You would be so pleased with all the cleaning I got done yesterday... amazing what a fight with your husband can do for the house!

Time is going to fly by with all that I need to get done for the show in November!!   I will dance around the house if I can get all of my journal covers done today! I ordered some business cards yesterday... I think they look fine for wanting them fast with little effort.. but I will definitely be creating my own design sometime when I have more time. A little hard to read on here...

Last week I got my locket in the mail.  My first etsy purchase that wasn't supplies...

From uniqueartpendants  in the twin cities.  Some of her jewelry is to be featured at the Walker!

Fight Like Armies.

I am dwelling in the comfy-ness of the day. I'm trying to enjoy the snow as if it were December 23rd and not October 23rd.  There's no place I need to be.  Kids are napping... I can go finish my cash apron. and once I finish my cash apron I can show you! It's made out of a paper bag... and has a zipper! I don't know how you can handle the excitement and anticipation of a revealing like that... but you will have to handle it some how... (I may suggestion...chocolate cake or a fruit tart from Whole Foods)...because I'm not quite finished.

I was asked to sell my journals in another shop! I'm waiting on the details but it's always nice to have that confirmation! I wish I could crank them out faster.. but there's always so much to do like... facebook.

I was "dismissed" from my wah phone job this week... and rightly so.  I was missing a bunch of hours and didn't always read the script.. and when I was "didn't always" I mean "almost never".   If you would have called in and got me you would have loved me!! No additional offers for magazines... or discount clubs... or insurance information after your TimeLife Sweet Sounds of the Seventies order... unfortunately the magazines...discount clubs and insurance companies didn't love that they were paying to have something said that wasn't.  So I had to go.  Anyone need a Plantoronic t10 phone and headset?  

three cheers for productivity!

Found my camera cord! yea! So I added a few pictures to my previous post.

I had a special request for another inked notebook so I took the liberty to get out the inks last night and start on some more notebook covers.

 

yeah.. I got a little obsessed with the ink dropped ones.

Then today a few of them grew into notebooks.

He worked..I worked.. It worked.

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I will openly admit that I listened to Christmas Music all yesterday as it snowed.  It put me in a creating mood. And I got some more work on my journal covers done!

These journals are such a long process.  I am considering a few shows.  One that I was accepted in is Nokomis in Minneapolis. But in order to do that one I need a tax id.  Which means I first need to file my name with the state.  I'll be doing that tomorrow.  Kind of fun to be a "business owner"... even if the business is so small an ant could wear it for a hat.  I'm trying to think of how to balance shows.. there's a smaller one a half hour from here... but what if I sell a lot there and don't have enough for minneapolis? Not that I think I'd sell out or anything.. but what if just the "best" were sold and I'm only bringing up the mediocre ones to minneapolis... not that I intentionally make worse ones.. I just have my favorites... although my least favorites seem to be the ones that sell quicker.. hmmm.  I think I would rather get "in" the twin cities crowd...maybe? decisions decisions.  And that would give me more time to get ready too without worrying about doing two shows.  Thanks for helping me out with this decision. I wish I had someone to go with me though.  It feels little overwhelming to do it by myself!

I should be starting to sell the concert tickets by this weekend which I am PUMPED about.  I've been spinning my wheels waiting for this to get underway! And I talk to the CBS group tomorrow about Momtime. (and I still haven't done my cbs lesson for tomorrow! I've been rubish at doing my lessons this year.) So I think maybe I'll feel a little less anxious next week with this stuff off my plate. When I get anxious I don't feel like doing anything... and anything I do feels like I'm moving through wet cement or something.

I'm starting to spend WAY too much time in the etsy forums. 

But isn't this the cutest!!!

Jumping Jasper, a Grasshopper Pull Toy in Maple and Walnut  TheWoodGarden

Giveaway for knitware

I ran across this giveaway for a knit necklet at kerreraskye.  She is wondering if she should stop her contests because she doesn't get that many entrants.. but her stuff is very original!  Leave her a comment if you would like to win!

three weeks and no ideas.

Halloween isn't "my" holiday.  I'm not one of those people who goes crazy over the top for "satan's holiday"- ha. But I would like to come up with a decent costume for Z.  Last year he asked to be a robot and I tried to change his mind at first but there was no changing so I created one.. and it was pretty fun.. and won a small town costume contest.  This year I can't think of ANYTHING. I considered having the kids be a washer and dryer.. but I've learned from previous experience (walking all the way up and down Grand Ave, St Paul carrying "zachariah robot") that box costumes do not have a long wear time.

(minus a few details)

I started to make the covers to a new batch of journals last night while listening to the twins WIN on the radio!! After I finished my first batch I was a little burnt out by them... but I have an excitement back about it.  Which is wonderful.  I never want this to feel like a job.

And I got a bunch done for the Sara Grove's concert yesterday during preschool.  Hopefully I'll have the tickets made and possibly printed today which means that I can turn into a selling machine... I'm SO ready to become a selling machine! itickets is all set up to take orders but there's a starting fee of $4 to order through them! Crazy! So I don't think we'll be doing much through them.

oh the finds there are to find.

Yesterday the library had a book sale... One of those "everybody bring in your books you don't want" and they sell them to raise money.   And oh did I buy! Off the top of my head... I got an atlas, a dictionary, some sheet music books, a few more art books, an oversized book of only new york times front pages from1920-1975, some old books to make "hollowed out books" (I've always wanted to do that) and what I'm most excited about...a  set of five "albums of american history" published in the 40's... five encyclopedia type books of nothing but  great great black and white pictures. I have Ephemera coming out my ears now.. in such a great way! (I took some pictures so that you could share in the excitement.. but I can't find the camera-to-computer cord.)  I would be one happy girl if I could have hours upon uninterrupted hours to just sit down here and make some more journals.  But alas I have more important things to take care of in the form of small human beings.One whom has a cough so I don't think we'll be making church today.

I spent last night prototyping a christmas tree banner/garland.  I'm going to go try it out on the small evergreen in the backyard.

Some days are just good days. Today. Today is a good day.

Momtime was good today... we're growing and the women that are coming are just great women. And I was called by a community bible study leader yesterday wanting me to speak about the momtime group in a few weeks in front of the whole group! So that may bring more women in. I don't want a huge group to have a a huge group... I really want to bless the mothers of the community by providing a place of friendship and a time that they can experience God. And the Sara Groves project is moving forward. And the timing of my talk to cbs will match with when I will hopefully start advertising for Sara. I'm praying that the show sells out quickly.

And I received a message last night asking if I would like to sell a few of my journals on consignment here.

Ummmmmm... YES!!! What a charge to have some confirmation that I'm good at doing something...and that something happens to be the thing I love to do.

My first week on etsy has been great. Two sales and this opportunity. I need to decide which ones I'm going to send and the price. The journals take so much time to make that I really don't make much money off of them when it comes down to dollars/hour but it's better than making nothing watching tv... or...cleaning the house. And I should make more sooner than I was planning on. The library has a used book sale tomorrow.. must go see if there are any books that have collage worthy pictures! I'm really excited to start some of my christmas things. I need to finish the banner I showed last time. And I'm working on a mini banner right now. Which lead me to needing some fibers... which lead me to this shop which just makes me so anxious... the good overwhelming can't-wait-to-get-my-hands-on-this-and-make-something anxious. Just beautiful fibers.

She has a sale going on right now. www.beckandcallgirl.etsy.com

My sister is coming down for the weekend. If our children aren't too crazy maybe we can do some creating!

I am having a 20% off sale in my shop this weekend! Any journals not sold may have the chance of being shipped up to northern mn come Monday! Get them while they're still there!

Happy Weekend!

so that's how they do that!

I was wondering how people get those beautiful bright white background pictures... a light tent!  See all the things I'm learning!

Here's a great tutorial I'm going to try soon!  Most of the things I'm making now would be too big for this... but I should probably retake some of my journal pictures.  I'm sure my little kodak and his big expensive camera are pretty competitive in outcome.  It's all about the light tent....right!...right?....