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Affordable Style, Christmas, digital textile, DIY Tutorials, embroidery, Fabric on demand, Home and Garden -

Handmade (embroidered) Holiday

It has been an excitingly busy holiday. I felt like a true business person, I sold several custom pillows and a few pillow pattern - I was quite thrilled. Despite the hectic holiday season, I was still able to abide by one of my resolutions for 2010 - that is - give handmade gifts for all gift-giving occasions. It was difficult - several sleepless nights - but I managed to create some handmade treasures for my home as well as a few friends homes. One of my favorite creations was a poinsettia dish towel that I made for myself and...

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Christmas, christmas trees, Home and Garden, Inspiration -

The facts about Christmas Trees

Real Christmas Trees... There are approximately 25-30 million "real" Christmas trees sold in the US each year. There are close to 350 million real Christmas trees currently growing on Christmas tree farms in the U.s. alone, all planted by farmers. North American real Christmas trees are grown in all 50 states and Canada. Eighty percent (80%) of  artificial trees worldwide are manufactured in China, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. Real trees are a renewable, recyclable resource: Artificial trees contain non-biodegradable plastics and possible metal toxins such as lead. There are more than 4,000 local Christmas tree recycling programs throughout...

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Home and Garden, Inspiration -

Crafting With My Mom

I have been busy creating and fulfilling Holiday orders so I have not been able to update my  blog as often as would like - (SEO Note - updating your blog at least 3 times per week increases you ranking on the the major search engines). Anyway, my friend Liz has offered to share a story about the joys and challenges of crafting with her mother. Liz's S. Crafting with her mom [caption id="attachment_610" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="My Friend liz - Tennis Pro"][/caption] When I was in the first grade, my mom made me a bride’s costume out of some old...

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Art, Christmas, christmas decor, christmas ornaments, Home and Garden -

Li Bien Ornaments

Last year I did my annual after Christmas ornament shopping and I came across some gorgeous ornaments in my local Pier 1 Imports store. They are called "Li Bien". It's a Chinese phrase that means "inside". The Li Bien ornament showcases the  age old skill of inside painting, which originated in the Qing Dynasty. It has been a respected Chinese art for over 200 Years. [caption id="attachment_594" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Collection of Li Bien Ornaments"][/caption] Each ornament is delicately hand-painted through a tiny opening in the mouth-blown glass. [caption id="attachment_595" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Ho, Ho, Ho"][/caption] This Process requires great skill and...

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affordable decor, Affordable Style, Art, Cushions, custom pillow, custom textile, digital textile, Fabric on demand, Graphic pillow, pillow, pillow cover, textile design, Throw pillow -

Add Color to Your Rental Home - or Any Home

The Reggae Argyle Collection My friend is moving into her new condo the beginning of next month. Like most rental homes, the walls are painted 'rental beige' and the landlord is insisting on keeping the 'neutral' color. Note to landlord - beige is not a color, its a shade - at least in my opinion. She decided that she would inject some color into her rental decor by adding fabric to the walls, adding some colorful throw rugs, put up some window curtains and add some vibrant throw pillows. She asked if I would design some pillows that would (1)...

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