Prairie Primitives Folk Art

FOLKStore is Open!

2011-12-09T18:35:00.001-08:00

By now, you've probably heard of FOLK Magazine. It's a new kid on the magazine block and just published it's first issue earlier this year.

The editor is a "youngster" from the Midwest. I'm old enough now that I feel ok calling anyone less than half my age a youngster. :-) But Ben, the editor, seems to be onto something because the magazine has been a HUGE hit!

Ben has been busy! In early November, Ben debuted FOLKlabel: Private Selection at the Simple Goods primitive fair in Ohio.

I'm honored that Ben chose to include my handstamped flag pillows as part of this new collection!

In fact, he bought all of these pillows that I had left!

And, as if that wasn't enough, now he's gone and opened FOLKstore in Beaver Dam, Kentucky (population: 3,033!). And looky! There's those pillows again ... right in the front window of the new store!

I'm still smilin' and I'm busy making more stuff with the hope that Ben will keep buying from me!

Black Friday Comes Earlier Every Year!

2011-11-24T21:07:00.001-08:00

Used to be the stores opened at 6am on Black Friday. Then it was 5am. Then 4am. Then Midnight. And this year, I think I heard that Walmart is opening at 10pm tonight (in less than 15 minutes), except the electronics won't go on sale till midnight (?).

Michael's opened at 4pm today with 30% off everything, including sale-priced items. I had only a few things on my shopping list but couldn't find any of them.

Rosehips or some sort of red berry

A tag punch (size and shape negotiable)

Parchment paper to print on

One strike, two strike, three strikes, you're out!

But since I was there, and since I did have a coupon for 30% off everything, I took a look around the store ...

A pad of Tim Holtz Kraft paper was the first thing to jump into my shopping basket!

This is called "Kraft Resist" ... but who can resist kraft paper

(especially when it's printed with Tim Holtz designs!)???

This was quickly followed by ...

A booklet of "Salvage Stickers" ("Crowded Attic" collection) ...

Reinforcers ...

A sunflower stamp (Inkadinkadoo) ...

and just for fun ...

A package of red & white polkadot cupcake liners!

Total damage was $26 after the 30% discount, and that's about what the kraft paper pad and the stamp would have cost at regular price!

Then I came home and was going through some mail and found a Joann's flyer for their Black Friday sale. Oh my ... I know where I'll be in less than 9 hours! :-)

Let's see, a few boxes of poly stuffing (on sale at 40% off and with a 25% coupon on top of that, I'll get as many boxes as I can get into my truck!). Their Fiskars punches are 60% off (unheard of -- and the 25% off coupon is good for that too!); sure hope they have a tag punch (or two). And I'll probably have to take a peek at the fabric while I'm there, though it will have to be something I really "need" to stand in line very long.

And after that, I may just drive to Modesto to see what Jamison's looks like on opening day!

Harvest Festival - Sacramento

2011-11-18T17:08:00.001-08:00

I have a feeling y'all are probably anxious to see what I bought with my Harvest Bucks ... right? I walked the whole show, making mental notes as I went about booths I wanted to go back to. I ended up buying from two almost local artists, one lady is from Modesto and the other is from Red Bluff.

The crow pottery was made by Charlotte Certain whose business name is "Crooked Finger Pottery." I couldn't find her on Facebook, Etsy, or Google! She lives in Red Bluff, if you're trying to track her down. I love the crows! The berry bowl (there's a separate saucer underneath it) is for a friend's birthday/holiday gift, so if you're reading this, Jennifer, you'll get it in a couple of weeks! :-)

The "California" bracelet is from Grouse And Badger; they do have a shop on Etsy, but readily admitted they don't list everything they make there. The bracelet is made from a vintage California license plate!

And I still have $15 in Harvest Bucks left, so I'll be going back to the Harvest Festival on Sunday!

I Won! I Won!

2011-11-18T06:11:00.001-08:00

WOW!!!

This week I won 4 tickets to the Harvest Festival and also $100 in Harvest Bucks. I'm not having much luck finding anyone to attend the show with me, but I expect to have a fun time spending the $100 in the artist booths!

Will You Chip In?

2011-11-16T16:19:00.001-08:00

I went to the dentist yesterday. The good news is that I now have clean shiny teeth (thanks Alice!). The bad news is that I need to have a crown replaced and root planing on the upper left quadrant. The crown will cost about $900 (assuming Dr. Peterson hasn't raised his prices since the last crown he did for me a couple years ago), and the root planing will probably be at least $250 (again, that's what they charged for one quadrant a few years ago).

I've been unemployed for 15 months. I haven't had health or dental insurance since December 2010. I've found a clinic for the medical-related stuff. They have a dental clinic too, but the dental professionals I've spoken with wouldn't recommend it, except as a last resort. So anyway, I've decided to try this Chip In thing and see if it works. Even a little help will be ... well, helpful!

Thank you so much!

Etsy Treasury - Happy Homespun Holidays

2011-11-09T15:55:00.001-08:00

I just put together an Etsy Treasury for the holidays. Hope you'll take a moment and give it some love. Log in to your Etsy account and click on some (or all) of the 16 items and leave a comment. The link is below the image of the Treasury. Thanks, and Happy Homespun Holidays!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/NzI0NzZ8MTA2OTMzMDA1Mw/happy-homespun-holidays

Blogger Finally Got It (mostly) Right!!!

2011-11-06T06:05:00.000-08:00

I don't know when Blogger made this change, but I've just discovered the ability to port all of my blogs to a new email address! In the past, it only seemed like I was able to port a few abilities, i.e. writing new posts but not changing the template, for example, but now I've got ALL of my blogs associated with the email account I use on a daily basis. So now I won't have to log out of that Gmail account, log in to another Gmail account to work on the blogs, log out of that Gmail account, and log back into my regular day-to-day Gmail account. YIPPEE!!!

Maybe this will even tempt me to post more often! :-)

Now ... if they'd put space back between paragraphs, make sure the easy edit option (the pencil icon) is available when it's supposed to be (it seems to only show in Firefox at the moment), and fix the image adder thingy so images get inserted where they're supposed to go, rather than at the top of the post, where I then have to drag them to where I want them. Oh, and make their site work better with IE. I go back and forth between IE and Firefox, and lately it's been IE, but publishing posts has been next to impossible in IE, as well as saving in draft format.

So Blogger got something right, but it looks like other things may have gotten broke in the process. Sigh.

I Love My Customers but I Hate Dimensional Weight Shipping!

2011-10-30T16:15:00.000-07:00

I need to whine and vent just a bit about the post office and their "dimensional weight shipping." In case you're not familiar with this term, this is how they calculate postage when a package is larger than 1 cubic foot (i.e., 12x12x12 or any measurements which make the total cubic inches greater than 1728 when you multiply the length times the width times the height.

This morning I received a wholesale order from a new customer. Ben likes my hand stamped flag pillows, but needs them in Ohio no later than this coming Friday, so he can take them to the Simple Goods show on Saturday where he will debut the new FOLKlabel: Private Selection! He requested all of the large pillows I have on hand and a few small ones, but the only box I have that this many pillows would fit in is huge; there was a little room left in the box, but not very much.

The box weighs just 8 pounds. I checked shipping via all of the major carriers. Priority Mail is $57.67; Express Mail is $51.28; it would get there the same day either way, except Express Mail is guaranteed to arrive by 3pm, that's the only difference ... and it's cheaper! FedEx Ground is $45.75 and is guaranteed to arrive by the end of the 4th business day (i.e., Friday, Nov. 4th if I ship on Oct. 31st). UPS wants $43.26 for their "3 day Select" service, and says it will arrive by the end of the day on Thursday, Nov. 3rd if I ship tomorrow. All of these rates are simply OUTRAGEOUS and they're so high because of the Dimensional Weight calculations! Back in the good ol' days, that is before 2007, Priority Mail didn't cost much more than Parcel Post, and FedEx Ground and UPS home delivery were both very competitive, especially for larger and/or heavier packages. But since then, it's been VERY expensive to ship any packages larger than 1 cubic foot, especially if they're traveling any distance, as is the case with these pillows. Oh, and in case you're wondering, Parcel Post would be just $14.15, but the package likely wouldn't arrive until Monday, Nov. 7th, which is three days too late!

Anyway, Ben and I shot some emails back and forth, trying to decide what to do. In the end, he decided to have me put as many pillows in the huge box as it would hold, so he's got all 21 flag pillows that I have left!

If you go to the Simple Goods show, please stop by Ben's booth and say hi and pick up one of my flag pillows!

Prairie Primitives Mercantile Lives Again!

2011-10-14T11:22:00.000-07:00

The Merc has been neglected for much too long because I couldn't quite decide what I wanted to do with it. For the time being, anyway, I've redesigned it and set up tabs which link to the corresponding sections in my Etsy shop and to my yard sale page on Facebook.

I'm giving serious thought to reopening my Picturetrail site soon too! Stay tuned!

Want to Change the Name of Your Etsy Shop?

2011-10-11T14:37:00.000-07:00

Starting October 18, you'll be able to!!

Did you sign up for Etsy using a goofy name, or maybe just one you regret? Ready to let it go? Of course, you won't be able to use any Etsy shop names which are already in use, but if you have a new, unique name in mind, you'll have the chance to make it yours! If you'd like to use proper capitalization in your shop name, you will be able to do that as well, however Etsy is still not allowing any spaces in the shop name, so multiple words will remain run together. You will be able to change your shop name ONE TIME, however if you want to change the "case" of your name now and then later you choose to completely change your shop name, you will be able to do that; changing the "case" (i.e., from all lowercase to upper and lower case ... prairieprimitives to PrairiePrimitives, for example) will not count as a name change. Your old shop URL will redirect to your new shop URL (changing your shop name changes your shop URL as well), so you won't end up with a bunch of broken links all over the internet! Read more here!

It also appears that Etsy is re-visiting the whole personal name thing again. If you've signed into Etsy today, you may have been greeted with a pop-up that offered you a chance to change the way your name will be displayed. If you're in business with someone else, consider adding their name to this display name! And, of course, you can opt out of showing your name as you've been able to all along. I don't know, however whether Etsy will automatically begin showing your name if you have previously opted out of doing so. Here's the forum discussion about these changes and this answer (and others) may be in there; it's already up to 20 pages and I don't have time to read all of that right now.

Another 15 minutes of fame :-)

2011-08-23T22:45:00.000-07:00

Small Flag Pillows - $14.95 includes U.S. postage

At the California Country Antique Show back in June, my hand-stamped flag pillows were photographed by both Create & Decorate and also Maine Antiques Digest. The MAD photographer assured me that the photo would be published, probably within three months.

Large Flag Pillows - $18.95 includes U.S. postage

Today, I sold one of the flag pillows in my Etsy shop to a MAD subscriber who had seen the photo in the September issue of the paper, and tracked me down on Google. How cool is that?!

New Digital Collage Sheet - Sailor Kids

2011-03-19T18:20:00.000-07:00

I've just uploaded the newest digital collage sheet file to my Etsy shop! I was looking through my vintage photos and realized I had dozens of pictures of children in sailor suits and/or playing with boats, thus Sailor Kids #1 was born! Here's a peek ... click on the image to purchase it in my Etsy shop!

While you're in my Etsy shop, you may want to have a look at some of my other digital collage sheet files too! The Valentine collection was my first one, then someone asked if I had any Civil War images and then, of course, I had to create a few Easter collections ...

If you don't have an Etsy account, these images will be in my Picturetrail shop when it reopens (hopefully in the next week or so!). I will also upload them to my brand new Zibbet shop.

If it's Spring, eBay will raise their fees!

2011-03-17T08:29:00.000-07:00

It's Spring, and that means we can count on two things for those of us here in Northern California: the magnolia trees will soon be blooming and eBay will soon be raising their fees ... yet again!

eBay's latest move (effective 4/19/11) is to charge their standard 9% commission (for non-store sales) on the final selling price + shipping charges. Yep, you read it right! Now eBay is charging a commission on postage!!! The theory behind this move is that it will "incent" (eBay's word) sellers to offer free shipping. eBay listings with free shipping will presumably still receive a higher search ranking; this is something eBay claims to have been doing for awhile now.

Other than the potential better search ranking, 9% of a $10 selling price + $3 postage OR 9% of a $13 selling price (which includes free shipping) sounds like the same thing to me! It's still 9% of $13.

More info here:
http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/cab/abn/y11/m03/i15/s00

Oh, and by the way, eBay has also been named one of the world's most ethical companies. Can you believe it? You can read about that here:

http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y11/m03/i17/s02

11 Quick Tips to Improve Your Etsy Shop

2011-02-19T11:07:00.000-08:00

This topic has come up quite often on the Sac Etsy Team's Yahoo Group discussion, so it seemed like something worth writing about! Completing these tasks may help improve your rankings in Google and other search engines!

1. Be Sure Your Shop Policies are Complete: It is important to let shoppers know your Shop Policies.
a. What form of payment do you accept?
b. How do you ship?
c. Do you ship internationally?
d. Will you accept returns and will you give a refund or are you willing to let the customer exchange their purchase for a different item? Who pays the return shipping? If it is an exchange, who pays the shipping for the replacement item?

2. Your Shop Announcement: Your Shop Announcement is the text immediately below your banner.

The first 160 characters of your shop announcement will be used by search engines as the description, so be sure to use words which describe your shop and merchandise rather than something like "Hi, Welcome to my shop! It's so nice to have you visit today!" which would tell someone browsing the search results absolutely nothing about your shop and why they should click on that particular link.

I'm not sure why Google truncated my announcement after "collectors," but I hope you get the general idea. The date was added by Google; this is the date your shop was opened. Etsy admins claim to be working with Google to have them remove this date, as it could give the impression that was the last date the page (shop) was updated.

3. Your Shop Title: Another important thing to remember for the search engines is that your Shop Title will be the title of the search listing for your shop. Your Shop Title is the text beneath your Shop Name on the left side above. Compare my Shop Title to the Google search results shown in #2 above. MANY Etsy sellers make the mistake of repeating the name of their shop here. This results in having a Google listing labeled, for example, "Prairie Primitives by PrairiePrimitives on Etsy." Probably not what you had in mind, right? Use words here which shoppers might use to find the type of products you're selling.

4. Be Sure to Have a Banner: Having a banner gives your shop a finished and more professional appeaerance. A banner is the rectangular graphic at the top of many (most) Etsy shops. If you don't have the skills to create your own, Etsy offers an online banner generator to create a generic banner, or you can hire someone to design a banner for you. It's a good idea to include your business name on your banner; this helps with name recognition, as some (many?) shoppers may not otherwise pay attention to the shop's or artist's name. I use Irfanview or Microsoft Paint to add text to my images (many other programs can be used for text too!).

5. Include Your Location: Be sure to include your location so your shop can be found by shoppers using Etsy's "Shop Local" feature! Many shoppers appreciate, and prefer, to spend their hard-earned dollars within their own community. If a shopper is looking for your hand painted handbag and they find several bags which they like about the same and one is made by a local artisan and the other(s) is not, there's a pretty good chance they will choose your bag! Shoppers enjoy shopping local because they like to support local artists, because they will receive their purchase more quickly, and because it keeps the shipping cost down -- and perhaps eliminates it altogether if you can meet up with the shopper to deliver their purchase! [NOTE: When meeting anyone from online, it's a good idea to meet in a public place!] At one time, zip codes worked with "Shop Local," but they don't seem to be working now.

6. Consider Your Item Title: Etsy allots you 255 characters for the title of your listing. Many sellers err on the side of too lengthy a title, while others err on the side of a less-than-descriptive title. If you are selling a handbag, for example featuring a hand painted iris, using "Purple Iris" as the entire title doesn't tell the shopper what the item is. While they could tell what the item is from the photo, a poor title will probably hurt your SEO ranking, so shoppers searching for a handbag with an iris design might not find your handbag since the word "handbag" isn't included in the title.

7. Item Description: Be sure to write an adequate description, including as much information about your item as possible. Include details about the materials used, and a bit of detail about what inspired you to create the item can be a good selling point. Also remember to include the measurements in both metric and imperial (standard U.S.) terms, as this can be a huge help in acquiring international customers!

8. Work Those Tags: Etsy gives you space to include 14 tags. Tags are words which shoppers might be inclined to search on when looking for your item. Keep an eye on Etsy's Merchandising Desk articles and incorporate key words and phrases based on what the Etsy merchandisers will be searching for; this could help your items land on the front page or possibly be featured in a Storque article or elsewhere on the Etsy web site! Members of the Sac Etsy Team should include Sac Etsy Team as one of their 14 tags, and if you're a member of other teams, include their team tag as well! I always include my shop name as one of my tags.

9. Optimize Your Shop for Relevancy: A couple months ago, Etsy changed from showing search results based on recency to showing them based on relevancy. Important things to be aware of include using multiple-word tags, rather than the single-word tags which Etsy pretty much insisted on for many years. Now your tags should be phrases which shoppers may search on, such as "primitive doll" (rather than "primitive" and "doll" as separate tags) or "blue dress" (rather than "blue" and "dress" as separate tags), and so on. Unfortunately, sellers are still limited to just 20 characters for each tag, which can make this somewhat challenging! Also, your title should have the noun ("what it is") near the beginning of the title, in the first 2 or 3 words if not the very first word. And I've been hearing and reading that the first 3 words of your description should be a phrase from the title which is also used in the tags.

10. Photographing Your Item: Because you are selling online, your photographs have to tell the whole story. Shoppers aren't able to touch, feel, or smell your product, so you'll need to do it for them through your photographs. When photographing your items, think how they would be portrayed in a magazine; consider what type of props, if any, would be appropriate for your item. Remember that most items will benefit from the inclusion of more than one photograph in the listing.
a. Be sure your photographs are in focus; of course "creative" out-of-focus backgrounds are fine, as long as the item you're selling is plainly visible.
b. Think about how you "style" your photos. Read this article from the Etsy Storque for some tips.
c. Be mindful about undesired shadows in your photos (there are times when a bit of shadow can be a good thing, but this isn't always the case).
d. Using a pure white background will often make your item appear much sharper and crisper, as if it's in an art gallery setting.

11. List More Items: If you just have a handful of items listed (less than one page), list more items! My current goal is to get a minimum of 50 items listed in my Etsy shop. Having more items, as well as a wider variety of items, will enable more shoppers to find your shop. A few years ago, a friend of mine was doing quite well with her product on eBay, however she was getting very fed up with the high fees on that site. I talked her into opening an Etsy shop. She did and listed about half a dozen items. When she didn't have any sales in a week or so, she became frustrated. I asked if she could list two dozen items. She said yes and got them listed and the sales started rolling in almost immediately. She has since had more than 200 items listed on a fairly regular basis, and has sold more than 2800 items in just a little over 2 years; there have even been several days when she has sold more than 20 items in a day! This seller has decided to move on to other venues, at least for now. She is starting to do some craft fairs and is selling in some consignment shops near her home.

Valentine Make Do

2011-01-24T06:21:00.000-08:00

Wanted to take a moment to share this Valentine Make Do I made a couple weeks ago! I'd been working on collage and mixed media and decided to mix in a little fabric and see what happened! This make do is going to American Country in Turlock, CA. Lori, the owner of American Country, is getting a few other things from me too; she'll be picking them up on Saturday so they should be in the shop soon after that!

I'm in an Etsy Treasury!

2010-11-17T11:27:00.000-08:00

It's always exciting to have one of my items featured in an Etsy Treasury, but it's really exciting when it's an item I've just listed! My bay leaf and gourd garland, featured in this Treasury was just listed yesterday!

By the way, I'm using a new tool to capture Treasury screenshots. You should be able to click on any item shown in the Treasury below and go directly to that item! If you'd like to leave a comment on the Treasury page itself (and I do hope you will!), just click on the Treasury title!

'Happy, Healthy, Homespun Holidays from the Heartland!' by TranzendentalArts

Sweet Holiday Wishes seasidecards $2.00	Hard Working Brown boot... SSIP $7.00	Bay Leaf Garland - gour... PrairiePrimiti... $28.00
Folksy Hand-spun/Hand-k... Folk $40.00	The Barley Bowl...Brown... CountryKnitCoc... $17.50	Turkey Inspired Coiled ... KatStyleAccess... $20.00
baby booties chasingthenuns $12.00	Christmas tree skirt FromOldStuff $12.00	3 Dollars for 2 Bars P... CircleANatural... $
Serenity - lace scarf FreshFromTheNe... $75.00	4 INCH, Shatterproof, H... AidensBrook $15.00	Bunch of nuts blbeans $19.50
Bits of Whimsy Tag Set ... pearliebird $8.95	Sammie - child mittens FreshFromTheNe... $25.00	Pip Berry Swag with a 1... MpcGifts $27.50

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

Megan Ellis Lampworked Beads

2010-11-02T10:05:00.000-07:00

I wanted to take a moment to share this beautiful necklace with you. No, it's not the least bit primitive, but I'm kinda fond of lampworked beads ... and if you've ever watched them being made, you probably would be too!

In particular, I wanted to mention my friend, Megan Ellis, who created the bead featured on the right side of the picture below. Megan calls this bead "Blue Angel" and says that it was made with glass from her private stash which is hand-carried by a friend from the factory in Italy. You can see more of Megan's creations in her Etsy shop!

This necklace, entitled "Final Frontier" was created by Sarah Kelley of The Beaded Lily for a contest sponsored by Etsy and NASA.

Midtown Bazaar, here we come!

2010-10-29T07:28:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the caps ... I'm using a gadget to grab the Treasury screenshot below and it has turned my text into caps ... Will try to figure it out when I get a chance!

'Midtown Bazaar, here we come!' by PrairiePrimitives

This Treasury features items from members of the Sac Etsy Team who will be participating in the Midtown Bazaar on Oct. 30, 2010. Midtown Bazaar is located on I ("eye") Street, between 16th and 17th Streets in Sacramento, CA. Hours are 10am to 3pm, admission is free, and parking is available on the streets or in several nearby lots. Hope to see you there! More info about the Sac Etsy Team can be found on the Team blog: http://sac-etsy.blogspot.com.

Chunky and Fun Vintage Raspb... RevitalizedVin... $43.00	Green Man Necklace nomdenom $40.00	Fancy Jasper and antique sil... SparklingSiste... $22.00	Burgundy red wool hand knitt... MrsTalbott $28.00
A Touch of the Orient Clutch SewBitchy $25.00	Fall and Autumn Scented Soyb... PurePalette $	Recycled Vinyl LP Spin Art B... oddartist $18.00	Herbal Bath Soak- Perfectly ... WiseEarthHerbs $5.50
Primitive Pillows Antique Ba... PrairiePrimiti... $15.00	Dog Dress Country Denim with... Missteawinkie $25.00	Two Sided Red Enamel Copper ... KewishDesigns $67.00	Party Time, Multi-colored Ne... rocksmapsandcr... $18.00

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

I Won! I I Won!

2010-10-28T10:48:00.000-07:00

I'm doin' the happy dance! Recently, I have had the good fortune of winning not one, but two, online contests, and I just wanted to give a shout out to these sites (although more than a bit belatedly, sorry!!).

First, I won this upcycled vintage book journal from Goodness Recycled. This journal has a very colorful cover and the pages are a variety of different papers in all shapes and sizes, ranging from recipe cards to flash cards to tags to lined note paper!

Thank you, Corinne!

Just a day or two after I was notified about winning the journal contest, I was informed that I'd won a cute little alarm clock from Paper Scissors Rock! All of the products at Paper Scissors Rock feature reproductions of original paintings done by Pamela Corwin. Pamela was kind enough to allow me to choose which clock design I wanted and, since I've always had a fondness for hearts, I chose this little cutie:

This clock is especially charming because the little red heart serves as the second hand! Thank you, Pamela!

The Interview!

2010-10-25T18:17:00.000-07:00

The interview I wrote about earlier was published in the Sacramento Bee on October 23rd. Entitled "Handmade for the 21st Century," the article was published on the front page of the Home & Garden section! The newspaper was kind enough to feature a very large photo of Mrs. Begg (shown above).

Due mainly to the timing of the publication of this interview, and also because it mentioned the Sac Etsy Team's participation in the Midtown Bazaar held in Sacramento, I've decided to have a booth at the Bazaar this Saturday, October 30th! Midtown Bazaar started in June, but this will be my first time exhibiting there. Hope you'll stop by between 10am and 3pm on Saturday!

Just some ramblings ...

2010-10-21T18:20:00.001-07:00

I just posted this as a reply to something on Etsy, and I liked it so much I wanted to blog it too!

I left my day job on Dec. 20, 1996 to follow my heart to California. My heart was broken, but my spirit wasn't and I continued without a (regular) day job for the next 7 years or so ... in Silicon Valley, of all places, where it was freakin' expensive. I took a temp job now and then, sold stuff on eBay, did occasional craft fairs and didn't spend enough time at the beach.

I've now been laid off 4 times in the last 6 years, which is probably the universe telling me I don't need a day job. Yet I can't help but feel that I need health insurance, if nothing else, and I can't afford that expense on my own. I'm currently laid off and yes, I'm looking for a day job ... again. And now I live too far from the beach.

Interview with Sacramento Bee!

2010-10-14T14:18:00.001-07:00

Woooo hoooo!!! I was just contacted by a reporter for the local paper, The Sacramento Bee. The reporter had seen a comment I made about an article about Etsy which was published in another of their papers and she visited my Etsy shop and emailed me!

I'm not real fond of being put on the spot, so I gave it my best shot. She asked how long I'd had an Etsy shop and if I sold at craft fairs or other places. She also asked if I had another job and I told her I was looking for one, having been laid off by Sac County; I even told her she could include that! :-) I also mentioned the Sac Etsy Team and that the Team will have a a presence at the Midtown Bazaar on October 30th.

She asked for a few pictures of my work, so I sent her the pictures I've included in this post. Can't wait to see the published article!!!

Fall Craft Fairs

2010-09-22T05:53:00.000-07:00

My Fall craft fair calendar is starting to get filled in ... YAY!

Sunday, September 26th

8am to 3pm

Antique Trove Peddler's Faire

236 Harding Blvd., Roseville, CA

Look for me in Space 56-S

Sunday, October 3rd

8am to 4pm

Lodi Street Faire

School and Church Streets + cross-streets

Downtown Lodi, CA

Look for me near the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory

Saturday, November 13th

10am to 4pm

Reclaimed Legacies

Petaluma Women's Club

518 "B" Street

Petaluma, CA

Hopefully I can find another October fair in which to participate, and maybe another November or even December event too, if I have enough inventory left! I have participated in the Bird in Hand Christmas Fair in Los Altos, CA in the past, however I never know if I will be doing that show until October or November ... so stay tuned!

Sewing Up a Storm!

2010-09-01T11:13:00.000-07:00

Wow, how the time flies! Since getting laid off on July 2nd, I have been sewing non-stop! Thought I'd take a minute to write about what I've been making!

I've made angels, snowfolk, Halloween dolls, more of the clothespin dolls like the one on my business card (and the banner here -- till I get around to changing it), and more!

Wanna see?

The "Strawberry Doll" at the top of this post is a doll which I've been begged to make again. I made 1 of these dolls about 5 years ago, and it sold quickly. Can't believe it's been 5 years already!

Most recently (as in yesterday!), I finished up 2 pumpkin and 2 snowman dolls. While they all started out the same, you can see how each took on its his own personality!

It's only the second time I've made up some of these clothespin dolls too! It's probably been 6 or 7 years since I made them! One has found a new home, but there are 2 (or maybe 3?) left!

Love these primitive rabbits! There were 3 black rabbits in this litter, and they're still looking for their "furever" homes!

And, oh yes, Mrs. Begg! The "Widows Begg" (all 3 of them) came calling a little early this year! Here is one of the ol' gals, there's another one in my Etsy shop and the third has gone to her just reward (that's her new home, of course!)

All of these items are available either in my Etsy shop or on my Picturetrail site, if you don't have an Etsy account.

Right now I'm working on 3 more snowmen (in a different style) and several wee angel ornies. After that, who knows?!

♥ Tana

New Primitive Dolls on Picturetrail!

2010-08-06T08:08:00.000-07:00

In the last couple of weeks, I've really got my Picturetrail site up and running! I started this site as an "online yard sale" several years ago, and there's still a "flea market" section where I sell odds and ends, but it is now mostly a site for my primitive folk art! Here are a few of my most recent additions!

I'm furiously working on more primitive dolls and folk art! My goal is to have 50 dolls for the Lodi Street Faire on October 3, 2010! I will try to update the PT site at least once a week.

Oh Beautiful for Spacious Skies

2010-07-01T06:33:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to share an Etsy Treasury I created yesterday! If you know me, you know I absolutely adore muted colors (I call them "dirty" colors), and being America's birthday (almost!), this seemed like an appropriate theme!

If you see this before 1:18pm on Saturday, July3rd, and could click'n'comment, that would be awesome! You need to be registered on Etsy and logged in to Etsy for your votes to count. After 1:18pm on July 3rd, this Treasury will disappear, so hurry!

Sacramento's Very Own "Etsy Craft Party"

2010-05-25T20:56:00.001-07:00

Etsy's birthday is coming up, and they want US to throw the party!!!

Please join us at 6pm on June 18, 2010 for Etsy's 5th birthday party! We'll be meeting at McKinley Park in Sacramento. We won't have a reservation because to do that means someone has to be at the park at 11am and remain there until the event starts at 6pm! One member of the team did offer to do this, but so far we have less than 50 RSVPs -- which is the magic number, after which a reservation is required.

We'll be having a potluck, so if you're attending our Craft Party, please bring some food to share -- enough to feed 6 to 8 people is probably adequate, since everyone won't want to have a serving of every food item (I hope!). The Sac Etsy team will furnish paper plates, forks, napkins and bottled water and/or soda. You can BYOB as long as it's not alcohol (no booze allowed in city parks, sorry!). If you have a folding chair (or two) or a blanket, you're welcome to bring that. Without a park reservation, we may or may not be able to score a picnic table! It would be nice to at least have a table or two from which to serve the food! I have an EZ-up canopy, so if I can get a couple of strong folks to help me put it up (and take it down), we can use that, if folks want to.

Please bring something for a crafty show & tell! This can be your current project or something you've already made (or ???). We're also going to try to work some "Make It & Take It" demos into the evening, so if you have a technique you can teach in 15 minutes or so, bring some supplies to share with your "students" and we'll try to give you some time! We have one lesson planned already -- a couple of our team members will bring yarn and knitting needles and/or crochet hooks and teach the basics of these crafts. The goal is to create enough "granny squares" to make a small afghan, which we will then either raffle off (probably to build up the Team treasury!) or we may decide to donate it to a worthy cause.

Because it's their birthday, Etsy is going to send presents to the 50 parties with the most RSVP's, so if you'd be so kind as to RSVP for the Sacramento "Craft Party" that will help us reach our goal of being one of the top 50 parties!

We hope you'll join us on June 18, 2010 ... see you then!

Cash for Appliances Rebate Program

2010-04-22T06:44:00.000-07:00

There's a new rebate program funded by ARRA that starts today! As with the "Cash for Clunkers" program last Fall, if you want to get in on this, you should act quickly!

Here's the web site: http://www.cash4appliances.org

The Cash For Appliances rebate period starts April 22, 2010, and lasts until May 23, 2010. Rebates are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Only refrigerators, clothes washers and room air conditioners are eligible. The rebate amounts are:

Eligible Refrigerators - $200
Eligible Clothes Washers - $100
Eligible Room Air Conditioners - up to $50

Other appliance rebates may be available from your utility company, appliance retailer, or other entity, so be sure to check on this and "stack" your rebates just like coupons!

Selling on Consignment

2010-04-21T20:41:00.000-07:00

A CCCOE member had asked about consignment to an out-of-state shop. I posted the following thoughts in reply to her question, and thought I would share them here too.

I have had problems several times over the years when consigning to an out-of-state shop. Personally, I wouldn't do it. Period.

Consignment is a great deal for the shop owner because they don't have to put out any of their money in order to get your product. Unfortunately, this may also mean that they don't have any interest in promoting it in the shop. If they sell a mixture of consigned items and items which they have purchased outright (wholesale), their energy will most likely be focused on selling the items in which they have an investment.

However, if you're determined to consider consignment, here are some thoughts ... in no particular order.

The artist who posed the question indicated that the shop wanted the items for one year. I suggested that she ask why they only want your items for one year. If the same items are sitting in a shop after one year, chances are they will have been relegated to the back of the shop (storeroom) long before that time.

If the time comes that your items need to be returned to you (after the one year or whenever), who will pay the shipping cost? Will they be packed securely to withstand the shipping process?

Ask how long they have been in business. If they've been in business less than a year, think twice about consigning to them. If they only do consignment, and don't purchase any of their inventory outright, it would be preferable if they've been in business 2 or 3 years. Consignments shops are super-easy to start since there's little investment beyond the rent and utilities; unfortunately this also means they tend to come and go very quickly!

Ask if they have a web site and check it out -- does it look professional or amateurish? Would you trust a web site that looked like that? Would you trust a shop that has a web site that looks like that? If they don't have a web site, ask them why not. EVERY business should have a web site these days, even if it's purely informational and not set up for online sales. Since you can't visit the shop in person (or if it would be difficult to do so), you need to have a feel for the shop.

Make sure the shop or boutique is the type of place you would want to see your product in, i.e., is it also a hardware store or a baby boutique? If you create art which appeals to this clientele, then GREAT!! But if you don't why would you want to show your wares in this type of shop? Over the years, I've received inquiries from some very interesting places (including car washes) that have absolutely nothing to do with the type of work I create.

Do they get an adequate amount of traffic? This may be hard to judge long-distance. If they're in a mall or a busy pedestrian area (i.e., 4th Street in Berkeley, shown in the picture above), they'll get plenty of traffic. If they're in a rural area, maybe not so much!

Ask what percentage of commission they want. If it's 40% (which is fairly common these days), you'd do better off wholesaling, even if you had to give them 50% off to do so -- at least you'd have your money and wouldn't be worrying about whether or not you'd ever see your product again (or payment for it).

Ask if they have a contract stating their terms. If they don't have one, could you write one up and would they be willing to sign it? You need to have something in writing, signed and dated by both parties of course,
regardless of which one of you writes it up.

Be sure you know how often you will get paid, and be prepared to hold them to it. If they can't pay you for your sold items at least once a month, there's likely something wrong (i.e., if they only want to pay quarterly, they're probably hoping you'll forget about them before three months have passed).

Don't consign more than you can afford to lose, should it disappear forever w/o compensation; everyone has their own threshold here, whether that's a dozen pieces or $1,000 worth of product.

Hope these thoughts help ... good luck!

This is Getting Exciting!

2010-04-18T18:08:00.000-07:00

Last week I perused the housewares at the mega store we all love to hate in Roseville. When I can afford to shop at better stores, I plan to do so ... but in the meantime it's often where I shop. I found several things I'll be going back to purchase as soon as I get into my new digs!

Yesterday I was at the same store in Orangevale and did make a few purchases, including a shower caddy in a brushed nickel finish and a seagrass basket for which I can already think of half a dozen uses!

I also happened to notice shelves similar to this one, and I plan to get them to make more efficient use of the hallway storage closet! I do think I will take a peek at the local restaurant supply stores (with a ton of restaurants in this city, there are more than a few restaurant suppliers!), just to see how their prices compare. The shelving unit in the store had 4 shelves; I believe they were 14" deep and 36" wide, and it's priced at just $40 which seemed pretty good!

This morning, I went to a couple of antiquey/shabby street fairs. Didn't find much, however one booth where I ALWAYS buy something came through for me yet again! They had 24 yards of a vintage meshy, most likely cotton, curtain fabric for just $5 -- for the whole bundle!!! The fabric is just 36" wide so I know it's vintage, and all I'm going to have to do is hem them and make a pocket for a rod at the top! I'm pretty sure this is the same fabric the curtains were made out of when I was growing up ... the same ones that my first kitten would climb up and then fall off of, scaring the heck out of me! Now to find some pretty curtain rods ... Pottery Barn? Restoration Hardware? Well, something along those lines but hopefully more in my budget!

Looking for a New Home!

2010-04-12T07:08:00.000-07:00

After 4 years in my current apartment, I'm ready for a change. Heck, I've been ready for at least half the time I lived here! The main reason I want to move is because there is basically NO storage space! I have ONE closet -- a small walk-in in the bedroom. In my previous apartment, there was a pantry type closet in the hallway (5 or 6 very deep shelves), a built-in linen cupboard in the bathroom (equally as deep), and a "sliding door closet" in the bedroom with a ton of storage space on the shelf above the clothes rod. Then I move here ...

My move to this complex wasn't entirely by choice, but that's another story ...

I have long thought these apartments would be great ...

... mainly because they have 4 closets! There's a coat closet near the front door, a huge pantry in the kitchen, a "sliding door closet" in the dining area, and a decent-sized walk-in closet in the bedroom. There's also a funky "linen closet" which is a couple of shelves with doors built into the wall. This complex isn't exactly an easy commute to where I'm working now, but I thought I could make it work. I was also delighted to learn that I could rent a 2 bedroom apartment for $40 less per month than I'm currently paying for my wee 1 bedroom apartment!

However, the more I thought about it, I've managed to talk myself out of moving here. Sometimes it's the "silly" little things that do that, such as the bathroom sink in the bedroom in the 2 bedroom apartments. WTF? The toilet and tub are in a room by themselves and there's a sink on each side of that space. This made the master bedroom feel like a motel room ... and a cheap one at that ... not to mention the bad feng shui! So as long as I'm in search of a 2 bedroom apartment, this isn't the place for me. By the way, the 1 bedroom apartments are just fine and completely "normal" in the bathroom department!

A week ago, a friend and I were driving around looking at some apartments I'd found online the day before. Being Easter, of course the apartment complex offices weren't open. I went back to this one ...

with another friend on Saturday. The office was open this time and I was able to view their "model" apartment. I'm really digging this place!! It's centrally located, convenient to where I'm working, as well as Midtown, downtown, shopping, a gazillion restaurants, etc. The model I was shown was the 2br/2 bath style, and I'm wanting to rent the 2br/1 bath; I just don't need that second bathroom! The leasing agent told me they will have one of these available for rent the first of May. I've paid a $200 "holding deposit" which will be applied to my first month's rent and yes, I passed the background check with flying colors! Pamela (who shares her last name with a well-known actress) has assured me that she/they will do "whatever it takes" to make me happy in my new home. Trusting strangers (and salespeople at that!) is a bit challenging, but I'm giving it my best shot this time! Pamela did show me another 2br/1bath apartment so I've seen the layout of the apartment style I'll be renting. The only difference I'm possibly envisioning is if it were a mirror image; most apartments around here are "back to back" meaning the bedrooms are next to each other (hope my new neighbors are the quiet type!). Pamela said that the only thing she thought might be different would be if I already had a white ceiling fan in the dining area, and she has offered to provide one if it turns out my apartment still has the brown wood-grain fan. The kitchen cabinets are white, so a white fan would coordinate better with them!

I went back yesterday to scope out the actual building/apartment that was mentioned on Saturday and it seems like a decent location. It's away from the pool, laundry room, playground, etc. so it should be relatively quiet. I almost knocked on the door to see if the current tenant would let me take a peek, but decided against that because even if they would let me in, I'm thinking I wouldn't feel too comfortable walking into a stranger's home ... nor would I be likely to let someone enter my home under the same circumstances! I'm rather disappointed that I haven't yet been able to view the actual apartment. They say that's because the current tenant is still living there, however I know (from experience) that management only needs to give 24 hours notice before entering an apartment for pretty much any reason.

Craftastic Sale - this Saturday 3/27/10 - Orangevale, CA

2010-03-23T04:31:00.000-07:00

Please join us for the Craftastic Sale this Saturday, March 27, in Orangevale, CA. Orangevale is a suburb of Sacramento. Detailed driving directions are at the bottom of this post!

Date: Saturday March 27th
Sale Times: 9am til 2 pm
Address: 5912 Beech Ave. in Orangevale, CA (near Hazel and Greenback)
For more info, contact: OddArtist

There will be nearly a dozen Sacramento artists and crafters in attendance, from both the SacEtsy and SactoMetro teams! While some of us have sold at the same craft fair before, this will be the first time so many of us will be selling together at once.

Please help us promote this event by FB'ing it, blogging, and Tweeting. Please Tweet the following:

#SacEtsy Craftastic Sale in Orangevale, CA. 9am-2pm March 27th featuring some awesome products. http://sac-etsy.blogspot.com for more info

Please stop by and say hello to the following members of the Sac Etsy team:

prairieprimitives
BKD Signature
mchristo
Oh My Posh
Bailoutabarista
oddartist

and also the following members of the Sacto Metro team:

mrstalbott
maleaab
DazzlingDogz
rockknitmomme

Your support of our teams is much appreciated! We hope to see you there!

DIRECTIONS:

From Hwy 50, go north on Hazel past Madison and make a left at the light on Pershing. When you get to Beech, turn right.

From Folsom, go down Greenback to the first light past Hazel and turn left onto Beech.

From Hwy 80, take the Greenback exit going east until you have passed Illinois. Turn right at Beech (there's a stop light at that intersection).

The house has a tall cedar out front along the road near the top of the hill, a large deep concrete driveway and a black mailbox with grapes painted on it. There will be signs out early, probably at the corner of Greenback and Hazel, among other places!

A New Kind of Status Symbol ...

2010-03-20T20:17:00.000-07:00

"Handcrafted products produced by individual artisans could be a new kind of status symbol, and that bodes well for retailers that sell handmade products. According to OPEN Book: Trends from American Express Open Small Business, luxury's new form consists of products and services based on "authenticity and exclusivity."

"In addition to the handmade nature of the product, the story behind the item is just as important. So if you're selling, say, handcrafted quilts, you emphasize not only the beauty of the quilt, but also the story of the person who made it, the materials used to produce it, the significance of its design and other elements.

"The new luxury consumer appreciates the time and effort that goes into the manufacture of such products," says the publication. Small businesses who sell handcrafted products are in a good position to provide their customers with their products' story and, the publication adds, such businesses "will find that promoting great craftsmanship can pay dividends."

(Published in Country Sampler's "Country Business," February 2010)

My dear artist friends, it looks like our time may have come!

PayPal's Micropayments

2010-03-20T20:13:00.000-07:00

If you process a large number of small transactions, you may be interested to learn about PayPal's micropayment processing. This seems to be one of the biggest PayPal secrets unearthed to date! PayPal introduced micropayments in August, 2005, although this feature wasn't available worldwide until late in 2008. The rate for US to US micropayments is 5% + $.05 per transaction; fees for cross-border payments are available in a link on this page.

The regular US to US processing fee charged by PayPal is 2.9% + $.30 per transaction, which means that payments below $12.00 will be less expensive to process with the micropayment plan. The only "gotcha" is that you'll need to set up a separate PayPal account in order to receive micropayments. This is because each PayPal account is associated with one processing rate.

According to a recent article in Business Week, PayPal may be considering allowing merchants to accumulate micropayments until they reach a certain amount and then release the funds to the merchant, charging just a single processing fee!

You can use this link to sign up for an account to accept PayPal micropayments.

New IRS Rules to Take Effect in 2011

2010-03-06T16:43:00.000-08:00

Starting next year, the IRS will require payment processors (including PayPal) to report how much money each user has received through their service. Many of us will probably be exempt from this since it only applies to sellers who sell more than $20,000/year AND who have 200 or more transactions.

The time is also coming when we will have to provide our Social Security Number (or employer ID # in lieu of a SSN) to whatever payment processing companies we're registered with. If we fail to do this, the processors will have to do backup withholding (this is usually a rate of 20%) starting in 2012.

More info here:
http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abu/y210/m03/abu0258/s03

The Doll on my Business Cards

2010-02-24T04:45:00.000-08:00

After much delay, I am delighted to announce that I have made a few more of the clothespin doll which is featured on my logo & business cards, etc.!!!

The first of these dolls is currently listed on eBay! The original doll didn't have a face, however after much prodding from a friend (you know who you are!), I have given this girl a lightly penciled face. If you squint just right, you can see Hannah's face in the photo below ...

I am delighted to announce that Hannah received a bid soon after she was listed! As of now, she is at a very reasonable $34.50. This auction will end on Sunday, February 28th. I hope you'll consider adopting Hannah into your family!

I'm Still Here!

2010-01-27T06:07:00.000-08:00

WOW! Has It really been two months since I've written here? I've been so busy, the time has just flown right by! Let me bring you up to date ...

I was laid off from my job with the County of Sacramento in late September, however they re-hired me in mid-November as an "on-call" (i.e., temp) to help with the County's H1N1 vaccination clinics. During the clinics, which ran from mid-November to mid-January, I helped coordinate more than 500 people who volunteered at the clinics; this involved phone calls, lots of emails, and even more data entry. Now that the clinics are over, I'm helping to prepare reports and will be assisting with a "thank you" ~~party~~ event in the near future. DHHS will probably be presenting the volunteers with a certificate and maybe a small token of our appreciation (debate continues about whether that gift should be a cloisonne pin or a leftover bottle of hand sanitizer ... lol!).

Since mid-November, I have had FOUR different offices and "cubes" ... crazy, eh? Actually, there was one day where I had four different offices and cubes ... it's a long story! For most of the last couple of months, I've been housed in the Public Health suite, and today, I will be moving to a new cube in (or near?) the Office of the Director, so this will be my fifth location in just over two months! My manager will be just a few steps away, for which I'm sure she will be grateful! I will definitely miss my peeps in Public Health, but I'm sure they'll let me come and visit now and then! :-)

What else have I been up to? Well, since the beginning of the year, I've been listing handmade things on eBay again. Some sell (mostly stuffed hearts), lots of things don't (mostly the dolls and critters). Many of my items get a bunch of watchers, but very few, if any, bids ... what's up with that?

This doll is still looking for her forever home!

This is only the second Topsy Turvy doll I've ever made; they can be a bit challenging! I adapted it from a pattern designed by Emily Franz of Hootin Annies, and she (or should that be "they") is (are?) now up for adoption in my Etsy shop. If you don't have an Etsy account but would like to adopt this sweet doll, just let me know and I can list her in my Artfire shop (where you don't need an account to make a purchase!) or I could even sell her to you directly! PayPal is my preferred form of payment and, yes, you may use your credit card through PayPal! If you'd rather pay by money order, I also accept postal money orders (the kind you buy at the post office).

And this is Bridgette the Valentine bunny. She was also an eBay auction, which ended yesterday evening with several watchers (as usual), but nary a bid. This makes me sad. Why do people "watch" eBay auctions, yet choose not to bid (especially when the opening bid is more than reasonable)? I will be listing Bridgette in my Etsy shop soon ... probably when I get home from work this evening!

I see it's time to get ready for my day job! I'll try to get back into the habit of posting more often. :-)

Featured in MimisDressShop Blog!

2009-11-28T13:01:00.000-08:00

Just learned that this stocking was featured in MimisDressShop blog! Tiffany, the author of this blog and proprietor of mimisdresshop on Etsy, makes delightful children's clothes and darling tutus for your little princesses!

Prairie Primitives - Featured on the Handmade Highway!

2009-11-27T10:22:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I'm behind in my email ... again. It happens this time of year! I've just discovered that a set of my fabric-covered boxes was featured in Issue 2 of "News from the Handmade Highway!"

I just started making covered boxes in June, after thinking about it for too long because I wasn't quite sure how to make them. However, when I dove right into it, I discovered they were a lot of fun to make, and they've been very popular at the craft and antique fairs where I sell my primitive folk art!

This set of boxes, along with several others, is available in my Etsy shop! Each of my fabric covered boxes contains a wee treasure -- sometimes this is a few whole nutmegs or antique mother-of-pearl buttons; other times it's a bit of rosemary or thyme or another special find! Through "Cyber Monday" (November 30, 2009), everything in this shop is 20% off!

Black Friday - Cyber Monday Sale

2009-11-27T06:19:00.000-08:00

I'm offering 20% off everything at Prairie Primitives Folk Art! Some items have free U.S. shipping (and discounted international shipping) too!

I'm offering 30% off everything in PrairiePrimitivesToo (my Etsy "destash" shop)!

Over at my Artfire shop, I'm offering 20% off everything, with free U.S. shipping (and discounted international shipping) on some items! Please note that the items in my Artfire shop are the same items that are in my Etsy shop -- there is only one of each! I will keep both sites updated as things sell, and remember, you can shop on Artfire without creating an account!

And last but not least, I'm offering a whopping 50% off everything in my online yard sale!

All of these sales run until 11:59pm PST (California time) on Cyber Monday (November 30, 2009) ... that's 8:59 EST (New York time). As always, I'm delighted to combine shipping between any or all of these sites! Go ahead and make your purchases and I'll send you a revised PayPal invoice! I much prefer PayPal, however I also accept Postal money orders!

Sign up for my mailing list!

2009-11-16T23:20:00.001-08:00

If you'd like to hear about my new listings on Etsy and Artfire (and occasionally eBay), here's where you can sign up for my mailing list. All you need to do is enter your email address in the box below, and click the "Join Now!" button. I promise not to swamp you with emails, and notifying you of my new listings is the only thing for which your address will be used.

I plan to list lots of new things for the 2009 holiday season and will be having a Black Friday / Cyber Monday special ... for the entire weekend!

Oakmont High School - The Day After

2009-11-15T08:27:00.001-08:00

This is not a show I would recommend to anyone, however I think that has more to do with the promoter and the lack of advertising, rather than the location or anything else. I took a few pictures of my booth to share with you! Pretty much everything you see in these pictures is still available for sale! I will be listing it on Etsy and Artfire as time allows. If you'd like to receive an email when I update these sites, just ask!

Shop on Facebook!

2009-11-09T19:02:00.000-08:00

I've just discovered a Facebook app that let me set up a shop on Facebook. Now you don't even have to leave your favorite social networking site in order to buy my primitive folk art!

I've listed some primitive and "shabby & chic" Christmas stockings there so far, and I hope to list more things soon! Please remember that I only have ONE of each of these items ... so if you see the same thing on Etsy, Artfire, Facebook, etc., it's the exact same item! When an item sells on one site, I will get the other sites updated ASAP!

Thoughts of Thanksgiving

2009-11-05T19:09:00.000-08:00

Suzanne has included my primitive orange pumpkin in her latest Treasury! You can visit Suzanne's Etsy shop at Peacefu1 ("Peaceful" but with a number 1 on the end, instead of an "ell").

If you would like to vote on the items in this Treasury, you can click on the Treasury image or on the text link in the first paragraph above; both links will take you to the Treasury page (only while the Treasury is active ... i.e., between now and Sunday, November 8th at 1:26 am). You will need to be registered on Etsy and logged into Etsy in order to vote. I am grateful for any and all votes you may cast for my primitive orange pumpkin! :-)

I have several pumpkins still available for adoption! Most are orange or black (black pumpkins have been quite popular the last couple of years!), but I think I still have one white one left too!

Thanks Suzanne!

Oakmont High School Craft Fair

2009-11-03T05:37:00.000-08:00

The next event I will be participating in is the annual craft fair sponsored by the Citrus Heights (California) Lions Club on November 14th. This fair will be held at Oakmont High School, located at 1710 Cirby Way in Roseville, CA (near the intersection of Sunrise and Cirby, behind the Bel-Air supermarket). This fair has been happening for several years, however this will be my first year there!

This craft fair will feature 55 booths of handmade crafts ... and I've been assured that there will be only handmade crafts, none of that import or party plan stuff! You'll also be able to enjoy a bake sale, food and a huge raffle of items from the participating artists! If you bring a non-perishable food item for donation, you'll get a free raffle ticket!

In my booth you will find items for your Fall decorating (my new funky pumpkins!) as well as Christmas (2 snowfolk are finished, 2 Santas are almost done, and I hope to get at least 2 more snowfolk made before this show!). I will have pillows made from antique quilt, and smaller quilt hearts which can be used as "bowl fillers," stocking stuffers, or ornaments, as well as my always popular mica snowballs! I also hope to make more of my whimsical paper Christmas flags, and I will definitely bring some Americana items because they never go out of style!

Hope to see you on the 14th!!!

Pumpkins Aren't Just for Halloween Anymore!

2009-10-23T19:45:00.001-07:00

I've just listed a couple of my grubby pumpkins on Etsy! They're made from a variety of cotton fabrics (osnaburg, muslin, etc.), and I've painted, stained, and grubbied them up just for you!

If you'd like just one pumpkin (or maybe you'd like more than two?), just let me know! The orange one is the "small" size, measuring about 7" by 8"; the black one is the "medium" size, which is about 8" by 9", and I also have a larger size, which is about 10" by 11".

Don't you just loooove those funky stems? I'm not sure what it is about the black pumpkins, but they're selling like hotcakes this year! Several of my customers have told me they leave their pumpkins out year-round, and I will be doing that too!

Just Updated My "Online Yard Sale"

2009-10-05T09:19:00.000-07:00

I've just updated my "Online Yard Sale." There are categories for Antiques, Books, Craft Supplies, Handmade Items, Wearable Art, and the most popular, my Fabric destash! I hope to get the photos for the Fabric section redone soon! As with all yard sales, you're welcome to make me an offer on anything that's for listed in the yard sale!

I accept PayPal, which must be paid within 3 days, or the item(s) will be made available to others. Shipping is additional, of course, and you can choose between USPS, UPS, or FedEx. Just let me know what you're interested in and your zip code (or country) and I'll be happy to check on the postage!

Rustic Autumn Gift Guide on the Handmade Highway

2009-09-26T01:33:00.000-07:00

What a surprise to learn that two of my items have been selected as featured items in the Rustic Autumn Gift Guide, sponsored by Handmade Highway!

My Bay Swag Garland (2nd row, above) and Primitive Colonial Fabric Covered Boxes (bottom row, above) are available in my Etsy shop. Both of these items are one-of-a-kind!

Halloween & Vine Creeps Nearer!

2009-09-05T12:44:00.000-07:00

It's just 3 weeks until the owls & bats & spooky-eyed cats invade Petaluma for the annual Halloween & Vine art fair! I've followed this show from it's humble beginnings in a winery's tasting room in Napa to Sonoma and now to Petaluma, where it's been held for several years now.

If you haven't yet been to Halloween & Vine ... GO!!!!! The artists come from across the country to sell their art there, and the shoppers have been known to travel quite a ways too! If you don't live nearby, you could always make a vacation out of it and spend a few days in San Francisco or on the coast!

One of my favorite artists at this show is Johanna Parker, who drives out here from Denver, Colorado every year. I also enjoy visiting with Nicol Sayre and Jack Roads at this show, among others ...

Destashing Fabric!

2009-08-20T18:53:00.000-07:00

Once again I've sorted through my ginormous fabric stash and have found more than a few yards with which I'm willing to part. My loss shall be your gain! Prices are $3 per yard and less, with much of this fabric being closer to $2 per yard. Shipping is extra, of course, however quite a bit of fabric will fit in a flat-rate Priority box!! These pieces vary from half a yard to about 3 yards; I'd rather sell an entire piece, however if you want quite a few pieces, I can probably sell you just as much as you need. And if you're in the Sacramento area, arrangements can be made for you to pick up your fabric to save on shipping!

The first couple of pictures are mostly Autumn and Halloween fabrics, then there's a couple pictures of Americana fabrics, and one of Christmas fabrics. After that are a few odds and ends ... isn't that Cupid toile soooooo sweet?!

If you'd like to buy some of this fabric, you can email me at prairieprimitives@sbcglobal.net. Please tell me which picture the fabric you want is in (1st, 2nd, etc.) and describe the fabric (colors or pattern). Thanks!

1. Orange linen (?) - 3 yards ... $5
2. Tan & black stars - 1 yard ... $3
3. Tan fabric - SOLD
4. Orange & white polkadots - 1/2 yard (minus 8" square cut from corner) ... $1.50
5. Tan & cream stars (Moda) - 1/8 yard ... 75 cents
6. Pumpkin & cream flannel or brushed cotton homespun - 28" x 30" ... $1.50
7. Black stars - 16"x22" ... $1
8. Mustard & cream homespun plaid - 1/2 yard ... $1

1. Purple fabric - 2-1/4 yards ... $4
2. Olive green "ribbed" fabric (woven, but soft & drapey) - 1-1/8 yards ... $2
3. Black & taupe checks - more than 22" x 36" ... $1.50
4. Orange & black checks - 1.5 yards ... $3.00
5. Mustard & cream homespun plaid - 3/4 yard (minus 6"x6" corner) ... $1.50
6. Black with metallic gold stars - 13"x27" ... $1.00

1. Red & blue stars & stripes - 1-1/3 yards ... $2.50
2. Blue & cream repro shirting stripe (Peter Pan) - 1 yard ... $3
3. Mustard & blue diagonal stars & stripes (Moda, Brannock & Patek) - 2 Very Large scraps ... $1
4. Cherry advertising labels - 7/8 yard ... SOLD
5. Mustard & blue diagonal stars & stripes (Moda, Brannock & Patek) - 1 meter ... $3

1. Blue flannel - 3 yards ... $6
2. Navy & red repro shirting stripe with stars - 1-5/8 yards ... $4.50
3. Red & cream stars (Marcus Brothers) - 2 yards ... $6
4. Large blue plaid (heavier weight) - 7/8 yard ... $3
5. Red & black diagonal stars & stripes - 3/4 yard ... $2.50
6. Red & white stars - 1 meter ... $3
7. Red & black diagonal stars & stripes - 3/4 yard ... $2.50

1. Red & green flannel or brushed cotton - 7/8 yard ... $2
2. Holly print - 1/3 yard ... $1
3. Red, white, multi stripes - 5/8 ... $1.50

1. Rosy pink twill "stripe" (62" wide!) - 3/8" yard ... $1
2. Floral fabric - SOLD
3. White on white stripe - 1-1/3 yards ... $2

1. Mottled pink - 7/8 yard ... $2
2. Blue Cupid Toile - 3 yards? ... $6
3. Brown & pink polkadots - 3/8 yard ... $1.50

Etsy Treasury!

2009-08-19T18:59:00.000-07:00

Oh my, I've been featured in another Etsy Treasury! Hope you'll take a look -- and be sure to click on your favorite item(s) to vote for them! I love making the little covered boxes, and this is one of my most favorite sets!

Fall Preview & Craft Supply "Destash" Sale

2009-08-14T13:05:00.000-07:00

Come meet several of the artists from the Sac Etsy Team, this Sunday (August 16th) in beautiful downtown Diamond Springs!

This will be first of hopefully many team sales events featuring local (Sacramento area) artists who sell their artistic creations on the Etsy.com web site! Some of the artists who will be participating include Shell Benesch (http://BrightAndBeautiful88.etsy.com & http://BridgetsCottageBiz.etsy.com), Tana Taylor (http://PrairiePrimitives.etsy.com & http://PrairiePrimitivesToo.etsy.com), Sara (http://MomwithaHook.etsy.com & http://SnailMailPals.etsy.com), and Sarah Hawke (http://Beadskinz.etsy.com). In addition to the wonderful handmade items, we'll also be offering many of our leftover craft supplies for sale!

You can find us at 512 Main Street, #7 in Diamond Springs. We should be open by 9am or so and will stay till we sell out or get tired, whichever comes first ... I'm sure we'll be there till at least 2pm!

Diamond Springs is near Placerville and about an hour from downtown Sacramento.

There is also a weekly swap meet nearby, so bring the hubby and kids and send them over there while you peruse the treasures at our sale!

California Chit Chat Girls of Etsy

2009-08-03T19:33:00.000-07:00

My favorite Etsy forum is the weekly one featuring the California Chit Chat Girls. The only requirement to chat in this particular forum is that you live in California! You don't even have to be a girl (but we all are, or ummm ... claim to be!).

(I'll try to get an image of the Treasury in here, but Blogger isn't cooperating at the moment ... grrrr!!!)

Yoli, the Mistress of this particular forum, has compiled a Treasury and she was kind enough to include my blue ditty bag! If you're registered on Etsy, log in and then you can vote by clicking on your favorite items in the Treasury. You have 12 votes per Treasury and can use them all on one item, one on each item, or any combination you choose! Of course I would be delighted if you saw fit to vote for my ditty bag ... early and often as they say! :-)

SEO and Why It's Important to Artists

2009-07-26T09:45:00.000-07:00

Recently, in one of my Etsy groups, there were some questions about SEO (search engine optimization), what it is and what it does. This post is an elaboration of my participation in that discussion.

The point of SEO is to get your web site (or Etsy shop, blog, etc.) ranked as high as possible in the search engines. The higher the ranking of your site/shop/blog/etc., the better the chance someone will find it. For those of us who are selling things online (or trying to sell things), it’s very important that our shops and/or web sites can be found! Most shoppers aren't going to take the time to look through more than a couple pages of search results when they’re looking for something.

Let's say that someone knew that I sold my stuff online, but they didn't know that I sold on Etsy. It’s likely that they wouldn't have the full URL (address) of my Etsy shop to search for. Besides, if they had the full URL, there would be no point in searching – they could simply type (or copy & paste) the URL into the browser, hit enter, and voila!

My shop (Prairie Primitives) is the second result on the first page when I Google for Prairie Primitives. In addition, quite a few of the other first-page results are mine as well (YAY!), however there are at least two other businesses using the same name also on the first page (sigh). Googleing my own name shows my Etsy shop as the seventh result on the first page, so it’s probably a good idea to include your own name somewhere in your Etsy shop.

Search engine optimization is a never-ending challenge, and has been since the internet became public in the mid-1990s. I think it's safe to say that Google is the most popular search engine these days (at least in the U.S.), however other search engines have been very popular in years past, and I will readily admit that I don’t have any idea which search engines may be popular in other countries. To make things even more challenging, just when web designers think they have a search engine figured out, it’s likely that the search engine will change their “algorithm” (how they rank search results), and you’ll have to try even harder to get your shop ranked high in search results!

Ditty Bags & Covered Boxes on eBay

2009-07-26T07:04:00.000-07:00

Guess I should have posted about my covered boxes & ditty bags earlier in the week ... but now that I'm now working full-time (YAY!), finding time to blog is lower on my to-do list than it should be!

I've been wanting to make covered boxes for awhile now (like a couple of years), but I never took the time to try! So last month before the Los Altos show, I decided to see what I could come up with.

This is my favorite set of covered boxes so far -- I love the mismatched fabrics! They're currently listed on eBay, and will end around 6:30pm PST today.

I have a few other sets of boxes listed with other fabrics -- this set of blue boxes is my 2nd most favorite!

I've included a little surprise inside each box, but you'll have to look at the auctions to see what you'll get!

I've also been making ditty bags lately, mostly at the request of a friend in Tennessee. Denise has been nagging me to make them for years but I've been sooooo busy making primitive dolls. So I finished up a few ditty bags last weekend and listed them too! I like them all (a lot!), but if I had to choose, this one is my current favorite! The ditty bag auctions will end before the covered boxes -- starting a wee bit before 4pm PST today.

The ditty bags also have a lovely surprise inside, but (you guessed it!), you'll need to look at the auction to see what that is!

I'm offering FREE SHIPPING on the ditty bag auctions!!

Americana Flag "Porch Swing" Pillow Cover

2009-07-10T04:39:00.000-07:00

I was digging through my stash a month or so ago and found some very large flag panels. I've had them for a few years, but hadn't ever figured out what to do with them. So I thought and thought ... and then it came to me! They're "close" to the size of a standard bed pillow, so why not design a pillow cover with the flag as the centerpiece. And so I did!

The border is genuine vintage ticking fabric, straight from grandma's featherbed! The pillow cover closes with 7 red vintage buttons (I use a different assortment on every pillow!). I've lightly stained this pillow cover with my favorite coffee & vanilla mixture.

This is the pillow cover that I currently have listed on eBay. The starting bid is $24.95 and there's a BIN price of $45. If you mention that you saw this blog post when you pay for this item, I will refund your postage! For shoppers outside the U.S., I will refund $2.50 which is the U.S. shipping cost. But you must mention that you saw this offer on my blog!

Wouldn't it be great to have a nice big pillow like this on your porch swing? One of my customers even bought four of them! Let me know if you need more than one!

Meeting the Etsy Admins in San Francisco

2009-06-10T18:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I trekked to SF, along with another member of Sac-Etsy, for a meetup event with many of the Etsy top brass (known as "admins"). The get-together was held at the Delancey Street Cafe. If you're not familiar with the Delancey Street Foundation, it's worth reading about on their site!

While we were the only representatives of Sac-Etsy (and the only Etsyians from Sacramento), I met a handful of CCCOE gals, including including Dyanne from 2dy4, Allie from Allie's Adornments, and Tara from Combustion Glassworks. There were a couple other gals sitting with them, but their names escape me at the moment. :-( We also chatted with Hue from huesculpture.com (she's just started selling on Etsy, but huesculpture doesn't seem to be the name of her shop), along with her friend Noelle Nakama, who has an Etsy shop bearing her name.

The Etsy admins were represented by Maria Thomas (CEO), Chad Dickerson (CTO), Sara Hicks (VP of Product), Jesse Hertzberg (Director of Business Development), and Carrington Williams (Director of Strategic Finance). Their database guy, who works from home in Marin, was also there; I think he goes by the handle "CB."

The admins talked about what they're working on to improve the site. The most exciting announcement is the ability to rearrange your Etsy shop, which just went into closed beta yesterday! This announcement received a HUGE round of applause!!! When this goes live, we won't have to relist items to get them in a particular order! :-)

The admins handed out a bit of swag, but no ballcaps or t-shirts (which is what I'd been hoping for ... LOL!); just stickers and flyers and bumper stickers. They gave everyone a picture to color, and said this would be the wallpaper in their new office!

Sutter Creek & Magnolia Marketplace

2009-05-21T20:39:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let y'all know that this Saturday, May 23rd, I'll have a booth at the "Trash to Treasures Sale" in Sutter Creek, CA. Sutter Creek is in the heart of California's Gold Country, right on Highway 49! If you haven't been over that way in awhile, they've built a bypass around the delightful town of Sutter Creek, so you have to make a point to turn off (to the left) to actually get to the town now. I was thrown for a loop the first time I was over there after the bypass opened. I'm not sure where you'll end up if you miss the turnoff, maybe Jackson?

Anyway ... the hours for the show are 8am to 3pm. We'll be there by 6:30 (I'm going to try for 6:00 am!!). I'll be sharing the booth with my friend Julia who sells on Etsy as JnJ Designs. Julia tells me that her mother-in-law (the other J) will be joining us as well.

The booth won't look like the one in the picture above -- although that was also taken at the same show in Sutter Creek --- about 5? years ago. The signs are by my friend Trish Everett who, despite my encouragement, has neither a web site nor Etsy shop. She can be found on Facebook, however!

Hope to see you Saturday!

* * *
By the way, the following Saturday (May 30th), I'll have a booth at the Magnolia Marketplace at 6468 Fair Oaks Blvd. in Carmichael. This is a semi-annual show put on by the Magnolia Antique Mall. Several members of the Sac Etsy Team will have booths at this event, including cascreates and candyglass, and myself. Several others are considering joining us as well!

Americana Listings on eBay!

2009-05-17T17:23:00.000-07:00

After a fairly disappointing week last week on eBay, I'm back with more goodies ... I hope the shoppers are in the mood for Americana this week!

This Americana Porch Swing Pillow is my favorite new item!!! I love pillows! And if I had a porch swing, I'd definitely want this pillow there with me! The auction is for the cover only -- the pillow is a standard $4 bed pillows, available at your local discount department store! BIN Price $25.00

I made a few of these Americana Stockings a couple of years ago ... this year I decided it was time for more! I've stenciled white stars on a grubby blue painted osnaburg stocking, and I'll be adding a scrap of homespun and a rusty bell to the flag before I send this stocking on its way to its new home! You'll get the Sweet Annie too!! BIN Price $22.00

I've made little hearts from antique quilt for many years, but these grubbied up Primitive Americana Vintage Ticking Hearts are a fairly new item for me. I've tied a scrap of grubby gauze around each one, then pinned on a rusty jingle bell and added a sprig of Sweet Annie! BIN Price $22 for the set of 3 hearts (this includes free shipping!)

I whipped up a few of these Primitive Americana Stick Flags before my last show (the rainy one). This one has a piece of rusty star garland for the hanger! BIN Price $8 (yep, you read that correctly!!)

ZNE Convenzione & Art, Paper & Pleasantries

2009-05-15T15:54:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to blog about the beeswax collage class I took recently with Anna Corba at the ZNE Convenzione in Pleasanton, CA! This is my first-ever collage, but I don't think it's going to be my last! I may even go back and put a crown on the sweet birdie so she matches this blog template! :-)

Anna is a wonderful instructor, and if you ever get a chance to take a class with her, definitely go for it! She was extremely generous with all of her wonderful papers and ephemera, and was always ready to answer our questions and help when we needed it.

I started a second collage in class, but need to get some bleached beeswax and a skillet to melt it in before I can finish it. I'll be hitting the yard sale circuit this weekend in hopes of doing just that!

This class was on a Thursday, and just two days later, I drove back to Pleasanton (1.5 hours each way!) to shop at Art, Paper, and Pleasantries, a vendor fair held at the same location. I found a LOT of goodies there ... and even got a personal lesson from Kate Lyon, co-owner of InvokeArts and StudiosBlackbird, on how to use unmounted rubber stamps without cutting them or mounting them! And she gave me the tag she made while teaching me! I left a good chunk of change in her booth -- and enjoyed every minute of it! :-) Kate made stamping (and especially the coloring) look entirely too easy ... but she readily admitted that she'd been stamping for quite awhile!

I also brought home even more unmounted stamps from the Lost Coast Designs booth -- Linda has a wonderful line of border stamps that retail for just $2 apiece! How could I not stock up?!

I bought a pack of Prima flowers and a tin of itsy bitsy seashells from Danielle Costa of The Art Life, and several more things at other booths that I can't entirely remember right now. I was pretty amazed at the wonderful selection of goodies at Art, Paper, & Pleasantries! And now I need to go get creative ... have a wonderful rest of the day!

Still Working on the Blog ...

2009-05-13T18:04:00.000-07:00

Would you mind leaving me a comment about the following:

(1) whether or not you can see the background on this blog [it's a diamond pattern and there's a cute birdie on the right side and a vintage postcard on the left side]

(2) what size monitor you have

(3) what your screen resolution is (this is on the control panel under the display icon, then click on the settings tab)

The template designer has told me that she can see the background just fine. Her only suggestion was for me to increase the resolution on my monitor. I was reluctant to try this, but I did ... not only did the icons and text get realllllly tiny, even when I had my resolution set at its highest point, I still couldn't see all of the birdie on the right side. Turns out the designer is working on a 22" monitor with a killer video card (meaning she can set her resolution very high). I've put this out for feedback on Twitter and Facebook, and so far everyone who's commented says they can see it like it's intended to be. So I guess it's just me ...

This is what this blog template is supposed to look like:

A friend in Ohio grabbed this screenshot for me; she's the one who helped me troubleshoot the situation. (Thanks Jody!!!)

It's Getting There ...

2009-05-12T17:56:00.000-07:00

Now I just need to figure out how to get everything on the "paper" ... OR get the sidebar stuff off the paper and into the sidebar area. If you know how to do this (CSS seems to be involved), could ya let me know? Thanks!

Big Whew!

2009-05-12T07:30:00.000-07:00

Finally got my blog back to 3 columns. Thanks to Julian at The Beginner's Blogging Guide for detailed directions on how to make this happen!

There's probably more changes to come ... in fact, I know there are! For starters, I need to re-add the Twitter link so y'all can follow me! And I think I've found a background with directions that are not written in Italian (LOL!) so I may be giving it a whirl too! In fact, that's what prompted me to change back to a 3-column format ... that's what the background was designed for. Now I'm just hoping that it won't matter that I've customized the widths of the columns!

Yesterday I listed some of my pink & brown wristlets and bags on eBay. I'm offering FREE SHIPPING on within the U.S. and Canada, just as I do in my Etsy shop!

I've also got a pink & white Double Irish Chain quilt for sale on eBay; it's a cutter, but it's really pretty -- and it's got a BIN price of just $50

But for now, I must run off to my day job ...

Do You Ever Get Tired of the Look of Your Blog?

2009-05-09T10:33:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about changing the look of this blog for awhile now. I found a template that I absolutely LOVE ... but the instructions are written in Italian! And it looks like it might take just a bit of customizing, so that's not going to happen today. If you read (and can translate!) Italian, please let me know! :-)

So I've chosen this nice Spring Green color. I hope you like it! I may go back to a 3-column layout when I have the time to figure that out ... again. I remember it being pretty easy the first time, so hopefully it will be just as easy this time.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the new look ... and when you get done catching up here, please visit my Etsy shop and my eBay auctions!

Lodi Street Faire

2009-04-28T19:30:00.001-07:00

The Lodi Street Faire is May 3rd, and if you've never been to this humongous street faire, you need to go!! There are at least 5 or 6 blocks of both antiques and crafts, and the cross-streets have a variety of vendors ... sometimes antiques (rarely crafts), and usually lots of "community" booths. There's generally enough food vendors to feed a small army!

The antiques are on School Street, and that's where our booth will be. Once again I'll be sharing a booth with my friend Jennifer (aka CrowJunction). Jennifer usually brings lots of furniture and wooden smalls and of course I bring my primitive folk art. Our booth is usually near the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (yummm!!!), although I think this time we may be closer to the corner. We generally decorate the booth with large vintage flags, so it should be pretty easy to find us!

Lodi is about 45 minutes south of Sacramento on either Highway 99 or the 5. Hope to see you Sunday, May 3rd at the Lodi Street Faire!

2009-04-12T20:54:00.000-07:00

Next Sunday, April 19th, will be my first show of the year! I will be sharing a booth at The 1st Roseville Antique Market with my friend Julia and another lady. Julia makes jewelry with beach glass, vintage buttons, and Swarovski crystals. I'll have my prim bunnies and sheep and teddy bears (oh my!), as well as my new line of cute patchwork bags. Hope you'll stop by to visit with us -- we'll be in booth #38 on Oak Street, near the corner of South Grant. Click on the image for more info about the Antique Market!

A Whole Lotta Fun!!!

2009-04-11T13:06:00.000-07:00

The annual ASG Fabric Sale is an event I look forward to every year! I wanted to share pics of my haul today. I rarely spend more than $25 or $30, and I'm always deliriously happy with what I can get for that amount of money! (You can click on the pics to see the fabric closer-up!)

* 1 yard wool blend ... $1
* 3-1/3 yards raw silk ... $3
* 3-1/2 yards raw silk ... $4
* 1/2 yard cotton print ... 50 cents
* bag of shells for a jewelry-making friend ... $2

* 1-3/4 yards wool blend ... $1
* 2-1/2 yards wool ... $3
* ~2 yards blue homespun patchwork ... $3.50
* 1 yard big black checks ... $2
* 1-1/3 yards cotton "honeycomb" fabric (this was just Too Cool to pass up!) ... $2

* 4-1/4 yards muslin (can one ever have too much muslin ... and it's prewashed too!) ... $3
* 1-1/4 yards trapunto-look white cotton ... $2
* 2 yards linen ... $3

* The Spirit of Christmas (Books 2, 4, 10)
* A Patchworthy Apparel Book

I bought "A Patchworthy Apparel Book" when it was first published in 1981; I think it was Jean Wells' first book. It's such a fun book!

Sorry, but I can't give the prices on the books 'cuz they will be getting listed for sale either on Etsy or eBay!

Destination Art!

2009-03-14T19:01:00.000-07:00

This "shop hop" of Sacramento-area art and fabric shops was held yesterday and today. In its 6th year, this is the first year I've heard about it!

My first stop was JR Flamingo, on Fulton Avenue. This is a quilt/fabric shop with a strong emphasis on Asian fabric. They were doing a wet felting demo and had a display of "art dolls." They also loaded me up with water and snacks!

Next was Art Ellis, on J Street in Midtown. I'd never been in there, though I've often stopped at University Art across the street! Art Ellis is a traditional art supply store and sells sketchbooks, pencils, etc.

Then I headed up I-5 to Piece of Mind Bead & Jewelry Studio on Northgate Blvd; this shop was hard to find, so if you're into beads, don't give up -- you'll love it! They were hosting a show and sale of lampworked glass beads by about 8 local? artists. One of the artists, Kim Osibin, was one of the first 30 lampwork bead artists in the country (world?). Another of the bead artists (Suzanne?) provided a demonstration of lampworking (turns out she's an RDH -- dental hygienist -- and knows my boss!).

By this time it was rush hour, and I had NO interest in sitting in traffic on the freeways, so I took Northgate south until I saw a familiar street. El Camino took me through the 'hood, but since it was daylight I wasn't tooooo scared! I eventually ended up at Babetta's Yarn & Gift Shop on San Juan @ Winding Way. This store is the yarn equivalent of Piece of Mind! Among the more unusual fibers were yarns made from 100% bamboo and also some alpaca yarns.

And because it was on the way home, I stopped at Cje's Art & Fiber Gallery in Fair Oaks Village. Although this shop's address is Fair Oaks Blvd, it was a very hard shop to find, as they were tucked around the corner and fronted a parking lot rather than Fair Oaks. I'm not real sure what they do here (sort of looked like a working studio); they had an odd assortment of paintings and unusual and ethnic crafts.

Then this morning, I met Julia at The Stamp Art Shoppe on Sunrise @ Cirby. If you like stamping, scrapbooking, or altered art, you NEED to check this shop out! They were giving a demo of different inks. This was the only shop that had a sale or shop hop special -- 10% off pretty much everything, and we both spent a few dollars.

I'm a little confused about the gift basket drawings. There's one HUGE basket (valued at $900!), the winner of which will be drawn from all of the tickets received -- so I guess for those who went to all 6 shops, they may have 6 entries?? I thought the smaller baskets would be awarded shop by shop, but I heard somewhere along the way that there will be 6 names drawn from ALL of the tickets received -- so the odds are a bit more challenging.

WHEW!!! I can't believe this is the 6th year for this event, but just the first time I've heard of it. I'm already looking forward to next year's Destination Art!

Bagaholics Unite!

2009-03-08T19:49:00.000-07:00

Oh my! I am sooooo honored to be in two Treasuries in as many days! Just got a convo from DeborahsForgetMeNots that she had used my backpack in her "OOAK Purse Art" Treasury!

The image is linked to the Treasury, and (as usual) the link will no longer work after the Treasury expires, early on Wednesday March 11th.

If you remember from yesterday's post about how Treasuries work, once you've logged into your Etsy account, just click on your favorite bags! You have a total of 12 votes and they can all be used on one item, or you can spread them out however you like. Of course I'd appreciate a vote or two ... :-)

Bitten by the Bag Bug!

2009-03-07T15:17:00.000-08:00

Well, it looks like I've been bitten by the bag bug! Before you reach for the disinfectant, let me assure you that this is only contagious if you're the craft-makin' type (though I hope the shoppers catch it too!). Yes, it seems that this is the year of The Bag!

I've just listed two bags on Etsy. The first is a cute little black and almost-white patchwork bag. It went together rather quickly, which enables me to offer it at a lower price.

For this bag, I used a stripe fabric which I purchased recently and a floral fabric that I purchased new a buncha years ago, and is close to qualifying as vintage!

This bag is unlined, but I have taken the time to finish the seams. The fabrics were all prewashed so it it machine washable. You can purchase this bag here.

The second bag I listed is a backpack. I made a few of these last year, and they're still looking for their forever homes.

I had a lot of fun with these backpacks because I was able to raid my stash of antique lace and vintage mother-of-pearl buttons. The two layers of lace around the flap is sewn on by hand with the tiniest of stitches ... and ALL of the pearl buttons are sewn on by hand (there's about 25 of them altogether!).

The other two backpacks are similar -- one has a more antique-looking fabric for the bag (i.e., not so white), and the other has a raspberry background fabric for the bag. Both have several accent fabrics too, of course, as well as the antique lace and vintage buttons. You can purchase this bag here.

I'm currently working on a new bag. The handles are frustrating me just a bit, but I'm almost done with them. I think the rest of the bag will go together very easily ... at least I hope so! And yes, it's also a floral fabric ... and matches one of the (other) backpacks!

What a Nice Surprise!

2009-03-07T07:55:00.000-08:00

Woke up this morning and had a convo from Kath that she had featured my 3 black bunnies in an Etsy Treasury. What a surprise!

*sprinkling magical sales dust on all of the bunnies*

If you're not familiar with Etsy Treasuries, the more popular ones (judged by # of clicks, views, and comments) eventually make it to Etsy's front page; this is the section titled "Handpicked Items."

To vote for Treasury items, once you're logged in to your Etsy account, simply click on the image(s) of your favorite items in each Treasury! You're allowed a total of 12 votes, and that can be divided amongst all of the items, or you can vote 12 times for one item ... or any combination in-between! PLEASE remember to log into your Etsy account before you vote; otherwise, you can click yourself silly, but your votes won't count at all!

NOTE: The screenshot of the Treasury is currently linked to the actual Treasury on the Etsy site, however after this Treasury hops away at 2:34pm EST on March 8th, the link will no longer work.

Need Some Extra $$?

2009-02-06T05:00:00.000-08:00

Are you Spring cleaning or, like me, always working on decluttering? If you have books laying around that you no longer want or need, why not consider selling them via Cash4Books? I just received my first payment from this company, so I can assure you it's for real!

Just click on their banner above to get started!

Cash4Books even pays the postage! Once you've verified that they're buying the books you want to sell, all you have to do is package up your books so they'll arrive safe and sound, then just click on the link in their e-mail to print out the prepaid postage label!

You'll have the choice of receiving your payment direct to your PayPal account OR Cash4Books will send you a check. I was surprised that PayPal didn't even take any fees out of the payment I received!

And if you'd like to come back here and post what books you sold and/or how much they paid you for them, that would be fun too!

Just Opened My 2nd Etsy Shop!

2009-01-27T16:12:00.000-08:00

Oh my! It looks like I forgot to mention that I've opened a second Etsy shop! That happened back on January 10th, so it's about 2 weeks old now. This shop, PrairiePrimitivesToo, is where you'll find my "destash" craft supplies. You can see my 5 most recent listings on the right-hand side of this blog. --->

At the moment, I have several large pieces of cutter quilts listed, along with a few lots of vintage buttons, twill tape in two sizes, and a few odds and ends. I add several items to this shop every week and coming up soon you'll be able to purchase vintage brass military buttons and fabric in this shop.

Of course I still have my original Etsy shop, Prairie Primitives, where you'll find my handmade primitive folk art! (There are still a few destash supplies there that were listed awhile back -- they'll probably stay there till they sell, or until the listings expire -- at which time I'll move them over to the new shop.)

Hope you'll stop by for a visit real soon! :-)

Valentina Primitive Bunny Needs A Forever Home!

2009-01-27T16:04:00.000-08:00

Look what I found hopping around in my studio! It was challenging to catch her -- let alone make her sit still for the photos -- but I finally managed to do just that! Let me introduce you to Valentina, my primitive sweetheart bunny.

I've painted & grubbied her up to a perfect shade of Black Hare. Her nose and paws (hands) are needle-sculpted, I've embroidered her eyes and mouth, and she's got sisal whiskers. Valentina's ears are wired so they're poseable. I've made her jacket from red and white polkadot fabric, and she's wearing red and ticking pants; her clothing is stained with coffee and vanilla. I've added rusty bells to her clothes to make her absolutely primadorable!

I had a lot of fun making Valentina's badge! It's made from osnaburg that I've stamped, wool, tinsel, mica, glass glitter, some of my favorite ribbons, and antique mother of pearl buttons. I've hand sewn a pinback to the badge, so you can wear it or present it to your sweetheart (you can also remove it to make her more of a year-round bunny, if desired)!

Seated, with her ears bent as shown in the photos, Valentina is about 18" tall. Standing up, with her ears stretched out, she's about 33" tall. Valentina is intended to be a collectible doll, and was made in my smoke-free studio from a Tennessee Ridge pattern; Alicia Tové, the goldfish who keeps me company while I sew, splashes hello!

Valentina whispered to me while I was typing this that if she doesn't find a new home, she'll be happy to stay here with me ... and if you want her to be "Valentino" instead, she says that's alright too.

Valentina is available for adoption in my Etsy shop.

Taxes, Permits & Licenses for New California Businesses

2009-01-22T06:49:00.000-08:00

After writing this information out about a dozen times in the last few years (especially since joining Etsy, where thousands of new shops are created every day), I've decided to post this information here in hopes that even more people will find it useful. I should add that I am not a tax professional nor am I an attorney, however I am a sole proprietor who has run a small business in two states, as well as participated in hundreds of craft fairs in many states over the last 30 years. As a reminder (see the title of this post above), this information is mostly for California artists, however those living in other states may benefit from this post as well.

You'll need a seller's permit. The Board of Equalization (BOE) issues this permit, at no cost to you. This permit is what allows you to collect sales tax on your sales. Of course, once you've collected the sales tax, you'll need to turn it in. The BOE will tell you what schedule you're on -- monthly, quarterly, annually, etc. Most new, small, businesses are on an annual filing schedule. The BOE has changed to an online filing system, so you will now prepare your sales tax return online. If you do art/craft fairs (or other events) in other states while living in California, those states may require you to obtain a sales tax permit or license from them as well -- however, please don't worry about this until you need to! Also, if you sell in cities or counties other than the one in which you reside, you should check on the tax rate for those other areas; in California the sales tax rate varies from place to place, and ranges from about 8% to more than 10%!

Your city or county may require you to have a business license -- even if you're only selling online or at craft fairs. Fees for local business licenses vary widely, from free to $100 or more per year. Call your city clerk and/or county clerk's office or go to your city's or county's web site and look for a link about "Doing Business in ..." This business license is strictly for the business, it doesn't have anything to do with sales tax. Some cities where you do art or craft fairs may require you to get a local permit. This is often included in the application fee for the show, however sometimes the show promoter will tell you how to apply for it directly.

If your business operates under a name other than the owner(s) full legal name, then a Fictitious Name Statement must be filed with the County Clerk's office (sometimes called the County Clerk-Recorder) in the county where the business is located. Look in your phone book's government pages or do an internet search to find the address and phone number of this office in your own county. This generally requires publication in a newspaper, however that requirement can often be met by using an inexpensive community-based paper rather than a big city paper!

For those of you starting businesses in 2011, you'll need to file business income taxes for 2011. This is the income tax due on April 15, 2012. You'll need to complete Schedule C (Profit or Loss from Business) and possibly Schedule SE (Self-Employment Tax) in addition to your 1040 and any other schedules or forms that you're required to file. Look at this year's Schedule C to get familiar with the various categories of deductions. I've used Schedule C for many years and it hasn't changed much in all that time.

For your record-keeping, you can either use an Excel or Google spreadsheet or specialized software such as QuickBooks; the main point is to keep accurate records that back up what you're reporting on your income tax return. A spreadsheet has always worked well for me. Each year I set up a spreadsheet with a column for each type of deduction from Schedule C (rent, supplies, utilities, etc.). Be sure to save all business-related receipts for supplies or anything else related to the business! If you buy from someone who doesn't or can't give you a receipt (at a flea market, for example), write your own "receipt" with as much information as you've got (date, location, seller's name if you know it, what the item was, how much you paid, etc.). It's easier when tax time rolls around if you've kept your bookkeeping up-to-date throughout the year. However, if you're organizationally and/or mathematically challenged, at least put your receipts in a shoebox or envelope so they're all in one place and you can hand them over to your tax preparer when tax time rolls around.

Schedule SE only gets filed if you show a profit of more than $400 (this amount may change at some point). It's a very short form and super-simple to complete!

As for selling online, you don't need any additional licenses or permits to do that. At this time, sales tax is only collected on items shipped to a state where you have a "physical presence." (There has been ongoing debate for about a dozen years -- ever since the internet, and e-commerce/online shopping, really took off -- about changing this. The "Amazon Tax" which you may hear about on the news is related to this, so pay attention to those news reports!) For small business owners, "physical presence" is generally defined as where you live, although when your business grows much larger and you establish a manufacturing facility in another state, then you'll have a physical presence in that state as well (we can all dream of that day, right?). If you happen to live in one state, but have a studio or shop in an adjoining state, you probably have a physical presence in both states; if this is your situation, just check with the sales tax authority in both states and they can help you sort it all out.

Remembering My Roots ...

2009-01-16T17:10:00.000-08:00

Painting by Karl C. Brandner (American, 1898-1961)

“A Winter Poem”, c. 1953; oil/board, 18” x 20”.

It's winter in Indiana
And the gentle breezes blow
Seventy miles an hour
At twenty-five below.
 
Oh, how I love Indiana
When the snow's up to your butt
You take a breath of winter
And your nose gets frozen shut.
 
Yes, the weather here is wonderful
So I guess I'll hang around
I could never leave Indiana
'Cause I'm frozen to the ground!!

Once in awhile I miss the snow, but I'll never miss the cold!!

Wanna Join My Mailing List?

2009-01-05T07:24:00.000-08:00

If you'd like to hear about my new listings, both for Etsy and eBay, here's where you can sign up to get those notices! Rest assured that I rarely send more than one message a week ... and I only do that if I'm on an eBay listing frenzy (which happens a couple times a year).

Click to join PrairiePrimitives

Ants in My Pants!

2008-12-18T19:05:00.000-08:00

Well, not quite ... but there are ants in my bathroom!

*Shudder*

Ants belong outdoors, that's all there is to it! They do NOT belong in my bathroom -- or in any other part of my home! I didn't have time to figure out what to do about them before I went to work this morning. Well, I did hurry up and mop both the kitchen & bath floors, just to make sure there wasn't something there that they were finding yummy. And I got out the bottle of vinegar I bought the last time they invaded, a couple years ago (Christmas morn, to be specific!), and wiped up several hundred of the little beasties. There's something about vinegar that ants don't like, at least for a short while.

This afternoon, I noticed a crack in the drywall near the tub, so I soaked a piece of TP with vinegar and stuck it in the crack. That took care of the ants for an hour or so, but they're baaaaaaack. It's just dawned on me that I have a "bug bomb" left over from the last time; I'll set that off in the morning right before I leave for work.

I had to go over to the management office to pick up a couple packages this afternoon, so I double-checked that they'd received my voicemail from this morning requesting a visit from the exterminator. They said yes, they had -- though they hadn't bothered to call (as I'd requested). Turns out they have a new policy of having tenants sign their rights away. Lovely ... I did hand write a note on the form about the office employee telling me that even though, by signing the form, I was agreeing to empty out ALL of the cupboards and under the sink & vanity, etc., they were still only going to spray "the baseboards and around the edges." I haven't had an adverse reaction to the spray yet, so there's no reason to think this time will be any different. I hope Alicia Tové will be ok -- the instructions said to turn off aquarium filters before the spraying and leave them off for 4 hours or so afterwards. Alicia's little aquarium has a lid with just a wee feeding hole, so I'll need to remember to cover her up before the exterminator arrives -- or maybe, better yet, move her to a far corner away from where the "bug bomb" will be set off ... that will probably be riskier for her!

Have I mentioned how much I hate ants?

3 Days and Counting ...

2008-12-03T14:33:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to make another mention of this upcoming event! I've participated in this show since 2001. Serious shoppers always arrive 15-20 minutes before the doors open. The doors do not open early. Hope to see you there!

Bird in Hand
Holiday Folk Art & Antiques Show

Saturday December 6th, 2008
9:30 am until 2:30 pm

347 First Street
Los Altos, California

$1 admission (benefits the Los Altos History House Museum)

This show is held at the American Legion Hall, across from Draeger's Market in downtown Los Altos. Los Altos is located midway between San Francisco and San Jose.

I've stocked my Etsy shop for the holidays! However, it will be "on vacation" (meaning you won't be able to buy anything) from Friday evening (12/5) until Sunday evening (12/7) when I return home.

With Luck Like This ...

2008-12-02T20:20:00.000-08:00

Sunday evening, I burnt the hell out of my lower lip. Co-workers think it's a cold sore. It's not. I know exactly when it happened -- and the blister came and went before I even began to feel the pain. Ouch. (Sorry, there won't be any pictures of this!)

Monday afternoon, I came home from work -- ready to do some serious "Cyber Monday" shopping -- only to discover the red light blinking on the DSL modem. There wasn't a dial tone on the phone either. This didn't look good. I reset the modem, rebooted the computer, even unplugged both phones while the modem was shut off (can you feel my desperation?!). But nothing helped. So I went to the manager's office to borrow a phone to call AT&T, who allowed themselves 26 hours from the time of my call to repair the problem!

Tuesday morning, I discovered a huge bolt in one of my truck's tires. WTF? Ran into a neighbor as I was headed back to my apartment to use the phone without a dial tone to call my boss to tell her I'd be late for work. I asked him if he knew how to change a tire. He did ... and he did (and he even let me use his cell phone to call my boss!). He wouldn't take any $$, but mentioned that he's got 4 kiddos, so I'll take them a plate of holiday goodies!

Tuesday afternoon, I tried THREE places before I could get the tire repaired. Midas was full to over-flowing with customers. Firestone claimed the tire wasn't repairable, but wanted to sell me a new $100 replacement tire (they offered me no choice of tires, just said that it would cost $100 plus the cost of the valve stem, mounting, balancing ... I said "No thanks!"). Then I remembered the tires, which are about 5 years old, were from Les Schwab and their purchase included a road hazard warranty. YAY!!! The closest Schwab store was about 2 miles away, where I was met by a nice young service writer fellow in the parking lot even before I had the ignition shut off. "That's correct, ma'am; there's no charge for repairs when it's our tires!" WOW!!

Tuesday afternoon, part II, after getting the tire fixed, I got home and peeked around the corner of the bedroom door to see if that obnoxious red light was still blinking on the modem. It wasn't!! I gingerly picked up the phone receiver and OMG ... a dial tone!!! And here I am ...

20% Chance of Rain

2008-11-26T13:44:00.000-08:00

Well, if this is what a 20% chance of rain looks like, I'm not sure I want to see 100%! Winter has definitely arrived in Sacramento! Gotta check the SpareTheAir site to see if I can use the fireplace ... sure hope so! This long weekend is going to be all about sewing ... and hopefully more than a little listing on Etsy!

Two Weeks and Counting!

2008-11-22T10:32:00.000-08:00

This is my booth from the 2007 show!

I can't believe it's almost time for the Bird in Hand show again! This holiday folk art & antique show may be small in size, but it's very much worth a look-see! Produced by Sue Lynch of Quail Country Antiques, and Emily Hollinger, a local artist, this show has been a much-anticipated annual event for more than 10 years now.

Located in the charming downtown area of Los Altos, California, Bird in Hand is held the 1st Saturday of December (for 2008, the date is December 6th), from 9:30am until 2:30pm. The show is held in the American Legion Hall, located at 347 First Street in Los Altos.

I would highly recommend that you arrive by 9:00am, or shortly thereafter. There is usually a bit of a line to get in, but because our wonderful customers do their job well (buy, buy, buy!), it's imperative for serious shoppers to arrive at (or before) the show opens!

Once in the door (if you're one of the first 50 or so shoppers), grab a shopping basket from the table to your left. Then make the rounds, traveling from booth to booth, to see all of the folk art and antiques. A central checkout area is provided near the entrance/exit for your convenience, so you can pay for all of your purchases at the same time!

Besides my primitive folk art, you will find Emily's paintings, Sue's antiques, and a variety of handmade items in various styles. Admission is $1 -- which is a donation to the Los Altos History House Museum.

New Listings on Etsy & eBay

2008-11-16T06:32:00.001-08:00

It's been a super-busy week, but I've managed to find some time to list things on both Etsy and eBay!

The first few of my eBay auctions will end today -- these are for vintage patterns. BTW, I have more vintage patterns if you're interested, but unless I get more than the one bid I have at the moment, the rest of them will be going on Etsy. Also ending today is an auction for 3 seed bags in wonderful Autumnal shades of brown. The remainder of my current eBay auctions will end tomorrow -- these auctions include 5 ounces of colorful wool roving, small IKEA storage jars, a punch needle piece I did last year ("Harvest Moon"), and a set of primitive candy canes, also done in brown shades (these would look great with the seed bags, by the way!).

I've been listing "destash" items on Etsy, the results of cleaning and rearranging my studio over the past couple of weeks. So far, I've listed metal tins, silver glitter, red Chinese take-out boxes, and an assortment of metallic papers and stickers for altered art or scrapbooking. If these things don't sound like me, that's because they're not -- I received them in a "surprise box" where I only had to pay shipping. And if the person I acquired these from sees this, never fear, you included several things that I am keeping! :-) I also have some primitive destash items to list soon too! Off the top of my head, I remember some faux wired grapevine and a couple of small beeskeps ... but there's lots more!

If you're wondering why I took time during my busy season to rearrange my studio, it's because I found the PERFECT work table, a great old antique table that's actually big enough so I can get some serious work done! (I'll post pictures soon, once the studio is "finished"!) For the last 2.5 years, I've been using an antique sewing table -- the folding kind -- and if you're familiar with this type of table, you know just how small they are! They're also not very high, which meant that I had to put my sewing machine atop a small crate to bring it up to a usable height. Of course this wasn't terribly conducive to doing serious sewing! My new work table is just the right height (as Goldilocks would say!), and I've already spent more time sewing in the last week than I have in the last six months!

OK, enough blogging for now, I need to get some breakkie and then list a few more things on Etsy!!

Hampster Dance

2008-11-10T14:47:00.001-08:00

OMG ... someone just sent me the link to the Hampster Dance!! This was one of the very first web sites I ever saw that "did something" (move/action). I'd sit and watch it for waaaaay longer than I'd care to admit. Check out the Hampster Dance here!

Yes We Can!

2008-11-06T07:06:00.000-08:00

This is my friend Wen and her wife Tara,

at their wedding in San Francisco,

June 17, 2008.

To borrow a line from President-elect Obama, YES WE CAN ... make people understand that discrimination is not only wrong, but it's illegal too.

And borrowing a slightly paraphrased quote from Brad Pitt, "... no one has the right to deny another their life, even though they disagree with it ... everyone has the right to live the life they so desire if it doesn’t harm another ... discrimination has no place in America!" I wasn't aware until just a few days ago that Brad Pitt has refused to marry Angelina Jolie until gay marriage is legalized once and for all. How cool is that?!

If you'd like to help in our continuing battle, here's a few things you can do:

* Follow the case Strauss v. Horton in the California Supreme Court.

* Help us challenge the tax laws of the Mormon church: http://tinyurl.com/5rmxfu

* Donate, donate, donate! NCLR, Equality California, No on 8, and other similar groups can still use your support. This isn't over yet!

Here's a No on 8 commercial that didn't get a lot of air time, so I'm giving it a bit of time right here! http://tinyurl.com/5nada6

And remember, "If you're walking down the right path and you're willing to keep walking, eventually you'll make progress." (http://tinyurl.com/5htmm4)

2008-10-23T14:02:00.000-07:00

Reverend Deborah Johnson of Santa Cruz, speaking on why Prop 8 is so very, very wrong (October 12, 2008). Hope you'll have a listen!

Please Vote NO on 8!

2008-10-17T14:23:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I blog about things near and dear to my heart that aren't related to primitive folk art. I hope you will read this post.

Proposition 8 (aka "Prop 8"), if passed, will undo a ruling by the California State Supreme Court handed down in May of this year (2009). This ruling gave lesbians and gays the right to legally marry in this state. This is a long-awaited ruling, and has been much celebrated by lesbians & gays AND many heterosexuals, alike!

Now, sadly, this ruling is in jeopardy of being overturned by Prop 8. If Prop 8 passes, there will be an addition made to the State Constitution which makes marriage in California legal only between one female and one male. Lesbian and gay couples, some of whom have been together for decades, will no longer be allowed to marry.

Shelly Bailes (left) and Ellen Pontac (right), who have been together for 34+ years, hold each other's hands as Yolo County Clerk/Recorder Freddie Oakley performs their wedding ceremony on June 16, 2008.

What's worse is that those in favor of Prop 8 are lying in their ads! Here's an explanation of the fiction (what they're saying) and the fact (what will really happen if Prop 8 fails).

Fiction: Teaching children about same-sex marriage will happen here unless we pass Prop 8.
Fact: Not one word in Prop 8 mentions education, and no child can be forced, against the will of their parents, to be taught anything about health and family issues at school. California law prohibits it, and the Yes on 8 campaign knows they are lying. Sacramento Superior Court Judge Timothy Frawley has already ruled that this claim by Prop 8 proponents is “false and misleading.”

Fiction: Churches could lose their tax-exemption status.
Fact: Nothing in Prop 8 would force churches to do anything. In fact, the court decision regarding marriage specifically says “no religion will be required to change its religious policies or practices with regard to same-sex couples, and no religious officiant will be required to solemnize a marriage in contravention of his or her religious beliefs.”

Fiction: A Massachusetts case about a parent’s objection to the school curriculum will happen here.
Fact: Unlike Massachusetts, California gives parents an absolute right to remove their kids and opt-out of teaching on health and family instruction they don’t agree with. The opponents know that California law already covers this and Prop 8 won’t affect it, so they bring up an irrelevant case in Massachusetts.

Fiction: Four Activist Judges in San Francisco…
Fact: Prop 8 is not about courts and judges, it’s about eliminating a fundamental right. Judges didn’t grant the right, the constitution guarantees the right. Proponents of Prop 8 use an outdated and stale argument that judges aren’t supposed to protect rights and freedoms. This campaign is about whether Californians, right now, in 2008 are willing to amend the constitution for the sole purpose of eliminating a fundamental right for one group of citizens.

Fiction: People can be sued over personal beliefs.
Fact: California’s laws already prohibit discrimination against anyone based on race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. This has nothing to do with marriage.

Fiction: Unless Prop 8 passes, CA parents won’t have the right to object to what their children are taught in school.
Fact: California law clearly gives parents and guardians broad authority to remove their children from any health instruction if it conflicts with their religious beliefs or moral convictions.

Regardless of how you feel about the issue, we should not eliminate fundamental rights for ANY Californians.

Please vote NO on Prop 8.

Thank You to my Customers at Lodi!!

2008-10-12T17:58:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to take a moment to thank all of my customers at Lodi! It was a bit of a madhouse early in the day, but I enjoyed chatting with all of you so much!

I've talked Jennifer into doing the show again next year, so we'll be back in both May and October ... yay! Jennifer tells me she'll get our application turned in pronto so we can have the same fantabulous location!!!

Next Sunday (Oct. 19th) is the California Country Show in Los Altos and, as usual, I'll be participating in the Folk Art Fair held across the parking lot (we'll be somewhere near the Museum -- maybe in the courtyard, or maybe outside where we were in June, I don't know yet). I have some Halloween pieces, quite a few Santas, and hope to finish up a few "snowfolk" as well. See you then!

On The Road Again!

2008-10-02T15:55:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again -- show season -- and, as usual, I'm a very busy grrl!!

This Sunday (October 5th), is the Lodi Street Faire. I'll be sharing booth 151 on School Street (that's the street with the antiques!) with my friend Jennifer of Crow Junction. Our booth is usually near the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (yummm!). I plan to bring some "leftover Halloween" and offer it at VERY good prices (big dolls for $45, for example!). I may have some newer items too! (The picture above is from a booth I had at Sutter Creek several years ago ... we'll have a white canopy at Lodi and will probably have an American flag or two draped around the booth!).

The next Saturday (October 11th), I'll have half of a table (!!) at A Wondrous Winter Fete at the Alamo Women's Club, located at 1401 Danville Blvd. in Alamo, CA (this is in the East Bay, near Walnut Creek). I may well be the only truly primitive artist there, as I'm expecting many of the artists to have more of a white / sparkly / glittery / shabby chic sorta display. In addition to my pumpkins, Santas and as many snow folk as I can get done in the next 10 days, I'll have my token sparkly item, my ever-popular snowballs!

And (as if that's not enough excitement for one month!), the next Sunday (October 19th) is the California Country Antique Show in Los Altos. As usual, I'll be in (or near) the Courtyard of the Los Altos History Museum -- that is, IF I still have anything left to sell!!! (And if I've sold out, I'll probably still stop by ... to shop at the antique show!)

I've also been asked to put things in the Country Collective Show, which I think is also held at the Alamo Women's Club building and runs from October 16th through October 18th. I have begged off of this for this year, however Marcia from Cottage Jewel in Danville hasn't given up on me yet ... so I may have a few things there after all!

Sooo ... I guess I'd better get back to work, huh?! See you soon!

Another Way to Help Jody & Jayme!

2008-09-22T02:24:00.000-07:00

If you would feel more comfortable contributing money towards Jayme's bills at her vet's office, you can send your donation to

Dr. Tom
Crago Veterinary Clinic
7077 West Blvd.
Youngstown, OH 44512

If you would like to call the clinic, their number is (330) 726-0068.

Please let them know that this is for Jayme the newfie's account; she really likes Dr. Tom! (Jody asked that I not use her last name here, but if you need it to make a contribution, just ask for it!)

Thanks so much for all your help!

Can You Help a Friend?

2008-09-21T13:45:00.000-07:00

Jody is one of my online friends. Due to some chronic medical problems which leave her unable to work, she's in a dire financial situation. She's sold pretty much everything she owns, as well as everything her mother can part with, and now it's come down to this -- she's selling one of her dog's plushies! I've started the bidding and I hope you can help her out.

I can guarantee you that the story IS true! Jody has been on full disability for several years. When I first met her, she worked at Goodwill for $5/hour but, as she writes in the auction description, her health no longer allows her to work -- heck, she can't even drive (some days even walking is a challenge!). And did I mention she's only in her mid-40s?!

Jody gets a small disability payment each month, but it's barely enough to pay for her mortgage and utilities. Her healthcare is covered by Medicare, but she doesn't quite qualify for food stamps; even if she did, she says that the welfare office is on the other side of town so she couldn't get there if she wanted to. Selling on eBay has really helped Jody make ends almost meet for the last few years, but with the economy in the tank, she's having more trouble than most of us making ends meet. Please ... if you can help her out by bidding on this auction ... I hope you will do so! Here's the auction link:

Selling my plush stuffed Ducky to pay bills Bizarre!! - eBay (item 380066276121 end time Sep-28-08 10:16:21 PDT)

Also, if you could share this email/auction link with a few friends and/or dog lovers, I'd sure appreciate it! Jody doesn't know that I'm spreading the word myself. I'd just love to see her innundated with bids for Jayme's ducky!!

Oh, and if you live in or near Youngstown, Ohio and need someone to sell stuff for you on eBay, Jody's your gal! I'm not sure how much she'd charge, but I'm sure it would be reasonable!

Jody has a number of other interesting things listed as well. She likes vintage stuff and has sold everything from vintage panty girdles to artificial legs! She tries hard to list a bunch of things every Sunday, and occasionally she'll list on Thursdays too; it just depends how she's feeling that day.

Pumpkins from the Prairie Primitives' Pumpkin Patch

2008-09-19T18:43:00.001-07:00

Fresh from the pumpkin (or punkin, to some of you) patch, here's the early 2008 crop of Prairie Primitives' Pumpkins! I've made orange pumpkins, white pumpkins, and even green pumpkins this year (I love that shade of green, by the way!). These are just 3 of five or six different shapes and sizes that I make. I've got tall slender pumpkins, short chubby pumpkins, tall thicker pumpkins, and whatever else I can dream up! They're priced in the low to mid 30s, and you can buy them by clicking on the picture -- which should take you to my web site! :-) If you've got your heart set on a pumpkin in a different shape or color, let's talk!

2008-09-17T21:56:00.001-07:00

Y'all will be glad to know that I survived my weekend in the Bay Area! Did most of the stuff I'd planned to do (see previous post), with the exception of visiting with Linda & Janell; hope you're feeling better now, Linda!

We (my friend Renee & I) took BART to the 16th street stop and walked up to Home in the Castro, where we had brunch with some of the ADYKE gals. After brunch, we walked around the Castro and then rode MUNI up to Noe Valley. I hadn't been to Noe Valley in 8 or 9 years and was delighted to see a few of the same businesses were still there! We spent a couple of hours wandering in and out of many of the shops before taking BART back to the East Bay (via the "scenic route" -- first we got on the wrong train and then we got off a stop early!). Renee really has it made because she lives within walking distance of the BART station!

Saturday evening found us at the local Round Table pizza joint, and then Sunday we went to the antique fair at Shadelands Museum in Walnut Creek. My only purchase was a bundle of vintage sewing patterns from the 1940s/50s. We had lunch at Marie Callender's and made a few stops -- first at Quail Country Antiques and then at Keenan Heinz/Cool Stuff where we visited with the delightful Carrie Hill. Later in the day, I headed back to what I fondly call the "East East Bay."

(Hopefully I'll get to play DDR next time I visit Renee!)

Workin' for the Weekend!

2008-09-09T17:11:00.000-07:00

I've got a FUN weekend coming up this next one!!! I'm headed down to visit a friend in the Bay Area. We'll take BART over to SF and walk around a bit (probably in the Union Square area). I hope to visit with my friends Linda and Janell; they live near Union Square, and I haven't seen them since I moved to Sacramento eight years ago!

Then on Sunday, we're going to the Shadelands antique show. Having been handed an application for this show may have been the best thing that happened to me at the Danville show! Since I've never been to the show, I was a bit hesitant to sign up for a booth; so we're going to check it out and if it looks promising, I'll plan on doing it next year! I've heard that it "used to be" THE show for primitives in the area, but that it's fallen on hard times the last few years ... but is starting to come back. So we'll see ...

The friend I'm staying with for the weekend has "Dance Dance Revolution" so I hope she'll hook that up so we can try it -- it was still in the box, unopened, as of a couple weeks ago!

What's Past and What's Next

2008-09-09T16:57:00.000-07:00

The Danville show wasn't very exciting. It had been billed as "Antiques & Art" but it turned out to be more "Flea Market & Art." There were LOTS of people out walking their dogs -- golden retrievers, pocket pets, and THREE standard poodles (those are the big ones!); I was surprised there weren't any dalmatians or Irish setters in attendance!

The next place I'll be selling my primitive folk art will be the Lodi Street Faire. This is a HUGE event held twice a year in downtown Lodi, California. It's always on the first Sunday in May and the first Sunday in October. The October Faire will be on the 5th of the month. I'll be sharing a booth with my friend Jennifer (aka Crow Junction). I will have primitive dolls in both Halloween and Christmas styles, and many smaller things as well. Our booth will definitely be on School Street, and it will probably be near the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (yummm!) -- we've been in this location for a few years now and it's worked out well. Hope you'll come see us!

Come See Me!

2008-08-25T18:57:00.001-07:00

On Labor Day, I will be showing my primitive folk art at the Antiques & Art Fair in Danville, CA. Danville is in the "East Bay" area, near Walnut Creek & Pleasanton. The show will be at 125 Railroad Ave. I will be bringing lots of my primitive pumpkins (not sure if I'll have any of the Pumpkin People just yet), some Halloween dolls, wonderful primitive strawberries & bumblebees, at least one ladybug and all 3 of my shabby chic backpacks! In the "antiques department," I will be bringing several large pieces of cutter quilts (the ones currently listed on Etsy!) and, as usual, I'll probably find a few other things to bring as well! This event officially starts at 9am, but since admission is free, you're welcome to arrive earlier ... I'll probably get there about 6:30am (which, ummm, means I will need to leave Sacramento by 5am!!).

If you're traveling from any distance for this show, downtown Pleasanton is about 15 miles south of Danville, and has a bunch of neat shoppes that you'd also enjoy exploring (American Harvest is my favorite, and this is where Nicol Sayre first sold her wonderful dolls!). There's a quilt shop in Walnut Creek, Thimble Creek, that always has a great selection of fabric and patterns. Oh, and I can't forget Quail Country, which is one of only two really primitive antique shops that I know of in Northern California!

I am a "Featured Artist!"

2008-08-19T17:19:00.000-07:00

Char, from the Primitive Swapping Room, has invited me to be a featured artist in her forum. She's posted a pic of my original JOL's (jack o'lanterns) on the front page of the forum.

I need to make more of these punkin people and hope to start them this evening! They sell for $42 each ... you know, in case you just have to have one (or more!).

It's a Good Color for Me!

2008-08-11T22:10:00.000-07:00

And here's one of those posts that's not related to my primitive folk art. But since I don't have a myspace page, I had nowhere else to post it!

you are lavender
#E6E6FA

Your dominant hue is blue, making you a good friend who people love and trust. You're good in social situations and want to fit in. Just be careful not to compromise who you are to make them happy.

Your saturation level is very low - you have better things to do than jump headfirst into every little project. You make sure your actions are going to really accomplish something before you start because you hate wasting energy making everyone else think you're working.

Your outlook on life is bright. You see good things in situations where others may not be able to, and it frustrates you to see them get down on everything.

the spacefem.com html color quiz

Finished the Shabby Chic Backpacks!

2008-07-30T06:39:00.000-07:00

I've been working on these for a couple of weeks, and just finished them yesterday. This one is listed on eBay -- and the auction will end on Sunday, August 3rd.

I had a lot of fun making them ... from mixing up the fabrics to choosing the antique handmade laces and vintage mother-of-pearl buttons! The other two are the same style, but different combinations of fabric/lace/buttons. I'd love to have some feedback on these bags ... hope you like them as much as I do!

Did a Bit of Redecorating in Here!

2008-07-20T06:35:00.000-07:00

I realized it had been awhile since I checked out the Blogger "goodies" ... looks like I've found a few more that i just had to have. But now I'm wondering if the layout is getting too "busy" ... sure wish there was a way to add space between each of the elements to spread them out a bit.

Prairie Primitives Folk Art

FOLKStore is Open!

Black Friday Comes Earlier Every Year!

Harvest Festival - Sacramento

I Won! I Won!

Will You Chip In?

Etsy Treasury - Happy Homespun Holidays

Blogger Finally Got It (mostly) Right!!!

I Love My Customers but I Hate Dimensional Weight Shipping!

Prairie Primitives Mercantile Lives Again!

Want to Change the Name of Your Etsy Shop?

Another 15 minutes of fame :-)

New Digital Collage Sheet - Sailor Kids

If it's Spring, eBay will raise their fees!

11 Quick Tips to Improve Your Etsy Shop

Valentine Make Do

I'm in an Etsy Treasury!

'Happy, Healthy, Homespun Holidays from the Heartland!' by TranzendentalArts

Megan Ellis Lampworked Beads

Midtown Bazaar, here we come!

'Midtown Bazaar, here we come!' by PrairiePrimitives

I Won! I I Won!

The Interview!

Just some ramblings ...

Interview with Sacramento Bee!

Fall Craft Fairs

Sewing Up a Storm!

New Primitive Dolls on Picturetrail!

Oh Beautiful for Spacious Skies

Sacramento's Very Own "Etsy Craft Party"

Cash for Appliances Rebate Program

Selling on Consignment

This is Getting Exciting!

Looking for a New Home!

Craftastic Sale - this Saturday 3/27/10 - Orangevale, CA

A New Kind of Status Symbol ...

PayPal's Micropayments

New IRS Rules to Take Effect in 2011

The Doll on my Business Cards

I'm Still Here!

Featured in MimisDressShop Blog!

Prairie Primitives - Featured on the Handmade Highway!

Black Friday - Cyber Monday Sale

Sign up for my mailing list!

Subscribe to PrairiePrimitives Mailing List

Oakmont High School - The Day After

Shop on Facebook!

Thoughts of Thanksgiving

Oakmont High School Craft Fair

Pumpkins Aren't Just for Halloween Anymore!

Just Updated My "Online Yard Sale"

Rustic Autumn Gift Guide on the Handmade Highway

Halloween & Vine Creeps Nearer!

Destashing Fabric!

Etsy Treasury!

Fall Preview & Craft Supply "Destash" Sale

California Chit Chat Girls of Etsy

SEO and Why It's Important to Artists

Ditty Bags & Covered Boxes on eBay

Americana Flag "Porch Swing" Pillow Cover

Meeting the Etsy Admins in San Francisco

Sutter Creek & Magnolia Marketplace

Americana Listings on eBay!

ZNE Convenzione & Art, Paper & Pleasantries

Still Working on the Blog ...

It's Getting There ...

Big Whew!

Do You Ever Get Tired of the Look of Your Blog?

Lodi Street Faire

A Whole Lotta Fun!!!

Destination Art!

Bagaholics Unite!

Bitten by the Bag Bug!

What a Nice Surprise!

Need Some Extra $$?

Just Opened My 2nd Etsy Shop!

Valentina Primitive Bunny Needs A Forever Home!

Taxes, Permits & Licenses for New California Businesses

Remembering My Roots ...

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