Musical Rooms

We've been moving rooms around again. I should probably start this, by explaining when we bought our house it had an apartment in the bottom half of the house. All unenjoyable things must come to an end and this year we evicted our tenant. It wasn't pretty but it had to be done.
We've opened up the walls to the apartment and taken over. Realized we don't like the layout of the house on the bottom half. But those weren't the rooms that we were moving around this week.
We moved my oldest daughter's room to the top of the stairs, which was the office. The office is going to be downstairs but part of it remains in the upstairs family room. I have a layout, I'll scan it some other time.
For those with any OCD tendencies please do not look at the clutter I'm about to show you! This is all my clutter (actually there is more but I didn't want to cause a rash of 911 calls), not my husband's or daughter's clutter.
This was taking up space in our living room because my daughter's old room was where my crafting room is now. I've cleared all the boxes out, so the top is the only clutter left. Now where I put the clutter is scarier. I should also tell you when we bought this house the people who lived in it loved animals. They had a 6' pink fiberglass kangaroo in their living room, with plants in the pouch. Elephants painted on the floors, jungle wall paper in the foyer and living room. Then this back bedroom continues the animal theme. My daughter's didn't like the wall paper so they started tearing it down. I can't say I blame them.
It's like a mishmosh of ugliness! Plaid wallpaper with a jungle themed border again. That gross pink/purple trim and butterfly wallpaper! We tore out the carpet because it was soaked with animal pee. It doesn't smell but the feng shui of this room is terrible. We do plan on moving walls, making the room bigger and moving the entrance. Which will greatly improve the creepiness of this room. So my clutter will sit in here, keeping this creepy room company. I don't enjoy working in this room. If the phone rings or someone knocks on the door, I can't hear it. The acoustics get lost in the hallway you have to walk down to get here.
My daughter loves her new room and so far it's been kept very clutter free. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it stays that way.

Merry Belated Christmas!

I know it's a day late but we just finished our Christmas celebrations with family! Look what my daughter did for Christmas at school. I love it! It's her first public school Christmas art work. At her other school they didn't do stuff like this. I really like this and it's so bright, cheerful and reminds me of a card.
I also finished the tea cozy and I think it came out really cute!

I stitched it together using my sewing machine. Since the sweater blocks are different thicknesses they like to part while being sewn. The red hearts are hiding the gaps. Bet you wouldn't have guessed that! It's true and my MIL will never know either! So shh!
I always feel like we get to much for Christmas! Anyone else feel that way? I know my oldest certainly did! Holy Cow! She received an American Girl doll, horse, dog, clothes, and various other doll crap. My MIL went wayyyyyyyyy overboard. She swears this is the last year and next year there will only be one gift for each child. I sure hope so!
My husband and I received a cool charitable gift to Heifer International. I actually wanted to give a gift like this but wasn't sure how it would go over. I'm so happy that someone else thinks like us. So thanks Aunt Dottie! She always gives awesome gifts. Like this Christmas book for the adults and then my oldest received this one this year and this ladybug one went to my youngest. Can you tell she's a school teacher?
I maybe reviewing the books we received if I think they are worth buying. We have lots to read. It will take time.

Two Gifts And Then Some!

Whew it's been busy here! I finished the snail today! It was tough, my finger is swollen and painful but I think it looks good (the snail that is not the finger)! I also made this fairy today! She's kind of a gothic fairy or a very fashionable fairy. Her hair needs a little combing but that will have to wait for the glue to dry. She is going to a good friend who I've know FOREVER, so I know she'll love this.
I'm also going to make my MIL a tea cozy. She mentioned she wanted one and my in laws are so good to us. I felt like we didn't make enough to show how much we appreciate them! So I need that for the day after Christmas. It's hopefully going to be a quilted sweater tea cozy. I like usually have NO clue what I'm doing. How big does it need to be? How am I going to sew the squares together. Damn the movie Nanny McPhee for giving her the idea. It's okay. It will be done!
So yesterday there was a war at my house! No one died but someone was hurt. Who, I don't know. All I know is the cats were fighting! Luna doesn't get that not everyone wants to play with her. So she's gets really Hobbes like and attacks the other cats. Which leads to lots of screeching, hissing, and cats running through the house. After it calmed down I went to do some work. Well there was a blood trail going up stairs. Through the hallway, ending on my CREAM colored carpet in the office! I concluded that one of the cats is hurt majorly. Have you ever tried finding a wound on an animal that is covered in fur? It's like trying to find Where's Waldo among fake Waldo's. Needless to say all the cats were intact. No one was missing a limb, ear, or tail. My husband's only other thought is that they found a mouse and were fighting over the body and tore it apart. EWW! I like to think they are super fast healers and the fur is cover this wound.

Things That Make Me Go UGH!

I've had a pretty boring uneventful days!  It's like the days know Christmas is coming and are just dragging to torture me.  I had a sick child home on Monday.  That's enough to bring anyone down.  

I still haven't finished the snail toy.  It's not as easy as the others.  It has strips of fabric you braid together.  Then you roll them into a spiral and sew 2 coils together.  Well I did all that and the middles kept popping out.  This toy is for a 1 year old, it had to withhold the abuse it is going to get.  So I've been sewing the inner coils together so they won't pop.  Boring and painful.  My fingers have holes in them.  It's not an easy thing to do.  I need a needle that is curved, it would be so much easier.  

My 9 year old bought my husband and I gifts today (from a toy store).  I was happy that she came up with a great idea to recycle the bag the gifts came in.  I'm not happy that she didn't separate the gifts.  Now who opens the gift?  Me or my husband?  I don't think individual gifts should be allowed to share the same packaging to become one gift.  There has to be a law out there.  I bet Miss Manners has a whole column about this.  I may have to look it up.  I wrapped her gifts separate from her sister's , she should have the same courtesy!  

I'm also running out of yarn for my husband's socks!  He wanted socks and of course he didn't want me to buy sock yarn.  Just wanted  socks from yarn lying around.  Well of course I don't have enough because he needed soft yarn.  Wool makes him itch and he can't handle itchy socks!  It doesn't help that his shoe size is like a size 12!  Did you know the national average shoe size for men is like a 10!  I find that hard to believe.  So he's going to get shorty socks and like them!  If not!  I'm rip them and make myself a pair!  

I hope to have the snail done tomorrow.  With pictures.  I may take a picture of the wrap job my daughter did!  

Yankee Gift Exchange!

So last night was handworks and the Yankee gift exchange. I'm kind of disappointed because they changed the rules so an opened a gift could only be exchanged 3 times. So if you opened a gift that you didn't like and no one else did, you were stuck with that gift. Many people didn't get to participate and all the really cool items were taken out quickly. I ended up with yarn and that's fine with me.

The 3 striped yarns on top were not part of the gift. The girl who's house we were at, was going through her attic and need to get rid of stuff. So I grabbed these. It's sock yarn weight, so I see gifts to me in my future.
I talked my daughter into possibly making gifts for her Aunt, Cousin and Grandmother. First she picked the heavy purple varegated yarn and was going to make a headband for her cousin. I really like the yarn and was dying to tell her no. I didn't but after it became a more elaborate gift and would use all the yarn up... I had to say NO! She moved to the blue yarn to make a headband for her Aunt. Will see if she can keep it up. It's a tough yarn because it has globs of thick yarn and then thin yarn. So it's kind of hard to work with. I've been knitting a row or two so she doesn't get discouraged! I would like her to make gifts this year. She always starts off with good intentions and then it dies. Never to be rekindled. This year, I'm going to keep after her to complete something!
The pink yarn is mohair. The orangish brown is a nylon combination. The green is scratchy and not to nice to touch.
We were supposed to have 3 days of blizzard like weather this weekend. It of course hit last night after the party started! I didn't leave till midnight and even if I wanted to leave earlier it would have never happened. I was blocked in by at least 4 cars!
I live in a valley and the party was 2 hills over. 12 miles as the crow flies and many more by car. I had to drive across 2 major route numbers. They both require you to stop and look before you go up these steep hills. I'm driving my cute, light weight Prius. I made it half way up the unplowed, snow and ice covered hill. The Prius comes to a complete stop and starts slowly inching it's way backwards!
After I finish mentally cursing myself out and trying to figure out how to not totally ruin the car. I back up a little and do a K turn. Not a ton of sliding is happening, so I know I can make it down the hill and stop. If you never ridden/drove a Prius before, it has B on the stick shift. Which puts drag on the engine to charge the battery. I put B on and slowly make my way down the hill. I wasn't 100 percent sure where I was but I knew if I turned right, I would be heading towards my mom's. I frantically try to call home to have someone else figure out how I can get home without going up hill. No answer, call the party, and thankfully the hostess was still up and told me what was coming up and where to turn! Whew, glad someone know where I needed to go. Needless to say, the 20 minute trip there, took over an hour getting back home! My husband was still up, wrestling with plumbing problems. He kept my spirits up while I slipped and slided home! Love hands free phone! I still had to go up 2 smaller hills but I didn't have to come to a complete stop before I tackled them! Thanks honey for being there when I really needed someone to talk to!
The storm stopped by this morning! It was still slick and his truck was going sideways down part of street when he had to venture out. He luckily has 4 wheel drive and regained control quickly! Winter weather, I do enjoy it!

Music?

I went to Girl Scout's last night and at the end of the meeting I received a CD of songs that are sung at encampment. So I popped it on the way home and ahh yuck! Some of the songs were good but some of the songs were so embarrassing that I had to skip through them. Girl Scout's I thought was about helping girls become strong women. Plus helping out in the local communities. Some of these songs didn't convey any of that spirit. They were a way to make a fast buck. No thought or musical talent went into them.
Well these songs didn't motivate me at all. They kind of killed my soul. They were an attempt to make a catchy but repetitively mindless song. The grammar jumped around and I couldn't figure out how a surfer girl could get around a block. Plus their solution to make it sound like a song was to have a woman sing a line or a word and then have girls repeat it for one of the songs. We skipped that song. Some of the songs were just good fun songs, that are sung at camps everywhere. My daughter will not be happy by singing some of these crappy songs. I can't say I blame her. If it makes you feel unmotivated then hum something else to yourself honey or maybe I should tell her to stand and tell the adults this song stinks.
Songs I really like right now are The Way I Am by Ingrid Michaelson
and Feist 1234. Simple songs with nice instrumentals that don't over power the singer's voice. Cute catchy lyrics with emotion and feeling.

Butterfly Is Done!

I finished the butterfly and wasn't sure if I was going to post it. Since I've been blogging for 1 month today, I thought I should make an effort to get it up today. Next and finally is the snail. One more gift and Christmas may be done. Well I do have to wrap gifts next.
Since Christmas is around the corner and the clutter around here is out of control. I'm going to be ebaying off unplayed with toys. My oldest is having a problem keeping the playroom clean. I'm not going to tell her because like any child, she will dig in her heels, cry about and tell me she can't live without them. If I get rid of them slowly, she'll never know. Then I won't feel like she is forever picking up after herself and never getting the job done!
I've also realized if anyone decided to rob us at night, they would kill themselves from the clutter. I have a hard time navigating the clutter in the dark. Well plus the cats. The youngest doesn't like moving even if you are about to step on her. She'd rather trip you and watch you go down. So she can pounce on you and declare victory! She just doesn't realize I can never be defeated! I now walk with a shuffling kicking motion. So if my foot does make contact with her, she will be pushed out of my way.

O' Christmas Tree

I finally put up my Christmas tree! Yeah! My youngest helped me along with Luna (aka the luntic). We have a Charlie Brown Christmas tree, it's been through many, many Christmas's. The tree is older than I am. I suspect it may have been the very 1st artifical tree.
I also found Christmas will be at my mom's house this year. I would prefer it being here but my house is old. What's wrong with an old house, you may wonder. Nothing but my mother doesn't like old things. We were going to go to my brother's house but they won't be moved in by Christmas. His house is only 12 years old. Compared to our house which was built in 1840. It's 167 years old.
Which makes no sense to me but my mother rarely visits. Which surprises me because she has 2 grandchildren. Who live in this old house. They love this old huge, almost Queen Anne house. Even with our wood stove, keeping everyone toasty. It's not enough to have Christmas here. sigh
It's just how my mother is. She is a retailer's dream. I on the other hand, am the complete opposite. I don't mind my old Picasso house. With the East Lake hardware, pocket doors, and the windows that are painted white. Well I do mind the white windows. This house has freaking awesome dark stained woodwork! Some one ruined some of rooms by painting the wood white! That does bother me. Take a look at the picture of the Christmas tree. That dark wood is the framing for the pocket doors. Gorgeous color, isn't it? Other room right next to it, they painted it white! Looks terrible. Don't even mention the jungle wall paper. Not one of my favorite either. It can be taken down.
Until this house is remodel, Christmas will not happen here. One day it will be, remodeled and then it maybe new enough for Christmas.
Oh well, means I don't have to clean the clutter! haha The clutter has gotten worse. The foyer is now full of wood. Our wood was delayed because of the weather. It rained, it froze, it snowed. Our wood is covered in ice, plus some snow. So it has to come in to be thawed and dried before it gets put in the stove. It's a little extra work but it's worth it!

This That And 10 Cord Of Wood

So my days have been really off this week. I'm a day and a week ahead of time. I think it's because I really want to go to the handworks party. I think my gift came out better than I had hoped for. Even after all my missteps.
I've come to the realization that I need to go back to work. It would have been 2 years without having a job in February. Unfortunately it's been a very odd sales year. I don't if other artist's or business owners have the same thoughts. We've had barely any gallery sales this year. We've had very small sales all December. Which we are very grateful for. So I will be filling an application tomorrow. I keeping my fingers crossed. It's only part time but every little bit helps. Plus I still get to spend days with my youngest. She's not too keen on me leaving to go any where. Want to go downstairs, she thinks I'm leaving her alone forever!
Today we finally received our wood delivery. 10 cords of wood. Which is a lot of wood. I spent dinner time helping my husband stack wood on the porch. I love having a wood burning stove! It's magical. I love starting the fire, getting wood, stacking wood, etc... It makes me feel like I have a purpose and I get to enjoy the benefits of it. Plus it's a work out!

Just Finished!

The turtle came out looking great! I was worried that the batik fabric wouldn't go with the green felt but I think everything pulled together. Hopefully it will be well played with!

There are no small parts, so it's safe for young children. Hand washable too!
The butterfly is next!

What Part Of, I Will Never Do Business With You Again,

Did You Not Understand?  I don't like to say that often but today I had to tell someone that very thing.

Going back in time, (3 years) my husband decided to try to have employees.  He thought it would help his production and make his life easier!  

So he went to a company to help him.  He wanted to do it right and make sure he had all the insurance coverage he needed.  All he would have to do is give weekly updates of the hours they had worked.  Sounds simple right?

It's not!  So a schedule was set up by his employees but it never worked out that they were never on time.  Then he got a fine for not having worker's compensation insurance!  

He's was so upset because he had gone to this company to help him make sure he had everything! This company doesn't do worker's comp and he was supposed to look for yet another company to do that!  That was last year. 

He was furious because the guy who came over and showed him all the stuff he had to have never made it clear that they didn't cover that one insurance!  So he paid the fine and the employees kind of faded in the wind around that time.  So it worked out.

I had many phone conversations and so has my husband with this company.  Telling them we would never ever have employees and would never do business with them again.  (Sorry employees)  It wasn't worth all the work and money he had to spend. Nor did his production improve.

So today, we received a call from this company again!   This guy left his name, number, etc...  Before he hung up I had to ask him why he was calling.  The woman we dealt with before went on maternity leave.  He was just updating all her clients on the change until she came back.  (December of 06' was the last time we were billed for anything.)  So even after a year of telling them we won't ever do business with you again, they still had his account as active!  So I gave him the story and told this guy we will never have Employees again!  

I  hope he gets it and marks it in the file.  Don't ever, call again!

But who we kidding, he'll leave the account as is and I'll be receiving a call in 3 months or so!

Creativity

Why does creativity only strike, when the house is calm?
I had to do tags for the fairies that I put in the gallery. I should have done them first thing but everything in this gallery is usually hand made. Not this time. My beautiful Christmas Fairies were put next to ornaments made in China. Which are very, very cheap. So it looks like they are way overpriced when they aren't. People probably think they were made in China too.
I'm a little upset but hey what can you do. It kind of makes me snort because the place where they are... ahh prides themselves on having hand made artisan items. So I was very shocked and repulsed that they went with something so cheap and cheesy just to decorate a tree/sell.
I may ask if I can decorate the tree myself next year with all my different handmade items. If I know I can, I'll get started right away!
With all the lead scares, I wonder if the paint on those ornaments doesn't contain lead. I just read that PVC plastic has lead in it too! Yikes! I thought lead hadn't been used in anything since the 1970's. I guess it must have been house paint that I was thinking of. Very shocking!
So I hope those tags push those fairies to sell. I hate to think that the ornaments from China will be a big hit this winter!
I maybe posting pics of my first stuffed animal tomorrow. I hope, I'll have time to finish it up.

One More Gift

finished a knit scarf for my brother a few days ago. Decided I should wash it and then take a picture. Still came out of the dryer with cat hair and lint. So feel free to overlook that little distraction.
You can't even see the cat hair, this is not how it looks in Adobe. It's a nice cable knit pattern and I lined it with fleece. He lives in NYC and does a lot of walking. I wanted him to stay extra warm. It matches a hat I made but I'm sure it got stolen. Most of his stuff does. So next year I can make him the hat again.
The next set a gifts I'm making are for my best friend's children. I'm make the turtle, snail, and butterfly from Wee Wonderfuls! I've been itching to make these and haven't found time until now! The patterns are so cute and easy to follow! Also a great safe gift for the holiday season! Hopefully I'll be done in a day or two!

Silly Conversations

So last night it was almost midnight when my husband got around to apply patina.  Since I didn't want to lay in bed all alone and wonder when he was going to be up, I decided to help.  Even though all I wanted to do is go to bed.  

My part in the patination process is booorriiinggg.  I dry and to stay awake I verbally spar with my husband.  So I pace around the kitchen, while he's doing his part and we start our go around conversation.  Keep in mind he had mentioned earlier that we were invited to a secret party.

Me:  So who's invited to the secret party?

Him:  I don't know it's a secret party!

M:  Well are you sure you were invited to the party, if it's soooo secret?

H:  Yes, I talked to H.

M:  So... he cuts me off

H:   You can't mention this party to anyone.  Not person A,B, or C. 

M:  Well then who's going to this party if they aren't going?

H:  Everyone who was at the summer party.

M:  Well A,B, and C were at the summer party!

H:  Well, I don't know he didn't tell me!

M:  So do I get to ask the babysitter to babysit for this secret party?  Or am I not allowed to let her know either?

H:  Of course you can let the babysitter know!

M:  Well you  just jumped down my throat before and cut me off! 

H:  I didn't jump down your throat!

M:  Yes you did, why don't you jump down my throat again, I know you want to.  Jump down my throat, (I keep taunting him over and over, getting all giggly!)

H: Well, well, well, if you'd let me get a word in I would jump down your throat!  

Both of are laughing because we've lost our minds!  

Another conversation I had today was about Grey's Anatomy.  My friend was a die hard fan but because of life hasn't been able to keep up.  So I caught her up and started giving my opinions on everyone.

I don't like George and Izzy, they are so going to break up.  McDreamy and Merideth, I just don't like what is going on with them.  It's like they are friends with benefits but it's not like they have benefits.  One of them always wants more than the other one.  It's like sexefits.  Not as good as benefits because you know it's going to end sadly.  Someone will be disappointed or both of them will.  Sexefits.  My new word for what happens on Grey's.  

And Another!

Here's another gift! Using remnants, a recycled sweater, and the yellow fabric I snagged out of the garbage from a job! Can you believe that people throw out fabric!? The only thing I bought was the notebook.
Hopefully my niece will like it.

My daughter has been trying to teach the cat to read. I'm guessing it wasn't going well. She thought she needed glasses. I almost think the cat agrees. Do you see her smiling too?

Another Gift Done!

I finished my hot water bottle cover and probably took only 6 hours or less.

I used an old cashmere sweater someone had given me for the body. So it is super soft. The green stalks used to be cashmere socks. The flowers another soft sweater and the flower centers old yarn. I outlined the stalks with left over yarn too. The buttons are from my grandmothers collection of old buttons. The ribbon I bought for another project and I put pearl beads to keep the ribbon from getting pulled out.

The sweater was obviously a turtleneck that had been felted. I sewed the neck down so it wouldn't move around. Then sewed the ribbon on. Since the turtle neck was a little loose, I decided to put two ribbons and not one in the middle. This sweater was one where they have an extra shoulder seam. Instead of having a front and a back match up. There was fabric in between. I started cutting the sweater on the bottom to fit the hot water bottle. Which was a mistake with this kind of sweater. I should have started from the shoulder and worked down. The sweater is ribbed, so the line I was following curves in towards the neck. By working that from the bottom, I miss gauged where I was cutting and my front and back didn't match up. So I fudge it and folded the shoulder seam like a gift. Sewed that together and then started hand sewing down. I could done the sides on my sewing machine but didn't want to take a chance since I had already goofed up.
I love making flowers. So I grabbed a loose silk flower and used it as a pattern. I sewed the flowers in place and felted the yarn centers. I then tried to felt the green cashmere sock on but the cashmere wouldn't felt to the cashmere. So I decided to use yarn to sew it on. It was rough on my fingers. The fabric is fine and thick, so the needle and thread struggled to go through. Then I put the buttons on and cut holes. I think it came out good. My fingers are too tired to add leaves or balance the picture. Not everything has to balance anyways. This is definitely a project anyone can do.

So don't throw out those old sweaters.

I Must Stop That!

If I know my  husband will be calling I'll answer the phone in my Joey from Friends tone.  Which is not the best way to answer a business phone.  I think I threw off the gentleman who called today.  I said Hello and he hesitated.  From experience I then asking if they are looking for the studio.  Which they usually reply with relief.  Why Yes!  Thankful they didn't accidently call the wrong number or a phone sex line.  I really should get caller ID!

I just try to make my husband's day a little more enjoyable.  I know it's stressful at his job and sometimes a very happy and familiar voice is all he needs to put him in a better mood.  Plus I had given him grief on his last phone call.  

I was working my way through the mountain of dishes and he called before.  He wanted me to run upstairs to get him his password that he had forgotten.  I thought it was work related.  When it proved to not be work related.  I was quite ...ahh not nice and teased him mercilessly.  Since he had students in the room all he could tell me that if he wasn't in class...  

Hopefully I'll read this to remind myself, there are good and bad ways to answer the phone.  

That's How Mondays Roll...

So after a long holiday break, my daughter had a half day at school the first day back. I vaguely remember my husband mentioning something earlier in the month. Why torture parents who need a break from their adorable loving (fighting) children.
We had talked earlier and were arguing about who should pick her up. Not remembering it was a half day, I told him, he should, since she wanted to go with him to his meeting. He didn't want her to go with him. So I should, since what else what I was doing. Nap time is usually what's happening at that time. I do not enjoy skipping nap time, since my youngest is three and sometimes getting her to go is like declaring war in our house. There's lots of explosions and stuff gets throw around. Mainly by me, grabbing every stuffed animal and blanket to appease her. She knows she needs a nap but she's a big girl and big girls don't nap!!
Well I saw a bus pull up and realized that if our local school had half a day, then so did hers! I quickly called the school and made them aware that I would be late. Heaven forbid if the oldest realized that I forgot about her. So the youngest and I packed up the geckos to go back to school and headed off to pick up her sister.
So much for all the work I was planning on getting done! I planned on doing lots too. I was not going to do the dishes. It was time to finish those four fairies and then work on my gift for the exchange. Even though I didn't get all that time I wanted, the fairies are finished as much as they can be. They will be headless until I take the car in for an oil change. I also have the hot water bottle cover almost stitched together. Then I need to decorate. I'm getting good at multitasking. This evening, I watched TV, worked on crafts and caught up on the blogs I read. It's just like high school again. Except, I won't be tested on what I read.
I also remembered that I need to make a gift for my best friends kids. Well two best friends and those gifts shall not be named just in case they are reading!
Tomorrow I will probably do the dishes. There's three dreary hours of dishes waiting for me. Sigh.

The Race

Thanksgiving has come and gone.  Usually by this time every year I have all my shopping done and should be checking to make sure I didn't forget everyone.  It's not happening this year.  So the race is on to make gifts.  

I decided to do this because I have quite a few requests and gifts half done.  I never finish them because in the past I have bought gifts.  So this is the year to clean out the closet.  I'm trying to get rid of the clutter.  There's a lot of clutter here, so it will take years.

On my list is a scarf for my brother, napkins for 2 coworkers of my husband, a sweater tea cozy for my MIL, a drawing book and fabric cover for my niece, socks for my husband (he knows he's getting them) and I can't think of what else is on the list.  

I would like to make more ornaments, not fairies, some angels, and little bird wreaths.  I don't know if it will happen.  The last 4 fairy ornaments are coming together slowly.  I may put them aside until next year.  So they can go on that list!  Plus I have to make a gift for the yankee gift exchange that is happening next friday!  So the fairies will have to be done soon or tossed in the clutter.  I'm making a cashmere water bottle cover for the exchange.  I've never done anything like it before but I have some ideas floating around.

It's a very busy week for all around here.  This weekend my husband is doing a Christmas art show.  We are also attending a Christmas party, which I need to make cookies for.  Girl Scouts for my daughter and the class geckos need to go back to school.  

Now that I'm thinking about it, I need to go to work.  Christmas is right around the corner!  Yikes!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I had to post this because it's gorgeous! My husband was commissioned to do 2 lamps at the beginning of summer. Like all first time projects, it had it's challenges. Then it got down to the final rivets!! Which is nerve racking when you work in metal. If you mess up you have start all over again!!! 5 months of work down the drain. Here's the final product before it gets patinated. The commissioned 2 will have yellow/gold shades. I think it looks great. The idea is from a Roycroft lamp model 911. They don't make lamps like this anymore. The originals had Stueben glass shades and if you are lucky to find one, they sell for $20,000 or more.

Updates!

Hey look, I've been spending quality time with my husband and I now have a banner. Plus look to the right, a link to my etsy shop. It was good high tech quality time!
These are the ornaments I've listed.

Aren't they beautiful or at least cute! They were a challenge and fun to make. I hope they get good homes.
Happy Thanksgiving, early but it maybe the only chance I get.
My family decided to get together at a restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner this year. I kind of like the idea but as I think about it, it kind of feels not family like. I understand why we are doing it. My mother insists on doing everything for the holidays. She burns herself out and rarely takes help. It's in her nature. I've only hosted Christmas here once and that was 3 years ago. Christmas, maybe at my brother's this year, since he's buying a house. I shall see.
Only things that could go wrong is my oldest is sick again!! She went to her first Girl Scout sleepover and one of the girls had this terrible cough. It was really bad, I couldn't believe this girl was sleeping in a small enclosed room with the girls. Now my daughter has the same cough that this girl had. She seems tired and out of it. I'm hoping she will feel better after sending her to bed early today.
Notice my cats up on the banner. More stories to come about them. Their names are Mochacchino aka (Mochie), Sasha, Gabbie, and Luna. Have fun figuring out who is who.

Creating What I Can't Find

Last year I had this idea to make an acorn wreath. Using a grapevine wreath as the starting point. I went to Jo-ann's and couldn't find any grapevine wreaths. They were on sale too and I was really bummed out.
I waited until fall to make my own grapevine wreath. Grapevines grow well in my neighbor's yard. They grow straight up and took a little work to pull them down. I didn't know how big I wanted it to be. So I wrapped it around my arm and kept wrapping until I was happy with what I got.
Then I needed acorns, which are abundant in my neighbors yard too!
Then I used a hot glue gun to attach the acorns. I have never used one before so I had to reattach some of the acorns. I didn't know globbing it on works best.
The results...
I couldn't leave it like this without adding a little fairy magic!

Details, the only fairy I'm keeping is the fall colored one. There will be more made for the different seasons. Plus I may borrow the one's I made for my daughter.

I really like how it came out. It was really fun figuring out where to put the acorns!

I'm moving...

Well not really moving. In my dream life I'm moving to Anthropologie City. I have a love hate relationship with their clothing line. I either absolutely love what they carry or detest it. I just received their catalog and it has so many awesome things in it.

I love this purse!! It's so pretty and I love the embroidery.

This dress is beautiful too and so many other things but I thought I would pick the ones my husband liked.
If you absolutely have to have these and can afford them. anthropologie
Go now!

Hammering

Today I worked on my husband's copper stuff.  Various sheets of copper to be made into vases, switch plates, etc...  I am good at hammering but I do not enjoy it.  I used to but now it's like ah, I figured everything out and there's only so much you can do when you hammer a sheet of copper.  It's boring.  I should listen to my IPod, if I remembered to plug it in.  Opps.  

Now the thing that impresses men (sometimes) is,  I can hammer with both hands.  I guess it's something to be proud of but it just comes naturally to me.  So I really don't think it's a big deal.  Now what scares me is that guys ask if I've blown out my elbow!  I have never heard of such a thing!!  If I was in pain I would stop and I do stop.  Working till you blow out your elbow totally blows my mind!  Hammering copper is just not worth hurting myself.  

Maybe that's why I do not want to work in metal anymore.  It is rough on the hands, arms and shoulders.  Sometimes I pinch a nerve in my shoulder and it causes my ring finger to go numb.  Not a very pleasant experience.  

Anyone watching the silver market?  It almost was up to $16 an ounce.  It might have hit it.  I was tending to sick children so I didn't check everyday.  I don't think silver will go down to the $10 range again.  Just like gas, I can see it being around $4 a gallon this summer.  

Because something else happened...

I meant to do a lot of things this week but something else kept popping up.  Let's start with what popped up.  Well we all knew my FIL was going to have open heart surgery on Monday.  No big surprise.  My  husband didn't realize he would be so affected by it, that he would need to spend 2 days at the hospital.  Luckily he came home to take care of some business stuff and take the oldest to school.  But I don't think he got a new tank of gas, so I'm not sure if he really needed to come home for that.  Luckily he has a spare.  

Then the oldest got sick when my husband decided he didn't need to go back to the hospital.  So I had to pick her up from school.  She had a fever and was super tired.  That lasted until evening and she went to school the next day.  If we didn't send her to school she would have complained about all that she missed.  Yes she loves to learn.  Now the youngest has the same fever today and is not happy.  She's putting on a smile and saying she's fine.  I look at her and know she's not.  Hopefully tomorrow this will have past too.  

I finally got to making chicken broth today.  I had to go and remove the scum off the top.  Which took FOREVER!  Seriously, how do you know when you are done with taking the scum off?  I thought I was done and then it started frothing.  Do I remove the froth too then?  I did, just incase it was scum in disguise. 

Still waiting is a grapevine wreath I made over the fall, for a door decoration.  It has to have acorns added to it and fairies.  I only have one headless fairy for the wreath and acorns galore.  Then the Esty shop...  sigh... muffins... opps cat litter. I guess it's good to be busy...  all the time.  

10 Little Fairies In A Row

Today is the day that I show off some of my crafts. Are you ready? Christmas Wee Fold Fairies!!! Most of them are going to a local gallery and I am going to try to put a few in my Etsy shop. When I set it up, so give it a few days if you're interested. I started making these last year (well fairies and ornaments). They were for a fund raiser and people just liked them so much. I've been making them ever since. These are my first group of fairies that I knew what they were going to be. Usually I look at what I have and start creating. I hope you like them.

The first ten and then the second ten.
This one, I love how the belt turned out.
This fairy makes me smile. Is she French or just stylish?
She came out a little blurry but I love the trees. It was a little tough getting the ornaments in between the beads but I think it works.

Birthdays!

My youngest turned 3 today! It was an exciting day for all. I try to invite family that we don't see a lot. Friends, who we really enjoy their company but never can pull it together to go anywhere without kids. This time of year seems to work perfect for getting together and my daughter enjoys it too.
Here's my favorite picture. You have to love the look on her face!

Hand Me Downs

We have two hand me down couches from my grandmother. They were in excellent shape... Until they entered into this house. With the cats, the kids, and gremlins, these couches have seen better days. I didn't want to buy slip covers because they are odd shapes.
My MIL was cleaning her linen closet and asked if I wanted her old sheets. I took them and have been covering the couches with them. Well trying to. My girls do not sit on couches. They kerplop, which causes the sheets to come off. The cats, well the kitten thinks it's great fun to run under the sheet and make them come off. I think I've out smarted both kids and cats!
I sewed my own sheet couch slip covers. It wasn't that hard. I put the sheet on how I wanted it to sit on the couch and then wrapped it so it was form fitting. Sort of like when you wrap a present. Pinned and then ran to sew before something ruined my work.
The larger couch used 2 twin sheets and was easier than the brown couch. I also tackled the larger one last. I'm very happy with how they look.

I just received my Martha Stewart Magazine today and look how pretty it is. Can't wait to read it. I think Christmas is becoming my new favorite holiday!

Speechless

Since my major was in metal jewerly I like to keep an eye on the gold and silver market. When I was in college the silver market was in the $5-$7 range depending on the day. I checked the market today and it's $15.50!!! Yikes what is going on here? It's double what it used to be.
Of course if you buy silver from a supplier, it's $15.50 in granule form. But if you get things cast, like a lot of jewelers do so you can make multiples, it can sometimes be double the silver market. Also I'm talking about small businesses who end up paying a lot for silver and gold. The stuff you buy at a department or chain store. They buy silver jewelry in bulk and get a big discount. So you may buy a $15 jewelry item, there's less than 15 cents of silver in the item, well maybe $1.15 of silver. This is why I like handmade, unique jewelry. I know how much work goes into making an item.
Here's one of my favorite jewelers Leigh Davenport. I have only a few pieces and they always get compliments when I wear them.

You know the holidays are upon us when...

The catalogs start clogging the mail box. Now all these catalogs would be great if, I was flithy rich and had money to burn. I don't enjoy being tempted but another blogger recommended this great website to cut down on the catalog clutter. So if you are looking to help your mail box, the environment and whatever floats your boat. Check out this site Catalog Choice
It's easy to use and I've been averaging like 10 catalogs a week! Yikes!

To Post or Not to Post...

I've been debating about starting a blog for a month. I love reading them and peering into others peoples lives. I enjoy the possiblity of buying something another blogger has made or getting a good laugh at something that has happened. I know you're thinking all of that is positive and wonderful. So what's my problem?
Nothing exciting ever happens to blog about, to me anyway. Plus I'm sort of shy and I don't want to feel like I've lost my anonminty in my life. I live in a very small town between farms, cows, and corn fields.
So, like many other people, I'm going to venture into the world of blogging. I hope it works, I'm sort of nervous!