How I came into Crafting

MY INTRODUCTION

As a child my mother shared with me her craftiness. She did cross stitch, she made quilts, and indulged in other small projects on the side. She taught me at first to do plastic canvas, soon after to do cross stitch patterns, though mine were never as elaborate as the ones she worked on, and introduced me to latch hook rugs as well. Though I never caught on to quilting, as of yet, I did surprise her when I took up knitting on my own.

With the help of how to books and the WONDERFUL people posting videos on youtube I taught myself to knit with the use of 2 pens and some scrap yarn I found stashed away from previous projects my siblings and myself worked on throughout our childhood. That was 4 years ago.

A year after I had learned to knit a group of friends and I flew out to San Fransisco for our friend's wedding. During that flight I sat next to my friend Katy who worked on her crocheting. We got to talking about different things we've worked on and that we each only knew how to do our own thing. By the end of the flight we decided that we would each learn the others' craft. I ended up losing touch with my friend after a while so I don't know if she ever learned to knit, but I watched video after video and picked up a set of crochet hooks and got to work!

I'm no expert at either by any means but I enjoy both of them equally using them as a means to relax after a long day of chasing after my toddler son. I enjoy simple and short projects and would have to say my favorite part is most definitely scoping out craft stores, both in person and online, for new yarns. I'd use my talents to create gifts for friends and family and recently have decided to try my hand at sharing my projects with the world, for a fee of course.

ETSY AND MY SHOP

There is a site called Etsy that allowed people world-wide to sell their handmade items, crafting supplies, and vintage items. Their definition of vintage is items over 20 years of age. You can find items ranging from hand crafted jewelry, woodworkings, needlework, clothing, housewares, glass and more! I took the plunge and created my own store on the site MajikalFairy's Simple Pleasures to show off my creations. Right now there are just 2 scarves that I've made and when I get new projects done they'll be posted as well. Right now I'm on the last steps of a shawl so be sure to keep an eye out for that!

I hope to use this blog as a means to share my Etsy as well as the wonderful finds I happen upon in the shops of other Etsians. In this post I have shared my own shop and I'd like to showcase a shop or two I have found starting with one that I recently purchased some BEAUTIFUL hand dyed cotton yarn.

SNAPPISH

Snappish hand dyes her cotton yarn ranging from soft pastels to vibrantly bright colors. She currently has 6 hanks of her yarn for sale with more to come after the 50% off sale ends. TODAY IS THE LAST DAY! I cannot wait and am sure I will be buying from her again.

BLOODCROSS

With an astounding 55 items for sale, BloodCross's Shop holds cute and colorful handmade charms on bracelets, necklaces, cell phone straps, and rings! With several of her items modeled after deliciously sweet snacks any person with an eye for cuteness and an ongoing sweet tooth will love these items!

MADE BY MOKO

And lastly we're going to look at Made By Moko! With 37 items displayed in her shop you will find coloring button pins made from elegant origami paper and upcycled manga pictures as well as a few cellphone charms. The pins seem to be her main focus. In groups of 3 and 4 button pins with the low price of 3 dollars they are sure to spruce up any backpack, purse, jacket or anything else you may want to adorn with these lovelies.

Thank you for stopping by. I will try to post every couple of days to update you on my projects, side stories, and all the incredible shops out there!

Julie H.