I love the Holidays! Busy Busy Busy!

So far this year has been amazing!  My very first year "in the business" and everything has been going so well.  Not only have I made a lot of new friends thru the Etsy.com community but also I have had the opportunity to sell INTERNATIONALLY.  My first international sale back in August was to Australia.  There are so many things I learned by having to ship internationally that I had never expected before.  There are TWO different types of Custom Forms to choose from, and it is BEST to have the Post office or FedEx place help you decide which one you are supposed to fill out.  In my case because my items are merchandise, non-perishable items, they have me fill out the simple customs form.  My most recent sale that was international was to Barcelona, Spain.  

This got shipped this afternoon!  

The best part about making things by hand is that more and more people now a days are starting to truly appreciate the hard work and artistry it can take.  More and more people are willing to order things from people like me because they know what I make is HAND CRAFTED, and no two items are ever alike.  Even if you purchase the same item, because even the same color yarn can have a different length in between colors or even thickness, no matter what you do, each item is one of a kind.  They are all beautiful, that is what I love.  I have been crocheting for over 23 years, so my technique is quite exceptional, so the only thing that is really a surprise in my work is what the yarn does while I am creating a new masterpiece.

These two were my most recent sale of my "One of a kind" slouchy hats.  I love Lion Brand Homespun yarn.  I have said it a thousand times and I will continue to say it.  No matter what color I have bought, it never ceases to amaze me with the finished product.

And I can't forget this little beauty!  This is one of my other best sellers.  Sold 3 so far this year!  I love how amazing they all come out when they are complete.  This is a Secret Santa present!  Goddess, I love the holidays.  :)

My table can finally run free!

So by combining my love for crochet with my love for zebra print and things I can make that at least kinda look like it they have come together to create this "table runner" which is really cool, kinda funky, and totally me!  My house as I have previously posted is all decorated in Black white and red so I have been working on making other things to go along with my theme.  This is my first finished creation.  The boarder didn't turn out as good as I wanted but I am not taking it out and starting over, I am just glad to be done with it.  Talk about a "pain in the butt" pattern.  With my hats it's not as bad with switching colors because you are going around in a circle and not going back and forth.  You have no idea how many times I found myself tangled up in the red yarn .  Not the black or white, no no..... always the stupid red!  It's really beautiful on the coffee table, and I'm super proud of how it turned out for my first and only table runner I have ever tried.  I can tell you one thing about it though, unless someone begs me repeatedly, I'm not gonna make another one like this.  I am still hard at work on my afghan and it is slowly coming along.  I need to go buy at least 6 more skeins of the yarn before I get it done but that can come in a few days.  I am in the middle of a new hat right now that has my full attention.  It is a surprise design that it turning out a little more complicated than I wanted but it is ABSOLUTELY beautiful and I am pretty sure it will be a big seller when it's done.  Wish me luck!