Freezer Paper Stenciling-I am hooked!!!

So last week I decided to give a new craft a try-freezer paper stenciling. Well, I am now addicted! I have done about 10 projects already! I will gradually be integrating the best ones into my shop, and the first one to be added is this sunny orange sundress. the hibiscus flowers and surfboard were all hand drawn stencils of my own design. It will be so hard to sell, I want it for myself! Check it out here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25659411
Here's a tip for anyone who wants to try this out (and you should): I use acrylic paint mixed with a textile medium that turns the mix magically into fabric paint! It is inexpensive and I like the way it spreads better than fabric paint. Also, one coat is usually enough. More than that and it is easy to get bleed through. So get out there and try it!

We Are Key West Bound!

We are planning a trip to Key West! We are going in October, which is low season in the keys, so it is not turning out to be too expensive. We chose Key West because it looked like no other place we had been to. We are going to swim with dolphins, snorkel, and laze on the beach! One of the things I am looking most forward to is the Sunset Celebration that happens every night at Mallory Square. Two hours before sunset vendors and street performers set up for an unique and festive send off for the sun. There are conch fritter vendors, artists, magicians, tight rope walkers, and a number of other colorful characters at this outdoor party that ends with applause as the sun sinks below the water. How cool is that? Don't worry, I will take lots of pictures!

There's a Whole World Out There!!

Sometimes I need a reminder (read-kick in the butt) that my world is not at my computer. I get sucked into the online world of my Etsy shop, Facebook, and any other random site I go to and forget to LIVE! So today, here are your instructions:Go outside!! Get dirty! Get Grass stains on your clothes! Count how many birds there are in your trees! Skip down the sidewalk! Do anything that doesn't happen inside. Even if it is just for 15 minutes, you will feel more alive than you did sitting here reading this! As for me, I'm going outside to find some rocks to look under, some four-leaf clovers for discover. Come on, let's go outside!

Crafts I Want to Learn Spotlight

I created this spotlight because as a goal for 2009 I want to learn 3 new crafts. Two that I definitely want to try are needle felting and journal making. The other one is probably going to be soap, although I am already learning how to make lip balm, so that is kind of 4! Check out www.byhand.me for more spotlights!

Sea Ice Bracelet

Ok, this piece is probably one of my favorites. It will be hard to let go of it when it sells! I call it "Sea Ice" because the frosty blue beads and the iridescent shell pieces remind me of ice chipped off of a glacier. I think it is delicate yet eye-catching. I try to make pieces that would seem to have a story behind them (as you can tell in my Etsy descriptions) as if they have a life all their own. They are more fun to wear that way! You can check this bracelet out in my Etsy store!

www.SunsetSurf.etsy.com

Clambake Earrings

I love the colors pink and green together, maybe because they remind me that Spring is coming! In light of a new season approaching I made these Clambake Earrings out of baby pink glass beads and green shell beads. they are perfect for a seersucker dress and sandals! I've listed them in my Etsy shop, which brings me up to 10 items! That was my goal for this week. Hope they make you feel like Spring is in the air!

Need Some Golf Tips?

My husband is an assistant pro at a local golf course. He loves the game and he loves helping people improve their games. One of the ways he does this is by teaching them drills that they can practice to improve a certain aspect of there game, whether it be driving, chipping, putting, etc. He just wrote an article on Ehow.com that teaches a putting drill. It is simple enough for even a beginner golfer, but will improve your putting very quickly. Check out the article by clicking the link below!

link

New "Speed Shopping" on Etsy!

The wonderful people over at Etsy have created a fun and fast new way to shop! It is called "Recently Listed Items" and it is sooooo addictive!! Just click the link near the bottom of the front page right above the recently listed items ticker (which seems to be moving faster to accommodate more items, thank you Etsy!). A new page will start filling up with items listed 1 minute ago. So much fun! and you can mouse over any item to see a little bit of detail about it and a bigger picture. This is a great thing for sellers, but even better for buyers. Who doesn't love to speed shop!!
So go check it out! You might discover something you absolutely must have!

www.etsy.com

Window Shopping!

www.handmade.me has a great feature called "window shopping". Members create spotlights with their and other artisans' items (kind of like Etsy's treasuries, but you can use your items too!). Then window shopping shows 9 random items from 9 random spotlights. Cool, huh? Clicking "another" brings up another set of items. I could do this for hours! What a great way to discover wonderfully handmade goods!

Featured Beach-Cocoa Beach Florida

Every once in awhile on here I will feature a beach that I have been to or want to go to in the future. I will tell what I love about it and what there is to do on that particular beach. The first beach I am going to feature is Cocoa Beach Florida. It is located on the Space Coast near Cape Canaveral. This is our "home beach", the one we keep coming back to, because it is a great surfing beach. If you've ever wanted to surf, this is the beach to start out at! there are a number of surf schools here, the best of which is Space Coast Surf Company. The waves are great for beginners and even small ones are surf-able with a long board.
This is also a great beach because of the Cocoa Beach Pier. It was built in 1962 and stretches 800 ft over the Atlantic Ocean. It is home to 5 bars, 4 restaurants, shops and an ice cream parlor with an arcade (which makes a great sub sandwich, go figure)! This makes Cocoa Beach a very active beach, which adds to the atmosphere.
If you are not a surfer, shopper, or hungry for some great seafood, there is sand volleyball, boogie boarding, sandcastle making, shelling, or just plain lazing on the beach!
So take a little trip to Cocoa Beach. A little sun, sand, and surf never hurt anyone!

Sunkissed Sands

I received these wonderful handmade sand beads from my friend Kristin (her Etsy shop is www.PaperMacheBeads.etsy.com) and I just had to make something beachy. I used some juicy orange wood beads, some light green shell beads, and some tiny seashells. Then I used some wire and made a drop pendant by wrapping it around the top of a shell pendant and adding some beads. I call it the Sunkissed Sands necklace. It is so summery!! I just added it to my shop!

Yay! I had a sale!

I am at work on my lunch break today when my husband calls. He says "guess what!". I say "what" (of course) and he says "You sold something today!". How exciting! I have only just decided to have a surf style handmade shop this past month, and it already seems to be coming together. The item I sold, a Riptide hat, (above) had just been listed yesterday! That was quick! So, my fellow Etsy sellers, keep it up! Work on your photos, promote, and find your niche. It works!

p.s. those tiny oranges are S and P, and they were begging to be in the pics!

The Surfer Girl Hat

I finally posted my new hat design on my Etsy shop! It is called "Surfer Girl" because it is something I would wear on a windy day after being in the waves. Surfers often wear beanies, but I wanted to make a more feminine style for the female surfers ( or beachlovers, or anyone with a chilly head). I especially love the shell edging because, well, it makes me think of seashells!
The first one I've listed in my shop is made from 100% wool. It is actually Noro Kureyon yarn, which I am in love with although it is a bit pricey. I believe that people want quality handmade products though, so I really love using high quality materials. I love this color combination, which I call "coquina" because I find these pastel colors in coquina shells all the time. Let me know if you like this style! If you have any colors you think would look good in a Surfer Girl hat, shout them out!

UGH! Sick!

I have been sick for the past 5 days! That in itself is not blog-worthy, but it sucked. What is worth writing about is how wonderful my family is. As soon as my Mom found out I was sick, she and my Dad immediately brought me medicine, tea, and soups and stayed for awhile. Keep in mind I am 29 and married, that's just how awesome they are. Then my wonderful husband kept me fed and made me call into work. He also made me Kool Aid ice cubes! How lucky am I? So being sick made me see once again how blessed I am. Funny, huh?

So now that I'm better I can concentrate on updating my Etsy shop and listing more items. The next items I will be adding to my shop will be my Surfer Girl hats, so keep checking back to see if they are up!

Save the Manatee Club

When i was 12 years old I visited Florida for the first time. My parents, my 5 year old sister, and I loved it. My favorite memory of that trip happened in a seafood restaurant right on an inter coastal waterway, but it had nothing to do with the food (although that was good to)! The waitress was very nice and asked me what i wanted to be when I grew up (mind you I looked like i was 10) and i said "a marine biologist!". She seemed excited by that and said "come with me". she took me out onto one of the docks outside and handed me a handful of lettuce. She said "they will be here any minute". A few seconds later i saw bubbles and 2 wiskery noses poking out of the water. I had no idea what i was seeing, but i knew whatever they were I loved them. She said "It is a momma manatee and her baby, they come here everyday". I bent down to feed them the lettuce as they poked their heads out of the water. I was amazed at how gentle and trusting they were. After that experience I drove my parents crazy talking about them. Now I am a member of the Save the Manatee Club, and give 5% of all my sales in my Etsy shop to this worthy cause. Find out more about these amazing animals at www.savethemanatee.org!

My New Etsy Shop!

This blog will be about my new adventure, and you are invited to come along for the ride! I had been making handmade jewelry, hats, etc for awhile and realized they all had the same type of style. It seems my love of the beach comes through very clear in my creations. So, I decided i needed a way to incorporate all the random crafts I do into a shop. So now i have a new shop on Etsy called SunsetSurf. I even bought the domain name sunsetsurfshop.com! I will be selling my surfer hats, beach-inspired jewelry, tropical flavored lip balm, and a few other things. I am so excited! Here a pic of the first item in my shop! They are Palm Leaf Earrings.