Gardening, Reading and Frelling Anxiety

I finally managed to enter my Duct Tape Wedding Bouquet in the Etsy Martha Stewart DIY Wedding contest. I don't think for a second I will win but the exposure is nice. I also found out I've been featured on at least one fashion blog lately. I need to read my Google Alerts more often I guess.

The garden seems to be petering out, perhaps due to a lack of rain. I've put up a TON of green beans and bread & butter pickles plus blueberry jam. I am still hoping to get some peach jam done, as well as fig and quince plus apple sauce and apple butter.

My etsy shop is cranking along. I need to get moving on winter hats and scarves. I will be making some wreathes as well but those will likely end up at the gallery depending on how many I have.

I've been having a very hard time lately with my anxiety. Its been really crippling to where I don't want to leave the house. I've had anxiety all of my life to some degree but it really seemed to skyrocket after Lulu was born. Its been in various stages of control since then. When it gets bad, it gets very bad. When we first moved to Gainesville, I went about 6 weeks without leaving the house without Scott. Its very scary when its bad.

School is just 2 weeks away. Lucy cannot wait to go back despite my keeping her busy with the pool, the garden, learning to cook, reading and math challenges. We went tubing last weekend and it was so crowded. I am really looking forward to camping when the weather cools off some.

As for reading, I am currently engrossed in Love Stories of WWII compiled by Larry King. I am still plodding through East of Eden by John Steinbeck and I have Love in the Time of Cholera on its way to me. I've been itching to read some classics lately.

Right now, I am just getting by. I do so want to get past this.

Terrariums and other stuff.

So the girls and I made terrariums a few weeks ago. They are still doing great! In fact, we are making a bunch to sell at the Farmer's Market here in town. I ordered some little plastic critters (Big Foots, deer, bunnies) in addition to the handmade mushrooms we made. So the plan is that the terrariums will be $10 and that will include the accessory of your choice. (The big foots are so cool.) They really do make great gifts for anyone and they are so easy to take care of.

The beans have pretty much gone insane. Scott picked around 15 lbs the other day. We have given a bunch away to neighbors and relatives, in addition to eating them with every meal. These are a bush bean, different from the ones we grew last year. They are not nearly as stringy, which is nice. I can pretty much just rinse them off and cook them without having to string them. We've had a few tomatoes and a good bit of squash, as well.

I finally sat down and got some things done on the computer that I had been putting off. One was to get my domain to redirect to my etsy shop. So hooray http://electricbluebird.com is up and running. I've also updated my flickr with a bunch of pics. I am still in the process of getting my kid's shop, http://snicklesnackle.etsy.com, up.

Scott turns 40 this month (July 14)! I promised him I would not send a stripper to work or otherwise embarrass him any more than usual. Luckily (insert sarcasm), he has his first furlough day coming up and I've planned for us to go to the Georgia Aquarium. We've never been so it will be fun. I am also planning for us to try and eat somewhere fun, maybe at one of our old faves. Is Tortilla's still open? I'm afraid I wouldn't recognize some of our old stomping grounds. Maybe we'll even show the girls our old house in East Atlanta.

More pictures.

I gave the girls some neon hairspray yesterday. Della looks like she rolled around in a bag of Cheetos. Yes, that is a chest tattoo.

Fun activity last night. I wrapped duct tap around the girls' wrists with the sticky side up and they collected things around the yard to make nature bracelets.

Probably one of my fave purchases ever. These came from http://lennymud.etsy.com/. They hold the bouquets that they kids bring me from the yard. I love how they look together. They make me smile.

I can't think of a good title.

It was so warm yesterday (in the 60s) that we decided to pack a picnic and go fishing. I made up some tuna salad, packed some bread and fruit. We stopped and bought minnows and then headed to the lake. Well, it was really windy, our poles haven't been relined in forever (meaning they break when you try to pull on them too hard), and I accidentally left the tuna in the fridge. The girls stayed in the back seat of the car reading while Scott and I fished in vain. Can anyone say snowtubing? It did give me any idea for Valentine's Day - Scott is getting 6 rolls of new fishing line.

Dawson County is doing a free wedding/vow renewal this Friday, February 13th at the courthouse. I love Friday the 13ths (and my husband) and was really excited that we could do this. Sadly though, Scott will probably have to work. Bummer.

I sold three paintings in the last ten days. That is exciting. I do get sad to see my girlies go but I know they are going to good homes. I've been listing the last of my new hats until fall. After that, I am concentrating on getting some hand-dyed vintage slips listed. I did two that are the most gorgeous shade of purple. If I can get my hands on some neon yellow dye, I will be a happy girl.



My shop really has never looked prettier. I am working on getting a small ad together so I can advertise on some blogs. I haven't done must of that since I opened. Most of my off-etsy promotion has been on facebook, myspace, and twitter along with some prize donations for blog contests.

Scott is off squirrel hunting this morning. I am cheering for the squirrels.

Thinking Toward Spring

So I have slowed down with the hat making lately, mostly with my eye focused on warmer weather. I am trying to work on items that I can stock in warmer weather since demand for hats is low in the summer. One of my favorite new iems is this messenger bag. I picked it up at Goodwill in Athens and I had plans for it immediately. I had picked up several bags of vintage lace and other trims from a wonderful shop on etsy called . I hand-sewed several rows of the lace to the front of the bag and added a signature neon poppy. I had all of that neon chiffon leftover from the girls' holiday outfits so I've been cranking out these poppies. They make the prettiest hair clips and pins.

I've posted a couple new pictures of the girls. The close-up of Lucy is once of my faves.

My car is still out of commission. Until we get our tax refund and get the new transmission, I will be driving Miss Vicky. Her power steering is iffy so I've been really limited my trips to the Y or the library.

I've been spending a lot of time on Facebook. Its been really fun to reconnect with folks from the past, even folks I didn't really connect with at all from high school.

My Husband the Artist

Scott will tell you he doesn't have an artistic bone in his body but that just isn't true. I woke up this morning and found this...

Bottle of Canadian Mist: $12
Sharpie: $2
Spaghetti Squash: $4
Your husband's artwork: Priceless

Happy new year and all that! I am looking forward to an exciting 2009. I am excited about so many things this year. I am excited about camping! My parents gave us a huge family tent for Christmas and I am so excited about us finally all going to a state park for a few days. We are lucky to live near several really great parks (Unicoi, Vogel) and I think the girls will really enjoy it. Lulu in particular loves the outdoors. She just finished reading a book about the 50 state flowers, and managed to identify a (faux) magnolia in the doctor's office.

I am also excited about my etsy shop. I am painting more and I really enjoy it. I am looking into doing some prints, maybe t-shirts with my artwork. I also plan to do more sewing like pillows and the vintage slips.

And I am excited about hitting the gym again. Its been spotty the last couple of months - either I was sick or Fern was sick and unable to be in the childcare. Now that I have discovered the guilty pleasures of the Real Housewives of the OC, its all good. I can do an hour on the treadmill with no problem. But I also want to get into yoga. I just wish the Y had regular yoga and I didn't have to suffer through the Christ-centered stuff. So not my bag. No offense, but this Buddhist-leaning non-Christian wishes it was the plain old yoga without the bible lesson.

Cheers for 2009!

Busy Busy

I just got a big wholesale order for a Chicago boutique so I am going to be busier than a one-legged man at an ass-kicking contest. Its a little bit of everything - baby afghans, hats, and hair clips. It does mean a merry Christmas for our chitlins baring any other disasters that deplete our meager savings. And maybe I get that new tattoo that I want for my upcoming 40th birthday! w00t!

We will going to the Clermont Days festival this weekend. My BFF Christine and my artist friend Suzie (owner of the gallery where I sometimes exhibit) will be sharing a booth. (I generally don't do a lot of local festivals because my stuff is too strange for this area.) Anyways, there is a lovely parade with lots of tractors and its a nice start to the fall festival season up here.

I will be doing the Athens Farmer's Market next weekend with Christine. It sounds like it will be a lot of fun. I will be taking my art work, slips, hair clips, and some hats. And I am sure I will be working on this big order!

Oh, and congratulations to my mom, http://silksiren.etsy.com, who made her first etsy sale! Way to go, Mum!

Poppies Dress

 

 

Oh, this dress is killing me. She is gorgeous but aye aye aye. First, Lulu threw a freshly painted balloon at me while I was working on so it has a dribble of lime green poster paint on the side. Then, I discovered that something had mysteriously eroded the dye on the side in patches.

I have spend hours upon hours beading this thing. There are two rows of beads around all of the edges and then one row around the bodice. The poppies were appliqued and the sequins were all hand-stitched and the veins were embroidered. Right now, I can either dip dye the skirt or just re-dye the whole thing. Re-dyeing the whole thing is very scary. I am hoping to get $125 for the dress when its all said and done.

I've started to list my hair clips and I have a boutique in Chicago interested in a wholesale order. I am going to be one busy beaver.

Gem Grubbin' with the Girls

 

 

 

 

Sunday we took the girls gem grubbing up near Helen, Georgia. Its not that far away - maybe 40 minutes. They had a good time. Fern didn't quite get the hang of it and wanted to just put all of the rocks in her baggie but we got it all straightened out and the girls came home with lots of valuable treasures. If we can find someone to tumble them, they will really be quite beautiful.

After gem grubbing, we playing Pirate Mini-Golf in Helen. Scott kept score. Playing mini-golf with a 2 year old who wants to do EVERYTHING herself is nothing short of a challenge. We muddled through and had an ice cream at the end. It was quite fun.

We got my car fixed - it had a cracked radiator. That completely wiped out our Christmas fund. I am still working like a dog to get the shop really full. I did pretty well last year so I am hoping for a good holiday season this year as well. And outside of my recent yarn purchase, I have vowed to use what I have for a while.

We've never cared about having fancy things but I think struggling and never getting ahead wearing thin on both of us.

What Have I Been Making Lately?

Well, let me show you in pictures.

These are the felted hair clips that I've been hand-beading. The last picture are the ones made from fabric yoyos. Once I figure out how I am going to list them (individually? in sets? how many in a set?), they will go up in the shop.











This is a sweater that I knitted for a very special 2 year old (not mine). I just love how it turned out. I spent an hour looking through my stash of vintage buttons for two perfect ones. Finally, I decided on two mismatched ones because it just seemed to fit the recipient perfectly. One is actual shell. The yarn on the yoke is a wool/synth blend from Hobby Lobby's own brand - I want to say Mosaic Twist but I can't recall. The bottom is Jiffy faux brushed mohair in Oat. It was knitted on size 13 needles.

Good-Bye Summer!

Yesterday was the official end to the garden. Scott mowed it and then tilled it under. I think he has plans for some lettuce when the weather cools down some. Its a lot of work for him (planting, weeding, dealing with pests) but its a lot of work for me too trying to pick it and cook it all or can it, trying not to waste food. I actually had to buy a tomato last night, which about killed me after such a bumper crop. He actually left a couple cherry tomato plants so we have some for salad.

Today is Labor Day. Not sure what we will do. We had a wonderful time at the new Francis Meadows Aquatic Center on Saturday. It has a great water park and the kids had a blast. Tubing is also an option - with all of the recent rain, we won't drag our butts.

I have been hand-beading and hand-dyeing some vintage slips. I managed to find some L and XL slips so I am excited to get those finished and added to the shop.

In yarn news, I hit Hobby Lobby Friday and picked up some interesting yarns. I really want to get about 200 items in my shop in time for the holidays.

Oooooh... Scott has made panacakes! Breakfast is on the table!

Touch-A-Truck!

Our city does an annual event called Touch-A-Truck where the kids can explore all sorts of trucks and other vehicles: a fire truck, a tractor trailer, a police car, a cement truck, a big tow truck, etc. Its always lots of fun, although it really should be called Honk-A-Horn because its non-stop. Lulu got to meet a female police officer (she is really into COPS and law enforcement lately). The girls also got to sit in the back of a police car. Hopefully that will be the last time for both of them!

 

 

 

 

Sunday, we went to the Oakwood Pool. It was pretty chilly so I think we are done with the pool for the season. The girls had a good time and I did a few cannonballs for laughs.

I am still working to fill my shop to the gills. I have discovered felting and hand-beading, so look for that to make an appearance in some form in the shop. I will also be adding more kids hats.

Tomatoes and Blueberries

Sometimes, the best meals are the simplest. I used some of the cooked tomatoes, added some half & half and made a delicious tomatoe bisque. A crusty loaf of dense whole grain bread, sliced and topped with melted cheese was perfect dipped into the soup. Simple and wonderful.

We finally made it to the neighbor's house to pick blueberries but no doubt we should have been a week ago. We picked enough to eat but not enough to make into jam. The bushes were being fiercely protected by a large and menacing European hornet. They are the size of a small hummingbird. I watched in horror as this thing DEVOURED a yellow jacket like corn on the cob. My mother-in-law was stung by one a few years ago and it was a nasty, nasty sting. Needless to say, I really didn't want us to hang around too long.

I want to say that the weather is just starting to change. Its been breezy the last two days and it just feels different. Its still hot - in the high 80s, but its tolerable. While we've had a great fun this summer with the kids, I do look forward to fall.

I am gearing up to start stocking the shop for fall. I have lots of new hats, a lot of great funky designs. I am hoping this fall/winter is at least as good as last year.

Tomatoes Everywhere!

We picked every last ripe or nearly ripe tomato this morning and made a batch of marinara. Yum! We still have some tomatoes on the vine but everything else has pretty much given up the ghost. Boo hoo.

I was working on a second 5 Hour Baby Sweater since the first one turned out so well. I need another skein of the faux mohair and I cannot get it locally. Looks like a trip to Hobby Lobby is in the cards tomorrow....shhhhhh. I am also trying to write a crochet sweater based on the 5HBS design.

Tomorrow hopefully I can start going to the gym again since we are all over the stomach virus. I hope I didn't jinx myself.

Oh, and after Fern decided to use the ENTIRE TUB of my new Lollibomb body butter, I ordered a new tub. This time, I picked Frosted Donuts. The time before, it was Birthday Cake. You should really try her stuff: http://smellpretty.com. Besides smelling heavenly and delicious, her stuff works wonders for dry skin.

Stomach Virus

I know I've been MIA lately. The stomach flu is making its rounds here. Lulu is the only one who hasn't had it. Between being showered with assorted bodily fluids from both myself and my family and doing endless laundry, I haven't done much making. I am working on a second sweater like the one in my previous post, and that is about it.

Lulu started first grade today. She is excited that school is starting again.

I am sort of taking a break on etsy until I can get caught up on stuff around the house and get my family healthy again. Orders will ship, but I won't be listing anything new for a while.

Cupcakes on the Brain....

I had all of these random things laying around that I planned to paint - a vintage purse, a tote, a vintage cookie sheet and my last small canvas. Cupcakes are popular right now. I especially love the first bumping cuppies.

We went tubing againt yesterday. This time we decided to do the long trip. It would have been fine but the first part was pretty shallow and we did a lot of walking, pulling the girls in the tubes. It was also pretty crowded. Fern fell over the side this time and got a wet surprise.

Saturday night we went to the pool downtown. Its been around since the 1920s. They have a special family swim on Saturday nights from 7-10 pm. The girls thought it was great fun to swim under the lights. Fern found a friend in the baby pool and they had a wonderful time together.

Prairiepolitan Flap Hat

Probably one of the prettiest hats I've made in a while. This style will make up part of my fall collection. I will have loads of unique designs like this.

In bluebird news, I am happy to report that we now have 2 eggs in the Pinkie nest! I guess he finally managed to talk a female into a mid-summer fling. The four eggs in Rainbow nest are still there and are being tending to by their parents. I still want Scott to build some sort of predator guard so that these babies stay safe.

I had great fun last night with the MOMS Club of Gainesville at the MOMS Night Out. We met at another member's beautiful home for Bunco. I had never played before but my BFF Christine is apparently the game type like me and talked me into going. We had a blast and I can totally see joining up with a group to play more regularly. There is absolutely no skill involved but it was fun to rotate tables and visit with some of the other moms that I don't see very often.

Nothing exciting planned for today except cleaning. And maybe casting on for a new hat....

Scott's birthday is Monday and we plan to bake a cake, buy him a new machete, and take him tubing, along with dinner at his fave place, Sonic. Chili cheese my friend!

Handspun Happiness

So I have started purchasing a few skeins of handspun here and there. I recently purchased a wonderful skein of bulky yarn from http://simplytwisted.etsy.com. Of course, I was immediately drawn to it because it was pink and brown. I am knitting up a pair of gauntlets that I hope to list soon:



My car is messed up - something with the brakes. Ugh. I am taking it in today. Hopefully, it won't be terribly expensive.

In bluebird news, we now have 4 eggs in Rainbow and Pinkie's nest is still empty.

Its Friday!

Woo hoo!

To answer Karen, I did ok at the EIllijay Market. I sold one painting but I did get to pass out some business cards and got a lot of compliments on my stuff. I will be back at the Hall Co. Market this weekend.

So I rescued a 6 foot blow mold Santa from the neighbor's dumpster, as well as a foot stool and a double head board. I am in the process of repainting the Santa. Lulu has taken the foot stool and is rehabbing it for a table for her bracelets at the Market. I have primed the headboard and will be painting it white and sage with magnolias.

I've made a few other art pieces lately:

Ellijay Farmer's Market This Weekend

I will be at the Ellijay Farmer's Market this weekend. They actually promote handmade crafts, unlike the Hall County Farmer's Market. I am hoping I have some better luck. Scott is going to help out his family with his aunt who just had back surgery. It also means I keep to shop my very favorite thrift store. This is the same store where I found some vintage McDonalds fabric for $1 and sold it for $90.

I have a newly listed hat. It was inspired by a fellow seller with an incredible shop: http://bonzie.etsy.com.

I bought several framed mirrors during my last IKEA expedition and I decorated a couple last night. This one sort of reminds me of vintage Florida colors. I have a few other's to list. I will be bringing them to Ellijay as well. Wish me luck!