Mother's Day Goodies & Coveting Crafts

Last year, I got the awesome embroidery necklace charms for Mother's Day. I was so excited to get the sweet little box (packaged so unbelievably well) with the wee charms inside (helooooo Feather Stitch!) This year, I sent my big wishlist item to my husband a little late in the game, so I'm still not sure if he'll be able to deliver.


A few weeks ago, I featured the amazing vintage button flower bouquets from Lisa at Lil Fish Studios over on CRAFT. I was so blown away by them, that I spent at least two days just randomly returning to Lisa's Flickr Stream and fawning over them. They just made me ... happy!

Do you have handmade items that you absolutely covet? Things that you don't just think are "cute" or "cool," but that really inspire you and cause a visceral reaction when you see them?

I've started a list of these "covet" items. My hope is that, by having this list, I'll be more conscious of saving up for these things that I truly love and mean something to me. Some of the things on my list are one of Mimi Kirchner's Tiki Pillows or Tattooed Men dolls, a Cha-Cha bracelet from Naughty Secretary Club, and a bouquet of vintage button flower from Lil Fish Studios. For the time being, the button flowers are the thing that fall closest to our budget. When I first saw Lisa's bridal work, I thought, "Man! I wish I could get married again just to be able to carry one of those!" Then I realized ... I don't have to be getting married to have a nice little bouquet of them right here on my desk. To think of what it would be like to look at them on a daily basis while I work ... well, it just makes me plain ole giddy. So I passed the link and Lisa's contact information on to my husband in hopes he would take the hint. Of course, I could be building myself up for disappointment here, but even if it doesn't come through for Mother's Day, I'm vowing to have one of those button bouquets on my desk by the end of summer, for sure.


Most of the things on my "covet list" have to do with people. They are made by people I know or admire, and that makes me appreciate them even more. What's on your covet list? I'm wondering if I should keep a running list of mine as a link on the side bar ....

In other Mother's Day news, I had a total blast writing a Mother's Day series for CRAFT about some of my favorite Mother/Daughter Crafters. I profiled Maura Madden (of Crafternoon fame) and her mom, Jennifer Perkins (of Naughty Secretary Club) and her mom, and Diane Gilleland (of Crafty Pod) and her mom. It was so much fun to learn about their crafting relationships and share their stories with CRAFT readers. I was really struck by how big a role crafting has played in their relationships, and how truly close it has brought each of them together. It has me rethinking my whole "crafting-is-mom's-time" stand.... So take a few minutes to go read the Mother's Day stories over on CRAFT. My fellow bloggers, Becky Stern and Shawn Connally, also wrote great pieces about their own crafty moms. Do you have any crafty mom stories to share?

Finally, I teach my first-ever Mother-Child embroidery class tomorrow. I thought it would be a fun thing to do for Mother's Day, and I'm looking forward to it (though I'm a little nervous ...) I haven't taught kids before, and I'm really curious how it will all play out. I have to send out huge thanks to Mary Corbet of Needle 'N Thread for her oodles and oodles of invaluable information that she shared with me about teaching hand embroidery to kids. She is highly experienced in the matter, and made no hesitation to give me a hugely thorough response when I asked if she had any tips. I'm so grateful for her generosity.

Have a fantastic weekend, and check back in on Monday when I'll announce the winners of the Sublime Stitching giveaway from earlier this week!