Squishy Update and Story Time!

Hiya everyone! I have some new items up in the store, but before I get into that I have a mini (ish?) story. Last night I saw my first actual Tornado warning. I'm used to blizzards and hurricane season having grown up on the east coast but now living in WI blizzards are still there but tornado season is a new thing. So for the first time our TV got interrupted by the EAS tornado warning system and not long after that we heard the sirens going off. Luckily the storm was fast moving and passed by us in roughly a half hour...during that time though it rained so hard and fast the roads surrounding us flooding super fast, like the area where the street sign and curb meet the road was gone. Our poor dog was hiding in the kitchen scared out of his mind - the cat, not so much lol, she chilled with me and watched the rain.

So let's see, last bag I blogged about was Shaved Ice Beach Bag - SMALL. Since then I've listed 4 new bags. Sooo here they are!

This one looks like Shaved Ice doesn't it? Well it's hard to tell by the picture (unless you enlarge it) but the color specks are more like rainbow sprinkles, which my boyfriend helpfully pointed out while I was making this, and so Rainbow Sprinkles Beach Bag - SMALL it was named! 

This tote was listed last week. Thanks to my friend VeeDubz (I linked her name to her Etsy shop-she has super pretty pillows!!!) this tote was named Dragonfly Tote.

This tote was brought in the first day of summer! The colors are a blend of strawberry red, blueberry blue and mulberry green (when they aren't ripe yet) all surrounded by a cream color. Summer makes me think of yummy fruit like that so that's why this was named Berries N Cream Tote.

Rofl, this tote makes me last. I just listed it today and it's called Guacamole Tote and everyone who has seen the picture has said "Holy Guacamole!" I don't know why it's so fun to say that but it is :P
When I posted this up on facebook the first thing that came to mind was a line from Stepbrothers - "Hey I never asked, do you like Guacamole?" It's kind of a random line but it's pretty funny (I hope a lot of you have seen it - it's sooooo funny!)

That's it for Etsy Listings for now. Don't know if some of my new followers (waves to you new readers enthusiastically :D) have seen my scarves yet but one of the pink ones I made last year to help the Breast Cancer fund has been taken off the Etsy shelf and donated to a fundraiser for a Breast Cancer cure.  I hope it helps and I'm happy it went to the cause it was created for. :)

Other than that I've been busy with custom orders, one for my mom for Mother's Day, two my room mate's mother ordered, then one my mom ordered when she saw the tote's colors which lead to making a tote for her neighbor (yay for moms bringing in the buisness lol). So here are the pictures - more custom orders are more than welcome!

                 

                

What's New....

I haven't blogged since end of May :o Course I tried to update yesterday and Blogger wasn't working. Well let's see...what's new.
For starters I've been helping my little sister start her own blog for when she starts selling her items with me. More news on that as it comes along. For now though check out our work in progress! http://www.fantessticcreations.blogspot.com

Last beach bag I showed was my island waves one - yikes...I've added 4 new bags since then!

One of them is a tote line I've been working on-most of them have been custom orders so far but I finally had time to get one of them in the store lol.
Rustic Tote
 This bag is pretty big, but still comfortable. I've made three already as custom orders and am currently working on another. I have few more waiting to join this one on Etsy but I need a nice day outside to have a photo shoot. The weather hasn't been cooperative lately :/




I have three new beach bags up as well.

Sunset Beach Bag - SMALL
These colors just flow together so well. It's not even a striped bag like Island waves was but the way the pattern worked out it kind of looks that way doesn't it?

Surfin' Waves Beach Bag - LARGE
I LOVE this bag, the colors just jump out at you don't they? I modified the large size bags a little bit since the Blue Lagoon Beach Bag. It's now 15" x 15" instead of the old 14" x 16"  and the bottom is now V shaped instead of U shaped! Subtle differences but I think it works a bit better. :D

Shaved Ice Beach Bag - SMALL
Just listed this one today. Might be hard to see from the pictures but this bag isn't solid white, it actually has specks of color all over it. The colors reminded me of shaved ice syrup I saw in Hawaii. There is currently another bag of this style in the works with different colors which will be called Rainbow Sprinkles thanks to the creative input of my man :) So keep an eye out!





That's all for today! Back to the workin room for me! Yay! Don't forget to vote on the poll for which beach bag type you like more! Large or Small. So far the Large is in the lead!

Beach Bag Poll

So as you may have seen, or read about via facebook or twitter, I have a poll under the archives on my blog asking if you would prefer a large beach bag or a small one when looking to purchase such an item.
The Large beach bags I make can fit 2 beach towels plus your other handy pool side accessories like lotion, toys, or a good book.
The Small is made to fit only one beach towel and accessories because hey-not all of us need a whole lot when going to enjoy some sun right?
I just thought I should find out which could be more popular so I can create accordingly.
Of course if anyone wants to custom order one and pick their own color before I make it I'd be more than happy to help! :)
There are both sizes available in my Etsy shop so if you'd like to see the pictures to get a better idea feel free to check out my store - http://www.squishyproducts.etsy.com
All input is very much appreciated so thank you!!!!

Island Waves Beach Bag - SMALL

I don't know about you, but my little sister told me our dad opened the pool already. I'm sure it must have been coooold since she lives in MA but that didn't stop her excitement at all. She sent me a picture of her birthday present...it's a little fuzzy since she took it with her camera phone or something-she's so cute though! 

I listed another beach bag today. This one is small, can only fit one beach towel plus accessories like lotion and some swimmie toys. It's perfect if you like to hit the beach or pool by yourself and enjoy the sun. It's also 100% cotton and eco-friendly if you, like so many others, are going green and want to have a reusable market bag to take shopping.  You might have seen these colors in a previous post when I listed the Island Waves large version that I did as a custom order. Special thanks for the great feedback I received from them :) 

If you'd like to see this bag on Etsy please click >here<. 

Bye for now!

A Family Trip to the Zoo

My Mom is in town to visit! :D She's never been to Madison before so I thought it would be a great idea to visit our Zoo. My boyfriend and his family joined us on Sunday and I think everyone had a good time together.
Thought I'd share some favorite pictures of the day with you all!

This is the Polar Bear, he was actually up and wandering around - no swimming though but it was still fun to watch him. I was sad though because they are remodeling parts of the Zoo to make an Arctic area and the Penguins weren't out :( I love the Penguins! 

My Mom and I standing in front of the Polar Bear exhibit! You are probably thinking I look like her, I actually am more built like my dad's side of the family (except for the height-that's thanks to my mom :P) The picture to the right is my mom being a polar bear hehe.

Teehee!!! They recently added a Prairie Dog area and this guy was so cute! Don't know how he fit in the holes for the tunnels they have lol.  There was also a little baby that wouldn't venture too far out of the safety of the tunnel but look how bitty and cute it is (had to zoom up on him pretty close)! There was a little girl with her family looking at the prairie dogs and when she saw the baby she said "It must've just hatched." Kids are hilarious aren't they?

Another stand out for me was the Tortoise, this big guy was sloooowly making his way to the water area, he had to stop half way there and rest...course if I weighed up to 500lbs carrying that hard shell around I'd be exhausted too! I remember thinking while reading that they can live up to 200 years old 'They have to live long because it takes them so long just to get anywhere.' The picture to the right is my boyfriend's sister-in-law and I standing with the giant tortoise statue :D

Nick (my bf), my mom and I just monkeying around...

Last but not least, a group shot of us 'kids' together on a zoo bench. :) Was a good day!
I hope you had a great weekend too!

Blue Lagoon Beach Bag - Large and some Squishyness

Woo hoo! On a roll with custom orders this month. I have been working on summer stuff for the store too. I just listed my first beach bag for the store today after one of my custom orders got great feedback. This one is called Blue Lagoon, the blues are very bright and eye catching, so hopefully you won't be able to miss it on a beach :P

Click >here< if you'd like to see more on Etsy.

This is the only thing I'll be listing this week. My mom is coming to visit! We haven't seen each other in a long time so we are both excited. Also this week my boyfriend is graduating college and he's totally stoked about that. When everything settles down next week I'll share some pictures. :)  I think we are all going to the Zoo while she's here-oh and did I mention this is the first time she'll be meeting my bf? That's always fun right? The first time parental meeting -chews off nails- :P I'm kidding I think everyone will get along fine.

So yesterday I woke up ready to pick up some clutter around my room (c'mon all crafters know extra material ends up floating around the place right?) But I also had to clean my fish tank. Over the weekend I moved my goldfish, Yugameru and Shimi (yes I name my fish o.o) to their new home in an orb tank. I took a picture of it :D My cat wants to eat them lol. They used to be in a tank in my bedroom but were waaay to noisy when they picked through the gravel at the bottom...and I like my sleep hehe. So here is their new home. After the tank in my room was all cleaned out I got some new fish last night...3 little guppies!  They are much quieter :P I also took a picture of my lil sucker fish (algae eater) Frey. He's in the tank with the 3 guppies :D

I'll be back next week with some zoo pictures hopefully and maybe some of me and my mommy! :D
Have a great week everyone!!

Busy Busy Week!

TGIF!!! Finally made it to 10 sales!! :D -happy dance-

I had a custom order from my grandparents for a beach bag they wanted to give to an old friend :)
I call it Island Waves Beach Bag - Large. I will have some available in my store soon. (Glasses and towels not included :P)

That's not the only thing I had to work on this week. I finished my little sister's birthday present finally. She turned 13 in April and on her birthday I told her she could pick out anything she wanted and what colors she'd like. She is very excited that it's pool/swimming season again (aren't we all) so after putting it all together and brainstorming a name with here we got Tropical Medley Beach Bag - Large. Here is the picture I took for her to see before I shipped it off.

Let's see...it's friday and I currently now have...(counts on fingers) 3 in-progress projects (I rotate, but really wish I could use my toes sometimes :P) and one I finished last night so I feel this week has been a productive one ^_^

I don't usually do this but I also listed an item today.

Sandalwood Basket Beanie - it's the last of the hats I made and will be making for awhile (unless I get a custom order of course). I wanted to get it on Etsy before I started bringing the beach bags and totes in. This hat is like Sand Basket Beanie, has the side box holes with a crab stitch finish that will grip around your head more. If you like the style you can see it on Etsy >here<





Well that's all for now, next time I'm on it'll be with some beach bags! Or you know...random life happenings I have to blog about.
Have a great weekend everyone! ^_^

What You Feel

I am totally into Smallville...started collecting the DVDs since Christmas and am all caught up. One of the episodes in season 8 called 'The Beast' starts with this hauntingly beautiful song that is definitely on my favorites list right now. Thought I'd share :) Unfortunately, I couldn't get any good music videos showing the characters Chloe and Davis but you can close your eyes and just let the words carry you away....

La Rouge Slouchy Hat

Bon Jour tout le monde ! La nouvelle liste pour mardi. La Slouchy de Rouge est le dernier des chapeaux de slouchy pour le moment. Comme le Slouchy de Sauge c'est une couleur solide, un vibrant rouge et oeil même prenant. J'éspère que vous l'appréciez!

For those who don't understand French....

Good Day everyone! New listing for Tuesday. La Rouge Slouchy is the last of the slouchy hats for now. Like the Sage Slouchy it is a solid color, a vibrant red and very eye catching. I hope you enjoy!

To see this item on Etsy click >here<

Sage Slouchy Hat

Starting out the week with some clear skies but kind of windy. Better than it was on Friday that's for sure. We had thunder so close the apartment shook!

Listed a new slouchy hat today. This one is the first sold colored item in my whole store I believe. I'm a fan of mixing colors together to create something unique but that doesn't go with what everyone wears. So I made a couple solid color hats. This one was made in a sage color. If you remember my earlier post ranting about my old camera I used this slouchy as the example. Looks much better now using the new camera that actually captures the right color shade. 

To see Sage Slouchy on Etsy click >here<




If you are a fan on Facebook this might interest you. I've decided when I reach 300 fans I'm going to have my first give away. So tell all your friends and when that number hits 300 I will post on here how to enter to win!
Have a great week!

Country Meadow Twist Bucket Hat

Added to the Twist Bucket Hat line today. Just a little quick link and picture before I hop back on over to the forums of Etsy. Buyer or seller - it is great there, the people are friendly and so funny! If you ever have questions about how Etsy works or if something isn't working for you the forums is the place to go. 

Today I was nicknamed 'Squisherdoodle' by Emma who owns Sovereign Sea Designs. Her shop is lovely and if you have the time you should definitely check it out :) That nickname is so perfect for me :P 

This hat is the first to have a picture with a close up-not just of my eye, but the colors in the hat. To see this hat on Etsy just click >here<

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Lime and Coconut Bucket Hat

♫Put the lime in the coconut, drink them both together,
Put the lime in the coconut, then you feel better,
Put the lime in the coconut, drink them both up,
Put the lime in the coconut, and call me in the morning♫

Can you tell what inspired me with this hat? :P  It's a stripey bucket hat that I find pretty funky :D 

This hat has a matching scrunchie that you can get half off if you buy it together. :) 

Soooo...that's it for what's new on Monday this week! 

If you'd like to see the Hat click >here<

To view the Scrunchie click >here<

SQUEEEE!

That's right folks, the title says it all. I woke up this morning to the ring of UPS calling up to my apartment. My new camera and tripod had arrived. A few hours later after happy dancing and reading the manual the camera was up and ready to go. I decided to go out and familiarize myself with it. It's a beast! I LOVE it! Kicks my old camera's rear end right out of the park. Well I'll hush and let the pictures I took do the talking...worth a thousand words right?

Here is our dog Seuss. Shot taken using black and white mode. (I took one using the Kids and Pets mode which also came out looking amazing)

This is the gazebo at the end of our apartments. Shot was taking using the oh-so-fabulous Color Accent which is exclusive to certain Canon cameras. As you can see this shot accented blue.

Earth meets Water. Such lush colors, this was taken using Landscape mode.

Old broken down fence that nature has taken over. Photo shot in Nostalgia mode to give it an older worn look. I also took one in wide screen which came out beautifully but don't think it would fit on here.

A Dog's Best Friend. Man has dog, dog has hydrant! I couldn't pass up this shot, it made me giggle. Taken using Color Accent again with Red as the main color point.

I love photos like this. Taken using nostalgia with a higher grade of aging.















I have many more but these stand out as favorites of the day. I can't wait to take more pictures! Next will be learning to shoot using the tripod! :)
Bye for now!

My Doodlings

Having a conversation on Etsy about works in photoshop and Corel Paint Shop Pro. Was told to put some of my doodlings on here (Hi Gleeza!!! :D) So here we go. Time to dive into my external hard drive and go fishing...

This one was the first one I made using brushes on Ps CS3. I call it Stormy City.

Another brush work picture. I was trying to see what I could do with depth...there are a few things I could've done better but over all I like how it came out. The only thing I wanted in color was the rust spread over the old chain link fence.

There are others in there but these two are the most finished projects. Of course I use these programs for any new squishy item that goes up and for each new seasonal logo and for my business logo below :) 

That work is easier of course but it still takes patience and lots of tweaking to get it to where you are happy.

Blue Topaz Twist Bucket Hat

A little creative challenge for me today. I've been wanting to list this Twist Bucket hat but just couldn't put my finger on the right name for it. I didn't want another 'Sky' name added to the mix yet every other shade of blue just didn't fit right. Oddly enough a Mystic Fire Topaz ring on Google put me on track to looking up Blue Topaz. Good ol' Google wanderings right?

If you'd like to check it out on Etsy click >here<

Just a little P.S. I ordered my new camera yesterday -happy dance- I can't wait!!!

Fresh Spring Slouchy Hat

It's Monday and you know what that means! New item has just been listed!!! New slouchy hat (yes I've sooo been on a kick with making these). Took me awhile to think of the name. When I first started I thought 'Grass Stain Slouchy' which upon further thought didn't seem all that appealing :P So Fresh Spring it is! As always it's 100 % cotton which means it's sturdy and machine washable! Also stretches a little so you can get it for your teen or wear it yourself. 

Wow I'm pretty hyper...not sure if you can tell by my typing but I am. Probably because I had two pop tarts and a Pepsi as my breakfast. Bad I know but end of the week with no food does that. I really have to go shopping later :P

Anyway, random side-tracking there...if you'd like to see this new hat click on this link >here< aaand I'll be back with something new tomorrow! 

(I feel like cartwheeling away but I'd probably hurt myself)

Is it Lightning, a search light, no it's a....Fireball?

Just thought I'd share the morning headline from Madison, WI with you...

'Brilliant fireball' lit up sky and 911 phone lines across Midwest

That's the image over Madison last night around 10pm. My boyfriend and I were watching tv when suddenly he exlaimed "Omg is that lightning?! I JUST washed my car!" 

When I looked over the light had already passed but we went to check the radar away. Not a cloud near us. So we shrugged it off after I suggested maybe a bright search light. This morning-much to my surprise that was the headline... 

If you'd like to read the whole article I read here is the link ->http://host.madison.com/news/local/article_e9bce742-4847-11df-8158-001cc4c03286.html 

It's never dull here :P