Technically Challenged.

I'm a technical nightmare today! Earlier I couldn't add an image to my blog post. Then I couldn't add a Byhand Spotlight. Then I couldn't add an Etsy Mini. THEN I couldn't use Twitter to contact Byhand to find out what I'm doing wrong!

Is it so wrong that I just want a clickable showcase to show off all the things I want to buy for my pregnant best friend? That's right- my very best friend - my BFF if you will - is knockered up! I love her to bits and I can't wait to spoil her little kidlet rotten! It's close to my only chance to be Aunt Lainie. Took me ages to pick only 9 items, but here's my top favorites! I bought the 1st one already in green, I just couldn't wait! I got it in a 3T for Ali though, not for my BFF. I think I should wait on some of my shopping till she's more than 7 weeks along!

And since I couldn't get any sort of clickable showcase to work, here are links to each shop I featured here!

#1 Aliyah'sHopeChest

#2 AmyRoseDesigns

#3 2CraftyChix

#4 PieceUnique

#5 happyfamily

#6 TidaBellaMonkey

#7 jennadesigns

#8 MomNMiasQuilts

#9 THEMONKEYSHOP

Let's hope tomorrow I can work a computer better! I'm going to eat a caramel chocolate marshmallow from firstfruitsllc and pretend that it didn't actually take me 10x longer than it should have to get things done today.

On With the Show!

I have been a blog slacker. The weather is so beautiful, I've been outside enjoying every second of it that I can. Even got a touch of sunburn the other day! Never been so excited about that! It's been such a dull, dreary winter, it's just so nice to see the sun again!

I've been dragging the kids outside for early morning workouts as well. I feel goooooood. I've discovered Michael Franti this week too, and his music just makes me move! The kids seem to like it too so that's a plus! Usually they are asking me for Rhianna's Disturbia over and over (they call it Bumbaneeya (goofy kids!)). And other equally horrible songs that make me want to rip my ears off. It's nice when we find one we all like! So, Michael Franti, I love you. My ears thank you.

On the Etsy front- I made my 200th sale last week! It's such a great feeling knowing that beautiful things I've made with my own 2 hands are all over the world being appreciated by others. I haven't recounted in a while, but I think I've now sold to 41 states and 9 countries!! I wanted to add some treasury screenshots on here, but Blogger really truly hates me right now and keeps freezing when I try to add an image. Booo at you Blogger. Jerk. I refuse to try to do it again and retype this entire thing for a third time.

As Seen on TV update- I once lived in a teeny tiny apartment. Quite possibly world's smallest. It had no oven! I didn't know this when I moved in and managed to 'make it work' using a toaster oven. The only thing I couldn't make was a decent pizza. I had to cut them in half and cook half at a time. My stepdad got me a Pizza Pizazz for Christmas and at first, I thought it was a joke since I'm always wanting something I've seen on a late night infomercial. It was the real deal! I could cook pizza again! I've had the thing for 6 yrs and it took an unfortunate turn a couple months ago. I am stubborn. I refused to throw it out. The other day, due to my lack of cupboard space, I thought I should give it one final chance and see if it .... I don't know... fixed itself? I'm a dreamer, I know. Would believe that it really did? It's back and working perfectly! Over the past few years, this is by far my most used kistchen appliance other than my toaster oven. I'd suggest it to anyone! MMMmmm crispy pizza crust *drool*.

To my loyal blog follower Erika... My hubby is a Marine. And a dang good one at that. :) I'm very proud of him and all his accomplishments, doing things I know I could never do! Also, I think you should really get to work on that locker hooking, I know it takes an eternity, but you'll have such a great, long lasting rug when you're all done! I love getting that "you MADE that?!?!" look from people when they see mine, it's part of what drives me. That being said, there's no way in hell I'm making another one! LOL!

Step Away From the Sewing Machine...

... and make something new. Inspired by a tutorial on Craftster, posted by weighanchor (a super talented and awesome Etsian), I just HAD to try this watercolor. I haven't painted anything since 8th grade art class so I didn't have very high hopes. I shocked myself! Aside from the faces, it's not too bad! My hubby looks hot in his uniform even in watercolor and with no lips too. If only my hair could really be that full! I'm going to frame it and put it on my too-naked living room wall.

My tiny Picasso is painting obsessed. When I bought the supplies for this I had to get him his own paints as well. I picked them up the other night right before bed, so he couldn't paint that night. I told him he could paint in the morning after breakfast. Wouldn't you know it, that child was out of bed and waking me up at 6am yesterday. "Mommy, can I have some Cheerios, so I can paint now PLEEEEASE?" He painted me 20+ pictures yesterday! I'm tempted to make them into a notebook. I've bound everything else cardboard in my house by now with that damn binding machine. I have also really cut down on putting things into recycling though since everything becomes a notebook!

Speaking of, HAPPY EARTH DAY! Go plant a tree. Pick up litter. Work in your garden. Do something good for this Earth we're lucky to have!

Kid Smiles

She loves it, she really loves it! I knew she would, I was excited to see Ali's smiley little face today when I gave her her new bag! She promptly filled it with 'lipstuff' and gum, her 2 obsessions, and hasn't put it down yet!

I made the body for another mini-messenger bag like this, but the strap was just too difficult to sew on with my machine and still get it to look clean enough to sell, so Ali's is the only one I'm making till I figure something else out. I have an idea... just need to get some supplies. I already made the body of that bag into a notebook, so who knows? May never happen!

We've had some lovely weather around here. I always take too many pictures when it's sunny out since everything looks so bright and colorful. Obviously I took way too many pictures the other day becuase D wasn't havin it anymore! I wish there was audio for this one "Moooommmmm please stop it. When I say STOP I mean STOP!" Now where did he learn that line?

Sunshine! Beautiful Sunshine!

That's right. Michigan has finally thawed! We even had 2 days in a row of 70+ weather and SUNSHINE! I almost forgot what that was. Of course this sunshine didn't come out much when I was on Spring Break the past 2 weeks! I hear the U.P. still has around 30" of snow!!

I was going to participate in another Strutt show today, but it was far too nice outside to commit myself to a day of sitting inside. I got to visit a friend and see her new place. Her new place is amazing! Like a smaller version of exactly what I'm looking for in a house right now. It's got a great creative vibe, lots of beautiful wood, and COLOR! I cannot wait till Dave and I finally find a house and can end this existence of tan carpet and beige walls. We've both whole-heartedly agreed that no walls in our new house will be anywhere near beige, ever. He did shoot down my kiwi green living room idea... but we'll see. I may win that war yet.

I finally got to try Chicago Subs today. Not that I've ever found myself saying "Hey! That little dumpy building looks like a great place for a tasty meal!" but nonetheless, I ended up there for lunch. My gyro was ginormous and excellent. It also made me feel slightly better after the comment this 'friend' made about some new items I've made, that I brought to show her. Basically, she scoffed at my prices even though I was offering her a very generous discount. She followed that up with a request for Ninja Pants at half price, using a fabric that costs more than twice the cost of the fabric I normally use. Oh how I'd love to go into more detail about this insulting conversation - I'm laughing really - but I'm not one to talk smack about someone I do care about, whether or not she understands what it means to make something with your own 2 hands. My mom would be so proud of me today. I just kept repeating "if you haven't got anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" over and over and over in my brain. Now that I'm back home I kinda wish I'd have told her off, especially since this isn't the first time she and I have had this conversation. I've had far too much success to let one person's uneducated opinion of handmade affect me too much.

The item I had in the Etsy Gift Guide sold! I was a little sad to lose that exposure, and then found out that I'm back in it! Yay! I'm right underneath an Etsy artist named hine. I bought a camera case from her a while back that is so freaking cool! It looks just like a camera! Except of course it's handstitched felt and buttons! Check out her shop, look at the pictures of the backs of the camera cases too! Such a neat idea!

All Yours!

I've decided to offer some personalized Itty Bitty Snap Pouches! I was inspired by a potential customer that wanted to use them to package her wedding parties gifts. I hadn't even thought of stitching names on! Too easy to not run with the idea!

Erin was in luck yet again. She seems to get her name tested on most things I personalize since she's got such a short name, and well, I like her! Lucky gal! I stitched both names freehand, they turned out pretty well!!

I'm much more inspired to alter the wedding dress I've been holding out on. The girl (my twin sissy's best friend) told me I could keep all the scraps. In fact, she looked at me like I was nuts when I asked all excitedly if I got to keep what I cut off. "Uh Delainie, what the heck am I going to do with a pile of fabric scraps?" Guess we're even since I looked at her with that same "Are you fekking insane?" when she brought me this gorgeous (5 layer!!) dress and told me to chop it up. Oh the trust... the pressure... the nervousness! I just wanna use the scraps to make little pouches though!!

Internet Time-suck...

How can I spend so much time on the internet, without getting any actual work done?

Why won't I eat food that's been in the fridge more than a few days, but I love blue cheese, which is really just mold?

Why am I always ready for a nap at 7pm, but never ready for bed at 9pm, even when I skip the 7pm nap?

Just a few random wonderments of mine tonight.

I just found out I made the Front Page of Etsy last week! I didn't even know it! My fourth time on the front page, and the second time for this item! Somehow every one of my items that has made the front page has been yellow and gray.

I added a few goodies to my shop today as well! It was bittersweet making a clutch this weekend, as it is the very last frame of this style that I have. That, and it turned out so great I want to keep it for myself!! I was getting the frames somewhere completely random, and they no longer have any, so I guess that line is done! I have one more that is broken, I'm hoping my bro-in-law can fix it for me when he gets home from Africa soon.

Off to bed with me- my last day of Spring Break is tomorrow- I have to spend it cleaning! Boooo!

Bookbinding Bliss

I love my new binding machine! These are just a few of the notebooks I've made since yesterday afternoon. I pretty much cut up anything cardboard that I could find. This afternoon I went to the thrift store and found some interesting, and some hilarious, album covers to use. I stopped at Wendy's on my way home from and the lady working there made a comment about the albums I had stacked on the seat and I told her about my binding machine. Apparently she's got a bunch of great album covers (without the records) that she's keeping only because she can't bring herself to throw them away. She loved the idea of making them into notebooks and I ended up with her number and she wants me to have them! I'm going to find out which is her favorite and make it into a notebook for her. My favorites so far are the one made with a park Livery schedule (it has green pages!) and the jumping guy with guitars (very odd record!).

I made a couple slapdash style covers with grommets and all also. Putting grommets that close together isn't much fun, and spacing them out looks better but doesn't open as well. I need to come up with a better plan for those!

Wednesday Top 10

My Top 10 list! A few members of my amazing Etsy West Michigan Team have a blog topic today! The top 10 things that make us happy - so here goes!

1. David and Alli... and of course Tay when I get to see her
2. Laughing till I can't breathe
3. Kids laughing so hard that they fall right over
4. Fabric!
5. Waking up in the sunspot on the bed. I will not buy a house that doesn't face the right direction. (Not coming in very handy right now, as we are house shopping)
6. Road trips
7. Sunshine
8. Open-minded, fun-to-be-around, creative, amazing people
9. Mountains. Oh what I would do to be back in Missoula- even just for a while.
10. Creating things. Whether it's for me, my shop, local orders, anything. Pants, dresses, bags, wallets, reupholstering RVs, I don't care. I just need to create.

This all reminds me that it's been wayyy too long since I've had a great belly laugh or a vacation.
At least my babys laughing!! He's extra silly today- I think it's lack of sleep. My Mom surprised us with a visit today and we skipped naptime so we could hang with her!

Update on the #1 thing that does not make me happy. Potty training. I told David that we are out of diapers and can't buy any more because he's just too old for them. I don' t like to lie to my baby, but man, I have to do something. I've tried it all! He really thinks that the store won't let me buy any more and that is fine by me! 1 diaperless night down- and we all lived through it!

I was up at 2am fixing the potty. I still can't explain what happened to it, I'm just glad I figured out how to stop the water before it made it to the hallway. My Shamwows came in handy finally! I knew I'd regret wanting a reason to use them! Dave got home this morning and just did that "I love you... moron" head shake at me and fixed it the right way. Gotta love him.

THE UPS MAN HAS ARRIVED! I must go punch some holes in paper. OOOhhhh I cannot wait!

Impatiently Waiting

It's like my birthday is never-ending! Last night I finally checked the mail (after my Dad made me) and found a check from him for my birthday! I love birthday money. For the longest time, I have wanted a bookbinding machine. I've bought enough notebooks on Etsy by now that I could've bought one long ago.

Last night, the time came! I finally found the one I want, that doesn't use those icky CombBind things. I wanted double-O wire spirals! I spent hours researching machines and managed to find one for half the price that all the rest were listed for. Score! I am soon to be a proud owner of a SircleBind WR-60 Manual Wire-O Binding Machine. YAY!!! I'm impatiently waiting for my tracking # so I can stalk my machine all the way to my house. I've been thinking of all kinds of crazy ways to make notebooks while still using fabric too. So. Many. Awesome. Ideas. I need to get my other sewing machine fixed so I can beat the snot out of it trying some of these ideas out. I can't wait to share! OOOHH SO MANY IDEAS!!

I made some new Slapdash Zip Wallets yesterday! Got some pics today and got em listed. I really love these with zippers! I wanted to call this one "My Precious" since I love it so much, but instead it's "All The Rage" since I didn't think it had much to do with a LOTR reference. Sure is pretty,isn't it? :)

I Feel Treasured :)

I love Craftopolis. I never had the time to check the Etsy treasury lists hunting for little stars signifying that I've been featured, and this snazzy site just tells me in a click! Here's a few of the most recent! I believe all but the 2nd one are Etsy West Michigan Team Treasuries - look how much talent we've got going on! Very fun and inspirational team to be a part of! The 2nd one made it to the Front Page of Etsy!! I need to find a way to make these clickable... seems I could recreate them on byhand.me, but there's got to be an easier way. Someone clue me in!

Happy Birthday Me!

I'm the big 2-8 today! It really doesn't feel like my birthday. It's so quiet around here. Davids at my Dad's, Daves at drill, all my bffs are at work, and my twin sis is in Kentucky. I'm really missing my twinner today. We always see each other on our birthday! The peace and quiet in my house is nice though- wish it wasn't covered with toys!

I don't know why I tried it on again, knowing that I can't breathe in it, but the vest I made a while back fits today! It's a birthday miracle! I don't know how, I don't know why. I'm so wearing it tonight! I've been contemplating listing it on Etsy, but oh no- now it's alllll mine. I knew I'd never part with it. As soon as I finished it I knew it'd be mine, even if it didn't fit and would just be a closet decoration. I'm hoping I can still breathe in it tonight after I go to Mongolian BBQ and gorge myself on big bowls of saucy stir fry and that giant birthday sundae they give ya! Not to mention my lunch today (I slept through breakfast! Woohoo @ sleeping in!) is a plate of overdone bacon and some coffee.

Happy Birthday Colie-O! I love you!

~Love, Lanerd

Sleepy Un-Birthday Mornings

*Yawn* I have too many mornings that I'm awake before I want to be. I'm being forced to watch Bobby's World (again) about the missing slipper (again). David now knows every word and when we aren't watching it, he's reciting it. It's super cute, but man, how can kids watch the same thing over and over and over? The Beatles references are cute though, I never caught on to those as a kid!

I added a new Slapdash Messenger Bag to my shop! I've had a busy week of custom orders and just plain awful picture taking weather, so this is all I've listed this week.

It's similar to the Bonnaroo Bags I made a month or so ago, but this time they aren't all Reserved for other people! I used 12+ fabrics for this one and even made the hidden pocket even more hidden by making it run along the very bottom of the bag. I had to make one just for me this time around, they are too great for me to not have one of my own! I've gotten so many compliments on it! I am just LOVING my Slapdash Series. I made some more tiny snap pouches also, but I can't manage to get a decent picture. The longer I wait the faster they are selling locally, so I can't complain. They've been a big hit around here! Someday I might get them onto Etsy! Come on sunshine! Here's the best of the worst pics of them I've gotten so far. If anyone wants one of them, let me know, a few are still available. After 4 different failed photoshoots for them I'm not that excited to try it again, but I would for you. :)

Yesterday was ridiculously relaxing. My first full day of vacation and I could barely keep my eyes open for most of it. I've been hanging onto this spa gift card I had gotten from my awesome boss for Christmas, and I finally got to use it yesterday! So I got myself a haircut and a pedicure. It was great! The haircut is real cute! I haven't attempted to style it myself yet, but we'll see what magic I can work when I finally get off this couch. The pedicure was soooooooooooo relaxing! I wish this fancy spa had had those vibrating massage chairs like Walmart does though. The bench thing I sat on had too low of a back to just lean back and relax. For twice the price of a WM pedi, I really think a massaging chair would be nice! It was great though, and the girl that did both was so sweet! If any of you are in Kzoo and want to spend way too much on a haircut at a fancy salon from a really sweet stylist then let me know and I'll tell ya who she is! I'm entirely too cheap to do these sorts of things I think!

My birthday is tomorrow! I thought I'd spend it all sitting at home with David since I had no sitter, but my Dad came through! Since I let David know about going up to Grandpa's he's been talking endlessly about Grandpa's garage. Grandpa's garage is really a wooden breadbox. David snags it as soon as he walks in the door every time! I'm thinking the Easter Bunny might need to bring this kidlet a breadbox. What am I going to do with myself being kid free for 2 nights??!! I hope all my friends aren't at work tonight!!

I'm PREGNANT!!

April Fools! I know... lame of me, I could've come up with something better. I've only had a half a cup of coffee today, my creativity hasn't awakened yet. Now let's just hope that's not true!

What a week. I've been as cranky as they come, and I'm not sure why. Hey maybe I really am pregnant! Ha! All these hours I've been putting in between work and my Etsy shop is starting to take a toll. Yesterday it took a toll on not only me, but David as well. He woke up evil and continued on that way most of the day. Everything caused a big unnecessary crying breakdown for him. I haven't been sleeping, and I'm cranky. When my friend K called to see how I'm doing since no one's seen me in ages since I've been so busy, I did the inevitable. Turned into a big sobbing baby right there. Oh woe is me. I'm so lucky to have a friend like her. One that understands my PMS and my crying over the unnecessary. She let me cry, told me she loved me, and offered some good advice. I hung up glad to have her and went to chill out before the kids woke up from their naps and went back to trying to beat each other silly. Almost no time later there was a knock at the door and this is what I found!

A bouquet of flowers from my K! She is just too sweet! I'm so lucky to have her. They looked a lot better before the drive home from work, but I accidentally smooshed one side- oops! I'm not flower expert... I'm pretty sure I've already expressed how I have a black thumb... and these are really neat! The small purple flowers seem to only have one petal, they are really cool. I've never seen a one petal flower!

Aren't they great? Isn't she great? She was great before she bought me flowers, but it was just so sweet. :)

I had a whole blog post ready about the crappy music I've been encountering lately on XM, but that'll just have to wait till tomorrow I suppose. 8 hours till Spring Break officially starts!