After a week or so of modest posts,
(read: I couldn’t think of much to gab about…)
today I have lots to share with you : )

The first news I have to share is that today my friend Christina is having surgery.
I know lots of you have been over to her lovely beading blog: This Girl Beads.
I hope that you’ll all join me today in wishing that Christina have a safe and uncomplicated operation, and that her recovery is swift.

I’ll be sending her positive vibes all day long and I hope that you will, too.

I hope you feel better soon, Christina! : )

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I have a wonderful update on another blog buddy, Christina B.
I posted a while ago that I was very concerned about her and her pregnancy.
Well, I am very, very happy to say that Christina made it to her due date and gave birth to a beautiful baby boy! You can see Christina and little Imanuel right *HERE*.

Yay! : )

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Now for a bit of random stuff…

This week’s mail brought the November issue of Cotton Time and another Japanese embroidery book.

I got these from a fellow Etsyian: Chocolate Swirl.
They shipped promptly and my books arrived in great condition.
If you’re looking for Japanese books, trims and fabric
I recommend checking out their shop.

Thanks to a nice tip from Syko, I also discovered another Etsy shop: Matatabi.
They sell Japanese fabrics and trims.
I bought two different trims that I am very happy with.

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Yesterday I rec’d a wonderful package from LeeAnn filled with all sorts of goodness!

A second tin of Pumpkin Spice coffee (scrumdiddlyumtious!), fabric, buttons, trim… even the box it came in was cute! Thank you, LeeAnn!
Your wool and goodies will be in the mail later today : )

I’m really being spoiled by these coffee swaps….
there will be no living with me pretty soon!
I’ll be demanding fabric and goodies with everything!!!
: D Whoo hoo!

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This little button flower needlebook has finally made it’s way into my shop.

And here is a sneak peek of two new business card wallets I’ll be adding in the near future.

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And last, but not least…

Over the past few months I’ve had several folks ask about how Josh takes such nice photos of the products I list in my Etsy shop. Most recently, Kayla asked me about what camera(s) we use.

Well, Kayla, your timing was perfect!
Josh was taking product photos last night and decided to grab my little point and shoot and document what he was doing.

He’s written up his own blog post about our set up,
what camera and lens he uses, and also how he came to own the three huge lights that brighten things up around here.
(Being in Seattle - we can’t always count on bright, sunny days!)

Click *HERE* for a behind-the-scenes look at how my product photos are created.

Thanks, Josh, for sharing this info with everybody!

A pretty bookmark (and just in time, too - with my long list of books to read!)

Birdy Post-It notes! Aren’t these cute?

Pop Rocks!

In a moment of unbridled childishness I tore off a corner of one of these and emptied about half the package into my mouth.
The sound of the pop rocks exploding in my head was deafening!!!

Seriously, I turned my head and both of our cats were standing in the room staring at me - and they had that same freaked out look on their faces like on the 4th of July when the fireworks are going off!

And finally… one of the prettiest, sweetest things EVER.

This is a ring basket that Christina made using teeny tiny beads and delicate, super thin wire. (You can click on these photos to zoom in.)

It’s pale pink and brown - I just love that color combination.
And the best thing of all is that it was hand made by Christina.
Thank you so much!

It is very special to me - I love it : )

Christina is a fellow blogger and you can see more of her gorgeous bead work at her blog: This Girl Beads. Check it out!

(peep!)