Autumn and rotting fruit

Don't you LOVE Fall? I DO!


The title was supposed to get your attention, but it's also really part of my post today--and it's all good!
My dad is a very ingenuitive person (okay spell check is saying that ingenuitive is not a word)  imaginative person. Some ideas he comes up with are just too ambitious, but this one is doable and has been fun for all of us. He decided to go to the little fruit and veggie store down the street and ask them for their food that can't be sold because it's going bad. You see, people don't want the ugly black speckled bananas even though they often talk about world hunger etc., they also don't want apples that have lil brown soft marks, so now we get them for free!
When dad first brought them home I was like "Oh no he didn't!" but mom and the girls were elbow deep in boxes of apples and just started out by boiling some, juicing some, making some into applesauce, and even cutting out the bad parts and eating some. Then there were the bananas, they look horrible on the outside, and are a little too softish on the inside to eat (even if I liked bananas which I don't.) I immediately began asking around for a banana bread recipe as well as recipes for applesauce muffins and cookies. Here are some pictures of the fruits of our labor.
These are perfect for all year round, but Fall just seems like the time of year that we should bake!

Apple Cobbler with the crumble crust that we did on top. It was delish

Applesauce muffins which were quite delish. I sprinkled sugar and cinnamon on top as an extra blessing.

What is your "Fall" thing? For recipes to any of this just ask :-) I may do a post later in the week just for that. 

Elisabeth Arona

Cut! Cook! Decorate!

Did I promise you more shop highlights for Christmas? Well here we are; the best of the best. This week we are going to look at some shops with great little things for preparing your holiday meals and decorating your home for the hordes of people that will come traipsing in!

1. Berkshire bowls I was very impressed by this shop. I love wood, and the picture of the bowl with the wood shavings (go look) just drew me in. Also in this shop are some great little puzzles to keep people occupied between eating :-)

2. Show off designs. This shop has beautiful cutting boards as well as lovely shelves. I'm talking about real conversation pieces here...

4. Good Neighbor Candle Co. Admit it, you want your house to smell great just as much as anyone else. You're afraid that people will come in and smell that thing you burnt. I cannot express how amazing this woman's candle skills are. Every scent you have ever imagined! Go ahead, take a peek!


Elisabeth Arona

...and the winner is...

Hi! I know you have all been waiting to see who would win the apron! Well, head on over to Faith's blog (here) and see who won!

Elisabeth Arona

Etsy stocking stuffer shops highlight

It's that time of year...the rush to buy Christmas gifts ahead of time (meaning before the rush.) Are we really getting in ahead of the crowd? Absolutely not, but it's nice to think so anyway. The popularity of handmade items has grown and grown-it's a handmade revolution!

Should you buy as many handmade items as possible? YESYESYES! I've made up a small list of shops that carry wonderful stocking stuffers that are also great shops for buying those things that will make you look beautiful for the rest of this year and beyond!

Shop #1/Mummumscrafts:
This is Lucy's shop. She recently reopened after maternity leave. You should see her baby--soo chubby and adorable! Anyway, she makes some absolutely fab stuff, I've only tried her chapstick/lipbalm. It's awesome, and she's even agreed to make some of it sweetened for me since I can't smell how wonderful the scents are with this darn anosmia!


Shop #2/lusciouslathers:
This is Diane's shop. She is being the wife that you read about in books while her husband deals with some medical problems right now, and she still manages to keep her shop open. I wrote a post about her AHA toner in one of my posts right after I bought it; at that time I hadn't tried it, but I can honestly say that it is working. My hyperpigmentation on my face has been noticeably lightening and disappearing. Side note: make sure that you use sunscreen with it as it makes your skin sensitive to the sun. Along with that she has some lovely creams and lather-y bubbly stuff, and even a few items for your pets and male loved ones.

Ahhh, and I did say this stuff will improve your appearance as well as be great stocking stuffers, right? Well here we are...
Shop #3/heavenlyknitchet
I have not personally bought any of her items, but she has some really cute inexpensive earrings and to be honest it's really the hats that grabbed my attention. I just saw one of those hats today when Heavenly (yup the owner's name is Heavenly) posted in the team thread and I know that I will be looking her up as soon as I have some money!

Shop #4/TJlundinco
I haven't bought from this shop either, but Tiffany aka TJ is a frequent poster on my Etsy team thread and she shows off her new listings often as well. She has an array of colorful unique hair accessories and some jewelry too.


Here you are with four shops to choose from...If you didn't find what you're looking for, don't worry, I'll continue these posts for awhile at least once a week. I have so many wonderful shops and artists to show you! Aren't you excited?

Elisabeth Arona

Etsy Artist Feature and GIVEAWAY!

Today I would like to welcome my very first fellow etsy artist feature! I'm so excited! Faith of StitchPrincess was kind enough to answer some question I had for her and at the end you will find the instructions to enter the giveaway to win her super cute fall leaves apron! 

How long have you been sewing? Can you tell us the story behind you learning to sew? I've been sewing for 17 years! When I was four years old, my crafty grandmother taught me to hand sew. I loved making clothes for my Barbies! When I was ten, I took my first sewing class and learned how to use the machine--and I basically taught myself from there.

What is your favorite item to make, and why? I absolutely love making dresses! There is something so satisfying about making a beautiful object, especially one that will make a woman/girl feel like a princess. Skirts are a close second. Then purses, aprons--easier stuff--are what I prefer more than more complicated things.

Who and/or what inspires you the most every day? I am very inspired by fabric and dresses.

When I see fabric, I imagine what I can make of it--scraps turn into purses, cute prints turn into sundresses or aprons, glossy fabrics turn into formal dresses. When I see designer dresses (in bridal catalogs or on tv shows, especially), I think about how I would tweak the design or I pull parts of dresses together in my mind.

What would we find you doing when you're not sewing? When I'm not sewing, I'm cutting fabric (does that count as sewing?), cooking, or playing games with my husband (we were married in May!). When I need to keep my hands busy, I knit.

Is there anything new we should look out for in your shop? I'll be turning out some new aprons and purses soon. Also, I have some awesome "happy birthday" fabric that I might make into table runners or something. In the spring, I'll list some simple bridal veils I'm working on.

What crafty thing do you not know how to do that you've always or even recently wanted to learn? I want to master every craft, but that's probably not possible! Jewelry would be fun to do, but I'm not so good with little details.

Thanks Faith for agreeing to be featured! I'm sure everyone is excited about this giveaway.

...Now for the details on how to enter:

First of all, please don't forget to put your email address with each entry so we can get in contact with you if you win!

Mandatory: 

Follow my blog or Faith's blog here

Extra Entries (each count for one entry and should be each posted in separate comments):

1. Visit Faith's shop and come back here and leave a comment with your favorite item.

2. Like Faith's facebook fanpage

3. Tweet (using #GiveawaybyFaith) with a link to this blog and let us know

4. Blog about the giveaway and come back and post the link

Good luck everyone!

Elisabeth Arona

(Sorta) Silent Saturday

Newest listing on Etsy for me!

Expect something person special here on my blog on Monday along with a giveaway! Also grab my blog button if you like reading my blog--it took some brain cells for me to make it so I'd totally appreciate it.

Elisabeth Arona

Solopreneur--(heartheart)

I love the word solopreneur. I'm not sure if the other day was the first time I'd ever heard the word, or if it was just the first time it had really hit me. Maybe it has something to do with me noticing that there are a buncha mompreneur blog sites and stuff, but there are no single-girl-preneur blog sites! I only bring this up because I am "at" a twitter webinar about being a solopreneur and it's making me feel special *silly giggle*.

I know I keep reminding you that I said I was gonna keep you posted (business thingy) but it's only because I don't want you to feel like I am just showing off all my new stuff for no reason even though I kinda am. Last night I was up late and just was so excited because I bought a craft knife to cut pages out of a vintage dictionary during the day and had been cooking so no time to use it! BUT I used it:

   

     

I took these pictures with my phone because my lame batteries for my camera are outta power. Boo!

By the way, in case you were wondering what I cooked/was eating the reason I didn't have time to craft here it is below:

Fried rice, stir-fry veggies, wontons with cream cheese and spinach inside, and coconut chicken drummettes :-)

Elisabeth Arona

What keeps you from working?

What is your latest/greatest creation? 

Onit, bachelor chair, dream come true?

Yesterday I went to a huge yard sale that I go to twice a year. I was waiting outside (it's indoor) for it to open at nine and just hoping for some treasures. My main goal was to buy some vintage books that I could use for illustrations...but I also found something that I wasn't actively looking for (but had mused about needing).

Before I get to that I want to tell you that old dictionaries are funny. The descriptions are super long and my mom nearly passed out laughing about an explanation for the word euphemism that somehow included the term "breaking wind". Any of you other young people know about that? Yeah it means passing gas lol. My mom said between gasps "I haven't heard that in the longest time, I gotta call my sister and ask her about the last time she heard it." Okay mom, whatever suits you!

Anyway, this is my main treasure from the sale the other day:

See it's like an ironing board and step stool--best known as the "onit" or "bachelor chair"-Thanks for that info Monika! You can find out more about it on youtube and on the web. It's the perfect addition to my bedroom/sewing room because it's great for sitting, ironing, and stepping on; basically you can do everything on it! 

Elisabeth Arona

Progress you say?

Ahhh yes, I have been all business. Here is a little of what I've been up to this week.

Julia's shirt.

• 1. Just started couponing and spent all Monday cutting out coupons and checking out the krazy coupon lady website for deals and came in under budget for our weekly groceries! WOOT!
• 2. Made one of the shirts-that I designed-for Julia/jeweleighab and will be sending it out tomorrow hopefully.
• 3. Am halfway through with another dancer illustration.
• 4. Cooked a different meal (bleu cheese chicken) and was successful.
• 5. Gave my little sister her first sewing lesson.

As you can see, I'm really feeling something special about how this week has gone :-) Now time to get more accomplished!

Elisabeth Arona

A quick update...

Did I not tell you that I would keep you posted on how this whole starting a business thing is going every step of the way? Well, here is my latest step:

I made a pattern and made this shirt from it. Pattern making is not my favorite thing, because it doesn't necessarily come naturally to me; however, I was told by a friend that only dying comes naturally. Not so sure about that one...

What do you think? I will obviously have to take more (and better) pictures, but right now I'm not at the place where I can buy a lot of fabric and make it in a buncha different shirts, but soon I'll probably have them in S, M, L and you'll find them at my super-convenient etsy shop of course! As for progress, I'm in the middle of making one shirt for one lady, and two shirts for another. AGH excitement!

Elisabeth Arona