A first, and hopefully not a last!

I did my first craft fair yesterday! It was very small- only about 6 vendors, and it was also the first one for the girl who organized the whole thing. She did great! It was a lot of fun putting up my display. I never see everything I have made all out at the same time, looking pretty. My house is so small, new items go right into storage until someone buys them. I have been sewing like crazy for the past few weeks, trying to build my stock up. I figured even if I didn't sell a lot at the craft fair (I ended up selling 5 items), I would be able to have a big update ready for my Etsy shop! (It's coming- I just have to take some pictures!)

Here is my little set-up (click on it for a bigger picture):


This is the my main table. I made that banner by printing out the letters onto scrapbooking paper, cutting out the triangle shape, mounting them on black card stock, punching holes in the corners, and stringing it on some fancy yarn. I used Target storage cubes as displays, which worked REALLY well! They are so versatile- I made some little corner cubes, a couple tall towers, and some shelves. They were perfect for hanging all my Owl Messengers on, too! I ended up having more stuff than I thought I did, so I expanded my space onto this other small table:


Also- laughing at myself is a little lonely, so I invite you to join in! Do you ever have one of those, "what was I thinking?!" moments? They seem to happen all too often to me, but this last one was especially bad.

I was getting ready for work last Friday morning. Not too tired, because it's my late-start morning- I don't have to be there until 8am. So, I can't blame this on sleepiness. I washed my face and then went into my bedroom to put some toner on my face. I picked up the bottle, poured some toner onto a cotton ball, and started applying it all over my face.

Then I noticed it started to sting. And it smelled horrible. Kind of like fingernail polish remover. I continued to apply this burning, horrible-smelling substance to my face, thinking, "that's weird," and that's when I realized - DUH - it WAS fingernail polish remover! When the knowledge of what I was doing hit me, I had this split-second image run through my head of all the skin on my face falling off- as if I had put straight acid all over my skin. I just kept thinking, "how? WHY?!" The bottles don't even look the same, not the same size, shape, or color, so I can't blame it on that either. You have to push down on the top of the toner bottle to get something to come out, not pour it. Completely different. I can think of no excuse. After I was sure that none of my skin was falling off, I couldn't stop laughing! Now I keep the fingernail polish remover in a different spot, away from the toner!!

God Bless America

I had no idea Kade could do this until a couple days ago. He showed me after school, and I just had to tape it! I'm a proud mama! :)

Giveaway!!!

Hey everybody!

How would you like a chance to win this cute set of four Halloween recycled bottle cap magnets??


Head on over to Serenity's Giveaways to enter!

Good luck!! =c)

PS- Last night, my husband called me outside to look at the moon. It was huge and full and beautiful. The sky looked like a painting, with the sky lit up by the light of the moon, behind that old tree and the shed. I tried to take a picture, which didn't work too well, but here is the best one:


Magical!

The One and Only TMNT Leonardo Sock Creature!

In the past, I have created a Spider Man Sock Monkey, a Star Wars Sock Monkey, and many other unique sock creatures. Last month, I received a request for one that I was really excited to create. Remember Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? I used to watch that all the time at my friend Rae's house, when we were about 10 years old. The TMNT I made is Leonardo. He's the one with the blue bandanna, and the swords. I did some research, to make sure he was detailed exactly after the 80's/90's cartoon, and went to work. Here is the result:



The best part- the swords can either be attached (by an elastic band) to the hands, or slid into the belt on the back of the shell!!


I hope the recipient enjoys his custom Leonardo Sock Creature! I'm considering making another TMNT... it was really fun... we'll see!

Why I have been so busy!

Here is the answer: Lots and Lots of custom orders! I currently caught up and just waiting for more. I'm sharing a few pictures with you today, but this isn't even all!








(This was a gift for a friend of mine. I don't know if it will fit her baby all at the same time, because I guessed on the sizes for everything, but I think it's cute! Love sock monkeys!)





Next, I'll be sharing pictures of the second ever Sock Chicken, a Sock Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, and an adorable plush horsie!

Kindergarten, here we come!

Kade started Kindergarten on Monday. I was prepared for lots of clinging, and some pleas of, "don't go yet!" or, "just one more hug and kiss!". We walked into the classroom and to my surprise, Kade just ran over to his spot on the rug and sat down, without a backwards glance! He waved over his shoulder, actually it looked more like he was shooing me away. So I left, without my hug and kiss, feeling a tiny bit dejected, but mostly relieved and proud. I got plenty of hugs and kisses when I picked him up 3.5 hours later, and was happy to hear that he couldn't wait to go back the next day. Now the first day of kindergarten is over, that day we'll both remember for the rest of our lives, that milestone that seemed so far away once. That day has passed, and now the bright future lies ahead.

Evergreen State Fair

Last week we went to the annual Evergreen State Fair. When we left the house in the morning, it was absolutely pouring down rain! So we donned rain coats and rain boots and brought the umbrellas. As soon as we got to the fair, the rain subsided, and didn't appear again until we got in the car to drive home that evening!

Here are a few (very few!) highlights:

Kade and one of his cousins got to go on rides together this year. They had a blast!!!


Best buddies :)


This was probably Kade's favorite part of the fair this year. We spent a lot of time looking at all these wood carved creatures. We got to watch a man create Kade's favorite animal, a turtle! Kade wanted his picture taken by every single carving that he thought was cool. I have about 25 pictures like these:


The tallest guy at the fair:


When Kade spotted this HippoCampus on the carousel, he was entranced. As soon as the gates opened, he made a beeline straight for it. He grinned so happily during the whole ride:


I was showing these photos to a friend of mine, and she liked the HippoCampus so much that she hand carved a stamp of it!! Here is is:


Isn't that amazing?! It looks JUST like the picture!

Anyways, I always feel like the Fair is a sign of the end of summer. Leaves have started to turn, it's getting dark earlier, Kade's starting Kindergarten on Monday. Summer went by too quickly! But, Fall is my favorite season, and I can't wait to see what it brings this year :)

Hand Carving stamps!

I have been creating lots of hand carved stamps lately! They are for use in letterboxing. A friend and I hosted a letterboxing event a few weeks ago (I'll have to share some pictures soon!) and it kind of re-lit my fire for carving stamps. Here are some examples of what I've done recently!

This was an "event box"- a letterbox made especially for the event. I decoupaged the "Treasure Island" photo onto a large (12"x14") old book about cats. Then, I turned it into a Secret Hollow Book!


This is the inside of the book. I glued all the pages together, and used an exacto knife to carve out two openings to house the stamp and the logbook.


This is a closeup of the logbook I made. It's completely hand bound! I used a great tutorial, it only took about 45 minutes total, and was pretty easy!


Here is a closeup of what the stamped image looks like! Click on the photo if you want to see it larger. This stamp is about 4"x5".


Here are the three letterboxes I carved to be "one day only boxes" - available only for the day of the event.

This is what is inside my letterboxes: a nice logbook, for you to stamp your own signature stamp into, a fun little prize for the first finder to keep, and the stamp, in it's own little felt pouch.




This is my "signature stamp"- what I use to stamp into the logbooks found inside letterboxes.


I also carved a signature stamp for Jeremy (this one one especially challenging!):


This is a new stamp for a letterbox that has not been planted yet. I have always loved the Claddagh symbol!


This celtic knot-work shamrock will be a bonus stamp for the above letterbox. It's small, only about 1.5" across:


And lastly, my Seattle Mariners stamp:


There you have it! My favorite place to buy the carving material is currently out of stock or something. So, you could say I'm going through carving withdrawals! Jeremy even got into the spirit and carved some stamps himself. It's addicting! And, anyone can do it- really! You do not have to be artistic and know how to draw! You basically just have to be able to trace lines. With a little practice, you can carve anything! You can carve onto erasers using an exacto knife, you don't need to go out and buy anything special. Here are some tutorials, if you'd like to try it out:

~ Geninne's tutorial (start at the bottom)
~ The Monkey Basket tutorial (shows the transfer method I use)
~ Two Cheese Please tutorial (using erasers and chisel tools)
~ Atlas Quest tutorial (one more...for good measure!)

First trip to the ER...

Well, it turns out my last post was posted too soon! That very same day, guess who's fever shot up again.

Guess who's headache was so bad that he cried out in pain at the sunshine.

And guess who's neck was so stiff that he couldn't move it AT ALL.

Mommy called the doctor and the doctor said... "bring him into the ER right now. We're going to have to do a spinal tap to test for meningitis."

So that's what this mommy did. I called some people, packed some bags, and put my hotter-than-hot, sicker-than-sick boy into the car and drove to the ER.

Guess who wasn't sick at all 2 hours later, when the doctor came into the room?


That's right, I said, "wasn't sick at all." No fever, no headache, no sore throat, no stiff neck.

"I promise," I told the doctor, "he was REALLY sick before we got here..." She said it's happened before.

I think God answered some prayers and healed this sick boy, because the doctor checked him over, kept him a little white for observation, and decided that no spinal tap would be needed! In fact, the only pain Kade had to go through was a tiny finger prick to test for mono- negative, of course!

Somebody's watchin' over this kid!

Fever

Kade has been sick since last Monday night. He was fine all day, then before bed I kissed him on the forehead and noticed he was pretty hot. He is prone to getting fevers, so I just brushed it off as, "he must have played too hard today." In the morning, he comes stumbling into the bedroom, delirious, crying, and burning up with a fever of 104 degrees!!!

My whole week has been a mess of obsessive temperature taking, medicine measuring, doctor calling, washcloth wetting, popsicle offering, drink forcing, and blanket refusing. Tuesday, Kade developed a sore throat. Wednesday, his fever shot up to 105.5. I got it to come down very quickly, and Kade did not have any of the "go to the ER" signs. But, he also developed a very bad headache and a stiff neck. He was not able to turn his head from side to side or up and down- he just lay on the couch looking very miserable and pale. He ate barely nothing the whole week.

I took him to the doctor on Thursday. At one point during out 45 minute wait, Kade slid off the chair onto the ground, clutching his neck. "This is the end!" he croaked out dramatically. "I'll see you in Heaven, mommy. I never thought I would die this way. I'll miss you!" Other moms were staring, and calling their children away from the apparently deathly ill boy on the floor. "It's OK," I said to them, "he says stuff like this all the time..." "NOOO, it's the end for me, the end, THE EEEENNND!!!" Kade insisted.

Luckily, the nurse came just then to call us in. After checking Kade over, the doctor was worried enough that he was asking about what was the nearest hospital to our house. I think he was worried that Kade had meningitis, by the questions he was asking.. Not too worried, I'm sure, or he would have sent us to the hospital right away! He thought the sore throat trumped the stiff neck and headache, so prescribed him antibiotics and sent us home. He even called on Friday morning to make sure Kade was still OK.

This morning (Saturday, I think.... I'm beginning to lose track of time..) Kade woke me up at 5am and his fever was up near 104 again. I gave him motrin and a drink and put him back to bed. At 9, he woke up again, fever free! He walked out of his room and proclaimed, "I feel so alive!" and asked for something to eat. His headache gone, his stiff neck nice and relaxed, a smile on his face. The only trace that remains is a bit of a sore throat. It's still only the middle of the day, so I am *hoping* that the fever does not come back. It seems like he has been sick forever. I haven't been out of the house (besides to the doctor) all week. I need to go grocery shopping SO bad! And I just need a little break! Just one little break, before next week starts and I have to get caught up with my life!

Picture Journey

I had a very hard time narrowing down photos to share with you. I took over 300! Yes, I have a problem :) Here are a very few highlights from our recent vacation to the Washington State Peninsula:

A cool tree at our camp site:


Our "platform tent"- a great way to camp!


Murhut Falls in Brinnon, WA (one of the most beautiful hikes I have ever been on!):


Kade enjoying the view (and wishing he could climb down like the grownups):


A gorgeous sunny day:


Wish we could have stopped!


Ocean Shores State Park:



"Footprint in the Sand"


Smokestack near Aberdeen:


Mt. Walker View Point (even on a very foggy day it was amazing):


Kade at the top of the world:


Sweet memories