January Photo Challenge 1-9

I think monthly photo challenges are so fun so once again I am going to try one. Here is the photo challenge I am participating in this month.

Day 1 - New - My new monster!

 

Day 2 - Old- One of the first monsters I ever made.

 

 



 

Day 3 - Favorite color - Blue like this hippo!

 

 

 

Day 4 - Least favorite color - lime green like this monster

 

 

 

Day 5 - Lists - My list of things to make so far this year!

 

 

 

Day 6 - Notes - Thank you note cards we are writing for gifts.

 

 

 

Day 7 - Package - I got all of this in a package from my Secret Santa.

 

 

 

Day 8 - Colorful - My most colorful owl!

 

 

 

Day 9 - Black - This was hard because I don't do much in black.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Look Back at 2013 for Unique Creations By Tracy

I can't believe another year is over! My business continued to grow this past year in so many ways. Besides selling my items through my store I started selling some items through Cuties Congo which brought my crochet items to a whole new audience. Here are just a few of my favorite items I made for others this past year!

Looking forward to a great 2014 making lots of new projects!

Landon's Toy Box

I found Landon's Toy Box that is owned and run by Holly through my handmade communities online.  Immediately I fell in love with the peg people that she makes and sells.  She even can custom make some of them to your liking with your color and hair style choice, eye color, and more depending on which peg person you are wanting.  She makes a train conductor and princesses that can be custom made that I saw and put on my Christmas list to get the kids since I have a train and princess lover. When I got the peg people I loved them and could not wait to give them to the kids.  The kids loved them and have been using them a lot in their creative play. Here are the kids with the peg people they got.

Now the peg people in action.

 The princess hanging out with other princesses!

Mr. Train Conductor keeping an eye on the trains!

Mr. Train Conductor checking on Toby!

Take a few minutes and go check out Landon's Toy Box. She is always coming up with new peg people to make. You can find her on Facebook at Landon's Toys Box, and her shop can be found on Storenvy here.

Storenvy Cyber Monday Sale

Looking to buy handmade this holiday for your gifts to family and friends? Yes, then you will want to check out this awesome Cyber Monday Sale! 50 Storenvy Shops will be having a 30% off everything sale.  Make sure to set some time aside to go handmade shopping online on December 2nd. My store Unique Creations by Tracy will be participating in this special sale! Lots of my other friends including Kiser Krafts, Violet's Buds, Lu & Ed, The Mollie Shop, Landon's Toy Box, and many more. Click the picture above to go to the main link with all the shops that are participating. #StorenvyFlash30

Hair Bow Holders

My daughter has a large collection of hair bows for her hair, which end up all over the house.  I have seen lots of ideas that I wanted to make that would hold her bows, but just never got around to making them until a few weeks ago.  At the end of the summer we took a family trip to Kansas City and while we were there we went to the Strawberry Swing Festival, so I could meet a couple of the ladies I have gotten to know online that are in the handmade business like me.  One of them was Melanie, from Violet's Buds, and she makes some of the cutest hair clips, which we have several of them.  When we went to her booth I loved how she had them all displayed on pictures frames.  After the festival Melanie wrote a blog post on her blog, Violet's Buds, on how to make them which you can find here.  I decided these are  the ones I have to make, so I gathered my supplies and made my own.  The one thing I did differently is I used scrap book paper instead of fabric. Here is a look at mine, and go check out Melanie's blog to see how to make your own.

A Simple Change by Judith Miller

 

A Simple Change by Judith Miller is the second book in her series Home to Amana.  I did not realize this was the second book in a series until I finished reading it, so you don't need to read the first to read this one. Jancey is living with her parents in Kansas City volunteering as a teacher in an orphanage.  Her parents decide to go back to the Amana colonies in Iowa where they originally met when Jancey's mother became ill. Jancey's parents leave the decision up to her if she wants to go with them or stay in Kansas City. She is torn about leaving the children she teaches and being with her mother for what time she has left on earth.  Jancey has been seeing Nathan, who works for her father, and he does not want her to go either but is it for love or for money.  Jancey decides to go with her parents.  There are lots of rules and changes Jancey has to adapt to at the Amana colonies.  Will Nathan woo Jancey back to Kansas City or will true love and a new way of living keep her in the Amana colonies?

Before reading this book I had never heard about the Amana colonies and am now interested in learning more about them. I read a lot of Amish books so reading about the lifestyle at the Amana colonies was very interesting, but I think fans of Amish fiction would enjoy this book too.  Now that I know this is the second book in a series I want to go back to read the first and then read the rest of the series.  Judith Miller is a new author to me, so I also want to look for other books she has written and check them out. I felt she did a great job describing the Amana colonies that I could actually picture it while reading the book. Several of the characters in the book that Jancey meets in the Amana colonies seem like wonderful people that I would love to be friends with and would to hear more of their stories of life growing up in Amana.

I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Happy Handmade Week #27

I really enjoyed sharing with all of you the other week my favorites from the Happy Handmade Link Up at Daft Crafts, so I thought I would do it again. This week I picked favorites with my daughter in mind.

Up first is this beautiful Falling Leaves Flower Collage Hair Clip by Violet's Buds! We have several of her hair clips and love them!

 

Gabby the Glitter Pig by Just For Littles is another item that my daughter would love.  She loves piggy banks and a piggy bank with glitter would even be better.

Lastly, she would love this Twinkle Monster by Kiser Krafts. Twinkle Monster loves ballet and all things girly just like my daughter.

 

 Hope you take a few minutes and check out these awesome shops!