Thursday, March 31, 2011

Venturing into Etsy

Yay, my Etsy shop is up and running!  I even figured out how to put a linky thing on the side of my blog.  I am sooooo not great at this whole "make your blog fancy and efficient" thing yet.  But I made a little progress today.  :)

Last night I finally listed some of my bags - I call them my "go-to" bags because they are really versatile.  I use mine a lot, and not just for knitting projects. 
that would be the cowl I've been working on for....forever, it seems
 I put together some really pretty color combos and am very excited about them!  It was fun to take pictures too.  Pics on Etsy are no joke.  If your picture stinks, there are like 10 million other listings for the same thing that people would rather look at.  I hope mine are OK, I did my best!
I just want to EAT this one, so fresh and citrusy


Pretty! 

love that lining


the contents of my (other) (one of many others) (too many) purses.  Usually there's more litter than useful items, but I cleaned it up just for you people.  Look at my cute new wallet!  I totally copied off of my friend Allena.  She has an aqua one and told me where she got it. 


So anyway, there you have it!  I have these bags, and some (knitting) stitch markers up right now.  Making stitch markers is so addictive!  I am having a hard time deciding on what to make.  I make so many things, it's hard to focus.

Knitted items are out...too time-consuming for me.  And personal.  I like to knit for my family & close friends, and myself of course.

Jewelry...in theory, I enjoy making jewelry.  In reality, I seriously have no eye for jewelry design.  So I think that's gonna be out, too. 

Sewn items, that's where I'm leaning.  Just not sure where I want to focus yet.  Suggestions?  (Yes, this is a thinly veiled plea for comments!)  Come on you lurkers, give me some feedback!  :)

Friday, March 25, 2011

Dear Diary

Just a simple little crafty thing today, so cute!  Abby has started keeping a diary.  :)  How adorable is that?  She asked me to find her one "at the store."  I have no earthly idea where to find an actual diary.  Do they make those anymore?  But as I was scavenging the clearance racks at Michaels earlier this week, I found these super-cute little journals for .50 each.  I restrained myself and didn't buy up every one they had.  I only got three.
yes, I know there are only two here. 

I also couldn't resist these pencils

look at the black ones - they have little blingies on the tops!  .50 a pack.  How could I not?

So I surprised Abby with her own diary (and blingy pencils).  On the front, I wrote "My Diary" in glue and glittered it, because I knew she would just love that.  But the lack of privacy was really getting to her!  So she asked me to put something on it "to keep it from flying open."  (Abby's words)  My first (lazy) thought was, "where are those rubber bands?"    But rubber bands are for flinging. 

Soo....here's the super-secret diary in its unprotected state:

And here's the security system I installed, complete with pencil holder.  At first I tried to glue the ribbon on with little success.  Then I thought, "doofus!  You have a sewing machine." 


Cute, huh?  I think Abby will be pleased.  :)

ETA: not being one to leave well enough alone, I made another little change...

Monday, March 21, 2011

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Helloooo....?  Hellooooooooo?  Is anyone still there?  Mom, are YOU even there??? 

Well anyway, I'm back.  Back to blogging.  I don't even know where to start!  A few changes...

Change #1: Blogging hiatus is over.  But Pleased as Punch will now be my only blog.  It is hard to give up "Mother of the Year" - mainly because that name still makes me chuckle.  But it's too much undue pressure for me to keep up two blogs!  That may have something to do with why they both fizzled out last summer in the first place.  I think I'm going to make this one more all-inclusive; I think I can combine my family stuff with my crafty stuff.  I do it in real life; I can do it in a blog, right?  Puh-lease.  Of course I can. 

Change #2: look at my cool logo!  That's all. 

Change #3: I don't really have another one. 

*****

So, in a nutshell...hmm, what is going on right now...

After bragging to one of my friends about how healthy my family generally is, and how we never get sick, my kids have been sick, in turn, for back-to-back weeks.  Abby had a two-day vomit fest to start off her week of misery last week.  Noaln is my current "patient;" if all goes well, he'll be going back to preschool on Wednesday.  He complains today of his throat feeling "hot."  Not scratchy, just "hot."  I have no idea what this means. 

Never brag about your health or how long it's been since you've gotten a speeding ticket.  Lesson learned. 

We're approaching summer, which means that I have 5 precious months left before BOTH of my kids are in school full-time.  I try not to think about it too much, I can't believe the time has flown that quickly!  Wasn't Nolan just....BORN?  Wasn't he just a chubby little toddler...last week?  And Abby is so tall and grown up already.  She devours chapter books every few days as if her life depends on it.  Wasn't it just the other day that I was reading little board books to her as she sat on my lap?  I remember showing her pictures and letters and colors; now she teaches herself how to write in cursive, and makes her own "to-do" lists for the day. 

I'm looking to next year and thinking about what I'm going to do when the kids are in school.  I'm not sure yet but I have some ideas. I'm letting God lead me, instead of plowing ahead with whatever seems best to me...for once!  So more on that to come, I'm sure. 

Our family is going through changes.  God is working.  He is so good!  I was telling Greg what a weight off my shoulders it is to just trust God and let Him lead us, without feeling like I have to control/orchestrate everything that happens. 

I am reading through the Bible this year - a New Year's resolution.  Each day there are three passages to read: one from the OT, NT, and the "middle" - like Psalms or Proverbs or something like that.  I love the format.  But I'm actually about 5 days behind right now, ack!  My friend Vicki is doing this with me...I love going through this with her! Right now we are in Numbers, Ecclesiastes, and Matthew.  My goal is to get caught up today before I have my girls' night out. 

No pics today, sorry.  I have a "hot" throat to attend to right now.  And I guess I should get dressed.