I'm ready to craft!

 It's a new year, and a new direction for my creative fun. After 16 years as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator I decided it was time to put away my stamps and do other things. So I've been having fun getting to know my sewing machine again, visiting fabric shops, browsing on-line craft sites and letting my imagination take over. And it feels great!

I have a new family of gnomes I'm working on right now, as well as a group of adorable snowmen that will be joining my gnomes at this years craft shows. 

Check back often to see what I've been up to, what I hope to do, and maybe even what went wrong. And as always, thanks for your support.

Easter Gnomes

I didn't take everything off the Valentine tree. I kept a couple angels, some pink flowers and gnomes. Had to keep the gnomes.

Add some pink ears to an ordinary gnome and you've got an Easter gnome!

Gnome Cards

 I love gnomes. I love making cards. So naturally I jump at the chance to get fun gnome stamps anytime I can. Full disclaimer....I am a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, but these are not Stampin' Up! stamps! These are all Wood Ware Craft Collection stamps that I bought online through Scrapbook.com.

Can't have too many birthday cards! And who wouldn't love getting one of these?

Sometimes masculine cards are hard to make. So I thought these fishing gnomes would be fun to send to a few of my male friends.

Sunflowers are my favorite flowers, so these guys sitting on them just make me happy!

Sitting on mushrooms is a fun thing to do too!

Don't get me wrong, I love Stampin' Up! products (check out my Stampin' Up! blog), but from time to time I want to do something different. Different can be fun!

2022 Craft Shows

 I had another successful craft show season this year. Instead of my usual three shows in the fall, I did one in July and three in November.

Summerfest is Bethel's summer festival on the common put on by the Chamber of Commerce. This year they had a big tent just for local crafters, so I decided it might be fun to try it out.

It was a beautiful summer day with a nice breeze under the tent. I saw a lot of people I hadn't seen in a long time, had good sales and enjoyed my first outdoor show.

The Telstar Alumni Association Craft Show was next. 

This show is always fun, as it's always like a mini-class reunion. I saw many of my classmates (Class of 1975!!) as well as other alumni. 

The DECA Craft Show at Oxford Hills High School is the biggest show in the area - 150 crafters! Wow!

This show is put on by the marketing class, and they do an awesome job coordinating such a big event. One of my favorite things about this show is that I don't have to lug anything! Students meet you in the parking lot and bring all your stuff right to your space. Yay!

And finally, Winter Market at the Bethel Inn Event Center put on by BAAM.

This has always been a good show for me (used to be Wares Fare). It's the Saturday after Thanksgiving, so there are alot of people in town ready to spend money!

I still have a few gnomes in my Etsy store, so check that out. I will start working on inventory for 2023 soon. Look out gnomes, here I come!

Halloween Gnomes

 BOO!

Little Green Men

St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner, so it's time to make Leprechauns!

 

Valentine Gnomes

 Christmas is over, so now it's time for Valentine Gnomes with lots and lots of pink!

Pink hearts with pink hats....

Pink with white polka dots......

Pink with white stripes.....

And pink plaid!

Left overs

I was digging through my "gnome" closet the other day and came upon a box of half finished gnomes that needed some attention.  So I gathered the rest of the missing parts and put them all together!

These guys will go into my craft show collection.

Green, green, green!

It's time to move on from pink to green! Leprechaun season is next!

Valentine's Gnomes

It's time for lots of PINK!!

Finding fur

Anyone who uses specialty fabric knows how hard to find and expensive it is. But you don't always have to go to a fabric or craft store to find it.



I found this big throw on sale at a trendy home decor store and snapped it up! It's 50" x 60" and was on sale for 50% off.

These are the first of the gnomes I will make using the fur from the throw.

I'm starting to get ready for the craft fair season.

Easter Bunny Gnomes

I can't keep these Easter Bunny Gnomes in stock.

But, as bunnies seem to do, they just seem to keep multiplying!

The base of these are made the same as all my gnomes, but then I add the big ears.  Complete with pink centers!

And of course I added big fluffy tails!

eas
 

St. Patrick's Day Gnomes

My table was covered with a lot of green felt, colorful socks and orange fur today while I made St. Patrick's Day gnomes.

They went from here.....

and here....

to here....

and here!

Gnome catch up

I haven't posted anything in a long time.....sorry!  My "day job" is coming to an end, which is a good thing, but is stressful and full of unexpected challenges right now.  But I have been able to create some really cute gnomes on weekends, and want to share them with you.

These St. Patrick's Day gnomes are my latest.  I think they are so SOOOO cute!  Once I figured out their hat with the flat top and the brim, they came together quickly.

Valentine Gnomes have been very popular.  I really like the soft colors of this group.

I dug through my sweater scraps and found enough of this great sweater to make hats for these three guys.  This was the first time I've used the gray curly Mongolian Faux Fur and really like it.

This is the second group of these scruffy forest gnomes I've made.  Their beards are made from tan curly Mongolian Faux Fur.

These sharp dressed gnomes have a classy cable knit hat in a soft shade of green.  Their beards are made of tan faux fur tipped in black.




















Thanks for visiting.  You can find all these gnomes, as well as others in my Etsy store, Mainemountaincrafter.