Happy New Year !

On the last day of the old year, i wish you all good things in the new year!
Happy New Year 2010!!!

The Guardian

...Zinnia...

the Lookout, the Sentry, the Guardian.
...All day...And all night. Ears up, looking you straight in the eye. As long as Zinnie is on duty, we are safe and sound....

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

This is a picture of my daughter Katie on Santa's lap (my Dad) at our local Day Care Center where i used to teach many years ago. And the picture at the top of the blog? That's me(on the left) and my sisters Kathy (center) and Nancy (on the right) opening our presents a LONG time ago. I remember that carriage and that wall paper and those pajamas...
It's amazing how time flies.... I wish you a Merry Christmas and hope you make memories that will last forever.

New Critters in the Etsy Shop!

Meet Sparky! He is a baby fire breathing dragon...and a very nice one too...

He wear a bell on his tail to remind himself that it's back there...(he used to have problems with knocking things over but the bell solved that problem!)

He is made out of a pair of soft knit gloves and stuffed with polyfil.

Sparky also had a little issue with starting things on fire, but now that he breathes mostly thru his nose, that is no longer a problem. His nostrils are made of stitch markers.

And this is Tabitha. She loves the color pink and makes friends very easily, but doesn't like to get her picture taken if you use a flash. Her eyes are very sensitive you know.

She also likes to play card games, especially "Go Fish!"

Tabitha is also a knit glove doll, stuffed with polyfil

Because they have small buttons and things that can come off, they are not intended for small children. You can find them and their other friends in my Etsy shop today!

A Special Christmas Greeting!

Please take a minute to watch this little video Christmas card. See the heartfelt sincerity on these faces and know that thru Kiva, you DO make a difference. Merry Christmas!

A Happy Birthday

Well, yesterday was my birthday! I made it to the ripe old age of 55 and still going strong! And i have to say i had a wonderful birthday this year, filled with the love of friends and family. First, my good friend Kate picked me up on Friday evening and drove us to Bread and Jam, a local coffee house that serves great food and coffee and lots of great music too! Kate treated me to dinner and a glass of wine, invited some good friends to join us, and delivered me back home safe and sound! Thank you Kate, and also Jordan, Vickie, Lily, Kathleen and Olya for joining us and making our Friday night fantastic! Yesterday i helped out at The Paper Sparrow for a few hours and when i came home, we had a special little get together. My Parents brought pizza and a cake, (Mom makes the BEST cake) and Carly, Seth and Lola joined us...
Seth made me this awesome card, complete with a chain attached to hang it from

Inside the card is a very good portrait of me(top part of card in black marker) and a special message in code...(Bet ya can't read it!)

Lola also made me a card...the first card i have gotten from her! This is the front of the card...

And this is the inside. She told her Mommy what she wanted to say. Also the drawing is of me at a party having fun with Dave (Guerin) Binka (my son in law Ben) Katie, Gigi and Bepa (my Parents)

Carly and the kids brought me these beautiful flowers and i got a treasured gift from my favorite artist- my Mom...

The bouquet is just lovely...

There's nothing like fresh flowers in Winter...

Just Beautiful...Thank you Carly, Jeremie and kids!

And this is my gift from my Parents. Mom painted a picture of her cockatiel Shenny, who was one of the last cockatiels i bred here. We figured Shenny is about 22....23 years old
and still going strong too!

Here is the painting closer up...It's just Beautiful Mom...Thank you so much...

And this was waiting for me in the living room on Friday night when i got back from the coffee house. I walked into the living room in the dark to hang my coat when i sensed something...different in the room. I turned on the light and there it was.....the Rocking...pig! I had seen this antique wood carving in the window of The Trojan Horse Antique shop, and every time i passed by the window i would say..."I just love that pig!" Well, the pig is now MY pig! He is life size, a bit old and cracked in spots and no longer rocks, but we will find him a spot here to live out his retirement as a beautiful addition to our home. I think i will name him Peggoty. It just seems to fit him!

Thank You Katie, Ben and Bill for Peggoty Pig. That truly was a BIG surprise! And thanks to all of you for your good wishes thru phone calls, email and Facebook.... It's been a rough year, but i know for sure i am truly Blessed...

Gloves Can Warm Your Heart Too

Especially when they become glove dolls! Here are four of the latest critters to come to life from the glove basket in my studio...

This is Red Dog... He is a sweet little mutt who loves to chase cats and birds, so he has to wear a bell to let them know when he is around. Honestly, i think he just LIKES cats and birds and would never harm a soul...

This is Clara the bunny. She is very shy and timid and she always has that wide eyed look about her. She likes tea parties and likes to wear her Grandma's lace scarf.

This is Cotter... he is very sensitive to the cold, and wears his scarf all the time

(That explains his little red nose and blue belly button too)

And this is Aggie. Aggie is part lab, part pit bull, just like my own granddogger Olive who lives with my daughter. She is very strong and powerful, but is gentle as a lamb, and would love to take naps on her new owner's bed. Because these dolls have buttons and small parts they are not suitable for very small children.
Aggie and Clara are on the shelf at The Paper Sparrow waiting for their new homes, and Cotter and Red Dog will be waiting in my Etsy shop for just the right person to come along....

And while they wait, more gloves are being cut and sewn and stuffed to make even more new dolls. This is so much fun! And just to let you know...whenever one of the glove animals are adopted, $10 of their adoption fee goes to our favorite animal shelter, The Mohawk and Hudson River Humane Society. So do a good thing! Adopt one of these sweet critters and help other less fortunate animals out too!

Been So Busy!

In between putting up the tree and cleaning and shopping, i've been working on some projects too!

I made this sweet little Bunny Blanket for friends who are having a baby next month. He is made out of super soft, 100% cotton yarn and soft fluffy polyfil
I hope little Amelia likes him...
After the holidays i'll make a few of these for my Etsy shop...

and there are a few new hats for the baby in the shop too. An Apple
Dumpling hat, size 3-6 months...

a view from the top

And a Teddy Bear Beanie for a toddler. We've got to keep those cute little noggins warm! Ok, back to cleaning the house for the big Christmas gathering....(i'd rather be crafting...)

Earth, Water, Sky...

I've added two new malas to my Etsy shop this week.
I made these malas while sitting in the presence of Amma (The Hugging Saint) during Devi Bhava in 2008. Devi Bhava is a celebration in honor of the Divine Mother, in all Her forms...

This mala is made of sodalite...


and this one is made of clear quartz crystal, and rudruksha beads...

I held onto them because they were blessed by Amma, but finally decided they would do more good out there somewhere, being used for prayer and meditation...

I have always had a fascination with prayer beads and their use thru out history. Making these prayer beads for me is a form of prayer in itself...

Time After Time...by Eva Cassidy

Huggin the Heater

There's something wonderful about the cast iron radiator in the Master bathroom...The dogs just can't seem to get enough of it! As soon as the weather turns chilly, they snuggle up to that heat source and get all warmed up

Rubie caught on real fast. After playing out in the yard for a while in the cold morning air, he has that sleepy look in his eyes. He's growing so fast!

Off The Hook( and needles and bead table...)

Production is UP around here lately. Between getting things ready for the Holiday shoppers at The Paper Sparrow, doing a couple of fund raisers and craft fairs with my daughter Kate, and stocking my new Etsy shop, we've got a little bit of everything getting done around here!

This is Honey Bear...She's knit with love and wrapped up with a warm fuzzy crocheted scarf of her very own... She's not very fancy, but she is very sweet.... She spent one day in the Etsy shop and went home to her new Family! Thanks Alex!
We've got some soft mossy serpentine earrings with sterling silver ear wires

And some new jade beads with Tibetan silver bead caps and sterling silver ear wires...
Both pair are in the Moon*&*Stars Studio Etsy shop

And here is another sweet little baby sweater, straight off the crochet hook!

It's crocheted in a wool blend yarn , and it is on the rack at The Paper Sparow right now.

It has a sweet little coconut shell button to keep it snug up against your little one. This one is in size 3-6 months...

I like these non traditional colors for babies, don't you???

More to come!

The Shop is Open (and a Heartfelt Thank You)

Well, i am a day later than i had planned, but my little shop on Etsy is (finally) officially open for business! If you look at the stats for my shop, you will see that i joined the Etsy team and started working on this project in MAY! But i spent most of that time researching and setting up shop here and there when i had the time and a little help from my daughter who is much more savvy with the workings of a computer than i am! Little by little i would add a few things, subtract a few things...all this helped me to get more comfortable with my little shop and how it works. I have put off announcing the opening because i felt like i needed more things in the shop to do that. But honestly, i could be putting this opening off forever that way! (Is there ever enough?)And i enjoy making all the things that i put in the shop so"stocking the shelves " will be ongoing and there will be much more coming on a regular basis! So please come visit me at Moon*&*Stars Studio by clicking on the link, or by going to the mini Etsy "widget" on my blog! I welcome your comments, suggestions and advice! I am sure with time, i will get better and better at this new and exciting project!

Also i would like to thank any and all of you out there who participated in the Troy, N.Y. Victorian Stroll yesterday, and who came in to The Paper Sparrow and did your Christmas Shopping with us. We were SO busy all day long and sold many, many beautiful handmade gifts yesterday. I would just like to thank you all from the bottom of my heart. The economic downturn has definitely hit this area, and sales have been ...struggling for most of the shopkeepers on River Street in downtown Troy. None of them have deep pockets or big corporate bank accounts to lean on. They get up every day like you and me, and go out to work and offer up their product in hopes that someone will come along and buy handmade, homemade, well made items for their loved ones. Yesterday the community came out in droves and showed their support for these hard working people, and one of them is my daughter. Thank you again for your much appreciated support of small businesses everywhere....