I'll be back soon

I just recently recieved a bunch of new supplies, so I'll be busy crafting away again soon.

I've been busy lately with my regular job and haven't had much extra time to do much else.

Short Scarf

I finished this one a while ago, but only now got to listing it.

This is short scarf, is fine for an adult, but probably better suited for a child.

Its fun, and fluffy.

New Bookmarks

I made a couple more new bookmarks this weekend. I really enjoy making these, a. because they are functional, and b. because they are just fun to make.

I generally make them out of left over bits and pieces that I have and don't really know what to do with.

This one is made from some left over scrap book paper, some ribbon and some cute little bee stickers. Finished off with a tassle, to make it even easier to find your page.

Martin Luther King Day

Today marks the day that Martin Luther King was born, each year, observedthe third Monday in January, close to his birthday (January 15th).

King was the chief spokesman of the nonviolent civil rights movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law. He was assassinated in 1968. His most famous speech is no doubt, "I Have A Dream"

Valentines Cards

Here are a couple of the cards I have made for valentines. They are listed in my shop. I haven't used ribbon before on my cards, so I thought I would give a shot. I think it actually worked out rather well, works like a border. I need to get some better colours though.

Caramel - Long Scarf

Took me a while to do this one, I kept stopping and starting, but finally I got there. Its the longest scarf I have ever made. I love knitting with this yarn, it's so soft, and fluffy.

Its ribbed, to make it extra warm for this cold winter, and also makes it skinnier so you can wrap it around a couple more times.

I just listed this item in my Caromie's Knitted Items Store

I just started another scarf with the same yarn, but different colour and different style of scarf, its going to be a shorter fatter one.

Birth of a New Store

After much thought I finally made the decision to break my Etsy Store into two. My previous store had card, cozies, scarves, paintings and other things. I felt that it was getting a little confusing to my customers, so I broke it out into two. One for paper goods and paintings, the other for knitted items.

I am gradually moving my knitted items from Caromie to Caromies Knitted Items.

Etsy Buy Handmade Caromies

Valentines Day

With almost a month to go until valentines day, I figure its about time I make a few more cards for this strange holiday.

With that in mind it made me think back to valentines day when I was at school. I never received any mystery cards from secret admirers, but I did get teddy bears, cards, roses and jewelry from my boyfriend(s) at the time.

Back in the UK we don't send valentines cards to the whole class like I see on American TV. Does that really happen in schools here in the US?

Do you sign your name on your valentines cards? Its tradition in the UK not to sign the card with your name, but instead with "From your Valentine"; although clues may be included in the rhyme, to guide your beloved in your direction.

I started looking into the history of valentines day, and when it began. It is so commercial these days and although I learnt about it at school, I can't remember that much about the origins. All I remember from what I did learn at school was that Valentine had sent the first "valentine" to his jailers daughter, but after looking into that more, that apparently is just folk lore, and not much is actually known about Valentine, including who he actually was, it seems he was one of at least two saints named Valentine. The stories claim that Valentine was imprisoned for performing marriage cerimonies for young men and there loves, the Emporer at the time did not want men to marry, believing that single men made for better solders.

Traditionally love notes were sent on Valentines day, in the 19th century the move from notes to cards was made, and over time, it has become more and more commercial with over 1 billion cards being sent worldwide.

What's next?

As mentioned in my previous post, I spent the holidays in New Zealand. It is such a beautiful country. I was there once before, for a couple of months. The 10 days that I just spent there inspired me for a new series of paintings. I haven't really painted anything for a while, so I am quite excited to get my paint brushes back out, and start to paint some landscapes based off pictures I took while I was there.

There's some beautiful trees in New Zealand, called the New Zealand Christmas Tree or Pohutakawa. These trees not only have vibrant red flowers, but have the most amazing shapes. It is the silouette of these trees that you see in the sunset picture shown in my previous post. I find them so beautiful.

New Zealand

I had a lovely holiday time.  I went to New Zealand to visit some of my family. 

Now I am back, and I have a busy crafting year ahead of me.