A Special Gift



I'm really fortunate to have such amazing friends,
most I have never personally met,
and others whom I would have never met had we not found one another 
through the internet.
The world internet is so perfectly suiting -
Just as the word implies, we throw out a net to find answers to our questions, 
uses for our time, and most significantly we find kindred spirits. 
My friend Tara is one such spirit. 
Perhaps our paths may have crossed, 
but would we be the friends we are today if we hadn't first 
gotten to really know one another from afar?
Our personalities are so wildly different 
that I'm not sure we would have hit it off 
had we not had those months of long intimate e-mails. 
Although we have only met now a hand full of times
I feel as if we have always been friends,
and I count her among the blessing in my life,
 and would gladly and without hesitation be at her side
 at a moments notice if ever she needed me. 

(Tara modeling a new Yo Yo Pretties creation - more about this coming soon)

Tara and I have a bit of a history of sending each other special little gifts. 
It's fun to put a little something special together for someone you really care about,
so when I finished my Qtea Party digi kit 
I just knew I had to make something up for Tara
as she's the only person I know who really appreciates a good cup of tea.
For me on the other hand it's all make believe,
although I have recently fallen in love 
(in a bad way)
with Monster Energy's, Raspberry Peace Tea


I purchased a sample pack of tea from Celia Linnemann of
 Portland, OR 
from her etsy shop - Kyra Botanica


The sample pack of 3 was the perfect way to fill these little canister
 I picked up from World's Market for .99 cents each.
I designed the labels and printed them out on my home printer
then wrapped each label in cellophane to help them last.
I then used E600 glue to attach heart shaped cabochons to the tops of the canisters. 


Isn't this little strawberry tea cup just darling!?
I found it at Ruche - an online retail shop
(much like Anthropologie)


Even if you don't have any computer skills or software
you can easily print out the tea tags
for embellishing your gifts or for making party banners or what not. 


Digi kits are a great way to make packaging extra special!
I'm not sure if Tara will ever have use for all these sugar cubes,
but I just could help myself... 

One of the things that makes Kitschy Digitals extra sweet 
(-especially for this busy girl who doesn't get the opportunity to craft 
and scrapbook quite as much as I would like)
These lucky artist get the first opportunity to play with our new kits. 
I practically sprung out of my chair with excitement when I first saw 
these amazing recipe cards done up by artist and blogger Marie Lottermoser


It's such an absolute treat and thrill to see other's inspired creations using our kits!
So please do share if you yourself get inspired 
- you can e-mail me at redchelseann (at) gmail.com



Chelsea Ann - Digital Goodies


My first true experience with a computer was my junior year of high school.
Sure I played a game or two of Solitaire, and "painted" a few pictures in Paint,
but before then our home computer couldn't even connect to Hotmail. 
The class was "Graphic Design" and what I thought was going to be a
semester of creating clip art and designing websites
was nothing more than an introduction to how the computer uses 0's and 1's
 to capture and direct data, and how lengthy non sensical code called HTML built tables and columns. 
To say the least, I was miserable! 
It seemed to me at the time that art was nothing more than a mathematical formula. 
Even the Photoshop tutorials just walked you through a pattern of steps that led to a finished piece perfectly orchestrated by some  numerical phenomenon. 

So after 5 years of college, half a life time of school debt, 
and a degree I could care less about
I picked up an Illustrator Book for Dummies from the library,
deciding to give graphic design a second chance.
I've learned along the way that just like all art forms 
there isn't necessarily a wrong or a right way.
There is only your way
if you put in the time, and all your heart into everything you do
the end product will be just as it should be.


So with such humble beginnings it came as a total shock
when Danielle Thompson of Kitschy Digitals
invited ME to be a designer for her new website.
It still doesn't seem quite real, 
especially when my work is to be featured amongst such amazing company.
artist such as Kat Cameron, Mollie Johanson, and Julie Fujara 
just to name a few. 
So here we are at the grand opening!
I have lots of work ahead of me...
but I'm so blessed to have this AMAZING motivation
to pushing me to learn new skills to make my ideas come to life.


So what do you think of my little logo?
It was one of my foster kiddos who suggested the dino get a set of wings,
other than that I don't have any grandiose explanation
for how a dragon came to be my new icon, 
but he sure is cute!



In the months to follow you will see some familiar kits.
Gosh, I think it was over 3 years ago that I released my first digital kits.
Well they haven't be available for quite some time, 
but even so I still get e-mails asking after a few of them.
So keep an eye out because I'm re-designing them one by one.
Ice Cream Dolls is the first of these to be given a once over.
The funny thing about these "dolls" is that I had NO clue that their
real name was indeed Ice Cream Dolls until long after
 I had whipped them into sweet ice cream confections. 


I'm really proud of my Qtea Party kit. 
It took months and months of work to get all these little characters just the way
 I pictured them in my head - but it was so worth it!
Later this week I'll share with you a really special gift I made for a friend using this kit...
or if you can't wait until then you can see some sneak peaks on the kits product page!


And last but not least a grand opening wouldn't be very grand without some goodies.
Each designer has contributed one free kit 
to introduce our customers to the site and to the world of digital crafting.
For my freebie I put together this adorable collection of vintage Raggedy Ann and Andy paper dolls that I had in my personal collection.
I also have a really fun post coming for this kit too!! 
(and again check out the sneak peak if you like)


If all this isn't sweet enough there is a Grand Opening discount of 15% off
So please check out Kitschy Digitals and all the hard work we've all put in -
Especially Danielle! Even if you don't have any interest in digital goodies
the website is a treat for the eyes and just an overall fun place to visit!


A Birthday Bunny



I've been pining for a bunny for the last few years,
but my husband's reply has always been
"when you're eighty!"
I figured I'd wear him down eventually
but I was't too upset because with a Jack Russell Terrier in the house
a bunny probably wasn't the best idea anyhow.
Well call it plain dumb luck, or the hands of fait
but this little bunny found me..
Late one evening my dogs wouldn't stop barking
and from the other room I could hear my husband taunting the dogs
"you want some rabbit stew?"
I off coarse think he's just trying to teasing me.
But there really was a bunny!
What a sight I must have been running around the neighborhood 
trying to catch a bunny in my polka dotted pajamas.
My husband just laughed, enjoying the spectacle of me making a total fool of myself.
Well I quickly realized I wasn't going to catch the little guy 
so I just sat down to watch him
and that's when the magic happened
the little guy just came right up to me.
It became very clear that this was no wild rabbit
(probably someone's Easter bunny)
so we took him into our garage and my husband made
 the little guy a place to sleep for the night.
For the next couple of days I asked everyone I came across if they wanted a bunny
knowing that the longer he stayed the more I was going to get attached.
My husband had made it quite clear that he didn't want to have a bunny
and that dogs and bunnies just don't mix
so never in my wildest dreams did I think we could keep him.
Turns out however, that my husband knew from the moment the bunny came into the garage 
that we were keeping him.
He wanted to wait until my Birthday, 
but it became clear to him that someone was going to finally say "yes" and spoil his plans.


I actually named mr. bunny without even really thinking about it.
We found him on a Sunday night, and we needed something to call him.
I actually don't have a clue what Sunday's gender is...
but hopefully we can have the little "guy" "fixed" soon enough
and have ourselves an infinitive answer.


Sunday's the sweetest little bunny that I've ever met.
He's a curious little fellow, always ready for an adventure.
He's super friendly, even when let loose he comes back
 for a little snack or just to cuddle. 
Surprisingly both our dogs have been fine around the bunny when he's in his cage.
Hopefully in the next few months we will have both a hutch for the garage and the yard,
I'd prefer to custom design and build them with my hubby.
I would love to go less traditional and have them look more like giant bird houses...
but we'll have to see, because I'm not much of a craftsman, and my hubby may not be up for any more projects for a while - he's currently building a patio and gazebo! 

Oh - and guess what, my husband loves him too!!! 
I truly believe Sunday was always meant to be our little bunny! 

It really was a most special birthday. 
Despite me having a total melt down due to some of my kiddos terrible behavior 
and a total lack of sleep
because we have a BABY in the house! Yupp, our first baby!
My lovely friends and family spoiled me as always
and among my gifts I got a sewing machine, relaxing bath goodies, 
vintage toys, books, flowers, and a homemade cake - make that two cakes!
I believe this is going to be a very special year... how could it not be!!!

A New Shop - Let's Celebrate!


When I opened up my etsy shop I really didn't set out with any plan...
I certainly never expected that I would be so Yo Yo crazy.
But after 2 years, and a hutch now stuffed with hundreds of yards of fabric
it's safe to say I've found my niche'.
Etsy was a blast, and I can't thank you all enough
 for the love you've shared with me over the last 2 years
but now it's time for a bit of a change and a fresh start

So Let's Celebrate!! 
Yo Yo Pretties Grand Opening
with 15% off when you spend $40 or more
(Excludes Custom Made Items)
this little promotion is good until the 8th of June
(My Birthday)
& Oh my goodness I can't hardly wait to share what I am getting this year
It's still a week away and I already know it's going to be my very best birthday yet.


You can now find all my one-of-a-kind creations
by either clicking the Yo Yo Pretties tab at the top of my blog,
following my facebook fan page
or at http://yoyopretties.storenvy.com


I very much love these new images by LandoJake Photography
 featuring one of my Yo Yo Headbands
- Don't you just want to eat her up!

I know my little blog has been collecting a bit of dust over the last few months,
but I swear things are about to change!
I've been keeping a few secrets from you all
and despite the chaos of our busy home
(4 kiddos starting tomorrow!)
I can't wait to start connecting with my online friends more -
So I very much hope you haven't given up on me...
June is going to be a very fun month around here! 

*Hugs*