Book Giveaway

My friend Amanda is having a giveaway on her website, The Price of Trust. She's giving away Charlene Baumbich's novel Divine Appointments. The link to the giveaway is Divine Appointments Book Giveaway. If you want to enter to win, all you have to do is comment on the post. For an extra entry, follow her on the website and post a comment telling her you're following. It's really easy and would be a wonderful win!

Amanda Stephan is an author, and her book is The Price of Trust. I won a copy of her book earlier this year and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I've recommended it here on my blog and on FaceBook many times since.

Thanks for reading my blog, have a blessed day!

New Feature Tomorrow

Watch out for a new feature tomorrow! I'm working on it but won't have time tonight due to church. I'm looking forward to going and worshiping the Lord tonight, then going out for some dinner! Have a blessed night.

Anastasia

Reading

I've picked reading back up again recently, and had to recommend some authors that I love. I'm reading Robert Whitlow "Deeper Water" right now and totally loving it! He is an awesome author, and I've been reading him since his very first published book. "The List" is his first book and it is such a thriller, really keeping your attention through the entire book. His webpage is here http://www.robertwhitlow.com/robertwhitlow.html

I read "The Price of Trust" by Amanda Stephan earlier this year after winning a copy of her book from her blog http://www.thepriceoftrust.com/. It was a great book, with suspense, mystery, romance and much more. I couldn't put it down!

And of course, my wonderful friend's book "Redeemed" by Candance L. Lawson is one of my favorites that I have to mention. Here is where you can find it http://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=978-1-60247-807-7 I passed her book around and everyone who read it loved it. It's a Christian romance but isn't too sappy like some romances can get. A most enjoyable book, and I hope she writes more so I can read them.

CFoA Creations!

I'm a member of Christian Friends on ArtFire guild and wanted to showcase a few that I found while browsing through listings looking at blue items. There is some great talent here! This group is fairly new and everyone has been so nice!

Ladies or Teen Blue and Brown Arm Warmers Size Sm or Med.

by LuvnCrafts

Flaming Sun - framed original 7x5 acrylic painting

by QuirkyDameDesigns

Blue Cloisonne Necklace Set

by AussenWolfDesigns

Toy Stuffed Soft Fish Baby or Toddler Boy or Girl

By NanasHands

Sunrise Photo of Red Beach, New Zealand

By NewCreatioNZ

Check out these wonderful shops, and check out CFoA if you would like to join on ArtFire!

Valentine's Day Gifts on ArtFire

Some beautiful Valentine's Gifts from wonderful Christian Artists on ArtFire! Lovely hearts, red roses and more are perfect gifts for someone you love.

Autumn Love Wood Cross

Big Glass Magnets- Love Heart - by Sweetheart Studio

Roses Forever Lampwork Pendant

I Love Soap Heart Heart Love Spell type

Beautiful Heart Necklace made of polymer clay

Handmade Valentines Cards Set of 5 Pink & Brown

Check out these wonderful shops on ArtFire and support Christian Artists!

New Item

This weekend I took a break from the hats & matching scarves that I've been doing. I focused a bit more on Valentine's Day by making the 2011 version of the "Jesus is My Valentine" cross bookmark. I came up with my first "Jesus is My Valentine" a few years ago when I was selling on Etsy. I sold several of them, so the following year I made another one in a slightly different pattern. Those sold well also, so I have kept up the tradition every year now. I called this "Jesus is My Valentine" because it is a cross with a heart in the middle. This year's version is a shell pattern in pink with a red border that has points at each corner of the cross. It is finished off with a tassel on top in both red and pink and a red heart in the middle. I hope you like my new cross bookmark. You can find it in my MattsCraftyWife shop on ArtFire.

The Shack

I'm reading The Shack right now, by William P. Young and have to recommend it to everyone I know now. I'm not even finished, about 2/3 through it, and love it so much that I'm telling all of my friends about it! There is some very deep spiritual meat to chew on in this awesome book. I don't want to give too much away, because I hope you will all read it yourselves. The main character is struggling with a tragic event and God steps in to help him through it. This is The God people can relate to, the Real God who Loves in the gentlest way. I have had many tears and a few laughs too. I feel closer to the Lord than ever, and that's saying something because He has been my best friend for many years. I am trying to see the world through His eyes, and the people in the world in the same way. If you can't afford to buy it (there are inexpensive copies on Amazon), then try your local library! Meet the God who can change your life, if you haven't already.

A GREAT BOOK!

My friend wrote this really fantastic book that I want to share with my newer readers. It is the first book she has had published, and I think it's so good she should write a sequel! It is a powerful story of love and redemption, hence the name Redeemed by Candance L. Lawson. The story is a beautiful Christian romance, but not the typical kind. It's very real, and could be a story that would happen in real life. I think it's one of the most moving books I've read, and I'm not just saying that because my friend wrote it! If you have the chance, read this wonderful book. It is worth the read!

Featuring WORDZOFLIFE

FEATURING WORDZOFLIFE

My friend Jeanette runs wordzoflife at Etsy. She has such cute "snippets" as she calls them. They are encouraging words stitched onto quilt pieces, using old quilts and re-cycling them into art! She also has wall art, pins and more.



Here is a piece of her profile on Etsy:

" Here at WORDZ OF LIFE you will find God's Word, as well as wordz from God's heart to yours, hand stitched simply. Plainly. With much joy!

I change things up quite often around here, so keep checking back. You just might find that ONE THING that tugs at your heart!!!

My shop always has Heart Snippets for you...some to wear as pins, some to display... These Snippets can be used as bookmarks, as a small gift stuffed into a card for a loved one, even tucked away under the pillow of one you love who is sick. Each item created here at Wordz of Life is filled with heartfelt prayers as I stitch them and each Snippet features a word of encouragement and love for those who receive them.

Yes, there are many hearts here, but I also do framed, hand stitched art...most of which is personalized. I call them Wordz Portraits. Please explore my shop section titled Wordz Portraits to see what I mean, and what I have available. Wordz Portraits make great WEDDING PRESENTS, HOUSEWARMING GIFTS, and BABY SHOWER PRESENTS they will treasure always. "



Check out her shop and her profile on Etsy to learn more about this gifted and sweet lady. I'm so proud to call her my friend!

My new Cross Bookmarks on Etsy

My latest creative craze is Cross Bookmarks. I made these 2 yesterday, and listed the darker shades of blue one (the first picture) and it sold within MINUTES! Talk about excited, I am thinking I need to make more of those! The second one in lighter blues is not for sale yet, I will list it eventually though. I've been working on some custom orders so I've been busy. Plus we finally just came out of Tropical Storm Fay, so I couldn't get pictures for a few days. I hope these new items will sell well in my shop on Etsy. Check out my shop at www.mattscraftywife.etsy.com.

I'm Selling Crocheted Magnets

Here are my newest creations, cross magnets crocheted with cotton yarn. They are great for the fridge, filing cabinet or any metal surface! Haven't sold one yet, but the first one here in blue, green and white has been in a couple of treasuries already! God bless!

Featuring Etsy Seller, cardwear

Today I'm featuring an awesome Etsy seller shop, http://cardwear.etsy.com/. She makes awesome cards using cardstock, fabric and ribbon. I've purchased a few and love them so much I will keep coming back! She's a really sweet lady to chat with on the forums and she is very talented too. Her feedback is outstanding because she has quality items and super friendly service.

Here is her bio on Etsy:

I am a stay-at-home mom to three wonderful children, who love to keep me very busy. I like to be creative and use my crafting time to help me unwind. I try to send family and friends cards as much as possible and discovered how much fun it is to make my own cards a few years ago. I love to use fabric and ribbon on my cards, which gives me the feeling that I am “dressing up” the cards, hence why I call them “Cardwear.” All of my cards come from a smoke-free, pet-free home.I also have a shop with my sister: http://concretegarden.etsy.com/

I hope you will visit her shops after you read this feature!

Been too long

It's been way too long since I did anything here! OOPS. I have to try to be more vigilant. I've been selling on Etsy for several months and doing pretty well there. Creating is the most fun, promoting is harder :) I've met some wonderful people through posting on the forums, and my favorite seller right now is Charsbeads4U. She has amazing jewelry and is a sweet Christian person. I've bought from her several times and she's bought several things from me now too! It blesses me so much to find friends like her. Check her out next time you're on Etsy...
http://Charsbeads4U.etsy.com.

Blanket sold!

I'm so excited, that baby boy blanket I posted about last time has SOLD at my friends shop! Woohooo. It only took a few days to sell, too.

I've just finished up a new crochet hook case for myself, out of my own new pattern. I am really thrilled with how it came out too. Hope you like the pics of it.

Well, I really love the new groups I joined at Etsy, especially Etsy for Autism, CAST Team (Christian Artists), and Etsy Hookers. They've been such a blessing to me and brought me more business than I ever had before. Thanks everyone!

I've just finished these lovely baby blanket to send to a friend's shop who is nice enough to try to sell my items. They are a great size for babies, and so soft. This friend of mine has sold a baby sweater set, a couple of baby hat sets, and an adult hat for me so far, since January! I'm really excited about this new business venture. I used a basic round ripple pattern and chose my color scheme and layout myself. Hey, I don't think I'll get rich off this, but if I can profit just a few dollars and have some spending money, I'm happy! And if I were to get rich, all the better :) Praise God that He's given me the talent and the passion for crocheting. Even if I only made things as gifts for people, that's good enough for me! Now, I'm making things for my sister-in-law who ordered 2 baby sweater sets (sweater, hat, booties) and I finished one and am about 3/4 done with the other one. I love word of mouth sales!

Welcome to my new Blog!

Hello, and welcome to my new blog. Here you will find what I'm up to in my crochet world. I've just started designing my own baby clothing and hats, along with some adult hats and accessories, and some blankets too.