Thursday, December 31, 2009

Perfect for Valentine's Day: Cozy Cowl in Antique Rose Lambs Wool

I do a lot of my supply shopping on Ebay and on one of my last yarn expeditions I came across a great shop selling a discontinued yarn in tiny batches. After my first order arrived and was even better than expected, I went back and ordered the yarn in three additional colors. Those haven't arrived yet, but the gorgeous, antique rose was my first choice and I knitted it up into a beautiful button-up cowl.

The yarn is 30% lambs wool and 70% acrylic, making it super soft and warm but easy to care for. It's not as bulky as the ever-popular Lion Brand Thick & Chunky Wool-Ease, but it's even more cozy and soft. I wish this yarn hadn't been discontinued, because I would buy it in bulk!

Take a look at the beautiful cowl I was able to knit from this amazing yarn.



I found the wooden buttons at a local vintage shop that benefits the Helping Hands Charity organization. They were all dried out and dull, but a thorough application of Old English returned them to better-than-new condition and brought out the fantastic carving and grain detail of the wood.



The brooch was crochet from a lambs wool and acrylic blend yarn in charcoal gray before being embellished with a small, pink and ivory cameo button, upcycled faux pearl beads and gold-toned chains (also found at the Helping Hands store). I then affixed the entire rose to a piece of heart-shaped black, stiffened felt (made from post-consumer recycled bottles), and a hinged pin-back so you can affix the brooch to the cowl as you please, or anything else, like a jacket, purse, or sweater.

This cowl is so cozy, soft, and classy I really wanted to keep it for myself. It would make a perfect gift for the special lady in your life, whether she's your mom, sister, girlfriend, best friend, or wife. This cowl will take you through the entire year. Pair it with your coat and gloves during the cold months or use it as a capelet while out on the town during the spring and summer months to protect against the evening chill.

I hope you'll go check it out on my Etsy shop.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Thoris Designs Giveaway on Little Birdie Secrets

I'm pleased to announce that I'm offering a giveaway and it's being hosted by Little Birdie Secrets. Visit their wonderful blog for a chance to win any item in my shop worth up to $35 or you can apply that $35 to any other item in my shop! Sweet deal, eh?

Also, if you enter "little birdies" into the message to seller box during checkout, I'll refund you the entire cost of shipping! Yes! Free shipping!

If you're interested in entering the giveaway, visit Little Birdie Secrets and leave a comment about your favorite item in my shop. You can also become one of their fans on Facebook for a second entry.

Don't miss out!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Jump for Joy! Thoris Designs on The Storque

Fantastic news! My Winter White Fuzzy Teddy Bear hat was featured on The Storque and brought all sorts of wonderful traffic to my store as well as helping me get two more sales!

How wonderful to feel appreciated! If you visited my shop, thank you! If you'd like to see the lovely Storque blog that features mine and so many other wonderful items for all four of the seasons, click the link below.

Spotlight :: Etsy Finds: Seasoned to Taste

For the item from my shop featured, check it out!

Winter White Fuzzy Teddy Bear Hat

Friday, December 11, 2009

Holly Jolly Savings

Come visit me on ArtFire.com and use coupon code HollyJolly during checkout and receive 20% off your entire order!








Most the items in my shop are in stock and, with USPS Priority Mail used for all domestic orders, odds are your item will arrive by Christmas for that special someone.

I have a variety of hats that your kids will love, hats, scarves, cowls, and some truly fabulous hair accessories just waiting for you!

This sale will run until December 31, 2009 at 11:59pm PST. Stock up on warm, cozy, and fashionable accessories for the cold season with Thoris Designs.

This sale is also applicable to my Etsy.com store, however, you will be required to pay the full price for your order and then I will refund you the 20% via PayPal, as per the usual Etsy procedure.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Victorian Love Etsy Treasury

I waited and waited and watched and waited some more and finally secured a spot for a treasury on Etsy.

My theme was Victorian Love because I love lace and ruffles and ribbons and such. I hope you'll take a moment to check it out and show some love to the wonderful artists that created such beautiful items.

Victorian Love Etsy Treasury West

Friday, December 4, 2009

Woodside PTA Craft Fair

Come see me December 4th, 4pm to 8pm at Woodside Elementary in Bothell, Washington! The craft fair supports Woodside PTA and should be a blast.

My ArtFire and Etsy shops will be closed tomorrow for the fair and will open again on Saturday.

Hope to see you there.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Etsy Bloggers Holiday Sale! Black Friday to Cyber Monday

Ring in this epic holiday season with Etsy Bloggers and buy that special someone a wonderful, handmade and original gift. Remember, homemade says, "You're so special I wanted to buy you something as lovely and original as you are!" Isn't that a better message than, "I bought you what everyone else is getting too"? Of course it is!

Check out the Etsy Bloggers Treasury by clicking here!

For a list of participating shops in the Etsy Bloggers sale be sure to check out our Etsy shop at EtsyBloggers.Etsy.Com.

Also! At My Shop receive 30% off your entire order when you use promotional code BlackNovember in the Message to Seller box when you pay. I will refund you, via PayPal, 30% of your cost.

It's always a great time to buy handmade, but even better with Christmas coming up. Share the homemade love with your family and friends and buy them something wonderful, unique, special, and original for Christmas. I promise they'll appreciate it!

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Another Awesome Giveaway: Mack Savvy!

Today's Free Giveaway is hosting yet another fantastic giveaway that I just had to tell everyone about.

This one is for Mack Savvy, a little business that specializes in wonderful accessories, including hats, hair goodies, and (my favorite) little girls foofy tutus. I hope I win this $25 shopping spree so I can get my little princess this beautiful tutu.



Isn't that just adorable? So go and sign up for this great giveaway. It ends Monday, November 9th, at midnight. Good luck!

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Isn't It Cozy?

I love Autumn. I love even the sound of the word. Autumn. The change of leaves to burnt umber, gold, and scarlet. Home to my two favorite holidays, Halloween and Thanksgiving. When I finally get to wear my wool pea coats, clunky leather boots, gloves, scarves, sweaters, and chunky slippers. A time for tea and hot cocoa. A time for family.

To celebrate this magical season I've created some beautiful cold weather gear that's sure to bring out the Autumn lover in you, too. Of course, what's not to love?

Click the pictures for links to each item in my Etsy Store.

Autumn Leaves Mini Cowl with Removable Orange Flower



A sweet, simple little cowlette knitted from super soft chenille yarn threaded with gold and red strands and accented by a cute little orange flower that can be removed, repositioned, or used to secure this little neck candy piece any way you'd like.

Creamy Super Soft Cowl with Red Rose Brooch




I don't really want to sell this one, but I know if I love it as much as I do then you will too. And who am I to deny you this beautiful knitted piece? Created from a strand of baby-soft buttery yellow yarn with a satin finish and a strand of brushed acrylic in tones of cream and mocha. The finishing touch is a deep crimson rose crocheted from the silkiest acrylic yarn and accented with three autumn orange leaves. The center is elegantly complimented with three upcycled faux pearl beads securely sewn to the center. The back has a piece of stiffened felt for stability and a convenient brooch pin so you can position the rose as you like or attach it to something else entirely.

Spring Green Super Soft Cowl with Yellow Rose Brooch




This green cowl is knit from two strands of a variegated boulce. Slouchy, sweet, and soft it's drool worthy and works double duty as not only a cozy, cold weather piece but a fashionable neck accent in its own right. The rose brooch is crocheted from buttery yellow acrylic yarn with green leaves and has a center accented with three tiny green glass beads and one larger orange toned glass bead. The backing is stiffened felt and a brooch pin. What more could you want?

Waste-Not Want-Scarf Multicolor Multi-texture Scarf



Personally, my favorite piece. Knitted from all the scraps I accumulate making my variety of items, the Waste-Not Want-Scarf is not only extremely edgy and stylish, it's eco friendly. Without this scarf, all these yarn scraps would be filling a land fill somewhere. I carefully knot each piece together until I have a ball large enough to knit one of these completely unique, nine-foot long scarves. No two are ever alike and it takes a good long while to collect enough scraps to make just one. I've currently just finished a ball of scraps so I can finally make a scarf like this of my own.

That's the update for what's going on in my shop right now. I've added a few other items I haven't featured here but I'll be getting to those soon enough. I should be sharing my new line of hair accessories in the very near future and the next batch will be sporting a gorgeous selection of feathers I recently procured from Pegasus22 Crafts and Destash over at Etsy. If you love feathers as much as I do, you should check out her wonderful shop.

Thanks for stopping by.

Etsy
Buy Handmade
thorisdesigns

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Custom Snowhawk

I just shipped my first order from my Artfire store.

I love how this hat turned out. The colors were chosen by the client and worked together beautifully. This past summer she'd ordered a snowhawk from me for herself. Her husband loved her hat so much he wanted one for himself. I love repeat customers!

Take a look at this great hat.





I'd love to make a custom hat for you. Visit my shop at either thorisdesigns.artfire.com or thorisdesigns.etsy.com to see items currently in stock or to order a custom hat.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Aprons by Julie

Aprons by Julie is an amazing business that specializes in fantastic, handmade, high quality aprons.

I love them and I think you will too, so be sure to check out their website. They host free giveaways all the time, so don't miss out.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Hats for Halloween!

Halloween is already on it's way, and if you're from the northern half of the planet your Halloween is probably going to be a bit on the chilly side. I'm sure mine will be!

Helping your child stay warm and stylishly costumed on Halloween can be difficult, especially when most costumes are made from cheap fabrics that aren't made to retain heat so much as prevent fires.

Here are some great hats for your little one to trick-or-treat in this Halloween!



The Little Ladybug Beanie is made of ultra-soft acrylic yarn and sports little green button eyes, antenna, and freehand crochet detail. Your little one will look wonderful in her ladybug costume with this hat to top it all off.



The Skully Aviator hat is made of super soft materials, is knitted by hand with freehand crochet detailing and will be a favorite for the cold season, before, during, and after Halloween.



The Stegosaurus Beanie is knitted with a "tail" flap on the back that extends the line of "plates" running in a ridge down the center of this super-fun hat. The eyes are hand-sculpted of polymer clay and sealed with a glossy protective coat for that scary-dino shine!

I also sell hats with mohawks, teddy bear ears, and can make a variety of other animal or even costume themed hats.

Please be sure to check out my stores on Artfire and on Etsy. Different specials are running on each.

Also know that I can happily take custom orders at no extra charge.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Today's Give Away: Avon!

Okay, this has got to be one of the best giveaways I've featured yet. A $35 shopping spree from Kathy Burrow's Avon Store.

Avon is well known for their quality cosmetics and great prices.

Be sure to check out Today's Give Away for a chance to win! I did!

UPDATE:

I won! I won, I won! I won! Yay! New cosmetics. Faith, I'm so excited! Woot! Love love love ;)

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Recipe Review: Strawberry Peach Crisp


I recently tried out yet another amazing recipe from Little Birdie Secrets. This one was the delicious and superbly easy Strawberry Peach Crisp. The recipe called for Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds cereal, but I got the Fred Meyer equivalent for $2 instead and it still ended up delicious. A thrifty change-out for us penny pinchers. I also used canned peaches instead of fresh, so those of you that don't have good peaches in your area, there's hope! How amazing does this look?



And all dished up with some whipped cream.



This recipe is super easy to make and so delicious that I only got one serving before everyone else in the house ate it all up without leaving me more than a few bites left over.

Next time I make it, I'm not telling anyone.

Today's Give Away: Vinyl Lettering Free Giveaway

Another Today's Give Away post.



Tonight the Vinyl Lettering Free Giveaway will be closing off at 11:59pm and the winner will be announced tomorrow, so be sure to visit their website for a chance to win a $35 shopping spree from Delicate Expressions.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Recipe Review: Reese's® Puffs® Sticky Balls from Little Birdie Secrets & Contest from Today's Give Away



Yesterday I tried out this recipe posted by Little Birdie Secrets for Reese's® Puffs® Sticky Balls. They taste even better than they look and took hardly any time at all to make.



My seven-year-old daughter and I had a blast melting marshmallows and forming the sticky cereal mixture into tasty treats with our hands.

The recipe calls for Reese's® Puffs® cereal, but I used the Fred Meyer brand version of the same cereal and it was only $2 a box!

These treats were super easy to make, fun and easy for my daughter to help with, and are absolutely delicious. I will definitely make these again. I'm thinking I might contact my daughter's teacher about making some for a class snack.

So go visit Little Birdie Secrets for this great recipe.

One More Thing!




Today's Give Away is sponsoring an awesome contest. Be sure to enter so you can win an adorable trick'r'treat bag or jewelry from Beanies, Bows, and Bling Oh My!

Recipe: Perfectly Peachy Caribbean Prawn Tacos



This is a one-pan recipe that looks and tastes like you put hours into cooking it but really only takes about twenty-minutes from start to finish. Add a little more time if you'll be serving your filling on toasted corn tortillas.

You'll Need:

26 - 30 Prawns, Pealed & Deveined
- (I used a bag of prawns from Fred Meyers frozen section. Thaw first.)
4 Medium Peaches, Pitted & Thinly Sliced
1/8 cup Chopped Cilantro
1 1/2 TBSP Johnny's Jamaican Me Crazy Seasoning
1 TBSP Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 Large Purple Onion, Finely Chopped
1 TBSP Olive Oil
8 Small Corn Tortillas
- (or any kind of tortillas or shells)
Olive Oil Spray (optional, for toasting corn tortillas.)
Favorite Taco Toppings
- (I used avacado and pico de gillo from the store.)

Preparation:

1. Warm the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large frying pan.
2. Add in onion and cook until onions are almost clear.
3. Turn up heat to medium. Add in sliced peaches and cilantro and let simmer for about three minutes.
4. While onion and peach mixture is simmering, put prawns in a bowl with Worcestershire Sauce and Seasoning. Stir until well coated.
5. Add prawns to frying pan. Saute until prawns are well done, stirring frequently.



Now dish your prawn mixture into your tortillas of choice, add toppings and serve with a salad, or alone. Super filling and extra yummy!



To Toast Corn Tortillas:

Do this first if you're planning on having toasted tortillas.

1. Spray the pan you're going to use for the taco mixture with olive oil spray and cook tortillas over medium heat, flipping when little brown spots begin to appear, about three minutes.
2. Place your tortillas on a plate, cover with foil and keep warm in the oven until your other ingredients are done cooking.

Quick Thaw Prawns:

Fred Meyer sells bags of frozen prawns for about $5.99. When I'm ready to make my tacos, I open the bag and fill it with hot water straight from the kitchen sink and let the prawns sit while I chop my onions. By the time I'm done, the prawns are well thawed and easy to squeeze out of their split shells.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Photoshop Brushes :: Pirates! v2.0



Just finished putting together another set of brushes. More pirates for your digital pleasure. Download them from my deviantart.com account.

Pirates! v2.0

Monday, September 14, 2009

New Store and Lollapanoplies

Today I transferred my inventory to artfire.com, a website in the vein of etsy, but with a few subtle differences. The winning one being that you can post up to twelve listings without being asked for a credit card. Big winner for the poor pirate.

Also, I would like to introduce you to Lollapanoplies of who the creative genius is my dear friend, Lindsey. Lindsey is one of the most artistically gifted people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting and calling friend. Here are a few examples of the items she is currently offering and rapidly selling out of.





She constructs these adorable owl costumes out of super soft zip-up hoodie sweatshirts, felt, and cotton. For those of us living in the Northwest it's just the sort of Halloween costume you want your child wearing during the frozen Trick-or-Treating hours. I'm so jealous I didn't think of it first!

These costumes are selling like hotcakes, and obviously your child is going to want to wear theirs every day, all day, forever. She has some beautiful moss gardens and vintage clothing to offer as well, so be sure to check her out.

So, that concludes my entry today. I have a few recipes I developed over the past few weeks and I'll be sharing them soon. I meant to share them sooner but haven't had a chance to download the images off my camera.

Soon, I promise.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Photoshop Brushes :: Flight of the Hummingbirds



A new favorite, I just created these beautiful Photoshop brushes from a variety of hummingbird photographs. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Flight of the Hummingbirds v1.0
Flight of the Hummingbirds

Officially Back

So, my vacation stretched a little long, at least from this blog. I spent some time away from the kids, then The Princess broke her little elbow falling off the monkey bars while I was selling my knitted goods at a local festival. Of course, she broke it about two hours after my phone's battery died and I didn't find out until I got home just short of ten pm that night.

Then I spent a wonderful extra-long weekend at La Push beach on Washington's beautiful coast and stayed in Forks, which was an okay place despite the Twilight mania.

I have new photoshop brushes (hummingbirds!) and a few new recipes to post, including Carribean Crazy Prawn Tacos and Yummy Banana Bread that you can make with your bread machine.

I hope to be getting my store back online soon, but I'm going to be very busy writing my book. Here's to hoping I can make time for everything I want to be doing!

Look for the above updates soon. I hope to have at least one of the recipes up by the end of this week, with pictures.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Going Out of Town

No one seems to be reading this yet anyway, but thought I'd let anyone that is paying attention know that my kids are going out of town to Idaho to stay with their grandma and I will be taking full advantage of this time to go be twenty-five at various places.

I'll be back with new reviews, recipes, and all sorts of exciting stuff, so hopefully someone will start reading this eventually.

Also, I will be selling my hats, scarves, shawls, etc at Tour de Terrace in Mountlake Terrace, Washington. So if anyone lives in the Western Washington area, please stop by and see me. The festival is July 24, 25, and 26th. I'll keep this blog updated on developments concerning the festival, as well.

Have a safe and wonderful Fourth of July!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

New Store Front



Today I spent hours setting up an internet store front for my merchandise. I hope to be selling on etsy.com soon, but for now I'll be selling at thorisdesigns.weblodge.net.

The store front is very professional and all payments are made through PayPal. The rest of my shipping information, return policy, etc, are all listed on the store front as well.

I hope you'll take the time to check it out, and hopefully purchase something. I've got a lot of my stuff on there so far, but I've got much much more that needs to be added, as well as a number of new items I haven't even photographed yet, so keep checking back if you don't see something you like (or if you do).

Feel free to send me your custom orders as well! If I can make it for you, I'd love to do so.

Also, for those of you that have online profiles or blogs, I'd love for you to add a button or two linking back to my blog here and/or my store. You can find the code for all my buttons in the right sidebar. I will happily link back to your site in return.

Thanks so much, everyone. I look forward to making you something beautiful.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Great Blog: Craft Stylish

Was doing a search for some new crafty tips and came across this blog.

You can find tips and projects from a number of contributing crafters and submit photos of your finished craft projects.

They offer giveaways and a number of other fun things, so go check it out! I've added the link to my Favorite Haunts section, and you can visit by clicking here or on the button at the top of this post. Either link will open a new window/tab in your browser.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Salmon and Veggie Pouches



This is a great recipe I came up with for easy and healthy lunches, but they're great for dinner, too. One of the best things about these is how easy they are to assemble and then you just pop them in your freezer until you're ready to eat. This recipe makes four Salmon and Veggie Pouches.

You'll Need:
Aluminum Foil
Olive Oil Spray
Medium Salmon Fillet
1 Red Pepper
1/2 Large Onion
12 Asparagus Spears
4 Small Corn-on-the-Cob Pieces
Lemon
Kosher Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper

Preparation:

1. Rough chop the red pepper and the onion.
2. Chop the tough ends off the asparagus then cut each into three even pieces.
3. Slice lemon. Set aside.
4. Slice salmon fillet into four even pieces.
5. Set veggies aside for assembly.
6. Cut aluminum foil into eight 9 inch squares.



Assembly:

Spray the dull side of the aluminum squares with olive oil. Set four pieces aside. Using the remaining four squares, put a piece of salmon in the middle, a piece of corn on top of that, and a slice of lemon on top of the corn. Heap a portion of the red pepper, onion, and three asparagus spears worth of the asparagus pieces around the salmon and corn. Sprinkle with Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.





Take the remaining four squares, already sprayed with olive oil, and place them sprayed-side down on top of the salmon and veggies.



Roll the edges up to close the pouches.



Now put them in the freezer until your hungry!

To Cook:

Preheat oven to 450F. Put a pouch on a baking tray. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes. Remove and use a knife to cut the foil down the center so you can peal the foil back. Don't remove the top layer! Check that your corn and salmon are fully cooked. If they're not done, just pinch the edges of the foil back together and pop back in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes. If full cooked (nothing frozen or cold), enjoy! They're fully seasoned and delicious!

Monday, June 15, 2009

Photoshop Brushes :: Flowers & Trees



Decided that since I have a number of Photoshop brush sets compiled, I might as well start uploading all of them to deviantART and blogging them so people can actually enjoy the effort. I know I love other people's brushes and have downloaded hundreds of them myself. Time to give back.

So, in the spirit of giving, here's one of my favorite sets that I ever created. All The Pretty Flowers is made from antique flower specimen drawings I collected from various sources, edited, and then transformed into brushes. I originally made them for my wedding invitations, but even though the marriage didn't work out, I still love the brushes.

I hope you love them, too. Feel free to use them for whatever project you want, just please don't claim them, redistribute, or modify them. And if you use them for something you post to the internet, I'd love to see it.

All The Pretty Flowers v1.0

Includes fifteen brushes.


::Update::


Okay, after posting All The Pretty Flowers I got the itch for plants and decided to compile this set of tree brushes. Enjoy!

Memory of Trees v1.0

Includes five brushes.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Photoshop Brushes :: Swirls & Pirates!



For those of you that enjoy photo manipulation, I'd like to direct you to my deviantart.com account for some Photoshop Brushes I created.

There are two sets available, Calligraphy Swirls v1.0 and Pirates! Click on the images below to be taken to the download page. A new window/tab will be opened.

These brushes were made in Photoshop 7, so if you have that or any later versions of Photoshop, these should be compatible. Enjoy!


Calligraphy Swirls v1.0

Includes sixty-six brushes.

Pirates! v1.0

Includes thirty-four brushes.


I hope you like these. There will be more in the future.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Recipe Review: Sloppy Joe Turnovers from Little Birdie Secrets



My first post! I'll probably be trying a lot of things from these ladies in the future, but this first time I tried their recipe for Sloppy Joe Turnovers.

They were simple to make with easy-to-find ingredients and even my unbelievable picky-eater daughter loved them and asked for seconds. I can't get that kid to eat anything.

I hope you will try this recipe out for yourself. I used it for dinner tonight with a side of corn-on-the-cob, but it would make a great party snack.

Thank you, Little Birdie Secrets, for sharing this great recipe.



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