Widening my Horizons

  Happy Fat Tuesday.... and NO, that is not how I intend to widen my horizon.  As I drink my morning coffee and referree the three dogs playtime, I have decided to put in place a way for those customers of mine who share my shop with friends and family can get a bonus. Another Etsy shop had an article on this and it sounds like a wonderful way to not only reward those customers but find new ones.
                   Here is what I was thinking:

Earn a $10 Credit for Every Friend You Bring to the Grammas Gifts !



Would you like to earn a free item?  Since you’ve already been spreading the word and sharing your love for  Grammas Gifts,  I have started an affiliate program to thank and reward you!   If you’re interested in becoming an affiliate, please contact me through Grammas Gifts or write to me at Pattibearsplace@gmail.com

Here’s how it works:
First....Contact me , letting me know you would like to be an affiliate.
Next    I’ll create a special 10% discount that you can share with your friends.
Then.... Each time one of your friends make their first purchase (of $10 or more) and use the 10% discount code, you receive a $10 Grammas Gifts gift certificate!

You can share your code anywhere and everywhere!
 Tell your friends, email relatives, and post it on your blog!
For every new customer you bring, you earn $10.00 certificate toward your choice of an item from the shop!
Visit the Grammas Gifts and  get started ♥

     Now with that finally in type I can get back to my Paczki and coffee.  I have a new baby sweater in the works. Lady Bugs is the theme for this next set and I can hardly wait to get it done and show it off. I need to use my time wisely today because the little guys come back tommorrow and then for four days it is hard to even finish a thought . A sweater seems out of the question!  As I am typing I can see on the tv they are calling for 6-8 inches of heavy wet snow startting tonight. I am glad I have more than enough yarn to hold me over, so all I need now is someone to run for milk and we are set to be snowed in for awhile. I think our road is the last one plowed in the county! That is ok with me , I will watch the flakes fall as I work away.

Saturday Morning in the Shop

While I was dusting and running the vaccuum I thought I would take a video to show some of what is in the shop. I say this like I know what I was doing....NOT the case. In fact this is the first time I have used the video setting on my camera so I am hoping it works.  There are so many things in the shop that don't get listed on Etsy or on my website and so I thought I would share them this morning.

We have a saying at my house...if it stands still long enough Grandma will paint on it. That is probably true, I love to paint on old furniture, window, logs, rocks, pots and just about anything. I have tried my hand at watercolor, oils and acrylic. I find I am too rigid for watercolor I go crazy as the paint flows where ever and oils , I am in too big of a hurry to see a finished project so acrylics is my maine medium. I also do almost all my work freehand because I am a lazy painter. I do not like to take the time to trace a pattern do the basics then trace somemore. At classes I took when I worked at Michaels in Chicgo Ridge it made the instructor nuts that I would'nt trace. 

People always ask , were you trained, how did you learn to do this?  Well , I see images in wood patterns, clouds etc. crazy as it may seem that is how it started. I grew up in a house built back in 1959, our bathroom was covered in pink 6 inch plastic tiles with a sort of wavy pattern and if while taking a bubble bath you looked at them just right you could see faces, and so much more. If only you could sketch while in the tub. Gram would certainly not have allowed that LOL. The we began our camping vacations and at our stays in Savannah, Illinois, I met Jack & Jean they ran the little camp store and everyday Jack would sit behind the store and paint beautiful wildlife scenes on mirrors. Oh how I wished I had bought one back then. He made it seem so easy, the trees and deer seemed to just flow from his brush. I have yet to try that but now know that  feeling now as I turn an old ironing board ( hubby said I never knew what they were for ) into a charming Santa or a log slab into a friendly black bear.

Then in the evening I turn into my Gram, after dinner is done and we settle down I crochet the little sweaters and blankets that fill the shop. Our last 3 little ones were boys so all those cute girly sets are just for the shop. but I have a chance as my daughter is due in November and my fingers are crossed for a little girl.

Well enough for now, the shop is now open and hopefully the rain holds off and we have a busy day

Photos from the shop

This is the little girls MOOSE hat. I came up with these for Moosefest the beginning of May. I am thinking..... change the bow and it could be a reindeer for Christmas

Little boys sweater and earflap cap, also a matching blanket as well as a hooded sweater in the same color

I charged the batteries and with a rainy day outside it seemed the perfect time to get the photos taken and share them , here on the blog. So many of the pieces I paint are too big or too heavy to sell online, but they are here in my shop in Montello.

The green window was an old storm off a house in town, reuse/recycle less waste... this is from the same house but being so small I can't imagine what it was a door to!

Sunny Saturday

It is just beautiful outside today. The sun is shining and the wind has finally died down a bit. I am determined today to paint outfits for the Dress-Me Friends, finish a coupl orders and then if their time, work on a few slab wood pieces. I am never quite sure how those will turn out. The wood does it's own thing. With all the black bear sightings in the area, maybe I should do a couple more pieces with bears on......maybe the Don't feed the bears !

I am still looking for cupcake recipes for Dairy Days, so many choices. My grandson J.J. is my baking buddy he comes running when he hears the mixer to help lick the beaters. He makes even the grey rainy days bright.

Cold Outside

Well we survived another shot of winter and although is it frosty and very slippery outside I am busy inside working some magic to get spring in here. Flower pots are being painted and the wooden tulips are very cheery. Some new additions to the baby sweaters and blankets brighten that section up really quick. St. Patrick's Day decorations are in the window and the silk daffodils are in the planter out front, now if Mother Nature would just play along things would be great.
Right now with money being tight shopper need to be very selective where and how they spend their money and I realize that. That is why I try to keep the prices as low as possible. Everyone needs to find a gift for someone at one time or another during the year and hopefully I can help them out with some great items at a good price. People appreciate handcrafted gifts, they say you went that extra mile to get them something special. That doesnt mean you need to pay an arm and a leg.
I have also been busy working on some furniture pieces. Nothing too big but maybe you just need to add an accent piece to a room or maybe change the look a little. We might have it here. Come on in and browse around and if you don't see what you need, never be afraaid to ask I just love custom orders.
We are getting ready for a Art weekend here in Montello March 14th and 15th. There will be local artists showing off their fiber art as well as demos and specials through out town.