You must read this story.

Just a few minutes ago, I came across this blog. It brought tears to my eyes, and I hope you can take the time to read it and help out if you can. What a sweet little boy.

Making Baby Shoes!~

Lately I have been making baby shoes! They are the cutest thing ever. Today I was seeing a customer and I brought a pair along just so she could see them. She snatched them up and said “I have to have these, can you make me 5 more pair?” ~ Well, absolutely! She also bought 7 baby blankets, and 5 wallets. So today was a good day!

I am really loving my sewing - I think I could really turn it into an actual business. A few years ago I was running a really successful online bath & body business, then we took a move with my husband’s work and things kinda fell apart with my business, I couldn’t keep up with all the orders all by myself. When that business declined, I really felt like a failure and lost my motivation completely to try another ‘at home’ business. So for the last couple of years I’ve done a lot of soul searching and over time discovered my love of sewing. It’s so cool to be able to create my own ‘things’ instead of having to run out and buy something everytime I need or want something.

So, I think I have my ‘MoJo’ back - and I’m ready again to plunge completely into this business plan. Etsy is the first step in the right direction (along with my local customers), and we will see what happens next. Yay!

Handmade Wallet Giveaway - 5 to give!!

These are great little handbags/purses. I recently received some new fabric, so I made a few different things out of them. My newest creation is this purse and wallet. Purse measures 7 3/4″ Wide x 9″ Tall with a gusset of 2 1/2″. Wallet measures 5 1/4″ x 3 1/4″ ~ snap closure. Great spring colors and even includes an inside pocket.

I love sewing - something about it is very theraputic to me. These great bags can be found in my Etsy Store. (Click Here!)


I’m also giving away a 5 handmade wallets like the one in the picture above! Please leave a comment if you would like to be included in the drawing to be held on June 15th! We will contact you if you win! Click on 'comments' directly below this to leave a comment ~ Thanks!

Huge Wind Turbines

After my last post, I traveled down the road and came to Rock Port, MO. Much to my surprise there is a huge field of GIANT wind turbines. So cool, they were everywhere and I found them so beautiful I just had to take some pictures. You have the beautiful hills of Missouri, and at least 20 wind turbines planted throughout the countryside all around the town. I searched online and found out that Rock Port is the FIRST 100 Percent Wind-powered Community In U.S. Amazing!! I grew up just 20 miles north of Rock Port. Here is the link: click here

Off to a graduation today, I'll see what else I find on my trip back to Minnesota!!

On the road again....

I'm far from home!! 3 days ago we left Northern Minnesota and traveled 10 hours south to Southwest Iowa. Wow, what a difference in the weather. It was cold, sleeting and only around 20 degrees in Minnesota and it is so nice and pretty around 70 degrees in Iowa.

This morning we are heading for South Central Nebraska for 2 nights for a graduation party. Should be a good time.

While on my trip I have been noticing all sorts of eco-friendly things, from the Rest Stops in North Dakota - using all recycled paper products to the eco-friendly coffee cups in the Coffee House in Nebraska City, NE ~ many are catching the 'green' wave. I love it. It's a slow process, but it's catching on.

Scratch & Sniff Blog ~ Heliotropes

What a beautiful morning it was! I drove the kids to school because my youngest had to dress as a Hobo today, and didn’t want his ‘Hobo Stick’ to break on the bus. So after dropping them off, I stopped by the grocery store for milk, oj, and corn on the cob. Of course, I used the eco-friendly shopping tote I made earlier - the ladies at the grocery store love to comment on the different styles. Anyway, I then came back home, let the animals outside, and decided to plant my flowers I had picked up at the greenhouse.

Heliotropes! I absolutely love heliotropes. I planted them for the first time last year and the aroma they put off is breathtaking. They are a fairly simple looking dark green plant with beautiful purple flowers. It’s not so much what they look like, it is absolutely the aroma for me. Wish my blog could be scratch and sniff, then you could enjoy them as well!

Speaking of aromas, later in the day we had a nice little thunderstorm, and I love the smell of rain. It just seems like everything is washed clean and new again. I love Spring!!

One more great thing happened today, I received my fabric I ordered!! Yay! Now I have 15 shopping totes to make - some of which will go on the website , and some are for other people, and donations I make.

So, in closing, if you are at a local greenhouse, see if they have heliotropes - and if they are in bloom ~ you must take a sniff!

Eco-Friendly Tote Bags

Every time I go to the market, I try to remember to bring my fabric shopping bags. So I decided I needed to have 2 sets of them. I try to keep one set in my car at all times - they are great for so many things. I of course use them in the grocery store, but they are also great if I’m going to the neighbor’s for wine night, or if my kids need a bag for something. So instead of using the ’store’ brand bags, I’ve been making (and selling) my own tote bags. You can make them so stylish and many times you can use something around your house to make them. I’ve made some out of old curtains that I have tired of, old fabric shower curtains also make great bags. Just wash them first .

I currently list some of my creations on my website: Goods From Nature, I list them as I make them, so there is usually only 1 or maybe 2 of it’s kind listed.

The best part about handmade tote bags is you can reuse them and they are washable. What a great, stylish way to do your shopping.