What's more magical than woven ribbon?

Feast your eyes on this vibrant handbag made of woven ribbon. It was made by cactusheadstudios of WEST SPRINGFIELD, MA. The bags bright colors make you think of sun and water and fun. The creator of this wonderful bag is a puppeteer. She says she loves all things silly and whimiscal.....Sounds like my kind of girl.

TREE AND BUTTERFLY MITTENS FROM SNOWFAERIE

HAPPY NEW YEAR !! These great mittens are my first find of the new year. You KNOW I have to love these, right? They have that not both the same thing going for them....and matching is SO over-rated ! They are exactly the magical mittens I would expect a snowfaerie to make. Snowfaerie of SPRINGFIELD, MA., creates with "thought, joy and happiness" and it sure does show in this wonderful pair of wool mittens.

Meghan Burch creates fabric works of art

Aren't these coasters just adorable? I love the pop of the light green on the dark green. The frosty cold drink looks pretty chill too. Meghan is from CHICOPEE, MA, just a little northeast from here. This is what she has to say about her designs.

“My work is about playing with simple, two dimensional materials, images, shapes and patterns and transforming them into objects that are comfortable, useful and beautiful. I’m inspired by nature, the intersections of natural and man-made materials, creative non-artists, patterns of light, sound, food and architecture. My work with young children continually reminds me of how I think creation should be approached: as both play and work.”

Very well put, and very nice product.

Care to see what's around the bend?

Some really pretty jewelry designs, that's what. Meet Becky of ATBcreations (around the bend). Becky started making jewelry because she needed a holder for her badge for her day job. That was 3 years ago, and she has been having a blast making her whimsical creations ever since. She lives in TOLLAND, MA., selling her wonderful creations through Etsy and soon her own web site. She even teaches beadwork in Southwick. Becky is a very busy girl. Keep up the good work, Becky.

Stars & Stripes American Flag Baby Hat with a Message

I wanted to post an american flag here, but instead, I found this adorable hand knitted baby hat made by BUTTERFLY DESIGN of BOSTON, MA. Butterfly Design makes these baby hats for newborns through Large child sizes on circular needles so that the hat will be comfortable. Click on the hat to go to see more.

I would like to take a moment to say how important it is to buy AMERICAN MADE whenever possible. Folks, we are SELLING our future buying imported stuff. We may save a few bucks if we buy at Walmart, but as our jobs evaporate, only to be done by someone who will work for peanuts in a foreign country how can we act surprised when unemployment numbers rise?
I can't help but think that if we ALL got together, and said enough is enough, we won't buy foreign stuff anymore, suddenly factories would be adding on, and American people would need to be hired to man those factories....here....in the good old USA. The government has been selling us out for years, giving big corporations tax loopholes so that not only do they make HUGE profits by taking formerly American jobs overseas, but if they spend the money there, they don't even have to pay taxes on it. So we get to pay more taxes to make up for that. You may think you're saving money buying that cheap china stuff....but are you REALLY ? Every time we open our wallets, we make a choice. Choose AMERICAN !