Christmas in July sale!!

Instead of writing a spotlight this week, I've been busily preparing my stores for my Christmas in July sale! Enjoy free shipping on all items now through the end of the month. Here are how the shops are set up:

Etsy and Craft is Art: shipping costs will be refunded via paypal or contact me before making a purchase, and I will set up a custom order for you.

Artfire and Zibbet: shipping has been changed to reflect free shipping

Please don't ask me why it varies from shop to shop - each set up page is different, so it's a matter of how many steps it takes to make all the changes! (And how much time I have on August 1 to put my shipping charges back in place!)

Be sure to search "Christmas in July" at all these sights for some other great finds.

For another bit of self-promotion, here are some pictures of my newest scarves:

Sarah's Spotlight - My Little Chickadee Creations

In addition to knitting, I also hand stamp birthday and holiday cards. I consider this to be my first craft, as a friend introduced me to the world of stamping a few years before I started knitting. I've come to learn that I much prefer knitting since I have a start and an end to a pattern. Sitting on the floor with all my paper and stamps in front of me can be a little overwhelming! Once I have a design created, the rest of the process is much easier, but I feel I have to be much more creative when I'm stamping. However, I love hand-stamped cards and other goods. Indeed, my wedding invitations were stamped by LamaWorks. Today, I came across My Little Chickadee Creations on ArtFire and immediately fell in love with her stamped tiles.

Ellie, the woman behind My Little Chickadee Creations, started stamping over 10 years ago. Like me, she started first with cards. Unlike me, Ellie started experimenting with stamping on different surfaces. She came across Travertine tiles, and her product line was born! These tiles come in assorted sizes which she uses to make coasters, trivets, magnets, ornaments, worry stones, and more. Ellie offers a large selection of baby announcements and save the date magnets.

As I browsed through Ellie's shop, I found myself wondering just how exactly her creations come to be. Luckily for me, and all of you, Ellie answered that very question recently on her blog. I try to give a quick summary here, but be sure to stop by her blog for all the details.

Ellie uses travertine tiles because they are absorbent and therefore make great coasters. This type of tile holds up well in heat and humidity, so sweaty drinks do not get your table and counter tops wet. Ellie notes that ceramic tiles are sealed and will therefore not absorb moisture.

Since these tiles are so great at absorbing moisture, how is it that the ink/paint from the stamps doesn't come off? I know a little drop of water can ruin a card! The answer is quite simple. Ellie bakes her tiles after stamping and painting them. While I usually only use pictures of items for sale in the shops I feature, I really liked this picture from Ellie's blog of her tiles cooking in her toaster oven. All coasters, tiles, and trivets come with padded feet on the bottom to keep them from scratching surfaces.

Ellie has such a large variety of stamps and uses such great colors on all of her products! If I had come across her store when I was first planning my wedding, I would have had to seriously consider her save the date magnets! Be sure to also visit her Etsy shop and Facebook page.

Max at Play!

Kristen purchased her Cabled Catnip Mat for Max and Izzy! Max was quick to pounce right on in and start playing! Izzy wasn't quite in the mood, but she has checked it out a little bit. Kristen sent me some great pictures of Max at play. He is now modeling the mat in my store. Here are some pictures:

What a cutie!! He usually tears apart his catnip toys, and this one is holding up well to his claws!

Sarah's Spotlight - BeachyRustica

Who isn't ready for summer? And what's better than a trip to the beach on a warm summer day? I know I would have certainly preferred that to work today! Sometimes though you just can't get to the ocean. We all know how that goes. Luckily for us, BeachyRustica offers the next best thing - bring a bit of the beach to you! I happened to be browsing through different sections of Craft Is Art tonight for my spotlight. The beautiful colors found in this store drew me right in! I happen to love sea glass as well and am really intrigued by how this shop owner turns it into cabinet knobs.

The largest variety of items in this shop are the cabinet knobs, but the owner also offers drawer pulls, wall hooks, magnets, and tiles. In addition to sea glass, the owner offers fused glass knobs which are also quite unique. There is such a large variety of colors to choose from! I look at one cabinet knob listing and keep checking out the others to see different color combinations! You can visit the owner's personal website at http://www.beachyrustica.com to view different colors.

As mentioned before, BeachyRustica also offers ceramic tiles. These tiles knobs, hooks, and magnets are created from tiles handmade by Emily Ulm. While this shop mostly features beach-themed tiles (starfish, mermaid, and seahorse among others), the personal website shows a larger selection including an acorn, tree, and rabbit. Since I already raved about this shop's wonderful color selection, it should also be noted that these hooks are also available in several different glazes to match your personal taste.

I have to admit that I don't necessarily give much thought to cabinet knobs, drawer pulls, and wall hooks. Maybe I've lived in too many apartments, where I don't have much say in these things! But I love how light and summery the cabinets are in BeachyRustica's pictures! It does inspire me to redecorate, although I'm not sure my landlord would approve!

BeachyRustica also has a shop on Etsy.

You can friend BeachyRustica on Facebook.

It's play time for the cats!

Introducing my Catnip Mat! Here are photos of my newest item! 

I love the way it turned out! I admit it was a pain working through all the cabling, but I think this will hold up well to Max and Izzy's claws - at least I'm hoping! If I had all wool yarn in my stash, I would felt one, but I think I'm out right now. That might be a future project.

These catnip mats are made at the time of purchase to keep the catnip super fresh!

Pheoda was happily sleeping until I took out the catnip for this mat. The poor thing drugged herself up, so she wasn't really in the mood for a photo shoot later!

She leaned right over the sniff the mat, but she wasn't quite in the mood to play. I think she got mad at me poking her with the mat to get a good picture! She eventually ran away. I found her later on the ironing board, and she was very close to playing then. She still looks a little dazed in those pictures. Poor girl. I think she might have recovered by now.

Sarah's Spotlight - Purple Sparkle Crafts

Finally! A new spotlight! This one better be good to make up for such a long break... I browsed through many stores the last few days looking for the right one to spotlight. Then, I came across Purple Sparkle Crafts and knew I was back in business! The shop owner, Becky, joined the Etsy community way back in 2007, when Etsy was still fairly young and unknown.

What I find impressive is that Becky says she started making candles, wax melts, and bath and body products only in 2006. She comes from a completely different background having worked in the world of Insurance. After being laid off from her place of employment, Becky spent several months looking for new work before deciding to open her shop. At one time, she also had a "real" store in Bath, United Kingdom, but now she sells exclusively on Etsy.

What really drew me to Purple Sparkle Crafts are Becky's beautiful cupcake candles! I'm sure I've mentioned before that I have a bit of a sweet tooth. I grew up in a household where ice cream was a nightly dessert, and Lucky Charms and Frosted Flakes were not uncommon for breakfast. Ask any of my coworkers - they will tell you that I seek out sweets at work. Becky's candles look yummy enough to eat! She says that she was drawn to bakery fragrances when she started making her candles. Shaping them to look like cupcakes is her way of standing out in a crowd!

In addition to her candles, Becky also offers wax melts, jarred candles, soaps, and even one quite impressive teacup candle. I really don't think you can go wrong with any of items. With scents like birthday cake, cinnamon bun, pink sugar, rocky road, and sweet summer pie, I know I'm ready for dessert. There are a few non-sugary scents such as freesia and rose for those who don't want cavities!

Becky also has a second Etsy shop, Amy May, where she sells handmade accessories, craft supplies, and vintage items. This shop is currently in vacation mode, but be sure to check back!

You can also find Becky at:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/purplesparkle
Blog: http://purplesparklecrafts.blogspot.com

Poor Neglected Blog

I realize that I had no spotlight this week after giving 6/14 as a return date from vacation. Sigh... I was so excited to upload, organize, and label my pictures from vacation, that I couldn't seem to get back into this whole blogging thing. But then my sister told me today that I had not posted anything to my blog in quite some time, so my neglect has not gone unnoticed. It's now midnight, my fiance might still be out fishing if he's not on his way back home, I overspent at the outlets today, and I should be in bed. But, here I am!

What's new with Yard By Yard Knits? I posted my Topaz Dog Sweater and Orange and Yellow Baby Hat to my store this past week. I did struggle with the price for my dog sweater. I have the same sweater listed in a smaller size for $25. This sweater is a large, and I can also make it in extra-large. I had already decided to charge a little extra for it, but I wasn't sure how much. I debated between $28 and $30, but decided to go with the more even $30. Is $5 too much of a price increase for the extra time and yarn that the bigger sweater uses? I'm still deciding...

My current knitting project is a small catnip mat. I am making a rectangle to fill with fluff and catnip for my kitty friends. My sister emailed me and said here's a great idea for your shop. I've made some cat toys in the past but nothing for the shop yet. It's on my endless to do list. So I have dropped all other knitting to make sweet Izzy a catnip mat! This one will be long enough for her to hold in her front paws and kick with her back feet, allowing for maximum play and fun! One problem with knit cat toys is that their claws sometimes get stuck in the yarn while playing. I decided to go with a multiple cable pattern to keep the stitches a little tighter with the hopes that claws won't get stuck as easily. It looks great, but working 5 cables every 4th row certainly does slow down my progress! What could be an afternoon project will likely take me a couple days. Oh well, it will look beautiful when it's done!

I'm also looking forward to being featured in an upcoming blog by Audrey's Country Crafts. Her Etsy shop is currently closed while she is working on some home renovations. But she features other Etsy shops on her blog. I will also be participating in my first giveaway through her blog! Yea! I'm pretty excited about this. I've been wanting to do one without being able to organize it in my head. If someone else can do it for me, I won't complain!

It really is time for bed now. I will return with a spotlight this week!