A Little Inspiration

I have a confession to make. Money is really tight around here. For me anyway. Mostly because, it's the end of my Spring semester at school. And I need to be making some rather large payments. It's unfortunate I tell you! Being that my Mom's birthday was Saturday. And Mother's Day was yesterday. But what can you do?

I got real creative. And I wish I had taken pictures to show you. But my Mom enjoys certain things. Like gardening. So I went to the Dollar Store, bought a few fun baskets. And loaded them up, on fun garden things. Including a ton of seeds!!! My Mom has been planting a garden, for a few years now. I also bought some gardening tools, and decorations. Oh an of course, flowers! My Mom LOVES flowers!

I also made her a fun basket, full of snacks. My Mom likes to snack. :) So I thought about lots of yummy things. But like I said, she had 2 special days. And I wanted to make her a little something for her kitchen. Being that she's in the middle of changing the decor.

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine, and I were looking at one of those catalogues you get in the mail. And we saw these colorful wooden utensils. So fun! But they were a bit expensive. $50 for 5 utensils. What? That's what I thought! 2 days later, Jelly e-mailed me this picture. And it all hit me!

Jelly and I got to painting. We painted up 2 sets. A very colorful one for her. And a more "manly" set for our friend, Mems. He cooks for all of us, twice a week. We just thought he'd enjoy this.

Then I decided, I'd make my Mom a set. For her, I used yellow and green. She's going to be decorating her kitchen in John Deere tractors! How fun. :)

So there you go. My Mom really enjoyed her set of kitchen goodies. Not only did I do a little painting, but I managed to make some potholders. And add some fun decorations, to some plain kitchen towels.

Now, I think I'll start making some more of these sets. For the Christmas Craft Fair. I might even make some aprons. These should be fun!

I Just Might Have

Tomorrow, we're going to be selling at our church's Valentine's Day Craft Fair. Life has been really busy around here. You know, school, work, baby showers, birthday parties, and just life. That means, crafting has been a little slow around these parts. You know what I mean? Life has just taken over.

This is not good for a variety of reasons. I'm sure you can guess why. One, we're behind, way behind, on gifts! Way behind! My cousin's baby shower is about 2 weeks away, and I might have 1/2 of her gift finished. Half! My Mom is a little behind too. Oh, and then, our "stock" is down. From the craft fair in December. And Christmas time.

But with life being so busy, there's not much I can do. I managed to make a few hats, some amis, and a baby blanket. This week! It's been crazy! I've literally been crocheting between classes, on my way to work, and through meals. But it's getting done. :) So I feel like I need to make up in other places. Like baking. So I went a googling, and I came across these beauties!

Whoopie pies. Not just any whoopie pie. But chocolate cherry whoopies! I couldn't pass them up. And along with my usual cupcakes, candy, and other treats...I baked up a batch of these goodies! Yum! I can't wait to see people's reactions. I know in the south, these are big. Real big! My friends love them. But around my hometown, I honestly hadn't heard of them.

The craft fair is in a few short hours, and honestly I feel so behind! I'm going to try and stay up a few more hours. You know, to make a few more things. Perhaps some headbands, hair clips, or maybe finish this sweater that I'm working on.

Craft Fair and Amigurumi

Today my Mom and I, are selling at our church's Holiday Craft Fair. We don't sell at many. Mostly because, well, we don't have the time. I would LOVE to do more of this. But my schedule really doesn't allow for that. My Mom and I always look forward to December and February, when our church has these Craft Fairs.

We started to just support the church. It's fun. We get to meet new people. We support our church. And we're able to make a little bit of money. Maybe in the future, we'll do a few more. Or start selling on Etsy. It's been a goal of mine. To start our shop.

This has been a tough 2 weeks. Trying to get ready for the Craft Fair. But also, dealing with life. I got really busy with work and performing. School has been crazy! I've been ridiculously sick! Time has been almost scheduled to the second! I haven't had as much time as I had originally hoped. But I've gotten some things done. Mostly, these little guys.

For whatever reason, these amigurumis are a BIG hit! I just don't have enough time. I wish I did. Oh, and I can't find these darn eyes! I live in a small town. We have 1 store that sells them. And 99% of the time, they're out of stock! But I managed to make a few. And I have the parts, to put about 5 of them together. That will be my project. As we're hanging out today.

So if you're around, come by. We'll have 2 tables. Everything from crafts to baked goods. Yes, I made cupcakes and candy. My Mom baked lots of cookies. Sadly, I didn't make peanut brittle. It's my thing. The one thing, that everyone knows us for. But I can't find the ingredients. And well, I really didn't have too much time this week.

Don't forget to stop by and say Hi! Our church, 9AM-1PM. Santa will be there. The church is also selling breakfast and lunch. Honestly, it's delish! And there are so many great booths. If you need more info, e-mail us, or call me. Hope to see you there!

The Flu, Dark Water, and Crafting

The past week has been tough. I started feeling sick last week. But I pushed on. It was Thanksgiving after all. And we had a lot of company coming over. Lots of cooking to be done! We got through it. And during the weekend, I could feel it coming on. I was getting sick.

I tried to ignore it Sunday. But Monday morning, there was no denying it! I could barely move. Everything hurt. And I felt like someone had hit me with a bus! I slept most of Monday. My parents had no medicine. And by the time I got some Monday night, I just wanted to sleep.

I got it together and went to work on Tuesday. Spending most of my day, driving. It was horrible! Come to find out, I not only have the flu. I have Strep Throat. Ugh! This was not the week to get sick. On top of all of this, I have 2 big concerts to perform at. And my Mom and I, are selling at our church's Holiday Craft Fair. Yup, bad timing!

While trying to recover this week, I've been curled up, in my office. I would say, a good 85% of the doctors are sick. The hospital is horrible right now. And I don't get it. We get so many shots every year, so that we don't get sick. But some "mysterious" flu has hit. A couple of us, have been reduced to "paperwork duty." Not too bad. We curl up in my office, watch a movie, do paperwork, sleep, hydrate, and I've been crafting.

One of the movies we watched this week, is Dark Water. Oh my goodness! What a movie. Initially, I didn't want to watch it. But my colleague was all over it. So I said, why not? It was such a great movie! You have to see it. I know that my Mom would LOVE it! She really likes movies like this.

I was just so into this movie. The ending was so good! And I got about 5 hats made. 5 hats, in less than 2 hours. At least my crocheting, isn't getting affected by my horrible health! :)

Craft Fair Day

Today was our Craft Fair! We honestly had a great time. Mom and Dad set up the 2 tables. I was still on the road. But I managed to get there before the first mass got out. And I added my new crafts to the tables. We also did a little bit of baking, to go with our crafts. :)

Mom and Dad had to leave after 2 hours. We also had a Family Reunion today. So I took care of the tables by myself, for half of the Craft Fair. That happened to be the half that was the busiest! Maybe because Santa came to take pictures. But I managed. Thank goodness for a friend, who came by to chat with the people, while I made the sales. :)

I don't think all the booths did well. Mostly because lots of the items were way overpriced. I think people need to take the location and the economy into consideration. The lady next to me was selling stuff that I could find in shops, around the hospital, were I work. Mostly jewelry and scarves. Not handmade. But she had some good business. Our tables were pretty busy all day. And she was the friendliest lady!

The ladies that were across from us, they came to chat with me for a while. Neither of them sold a thing. I felt really bad. Mom really liked the shawls that one the ladies had made. Yup, we got some ideas. I think Mom is going to try and make herself one.

And the food, it sold so quickly! Our church sells breakfast, lunch, and snacks during the Craft Fair. Within 2 hours, they had completely sold out! I was getting a little concerned about Mom and I's baked goods. Then all of a sudden, we started to sell out! We even had a bit of a riot over the peanut brittle that I made. For some reason, I had such a hard time making it this time. I made a double batch. Honestly, I should have made 3 or 4 times that amount. That's how much people wanted it. I need to remember that for next time.

At the end of the day, we had a great time. I even managed to finish another scarf while I was there. I need to also remember, to make some more business cards. And to go looking for socks. I sold out of Baby Legs in minutes! I had made about 15 pairs. But that wasn't enough!

We came home with some pumpkin bread, and some cookies. But we did good. Made a good amount of money. Both Mom and I came home with $100 each, and put the rest into our stash. We use that as change for the next show. Or to buy supplies. It wasn't a bad day at all. Now I can't wait until the Craft Fair in February.

1 Month Away

We have just 1 month until our annual Craft Fair. My Mom and I don't sell at many Craft Fairs. In fact, until a few years ago, we didn't sell our crafts at all. But our church started having a Craft Fair for Christmas. And every year, we've gotten 2 tables. And filled them up with all of our crafty goodness.

Yes, just 1 month away. And I feel like I haven't been adding too much to our stash of goods. Mostly because I'm busy with school and work. Oh, and I've been making lots of gifts lately. I have a nice list of things I want to complete. But I'm not sure it's going to happen.

As for Mom, she's working hard. And has gotten a lot done. Mom has been sewing lots of scraves. They are so pretty! And she's been crocheting some "Old School" Strawberry Shortcake dolls. We do have a nice stash of items that we add to through out the year. So I shouldn't be too worried. Even if we only have 1 month to go!