This is the time of year when these pretty little creatures start whizzing around from flower to flower in search of nectar.

I find them so incredibly magical. I was able to capture images of them at the Sonora Desert Museum on Mother’s day. I had seen a couple in our yard when I was trying to think of an animal to embroider for Michelle’s button swap, and decided they would be perfect.

I made an extra button for Michelle, and thought that she might need a place to keep all of her pretty embroidered buttons, so I made her this little button box.

They arrived to her in the mail already and she is happily keeping her buttons tucked away in this box. Thanks Michelle for hosting yet another great swap!

Oh, I almost forgot. I made three extra buttons with the intention of giving them away. I added a dab of blue colored glue stick to keep the fabric from moving when assembling them and the blue never went away, so I drew little blue flowers & clouds with an art marker to try to cover the spots. What do you think? Does anyone want one? Leave a comment and I’ll pick three different people on Friday.

You guys are so great!! Thanks for all your kind words of encouragement and support for my last post. It means so much. It’s no wonder I love this crafty community so much!

Copyright infringement is SO crazy complicated. Many, many, many folks have written countless posts on this very subject. I’ve found the following links to be very helpful.

Blogging pitfalls: Stealing other people’s photos
Bandwidth theft
Copyright thoughts and links
Creative Commons

For those of you who asked, it’s absolutely okay to link to someone’s blog or post. It’s nice. Most people really appreciate it. I don’t even mind if someone uses my photo as long as it has my link attached or close by, explaining that the work belongs to me. Heck, Craftzine and Whip-up do it all the time and I’m pretty sure no one is gonna get mad about that! It’s super cool as long as you are not “hot linking” which is the same as stealing bandwidth.

Sorry, had to get that out there. Now on to other news.

I sent this beautiful stack of vintage linen to Lisa of Polka Dot Creations for her Summer Sheet Skirt Swap. Such a great idea for those of us who are collecting way too many vintage sheets. I have so many and never use all the fabric from one sheet. This allowed me to rid myself of some excess and gain some new prints. The idea is to make some summer skirts from whatever you get back. Check out the flickr pool to see all the great stacks of vintage sheets.

It’s been a bit of a disturbing day. The very kind, Farruska, brought it to my attention today that someone has stolen some of my tutorial pictures and uploaded them on a flickr account as their own. There are other photos on this account that belong to another blogger as well (I have notified her). Who knows what else has been stolen. This just infuriates me that someone would steal my tutorial pictures that I worked so hard on.

At first, I thought that this person just doesn’t understand copyright infringement, but the photos that were stolen from the other blogger had been very obviously cropped to remove copyright marks. I wrote an email to this violator and to Yahoo Copyright. What also irks me is that this violator person put my photos in a whole bunch of pools/groups.

So, I have no other choice than to protect all of my work with a watermark, which I had been avoiding, only because it would add extra time & work. I have used these photos as testers. Now I know,that these watermarks could be easily cropped off, but I am just unsure of how big and how much I should be distracting from the craft itself. I am most definitely going to plaster my watermark on my tutorial pics, smack dab in the middle. What do you think is best as far as watermarks?

***deeeeep breath*** Anyway, what I really wanted to share today, was the lunchbox tote that I made for Oh Fransson’s Lunchbox Swap. It’s a simple little bag with a drawstring top, a bit of patchwork and a little bird appliqué pocket. I really tried to make it based on the recipient’s color likes and blogged preferences, which was still hard, especially since I don’t know this person. I hope she likes it.

I added a few thing inside, like a food container, water bottle and handmade notecards.

I received my lunchbox a couple of weeks ago and have been planning to post about it, but I can’t seem to remember to take a photo of it until after dark. So, you can see it in the following links instead. It is the most beautiful lunchbox with gorgeous hand embroidery and lots of inside pockets & goodies. Susan, was so incredibly thoughtful and generous. She even sent some recipes, including 30-minute Red Lentil Soup, which I made the other day for dinner. It was fantastic!! Coconut milk made it incredibly rich and creamy. We devoured every little bit. Thank you Susan. I love it all!!

I’ve been feeling under the weather for the past couple of days, so I’ve been taking it easy.  Reading, sleeping, more reading, more sleeping and a bit of sorting. 

I am taking the international board exam to become a lactation consultant (IBCLC) this summer.  I already am a breastfeeding counselor, but this is the big one and the testing is done only once a year.  That big fat breastfeeding text is what I’ve been reading most.  It consists of maternal and child anatomy, physiology, nutrition,  pharmacology,  development, psychology, social and cultural aspects involved with breastfeeding. It’s intense.  So when my eyes start crossing, I reach for one of the other books/magazine for a break and some lighter reading.

I especially have been enjoying Soulemama’s new book, Creative Family.  It encompasses so many thoughtful, creative ideas about practicing mindful parenting.  It’s written in Amanda’s usual kind, gentle and calm voice. It is truly inspiring, getting me to think a bit differently about things.  So much of it, I totally get.  It makes perfect sense to me. I keep saying to myself, “Yes!Yes! How did she know? This is what I want for my children!”  I highly recommend it.

In regards to the Notecard Swap I am hosting, I have to apologize for the delay in getting notecards back to everyone.  There were a few stragglers and a few people had post problems.  I have received all but 2 sets, but am sorting and sending out this weekend, regardless.

The notecards that have come in are quite beautiful.  Click HERE to see a slide show of all the notecards that were made for this swap.  I want to thank all of you who have participated. It has truly been a joy opening packages and seeing these amazing cards first hand.  You guys are awesome!!!

Boy am I pooped. We had a packed weekend with lots of activity. A farm, artisan fair and crafting in the wee hours.

On Saturday we spent a fabulous day out at the Agua Linda farm, where we get our produce through the Tucson CSA. What a wonderful experience. The weather was beautiful, the farm was amazing, as were the farmers, and we had deep down good feelings about it. You can see more picture HERE.

Then I stayed up late preparing for a small Artisan Fair at a local coffee shop (nothing like last minute!). Despite the heat and beating sun, the day went well. I actually sold a few things!!! Much better than the last artisan fair I did. I made better signs (that you can’t really see in this pic) and I gave out lots of Moo cards too. The best part though, was swapping with other crafty-artisan-fair folks. Look what I got….

This gorgeous, gorgeous zipper pouch from Rikkianne at Chakra Pennywhistle. Thank goodness she wanted something of mine, because I fell in love with this the minute I saw it.

Pretty headband and hair clips from my friend Alexandra (Spellmonster). I love that orange!!

I love having weekends like this every once in a while. I feel like I accomplished so much! Now I’m going to rest and prepare for the next two days of work.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend too!

Packages of beautiful notecards have slowly been making there way to me. I have received 7 sets so far, and lots more are on the way. It is so exciting and fun to receive packages in the mail everyday. Opening them up is my favorite part. So far, I am very blown away by the talent and creativeness of you swappers!

This is my contribution to the swap. Lots of carving and lots of stamping. It was a nice, quiet, relaxing project.

Adendum:

Don’t forget to check out my Rubber Stamp Tutorial for tips on making rubber stamps.

Blick E-Z Cut,  Speedball Speedy Stamp and Speed-Cut Blocks are all excellent choices for making stamps.  They are high quality, soft and easy to cut with linoleum cutters.  Very safe too.

There is nothing like thrifting. It gives me such immense joy. The anticipation, the seeking and the ever so glorious discoveries! I went on Friday and had a great time, just me and my I-guy. Here is what I found…

More pillowcases, napkins and dish towels. The bluish fabric on the far left is actually a large fabric sack. It may be a new skirt soon.

A linen tea towel. I think I am going to stretch this over canvas wood stretcher bars and hang it on the wall. I am in love with the colors of those flowers!

More buttons! You know I can’t resist buttons. Two dollars for a large bag! Plastic, fancy and shell. I especially love the fancy buttons. I may have to make another one of these bracelets using some of these buttons!!

Miscellaneous quarter and fifty cent finds. I have been wanting a flower loom and am so lucky to have found one. Now I just need to figure out how to use it!

On a completely different note, the notecard swap sign-up has closed and I am super thrilled with the participation! The following people have joined in.

Alexandra
Amy- Life in the Lyon’s Den
Anestasia- Drawing and Dreaming
Alexis Art & Design
Amy W
Tanya F.
Michelle-Greeting Arts
Lori Z.-goodygoody gumdrops
Raesha-My love
Jane Aproximately
Heather S.
Pasha Plum
Teresa- Affectionknit
Gemma- Queen Bee
Lydia-The Purple Martin
Dallas-Sallad Says..
Heather - Winemakerssister
Narissa- Creative Rants from..
Deb C.
Katie R.
(oops! Just found these next two in my SPAM box!!! I hope there isn’t any others lost in there)
Tangee -A Sparkly Messy Life
Kelly-Kloth & Bolt

If you are not on this list and have left me an e-mail or comment already, please leave a comment or email (again) and I’ll add you on. I will send everyone an email sometime today with all of the details.

Do you have small kids? Do you have this CD/DVD? You HAVE to get it!! It totally ROCKS!!! Really it does, unlike no other kid’s music I’ve heard. Being an old They Might Be Giants fan may help a wee bit, but I really don’t think so. It’s the kind of music that you don’t mind too much that your kids are listening to over, and over, and over again. You might even find yourself singing it at work or at the store. The kids love it too! It comes with both a cd and dvd which is great for when one gets destroyed, the other will (hopefully) still exist and be in playing condition. A special thanks to Aunt Jenny and Uncle Chris for this gift. It’s a definite hit!!

This was made a few weeks back for my super-I’s birthday gift. I’m in the process of making a blue one for his brother who has to have one too, of course. It’s sorta inspired by one I saw on Mahar Dry Goods. Super-I loves his monster towel. It keeps him nice and warm after getting out of the tub.

Don’t forget to sign up for my notecard swap . You have until Sunday, March 16th!  THIS swap looks fun too.  Check it out!

It’s been almost a year exactly, since my last notecard swap. Too long, don’t you think? Anyone want to play? Here is what you need to do….

1) Theme: Birds, bees, flowers, trees ~ interpret however you like.

2) Decorate 5 notecards (include envelopes) using any medium you would like (fabric, paper, paint, pencil, photos, stamps, images of your art, etc). Cards (& postage) need to be sent to me no later than March 31st.

3) Detailed instructions will be sent to you via email once sign-up has closed.

4) To sign up, email me at: regina AT creativekismet DOT com. Send your name, address and blog url (if you have one). Sign-up will close March 16th.

5) Please join the fun and get the word out! Use the above image if you like. I will have a button on my sidebar soon. Check out the flickr group for inspiration.

Check out this other great swap! Michelle over at Greetingarts is having her 2nd embroidery button swap. I know you can handle two swaps at once, so hop on over and sign up for hers too! The more the merrier!

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 8th, 2007 at 11:38 pm and is filed under Swaps. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Edit this entry.

I am thankful for so many things today…

1. That my children are no longer sick with the flu, and are healthy and in very good spirits these past few days. The sad whining has turned into happy laughter. Yay!!

2. Spending time with my family and doing little things like eating at Govinda’s for lunch.

3. The amazing and crazy weather that has been Tucson. One day it is warm and bright, the next it is cold and snowy. I love the variations.

4. For little gifts in the mail. A little P.I.F bird from Susan at Art Esprit ~thank you! Holiday ornaments from Amy’s swap (thank you for working so hard to get these out), and a special Valentine from Raesha, who never ceases to amaze me with her generosity and kindness.

5. That my child has a kind and patient teacher who is allowing her students to blossom, explore and grow.

6. For my friends at work, who make things easier. For old friends that I am getting back in touch with and for new ones that like to play crafts!!

7. For all of you who stop by to visit and leave kind messages of encouragement and support. For people like Elizabeth and Marcia, who tagged me with the “You Make My Day” award. Thanks you so much! You both made my day for sure.

Now, as a part of this, I am to list ten other bloggers who I find inspiring and full of happy goodness (this is the hard part because there are so many I find inspiring and great).

Geninne
tiny happy
greeting arts
kleas
twelve22
green kitchen
Chara Michele
Trail Mix Designs
Nikki-shell
Artsy-crafty babe

Thank you all (Elizabeth and Marcia included) for inspiring me with your amazing creativity, warm and thoughtful words, funny stories and for sharing so much of yourself!