A Handmade Halloween and First Monday Sale!

Here's DS3 and DS4 dressed up for Halloween:

(Note: I apologize for DS4's unfortunate hand gesture. The gloves were too big for his little hands. Also, he wouldn't let me draw a mustache or sideburns. Maybe next year...)

DS2 was Indiana Jones with my old leather jacket and a fedora, and DS1 was the Plague. Yes, the Plague. He had his rat minions crawling all over his shirt. Not real ones of course, because that's just gross and would freak me out.

I hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween!

And a quick reminder that today is ETC's First Monday Sale! 99 shops are participating this month! Save 20% at The Lavender Ladybug, and Buy One Get One 50% Off *OR* Buy Two Get One Free at The Lavender Lizard! Have a great day!

Happy Halloween!

Just a short post in-between candy runs. Life's been super busy, but I have to share one funny little item I just had to get for Halloween -- the Devil Domo:

He's so cute and if you recall, DS3 dressed as Domo for last Halloween. That costume was such a hit with all of his friends and the other trick-or-treaters (the adults, however, were baffled.) I briefly considered recycling the Domo costume -- which we still have -- and adding the horns and forked tail. (Maybe next year....)

Here's a sneak peek of DS3 and DS4's costumes:

More photos of the boys in their costumes coming soon, and don't forget Monday is the ETC First Monday Sale.

Let's be safe out there....

First Monday!

Oh, how I love First Mondays! It's a great day to shop the terrific sales of my ETC teammates -- 113 shops this month including both of mine! Wow! Time to get a jump on Christmas shopping! Visit us here to see the complete list of shops and specials!

At The Lavender Lizard, I'm having a BOGO sale -- Buy One, Get One 50% Off **OR** Buy Two, Get One FREE!

At The Lavender Ladybug, everything is 20% Off! I have lots of autumn motifs for crafting plus I'm destashing some commercial supplies. These pumpkins have been a best seller this year:

I got the sweetest note from my last buyer about these pumpkins -- she said they were the cutest ones on Etsy! Yay!

One little shop announcement, I won't be listing single lip balm holders at The Lavender Lizard any longer. Now, they are still available as three-packs, and as always, I take custom requests for other quantities. And shoot, I'll still sell you just one if you like. But for now, I won't relist the single ones, only because there are so many color choices, and I want to concentrate on other items in my shop. Please contact me though, if you want to order 1 or 2 or 15. Thanks!

Happy First Monday!!!

Where Does the Time Go?

I just realized today that it has been a month since my last blog post. Where did the time go? Well, I stay busy with 3 boys at 2 schools plus the baby at home. (Okay, so the baby is 3 now and talks up a storm, but he is forever and always "the baby".) I serve on a PTA board and a Council of PTAs board and now a Bond Committee board. Then there's my part-time, mostly weekends job and oh yeah, I just got re-hired at a previous job. So to an extent, the things that have suffered the most from my "busy-ness" have been my Etsy shops and obviously, this blog.

I have found time to crochet, though, in the midst of this madness. I am working on a large wholesale order for The Lavender Lizard. Here's a sneak peek:

I'll have more information on these later, so stay tuned!

Plus I've just finished a custom request for silver metallic stars in 3 sizes at The Lavender Ladybug. They will be sewn onto a sweater for a Halloween costume. I can't wait to see how that turns out!

And I did finish both the market bag for my friend's daughter (no pics, though) and the one for my sister:

Sadly, DS3's bookbag is on the backburner. More than likely, it will be a Christmas gift now. After all, Christmas is less than 3 months away, so I do have some time to finish it.

(Proof that time really flies: Happy 12th Birthday, DS2!)

More WIPs

Okay, so school for my oldest 3 boys started last week, and the bookbag is not yet ready for DS3. One problem -- I ran out of the nylon thread. Here's what it looks like now:

Plus, I have been trying to finish a market bag for my sister. It's just missing the handles/drawstring, then weaving in the loose ends, and mailing it off. If I just sat for a day or so, I could finish it. I sure do love the self-striping yarn though.... (this is the view of the bottom of the bag.)

I'm also working on a market bag for a friend's 13yo daughter. She requested yellow, green, and purple, and I found this nylon thread that combines those colors with hot pink. Very girly.

Why am I working on all three of these projects at once? Crocheting Attention Deficit Disorder, I think. I usually have an upstairs project, a downstairs project, and a travelling project. This keeps me from getting bored. Hey, I just realized I'm a CADD.

A New Design and Other Musings

I've been thinking about indian corn (you know, the chocolatey candy corn) motifs for a while now, and I whipped up a set this weekend. They are posted now at The Lavender Ladybug, along with the original candy corn motifs. What do you think?

I also made this tiny fried egg. I'm not sure why -- I just thought it was a cute idea.

I finished a market bag for my mom's birthday, and I'm working on one for my sister. I'm also working on a book bag for DS3, who starts 3rd grade in 7 days. Hopefully, it will be finished on time **crossing fingers and making wishes**

Here's Mom's bag:

Other market bags are available at The Lavender Lizard. They feature a round solid bottom, mesh sides that stretch, and knitted handles that also serve to close the top. You can sling both handles over one shoulder or wear it like a backpack. And as always, custom orders are happily taken!

Speaking of DS3, he was decorating a pencil tin the other day for school. Here's the conversation that ensued:

Me: Do you want me to help you find the letters for your name?

DS3: I need a "p".

Me: There's no "p" in your name.

DS3: I'm spelling "private".

Here's the finished pencil tin:

What can I say? That boy has personality!

I just love the little smiley face!

Meme

Ruth of rhradcliffedesigns.blogspot.com tagged me with this little meme.

Here are the rules:
1. Collect the book you have most handy.
2. Turn to page 161.
3. Find the 5th complete sentence.
4. Cite the sentence on your blog.
5. Pass it on to other blog friends.

Here's Ruth's: The SQ is responsible for all parts of the province not under the jurisdiction of municipal forces, of which there are many in the Montreal suburbs. (Grave Secrets by Kathy Reichs)

Here's mine: Pretty soon, other bikers will find excuses to walk past so they can take in the sight of her leaning against the table just right. (Book of the Dead by Patricia Cornwell)

I have chosen:

Tricia: handmadewhimzy.blogspot.com
Connie: hello-refabulous.blogspot.com
Amy: miasophiasday.blogspot.com