Sunday, May 23, 2010

Catch of the World


Today we went to Beczak Environmental Center. This is one of our favorite places to go. Every month there is a different topic. This month we learned about The Catch of the World. First Ms. Doreen talked about the Hudson River. How it starts aat Lake Tear of the Clouds in New York, near Mount Marcy. And it ends in the Atlantic Ocean near New York City. We learned about high tide and low tide and about brackish water. Then Ms. Doreen showed the kids what waders look like and how to put them on. She talked about the rules for being in and near the water. After that she broke the kids up in to teams of two and they were all off to the river.
Ms. Doreen and her assistant took the kids out in to the river two at a time. The kids each held one end of the seining net and drug it along the bottom of the river. After they came back up on shore they took all of their catch out of the net and carefully placed it in buckets so they could look at everything. They counted five different species of fish including grass shrimp, anchovies, and blue crabs. There were a total of 57 blue crabs. After every team finished they started over again so each child could have another turn. Unfortunately one team drug up several large rocks that tore a big hole in the net. That ended the seining for today.After they came back inside they talked about all the different fish they caught. Then Ms. Doreen showed them pictures of fish that she has seen near the Figi Islands. She showed the kids a map so they could see that the Figi Islands were near Australia.When the program ended Dakota and two other homeschooled boys went out in back of the Center and played for another hour. THey rolled around in the grass and had a great time. It was great for the mommies to have time to sit and chat for a while.

If you ever get the chance to visit Beczak you should do it. It's a great place.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

I've Been Blogged

My wonderful friend Tree from The Enchanted Tree has written a blog about me. Please go check it out. We are offering a give away of one dozen tealight candles just for leaving a comment on her blog. You can check it out here. While you're checking things out, please go to her shop on Etsy and check out all of her beautiful handmade items.


Also check out her husband's wonderful glass work.

Okay now, hurry on over there and leave a comment for the give away.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

I received the Sunshine Award this past week from ~
Journey of a Wham

So here’s a list of a few Blogs I follow & I think you may enjoy. And that I plan on spreading the Sunshine Award onto..though a few have already received it! :) I love to pop by & read when I have spare time- but moms…you know how that goes!

1. Auroras Garden

2. Homeschooling on The Hudson

3. Journey Of A Wham

4. PrairieLand Herbs

5. Ramble On Rose

6. The Enchanted Tree

7. The Magic Onions

8. The Tote Trove

9. The Essential Herbal

10. Sun Rose Aromatics

11. Farm At Coventry

12. My Faery Garden

Please pass this award on to your favorite bloggers! Here are the Rules:
1. Put the logo on your blog or within your post
2. Pass the award on to 12 bloggers
3. Link the nominees within your post
4. Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog
5. Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Boston Warehous Onlien Store


A Dustpan & Brush


OMG, have you seen these guys? I was web surfing tonight and found this site. They are so awesome. I don't normally buy plastic utensils but these are so cool. You can see them here. Here are a few of my favorites.An Oven Mitt Serving Bowls Potato Peeler






A Veggie Brush A Scrubber Brush



You can find the whole Animal House line here. I think these are so cool. I have definitely found some holiday gifts here.

Kathi

Friday, April 16, 2010

The Enchanted Tree

My friend Tree has a featured artist on her website. She is also having a wonderful giveaway. Please go check out her blog.

http://theenchantedtree.blogspot.com/2010/04/star-sunflower-studio-artist-feature.html

Then go check out Star SunFlower on Etsy. Her site is here.

Both of these women are incredible artists. Check them out today.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Hey Someone Blogged About Me

Deirdre at http://blackbirdsle arningtofly. blogspot. com/

wrote the following article on her blog today. Thanks Dierdre.

Etsy NJ Team Tuesday: Hippie Fairy Lover

1. What inspired you to open your shoppe?
I have been crafting for as long as I can remember. When I started making snack bags and sandwich wraps, people kept saying I should sell them. My daughter had a shop on another website. So I just sold my things on her shop. I had bought a few things on Etsy so I decided to open a shop and see how it went. Eventually my daughter closed her shop so I was just selling on Etsy.

2. Is this your full time job? If not do you hope it can be?
My full time job is being a mom and homeschooling teacher to my wonderful, active, busy, seven year old son. But crafting takes a close second to that.

3. How did you come up with the idea and name for your shoppe?
The name of my shop is from my email address. I'm a hippie from the 60's. That has never changed. And I love fairies.

4. Do you plan on expanding your items?
I'm always adding to what I sell. First it was the sandwich wraps and snack bags, then washcloths, and now candles.


5. Can you tell us about your studio and process?(you may include a photo with yourself in it if you like).
I don't have a studio. We live in a very small apartment. My "studio" is a corner of the kitchen table.

6. What motivates you?
I have always loved creating new things. I have been sewing since I was about 5 years old. Now my main motivation is the desire to live as naturally as possible. I am concerned about the waste of resources in our environment. That's why I started making reusable things. Even with my candles I reuse the little cups that they come in.



7. Do you have a blog? If you do, what is it about?
My blog is mostly about my son and our homeschooling activities. I do sometimes add things that I have made.

8. What made you decide to go with Etsy, or Artfire?
As I said, I was sharing a shop with my daughter but I could never figure out how to add things to the shop or delete things, or edit or anything else on it. Etsy is so easy to use. It just works well for me.

9. Do you sell anywhere else?(retail in your area or other online shoppes or through a personal site).
Not any more. When I was younger I sold at craft fairs. But now I've just been selling on Etsy.

10. What do you like best about creating?
Seeing the end result. Taking the raw materials and turning them into something useful makes me feel good about myself.

11. Do you Twitter or have a Facebook fan page or any other online social media sites?
I don't have a fan page. I do sometimes put things on my facebook page that I have created. But it's just a regular page not a fan page.

12. Can you tell us about how you ensure that your products arrive intact and the instructions for caring for them?
Most of my products are fabric so there isn't much to getting them to the buyer in one piece. I use sturdy plastic bags for most of my shipping. Since they are cotton fabrics they are easily washed and dried. My sandwich wraps and snack bags can be washed in a machine and dried in the dryer if you put them in with a load of towels or something like that to soak up some of the heat. If they went in the dryer by themselves, they may melt. I usually wash them by hand and hang them to dry. The washcloths and bottle cozies are also cotton and can be machine washed and dried.
I wrap my candles in bubble wrap to make sure that they do not get crushed in the mail. I need to research a better way to ship them as the last ones I shipped melted.

13. Who are your 4 favorite artists or sellers on Etsy, and Artfire.
There are so many artists that I like on Etsy. AdamsboroSundries is a great place to buy fragrance oils. We love the coffee from capitalcitycoffeeco. I love the candles and hand knit products from brikeney. ElementalHandcrafts has some great handcrafted toys and knitting needles. It is really hard to narrow the list down to just four artists. There are so many shops that I love to stroll through and drool.

14. Can you tell us the 5 weirdest things about you?(optional, just
want others to know the person behind the creations).
I am an old hippie from the 60's.
I have six kids and eight granbabies.
Six of my granbabies are older than my youngest son.
I am a homeschooling mama to my seven year old.
I am 17 years older than my husband.

To see more please go to:
http://hippiefairylover.etsy.com
http://kathishippiehaven.blogspot.com/

Monday, April 12, 2010

Barefoot Stitches

Check out this etsy shop. She has the greatest stuff. She also makes the best coffee around. Visit her on facebook to enter her giveaway and then go visit her etsy store.

Barefoot Stitches-- Handmade wearables by coffeejill Monthly drawing for a FREE $50 gift certificate good towards any item in my etsy shops! Just answer the following question in a reply to this discussion to be entered in the drawing. One name will be randomly selected at the end of April! Yay! Free stuff!!! (and remember there is no right or wrong answer...just your opinion that counts!!)April Question: Earth tones, jewel tones, or monochromatic (black/grey/white)???Have fun, tell your friends!

Go here to post a comment.

Etsy store is here.

While you're on etsy, check out my shop here.

Talk to you soon.

Kathi