By the Book Paper

Sew Many Books

2012-03-02T08:38:00.000-05:00

First:

1. I've started to get my buttons back in order over there (with some new friends, yay!) but they're not all there. If you stop in and notice yours isn't there like it should be just let me know. Or, if you're new and want to swap with me, just leave a comment or send me an e-mail.

2. If you leave me a comment and I haven't been stopping by your blog, leave your blog link with your comment. I have a long blog roll that I've been neglecting lately, so give me a little reminder.

On to the good stuff.

You know I've talked about how much I love my local library before, and I have to show you what I found:

Oh yes, sewing books. Lots and lots of lovely sewing books with modern projects and tips and really pretty pictures. Anna Maria Horner, Amy Butler, Martha....

And there are even patterns inside!

I'm so excited to look through these and photocopy some of the patterns and ideas to use later on. And really, now I just want to keep them because the spines are so pretty.

I actually went in to find a cookbook. Oops.

Now here is the best part: our library has been undergoing construction for a major expansion. It's going to be more than double the old size. They built the new half, moved everything over there and have been renovating the old half. Now it's time to put the whole thing together so the library will be closing until the end of April, which means I get to keep these books until the end of April!! That might actually give me enough time to look through them all. I also checked out movies for movie night and books and videos for Gus. I'm proud to say I have 53 things checked out of the library right now. I actually thought it was more!

Happy Friday!

Hmmmm.....

2012-03-01T09:06:00.002-05:00

I guess it's just going to be one of those kind of days.

I just deleted all my blog friends' buttons from the sidebar, so bear with me as I get them all back in order. If you notice yours missing once I get them up, please let me know.

Sheesh.

Another Thrifty Find

2012-02-29T08:27:00.001-05:00

When I went on my belt hunt for the jar shelf the hubs so craftily made, we did a little looking around in Savers, just so he could see what it was all about. Now, remember when we finished the basement? We have big, bare walls down there and have been looking for some larger-type things to hang. Well, we found something:

Before:

After:

We saw these really cool wooden tennis rackets and I think the light blub went off for both of us at the same time. Fun for the basement and a good space filler. Cost: about $8. The girl at the counter actually asked us if we played a lot of tennis. Not the best photos here, but I hope you like our fun find!

Linked up for Thrift Score Thursday!

Tuesday Music: Sunshine Songs

2012-02-28T08:01:00.001-05:00

Linking up with Row House 14 again today for some fun musical finds. Today we're going High Fidelity-style with the top five songs for a sunny day. So here we go:

Number 5: Let the sunshine in!

Number 4: You know you love this one.

Number 3: Can't beat The Beatles for sun songs!

Number 2: Maybe it's just the video, but I love this one. So cheerful and it just makes me think of the beach.

Number 1: The happiest sunshine song I know, by Katrina and the Waves. You can't help but start dancing when it comes on!

Did I miss any of your favorites? What would make your top 5?

Making a Mess

2012-02-27T08:45:00.000-05:00

What the heck happened to last week? I started off so excited with my jar shelf and then just fell off the blog-post wagon! So sorry to just leave everyone hanging the rest of the week. We had a few very, very, very busy days with some sleepless nights mixed in. Greta can still be up once a night if we don't swaddle her up tightly enough (if she gets an arm out, we're done). Gus has been training through the night, and while we started off with a bang, we hit a rough patch this past week. He's back on track now but we're still a little exhausted. At any rate, I'm happy to be back and slowly catching up on all the great posts I missed last week!

So how's your grass cloth removal project going?

Oh, wait. That's me.

Grass cloth you say? What is that? (Full disclosure- the curtains are not ours. They were left behind and we have been too preoccupied up to this point to remove them. Fab, aren't they?)

Our living room is covered in the 1970s version of hell. Dark green grass cloth is on every wall, making it very dark. Luckily, we have yet to actually use our living room to live in (it is a toy storage area, basically) so we've just been ignoring it. Still not quite sure what it is? Let's go in for a close-up:

It is literally grass woven and stuck onto wallpaper, so it makes it extra special to remove. It isn't so terrible to get down except that you have to soak it, pull off the grass (see how cleanly that pulls down?), soak it again, soak it again, pull off the green layer, soak it again and scrape off the backing. It is a mess. I actually got a splinter in my palm from it.

The good news is that we are finally moving on to our main living spaces in our house update. The bad news is it took me several hours to take down a few sheets of the stuff. *sigh*

Better news: we just have to hang bathroom doors and I'll be sharing our nice new master suite. Thanks for hanging in with me!

What We Made: Jar Shelf

2012-02-20T07:59:00.006-05:00

A long, long time ago, I saw this on Pinterest:

source

When I went back to find it, I realized I never pinned it, so I had to find it again. Don't you hate when that happens?

Anyway, I've been collecting jars to hold things in my crafty work room. Not Mason jars- Stonewall Kitchen Black Bean Salsa jars. On just about every occasion, the hubs is gifted a jar or two of this yummy but pricey salsa, and the jars are a great size for small storage, so I've kept them and had put various things in a few. But, they were on top of the work table and that takes up space, so when I saw this photo, I knew I wanted to do something similar.

Enter the hubs. Have I told you how brilliant and wonderful he is? I told him my idea, but since I didn't have the photo, I had to explain it to him. "It's a wooden backer with the jars held on to it by metal clamps. Can I get those at Home Depot?" Something along those lines. So on one of our various trips to HD I looked for said clamps. Not those in the picture but something I had apparently made up entirely in my head because we could not find them. We did find those hose clamps like in the photo, but hubs was like, "You want to use hose clamps on something in your craft room?" AKA don't use that crap. Then he says, "You should get something like an old leather strap and strap the jars down tight so they don't slide." "Why, yes, honey, that would be great, but where will I find an old leather strap that doesn't cost a fortune?"

*Light bulb goes on.*

Savers! Let's go to Savers and look at the belts!!!!!

Have I mentioned that I love Savers? These were both soft, lovely leather belts. Perfect for my project. (We got something else fun too, but that's for another day.) So two belts, a box of black carpet tacks, and 6 salsa jars later:

Ok, so maybe there was a little more to it than that. Some sanding, staining, lacquering, ribbon-holder-making, squealing, hugging, jumping up and down...you get the picture.

Isn't he amazing? Isn't this the best shelf you ever saw? Once I got the idea out and realized how much it would help to get the jars off the work table, I figured it would be great to get all the ribbon off of it, too, since it was all stacked up against the wall. I proposed this idea to hubs (with a dowel in hand) and he made it. I love how it looks- the belts and the carpet tacks were a great idea. Old-fashioned style but not quite rustic. It's so nice to have all that stuff off the tabletop. I would post a tutorial for you, but I think you can figure out how it goes together.

Anyone been making something fun lately? Chop up something you found at Savers? Goaded your husband into a project? Do tell!

Humor

2012-02-17T09:05:00.000-05:00

Today's humor is for the ladies.

source

Happy Friday!

Five Years Ago Today

2012-02-16T07:58:00.000-05:00

The hubs and I got married! Happy anniversary to us!

2007 started with a 70-degree day sometime in January, making me excited for the possibility that our wedding day might be warmer than expected. February 16 proved to be 9 degrees, following a large snow storm that left about a foot of snow on the ground. Yeah.

The dress was from ebay, a product of me not finding anything in the bridal shops (and after being admonished for trying to find a dress only 5 months before the wedding) and not wanting to pay a lot for a dress I wasn't going to wear again. $40 and one sample dress on sale later, I had what I wanted. Shoes were on sale at DSW and with a coupon they were $5. Veil had a flaw- it was $25. The hubs suit cost more than my ensemble.

Only 33 people joined us (hubs wanted family only) at a nice restaurant where my uncle married us and then we had dinner. No band, no photographer, no limos. We didn't choose the date because we wanted to be close to Valentine's for any lovey-dovey reason. At that point, the hubs had a job that had him out to sea for four months at a time, so this was when he was home and it fell on the Friday before a school vacation, so it gave me a week to relax. We didn't take our honeymoon until June, though, because it's too expensive to travel on school vacations when everyone else is going, too. I think we made up for it though:

Turks and Caicos! Now that was a nice trip and we want to go back.

So tonight we'll have dinner out together while Gus and Greta visit their grandparents. We don't do that very often, so let's hope the steak is good.

Oh! It's a Laundry Chute!

2012-02-15T11:46:00.002-05:00

We have been wildly busy reorganizing our house over the past week or so, and in the process trying to actually decorate the spaces we've already finished. Crazy, I know. So we've had various small projects going to try and "finish off" the rooms. One such project: a laundry chute for our newly almost-complete master bathroom. Hubs wanted to get the laundry baskets out of the bedroom closets, and since our bathroom is on the first floor, he figured he could make a hole to the basement to drop the clothes into. Problem was, our bathroom is over the unfinished portion of the basement. It opened into the shop, which right now is often sawdusty. My task: create a cloth chute to protect the clothes and to help guide them into the laundry basket. 2 yards of 120-inch long muslin (who knew there was such a thing??) and a little time with my new friend the sewing machine and here we go:

Plop! It works great and it's so fun to throw our clothes down there. It doesn't take much, does it?

Anyone else been working on a fun project?

Also sharing here:
It's Overflowing
52 Mantels

Tuesday Music: Love Songs

2012-02-14T08:36:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day! The music theme this week at Row House 14 is love songs! Here are a few of my favorites:

The You and Me Song by The Wannadies from Romeo + Juliet.

The Luckiest by Ben Folds (my absolute most favorite artist of all time). I am not a concert goer, and I've seen him 7 or 8 times.

And for my little Valentine, his favorite band. This is Cupid de Locke. Not sure if it's a love song per se, but it's such a beautiful song. I love the instrumentals.

I hope you have a fun day spending it with the ones you love!

Room Inspirations

2012-02-10T08:31:00.003-05:00

Oh, it's Friday! I'm sitting here at my kitchen table with my "nasty" green juice and a cup of tea while Gus loads alphabet blocks onto a flatbed truck via skid steer and Greta sits up tall in her Bumbo seat, snuffling through her first cold (I want to say, "Blow!" but it won't do any good!!). The past few days has seen me running up and down the stairs a million times with laundry and clothes and bedding and toiletries as we move from the upstairs bedroom to our now basically finished master bed and bath. Just some finishing touches left and I'll be sharing that with you. This will continue as we move Gus into the bedroom we were just in, my "office" (work room) into Gus's old room, and Greta into my old work room. It's exhausting just thinking about it, but I'm so excited to finally have things in place and possibly actually decorated.

Things I'd like to do:

Greta's room:

Embroidery hoops (source)

Alphabet cards (source)

Monogram wreath (source)

Update! They are celebrating their one year shop anniversary!
Use ELONEYEAR15 for 15% off through Saturday!

Gus's room:

Ikea spice rack hack (source)

Oh, Martha. Bedroom organizer. (source)

I'd prefer the Ikea hack but apparently so does everyone else because every Ikea is out of those spice racks and they don't sell them online.

That's about as far as I've gotten for him. There aren't as many boy ideas out there as girls, unless you check out Pottery Barn Kids, of course, but my checkbook checked it out and ran the other way. Ideally I'd like to find some kind of trucks/machines printables, so if anyone has any ideas on that, please let me know.

As for my work space:

(source)

Oh, wait. That was me dreaming.

Well, I have some fun ideas for the space anyway. I'm really looking forward to getting the upstairs in order (finally!!), finishing the master project, and then it's on to the hallway and living room.

What are you working on in your house? Have any fun inspirations? Hoarding any Bekvam spice racks by any chance?

Juicy

2012-02-08T08:30:00.000-05:00

In trying to eat a little healthier and drop those last few baby pounds, I've been trying to take a look at what I eat in the day, and in doing so, I noticed a lack of fruits and vegetables during the day, though we always have a good serving of them at dinner. For some reason I'm having a hard time thinking about grabbing an apple or banana or washing some grapes when I need a snack, so I've found a temporary replacement to ensure I'm getting more:

I have an 8-ounce glass of the green stuff in the morning. Every morning I've done so, Gus says, "That green stuff looks nasty!" (He's 2 1/2, don't forget, and now this is the funniest running joke ever.) Hubs agrees. And while it does look a little gross, it tastes really good. There's tons of fruits and veggies in it plus some other good stuff- just don't look at the label if you don't want to know some of the non-traditional ingredients. The blue and the red are a little more color friendly and taste great, too, and I actually do feel like I have more energy during the day.

Now to drink more water.

Tuesday Music: Winter

2012-02-07T08:43:00.000-05:00

This week I'm linking up with Heidi at Rowhouse 14 again to bring you some musical selections. The theme this week is winter songs. That once again sent me to Google because I didn't want to use any Christmas or holiday songs. I've had enough of those until next year, having listened to the 24-hour holiday music on the local radio station day after day. I was pleasantly surprised to find some traditional and non-traditional favorites to fit the theme. The one I was specifically after I couldn't remember the name of, but I had to find it because it brings me back to high school show choir. So I not only found A Hazy Shade of Winter (the Bangles version, of course) but I found a show choir performing it. And yes, I did that once upon a time.

The ultimate winter song:

Some other favorites: Snow by Red Hot Chili Peppers (not sure at all if this is winter, but any excuse to throw out some RHCP works for me).

Ok, this is stretching it, but it brings me back to fifth grade when this was the ultimate in cool.

So click the button and hop to Heidi's blog if you'd like to see her picks and those of the others who link up!

Winner, winner!

2012-02-06T08:00:00.001-05:00

Good morning, friends!

The winner of the fair ivy giveaway is JWhiz, who said, "The best surprise I have ever received was from my now husband. At the time we were dating it was our first Valentines Day, he was enrolled in his Master's program so he left very early to get to classes. I wasnt expecting anything, thought we'd maybe rent a movie or go out to dinner, his schedule was very hectic at the time. I woke up to find little notes taped on the mirror that were clues to gifts he had hidden all over our apartment! The grand finale gift was a book that you could have customized it was entitled "Jessica's Adventures in Wonderland" (Instead of Alice, it's my favorite Disney cartoon, book, and the inspiration of my tattoo). It had a beautiful (personal) dedication in the front as well. It was truly the best surprise (second only to his proposal lol)."

That is a great surprise! I'll be in touch!

Reminder!

2012-02-04T13:24:00.000-05:00

Did you enter yet??

Many Little Thank You's

2012-02-03T15:41:00.000-05:00

Quite literally. This is a little later in the day because this is what I have been working on:

Customized shop thank you notes (or anytime thank you's, really), all hand cut and folded by me.

So many options to choose from! It started with these super cute little vintage jewelers' envelopes I found, which were tiny and perfect to hold a small enclosure.

Surprisingly, people seem to want them more without envelopes, so I've been happily busy this week!

Now, have you seen Handmade Ryan Gosling?

source

This site cracks me up. Hubs does not get it.

And finally, home renovation pics coming soon!! If you an remember back to July 7, 2011, I posted before photos, and yes, it has been that long since we started. There have been a few major events that have slowed us down, but the final pieces are coming together in the next week or so. I'm so excited to share!! (Hint...the wallpaper is gone!)

Happy Friday!

Pinterest Thursday Becomes Totally Terrific Thursday! (And I Thrifted!)

2012-02-02T10:56:00.003-05:00

Welcome to the all-new Totally Terrific Thursday. I wanted to change the link party to include anyone who has worked on a project during the week because I know how it feels to be proud of what you've accomplished and want to share. The link-up is at the bottom of the post, but first....

I don't actually have anything to share this week! I actually tried a bunch of new recipes, but I completely forgot to photograph anything, so maybe next time. What I do want to share is my very cool and awesome first-ever thrifting find. In the next town over we actually have a Salvation Army, a Goodwill, and a Savers, all within 2 miles of each other. I decided to check them out after reading Traci's thrifting post over at All Things Luci Rae. You should definitely read it and follow the link because the two articles will make you want to go out and find junk. Trust me.

So today while the grandparents were over and I was able to sneak out of the house to shop alone (woo hoo!) I decided to see what I could find. I started at the Salvation Army and I wasn't too impressed. They were having a clearance sale and there wasn't too much to be had. I headed down to the Savers and got lost. Completely. I can't believe how many brand new books, board games, toys, you name it they had. Now, there was junk. J-U-N-K. But in between and around the junk was some great stuff. When we get to board games age, I am totally going to buy a nearly new game for $3.

My big find was shoes. I love shoes. Love love love shoes. And right out of the gate I found a pair of Clarks Artisan flats, in my size, that have no wear marks whatsoever. They are lovely. $6. Score! Wandering around the racks I spied the toddler shoes and figured I'd take a peek. Gus goes through shoes quickly and I hate to pay a lot. Behold:

The most adorable Merrill's I ever saw. Brand new- look! No wear! In his size! $5! Do you know how much those would be brand new?! Mine, all mine! I was so excited, and spent so much time in Savers that I didn't have time to go to Goodwill. Something to look forward to.

Ok, ok, enough about me. I really want to see what you've been working on this week. So please link up your post (your direct post link, not your blog homepage) below. Hop around and see what other people have been up to, too. Leave a comment or two- we all love them! And grab a button if you like (I promise I'll work on a better one)!

2012 Goals Review: January

2012-02-01T08:35:00.002-05:00

Since it's the start of a new month (how is it February already??) I thought I'd review my 2012 goals to see how I'm doing. I figure if I put it out that so other people can read it, maybe it will make me more accountable.

1. Regain pre-babies weight.

Honestly, I have no idea how I'm doing on this, except that some of my pants do fit again. My plan was to step on the scale the first day of the year, and I forgot. And have subsequently forgotten every other day as well. I guess it doesn't help that the scale is in the shop in the basement where the hubs was using it to weigh grout for the bathroom tile, a place that is not on my daily rounds. Maybe since I thought of it I'll go on hop on there today and see where I'm at.

2. Etsy shop goal- reach 200 sales in the second year of being open.

As of today, 111 sales. Not too bad, and well on my way.

3. Become a better, more confident sewer.

Improving! Did you see this?

Clean, straight lines with virtually no need to go back and re-sew something! And I finally feel like the machine isn't getting the best of me. I think it really just takes some time sitting down and using it to make me feel more confident.

4. Learn to say no.

Honestly, there haven't been too many situations where I've felt the need to say no. One of the mommies from preschool set up a moms' night out sort of thing, a Friday night at the kids' bedtime on a cold winter's evening. Ugh. Now, the hubs does the bedtime thing anyway, so that's not a problem, but that has been our movie date night, and did I mention it's cold? Especially at 7:00 at night in the winter. So I said no, despite the hubs's urging to get to know the other moms.

5. Take better listing photos.

As I've said before, once our bedroom remodel gets done, there's going to be some room shifting going on. I've actually discovered that Gus's room has the best light, and that's where my new "office" is going to be. case in point:

Before

After

Much better! Cleaner and sharper. I can't wait to move in there so I don't have to keep moving Gus's "guys" out of the way every time I need to take a picture.

6. Accessorize myself.

Doing ok here. I have been trying to wear some jewelry when I'm going to be in the company of other people. I need to work on doing this when I'm out in stores on errands and things, but it seems kind of pointless when I have on a scarf and coat and no one sees anything but my head.

Speaking of which, I have decided to expand this goal to all-around maintenance in general. My hair is still a mess, so I need to choose a style that will allow me to do something with it quickly so I don't look like I've just rolled out of bed. I also want to get in the habit of using nail polish. It's hard for me to do this because I have no time to keep my hands still while it dries, and the last time I did it it was all chipped within a few days because my hands are always going. But I know it looks nice and gives a polished appearance, and the hubs likes it, too.

7. Develop and maintain a cleaning schedule.

Nope. But I've got a plan to develop a plan. More on that soon.

How are your new year's goals coming along? Are you sticking to them? Making changes?

Oh, and also- tomorrow's link party is going to change a little bit from being a Pinterest project to any project you've been working on. House projects, recipes, crafts, you name it- come and link up tomorrow!

Tuesday Music

2012-01-31T08:34:00.002-05:00

My pal Heidi over at Row House 14 loves music and loves to share her finds, and so she's decided to host a link-up of musical posts with a different theme from week to week. Of course I wanted to join in- I love music. There's nothing like a good song to get you in the mood for cleaning the house, or to help you through that exercise, or to keep you company in the kitchen (hmm...I see a theme here). So here we go!

This week's theme is music from the year you were born, which for me is 1980. Ah, the 80's- so much great music! Now, I admit I had to Google the year because I had no idea which songs came out in 1980, but I was happily surprised to see one of my all-time favorites on the list: Blondie. I have one of their greatest hits albums and have always loved listening to it. For me, I won't buy an album unless I can listen to at least 90% of it straight through. I won't buy something just for a single- I want to be able to put something on and listen. Now there are artists we buy regardless, but in general that's the rule. (My ipod- remember those?- is full of great singles, though.)

Anyway, one of my favorite Blondie songs from 1980 is Rapture, which features what is believed to be the first ever recorded mainstream rap, which is funny because it's not who you would think of in terms of rap, and it's the most random rap you've ever heard. Look for it around the 1:53 mark.

They've got some other great hits- One Way or Another, Call Me, Heart of Glass- so check them out!

Others from the top ten of the year:

Once in a Lifetime- The Talking Heads

Another One Bites the Dust- Queen

And Whip It by Devo, but they wouldn't let me share that one with you. Not too bad overall!

What's a great song from the year you were born? Share it here, or link up with Heidi, and make sure you check in with her for next week's theme!

Meet Fair Ivy

2012-01-30T08:03:00.000-05:00

Have you ever wanted to be part of one of those "of the month" clubs? You know the ones- they send you a different something every month? Fruit of the month. Beer of the month. Bacon of the month. (Mmmm....bacon.)

Anyway, I found a really fun handmade-of-the-month:

fair ivy designs monthly surprise packages chock full of handmade goodies for you to send to someone as a fun gift or to send to yourself, because who wouldn't love a little package like this:

or this:

Talk about a fun little pick-me-up! fair ivy has four different types of packages you can send: fair ivy for ladies, fred ivy for men, fun ivy for girls and the young at heart, and fur ivy for your furry cat and dog pals. Take a look at some of the types of lovely items that may be included in the box:

(dog not included)

Pretty neat stuff, right? And you don't know exactly what you're going to get, so that's half the fun! Each gift category offers a one- to four-month subscription of surprise packages, and each month contains something different. The best part: fair ivy supports handmade shops and small businesses, and they are eco-friendly, using recycled-material boxes and krinkle paper and trying to purchase locally to reduce travel emissions.

And the best best part? fair ivy wants to give you something! One of you very lucky readers will win a fair ivy one-month mini package. Woo hoo! Here's what you need to do to enter (and you don't need to be a follower of this blog, although I would love it if you decided to hang out):

1. Please visit fair ivy's website and sign up for their newsletter right at the top of the page. It's simple and easy and they aren't spammy.

2. Please post a reply to this question in the comments below: What is the best surprise you've either given or received?

That's your entry! If you would like some additional entries, you can also follow fair ivy on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest (one entry for each). Please post a comment for each one you follow in order for them to be counted.

The fine print: This giveaway is for US and Canada residents only. Enter to win between now and next Sunday, February 5 at 6pm EST. Winner will be announced here on the blog on Monday, February 6. Please leave an e-mail for me to contact you. Photos courtesy of fairivy.com.

And remember, even if you don't win, you can always go to the fair ivy website and order yourself a surprise!

Friday Fun

2012-01-27T07:50:00.002-05:00

A few things to end the week:

1. This was not the original number one, but I had to share because I am super excited and Twitter is not loading properly! I woke up to 44 views in my shop according to Etsy shop stats, which is highly unusual for 7:30 am, so I look at the sources and it says "Etsy Holidays". Whaaaaa????? A little research and MY garland kit is in the DIY Valentine section!!!!!!!!! I have no idea how to take a screen shot, so you'll just have to try and find it if you want to see it. BUT, if you click on the "More DIY ideas" I am on the first page at the bottom!

Ok, on to the originally-intended stuff.

2. Make sure you come back Monday for a super-duper-awesome-you're-going-to-love-it giveaway. And it's not an Etsy shop!! Have I piqued your interest??

3. My posts now have a little "Pin It" button over there on the bottom right, just in case you see something you'd like to pin and come back to later or share with others. Thanks to JulieAnnArt for the tutorial! Go check it out- it's so easy.

4. Tricia at mama marchand's musings has a great linky going to help us highlight each other as a handmade community. Her challenge is to make a treasury featuring Etsy items you own. Mine is here and I was actually surprised that I filled the board, with more to spare! Between trades, giveaways, gifts, and a few actual purchases, I've gotten a lot of great treasures. Spread the love and make one of your own!

5. This is the coolest mug ever:

by kngo

6. Hubs and I are fans of 90's alternative music- Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots, and so on- and we've apparently passed it on to Gus, who will request these bands when we're in the car. Here's his current favorite song (and video- it's so cool), Tonight, Tonight by the Smashing Pumpkins from Mellon Chollie and the Infinite Sadness (anyone remember that one?)

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Hp&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Happy Friday!

Pinterest: I Tried It (Cheesy Quinoa Bites)

2012-01-26T07:39:00.000-05:00

Welcome pinners and friends! If you've tried something from one of you pin boards this week and blogged about it, you can link up your post at the bottom of this one. I love to see what everyone's been working on! (Note: I think next week we are going to do an any kind of project link-up; doesn't have to be Pinterest related necessarily. I would like to get some more participation!)

This week I decided to try another recipe that I saw and pinned and then looked at the ingredients and decided to make them right away:

Cheesy Quinoa Bites

Becky over at So Very Blessed has this recipe posted, and I was excited to try it because I had just bought a box of quinoa and was looking for something to make with it, and really, anything "cheesy" sounds good in my book. They were very easy to make and came together pretty quickly.

Other than the very dark picture, they look pretty much the same! However, they are not exactly the best thing I've ever tasted. "Cheesy" might not be the right word for them, although they do have Parmesan cheese in them. They were a little dry, although we didn't use a dipping sauce like Becky did. Hubs thought they were ok, and we're making our way through the batch, but I think maybe I'll try them with something like cheddar cheese the next time and try to make them a little cheesier. I think they'd be pretty good for you health-wise this way, though, because quinoa is one of those super-grains they talk about now and there's vegetables in there, so if you're looking for a filling good-for-you snack, these are pretty decent.

So how about you? How were your pinning experiments this week? Link up below or leave a comment! And remember- same time next week! I had a lot of fun trying this one out and may stick to the sewing board for a little while.

Feel free to grab a botton to add to your post to share this link-up with your readers!

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Chevron Apron

2012-01-24T08:28:00.014-05:00

After my crayon wallet post, I got talking to my friend Paige over at the newly re-Christened little nostalgia (formerly Final Clothes-Out) about making vendor aprons. Paige makes lovely jewelry, in case you haven't checked out her shops (here and here), and was looking for an apron to wear to shows. Back and forth we went- Could I do it? What colors and style?- until we arrived at a common idea. And so I was left with trying to figure out how to make an apron since I've never made one before. I'm sure I have one pinned on my boards because it was something I wanted to try, but I had to sort of pattern it out for myself. The best part, though? I got to go fabric shopping! Together we found this lovely neutral chevron stripe, so I ordered it, and away I went!

The results:

Success! It really wasn't bad at all except for matching up those chevrons, which are somehow not straight. I am not a sewer who uses a lot of pins and I had to pin the heck out of this thing to make sure the stripes stayed put. But, I am completely and totally pleased with how it turned out and amazed at how straight my sewing lines have become. I'm super excited about it, actually. One of my 2012 goals was to become a more confident sewer, and I this project is certainly helping me on my way! I listed one in my shop (here) and I also found (on my trip to find backing fabric) a lovely black and white chain-link pattern that I want to make one out of. Hooray!

Now go stop by little nostalgia and congratulate Paige on her new look!

It's a Giveaway!

2012-01-22T08:59:00.001-05:00

My friend Liz over at Here's To Handy Andy just made it to 100 followers, so to help her celebrate, I'm giving away a set of my flat dragonfly stationery. Go enter to win! There are two other awesome prizes up for grabs as well.

Humor and a Winner!

2012-01-20T09:26:00.001-05:00

Thanks to all who left happy birthday wishes last week and for entering the giveaway! After counting up all of the entries, Mr. Random chose number 11, which means that Heidi is the winner! Congratulations!!

Ok, now it's time for some end of the week humor! Some of my favorites this week, which happen to coincide with some of my posts:

Oh, hair. (source)

Cocktail party awkwardness. Coincidentally, we are invited to a football viewing party with these same people on Sunday. Unless that's code for ball gowns, I think I'll be ok. Wish me luck. (source)

source

We are only on step 6. (source)

Happy Friday!

Pinterest: I Tried It

2012-01-19T06:00:00.001-05:00

Welcome pinners and friends! If you've tried something from one of you pin boards this week and blogged about it, you can link up your post at the bottom of this one. I love to see what everyone's been working on! This week I have not had a chance to try anything! I've been under the weather and dragging myself around doing the bare minimum, and while I've thought of trying something several times, nothing came to be. But, I really do love to read your posts so I'm still having the link party! Please add your link to the list below with your Pinterest project from the week and I will stop by and say hi. I hope you'll grab a button and add it to your post! (And don't forget to enter the giveaway!! It ends tonight!)

Fab Finds

2012-01-18T09:07:00.000-05:00

I have taken to perusing Etsy lately while I am sitting and feeding Greta or, my new favorite thing, looking for supplies (why wasn't I doing that earlier??), and in doing so have come across a lot of fun and interesting things, so I decided to share a few with you.

Green Bean Toys. Gus would go crazy over this tractor. And the helicopter. And the train.

Hubs was on the hunt for beef jerky this week, so naturally we checked out Etsy.

PaPabears Jerky looks pretty good.

Lovely stamped items from Simply Sweet Studio like this vintage sugar spoon.

This incredible sampler of baker's twine from Hobbies from the Heart

And this amazing magnetic wooden map of the USA by PipeDreams2010. Incredible!

Found anything good while searching the Internet this week?

Oh, Hair.

2012-01-17T09:08:00.001-05:00

If you can remember back to almost a year (seriously), I posted about my hair and what a problem it can be. To refresh your memory, it's generally long, thick, and out of control. My last cut was in May. Yes, May. As in May 2011. Let's just say that "rat's nest" could easily apply to me even on a somewhat good hair day. Then I saw this on People.com and pinned it:

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Now, there are so many things wrong with this idea, namely 1: I am afraid to death of short hair. Not even just super-short, short in general. 2: I do not look like Michelle Williams and I would probably turn out looking like a boy. You have to have the right face for the right cut, that's for sure.

But there is something about this idea of hair short enough that I don't have to worry about doing much to it. If I want to flat-iron my hair right now (ha. ha.) it takes about 30 minutes. If it were that much shorter, it might take 10. 20 minutes saved- bam!- and I could do it all the time, not just every third day or whatever. My line to my hair stylist (who is never the same because why would I try and maintain a stylist??) has always been, "I have to be able to pull it up." And then I started thinking, why? Why do I need to pull it up? If it's short enough to not need to be pulled up, then isn't that good?

So I started searching Pinterest and pinning, which I don't often do:

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Now, granted, I don't have those faces either (or Keri's curls) but I like the length on them and it's not so extreme, right? Anyone pondering a new 'do?

19 Questions

2012-01-16T08:13:00.002-05:00

Yesterday Liz at The Blue-Eyed Owl held a link party for us to get to know each other better as bloggers, and I have to tell you that I found some really neat new places to visit. One is my dear watson, and I'm stealing this post from Chrissy, who had some very fun answers. (And I wrote it last night, if that helps it make more sense.)

1. Find the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find the fourth sentence. Write down what it says.

"Everyone knows who she is!" from The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What do you touch first?

The hubs.

3. What is the last thing you watched on tele?

The beginning of Sesame Street, before I was off and running to get stuff done.

4. Without looking, guess what time it is.

9:30 pm.

5. Now look at the clock. What is the actual time?

9:30 on the dot. Seriously! I'm not making it up!

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?

Hubs turning the page of his book and yawning.

7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?

This morning. We went to Home Depot to order carpet for our getting-close-to-being-finished master bedroom. Hooray!

8. What are you wearing?

Long sleeved white t-shirt, white pj pants with little green twinkle stars on them.

9. Did you dream last night?

Most likely.

10. When did you last laugh?

Earlier today when Gus said or did something funny, I'm sure.

11. What is on the walls of the room you are in?

One of the only rooms in the house with stuff on the walls....three cross stitches that I've done.

12. Seen anything weird lately?

I go to Wal-mart all the time.

13. What do you think of this quiz?

I would rather read other people's answers than answer them myself.

14. What is the last film you saw?

We got Everything Must Go with Will Ferrell for Friday movie night this week. It was really good.

15. If you became a multi-millionaire overnight what would you buy first?

My dream home in a lovely town.

16. If you could change one thing about the world regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?

No more terrorism and resulting war.

17. Do you like to dance?

In the privacy of my own home.

18. Imagine your first child is a girl? What do you call her?

Well, I already have her and you know her as Greta. Her actual name is pretty cute, too.

19. would you ever consider living abroad?

Hmm...maybe as a snow bird, but not really. Jeez I'm boring.

Please feel free to borrow this post and answer it yourself. Let me know if you do- I'll come by and check it out!

Happy Birthday by the book!

2012-01-13T09:29:00.005-05:00

One year ago today I listed the first item in my little Etsy shop, a set of three stamped dragonfly magnetic bookmarks:

My first sale came six days later, and after I finished jumping up and down I was off and running. I started the shop with the idea and plan of selling different styles of bookmarks (hence the name "by the book"), but then I wanted to offer more. As of today I have expanded into note cards, garlands, gift tags, magnets, and fabric items, with more things planned (of course). In August, I set myself a goal of 100 sales by the end of the first year. I very, very nearly made it, sitting at 96 sales as I write this, which is pretty darn close and way closer than I actually thought I would be.

An unexpected benefit of having an Etsy shop and being part of that community is the friendships I have made with people that I have never even met! I have enjoyed getting to know people, chatting and sharing and trading with other sellers, custom order customers, team members.....it's been a lot of fun.

So to celebrate and thank you all for tuning in with me through my first shop year, I've decided to have a giveaway! What can I win, you ask? One lucky reader will win a set of my new flat stationery cards. There are currently four designs in my shop, but there may be more before the giveaway is over, so you'll just have to check back!

Check them out more here!

Along with a set of cards, you will also win your choice of new Valentine's bookmarks, either in red or in purple:

Keep them for yourself or give them as a gift!

In order to enter please leave a comment telling me you'd like to win! Simple!

But, you can also do one or more of the following (leave a comment for each one, please!):

1. You can visit my shop and favorite it.

2. You can visit my shop and favorite an item..

3. You can follow my blog (Up there at the top on the left! I'm so close to 200- I'd love to hit that mark!)

4. Tweet, pin on Pinterest, or blog about this giveway and leave me a link (one for each).

Please leave me a way to get in touch with you, too!

And just because I'm feeling so proud to have made it to one year, I'm also offering you, my dear blog readers, free shipping on any purchase from the shop with coupon code HAPPYBIRTHDAY.

Good luck to those who enter, and thanks for celebrating with me!

*Giveaway open to U.S. and Canada residents and will close on Thursday, January 19 at midnight Eastern time. Winner will be announced Friday, January 20 here on the blog. Please check back to see if you've won!

Pinterest (I Tried It): Crayon Wallet

2012-01-12T08:31:00.012-05:00

Hey, before I start, my friend Sarah (remember DeMoss Designs?) just started a blog and needs some followers. I think it's going to be a fun and interesting blog, so please pop over and visit. Plus, she's doing a giveaway! Go now! (But come back and read this, too!!)

Anyway, if you've tried something from one of you pin boards this week and blogged about it, you can link up your post at the bottom of this one. I love to see what everyone's been working on!

I have been dying to try out making a crayon wallet, or roll-up, or whatever you want to call it. It's basically a travel case for crayons to take to a restaurant or a waiting room or for traveling so the crayons aren't rolling around everywhere, and it gives the kiddos something to play with. I had pinned this one on Pinterest awhile ago and finally decided to check out the link:

source

And it went to another Etsy shop! So no tutorial on that one. But I took a look at it and decided that I though I could try and do it myself, and so following the tutorial for the tea wallet (also a Pinterest project) this is what I came up with:

Success! I tried it out with some leftover flannel from Gus's blanket just so I could play with the dimensions before using some nicer fabric. It all turned out fine except the bottom didn't all sew up properly so there's a gap I need to hand sew. Learning from that, I tried again with some pretty fabric I bought just for this purpose:

I am in love. I wish I were 6 years old and had a reason to have this. I learned from the first one and ended up leaving more overage at the bottom, and I double sewed the seams shut. And I listed it and sold it within an hour. I am pretty darn proud of myself. You can check it out here, since I have more fabric (and it even comes with the crayons- who doesn't like brand new crayons??).

So how about you? How were your pinning experiments this week? Link up below or leave a comment! And remember- same time next week! I had a lot of fun trying this one out and I think a car roll-up may be next on my list. We certainly need one!

Feel free to grab a botton to add to your post to share this link-up with your readers!

If you link up, please leave just the name of what you made this week. Thank you for participating!

I'm also linked up here:

Mail It Forward

2012-01-11T08:56:00.000-05:00

Before I start, let me just say that I think I should be locked in a room with no electronics and no liquid. After the laptop incident, you'd think I'd have learned, but last night when going up to bed I had a lot of things in my hands and as I was putting stuff down, my cell phone slid out of my hands and right into the water glass on my nightstand. It couldn't have gone in any smoother- bloop! It was working ok last night but this morning- dead. So I pulled a hubs and realized that the SIM card can go into other phones and that we had another phone (not one I like, it never tells me when it's got a low battery) so I popped the card into the phone and I'm good to go. But still. Really???

Anyway....what I was going to say today is that I have gotten the chance to read a lot of New Year's goals and resolutions blog posts and I have thoroughly enjoyed them all. It's so interesting to me to see what each different person plans for themselves and wants to accomplish this year. A common theme: bringing back hand-written correspondence. I love the idea of this. I have written so many thank you notes for wedding, babies, and so on, and it's nice to get those, but it's also nice to just get a note or card that lets you know that someone is thinking of you. In the age of e-mail and texting, hand-written notes are getting lost. Plus, I just love note cards and stationery. I have a ton.

However, I've definitely let the ball drop on this. Like I said, I am all over the thank you note, but as far as other occasions I am totally forgetful, and I hate to say that I sometimes cannot even remember to send an e-mail. And so to that end I've decided to start sending cards for birthdays and holidays and for just because, because it's nice to hopefully brighten someone's day. This one is on its way to my cousin's wife, whose birthday is tomorrow:

I'm also joining up with Patti at Easton Place Designs for her Valentine's Day card swap. Anyone is invited to join in- all you have to do is send her your info and she'll match you up with a partner! (And you should check out her blog, too, which feature her cute card designs!) She's also going to start sending out one note a week to anyone who'd like to receive one. Allison at Little Bunny Sue Sue is also sending out a note a month to friends and family. I think this is a great goal to have for the coming year, and I kind of like the idea of mailing it forward: if someone sends you a note, maybe think to send a note to someone else and brighten their day.

Is anyone else doing a card swap or have intentions of hand-writing more notes? I know where you can get some really cute cards!

Caved

2012-01-10T08:17:00.000-05:00

I have previously mentioned how we do not watch television in our house, how when we moved we opted not to pay $75 a month for cable that we weren't watching, how we didn't miss it once it was gone because we were too busy doing other things. Well.

A few months ago we started doing a Friday movie "date" night, where we watch one movie picked out from the library, which has a very good selection. It was sort of a mandatory self-imposed relaxation time, a break from all the work on the house and the kids, etc. Well, when we plugged the tv in to hook up the DVD player, we realized that we get about 15 channels through the cable line (we have cable Internet), mostly the major networks and local programming. We have them, but we never watch them. Until....

Gus is very active. He's a busy bee all the time, and he absorbs everything. We had shown him some videos on YouTube (trucks, machinery, old Sesame Street skits we knew and loved (pinball, anyone?)), but he'd never been particu;ary interested in television when we've been to other houses. Until...

We were at my parents' house and the fun game has always been, "Grandpa, turn the tv on." And, "Grandpa, turn the tv off," about 30 seconds later. Over and done. But a couple of weeks ago Curious George was on, and there sat Gus, completely mesmerized for the entire show. The hubs and I had discussed starting him watching Sesame Street because that can be such a good show for kids, but we hadn't acted on it, not sure if we wanted to let him start watching tv.

So we caved. For a blissful hour a day, we get a little break from Gus, who sits transfixed with Elmo and the gang on Sesame Street or with Buddy from Dinosaur Train and Curious George. One hour (and no more, no matter how tempting) of quiet (well, other than when Greta is crying for food) and he's happy and learning something while he's watching.

And funny enough, look who showed up at our house at Christmas before we even turned the tv on:

Elmo and Buddy (and the beloved Funny Bunny, who, if he's ever lost, we are sunk)

Klutz

2012-01-09T08:45:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago, I was sitting at the kitchen table with my laptop and a nice cup of coffee, as I've done so many times before (actually, usually it's tea but this just happened to be a coffee kind of day). I don't know exactly what happened, because I am a klutz in general, but I spilled half the coffee on the keyboard of the computer. Major freakout. All of my Etsy designs, all of my photos of Gus and Greta, gone, GONE!

Well, not actually. Turned out that the hard drive was fine. No liquid made its way down there. Just the keyboard and mouse were fried. How do I know? Hubs disassembled the computer to see if he could dry it out fix it. Yup, he's that kind of guy. We swabbed the keyboard and wiped it dry, used a hairdryer, took all the keys off. Put it back together. Nothing. Ahhhhhh!!! All is lost, I can't access my files!

Hubs, of course, remains calm and thinks it through. "You could get a remote mouse and keyboard," he says. Hope is restored! Even better, we have them in the house! I plug them in and we're good to go! Except now it's not really a laptop because I'm tied to a desk because of the big keyboard. It's totally inconvenient because my computer is stuck upstairs while I'm generally on the main floor of the house, and I like to quick-check-in throughout the day as I run past. I make my complaint known to hubs after a few days and he says, "Why don't you try and buy a new keyboard?" (Silence. Mouth drops open. Why didn't I think of that??? Oh yes, because I'm me.)

10 minutes plus $12 including shipping at Amazon later and my new keyboard is on its way. $90 at Wal-mart and I've got an external hard drive. (See, I'm learning!)

Blogging this very post!

I'm mobile again and my much-replaced computer (battery, charger) is good again. For now. Until my inner klutz rears its dropsy hands again.

Pinterest: I Tried It (Parmesan Potatoes)

2012-01-05T08:36:00.000-05:00

Welcome Pinners and friends! If you've tried something from one of your pinboards this week and blogged about it, you can link up your post at the bottom of this one. I really love to see what you come up with and how you interpret your pins.

I'm going to try and get back with Pinterest Thursday, heading back to my less-ambitious Food board. I actually found this week's pin while making dinner Monday night. Yes, I pin and cook at the same time. I had planned a lovely meal of pork tenderloin and rice when I saw this pin:

source

They looked so good, I clicked on it and read the recipe, and I actually had all the ingredients and the oven was already set to the right temperature for the pork. Destiny. Fate. The rice went back in the pantry.

These are so easy. How easy, you ask? I found the pin at 5:30 and they were in the oven at 5:38. On our plates 30 minutes later and devoured shortly thereafter. They are SO. GOOD.

Very highly recommended.

So how about you? How were your pinning experiments this week? Link up below or leave a comment! And remember- same time next week!

Feel free to grab a botton to add to your post to share this link-up with your readers!

Happy 2012!

2012-01-01T09:44:00.000-05:00

Wishing you all a happy, healthy, productive new year!

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Resolutions

2011-12-31T08:40:00.002-05:00

As today is the last day of 2011, I think it's a great time to look forward to what might be in 2012. Even though I'm having a hard time keeping up with the blogs I love thanks to Greta's arrival, I did manage to read Liz's great New Year's post over at The Blue-Eyed Owl. She posted 12 goals for the new year, many of which I identify with, so I decided to give it a try (I only came up with 6, but that's a good effort, right?). Like Liz, I'd like to call them goals and not resolutions because that just makes me think of something someone tells themself their going to do and then gives up on a few weeks later. I would really like these to be things I actively work on throughout the year. Here we go:

1. Regain pre-babies weight.

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This is not really a crazy vanity-laden goal. I'm a perfectly healthy weight for my height. However, as of right now 95% of my pants don't fit me, and honestly, I love my pants. I spent a lot of time picking out pants that I like and fit me just so. And I don't have the freedom to go by a bunch of new pants, so the old ones are going to have to fit. This means finding time in the day to get on the now dust-laden elliptical machine that is in our basement, even if it's just a little each day, and trying to eat better and drink more water. I think I've OD'd on Christmas cookies, soda, and heavy holiday foods and will be ready to start anew. I've even got a Pinterest board to help me, mostly of perfect abs and behinds that I'm not likely to have myself, but it just might keep me going.

2. Etsy shop goal- reach 200 sales in the second year of being open.

I opened my shop on January 13, 2011 (one year anniversary coming up!) and have reached 86 sales, which is actually a little crazy to me. I set a first-year goal at 100 sales, if you remember back, but I honestly didn't think I was going to make it even as close as I am. So I don't think that 200 sales is completely unreasonable, as long as I am able to find the time to continue to make and list new things. I'd like to make some other changes to my shop, perhaps around my 1-year anniversary....

3. Become a better, more confident sewer.

Despite my recent shop listings of some nifty fabric items and my adventure with Gus's blanket, I have to admit- I am afraid of my sewing machine. When I am using it I am in a constant state of terror thinking that it is going to do something that I don't want it to do and will therefore screw up the entire project. While I have become more confident over the last few months because I have been using it more, I would like to continue to practice and gain mastery over the machine.

4. Learn to say no.

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Since having children we have become a magnet for hand-me-downs. These can be a great thing when they are a Pottery Barn crib or babyGap clothes (true story) but when you are handed a sad, faded toy or spotted clothes, it kind of turns you off. So we, as a team, decided that we are going to start saying no when someone offers us something. Half the time we end up having to take whatever it is to the dump, and the other half of the time ends up with us running out of space in our toy-heavy house. I'm hoping to translate this into everyday life as well, for whatever comes up that I just don't want to do.

5. Take better listing photos.

Not exactly going to draw people in with this one.

I am not going to be one of the lucky ones to get a fancy camera anytime soon, and I don't know if I really want one anyway, so I am going to have to learn to use my little digital to the best of its abilities. I think my photos have gotten a lot better since I started, but I know they could be even better. When we finally finish our bedroom and bathroom remodel (we're getting close, I swear) we're going to move some rooms around and I should be in a room with better light and won't have to move all my stuff to try and get a decent shot. That and I might actually try and figure out some of the functions that the camera does have.

6. Accessorize myself.

Constant Baubling

This may seem silly, but after the whole cocktail party debacle (who's still bitter two weeks later?) I think I need to work on this a little bit just to make myself feel better and more together. And really, this is a hard one for me. I am home with my kids every day. And while I do get dressed in real clothes, because when I don't is the one time when someone drops by, I am really, really bad with jewelry and the like, and I always have been. I love jewelry. I think it's very pretty. On other people. On me, not so much. I think it makes me look too busy or showy or something. So I am going to try to adorn myself a little bit more and give myself a little bling, if you will, starting with my new necklace. Then when I am invited to a cocktail party in disguise, maybe I will blend in a little better.

**Edit! I just thought of one more.

7. Develop and maintain a cleaning schedule.

Lettary Press

Ok, this one is more for the hubs, but it is my job to actually do it. For some reason, he thinks the whole house should be cleaned regularly and evenly. Go figure. So, my plan is to try and come up with a plan to clean something each day and do that thing each week. This may be the toughest one yet. Did I mention that I hate to vacuum?

So there you have it. What are your goals and resolutions for the coming year?

Handmade Holiday

2011-12-30T09:09:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone had a great holiday and a relaxing and fun weekend. We had a very nice time visiting with family, preparing for Santa Claus, and watching Gus rip open anything with wrapping paper, whether it was his or not. Seriously, I've never seen gifts opened so quickly, except when he had to pause to play with something new ("Mama, we need to open this!"). Oh, and just as an aside- if you're going to give a toddler a toy, the less packaging, the better. Gee whiz, some of those toys are basically glued to their boxes.

Anyway, I have been trying to think more handmade for gift-giving, but it's not always easy to convert those who are used to shopping in the big stores (not that they don't have great things, too- we certainly hit up Wal-mart for a few stocking stuffers). I decided that personally, I'd like to make sure Gus and Greta get at least one handmade gift when it's time for gifting.

Gus and the entire CAT fleet that he acquired this year

I don't know if some of you remember this post with the dump truck/heavy machinery flannel that I found at Joann's, but I finally used it and actually have the results to share with you! I got a lot of great ideas from you readers, but ultimately ended up with the minky-backed blanket that was my original thought, but the design came out differently that I had planned.

Over the months I have been acquiring remnant fabrics to make various things with (all still in the planning stages) so I ended up using a bunch of different flannels to make a block-style blanket. The back is white cuddle plush minky, which is just the softest stuff ever, and has a truck border.

Check out the angled corners! I even tried my hand at applique, putting Gus's name at the bottom. I really wanted him to have something special at Christmas because he's been a real trooper what with the storm, the new baby, etc.

Greta was going to get one, too, but I ran out of time, so that will be a project for another occasion. But she did get a handmade gift- a ribbon tag lovey from DeMoss Designs, which is so cute:

And guess who else had a handmade holiday? My mother-in-law asked for some suggestions for myself, and so I knew just what to tell her:

The lovely handbag from Tannei Casey mentioned in this post, and this lovely necklace from Constant Baubling mentioned in this post:

Both are lovely, and I'm so excited to have received them as gifts. I'd definitely like to continue incorporating handmade gifts into our Christmas and birthdays.

Anyone else make or receive a handmade gift?

A Few Things

2011-12-23T09:23:00.002-05:00

1. I just realized that yesterday was Thursday and I didn't do a Pinterest post again. And I actually had something to post, too. Well, maybe next week. I'm finding it hard to keep track of the days right now.

2. I am pretty sure I am going to change the name of my shop, as previously referenced here and here. If you're new to the blog, I was going to change my shop name to "by the book" but found out someone already has that name and I can't use it. Anyway, many of you wonderful readers gave me some suggestions, and I have been pondering and mulling and rolling it around in my head, and I think I'm either going to become "handmade by the book" or "by the book handmade". I know I ask this a lot, but...thoughts?

3. You know I love my humor on Fridays....

via Pinterest

4. To all the blogs I follow- I am trying very hard to read and catch up with you. You may get some rogue comments from me on posts from weeks ago. I promise I'm still there!

5. Have a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, or other merry holiday. We will be celebrating with lots and lots of family, and are looking forward to it very much. Stay safe and have lots of fun.

Happy Friday!

Holiday Mantel

2011-12-21T11:46:00.002-05:00

Taking a cue from Pam over at Mercantile Muse, I thought I'd show off the one other decorated thing in our house besides the Christmas tree- the mantel. Since our house is still in DIY construction mode, we don't spread the decorations around because no one is going to see them. The tree goes in the corner in our dining room, and the mantel is on the other side of the room, on the dining-room-side of our double-sided fireplace. It's mostly covered with knick-knacks from students I had, or junk from places like the Christmas Tree Shop, but I really like all of the things that are up there and love to see them from year to year. Plus, we have our stockings hung up. We all have one, even Casey the poodle.

Our card wreath- much more full now!

Gus had a great time unwrapping everything this year, faster than I could even put things up. It's going to be even more fun when we can finally expand from the dining room. Do you have a mantel that you decorate or another place you put all of your small items? My mom has a high shelf that's full of snowmen, for example, which is more coordinated than mine, but I like the mish-mash effect.

Holiday Party Etiquette

2011-12-19T20:03:00.002-05:00

via Pinterest

On Saturday we were invited to three separate get-togethers: a lunch visit with friends we hadn't seen in a very long time, even though they don't live too far from us; a dinner at my cousins' house because they will be away on Cape Cod for Christmas; and an evening get-together at our neighbors' house, who dropped the invitation on us just a few days before it happened, which is typical of them, but we try and make an effort to show up. Since the last of the three was going to start at 8pm and it was stated that all the other kids were going to one of the other neighbor's houses with a baby-sitter (poor girl), we opted to put Gus to bed and take shifts at the party, which was right around the corner. We did the same thing on New Year's Eve last year and it worked out fine.

Cue me, taking the first shift, slightly after 8:00 because we had just gotten home from visit #2, but no one is ever on time to parties at this house anyway, and I brought Greta with me figuring everyone wanted to see her and the husband said it was ok to bring her along. I walk in (because this is one of those just-walk-in houses) and I'm greeted by a sea of faces looking at who's interrupting their party, or so it seemed because everyone was already there in their COCKTAIL DRESSES and suits and ties. Pardon my shouting, but I've never been so embarrassed in my whole life.

Again, there's me: out all day with two kids, jeans and a sweater (nice but not cocktail attire), hair in a disaster bun, had a baby 6 weeks ago (not that I'm out of shape- I'm surprisingly in shape, but my pants still don't quite fit). In a sea of black and red and heels and makeup and jewelry. I managed to get out of there in under an hour, citing Greta's fussing/need to be fed (because oh, yea, I brought a baby with me), promising to send the hubs back for his shift. The hubs refused to go. First, he didn't want to put on a suit and tie and second, he was in disbelief and a little bit angry. He said, "You should have said something like, 'I didn't realize it was a dressy party,'" but when you are deer in the headlights, your brain doesn't always work properly.

So please, do me a favor this holiday season: if you have a party, please inform the guests of the proper attire before they make an ass out of themselves in front of people whom you don't necessarily know well, and if you go to a party, make sure you look just a little extra nice just in case.

Pinterest (I Tried It): Candy Cane Blossoms

2011-12-15T08:34:00.003-05:00

Welcome Pinners and friends! If you've tried something from one of your pinboards this week and blogged about it, you can link up your post at the bottom of this one. I really love to see what you come up with and how you interpret your pins.

I'm back! A couple of weeks away (and realizing, oh, crap, it's Thursday!) and I've actually tried six pins this week (more tomorrow). I'm so proud. This week I made the aforementioned peppermint cookies, found here at Baked Perfection.

These looked so cute and were pretty easy to make. Turns out that this recipe is right on the back of the Hershey Candy Cane Kisses package! Now, like Risa said in her post, I didn't get nearly the amount the recipe suggested- I only got 31, but I made them a little bit big.

Of course, these came about with Gus saying, "Let's make cookies, Mama." How do you say no to that? I knew I was going to make these before Christmas and freeze them anyway, so why not? However, that meant that the two sticks of butter the recipe called for were located in the freezer, rock solid, the complete opposite of what you need for baking. Aha! I remembered another site I just pinned the other day: how to bring butter to room temperature at my baking addiction.

In no time I was grating my butter sticks and zapping the shavings in the microwave for a few seconds, and it worked like a dream. I also made my own colored sugar with granulated sugar and food coloring, although I did not heed Risa's tip to let the sugar dry (read the whole thing before starting, Kristen).

Maybe that is why mine came out something like this:

Now, the hubs had the good camera when we made these, so there are no in-progress pictures, but Gus was having a great time with these. He was pouring and stirring and rolling the dough in sugar like a pro. Like I said, we did make these a little bigger than suggested, but I have no idea why they spread so much. Luckily, they still taste good!

Feel free to grab a botton to add to your post to share this link-up with your readers!

Holiday Treats: Scottish Shortbread

2011-12-14T13:18:00.001-05:00

Hey, check me out over at The Blue-Eyed Owl for the story behind these shortbread and to get the recipe! They are easy, even for the non-bakers.

Holiday DIY: Christmas Card Holder

2011-12-13T08:46:00.000-05:00

Oh, Martha, you've done it again. In the Living magazine from last Christmas (I think) was this wreath:

The website says it's from 2002, but I think last year's issue was favorite's from seasons past. Anyway....

I loved the idea of this wreath. We have always had a problem with where to put Christmas cards. On a table, they're in the way. Same with the mantle, where I have all other kinds of knick-knacks. No good doorway to string them up around, and so on. We do, however, have an empty spot over the mantle, perfect for this hoop! So last year I made one, and it's back this year:

This is the easiest project. All you need is a large wooden embroidery hoop- I got mine at Michael's in the knitting/embroidery aisle, with a 40% off coupon (like $2 or 3)- on which you attach mini clothes pins- also at Michael's in the doll/miniatures aisle. Alternate them facing in then out every few inches around the hoop. It helps to lay them out first, just in case. Use wood glue to secure the pins down. Trust me when I say that white glue and rubber cement both do not work.

Then loop a long piece of ribbon around the top of the hoop where the metal tightener is and tie a bow. Loop a hanger through the back of the knot (Can you see my twist tie? High-tech!) and hang. My ribbon is wired, so it's not as floppy as Martha's. I like the look of hers, but my ribbon was hanging around in the Christmas bin for years and free is always good.

The clips hold the cards and photos in place nicely.

Quick, easy, and pretty attractive against our fireplace. I suppose you could always paint the hoop if you'd like to make it more fancy, but we like the rustic look. Maybe some day I will change the ribbon to something more Martha.

Holiday Treats: Peanut Butter Balls

2011-12-11T12:08:00.000-05:00

I love to cook and bake and I do it often, but I know that not everyone does, so I was so excited when I looked through my Christmas cookie list (yes, there is a list) and saw these awesome no-bake peanut butter balls on there because I knew they would be perfect to share with you. They are super easy for bakers and non-bakers alike, and I promise I'll make it as painless as possible. Plus, just think of them as crunchy round peanut butter cups and that will probably keep you going.

This recipe came to me through my oldest and dearest friend when we were hosting a cookie exchange one year. If you've never done one, you make one dozen cookies for each person invited (for them to take home) and one extra dozen for taste-testing during the party. That way everyone ends up with several dozen types of cookies but you only have to make one. Anyhoo....she made these crispy peanut butter balls and they were a hit. While I was teaching, I made them for my students one year (before peanut butter was banned shortly thereafter) and they ate them all. Quickly.

For the how-to on these great treats, hop on over to Dandelions and Lace where I'm guest posting today!

Holiday Fun: Trimming the Tree

2011-12-09T09:20:00.004-05:00

Fun surprise! Little Sapling Toys is offering my readers a discount! Use BOOK10 at checkout, which is valid for 10% off any purchase in their Etsy shop. It will run until December 22nd. Hooray! Remember this set from the other day? They have all kinds of neat wooden toys. Go check it out!! And now....on to today's post!

We've been working hard around here. We've baked a couple kinds of cookies already (recipes to come!), presents have been bought, but not quite wrapped yet, and we lugged all the decorations out of the basement. Gus and I worked hard on the tree last week and I finally got a few non-glare-y photos to share.

Our tree is tall and skinny, from the days when we had just a narrow space for one in our apartment. I wondered when we would finally fill up the tree and need a bigger one, and two kids, a dog, and a house later and I think we may be there. I love our tree, though, so we may just need to edit next year because we are getting overrun with ornaments! Here are a few of my favorites:

Our full tree!

I love the look of antique glass (?) ornaments. We have a bunch.

Rustic snowman

Stuffed reindeer

Teapot (of course!)

Polish pottery tree- matches our dish collection, which I should share one day

I really love unwrapping all the ornaments each year and rediscovering what we have and the ones we cherish. Gus was an ornament monster this year, unwrapping faster than I could hang them. It was quite an experience.

And just for you (well, for me too) I found some fun ornaments and how-to's, all on Pinterest:

Yarn ball!

Seed bead ornaments

Felt initials

Things to try for next year!! Did you make any ornaments this year? Do you have a tree-trimming tradition? Favorite ornaments?

Happy Friday!

(Check back here Sunday for a link to my chocolate peanut butter ball recipe guest post!)

Handmade Gift Guide: For the Kids

2011-12-07T10:06:00.001-05:00

I have been on the hunt for a few small things for the kids for Christmas (ok, it's really weird to me to say "the kids" now). We don't really do too much- we have a large family and wonderful grandparents who are so generous in their gift giving, so we don't want to go overboard ourselves- but we like to make sure there is something small from Mom and Dad and a few small things from Santa, even if they'll only know it's from him through pictures later on. Gus is into Santa this year and told us Santa is going to bring him a backhoe (love it). Greta will have no idea what's going on but for Gus's sake now we need to make sure Santa brings her something, too.

And so, this has taken me to Etsy, from which the neatest handmade toys can be found:

Hand-knit lamb by Woolies

Elephant plush by BareSockcrafts

Personalized Sweater Ball by handmadepretties

Travel Car Roll-up by handmadetherapykids

Needle felted counting balls by jacksbeanstalk

Organic truck and trailer by asummerafternoon

Rainbow bowling set by appleandamos

Transportation matching game by littlesaplingtoys

Happy shopping!

Holiday Treats: Snowman Soup

2011-12-05T10:18:00.001-05:00

While digging out the Christmas decorations this weekend, I found an old favorite classroom favor that was gifted to me by one of my students from my very first class. I liked it so much, and it's so easy, that I copied the format and gave it to my students year after year at holiday time. Since giving a "Christmas" gift wasn't really allowed, this was the perfect treat to hand out: Snowman Soup!

In a holiday treat bag, place a packet of hot chocolate mix, a candy cane, some marshmallows, and a few Hershey kisses as the "soup" ingredients. Close it up and attach the poem! The beauty of this is you can do so many variations: Hershey hugs, Andes candies, starlight peppermints, holiday Peeps, etc. The combinations are endless. This has always gone over really well with the kiddos, who all want to go home and make it right away, but I'm sure that it would be a welcome treat for adults, too. You could jazz it up with a chocolate spoon or one of those chocolate-covered peppermint sticks that they have for coffee.

Have fun with this winter warm-up treat!

Humor

2011-12-02T09:42:00.001-05:00

Well, a few more unexpected events kept me away from the blog for a few days, and let me tell you that I really could use some humor to end my week. Let's just say that the hubs and I are very happy that it is now December because November was not our best month.

via Pinterest

How peanut butter is made.

via Pinterest

Office Space, anyone?

via Pinterest

Happy Friday!

Preparing for Christmas

2011-11-29T09:45:00.002-05:00

So the official start to the Christmas season is here. Thanksgiving has passed. Ours was lovely, by the way. Most all of the extended family got to meet Greta and proceeded to pass her around, while my cousins tirelessly played with Gus. It was great. Did I mention there was pie?

Anyway, so now with the start of Black Friday we have moved into Christmas. The radio stations have started playing their holiday tunes, including one that plays it non-stop from now until Christmas. It's actually pretty great because it's on whenever you want it, and I have to admit that we have it playing most days just as background noise. From what I can tell, tv channels have already started airing holiday movies and specials. I decided last Friday movie night that all of our Friday movie nights now until Christmas will be holiday movies. We have Love Actually and A Christmas Story but I need a few more suggestions. I've already heard Home Alone, Elf, and Scrooged- any others you can think of? It also depends on what the library has, but at least I'll have something to look for.

Christmas doesn't actually officially start in our house until December 1. That is when I am allowed to put the tree up and get out the decorations. I would start Thanksgiving night but hubs thinks if they're up for too long then it's just not as special. So, ok, whatever. Gus is super duper excited to put up the tree, so that will be a fun project for the two of us. I got the hubs a great ornament from eruckman on Etsy because he has been tirelessly busting his butt around here this year, especially with the storm and the new baby most recently:

His says Best Dad in the middle and the kids' names are along the bottom. It is fabulous (and her other stuff is equally awesome so you should go check out her shop!) and the hubs really liked it. It's quite his style.

I've also been plotting out my Christmas baking. I tend to make cookies, breads, etc. to give to neighbors and such, and this year I think I am going to do cookie plates. I always make traditional Scottish shortbread for my dad, and I also plan to do peanut butter balls, jam thumbprints, and these beauties from Pinterest:

via Baked Perfection

Don't they look great? I think that will be a Pinterest Thursday project, and the shortbread and peanut butter balls are going to be blog guest-posts, so you'll be able to try out all of my treats! I'm going to start making them ahead whenever I can find the time (ha!) and freezing them, which is supposed to work well with cookies. And Gus loves to help in the kitchen, so that will be fun for him.

So that just leaves putting in an order to Santa Claus for a few things that still need to be gotten.

via me!

Have you started your holiday prep yet? Do you have special traditions you're looking forward to? When do you put up your tree?

Sales!

2011-11-23T10:25:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, which I am so excited for! Most of the large extended family will get to meet Greta for the first time, and more importantly, other than a pumpkin pecan pie, I don't have to cook. (P.S. Thank you all for your well-wishes about Greta. She came home last Wednesday and has been doing well!)

Then comes the big shopping weekend! Now, I haven't hit up a Black Friday sale in a long time and I am already tired enough without hitting up a 4am sale, but the Internet is always open for business and I am more than happy to shop in my pajamas. To celebrate the holiday weekend I'm offering U.S. and Canadian free shipping on orders placed in my shop from Black Friday through Cyber Monday! In addition, every order will receive on of these magnetic winter bookmarks free:

Navy blue background with shimmery metallic ice blue and printed on white linen. Great for yourself or to gift as a gift! And (yes, there's more!) every order placed will be entered to win a set of 10 of these holiday thank you cards (or personalize them with other wording), which are mix and match:

Now, I think those are some pretty great deals! Please share! Are you offering anything special in your shop over the weekend? Any other good shopping plans? Anyone planning on being part of the 4am crowd?

Jewels

2011-11-22T08:35:00.001-05:00

While looking through my favorites on Etsy the other day, as I sometimes do when I'm feeling in a need-to-shop kind of mood, I realized that I have been on a jewelry kick lately. To know me is to know I am not big on jewelry. I don't wear a lot at once, I don't really feel like I know how to accessorize well, and I don't like to draw too much attention to myself. So in that vein, I tend to wear very simple, understated jewelry, and that's just what I've been putting into my favorites lately:

You know I love my tea! Tea earrings by UntamedMenagerie

Dedication necklace by TheDedicationCompany

Tuesday necklace by BeauandStella

Gold disk necklace by ConstantBaubling

Sterling silver circle necklace by JewelrybyDorothy

Custom initial necklace by tyrahandmadejewelry

Sterling silver classic hoops by hilarykoster

Notice a theme here? I love the simple, classic styling of all of these and they are all affordable finds! I know that my jewelry collection is lacking, and if I look through what I have, everything is either several years old (read: high school) and/or stuff I don't really like anymore. It might just be time for some updating.

Darned Socks

2011-11-21T09:13:00.002-05:00

So maybe this is a silly question, but I know a lot of you are do-it-yourselfers and/or thrifty upcyclers, so....do you darn your socks? I ask this because I have two favorite pairs of knee socks, both of which now have holes in the heels, making my feet feel all funny if I try to wear them, which I've been trying not to do. But I can't bring myself to throw them away!! It's not like they're even anything particularly special, it's just that they go with a lot of my pants, so I'd like to keep them hanging around.

Because it was the obvious thing to do, I headed to Pinterest to look for a tutorial. For once, not helpful: everything had to do with knitting (um, no) or some kind of elaborate stitching that I'm just not up to. I did see one thing where someone had "darned" a patch, but that was for an elbow. I don't know how that would go over on a heel. Advice? Darn them or throw them out?

Oh, and you need one of these. Sock darner, anyone? (by Sistermaide on Etsy)

Of course, there's always just new socks (love these!!):

by TatianaOrlova on Etsy

Humor

2011-11-18T08:59:00.001-05:00

Oh TGIF. This has been a good week for us, though now we are adjusting to life with a newborn all over again. How about some humor to end the week?

I am a child of the 80's. (via Pinterest)

via Pinterest

I'm sorry if this one offends anyone. The hubs and I are big fans of the movie A Christmas Story. If you've never seen it, you need to! If you have seen it, this just reminded me of the scene in the Chinese restaurant.

Happy Friday everyone! Have a great weekend!! Anyone doing anything fun?

Pinterest: I Tried It (Well, I Meant To)

2011-11-17T09:27:00.002-05:00

Meant to are the key words here. This was easy enough, wasn't it?? Well, you know how things have been going around here so it didn't get done. Let's just add it to the to-do list, shall we?

Ok, so what did everyone else do this week? I still want to see!

Feel free to grab a botton to add to your post to share this link-up with your readers!

Fall Shop Spotlight: Kottage Kreations

2011-11-16T09:13:00.002-05:00

Oops! A day late, but we still have a winner! The winner of the My Sister's Hope Chest giveaway is MegansBeadedDesigns! Congratulations!!

On the good news front, baby girl is coming home today, so things will now be even crazier than before! I am going to try and get a Pinterest project posted tomorrow, so those of you who also made something can come and link up. I really love to see everyone's projects.

Ok, today I'd like to introduce you to a lovely shop I've found! Kottage Kreations is a handmade jewelry shop with both hand-stamped metal and traditionally-styled items. Dear friends and readers, this shop really needs some press, so to speak, so while there is no giveaway attached to this one, it would be truly appreciated if you could visit the shop and take a look around, maybe find something you really like to favorite or favorite the shop so it goes into your feed. You could also follow the Kottage Kreations blog, follow her Twitter, or like her on Facebook.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

My name is Laurie Salinas and I am the designer behind Kottage Kreations on Etsy. I reside in Central Valley,
CA. I have lived here for 12 years, but I was born and raised in San Jose, CA. I am a wife, a mother of one son who is 23, and a grandmother of a 4-year-old precious boy. I have two furball children, one beautiful calico- GiGi, whom I found out in the rain one day, and one crazy siamese- Koo Koo (her name really means something and it really does fit her personality!)

How did you become involved in jewelry making?

I started my shop up in 2009 after many years of making jewelry for friends and relatives, who coaxed me to open up my own shop, which took off immediately. I enjoy my work so much, it is so addictive! I often wake up in the middle of the night with ideas all of the time.

How did you decide what to name your shop?

I once lived in a tiny cottage, so I decided to name my shop Kottage Kreations. I wanted to name it something different, not the normal spelling. Something original and cute.

Do you have a favorite item/item type that you like to make?

I love to kreate jewelry with beautiful earthy gemstones. My current love is hand stamping. I wanted to offer some personalization as well as my gemstone jewelry. I love working with metals of all types, especially sterling silver.

I also love to etch in metals. I have some in my shop right now. It is so much fun to kreate original and beautiful jewelry. I wish to one day learn how to kreate special pieces using Precious Metal Clay. It's a very
intense molding process, and then is fired in a kiln. I love working with metals. This is my next new project to
learn.

Is there a new process or other craft you've always wanted to learn?

There are so many varieties in jewelry making and I plan to learn everything that I can, so that I can offer new
and exciting pieces for my customers. I enjoy making people happy with their one-of-a kind pieces! Ask me to kreate something special for you!

So please take a minute and help a fellow Etsian out. The jewelry is lovely- it shouldn't be hard!

My favorite!

Friday Humor

2011-11-11T08:14:00.000-05:00

Because it has been an endlessly long 2 weeks or so, this will be a quick one, but I love it because it's so true. Have a great weekend, enter the My Sister's Hope Chest to win that fabulous album over there, and check back in on Monday!

via Pinterest

Pinterest: I Tried It (Scalloped Card)

2011-11-10T08:04:00.001-05:00

Welcome Pinners and friends! If you've tried something from one of your pinboards this week and blogged about it, you can link up your post at the bottom of this one. I really love to see what you come up with and how you interpret your pins.

This week's project was meant to be last week's project, but you all know how that went. Fortunately I got pictures before everything happened, so now I just have to finish it off!

I have been doing a seasonal/holiday card swap with my two Etsy pals Heidi and Rachel, and with Halloween approaching, I wanted to get my cards made and sent. The problem was, I didn't have a lot of Halloween-ish supplies around. I did, however, have lots of 1-inch or so sized scraps leftover from my fall garlands. (Yes, of course I keep 1-inch sized pieces of paper. Who doesn't??) And I remembered this card I found on Pinterest:

So cute! I decided to do a take on this with my square scraps and some ribbon:

I intended for them to have a square plate that said "happy fall" but it ended up so close to the top of the card that I thought it would look too crowded. I really like how they came out, but next time I'd like to make them a little fancier. I love how it's a great use of scraps, though!

Feel free to grab a botton to add to your post to share this link-up with your readers!

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October Snow?!?!

2011-11-09T08:29:00.001-05:00

October 29, 2011. A freak snowstorm is on the way. Snow was supposed to start at 4:30 pm and go through the night, with some concerns about power outages due to the heaviness of the snow and the amount of leaves still left on the trees. We were a little concerned about the trees in the back of the yard that were still full, but hopeful for the one that had already lost its leaves, which is the most beautiful tree in our yard.

The snow actually started at lunchtime, and within an hour the ground was covered. And so it went for the rest of the night. We watched branches crash to the ground out of the poplar trees in the back, weighted down by the snow on the leaves. As it got dark, it was hard to see what was going on, but if we shined a flashlight out the window, we could get an idea of the mess. As the night went on, you would hear a crack and then a thud as more debris fell to the ground, and we would hear this really often. And then as we made our way from window to window, realized we were losing major branches from our beloved tree, which had no leaves on it to weight it down.

It has been estimated that the snow weighed 40 pounds per square foot, which is incredibly heavy. We think we got about 15 inches of snow altogether. The power went out around 4:30 pm, and it returned Sunday, November 6 at 1:20 am, though we were at the hospital at that point. Luckily we have both a fireplace (and had lots of wood from the yard clearing we did last year) and a gas stove top, so we could at least "cook" that way. The fireplace was running for almost 6 days straight which means all of our clothes, towels, linens, etc. (still) smell of woodsmoke until they've been washed. The laundry has been endless. Not to mention the fact that I had one load in the washing machine and one in the dryer when the power went out, both of which needed to be rewashed, and I think I've done at least 7 additional loads since then.

Our "refrigerator" for several days

Drying clothes

We are thankful to our friends down toward the shoreline, who never lost their power and had us down on Halloween evening to shower, and Gus even got to go trick-or-treating for the first time, so his homemade costume wasn't wasted (more on that to come), and to our neighbors around the corner who had a generator (that the hubs had hooked up) and let us shower there.

Our yard and neighborhood did not fare so well. Trees that have stood for decades now need to be taken down due to loss of limbs, some being uprooted completely, as was the case with our neighbor's two birch trees. Another neighbor has a giant limb on her garage roof, the one next to them had a branch go through an upstairs window, the one across the street had a pine tree fall over across the street, coming to rest on the power lines. My poor husband, who has spent so much time making our yard look so nice, has had to watch all of his time and effort (and money) come literally crashing down. We have 9 or 10 poplar trees in the way back, 8 of which we think need to be taken down because they look like toothpicks. We don't know if the ash tree, our most favorite and holder of Gus's swing, will survive. We're going to wait until spring on that one. One small oak has had all of its top branches snapped off, so that one is going to have to come down as well. A maple in the front has to be trimmed back and another junky tree in the front will probably need to be taken down. We have basically tripled our firewood supply just from the limbs alone.

The view down the road

The view up the road, where the tree crashed across the street

Add caption

Poplar trees

Our beloved ash tree

All in all we are grateful to have survived the ordeal as best as we did, and that our house and family are all in good shape. No one can remember ever seeing anything like this in the state ever. The previous record for snowfall in October was something like one inch. It just doesn't happen. Our town was one of the hardest hit and we still have residents out of power. The hubs is exhausted from clearing brush, which has been piled on the curbside, hopefully for pickup by some organization chosen by the town.

We're hoping this never happens again.

Fall Shop Spotlight and Giveaway: My Sister's Hope Chest

2011-11-08T07:58:00.001-05:00

After a very long delay, without further ado, the winner of the DeMoss Designs giveaway is Audrey! Congratulations on your new key fob!

Today's featured shop is My Sister's Hope Chest, whose owner Liz (and her sister-in-law) creates pre-made scrapbooks, paper goods, and accessories, and her blog, Here's to Handy Andy, is a really fun and often funny read where she tackles craft projects the way her husband (Handy Andy) takes on home improvement projects: "I think I can make that." (The man has an adhesive collection, folks.)

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I am married to an absolutely wonderful man -- Handy Andy (check out my blog!). We have a dog, and we bought a house last year that, I'm sure, the phrase "fixer upper" was coined for. Remodeling and making it our own has been quite the adventure, and I am loving it! Figuring out how to decorate has given me lots of opportunities to be creative!

Also, I love making things, especially with paper. Scrapbooks are my absolute favorite! I love creating special places to preserve memories because I think pictures are so special and they really connect us back to a specific time in life. I've made scrapbooks (and other crafts) for friends and family for a long time, and recently decided to take the leap and see if anyone else may be interested in my crafts.

How did you decide what to name your shop?

My sister-in-law is incredibly talented and I have been trying to get her to start a shop for a while. So I decided that we should start one together! We were trying to think of a name and we definitely wanted it to have something to do with "sisters" so...we were throwing out lots of ideas. "My Sister's Crap" and "My Sister's Junk Yard" were among my true favorites, but we didn't want people to think we were selling junk. So we settled on My Sister's Hope Chest because we hope that our items may find a special place in some lives, and that they would treasure them as we do!

What is your favorite fall tradition?

Ah! I absolutely love fall- it is my favorite season! I grew up in Michigan, and fall there is the best! I don't care what other people say, you haven't experienced fall until you've been to Michigan in October. I love everything about fall so it's hard to pick a favorite thing, but my top three are definitely football games, apple picking (along with eating the apples and drinking cider), and everything Halloween! Ok, I guess that's more than three technically. Oh well. :)

Read any good books lately?

Yes! I know that this sounds super trendy, but The Help. What a wonderful book! If you haven't read it, START NOW! You won't be able to stop.

What's your ideal vacation, if you ever get one?

I would LOVE to go to Ireland. My family is [mostly] Irish, and I really want to go see Ireland and learn more about my mom's family, The Maguires. If that's not Irish, I don't know what is. My husband and I are hoping to make it there within the next two years. "Hoping" being the key word.

I love the variety of items they have in their shop! And one of you lucky folks will be the winner of this beautiful fall scrapbook, handmade and ready for you to add your pictures:

In order to enter you must be a follower of this blog, and do one or more of the following (leave a comment for each one, please!):

1. Visit the My Sister's Hope Chest shop on Etsy and favorite one of Liz's items.

2. Favorite the My Sister's Hope Chest shop on Etsy.

3. Follow Liz's blog, Here's to Handy Andy.

4. Follow Liz on Twitter.

5. Follow me on Twitter.

6. Tweet or blog about this giveway and leave me a link.

*Giveaway open to U.S. and Canada residents and will close on Monday, November 14 at midnight Eastern time. Winner will be announced on Tuesday, November 15 here on this blog. Please check back to see if you've won!

Surprise!

2011-11-07T10:19:00.000-05:00

Ok. So. 7 days and 16 hours without power in the house later, I am back! What a complete and total disaster has befallen us. The yard is wrecked, the house is a mess. There is so much laundry to be done, it's not even funny. And do you have any idea what almost 8-day-old wet laundry smells like? I'm sure you can imagine.

Anyway, I have one last fall spotlight and giveaway to post this week (apologies to Liz, who has been very kindly and patiently waiting on me!) and the winner from 2 weeks ago will be announced, but that's going to have to wait for one more day because I have some exciting news. My intention was to post photos of the disaster going on around us from this past week, which I will get to later in the week, but we had a little bit of a surprise in the midst of the chaos:

I'd like to introduce you to Baby By the Book! Since I've given Gus his own online alias, let's call her Greta. Greta wasn't due to arrive for almost three more weeks, but after measuring small and a concern that she had stopped growing, I got to make an impromptu trip to the hospital to deliver her this weekend. She ended up being of average size, but her lungs are slightly underdeveloped, so she is currently in the nearby NICU getting some help breathing. We're very happy to have her as the newest member of our family.

Did I fail to mention I was pregnant basically since this blog started? Oops! Actually, the hubs heard a news story on the radio about a Facebook stalker who ended up killing some woman and taking her baby, so he thought it might be best to just keep it to myself. Not that any of you are Facebook-stalker-killers, but, you know.

So please pardon me for a bit if I skip a day here or there, or if I post some inane post about nothing. My brain has had a lot to deal with in the last 8 or 9 days.

Disaster!

2011-10-31T20:48:00.000-04:00

Hi friends!

I am writing to you from a friend's house. Our power has been knocked out by a freak Connecticut snow storm, and it looks like at least several days to come before it comes back on. It is a disaster here. The trees in our yard are wrecked and we have a lot of cleanup to do. I will post the winner from the DeMoss giveaway as soon as I get back, and I have another great one to post. I'll try and catch up on all my favorite blogs as soon as I can too!

Don't forget about me!

Weekend Plans

2011-10-28T13:24:00.000-04:00

We woke up to frost this morning, and light snow over the weekend is likely. How did that happen already? It was warm and humid into the beginning of October, and then suddenly, 40 degrees and cold. We're just sliding right into winter.

Anyway, it got me thinking about what we'll do this weekend, since it's kind of miserable to go outside. Friday nights have turned into movie-date-night, in which the hubs and I watch a movie that we got (free!) from the library once we've put Gus to bed. It's sort of mandatory relaxation time for us and we're still plowing through our bedroom and bathroom reno. I make popcorn (the real kind, from the kernels) and we sit in our newly remodeled basement (since the living room now houses the bedroom furniture) and enjoy the show. On tap for tonight: Dinner for Schmucks, which we've both heard is very funny. Steve Carrell and Paul Rudd- has to be somewhat good, right?

The hubs will be working on the bathroom tile, which has become a long on-going project. I'm going to try and get some sewing done and get some new paper items listed, and hopefully we'll just have a nice relaxing weekend.

What's everyone got planned for their weekend? Sack races anyone?

via Pinterest

Pinterest: I Tried It (Apple Chips)

2011-10-27T08:19:00.001-04:00

I saw this one just the other day and wanted to try it out right away, and luckily, it's so simple, I didn't need to buy anything extra from the grocery store:

Apple Chips

How good do those look? Just apples, cinnamon and sugar, and cooking spray. The directions are super easy to follow; you just have to have two hours to hang out at home while they dry in the oven.

Verdict: Easy and tasty, but not entirely crispy. I used a honeycrisp apple instead of a red delicious (those and pink ladies are my favorites), like the original author did, so maybe that had something to do with it. I also do not have a mandolin in my repertoire of kitchen gadgets (but somehow did have an apple corer, which was a surprise to me) so I probably didn't get them as thin as they should be. The ones that did turn out crispy were delicious. The ones that weren't were also good- as evidenced by the fact that they were ready at dinnertime and had disappeared by shortly after dinnertime- but just didn't have that snap to them. I would definitely make them again. Maybe I'd turn the heat up just a little bit from 200 to 250 degrees and see what happens. I really like that they didn't take much effort and they are a tasty snack.

Feel free to grab a button to add to your post to share this link-up with your readers!

<div align="center"><a href="http://bythebookpaper.blogspot.com/2011/10/pinterest-i-tried-it-apple-chips.html" title="life by the book"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-naDrXK632Jg/TqiilOjOMpI/AAAAAAAABEE/CdHg-VVN4nk/s1600/Pinterest+Button.jpg" alt="life by the book" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

I'm a Winner!

2011-10-26T08:22:00.000-04:00

I don't know how it happened, but since late July or August I have won five different giveaways on five different blogs. Really lucky? I doubt it. Right place at the right time? Maybe. Thrilled regardless? Yup.

First came these chevron stripe note cards from Row House 14 (you remember Heidi), who did a giveaway over at The Blue-Eyed Owl. This was a funny win because I was already friends with Heidi and was already eyeing these cards:

Then Janee at Yellow Bird, Yellow Beard was giving these cute fabric coasters away on her blog when she decided to join Twitter. I amazingly won that one, too:

Pam from Bates Mercantile Co. (remember Pam?) was doing a giveaway with these chevron stripe note cards on her blog Mercantile Muse. I told you I have a thing for paper goods. And chevrons, apparently. I won two sets of these, one to give as a gift if I so choose (ha!):

Nancy from ScrappyTude Studios decided to open a second shop for her reusable gift bags, aptly titled GiftAgain Gift Bags, and did a giveaway with this lovely bag on her blog, and I managed to snag that one as well:

And then finally, just about two weeks ago, I entered to win a $25 gift certificate to Skye Reve fabrics over at Maureen Cracknell Handmade (if you haven't seen her blog yet, you need to go there now). And even through I was entries #1 and 2 out of 598, I somehow managed to win. (Crazy!!!) This bundle from Skye Reve is on its way to me:

I've now probably jinxed myself from ever winning another giveaway, but I just had to share because these are all such lovely items from some great shops and/or blogs that you really should check out if you haven't already. It's really fun to develop a connection and interact with such a wide variety of people whom I've never met. So I thank you all for your giveaways and know that I am loving all of these items. There's one more spotlight and giveaway left in this fall series (have you entered to win this one yet??) and then I may have a little giveaway of my own.

Cheater!

2011-10-25T07:42:00.000-04:00

So, I broke my own rule. I'm not surprised, but I'm a little disappointed in myself because I was doing so good. Remember when I said that I wasn't going to buy any new paper because I had plenty in stash already to work from? (here) Yea.

I had to go to one of my very favorite paper stores in order to get some replacement paper for the Christmas garland kit I have in my shop. Someone ordered one and I didn't have enough of the decorative papers that I had shown. I dragged myself down there with the sole purpose of getting just those papers, but then I looked around. (hangs head in shame) And while there were plenty of new things I could have gotten, I just got three sheets. Really. That's it! One is for some birthday cards I'd like to make, one is for some bookmarks I had planned on making but didn't have a good backing print, and the third is this, which I cut apart and made into magnets/gift tags and already have them listed them in my shop:

So if you are a cat or dog lover, or know someone who is, send them my way. They can be backed with magnet to put on the refrigerator, or punched and tied with a ribbon to make gift tags.

As you can see, I'm back on a paper theme for the time being, and have just finally made the decision to leave my shop (for now) as by the book paper. I'm not going to try and turn it into something it's not just to make the name a little bit better. As for the fabric listings, they'll stay for now and I'll just have to make a decision on what to do with those a little later on. No harm, no foul for the time being.

Fall Shop Spotlight and Giveaway: DeMoss Designs

2011-10-24T07:59:00.000-04:00

Hello, readers! I hope you all had a nice weekend. I'm about to make someone's Monday just a little bit brighter! The winner of the Row House 14 giveaway and those beautiful fall note cards is Turtle of Turtledove Crafts. Congratulations!

Today I'd like to introduce to you another one of my very good Etsy friends, whose shop, DeMoss Designs, is filled with amazing hand-sewn items that are bright and colorful. Her shop has been in my favorites for a long time, and you're about to see why.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

My name is Sarah and I am the mom of three lovely little ladies. My oldest is in kindergarten this year. I work evenings as a social worker. I currently live outside Cincinnati, OH but I also call Louisville, KY and Orlando, FL home. I opened my shop with just one quilt to sell and it is blown up since then. I am hoping to get back to making a few more quilts soon but the demand seems to be for my other goodies as well.

How did you decide what to name your shop?

This is kind of embarrassing. I was trying to think of a name for my shop that represented what the shop is to me. It basically is the time I need away from my kids to keep me stimulated and excited. To me, it is a little bit of breathing room between crazy parenting moments. So, I originally named my shop BreathingRoom. I was so excited to tell my husband and he looked at me and started panting. He was joking and said it sounded like some kind of labor and delivery room. So, I immediately went to work on something a little more basic. Since my name is DeMoss, DeMossDesigns was an obvious choice.

What is your favorite fall tradition?

Every year my husband and I take my girls apple picking at a local orchard. It is so great for the kids to see where their food comes from. I have never seen them eat apples with such vigor as I do when we get home with our bushels. Then, I set to work canning applesauce. I love seeing the jars lined up in the pantry. I always say I am going to make enough for the entire winter but it usually just lasts a month or two.

Read any good books lately?

I am in a book club with my neighborhood and I must admit, I usually get about halfway through and then put it down. I have a short attention span and if it doesn't grab me in the first five pages, I struggle. The best one I read recently was The Help.

What's your ideal vacation, if you ever get one?

The beach. and nothing else. I am a basic kind of girl. I don't want water slides and amusement parks. I just want sand. I love going to Edisto Beach, SC with my family. There is little to do there except really enjoy the ocean and my family. We go with my in-laws and I love it.

Amazing stuff, right? I had a hard time choosing photos on this one. One of you lucky readers is going to be the winner of this adorable key fob, the style of which I've had my eye on for awhile because there are times when running out of the house with just my keys that I'd love to be able to hook them around my wrist. And I love the print of the ribbon on this one! (Plus there are plenty more in her shop!)

In order to enter you must be a follower of this blog, and do one or more of the following (leave a comment for each one, please!):

1. Visit the DeMoss Designs shop on Etsy and favorite up to 2 of Sarah's items (one entry for each!).

2. Favorite the DeMoss Designs shop on Etsy.

3. Like Demoss Designs on Facebook.

4. Follow me on Twitter.

5. Tweet or blog about this giveway and leave me a link.

*Giveaway open to U.S. and Canada residents and will close on Sunday, October 30 at midnight Eastern time. Winner will be announced on Monday, October 31 here on this blog. Please check back to see if you've won!

Humor

2011-10-21T09:05:00.001-04:00

I really like ending the week on a happy note, so I'm going back to humor once again. All via my So Funny board on Pinterest (where else?).

Happy Friday! Make sure you enter the giveaway- it's such a good one!!

Pinterest: I Tried It (Love Notes)

2011-10-20T07:29:00.001-04:00

This week I was trying to find some inspiration for new items for my shop. Though I'm in the midst of a small shop-name crisis, I still love working with paper, it is the main feature in my shop, and it's going to remain that way. So I hit up my paper projects board, on which I have plenty of cute things that I'd like to either try to make, or there is some element in what I saw that I'd like to do something with. This week's project:

Love notes!

I just love how simple and fun these are! And trust me, I have plenty of paper hanging around that I could play around with. I had to decide whether to use a thinner paper or a slightly heavier-weight cardstock. I ended up going with the stock, but I think they would work out just as well (maybe better) with thinner paper. I guess it just depends on your purpose for them. Here's what I came up with:

So cute! I had three coordinating papers that I frankly had no idea what to do with, and now they are love notes! Perfect for lunchboxes, briefcases, coat pockets, you name it. Or, you can glue them together and use them just as envelopes. You can find them in my shop here. I love a little bit of inspiration!

Feel free to grab a botton to add to your post to share this link-up with your readers!

Decisions

2011-10-19T09:23:00.000-04:00

Just a week ago, right here on this blog, I waxed poetic about the upcoming Etsy shop name changes and how excited I was that I was going to be able to change my name to be more universal and versatile. Thank you all for your great suggestions and for giving me something to think about over the past week. By yesterday I had pretty much decided that I was just going to drop the "paper" part of my name and be "by the book". Simple, easy, clean, and.......totally taken.

Imagine my complete and total disappointment (and, frankly, outrage) when I so joyously went to the shop name change page and typed in my universal and versatile name only to see the red print pop up telling me "that name is already in use". By who?? Quick research showed that "By the Book" is a user who signed up in 2007 who has no feedback, which means to me that they are inactive. It was then suggested to me by a few people to contact the person about the name, but here's the rub: because the name has already been used, it can't ever be used again, even if that person was to not use it, because future searches will link the old name to the new name. Frustration!!

And so now here I am again, a week later, pondering the fate of my shop name. Suggestions I have received or thought of on my own:

By the Book Shop/Market/Boutique
By the Book Designs
Always By the Book
Buy the Book
By the Book Creations
The Paper Book

Then there is the another thought, lurking in the back of my mind: just keep By the Book Paper and be a paper shop and be done with it. Would that be so awful?

Sorry for two virtually picture-less posts back to back. Lots of pictures tomorrow for Pinterest Thursday!

Hobby Lobby

2011-10-18T07:37:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I have just been enlighted on this crafting super store called the Hobby Lobby.

Now, I have seen this store mentioned on several of the blogs I follow, and they are all by people who live in other parts of the country from me, so I just assumed it was a regional store, kind of how there are different grocery stores or restaurants in different areas.

But yesterday I got to talking with Traci from Luci Rae (remember Traci?) about a comment I left on her post where she was talking about thrifting at Goodwill for a dress for a costume and then there was a Joann's right next door for extra supplies (read here). I commented that we have a Joann's next to our Salvation Army, but Goodwill was across the street. So she wrote back and said that if there was a Hobby Lobby there, too, she'd never leave the area. I wrote her to say that sadly, we don't have a Hobby Lobby around here, at which she wrote back and told me I should pack up the car and find one (this was quite an involved exchange over this small detail). So for fun I googled Hobby Lobby to see just where the heck these things are.

Well folks, apparently you all have one near you. They are in every state but Oregon, Delaware, and every New England state but New Hampshire. Now, I know our states are small, but even a drive from Connecticut to Manchester, New Hampshire is no quick trip. I looked at the store tour, and I have to say that just the size of the place seems incredible. It looks to me like a Joann's, a Michael's, and an A.C. Moore cram-jammed together in one awesome crafting store. Is that what it's like??

If you have a Hobby Lobby near you, fill me in! I want to hear all about this place I'm missing out on.

Fall Shop Spotlight and Giveaway: Row House 14

2011-10-17T07:29:00.002-04:00

I am pleased to start this week off with the winner of the Briggle Sticks giveaway, Rachel W K, who is quite the card crafter herself (see her blog here). I'm telling you, we paper people can't get enough paper goods! Congratulations!!

And speaking of paper, I am so excited about today's feature shop, Row House 14, because Heidi, the shop owner, has become one of my very best Etsy friends over the past few months. I love her shop, which is full of all kinds of stationery- graphic designs and handcut paper- and photgraphic prints, and her blog is a fun read about Baltimore, her designs, and all of her varied interests. You really need to check it out.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I'm a Language Arts and Social Studies teacher in Baltimore city. I live with my boyfriend Andrew, our chocolate lab Lilah, and our orange tabby Finn, in an old historic row house in Baltimore. There are few things in life that I love more than coffee, good food, traveling, and music. I started my Etsy shop as a creative outlet from the daily grind of school. I had spent my spare time dabbling in graphic design, crafts, and photography so I decided to focus my shop on those particular areas. I had started making so many cards and such that Andrew finally got sick of them sitting around in the house and convinced me to start selling them on Etsy. My favorite thing about making stationery and cards is that there are so many different types of mediums to use. It gives me a chance to work with graphic design, which I'd been doing for quite a while, but it also allows me to be hands on creative with paper too.

How did you decide what to name your shop?

My shop name, Row House 14, is named for my studio-- our house. Our street number is 14 and we live in a row house so it seemed to make sense. Quite honestly, Andrew and I came up with the name while cooking dinner one night so there isn't anything super special there. It was like a ten minute discussion while cooking spaghetti.

What is your favorite fall tradition?

My favorite thing about fall is eating this delicious peanut butter popcorn that I love to make, eating apples, and playing board games. This is a bit of a tradition stemming from my childhood. We used to spend Saturday or Sunday nights doing this when I was a kid. My mom would make the popcorn, we'd slice up apples and maybe have apple cider too, and we'd sit at the dining room table playing board games as a family. Andrew and I still do this together and it is definitely a fun activity for a cozy night in on a chilly fall evening. Fall is by far my favorite season. I sometimes like to believe this is because the first day of autumn often falls on my birthday-- September 23.

Read any good books lately?

I haven't had much time to read books lately. Usually, I always have something to read to help me unwind. However, lately, instead of reading for pleasure, I've been editing a novel for a friend. It is a young adult fantasy called Wander Dust that she is publishing this fall. I'm about two thirds of the way through editing and it's been a really fun experience and a good read at that! This is the the first book of her trilogy that she is writing and editing it has given me a whole new respect for author's!

What's your ideal vacation, if you ever get one?

I love traveling so I'm usually up for going on any sort of adventure. We go on road trips a lot. Our next planned vacation is next summer where we'll be driving out west to Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park. These are by far two of my most favorite national parks, but Andrew has never been. We're also planning on meeting my parents in France for a vacation at some point too. For smaller trips, I really love going to the beach. My favorite relaxation spot is Pancake Bay Provincial Park in Ontario. It's a super small and protected bay on Lake Superior where my family has been going for years. We go for a week of tent camping and just relax on the beach, go hiking, and enjoy general laziness and relaxation. It's one of those places I've been to 14 times now, but I know I'll keep going and never be sick of it.

Have I hooked you will all the great shots of her cards yet? I hope so because one of you lucky folks is going to win a set of these fabulous fall-themed leaf cards, which will be personalized just for you:

In order to enter you must be a follower of this blog, and do one or more of the following (leave a comment for each one, please!):

1. Visit the Row House 14 shop on Etsy and favorie one of Heidi's items.

2. Favorite the Row House 14 shop on Etsy.

3. Follow Heidi's blog, Row House 14.

4. Like Row House 14 on Facebook.

5. Follow me on Twitter.

6. Tweet or blog about this giveway and leave me a link.

*Giveaway open to U.S. and Canada residents and will close on Sunday, October 23 at midnight Eastern time. Winner will be announced on Monday, October 24 here on this blog. Please check back to see if you've won!

Overwhelmed and Overly Busy

2011-10-14T08:53:00.000-04:00

Here is my to-do list for today, and this is just the stuff I can remember right now.

So I hope you all have a great weekend, make sure to enter the giveaway if you haven't already, and I'll see you back here Monday!

What are your plans for today or the weekend?

Pinterest: I Tried It (Bread Tie Tape End)

2011-10-13T08:06:00.002-04:00

I will fully admit that this week's try-it will seem like a cop-out. It's not; but it was kind of an accident. I have been so busy this week, I basically forgot to plan on something. Not good. The whole point of this endeavor is to plan ahead to make sure I am trying out the neat-o things I pin instead of just looking at them, saying, "Oh, maybe one day..."

But, you know how life goes and this week, it just got overlooked. Fortunately for me, I remembered that I actually did do something from one of my boards- this, from my Things To Try board:

I was using my packing tape to seal a few outgoing packages, and I always make a little triangle in the end of the tape so I can find it again the next time. Easy, but then I always have a loose triangle-corner stuck to my package. And I remembered this photo, and I just so happened to have saved a few of those bread ties just in case I got around to this, and so I attached one to the end of the packing tape roll. Success! When I needed it a few days later, no looking for the triangle because I had this big 'ol plastic thing stuck to it. The only problem: the tape stuck pretty well to the plastic so I had to fiddle with getting it off without wrinkling the tape. Maybe it's better with masking tape, like it shows above, but it works pretty darn well regarless.

So how about you? How were your pinning experiments this week? Link up below or leave a comment! And remember- same time next week! I had a lot of fun trying this one out and may stick to the sewing board for a little while.

Feel free to grab a botton to add to your post to share this link-up with your readers!

Names, They are A-Changing?

2011-10-12T07:37:00.000-04:00

I cannot contain my excitement! When I logged in to Etsy yesterday I saw this little flag up by my name that said "Coming Soon". So of course my immediate thought was, "What the heck is that?" and so I clicked on it to determine what the heck it was exactly. I was so pleased to read that Etsy is going to allow people to change their shop names. (article here)

If you are non-Etsy, whatever username you put in when you first signed up for the site is the name you see everywhere. It is your personality, and for all intents and purposes, it is your shop name. For example, if you signed up as HRN1978 because that is the username you use everywhere, then you have been stuck with it up to this point. Your shop is identifited as HRN1978, even if you want to call it Bubbles and Bows or something like that. Now, people have gone ahead and do have different shop names from their usernames, but it makes it all very confusing. And that doesn't factor in your actual name. So you become known as HRN1978 and people will call you HRN for short even if your name is Henry, because you have to actually go to someone's profile to find out what their real name is (if they show it), and no one ever does that. And up to this point, you have not been able to change that username once you stuck yourself with it.

I myself have actually been lamenting my choice of name for the past few weeks. I thought I did a post on it here, but I must have just been talking to myself instead. Anyway, I have been wishing that I used something more generic, like The Purple Butterfly or Manmade Design (ok, not really), that would allow me to expand my shop without being pegged into one type of item. By the Book Paper seemed like a good name at the time. I was going to make bookmarks. I wanted the name to have something to do with books. "By the book" is a common phrase. I was using paper. Bing, bang, boom...that was my name. But then I had note cards, and bookplates, and garlands, and magnets, and so on. And then I got onto the fabric kick with my Pinterest projects. But my shop still said "Paper".

But now this news brings a whole range of possibilities and questions. First, should you change your shop name if you've been known as something else for awhile? If you do change, what will you change it to? A whole new name, or some version of your old name? Is it worth it to change business cards, and banners, and avatars, etc.? And for me, for consistency purposes, my blog address and twitter and Pinterest are all bythebookpaper (once a username, always a username!). But I want to change it! I have been thinking about a total name change to something generic that can be used for any crafty medium, and I have been thinking about a slight change like "by the book" or "made by the book" in order to keep it familiar.

So here is where I need your thoughts: Please today fill up my comments with ideas and suggestions and your thoughts on this whole name-changing thing. Will you consider changing your shop name? Should I change mine? Do you think I should go for a total change, or something slight? I have a week to decide this (because you know I will be all over it on October 18) so I would really, really love to hear what you, the independent-of-my-shop have to say!

Guest Post at Mercantile Muse

2011-10-11T07:41:00.002-04:00

Hello readers! My post today is over at the Mercantile Muse blog! (remember Pam?) I'm doing a tutorial on this garland:

I hope you'll wander over today and check it out!

Fall Spotlight and Giveaway: Annette Lang

2011-10-10T07:54:00.001-04:00

Someone is about to have a great start to their week! The winner of the earring frame from j.crabbit is Kendra and Patricia of Sweet Magnolia Way! Congratulations, ladies! How are you going to share the prize??

Today I'd like to introduce you to Annette Lang, whose Etsy shop, Briggle Sticks, has the most adorable hand-drawn paper goods, and her blog is hilarious and quirky (she has a really funny post about a dog bite, which is not generally a humorous occurrence but turns out that way) and full of her delightful drawings.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I'm a 32-year-old girl who cannot resist brownies, and has a good chance of crying at a cute puppy. I have an Interior Design degree, but mostly use it to pull together our eclectic house. I am recently engaged (this past July) to the man of my dreams, and we are looking forward to a casual-outdoor-rustic-burlap-ish wedding. I have been drawing stick people for over 15 years, starting by keeping a journal of people I met. I decided to share them with the world, and thought greeting cards would be a great medium.

How did you decide what to name your shop?

I thought about a name for many years, and had such a hard time finding something that I really liked. I wanted it to be unique, memorable and most of all personal. I thought that it should probably include the word "sticks". I considered using the name of the street I grew up on, a favorite food, an anagram of my name.....they were all bad. Then I remembered a name my grandma used to call me when I was a little girl, Briggle Britches. Unique, check. Memorable, check. Personal, double check. That night I had dinner with a friend who said, "Well then, what about Briggle Sticks?" and Ta-Da! I was in love.

What is your favorite fall tradition?

My recent favorite fall tradition is Thanksgiving because we have been hosting for the past three years. I make invitations to send out to friends and family, who all pitch in a dish. It's a little chaotic pulling it together the day of, but in the end the crisp air, the smell of apple pie, and being surrounded by those you love is something to really be thankful for.

Read any good books lately?

I love to read, and it's the last thing I do before I fall asleep. I am currently on book 7 of the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlain Harris. I love series books, because when they are good you never want them to end (Harry Potter). The Stackhouse novels are great if you love the supernatural, they are full of vampires and fairies and people who can read your mind. Even if you watch True Blood, I recommend reading these as they are much different from the show.

What is your ideal vacation, if you ever get one?

Of course, I am thinking a lot about vacations since we are looking into taking a honeymoon soon. Bora Bora sounds a-maz-ing. If you don't know anything about it, google some pictures right now! They have these over water bungalos where you can jump from your back porch right into the turquoise ocean. Swoon!

Now for the fun part: Annette is offering one of you the chance to win a set of 8 of her hand-drawn cards:

I don't know about you, but I can never get enough stationery. (Actually, it's ok if you don't want to enter. If no one does, maybe she'll send me the cards!)

In order to enter you must be a follower of this blog, and do one or more of the following (leave a comment for each one, please!):

1. Visit the Briggle Sticks shop on Etsy and favorie one of Annette's items (it will be hard to choose!).

2. Favorite the Briggle Sticks shop on Etsy.

3. Follow Annette's blog, Briggle Sticks.

3. Follow me on Twitter.

4. Tweet or blog about this giveway and leave me a link.

*Giveaway open to U.S. and Canada residents and will close on Sunday, October 16 at midnight Eastern time. Winner will be announced on Monday, October 17 here on this blog. Please check back to see if you've won!

Humor

2011-10-07T08:08:00.002-04:00

I felt the need for some humor for the end of this week. All of these are via my So Funny board on Pinterest, and they just crack me up:

Happy Friday! (And don't forget to enter the giveaway!)

Pinterest: I Tried It (Clothes Labels)

2011-10-06T07:40:00.001-04:00

This week's try-it comes out of necessity: our big boy has started preschool. Our Gus is still only in his two's, and I never thought I'd be that parent who would sent my very small child to school so early. However, thinking about it now, when I was growing up, I had a lot of cousins around me all the time, like extra brothers and sisters (or surrogate brothers and sisters, since I don't have any of my own). My mom and her three siblings all live in the same town, and our grandmother's house was a congregation area on Saturday nights. We'd play and fight and have a general good time with each other, like built-in friends you had to like because you were family. Gus doesn't have that. We don't live that close to all those cousins now, but none of them have kids yet anyway. Our neighborhood has lots of kids, but they are all several years older. We do programs at the library, but 30 minutes once a week doesn't really amount to too much. So, when I saw the sign outside one of the local churches stating that they had a 2's class, we had to check it out, mainly for Gus to have some solid interaction with other people his age.

So then after you register, you worry and fret and discuss whether he's actually going to like it and will he stay there, or will he freak out and scream and cry? Very fortunately for us, Gus loves school. He loves wearing his backpack, he loves his teachers, he loves playing with all those toys. He's a little wary right when we walk in the door, but he's distractable and I can slip out the door, and then he's fine. He's really a pretty great kid.

Anyway, sending your two-year-old to school means putting a label in everything, since he may or may not know what belongs to him. Thus begins the label search. If you've ever heard of Mabel's Labels, they are like the Mercedes of iron-in labels. Everyone uses them. So I decided to look them up. $25+ for 50 labels. What???? I don't think so. Luckily, I had also found this tutorial and pinned about two days before that:

Fabric and ribbon labels

You get fabric iron-on transfers and some ribbon or muslin and make you own right in your home on your own humble little printer. $7.48 for a pack of 6 at Walmart, plus $1.11 for 3 yards of twill tape. Do you know how many labels I can make for that? These are super easy to make, as long as you follow the directions that come with the transfers (and the tutorial is awesome with all its steps). Each label I made is about 2 inches long, and granted, I have to sew them into his clothes, but I can do it just like in the tutorial with a little "x", and then it's removable. Love it!

In the office supply section at Walmart

Make sure to print it backwards!

Now I just need to practice ironing them on straight.
Plus, make sure there's no goop on the iron, like there was with this one. Oops!

That will sew in nicely!

Feel free to grab a botton to add to your post to share this link-up with your readers!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-05T06:59:00.000-04:00

Hoarders

2011-10-04T06:43:00.001-04:00

In my basement, there is a secret stash. I hate to admit it, but the hubs and I have become hoarders.

Light bulbs. We have started to stockpile light bulbs.

I'm sure by now you've heard that the incandescent bulb, a staple of the lighting industry since the 1800s, is banned, to be phased out starting after the end of the year. Compact fluorescents will now be your only standard light bulb choice. We are not happy.

I like think I've got some eco-friendliness going on, but that is by my choice. I'm not thrilled to be forced into a bulb I don't really like based on the guise of energy-efficiency. (Oh, and I don't have great things to say about the low-flow toilet we had to purchase when we redid the other bathroom, either.) I don't understand why, in this country that was founded on capitalism, competition, and the ability to make money, our choices have become so limited (that's partially aimed at you, cable companies, of whom I can only choose one when I move to a new town). So, we have decided to hoard the bulbs, buying a few packages at a time until we can no longer do so, so we can continue to bask in their warm, energy-inefficient glow.

Fall Shop Spotlight and Giveaway: J. Crabbit

2011-10-03T08:37:00.000-04:00

Happy Monday! First things first: the winner of the Bates Mercantile Co. giveaway is Paige (from the awesome blog Final Clothes-Out)! Congratulations, Paige!!

Today's feature shop is J. Crabbit, whose owner, Mitch, is the captain of the Etsy Blog Team. If you are a blogger, you should be on this team. His shop features refinished frames for displaying earrings, and his blog is a collection of thoughtful posts and beautiful pictures that you really should check out.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I am a class clown style guy. If it isn't fun, I don't like to do it. I like to eat good food, and drink good beer. I play golf, but not well. My day job is software technical support. I live in Maine and love it to death. I got married at 20, and have two amazing sons, 5 and 7, and one amazing wife. She is the reason I make everything I do for Etsy, and got me into blogging in general.

How did you decide what to name your shop?

The name of my shop was originally Jack Rabbit Furniture. I didn't really like the whole Jackrabbit thing, so I played with it. I love the hard vowel sounds, so with some modification it became J.Crabbit. I originally didn't like the J because it was so common... j.crew, j.jill, and such, but J.Crabbit is something completely different.

What is your favorite fall tradition?

My favorite fall tradition is jumping in leaf piles. I saw it on tv and it looked so fun, then when you go to do it, the pile is too small, and you get hurt. So early on in life I figured out how to take the time to make a big enough pile to belly flop in it and come out just fine. It has been really fun to pass that tradition along to my two boys. Although now they do all the jumping and I do a LOT of raking, but I still look forward to it all year.

Read any good books lately?

Funny story, I have never read a book... WHAT!?!?? Yeah, actually it's true. I cliff-noted my way through high school, and watched the movie in college. The worst part is that I know how much I am missing. I realize how amazing books are, and I still don't read them. I was an acting major in college, I have read hundreds of plays, but no books (is the complete works of Shakespeare a book?). I was in a play once in a smaller role, and read a book backstage. I was on the last chapter, and when the two weeks of the play ended, I packed up my book and left, never finished it.

What's your ideal vacation, if you ever get one?

I want to go to the Caribbean with my wife. We went to Montreal for our honeymoon, and live in Maine, so warm is good. I want to have no concern on money while we are there, and go to all the places that the other tourists don't know about. I want to snorkel off a private sailboat off a coral reef only known by locals, then have someone's grandmother cook us their secret 100-year-old family recipe for dinner. I think that a week would probably be good... maybe two.

As you can see through this post, Mitch has some really beautiful refinished frames in his shop. Mitch is offering the winner of this giveaway this stunning barn-red earring frame, shown above and below. Just think how fabulous this would look on your wall, or what a beautiful show/fair display piece it would be!

In order to enter you must be a follower of this blog, and do one or more of the following (leave a comment for each one, please!):

1. Follow Mitch's blog, J.Crabbit.

2. Favorite the J. Crabbit shop on Etsy.

3. Follow me on Twitter.

4. Tweet or blog about this giveway and leave me a link.

*Giveaway open to U.S. and Canada residents and will close on Sunday, October 9 at midnight Eastern time. Winner will be announced on Monday, October 10 here on this blog. Please check back to see if you've won!

A Pledge and Some Sunshine

2011-09-30T08:34:00.001-04:00

A pledge:

I promise not to purchase any more paper or fabric until I use what I have, which is plenty. Plenty. I need to become inspired and productive with what I have.*

*exceptions: blank note cards, envelopes, plain backing fabric such as terry cloth, or anything to do with a large custom order

Some sunshine:

On our latest trek to Lowe's, it was pouring. And then it wasn't. And then this happened:

Totally awesome! It was probably the largest, clearest, brightest rainbow we've ever seen (so we agreed), and Gus got to see it, which made it even better.

And did you enter the giveaway yet?? An awesome print is just waiting for you!

Happy Friday!

Pinterest: I Tried It (Car Garbage)

2011-09-29T08:11:00.001-04:00

Ok, so you probably saw the title of this one and was like, "What??" but I can explain. I thought I'd take a break from doing sewing things since I have been on that track for weeks and thought you might like to see something else. I wasn't quite in the mood or prepared to do any new cooking, so I hit up my generic Things To Try board, which houses all the stuff I think is a great idea but don't have a specific board for it. Case in point:

Car garbage

The description said, "Cereal dispenser trash can. Such a good idea." And it is! Let me explain further: my husband's job has him in the car a lot. Said job also required collecting business cards, sticky name tags, and, apparently, colds from people he meets and places he goes, so he often has things like Kleenex to throw away, and because he is a man and therefore handbag-less, he has no place to stash such things. Now, he could just put a trash bag on the floor in the car, but that's just as sloppy looking, and hanging one over the seat is a good idea, except it's always behind you. Not good. This one (from Better Homes and Gardens, how can you go wrong?) suggests using one of those plastic cereal keepers lined with a small bag to use to hold garbage, and they put it on the floor under the passenger-side dash. We had one of those cereal holders in our pantry closet doing nothing, so I thought it was about time to put it to use, since I pinned the idea months ago.

It works great! We've had it in there for just under a week. It's kind of wedged up under the dash, so it doesn't tip over, and the flap opening is just large enough for most on-the-go trash, but keeps it closed and secure. A very easy solution to a silly problem.

So how about you? How were your pinning experiments this week? Link up below or leave a comment! And remember- same time next week! I had a lot of fun trying this one out and may stick to the sewing board for a little while.

Feel free to grab a botton to add to your post to share this link-up with your readers!