Christmas Has Come and Gone...

So, Here I am with an update on what's going on with me and Lanee's Crochet.

Christmas was pretty nice.  I actually got something that I wanted this year, and from an unexpected source

And I love it!

There are 3 things that I wanted for Christmas this year: yarn, baking gear, and tea.  I want yarn and tea year round, but for some reason, no one here has picked up on that.  This year, we pulled names for Christmas and I got my little brother and he got me.  My request was for some yarn, but after a few days of thinking about it, he just gave me money.

I've been walking around with this yarn since it got here last week, squeezing it and smelling it and nuzzling it.  I don't know what I'll make just yet.  I just LOVE it.  It's something that I would buy for myself if I wasn't in the habit of spending every free or extra cent on some one else.

And it's not blue!  It's just nice.  Blue is my favorite color, so I tend to buy all things blue, but the smaller skein that I got looks like a sunset in techni-color.

I wish that I knew how to knit because that yarn would make some killer lacy arm warmers.

After all the hoopla over Christmas (with the parties and gift giving, cooking and baking and what not) has died down, I still have my Christmas yarn next to my bed waiting for an idea.

Thank You, Mini for getting me just what I wanted for Christmas  ♥

I've also got to thank Monet for helping me send along warm wishes to a friend this holiday.  She's got a shop on Etsy that you can check out for roving, yarn, crochet and knit goods, stitch markers and maybe a little more.

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I've decided not to wait until after the new year started to open my shops back up.  I've still got my sales up and running, so if you were eyeballing something there before Christmas and thought that you'd missed the sale... Shop on, my friend!

Lanee's Crochet on Etsy

Lanee's Crochet on Artfire

Visit LaneesCrochet's Studio

SAVE 30.00 % On Order Total (orders above $9.99)

Use Coupon Code:

HOLIDAYDEAL09

during checkout.

Floral Gifts

Taking this Holiday Time Off

I've been finding it really hard to keep up with all that I need to in order to promote my shops/ generate sales, so rather than struggle with this while trying to deal with real life and what is actually happening rather than what's not, I'm going on vacation until the holidays are over.

If there is something that you had your eye on in Lanee's Crochet, you should grab it today to get it at the sale price.

I'm looking forward to a happy, stress-free holiday~

and Wishing you the same!

Hey! Where's That gift Guide?

I really wanted to continue on the path of the gift guide with 'gifts for dad' following my 'gifts for mom' post, but I found it really difficult to pretend what I would get a dad if I had one.

I've grown up being raised by my mother, and a couple of aunts, so I think I will skip the dad guide this  year. next weekend, I'll be back with gifts for brothers. (I do have 2 of those!)

While I don't have a whole guide worth of items that would be nice for dad, I did pick a few that I would get a boyfriend/ husband or just important guy in my life if there was one.

Sandalwood Shaving Soap 

Father and Son Short Sleeve Shirt w/ Tie Appliqué

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Utility Knife 3in. Blade with Ebony Handle

Personalized All Leather Magnetic Money Clip

A Bit Behind on Things Here, but Here's What's New!

    It was my aim to have my gift guides scheduled for posting on Saturday- any time, as long as people were there to look but, I've fallen behind this week.  I was much busier than I had planned Thanksgiving week.  I wound up preparing the turkey and shopping around for things.  Along with more than a few unexpected guests, my time has been taken up by trying not to be rude and reclusive by staying in my room and really getting busy with my shop and studio, making sure that every one's fed and that my son isn't whining about stupid things and is sharing with his little friend who now calls me Aunt.  Not sure how I feel about that, but it is what it is.

    In the few moments that I have been able to get to myself, I've managed to list a few of new things in my Etsy:  Http://laneescrochet.etsy.com .

    It seems like smaller things are flying off of the Etsy shelves, so I'm going to focus on adding stocking stuffer type items back to my shop there.  There will be a few hats and scarves and stuff, but mostly small items under $10.00.

Show your love of handmade by using this Coffee Cup Cozy while at work or on the go.

This coin Coin Purse makes the great gift for a teen.  It's slim and is the perfect introduction to how cool handmade gifts are.

This Orange-Red Hair Clip can be worn by all ages.  Whether it's to compliment an outfit, or to keep hair out of the face, the vivid colors and simple design makes this clip ageless.

I'm hoping to have gift guide 2 of 5  posted by tomorrow afternoon.  I'll let you all know if I meet that goal.   ☺

                            

Old and New and Coupons Too!

I've decided to go ahead and create a discount for the holidays!

 In my Artfire studio, you can use coupon code HOLIDAYDEAL09 to receive 30% off all orders totaling $10 or more.

Visit LaneesCrochet's Studio

SAVE 30.00 % On Order Total (orders above $9.99)

Use Coupon Code:

HOLIDAYDEAL09

during checkout.

Craft Supplies

In my Etsy Shop, All items have already been  discounted by 20%  to reflect this discount, so there's no waiting for a revised invoice.

All items come with free shipping on top of this offer, so you're getting quite a deal here!

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**This coupon/percentage off offer is only valid from November 23, 2009 to December 21, 2009**

*While The USPS 2009 Holiday Shipping Cut Off Date is Dec. 21st, I cannot guarantee that your package will arrive by Christmas if ordered any later than Dec. 18th. (heck, I can't guarantee that it will get there on time if you do order before the 18th- we all know how the post office can be, but I'll give it an effort!)

A Couple New Things

Earlier today, I added my Pink Rose Pixie Hood to my Etsy shop.

With refreshed pictures and my holiday discount already applied, it's ready for purchase for only $24.50!

I've also added this Child Sized Gray and Yellow Newsboy Beanie to my Artfire studio:

With the 30% off coupon and free shipping, it's only $10.50!

I will be slowly filling my Etsy shop up with things that I already have listed on Artfire, so if you'd rather shop there, check it out to see what I've put there lately =-)

Handmade Holiday Gift Guide -Gifts for Mom

I've been wanting to do a gift guide for a while.  I'm starting out with handmade gift suggestions for mom.  I'm sure that my guides will get better as they come along.  It'll be a learning experience that you're welcome to join me on =-)

ePersonalizee

l Two Custom Hand Stamped Sterling Silver Personalized Disc Necklace and Birthstone 

l Love Personalized Stamped Copper Pendant Teal Apatite Gemstone

l Personalized Terry Velour Spa Shower Wrap with Matching Slippers 

eHolde

                                                                                   

l Hand Dyed Patchwork Purse

l Your Personal Pouch 

l Maven's Boho Hobo Purse

eDresse

 

l Sandmaiden Wool Dolman Sleeve Wrap Top or Jacket

l Caramel Relish Winter Corduroy Jacket

l Bokja022...Coconut cream

eAccessorizee

                                                                                                     

l Fingerless Gloves in Gray 

l White Star Flower Neck Warmer / Cowl  

l Royal Emerald Kanzashi Style Silk Flower Brooch

The purpose of this collection of 12 items is to give you some ideas on what and where to look for handmade gifts for mom this holiday season.  These are things that I would by for my mother if I had all the money in the world (or even just a little lol).  I hope you'll join me here next week for guide 2 of 5 =-)

Artisans Featured:

CandiceKane

CanadianRockiesArt

ShopMomento

YourSewSweet 

Antieuclid's Random Emporium

MavenStudio

Sandmaiden

RelishedArtistry

GiftByWish

HomeLab 

Ayca 

PetalMix

Fabulous Art Prints, Originals By Meluseena

Have you ever come across artwork that just tugged at something inside you?

While checking up on my personal twitter account, I came across a tweet from Meluseena which mentioned a 'new blog update with new art'.

I was immediately compelled to click what ever link this person had to offer because her twitter picture is so unique. It definitely stands apart from the rest!

When I first saw it, the look on the girl's face enticed me to make up a story about why it was what it was. I decided that perhaps she had just seen the guy of her dreams make his way to her sister, instead of her, take her hand and kiss it (so as to show his interest and intentions) in a far away time when that was what people did.

Or perhaps she had just gotten done preparing a nice dessert which she would proudly serve after supper. It had to cool, of course, so out of the oven it went an on to the trivet. Having gone out of the kitchen for just a second, she returns to find her little pest of a brother digging into it with his nubby, grubby fingers. The look on her face would be the calm before the wrath.

(this is a scenario that I am all too familiar with =-|)

I may have gotten a bit carried away with my impression of what this face was for before I actually clicked through to the blog. There, it actually belongs to a quite young looking, but fierce nonetheless, dark haired female who has (dare I assume) Napoleon Bonaparte dangling from her pinky finger while hanging on for dear life! It's absolutely wonderful!

The introduction that Lisa Falzon's blog header (http://lisa-falzon.blogspot.com) gives us as we enter both invites and dares us to scroll down to see what else there is going on there.

I think that what has drawn me into Liza's art world is the expression on her subjects faces along with the use of vivid color. Her works of art, which are also interpretations of history could very well be snap shots from another dimension!

Here are a few of her works that I like the most:

Goldilocks -

This Rug is Just Right -

art by Lisa Falzon

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The Girl in the Rose Veil

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Jack and the Queen

by Lisa Falzon

Lisa also offers wearable art and pocket mirrors. If you love her art as much as I do, you'll totally enjoy carrying around these small versions of her work.

Madame Pompadour

Pocket Art Mirror

The Girl in the Rose Veil

Wearable Art

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I invite you to delve into Lisa Falzon's world by visiting her:

Blog http://lisa-falzon.blogspot.com/

Portfolio http://www.lisa-falzon.com/

and

Etsy Shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/meluseena

Also,

You can become a fan of her facebook Fanpage

and follow her on twitter Meluseena

Lanee's Crochet offers Free Shipping!

... Now, and perhaps forever.

Now that the holiday season is upon us, I wanted to remind every one that Lanee's Crochet is shipping charge free.
A couple of months back, I decided to apply a free shipping offer to all items that I have for sale online (on Artfire, Etsy, and 1000Markets.   The price you see next to the item is the price you pay.
This way, you'll be able to easily figure on how much of your holiday budget you'll be spending without being surprised by the additional charge of shipping at check out.

Let's call it a special, because it kinda is =-)

I've got a more than a few items that can serve as stocking stuffers or Hanukkah gifts in my studio- here are a few:

  Blue Crocheted Slippers

  Spring Green Hair Clip

  

 Coffee Cup Cozy

 

                                 

I've also come across a lot of good deals on Artfire which are marked by tags- Here are just a few of those as well:

Five Sparrows                                        

Jinx1764

Everyday Moments

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   It's not going to be hard to find great deals on handmade goods this holiday season with the amount of stuff that's out there as well as Artfire's Holiday deals tags.  I'm going to try and give you a little help with gift ideas in my upcoming gift guides.  The first guide is scheduled to be posted on Saturday.  

   I've got a unique group of people to think about for this holiday season, and I'm sure that you do too.  Items in my guides will be from various handmade selling sites and have an overall theme. 'For My Brother', With Mom in Mind, and 'My Crafty Friend' are a few ideas I'm working on.

If you've got suggestions for a guide theme, feel free to leave them in a comment.  I'm going to try to run them each week  up until the shipping deadline for Christmas.

Pumpkin Cookies ROCK!

With the fall season well on its way, the urge to bake has grown greater and greater as the days have gradually gotten shorter, the winds howling- a bit louder, and the trees slowly undress.

So far, I've baked Peanut Butter Cookies, Sugar Cookies and Pumpkin Cookies.

I LOVED the sugar cookies!!
I wound up using mostly cake flour in the recipe for these cookies. It called for AP flour, but at the time, I had more cake flour than AP, so I made do.
The recipe also called for butter, but all I had was margarine. I didn't account for the fat I used having salt already in it, so this batch of cookies came out tasting a bit saltier than I like, but they're still my absolute fav! Next time, I will use half AP flour and half Cake to see how it does (this time, they were very close to a tollhouse cookie texture, just domed rather than flat). I will also use less salt and unsalted butter. I've got a stick in the fridge waiting to be put to good use!

My in between cookie adventure was a quest for the perfect Peanut Butter Cookie (if there is such a thing- peanut butter has got to be my second least favorite cookie after oatmeal raisin).

I tried a 3 ingredient cookie recipe that I found online and while it was a solid, peanut buttery cookie, it was as if you never took a bite after is was swallowed. It melted away so fast that a few of us had to scratch our heads and wonder 'dang, DID I just have a cookie?'.

Then, I tried a recipe that a friend suggested which was a full recipe- complete with flour and vanilla and everything!
The recipe claimed that it was going to be a 'soft and chewy' cookie, but all I got was something that resembled a flat sugar cookie with only a hint of peanut butter. I didn't dig that recipe, or the other peanut butter cookie one, so there are no pics for those.

This Halloween, Dominic and I had planned to carve a few jack-o-lanterns. It didn't quite work out that way- we only wound up doing one, so I had a pumpkin to spare.
I had never cooked pumpkin before this year, so I had to resort to the internet once again to learn how to get it out of it's raw form and into something that I could bake with.
After slicing and boiling, and then pureeing in the blender, I got what was pretty close to, if not a bit more than a gallon of pumpkin stuff!

I could not wait to make something pumpkiny! bread- muffins- cookies- cake- pies... the possibilities!

After some searching on the internet for a recipe, I finally remembered that I've got a friend who bakes. After a little conversations, she posted a recipe for pumpkin cookies on her blog that I just had to try.

I'm so glad I did!

I made a pan of plain and a pan of cranberry chocolate chip pumpkin cookies and they both disappeared that night. I wasn't the only one who thought they were pretty good.

My little brother enjoyed them as much as I did!

The bit of whipped topping certainly did help. I was confused at first as to why I would dip a cookie in whipped topping, but after a few bites of the plain batch, it dawned on me that they're PUMPKIN cookies! and what goes better with pumpkin dessert than whipped topping? Nothing!
After those two batches were gone, I decided to try chopped walnut with the chocolate chips rather than cranberries.

It was El Oh Vee EE!

I've been totally praising this cookie recipe, but there is one thing I'd change-
I'd spice it up a bit! The pumpkin flavor was very subtle. It was almost like a light spice cookie. I'm going to add some allspice or something to the next batch.

Oh! another plus to this recipe - It is a fluffy, a mixture between cake and cookie really- almost muffin like cookie.
I decided to use a small tin to make a muffin cookie out of the last bit of dough. I just spooned it in and sprinkled the goodies on top. I found that the bottom was a bit soggy (I didn't use a liner or anything) but it was still great because after turning it over and allowing it to cool a bit, it was just like the inside of the cookie, only on the outside!

I loved that part because they spread nicely. I dropped mine onto the pan by the rounded tablespoon fulls and kind of smashed them down with the back of the spoon. Perfect every time.

Well... almost.
I did find that they stuck to the pan (or would have had I not hovered over them and poked at them every second).

They were a bit resistant on the leave of the pan even when I lined it with foil, and the chocolate chips definitely weren't feeling the whole getting off the pan thing. So, i'd suggest a light greasing, especially if you like to load your cookies up like I do.

I've got to thank Michelle for sharing this recipe with me. If I weren't afraid of a burnt outside and a jiggly inside, I'd pour this dough right into a pan and call it bread! (but I'll refrain for sanity's sake lol)
Thank you!

A New 4

Hey folks,

I just wanted to pop in and show you the newest Items in my shop. They just happen to be the top 4 in my shop's gallery.

The Red and White Peppermint Stick Scarf is my current favorite.

Measuring about 83 inches long and finished with a single pom-pom on each end, it's a fin way to get into the holiday spirit. Here I am modeling it:

I got the idea from my Halloween tube scarf. It's so Fun!

My other 3 newest items would make great stocking stuffers for yourself, a sister, or a girlfriend. Perhaps she's got a cute little short do and loves jazzing it up with hair clips and pins. A handmade hair clip would be the perfect addition to her collection, for sure.

And you can't go wrong with my neutrally colored gray and black flower/ snowflake pin. I think that when I first made it, my vision was of a fluffy, inviting snowflake, but the more I looked at it, the more I saw that it could also be called a flower.

Call it what you like, it's cute and is also a great winter accessory.

In the picture below, I jazzed up one of my mom's black leather purses with it. It would also look good on a fabric or textile bag.

You know, I never really know how to end a post like this one. Usually when I'm talking to some one face to face, I'll just say, 'ok bye' but how do you officially close a blog entry? lol

Oh yeah! - a little side note- I'm going to be putting a blog badge on here pretty soon, so that if some one out there loves my blog as much as I do, they can just grab it and hook it up to theirs.
With that, I'd love to start adding other crafter's badges to my page's middle and right side columns, so if you've got a badge with a code under it that I can grab- Let me know =-)

Heather's Haven Beads Like You Wouldn't Believe!

There was a point in time when I bought a bunch of seed beads with the hopes of stringing them together in a fancy, unique and stunning way.

While nothing creative ever came of that from me, the few failed attempts that I did make have given me a great appreciation for works like the ones produced by Heather of Heather's Haven on Etsy and Artfire.

Heather uses faces hand sculpted and sometimes hand-painted by her, what's got to be hundreds of beads, various textile materials, and other embellishments to make her Art Dolls, Pins, and other Jewelry.

Her work is simply and uniquely wonderful!

Here are a few of my favs from her shop and studio:

She's got a lot more good stuff to offer!
You can find her on Etsy:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/heathershaven

as well as on Artfire

She blogs to! www.heathershaven2.blogspot.com

☺