Following up on baby sleep schedule and new etsy items!

I finally got another chance to blog, something that I have been thinking about for weeks since my last post!  Since then, I have gotten a little more organized; I have been writing down Magnolia's schedule on a calender tool that I found, cozi.com, and she has been a little more regular with her sleep schedule, but nothing definitive.  She takes a morning nap, afternoon nap, and a bunch of catnaps in between.  While she doesn't go down for rest at the same time each day;  I am hoping that we can work toward that in the future so that I can have some predictable work time.
The calender tool that I found is called Cozi (www.cozi.com); it just so happens that it's the same tool that Josh and I have been using for our grocery list for the past 6 months, and I decided to try to use it for everything else too.  While its not ideal for what I need, it is the best that I can find so far.  I am able to use the calender tool to write down Magnolia's daily naps, feedings and other information; cozi also has a shopping list where I jot down groceries and other items that we need and it interfaces with Josh's email so that he logs in and sees what is on the list and can add his own items.  The calender also has a  "to do" list that we use for what needs to be done around the house and there is even a 'meal list' where you can save recipes that you enjoy.  The downfalls are that the recipes don't show up as images, just links, and the calender doesn't interface with other social media tools.  However, while its not perfect, its usable and that is what I am looking for right now.

New Crochet items great for Fall and winter!

Maroon hand warmers and hat, size small, youth

I have been busy crocheting this fall, and I am in LOVE with this craft!  I learned to crochet years ago from a gal I worked with in Ann Arbor at an Assisted Living home.  Her name was Elena, and we worked in the lock down Alzheimer's unit together.  Our female patients all used to know how to crochet or knit, but their dexterity and memory was so affected that they weren't able to craft anymore; but they sure loved to watch us crochet!  So, Elena taught me and I started a project to make a blanket; I brought that blanket in each day I worked and the elderly ladies "oo'd and aah'd" over it each time.  Even though the blanket was 7-8 feet long and only a few inches wide; what was I thinking?  To this day, I never finished that blanket; it's about 4 feet wide now and makes a comfy dog bed :)

I stopped crocheting after college for several years, and started knitting for a period in between, but didn't love the knitting.  Recently, I came back to crocheting and I am again 'hooked'!  Crocheting offers a lot of variety, you can modify patterns easily, if you mess up it's easy to take out, and it's just so, so, so fun!

My current line of handmade goodies are crochet items that you can use for the outdoors; hand warmers, neck warmers, ear warmers, hats with ear flaps and many of the items are lined with ORGANIC BAMBOO FLEECE!  One of my customers is quoted saying; "The fleece is so soft, I think this is what a cloud feels like."

Here are a few of the newest items, more to come!  Message me if you are interested!

Art expression in photography

It has been 8 months since I quit my full time job, and 2 months since I haven't had contract work and I am solely relying on income from my business to support our lifestyle.  Not having any other job has really made me focus on running a business solely and it has really shown me my major fault.  Time Management.  I have a hard time balancing sewing, crocheting, custom orders, orders for my site, computer time to add items to etsy, website, artfire, and promote, as well as daily duties regarding the house, cleaning, cooking, etc.   And last week, I realized that I *have* to set time aside each week for a solo hike and photography session.  It's one thing that I love to do by myself and with the dogs, it brings me peace and meditation.  Below are a few of my photos from the last 2 weeks.  They are available for sale in my etsy shop here. 

Left:  Solo tree on the cliff, reminds me of myself a solo hiker on a trail :)

Right:  Belle politely waiting for me at the top of the stairs at our neighborhood park

Cactus and burning bush, well, that's what it looks like to me anyway.  Colorado is famous for it's earthy subdued tones, so to see a red tree or bush is exciting! 



Fabric Flower Hair Accessories

New Item at Hip-Threads.com! Fabric flowers hair accessories.
Ever since I decided to grow my hair out, I have been in the mood to create hair accessories and I *love* the way these turned out.
I comically learned the "right" way to make these hair accessories, when I had the idea one night to start hot gluing random items to bobby pins. But they didn't seem to stick on properly. I knew I had to be doing something wrong, there had to be a certain type of bobby pin I needed to use, right? Then I remembered one of my friends, Kelly of Kreated By Kelly (check out her awesome shop here!) makes hair accessories and I knew she would have the answer. I sent her an email and quickly received one back from her, I needed to use a bobby pin with a metal gluing pad on the black. Duh! I knew it was going to be something silly. I asked her for her recommendation and she suggested Thunder Rock Alley 21(find her shop here, and I bought lots of supplies all were great!). Quickly I ordered my supplies from her and received them last week.

Finally, this weekend I had the time to start creating my fabric flowers and hair accessories. I decided to google "how to make a fabric flower" for some ideas, even though I had some of my own on how to make them. I found an article (click here)which I thought was great despite the relatively low rating on eHow.com. It gave me some additional suggestions and I started cutting.

After several hours I had made 5 wearable and sell able sets of flowers. They all are attached to a nickel free metal bobby pin, and have a bead centerpiece. Very cute! I have several available in my etsy shop (here) and on my website (here).

Fabric Flower Hair Accessories

New Item at Hip-Threads.com! Fabric flowers hair accessories.
Ever since I decided to grow my hair out, I have been in the mood to create hair accessories and I *love* the way these turned out.
I comically learned the "right" way to make these hair accessories, when I had the idea one night to start hot gluing random items to bobby pins. But they didn't seem to stick on properly. I knew I had to be doing something wrong, there had to be a certain type of bobby pin I needed to use, right? Then I remembered one of my friends, Kelly of Kreated By Kelly (check out her awesome shop here!) makes hair accessories and I knew she would have the answer. I sent her an email and quickly received one back from her, I needed to use a bobby pin with a metal gluing pad on the black. Duh! I knew it was going to be something silly. I asked her for her recommendation and she suggested Thunder Rock Alley 21(find her shop here, and I bought lots of supplies all were great!). Quickly I ordered my supplies from her and received them last week.

Finally, this weekend I had the time to start creating my fabric flowers and hair accessories. I decided to google "how to make a fabric flower" for some ideas, even though I had some of my own on how to make them. I found an article (click here)which I thought was great despite the relatively low rating on eHow.com. It gave me some additional suggestions and I started cutting.

After several hours I had made 5 wearable and sell able sets of flowers. They all are attached to a nickel free metal bobby pin, and have a bead centerpiece. Very cute! I have several available in my etsy shop (here) and on my website (here).

New *thank you* cards for sale!

I started stamping cards a few years ago after deciding that I wanted to include a handmade "thank you" card to my customers when they bought items from me. My mom loves to stamp and scrapbook, so one year she brought out all of her supplies and we made loads of cards. Now those cards are long gone out to customers, but she has since bought me my own stamping kit.
Now I have decided to package up my cards and sell them to all of you! The package comes with 6 cards and envelopes in an assortment of colors and styles for $4.25 with FREE shipping.
Check them out in my etsy shop to purchase or message me!
You can click here to check out the cards in my etsy shop.

New *thank you* cards for sale!

I started stamping cards a few years ago after deciding that I wanted to include a handmade "thank you" card to my customers when they bought items from me. My mom loves to stamp and scrapbook, so one year she brought out all of her supplies and we made loads of cards. Now those cards are long gone out to customers, but she has since bought me my own stamping kit.
Now I have decided to package up my cards and sell them to all of you! The package comes with 6 cards and envelopes in an assortment of colors and styles for $4.25 with FREE shipping.
Check them out in my etsy shop to purchase or message me!
You can click here to check out the cards in my etsy shop.