My Patterns Are Finally Online!

Just wanted to do a quick post to let everyone know that the patterns I submitted to Basket Patterns are now available! 

Four of them, the Yarn Dispenser Basket, Large and Small Hearts, Recipe Box, and Vase Baskets, are on the front page (new products page) and the Santa Boot is under the "Holiday" category (or you can enter the name of the pattern in their search field).

I took lots and lots of photos to aid the weaver in making a successful basket, and would like to extend a great big THANK YOU to Nancy Jacobs at Basketmaster's Weavings for testing three of these patterns for me....her feedback and suggestions were a tremendous help!  I hope she posts photos of her finished baskets (hint, hint) for all of you!

Happy Weaving!!

Shout Out to All Basket Weavers!!!

Yesterday I received an email from a customer with an unusual request.  They were looking for someone to make what they called a "wine pouring basket".  They need this done specifically for lambic beer, and wondered if I could help them.  The picture above is pretty much what they need, however, it is a willow type of basket and I have absolutely no experience weaving in that style.  I could try to come up with my own version of it, but thought if there are any weavers who think they could make this basket as shown, I would love to hear from you and possibly forward your name to this customer.  The customer thought eventually they would need upwards of 100 baskets, and I told them that was beyond my means, but they still wanted something to start with.  So this would be a great opportunity if anyone is interested!  I have already tried fiddling around with a pattern but it's been a lot more challenging to me than I expected.

PLEASE HELP!!!

A Passion For Books

I don't know if I've ever mentioned this, but one of my other passions is books....the look, the smell (who hasn't loved the smell of a brand-new book?), the words....everything! And that love for books includes blank books or journals.

A few years ago I decided to try my hand at making my own journals, and fell in love! There is something very soothing and satisfying to me about cutting and folding and stitching and ending up with a beautiful, personalized, handmade journal!

I thought I'd share a sampling of my book-making creations.

These are called "Jelly-Bean" books.  They are tiny little books made to look sort of like little books of matches.  They are very quick and easy to make and would be a great project for kids!

These three are different pocket-sized book variations, great for carrying around in your purse.

This one is my personal favorites, and is called  "Dos-a-dos" journal.

It's actually two journals in one and opens in two different directions.

I think the intended purpose is to use one side as a written journal and the other as a sketch journal.

I like to add little charms to the front cover of these when I make them.

These three are just some different stitched journals.

The maroon one on top is called a "Mail-able" journal.  It's shaped like an envelope and could be written in and mailed, as is! (I don't think I would, though, unless I taped all the sides shut!)

These last two are different sizes of the same type of journal.  The pages are a lotus flower fold and kind of pop out when you open it.  There's no stitching involved....just folding and gluing!

Now I am by no means an experienced book-maker, and the ones I have made are fairly easy for a beginner to make.

A really good beginner book is The Weekend Crafter: Making Books and Journals: 20 Great Weekend Projects, by Constance Richards and it's available at Amazon.

BUT...

I have never tried making a book with a leather cover....I'm afraid I would completely ruin a perfectly good piece of leather in the process.

But I just love the look and feel and smell of leather, so a few months ago when I found Julie Boyle's Etsy shop, I became a huge fan!

I have since purchased two of her handmade leather journals, and here they are:

I especially love the special closures that she put on these journals.

Her work is extraordinary and her prices are very reasonable!

This is the kind of thing that makes me drool!

I have a link to her website in my "Blogs I Love" list over there on the right, but you can click HERE to get to her etsy shop.  

So when you get a chance

stop over and see what other wonderful journals she has to offer and treat yourself to something really special.  You will not be disappointed!

Julie and Julia

No, not the movie.

"Julie" is me and "Julia" is a dear friend of mine.  

(Juliana is my correct name, but most people call me Julie)

She and I are doing a project together that I wanted to share with you!

A week or so ago, Julia posted a picture of a Christmas applique quilt hanging on her blog that I thought was absolutely adorable. 

Now her Blog is in Chinese(you can see it on my list of "Blogs I Love" in the  side bar), and even with an online translator, so much meaning is lost and most times I still can't make too much sense of it.

So while I admired the quilt, I had no idea why she posted a picture of it.

So when she called me this week, she asked if I had seen the quilt and would I like to "stitch along" with her?  The goal is to get one block done per month, so that by next Christmas, we would each have a finished quilt decoration to add to our Holiday decor!

The technique used here is called "needle applique", something I have never done before.  But I'm always up for something different, so I agreed to give it a try.

It took me a while to get the hang of it, and I obviously need more practice, but considering I had zero experience, I think my first block turned out ok!

What do you think?

There are some lumpy-bumpy areas(which I actually think look kinda cool), and a few spots where I didn't quite get the edge turned under so there are some frayed edges, but all-in-all, I am happy with it!

Each block is different, so as I get them completed, I'll post pictures.

Before I go, I just want to let you know that Julia is a soap-maker, and she makes the most amazing, deliciously-scented soaps in the world!  They are made from goat's milk, so they are very good for your skin, especially if you suffer from eczema.  Here is a link to her website where you'll also find lotions, salves, and creams. 

www.lockwillowsoaphaus.com

I can personally vouch for her herbal healing salve, jewel-weed salve, and pain relief cream.  I have tried them all and they really work! 

Seriously, go check it out and give some of her  scented soap a try....you'll think you died and went to heaven!

Bargain Bliss

As it turns out, the discouragement I was feeling yesterday turned out to be a good thing.

Allow me to explain.

I was a bit tired of swimming in my self-pity soup, so I got myself up and out of the house to scout around at all the bargain stores in our area.
(It turns out I love a bargain just as much as the next person!)

One store in particular, The Bargain Barn, is a consignment shop that sells everything from dishes, to clothing, to furniture...everything imaginable.
It's cold, and it looks and feels like a warehouse.

It's stuffed so full that it's hard to walk around without bumping into something.

And it's also one of those places where there is so much to see that you're afraid you'll miss something really great!

A lot of it is junk (to me at least), and I usually don't find too much that interests me.

But this....THIS....
let's just say, I have always wanted something like this, but they are expensive and I just could not afford one.

Until today. For five bucks, one of my silly little dreams came true.


How awesome is this?
It's in really great condition, is very sturdy, and has a lovely weathered gray-ish tan patina.
I abolutely love it!

I just feel so lucky to have found that!
Oh and I found another little basket, probably made in china, but still cute:


It's only about 6" long and 5 1/2" tall.
Wouldn't that be cute in a baby's room?

And when I got home with my treasures and was taking pictures of the chair, movement outside the window on our front porch caught my eye.

This is what I saw.

Thanks to photo-editing, I was able to crop the photo and get a really good look at this praying mantis.

He looks a bit angry to me!

But I have always heard that a praying mantis is a sign of good luck.

I was never sure if that was true or not, but for today, I'm a believer!

Business Blues Vent

I've been getting that familiar feeling again lately.

I've been at this business of trying to market my baskets for about 5 years now.

Every year, I either suffer a loss or barely break even.

And every now and then, I feel foolish for trying again and again to make it work.

Maybe it's the economy, or maybe it's my lack of marketing skills, or maybe my baskets are just not good enough. (Honestly, you do start to wonder!)

Or maybe it's all three.

Whatever the case, it wreaks havoc on my confidence and motivation levels.

And I just want to give up.


The truth is, trying to make it in a small business is hard as hell.
Especially when your small business involves making and selling handmade products.
Our culture seems to gravitate towards mass-produced cheap junk.
Searching for quality goes out the window when there is no money.
Appreciation for quality is replaced with a sneer when there is no money.

I understand all that.
Times are tough.
And in an arts and crafts business, I feel as though I am caught between two extremes: On one side you have the die-hard Longaberger fans who pay hundreds of dollars for their self-proclaimed "heirloom" baskets.

On the other side, you have the "made-in-china-for-slave-labor-wages-hurry-up-and-make-them" baskets that are cheap and fall apart easily but get bought a whole lot more often.
I know, I sound bitter. Maybe I am sometimes. I'm human.


So where does that leave me?

I honestly don't know.

So I keep on doing what I've been doing, and trying different things.

I just keep going.

Because I have read that most people give up right before they would have turned that corner to success.

And that when times are the toughest is just before things get a whole lot better.

And that the ones who persist, when everything in them is screaming "GIVE UP ALREADY!" are the ones who reach the top.

I intend to find out if that's true.

Behind the Scenes

It always astounds me how much time I spend NOT basket-weaving, just to keep this little business of mine up and running.

I would even be so bold as to say I probably spend ALMOST as much time doing all the "behind the scenes" things as I do actually weaving! (Ok, I've never actually proven that, but it sure feels that way!)

Obviously, I have to weave a basket if I plan to sell anything. And that process starts here, in my pattern notebooks, deciding WHICH one to make!

I have three 4-inch binders nearly full of patterns I've accumulated over the years, and I'm constantly adding to them. And that doesn't include my ten or so OTHER books of basket patterns!
I have trouble deciding which one to make on any given day, and it's no small feat trying to "guess" which ones customers will buy!

Ok, so let's assume I've honed in on a pattern or two, and have made some baskets.
This is what my kitchen and dining room look like afterwards....a little like a hurricane blew through.

The problem is, I need to use the kitchen for other things, and while we don't often eat at the dining room table, it just BUGS me when it gets like that, so I am constantly cleaning up, running things back and forth to the basement.

Next step: staining.
I actually think the natural look of reed is quite beautiful but I have found that most people prefer to buy stained baskets.
I used to use minwax stain but it got expensive and the smell was awful.
So I switched to natural walnut hull stain.
We have two big walnut trees right in the front yard, and I gathered up a mountain of them a few years ago. I still have a big feed bag full of crushed, dried hulls in the garage.
It might be another year or two before I have to squirrel walnuts away again.

I also made a big galvanized trash can full of stain by soaking the hulls in water until I got a nice rich brown. It's so much easier to dip an entire basket in the dye rather than brushing it on. This amount of stain has lasted me quite a while, too. I just keep it in the garage with my garden tools.


Then I hang them on a clothesline strung between two support posts in the garage to drip-dry.
(Except for the really big ones)

Once the baskets are dry, I have a few more steps to do before I can take them to the shop to sell.
I like to attach something to ALL my baskets so they can be quickly identified as made by me.
It has kind of become my "trademark".
I found these little wooden hearts online, bought a custom stamp with "Deen Homestead Basketry" on it, and another that says "Handmade by Juliana Deen", and stamped the hearts.

Then I drill small holes in them, and thread a strip of homespun fabric through the hole and tie them to the baskets.

I also have to get out my string tags and write the name of the basket and price on one side, and my name on the other and attach THOSE to the baskets.
And if I want to add them to my web store, I need to take photos, download them to my computer, upload them to the photo editing site I use, and then upload them to my website, enter a description and a paypal button!

Whew....I'm exhausted just telling you about it! And I still have my sales tax return to do, and my supply purchase receipts and sales records to keep organized for when tax season rolls around.

Ya know, when I think about it too much, I get overwhelmed. Seeing it written down like this, it looks a bit daunting.
But it really isn't quite as awful as it sounds. While I don't always like all the yucky stuff that comes with running a small business, at least I am doing what I love.

And I don't think I would want it any other way!

They Said It Was Coming

You know, I don't have a whole lot of faith in weathermen.

So when they used that four-letter-word in the forecast today and put us under a winter weather advisory, I scoffed and chuckled and said "Yeah. Right."

My kids hoped for a snow day in the near future.

I said "Dream on!"

It's only the middle of October and the ground is still too warm for snow to accumulate, and well, it's just NOT SUPPOSED TO SNOW IN OCTOBER.

So there I was, standing at my kitchen counter working on putting together a basket order when something outside the window caught the corner of my eye.

I turned.

I saw.

My lower jaw hit the floor.

I'll be darned. The weathermen were right after all.

I grabbed my camera and ran outside to snap some pictures.

I HAD to hurry because I was sure it wouldn't last.

That was an hour ago.

And the big flakes are still falling, even faster and harder than before.

Gosh it's pretty.

(You'll have to click the one above to see the snow)


I had gone out earlier to a little local food market.

The man behind the counter asked me, "Are you ready for winter?"

I rolled my eyes and said "No...but I guess I better GET ready!"
(All the while chuckling- laughing-guffawing on the inside.)

I was not ready.

But gosh, it's pretty.