Silks, Beautiful Silks!

My silk samples are finally finished! This is what I have been pouring all of my time and energy into as of late. As some of my readers may know, I am hoping to make a little extra cash by offering hand-dyed playsilks - 30x30 inch silk scarves with hand-rolled hems, perfect for little hands to use as a superhero's cape, a cowboy's bandanna, a princess' skirt. The only limit is the imagination!

The silks will be available individually, in pre-selected sets of three or six, or in custom batches to suit your individual desires. You can choose from these themed sets below, or contact me for a custom order, choosing colours from the entire palette. Please note that as the silks are hand-dyed, some variations in colour on the silk are natural, and beyond my control. Each silk is unique!

The details: 30x30" 100% habotai silk scarves with hand-rolled hems, dyed in small lots to ensure vivid colours. All dyes are non-toxic, and silks are washed before shipping to remove as much excess dye as possible. Contact me at smathie (at) gmail (dot) com for pricing, shipping information, and any other information.

Here are the sets available:


Rainbow Fun: Very Cherry, Orange Peel, Lemon Drop, Emerald Isle, True Blue, Wild Grape



Autumn Breeze: Chocolate Kiss, Antique Ruby, Pumpkin Pie



Night Sky: Stroke of Midnight, Wild Grape, Sapphire Springs



Land & Sea: Chocolate Kiss, Emerald Isle, Robins Egg



Ice Cream Sundae: Chocolate Kiss, Tickled Pink, Fresh Cream



Easter Egg: Tickled Pink, Robins Egg, Key Lime



Pretty as a Princess: Wild Grape, Tickled Pink, Fresh Cream



Ocean View: Emerald Isle, Robins Egg, Sapphire Springs



Morning Glory: Desert Sunrise, Orange Peel, Lemon Drop



SuperKid!: Very Cherry, Lemon Drop, True Blue


The whole palette (counter-clockwise from top left): Fresh Cream, Tickled Pink, Desert Sunrise, Very Cherry, Antique Ruby, Orange Peel, Pumpkin Pie, Lemon Drop, Key Lime, Emerald Isle, Robins Egg, True Blue, Sapphire Springs, Wild Grapes, Chocolate Kiss, Stroke of Midnight.

Talk to me about selling...

I am so bad at this crafty blogging thing. I keep meaning to post, but do you think I remember to? Noooo. I've been busy working on crafty ideas to sell, so blogging about them isn't something I'm prepared to do while these thoughts are still under development. Once I have a plan, I will probably post a little more, but it's all still in development!

So, along that train of thought... anyone have any advice for a busy working mom who is eager to set out selling her wares? Thoughts on where you get your inspiration, how to handle competition, where to sell (own website? etsy? other?), how to set your price points, advertising, promos, custom orders vs stock on hand? Anything really, any input would be most welcome. Right now I'm looking at selling on etsy, but I haven't thought further ahead than that...

So, give it to me! I can take it. :D

Worm Wishes!

Good lord, has it really been almost three months since I updated last? Eek. I have had a lot of projects on the go, but really, none of them have been fit for blog posting. On top of that, my craft area is a royal disaster. I got a new sewing machine and table at the end of January, which required some re-organizing that turned more into a piling of things in different places. Not exactly great for encouraging the crafty flow! Anyway, my daughter was invited to a birthday party for one of her little friends, so I decided to whip together this adorable card for the birthday boy! Pretty much a CASE of this card, but with a few of my own touches. I really like the shape I got for the greeting - I just cut out circles and snipped the top and bottom off to get a neat shape! I probably would have used ovals, but I don't own those punches yet so this was good enough.


The ingredients:
- Paper: SU Close to Cocoa, More Mustard, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip DSP
- Ink: SU Bravo Burgindy
- Stamps: SU Bugs & Kisses
- Other: Misc ribbon, circle punches, dimensionals

Always My Valentine

For someone who hasn't celebrated Valentines Day since elementary school, I sure am into the v-day cards this year! I am not sure where all this inspiration is coming from. This one all started while I was organizing my multitude of Martha Stewart glitters. The Rose Quartz one just caught my eye, and I was determined to finally make a sparkly card. The rest just kind of fell into place! I am thinking of redoing this card with two hearts together, one just looks so lonely all by itself.


The ingredients:
- Paper: SU Ruby Red, Cameo Coral, Blush Blossom
- Ink: SU Ruby Red, Versamark
- Stamps: SU Always, Circle of Friendship
- Other: Martha Stewart lace-edge punch, Scallop circle punch, circle punches, Fiskars mini heart punch, SU Heat & Stick powder, Martha Stewart glitter in Rose Quartz.

Pink Love

Now that Christmas is over and the new year has just begun, I have turned my crafty focus to the upcoming holidays. First up, Valentine's Day! I'm normally not one for hearts and pink and lacey stuff, but for some reason, inspiration has struck. This was a pretty simple card that I whipped up in less than an hour of total working time. I am not 100% sure on the colouring of the hearts - I used the various pinks from the SU pastels set, which I normally love, but it's not doin' it for me this time. If I make this card again, I may stamp the image onto some watercolour paper (if I can ever find it!) and use my ink pads and aquapainter to colour it.

The ingredients:
- Paper: SU Pink Pirouette, Rose Red, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Pink Pirouette DSP
- Ink: SU Basic Black
- Stamps: SU A Little Bit of Happiness (Hostess)
- Other: Martha Stewart lace-edge punch, SU Stampin' Pastels, SU Mat Pack & paper piercer