New bunnies

Some new bunnies that I've finished in the past couple of weeks. Ready and waiting for a new home.

New Product for Craft Fair

So I've been trying to come up with some other ideas for the upcoming trunk show in addition to my stuffed animals. I've gotten some great input from friends with a little more experience with these things that it would be good to have some less expensive items on the table. I came up with the idea of some children's building blocks. They are 1" wooden blocks decorated with vintage children's illustrations and recycled book jackets. One lesson learned - the modge podge that I used to adhere the paper remains a little bit tacky even after dried so I will need to put at least one layer of a clear acrylic over it. I'm trying to find an adhesive that will be sure to be non-toxic so that in the event that the blocks get put into little mouths, there's no worry.

I would love feedback from readers on the blocks. Do you think that I'm using too many images? I like the idea of two sides being larger images that can be used as a puzzle, but I'm not sure if having images on all the other sides is just too busy. What price point do you think that these would sell well at?

New design for KatyDidCrafts

My pal Toby has done me a huge favor and is helping me to create a brand logo and business cards. I've just uploaded a new banner for my etsy account. Isn't it cheerful? Plus the little girl is actually me - at least an illustrated copy of a photograph of me at 4 years old.

Oddest of the Odd

Every year Bookseller magazine offers a prize to the oddest titled book for that year. You can currently vote for the Oddest of the Odd prize from the winners of 1978-2007. My vote is for 2002's "Living With Crazy Buttocks", but 2007's "If You Want Closure In Your Relationship, Start With Your Legs" made me laugh out loud from the reference desk.

Back on Etsy

I had let my Etsy account lapse a bit since the Oliver incident when he peed into my box of animals and I had to throw the whole back stock away. Sadly, Moss (the store downtown where I was selling) closed recently and so I've got my leftovers from there up on Etsy.

I've committed to doing a local craft show in September and so will be cranking in the next few weeks. I'm hoping to get enough made to have for the show and also to keep Etsy more current.

Frugal and Delicious

Last weekend I stopped by Polk's Farmers Market and found that they had nectarines on sale $.99/lb. They were perfectly ripe and that seemed so cheap compared to apples that are currently running over $2.50/lb at the local Kroger, that I picked up 6lbs. Knowing that I couldn't eat them all before they went bad, I figured that making some jam would be the way to go. (Thinking ahead for Christmas gifts.) After my jam-making practice in June, this went really quickly and easily. Here's the recipe that I developed:

Nectarine Jam
Cut up 6 nectarines - throw away the pit, but keep the skin on.
3 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp cinnamon

1. Bring to slow boil, the nectarines, sugar and lemon juice. Boil for about 30 minutes until you've reached jam consistency.*
2. Stir in spices (I just used what I had on hand that I thought would be good) and boil for another 5 minutes.
3. Take off heat. Skim off any foam. Puree if desired.
4. Decant into jars and preserve.
*An easy test for doneness - place a glass plate in the freezer while making the jam. Place a tbsp of jam on the plate and let it rest in the fridge for about 2 min. Test with your finger to check consistency. If not quite thick enough, keep boiling.