Paper Dolls Garland Craft Kit is Here!

You have patiently been waiting and I know it had been killing you! But they have arrived! Get your Paper Dolls Garland Craft Kit Here TODAY! I have them listed in my Crafting Confections Etsy Shoppe, but if you purchase on the Pre-Order button on my last Blog Post, you will get yours for $5 off. I will only be making a limited number of these Craft Kits and most of them will be saved back for a show I'm doing this fall. But these are Great Fun to do with your kids this summer or to give as gifts to your favorite crafter or do yourself. And How Cute Are They? Aren't they Adorable? Of course yours will be different than mine or anyone elses, but just the dresses without any embellishments are just so darn Cute themselves. :) Take a Peek at the one I created.

And look at all of the Gorgeous Vintage and New Embellishments that you get with your Craft Kit. I had lots of stuff left over when I got finished with my Paper Dolls Garland, so I'm sure you will have everything you need to decorate them. Of course you can add your own embellishments too to make them unique and all your own. :)

You get all sorts of Goodies with you Paper Dolls Garland Kit:
* 6 Paper Doll Dresss
* Vintage Seam Binding Ribbon
* Ric Rac Trim
* Mini Pom Pom Fringe
* Vintage Silver German Glass Glitter
* Vintage Style Forget Me Nots
* Velvet Ribbon
* Vintage Lace

More Crafting Confections "Sweet As Pie" Craft Kits Coming Soon! So Keep Watching! :)

Be On The L@@kout For My Latest Craft Kit!!!!

I have been busy in my Studio recently putting together some fun Craft Kits that are so Adorable! I will be adding them shortly to my Crafting Confections Etsy Shoppe. But for now here is a sneak peek!...Hugs...Jewel ;o)

I will only be making a limited number of these Paper Doll Garland Craft Kits. So if you would like to pre-order yours today to make sure you get your kit when I get them all finished up, then click below to purchase your Kit Now.

This particular kit will include the following embellishments and more:

* Vintage Silky Rayon Seam Binding Ribbon
* Ric Rac Trim
* Mini Pom Pom Fringe
* Vintage German Glass Glitter
* Vintage Style Velvet/Flocked Forget Me Nots
* Velvet Ribbon
* Vintage Lace

What to do for your Wedding Registry if you want your Gifts from the Handmade Community

As we approach June, the season for weddings, we all know someone who is getting married or getting married ourselves. Me, I'm fortunate to already be married to the most Amazing man on this planet and have a Wonderful family. But to those getting married it is so frustrating trying to get registered somewhere. Where do I register? Do they really have all that I want? Is it really what I want? And for those of us who already have a household and don't really need anything per say, but would maybe just like some things to blend in with our already decorated home or perhaps have that room you would like to re-do, but don't really have the money to do it. With the Go Green or Buy Handmade attitude that we are getting today, maybe we want to help save the environment or help support an artisan with Vintage, Handmade, Repurposed or Upcycled gifts of our choosing.

My answer is simple. Find a site such as Etsy where you can find Quality Handmade, Vintage, Upcycled or Repurposed items that you Love. Create an account there and add all of the items that you want to your Favorites. Then in with your invitations, in emails to your quests or you can even make up business cards to hand out with the URL of your Account on them. Tell your guests to go there and pick from your Favorites for your gifts. Then you know you will be getting exactly what you really want, so you won't have to return 10 toasters. LOL They will be One of a Kind, Unique and Truly You....Hugs...Jewel ;o)

These would be my picks! :)

To see this registry and view and the items in it listed for sale, go Here!

Marie Antionette LET THEM EAT CAKE Place Settings / Chair Hangers

I got an email from one of my clients a couple of weeks ago. She had purchased my Marie Antoinette "Let Them Eat Cake" Note Cards to use for her little girls' Birthday Party Invitations. She asked me if I could make some sort of Place Setting Cards/Chair Hangers for all of the little girls at the party and I took the challenge. This is what I came up with. These turned out so Adorable I decided to add them to my Romantic Inspirations Etsy Shoppe.

They are 5"x7" and are created from the imagery I used to make the note cards. I printed them on heavy cardstock and then I hand glittered each one with Vintage Silver German Glass Glitter. This one pictured was the one for the Birthday Girl, the others just had their name without Princess so the Birthday Girl was a little more special. :) I then added some Vintage Seam Binding Ribbon Bows in two different shades of pink and extra for hanging on the back of the chairs. I topped it all off with Vintage Style Millinery Forget Me Nots. Aren't they so Sweet?

I can do them in any theme or from imagery from any of my existing note cards or gift tags in my shoppe. I can also do party hats, cupcake toppers and much more to give your party an overall theme.

These would be great for Bridal Showers, Dinner Parties, Luncheonettes, Baby Showers, Parties, Masquerades and more. Order yours today here! :)

Featured on Another New Blogland Friends Blog

I want to Thank another gal blogger for featuring one of my Shabby Vintage Wares on her blog. She included my Sweet Cottage Vintage Chippy Wire Basket along some other fellow artisans in her piece on "Beautiful Shabby Chic Style Home Decor". Here is a link to view her blog, you can tell her Jewel send you there. :) If you don't want to follow the link, here is the basket she used which is available, for now, in my Etsy Shoppe TheShabbyBoutique.



I have been working hard on getting all of my Etsy Shoppes organized and straightened out, as well as get back to the roots of what Shabby Boutique is about. And that is Romantic Home Decor. The past few years I have been concentrating on web design, graphic design, stationary and gift tags as well as new and vintage craft supplies. I had taken a break from the Home Decor end of things after I closed down my brick and mortar shop due to too many issues with trying to take care of my grandmother after she fell and broke her hip. It was just too much to run a shoppe, take care of her and take care of my own family. My shoppe was my Dream, but just not the right time. My family comes first. I will do it again, but later when the kids and family don't need me so much. :) My craft supplies have been packed up in the garage, but I have finally felt like getting back in the home decor chair and bring you all some lovely home decor items. I will still be doing the stationary, craft supplies, web design, etc,. as it is all part of what I do and Love doing, just refocusing again. So be on the look out for new items coming soon! I have also been digging some of my items out that I had made several years ago for the shoppe and already have a few of those items listed.

If you are interested in my craft supplies line you can go to CraftingConfections on Etsy and for my stationary and gift tags you can go to RomanticInspirations. I will be moving my graphic design, business card, banners, and digital collage sheets over to a new shoppe soon as well. But I still don't have a name for it and I want to get the shoppes that I already have squared away first. I am also wanting to start doing jewelry again as well and I'm not sure if I want to open a new store for that, or combine it with RomanticInspiration or TheShabbyBoutique. I really need to get my website back up and going again so I can have everything under one roof again, but I just don't have the time right now. And I do Love Etsy and I do enjoy selling from there. It has been such a pleasurable experience over the last two years and I have met so many wonderful people there. Which is probably why I haven't been in too big of a hurry to get my own website going again.

I am leaving eBay though. I will leave a few templates listed for a while, but I will be closing my eBay store. Their fees have just gone outrageous and then to pay for a store and have to pay an exuberant amount of listing fees as well and then have like 12% of the final value fees also go to them. Then they own PayPal and they take fees out there as well. No Thank You! They are trying to become something that they are not as well as something that they weren't started or meant to be. It's no fun anymore and the policies that they keep putting in place to overpower the buyer and tip the scales in their favor instead of having an even playing field. I don't think anyone is really happy there anymore unless you are a drop shipper or large company selling tons of items a month. As for the small businesses or the little guy, it just not worth it anymore. I'm not sure why companies don't understand the principal of, "If it's not broke, don't fix it".

I will still be here though, I'm not going anywhere, just down a different path. So to the thousands of you that bought eBay templates, storefronts, etc,. from me in the past, present or future, I am still here to help or answer questions or support those templates and eBay stores. Don't worry about that. And I will still do custom graphics for eBay for you as well. I do what I Love and I Love what I do! :)

Well, I guess that's it for now! I will chat with you all later! Hugs and Blessings to you All!

Jewel ;o)

My New Blogger Friend Posted One of My Pics.

I have made a Wonderful new friend in the blogger world. Here name is Torie Jayne and she used one of my pics of my childrens Easter eggs from my Flick'r pool on her blog for her Sunday Faves. Go Check Her Out! :)




You can visit Torie Jayne Here!

The Cottage Arts Swap Group

Wow! It has been a while hasn't it? :( This year has already been so busy it's been hard to keep up with everything, so a few things have to be put on the back burner. I guess my blog is one of those things.

I did want to let you all know that I have started a Cottage Arts Swap Group. It will only be open to 50 members at this time to keep it small and personal so that you can get to know the other members. We will also hold our members to high standards when it comes to the swaps, as well as their conduct. We will be doing this because, how many times have you been in a swap and put your heart and soul into it and listened to what your swap partner wanted and then been utterly disappointed in what you received from your partner? We have all been there. I myself have been in over 20 swaps and have only been really proud of what I received a handful of times. It's not that I don't appreciate what I got. That's not it. I just felt that either my partner didn't listen to my likes and dislikes, didn't put into it what I did or just sent a bunch of stuff bought at the store or found around the house.

So, I decided to start a group for those of us who believe in putting our heart and soul into swaps and sending things that are vintage or handmade or supplies or things that we really want. Not that it's not great to receive something that is different from what you normally would like, think outside of the box, but it's just nice to have someone listen to you as well.

So, if you would like to join the group, then sign up. You will need to send up pics of things you have sent in swaps or send us a link to pics of items you sent to be allowed in the group. But wouldn't you rather be wowed by your swap partner than disappointed?

New Years Eve!

Well, it is New Year's Eve already! Where has the time gone this year? Or the last year? Or the year before that? Time just keeps flying by us and I sometimes feel like I'm standing still. Honestly, I'm not ready to let this year go. This has been a Wonderful year just like the years past. But, on the same token, I'm so ready to see what the New Year will bring. In between being in and out of town the past few weeks, I have been designing some new items for Shabby Boutique and creating a few new things for Crafting Confections. As a matter of fact, I just woke up a little bit ago with an idea for Valentines in my head. And not being home is sad because I can't run downstairs in my studio and play with the ideas. I know some of you may not believe me, but I know a lot of you creative people will know exactly what I'm talking about ;), but I get a lot of my best ideas in dreams or thinking when not being able to sleep. I do think that it is sort of a curse for the creative mind, as I do not sleep much because my mind continues to go on and on even in dreams. It is so hard to turn it off.

I do really and truly want to Thank everyone that I have met this year for making it an extraordinary year. Whether I created a website for you, crafted something pretty just for you, answered your questions or just chatted away with you. Every experience one has makes them who they are and what they will become. It doesn't matter if it's a bad experience or a good one, your experiences still mold you. Hopefully you learn from the bad ones though and that makes you stronger. I know I have seen many challenges and had many experiences in my life that weren't good ones, but I think that is why I am so strong today. But they have also made me more caring, sharing, loving, honest and true. I learned from my grandparents when I was young to treat others how you want to be treated, and I truly take that to heart. And trust me, I have a big one. LOL What has always brought me joy over the years is making others happy and it always will be. I will do the silliest of things just to make someone laugh and I don't care if they are laughing with me or at me. As long as they are laughing and I put that smile on their face. And when things were rough throughout my life, which I have had my share for sure, laughter has always gotten me through. So, I hope to those that may read this, will realize that those rough times don't have to always be so sad and glum. And I know from experience that everything does happen for a reason and you should use that negative energy and turn it around and create new positive energy from it. Your life will be so much happier and full of joy, whether you realize it or not.

I don't know why I even went on about that, I guess reflection and maybe a voice of reason for those that may need it. Once again, everything happens for a reason. Maybe those words will help inspire someone out there. All I know is that I am looking forward to the New Year and what it will bring. So, to all of my friends, family and clients.....A Huge, from the bottom of my heart, Thank You & Happy New Year!

Jewel ;o)

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Shabby Boutique

My husband made this Gorgeous Video for me last year actually, but he didn't get it edited until too late. So, I decided to show it this year. My Christmas Tree is the same anyway. LOL

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Many Blessings to You All! Thank You for making 2009 a Wonderful Year for me! I look forward to the Journey of 2010 and Hope to see you all again soon!

Shabby Boutique Holidays 2008 from SixFootGeek on Vimeo.

More Christmas Creations Available for Sale!

Here are more Christmas Goodies! I've been busy! :)

Well, I had my big Christmas Show and it was very successful! I don't have much left, so get the Christmas Lovelies while you still can! :)

My Vintage Style Wallpaper Ornies/Door Hangers are back again this year! Never fails these are always a huge hit. They are so much prettier in person and I keep several hanging around on knobs and drawer pulls all over the house all year round.







I have carried the Faux Truffle/Bon Bon Ornies/Door Hangers for several years now. And I finally got around to actually posting the magnets that I also sell at shows. They look so real you can almost taste them. YUM!


The LOVE Letters that I created a while back and never got posted. LOL I had put them up and just recently found them again when I was looking for something else. I figured it was time they deserved a Loving Home! :)


Another OOAK Vintage Style Waterless Snowglobe. This is the last one I have left for this year. I Love making these, they are just very time consuming so I don't make many of them for each season. So, if you would like some you can contact me and I will custom order you some.




This is a New Item for Christmas 2009. I do have a couple more that I will be listing as well in the next few days. I have two pink ones and an aqua one that I am currently working on! I just love these with all of the Vintage & Antique Buttons, Vintage Mica Flakes and the way they remind me of the spun cotton ornaments and decorations of the past. I will be making these throughout the year for various seasons and themes, but if you have something in mind, don't hesitate to contact me about a custom order. These are so much prettier than what I could capture.








These Jingle Bell and Stocking Lavender Sachets are perfect for hanging on your tree or on a door/cabinet knob or drawer pull during the Christmas Season. But during the off season you can put them in your drawer or closet to add a relaxing scent to your clothes or lingerie. I only use imported French Lavender that is the longest lasting and most fragrant you can buy. The lavender scent will last for years to come. When the smell dissipates, just give it a little squeeze to release more oils from the buds and it comes right back. I have a few sachets that I made 10 years ago, when I found this wonderful Lavender, and they still smell just as fresh as the day I made them. Very worth the money for sure. :)



My Sugared/Vintage German Glass Glittered Ornies were a huge hit as well this year. Once again, I don't have many left so get them while you can.








Another French Inspired paperweight. I just love using vintage Rhinestone Jewelry bits in my work and I thought this Vintage Fleur de Lis Jewelry part fit in perfect with the theme of the paperweight. So much more romantic than a plain paperweight. :)





I only have one set of these adorable Snowman Gift Tags left. They were created using some of my original artwork. It is some of my colored pencil work. I love doing colored pencil art, the way you can blend the colors gives such a soft and romantic feel.


Yes, I did more Vintage Style Tulle Wreaths and Trees this year. All sold out except for two wreaths. I love making the trees and the wreaths, but once again, they are extremely time consuming. It takes a couple of hours just to cut all of the tulle to create them, let alone tying them all on. So, I usually only get a few done a season.





This Altered Art project turned out so adorable. I absolutely love it. I Adore Pink & Aqua and then to add in a little aged or sepia tones makes it even more special. This has lots of details and little surprises. That is one thing I like to do with my work. I always add lots of details that you won't see right away. That way every time you look at it you see something new that you didn't notice or see before. It makes it new all over again. :)



I am the originator of these Faux Gingerbread Birdhouse Cottages and have been making them for over 10 years now. They are always a big hit and I find that they are too pretty to put away. So, I keep mine out all year long. :) Unfortunately they all sold out at the show. If you would like some made I can custom order them for you, but I won't have time to make any for this Christmas season. But I make them for Valentine Day, Easter and other Holidays as well, or just a basic one without a seasonal theme and in other colorways. And once again they are a true labor of love. I spend days creating each one. I add every bead, bauble and detail by hand. But they turn out to Scrumptious that I just can't resist making them. :)




I only have two Christmas Tree Skirts left this year and no stockings at all. So make sure you ge the skirts before they are gone.






My Sand Dollare Ornie/Door Hangers are back again this year. I have been selling these for over 6 years now and they still do well at the shows as well as on my site. You really do have to see them in person to see how Pretty they really are. They look like they are made from porcelain with the Pink Bavarian Roses on them.




Although I sold out of all of my Vintage Style Tulle Trees this year, I do have one Rose Petal & Feather Tree left. I made 10 of them and the rest all sold out. Now once again, just as with my pillows, totes, gingerbread houses, tulle wreaths & trees, etc,. each one is OOAK. Each one of them are at least slightly different, so no two are alike.

Much more in store for you in my shoppe. I still have not been able to get my website redone, so my shopping cart is still broke. But, you can still purchase my items in my Etsy Shoppe and My eBay Store. I am hoping that I will be able to get my website back up again after the Holidays.

Warm Wishes & Blessings This Holiday Season!
Hugs to All!
Jewel ;o)