Another Funny

Martha Loves Etsy!

Remember to check out the Martha Stewart show this afternoon! Etsy will be featured on it, all the details are in this Storque article (: I hope I get off work on time!

Speaking of Martha, one of my friends is going to an inspirational conference in Vancouver this next week and guess who's going to be there! Martha S. herself! Awesome hey? I want her to get an autograph for me (: Maybe I'll send her down with a patch of fabric or something (:

TGIF!

It's finally Friday! The tough week is almost over (ok, there's still like seven hours until the day is over, but still!). Actually, these past couple of days have been ok, I've been getting my good attitude back and looking forward to the new job-adventures ahead.

I've had a good response from one of my resumes so hopefully that means I'll have an interview early next week. HOPEFULLY Tuesday...I don't think I can wait much longer than that! I'm dying to start a new job and leave this drama behind. I'm not into drama unless it's a movie. Then at least it's over within a couple hours.

One of the girls brought me Mini-Eggs today (: She's such a sweetie. Chocolate makes me happy(ier).

I can't wait for tomorrow, the hubby is going sledding (fyi: not tobogganing, the motorized 'sledding') so I have plans to brainstorm more with Krystal. We have a couple flower shops to visit and some more ideas to go over. She was trying to think of what to do with her favors, she has a few little things she wants to give the guests and didn't know how to bundle them up. I thought that we could put them in little brown bags with ribbon handles and stamp the front with this great calligraphy stamp I have. We'll have to see what she thinks. Hopefully we'll be starting to make the center pieces soon and I'll post pictures! I would tell you what they're going to be like, but I think pictures will be better (:

I've decided I need to make curtains for my sewing room. I already have some, but the pull down ones are so old and ugly, I need something funky! Check out Martha Stewart's instructions! I love her!

Risky Survivors

It's Risk night baby! All the guys and their wives are coming to our house this time. We play games a lot don't we? It's a good way to visit and to get to know each other. Us girls are going to watch Survivor too. I'm not really into that show, mainly because we don't have cable so the channel we have to watch it on is a bit fuzzy. But the girls that are coming are in a Survivor Pool at work, so I guess it's important for them to keep caught up! I do like the show, so it's not like I'm not going to enjoy my self.

The hubby's running to the store to get some chips and munchies so there's going to be lots of food and drinks. I'm all about food!

Oh, and just because the guys are playing a game of "world domination" doesn't mean we're into that politically :b Just thought I'd clarify!

I love this shirt! This is my kinda shirt (:

Bribes and Baking

Walking the dog (ha! I just typed 'god'...yeah, we walk our god :) every night is hard for me. I guess the walk is nice when we actually get going, but the fact that it interrupts my craft or writing time evvvery siiingle tiiime really gets old. Tonight I told the hubby that if he takes her by himself, I'll make him banana bread. Is that a bribe? Maybe, but it's a safe and innocent one I think. We'll see if it works.



Banana Bread

2 Bananas
3/4 c. of milk
Lemon juice from a whole lemon (if your adventurous, I just used the fake stuff)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar (why do we say SHugar when there's no 'h'?)
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 c. flour
A pinch of salt
butter for oiling the pan

*optional: Cinnamon, 1/4 tsp.




Heat the oven to 375. Mix oil, sugars and eggs and lemon juice in separate bowl. In another bowl add flour, salt, bananas, cinnamon and baking powder. Mix the two bowls together. Grease your pans. Bake for 1 hour if you're baking in a bread tin, if you're making muffins, bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

This recipe is different than the one my mom always used, and it's slightly confusing. But they're so yummy!! Great with a cup of tea.

Reading

So I was reading a decorating magazine last night, one of the few I bought lately...I think it was Decorating on a Budget (which is published by Country Living)...and I came across an article on women entrepreneurs. That's inspiring enough! There were quick blips on how they got started and their experiences etc, which were super interesting (I wish they were longer, but their web site actually has more information). As I'm browsing through the different success stories (seriously, I hope I'm one of them someday!) I stop on a name that's familiar. "Alicia Paulson", where do I know that name from? I knew I knew her from somewhere! Then I read that she blogs and it all falls into place. Alicia Paulson is the author of one of my favorite blogs, Posie Gets Cozy, and daily reads (:

Not only is she an inspiration to me because of her success as a business woman, but also because of her success as a blogger. An example: She posted a blog yesterday, as in February 26, 2008, and it already has 79 comments on it. Not that comments are everything, but they sure are an encouragement to the author AND they show the amount of readers the blog has. Amazing.

So last night the meeting with Krystal went really well. I felt so professional sitting there for coffee and going over my list of questions and ideas. She said she's so relieved that I'm helping her, she's not near as stressed...which makes me feel so good! That's all that I need (:

Most of our ideas are now written down and the biggest decisions have been made so all we need to do now is start to get the crafting items together so we can start to make the center pieces and other decorations. I'll be posting pictures as we start creating! I can't wait!

One of the many ideas we have decided on is to get these chair covers, ivory with green ties, for the reception. Should look stunning!

Plans and Flowers

Ok so I'm now officially obsessed with decorating for this wedding. It can be good or bad I guess. I know when it gets closer I think about it 24/7 and dream about planning and preparation. But it does keep me busy and I love love love the planning!

I found this great site for flowers, I'm not sure if Krystal is going to want real ones or silk flowers for the tables but look at these great deals!

I'm really loving the thought of cream roses with hydrangeas. And the prices really aren't bad at all!! I've never really worked with real flowers, but I'm sure I could handle it. The only thing I would be worried about would be when the flowers would arrive. I wouldn't want them to arrive too early and then be wilted, but I have people I can talk to about this issue. It's good to have friends that know stuff! (:

Yay! Tonight Krystal is coming over to discuss all the wedding plans, her expectations, budget, colors...I'm so excited! I told her to come around 7, but I think I need to call her to come earlier, I'm just to excited!

Lucky Skinny!

Quite a while ago I featured an Etsy seller in my other blog (EtsyAlberta), Skinny LaMinx, a brilliant store that I just LOVE! I bought a couple of magazines last night and guess who I see in one?! Skinny! What a huge honor to be in such a great magazine! Lucky lucky.



Also, I just ordered this book. Hopefully it will help me with this next wedding reception I'm helping with. I already have so many ideas and I'm having coffee with Krystal tomorrow night, but I'd love to see what this book can offer (:

Need A Laugh

After a hard days work (today sucked!) I needed a laugh. Here's Flight of the Concord, a New Zealand comedy group (: I hope you laugh as much as I did!

Brilliant Business Plan!

Today has been a rough day. I just don't want to be at work, I need to be handing out resumes and getting my next job rolling. Not even that, I just don't have my heart in my work anymore! But it was cheered up with the delivery of a raspberry yogurt thingy which totally made my day. One of the girls here at the office got it for me...so sweet!

I love raspberries! They make it feel as though summer is here. When I was little we used to gave raspberries and ice cream at my Nana's house in the summer, so I think it all stems from that. I planted raspberry bushes (ok, twigs!) in my garden last year so I hope they have a couple more berries on them this year!

Ok. Business Plan #1: There's a company here in town that individuals can present their business plans to and if they approve them, they will fund you for 54 weeks of pay while you get set up. They will also fund for business cards, rent of office space and start up supplies. One of the girls the other night suggested that I try doing this with my wedding planning stuff. I'm really considering trying it! If it doesn't work, well at least I spent 54 weeks giving myself a head-start, I can always get a job and keep trying the wedding planning on the side.

We'll see how it goes.



I love this pictures. It's by Irene Suchocki. You gotta check out the rest of her store too...it's amazing!

Wedding Planning (not mine :)

Every second Friday we get together with a bunch of our couple friends. This past Friday was one of those nights and we had so much fun! As usual we all sit around, visit, eat and play games. So many of the couples were able to come this week and it was great to catch up with them. There's usually around seven couples that come, we all bring appetizers and games and then spend the evening having a good visit. This week the guys split off and played their own game of...not sure, something to do with cards, loud yells and slapping. So by the time us girls had finished our multiple rounds of Pit, we headed into another room to chat. It was great to see what they had been up to and just chat about girlie things.

Krystal started telling us about her wedding plans and said how she wasn't sure about decorating the reception hall. She wanted to be creative but was finding it hard to think of original things. Jana, who got married several months ago, looked at her and said "Get Katie to help you, she's amazing" (thanks Jana!!).

I had been in charge of decorating Jana's reception hall and loved every minute of it. I volunteered for the position and knew that it didn't involve money, but I didn't mind. It was exactly what I needed to fill some time and to be creative. Besides that, Jana's colors were exactly what mine had been, so it was easier to come up with ideas although they weren't things I had used.

I can't wait to start on Krystal's wedding planning! It's only three months away, but I already have tons of ideas. Her colors are maroon, beige and sage green. I don't know if I'll be helping her actually decorate but I'll be able to help her with ideas. I think that in the end, Jana's reception decoration cost her $75.00 so cost shouldn't be a problem (: I'm good at keeping it down.

Oh, the pictures above are of Jana's wedding. So proud!!

I Want Color Back!

I was looking through the Treasuries today, something that I really need to do more often, and found this great one! The grass is just starting to show here in the great white north but I'm not getting my hopes up! One year we had our biggest snow fall in APRIL! Hope that doesn't happen again. Yuk!

I love this Treasury! It's all springy and makes me want to read a book on the lawn (:

Photography

One of my many hobbies is photography. I do it just for fun and for having pictures around the house...nothing pro. Here's a few of my faves:

Life is always challenging. It has it's ups and downs, dark valleys and bright hill tops.

Today is a mixture of both for me. My boss just told me that they have decided (after considering to lay me off, but not wanting to get rid of this smiling face) to keep me on for a three month term. It's good to know that he's wanting to keep me around, there were several discussions leading to this point so it shows me he appreciates my effort. But at the same time, it demotes me. My duties will now be organizing the office, sorting out the vaults and doing any other odd job they can find. Totally not what I was hired to do, a legal assistant. There you go, one up, one down.

As soon as I heard that my job was being bumped down to temporary, I slacked from my every day work and jumped on the net to see what jobs were available in my area. A sucky thing to do. I hate looking for jobs! It's just become to regular for me.

Let me just take a moment here to clarify. I know that when someone mentions that looking for a job is usual for them, everyone always thinks that they must not be a good employee...but, without being full of myself, that's not me. I work hard, I'm positive, I learn fast and I take correction well. Buuuuut, bosses just like to quit on me! Seriously, the past three now have quit. The other jobs I have had all ended with good reasons as well, nothing to do with my performance.

Anyway, I jumped on the computer and found a posting, exactly what suites me!, that was posted yesterday. I'll apply as soon as I can and hopefully get a response asap. It's an administrative assistant job which is just what I'd love to do, basically the field I'm in now (if I wasn't just demoted). YAY!!

So there's another bright hill. Maybe they're out numbering the dark valleys...which is always a good thing!

I'm trying to get a project done so I can show you what I've been working on lately, but it's taking longer than I expected...only because my life is so busy lately. Here's a sneak peek:



In the meantime! Look what I got today!! Just because he loves me (: Awwww!



Oh, have you checked out my ad? Oh, and check out this one too!!

A Chance to Win

So like I said yesterday, there's a promotion posted about my store on Lis Garrett's site. Don't forget to check it out!! ALSOOOOO, there's a chance to win one of my toy bags on her site (: Remember to leave a comment on the Lis's site if you want to be entered to win!

Advertising!

So I decided to take the plunge and splurge on an ad. And a promotion. Hopefully it works out! Lis has been great about it all, helpful and constantly (not in a bad way!) in contact with me, suggesting things and letting me know how things are going with the ad. Here's the link to her site. Notice one of my little Zippies to the right? Thats my ad! Tomorrow she'll post a piece about my store and it's items. I really hope it helps bring in more sales! I need Etsy to pick up for me...I love it, but more sales would be awesome. Remember to check into her site tomorrow and let me know what you think!

If you're interested in buying ad space from her or a promotion, just email her! She's more than willing to help you out and answer all your questions!

Treasures

I have a great-aunt that is obsessed with sending our family large boxes of household items, whether they are in good condition or not. At first they were boxes of old things she thought we would like; table cloths, ugly lamps, old books...just stuff that she wanted to get rid of. Now the boxes have graduated into collections of junk.

It's kinda sad actually. She can't really afford to send us these things and we keep telling her that (not only are we worried about her financial situation, but most of the things she sends aren't things we want) but she doesn't listen. She's even got to the point where she's going out and buying us bundles and bundles of face cloths and tea towels. Like I said, mom has told her several times that even though we love receiving the boxes, it just isn't necessary, she just doesn't listen.

While I was at my parents house yesterday I looked through a couple boxes and was able to snag a few treasures! The beginning of these boxes were actually quite cool, filled with some great stuff.





I seriously love the red and cream fabric and can't wait to make it into a pillow or even a bag! Some of the items I brought home need a bit of cleaning up. They have the odd rust colored stain on them, but I'm sure I can get them out or work around them. I can't wait to get started!

Sisters!

For the first time in a long time, I had a whole day to spend with my little sister. She's only 13 and is craving attention from us older siblings and I was so glad to have a full day to pay her attention!

I went out to the parents farm early (ok, not early...like 10) for a cup of tea and cinnamon buns, had a good talk with my mom and some joking around with the younger kids. Then my sister and I headed back into town for some shopping at our favorite stores. We spend a few hours browsing through all the tempting merchandise and then came to my house for lunch, a movie and to bake cup-cakes!

We watched The Devil Wears Prada, a movie the hubby bought me for Valentines, and relaxed while the cup-cakes were baking. I've actually never made cup-cakes before...can you believe it?

Tiss, my little sister, was so happy to have a day away from the farm and to spend it doing girl stuff and I was content to see her satisfied and refreshed.

So I was checking out my daily blogs...because I'm addicted and have to slack from work (it's FRIDAY!!!)... and I came across a contest that Design*Sponge is running. Has anyone else checked it out? Are any of you entering? In case you're interested, here's the link (: It looks great!! I'm thinking of entering even though I don't have that much time left. I was having a great brainstorm the other night about doing something for the house, so I might enter it if it turns out ok. I'll have to post pictures too.

Speaking of pictures. I really do need to get a new camera. I was looking at the Cannon Rebel before and loved the feel and look of it, I'm thinking it's almost time to splurge.

Don't forget to check out my favorite blogs to the side!! I love reading them every evening, they always put something interesting up!

Poor Brian...I know how he feels (: Stewie! You jerk with the football for a head! Leave him alone!

The Romantic In Me

This place is my dream. I'm such a romantic. The beauty of a place like this could keep me happy for hours upon hours. I seriously don't have words for how satisfied I would be to visit Tuscany or any other beauty destination like it. Sigh. We're saving for a trip ....hopefully it will happen sooner rather than later (:

I'd love to go to Greece to see the sites, I don't have a huge interest in the BIG sites, but I'd love to visit little towns and stay off the beaten track. My thoughts for our trip mostly have to do with photography. The hubby needs the history, and I'm totally up for that too.

I have family in England and have been there several times. The last time we went there we visited several castles and mansions in the area and were given the whole tour and background of the the properties. The history was AMAZZZZING!! Battles, kings visits...you name it! It was so incredible. I came back to my Socials teacher (I was still in school at the time) and was so mad at her for teaching us boring ol' Canadian history. Hopefully this next trip will be even more rewarding! I can't wait!

One of my blog entries have been picked for a feature blog on www.fuelmyblog.com (see link to the right). Check it out!!

Ok, so here's the thing. This post is a game. At the end of it, I'll tag several other bloggers and they'll have to do it too!!

First: Link the person that tagged you....ahem. Attention! Art4Friends tagged me!!

Then: List seven things about you.

Ok.

1) I'm the oldest of eight kids. Translated: I'm the guinea pig. Or was anyways...I hope they're not still doing tests on me! Oh crap, what if they are?!

Being the oldest of this many kids has it's ups and downs. I love having siblings that I can hang out with and have a good time with. They make life interesting, even if I don't see them enough. The youngest are twins, 4 years old now, so there's a huge age gap. But they're still super cute and fun (: The downs...well, I'm sure you can think of some...

2) I've had 16 jobs since I was 15. Some of them were overlapping, I think at one point I worked three jobs.

I think this is one of the reasons I want my Etsy store to work so badly! I don't really like working for someone else. It sucks. You always have them looking over your shoulder, assessing your work, telling you to improve when you know it already...it'd be so amazing to work for myself!

3) I knew I would marry the man I now call my husband since the first moment I saw him. Seriously. I know it sounds super sappy, but it's true. One of my friends had taken me to a group get-together and as soon as I saw him, I thought "I could marry him". And I did. A year later (:

Marriage is like wine. It gets better with age.

4) I have so many dreams for my life and what I want to be "when I grow up"...it's insane. I don't think I'll ever grow up because then I won't be able to finish my list!! My biggest one I think would have to be to write (and get it published!) a novel....ok, a novel series. Which brings me to number five.

5) I've been working on writing the same book for the past three years...who's seen that Family Guy episode where Stewie is mocking Brian for taking so long in writing his novel? (I'll see if I can find the clip). That's totally me. I have so many good ideas to write down, so many plots, characters, cities and escapes...but it's so hard for me to find the time to write!! I love it. Love it love it love it! But it takes so much time and it's hard to find any to begin with. Besides, Etsy and my crafts fills me up already. But I WILL get it published one of these days. It's a fantasy novel.

6) I'm eating hot hearts right now. My hubby and I gave each other our valentines gifts early. I got: hot hearts (YUM!), The Devil Wears Prada dvd, a hair magazine (I'm going to cut it all off!!) and a super sappy love note (: I'm so spoiled (:

7) I get pretty impatient with things that don't work. So when I stick to something, you know it's worth sticking to. Like Etsy and this blog. They're fun and rewarding...after you get it going. Getting things going is tough and tiring, but once they're on a roll...it's great to look back and see what you've accomplished!

Lastly: Tag seven people you want to blog this game and let them know!!

Make It
Lasso the Moon and
Posie Gets Cozy

Etsy Furniture!

The hubby and I have been looking for new furniture for our living room. We're in the renovating mood and need to do some updating! I decided to look on Etsy for something super unique and funky...and look what I found! And CANADIAN too!! Lunar Lounge Design is a seriously awesome Etsy store based out of Winnipeg. The pictures I've posted are just the tip of the iceberg so go and check out the rest of the store!

I was cruisin' through Flickr, just minding my own business..well actually no, I was minding other peoples business because that's what you DO on Flickr...and I came across this great profile and set of pictures by Art4Friends. There was a link to their Etsy store so I clicked and checked that out too. The art in this shop is so amazing!! Everything is funky-modern. There's cards, there's mirrors, there's buttons...go look! You'll be impressed!






Oh, and I've also added another creature to my Etsy store (: Vincent is up for sale!

I need labels. I don't have any for my bags or toys (Yay! I'm a toy-maker-person!) yet, but I neeeeeed to get some. Here's some funky ones I came across in Etsy (where else?). The Dancing Needle has some great labels...custom made so you can get exactly what you're looking for!

The Creation of Beaumont

I made several new toys this weekend! Beaumont is my favorite so far. I don't know what it is about him that I like so much, but he's super cute (: He's up for sale in my Etsy store now! I'm working on another guy like him and he should be up by tomorrow (:

Beaumont has a zipper for a mouth and it opens into a pocket that is the size of his body (9" tall x 7.5" wide). His ears can be used as handles. His eyes are two buttons and he has a striped tail.

So on my other blog, EtsyAlberta, I've asked for people to send me their pictures of crafts or something that represents Etsy.

I'm going to do the same thing here!!

If you have a pic that is crafty, send it to my email with the subject "Etsy Picture" and I'll feature it on this blog! If you have an Etsy store, I'll link your name to it for more exposure (:

The picture can be anything from you crafting, your workspace, your newest crafts, a craft fair you recently went to...be creative!

I can't wait to see them!!

Day of Projects

Today I've been super busy. I woke up dying to craft. I had so many ideas in my head, so many fabrics I wanted to work with, so many bags that needed to be made! It was so annoying to shower, it was going to take up all my craft time! (I did shower, don't worry :)

I'm doing a joint-effort project with another Etsy seller, Jenny Keith Hughes. She's painting several of my bags with her great art work, and we'll both be selling them, either in our Etsy shops or otherwise. I finally had time to work on making more bags for this project today and finished most of them...thank goodness! Here's the first bag we did together.



But my biggest pride today is the toys I made in the below pictures. Pika and Poko. They're bother and sister, the love buttons and safari's and they're always bothering each other. I wasn't able to get a picture of them both together, Pika was ticked off at Poko because she had told him she didn't like his tail. So separate pictures it was! These cuties and their cousins will be for sale soon in my Etsy store!

The Weird Bug Lady's store is so adorable (: I have a little niece I'm going to have to get one of these things for!! Aren't they cuuuuute?

Check it out! I'm being advertised! YAY! My first ad (:

I was going to be blogging about something totally different today and then I got "led" to this store....isn't it amazzzzzing? Love it. Love. IT! The Machine Stops is a freaking awesome store with super colorful photos that immediately (as per the now different blog!) draw you to their products.

I love these clothes, they're so original, so serendipitous (I like that word...not sure if it works...but I like it!) it's hard to not click the "buy" button!

Sigh. If only I was having the weather they are in the pictures.

Guess what temperature it is here. Guess. GUESS!! Nope, wrong. It's -30 degrees celcius. WITH a windchill. So really, it's like -48. Just lovely hey? I wonder if frostbite looks as good as a sunburn?