Ellie the Elf: Handmade toys for all ages

Gift guide, moving, and power tools!!!

2009-01-07T15:40:00.003-05:00

Fighting crime one play town at a time is back in the gift guide!

Ellie the Elf gets to go first again today, because her toy is the news!

The cop and robber set, which is one of my favorites, is back in the gift guide! It was in there a while, but then it was sold, so Kathy Ellen said that means it comes out of the gift guide. I don't know much about internet and things, but I do know that we sold one on January 2nd, then posted a new one. Elves never do things one at a time! We have a few more cop and robber sets. Anyway only two days later we were back in the gift guide. Kathy Ellen says that's good. She said that means people like our stuff.

I like being liked!

For now all the toys have to go into boxes, which always makes me sad. But soon we can set up shop in Tennessee and make more toys, which makes me happy.

Until next time, I'll be packing and sending my new address up to the North Pole for Santa,

Ellie the elf.

Ellie is so excited to be in the gift guide, even though she doesn't know what one really is.

I'm pretty excited too. Like she said, we were in the gift guide before, but lost our spot when the set got sold.

Seeing it back in there is encouraging, and makes me think someone out there in Etsy land must like us at least a little bit!

Packing is going well. We're leaving Saturday for Tennessee. I can't wait to see my friends and have another adventure!

MY DAD BOUGHT ME POWER TOOLS FOR AN EARLY BIRTHDAY PRESENT!

For some reason it's not letting me add pictures, but I'll take a pic when my little woodshop is finally set up in TN.

I got:

A Delta benchtop sander, 6 inch disk, 4" belt. This one is special to me because it was my Dad's before he got really serious tools, so this thing is older than me. Also, it's the pretty Delta baby blue, the same color as most of the tools in my dad's woodshop
A Craftsman 9" bandsaw, straight from Sears. If Ty Pennington ever needs my help, I'll have the right tool for the job.
A Performance tools drill press. We found it real cheap.
A Set of forsner bits to drill holes. I can make some pretty big holes now!
A small handsander to get the little corners and such.

I'm pretty psyched.

Direct quote as we were setting tools up:

"Why would anyone want an ipod when they could get a bandsaw for 100 dollars?"

I can't wait to make EVERYTHING.

back to packing though.

until next time, I'll be uploading books on CD for the ride down,

Kathy Ellen the human.

New ideas coming soon from Ellie and Kathy Ellen

2008-12-28T23:18:00.005-05:00

Kathy Ellen said I can go first, because I have new toy ideas!

I was just thinking, what about the babies? We need to make toys for them too.

Because all kids start out as babies, and right now they have nothing to play with until they are old enough to not put toys in their mouths. Well, at least not any of our toys.

Kathy Ellen says that could pose a problem when she has to go to a baby shower. I don't know what she's worried about because babies mostly take baths, and no one goes to them except the parents. Oh well.

ok, off to work. Soon you can see, ok?

until next time, I'll be cutting, sanding, and creating,

Ellie the Elf.

Have you ever tried to explain a baby shower to an elf?

Let me save you the time: an elf won't get it.

Ellie's going crazy with new toy ideas.

I guess that's what happens after Christmas. One day of rest and right back at it.

Not to be outdone, I've got ideas too.

Because of the new move, I'm going to need some greeting cards to send to friends who, before the move, lived close, but after the move, will live far away. I'm going to make some and put them up on our shop just to see what people think. That of course after filling out transcript requests (why does my grad program want two?), watching a movie, and gathering up my stuff to get ready to go back down to MA for a week or so.

oh yeah!

I may be investing in my very own band saw.

This is the one I'm thinking about getting:

Ellie's pretty excited. Right now we're limited to working in my dad's workshop mostly. Now we could take our stuff on the road!

New ideas should be up in a week or so? Or we may just be optimistic? Either way we're creating, and that's always a good thing.

ok, until next time I'll be working on my own new ideas,

Kathy Ellen the human.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T20:30:00.007-05:00

Hey everyone!

Merry Christmas!

I will later chronicle what I got for Christmas, but more craziness is going on tomorrow, so I may as well just wait. I did get money though, as Ellie the elf predicted, so I can buy those lobster gloves!

I thought I would take this post to show off the etsy buys I've made this year. Don't worry, it's not too many! And I absolutely love everything I've bought.

Ok, here we go..

I just bought this wrist cuff last night from MaryZoom. I wasn't sure it would be small enough (I have small wrists for an adult) and she responded back to me so quickly! This is such a good idea and great for running, which I'll be doing more of when I move south. I HATE holding something in one hand and not having something to balance it out in the other hand. I'm not sure why but I really don't like that. This solves my problems, it's made of recycled t shirts, and it has trees on it. Win win. Check out her shop!
This fish and doll set. Hmm. I don't even know how I stumbled upon bluebirdblessings, but I'm glad I did! I make some things out of socks and gloves, but have never seen things like these. I think the fish and doll is a great idea and good way to use up both socks. This also was pretty underpriced, in my opinion. And the shipping was free! You have got to check out her shop! There's a sale right now too!
This business card holder is AWESOME! I realized I needed one after a craft show, and because I'm notorious for losing small things. I love that this has two pockets so I can have one side for mine and one side for others. The craftmanship on this is AMAZING...there is a button AND a velcro closure. The packaging was adorable too. I almost wanted to sent tootsytwo more money because I thought this was worth much more. If you need a business card holder, you should get this one. Heck, even if you don't.

I love this zipper pouch. I just got a new cell phone and needed something to put it in. I like that this is big enough and I can put other things in it too. Lately I've been using it for change and small bills. I love the fabrics that strawberriesandcream uses, and the shipping was very reasonable considering it came from the UK! Check out her shop!

Ok, off to hang out with my equally random siblings.

until next time, no more cheesy poofs please,

Kathy Ellen the human.

EXHAUSTED.

Too tired to carry on.

Hopefully will recover from Christmas by next year.

until next time, I'll be passed out on the couch watching It's a wonderful life,

Ellie the Elf.

All I want for Christmas? 35 ideas.... and Santa?

2008-12-24T23:08:00.001-05:00

Exciting news!

Check these guys out!

I saw these today, put them on, and wanted to get on my bike and ride through snowstorms. They are so warm, and so awesome with the lobster claw design! I am seriously dreaming of wearing them next year in the snow.

I know it's a bit late to tell Santa about this. So maybe not this Christmas.

Oh. Ellie took a break from making toys to make cookies for Santa (we finished the pizzelles) and suddenly I got a flurry of ideas! 35 to be exact! But not for toys, for cards! Very strange indeed. Must have been the smell of cookies in the air that did it.

Cards coming to the shop soon, pending a meeting with Ellie!

until next time, I'm finishing off the last pizzelle that didn't fully harden,

Kathy Ellen the human.

Santa was just HERE!

He's looking good, for all the work he's put in. He doesn't have much time, and actually just started on the east coast.

After he ate all the cookies and gave the pizzelles to the reindeer, I told him about Kathy Ellen's obsession with these gloves.

"REI has some tight security," he said with a grin, "But I'll try and see if I can get in."

He told me if he can't get in and back before tomorrow he will leave some money with a note so she can buy them. BUT DON'T TELL HER I TOLD YOU! This is secret santa stuff.

until next time, I'll be trying to figure out why anyone would need 35 different kinds of cards,

Ellie the elf.

What kind of elf moves after Christmas?

2008-12-24T17:41:00.001-05:00

While Ellie would prefer to stay here in Massachusetts. where the weather is more like the North Pole, I have decided we are moving this little operation to Johnson City, TN.

Why? I have a few friends down there that I care about, and I realize that I'm just about ready to settle in a place for a while after this year. Unfortunately that place is no where near them. I want to be a good friend, and, while I can, I want to do something random and fun. So Tennessee here we come.

We're heading even further north for the Holidays (Plattsburgh, NY) before coming back down to pack. Ellie the elf says she's ok with the move, but I'm not so sure. She's been making a lot of toys lately and spending a ton of time in the workshop. I know that makes sense with Christmas being tomorrow (Santa is stopping by tonight to load up on some presents) but I think she may be trying to avoid me.

We'll see.

Until next time, I'll be making pizzelles for the reindeer,

Kathy Ellen the human

I can't believe we're moving! What am I supposed to wear? I've been avoiding Kathy Ellen all day because I've been working on tailoring my outfits for the hot temperatures down there. Don't get me wrong, I think living down south would be fun. Santa himself vacations in Florida during January and February. I just wasn't ready for all this extra work.

Kathy Ellen says I will still be able to make toys, so at least I have that.

Aren't you excited about Santa coming tonight?

He's stopping by (I can't tell you when) to pick up some last minute gifts I've made for some good girls and boys. I hope he brings an extra cookie or two. We're making pizzelles for the reindeer, but I'm all pizzelled out. I could go for a chocolate chip maybe. Us elves are used to just eating cookies. Transitioning to vegetables was hard.

until next time, I'll be sewing up some red and white summer clothes,

Ellie the Elf