About Face

Have you ever been so sure of the direction you were headed...only to suddenly take a turn and go an entirely different way....even when you were soooooo sure?

That is where I am right now.....I made the turn and now I am sure again....only the destination is different.

A while back I decided to stop creating and selling many of the things I had been selling in Four Dog Day. I let things expire, packed them up and put them away. I had some new ideas I planned to try.

Then something happened. Irv and I decided to open Four Dog Vintage. That is where the "about face" came in. Every spare moment I have right now I am spending on listing items for Four Dog Vintage. Poor Four Dog Day was already looking so sad and now it was just plain pathetic.

So.......here is what has happened. We are really excited about Four Dog Vintage. We are really starting to like the look and feel of the shop as little by little we are finding pieces to offer. In fact, this weekend we are headed to a huge flea market in the hopes of finding some awesome treasures for the shop.

What happened to the time I was going to have for Four Dog Day? Uh.....gone.

That's when I decided to haul out the boxes of things I wasn't going to sell any more. I have been relisting like crazy and Four Dog Day is once again looking like the shop it once was. I have a long way to go with quite a few things to list, plus some things that need to be rephotographed and then relisted, but you know what....I'm having a ball doing it.

I think I felt bad having things sitting here that should be in my shop. It just didn't feel right. It's funny too because I listed some of my coasters yesterday and immediately sold a set. They'll be headed to New York tomorrow.

Now things feel just right. Four Dog Day is looking pretty and Four Dog Vintage is growing little by little. Irv and I are having fun stopping at sales and researching items on line and in our super duper garage sale and flea market book.

Have you ever been heading one direction and thought it was right and then did a big turn and felt that was right too? What happened?

I still don't have much time for blogging, but I'll be back now and then to say hello. Make it the best day ever tomorrow, and do something really nice for yourself AND for someone else!

Making Progress

First, the back update....I saw the chiro today. We have decided that I will have three treatments this week and maybe next week if necessary. It seems to be a disc issue and no one can "fix" a disc. It has to fix itself. I don't do drugs, so seeing an MD that will only prescribed muscle relaxers is a waste of his and my time. The chiro will keep my spine in line, he will do a treatment to take some of the pressure off the disc and do e-stim which helps with the discomfort. Discs take anywhere from 1 to 3 months to heal....and mine will heal all by itself. :)

Yesterday, I accompanied Irv to IKEA to pick up two chairs for our "new" living room. They were very inexpensive little things, but cute and will look great. The sad thing was that I could only do a little walking, so we sat in the chairs to be sure we liked them, picked up some drapes we wanted, picked up the chairs, paid, loaded it all up and left. I didn't get to look at anything. :( What a bummer.

I love the little chairs because the covers can be removed and washed....just what you need when you have a Sparky, a Wrigley and a Maggie.

Now I am looking for a funky little round table to put in between the chairs and a fun lamp of some kind. I also want to make a footstool to go with them. Just a rectangular one with legs or casters and covered with some cute fabric.....another winter project. We aren't exactly sure how we are going to arrange the furniture, but once the TV stand is done, we will figure it out.

The little toy chest turned coffee table is almost done. We want to spray the top with a matte sealer to protect it a little bit and then the hinges can go back on and it's good to go. Here is what it looked like before.

Here is what it looks like now! It's so darn cute. I just love it!

What did you think of Amazing Race last night? I was bummed. I really liked the dad and son team. I really want Miss America to take a hike! Next week will be intense before the finale!

Well, I have a bunch of new pins, coasters and wine bags to get listed tonight if I can sit long enough. Have a great evening and I will chat with you tomorrow!

Hurting but Happy

Back update...it's still pretty bad. It wasn't as bad as yesterday morning, but I still can't sit for more than a few minutes at a time. Then I have to walk or lay down. I'm just doing what I can and trying not to dwell on it. It is what it is and it will get better. It just makes it very difficult to do all of the listing I need to do in FourDogDay. I did get some things listed this morning since I woke up at 4:15 a.m.

Here is one of my new one of a kind pins that I just love!

Here is a set of the holiday coasters.

Here is one of the wine bags.

Here is one of my soft sider tote bags.

So, I am getting there. I still have more of everything to list and I'm hoping tomorrow I will be able to sit longer and get it done!

Anyway, Irv and I went to three resale shops today. We were looking for a pair of small chairs and a small TV stand. We struck out completely! Don't you hate it when that happens....when you want to buy something and you can't find anything? UGH!

When we got home I went on line and looked at a variety of places for unfinished TV stands, and they were ridiculously expensive. All I want is an old beat up wood one that I can paint, but everything is fancy and glass and big and that isn't what I'm looking for.

Then I looked for chairs and found some pretty inexpensive little ones at IKEA. I don't usually like their furniture, but these are just plain and simple and might actually work. I think we are going to go there tomorrow and sit in them and see if they will do.

They also have a TV stand that is okay, but it isn't as long as we would like. We have this great big one now that I bought at IKEA years ago. It's wonderful, but it's way too big for our living room.

It looked perfect in their showroom and then when we got it home and set it up, it's was like oops....what did we do? We kept it and it's nice, but it's time for a change. A smaller, lower unit will open things up a bit rather than blocking off so much like the big cabinet does. (We did finish the painting in the living room by the way, now we just have to put it back together!! What a mess!)

So.......handy dandy Irv got this idea. If we tried to sell the big one, we might get about $75 for it. The new one we are looking at is $70 without the tax and it isn't really as long as we want. So....how about cutting ours down and turning the cabinet into just the shelf unit we want?

See the shelf the TV sits on....well, that could soon be the top of our TV stand.....

HAHA!!!! Right now Irvie is starting to disassemble the cabinet to see if he can cut the sides down and make it exactly like we want. Is that not just too darn funny? We might even paint it too. We'll see once we get it cut down to size!

Happy Veterans Day

First, I want to thank all of our service men and women for all they do and our Veterans for the sacrifices they have made. My dad was in the Army and both of my brothers retired from the Navy. The commitment these men and women make to their country never ceases to amaze me. My dad carried the burden of war with him his entire life. His nightmares were the most terrifying thing I can recall as a child. You can read about it here. Yes, their sacrifices are great.

Because of those awesome men and women....I have the day off today, and it couldn't have come at a better time. I can't even begin to tell you how many things I have made since spring that I have NOT listed in my shop. No....you have no idea. I have cake stands, and brooches, and wine bags, and pin cushions, and pillows, and coasters, and tote bags, and picture frames and I'm not even sure what else....and I'm not talking one or two of each, I am talking MANY of each.

The sun is supposed to shine all day today, which means I might be able to capture some well lit photos in the morning in my workshop window and then in the early afternoon in my kitchen window. I figure if I can get most of it photographed...then over the next couple of weeks I can touch up the photos and get things listed in time for the holidays. That is the plan. We will see how it goes.

I also have given a tremendous amount of thought to my etsy shop situation and have decided to keep FourDogDay and eventually close MyOtherShop. Your comments were very helpful and gave me much to think about.

I really don't have time to promote two shops, and now that I know that fabric is really my thing..I plan to concentrate on that. I will list all of my new items in FourDogDay and slowly move other fabric things over. I feel SO great having made my decision!

So, without further hesitation....I am out of here today! Glad I charged all of the batteries for the camera. I will need them!

Have an awesome day everyone!

Craft Show Calamity

Irv and I were on our way to the craft show and my main focus was on how I was going to set up my booth. We weren't taking my big set up. The show was only five hours long. We were going to use the bookshelf, a clothes rack, a coat rack and the two tables they were providing. I was trying to figure out how to arrange everything in my 10 by 10 space. Irv was in the truck in front of me as we made our way to Hoffman Estates.

We arrived, loaded up the cart and made our way in. A nice lady greeted us at the door, checked us in and lead us into the gym. As we entered the gym, I quickly looked around and thought, "Uh oh!" Really, the words I thought were more like WTF???

The booths, were not booths at all....they were spaces with 2 tables and 2 chairs. I looked at the lady and said, "These aren't 10 by 10 booths." "Oh, I know, we ended up with SO many people....we were here late last night trying to figure it out and this is the best we could do."

THE BEST THEY COULD DO?? How do you advertise a 10 by 10 spot and have people pay...thinking they are getting a 10 by 10 spot, and bring things that can only be accommodated by a 10 by 10 spot and then give them a 6 by 8 spot???? ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

Okay, calm down Kathy. There has to be a way to make this work. They did their best. It's a tough job. This is the school where Irv works. Be nice. Breathe, breathe, breathe.....all Irv could say was, "I told you there was no way they could fit over 40 crafters with 10 by 10 spaces in this gym."

He had said that, but I told him they couldn't sell you a 10 by 10 spot and then not give you a 10 by 10 spot....silly Irv! HAHA!

The best they could do was to move me to a corner near one of the back doors and the bleachers.

It allowed me to set up the rack with my aprons and the bookshelf with my cake stands in a little indentation by the door. We were all packed in like sardines and most people were not happy.

There was no where to go with the coat rack with my tote bags on it. It ended up in back of the tables with me and no one even noticed them....in fact, you couldn't even tell who they belonged to! Can you see how much space there is between my tables and the tables behind me? Our chairs almost touched. It was NOT very comfy.

The lady kept apologizing and I kept telling her that we would make it work, and make it work we did. Everyone was practically bumping into the person in the booth behind them, and for someone like me that isn't into small talk...it was a long day. The girl behind me was nice, but I know more about her life and her family than I ever wanted to. :)

The day was long and the customers were not in abundance. It was 72 degrees and gorgeous outside and that is where most people understandably wanted to be. After all this is November in Illinois and those kind of days are a rarity for sure.

I had a sale here and there and over the course of the five hours had sold enough coasters, aprons and light switch covers to pay my fee and make as much as I have at any of the big expensive two-day shows that I've done so far. I didn't make a ton, but it was a descent show.

As a craft show novice, I always try to learn something from each show I do. This weekend I learned to "expect the unexpected" for sure, and that the small shows may not have the crowds that the big shows have, but the fees are a fraction of the big shows. When you tally it all up at the end of the day....those 5 hours could end up being more profitable than the 15 hours you spent at the big show. Something to think about for next season.

I am done with shows for this year. With this being my first craft show season, I did two in the spring and three this fall. Next year I will choose carefully and do shows closer to the holidays. The ones I did this fall were way too early in the season. Maybe I'll do one early and a couple later. We'll see.

I have so much to do now. I have a ton of things to photograph and list in MyOtherShop on etsy. I didn't sell a single brooch or wine bag at the show! Go figure! I am off on Wednesday this week and have a HUGE photo shoot planned. Be watching for the brooches, wine bags and holiday coasters soon after! Have a great week everyone.

Off And Running

Today is the little craft show. We have to leave at 6:15 a.m. so we can be setting up at 7:00. The doors open at 9:00. I really don't know what to expect. This is the type of event where people stroll over to the "market" in the gym after church. Not sure how many will stroll over...it's suppose to be 70 again today. That isn't usually a good thing for craft shows, but we will see.

My 10 by 10 space will have two provided tables and then I am bringing my book shelf, a clothes rack and a coat rack. I am bringing a bunch of stuff from MyOtherShop like small cake stands, all of my coasters, light switch covers, pin cushions, ornaments, aprons, tote bags, my brooches and my new wine bags. Something for everyone and hopefully there will be lots of everyones!! :)

I will post tonight when we get home if I can and let you know how it went. Enjoy your Sunday and I will chat with you soon.

Creative Countdown

I am SOOOO ready to be done making things that I feel I NEED to make, so that I can start making things that I really WANT to make again. Don't get me wrong....I LOVE what I do, but I seem to be in this rut of making things that I think I should be making rather than the things I love to make. I am counting the days.....

Right now I am making some Christmas ornaments I really don't feel like making. It's just a silly little mouse in a walnut shell. It's darling, but it's tiny and it's hard to work with and I am really just don't feel like making them at all. Therefore, I'm not going to!

Wow! I feel better already. Liberation is awesome!

I bought some great fabric to make wine bags and that is what I really want to be making right now....but I can't because I need a wine bottle to make the pattern. Irv is picking some up for me from Michael and Bern tomorrow. Then I can start those. I would like to make about eight of them for the upcoming show.

The holiday coasters are drying, and the cork is cut. I'll put them together in a couple of days and they will be ready to go too. I have fabric to make a few holiday aprons.......that is on the list for this weekend.

I have totally neglected my shops since spring, and I have a ton of work to do this winter with both FourDogDay and MyOtherShop. I am so off track since deciding to do craft shows that I am actually looking forward to cleaning up and reworking my shops. Throwing around some ideas....just not sure what direction to go.

Do you have any special plans for your etsy shop if you have one? Any creative ideas you just can't wait to get started on? Please share.

Painting, Coasters, Coffee Tables and Another Guest

Irv and I are moving at full speed on our living room painting/redecorating project. We are washing, patching and sanding all of the trim after work each day in the hopes that we will be ready to paint it over the weekend. That would be so awesome.

When we are not washing, patching and sanding trim we are doing other things. I am making holiday coasters. I have 18 sets made and I am in the process of sealing them today. Then I just need to put the cork on the back and they will be ready to list. Sorry for the fuzzy pictures, but I have the shakiest hands sometimes!


When Irv isn't washing, patching and sanding trim, he has been working on what is going to be our new little coffee table. Remember this little old wooden toy box I showed you a while ago? It had two loose legs and a broken hinge. Here it is before Irv started working on it.

And this is how it looks in the garage right now. It's been repaired, sanded and primed. It's just waiting for me to decide what color I want it.

The top is very warped, but I am going to leave it like that. I like the funkiness of it. Great non-word.....funkiness!

It's either going to be the dark yellow or the dark blue. I'm undecided. What do you think?

Oh....different topic. We MIGHT be having a little four legged visitor stop by Friday evening to meet Wrigley and Sparky. Her name is Georgia and she is a one year old Border Collie/Lab mix. She is in a foster home right now waiting for her "forever" family and we are going to see if we might be it. She is being fostered about an hour south of us, but her foster family is going to be passing through our area on their to a town north of us and they offered to stop by so we can see her. Our application has already been approved, so now we just need to see if she is the right fit for our little "pack". I'll take some pictures and share them with you if she visits. Could this be Wrigley's new playmate? We shall see.....

Craft Show 101

I had Matt on my mind yesterday, but I did have a few things to tell you about the craft show this weekend.

My location was pretty good. It will be a while before I earn my way into the prime rows, but we were in the middle on an aisle and it worked out well, except for an hour or so each afternoon when the sun blasted in the skylights right on my check out table! We joked around about it just being my "heavenly glow", but it was seriously blinding at times.

Instead of the "teaser table" I had out front at the other show, Irv added awesome shelves to one side of the front of the booth and they worked beautifully. I had a couple of cake stands, some coasters and some light switch covers on them and people would stop, look at those things and come in. It was great!

I did learn a couple more very important things. One is that signs are a must. I kept thinking they would look like clutter, but when I was busy talking to someone and another person looked interested in something....even though I couldn't talk to the second person right then....a cute sign with the right words....spelled correctly would have worked. So, Saturday night I made some cute signs and put them around the booth with little bits of info about my totes, the aprons and the coasters. People actually read them! I did them on the computer on card stock and accented with scrapbook paper. Easy, inexpensive and useful!

The other BIG thing I learned is that even though I am not a seasonal decorating or dressing type person...hundreds of people are. I saw so many people walking around with Halloween and Thanksgiving stuff. It's not my thing, but that doesn't really matter. I must learn to please the masses. So, on that note, I will be making some holiday themed coasters and aprons for my shop and for the little tiny show we are doing at the church/school where Irv works. We'll see how it goes.

Here is a funny for you....this was my fourth show. At shows one through three, my cakestands were by far my best seller. I had decided that I probably wouldn't make any more light switch covers or coasters because they just don't sell. HAHA! Guess what sold the most at this show? Of course, coasters and light switch covers. So, what do I know?

Craft shows are a whole lot more than I ever thought they were. They are like a little business venture of their own. I am having fun, I'm learning, I'm meeting so many wonderful people...customers and other vendors and I can see where with time, this could become a nice way to supplement our income.

Oh, I have to say hi to my sister Karen in Tennessee who informed me yesterday that she reads my blog every day. I never knew that. So, hi Karen! Love you!

Now I need to go make some Christmas coasters! Chat with you soon!

It's here! Chee Hoo!

Well today is Friday. Irv and I are both working a 1/2 day so we can set up our booth for the craft show this afternoon rather than on Saturday morning. I know this was a wise move for us. Michael was so sweet and took a 1/2 day off to come and help us set up, and then Bernadette is working the booth with us on Saturday and Tresa on Sunday. It's so nice to have the support of your family. :)

The truck will be piled high with the walls for the booth, all of the shelves and Irv's tools.

My little Prius will be jam packed with the little check out "table", three bins of cake stands, three huge bags of pillows, aprons, tote bags, coasters, light switch covers, bags, credit card payment stuff, my signs, my props, ruffles, skirting and me!!

We plan to arrive there around 3:30 this afternoon. If we aren't there all night setting things up, I will check in when we get home and let you know how it went and post a picture of my booth with all of my stuff in it. If you don't hear from me tonight, then you can assume set up didn't go according to plan.

Have an awesome day today and if I don't chat with you again tonight, I will pop in when we get home Saturday if I'm not too tired!

The Vision Takes Shape!

It's not quite done, but I just couldn't wait to show you. I'll show you again when I have the skirting for the lower shelves and the ruffles for the upper shelves done. This is just the most awesome craft show booth ever! I can't believe that Irv was able to take MY vision and MY sketches and create from scratch EXACTLY what I wanted!!

I couldn't get a picture of the whole thing because it is still taking up our entire one car garage. We will be taking it apart and setting it up in the driveway next weekend for a trial run, and I'll get some other pictures then. So, for now, you get it in sections.

The three big shelves on the right are for my pillows. I plan to skirt the bottom shelf for some color and so we can shove some of our bins under it. The four corner shelves are for cake stands. I am thinking I might make little ruffles for the fronts of all of the shelves. There is enough room between the pillows and cake stands for cute little hooks of some kind to hang part of my totes on.

The empty section on the back wall will be where the aprons will be hanging on these funky wood heads/bodies that we are going to make, but haven't made yet. Then we have four more corner shelves for more cake stands.

The big shelf on the left side will be for the coasters and I will skirt that one too, and then it's a little hard to see them, but there are three skinny shelves above the big shelf and that is where all of my light switch covers will go. I am really excited that they will be standing upright facing people rather than laying on a table. It also has two little front sections where I will be able to "showcase" an apron and a couple of tote bags so people can see them as they stroll by.

Remember that cute little sewing machine cabinet I "removed" from our neighbors garbage? That will be my check out table....there isn't much room for anything else. This show only gives you an 8 x 10 spot, and that isn't much in the grand scheme of things. The cabinet is being painted white right now. It will be skirted on three sides and I'll keep my bags and things under it.

So I am sending out a gigantic CHEE HOO to my wonderful husband Irv for all of his hard work on this project....and even if I don't sell one thing...I will have the best looking booth at the show...but that better not happen or I will be in BIG trouble!!

Oh, and just so you don't think that Irv is some kind of God or something...I was teasing him yesterday and he told me that if I kept it up, he wouldn't finish the booth and he would just hand me the keys to the truck on the day of the show and I would have to figure out how to set it up myself! The nerve of the guy!

Crossroads......help!!

I have spent a great deal of time lately thinking about what direction I want to go with my etsy shops. I started with cards and photos, dabbled in upcycled jewelry, added journals, and gift tags, started making cake stands, then wood and paper decor, then coasters and light switch plates, now aprons and soon tote bags and reusable lunch bags......

So, now what?

The cards don't really sell and I don't find them very rewarding to make. I could lower the price on them and see what happens. I charge $5.00 for them, but then by the time you add the shipping, that' a pretty pricey card. It's a nice card, but I don't think people want to pay that much for a card.

I might discontinue my cards and only carry the photos in FourDogDay. Our photos are not "fine art" prints...they aren't signed...they are just neat every day snapshots taken by untrained people that like to take pictures. We don't sell a lot of them, but I do love them.

MyOtherShop is starting to look like FourDogDay use to look, and I'm not happy with it. Too many unrelated things packed into one shop, but I am not opening another shop. I could have FourDogDay be things for the house, and MyOtherShop be things for you....but that wouldn't be until after I run out of business cards...and that will be a while. :)

I'm thinking about not making any more wood and paper stuff. Not a big seller on etsy or at the two shows I've done. It's fun to do, but it isn't "the thing" for me.

That would leave cake stands which I really enjoy. I love looking for old plates and would like to start finding more unusual things to use besides candlesticks for the base. People seem to like them and I enjoy making them.

My coasters are so darn cute, but I have sold so few. They are heavy and expensive to ship, but even at the craft shows they get looked at a lot, but they don't get bought very often. I priced them lower at the shows than in my shop and only sold a couple sets on Saturday. Any idea why that might be? Not sure what to do about them. Could I live without them....yes...but they do attract attention at the shows.

The light switch covers are a pain to make, but they are cute and people seem to like them. I don't sell many on etsy, but at the shows they also attract a lot of attention. I am thinking about expanding on those and making some double ones and some other styles. A number of people said they wanted one but they needed a double one, or a push button one. I did give them cards and told them to contact me and I can make whatever they want. Not sure if they will, but that was an indication to me that I need to expand that line.

I am really enjoying sewing and I think that is the direction I am leaning, but if I am going to continue with the aprons and add the tote bags and things I will eventually need a new machine.

I am at a crossroad right now and haven't quite decided what direction I am going to go. I know for a fact that I will be crafting forever...now I just have to decide what to craft and what not to craft.

I know it's all a matter of what I love to do, but what if I love to do a lot or what if I don't know what I love the most? Then what?

Have you ever hit that place? What did you do? I am open to any and all suggestions.....

It's Getting Better

Well, we are back from the craft show and I am exhausted so this is going to be short. It actually went pretty well. Once again the sales weren't super, but I used Tresa's suggestions and definitely saw a difference. It was a pretty good show too. There were people around all day long. I wasn't in the main area, but still had plenty of traffic.

I sold a few cake stands, a pillow, a couple of sets of coasters, some switchplates and even some pin cushions! I either have to get a nice display stand for my cards, or not even bring them. People won't take the time to flip through them in a display box. Not sure what to do about the photos either.

My next show is an indoor show in September. Irv and I talked today about what kind of displays we want to create. It will be entirely different than the outdoor shows under a tent. I'm thinking, dog eared cedar fence panels painted white for a oouple of the walls so we could hang shelves on them. The space at the next show is only 8 X 10....that isn't a lot of room.

Well friends, I have got to go get my jammies on and chill out for a while. We are going over to Michael and Bernadette's house tomorrow morning. They closed and moved in on Friday. It's their first house and they are so excited! I am so excited for them!!

Have an awesome evening and I'll chat with you tomorrow!

Productive Day for Me

I apologize, but this is going to be a short post. I am exhausted! Irv and I headed out this morning to give blood. We try to do that regularly, but it never seems to work out that way. I am O negative, plus I have never been exposed to some kind of common virus, so my blood is "extra extra special" so they tell me. I decided today to make our next appointment right now and maybe that way they won't have to call us 100 times to ask us to come in. :)

Next we headed out to Michael's Craft Store and Joanne Fabrics. I bought some bare wood picture frames that I will paint and add paper to, and some fabric to finish up some pillows. Next we visited three resale shops where I hit the jackpot with plates for cake stands, and little miscellaneous cups and containers that will be turned into pin cushions.

I got photos to kittilili who is designing my new business cards. I decided on this leaf photo for the FourDogDay side with the phrase..."Visual Poetry...photographs and note cards." Part of that phrase was suggested by Cecile/DreamCreateRepeat . Then for MyOtherShop, I'm going to use my hip black and white coasters for the photo with the phrase..."Accessories for the home...eclectic, whimsical and functional. Part of that one came from Pickles on Pizza. So, thank you everyone for the great suggestions. I can't wait to see what the cards will look like. I'll share them with you as soon as we have the final design!

The rest of the day was spent sealing coasters, photographing coasters, painting picture frames and finishing up some odds and ends so I can get them out of my workspace. I got so much done, but my back and head are telling me it's time to close up shop for the night. So have an awesome evening...pizza is on it's way!

It's a Bad Back Kind Of Day

Short post today....on Wednesday at work I was working on my archive room project...moving lots and lots of boxes. Well, on Thursday my back felt a bit tight....then yesterday I was having a hard time getting around. Today it is just slightly better, but it's a mess. I have a very weak low back with some very sensitive discs. They obviously did not like what I was doing and are just letting me know.

I tried to work on some pillows today and I did get some done. My daughter-in-law saw one of them and said it looks just like something from Pottery Barn....I will take that compliment any day. I haven't photographed them yet, but as soon as I do I will share. I'm pretty excited about them. I didn't get as much done as I would have liked, but I can't sit for long or stand for long so it was a day of constant moving from here to there.

I also had coasters in the garage where I was spraying them with sealer, and got them all done...so I guess all in all, it was a fairly productive day considering.

Today is Irv's birthday. We celebrated last weekend, but Michael and Bernadette stopped by this afternoon with Dairy Queen for all of us. The dogs played outside and we had a nice visit.

Well, that is going to be it for today. I think I am going to take a shower, get in my jammies , curl up on the couch and watch the movie, "Milk". I watched "Slumdog Millionaire" last night and it was awesome!

I'm thinking spring!! The picture is Michael and Bernadette when we went to visit them in Virginia where they were living last spring. The cherry blossoms in D.C. are amazing! Have a good one and I'll chat with you soon.

Whoaaaa Baby!

I just walked into the bathroom for about the 20th time today. No I am not sick....the bathroom is right across from my workshop...so I use the sink to rinse out my brushes and to get the glue off my hands while I am working on pieces. Since I have made 4 sets of coasters and 4 light switch covers already today...that's a lot of glue and a lot of rinsing and hand washing.

This time however I happened to glance into the mirror and whoaaaaa baby!!!! What a sight!

I got up at 6:00 this morning so I could get a lot done, and I have. I cleaned the kitchen and the bathroom and got a lot of things made for my etsy shops. The only thing I neglected to do wash wash my face and brush my hair. Nothing liking being obsessed with my "to do" list and forgetting about myself! Thank goodness no one stopped by! The first picture is my kitchen. I went kind of nuts a couple of years ago with mustard and burnt orange walls and red cabinets. I'm already tired of it, but don't tell Irv...he'll kill me! The cabinets were a nightmare to do. This is about as cleared off as my kitchen table ever gets. I think the only time we sit there to eat is at the holidays. Normally, the table is piled high with "stuff".

Sorry for the quality of the photos, but my hands are a bit shaky since it's 1:30 in the afternoon and all I have eaten today is the rest of my dessert from Chilis last night! Healthy I know!

So, I am done with the glue and stuff for today. Here is what I made today. Tomorrow it all gets sealed and then next week listed in MyOtherShop!

Now I am going to start working on the photo album I am sending out to Matt in Telluride. Matt is a teacher and he is going to put the album in the teacher's lounge for me. I'll have it filled with photos of things from FourDogDay and MyOtherShop with a brief description and how they can find other items like those pictured. I'll include some business cards and some coupons for a discount. We'll see how it goes.

Once that is done, then it's budget time. Yes, I am going to sit down and look at our credit cards and figure out which one we are going to tackle first. Then I will try to decide what to sacrifice in order to find the extra money to get it payed off. Should be fun!! I'm kidding of course.

Anyway, enjoy the rest of the day and I'll see you tomorrow.

Sunrise Serenade

When I get up in the morning, I always make my bed before I leave my bedroom...next I head to the bathroom to pee and then I go straight to my computer! I check my personal e-mail, my blog and my shops. I pop into the etsy forums to add my two cents to a couple of "positive" threads that are usually running and then I start thinking about getting my lunch together and getting ready for work.

I get up really early so I can take my sweet old time.

This morning I finished all of my stuff and found that it was only 6:00. I don't leave for work until 6:30, so I decided to take Wrigley for a walk. Before the ugly winter hit, we walked every morning. We both loved our walks, even though it can be a bit creepy when it's pitch black outside.

Wrigley watched me this morning as I put on my jacket and somehow, some way, she knew it wasn't 6:30. Her ears perked up, she got off the couch and she came into the kitchen. She kept a careful watch as I looked around for her leash and as soon as she saw me pick it up....you would have thought she had hit the jackpot!! If she could have yelled, "Woo Hoo" she would have!

I put her leash on her and grabbed a plastic bag to clean up what she usually does when we walk and out the door we went.

I tried to walk her a couple of time in the winter, but there is so much salt on the road that she would start limping because her feet were burning. Even if it was gorgeous outside, the roads were white from all of the salt and we still couldn't walk. Next year we will try boots for her.

We started down the street and I immediately remembered why I love walking in the morning. Except for an occasional car pulling out of a driveway.....it is perfectly silent.....except for one thing......the birds singing their glorious sunrise songs!

There is nothing like it in the world!!!

Pictured....my new fabric covered ceramic tile coasters...I love this fabric so much, and Wrigley our sweet little "rescue" puppy when we first got her, and now.

Free DVD, Monsoons and Fabric

A few totally unrelated things today....

Each time my friend Nancy has undergone chemo, she has taken on a project that helped keep her mind off of herself and helped her to focus on others. Her first project was a Yoga DVD for Breast Cancer Recovery. She worked with a friend of hers, received some funding and created a wonderful DVD to help people with the negative affects of chemo and to help increase arm mobility through yoga. I have 3 of the DVDs that I would like to give to anyone that needs them. The DVDs have always been free and I will pay to send them out. So, if you or someone you know could use one of them, please e-mail me at itsafourdogday@yahoo.com. Leave your name and address and I will get it in the mail to you next week. If I have more than three requests, I am able to get more. :)

Mother Nature is very angry with Illinois this weekend. In fact she is darn right pissed off! She has been raining on us all weekend and I'm not talking about a little shower here and a little shower there....I mean we have the start of a small lake in our backyard and we rarely have water in our back yard. There are flood warnings all over the place! Poor Wrigley doesn't really care for water all that much and she is a bit confused by it all. My thought though, is that if we get all of this nastiness out of the way this weekend....then next weekend will be beautiful for the wedding!

As you know I am making ceramic tile coasters for MyOtherShop now. I have done paper on ceramic and paper on glass, and now I am doing fabric on ceramic. I had so much fun buying fabric last weekend and I have so many awesome ones that it's hard to decide what to use next! I have three sets almost done that I hope to list later this week...bold colorful flowers, gorgeous dogs and an awesome black and white floral print. Here is the fabric I am making a set out of now. It is unreal and I can't wait to get them done!

And lanyard lady....to answer your question about whether I will be blogging next Saturday....if I can find a computer somewhere...you can be sure that I will be dropping in to say hello!

Wedding Dress Disaster and Other Things

I am off work today and bustin' my fanny to get coasters, lightswitch covers and cards listed. Here are a couple of pictures of the things I'm working on... and now on to the wedding dress mess!

I really thought we were going to get through the wedding without a glitch. Nope! Tresa went for her final fitting last night and her dress was so tight that the lady could barely zip the last 5 inches...nor could she hook it! "Oh my, you must have gained FIVE POUNDS!" That is what she said to Tresa! We were just there 10 days ago...are you kidding me?

So, here I have my daughter on the phone last night crying hysterically because the lady said the only way to fix it was to let it out was at the zipper. So she let's it out and now you can see the zipper!! The lady kept saying, "Have your mommy come to look." Tresa said, "I'm 34 years old...I don't need my mommy. Just fix my dress!" She really did want me there, but the heck if she was going to admit it at that moment.

To make a very long story short....the lady says there is nothing else she can do and Tresa and I are going there tomorrow so I can see this disaster! On her way home, Tresa called me and said now she knows exactly what happened. The lady had to move the straps over because they kept feeling like they were falling off her shoulders. When she moved them, she made some kind of BIG error and shortened them way too much. That pulled the bodice up to where it didn't fit right anymore.

The way we know that is that last week when we went, Tresa tried on the necklace I made her. It was just a little too long, so I shortened the chain and gave it back to her. She put it on with the dress last night and now it touched front of the dress!! Now if the lady didn't do anything, and I shortened the necklace....how the heck could it now be touching the front of the dress when it wasn't touching the front of the dress before I shortened it????

Anyway, I will take a look tomorrow, but Tresa already has an appointment on Monday downtown at Watertower Place. There is a shop there that fixes other people's messes. If the lady can't fix it tomorrow, that is where Tresa will be on Monday...paying a fortune no doubt, but the guy was super nice and said they have never met a dress that they can't fix. She is feeling a bit better.

Also, I did it! I created my new line of cards called Secret Sentiments! Here is one of them. You can see the pretty sunflower....the secret is that when you slide the paper up, there is a spot to write your own personal message! Then slide the paper back down, and there is the photo again. I am so excited. I am sure they are nothing new to some of you, but they are new to me and something a little different than a normal photo notecard. I just love them.

On a quick note....Irv was so sweet last night. I was working in my shop as I always am and he asked what I was going to have for dinner. We don't eat the same because I am a herbivore and he is an omnivore! I said I really didn't know yet...and about 20 minutes later he said dinner was ready. I went out to the kitchen and he had warmed me up a couple of veggie burgers with cheese on them and had made pirogi for both of us. Woo Hoo! It was yummy.

He then proceeded to ask me why I never tell everyone that reads my blog how wonderful he is? I just gave him "that look" and he said, "Well you don't." So, everyone read up...Irv is wonderful! He cooks, he cleans, he does laundry, takes out the garbage, puts gas in my car, washes my car, plants gardens, takes care of the flowers and goes grocery shopping with me and sometimes by himself if I am really busy. There Irv...are you happy now?

In all honesty...I am very lucky...but then so is he...he's married to me!!

Life Is Oh So Good

Be sure to take a moment and go back to yesterday's post...read the comment my son left. It made me cry long before I got to the last line!

I was all set to write about "when doubt creeps in" today, but geez, I feel so dog gone awesome today, I don't want to spoil it. I think all of the Colorado talk has me on a Rocky Mountain High! I had a couple of sales this week and even though two sales would be a miserable week for others, it's a good week for me.

The new coasters and light switch plates I'm working on have given me another spark for yet more new ideas and my head is spinning with creative thoughts. This is truly when I feel my absolute best. I feel empowered and unstoppable. Do you ever feel like that?

Tomorrow I head to Joann Fabrics with a list a mile long. I am excited to be buying fabric. I haven't bought fabric in many years and I can't wait. I even asked Irv today if we could do some of the prep work on my tiles and light switch covers to save me some time, and of course, he said sure. He is very supportive of what I am doing. He knows how happy it makes me. Not only that, he can only spend so much time in the basement watching his garden grow!

The wedding is only two weeks away and tomorrow is Girls Night Out and the Bachelor Party. The guys are starting at 3:00 with a Wii tournament and then heading out to dinner and a comedy club. The girls are going to dinner and then out for a little bit. I am so honored to have been invited. It should be a fun night. I haven't decided which outfit I am wearing yet. I'll figure it out tomorrow. Do you remember when bachelor parties use to be the night before the wedding? What the heck were we thinking?

Hey, if any of you do a blog newsletter, I would love to know how you do that. How do you format it? What do you put in it? How often do you send one out...etc. Please drop me an e-mail at itsafourdogday@yahoo.com. I really would like to start one after the wedding.

Well that is it for today. The boxes for the coasters came today, so I should be able to get some listed this weekend!

Oh, on a funny note...we are a very lovey family. We all say "I Love You" a lot. We say it on the phone, we write it in e-mails and we text it. I had to laugh this morning when I was in the forums wishing everyone a good day and I almost wrote "Love you guys" at the end of my post!! I even find myself having to refrain when I write my blog posts! I guess that just shows how close you start to feel to your online friends!