Quick Update - I'm a Warm Weather Blog Slacker

Warm weather does not encourage blogging. It does encourage very much time spent laying in the sun, smelling flowers, and getting dirty though! I've been on another motorcycle ride and thought much less about dying during it! Maybe I need to go far more often in order to conquer this fear. I also made my friend go at what he calls "beach cruiser" speed, that helps! Apparently I am not the most fun person to ride with. Ah well... can't be so bad or I wouldn't be invited anymore!

Something a little more my pace - a bicycle surrey! Now I know I go on and on about these things, but really I don't think they'll ever get old to me. It's not very often that I find something that can hold my attention for a long time. What I really need to do is buy my own surrey so I'm not confined to the short trail they allow them on at the park. We go around the loop twice everytime and that's still not far enough! Dave heard enough about me and MY surrey this last time that he got a little annoyed. Some of my favorite bloggers have nicknames for their husbands when they blog... mine is well on his way to the title of CrankyAss. At least *I* am having a fun summer. Look who else is too! (I ALWAYS forget my camera when we go rent a surrey- check out the awesome pics my new cellphone takes-wowza!)

I got some scratcher 'lotto' cards made for one of my craft shows! I used this amazing tutorial from Art Mind. I had no idea it was so easy to do this! I also for some reason thought it would only take me a half hour or so to make 100 of them (HAHAHA). Some valuable things I learned along the way:

***Watercolor paper is nice, but not appropriate for stamping on. It takes FOREVER for the ink to dry, if it ever does dry fully. I ended up using some recycled ACEO cards I got on Etsy from EssemDesign. This isn't a supply shop, but if you like glitter and fun jewelry you should check it out. It was quick shipping with friendly service. And I was able to use recycled materials so I'm happy!

***It is NOT faster to paint a big sheet of contact paper and cut it into squares and apply it to the cards. The paint chipped off whenever I bent the big sheet and it ended up in the trash can. Blah.

***Cheap paintbrushes make for bubbly streaky paint, a small foam brush might work better. I haven't tested this, but I do plan to make more, so I'll update when I know for sure!

Here's a peek at what I came up with. I'm not crazy with my uneven paint jobs, not to mention my sloppy stamping, but I've set my OCD aside this time since these will probably get tossed if they are losing cards anyhow.

FYI-- I got that "Buy Handmade! delainie.etsy.com" stamp from AutumnWhispers! It's a beautiful stamp, but a bit hard to hold. I'm going to have to figure out some sort of handle because I'm going to use this thing till it falls apart!!

I went thrift store shopping for some display ideas and found a great wooden serving platter with a metal handle sticking out of the middle for $1.99. I'm planning to make a "WIN A FREE WALLET -- Ask Me How!" sign to attach to the handle. I plan to give those that ask a scratcher card, and also another to anyone that buys something. Should I put the odds of winning on the sign?

Also, I found a make-your-own stamp set at Walmart on CLEARANCE for a mere $7! It came with TONS of letters, numbers, and symbols in a convenient case, with an inkpad and little letter pluckin tweezers. Man I love a good deal! Sure saved me a lot of time making these scratcher cards as well! I would've just printed them out like the tutorial explained but my printer is having issues. It's only got a black cartridge in it, yet it only prints in red. Figure that one out...

Have You Risked Your Life Lately?

I did today. Fresh air, hot sun, fast motorcycle. I don't know what it is about motorcycles. They really scare the shit out of me. It's like a mind test where I try to enjoy the ride and NOT think about crashing. Or what I'd look like splattered on the pavement. Or what I think I'd break first. How they'd figure out who I am since I left anything identifiable in my car. It really can't be healthy to put myself in these situations. When I can stop thinking about those things... I LOVE MOTORCYCLES. I never want to drive one though. I like having a bug sheild sitting in front of me. Speaking of, I feel like I inhaled a bug. A tiny one, but it seriously feels like something went all the way up my nose. Maybe I've got a new visitor living in my sinus. Isn't this a pleasant story?

A few days ago at the fabric store, David and I were shopping for a bunch of things we didn't need. After chit-chatting with my fabric store ladies (who I see more than my own family these days) David and I were leaving and my sweet boy says "Thanks for the fabric! I eat my boogers! Bye!" Leaving me standing there with a why-in-the-world-would-you-say-that?! look on my face. This is the silliest age yet, by far.

I should've titled this post "Nose Stories."

It's late... I've got much more to say later, but no more about noses. Goodnight :)

Frank and Beans

Those are the names of my sister's giant bellied bug-eyed goldfish. One of them is no longer with us, but I forget which one. Look at this adorable fabric!! I found it in the scrap bag I had blogged about earlier and it was just perfect to make my sis an Itty Bitty Frank and Beans Pouch! I haven't seen my sis in over a month and I miss her bunches. She's moving to KY soon, so I should really just get used to it. Instead, I thought maybe I'd make her something, as a bribe to please oh please come see me. :)

I'm almost ready for my summer shows! My first show is on May 30th. I'm not even positive where this one is since I'm not the one that signed up for it, but my partner-in-crime Mary Lou from Hidden Gem Studios has all the dirty details for me to share soon! I've been working my tiny-heiny off trying to work up stock for the summer so I don't have to spend it all inside at my machine. However, Mary Lou did offer me some workspace at her house where I could escape to to get some uninterupted work done, AND her workshop has garage doors on either end so fresh air flows through! I may just take her up on that.

The military is finally working in my favor this summer as well! Originally my hubby was getting sent on an AT in June, interupting my convenient babysitting for show season. Now, he's been specially chosen to go to Korea instead in September. I think that means his AT will be about 4 weeks longer than originally planned, but it sure is more convenient for me so far!

Happy Mom's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all my Mama readers! I hope you feel extra appreciated today, get lots of snuggles from your babies, and maybe even sleep in or get some time to yourself!

My Mother's Day is going to be spent working I'm sure... but it's show season and that's to be expected. I think I may have over extended myself for this summer- there's so much going on! It occured to me last night that I need to make a huge stack of coasters still too, so that's the plan for today. Somewhere around here I've got a big bag full of coasters that only need to be topstitched and then they'll be all done. Why did I stop right before they were finished? Story of my life I guess -- if I didn't have 30 unfinished projects laying around then I just wouldn't be me.

I'd love to type up a whole tribute to my Mommers today, but I think I'll just call her myself so I can spend my time snuggling with that cutie up there on the left. I'll steal a snuggle from my part-time baby tomorrow. :)

Have a wonderful day Mamas!

Front Page!

So I was waking up with my coffee this morning, trying to not get a caffeine withdrawl headache today, and what did I find? I'm on Etsy's Front Page! RIGHT NOW! And right at the top in one of the best spots! I'll admit, I'm guilty of rarely scrolling down past the first 3 spots that show unless I'm genuinely interested in the color scheme going on. What a nice thing to wake up to! My hubby's also waking up early so we can take a surrey ride- today is a good day!

Welcome to My Circus!

I've been doing lots of custom work lately! Usually I forget to get pictures, but I finally remembered this time! I made a great trade with MomNMiaQuilts and whipped up a pink Itty Bitty Snap Pouch for her, and sold a personalized one as well!

Thanks to the lovely help from my Etsy West Michigan Team, I have realized that I am ill prepared for FSAM that kicks off on June 14th. In my typical fashion I have now gotten carried away and I'm afraid my booth may resemble a circus. It's got a ton of color! Yesterday, I made a bunting. I didn't know it was called a bunting, I was referring to it as "my triangles on a string." So technical aren't I? It's so bright and fun! I haven't added the "string" yet, just couldn't wait to share it.

I want to get it done tonight. I have a lunch date with my friend Mary Lou from Hidden Gem Studios tomorrow and I want to show her what I've got going for our shows this summer. She's my new show buddy- we are going to bank this summer and have an excellent time doing so!

My FSAM table covering is in the works as well. I decided to go with wide vertical stripes of sea green, medium blue, and tan. Possibly with this satin stitched on in black.

I think it's fantastic, but again with the circus-y feel. We shall see... what do you think?

TGIF!

It's Friday! Finally! This week started off great and progressively got worse. My son was on a mission to make my head explode yesterday. I won, it didn't. But I am more than glad that it's a new day today! WWIII may start once school gets out however, I'm trying not to think about that right now. Oh teenagers. They can be so lovely.

Check out this GORGEOUS treasury I'm in! It was curated by LaShelle from my Etsy West Michigan Team. She makes the most beautiful treasuries and I just looooove the colors in this one! Beautiful jewelry, cute puppies, and OMG look at that Temari! Temari is an art that I just can't wrap my mind around. I always check out Julie's new items and I just can't figure out how she does it. They are so intricate and I imagine they take forever!