Not Your Average Martha

Penguins on the move....

2010-06-29T07:31:00.000-07:00

Although it is early in the season, I feel compelled to add penguin ornament pictures to the blog. I recently attended the In Your Write Mind writing retreat at Seton Hill University and donated seven literary penguins to the event's fundraising raffle. They were a hit.

As a result I made a promise that I would post pictures of several of the penguins I've made in the past for those interested in possible buying them for the upcoming holiday season. My naming conventions are usually obvious--I name them for what they are. Sometimes, I name them for whoever inspired that particular penguin.

Dracula

Summer

Barb

Angel (duh)

Steph and John

Love and cookies

2010-02-11T12:22:00.000-08:00

This year, I decided to go with a nicer, craftier version of a Valentine for friends and loved ones versus store bought Pirates of the Caribbean children's valentines out of a box. Not that Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom weren't appreciated last year, but I did want something a little classier to give away.

I went with the Fortune Cookie Valentine from Martha Stewart's website Cute and fun, this Valentine was a hit with my co-workers and friends. I made up fortunes complete with lucky numbers and Learn Chinese on the back. Here's an example of a few of my fortunes:

You are such a special friend! I’m so ‘fortune-ate’ to have you in my life! Lucky Numbers: 5 6 13 21 32 48

Good friends deserve good fortune! I predict much good fortune to come your way! Lucky Numbers: 2 9 14 25 29 44

In life, there are old friends and those who are new, but true friends like us are so very few. Lucky Numbers: 3 7 18 22 37 42

This is such an adorable craft--you could easily use this for other events and holidays. If you'd like to do this craft, you can find all the instructions here: http://www.marthastewart.com/goodthings/felt-fortune-cookie

Charity Dog Toys

2010-02-01T08:51:00.000-08:00

Last week, some of my girlfriends came over to my house and we took a couple of hours to make dog toys as part of our fundraiser for Minnesota's Animal Humane Society and their Walk for Animals coming up this May. The toys are simple enough to make and, we know if we don't sell a single one of them that we can always give them to the shelter or give a few to our own pups.

Here's a little about the walk:

We are fundraising again this year to help support the animals that Animal Humane Society cares for every day. Animals suffer the effects of tough times and this is exactly the time when our commitment must be at its strongest. We have committed as a team to do what we can to help all of the animals in need. We even have new team members this year to help make an even bigger impact.

Will you help too? Please consider giving what you can.
And this year, to show our appreciation, all gifts over 50 dollars will be given a choice of a fleece dog toy or cat toy to give to your very own bundle of fur, or, if you like, you can choose to purchase a toy off of one of our team etsy sites:
Deanna's page: www.etsy.com/shop/notyouraveragemartha
Erin's page: www.etsy.com/shop/theknittingNord
The Walk for Animals is about gathering and celebrating, but mostly, it's about helping animals less fortunate than our own. This is the Animal Humane Society's major, stand-up-on-your-hind-legs-and-bark fundraising event. Nearly over 35,000 companion animals depend on AHS - and on you!

It just goes to show that a little crafting can go a long way toward helping out a great cause!

Post-Christmas Debrief

2010-01-15T07:44:00.000-08:00

Christmas has finally wound down for me....and yes, I realize it is the fifteenth of January. For most people, Christmas wound down some three weeks prior to this. Technically, I'm still working on a couple of gifts to be given tomorrow (yikes!) which will probably not be finished in time.

Why, three weeks after Christmas, am I still working on gifts? This year I started an etsy business of the same name and had it take off much more than I ever thought it would. Don't get me wrong, I can't quit my day job, but it definitely produced more sales than expected. So while I was working on orders, I wasn't working on gifts. I'm not complaining, but there's the reason.

Anyway, I do have a Christmas recap coming up next in which I'll focus on my annual Ornament Party this year and years past. I'll also post a few of the gifts I made this year along with mini tutorials.

In the meantime, enjoy the penguin Ranger and I'll see you next post....

~(Martha) D

Welcome!

2009-07-07T12:50:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my official craft blog! Thank you to all the crafters and makers out there--for forging a path in "well, I could do that" country.

I intend this blog to be a diary (of sorts) of my crafting successes and failures and everything I learn in the process. From time to time I will post interesting things I find on the web, my back yard, the thrift store or wherever.

My personal crafting philosophy is: If the challenge is great and the product is fun, it is worth doing. That said, I also believe that a craft is only worth doing as long as it's fun--as soon as it becomes work, I move on to something new. My mission statement made--here I go into a new (and fun!) adventure....

Deanna