So, I was hoping for a Thrifty Tuesday post, but somehow this week has just totally gotten away from me!

I haven’t had much time to go thrifting or antiquing lately but I have scored a few goodies, all of which are now up on my Etsy page.

Check out these fun finds!

In Craftacular news, the banner, yard signs and day of show cards all came in the past few days and I am starting to feel like I may actually be prepared for the show. Well, at least on the organizer side of things! I certainly may not have anything to sell though. Phew… these days are just going by toooooo fast!

I am really excited about the large postcards I ordered for the day of the show. There is a map on the front with the corresponding booth numbers and then a complete list of vendors and their websites on the back so customers can mark their favorites and visit their work anytime!

It is also exciting to get the mail these days. Every day I am getting more and more wonderful donations for the goodie bags. Here is just a tiny sampling of what may be in your reusable canvas tote if you are one of the first shoppers on August 15th.

Speaking of goodie bags, I have to go make up the bags for Henri’s party tomorrow and get started on some food prep. We have had a ton of house showings lately so at least the house if cleaned, but there is still a ton of work to do. And, of course, as Zoe reminded me yesterday ‘Henri won’t even know it’s his birthday’, but I will so lets have a party!

xxoo

I have about 10,000 other things I ’should’ be doing, but instead I am sipping my yummy cheap wine and blogging. Well, and trying to block out the sound of the World Series of Poker. I don’t understand how someone can watch poker non-stop. BORING…

Anyway, getting on with this.

Last weekend Jerome and I headed to Mt. Horeb for the annual Art Fair and it was fabulous! There was a decent turn out of shoppers despite the insane heat and for not feeling I had very much made, I sold a lot. The Star Wars coasters were a big hit as were the new storybook necklaces.

Here is a booth shot. While I was downloading this picture I noticed how many banners I had out. It’s pretty humorous that people were still asking the name of my business!

I also made some great purchases. I always set my sales goal in my head and when I surpass that (well, if I surpass it, although luckily I usually do!) I allow myself to roam around and buy goodies from other artists.

I can’t find the cards to either of these artists but here are some pics. The first one is a handmade paper arm with la luna on it as well as a butterfly which signifies release and also has a very deep meaning to me since the loss of our twins. The second is a Giclee print I bought that made me dream of the land we hope to own and the third is a framed print I bought for my mother as a pre-thank you gift for coming out to work with me at the Creative Connections event in Minneapolis. The print is called ‘Fox in Violets’. Well, her business is named La Zorra (the fox) glass works, and Violet was her mother’s name as well as her oldest granddaughter.

Speaking of violets, Ms. Violet helped me at the zoo a few weeks ago with the little ones and it amazing to see her holding Henri when I remember taking her to Art Fair on the Square when she was his size! Time moves waaaay too fast, regardless of how long the days can seem.

Now I have moved into the whole crazy let’s plan a a birthday party mode. Yikes!! Last year my mom was here and did all the work (I had been in the ER all night the previous night..) but this year it’s all me. Also, almost no one has RSVP’d so I truly have no idea if I have like fifteen coming (those who have RSVP’d) or about 40 coming! hmmmm.. Well, either way I’m confident it will be fun.

Then, it is full speed ahead for the Craftacular. I am soo excited. I feel really good about all the time, money and energy I have put into this show and I can honestly say when the day comes that I did all I could. I do need more volunteers though so please, if you know someone who can help out, even for an hour or two, let me know!

My wine is empty and it’s time to maybe work a little (or not) but Luna has some big news to share with you all :

Yep, it took her nine months, but she finally has a teeny tiny little tooth coming in!!! Yeah!! She is so ready for real food.

I also couldn’t remember if I shared this with you all yet, but sometimes things just seem to align in odd ways. For instance, in my studio I have a license plate from NM that my mom had laying around and gave to me years ago. Well, after Luna was born I was sitting in my studio and happened to look up where I have it propped and noticed that not only does the plate my birth year 1975 on it, but it has the name ‘Luna’ on the top. I’m not sure if that is a town, or why that is there but isn’t that something? Some how the world knew she was coming to us.

Now, for anyone reading who is not a mom, you may be really bored with this next part but I am having this total internal struggle with trying to do everything and feeling like I am not doing anything really well. I mean, I want to have a business (preferably a store again some day), organize shows, vend at shows, raise four perfect kids, feed them all homemade natural foods, have a nice clean house, perfectly manicured yard … I could go on and on, but at the end of the day I am exhausted with a to do list that just moves on to the next day. I know, I know, no one can do everything, but how do YOU do it?? Are you a stay at home mom who works at home? Are you a mom who has a full time or part time job or do you just take care of your kids?? Just looking for different suggestions at how you may have found a way to do this. Any suggestions or comment would help!

Oh, that’s right… my wine is empty!

Hope to be back Tuesday for some thrifty Tuesday finds…

xxoo

Lisa! Email me with your info…. I did it the ol’fashioned way and drew your name from a bowl (couldn’t find a hat that would work!)

Thanks for checking in everyone. It does help me to want to post things when I know you are out there reading.

I will get more of a post out later, but just wanted to stop by quick..

This morning Jerome was going out to the van to load up the little kids and told me to be careful because there was a mushroom on one of the mats. What? I thought something got in the garbage and there was grossness (damn racoons… size of small dogs around here…), but no! Look what is growing out of our mat!

Sure, sure, there has been enough humidity and heat that I’m amazed they aren’t growing out of our walls, but I am convinced it was a magical gift. Who’s to say that fairies, gnomes, or magical creatures aren’t galvanting around when we aren’t looking? Common sense says so, so you may be saying, well, to hell with common sense.

Anyway, getting on with it…I have been crafting away to build up some inventory for this weekend and here are a few goodies that could be yours if you stop by the Mt. Horeb Art Fair this weekend!

I never feel like I have enough ready for shows, but I know that at some point I have to call it ‘what I got done for this show’ and that is now. I finished pricing everything and making new signs (definately a sickness… I ADORE making signs).

Now, all that is left to do is pack everything up and haul it out to the van when Jerome gets home. Assuming I get all this done, we are going on a date tonight and then working on Craftacular stuff until bedtime, which considering what time I have to be at the show tomorrow should be around 8 pm!

xx’s and oo’s and remember, you still have time to leave your words of love, wisdom, or otherwise in the comment section to be entered into my blog love drawing!

Hello again bloggy world! I really do promise to check in with you more often than I have been, but life is just swirling around as usual.

However, it is swirling in such amazing ways!

I am busy busy busy getting ready for the Mt. Horeb Art Fair this weekend. I haven’t done this show in about seven years, but I adore Mt. Horeb, it’s close to home, and a good show from what I hear so I am trying to get a nice booths worth of Glitter Goods ready.

Here is a sneak peak of a few projects I finished.

Here are some new kitties I sewed on my NEW MACHINE!! I can not even begin to describe my love for my new sewing machine..

Then there are amigurumi finished while watching a TrueBlood marathon.

Storybook necklaces.. many more than what is shown here..

…and, fun coasters including fairytale and Star Wars. I was so excited when I found the Star Wars book at a thrift store. Ms. Violet was with me killing time before we went to see Eclipse (and after pie eating…) and trust me, I was excited.

On the Craftacular front, things are coming along quite well. I still can’t believe there will be 85 vendors. What was I thinking?? No, actually everyone, honestly is being super great to work with. I have all the ads out to the misc. printers / web peeps thanks to the amazingly talented Andrea of Space Oddities and donations for the goodie bags are coming in every day. How I wish they were all just gifts for me!

I also found a printer so we can get canvas bags for the goodie bags. It’s so nice to be able to do this. It uses up the last of the Craftacular funds, but I think it really is a good thing and they make super shopping totes long after the show is done.

On the home front things never really seem to slow down, which I guess is just life with four kids.

As of tomorrow, Ms. Luna will be nine months old! Seriously, when did that happen??

And, if that’s not crazy enough, this guy is almost two!

Don’t even get me started with Darby and Zoe… I just got Zoe’s middle school info in the mail! *sigh*.

I am frantically getting things together for Henri’s big party. It started off that we were just going to have cupcakes and gifts on the actual birthday, but come on, you all know me better than that… Forty invites were ordered (no, I did not make them this year thank you very much), and will be addressed tonight. I miss having people over and being social but with our gnome home, it’s hard to have a lot of people over. For the party let’s just pray that it is a nice day. If it rains… well, I guess we’ll figure it out.

AND, just because I love you all, I am going to be doing a blog giveaway for sticking with me through this dry blogging time. Simply leave any comment between now and Monday on either here or my Facebook page blog update, and you will automatically be entered for a drawing for one of my crocheted goodies. Of course, if I have no comments then I know that my mom truly is the only person who reads this.. hehe…

Have a super duper weekend everyone and trust me, I will be back soon! I”ll leave you with a ‘baby in the sink pic’ because really, who doesn’t love babies in the sink??