Nov 12, 2008

Rain, Rain Go Away

Dear Rain,

I love you, but we have been seeing too much of each other lately. You just NEVER STOP. Even in the middle of the night I can hear you. If I look out the window, I can see you. I need some personal space. You are trying to force me to stay in the house all the time, it's getting a bit out of hand. Please. Let's take a break. Come back when you can control yourself.

Yours truly,
Melody



This park is a 3 minute walk from our house. This picture is of the soccer field.


This is another park half a mile down the road. The water very close to the trestle, and what used to be dry land looks like a raging river. I could see the river rushing like a waterfall down into one farm's field.


Kade and I were on the way to the post office to mail 3 Etsy orders. The post office was closed and all sandbagged up. We saw someone kayaking right down 1st street!


Our back yard has a little creek. As you can see it's not so little anymore. There is usually about 3-4 feet between the bridge and the water!


I'm pretty sure our house is safe. I'm not so sure about the highway between our house and town. I might get stuck at work tomorrow! Jeremy will have trouble getting to and from work. All this flooding seems like it is coming much earlier than past years. I wonder what the rest of November will hold.

Right now Kade and I are going to do a couple science experiments about the different forms of water. He has been full of questions today! "What is in the clouds that make them rain?" I did this with him before, but I guess he needs a refresher course! We'll be making ice cubes and then melting them with our hands, and boiling water in a pot with a lid, watching the steam build up condensation on the lid. The terrarium we made in September is also a good tool for teaching how water recycles itself, but it's more of a long-term experiment.

I think today calls for some fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. I'll start on those right after science class... or maybe they can be part of science class! :)

Nov 11, 2008

Tis the season for custom orders

If not too many new things are popping up in my shop during November and December, it's because I'm busy making custom orders! It's not too late to request a custom order in time for Christmas, but do it soon! Here are some that I have finished just in the past week or so:

Plush Owl Messenger in pink and brown (These would make GREAT holders for gift cards! They would fit perfectly in stockings, or you could hang them right on the tree!):



Happy 6th birthday to my nephew!! As soon as I can find more camo socks I will be making more of these Military Sock Monkeys!


More sock monkeys for some special little kids! The black one is SO SOFT!


I have more of the fabrics I used to make this purse, I am tempted to make one for myself! It has a magnetic snap closure . It's lined with the striped fabric and has a zipper pocket on the inside with tiny owl print- cute!


Besides custom orders, I am working hard trying to build up my inventory! I have stacks of fabric, piles of ribbon, and bags of stuffing in various places around my house right now...

Of course I have to make more BusyFingers BabyBuddy green dino... or as I call him, the Dino Buddy... but that reminds me of chicken nuggets. If you have kids you might know why!


More fabric gift bags for Christmas... these are my fabric selections this year. I only have a couple bags listed right now, but go ahead and let me know if you'd like any from these other fabrics!


Lastly, something else I've been thinking about lately - Custom family bottle cap magnet sets! They are available in a set of 3, 6, 9, or 12 magnets. Send me your photographs and I will edit and crop them just right! The set comes packaged nicely, and would make a great, unique, personalized gift!


If you don't have exactly 3, 6, 9, or 12 people, think about adding in grandparents, grandkids, pets, good friends, etc.! I also have 9 designs available as a "filler" if you are off by one number. You can mix and match any color with any design. I could even do names, dates, or other words, if you want to get specific!


I don't have any of these magnets listed yet, but just contact me if you are interested! :)

I'll let Porky tie up this one...

Nov 7, 2008

Belly Buttons I MEAN Bella Bunnies

Do you ever say the wrong thing? Happens to me a lot :)

Today I listed my first Bella Bunny tutorial for sale in my etsy shop! I'll be listing more of them this weekend, along with some custom sock monkeys, more fabric gift bags, and other things.

I worked so hard on this! I wanted this pattern to be really clear so that even the newest beginner could make it. I also wanted it to be attractive, fun to look at, and professional. The pattern is 9 pages and includes over 45 pictures, step by step illustrated instructions, and the full size pattern. Hopefully this is just in time for people to make for Christmas presents. One of my testers made a few Bellas in Christmas fabrics... SO cute! What a great idea!

I finally started running out of scrap fabric (a friend of mine gave me a whole tub filled with fabric left over from quilts she had made!) so I had to buy some more... here is a sneak preview of some of the new Bellas that will be for sale soon!


Tomorrow we have a busy day... Kade is starting swimming lessons (in the 3 month-3 year old class, because he won't get in the water without me!) and then we have a birthday party, and after that, Jer and I are going out with some friends, sans kids! It's been a while!

Nov 5, 2008

Slippery FEET!

"Slippery FEET!!!!" is Kade's super-hero power. It makes bad guys slip and fall asleep. I think that's quite a useful power. The bad guy will not only probably throw his back out and not be able to run away when he wakes up, but the sleeping could provide ample time for Super-Kade to tie up his arms and legs and take him to the authorities.

Me: "Run towards me so your cape is flying out behind you when I take your picture!"
Kade: "No, take a picture of this pose, it's way cooler than your idea."



This is another pose he wanted to to capture. Not quite sure what is going on here, but it looks to me like he might have accidentally used "slippery feet" on himself, and now his back hurts.


My favorite picture...




*The cape is from SuperFlyKidz, and the mask and wrist cuffs are from DiscoveryDenim.