured Team! Awesome!

To celebrate, some team members were paired up and held a Birthday Swap. My Swap partner was AngeeArt, who makes fab polymer clay items and painted rocks. She's quite talented, and I hope you visit her shop. She requested a crocheted collar from me, which although I had never made one before, I was so excited to create for her. Here's what I came up with:

I think it turned out nicely, and I feel inspired to make more, maybe other colors or even beaded. Thanks Angee, and enjoy!!

(Angee also creates amazing miniatures in her second Etsy shop, wonderworks! Check it out!)

For my gift, I "ordered" my fave pizza -- pepperoni, mushrooms, and black olives. And this is what I received in the mail:

Looks good enough to eat, right??

Happy Birthday, Military Brats!

My First Customer Ever!

My very first customer ever on Etsy was WendiWinn. She sent me a note with that order saying that she was looking specifically for shops that had not yet had a sale, so that she could be the first to buy from them. I thought that was sooo cooool (this was before the advent of Pounce)!

Several months later, she visited again and placed a rather large order for gifts! Awesome buyer!

Then today, she sent me a convo. She just started a blog about things she likes and she mentioned my shop today. She's just the best first customer ever!!!

So please visit her blog -- it's minimal reading and maximum cuteness! And her Etsy shop is full of Papery Goodness, like these notecards or this scrapbook. Thanks, Wendi!!

One Year Etsyversary Sale!

•♥•♥• Celebrating One Year on Etsy! •♥•♥•

To celebrate our Etsyversary, everything at The Lavender Lizard is 25% off, even shipping! Sale good from Friday, July 11 to Monday, July 14. (Please either wait for revised invoice, or I'll refund the 25% as soon as possible.)

Hope you can stop by!

ETC First Monday

Today is ETC's First Monday sale! Stop by my original Etsy shop, The Lavender Lizard, for a Buy One, Get One 50% Off Sale. Or if you are in the mood for supplies, check out my new supplies shop, The Lavender Ladybug, where everything is 25% off today!

More than 60 shops are participating this month! Join us in the forums for chatting and shopping!

A sneak peek at what I'm working on now...

It's a kitchen scrubby set with a dish towel. Other colors are coming and custom orders are always welcome!