KatyDidCrafts

Custom Owl

2010-04-08T15:23:00.002-05:00

Right before Christmas, I was hanging out in Fabrika with Ashleigh sewing up some owls during her holiday open house. Her friend Louis came in with his wife who loved said owls. And so Louis sneakily asked, while his wife was looking at fabric in the back room, if I could make a custom owl for her. But he said he wanted it in pinks and could I possibly give it hearts for eyes? Yes and Yes!

So here's some photos of said owlie. And wouldn't you know it - I even had some heart shaped buttons to use for eyes!

Get Hip to the Happenings

2010-03-26T14:07:00.004-05:00

Full disclosure - I'm biased about the recommendations since the sites I'm about to direct you to are run by some of my friends. Still, I find them totally inspiring and quite darling and want to direct more readers to them. So take a look!

You must check out dearreader - my friend Beth's new Etsy shop and blog. They are chock full of clever and useful items guaranteed to make you feel cheery. And she works in felt - which of course gets me excited. Beth has a brilliant sense of humor and aesthetics so I am sure that as she continues to build upon the foundations of her new endeavors, it will be worth checking out regularly.

Kooky story - I lost touch with my old roommate Hadley after 1996. Couldn't seem to track her down anywhere. Where should she turn up 14 years later? Why living 10 miles down the road from me here in Savannah of course! And working as a ceramist who makes very fun and whimsical odds and ends. Check our her site for her full line of products or her Etsy to buy some of them direct.

If you are more into paper crafts, then you must take a peek at Asleep On the Couch Designs by my pal Sally. She just seems to be constantly creating and putting me to shame with her energy. And she has lots of opportunities for you to participate with reader giveaways. I really need to take some lessons from her on how to get my blog really up and going.

Inspiration : Kate Greenaway

2010-03-16T12:17:00.002-05:00

Considered by many to be the most popular of children's illustrators, Kate Greenaway (1846-1901) was a Victorian English illustrator whose images of children and fairy worlds exhibited the innocence of childhood and nostalgia for the idealic world in which they live. Greenaway's work creates a sense of the penultimate middle-class Victorian (although stylistically Regency) childhood - one where it's always nice weather, the flowers are always blooming and one can ignore the nastiness of life in favor of games, tea-times and stories.

Stylistically, her drawings are quite simple with clean lines and light colors - especially as compared to the ornate styles usually associated with Victorian era design. Her work became some of the first to be mass marketed through merchandise, although often without her permission and reproduced under the guise of the "Greenaway style". Her imagery has been used for porcelain figurines & tiles, wallpaper, dolls, tea sets, printed fabric and even children's clothing.

You can see a beautifully digitized copy of her book "A Apple Pie" at the Library of Congress.

Recently Made : Owlies

2010-03-08T09:49:00.002-05:00

Before the holidays, I started working on a new pattern for owls. This set of little dudes went over to Fabrika where I believe they all found new homes. Working on a set of spring owls for my Etsy.

Inspiration : Jessie Willcox Smith

2010-03-04T10:08:00.004-05:00

Part of a new series I'm hoping to develop; I hope to regularly post about some of the work that inspires me. This is hopefully to motivate myself to work on my own stuff and also to introduce them to my few readers.

First up - children's illustrator, Jessie Willcox Smith (1863-1935). I was first introduced to her work as a little girl. I had a copy of the classic A Children's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson (1914) that I remember reading cover to cover a lot. I still have some of the poems memorized. But it was the illustrations that I loved the most - all done by Smith. My mother, who collects vintage children's books, also had antique copies of The Water-Babies by Charles Kingsley (1916) (which sadly, I colored in), At The Back of the North Wind (1919) and The Princess and the Goblin (1920) by George MacDonald - all with illustrations by Smith. Maybe it was all that time spent reading that informed my love of vintage children's ephemera (and libraries?). It is specifically Smith's work which helped to create the early modern feel of children's illustration that I love most.

Initially starting out as a kindergarten teacher, it was because of a chance discovery of her talents that Smith ended up studying illustration under Howard Pyle (who also mentored N.C. Wyeth and Frank Schoonover among others). Smith used her natural abilities with children to observe and draw them in their natural state of play. Using pen and ink with watercolor, Smith's illustrations combine realism with fantasy in way that seem to echo a child's imagination. Her illustrations were regularly used for the covers of popular women's magazines in the early 20th Century - in face, her work would serve as the cover of every issue of Good Housekeeping from December 1917-April 1933. In this way, she must have been as familiar to the public as Norman Rockwell and J.C. Lyondecker. (Those of you who know me well, know that I have other interests in early American magazines, especially Good Housekeeping, so this fact was particularly interesting to me.)

Some (now old) New Guys

2010-02-28T13:14:00.002-05:00

I've been so bad about posting about what I've been making. I'm trying to play a little catch up. Unfortunately, I made a number of the things for gifts in the past couple of months that I didn't get a chance to take photos of before I sent them off (a baby quilt, two watercolor paintings and some stuffed animals).

But here is a group of mini animals that I made before Christmas and sold to Fabrika. They are all about 3 inches tall so could be used as tree ornaments or just little decorative toys. Also includes a new pattern that I worked out for some owls. I'll post close-ups of those next.

Thrifted Inspiration

2010-02-25T14:41:00.004-05:00

Before the holidays, I went junk store shopping out in the boonies. I've come to realize that out in the middle of nowhere (and that means YOU Brooklet, Georgia) there are the best antique stores, flea markets, junk shops and yard sales. Here's some of the goodies that I found on a random day in December.

As I look around my studio, I'm realizing just how much I'm inspired by vintage illustrations for children and toys. The simplified designs, the colorful palettes, the naive subject matter. I'm not sure if it's based out of my own memories or an unwillingness to fully "grow up" or an unsophisticated aesthetic. They allow me to connect to my own imagination in a way that's much less judgmental than when I try to produce things for adults (though I think that's probably who actually buys my things when I sell them.)

One Word Resolution : Focus

2010-01-15T16:42:00.004-05:00

This is clearly 15 days late for a blog post. But given that I had forgone resolutions for the new year in favor of concrete goals, I think that it's alright.

I have set three goals for myself for this coming year with the idea that they set in me good stead for the following year :
1. To pay off $15,000 worth of debt.
2. To focus on nutrition and health.
3. To be disciplined about spending 10 hours a week on creative endeavors.

I realized that in order to meet these goals, I would need to be incredibly focused. And so FOCUS is my theme for the year. Each time I start to get distracted, I'll need to repeat my mantra.

As a tool to get ready to complete #1, I've been playing around with this debt reduction calculator. Highly recommended if you're trying to figure out how to pay down in order to actually eliminate debt.

Back to the Kitchen for Frugal Meals - Great Tips!

2010-01-07T10:07:00.003-05:00

As a result of overindulging both edibly and financially over the holidays, we're back to cooking some frugal meals at home. I always create grocery lists and use coupons, but I've had spotty luck in the past doing menu planning. As part of my daily blog roll, I just came across this tutorial for a custom grocery list / menu planner on design sponge. What I particularly love is the printable grocery list - cute and practical! And I think that having it set up on a clipboard in the kitchen is an idea that I'll likely try out.

Another idea I came across yesterday that I think is practical and adorable - using vintage trays as magnetic recipe boards on Aesthetic Outburst. I'm always getting my recipes smudged and messy while I cook and I like that this would get them up out of the way but where I can still read them. The one problem is that in our tiny kitchen countertop space is at a premium and it might be hard to find space for it.

Finally, it's cold out and we're broke - break out the Crockpot! Smitten Kitchen had an delicious recipe for brisket that I'll be trying out this weekend.

Holla! Guest Post.

2010-01-05T16:38:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to throw you all a link to a guest post that I did for my pal Ashleigh's store Fabrika in Savannah. Just a short book review, but it was a worthwhile book and an even more worthwhile store that you ought to know about.

Updates on the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act

2009-11-15T15:01:00.004-05:00

The other day I had a conversation with another dog owner at the dog park who was wondering what the current status was of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act since she also makes items for children. It got me thinking - I haven't been watching very closely as I haven't been very diligent about my own products what with the wedding and all.

But now that I'm kicking off the holiday season with an attempt to make up some goodies for sale (soon to be seen for sale at Fabrika Fine Fabrics in Savannah, Ga and Valley Flower Company in White River Junction, Vt and on my etsy site), I realized that I'd better get up to speed asap.

The short of it is that not very much has changed in the past few months. The legislation passed, but the implementation of it has been on hold. Major interests have been lobbying on behalf of thrift store, libraries and artisans to attempt to convince the Consumer Product Safety Commission to amend the legislation so that it will fairly address these industries. Libraries were successful and did receive notice that they would not need to test books in their collections. The thrift industry is hoping for the same.

Handicraft artisans are lobbying for an amendment which would exempt natural products (ex. untreated wood, natural fibers, beeswax, etc) from needing to be tested and also putting the onus on component suppliers to prove their items are non-toxic rather than on the artisan to test his/her end product. In the meantime, large toy manufacturers (to whom this legislation was directed) have set up their own testing facilities, certified by the federal government, and have begun to test products already.

For more information, here are some current articles:
The Hill, November 15, 2009
New York Times, October 30, 2009
Nancy Nord's blog - Consumer Product Safety Commissioner

Wedding Ceremony

2009-11-11T09:18:00.006-05:00

Several of our friends and family who couldn't be at the wedding, asked if I'd be willing to post our ceremony on the blog. It makes me smile to re-read it as it was a perfect moment in our day. Despite having to change the venue somewhat last minute because of weather and having to cram everyone indoors, the ceremony was just what we wanted.

We wanted the feeling of a traditional ceremony, but we were clear that we wanted something secular and very personal. We wrote it ourselves using bits and pieces from a number of services that I found online (Union by Robert Fulgham, vows). (Patrick is a good friend and served as our officiant). In the hopes that this is useful to others searching for ceremony ideas, here goes...

Prelude & Procession - I walked in to Beach Boys Wouldn't it be nice and Ron and I walked up the aisle together.

Welcome & Opening - written by Patrick

Remembrances & Moment of Reflection

Patrick : Please take a few moments for silent reflection on the significance of marriage, the importance of this day in the lives of Ron & Kate, and to give thanks for those of us who are present and to honor the memory of those who are not with us today, but are here in spirit. [Allow about 30 seconds for silence]

Reading #1 Love Autumnal by Oliver Jenkins - read by Kate's brother

Statement of Community Support

Patrick : Family and friends, you have been invited here because you have shared and contributed to the lives of Kate and Ron in the past and by witnessing their marriage ceremony today, they ask you to share in their future.

The intimate, yet public, nature of this ceremony reminds us that we are social beings. Our identities, even our very existence, come about because our family and friends are the relationships that nurture and define us. So it is that marriage cannot exist in isolation from family, friends, community.

To all of you here, we ask you to nurture this union with your love and understanding. Do you promise to pledge your support to this new shared life? Will you promise to help them keep their hearts open and tender, full of forgiveness and compassion? Will you promise to keep them accountable to the promises that they make each other in front of you today? If so, please answer “We do”.

[Guests: We do.]

Reading #2 Excerpts from I Like You by Sandol Stoddard Warburg - read by R&K's friend Andrea

Exchange of Vows

Patrick: Ron and Kate - You have known each other for many years, through your first acquaintance to this moment of commitment. At some moment, you decided to marry. From that moment of yes to this moment of yes, you have been making promises and agreements in an informal way. All those conversations that were held riding in a car or over a meal or during long walks – all those sentences that began with “When we’re married” and continued with “I will” and “You will” and “We will” – those late night talks that included “someday” and “somehow” and “maybe” – and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart. Just two people working out what they want, what they believe, what they hope for each other.

All these common things and more are the real process of a wedding. The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to each other, “You know all those things we’ve promised and hoped and dreamed? Well, I meant it, every word.”

Look at one another and remember this moment in time. Before this moment you have been many things to one another – acquaintance, friend, companion, lover, teacher, for you have learned much from one another in these last few years. Now you shall say a few words that take you across the threshold of life and things will never quite be the same between you. For after these vows, you will say to the world, This – is my husband ; This – is my wife.

Are you free and ready to enter into full commitment of marriage?

Ron & Kate – We are.

Instead of traditional vows, Ron & Kate have opted to write one another letters to be opened and read out loud to one another, in front of all of these witnesses, for the first time now.
Ron read letter to Kate
Kate read letter to Ron

Patrick: Please each repeat after me in unison:

* I promise to turn to you when I am in need and to care for you when you need me.
* I will take strength from who you are, accept who you are not, and remind you who you want to be.
* I will try to remember, whether sunk in sorrow or distracted by the day-to-day, what I feel at this moment – my sense of good fortune and my sheer joy at being with you.
* Knowing that my family and friends surround me, knowing who I am and who I want to be – with this strength and certainty I say to you – I have only one life and it is only so long and I choose to spend it with you.

Ring Exchange

Patrick : May I have the rings, please? [take from Scott, best man]

These rings have no beginning and no ending, which symbolizes that the love between you will never cease. Placed on your fingers, it is a visible sign of the vows which have made you husband and wife.

Ron – take Kate’s ring and place it on her finger and repeat after me :
I give you this ring as a symbol of my commitment to you and our family.

Kate – take Ron’s ring and place it on his finger and repeat after me :
I give you this ring as a symbol of my commitment to you and our family.

Pronouncement

Patrick :
By the power of your love and commitment, and the power vested in me by the state of Massachusetts (the best state in the union!), I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss each other!

[Kiss]

I present to you the happily married couple, Ron & Kate Wells.

TA DA!!!

Status Update : 11 days out

2009-10-06T08:08:00.002-05:00

No new pictures to post. No new crafting projects happening. Mostly because my time has been taken with organizing. For the past month, I've spent my lunch hours running errands and making phone calls and my evenings trying to fit in conversations with future hubby and calls to family and friends as well as keeping up with regular life responsibilities. All in the hopes that this wedding will come off with as few hitches as possible.

We're 11 days away. Not long now. And everyone keeps asking if I'm excited. Yes, I am. I'm thrilled to be marrying my sweetheart and stoked to get to see my family and friends and psyched to feel the fall weather in Massachusetts. But I'm also really really tired.

Is it bad that in addition to everything else I'm looking forward to, I can't wait for our 17 hour drive up north because it's a day and half that I literally can not do any wedding planning?

Savannah Shower (and awesome craftacular project)

2009-10-02T16:18:00.003-05:00

So my Savannah lady friends threw me a wedding shower last weekend. Can you ask for more than a potluck of delicious homemade dishes and crafting? I couldn't. It was perfect - no embarrassing drunken nights out wearing silly bridal gear - and time with my friends laughing and getting creative.

Brilliant idea, by the hosts Ashleigh and Nora, to custom decorate kitchen towels. Ashleigh sewed up some kitchen towels and then let us have at her studio and sewing machines. With loads of scrap fabric, embroidery thread and the ability to either sew or iron on, people got really creative and came up with some adorable ideas. They are so pretty that I don't want to get them dirty!

CPSIA - an update

2009-09-09T08:15:00.004-05:00

Awhile ago, I mentioned the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA)and how the bill was going to essentially put most small, handmade, children's products companies out of business (at least most of the folks on etsy) given the exorbitant cost of testing. Additionally, the bill was written so broadly that it was going to affect children's books and therefore libraries. At least it looks like, libraries have gotten a reprieve. I got an update from the American Libraries Association stating the following:

As the American Library Association (ALA) has emphasized since first
enactment of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA),
concern for children*s safety is our first priority in providing
materials to young patrons. On August 26, 2009, the CPSC*s final rule
on children*s products containing lead was released. In the rule,
CPSC confirmed that libraries have no independent obligation to test
library books for lead under the law. CPSC also announced its intention
to release a Statement of Policy specifically providing guidance for
libraries with regard to the treatment of older children*s books that
could potentially contain lead. According to our conversations with
CPSC officials, that Statement of Policy should be released within the
next several weeks.

While we await the Statement of Policy, ALA recommends that libraries
take the following actions. If a library is aware that any children*s
book does indeed contain lead above the legal limits or otherwise
presents a danger to children, it should remove it from public access,
for instance by moving it to the non-circulating collection. We would
also ask that if libraries do learn of any books containing lead to
please let the ALA * Washington Office know so that we might share
that information with other libraries. When the Statement of Policy is
released, we will promptly notify our members.

DIY Wedding : Dinner Napkins

2009-08-30T20:59:00.003-05:00

This is what I did all weekend. I sewed 82 dinner napkins for the wedding reception. After hearing that it was $.50/napkin to rent plain white ones from our caterer, I figured that it would be less expensive and more fun to have some homemade ones that gave more of a picnic vibe. The assortment of fabrics were collected over the past ten months. There's some vintage tablecloths and sheets in there, some yardage that I got on sale and a few that I just couldn't pass up. Overall I think that I only spent $30 on fabric and already had the thread. Overall - not the hugest savings really, but I still think that they will be a lot more festive on the tables than plain old white. Plus we can keep them and they are reusable!

The fabric stash was also the supply for the jam jar toppers for the favors and for the garland so hopefully it won't seem too haphazard when it's all set up.

Last weekend I also create a guest book out of a photo album kit that my Mom gave me several years ago so that was free. It's not posted because it's waiting for Ron to decorate the front of it with some hand-lettering first. I also made my bridal fascinator. I'm not going to post that though because I want to keep it a surprise til Ron sees me that morning.

And now with the napkins done, I'm officially done with all of my major DIY wedding projects. A few more small tidbits here and there but nothing major. I can't tell you how excited I am to work on something other than the wedding!

Wedding DIY : Shrug Completed!

2009-08-13T20:07:00.004-05:00

Once I realized that it was only two months until we leave to head up for the wedding, I got into high gear finishing off all my projects. I've been knitting so much in the past week that my fingers literally cramped up last night while I was binding off and Ron had to massage my knuckles! But it totally paid off and I finished my shrug. I LOVE IT! Thankfully it fits perfectly and even better...the color of the yarn matches my dress exactly. Here's a sneak peek of my wedding day outfit.

I could not have finished this without the help of the LionBrand Yarn Knitalong for this pattern which was hosted by the pattern's creator Stefanie Japel - whose personal blog is now on my regular reading list.

Wedding DIY : Flag Garland

2009-08-13T19:58:00.002-05:00

I had a lot of extra fabric leftover after cutting napkins and favor tops so I decided to make some flag garlands to decorate the reception tent. For white and cream, I used an old sheet that had ripped and some very inexpensive muslin. I didn't want to have to sew anything and found that the range of fabrics didn't all take to glue in the same way. A friend (thanks Meghan!) suggested using brads - a standard office product usually used to attach papers. On the thicker fabrics, I had to create a small hole first for the brad whereas some of the lighter weight fabrics I could just poke them right though. (I found old tweezers did just the right job for creating a small hole.) I like that the brads look a bit like embroidery tacks.

I used 45' cotton cord and made 4 of them and have enough fabric left that I could maybe make one more. I'd been hoping to hang them out on the porch for the photo but it's been raining almost every evening for 3 weeks and I haven't been able to get outside much. I still think that they are really cheerful.

Wedding Budget

2009-08-06T14:44:00.004-05:00

Since I've been blogging about wedding plans a lot of late (two months out!) and haven't talked about my quest to get out of debt as much, I thought that it would be a good time to discuss the dreaded wedding budget.

When we first got engaged and started talking about the wedding, we set a budget of $5000. We thought - hey we'll do it at my parents house, it'll be an intimate gathering of loved ones and we'll DIY a lot. We can swing it. Well I'll tell you, sticking to that budget has been HARD. And we are forgoing a lot of traditional elements and DIY'ing a lot.

We've basically doubled the budget. Still far under the average American wedding ($30,000!!!), but way more than I wanted to spend. The main reason is that when we first created the budget, we had absolutely no idea how much things cost. We could have decided to cut way back or do something totally different, but we decided that we were willing to go over budget in order to have the wedding we envisioned - with the caveat that we would get really creative with all of our options.

Our music will be performed by friends or through ipod ; our photography will be mainly done by friends as well. We made our invitations. I will spend a total of $300 on my entire wedding day outfit and hair/makeup. We're making all the decorations and using locally farmed flowers and pumpkins. Our wedding night hotel and mini-moon are being gifted to us.

I've been looking over the budget spreadsheet that I created and I see a few major areas where I way under-budgeted : travel, alcohol, party rentals, food, and miscellaneous.

Travel We didn't anticipate renting a car to drive home, but I don't trust my car to make another drive there and back as it's just too old. That's almost $1000.
Drinks Once I started calculating how much we'd need for drinks (beer, wine, cider, soda, water), I realized that it'll likely be $300 more than I thought.
Rentals Originally I didn't want a tent at all, but since it's autumn in New England and the weather could be unpredictable I was convinced by family that it was necessary. We've booked sides for the tent and heaters. In the event, that its great weather we could end up canceling the extras which would save us some money, but overall it's still another $750 that I didn't originally count.
Food I did some shopping around and found really great caterers that were willing to work with us on price and around our constraints (locally & seasonally harvested, willingness to incorporate vegan options). I'm thrilled with our menu and our vendors, but even with negotiating, it is more than we thought it would be by about $800.
Miscellany The small little crap just adds up before you know it. Shipping costs for anything you order (clothing, stamps, paper, thank you gifts, and on and on). Ingredients that you run out of at the last minute while making favors. Last minute projects.

Overall, I'm still really happy and proud that we are able to maintain our major goal for this wedding - we are not going into debt over it. Anything we've spent so far (~$3100) has all been up front and in cash. We've got money socked away to pay the balances and family has been very generous with some gifting. Friends have stepped up to help us out as their gift. We've made some decisions to cut certain things and add others - all while staying conscious of the impact on our finances. It's the consciousness of our spending that I'm really most proud of - we're planning something that is genuine and sincere and fun and on our terms.

DIY Wedding Invitations : Final Package

2009-08-02T19:44:00.006-05:00

We finally got our invitations done and sent out last week. It was a multi-step process. Ron and I worked out our aesthetic for it a couple of months ago, worked out all the text and then he went to town on designing. I'm glad that he pretty much knew what he was doing because with our multiple fonts and a lot of illustrations and clip art, it was a lot of work. We did use a few free clipart downloads from a great DIY wedding blog. Even if you're not doing a wedding, this site has awesome font and design ideas and freebies.

As you'd expect from Old Timey Ron, we wanted our invitations to look like 18th century handbills. I think that he did a great job at pulling it off.

We got our printing done at Kinkos and they were great about cutting down the paper to our custom sizes after printing. Then we just folded and affixed into our envelopes. On the front of the envelopes, we affixed paper cut outs of maples leaves for the addresses. I absolutely love the Love stamps this year and was psyched that they matched our colors and aesthetic so well. Lastly, to close the envelopes we used a wax seal in a bronze wax. (no picture)

All told, I think that the entire invitations packages including postage cost about $4.50/piece. Seeing as that's less than even some pre-made envelopes cost, I think that we did amazingly well.

Napkin Rings

2009-08-01T12:54:00.003-05:00

I added another project to the wedding list. I am still in process of sewing up napkins, but was realizing that it might be nice to have some napkin rings when they are set on the table. We have a lot of the heavy cover weight paper left from making the envelopes for our invitations and I did a quick google for paper napkin rings. Of course, Martha Stewart had the perfect maple leaf template to use. Since our napkins will all be mismatched fabric, I think that using these napkin rings, all in the chocolate brown, will be a nice way to tie everything together on the tables.

(Luckily, this project actually goes pretty quickly and isn't going to feel never-ending like most of the others I've taken on.)

DIY Wedding Invitations : How to make an Envelope

2009-07-20T07:35:00.004-05:00

In the interest of cost-savings and personalization, we decided to make our own wedding invitations. If money were no object, I would have loved to have letterpress but alas we have a budget. So we figured that we'd design and make our own so that at least if we weren't splurging on the printing, we'd splurge on the attention we spent on them.

Here's a tutorial on how to make your own envelopes. We ordered paper from French's and got a cover weight in a large size so that we could cut it down.

First you make a template for the envelope. This is probably the most time consuming part because you want to make several trials and mock-ups to ensure that it folds correctly and is the size you want. Once you have a final template, you trace it onto the paper.
Next you cut it out. I highly recommend using a straight edge and exacto knife instead of scissors. It makes for much cleaner lines and corners.
Now score where your fold lines will be. This is especially important on a heavier weight paper so that you get a nice clean line. I used a bone folder.
Use the flat edge of the bone folder to help you get a nice sharp crease when you fold over the edges. Fold all the edges and then glue any pieces that you need to.

Here's our completed envelope. The right side has a pocket. The middle includes the side flaps and over on the left edge is the outside flap for closure.
And here are some completed and folded-up envelopes. I made 50 so that there were extra in the event of mistakes. It probably took me about 3 evenings to work on them. It's relatively time consuming with all the tracing, cutting & folding. But the major benefit is that all it cost us was the paper (~$25) and some new exacto blades. Per piece, it's far less expensive than ordering pre-made ones and we were able to completely customize it for ourselves.

Camera Bag

2009-07-08T14:42:00.002-05:00

To help care for my new camera, I made myself a camera bag. It's really basic - felt lined with cotton and hand-sewn with embroidery thread. I added a button and there's a hole in top for the camera strap to fit through should I want to carry it that way. Just a little basic project but a good way to use up some scraps.

berries to jam

2009-07-07T08:12:00.004-05:00

On 4th of July, I went blueberry picking with my friend Sally to Brewer's Farm in Midway, Georgia. It was so quiet and peaceful that it made me really homesick for my grandmother's place in Vermont where we could go out into the old orchard to pick blackberries. That bucket is 5 quarts of berries for only $7.50!

In any case, I took advantage of the slightly cooler weather last night to make up a batch of Peach-Blueberry Jam. Here's the recipe:

2 quarts fresh sliced peaches
1 quart fresh blueberries
6 cups white sugar
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
*Boil it all down until it reaches jam consistency. (check consistency by placing a spoonful of jam onto a plate and putting in the freezer for a few minutes - if it's the right consistency when you take it out, you're ready; if not, keep boiling.) Spoon off the froth. Put into jars, follow the canning process and voila! Preserved jam! This recipe made exactly 5 pints.

These will be in the mix with the rest of the jams for our wedding favors.

Creating a New Pattern

2009-06-29T10:39:00.002-05:00

I got a request for a custom teddy bear and I've been trying to work out a pattern from scratch. The first two photos are my initial attempts and then I made up a final version out of attempt #2. I think though that the longer I look at them, I like #1 a bit better. I like his longer legs and that he's a little bit slimmer. The other guy is a little too fat and stubby, but I do like that his face comes to a point at the nose so I might try to work that into the other design.

Thus far, this is the most complicated pattern I've tried to create. It's so much easier when you do an animal that is recognizeable just from it's profile. I'm not sure yet that it's worth the effort.

Update on Wedding Shrug

2009-06-22T19:52:00.003-05:00

Here's an update on my knitting for the shrug that I plan on wearing for the wedding. Thank god for LionBrand Yarn's current knitalong of this project! I decided to veer away from the original pattern and not do the stripes across the back and sleeves so it's just a straight knit/purl with a seed stitch detail on the edges of the sleeves to match the seed stitch that will be on the collar. Still need to finish the left sleeve before I pick up the whole round to do the rest of the back and the collar.

New Camera!

2009-06-21T18:34:00.003-05:00

Oh so happy. After several weeks research, we got me a new digital camera and it came in on Friday. An early birthday present for me and much needed as sharing a camera was not working well for either of us. I did some research on Consumer Reports and PCWorld and some online review sites and decided on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX55. It consistently got great reviews for the compact digitals in the price range that I wanted. It came really fast through the mail and I've been playing with it since. Now we just need to get me a new lappie so that I don't need to wait until Ron's done with his to download the photos!

Too long

2009-06-21T16:47:00.002-05:00

Oh it's been too long since I posted anything. One might think that I hadn't been doing anything, but in fact I've been quite busy. I've been crafting - knitting the wedding shrug, made a new stuffed animal pattern & made a mock-up and sold a custom order, been berry picking and made several batches of jam. I just got my own digital camera so no more sharing one camera between both Ron and I. That means that I should be able to post more photos more frequently.

In the meantime, I'll let you know that while sitting at the reference desk for a Sunday afternoon shift I just finished reading "The Collected Works of T.S. Spivet" by Reif Larson and it was absolutely fantastic. It was so good that I think that I'll buy my own personal copy so that I can read it again and mark it up. Highly recommended.

CBS Radio - The Librarian

2009-05-07T10:54:00.002-05:00

From 1938-1940 CBS Radio ran a program called "Americans at Work." A radio script for "The Librarian" segment from circa 1939 proves that we've always been attempted to combat the stereotypical image of the old maid.

It's fascinating that some of the aspects of the job remain exactly the same - problematic patrons, the need for subject experts, the frustrating fact that it's mostly men in management positions, limited funds for acquisitions, scheduling. Technology and training may change, but fundamentally the same skills are required of the job.

Custom Order

2009-05-04T10:09:00.001-05:00

So after my Etsy account laying dormant for the past several months with very few new listings and even fewer orders, I got an order for a custom alphabet garland. Finished it up this weekend and mailing it out today. It's got me reinvigorated to make a few more new items.

Bouquet Trial

2009-05-03T11:03:00.002-05:00

I got to spend an afternoon with my Mom and sister (also the Matron of Honor) trying to see how difficult it is to make my own bouquets and boutinieres for the wedding. I'm planning on getting local flowers that are in season the week of the wedding at a nearby organic farm.

We picked up a number of flowers from the local market. They aren't what will be in season in the fall, but I just wanted to get a sense of how hard it is to make a bouquet and tie it with ribbon. It's not that it's too hard really, but it was somewhat time-consuming. The boutinieres were actually really easy and those I can definitely plan on making up for the men. My sister is of the opinion that if I'm already making the table arrangements, it would be far easier to just have the bouquets professionally done. There's something to that, but I do like the idea of working on it with some family members and having the memories of that.

Cake Tasting

2009-05-03T10:56:00.003-05:00

Two weeks ago we went home for a wedding planning trip and had a number of tastings at caterers and bakers. We had planned on trying to take pictures of all the food as it came out, but we dug in so fast that this is all we got a photo of! Needless to say, it was awesome. We'll definitely be using this baker.

Planned dessert buffet menu: Red Velvet Cake with cream cheese frosting, Carrot Cake with cream cheese frosting, Chocolate Espresso Vegan Cupcakes, Apple Cranberry Pie, Honey Pumpkin Pie, Vegan Fruit Crumble, Apple Cider Donuts.

YUMMMMM.....

New knitting project

2009-04-17T09:04:00.002-05:00

I still haven't finished Big Green - the cabled cardigan that I started last fall. I got frustrated redoing a sleeve about three times and set it aside for a bit.

In the meantime, I've just picked up the yarn to start a new project. I'm working on a shrug that I'm hoping to wear at my wedding in case it's a bit chilly. The pattern is from GlamKnits by Stefanie Japel and I'm working with a Debbie Bliss cotton yarn.

Fabrika in Savannah

2009-04-17T08:54:00.004-05:00

One of my most favorite people has recently become the co-owner of Fabrika, a fabric and notions store in Savannah. Since taking over the store, in just a few weeks it's really popped. A couple of layers of new paint and some organizing and it feels like a totally new place. And how can you not want to shop in it when you see my little birdies in the window flying over some tubs of vintage buttons?

Getting down to accessories

2009-04-10T14:49:00.004-05:00

I've picked up this cute necklace to wear for the wedding. I think that it will be a cute play on the whole autumn picnic idea. And I feel really pleased that I bought it from a fellow crafter off etsy.

Wedding Dress for $91 off Ebay!!!!!

2009-04-10T14:38:00.002-05:00

I got my dress!!!! I decided to go with buying vs having one custom made for two main reasons - it would be way less costly and less to organize. If our situation were different, I would have loved to have Emily still make my dress and I loved her ideas. But ultimately my responsible nature won out. However....

I'm thrilled! When we first got engaged, I saw this dress from JCrew and loved it. I ordered it from their site and tried it on and loved it immediately. "I feel pretty and I can still play croquet!" I said to myself and I knew it was the one. I returned it though because I knew I had seen it online through oncewed.com and ebay for cheaper. Turns out I got it brand new and unworn off ebay from a girl who waited to long to return it to get a refund. And I got it for $91 including shipping. And it's perfect.

Hooray for Vermont and Iowa Couples!

2009-04-08T12:25:00.003-05:00

It must be spring fever because love (and human rights) are in the air! On April 3rd, Iowa Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have the right to marry. And yesterday the Vermont legislators overruled the governor and voted to allow Gay marriage. (This is the first time it's gone through law makers instead of the courts.)

Why on earth would anyone want to deny two people from making a loving commitment to each other?

Less Debt = More Independence

2009-04-02T12:20:00.004-05:00

One more card down! This morning, thanks to a generous engagement gift from my Grandmother, I was able to pay off my Discover card in full and send extra to my last (and biggest) credit card. I calculated the interest that I would save if I used the gift to pay off debt and it's as if she doubled the amount that she gave me I'm saving so much.

That means that in the past year that I have been seriously working to pay off my debt, I've eliminated two credit cards and my car payments to the tune of elimating $8000 in debt.

Photo taken from http://www.flickr.com/photos/kb-a/2799250369/

Coupons

2009-03-26T07:14:00.002-05:00

So last night I finally went grocery shopping. We were long overdue and starting to spend money on just grabbing food to go because we didn't have much to cook with. Since it had been more than two weeks and I needed a lot of cleaning and pet supplies I knew it was going to be expensive. But I took the time to actually go through some of the coupons I had clipped, made a list (which I only deviated from for two items - chips and salsa), and then bought store brand or sale items whenever possible.

I am psyched - I saved $33 just in coupons and sales. That seemed like a lot to me. And I found out that Kroger doubles manufacturers coupons. So that deodorant that was already on sale with a $.50 coupon ended up costing like $.73 instead of $3.

You will now start to see me like those little old ladies with their coupon organizers walking around the store.

Springtime

2009-03-23T07:36:00.003-05:00

On my walk with Ahab yesterday morning.

A Space for Creativity

2009-03-20T12:36:00.003-05:00

I cleaned out my studio on Sunday and when I walked in last night to get something I was so pleased to see it looking ready for a new project. The cut out squares of fabric waiting to be sewed into napkins were nicely folded in a pile. The desktop was totally clean. My knickknacks were all happily displayed. I actually got really excited to do something creative this weekend.

I came across this series of writer's rooms through The Guardian UK. And then this one of artists' studio spaces. Anyhow it got me thinking about how lucky I am that I can even have one small space to myself.

at least one of us isn't worried

2009-03-10T12:33:00.002-05:00

I have confirmation that what we've noticed in our home the past six months is a shared phenomenon. Ron's work has been steadily increasing despite our concerns that tattoos would be considered a luxury in today's weak economy.

On my way into work yesterday morning there was a piece on NPR's Marketplace about how well the tattoo industry as a whole seems to be doing. I'm trying not to question why it remains successful and just be thankful that Ron's getting the business.

Tattoo Barbie

2009-03-06T13:09:00.002-05:00

Apparently Mattel has released a new "Totally Stylin' Tattoos Barbie". If anything it just shows how mainstream tattoos have become in our culture.

Apparently some parents apparently find it offensive - despite the fact that Barbie doesn't come with tattoos and that what you can use are all temporary. In this news article, one parent notes "I think it's attracting kids too young that want to expose parts of body to show off tattoos." It struck me because A. most people don't get tattoos to show off body parts. Unless they are exhibitionists in which case they'll show them off anyhow and B. it assumes that people get tattoos only in areas which wouldn't normally be shown off. I mean, if I didn't have tattoos on my arms, it wouldn't be a big deal to wear a sleeveless shirt right?

If I were still little and getting this Barbie, I would likely want to decorate her myself with more permanent tattoos. Like the many times that I tried to cut my Barbie's hair only to find out that if you kept cutting she had this weird tri-mohawk where the hair was sewn into her head.

Worrying

2009-03-04T08:44:00.002-05:00

So the Atlanta Journal Constitution ran an article yesterday discussing the possibilities of further lay-offs and possible furloughs for university system employees. At this point, all we can do is conjecture about what will result. I've been lucky so far, but I feel like I need to plan for the worst just in case.

I know that people everywhere are dealing with lay-offs and lost income and job searches. But it is scary to try to plan a wedding (even a very small, fiscally responsible one) during times like this. It's also incredibly frustrating to feel like we're really doing well at this point in aggressively paying down debt, living below our means, and taking responsibility for it all and that could easily be derailed if we lose income. Sometimes it can feel really defeating that we're taking these hits and we've been trying to be responsible.

Worst case scenario - I lose my job entirely. Here's what I'm guessing would happen. We'd have no health insurance at all. We'd have no long term savings. We'd have to take on a roommate to help with rent & utilities. We'd have to cancel the wedding. Paying down debt wouldn't happen for a long long time. Ugh. It's depressing.

To end on a more positive note, in the meantime, we'll be constricting our spending (I know this is one reason the economy sucks) and socking as much into savings and debt as we can.

Getting Out of Debt Update

2009-02-23T15:51:00.002-05:00

Last year I had a few posts on personal finance and thought that it was about time for an update on how I'm doing with my goals of getting my spending under control and slowly getting out of debt.

Controlling my spending -
I have done really well at this. The best thing that I did to get a hold of it was to create and maintain a budget spreadsheet in Excel. It took me a little bit of time to decide what was most effective for me - I tried a handwritten notebook, an online tool, my online banking - but what I found works best for me is an Excel spreadsheet. It took several months to really get it down to being both reflective of my actual spending and also at regularly updating it. But now it's become a habit and I have actually been living within in my means (buying only what I have cash to pay for) for the past 6 months.

I now have categories for my spending and anything extraneous (not a bill or fixed monthly expense) is really tightly monitored. I also set up an automatic savings deposit through my payroll deposit so that for the first time since childhood, I have a growing savings account.

I will say that this aspect has probably been the hardest part, but also the most gratifying. One of the hardest lessons I've had to learn is the art of saying "No". I've struggled with feeling really guilty about saying no to plans with friends, buying gifts, participating in office get togethers, etc. But the effect has been worthwhile and I'm feeling more empowered each time I make a decision that I know is right for my long term financial health. Also, I've often been surprised at the reactions of others who seem relieved to find that they also get say "No". (Resulting in the "No in '09" resolution which deserves it's own post.)

Getting out of debt
I've done well here too - and mostly as a result of my budgeting. It's amazing how when you make it a priority suddenly cash appears to start paying it down. My car is fully paid off. I've paid off one smaller credit card in full and will pay off the second smaller one in two months. That will leave one card with a large balance, but once these smaller payments are eliminated then I just throw all the cash towards the one card and hopefully it will be paid off in a couple of years.

Get Rich Slowly has a great post today about how others view our spending. It got me to thinking about how one really needs to come to a decision to live within their means on their own terms. It took me a long time to feel ready to tackle my finances. Whether they know it or not, there were a couple of people who I really looked to as great examples. Andrea and Ian - Thank you for sharing your own successes in a way that was unjudgmental but incredibly motivating!

CSPIA update

2009-02-12T08:43:00.003-05:00

I haven't been making much of anything lately to be honest. Our schedule at home has been pretty busy and I don't feel like I've had much down time to enjoy being in the studio or sitting down to knit. In light of that, I figured that I'd give a quick update about the CSPIA legislation.

It went into effect on February 10th, but with an extension for a year before manufacturers need to officially start testing products. However, we're still liable. So if one of my products was found to contain lead or other toxic materials, I would liable for a $100,000 fine.

In light of that, just to be safe I'm pulling anything from my Etsy shop that has plastic buttons. I believe that they have exempted fabric, but buttons and zippers and closures could still be problematic for me. I will not be listing my wooden blocks with the vintage children's illustrations as books printed before 1985 are considered potentially unsafe. For the moment, I will not be making many new items for sale until I figure out if all the materials that I use will be considered safe and exempt (that includes stuffing, buttons, adhesives, etc.)

If you're interested in reading more, please consider reading the following:
Etsy update
Crafty Hangover
Publishers Weekly article
Forbes article

Idea in the Works - Wedding Photo Booth

2009-01-16T16:11:00.003-05:00

So I've been tinkering with the idea of creating some sort of photo booth set-up at our wedding and trying to figure out the particulars. I don't want to rent a booth or build a booth, so I figure that we can set something up. And I want it to fit in with the whole country picnic idea. I'm thinking about stringing up a quilt between two trees, having a stationary camera set-up - likely a digital camera mounted on a tripod with a remote trigger, and some fun props and costume items available for dress-up. I'm guessing we'll need to ask somebody to sort of be in charge of the project and the go-to person in case of problems.

I really like the idea of having it hooked up to a photo printer so that folks can print out the image and then insert it into our guest book pages. Friends did that at their wedding with polaroids and I thought it was adorable. Apparently though a lot of guests didn't figure out what to do with the pictures and ended up taking them home as mementos. Could also get expensive for printer paper. Also could be a little too complicated for some guests to figure out. And then there's the issue of dealing with children in this whole project.

Anyhow, I saw photos of a wedding on StyleMePretty (scroll down through pictures to see the Photo booth) that really got me excited about trying to figure it out. The bride (who is also a professional photographer) was kind enough to let me know about how it went and give some tips on set-up.

Readers - what do you think of the idea? Cheesy or fun? Easy or too hard to coordinate? What are some of your ideas for making it work and of course keeping it affordable!

Beautiful Truth

2009-01-14T16:17:00.004-05:00

Excerpted from A Walk Down the Aisle: Notes on a Modern Wedding by Kate Cohen (New York: Norton, 2001)

[Photographs are the] ideal representation of a relationship. It's what weddings are too. Weddings and photographs are both ways in which we self-invent, present our ideal of ourselves....The bride and groom make vows before a god they have until then ignored. Later they carefully dance a complete, newly acquired waltz routine, though they had never before advanced beyond the junior-high cling and grope. These actions can be read as false, as distortions of reality. And photographs of that distorted reality will be false too: the bride and groom won't end up with an accurate, historical record of who they are and how they felt. They'll end up, in the worst case, with a record of who Hollywood and their parents and their photographer's portfolio taught them a wedding was supposed to be, and who they were supposed to be.

The hardest task a couple have when they wed is holding out against other people's images of what a wedding should be, and how a bride and groom should look and act. But if they can resist those forces, if they can build and then protect their own vision of their wedding and of themselves, they will end up with a truthful record. Maybe it won't reflect the true nature of their feelings for their in-laws, or their true comfort level on the dance floor. But the record will reflect something even more important; it will reflect what at that moment they wished reality had been. When we marry we get to create a day - and a photo album - devoted to our notion of our best selves. There is truth in that, beautiful truth.

And this is why we are striving to make each part of the day something that truly represents us and also why we're not using a professional photography but instead are using the talents of people who already know and love us.

CPSIA about to put me out of business

2009-01-06T11:10:00.005-05:00

I only very recently found out about the passage of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act that goes into effect on February 10th. The intention of the law is to give added protection to children's products in regards to safety and in reaction to the recent spate of unsafe imported toys and toy recalls.

However, the law has been written so that it will affect any sale (or resale) of a children's item including handmade toys, clothing or furniture - even books! This means that I will no longer be able to sell my handmade stuffed animals, baby blocks or any future items without having to pay an insanely prohibitive fine to have the item tested.

Aside from how that will affect just myself, as general consumers our choices will now be severely limited. The costs associated with testing will prohibit many smaller manufacturers, both in the U.S. and abroad, from putting items in the marketplace. That means that you will not have very much choice as a consumer when you go to buy a children's product. Additionally, thrift and resale shops will no longer be able to resell used items. That means that all used items will have to go into the trash! What a waste.

It seems to me that this law was written hastily and is reactionary. The problem of safety is definitely legitimate and needs to be addressed. However, a quickly passed law that will affect businesses and consumers alike by effectively making it impossible for small business to compete is not the answer.

For more information, please check the following links and please consider writing your congressperson to ask for more thought into how they can protect small business and competition while still maintaining the intent of the law.

http://www.handmadetoyalliance.org/
LA Times Article on reselling
Sign a petition

Savannah enters the world of responsible citizenry

2009-01-05T11:52:00.003-05:00

If you can believe it, Savannah is instituting curbside recycling starting today. Having grown up with it in my small town and having it everywhere else I've lived, it was terrible to see how much went into the trash here. But I jumped with excitement when I saw the recycling carts being delivered and ours is totally full and ready to be picked up this week. Better late than never...

Wedding Dress: Initial Sketches

2008-12-28T13:38:00.004-05:00

I'm thrilled that I have a friend wiling to design and sew me a wedding dress. Because the whole atmosphere of our wedding will be rustic and informal, I didn't want a very formal wedding gown. In looking around online and in magazines everything I've seen that I like would cost our whole budget. And anything I can afford is either incredibly plain or too frou-frou.

My friend Emily offered to design and sew my wedding dress. She's just graduating from the SCAD fashion department and looking to build up her portfolio. We met about a month ago so that we could talk about dress ideas, look at tear sheets from magazines and about what forms would work on my body. We went to dinner just before Christmas so that she could give me some initial dress sketches. All of the dresses have a similar A-line, floor length skirt and all incorporate a lace overlay for the bodice. Mostly we're thinking about variations of neckline, waist line, back detailing and sleeves. At the moment, the last dress is my favorite. We'll be meeting some time in the next couple of weeks to decide on the alternatives and then Emily will work on a final design drawing.

Favorite Christmas present

2008-12-28T13:34:00.005-05:00

Ron and I decided that aside from stockings, we'd make each other gifts this year. Here's what he painted for me. (There's a little glare because I didn't feel like taking it out of the frame.)

Aw Shucks

2008-12-19T08:18:00.003-05:00

This is one of my favorite pictures. Andrea and I at her wedding in October. Their wedding reassured me that it's possible to host something that is totally genuine to who you are and still ensure that everyone has a great time. I will go on record as saying this was the best wedding I've been to and it only partly had to do with the fact that it was because my best friend was marrying a really incredible guy.

Wedding Location

2008-12-16T09:17:00.004-05:00

Photos of my parent's yard and view from the house. They live on the side of a cranberry bog (you can see the red berries ready for harvest in the second photo) and just at the bottom of their house is a pond with an island. We're planning to have our ceremony on the island and we'll be walking across the bridge/aisle to our guests. These were taken this past October and if we could get beautiful weather just like that we'll be so lucky.

Something for myself

2008-12-15T09:07:00.003-05:00

Most times I make things they are meant for a gift or to sell. I very infrequently make myself something. So this year I'm knitting myself a sweater. I chose something that is really meant to challenge myself - I've never knitted a full sized sweater & I've never done cables. I've finished the back and am almost done with the left front side.

I'm making the Drop Collar Cabled Jacket published in the Debbie Bliss Knitting Magazine (Fall/Winter 08). It took me a few tries to figure out the pattern, but now it's knitting along pretty quickly. I'm using Lion Brand Nature's Choice Organic Cotton yarn in pistachio which feels sooo comfy. I had to adjust the pattern a little bit to obtain gauge but hopefully it won't come out too badly.

Photos of the Table Setting

2008-12-14T19:24:00.004-05:00

Alright so keep in mind that if we do the disposable, we'd do the white and not the unbleached. Also, I included a sample of one of the napkins even though I haven't finished the edges yet. It can at least give a sense of the more casual feel that we're going for. I feel like I can pull off using the plates and they'll look alright especially since we're going for a more casual picnic/clambake for food. Still ultimately, aesthetically I'd really prefer the real dishes.

I agree with some of the comments regarding the environmental impact. I think that now we're really thinking about cost. We've really committed to trying to stay in our budget of $6000 and saving several hundred here means we can use it somewhere else.

Still haven't decided yet. Based on the pictures, any additional thoughts?

Biocompostable Disposable vs. Rentable Reusable

2008-12-10T12:08:00.003-05:00

Current wedding planning dilemma. Dishware. I honestly didn't think that I'd be thinking so much about it. We're balancing aesthetics, environmental responsibility and cost. We're weighing two ideas - using disposable, biocompostable dishes or renting dishware that is reused frequently by the caterer and just needs a wash (something like this).

Cost:
Ex. Disposable plate = $.15/each ; rental plate = $.45/each. That doesn't seem like all that much, but when you total it up for dinner plates alone that's $15 vs. $34. Then you tack on salad plates, dessert plates, bowls and it starts to make a difference.

Environmental Responsibility:
I think that the rentals probably win out on this one since they are reused very frequently and have a long life. They are probably some sort of ceramic which at least won't degrade into something harmful. Really we're looking at the use of water to wash them. If we go the disposable route, I do think that this is a great alternative that I won't feel too guilty about.

Aesthetics:
This is really where I'm torn. We're going to rent silverware and not disposable primarily because I just can't get behind it going that casual. We're borrowing wine glasses, but will have to rent drinking glasses and mugs (again I just can't do plastic). These particular plates are actually pretty nice looking. We got a sample pack in the mail yesterday and they are sturdy and have a nice flat finish, but in the end they are disposable.

I think that I'd rather have real dishes, but I really am weighing the costs. We tried a sample place setting at home and they didn't look too terrible. Ron's of the opinion that nobody notices dishes anyhow and that even so they fit with our Harvest picnic theme. He'd rather spend the extra $100 on something else. I'm torn - on the one hand, it's not that much money for an upgrade ; and on the other, we are trying so hard to not go into debt for this that I feel like every bit saved if we aren't compromising what we want is a good thing.

Later I'll try to post a photo of the sample place setting.

a boost from my prior post

2008-12-05T11:56:00.003-05:00

I was just tooling around visiting some of the very few wedding-related blogs that I allow myself. Sara at 2000dollarwedding had a link to this article in the Telegraph. The author writes,

My enjoyment of weddings has, for the most part, been in inverse proportion to the amount spent on them. The most romantic affairs have almost always been the cheapest, because then the focus is solely on the love between bride and groom.

I can't help thinking this recession will be good news for the affianced. It provides an ideal excuse for a budget wedding or, indeed, a Budgens wedding. It's insanity to blow your savings on a "big day", when most of us have a socking big mortgage.

Man, does this really support our idea for our own wedding. I hope that our guests are overwhelmed by the romance and don't proclaim us totally tacky!

lesson in planning a not-so-big, nontraditional wedding

2008-12-05T10:25:00.004-05:00

We'd been talking about our wedding before we even got engaged. I thought that I had a really good sense of what we were going to do. I've been taking note of things I loved at other weddings and things that aren't so much our taste. We've thought a lot about what's important to us as a couple and each of us individually (thankfully we're really on the same page). Here's what we envisioned - 50 guests having a fall picnic at my parents house; a day where we have the time to have an actual conversation with each guest and still time for ourselves together; capitalizing on the talents of our friends/family members to create something where everyone truly feels a part instead of us putting on a performance. And we wanted to do it all on a budget of $5000.

Here are some things I've come to realize:
1. It is incredibly hard to narrow a list to 50 people. We're currently at 64 adults and 18 children. Do you count the kids as another guest? They don't eat as much, but they do require a seat at the table. How do you cut the list without actually offending somebody that you really would love to have there?
2. Friends and family who are willing to travel to see you get hitched are awesome. Especially in a terrible economy.
3. Our budget is already up by $1000. Feeding people is expensive. And since we love food, it's an area we're not willing to scrimp.
4. People have offered up themselves to help in ways that are just incredible. My mom has perfected the art of googling for environmentally friendly party supplies, we've had three volunteers to help with photography, a friend who will officiate, two friends who will perform for our first dance, a friend who will do a reading, another friend who will help bake pies.
5. If you stop yourself from reading wedding magazines and websites it is a lot easier to keep your perspective about budgets and stay true to your own aesthetic.
6. It really helps to be very very organized. It's a good thing that I'm a cataloger professionally.

Whaling City Handcrafts

2008-11-12T21:26:00.003-05:00

While we were up in Massachusetts in October, we checked out the New Bedford Whaling Museum. Some really interesting exhibits and the most insane collection of scrimshaw, but imagine my surprise when we came across a special exhibit on textile history. Pictures include a close-up of an antique crazy quilt, an antique needlework sampler, and a sewing notion box made with inlaid whale ivory.

Best Walk Ever

2008-11-07T10:15:00.003-05:00

Getting over the hump

2008-10-01T15:04:00.002-05:00

Clearly I'm having a hard time getting through this week. I found this hilarious site to keep me busy for a little bit today. Here's what I would've looked like if I'd been in high school much earlier. I'm not even sure which is my favorite.

Productive Hobbies

2008-09-29T12:54:00.003-05:00

Get Rich Slowly had a post today about productive hobbies - pasttimes that can help you either save money or make money. I've been thinking about this all morning since I've been struggling with this crafting stuff lately. The great thing about crafting is that it can save money on gifts - like the jams that most people will be receiving these upcoming holidays or baby showers gifts of stuffed animals. And it definitely feels more heartfelt to give home-made things. I've enjoyed the challenge of selling my things and it is definitely satisfying to know that people would spend money on the things that I make. However, I've been struggling with making sure that I still have fun working on things. I was really pretty burnt out after the craft fair and while I have a large number of ideas in my head for projects, finding the motivation to sit down and just get started has been difficult.

One thing that I'm trying to remind myself is that being creative and making these things needs to be about fulfilling my own need to express myself and not about just making some extra cash. Otherwise it just becomes another responsibility instead of a release. I'm going to challenge myself to work on something that is totally for my own benefit in the next couple of months. I'm still deciding on what my project will be, but will keep the blog updated.

Garlands

2008-09-25T13:15:00.003-05:00

So here's some photos of a new product for my Etsy account. I got some great feedback on these at the craft fair, but no purchases. That was either because a. they were more expensive than people wanted to spend at a craft fair, b. they were hard to see the impact because they had to be folded on the table and you couldn't see the full impact, or c. the colors weren't what people had.

I plan to offer them on Etsy as examples of what I could do for custom orders. That way people could order specific color schemes or phrases or names. And I think that I'll create a few that say things like "Congratulations", "Happy Birthday" and "Happy Holidays". Ron thinks that I should do some that might be more appropriate for adults.

I would really appreciate some reader suggestions.

Junk in da Trunk Craft Fair

2008-09-15T10:17:00.005-05:00

First craft fair completed. It was a modest success. It was held on Friday night and Saturday during the day during two days which were apparently record breaking heat for Savannah. Not so nice. I made a few sales and enough money to pay myself back for the table and supplies and a little extra in profit. Overall though I'd say that the weather really held people indoors and even we packed up early on Saturday because of it.

Highlights included:
Selling with Lane and Ashleigh - without them it would have been quite boring.
Lots of interest in the baby block sets and the mobile.
Overhearing that another vendor said that I had a "fancy" table.
People love elephants.

If I do another one, I've got some ideas about how to change my display and know what I would do in regards to products. I plan on doing more of the baby blocks and advertising more about the custom orders that I can do. Also more stuffed animals that adults might want - not as strong a focus on just nursery items. I think that I could probably do some shorter garlands too with some adult-friendly statements.

Craft Fair This Weekend

2008-09-11T12:15:00.006-05:00

Nothing to do this weekend? Come down to check me out hosting my first table at a craft show. Here's the details:

When? Friday 7-10pm & Saturday 10am-2pm.
Where? Desoto Ave in Savannah (The alley between Bull Street and the Farmer's Market in Starland District)

Nora's Baby Shower

2008-09-08T07:24:00.005-05:00

So during my drought of blog posts on crafting this summer, I mentioned that I'd been busy working on some things but couldn't post them yet. Well, my friend Nora had her baby shower yesterday and so I'm finally able to post about some of the things that I was busy making for her.

Kanga and Roo always make a good baby shower gift. I'm especially proud of the sweater since it's the first time that I've knitted anything that needed to be pieced together. I know that I got the pattern online, but I can't track it back down at the moment. Once I find it, I'll post the link. The booties were made by a pattern from Heather Bailey.

Coping with the Urge to Spend

2008-09-05T09:27:00.006-05:00

One of my favorite personal finance blogs had an interesting reader post today on addiction to spending that got me thinking. I am really proud of how I've taken responsibility for my financial situation in the past six months and how far that I've come. I thought that it might be good to note the behaviors and new habits that have really helped me change.

1. I have been very good about not shopping for things that I haven't already noted that I needed. (I did make a couple of mistakes.) To do this, I avoid the mall entirely. I think that I've gone twice in six months - once to buy an interview outfit. The second time I spent money on items I wasn't planning on and I remembered why I am avoiding the mall. This also applies to general window shopping or superstores. I have a really hard time with Target. I use their pharmacy and every time I run in to pick up a prescription, I have to really focus so as not to wander the rest of the store.

2. I have a short list of personal finance and frugality blogs that I read daily. I find it really encouraging to read about other people's struggles and successes and I've been learning a lot of tips on how to save money and still live a rich life. Here are some of my favorites:
Get Rich Slowly
Frugal Dad
Blogging Away Debt
Simple Living America

3. I've created and revised and revised again my budget. I did in it Excel because I didn't want to spend on a new software program and felt nervous to do it online. Plus I know it well enough to tweak it to all my own needs. But the really successful part of this is that I've kept it updated. I use it to track my bill payments, all of my discretionary spending and my debt snowball. Seeing where my money goes has helped me to tailor the categories and be able to anticipate costs instead of just reacting to them.

4. I have set very specific savings goals. I would like to pay for a wedding in cash when the time comes. In five years, I would like to be fully debt-free and that includes my student loans. Specific goals help me to keep from being tempted to spend on unneeded items. Sometimes it kind of sucks to not buy any new clothes and wear things out before replacing them, but ultimately I know the other goals are more important and plus it's better for the environment anyhow.

5. I have set a very small amount of money in my budget for me to blow on whatever I want each week. It's just $20, but with a little planning that pays for some time out with my friends and maybe a couple of coffees or a little treat.

I am really interested in hearing how other people stop themselves and keep focused on the bigger goals. I love hearing new ideas and tips of how to stay on track.

New bunnies

2008-08-29T08:10:00.004-05:00

Some new bunnies that I've finished in the past couple of weeks. Ready and waiting for a new home.

New Product for Craft Fair

2008-08-27T17:36:00.005-05:00

So I've been trying to come up with some other ideas for the upcoming trunk show in addition to my stuffed animals. I've gotten some great input from friends with a little more experience with these things that it would be good to have some less expensive items on the table. I came up with the idea of some children's building blocks. They are 1" wooden blocks decorated with vintage children's illustrations and recycled book jackets. One lesson learned - the modge podge that I used to adhere the paper remains a little bit tacky even after dried so I will need to put at least one layer of a clear acrylic over it. I'm trying to find an adhesive that will be sure to be non-toxic so that in the event that the blocks get put into little mouths, there's no worry.

I would love feedback from readers on the blocks. Do you think that I'm using too many images? I like the idea of two sides being larger images that can be used as a puzzle, but I'm not sure if having images on all the other sides is just too busy. What price point do you think that these would sell well at?

New design for KatyDidCrafts

2008-08-27T11:51:00.005-05:00

My pal Toby has done me a huge favor and is helping me to create a brand logo and business cards. I've just uploaded a new banner for my etsy account. Isn't it cheerful? Plus the little girl is actually me - at least an illustrated copy of a photograph of me at 4 years old.

Oddest of the Odd

2008-08-26T12:57:00.002-05:00

Every year Bookseller magazine offers a prize to the oddest titled book for that year. You can currently vote for the Oddest of the Odd prize from the winners of 1978-2007. My vote is for 2002's "Living With Crazy Buttocks", but 2007's "If You Want Closure In Your Relationship, Start With Your Legs" made me laugh out loud from the reference desk.

Back on Etsy

2008-08-08T06:58:00.003-05:00

I had let my Etsy account lapse a bit since the Oliver incident when he peed into my box of animals and I had to throw the whole back stock away. Sadly, Moss (the store downtown where I was selling) closed recently and so I've got my leftovers from there up on Etsy.

I've committed to doing a local craft show in September and so will be cranking in the next few weeks. I'm hoping to get enough made to have for the show and also to keep Etsy more current.

Frugal and Delicious

2008-08-07T07:45:00.003-05:00

Last weekend I stopped by Polk's Farmers Market and found that they had nectarines on sale $.99/lb. They were perfectly ripe and that seemed so cheap compared to apples that are currently running over $2.50/lb at the local Kroger, that I picked up 6lbs. Knowing that I couldn't eat them all before they went bad, I figured that making some jam would be the way to go. (Thinking ahead for Christmas gifts.) After my jam-making practice in June, this went really quickly and easily. Here's the recipe that I developed:

Nectarine Jam
Cut up 6 nectarines - throw away the pit, but keep the skin on.
3 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp cinnamon

1. Bring to slow boil, the nectarines, sugar and lemon juice. Boil for about 30 minutes until you've reached jam consistency.*
2. Stir in spices (I just used what I had on hand that I thought would be good) and boil for another 5 minutes.
3. Take off heat. Skim off any foam. Puree if desired.
4. Decant into jars and preserve.
*An easy test for doneness - place a glass plate in the freezer while making the jam. Place a tbsp of jam on the plate and let it rest in the fridge for about 2 min. Test with your finger to check consistency. If not quite thick enough, keep boiling.

While I'm on the finances kick...

2008-07-23T07:51:00.002-05:00

I just read this article on Renting vs. Buying from one of my favorite blogs. It's actually making me feel much better about the fact that I'm nowhere near close to being a homeowner. I've always assumed that home ownership was sort of the holy grail of financial independence and have been working to get down our debt and save for a down payment. In light of recent events, mortgages are going to be much more difficult to get and it will likely take several years longer than I had hoped to be able to buy something. But I'm actually not feeling quite as bad about it now. I think that all things considered, we're probably where we should be at the moment.

Though I really would be happier to be renting a house where I don't have to share walls or a floor with another apartment. There's only so much Guns N'Roses that I can bear to hear coming up from the 1st floor rednecks.

Crafting Update

2008-07-22T15:53:00.002-05:00

I actually have been very busy with some creative projects lately, but they are meant for gifts. Once I've given them over to the lucky(?) recipients, I'll post photos of what I've been up to.

To be Debt-Free

2008-07-22T15:45:00.003-05:00

In my attempts to getting financially fit, I am happy to report that I've established some good habits (fingers crossed, knock on wood that I don't jinx myself). My Excel spreadsheet has been reworked so that it really is perfect for my bills and spending tracking. I'm not always 100% at filling in my incidental spending, but it's helped me to narrow down where my money is going. I've gotten on top of paying all my bills on time which has eliminated extra fees. I'm also much more conscious of bargain shopping. My downfall areas? Craft supplies and eating out.

My next step is to aggressively start paying down credit card debt. I found this good online debt payment calculator. It's a little bit scary how long it will take to pay it down, but at least I can start to calculate how much extra in there a month will make a difference.

Artsy Fartsy

2008-07-08T14:40:00.002-05:00

I can't remember where I heard about this, but I am obsessed. Isabella Rossellini is so graceful and gorgeous, but seeing her dressed as bugs and having bug sex is just too amazing. These videos are actually very educational (I had no idea that snails were masochistic). I fear that I'm incredibly immature though because I really just like these videos because they are hilarious.

Check out Isabella Rossellini's Green Porno.

Summer evenings

2008-06-18T09:00:00.002-05:00

So for the past month and half, I've been spending my evenings at the new dog park down the street from my house. The county is relandscaping the Mother Matilda Beasley Park on E. Broad Street and they've graciously included a fenced in dog area. It's fantastic. An added benefit is that I've been meeting a lot of neighbors and making some new pals. Here's a photo of Ahab enjoying the park last night. It took him a month, but he finally decided to try out the pool.

Jammin'

2008-06-01T21:27:00.004-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I went strawberry picking with my pal Ashleigh outside Beaufort, S.C. at Dempsey Farms. I got a little carried away and came home with 10lbs of strawberries. So good but definitely more than I could eat before they would go bad. I figured that it was a good time to try making preserves and also figure out how to can. Making jam is the super easy part - it's essentially a cup of berries to a cup of sugar and some lemon juice, then boil it down for awhile til it's jam consistency. Learning to can wasn't really difficult, but it did require purchasing some supplies and jerry-rigging some things in my home kitchen. Here's a picture of all the jam that I made from that 10lbs of berries - plain ol' strawberry jam, strawberry/blackberry and strawberry/peach.

I've gotten so excited about the whole process that I decided to try out my nana's recipe for marmalade and made some grapefruit marmalade this past weekend. It's not quite as thick as I'd like but hopefully the pectin will set after a week. It's really really good though. I also included the recipe in case anyone else wanted to try it. Trying to decipher my nana's handwriting is challenging enough.

Inspiration comes at the unlikeliest moments

2008-05-16T12:36:00.003-05:00

So here I am at work cataloging books. I am working on a book titled Craft In America (New York: Clarkson Potter, 2007) which has some fantastic photos of artwork and is a fun browsing book. I just came across a quilt by an artist that I'm not familiar with - Wendy Huhn - who works with mixed media textiles to produce these fantastic quilts. Her work reminds me of my pal Ashleigh Spurlock who makes gorgeous and thought provoking quilts using a mixture of techniques. I'm hoping Ms. Huhn won't mind that I copied an image off her website of one of my favorite quilts.

Frugal Recipe of the Week

2008-04-23T10:40:00.002-05:00

Ron has a love of gnocchi that has remained unfulfilled since moving to Savannah. None of the Italian restaurants have it on the menu and I can't find any frozen in the grocery stores. I have been pretty overwhelmed at the idea of making pasta, but when I saw this recipe it didn't seem to hard.

Now I know that it's not totally from scratch, but it came out really tasty. It was actually pretty easy, although it did leave the kitchen in a huge mess. Since the only ingredient I actally had to purchase was the instant potato flakes, it was incredibly cheap. I did buy some pesto sauce on sale to dress the gnocchi in, so the total grocery bill was about $5. I doubled the recipe so that we had leftovers. If you calculate the approximate price of the flour and salt and pepper and that I have quite a bit of leftover potato flakes, the cost per serving must have been about $1.

Tips if you try this: Give yourself a lot of counter space to roll out the dough, have a lot of flour on hand for the knife and counter, cut the dough into nickel-sized pieces since they plump a bit when cooked. Next time I'm going to try to incorporate other flavors - maybe spinach or basil.

finally...peace in the house

2008-04-23T10:37:00.002-05:00

We still have moments when Oliver randomly hisses at Ahab and picks a fight, but Ron caught this photo the other day when they didn't know anyone was looking. Now if we could just get Mabel to join them.

Mabel loves Eco-forms!

2008-04-22T10:37:00.003-05:00

When my pal Andrea came to visit, she brought me a lovely gift from her fiance Jed who owns the Green Garden Store. He sells Eco-form plant pots - sustainable plant pots made from grain husks. He gifted me a pretty little pot along with some organic soil and cat grass seeds. As you can see from the photos, our cat Mabel absolutely loves the grass. She nibbles on it throughout the day, sometimes so voraciously that she knocks it over!

Getaway to Asheville, NC

2008-04-21T09:16:00.004-05:00

This is quite belated, but I figured that I should still put up a post about our long weekend in Asheville, NC. At the beginning of April, we took 4 days off to check it out. Driving up from the low country to the mountains wasn't too bad - about 5 hours - and once we got up there we both breathed a sigh of relief to get some heights and views. Spring was in full bloom in Savannah, but up in the mountains it was just starting to get warmer and only a few of the early blossom trees were out. We spent Sunday walking around downtown Asheville, but most of the shops were closed. (Hint if you're traveling there: Sunday-Monday most places are closed.) Still, we found a great cafe that we went back to daily and ate at a really yummy thai restaurant called Doc Cheys. We checked into our studio rental. After checking out the price of hotels in the area, we went with a vacation rental. The price was right and the privacy even better. I definitely would recommend that if you're traveling out that way, you check out the availability of Luna's Retro Den. We were about a 10 minute walk from downtown and it's totally adorable.

Monday we spent the day driving up along the Blue Ridge Parkway and then taking some side roads and getting ourselves lost. It couldn't have been more beautiful and, at certain points, terrifying. Down in the valleys, we passed along some gorgeous farms , passed some wild pheasants, found a secret, family cemetery, and road along some of the steepest dirt roads with 45 degrees turns. Definitely white knuckled it most of the way. We got ourselves completely lost in, what turns out, was likely the Pisgah National Forest, and ended up cresting up over a mountain and back down.

Once back into the city, we figured we'd poke around the Riverside Cemetery until dinner. The gates were posted to close at 8pm and we drove in at just 7:10. Drove around a bit admiring the place (it was rainy so we decided not to walk) and upon arriving back at the gate to exit, found ourselves locked in at 7:30. There was only the one gate and we never saw anyone else while we were there so apparently the signage was incorrect. In any event, we had to call the police to have the park ranger come and unlock the gate. We sat there for a good 40 minutes before somebody came and meanwhile it was getting dark. Sitting hungry, in the dark in a cemetery is a bit odd. Here's photos of Ron examining the gate signage while we waited.

We ended the evening with a totally delicious dinner at the Asheville Noodle Shop.

Tuesday, we headed over to Empire Tattoo where Ron got his neck and forearm tattoos lasered. I sat with him through that session, which went right quick but appeared to be incredibly painful. Then while he got tattooed by Danny Reed, I headed out to do some shopping downtown. I can't say enough about how friendly the folks at the shop were and how kind they were to fit Ron in without having called ahead. Unfortunately, I don't have any photos because I was too busy checking out the variety of vintage clothes stores, antique stores, independent boutiques and record shops. I didn't spend much and still came home with two dresses, a sweater, a new dog toy for Ahab and a few records. We finished up the day with a really amazing dinner at the Tupelo Honey Cafe - where the food is all local and organic and really really delicious. All in all, I can't wait to head back up there during the summer when we can enjoy some of the hiking and waterfalls.

Practicing willpower

2008-04-07T09:18:00.002-05:00

I just read this New York Times story about developing willpower . Essentially what it is saying is that the brain can only handle so much focus on willpower at a time and when it focuses really strongly on one area, others may slip. It confirms my own experience. Whenever I've really tried to change habits before in the past - staying on a budget or a diet or a workout plan - I've found that while I'm building the new habit, it almost feels like a part-time job to focus on making the change. I suppose it's somewhat comforting to know that is normal and that it will get easier. It's interesting that increasing your practice of willpower in one area will, over the course of time, make it easier to increase it in other areas. That will be helpful since I'm currently trying to commit to an exercise schedule and work on my finances at the same time. In the meantime though I may need to let go of my housecleaning.

Frugal Recipe of the Week

2008-04-03T12:30:00.002-05:00

As part of my money-saving efforts, I am aiming to develop my recipe stash for frugal meals. I developed this one last week after getting an organic, whole chicken on sale for about $8 and couldn't believe how easy it was:

Whole Chicken in a Crockpot
Wash and pat dry one whole chicken (make sure to remove giblets)
Place in crockpot.
Season with preferred herbs. (I used salt, pepper and mixed Italian herbs.)
Cover and cook on high for 5-6 hours.
*Do not add liquid as it will create it own during cooking.
**Also do not expect to carve the meat as it is so tender that it literally falls off the bones.

The meat lasted me about 2 full meals for the two of us plus leftovers for the pets. I cooked up the giblets for the pets and they went mad for them. Now I know, I'll forgo spending on canned food. Also, since the meat basically comes out shredded, it's great for using in soups, pies, casseroles, etc. And I've held on to the leftover juices as it will be a good base for broth or gravy. So that ends up being about $2 a meal per person plus the cost of a couple of days of pet food.

Current obsession

2008-03-27T07:44:00.005-05:00

I'm on a financial responsibility kick these days. Despite having an archivist's training in record keeping, I'm pretty terrible at my own personal finances. It's pretty embarrassing to admit it. My hope is that if I blog a little bit about it, it will help keep me accountable to a certain degree. I was really inspired by a blog post by my friend Ian who got himself out of debt and managed to save $10,000 in just two years. (Unfortunately I can't find the post and can't link to it.)

Here are my goals:
1. Pay off my credit card debt in 3 years. It seems like a long time, but sadly it's a pretty big number to tackle.
2. Save 10% of my income each paycheck into a high-yield savings account so that I will slowly accumulate an emergency fund as well as a down payment for a house within 3 years.
3. Be very aware of where my money goes. I realize that my fear of really examining it just leads to the problem getting worse. Even when it's scary, you gain control just by opening your mail, sorting through bills, knowing your bank balance, etc.

Anyhow, I'm completely obsessed with this blog: http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/
It's full of common sense and written for the regular joe. I'll keep you all posted as to progress.

KatyDidCrafts animals now on sale through Moss in Savannah

2008-03-06T10:41:00.002-05:00

I'm super excited to announce that my animals are now on sale through the store, Moss, in Savannah on Wright Square. The store is one of my favorites for browsing and gifts and I finally worked up the courage to talk to them about what I make. I was so pleased that Colin and Ryan, who run the store, were interested in adding them to their children's section. I'm pleased to think that they'll be on display where more people might see them and show interest. Not only that but I will admit to a huge thrill seeing them out there in a pretty display cabinet. I'm still working on getting some things done to post on etsy after the cat incident, but for now you can find some pieces at Moss.

Heartache

2008-02-28T08:05:00.003-05:00

On Monday morning I had to throw away the entire box of stuffed animals that I'd made. Aside from two new elephants that I had made the day before and were on my work table, there were about 8 various stuffed animals that I had sitting in a box on the floor of my studio. As I was getting ready to walk out the door for work, I heard a rustling around in there and walked in to find my cat, Oliver, peeing in the box on the animals. Yup, he pissed on them. Oh - I was so angry and sad as I threw out the box and all it's contents. Hours of work to waste and nothing to salvage. Nothing will get that smell out.

Since then Oliver has been clamoring for extra attention. Since his litter was clean when he did it, I think that he was doing it out of spite and jealousy of the dog. Anyhow, if you check my etsy account and there's nothing on it - that's the explanation.

Brushing away the cobwebs

2008-02-22T10:30:00.004-05:00

Just finished up a good week for sales from my Etsy account. Sold a purple pony to a buyer who is coming back for her third animal from me! It never ceases to amaze me that a total stranger happened upon my work and bought something, but that they keep coming back for more is just too much to take in. Not only that, but I finally sent out the door a custom order for a mobile that came in several weeks ago off Etsy. Due to a number of factors (attempting to develop a new pattern, getting the dog, getting the flu, having a friend visit, work, etc.) it took me much longer than I anticipated. However, I'm really quite pleased with how it all turned out in the end and am eagerly awaiting the reaction of the buyer when she receives it in a couple of days.

I'll be spending my weekend working on several animals which I'll be offering for sale through a local Savannah store in March. Maybe it's the spring weather and flowers starting to blossom or the fact that my schedule is opening up a bit, but I'm finally feeling motivated and creative again.

Fort Pulaski visit

2008-02-06T08:16:00.000-05:00

On Sunday we took advantage of the great warm weather and took Captain Ahab over to Fort Pulaski for a good walk. Ron had never been to the fort before and so we clambered all over that for about an hour before even hitting a trail. One great thing about the place - super dog friendly. I was shocked that they welcomed dogs into the fort itself. After the fort, we followed the lighthouse trail out to the end where we walked through the marsh to the edge of the ocean. Ahab mostly enjoyed rolling in marsh mud and then wading in the water. Ron enjoyed his pipe and the view.

Shhhh....

2008-02-01T13:45:00.001-05:00

As a librarian, I can't resist these Shhh cards meant to hand to people who are having loud cell phone conversations. It's definitely one of my pet peeves and I would love to see the reaction of a student as I handed them one in the library...or in the supermarket...or in the movies.

New Addition to Team Awesome

2008-01-22T14:46:00.000-05:00

Welcome to our new pup - Captain Ahab. We are just so lucky to have this guy in our home. We adopted him last weekend through the organization Voice for Pets in Savannah. Before getting him, Ron had said that a dog would be entirely my responsibility, but wouldn't you know it? Ron's just totally a push-over for him.

Kitsch

2007-12-11T08:15:00.001-05:00

We've got some amazingly kitsch christmas decorations this year. Over Thanksgiving Ron's mom gave him some family treasures. The ceramic reindeer were made by his grandmother and are just the craziest looking things I've ever seen. They provide good hiding spots for our cats under the tree. The ceramic light-up tree is my absolute favorite though. It was his great-grandmother's and instead of light bulbs has vintage marbles.

New Studio Space

2007-12-10T08:19:00.000-05:00

Thought that I'd post pictures of my new studio space. Originally Ron and I had been sharing the front room, but I realized that neither of us was actually spending time in there much. We're like Felix and Oscar - I'm really neat and he's not and I think that trying to work in a shared space was annoying both of us. I took the initiative and moved into what was our "music room" since it was too small for really much furniture and so we'd just been keeping our stereo and record player in there. It's a great space for working since it's got so much natural light and I can open the door to the porch. And it's just big enough for me to be comfortable and organized.

Christmas Stockings

2007-12-07T14:59:00.001-05:00

Thought that I'd post pictures of the stockings that I made for Ron and I for this year. First time we'll be needing our own since we won't be at home with the family for Christmas morning, so I went ahead and made us each one. I'm pretty happy with how they came out except for the fact that Ron's is somehow much bigger than mine despite using the same pattern. I'm playing with the idea of making some to sell next year.

Abby Sanchez Now On Sale

2007-12-05T20:05:00.000-05:00

Not the real Abby of course, but my soft felt plushie version. I spent yesterday evening reworking some of the details of my first pattern to make the face flatter and bigger. I think that this is really much better, but next time the eyes will go lower on the face. Still this first one is for sale on my etsy page. All proceeds from sales of the stuffed Abby will go right to Ashleigh to help pay for the bills resulting from Abby's recent surgeries. Please consider buying one!

Happy Holidays from Team Awesome.

2007-11-30T10:54:00.000-05:00

Maybe it was just late last night, but I was in tears laughing at this after Ron put it together. Check out our little family (aka "Team Awesome") doing a holiday dance.

Bucket O' Animals

2007-11-30T08:51:00.001-05:00

To honor Ashleigh's request, I'm posting the current bucket o'animals that is sitting in my studio. I really need to post them up on etsy, but I've been a bit disorganized lately. Honestly though I think that they do make me pretty happy sitting there altogether. That said, if there's someone that you're interested in purchasing, please let me know.