Mission Treasury! A trip to the Farmer's Market!

Mission Treasury is all about getting you, our readers, in on the treasury making fun! We also hope that you will find a shop or two to introduce us to that is fun and exciting!

So, we will be posting a theme and 4 shops each Monday - and challenging you to create a treasury that fits the theme and contains at least one item from one of the 4 featured shops.

You will have one week to create your treasury, and come back to the blog post and leave your treasury as a comment.

The best treasury will be featured, and all treasuries submitted will be mentioned!



The results of this weeks Mission Treasury will be posted on June 15th 2011!

Mission: Create a Treasury full of the colors of your favorite fruits and veggies!

Shops to choose from (you must include at least one item from one of these shops)

http://www.etsy.com/shop/DesignsStainedGlass

http://www.etsy.com/shop/teeheeproductions

http://www.etsy.com/shop/NouveauxRetro

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Creativelycarole

Mission Treasury! Create a treasury of Turquoise Daisies and Dragonflies

Mission Treasury is all about getting you, our readers, in on the treasury making fun! We also hope that you will find a shop or two to introduce us to that is fun and exciting!

So, we will be posting a theme and 4 shops each Monday - and challenging you to create a treasury that fits the theme and contains at least one item from one of the 4 featured shops.

You will have one week to create your treasury, and come back to the blog post and leave your treasury as a comment.

The best treasury will be featured, and all treasuries submitted will be mentioned!


The results of this weeks Mission Treasury will be posted on March 30th 2011!

Mission: Create a treasury of turquoise daisies and dragonflies!

Shops to choose from (you must include at least one item from one of these shops)

http://etsy.com/shop/sewsouk

http://teeheeproductions.etsy.com

http://www.etsy.com/shop/MaisondeTerre

http://www.etsy.com/shop/KristinaRyanDesigns

Thanks to Sewsouk and Woodlandnature for coming up with these great themes!

Team Spotlight! TeeHeeProductions!

We would like to introduce you to Laura of TeeHeeProductions. Laura makes beautiful custom portraits, prints, and greeting cards. Look at this gorgeous print!




1. Your name, nickname and a little about who you are

Hi, my name is Laura (although I didn't know that until I was 8, but that is a whole different story for another someday). I am teeheeproductions. I have been carrying that name in my head for about ten years now hoping someday to use it for something like this. Although, at the time I certainly had no vision of where the technology would take us all. The only concerns I have about the name teehee are two: one, it’s too "cutesy" and if you knew me at all you wouldn't put the word "cute" with me; and, two, it could sound like a porn site. I hope not!

I am 57 years old and as corny as it is to say -- I have never been happier in my life. Other than graying, getting flabby - er (regardless of the gym I don't go to as often as I should), sagging neck, aches and pains that surprise me everyday, this is a great time of life. I have a wonderful husband (my second and last), a 26 year old daughter in Arizona, a 26 year old soon to be married step-daughter in California and a 28 year old married step-son with a wonderful wife and precious 6 year old son here in New Jersey.

The reasons for my (can't call it mid-life cause I don't plan on living to be 116 and I am not a senior citizen yet despite my AARP membership) contentment are many. I won't articulate them all here (that's a novel no one wants to read). Suffice it to say I have had enough negative experiences to find myself delighted with what my life is today. And... a lot of therapy and medication (not kidding there). That's why you'll see me pop into threads from time to time with my little rambling stories when I hear someone's familiar trying times = been there, done that kind of thing. Although the biggest lesson I have learned in my life is HOW REALLY WRONG I CAN BE - OFTEN!

2. Surprise us with something about you that you think will shock us!

There is nothing about me that I could surprise anyone here with because we don't really know each other yet. I'll save any surprises for our ongoing friendship... much more fun.

3. What is your main craft/art/collectible?

My main "craft" is fine art, I guess you would call it. I love drawing, painting, designing, and creating. I don't do all the beautiful crafts I see here but have a real appreciation for them. And, I was always the mom who helped out with "artistic" things for school shows, etc. I came up with some really cool themes and creations especially for middle school dances if anyone wants some ideas.

4. How did you start with Etsy?

I spent most of my career in corporate (not liking that at all - but had to earn a living). I am home now as a result of being one of the many people being laid off in this economy. And that is how I discovered "Etsy" and that's how I rediscovered my love of art. Right now I am absolutely consumed with my artwork.

5. Any secrets to share for success? ?

My daily goal is to: start something new, finish something old, and think of a project to calendar. I have never enjoyed working this hard this much. I would love to have a modicum of success dollar wise so that I don't have to go back to work when the unemployment stops. I recently realized how lucky I am to have something to do that I won't grow too old to continue doing (even in a wheelchair in a home somewhere - as long as I have some bit of my mind).

6. Hobbies or pastime when you are not doing Etsy

My hobbies and interests are all over the place. I will say that none of them are "active", much to the disappointment of my husband. I am not a sports fan, I don't run, bike, or anything like that. I love reading, world cultures, constitutional law, and great literature. But, I am as likely to watch C-Span for hours or documentaries on PBS as I am to watch The First 48 or Cops or Judge Judy. The idea of traveling doesn't excite me until I get there if you know what I mean.

7. Where would your dream vacation be? and why?

I had that this year. My husband and I decided not to wait any longer and to go to Italy for 10 days. It is something my husband always wanted to do (he is Italian) but we always (he really - he is more careful about money - thank goodness) put it off for all sorts of practical reasons and then we just did it this year while we could really enjoy it and we did. It was the best vacation we had either individually or together - ever! The food of course, the people, the art, the history, the countryside, the cities - wonderful. I have 550 pictures on my FB account if anyone wants to see. And the Italians have a saying which of course I cannot remember but the essence of it is "live in the moment!" Absolutely - yes plan for the future, learn from and appreciate the past but now is so important.

8. What do you hope to contribute and gain from Hearts and Hands United?

As far as HHU - I hope to contribute a bit of my experience, a dose of my perspective, a whole lot of my support and energy. And what I hope to gain I am already seeing - a new opportunity to meet and get to know some really cool, sweet, creative, funny, sincere people.

9. Where can we find you?

http://www.teeheeproductions.etsy.com/

Thoughts on 9/11 and the American Flag

I (Laura of TeeHeeProductions) have volunteered to do a weekly blurb on the HHU blog. And, so long as there is an audience and the great comments keep coming it is my honor to do so. The subjects will not always be about art, craft and us – sometimes (if I may) a subject might just be something about an experience or a role we all share.

With that in mind I am writing this one about 9/11. And we are coming upon that anniversary shortly. All of us, of course, were affected by this tragedy no matter where anyone was when it happened. Shoshipo, from what I read about her in her intro, was actually working in one of the towers, and I know a few of us live nearer to the DC area and have also had experience’ that are profound. Each one of us can probably write pages of what that event was to us and the long lasting changes it brought to each of us.

At the time I was back in college (even as an old lady I still haven’t decided what I want to be when I grow up so I am always back and forth with school). One of the classes I was taking was Constitutional Law. It was a great class, very thought provoking and not being a kid who HAD to be there, I was one of those older students who really WANTED to be there. So I just ate it all up.

Our final exam was really a take-home term paper with a set of questions regarding each Constitutional Amendment and what it meant then and what we thought it means now within the context of the contemporary and changing world. And, should laws be interpreted differently in times of war or threat.

And one of the questions was during this class in 2001 was: “During times of War, should the burning of the American flag be unlawful or is it a right protected under our Constitution as a lawful expression?”

And my response was:

“My own intellectual answers aren’t any different because we have troops engaged in combat in foreign countries. I suspect though, that more issues will bubble up (if they haven’t already) by virtue of actions taken since 9/11. Certainly the First, Fourth, Sixth and Eighth Amendments will be tested at great length in the future years.

On the other hand, my emotions have changed, and I suspect will continue to change, as I have watched this last century close and this new century begin. Being a “child of the sixties” (I was eighteen during my first year of college in 1971) and I remember an ambivalence about the Viet Nam War and the protests going on. Perhaps that was because my own immediate peers were just short of the lottery and I knew no one personally who served in Viet Nam. Some of my friends had older brothers who did and died… but that war, even then, wasn’t so real to me.

In the attic of my mind, I do have memories of sitting with a small group protesting the Viet Nam War (they were Veterans). A friend and I, on our way to Virginia, during Spring Break of 1972, saw them and decided to stop by and visit. They were camped out on the sidewalk in front of the White House. They had been there for some weeks, literally camped out with sleeping bags and canned goods and cardboard signs. This obviously was long before the barricades all over Washington D. C. now or closing Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House. One of these individuals, as an expression of his disdain for the government, even urinated through the black wrought iron fence so that he could leave his own expressive mark on the White House lawn. I remember being so surprised and angry that none of this particular protest had been in any of the news. And, I remember tourists screaming obscenities at these

“kids” as they drove by. Their own individual form of free speech came in the form of expletives along with “…you perverted hippies you just don’t appreciate what that flag is for!!!”

On September 12^th, 2001 I had what some may call the privilege of being at Ground Zero (all day and into the night) in my capacity as one of the many EMT’s from the surrounding areas who were called to assist with any life support needed at that site. Strangely, I remember few words spoken that entire day. I have images of sights and smells with some few sounds but little or no words uttered from the hundreds of people who converged on that there and spent so many hours there. It struck me so profoundly that no one spoke at all. The only utterances were directly related to a need at the time. “Make sure you wear your mask.” Or, “They have dry socks over there.” Or, “I think they found something…”

Other than that it was silent. The silence was enhanced by the flocking of dust everywhere. The Financial Center and the pier in front of it looked like it had been covered in inches of soft gray snow. What I knew to be all glass facade buildings now looked like cement structures without windows. All footsteps were quieted by this “snow.” And any other of the few sounds were softened by this snow. If I try to isolate what I remember hearing – it would be the beeping of the back up signals from the trucks that had moved in to re-arrange the devastation in hopes of finding persons; the humming of generators was also a constant in the background; and, then there were the clinking for firemen’s tools swinging from their hips as they walked by. But again, little else, and hardly any words at all.

I felt guilty coming home late that night because everyone who wasn’t there had such hope that survivors would be found. I knew better having been there that there could be nothing living there. And, I remember calling my father (the biggest red-neck, NRA card carrying bag of wind I know who happens to be a WWII veteran having served as a NAVY SEAL (or whatever they called that group then) and telling him: “Now I know why veterans can only talk to veterans about their common experience. No one who hasn’t ‘been there’ can possibly understand.” And I told him I felt as If I had now seen War for the first time and he told me I did and he cried.

The next day I tried to find an American flag. I searched throughout my house, old school supplies, Fourth of July decorations (did I ever have any). I tried so many stores. I tried looking in the cabinets of the Ambulance building. I couldn’t find any. There were none to be found or had on September 13^th that people hadn’t bought or found already.

And, then I recalled years back, my boyfriend at the time, in 1971, had a rather large piece of one sewn onto the seat of his jeans...

Tools of the Trade Thursday - TeeHeeProductions

Thursday's here on the HHU Blog are now dedicated to telling you about tools of the trade! Each week one member will tell you about some tool they use for their craft. Some of these you might find useful and some might just make you laugh!

Today TeeHeeProductions will talk to you about one of her tools! And as always, please visit her wonderful Etsy Shop!

The Indispensable Tool.

I have found a tool I cannot live without. It is readily available, versatile, easy to maintain and with the right care - it lasts a lifetime. It is absolutely irreplaceable and there is nothing else that can replicate it's use in capability, versatility and utility. And, the bonus is that it has so many uses over and above my Etsy work. I find it useful in social situations - it assists me in expressing a point of view. It has actually been critical to my family's well-being in countless ways (especially with the kids). It's great for travel and is often a key component to any trip (most especially in a car). It is one of my most productive tools and I always keep it handy wherever I go. It's getting a bit old now but there is nothing to take its place. With the right care I am sure I can keep it and use it for my lifetime.

:)