Welcome to my Dye Candy Giveaway. If you are new to my blog, I welcome you and invite you to look around. You have at least two chances to win a prize. Leave a comment here and enter a second time on my other blog DyeCandy.blogspot.com. You are welcome to copy the top picture of my dye candy sample packs and use it if you are creating a link to this giveaway on your own blog. If you create a link please leave me a note in your comment and I will enter your name in the drawing two more times.

If you are a winner you will have your choice of one of these prizes:

1 Gift Certificate for $25.00 for my Dye Candy Shop or

2 Dye Candy Sample Packs or

1 yard of Hand Dyed one of a kind fabrics or

a half yard of Shibori Dyed Fabric or

6 step fat quarter gradation set.

or a hand dyed silk or velvet scarf.

Choose a piece of Quilt Block Jewelry or

a small Stained Glass Snowflake Sun Catcher Ornament from my Shady Grove Studios Etsy Shop.

Good Luck to you! Drawing closes at 6:00 pm on Sunday, November 22nd.

At Long Last Blue Skies

After a month of rain and gray weather we have had a week of never ending blue skies and have been spending as much time outdoors as possible. The leaves are gathered and the outdoor chores are finished for the season. Time for hikes and watching the sun set.

Sunny days also make the best light to photograph my hand dyed fabrics. Indirect sunlight allows me to photograph the truest colors. Reds and pinks can wash out in incandescent light.

I was finally able to photograph my new snowflake ornaments and add them to my Shady Grove Studios shop. Gray skies do not encourage sales.

The fields have turned to straw and the white tailed deer have changed their coats to a dull brown. It is a good camouflage for the fall.

Lately we have seen this big guy chasing the girls around. Sometimes he is followed by young bucks that are no match for him.

Wishing you well from sunny Wisconsin! Chris

P.S. Check back on Sunday. I will be hosting another giveaway of items from my Etsy shops.

A Real Cut Up

I just found out one of my stained glass snowflakes is featured in an Etsy Treasury. Thanks Kaatirocketts! Click here before Tuesday at 8:00 am Eastern to see all the beautiful winter and summer inspired artworks listed in this Treasury.

This snowflake is one of many I have been working on for the last few weeks. By the end of the day today I hope to have 30 finished snowflakes and a few sun catchers ready to send to the Iowa Artisans Gallery for winter sales.

We have seen a few snow flurries around but nothing is sticking to the ground yet. Good news for me because I still have piles of leaves to clean up before the snow sets in. I hope you are having a wonderful weekend....Greetings from sunny and crisp, cool Wisconsin. - Chris

Bubble and Baubbles

It is rare that I make enough of a new item that I keep any for myself. This fall I spent more time than usual putting together "winter items" for sale at craft fairs and on Etsy. I am pleased to say I have a few snowflakes and glass ornaments to call my own at the end of the holiday season.

Our tree looks so lovely this winter that I do not want to take it down. I went a bit overboard on the lights this year. I used 600 miniature lights, a string of LCD lights shaped like snowflakes and 4 strings of bubble lights (a favorite at our house). Trust me this eclectic tree would never make the

pages of "Better Homes and Gardens". All I can hear when I look at the tree is my inner 10 year old child saying "Ooh, the colors are so pretty".

I wanted to show you the etched glass window hanging that I received as a Christmas gift from my mother and stepfather many years ago. The glass panel is recycled from the church I attended when I was a child and where my husband and I married. When our church was remodeling to modernize the building, the window panels from the 1920's teaching wing were saved for reuse. The church's Studio

Workshop and UM Women's group etched, framed and sold these at their fall "Harvest of the Hands" craft show.

Did you notice my cartoon self in the right margin? I saw this idea on Jude's Blog and just had to add my own. Right now I'm a couch potato, but wait and watch...I am forever thinking that I will lose all those pounds that have been sneaking into my life over the years. I'm determined this year is going to be the year I make it work.

Wishing you peace today and everyday where ever you may live in this world.

Waiting for the Snow Storm

It has been a snowy winter so far. We have received about 15 inches since the beginning of December. We are due for 10 inches tonight and tomorrow and expect two more snow storms in the next seven days. I have to pick up my son from college in Duluth this weekend and hope to make the 9 hour round trip during a break in the weather.





We finished decorating our Christmas tree tonight. Christmas cards are started and most of the shopping is completed. We are looking forward to visits from family soon to come.

I wish many happy and memorable days ahead for you and the ones your love as the new year approaches. Happy Holidays! - Chris

Making Every Minute Count - Updated Friday PM

Update***Patsy has a post about the fabric sale with photos. ***Click here***

A couple weeks ago I took a few evenings off to enjoy the last of nice weather. We had some glorious days. My husband and I took a couple of trips up the hill to watch the sunset.

Last weekend I finished putting together a jewelry shipment for the Iowa Artisans Gallery in Iowa City. It took a bit longer than I had planned. I ended up with a head cold that stole most of my energy. It took 16 hours of sleep to put me on the path to recovery.

I have also been working on some stained glass snowflakes and Christmas ornaments for the local art galleries and an upcoming craft show. Stained glass is the perfect cold weather project. I cut the glass after work in the last of the daylight and cover the edges with copper foil in the evening after dinner. I should be able to get some of these finished by the end of the weekend.

Speaking of this weekend, I will be helping with the fabric sale this Saturday in Blue River, WI. There is a link to the sale information in the upper right hand corner of my blog. Four dates are scheduled, spread out over the next week and a half. There is so much fabric to choose from. Volunteers have been sorting and organizing by color and theme for weeks. There are a few sewing machines available too. Tell all your friends. The prices are too good to pass up.

P.S. Don't miss your chance to enter my 100th blog post giveaway. Drawing will be this Sunday.