Friday, February 29, 2008

More Easter Cards

I've got tons of Easter cards made now. I hope I can sell them all, lol. That's all I did yesterday. Today I'm packaging and getting this ready for my craft show at Quarterfield Elementary School tomorrow. I'm also working on some Mother's Day, Birthday, and Thank You cards to sell. This will be my first show that I've brought my greeting cards to so I'm pretty excited to see how they do. My only concern is that my cards are a little more expensive because of all the paper layering and stitching that I do so they may want to buy from someone with cheaper cards. We'll see though. I think they're totally worth it in quality and I hope they think so too!

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Easter Cards

I've been working away on some Easter cards both for my shop and for my craft show this weekend. I'm fairly happy with the ones that I've come up with so far, although I'm having trouble concentrating. I think I need a good night's sleep tonight and I'll be ready for full time creating tomorrow. The hard part about Easter cards is making them different. Everyone does chicks and rabbits for Easter. I've done a few Easter Cross cards, because let's face it that's the real reason for Easter, but I'm not sure what else to do. Maybe I'll have some inspiring dreams tonight :)


Tuesday, February 26, 2008

We're Officially In!

So we're officially in our house in Winchester. It so awesome to have a house again. I don't think we can ever go back to living in an apartment. I have too much stuff, lol! I'm so proud of us though because we packed the whole house between Saturday and Sunday, and then drove over Monday morning and were unpacked by 5. I still don't have everything put away but it'll take a few days to find just the right places for everything. I was so pooped yesterday after we unpacked. I actually snuck upstairs for a nap around 4 and Isaac did the last of the boxes alone. I spread out a mat on the floor and huddled under some blankets since we didn't have power and thus no heat. The people came to turn it on while I was asleep so we're all nice and warm now. Bella and Napoleon came and slept with me and Isaac took a shot of the sweetest moment ever.
Seriously now, is that not the sweetest picture you've ever seen? I can't believe she did that. I just want to squeeze her every time I see this picture!

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Very Busy Day

I'm up a little too bright and a little too early today. It's the official start packing day. Isaac went to the local groceries just after 6am to get boxes. He came back and crawled into bed with me and brought breakfast. How sweet was that. I've never had breakfast in bed. I used to do it for him every now and then when we were in Hawaii, but it was nice to be on the other end. It was just McDonald's pancakes, but still, it was the thought that counts. The living room is piled with boxes and the plan is to get them all filled up today. The Uhaul comes tomorrow after church and then we're out by midnight. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. I can't wait for my new house and all that room!

In the meantime, I'm still trying to work on some Easter cards. I've got a craft show next weekend so I need to keep creating. I'm going to try to pack my materials dead last and unpack them first thing. I did do one card last night that I was preety happy with. I have a few more cut out on my desk that I just need to put together and decorate. I should get one that, lol!


Friday, February 22, 2008

Perfect For Mother's Day

This is another one of my new accordion albums and I have to say that this is my very favorite one. I think this would be an AMAZING gift for Mother's Day. I took this one home to show my mother earlier this week and I was afraid she was going to want it and that I wouldn't be able to put it up in my shop. But, she didn't so in it went :) Hmm, maybe she's just expecting to get one....oh well, I can always make another one, lol. I love the colors of the papers and how the prints are so elegant. I really envision it being displayed on a mantle or on a dresser with lovely pictures of mother and child. I hope that the mother that receives this album will really cherish this piece.


Thursday, February 21, 2008

Amazing Book Binder

I had the priviledge of sitting next to Katie of Moonlight Bindery at the Savage Snowdrop Craft Fair last weekend. Her work is simply amazing. She has been a professional book restorer for the past 17 years and her experience is evident in her books. Another thing that I love about her books is that she likes to use asian papers for the covers.



She also reuses cardboard food packaging to make fun notebooks in a variety of sizes.


I was lucky enough to trade some of my work for one of her beautiful books and it has quickly become my new sketch book. I hope that you'll check out her shop and purchase in full confidence knowing that you will be receiving a top quality book that you will cherish for years to come.




Sunday, February 17, 2008

Finally Back To Normal?

Life has been so crazy as of late getting ready for the Snowdrop show yesterday. I was SO excited for this show and just knew that it was going to be fabulous. Well, it was a little less than fabulous, well, a lot less actually. There just weren't people coming through. It was so sad. Almost seemed like not sleeping but a few hours for the whole of last week wasn't quite worth it. On the bright side though I did meet so amazing fellow etsy sellers and we had some great conversations. I'll be featuring a few of them here on my blog in a few days. I also got some AMAZING sleep yesterday as soon as the show was over. I mean I literally made it to the car and that was it. I was instantly asleep, lol :)

I tried out a new product line at the show and I seemed to get some good responses. I did sell one to a fellow etsy seller but that was it. I was so sure that I wasn't going to have any of them left to take home. But their loss and etsy's gain! They are so fabulous and I'm so excited to start making these a central part of my shop. I just love them! I have these two up in my shop now and there are 8 more to be listed in the coming week.




On a sad note, my grandmother passed away on Friday. Really more of a relief for the family because she was no longer mentally with us and it was starting to take a huge toll on my grandfather. Isaac and I leave to go home for the funeral tomorrow. I know she's gone but I also know it won't become real until I see her.

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Will The Tins Ever End?

I've got tins coming out my ears today. When will they end? My goal is to have 50 pocket albums and 50 sets of Tiny Sentiments done by tomorrow. Right now I think I've only got about 30 out of 100 done. I totally feel like I'm drowning in tins. It's actually starting to make me feel creatively stiffled. I really want to move on to doing some cards and other mini albums but I'll just keep pushing through until tomorrow and I pray I get them all done by then or I may stab my eyes out, lol. These are the 18 that I did last night and yes, that's all the action my keyboard gets :)
Bella is begging to be taken to the park. She's so tired of me being held up in my craft room all day. She started to shred her toys which I know means that she's about to snap. Hopefully I'll have time to take her on Monday. Until then, she's getting lots of chewies :)

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Lost I Heart You!


Lost was so great tonight! I really don't know where there going with this season. They can't possibly get off the island because then the show would be no fun. So I'm not sure where they are going with the whole Oceanic 6 thing. I mean we know there is Hurley, Jack, and Kate that are 3 of the 6 and since Hurley is with the other group then somehow they all have to get back together. Have these team members been sent by Darma? Or are they anti Darma and that's why they are after Ben? And who is it that Ben has on that boat? Could it be Michael or possibly Walt maybe and that's why he's in contact with John? And what's up with John not knowing that Hurley was at the cabin? It was John that ran into Hurley in the rain right outside the cabin. Oh you gotta love all the questions. That's what makes Lost so good.


I am sad that I'll never be an extra on the show again though. If only we were still living in Hawaii. My husband actually got a call not too long ago to be an extra in a Korea scene but we had already moved. Even if we were still there I don't know if I'd get called again because the last time I was an extra my face was seen and I was told my a few of the other frequent extras that once you're seen you're out. They were all trying to make sure they weren't seen but my goal was of course to be seen. They did blur out my face a little but if you use your DVR you can see me. My small claim to fame :)


These are pictures from my first time as an extra on Lost.





This last one in the bottom left is Desmond getting his hair all sprayed down. This is from his flashback scene. He has just run into Charley of the street and runs into the university to talk to Damian (I think that was it at least) the Indian professor.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Project Runway

Oh my gosh. What is going on here? Sweet Pea is totally losing it. I really like her too so it's making me sad. Looks like she'll be having trouble again next week. She did pick a really horrible fabric for this challenge though. I was cringing when she picked it at Mode. She could have had so much fun but she was just too focused on how much she hated the challenge.

Chris and Christian did have really awesome outfits though. I'm glad Chris won because I feel like Christian rode his shirt tail when he won a few weeks ago. I mean that whole huge crazy collar thing was all Chris and that's what the judges really loved about that outfit. Christian is getting super mad though that he isn't winning challenges. You could tell he was so peaved tonight.

I have a love hate relationship with Christian. He says the GREATEST things but then he can be annoying because he's so full of himself. Most of the time he does good work and I really like it but he has his sucky moments just like everyone else. My favorite quote from tonight has to be by him though. I just cracked up when he said "She's one of the fiercest people I know which is pretty major because I've met some fierce bitches in my life." Oh what great things you do say Christian!

Yummy Dinner

I've been out and running errands all day long today. I am just now getting to the dishes and sweeping, you know all the joys of life. I ran to AC Moore today (solo) so I was able to look and look at anything I wanted to. I found a new glue that I'm trying out on my pocket albums and I also found another medium to try sealing my tins with. I've got a sample drying right now. I'm not sure how I'm going to do the edges though as I feel like it will just drip down them. It's a pourable medium so that's what I did to the top. I'm waiting for that to set so that I can try the sides. I have high hopes for it though because it's giving me that flawless finish I was looking for (just keeping my fingers crossed that it sets).

I also got another corner rounder. I go through them so quickly! So I'm enjoying myself punching the corners off of eight more pocket albums in progress as well as about 15 more sets of mini cards. I hope to get them finished and listed soon. I can do everything up until the sealing of the tin. Then I'll have to decide if I want to go with the new sealer or the old one. Only time will tell. The only down side of the new one is that it takes about 3 days to fully cure. Booooo!

For dinner tonight I made one of my favorite meals, Tillapia with saffron yellow rice and beans. Yum! It really couldn't be an easier meal to make either. Cook your Tillapia in a skillet sprinkling seasoned salt on both sides. Then, get a packet of Saffron yellow rice and zap it. Finally, get some black beans and zap them. Whala! Oh and don't forget the lemon juice squeezed on top (lime juice is also good)


Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Crazy Week

The past week has just flown by. I can't believe how long it has been since I last wrote. This past weekend Isaac and I went home to visit my grandmother. She is very ill with cancer and we were told that she only had a matter of weeks so I wanted to go home and see her one last time. The drive was so long but it was worth it. It was bittersweet to see her again. She is no longer the grandmother that I once knew.

We sped back here on Sunday so that we could go to our friend's Super Bowl Party. We were really looking forward to it and getting to socialize with other people. We're growing tired of looking only at eachother all day long, lol. It was a great time with good food and to top it off the Giants actually won!

I had a reality check yesterday and realized that my craft show in Savage, MD is in less than two weeks so I've been trying to kick my crafting into high gear. Despite that, I feel like I've run into a million and one other things that needed my attention and therefore haven't gotten much more done. The rest of the week will be better though. I'm gonna make sure of that! I did manage to get an Easter card done today for a custom order in my etsy shop and I listed this tin that I finished last night.