Monday Glorious Monday!

It's Sunday, I know. But this Monday is my day of reckoning! I won't be blogging since I promised the kidlets I would have a computer free day. I've been so busy with Etsy and promoting and blogging and all the other things online that sidetrack me, I thought it was time we had a technology free day. When I told them this they seemed so excited that it made me kind of sad. I don't mean to work so much, that's just the way it is lately. *sigh*

Other than a day with Davidino and The Allister, why is Monday to be so glorious? Read on!

It's been a lot of years... actually as many years as I can remember since moving out of my parents house... that I've been paying on credit cards. I was 18, living in the dorms, broke and jobless. So what did I NEEEED? A credit card of course. I mean come on, it came with a free tshirt and a 10-pack of Reeses PB Cups! It was probably laundry day and I was likely PMS-ing. How could I say no to that? Apparently in my own teenage stupidity, I couldn't say no. And what a shopping spree that was too! I remember my first credit card purchase - a huge papasan chair! It was so comfy! We'd all fight over who got to sit there, and we'd all laugh when someone fell out of it (which happened quiet often). Now it sits in my basement unused and in need of a serious cleaning. Now that I mention it, I bet it would look amazing if I slapdash it up with all my fabric scraps! I knew I was keeping it for something...

Anyway, the point of this post is to express how THRILLED I am, that come tomorrow morning when my last payment comes out - I am officially out of credit card debt!! WOOHOOO!!! Of course I've still got school loans, and all the crap insurance didn't cover when my son was born, but that's so miniscule compared to the burden my credit card debt has caused me. And I can finally put a dent in that as well now. I had my debt consolidator print out a summary of every payment I've made to them over the past 6 or so years also. I'm afraid to look at it, and probably won't for a long time. I thought it would be good to have on hand when my son is older and wants a credit card though. I wish my parents had been more upfront about the seriousness of credit. I learned that lesson the long, hard way. I have no qualms about telling my son "Listen, Mom was a dumbass, and I don't want you to be one too." Now it's OVER! I'm ALL DONE! I want to shout it from the rooftops!

Look what David found in his closet yesterday!

That is the very first "real" patchwork piece I ever made. It's actually a wrap skirt. I love the colors and patch placement, but my finishing work sucked. ie. the bottom band of olive green that just doesn't stay laying flat and the ties are too short. I never wear it and because of the defects, I'd never sell it. David's been walking around all wrapped up in it. I'm thinking I might cut it up and make it into a blanket instead. I've always wanted a patchwork lap quilt for my couch. Or back it with some minky and give D a skirt shaped blanket. Who knows? I'm also tossing around the idea of a patchwork Snuggie! Yes, yes I am that nerdy.

What other exciting things are going on? Wellllll, I will be 28 on Saturday! In an earlier post I talked about this necklace I bought myself for my early birthday gift. I'm the type of person to celebrate my birthday all week long, making sure no one forgets I'm Queen of the Week. I'm sure it's super annoying, but like my sis says- "I don't annoy me." So last night in a sleepy, excited for Monday state, I picked up this necklace as well! What? It's my birthday week. I lack self control.

Spring Break is next week so I get a nice chunk of time off of work! I love my job and I miss those kids when I don't have them, but I also love sleeping past 630am. I will never, and have never, been a morning person. I've got trips to my Dads place and hopefully Ohio in the works! Oberon, my favorite local seasonal brew comes out Monday too! Vacation starts Weds. at 6pm!

No Time Today

I have no time (or inspiration) to blog today. I've been reading blogs for the past 2 hours though! I wanted to share one I've been following for a couple years now. The woman that writes it is so inspirational, creative, and talented! So instead of reading my blog today- read hers! She even has a book (or 2 maybe?) out now! I don't know her but reading her blog just makes me want to move in and do craft projects all day with her and her kiddos. So I'm not inspired to write, but I am inspired to sew... so off I go!

Introducing... SouleMama!


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By Request...

I made this fabulous snap clutch for a custom order and was asked to post it! It turned out so nice, and she chose my favorite colors! It was so hard to part with! I had to package and ship it as soon as the adhesive dried, if I hadn't I might not have been able to let it go!!


I'm thinking of hunting down at least a couple more of these frames after work. I'm just really not in the mood to drag my 4 yr old to the mall on a Friday night to buy frames at my secret-source. lol. We'll see when 6pm comes around. I live right behind the mall, and I never go. 13 yrs ago this would have been my dream location, my how times change!

I just lost a few million brain cells to the toxic stink of industrial glue. (It's actually non-toxic, just smelly.) I made 7 more of my itty-bitty snap pouches yesterday. I wanted to get them glued last night, but that just didn't happen. I made a special one for a friend of mine (I'll leave her anonymous right now since she has no idea I made her something, and I know she reads this) using a fabric she had requested a while ago but I had no more of. I found a tiny scrap of it and it worked out perfectly for a teensy little pouch! Hopefully the glue dries enough for me to get pictures after lunch!

Now that I'm typing this I just realized I made 2 pairs of Ninja Pants, a great teal knit skirt (that I may keep... not sure yet), and 7 pouches yesterday. Holy crap. I think I'm going to attempt to take the weekend off. Maybe I'll even get to sleep in tomorrow! My hubby bought the greatest CASHMERE sheets on clearance. My bargain-shopper-ness is slowly wearing off on him! If I hadn't had David's pointy little knees poking into my side this morning, I may have never gotten out of bed! Cashmere sheets and early morning cuddles with my favorite little guy- I am so spoiled!

Why are....

tiny things so f-in cute? I attempted to make a new style of snap pouch using these really cool round gunmetal frames I picked up. 2 of them turned out alright, not exactly what I was expecting though. The third of the batch took an odd turn. After messing it up numerous times, I switched frames. By this point I had snipped this fabric down to nearly nothing! It did fit in a 3" rectangle frame though! So here it is! The itty-bittiest snap pouch!

I tested it out with some change and some jewelry. I think it's great! So little and cute too! It already sold, so I think I'll be making a few more soon! I keep thinking of more and more little tiny things I could put in there.

Do you have a Wii? Does the light inside brighten and darken on its own? Either I have not noticed this until today or my Wii is beginning to communicate with me. Playyyyy meeeeeeeeee Deeeeelaaaainieeeeeeeee............ I think I will bowl a quick one before it attacks.

Workin Hard Today!

Looooook! I love this wallet! In fact, I love my Slapdash Wallets even better with zippers than without now. Why didn't I start off making them this way? I was inspired by a custom order to add zippers to a few these. They take a lot longer to make and use a lot more fabric, but the end result is worth it! Don't ya love that new fabric?!

I'm going to make some Snap Clutches today! It's been a while since I went on my snap frame buying spree. I think I can now admit that I got WAY carried away with buying those. I've got a huge box of them and haven't touched them for months. I had a custom order for one, so I figured while I'm at it, I should make a few!

I also FINALLY figured out how to add this blog to Google Analytics so I can see how many hits it gets. I'm guessing not a lot, but if there's a surprising amount I might just do my first giveaway soon! We shall see...

Neosporin is the shizzzz. I've been slathering it onto my finger that I ran over with the sewing machine. It's looking amazingly better already! Way back when I waitressed I sliced this same finger while cutting broccoli and had some nerve damage, so it really doesn't hurt as bad as it should. Thank God for previous nerve damage!

Owwww!

So I finally did it. After sewing for YEARS and years on a sewing machine, I finally did it. Sewed through my finger. Hurt like a %&^%*&% too. I was going to link to a picture since I'm gross like that, but I haven't dared to take the bandage off to see the wreckage yet. I learned a valuable lesson... when trying to get around a magnet snap and none of your presser feet will fit around it, don't just take the presser foot off! Don't do it!

I did get some great wallets made though from my new fabric! I've never made so many of the same item so many times in a row, and still enjoyed making them this much! I've made 250+ pairs of Ninja Pants, but never more than 10 at a time. And by the 5th one of that long run, I was sick of making them! I've always been a collector of things, and I just want to lay out every one of my Slapdash Wallets and stare at them. I love to see them lined up on the table for my shows. Sometimes I open a whole bunch of them and just look at them and how cool they are with all the different colors. I am such a weird chick. With maybe just a hint of narcississtic tendencies. LoL.

Monday Morning UPDATE:
The finger is doing pretty well. It doesn't look nearly as nasty as it did yesterday. I can also type again, so that's a major plus! I'm still not ever going to try to sew like that again...

Done!

It's done! It's done! Done done done! Bonnie's Bag, is FINALLY done. I love Bonnie to bits, why the hell did it take me so long to get motivated to finish this bag? Halfway through I was a little worried, but in the end I love how it turned out! I loooooove the Michael Miller Dandy Damask fabric on the outside, I've loved it since the first time I saw it. It's even been my Myspace background forever. I wish I could've gotten a better picture of the inside. It's got a zippered center divider and 2 sippy cup holders! Only the best for my Bonsker.


Now it's my turn for a bag! I realllllly want a Slapdash Messenger Bag like I made for Gini. I managed to find bright blue linen again so I'm in luck! I've gotten a bunch of great new fabrics, I can't wait to get started. I've also got a pattern all drawn out for a long flowy skirt. I've always wanted this gorgeous shade of blue knit that is super thin, but what would I do with knit that thin? I think I might've figured out a pattern that will work with it. If it doesn't then who cares, I'll just wear it with my swimsuit. Because someday it WILL get warm here again! At least that's what I've been telling myself!

I saw Seth Bernard and Daisy May at Bell's Friday night! It had been a long time since I've heard their beautiful voices, and they didn't let me down! It was a great show, and even Dave got to go! I can't wait till the garden opens and I can kick off my shoes and dance to some Greensky Bluegrass or some Rachel Davis. Maybe my new skirt will be long enough to hide my bare feet so I don't get yelled at for it- haha. I just don't understand the new keep-your-shoes-on-in-the-grass rule. It's grass, it's meant to be walked on. I can't wait for sunshine and great local music!

Good Morning!

So I've already blogged with the title Crap Morning this week, I figured it's time for a good one! I have the day off! It's not snowing! I got to snuggle with David for a couple uninterupted hours this morning, it's nearly a miracle when he just holds still and snuggles these days! Also, Lona from ShadySideFarm included me in this pretty blue and orange treasury!

I'm forcing myself to make Bonnie's Bag today. I know I've been saying this for weeks, but today it WILL happen! I have no excuse left, the pieces are cut, the interfacing is fused on, the zipper is in my possession. I just haven't been motivated to sew it. Once I finish that I'm treating myself to a new bag. It's been half finished for a week since I sewed the lining in backwards and haven't wanted to fix it. I also promised my wee one a tiny David size messenger bag.

In fact, with all this image stealing BS, I haven't gotten much sewn at all this week. I feel much more educated on copyright laws though. I finished up my DMCA letter yesterday and sent it off to Lee to have translated. Then I will send it on and hopefully that's all the action I have to take. I really don't want to open a can of legal whoop-ass on anyone, I'm just not in the mood. If I never have to learn about copyright infringement again, it may be too soon.

St. Patty's Day was a good time! I didn't get a pic of my friend Qball's homemade shamrock tights, but they were awesome!! We didn't get as costumey as we have in the past. We shouldn't have waited till the day of to buy supplies. I usually don't share pictures of myself here, but we had too much fun and I love these ladies, check out our awesome glasses! Not a great idea after too many beers! (FYI That's me in the middle... and 2 of my all-time favorite people).

Blast Off!

Oh rocket fabric, how I love thee. I got this fabric on Etsy without having a clue what I'd do with it. One edge of it has BIG rockets, so I haven't cut into that end yet. I'm thinking it would make a really awesome messenger bag. I've never been into rockets, I can't explain why this appeals to me so much. It's just fun and pretty. And the Zip Wallets I've made with it are fabulous. In fact, they are so cool that I had to make 3 of them all almost identical. Obsessed much?


My birthday is coming sooooon! I've been eyeballing this necklace from Verre Encore on Etsy for an eternity. I was being cheap though so I hadn't bought it. Then it occured to me how much I spent on myself last year for my birthday, when I bought that monstrous tattoo for myself. After realizing that, yeah I went and bought the necklace. Early too, since I wanted it in time for my birthday. Well I GOT IT! and it's FANTASTIC! I thought it would be more orangey, but the listing did say colors can vary. Either way, I really love it and now I wish I had bought 2. This will be my next piece. And I'm thinkin it can't wait till my birthday either. Enough about my retail therapy.


I spent SO MUCH of my day yesterday researching the use of images. If I'm understanding correctly, all of my product images are protected by the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA). So this site using my images is doing so illegally. My friend Lee read the site to me yesterday and let me know everything it said, including the things I wasn't able to translate myself. I was right, they do have a tutorial posted on how to make wallets. The tutorial really isn't anything like how I make my wallets and would really make an inferior product. So I don't want my images representing them. I've decided I don't care if they keep the tutorial up or take it down, just remove my pictures and I'll be happy. I'm writing up a letter to the blog owner that Lee said he would rewrite in Spanish for me. He's even on vacation and he's still gonna help me out, isn't he the best? Now that I know I'll be able to communicate with this site, I'm a lot less frustrated with the whole thing.

This post is so random.

I've got another product review! I couldn't do this with the rest because it took a week to test. Debbie Meyer Green Bags are the shit. I put my bananas in one last week and they are still yellow 8 days later. I learned that you shouldn't put your bananas in there until they are the ripeness you like them at because they will stay however ripe they are once you put them in the bag. I also needed to wipe the condensation out each day, so they are slightly more high maintenance than I expected. But my bananas have lasted WAY longer than usual! Thumbs up on this one! As Seen on TV rules.

My arms are prickly. Dang you Smooth Away. I look silly.

Crap Morning.

So I wake up this morning, way too tired to be in the land of the living. I find a convo on Etsy directing me to a site. I thought it was spam, but I'm half awake so I clicked it anyway. There's news to spammers, get me early in the AM and I'm easy to fool! Anyway, NOT spam. It was a link to a site/blog in Spanish that is stealing my images and using them for the TUTORIALS that they are writing on how to make MY items. Now, my wallets aren't the hardest thing I've ever made for sure, but they did take some planning and time. I'm very passionate about my work and that I have finally learned to take a decent picture. Is this what comes with the territory when you take good pictures? Through a translator program I sort of figured out what the article was about, and attempted (I believe unsuccessfully) to contact the site admin to have my pictures removed. On one hand, I'm mad. Those images are mine! On the other hand, I know the tutorial is incorrect and doing it their way would really cause someone a headache and a lot more work than necessary. Where to go from here? AGGGGGHHHHH people make my head hurt.

On the upside, it's St. Patty's Day! I need to head to the dollar store soon and get supplies for tonight. One of my best friends and I don't mess around with St. Pat's day. We try to get as crazy-costumey as Halloween. It seems to be a big hit most years. My fall-down-drunk year, not such a big hit. But the rest have been a riot!! I'm thinking I need giant shamrock glasses this year. Maybe a googly shamrock headband. Unless I can find a green glitter top hat. White tights with sticky felt shamrocks are also on my to-do list, but considering it will be nearly 70 degrees today, chances are I won't get to that.

May your day be merry and your drinks be green!
Sláinte!

Ride My Surrey All Day Long...

Ride my surrey and sing my song...

That song is a lot more fun when you can hear me sing it (I hope).

It's getting nice out. I want to go on a surrey ride. The park only offers them a few days a week and the season hasn't started yet. Oh if only I had the space to store this and the means to transport it. Oh yeah and the money to buy it.

If you've never tried a bicycle surrey- you should! It's a billion times more fun than a bike!!

I'm off to go sew and amass some riches.

Gift Guides, Treasuries, and Sales, Oh My!

I'm in an Etsy Gift Guide! The Travel Gift Guide! Not the first place I'd have looked, but I just found out today and I'm excited about it! I've been working so hard on getting my photos better and making my shop more streamlined, while still presenting my somewhat crazy random style. I guess it's paying off! The pic is just a screenshot, click here if you want to view the whole Gift Guide!



I was also featured in a treasury curated by the lovely MariaSoleil of my Etsy West Michigan Team! There's so much talent going on in MI! Since I could only get a screenshot and not an EtsyMini I'm going to link to all the shops shown here, in order:
luv4sams
humblebea
lhsblack
awindowtowhimsy
FireChickTick
MomNMiaQuilts
AliciaBlock
holycraft
I apologize to the other 3 artists/items in this treasury, I am computer challenged. I could only get a screenshot of this much. Sorry!

I listed a few more wallets tonight, and made 2 sales. Maybe listing daily really is key?

It's midnight, I must sleep. I just wanted to share! Goodnight!

Dental Nightmare, Armhair, and Wallets

I can't believe I forgot to blog my amazing dentist freak out on Tuesay! If that dentist never sees me again, I bet it'd be too soon.

I went in and got my last 2 cavities filled. What an amazing feat to not have any cavities till I'm 27! Avoiding the dentist at all costs for many years will do that for ya- haha. Anyway, a few weeks ago I had the other 2 filled and lived through that just fine. She even bonded my 2 front teeth so they didn't have any discoloration anymore from the braces I had long ago. I am so very happy with my new front teeth! So, going in this time I really wasn't that scared. It was my 4th time there in less than 2 months, so it's ebcoming second nature. In fact I was able to walk into her office and not gag at that dentist office-y smell. I sat in the chair without that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach making me think that as soon as I open my mouth I will yak on her. Didn't happen. Yay! Am I finally a big girl?! No. She gave me the big fat shot in my mouth to numb me up. I close my eyes. Needles don't bother me that much as long as I never see it and don't get a warning. Just stab me and be done with it. I open my eyes. OMG OMG OMG OMG I SEE DOUBLE! 2 OF EVERYTHING! OMG OMG OMG WHAT DID YOU DO?!! OMFG OMG OMG OMG! Yes I really said everything you see here in caps. Freaking out. Wow. I do not freak out about things. Maybe internally, but I rarely let it out. This scared the snot out of me. I didn't think about that drill for one second. I just tried to keep my eyes closed and not freak out any more than I already was. Within 45 minutes my vision went back to normal. Apparently this happens if you hit a facial nerve when giving this numbing shot. I don't care how normal it is, I am officially scared shitless of the dentist all over again. I don't ever want to go back.

I wallowed in self pity most of the night eating hummus with a baby spoon since I couldn't open my mouth. What a sad state of affairs.

Also, an arm hair update. It's been 4 or 5 days and my arms are kinda pokey. I almost broke down and Smooth Away-ed my legs today. I hope my arm hair grows back soon though. My hubby says I'm probably more aerodynamic and IF I could swim it would really help me out. Isn't he a love? He wouldn't let me Smooth Away his eyebrows off either, what fun is he?!

I made some new wallets the other night! I found a great Alexander Henry print at the fabric store and I just had to have it. I've made 2 wallets so far with it, one for me, and one that sold within an hour of listing it on Etsy! Here's a peek at the latest!

In the Words of David -- Ta La!

Here it is! Finally, a better picture of a great bag! Gini's Bonnaroo Bag! I love love love it! She's lucky I like her so much, I realllly want to keep this one! It's got such a bright, springy feel to it. Yesterday I was almost convinced that it might actually be warming up here. It was 50 degrees at midnight! That's like summertime! Today it's back down to 2o-something and it just started snowing. I shut the curtains. I'm pretending that this is not really happening.

I'm so tired today. Ever have a friend go through something, that you've sort of been through yourself, but it's the sort of situation where you can't just show up and give her a hug and tell her everythings going to be ok? A dear friend of mine had her baby last night! I'm not exactly sure what her weeks were, but I think she was around 26 weeks. Baby Ayden weighs 2 lbs 8oz! That's so so so very early though. I remember having preterm labor at 21 weeks and spending the next 12 wks desperately trying to keep David in. Why are these boys so impatient? I don't know what hospital she's at, what room #, nothing. I just can't stop thinking about the 2 of them today and I hope they are ok.

When I went home after having David, no longer pregnant and not able to bring him home with me, I felt so empty. I also felt like a failure after 10+ weeks of bedrest and meds and I still couldn't stop myself from going into labor. I was completely engrossed in thoughts of my baby and what I would do without him if he weren't ok. It was dreadful. The happiest experience of my life was plagued with fear and sadness. I spend hours and hours in the NICU holding my tiny baby to my chest, petting his still furry little back, and telling him all about his new family that he'd meet as soon as I could get him outta there. I remember my heart feeling like it's stopping right then and there every time his alarms went off. Just typing this it's like I can hear those alarms all over again.

The most important thing anyone said to me after I was home and alone without my baby, was my mom, reminding me that she had been there as well with my twin sister and I. We were at different hospitals and I didn't come home for 6 weeks! My sis waited another 2 wks after that. It was comforting to know that someone else understood my heartache. It's a tough time becoming a mom to a preemie, but God won't give you more than you can handle. It was a true test of strength. That strong sense of protection that came over me as soon as he was born was overwhelming. I'm so very lucky to be watching my now 4 yr old thriving today. I need to change the subject before I short circuit my laptop with my tears.

I got some new fabrics yesterday! I found a fabulous Alexander Henry print at my local fabric store. I didn't even know they carried A. Henry! I only bought a 1/2 yd. since I've been spending insane amounts of money on fabric lately, I seriously need to chill. Next time I go, I am bringing $10 and no debit card. I'm tryin to save some money to go to Ohio in April and see my best friend. That's not going to happen if I don't tear myself away from the fabric store! I started making all my Slapdash items with scraps and now it has snowballed into an almost major investment. So I've got 6 wallets to sew tonight along with my very own Bonnaroo bag (YAYY!)!

Blogger... are you listening? When I type a space, put a damn space. Don't make me edit my post 800 times to still have it be wrong. It's just a space...

I have a lot to say when there's nothing to distract me...

I have no internet, cable, or phone right now. Boring. We barely had a storm! I didn't realize how much I depend on these 3 things for entertainment while I'm avoiding working. I am lame huh? When I type in notepad my cursor never moves to the next row, I just type in one horrendously long line. Annoying. Anyway, I have nothing else to do since I can't sew for another second, so I figured I'd write a blog and post it in the morning. Oooh fixed the long line problem. Score 1 for Lane.

I've tried lots of new products lately so I decided to do a product review! I don't know why I tried all this crap... I think boredom. I need summertime, I can't take anymore of this hibernating!

(**Warning... most of the product sites I link to have videos on them that play automatically. I don't need to help Vince the Shamwow Guy give anyone a heart attack like he just did to me...)

My hubby went on a As Seen On TV spree a couple weeks ago. Let me tell ya, if you don't want anyone to spill in your house, buy a Shamwow. I have a 4 yr. old, I deal with spills daily. Bought a Shamwow, wanted to test it, he didn't spill. For over a week! I'm not the type to make a mess just to clean it up, that's crazy. So I waited. I finally got to use it! It works pretty well, but I'm not sure it's all that much better than a few paper towels. I like that there is no waste though. I was told that they work better once they've been washed, so I'm going to try that and retest them. A couple days ago I was trapped in the shower with no towel. I begged and begged my son to get me a towel and he flat out refused. Isn't that sweet of him? He's just so full of piss and vinegar lately. (Wow, I really do sound like my Mom now!) I wrapped a Shamwow around my head and let me tell you, it works GREAT for a hair towel. If only they were bigger so it'd fit around my big melon. I think I will sew 2 together and use them for that. It cut my drying time in half. I wonder if it's good for your hair to suck all the water out like that? In the end, Shamwow gets 2 thumbs-up from me.

The next thing I tested was the Smooth Away. I'm sure you've seen the commercials. They claim it'll make the hairiest of hairballs hairless. Maybe if you've got a month to spare rubbin yourself. I tried it on my arm since my legs weren't hairy for once. Much like the Shamwow and spills, if you want your leg hair to magically stop growing, get yourself a Smooth Away! I'm so glad I tried it on my arm first. It took forever, but it doesn't lie! It did take the hair off and it was completely painless. It just took forever. Then I had to do my other arm so they matched. Now my arms look weird and hairless. They are SO soft though! There's still a few patches, but I'm impatient. No ones gonna notice a few stray hairs... especially since it's really too cold here for short sleeves still. I think my goofy hairless arms are much more noticeable. Oh the things I do when I'm bored. Lets hope it grows back fine instead of like leg hair. And soon. Before Tshirt weather! I also tried the mini Smooth Away on my upper lip. There's no abundance of hair there, but my arms aren't very sensitive so I wanted to try another spot and see if it's still pain free. Maybe I'm a masochist? That'd explain my giant tattoo I guess... Anyway, I don't suggest using this on your face. A few minutes after using it my lip hurt. Kinda bad too. In fact, that was over 2 hours ago and it's still a bit tingly with pain. Based on that trial, there's no freakin way I'm tryin that thing on my bikini line like it claims it's great for. I've concluded, if you have a hankerin to shave your arms, get a Smooth Away- thumbs-up! If you have a mustache, find a different solution. There's gotta be better options. If you have a lot of spare time and really want to give yourself a shoulder cramp, get a Smooth Away for your legs! Result: I'm impatient. It works if you are patient.

The next thing I tested just seems kinda nasty. The Clean and Clear Blackhead Eraser. If you say you've got perfect skin, then stop reading because I secretly hate you. If you want to shrink your pores and clear your skin, keep reading, because this got 2 thumbs-up!! Basically, it's a vibrator for your face. You attach a little pad, get it wet, turn it on, and 'erase' away your blemishes. Now, I'm not going to tell you that I'm now sitting here with perfect porcelain Nicole Kidman skin (only in my fantasy land... my sister calls this place Lainie-land) but it is VERY noticeably clearer!! I think it worked great! My skin is too sensitive to use a salicylic cleanser daily, but I've used it about every 3 days for the past week or so and I plan to continue that regimen forever if I must. I love the thing. It's a great exfoliator. It's waterproof too, so you can wash your face in the shower with it! No more splashing water all over the bathroom counter while trying to wash my face! No more silly headbands to keep my hair up too- come on ladies- they're so sexy ya know. At $20 I was iffy on buying it, but after some hunting online I found a $5 off coupon. I'll pay $15 for clearer skin for sure. Hell, I was going to use my spa gift card that I got for Xmas and spend $85 on a single facial. No more! I wish some of this crap existed when I was 16.

Item #3-- CoverGirl Bronzer. Ick. Yuck. Plug your nose. The color was pretty natural but omg the smell. It was like I spritzed myself in the face with perfume. I made a few of my guy friends sniff my face and they agreed - it's icky and they wouldn't want their women wearing it. The brush, like every other brush I've ever tried that came with any other makeup sucks too. I used a big fluffy one and my face thanks me. The most makeup I ever wear is a little bronzer and mascara, and some eyeliner if I'm feelin frisky, so maybe I'm not the one to be offering makeup advice. All in all, CG got a resounding 7 thumbs-down, and one thumbs-up from the guy that said it made me look prettier even if I smell funny. Thanks dude.

Neutrogena Micro Mist Airbrush Sunless Tanning Spray- not bad! I used to fry myself in a tanning bed. Mmm it feels so good to me to lay there and bake. It's one of the few times I ever really feel warm. I'm always freezing. I could lay there all day if it didn't crispy fry me. I've only used a tanning bed a handful of times in the past 5 years, mainly because I'm too cheap to pay for it and I never can get out of the house alone unless it's late at night. But really, I don't like being pale. In the summer it's no biggie, since I step outside and 5 minutes later I've got tan lines. In the winter my olive skin gets pale and I think I look kinda... green. (Dave guarantees this is all in my head.) So I figured I'd give this a shot. If nothing else, I'd have a funny story about how I had thick orange tiger stripes all over me. Instead, it actually worked!! It wasn't at all streaky (I did lightly rub it in like the directions say not to, but I wasn't taking any chances). It does say to use in a well ventilated area. My bathroom has no windows and is hardly what I'd call well-ventilated. I don't think my neighbors would appreciate it if I hopped into the backyard nekkid for a quick spraydown though, so I sprayed away in the bathroom. The fumes are pretty strong. It dried really fast and color appeared pretty quickly also, with NO orangeness. It was kinda pricey compared to some other brands, but I've always liked Neutrogena products, so I spent the $2-3 extra for it. I Googled and found some horrid reviews on this stuff, so maybe I'm just weird. But I was reminded to say, it does feel kinda sticky for a while after you put it on. Do it at night, sit around naked for while. (This is my solution to a lot or things- ha!) I give it a thumbs-up and I'll buy it again.

This post is getting crazy long so I'm going to shorten the last items up...

--Meijer Brand Spiral Mac N Cheese is just as good, if not better, than Kraft. Eat it up.

--Spot Shot is less than $3 at Walmart and took a coffee stain out of my beige carpet that had been there for well over a month. Worth every penny. Thank you to the super sweet saleslady at Walmart that told me to buy this and not the more expensive brands I was also looking at.

--Athenos Garlic Hummus is yum. So is Basha Garlic Lovers Hommus. What's the difference between Hommus and Hummus? All I can find is that no one at my grocery store buys Hommus but they buy up all the Hummus like mad so I'm forced to buy Hommus and hope it's just as good. It is. On everything.

--Arby's New Roast Burger. They were free with a drink purchase today. Free! So instead of cooking dinner, I let my hub eat leftovers and my kid have a PB&J and I snuck away and got myself Arby's. I needed out of this house and away from people for a minute. I tried the Bacon and Blue Cheese Burger, since everythings better with bacon and blue cheese. It wasn't bad, but I'm glad it was free. Honestly, Arby's roast beef is so yummy that they don't need to add all that junk to it. There was some kind of unnecessary seasoning that I couldn't really taste through the blue cheese. Result- I'll eat it if it's free, but I won't be ordering it next time. It didn't suck.

--PedEgg- thumbs-up! I tried this a while back, but I might as well rate it too. Makes my arm tired, but they make one with a handle now and I think that'd make it easier. Works great but gets dull fast. Not sure if you can buy new blades at the store or if you have to buy them online. My son tried using it tonight and I told him that it's not for his beautiful soft baby feet. To that he answered "Nope, it's for Mom's BIIIG feet!" At least he didn't call them big nasty feet I suppose, lol.

I sure can go on for days huh? So, we've learned that I'm mildy skin obsessed, eat like shit, and have an opinion on everything. I should go cut out some pants. I've got some great goodies to share soon! Bon's bag is close to done, and "Gini's Bonnaroo Bag" along with another similar messenger bag are both done (and FANTASTIC!). The Bonnaroo Bag is similar to the Slapdash items I've been offering lately and OMG they turned out so colorful and fun! Perfect for festival season. OOOooooh festival season, how I miss thee. Get warm already Michigan. NOW. I need to kick off my shoes and dance in the grass to some Greensky (play it really teensy way down at the bottom of the page I linked to).


Since my internet came back on as soon as I finished writing this, I decided to put off sleeping even further and get a quick pic of the Bonnaroo Bags - aren't they fun?!

ZZZzzzzip!

What'd you do this weekend? I got half of Bon's bag done (yayyy!). I would have it all done, but I bought the wrong length zipper at the store last night. I needed a 7" zipper in any color but pink and an 18" zipper in pink. My little lovely David was such a peach yesterday that with all his in-store whining I ended up with a 7" pink zipper, completely forgetting that I needed 2. So I'm stuck at the zipper installation point of Bon's bag and can't move on till I go back to the store. Once again Bon's bag is being pushed aside for other projects. (Sorry Bon!) I had 2 custom orders to get to today as well. Luckily I managed to dig a black zipper out of my collection that worked great for this one!


I LOOOOVE how this turned out! The colors are perfect and the zipper is perfect! I even lined up the stripe! I think maybe I don't give myself enough credit because I thought for sure I'd screw this up. It was my only zipper, and the only piece of that swirly fabric that I had left. I was kinda hoping my buyer would hate it so I could keep it! :) I just had to share... I'm off to Etsy to search for zippers so I can make a billion more of these. I guess my next one will have to be pink so I can put that 7" zipper to use.

Art Fair Finds!

Oh what to blog, what to blog...
I have been a busy mama! I've had LOTS of custom orders both online and locally, so I've been workin hard! I've got a couple new versions of wallets coming soon, with some tweeks done by request. I'm talkin checkbook wallets, zippered pockets, all the works! Here's a peek at the outside of one I made for a friend (see the inside) --


I hit up the Garage Sale Art Fair last weekend! It was great, but busier than crap, I usually go near the end of it when the prices are super low... I'm cheap... I know this. But I had to go to it before that wedding I blogged about earlier.

I got some great pottery from some guy named Tanja. I picked up a big cup and a planter. His work looked so familiar! I found out later that I have a bunch of his pieces that I've gotten from friends or around town over the years! Hopefully I can get something to grow in the planter. I don't have a green thumb, mine is surely black. Or dead and brown. I also got another genie bottle style vase for my collection. I should get a picture, it's fantastic! I wish I had a realllly long shelf that I could put them all on! You readin this Dad? My bday is coming up fast :) Shelf, shelf, shelf...

I also got some perfect handmade paper. I think it's truly insane to take all that time to make paper, then sell it for as little as they were, but who am I to judge? I love it and my friend and I bought up 4 rolls. Now I wish I had more. I used my boss's typewriter and spent Weds. afternoon typing tons and tons and tons of hangtags and thank you notes. I have always loved the way a typewriters typing looks. It's so much more fun to use than a computer as well. I think I had about 150 tags when I was done and I still have a whole roll of paper left!


My has-to-be-next project is Bonnie's diaper bag! I've thought about it everyday but I just haven't had the time with all the other orders I've had. She picked some fabulous Micheal Miller fabric and a fun, HUGE style! I want to get started on it sooooo bad! I was making Slapdash Wallets the other night, so I whipped up a wallet in the colors she chose, as motivation to once again make something pink. This is what I came up with --


The inside has the black and white damask and pink pockets. My opinion? Needs less pink. Needs more of every other color like my other wallets! :) BUT, it's for one of my very favorite people and it's exactly what she wants. I'm super happy to be making her dream bag! Now, I just need to make the time to make it! I have a feeling I'm going to have a real late night on Friday and very busy day on Saturday. Must. Get. Bon's. Bag. DONE.

He's got the fever... Dance Fever!

I was told it's time to blog! I had no idea that I wasn't just talking to myself here. I've actually been avoiding blogging this week. My Mom taught me that if I don't have anything nice to say then I shouldn't say anything at all. She thinks I don't listen to her, but I do. I've been too consumed by my crappy weekend to be able to blog (or talk about) this weekend without too much cussing.

I'll give the short version anyway...
I was soooo looking forward to a weekend with my boys. A couple friends of Dave's friends got married and it was a lovely wedding. We had a room for the night and I knew I was gonna be spending more time in said room than partying, since we had our wee one with us. Dave was amazing at Megan's wedding and I got to do my bridesmaid-ly duties without worrying about where my kiddo was, so I knew I was in for that job this time around. Davidino had the greatest time dancing at this reception! I just wish someone, ANYONE, would've told me that it wasn't a kid friendly wedding. He was the only kid there. That was fine since he behaved. However, after dancing a few hours, some crazy mean girl came and told me that she didn't want him on the dancefloor anymore. She apparently thought he was going to get stepped on and hurt. I'm all for people looking out for children's best interest. After all, it takes a village to raise a child they say. BUT, he was just having a good time. If he gets stepped on, he gets stepped on. I'm sure he'll be fine. I told her this and she yells at me "NO! I WANT HIM OFF THE DANCEFLOOR NOW!" Whoaaa lady, ok. Who are you again? You aren't in the wedding party and you and your 2 cronies are the only people on the floor. Can someone please explain why one 4 yr old is gettin your panties in a twist? Soon after, I convinced D that we should bring our party back to the hotel for some apple juice and fruit snacks.

This is becoming a long short version...
Apparently a bunch of wedding guests ended up at the bride and grooms room for a bit after the reception. I've always thought this was odd, but the last 2 weddings I've been to ended up that way. The difference being, when my best friend wanted everyone out she said "Delainie, as my best friend, get these drunks outta here" and I said "HEY They just got married and now they want ya out - so EVERYBODY OUT!" and ya know what? They got out! Amazing. My hub's friends on the other hand say "Why don't you guys order some pizza?" Then when they went to get the pizza from the front desk, they locked all their guests out of the room. The drunks scatter and my hub is stuck with $30 in unwanted pizza. Real cool.

It only gets better...
This guy I've heard many stories about was at this wedding. I've heard some real doozies about this one. Insanely stupid things he's done when drinking, to things that make me say "why are you friends with this guy?" He didn't disappoint. I woke up shirtless and partially uncovered, look over, and see this guy sleeping in our extra bed. WTH?! An hour later he covers the hotel room with vomit. Moves to the bathroom and gets that room too... we wouldn't want to miss a spot. I tell you, between my Ohio trip to see AJ and this trip, I'm probably blacklisted. If I never get a hotel room in my name again I really will not be that surprised. What happened to people either handling their liqour, or respecting the things that aren't theirs? I wouldn't go to your house and puke everywhere. Then again, I'm not a jackass. (Sorry AJ, love you... jackass!)

All I wanted was a morning with my Daves with no Xbox, computer, or anything else. Some hotel coffee and some cuddlin with my boys. It's just something that doesn't happen at home and I was really looking forward to it. Ok I'm done with my wedding rant. If you're getting married don't invite me. I'm done till Will gets married -- I'll go to that, I like him.

Ok enough on that...

I've recently joined Craftster again! I used to post on there before I had an Etsy shop, and I kinda missed it. There's so many things I make but don't sell or that never make it to Etsy and dangit, I wanna show them off! So I started posting there again. I've met a cool member, named Erika, or Craftsomnia, who I'm attempting to teach to Locker Hook through email. We'll see how that goes! I hope she finishes her rug because I'm dyin to see some others!! I think I have craftsomnia. That's why I always choose to sew rather than sleep. I blogged for ya today Erika! Sorry all I did was rant mostly :)

I've got some wallets to photograph... I should get to it. I let David pick the thread color for yesterday's Slapdash Wallets and he chose neon green! They are fun! They almost glow in the sunlight, the color is so bright! I like his style :) I plan on getting them listed at naptime!

I got some handmade paper at the Garage Sale Art Fair that I'm going to attempt to make thank you notes with as well today -- typewriter here I come! Hopefully I don't ruin all my pretty new paper!

Alli's tryin to chew my arm off... I think my time is done here! I promised them a thrilling game of Wii Bowling. I shall be back.... in less than a month haha! I think I should do a product testing post soon. I've got all kinds of cool new stuff that I've been tryin out. My hubby went on an As Seen on TV shopping spree the other day and I must share! I'll try to get to that soon!!