So Busy

Just a quick hello and to let you know I probably won't be checking in again until next week. I decided to have my driveway Craft Sale/Garage Sale this weekend. I am really busy pricing things and making signs and getting things ready. I'm hoping to sell some of the things I'm not making for FourDogDay any more so I have some extra money for new supplies! I have some great things I want to make and I can't wait.

In addition to that, I'm also still working on baby shower things. Tresa is doing well. I will see her on the 31st when we have a "Ripping out the Carpet in the Baby's Room" party. I will take pictures. I can't wait to see her.

I sold a couple more things at the consignment shop last month. Remember the Skull and Roses Fabric Wall Clock? Well that sold, along with another cake stand. It was nice to get a little check in the mail. My goal is to sell four items or more per month. Hopefully the clocks will start to really sell as fall approaches and people start thinking about the inside of their houses.

Well that is it for now. I have more things to price this evening....I'm doing that while watching So You Think You Can Dance. Man I love that show! If you like dancing and haven't watched it....you are missing out!

Have a great rest of the week and a super weekend and I will chat with you soon.

It's The Weekend!

How fast do you drive? I ended up behind someone on my way to work yesterday that actually did the posted speed limit......now I am not a speed demon, but I will admit to driving a "few" mph over the posted limit some times. I kept moving over a little so the long line of cars behind me could see that it wasn't my fault that we were going soooooo slow!

Matt's 3 A DAY project has picked up steam. He started his Facebook Group and the last time I looked, they had 60 people signed on. Hopefully all 60 of those people are out there picking up some trash when they see any. That's how this will truly make a difference. If you don't know about 3 A DAY...check out my post from yesterday.

Our grandbaby to be has become quite the little kicker. Dates for baby showers are already being selected, names are being tossed around and we should know in a couple of weeks if it's a boy or a girl!

Today I will be in my workshop putting the finishing touches on some clocks for the consignment shop, and making a couple of other things. I think we are going to take our first little batch of things down on Sunday. I've been watching their posts on Facebook and it is going to be one fantastic little shop. I can't wait to see it in person.

My healthy allergen free eating is going well. I haven't had a chai latte in two weeks! Can you believe that? I might treat myself to one on Sunday. Not having any really yummy bread is probably the hardest part for me, but I know that if I want some I can have it.

I am walking 30 minutes per day without fail. Most of the time I go out on my lunch hour. If I can't for some reason, I am on the treadmill as soon as I get home. We got pedometers at work for a pilot program we are doing in the District Office and I am lovin' this little thing. I know exactly how many steps I'm taking per day. At night I plug it into my computer and upload my steps into a website that keeps track of everything for me. Pretty cool!

Well my friends I need to scoot. I have much to get done today. Make it the best day ever and don't forget to do something nice for yourself today!

Making Progress

I had a very productive day on Sunday. I was able to get a few clocks almost finished for the consignment shop. I'm waiting on some of the clock parts. I love this fabric! I sold one of these in my etsy shop last week, so I made a couple more and used up the fabric. I made one rectangular one and one square one.


Tresa picked out this fabric at IKEA the last time we were there. It's a wonderful gray with white flowers in a random pattern. I thought it was kind of neat. It will have white hands.

I also finished up a few more of my new fabric glass cases. I am really liking these a lot. They are fun to make and I think they serve a great purpose. I just love these cats!


This one matches a cell phone case that I sold. I love browns and dusty rose together!

I had made an apron out of this fabric and just love the bright colors and the design. I think it makes a great glass case.

I am not very musical, but I really have a thing for notes...on fabric or on paper. I seem to like them a lot.

Then on Sunday evening I actually made something new for myself for dinner and it was amazingly good. I'll share the recipe with you later this week. So simple and soooo yummy!

Make is an awesome day today!

What a Weekend!

Well my first craft show of the season is done....thank goodness....because it was awful. No, do not feel bad for me, because I don't feel bad. We just didn't make any money...in fact, we lost about $30 plus all of the food we ate! That was a first for us, and I must say it wasn't much fun. We did learn a lot though.

We learned that even though my booth might be the darn cutest thing out there...it might not be the best style of booth for craft shows. It's too closed in and people are hesitant to come "in". We did remove my checkout table and a coat rack I was using for my tote bags to open up my entry and that really helped get more people in. It didn't really improve my sales, but there just weren't a ton of buying customers at the show on Sunday.

The other problem with my booth is that people walking through a craft show are walking, talking and looking back and forth at booths on both sides of the aisle. My booth only has two small end caps to showcase what I have...whereas other people use tables across the entire front of their booth with all of their items on it. People have to look IN my booth to really see what I have, and that doesn't always happen.

There were experienced people there that didn't do well, so I wasn't alone. One girl from Michigan that had the most awesome set up I have ever seen, said this was her first show in 21 years where she didn't cover her expenses. I don't think we will do anymore of the two day shows. It's just too hard to cover your costs when you sell mostly inexpensive items. We are going to look at some farmer's markets and and one day shows.

One neat thing...I did sell one of my new wall clocks....the green one I loved so much, and also one of the new desk clocks...the moon and stars one. I also sold a few of my new cell phone/camera cases. the rest of my new things will be getting listed in FourDogDay over the next week or so.

Anyway, my head is already full of ideas of where I am going with my etsy shop...and I can't wait to get going. I also have to get some things ready for the consignment shop I'm going to try selling at. It should be a fun spring and summer.

Everyone have an awesome day today. I am headed to an all day training today. Be sure to do something nice for yourself today...like go for a walk!

It's Showtime.....Almost

I am really busy getting ready for the show, but I wanted to share a couple of pictures with you. These are some of the fabric wall and desk clocks I made for the show. I'm curious to see if they sell at the craft show. Might not be the right venue for them, but we'll see. You can see the skull and rose ones. Sorry for the awful pictures, but as you can see, I was shooting right by a sunny window!

This is one of my favorite spring fabrics so far. All of the little bumble bees and the daisies. It's just so darn cute!

I LOVE this green fabric. This clock would be a keeper if I had somewhere to put it....plus I already kept one. :)


Here are the cell phone cases I made. I just love these little guys, especially since I found out that they also fit a digital camera just right too. I'm hoping they catch some eyes at the show!

On a different note...the weather has really been quite nice this past week. I am taking advantage of every nice day and walking outside. I took this picture over the weekend. It was such a pretty day. I think it looks almost like a painting...the sky and clouds are so awesome!


I am trying to write blogs, read blogs, comment on blogs and respond to blog comments....however if you don't see me much the rest of the week...I'm here...I'm just finishing up my show preparations. Have a fantastic rest of the week.

Get out there and take a walk too. No sitting around people. Walk, walk, walk. Geez, I wouldn't make a very good drill sergeant would I?

Monday, Monday

What a great weekend it was. We had our wonderful family get together Saturday night and then Sunday I almost finished 5 clocks for the show. I'm waiting on some new hands from the clock shop and then I can finish them up. I don't even think I will get them listed in my etsy shop, FourDogDay. No time!

I made a few more of the cell phone cases too, so things are going well.

I got my new external hard drive back from the techie guy. Now I just have to find out how to get my pictures and stuff off of it and into my new computer. There is a lot of stuff I don't want in the new computer that is on there though, and I have no idea how to do that. I had a lot of bugs in the old one and I sure don't want to transfer those to my new computer. UGH!

Sorry this is short this morning, but I still have to get my lunch and snacks ready for the today. Did you have a nice weekend?

Have an awesome day today and be sure to do something nice for yourself.

Fun at the Fabric Store

Here is a picture I took on my drive in to work this morning. The weathermen failed to get it right once again and we only got about 5 inches of heavy wet snow instead of the10 that was predicted. It was pretty, but I give it permission to melt quickly.

Sunday I made a trip to Joann Fabrics...one of my favorite stores. I haven't been there for a while and it felt so good....like coming home. I bought fabric to make three new clocks for my etsy shop, FourDogDay. I learned a while ago that I have to buy fabric that other people might like and not just fabric that I like. So, with that thought in mind...here are the three I bought. Can you guess which one is NOT something I would normally buy? HAHA! I just thought it might make a fun little desk clock. I'm hoping someone will like it! The other two I LOVE!! The green one is awesome and the old fashion looking one is so pretty. I'll show you the clocks when I get them done.

Then I bought fabric for three new tote bags. I love all of these and I can't wait to get started on them! The prints are the outside and the more solid colors are the lining. Flowers, darling kitties and bumble bees!

The fabric store was bright and colorful from wall to wall, and everything just shouted "SPRING"! It was so awesome.

Ready, Set......No Go?

Before my trip to the doctor two weeks ago when all of this osteo stuff started my creative juices were flowing. I was having so much fun making clocks and tote bags for my etsy shop, FourDogDay. I got accepted into a juried craft show for March 20th and 21st. I was on a roll.

SCREEEECCCCHHHH!!!!! Man did things come to a halt! I know that my health is more important than anything I can make or any craft show I want to be in, but goodness was I having a difficult time getting back on track. Has that ever happened to you?

I just seemed to have lost my drive and my interest in what I love to do. I took the first week off while I digested what was going on and researched my condition and my treatment options. The next week, when I was ready to get going again....my get up and go had got up and went....and I didn't know where it went. I didn't really care if I was working and creating or not.

I kept looking at the BIG picture and kept telling myself that I really needed to get going. I had a show coming up, my shop FourDogDay was just sitting there. What the heck was wrong with me?

Well, there was nothing wrong with me. I just wasn't emotionally ready to get going. My mind was telling me to take a break....and so I did. Yesterday I had the day off and really felt "ready". So I got my walking and working out done first and then it was etsy time. I finished a darling Itsy Bitsy tote bag......if you look closely, you will see some funky beads hanging below the purple button.....those are from an old earring...I couldn't resist. I also alternated the sun and moon fabric and the lining fabric for the straps. I had so much fun with this one....all out of stuff I already had on hand.

Then I found this fabric to make another tote and drew up a design really cute design! I'll show it to you when it's done!

I also made a decision on what computer I am going to purchase....and I feel good about it. I know I found the right fit for me. I hope to order it today.

So, when you seem to have come to a stand still and you know you have a lot to do....when it seems that you just can't get your engines going....think baby steps. Don't look at the whole big picture....take one little piece at a time....finish one little part...and before you know it, you will be back in the swing and making tremendous progress!

Using It Up

Since the new year, there has been a lot of talk about not buying more crafting and art supplies until using up the huge mounds of things we already have. Then Mary at MaryRichmondDesigns asked for people to make things out of material they already had and blog about it today. Well, I have fabric. In fact I have three good sized bags of awesome fabric. It's leftover pieces from aprons and totes and pillows, and it's nice...really, really nice...and it was killing me to have it sitting on the shelf unused.

I had already started using some of it for my new fabric clocks. All three of these are made using leftover fabric. I did have to purchase other things to make the clocks, but at least the fabric is being used. Some of the pieces I had wouldn't work for the clocks, but I still wanted to use them up.

That's when I decided to start making the Itsy Bitsy Tote Bags. I showed you this one on Sunday. I don't know about you, but when I go to the store or to the mall, I do not take a big bag. I need my hands free so I can pick things up and look at them. You sure can't put your purse down anywhere or leave it in a shopping cart, so I prefer a small, lightweight bag that I can "wear".

Here is my second Itsy Bitsy. I had this fabric left from a regular sized tote bag I had made a while ago. I'm going to keep playing around and come up with some other styles, but I think it's a great way to use up fabric that is just sitting here.

Are you being run out of your workshop by bins and boxes and crates and drawers and closets that are overflowing with leftover supplies and materials that seem to multiply all on their own? What do you do when you have more leftover materials than you know what to do with?