Happy Wednesday!

Sometimes when creativity hits, I guess you just have to go with it and not question. No doubt my blissful San Diego trip has something to do with my state of mind. Today was a busy day and I got a lot accomplished, which continues my particularly productive week.

Here is the fabric initial letter I talked about yesterday:

I'm not as crazy about this one, even though the font is kind of quirky, but I think it's because of my fabric choice. Right along side it is a pink and green paisley mirror I made and I am IN LOVE! I still need to apply the acrylic sealer to it but it came out even better than I expected, though the picture doesn't quite do it justice. The edges were done with a pink/fuschia pattern that you can't really see at this angle. Crafting is so addictive, I can't wait to see what I do tomorrow!

Tomorrow I should be able to share my last initial (for now--I can't stop!) as long as I can hunt down the right copper colored ribbon.

Over the past month or so I've been spending bits of time re-organizing my studio. I realized I just have WAY too many ribbons. Seriously, I can't even begin to explain the tens of thousands of yards that don't even have the decency to chip in for their share of our rent! So because of that I'm going to be discontinuing some of my patterns (don't worry, there are more fabulous ones on the way for Fall). Bring in my Etsy Store, which I've generally used to sell some of my materials overstock. Today I listed a few sets of headbands (from 2 to 4 per set), all at 25% off what they are usually listed for on the site.

Oh, yes, and I re-did my entire site design! Stop by and check it out when you have a chance. There are still a few minor things I need to work on, but I got the bulk of it done today. When we installed a new shopping cart system last year, I wasn't crazy with the final design. I loved the logo/color scheme and Eva's new preppier outfit but I knew what our limitations were at that point so I tried to learn to love it. That never quite happened. There may be slight tweaks here and there, since I'm sort of learning along with the update process, but I feel 100% better about how it looks today.

I'd love to hear what you think -- what you like, what you don't, what can make it more user friendly: easier to navigate, find what you are looking for, etc.

Update: Initial letters

Here are the letters I talked about making on Sunday. The last one is my favorite because of the bezeling along the edges -- the fabric pattern really makes them pop out in person.


From L to R: Oxford Stripe paper, Olive Acanthus paper, Robert Kaufman's Sugar & Spice fabric. Both papers are from the Amy Butler collection for K&Company.

So yummy -- I went out last night and picked up 2 more initials! I used a striped fabric remnant I had on one and beautiful blue and copper paper on the other. The fabric one is finished and drying. The second one I have to go out and find a copper-ish colored ribbon (the one color I don't have) to overlap along the edge, but in a different way than in the first picture above.

More photos to come tomorrow. Now that it's almost 7:30pm I think it's time to head back into my studio and finally get some "work" done!

It's a Crafty Day in the Neighborhood

Fresh off of 2 weeks of much needed rest, relaxation and restoration, I spent today in my studio. After I packed up the orders that came in since Friday's batch, I ran some crafty errands which included a stop at Michael's. I went with the intention of picking up a new pair of scissors for "around the house" since I am very territorial about my scissors and their specific uses. Heaven help someone (ahem.... Mr. Cupcake) who tries to cut out a newspaper article with any of the clearly labeled pairs in my studio, which we fondly refer to as the Fabric Scissor Incident of 2005.

Certainly, I cannot just walk out of a craft store with the one item I went in to buy. I don't think I have it in me. During my crafting binge (hey, it's better than chocolate -- well, almost), I found myself in the wooden-things section. Something inspired me to pick up 3 initial C's of different shapes and sizes, remembering that I discovered a pile of scrapbooking paper in the depths of our storage. There is a technique that I saw that involves gluing the paper onto the front of the wooden shape and then sanding off the edges, giving it sort of a shabby chic feel. A few aisles later, I saw the new Amy Butler line of scrapbooking goodness and into my cart went some paper.

One I did in Oxford Stripe paper, another in Olive Acanthus paper and the third, which was beveled along the edges, in a Robert Kaufman fabric I had a scrap of on my desk. All 3 came out beautifully -- I'll post pictures tomorrow when the lighting's better -- and are now at home on our wall of initials.

I love how accomplished crafty days can make me feel!

Real live Martha!

In all the excitment of the past few days, I'd completely forgotten to post about my time spent with Martha on Wednesday! I'd put in for tickets long before the show even started so I was thrilled to find out I was going to share relative breathing space with Martha, herself. Of all the live tapings I have been to, this was the first that didn't treat the audience like a bunch of cattle. There were not only 2 rooms full of chairs and benches, but tasty looking baked goods and Vitamin Water. That's why she's Martha!

Of all the guests to be there, Linda Dano was on -- whom I've met so many times and was just a riot! Who else would ask Martha if she was dating anyone? I just had to laugh during the cooking segment when Martha was amazed that they sold prebaked brownie sheets in grocery stores. She's so undomesticated sometimes!

Not that you go for the free stuff, but, well, you kind of do :) We walked home with our very own copy of TV Guide with Ms. Stewart on the cover and a skull. Yup. A skull. Certainly beats the heck out of the 97 gifts Rosie O'Donnell gave away the next day, but who's keeping track?!

Somehow I managed to snag tickets for another taping this week. All of this crafting and cooking have completely inspired me!

Yummy yarns

I couldn't resist it anymore... these yarns were just too yummy not to snatch up before someone else did! Even though the weather is more sweltering than sweatering, I just had to have 'em.

I'm such a sucker for crafty projects. Check back to see what I make out of these puppies!

More pretty fabric!

This is what happens when its all warm and sunny outside. I get inspired by anything colorful and fun and my supply closet just grows and grows! Take a peek at my latest acquisition - Dancing Tulips:


I'm thinking some cute little clutches or something equally fun. Maybe involving some vintage buttons or brooches. Oooo... or even a sash/belt. I'm starting to get over the ribbon belts that are just EVERYwhere these days. Maybe I'll start playing around with making them with fabric. Guess you'll have to just wait and see!

Sunshine and Creativity

All of this sunshine and happiness has me totally inspired. I picked up some yummy new fabrics last week that I can't wait to get started working with.


yummy new fabric

Aren't they amazing? Check back in a week or so to see what I whipped up.

In other news, our taxes are finally done. What a nightmare! I'm going out tomorrow to get Quickbooks, which will make my life 1,000 times easier come next April. The few hundred dollars are definitely worth my weeks of sanity. I think my husband would agree, too! :)

Taking on the IRS...

Tax time is here! If you were smart, much unlike myself, your taxes were done long ago and you're thinking up ways to spend your sizeable refund. No, not me. I'm up to my ears in reciepts and paperwork -- who said owning your own business(es) was a good idea?! Clearly they had an accountant! :)

On the bright side, I was able to catch some of the late afternoon sun yesterday and shoot some more Spring product photos for my site. Like the adorable receipt organizer above. With a colorful folder dedicated for each month or category, I'll be much more likely to keep my receipts up to date. I just LOVE the fabric I used for the cover, too. I think I'm going to have to make a few other things with it.......