You have come to this page because you typed in www.hippiescreations.com or you were sent here from an ad or any other possible way... but just how do you get to know my product? How to do you shop for it? How do you learn more about who exactly Hippie's Creations is?

I thought it would be fun to just talk a little bit about this blog of mine :)

I like to write about different things... like the fun stuff we cook on the weekends. During the week we tend to be quite busy and do the "quick" meal thing.. but on the weekends.. ahh yes we love to take our time and really cook.. expand on our current menu - for different things... for different taste.. even with the risk of it not being good at all!

I like to share some of my WIP (work in progress) Projects.. sometimes its fun sharing how I start something.. and how it progresses - even if it takes me months to finish the project. I stay busy with lots of things (mom, girlfriend, work, friend etc) - it sometimes takes time to start/finish it all.

I like to feature other Artists that I come across - hey that means you could send me something and I would post it too - I believe and follow the law of handmade buy local whenever I possibly can. I have very strong feelings about it actually :)

Occasionally, I will write about the business end of things - which certainly I could do more off.. and perhaps as I am going through another transition in my life this could happen. I think you will find that I have more time to create and share with you :) all of which you can read here: Peaks of Inspiration

Ok now to the purpose of this blog post... on top of the page you can see my pages.. the about me ..facebook link, twitter link, the patterns page.. etsy, artfire and handmade artist shop as well as ravelry... Option to learn about me.. to connect with me.. see what patterns I have published.. and of course where you could purchase the amazing creations I have to offer you.. or as my boyfriend has to offer you.. yea we are a couple of creative mechanisms :)

Don't like or are familiar with etsy or artfire.. you could go shopping straight from my shopping cart on the left... a paypal widget that I find terribly nifty... building a website is a daunting task (I used to do it.. from scratch all the time - le sigh) I love the idea of having a blog in which you could purchase from - because this way.. you know who you are buying from.. you are connecting with me on a personal level :)

You will see some of the teams I am part of either on etsy, artfire or even the handmade made artist shop

On the other side (right) you will see Hippie's Bath and Body and again the image of Peaks of Inspiration... two additional babies of mine... my bath and body company is getting ready to get a do-over... so you should stay tuned if you like :)  

 Further you will take note of blogs I like to read and follow for professional and personal reasons - and perhaps you may be interested in them as well.

And last but not least you see the blog archive :) because sometimes you just want to go back and see what else was written about!

I think it can be confusing sometimes getting to a blog that serves not only as a tool to connect with people but as a tool to make a living. I hope that I have made it as simple as possible in terms of your shopping experience - this for the moment seems to be working for me...

Thanks for reading :)

Petra

Coming from Europe my exposure to cuisine happened in multitude. One of my favorite things was and still is Tzatziki sauce for my gyros.

This past Saturday however this cucumber garlic dill dip was used for a rather different recipe!



We served Spinach Salad with Mandarin Oranges and Walnuts with a Honey Dijon Dressing - we didn't make this ourselves.. was a tadbit spicy but the oranges gave it a nice little balance!


We also made creamy mashed potatoes with greek yogurt and ranch dressing powder and garlic ( we LOVE garlic).
The assembly was fun and simple - use a baguette instead of hamburger buns, spread with the tzatziki sauce, add slices of tomatoes and dig on.


This is definitely a recipe I will cook again... and I am able to enjoy leftovers too :)

I'm a single mom - the oldest out of the house living his own life - with two still remaining.
Last July I opened the Charmed Butterfly in the town I live in - everything handmade with 90% of being local Artists. I love to create and its been a dream of mine to have something just like that - and the town of Scottsville, VA certainly can use a gift shop such as it is.

Recently I came onto a cross-road and I am still standing in the middle of that - deciding which way to turn. Close the shop and get a real job?
Get a part time job and keep the shop?

You see a few months ago I lost part of my income - to not fault of my own and the only income I have at this time is my son's disability and the sales I make online - and those sales are sporadic to say the least.. while there - its up and down. I've been trying to update photos and the listings and doing whatever it is I can to have my shop found on the google world - but its hard work.

Juggling the world of motherhood, Artist and Business Owner and what have you... it isn't easy. I can't just not go on when I don't feel like it - though I have had a day or two like it. It doesn't really look good but I am burned out from the last year and if I remain open - we will be celebrating our 1st year.

While I will be making some changes - I don't know if the Artists will appreciate them and remain with me as we are building an interesting spot in our little town. I am torn and heartbroken because I am not sure which direction I should go.

I recently had an interview and pending references I am getting a job as a therapist - part time.
It's what I have to do because frankly I can't feed my children on love alone - wouldn't that be grant?

So now I am deciding which way would be the best way to move forward. My part time job would be just that.. the great thing? I schedule my hours - per say - pending on the clients schedule. The other great thing I have an amazing support system willing to work and cover hours at the shop.

But owning/running a brick and mortar store is a HUGE responsibility and takes a lot of work. I always looking for more Artists to come on board - and I think it may mean that I need to move beyond the "local" artist and branch out - as long as it is handmade.

It think the other part that I am keenly aware of is the lack of local support from the community. Yes, there are people in town who LOVE the store - who ALWAYS come back but that is perhaps 25% of the population. Why go to wal-mart? Oh yea because they are cheaper.. but they don't carry handmade and to me that just is what makes any gift item special..

I guess you can see my frustration. I finally have both of my worlds merging but I am not sure that I can or want to handle them simultaneously - or whether I should scale back on one and move forward with the other. Being a therapist has been a long time dream as well - and its happening - and I am going for my license to become an LPC - amazing considering my background history (former foster kid).

I just don't have any idea on how to move forward with both - and if both are truly doable and how on earth I am going to get some down time - and most of all spend time with my amazing children.

---

For the next 10 days I am giving 15% off on all items:
on Etsy use coupon code: CUSTOMERAPPRECIATION
on Artfire no coupon required
on Handmade Artists' Shop use coupon code: mayappreciation

We love to cook and we decided that if we aren't doing anything outside of the house on a Friday night... then it should be pizza night.. and not the same pizza over and over... but explore something new each week - broaden our horizon's a bit. If you read the blog last week you know we made a basic Pepperoni - Onion Pizza for me and for my partner's side he added olives...





 For me I made a white Pizza with Spinach, Tomato, Feta Cheese and a blend of other cheeses... I am not unfamiliar with this and thought this would be great treat.. and OMG it was

I love to cook - I grew up cooking first helping in the kitchen in my foster family and then on the weekends needing to feed 8 other foster kids in the group home. I am a fan of a variety of food albeit a picky eater - but if I cooked it, I generally eat it!

My boyfriend - he too loves to cook. He is an amazing cook with strong flavors and seasoning. His baking his a-m-a-z-i-n-g .. alas he makes one mean cheesecake and a raspberry pound cake .. oh my mouth is drooling already.

I love watching Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and so does my youngest. My youngest struggles with food due to his metabolic genetic disorder and liver transplants and it can be difficult to try to get him to eat new food. Watching the show - he can express and let me know what he MIGHT be interested in trying :)

Friday night was Pizza night and man it was delicious. You can see my son was eager to help as Pizza is his current favorite.


Does this not look like the best pizza ever?
My son made his own cheese pizza and we adults made us a Pepperoni Pizza with Onion and half Green Olives. The dough was amazing .. and we were utterly STUFFED afterwards... I am looking forward to our next pizza night.


On Saturday we went on the Diner's, Drive-ins and Dives website to look for a recipe that sounded appealing.  We tend to get tired to cook the same thing over and over - and we sometimes struggle thinking of something new - we've decided to use the show as our inspiration for some great food!

We started with a cucumber salad.
Sour cream, milk and vinegar dressing with onion, salt and pepper.
I could eat this all day long... so yummy.

We then followed the recipe for stuffed bacon cheeseburger - ground beef patties filled with monterey jack and bacon. They were delicious and we only had a little criticism and that's not enough seasoning. In the future we will season the ground beef like we normally would make patties before stuffing them - but overall definitely a will-do-again!


 I like to get away from the fries every now and again and so decided on some Pierogies. We did not make this ourselves but that is on the agenda - I could eat this all day long for breakfast - for lunch - for a snack.. so yummy!                            






Served with a freshly made Strawberry Milkshake              
  
 

Watch your children have a fabulous time in the tub or create a puppet production. These will surely inspire the child's imagination.



This is a wash cloth or a puppet - depending how you choose to use it.



Made of 100% cotton yarn and fully machine washable and dryable!



One Size. If you need a smaller or larger size, please send me a contact me to discuss the details....

Click Here to Visit My Etsy Shop!

I love to wood burn even though I don't do it merely enough. Wood burning is time consuming... it requires patience - and I have been gravitating towards the projects that give me a fast turn around time. Here in this last however, I found myself *needing and wanting* to wood burn.

Then I came across this .. apparently I started this outline sketch awhile ago but had forgotten about it.

I love Dragons! My favorite Dragon is Saphira from the movie Eragon. So majestic and beautiful.

This guy here isn't anything like that but he's still pretty powerful nonetheless.
I am hoping to remember to take lots of pictures in my process/progress to share with you how it all comes together.

So when I am heading to the store today.... you know what I will be working on!

Have a great Thursday everyone!!

This is a great reusable bag to bring with you to the Markets or the beach.

I crocheted this with 100% cotton yarn a variegated tones of brown, tan and green.

The bottom and the handle are solid, sturdy stitches. The body of the bag is a breathable mesh, which is perfect for fruits and veggies, your beach towel, or your favorite book.



Machine wash and dry, or you can just dry flat or ha...

Click Here to Visit My Etsy Shop!

I find myself to have a love-hate relationship with etsy and even artfire - I find that I need to list often and with over 150 items in the store.. not to shabby. I also find that in some areas you need to be in circles, guilds and what-not to help promote you - share and even just be recognized. But - it also takes HARD work. Promoting and exposing and selling yourself and your work ALL THE TIME!

Luckily we have twitter... hootsuite and Shop Marketing Helper to help us promote ourselves shamelessly. But I find there's a lack of interaction between seller and online venue on other online selling venues.


I am still easing into it.. only having been a seller there for a few months and listing items. One of the things I noticed right away is on twitter.. when you list an item HAF is tweeting it to its followers! So not only do I tweet it to the 1472 people that follow me - they tweet it to 17,409 of their followers... now this is some great exposure!

I think that *some* people still find it difficult to fathom what social media and social networking can do for you! I love the fact that the HAF Shop understands the importance of networking and letting people know what's out there.

There is some drawback to picture size and perhaps quality - but I think if you have a good editor then even that will be irrelevant.

What I really like about this place is the welcoming feeling - even as an outsider - the comradeship - the understanding that we all are trying to make a living at the things and crafts we know best. It's within the forums    you will find like-minded people - who understand and appreciate your work. No they may not purchase your creations - but then again they may - but what you will find is a support that I haven't seen or found anywhere else - and I tend to be more lost on the "I am an outsider".

I have a busy schedule - brick and mortar store - creating - taking care of my children - making sure all therapies and dr. appointments are in order for the youngest - networking - scheduling my items so you can see them - and more creating - and somewhere in there I should have a social life (I don't - not really). I am too busy promoting and creating - and the fact that Handmade Artist Shop helps me in some part is worth it to me. It even makes me want to "schedule" time in to make sure I participate - not sure I had this feeling anywhere else...

So if you haven't tried listing a few items - perhaps you should take a peek.
I still have more items to list - but at this moment I am heading out to meet a friend for coffee - because coffee is the stable in my life :)

For the last few months my desire to design and create my own crochet clothing has increased. I sometimes find it difficult to find clothing I really love, or a pattern that I would wear, so maybe if I design it myself - then yes I will wear it too!

And then I received a LOT of this yarn - which I find *perfect* for the designs I have in mind :)

First came figuring out the measurements for the top. What I like about this is that you can really customize this to your size. I think that's my other struggle - I can't always find clothing that *fits* me properly, and now I have figured out how to customize it - just for me and you!

Then comes the increase - because I mean we are women with curves... no matter how big or small with have curves! Even if they are hidden with are not just straight down on the sides.. now we go in a little under the bust and then we go out a little at our waits and hips and in order for clothing to be flattering for our figure - then the top should match that just a little.

What I love about this top is that everything is adjustable - even the placement for the straps. Having crochet a few tops from other patterns before I know that some of the placements didn't work for me because a) they are too far out or b) too far in. I took one of my favorite tops that I didn't make and measured the strap placement and then measured my chest and lined up  the straps to my comfort (for me that's about 4 inches form the center each side - thus the straps are 8 inches apart.

So inspired by the white, pink and black top that turned blanket days after.. I was inspired to make a boy-ish version. Here are the results :)

Last week I was asked if I could create the top shown in a size medium. I am fairly competent in my abilities to do so. I don't know who the original designer/creator is of this piece - but they deserve the credit eh?

Anywho, I set out to create my rendition of this piece - and while I am not a super-huge fan of granny squared anything - just because I find it overly time consuming from the days I only created afghan after afghan - my version looks like in the picture below.


 As I was working on the piece and sewing the squares together and contemplating on how to create the skull applique, I was getting inspired for something completely different.
This urged me to finish up my outstanding orders so that I could move on to my thoughts - and the inspiration of the design that laid in my head.

I don't have any girls - but if I did - they so would be rockin' this baby afghan with the matching hat. This one is only about 21" by 21" inches BUT that doesn't mean it can't be used for oh coverage in the stroller as the baby is hanging out. It comes with a matching hat - how cute right?


So here it is my inspiration for the week!
A cool rockin' Baby Afghan Hat Set :)