Introducing Octo Tuesdays!

Baby Octos

Baby Octos are cute little plushies,

with eight legs and big personalities!

Baby Octos like to make new friends,

share hugs, be silly and have fun!

Each baby octopus has his or her own unique personality, 

as you can plainly see!

Some like to help in the garden,

while others like to throw a celebration!

Some enjoy things that glitter,

others dress-up like their favorite character!

Baby Octos may seem mischievous, 

but they really just like to play with us!

Baby Octos are looking for their forever homes,

a place where they can always go,

Where they will be loved and cared for,

by a fun loving boy or girl!
************************************************

Introducing "Octo Tuesdays" at Live.Dream.Create.! 

• Each Tuesday, a special edition baby octopus will be introduced to the shop! Be sure to friend us on Facebook to make sure you get the announcements first! (Don't forget to check your settings to make sure that Live.Dream.Create. posts appear in your newsfeed!)
• Each baby octopus is handmade one at a time, giving each one his or her own personality. 
• Patterns, stitching and colors may vary slightly in each collection, so be sure to check them all out to find your favorite! 
• You will receive the baby octopus that you order.
• These will be made in limited quantities ONLY! I will announce how many are available each week.
• There might be 2...or 4... or 8 in a collection... But once they are gone, they are gone! (So, don't miss out!)
• Sorry but there will be no holds or reserves on baby octos.
• No re-orders, special requests, or custom orders for more limited edition baby octos. (This would defeat the purpose of being "limited".)
• Each baby octo will come with a "collector's identification card"
• Card contains a picture of your baby octo, its name, a "baby octo number" (overall baby octo number) and its number in the collection (ex. 1 of 2 or 2 of 2) and something about your baby octo. 
• Each baby octo will come with other fun goodies- like stickers! (Because who doesn't love stickers!?) Goodies may vary from week to week, but they will be announced.
• Everything that is included with each Baby Octo will be listed at time of purchase.
• You can find Baby Octos from "Octo Tuesday" for sale in the "Limited Edition Octos" section in my Etsy shop.

Live.Dream.Create. Updates

Things have been a little quiet around here lately, so here are some updates! :)

Oddmall was a blast! Made some new friends, got to see some cool things, and got to try out some new displays and new items! 

You can find the pictures from Oddmall here. 

For easier shopping, I now have www.LiveDreamCreate.com (my Artfire shop) and www.EcoFriendlyFun.com (my Etsy shop). 

I was able to get my NEW tent! I am super excited to now have an "ez-up" style. The one I had before was okay, but let's face it, no one wants to wrestle all those poles and keep track of all those connectors! ;) I was able to upgrade into the "commercial grade" tent, and like my husband said, I should NEVER have to buy a tent again! (Well, at least not for a long time.) The whole tent thing was a little bit of a fiasco, and I really am glad to have it crossed off my to-do list. 

The original tent that I purchased was NOT what was advertised. I had even called back to the store after seeing it the first time, and the lady said that "all of the tents [they] sell are WHITE". Um, dark brown is NOT what I would call white. So my husband helped me return the first one, then we went to Dick's Sporting Goods like I should have in the very beginning. In the bag, the new tent is as tall as I am and weighs probably 50 lbs- so it looks like I will be getting a good workout this summer! :)

I have started lining up the shows for the season. I will start listing them on the "Events" page as I get confirmations back. These are the next two:

• June 2:  Kent Masterpieces on Main's Art & Wine Festival
• Downtown Kent, Ohio
• Noon - 10pm
• Free Admission
• For $10 customers can purchase a wine glass and 3 "taste" tickets to use at the wine booths
• http://www.mainstreetkent.org
• June 9 & 10:  Summerfest
• Lake Anna Park, Barberton, Ohio
• Saturday June 9th: 10am - 6pm
• Sunday June 10th: 10 am - 4pm

You can also view the events on the facebook page. Feel free to share the events with your friends, family and whoever else you feel like sharing with! ;)

As a final note for the evening, I am working on setting up an email newsletter. This would contain event updates, coupons, and new product info. I am thinking once a month. (My in-boxes have over 3000 spammy emails piling up, so I understand if you are hesitant, but I promise I won't send them very often! - and you can always opt out later if you decide it is not for you.) If you would like to sign up you can do so here: Newsletter sign up. 


P.S. Feel free to "Like" us on Facebook!

Art Takes Times Square contest

Hello everyone! I wanted to take a moment to share this incredible art contest I entered today!

It is called Art Takes Time Square. Winners get their artwork shown on a billboard in NYC for the whole world to see! (And some other awesome stuff, but I'm pretty sure getting to be on a billboard is PRETTY awesome in itself!)

I have set my page up here Krystal Tomlinson (Art Takes Time Square Contest)

Please visit my page and click "collect me" in the upper right corner. The more people that "collect me", the  better chance I have of winning!  I need 7 votes to make my profile available for public viewing and voting, and 77 to get a guaranteed viewing at the after-party. The grand-prize winner will be selected from the top 200 with the most votes.

You can add other artists to your collection, and the judge with the best collection also wins an awesome prize!   (A $5000 trip to NYC!)

Feel free to share my page (and your other favorites) with your family and friends- anyone can be an art judge! There is a "share" button next to the "collect me" button in the upper right corner with TONS of share options to make life easy! :)

Super huge thank you to everyone!

Hello 2012!

2011 was a great year for Live.Dream.Create. thanks to all of our friends and fans! Thank you everyone! I went to many great events and shows, branched out the shop online and in the local community, expanded the items in the shop, made many great custom orders and had TONS of fun!

One of my favorite custom items this Christmas season is this giant 3 ft penguin! (I had a lot of fun playing elf!)

2012 is here and I am looking forward to a whole new year! Some of the things in store for Live.Dream.Create. in 2012:

• This weekend (1/8/12) Live.Dream.Create. is wrapping up at the Double Feature Gallery in Cleveland, OH.
  A big thank you to everyone at Double Feature for including us!

• I have been reorganizing and regrouping after the busy holiday season. The Etsy and Artfire shops have both been on vacation while I do so. They should both be back open soon. I've been rewriting listings and descriptions and hope to fix up some of the photos as well.
• One of my goals is to reorganize my supplies and materials. Part of this is separating my sequins by color and size to make my life easier. It's a little OCD. I know. But I am going from a box full of sequins like this:

To THIS:

And finally, to THIS:

Not only will the cat no longer knock them all over, but I can arrange them in rainbow order!

• I have a whole bunch of new ideas and things to try out this year. It is a rather long list since I can't sew fast enough to keep up!
• Over Christmas I made Hedwig plushies for my brothers and sister as gifts. She should be making an appearance in the shop soon!

• After the giant penguin, I am itching to make something HUGE! I'm not sure just what it will be yet- maybe a giant cake slice or octopus...
• More goodies will be coming to the felt food collection!
• I also have a long list of new animal friends to add to family.
• I really want to do a project with dinosaurs! For some reason January and February feels like the perfect time of the year for dinosaurs... :)
• I will begin looking into shows and events for the upcoming spring/summer season and will post them as soon as I can.

There is so much to look forward to this year! Here is to a happy, healthful and prosperous 2012!

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Needlecraft

Take the Handmade Pledge!

 

"I pledge to buy handmade for myself and my loved ones,
and request that others do the same for me."

Buying handmade is always a special experience that large chain-stores just can't provide. It is the thrill of finding something truly unique and special. It is the connection we make to the inventor, creator, artist and seller. It is the one-on-one customer service we receive. It is buying local. It is about making a personal connection to some one in another part of the world. It is about receiving something from the heart that is made with love and special care. It is the personal touch and the extra effort that makes us all feel special. It is the idea that without one person's creativity and hard work something would not have existed. Handmade means so many things to so many people. Visit BUYHANDMADE.ORG, see what handmade means to others, take the pledge, and share with your friends and family. So far, over 52,800 have taken the pledge! 

15 Things to do before back-to-school

I can't believe it is August already! Fall/Autumn and Back-to-School are closer and closer everyday. It seems that all of the stores are already bombarding us with pencils, crayons, erasers, binders, laptops and all of the accessories for a new school year and Halloween items all at the same time. I stopped at a local craft store this past week where they even have Thanksgiving and Christmas just about set up for the season! I have to admit, I have started thinking Fall and Winter, but in my defense, it takes me much longer to hand-sew each of my items. I was just starting out this time last year, so I had very little time to get ready for the fall/winter holidays. This year I am a little better prepared! :) 
This morning the sun is shining bright, the weather is still hot, the pool is waiting for its first swimmers of the day, and the flowers are growing like crazy. Here are a few ways to slow down the rush and enjoy the few weeks we have left of summertime:

1. Sidewalk Art: Grab your bucket of sidewalk chalk and head outside! Draw pictures, letters, numbers, play games, anything! Draw your friend's portrait and write their name underneath. Play tic-tac-toe with your sister. If you don't have sidewalk chalk at home make your own, or use large paintbrushes (like the kind you use to paint your house) and water. Fill a bucket with water, dip your paintbrush and draw on the sidewalk or even the side of the garage. As soon as the water dries, you have a fresh canvas to draw some more!
   
   
2. Check out some extremely large and life-like sidewalk chalk art in person or online:There are a lot of wonderful artists out there creating giant chalk masterpieces- if you run in to one, be sure to stop and get a picture! Many rely on perspective to appear 3-D, so it may take a minute to find just the right place to view it from.
   
   
   

3. 

   Sidewalk Chalk Art

   Have a picnic: Grab your picnic basket, a blanket and some friends and head outside to have lunch. Pack a few sandwiches, pieces of fruit, some lemonade and other goodies to enjoy on the open grass or under a shade tree. If you can't get time to go to the park, head outside on your lunch break or set up your picnic in the backyard.
   
   
4. Play catch: Dig out your old ball mitt from the box in the garage and head outside and play catch! Little ones love to try and toss a ball as far as they can, and older ones love to learn how to throw a curve ball just like dad!
   
   
5. Play four-square: Remember that game we used to play at recess? Teach it to your little ones or younger siblings! If you can't quite remember the rules or are new to the game, you can find a refresher course here: How to Play Foursquare
   
   
6. Rollerblade/rollerskate: Grab your blades or skates and head outside or to the roller rink!
   When I rollerblade, I prefer the outdoors. I look for paved and relatively flat biking trails. Don't forget the helmets and all of your padding!
   When I skate, I head over to the roller rink. I find that the rink runs about $5-7/person  for 2-3 hours (depending on the rink and location). Skate rentals usually run about $1-2 for basic skates and about $3 for speedskates or rollerblades. If you have your own at home, as long as they are in decent condition and the wheels are clean from gunk and rocks, you can use them at the rink and save a few dollars. I find the best time to go is earlier in the day, especially for beginners and younger children. Older students and adults typically crowd the rink the evening time, and this may make it harder for newcomers to learn how to skate with the "big kids" whizzing past at high speeds.
   Indoor/outdoor or inline/quad, both make for a great family day out!
   
   
7. Frisbee: Grab a friend and a frisbee and head outside to an open area. This is also a great game to play with the family dog!
   
   
8. Tie-dye: Available in pre-made kits or in individual packets of dye, this is a great way to extend the life of your older white shirts! (Like the one with the mustard stain that didn't quite come out!) There a several ways to create interesting designs and shapes- it all depends on how you twist, knot, rubberband and crinkle your shirt. Kids love seeing their artwork turn into something they can wear! This is also a great way to teach children about what happens when two colors touch and mix. There are dozens of tutorials, supply companies and videos online such as How to Tie Dye. Craft stores and even Walmart sell dye and kits. This makes a great outdoors project for a group!
   
9. Take a hike: Grab your hiking boots, water bottle, compass and a trail map and head out for a hike! Depending on how far you plan to go, you may want to pack a small lunch or snack and extra water. Don't forget your bug spray and/or sunscreen!
   
   
10. Have a BBQ: Get your friends and family together for a cookout in the backyard! Burgers, hot dogs and chicken on the grill are must-have summertime foods! If you are worried about costs, make it pot luck and have everyone bring a side-dish!
    
    
11. Go Fishing: Head out to the lake, river or pond with the family for a day of fishing! If you don't care for the feel of live worms, minnows or frogs, grab some artificial lures from your local bait and tackle shop. Depending on how far your favorite fishing hole is from your car, pack a small cooler with cold drinks and a few snacks.  (Be sure to check your local laws.)
    
    
12. Look at the stars: Find an area away from the city traffic and bright lights and watch the stars. How many constellations can you find and name? Don't forget to make a wish on a shooting star!
    
    
13. The Ice-cream Man: You hear the music every time the ice cream man drives by... so run out there and get a rocket pop, a choco-taco or an ice cream cone! This is a great way for children to practice counting money and making a purchase.
     
14. Make your own ice cream: What is better then eating ice cream? Making it yourself! You can find many different recipes and methods online. You can find one great tutorial here.  I have found the baggie method to be pretty quick and it works well with 2% milk.
    
    
15. Gather veggies from the garden: The garden is flourishing and everyday new vegetables are appearing!  Have the kids help you gather up the ripe veggies (and perhaps even the weeds). Younger children love naming what they find. Older children enjoy helping out in the kitchen to turn their findings into a yummy meal!
    

Ecofriendlyfun.com

There are so many things to do before school starts again! What are some of your favorites?