On the hunt

I am currently searching out sellers I'd like to feature here on my blog. I hope to get a list together before the new year and have one seller a week all set up to go for the full year. There are so many GREAT shops out there I don't think I'll have any problem. I also want to find other related blogs with helpful and interesting info to feature articles from. And lastly, I am going to try and take more photos of the creation process of my items for Blue Star Butterflies as well as including a 'Wordless Wednesday'.

The holidays have been absolutely wonderful and I am enjoying the visits from family who are normally far away.

Let me know if you like the new layout!

Snowy weekend

It was -9 when I woke up this morning. It blows my mind and I love it all at the same time. You'd think a girl who grew up in Southern California would have a more difficult time settling down in Minnesota, but I really love it. Our kids love it too and that's even better. They had so much fun yesterday playing in the piles of snow while Daddy used the snow blower, shooting streams of light fluffy snow into the air. The temperatures plummeted while they were out there so I cooked up some hot chocolate for all.

I stayed inside where it was warm and got to work on creating a cowl in every new color and a couple fun variations. Today I'll photograph them and hopefully they'll be listed by tonight. Snow days make good 'work' days. They also make for messy homes. So I'll be needing to do a lot of picking up and cleaning before I get started on my next project. I have a huge stash of yarn waiting to be worked into something exciting. So hopefully while I'm getting the house in order some of it will 'speak' to me and let me know what to work on next.

Hippity Hop to the Yarny Shop

Boy do I love shopping for yarn. The fact that I can't buy it all may be the only part I don't like. I like walking through the store to see what's new, checking out all the fantastic color combinations. Some are old favorites and some are unexpected and interesting. I like to imagine what a funky little skein of squishy hand painted yarn might become. Would I combine it with another yarn? Or let it be fabulous all by itself. Would I use an old favorite pattern or whip up something new... Oh the possibilities.

My fellow fiber fanatic friend and I headed out to the craft store and yarn shop this morning to hunt down this and that and find a much needed yarn fix. We dropped the 'older' kids off at preschool, grabbed a latte to-go and took off in the snow and iced over roads. At the yarn store our little ones came upon some good fortune. A knitting group was meeting and they brought treats! I think us ladies feel compelled to feed cute kids yummy things. They were in heaven. We putzed around the store for quite some time. As usual I bought too much yarn, but, how could I not?? While the shop gal put my yarn on the ball winder my friend finished up her picks.

Later this week at Blue Star Butterflies you will find several new colors of cowls. Dark pink, light powder pink, butterscotch, taupe brown, black, and light blue. I also found the softest yarn ever to start a luxury line of cowls! I am starting out with three colors to offer in my Etsy shop and will build from there. I can not wait to work with this new yarn. It's so soft, I want to sleep on a bed of it! I also got some fun pink speckled yarn and soft merino wool to make scarves, I think... I need to get some more scarves in the store, the cowls are taking over. That's ok though!

Featured Artist: Doodlage

Located in Massachusetts, Doodlage creates wonderful and unique art in all kinds of ways. Just take a look at this gorgeous hand doodled rock. These fantastic little pieces of art will dress up any bookshelf, dresser, or nightstand. They make excellent paper weights as well.



Another of my favorites, is this whale doodle. It reminds me of some of my favorite things. Beautiful colors, flowers, happiness, creativity. The flowers in this piece remind me of finding that scrumptious piece of fabric I've been searching for. And this brings back great memories of drawing in high school. Makes me want to pick up a pen and pencil again!!


Works for sale by Doodlage can be found at http://www.doodlage.etsy.com
And you can check out the Doodlage blog at www.doodlage.com to find out more about this great artist and what inspires the art. To keep up with Doodlage daily, go to Twitter.com/RaShell

Hookers

I am part of another very talented group of artists on Etsy. EtsyHookers! We can make your wildest yarn dreams come true. LOL Over time I hope to feature artists from both of my teams here on this blog so you can get to know them better. There are several ways to keep up with us crochet chicks. Everyday in the Etsy forums we promote items from our own or each others shops. Todays link is http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5954235

Also we have a blog where we feature the Hooker of the Week. You can see Creative Challenges that are going on, and vote for the winner. And find links to the blogs of EtsyHookers members.
http://etsyhookers.blogspot.com/

Don't forget when you're on etsy to search 'etsyhookers team' to see the amazing crocheted things that these artists create. Your sure to find that one of a kind item you've been looking for.

TeamMN

I am a part of an excellent group of artist on etsy. All of these talented artist are from Minnesota - We are TeamMN! They sell on Etsy.Com, they sell at craft fairs and in local boutiques and galleries. Some of us are just getting started and some are very accomplished. Support local artist this upcoming year. When you shop on etsy, use the search feature to find 'teammn' members and check out all the fun and interesting things we do. You won't be disappointed!

Also come check out the TeamMN blog. http://etsymn.blogspot.com See who's been featured on the front page of Etsy! There you will also find a categorized list of all our members. And links to blogs of MN artists. How cool is that?

TeamMN is now on twitter as well!

Thanks for checking out this amazing team of artists.

And the craft blog is born!

I love caftithings, so much so that I realized I needed a seperate place to obsess about it. And Blu Starr Indie-Craft Rocks is born. Welcome! I hope we'll enjoy finding new artists to appreciate and chatting about new creations from myself. Thanks for checking in. See you again soon!

Krishell
http://bluestarbutterflies.etsy.com