Where to begin

I am working on Swap pieces today....Swaps are good and bad for me. Good because I LOVE to exchange and give goodies, and bad because I LOVE to exchange and give goodies!!

I limited myself to 5 at Silver Bella, but couldn't resist the urge to host another one myself for Halloween and join an additional one with Silver Bella. So...that makes 7 that I am working on right now! My furry little partners are exhausted already!!

I have to say - I love it, not stressed or overwhelmed about it at all, just trying to figure out where to start! My Crafter ADD is in overdrive!

I really don't want to mess up my craft studio because I just cleaned it...AGAIN! I am always rearranging in there! But, once I get going in there it is history! I feel like she is laughing at me...

I started looking around though last night and thought...what in the world are you going to do with all of this stuff....lol!

This doesn't even show you the Ribbon closet....geez, there is a lot of stuff here!

I could create until the end of time and only need to venture out for glue!

OK...time to get busy! I have chicken wire stretching, A Princess whining for Cinnamon toast and glitter calling my name!

Halloween Swap box...Update 2

Here is a little picture (button) I fixed up for our swap! Please grab it if you would like!!

Trick or Treat!!

Halloween Swap box, update 1

I am getting REALLY excited about this swap - my mind is racing with ideas!!

I have a few girls, but would really love 1 more!!

If your interested - please email me today!!

School is back in!

School has officially started! The Sun is rising just a bit later in the morning and I officially have a Freshman! What!!!!! I really - really - don't feel this old! But there she is...all beautiful and blonde! My boys were too cool for Mom to be taking a picture of them! This is my 7th grader...he was telling me to "stay across the street...don't come over here..." when I was trying to take his picture. I had to chuckle a bit because I know how lovey-dovey he is at home!

And of course, this guy is just too cool for school!! He "let" me take a picture of him before he got to the bus stop...notice that he is running off the porch!

Lily hasn't quite started yet...next week,but this is the look I get about 2pm when she is beyond the moment of patience with waiting for her sister and Brothers to get home!

I can't believe that last year they were all posing together on the porch and this year I can barely stand on the same side of the street with them!!

Just me

I am participating in several swaps for Silver Bella and started thinking that maybe I should follow the lead of some of my Bella Sisters and share a little inside information on myself....seems like a good idea!

A few random details...my head measures 22"...(I am participating in a "Crown" swap...don't want my crown falling off!!) I am a hat girl...I love Hats - Old and New!!! I wear hats pretty often...

I am a Frilly Romantic at heart with a Wild side tucked away who loves funky clothes, funky makeup and would be willing to dye my hair just about any color given the right circumstances....lol.

I love soft romantic colors but tend to wear a lot of black and white with a splash of red lipstick.... I jump around in my daily style...a lot... ;)

I wanted to be a Fashion Designer, a Writer and Interior Designer when I was a little girl! Probably why I gravitate towards paper, fabric, stamps, pictures, trims and most anything that is tactile. I love to tell a story through pictures, and I love to create pretty things to look at and to wear.

MY LOVES.....

I LOVE Milk Glass, Farmhouse pictures, Gold frames (all busted up and old) and Girly Mix-matched China.

I am pretty sentimental...that bottle (below) was a wedding gift from my Grandfather....he was a waterman on the Chesapeake Bay and that is a bottle he pulled up in his boat one day... Inside was a note that talked about love and life and marriage. It was one of the most touching gifts we received and it sits on my mantle for me to see and remember every day. I also Really love old boxes - mostly jewelry boxes but have been known to gravitate towards all sorts of boxes! I fill them with all sorts of treasures....old jewelry bits for making other things....Or with Buttons....another BIG FAT love of mine!! I LOVE buttons!!! All sorts of buttons...this is just a small snapshot of the buttons I have. I have jars and jars of them!

Also on my list...

Old Pictures of "Found Family"...I have boxes of them. I love looking at their expressions and taking in the scenes of what they are doing.

Fabric, Trims and Yarn....

I am sure that the list could get longer, but I am trying to control myself! I don't want to start looking like one of those people they make show about (hoarders...)!!!

Halloween Swap Box

Halloween is one of my FAVORITE holidays!

I just love to decorate and get started on my decorations as soon as I feel the bite in the air! And every year I have "Witches" dinner party - an all girls dinner party that is held outside under the stars...it is pretty awesome!

I have decided that I am going to host a Halloween Swap Box - and I would love for you to join me!! I am feeling black and orange glitter, Vintage ephemera, black lace, stamps, etc.

Here are the details!

This will be a One-on-One box swap, Cigar box size...you don't have to use a cigar box but that is a good size to work with. Think...10x5x2 size...

Candy can be included, but kept to a minimum...I mean, come on...we need to keep up our girlish figures!!

MAX of 3 "destash" items....and please make those quality pieces! For example, I have a beautiful collection of vintage Black glass beads...

If you are interested, please email me at cr8nglife@yahoo.com and include your name & address. Please also answer the following questions in your email..that way we can get this ball rolling!

1. What type of Halloween girl are you? Are you a Diva-licious Witch...Using the glitz and glamour. Are you a Warty-Wanda... more of the classic witch style? Are you Spook-alicious...little more on the "dark side" or are you an All American Halloween kinda girl...vintage/Americana style

2. Do you have a Blog? Please include the address...

3. Is there a key element to your decorating style??

The deadline for joining me is going to be the 27th of August - and swap partners will be announced by the 30th!! Boxes should be in the mail no later than September 24th....want to enjoy them for the entire MONTH of Halloween!!!

I bought myself a birthday present tonight....

I have wanted my nose pierced for quite a while but just hadn't gotten up the nerve to do it.

Then I decided, I was just going to do it...

My husband thinks I am having a mid-life crisis without the mid-life part!

A little Knock-Off

When we were school shopping the other day I saw these really cute necklaces that were seriously easy to make...nothing more than some scraps of fabric and a few beads/charms. They were charging $19.99!!!

That night I let my daughter and one of her crafty little girlfriends loose in the craft room, which I am now going to call "The Glitter Lounge" - which I swiped from one of the Silver Bella ladies!

This is what they made...very cute!

I am going to make a few myself! I am thinking of all sorts of different fabric options!

Broken

I am BROKEN and can't be fixed!!

Friday night I broke my index finger on my RIGHT hand!! Of course there is nothing that can be done for a broken finger, so I am "buddy taped" up and suffering through the daily grind. I can't believe how uncomfortable it is! You don't realize how much your index finger is part of your daily activities! Even typing this is difficult...I have too many projects to work on to deal with this nonsense! There are crowns to make, purses to create, trims and scraps to collect! UGGGHHH....

FRUSTRATED!

On a brighter note...look at this yummy find! I acquired this in a box lot at an auction I went to in the Spring. I semi-forgot about it during the chaos of the shop and shop closing but rediscovered it while packing up! It is YUMMY!!! Doesn't it look like pulled taffy??? Kinda???

They are sashes...aren't they beautiful! I am thinking that they would make all sorts of beautiful "tails" for ribbons, corsages, BIG flowers, etc.!!

School shopping Marathon & My inner Funk

Shopping with my Teen was....difficult. She is the sweetest girl in the whole wide world, right up to the point where I start making "suggestions" on a new school wardrobe (or anything it seems like these days..) My visions of mommy-daughter shopping were dashed, make that slashed! But, shopping with my 10 yr old and my 4 yr old was LOTS of fun! They have a great-fun- fashion sense already!!

I took a little trip down memory lane during all of this and had a GREAT time...I discovered all my little alter ego's are still tucked away inside! ... I LOVE fun clothes, fun makeup, fun accessories, etc....I have a little Inner Funk that is always screaming to get out!

I grew up in a rural area outside of DC and Annapolis (on a farm)....I LOVE the country and have never wanted to be a City girl, but I do think that you get a bit more Fashion Forgiveness in the city.

And then, there is this Uber romantic girl tucked inside who LOVES lace, ruffles and the whole Jane Austen/Victorian era. I am a mess....Lucky for me I had a Grandmother and Mother who were very fashion savvy. They were always ahead of their time but perfectly in sync with the fashion world, if that makes any sense??? It was great! I am certain that is where it started...but I digress....

I was doing a little web-surfing and Blog jumping and came across a few things that I LOVED!! Screaming to me and my little alter personalities!!! Love the make-up here....and the name of her shop "LimeCrime"!! Love it!....

Anyway..when I was in the 8th/9th grade, Benetton and Esprit were soooo popular, along with Cyndi Lauper and Madonna, I can remember matching my eyeshadow(s) to my outfits! My stepfather was a guidance counselor at our school and he could barely deal with my daily makeup art - and it really was a work of art!!

....too many Corn Fields and not enough Fashion Magazines for everyone!

I am pretty sure that I actually wore this very look one day! I remember his face when he saw me in the hallway! lol...CLASSIC!

I actually just showed this to my Lily and asked her if she would like to wear this with a Mermaid Halloween costume...she said YES! OF Course!! Love her!

This is much more tame, I could probably pull this off on a "special" day, I mean the rhinestones might be too much for the bus stop???

And check out these - Adorable, Awesome, Outrageous hair pieces....I have always wanted extensions and lots of hair! Great Esty Shop...PuppyCatmeow!

I want one of these.....

And these....

And this one...isn't that Dreamy!?!?!

Check this bad Girl out!! Wouldn't it be AWESOME to wear this somewhere?!?!?!? This girl has some serious talent!
There are so many other Funk-a-licious items out there!

This was fun....

Day One

Today felt like the first day of something...maybe the first day of our next adventure in life??

We are officially cleared out of the shop, the keys have been handed in and the tears have been shed! That was an all consuming process! My house is still very consumed and probably will be for a good while. 2200 sq ft of "stuff" had to go somewhere so I got a very large portion of it! There are currently 14 bags of yarn in my dining room and many - many other items from the shop.



Yesterday I went and did my first "vendor market" as My Fancy Finds! That was fun, I got to display quite a few of my favorite vintage pretties...sold a few pieces of vintage jewelry. That was fun.....didn't quite make a million dollars but made a few ladies smile!



Now Today...today was a day that I slept in as long as I wanted....which was a whopping 8AM! I let the kids sleep in until they woke up and then spent the day doing "not much" until taking the boys school shopping this evening. It was a great feeling and a great beginning.



I have many plans for my days to follow! Like cooking for my kids - again - every day that I want to!! I love cooking for my kids, I enjoy making our house a home for them, and I also enjoy the ability to create again whenever it strikes my fancy! The past 2 years (and 4 months) have made all of these things very difficult! I have loved almost every day of having our shop, but I won't miss the things that the shop made me compromise in my every day life.

I have a great plan for upcoming vendor events, some in my very own backyard! Craft events for young and old...tea parties, dinner parties, and a few other ideas tucked up in my sleeve!



Day One was a good day!

Lets hope that Day Two is as good! I have a feeling that it might be a bit more challenging...I am taking my soon to be "Freshman" - Back to School shopping. She is a difficult one to shop with...no real "defined" style and she really has no idea what she likes....not a shopper like her 3 siblings! They all have a very clear vision for the look they are going for! I all about "eclectic" but we aren't even hitting that! I have sworn myself to not make any suggestions, because that is always the kiss of death!

Damn Charlotte and her Webb

POST EDIT...I was obviously overly tire and Feeling Dramatic....

SO...we have spent the past 5 days working like dogs trying to get the store packed and emptied, and as much as I hate to use the word.."exhausted"...I think I am about to bust it out! I feel that it is an overly used word....but I am bordering officially on being EX-HAUST-TED!!! I have been working like mad trying to get everything moved into a systematic order in my garage and sell off any equipment I can before the end of this week....it is crazy and I think I might be acting like a crazy person.

To add to my drama, I am going to attend my first vendor event under "My Fancy Finds" storefront. There is a LOT to be done and I have gotten ZIPPY done so far...it is after all only TUESDAY!!! I have a whole 4 days before the event is here! WHAT??? And looky, I am here procrastinating here on my blog....

Well, we seem to have a bit of a Spider issue! Not just at the shop, but at my house as well!!! They are EVERYWHERE! I mean it, EVERYWHERE!!! Charlotte and all her little babies are a wee bit confused, because while my house might look like a pig-sty right now, there is not an actual pig here!!!! On Saturday night I woke up with this annoying itch on my thigh and didn't think much of it because we have a mosquito population here to make the Jungle jealous, But it just kept getting more "tender" and today I noticed that the area was a bit bulgy against my pants leg. Point of this story....I have been bitten by a spider!! A GI-Normous baseball size welt is on my thigh!! I now have all these horrible thoughts of my leg having to be cut up to get the yuck out....Thanks to my neighbor....I am waiting for my Spidey powers to start though. That could be a nice outcome from this darn bite!

I am worried....

I think I need to call a Doctor...

I might have to settle for the Impractical nursing advise of my mother.....

She will probably tell me to drink a glass of Wine and go to sleep.....