Goals for positive living in 2009

Life is uncertain. 2008 taught me that more then any other year. Here and now is a blessing, take nothing for granted. A positive thought and conscious action toward the desired future can brighten the here and now considerably!
As one calendar year turns to another I’m searching myself for my goals.
How does one set goals effectively?

I’m thinking these simple 5 things might help us all set attainable goals:

1. Set goals that are consistent with your values. Really think through weather you want what ever you are about to work for, or if it’s just something that looks good from a distance. Make sure your goals do not contradict each other.
2. Be positive! Make goals that will enrich your life word them that way too.
3. Set performance based goals. For example, I have power over how many hoods I make in a month; I cannot control how many sell in a month.
4. Get specific. Make precise goals with dates, and amounts.
5. Write them down. Refer to them regularly.


Here are my goals for this blog in 2009:
1 post per week about Tigerlily’s antics and stories
1 post per week about what we are making
1 poem or inspirational post per month
2 posts per month about Etsy sellers who practice green living and make quality sustainable products
2 posts per month about sustainable living…
2 posts per month about folks making the world a bit more wonderful!!

What goals are you setting for 2009? Please comment with 5 goals you have set for the coming year!

Merry Etsy Front Page!

The lovely MissMaisy made a delightful treasury! She featured my Sky Fairy Hood. It was chosen to grace the Etsy Home or "Front Page" on December 25th!!
My hood is in excellent company too! Lot's of HOSTies here: LAOriginals, acorngirl, ficklefaerie, yodamoon, FireAndIceDesigns, lazybuttpants, catiahades, mamamonkey, Cornucopias, Reflections, my hood, and LAVENDERDRAGONHERBS.

lines in snow

I'm watching wee snow flakes flutter through light to join their kin as white ground cover. It's like an explosion of glitter, around each light source. Strange to seem so separate, when surrounded by light, and wind. Then to be absorbed into a mass instantly, completely.

There is a line or two of poetry tumbling through my head. I think it was Joel Lewis who said it, or wrote it, or murmmered it to some street light in Hoboken….
“I have
that exile’s sense of recreation
& believe rebirth is possible
from the wreck of our common misery
& that songs are clear when sung

by heroes, but not in this epoch. Niggling
winter dreams fueled by the rhythms
of the world’s desire."

It's quiet. That's what happens in a city that doesn't quite believe in snow, at least not in snow coming here. This time of year is almost always bustling with desire. It's nice to hear the quiet.

Tigerlily on the Etsy Front Page!

The wonderful Steph of GarbageofEdenDesign featured my wee hood in a treasury that made the Etsy home or "Front page"!
The hood is i excelent company too: ashleighbuck, Tigerlily modeling my hood, woolandbrick, anniessweatshop, xmittens, tinyhearts, Salts, TheUpcycleShop, HazelMay, DoeDoeCrafts, joliem6201, LittleHouses

500 sales in the Etsy shop!

Well today was a milestone. 500 sales in the Etsy shop. I feel so blessed to have made 500 life changing transactions with the wonderful folken who seek out sustainable attire!

500 thank yous!

Celebrate Life!

Three years ago, on this very day, a bright star was shining up in the heavens, looking down on Drew, and family...and this is the light that came to earth the day that Tigerlily was born.
Tigerlily turns three today! What a glorious adventure we are having! We celebrated by viewing lights at the Oregon Zoo!

During the day we played with Tigerlily's new doll house, and decorated cake "of course"! That was exactly what Tigerlily wanted to do.

We laughed loud and long.

Here's to celebrating another year!

500

I just listed my 500th hood!

I feel blessed. I am grateful to be here, to make, to see the product of these hands. To feel the connection to every person who has helped me down this path. I'm grateful for all the lessons that lead me to this moment. For those who showered me with their faith, and those who played devils advocate to my strongest beliefs.

Thank the sheep for their incredible wool!

This hood found the most delightful head to keep warm and adventure with. It's even living near us here in Portland!

We are in the Daily Chum!

Lime and Violet's Daily Chum http://limenviolet.com/blog/ has a delightful post about Fairy Tale Fibers today!!

Holly and I were delighted to meet Heather and Dawn on the Sea Socks Cruise 2008. Heather borrowed a hood to keep her cozy and this great article is the result!

Head on over to the chum and read it for yourself! Or you can click here to see it!

Come see me at the Holiday Shopping Showcase!!

That's right today and tomorrow Sue and I will be showing our hoods in Milwaukie Oregon!!

For directions click here.

There will be awesome door prizes too! Including a couple of my cozy hoods!

We are thankful

Gratitude unlocks, the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity…It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.
By Melodie Beattie
This quote was given to my mother by one of her students. We love it.

Tigerlily and I are Grateful for each other, our health, good food, good books, the ability to laugh, family and friends.
Tigerlily is especially grateful for water bottles and her tree. I am especially grateful for Etsy and the ability to be here now.

Little red treasury

My Wee Autumn Fairy Hood is featured in the most delightful Etsy treasury right now!
If you would like to see it it's here!
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=23320
I have huge appreciative smiles for http://awkward.etsy.com who is curating this list.

I think this treasury could be a fairytale itself...I found a little red book and watched mesmerized as my ziggedy zag gloved hands turned the pages filled with images of fairies, nature, and love for things handmade!

This treasury made the front page!! The day after thanksgiving, November 28th 2008!

Etsy Home Page

This fine morning one of my creations made it to the Etsy "Front Page" or home page:!!There in the middle to the left is my Wild Furry Hood in Blue and White! It's quite a thrill, to know so many folks have glanced at my cozy creation!

Monster Art and Clothing

Monster Art and Clothing is Holly's new venture in Ballard, WA. It's an incredible consignment shop full of everyday clothing and art for unusual people! You can find fairytale hoods there of course. As well as quite a few sustainable works from artisits in the Pacific Northwest. If you are in Washington swing on over to 5000 20th Ave NW (at Ballard) for a delight filled experience!

Meet Sue!

We have added a friend to the Fairy Tale Fibers family, meet our elf boy Sue!

He is 4' 6" tall. His head is an elfin 24" around. He measures 12" from the top of the crown down the side to where to touching his shoulder where it meets his childlike neck.

Team Trashion Encourages Shoppers to Go Green on Black Friday

Going back as far as the 1960’s, the day after Thanksgiving has held the unfortunate title of Black Friday. The name was given due to the madness that happens in highly commercialized places of commerce, but mostly because of the heavy traffic on that day. Folks are at the mall before the sun comes up, cars fill freeways and parking lots, money is burned on mass produced products and the gas it takes to get to them. It can get ugly.

Team Trashion, a unique, eco friendly, international group of artisans on etsy.com visualizes a different sort of Friday following Thanksgiving. Team Trashion wants to encourage families to keep the car in the garage, leave their slippers on and curl up with loved ones and a second helping of pumpkin pie. Doesn’t that sound great?

On Friday, November 28, Team Trashion will provide holiday shoppers with a unique opportunity to shop for one-of-a-kind gifts that are innovative and eco friendly. Buyers will be able to connect directly with sellers at a virtual Trunk Show on www.etsy.com. Over 30 Team Trashion artisans will be showing a varied collection of handmade treasures all created from upcycled, repurposed or otherwise abandoned materials. The Team Trashion Green Friday Trunk Show will be overflowing with holiday shopping opportunities that would make Mother Earth proud. You will not want to miss it!

The Team Trashion Green Friday Trunk Show is at 7pm est – just the perfect time to grab a cup of tea and do a little shopping in the comfort of your own home. Here’s how you get there:

1 - Log on to www.etsy.com If you do not have an Etsy account click here it's free to join, and you'll be glad you did!
2 - Choose the “community” tab at the top of the home page.
3 - Choose the “Virtual Labs” tab at the top of the community page.
4 - Choose the GREEN Treehouse “room” within the Virtual Labs.
5 - Sit back and enjoy the Trunk Show!

It will be great to see you there.

Out takes from Tigerlily's photo shoot

I called out think "Strawberries" ..."Jumping makes them swing!!"
Tigerlily's dwarf face!

What photo shoot is complete with out a run away?

Holiday shopping made simple!

Come see and fondle the furry goodness at the Holiday Shopping Showcase!
I'll be finding happy new homes for fuzzy hoods at this cozy, and lovely show.
Don't forget to bring your postcard with you and present it to each of the vendors listed on the front to be entered into a fabulous gift basket drawing. Don't have a postcard? You can pick one up at the show!

For directions click here.

I'd love to see some familiar faces there!!

A Hood for in between...Now and Then

Between the Now and Then

Upon horizon, night to day ~
there between the now and then,
I often pause along the way,
to tiptoe through the moonlit glen ~
or perhaps take in sun's light,
night to day ~ day to night.

Upon horizon, day to day ~
there between the then and now,
as seasons grow along the way,
to crease the face of timely brow ~
or perhaps steal time away,
day to day ~ day to day.

Upon horizon, day to night ~
there between the now and then,
I stand beneath my autumn light,
bereft as memory calls again ~
to pain the heart with bygone sight,
Night to day ~ day to night.

Upon horizon, night to night ~
there between the then and now,
I know that winter casts its sight,
on one last leaf that will not bow ~
to frost within its golden sight,
night to night ~ night to night.

Upon horizon, night to day ~
there between the now and then,
I know my spring will fade away,
and summer's soft remember when
will echo gently autumn's way ~
day to night ~ night to day....
Winter's near ~ Winter's near......

By Hazelmarie Elliott

Fall Fuzzy Sale has begun!!

The Fall Five Dollars Off Fuzzies Sale has begun! That's right I've marked down all the pre-made hoods in the Etsy Shop five dollars! The sale will run now through Sunday Nov. 9th or until all the hoods find happy heads to wear them!
Click on over to see all the coziness: http://fairytalefibers.etsy.com

Happy Howloween!!

Halloween is a bit different for us this year. We are making up new traditions and having a howling good time doing it!

The Oregon Zoo had a Howlaween celebration. They also had a awesome pumpkin crawl…

To the left there’s Tigerlily and Grandma Dewey with one of the amazing sculpted pumpkins.





Tigerlily and I always get a kick out of the ride-ons at the zoo!





I am the proudest Momma ever! Tigerlily received a “Sucker” (it’s not a lollipop MOM it’s a suker” from Sunflower House. I said she “may eat it, however you can not jump with a sucker in your mouth, because t could really hurt you.” So Tigerlily went into the kitchen climbed up in a chair and sat at the table to eat it (with out anyone telling her to)!

Then when we were photographing her pumpkins she started threading wooden beads onto the leaves. She is an excellent little maker! I am a very happy momma.

Fall Fuzzy Pre-Sale Announcment

Coming soon…Fall Five Dollars Off Fuzzies sale!
Sunday Nov. 2nd through Sunday Nov. 9th all pre-made hoods for sale at http://fairytalefibers.etsy.com will be marked down $5!
In an effort to keep us all warm and fuzzy all through the cold season!

What's an Etsy or a Street Team for that matter?

I have a habit of starting jokes with the punchline, and jumping into conversations in the middle...So here's a little backround on these "Street Teams" and "Etsy" that I keep talking about:
Etsy, www.Etsy.com, is a an online community for people to buy and sell handmade items. Since Etsy's launch in June 2005, over 100,000 sellers have opened up shops. A real sense of community has grown among this international group and continues to grow. I am a part of this growing community with my wee Etsy shop: http://fairytalefibers.etsy.com. I have also joined
two street teams, Etsy Trashion, and HOST.

Etsy street teams are groups of organized Etsy members who network, share skills, and promote their shops and Etsy together. Teams are Etsy’s biggest and most creative grassroots engine for support, networking and marketing – for each team member’s shop, for the Teams themselves, and for Etsy as a whole.

Trashion:
We are a Street Team of Etsy artisans dedicated to the Art of Trashion. We create art, jewelry, fashion and objects for the home, made from materials that were leftover, discarded, and found. Trashion is all about bringing out the beauty in unconventional objects and materials.
For us recycling is an art and an ideal. The Trashion philosophy encompasses environmentalism and innovation, and respects the human creative and healing potential. You can discover more about the trashion team at our blog: http://etsytrashion.blogspot.com which I help to curate.

HOST:

Our goal is to give unconditional support to any fellow Estian in their time of need. Support being prayers, thoughts, hugs; a shoulder to cry and lean on; money; sales. We only care about the person, not their race, religion, or nationality... We are a community here of caring hand made artisans who just want to extend a helping hand all year long."I am a new member of this group but I've found the people very friendly and willing to help, often even when they're experiencing emotional or financial difficulties themselves. This is a generous and dedicated group, and worthy of our support!

HOST helps out financially through some individual contribution of team members and also through their team shop that you can find at http://HOST.etsy.com This shop is made up of items donated by HOST members. When the items are sold, 100% of the proceeds go to helping Etsy members in need. Below you can see just a few of the amazing items offered at the HOST shop...you may even see a couple of my hoods that I donated!

Etsy Buy Handmade HOST

Save the Date...Nov. 28th 2008

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY

Oh my how very lovely! This incredible costume is being given way. To find out more click over to the Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

While you are there check out this lovely blog: Grosgrain. She has bi-weekly giveaways with the most fabulous dresses and costumes!

She says "this was by far the most ambitious dress I've ever sewn. After this, I have fewer qualms about sewing a wedding gown. With all the man hours I put into the gown itself, not withstanding the fabric, I would say this gown is worth $500....if my time was worth $15 an hour. You can do the math. Like I said...ambitious. At least I knew what I was getting into from the beginning."

Tigerlily and I are duly impressed by your handiwork!

Mashing Trashion style!

Here are a couple of my favorite Monsters from the Trashion Team's 1st Annual Monster Mash!

Karma the Kosmic Kitten Donated to HOST by ButterCupBloom
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_2&listing_id=16407754


Yummm...Ain't Nothing like a Cell Phone for Breakfast by PegGradyArt
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_list_16&listing_id=16019997

Sweet-tooth Sam the Spider Donated to HOST by thefiligreegarden
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_list_5&listing_id=16335603

Such amazing creativity can come from swapping unwanted materials!! Hooray for upcycling!

We are doing the Monster Mash

The Trashion Team, www.etsytrashion.com is having it's first annual Monster Mash! We partnered up, palchemy style, to swap unwanted, found, and ready to upcycle materials. Right now, team members are making two plush monsters each. We are listing these critters in two different places. One will be listed in our own shop, the other we are donating to the H.O.S.T. (Helping Others Street Team) Shop. We chose to donate a Monster from each participating member to the Helping Others Street Team (HOST) in order to raise money for fellow Etsyians in need. That is perfectly aligned with the Trashion Team's philosophy of environmentalism, innovation, and embracing creative healing. So be on the look out for Trashion Monsters coming soon!
Search for "Monster Mash" and "Trashion Team" or check out the H.O.S.T. shop! Here's a list of participating shops:

Kiki at http://allthenumbers.etsy.com/
Keri at http://bayousalvage.etsy.com/
Wendy at http://buttercupbloom.etsy.com/
Katie at http://crookedthumb.etsy.com/
Maija at http://davaeva.etsy.com/
Elena at http://elenamary.etsy.com/
Drew at http://fairytalefibers.etsy.com/
Linda at http://fashiongreentbags.etsy.com/
Olivia at http://thefiligreegarden.etsy.com/
Lori at http://fisheye.etsy.com/
Jen at http://jen1kanobi.etsy.com/
Kae at http://kae1crafts.etsy.com/
Jane at http://lilmonsters.etsy.com/
Millie at http://misscourageous.etsy.com/
Carly at http://nectorgirl.etsy.com/
Ashly at http://normalisboring.etsy.com/
Peg at http://peggradyart.etsy.com/
Pam at http://remaker.etsy.com/
Ricki at http://rixiepixie.etsy.com/
Cathie at http://sweetwolf.etsy.com/
Kim at http://theredcan.etsy.com/
Evy at http://thirdhanddesigns.etsy.com/
Kelly at http://tresijas.etsy.com/

Jamie at http://twistedwear.etsy.com/

Not Too Creepy Bug- Donated to HOST by Fisheye

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_2&listing_id=16378679

Leaves and Smoke

Autumn Fires Hood Furry and Woolly
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16330783

Autumn Fires

In the other gardens
And all up the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
See the smoke trail!

Pleasant summer over
And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
The grey smoke towers.

Sing a song of seasons!
Something bright in all!
Flowers in the summer,
Fires in the fall!

By Robert Louis Stevenson

Fuzzy Autumn Sprite Hood in Burnt Orange Brick Red and Smokey Greys

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_list_3&listing_id=14815452

This one, in similar tones is up for sale in the Helping Others Street Team (HOST) shop. The HOST is a group of Esty sellers dedicated to helping one another. We know running your own wee business can be a challenge and sometimes things like flood insuance or health insurance fall by the way side...and then you need a little help. HOST helps out other Etsians in their times of need. The purchase price of the above hood will be donated to Etsians when they need it most!

Farm visit for Pumpkins

Tigerlily was over joyed by our visit to Lee Farms. We checked out the Chickens, Pigs (and piglets), Calfs, Horses, Turkeysonies, and Ponies. Rode in a hay trailer behind a tractor "with a real farmer" driving it. She was quite delighted to meet "real" farmers, it wasn't until mid-hayride that i realized it was because we play farm at home with a "toy" farmer and "toy" animals.
Real farmers they sure are! For six generations they have worked the land and today, three generations are actively involved in their farming operations. We felt blessed to be buying local, and getting to experience a bit of farm culture. Tigerlily was so enchanted by the wee Christmas trees we may have another adventure there in our near future!

Then we picked pumpkins! We also learned all about types of pumpkins and which ones make awe inspiring pie! It was an all around treat of the season!