Be careful what you ask for

Hey! I'm back. Thanks for all the comments on my last couple of posts. I haven't been able to do anything lately. A while back I whined about not being asked to work in the Homespun Treasures store where I have a booth. Not anymore. The owner called and wanted to put me in the regular rotation, working 2-3 days a week.
I had to curb that a bit because I've been volunteering at the Gem & Mineral/Hobbies & Collections bldg for our annual Ventura County Fair. Haven't had a weekend at home for 3 weeks now.
Anyway, the fair started yesterday and I was given an area to demonstrate my Temari Balls. It was super fun and I talked to lots of people and gave out a bunch of my business cards. The theory was that I would just sit for 4 hours and stitch on my Temaris, asking questions as people walked by. Apparently, my booth was so crazy popular that there were traffic jams around me (I didn't notice, sitting in the eye of the hurricane) and I was sitting there for over 5 hours before someone thought to pry me from my spot for a break. I couldn't believe how fast the time flew...and how hungry I was!
I ended up staying for over 7 hours and was so tired, my hubby had to get something for dinner, I was too tired to cook. :)
As for stitching, I got nothing done, being too busy answering questions and talking about my craft. I have another shift scheduled next Tuesday.
Here's a picture of me at my table before the doors opened.

 See my awesome table cover? That's the beautiful kimono my sweet son, Paul, brought back for me from Hong Kong. It was the perfect background for  my Temari display.
I was so nervous that I would have nothing to do in this picture. Within minutes, I was swamped and never had time to think about my nerves. haha!
Well that's it for now. Thanks for reading about my little adventure. Love you!

Progress

Hi! I've been working in the garage again today.  Made some more progress on my little cabinet. I finally painted the main body and had planned to prime the 2 bottom drawers, but the putty I put in to plug the holes of the old handles had sunk in so when I sanded, there were some indents going on.  Not the look I was going for.  So, I had to dig out the putty and begin again.
The paint I used was from a very small bottle of sample paint I bought a while back for 50 cents. What a deal! Anyway, I wasn't sure there would be enough in that tiny bottle to paint the whole thing, and I'm still not sure, but so far it looks pretty good.

Isn't it cute? I just love those legs! The color is pretty subtle,  but it's actually a sage green. I had thought of doing a bit of antiquing but no, I think not.  Anyway, It's actually been a fun project and I'm really excited to get it done and start a new one.




In this 2nd picture, you can see the shelf I made to take the place of the 2 small drawers. It's all primed, but I want to make sure I have enough paint for the drawers before I paint the shelf area. I may have to use cream for that if I don't have enough. Either that of I may go crazy and use a sort of chartreuse and really jazz it up. What do you think?




I'll try to keep this up and write again tomorrow. I have a stool I've been working on that is pretty much done.  It still needs a coat of varnish to protect it. Not sure that it might end up outside for the summer.


Thanks for reading! Love you.

It's about time!!

I've been busy. Well, I've been doing something I should have done for months. Since January 2012, I've been working on my Temari balls and tea towels. Ok, old news I know.
Well, I started an Etsy store account months ago and have been selling...nothing! Wonder why? Because I had nothing for sale on my virtual shelves.  I spent several hours inputting pics and data and finally...Finally...opened my shop.  Hope it looks okay. :-)

I feel like I should put up some pics of some thing I have been working on.
For my birthday in December, my wonderful daughter took me to a nearby city where they have lots of thrift stores. We went to lunch and spent the day going from store to store.  In the last one we went to, I found a cute little cabinet. I think it was once a jewelry box. Isn't it cute? But it needs legs so it can stand in my downstairs powder room and hold a candle without burning the wall behind it.

See the drawers? They were lined with some kind of felt or something.

 

And of course, the top. Just a bit of a hard life. Holding all that jewelry was a tough gig.

So far, I've removed the two small top drawers and turned that into a shelf (I'm thinking for hand towels or whatever), removed the hardware, pulled the lining out of the two bottom shelves and sanded the whole thing down.  Oh, and added some cute legs.  So far, so good. I'll take more pics and share the finish.

Thanks for listening!

Hmm. Acting like I'm paying by the word.

Well, this isn't quite as easy as it looks. Either I don't write anything at all or I write something and then don't want to stop. 

I've been super busy lately - I decided to "go public" with my Temari Balls

and Tea Towels

 
and rented a booth at my local artsy-craftsy store. Hoping to use my amazingly sparkling personality and work in the store to pay for my booth, but so far I haven't even been called to learn the system. Don't see it happening either.

Imagine the shop owner's surprise when I decide to take my stuff elsewhere and not rent that worthless booth after June. I'm not mad, just really disappointed. I thought I had made it clear I needed to work off the monthly rental for the booth and she thought I would be "great, just great". Ever see Office Space? I'm keeping a very close eye on my stapler!!
Onward and upward. In a past life, I taught stitchery through a company called Creative Circle. It was sort of like Tupperware only at my hostess' party, I taught the hostess and her friends how to stitch. Anything. Counted/printed cross stitch, needlepoint, embroidery, etc. Literally anything. After the lesson, in which each guest got a small project done to take home, I would hopefully sell the kits the company offered. They had some nice stuff, but, I live in Southern California. They don't do that kind of thing in Southern California. Perhaps if we had a proper Winter.
Well, I started thinking about my "amazing/extensive/sparkling personality and skills with a needle and thought...what the heck! I could teach this!!
Anyway, I just need to get my ass act together and take some samples of my work and maybe some class ideas down to my local Michael's Craft Store and let them know I'm available. I'm sure they'll love the idea!! And I'll actually make some money, unlike what I'm doing at my beautiful little booth.

I guess that's it for now. Thanks for listening. Love you, whoever you are.

Temari Balls...Easter style

Woo hoo! I've discovered eggs, lots and lots of eggs. I'm finally doing something to make money from the talents God gave me and that I have worked with from the age of 5. I'm opening a booth at my local artisans' mart. I've started with the smallest booth that I could, but it's a start. The day I took a couple of things in to show the owner and discuss renting a booth, I sold one of my Temari balls to a lady who walked up to the counter and HAD to have one. It was awesome!
Anyway, back to the eggs.  My booth opens April 1st, not long before Easter, so I've been making my balls ovals or egg shaped. It's been fun as I make up the patterns, using my creative side.
To show what I'm talking about, here are a few of the eggs I've made so far.

I made them with hanging chords, but they can also be used in a bowl. Wouldn't they look cute in a bird's nest? I've got more to make, but they work up pretty quick.

And a taste of my newest fancy-cute, furry goodness. More to come.

Thanks for checking in!

Spring is in the air!

I got down and dirty today. Feeling the weather getting warmer, I thought I had better start my seeds for later planting. I guess starting seeds early is a bit unnecessary, as I live in sunny Southern California, but it might help a little. And with me as their caretaker, my plants need all the help they can get. :) Although I consider myself the queen of rooting (cut a piece off a plant and stick it in water-poof! roots appear), once they're plants, they don't seem to have the ability to live.
Anyway, I planted cauliflower, tobacco (fun, huh?), string beans, summer squash, corn, cucumbers, California poppies, marigolds, and black eyed Susans.
In my efforts to keep track of what the heck I do and then don't remember when, I've started a plant journal. It's really quite fun to see when and how and where I put what plant.
Course, now I have tender hands, a couple of blisters and some wood splinters from the darn potting table that used to be my son's work bench. Many years and too many seasons ago. I need to make a new potting table and work area, but that's for another day and another post. Thanks for listening!

Twice in 1 day. A promise kept.

Looking back at my old (and admittedly, rare) posts. I did finally get the living room furniture together. Here are some pics. Thanks for your patience. :)

And the whole family went to Texas for Christmas. Had a wonderful time and I did get to hold my beautiful granddaughter. She is so incredible!! I miss her every day.

I don't have any pics of me holding her, so this is one of my daughter reading to her sweet little niece. Two beautiful girls!!