You Ain't Nothin But a Hound Dog

Hey all! 

Remember I mentioned the great Etsy Team I've become a part of a few minutes ago in a recent post ?

Their first challenge that I've been able to be a part of had to do with Musical Interpretation.   Fun, no?   In other words, express somehow in crochet your favorite song, musician, band, etc...  

Click here for my entry.

An adorable baby or toddler hat, crocheted to look like a cute dog!   This is a custom made to order item.  Can be done in just about any age group, from Newborns on up!  I think this would just look ADORABLE on a little one!  Here's another couple of photos. ....

He just looks guilty LOL!

Edited to add to a FANTASTIC Linky Party hosted by Creations by Kara - Be sure to visit it

here

Do it!  Now!  You won't be sorry LOL~

I'm linking this post up to a great little Blog Party..

on Everything Etsy.... I Made It Thursday!

Stop by yourself and check out all the talented peeps!

Thanks for stopping by and letting me share!

Smiles and Hugs, Joyce

Hooray for TEAMWORK

So a quick post here to update:   As I mentioned previously, I decided to open an etsy store.  Shameless plug to follow  right about HERE - Click Me!! Click Me!!    I'll be doing a little post in the near future to explain how it all came about, but something else I've been super excited about is the fact that I've also been asked to join an Etsy Team of fellow hookers, umm...  crocheters!    CreateCrochet Team to be exact.   

We've got a blog http://createcrochet.blogspot.com/
and a Facebook Page  http://www.facebook.com/#!/CreateCrochetEtsyTeam?ref=ts
and so far there's been lots of fun stuff going on, such as weekly Chats and Team Challenges.   More to come about those as well.

It's been a geat opportunity to meet a bunch of new faces and interact with others who truly understand my passion for crocheting!   The talent on this team absolutely blows the mind!

I wanted to share these links so you can feel free to please check out the blog or fan page on Facebook and show all these folks some LOVE..........

While you are there, be sure to become a fan of my page on Facebook as well!   I'll be offering all kinds of discounts, free shipping, tips, toutorials, patterns, giveaways, yada yada yada - exclusively for Facebook fans.  I also have started a Discussions tab where I invite All Crafters to leave a link and a little description of their own store!   A little Linky Love is a good thing.

Ciao for now!

Smiles and Hugs, Joyce
The Crochet Barn on Facebook
TheCrochetBarn on Etsy

New to Etsy!

Happy Wednesday to you all!

I've been so far behind in updating my blog, that what I SHOULD do is just pretend like the whole thing never happened and hide my face in shame somewhere. 

But I have been quite manic busy lately - oh yes I have.  I will be showing you guys bits and pieces over the next fews days (okay, who are we kidding?? Probably WEEKS) of what I've been up to!

I do want to take this time to introduce you to my new etsy store! 

The Crochet Barn - etsy

Please feel free to come by and visit!  I have ALOT more work to do getting her all stocked up, but plan to have items for Babies, Kids, Adults.  Possibly dogs....   But, we'll come back to that.

Also, please visit me here on facebook!    Become a fan and you'll be notified of different sales and special discounts!   Won't that come handy when it's time for Back to School or even holiday shopping  ;) ??!

I've changed the name of this blog to The Craft Barn.   I'm hoping this name kind of encompasses everything  a bit better!  I'm still going to prattle on and on and on about my other home decorating endeavors and have crafty toutorials for you all.   I will just also prattle on and on and on about my crochet items from time to time as well.   I've gotta figure out how to change that little banner up there, but that's another chore for another day I suppose.

Remember this post??   I finally have some resolution and will have the pics to prove it!

My little one is off to first grade in the fall, and this will be the first time she's gone ALL day EVERY day.  I'm hoping that you'll be hearing from me alot more often again!  I've kind of missed everything in Blog World, and I'm certainly going to need to keep busy while she's gone SNIFF!


Smiles and Hugs, Joyce

Yoo Hoo - Remember Me?

Hi - Remember me? 

So apparently my last post was 8 MONTHS AGO.  I guess life does get in the way sometimes, yes?   I hope you all have been well, and I do plan to pick up right where I left off.   Boy, I thought life was busy with a toddler, I never realized it would get more so with a school age child :)

My daughter completed her first year of Kindergarten, which turned out to be a wonderful experience for all of us.  She did great, made alot of new friends, kept me running around with all her activities, and basically had a WONDERFUL time. 

I did find time to finish up a few projects.  Mainly the hutch in my dining room that I went on and on (and on) about in this post.   I'll be putting up some photos soon, and I'm happy to say that I LOVE how it turned out!  

I have also been crocheting up a storm lately.  It started when I made a cute sweater, blanket and hat for a new arrival in our family (my cousin's baby, not my own!)  My aunts suggested that I make a few additional items to put into their craft store, and it just went from there!   Now I am proud and excited (and a little nervous) to open my new etsy shop!    I want to "spruce" things up a bit first, but another post will soon follow with the link.   I hope you can all stop by and take a look around!   Here's a sneak preview of a few items......

A Strawberry Hat......

A Flower Cap....

An Apple Cap.....

Juicy Watermelon anyone?

A couple more that will be available for fall are a Pumpkin cap and an Acorn!

I'll eventually be offering patterns to these cuties as well.

So that's all for now - I'll be posting a link to my new store with some special introductory prices, along with some photos of recent project around the house!

Have a great day, and hopefully it will not be ANOTHER 8 months until you hear from me again!

Smiles and Hugs, Joyce

Operation Closet Cleanout - Part I

Hello again!

I am calling this Part 1.   I am hoping that the most there will be is a Part 2, and the whole thing can just end there.    It is really ALOT of hard work cleaning out a closet!   Especially if you are like me and save things like cards from your own 7th birthday, or maybe a few pairs of jeans from pre-child days when you were a size 2.   I hereby declare that I never will be a Size 2 again (and probably don't WANT to be) so Out.The.Door.They.Go.

I'm basically trying to take this....

I know, it's hard to even locate the closet DOOR among all the stuff everywhere.   I'm only going to open it a little for you to peek inside...

Enough said....

So that is another project that I've been working on.  My clothing is hanging at this time in a closet that is in my daughter's playroom.   I was in her playroom the other day, thinking "I HAVE to find a way to organize and control all these toys from taking over".   Then all of a sudden I had a "DUH" moment (as I've heard it called!)  Why don't I move my clothes OUT of the playroom and we can use THAT closet for toys?!?   I know - DUH.   Told ya.

This is basically where I stood on the project yesterday...

About 9 trashbags full of clothing to be donated to GoodWill.   I probably should have figured out something more environmentally friendly then all these plastic bags, but I've got enough to worry about for the time being.

Hoping to finish this little endeavor up today by the end of the weekend, so I can get a bit more organized and start working on some fun stuff again! 

So, wish me luck, okay?  I need it.

Smiles and Hugs,
Joyce

Why I've Been Missing...

Good morning to you all!

I've been a bit MIA in the blogging world recently and I just wanted to drop in quickly and share a bit of what I've been up to.   Boy it is HARD to come up with time and ideas for everyday posts - I have a TON of respect and admiration for you ladies that do!

We've had alot going on here as usual.  Has not left me with any time to be creative or crafty or decorative or really in any way interesting!  But it's been fun.   Halloween, Birthday Parties and Operation Closet Cleanout.

Halloween day started with a little pumkin carving.....  With a semi-tutorial.  

First, survey your pumpkin carefully....

Not sure what these two were waiting for the pumpkin to DO, but they did spend quite a few minutes simply staring at it.

Next, have the resident Artiste work on building a template for cutting....

Not bad!

Now, hand the carving knife to somebody above the age of 6.   Hubby will have to do..

This part always gets a big "EEEWWWW...

Almost done!

They look pretty proud of themselves, no?    It was a fun way to spend Halloween afternoon.  And yes, that is still the same cabinet that I blogged about HERE.   Still outside on Halloween, waiting patiently for her turn. 

Then all the prep work it takes to turn an adorable six year old into....

Ummm,   a child bride?!  

It was a tiny bit creepy somehow seeing my daughter as a bride, but she LOVED this custome and looked beautiful!  

We all had a really fun night Trick or Treating.   The dog stayed home this year and the weather could not have been more beautiful!   We even had a big old creepy moon.

Next came a family birthday party and another kids birthday party the following day.    If anybody is looking for a quiet, relaxing loud, obnoxious and smoky start to their Sunday morning, why don't you try taking 15 kids out for Cosmic Bowling at 10 AM??  

They did have a really good time and the party went well.   I couldn't get many good pics due to the darkness, strobe lights and fog, but who doesn't like a little darkness, strobe lights and fog to really get their morning going?   ;)

Here is the cake that Miss Princess Six Year Old Child Bride chose..

I cannot even blame the color on bad lighting.  It really was this green.  

I did work on a couple of projects, nothing just seems to be quite finished yet!

I'll have a post up soon about the little side table I refinished and as soon as Operation Closet Cleanout is underway, I've got some BIG plans for our dining room!

Thanks for stopping by!

Smiles and Hugs,
Joyce

Big ol' Surprise (for lil' ol' Me)

Well, guess what?

I mentioned in my last post that I had a very nice surprise to share with you today:  No, I am not pregnant.   Me, and my brand new bouncing baby blog,  have received our Very First Award.   May I introduce you to:

The Kreativ Blogger Award.


Not quite as suprising as being pregnant would have been, but much less expensive and far more manageable.

My heartfelt and sincere thanks (and Happy Birthday!) go to Kathy from Creative Home Expressions.

It's been a pleasure getting to know her and so many other great gals through their blogs!

Here are the rules as I understand them:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.


2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.

3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.

4. Name 7 things about yourself that people may not know.

5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.

6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.

7. Leave a comment on each.

So here we go.  

"7 Things You Never Knew and Probably Never Even Considered Wanting To Know" about me.

1.  My name is Joyce and I always hated it growing up.  I only wanted to be called (and for a while only answered to) Julie.  Now I like my own name better since it's a name you do not hear all the time.  And guess what my MIL's name is?  Julie.  Figures, huh?

2.  My biggest dream growing up was to be a mom and housewife.  Um... no seriously.  I could not wait to have a home to look after since I was about 7.   I am lucky enough to be living out this dream with many thanks to my hardworking and super-supportive hubby.

3.  I have been interested in and studied decorating magazines since I was about 10 years old.   There were 3 Christmases in a row that my Santa Lists included new pillows and curtains for my bedroom.

4.  I have a completely unjustified Fear of Flying and have to get over it within 3 weeks for our trip to Disney.

5.  I think I like Disney more than my 6 year old.  You know, after the whole "airplane" part.

6.  I am running out of things to say.

7.  Discovering this world of blogging has been one of the greatest and most fun joys of this past year!  It truly has been a pleasure "meeting" all of you!

Now on to the recipients.  (in no particular order)

1.  Leigh @ Tales from Bloggeritaville.   A great name, great lady and a great host of Thrifty Thursday parties!

2.  Barb @ Treasures from the Heart for sharing so so many unique and heartfelt.. well... Treasures!

3.  Jacey @ One Man's Trash is My Treasure for sharing all her creative, unique and fun ideas and projects with so much enthusiasm.

4.  Donna @ Funky Junk Interiors for sharing the passion for decorating and being such an inspiration to others - I swear this lady must NEVER sleep LOL! 

5. Lilia @ 2 Brown Eyed Beauties for all the excellent DIY decorating tips.  One of the first couple of blogs I stumbled upon and was instantly interested.  She had me at "Laundry Room".

6.  Michelle @ Me and My Scraps for sharing so many wonderful tips and ideas:  Scrapping, Cardmaking,  Decorating, Baking, etc.. etc.. etc.. She can do it all I think!

7.  Nicole @ BugaBoos Creations - another talented *multi* tasker!  Tons of projects and repurposing ideas to be found at her blog.

And, now I gotta tell ya:  It was so hard stopping at 7!!

I hope you all have a Wonderful, Happy, and Safe Halloween Weekend!~










Smiles and Hugs,
Joyce