crafting this and that

Hello!  Wow, can't believe it's almost Thanksgiving!  I have to get some pies tomorrow and then cook on Thursday.  My youngest one always looks forward to Thanksgiving, mostly because he likes to eat everything! After a little bit of procrastination today, I completed my chores.  Then I had an hour or so to finish up my shaker calendars.  I love the new Mama Elephant release!  I went a little overboard and bought the dies too.  Usually I don't because they are so pricey but boy, they sure make cutting out everything easy.  I made 10 of these in total.  Eight of them are listed in my Etsy store.  Took me a little bit of trial and error to get them the way I wanted. I filled up little clear bags with sequins, glitter and microbeads.  I think the clear bags allow the glitter to move around more freely.  I still used clear cardstock over the clear bags cause it is stronger and sturdier.  I didn't use any foam to pop ...

Hello!  I had a lot of fun at the last craft fair talking with one of the vendors next to us selling fabric.  She is so nice and friendly!  And wow, she sews very well!  I think we did fairly well at the fair.  Sold a lot of cards and sequins and a little of this and that.  Slowly dwindling down on my used stash of stamps and dies.  But I still have some!  Totally wish I could sell them all before Christmas but looks like they'll be taking up some floor space still.  I am thinking that was my last fair for the year.  I'll be trying to keep my Etsy store better updated and supplied. A while ago I hurt my right hand.  More specifically my thumb.  Every now and then the pain comes back and now it's back.  I guess I have been crafting more but everyday activities aggravate it.  Stuff like turning on the car ignition, pouring water, typing, using my phone, cutting vegetables, etc.  Even now!  I really want to r...

Hello!  The weather here has turned to rainy and breezy.  I like that more than hot & humid.  I discovered at the last craft fair that people still search for birthday cards during winter.  Well, of course they do cause birthdays happen every day all year round.  So I added more birthday cards just in time for the next Rubberstamp Expo happening this Sunday, November 15 at NBC Hawaii Suite. People were searching for boy birthday cards specifically and even cards for grown up guys.  I don't know, I don't think I make much guy stuff.  And also handmade items for boys.  I don't think I have too much stuff guys would buy.  I guess that is something to think about.  Anyway, I took out my favorite Sister Stamps birthday kids and made a couple of boy birthday cards.  Simple and sweet cards that didn't take me too long. Of course I had to make some girl cards too.  I made three of these because she's just about my fav...

Hello!  I have a little bit of this and that to share today.  Thought I'd jam everything into one post in case I don't get a chance to share them later.  Here are some of the Mama Elephant reindeer shaker tags I made.  I sold some at the last fair but I should've take a photo of all 24 together before selling them!  I think these are about the cutest reindeer ever.  If only I can get my hands on the dies soon, I can make more projects with these. Here is another set of tags.  I added red stars in some shakers and then green stars in others.  I think the green stars were more popular and sold better.  Did you see that Mama Elephant is releasing a new stamp set with the Chinese zodiac animals?  The set is so cute and I can't wait to get those. I made some graduation cards too using Sister Stamps Graduate stamp.  Green is the school color of the university here. And lastly, I made this necklace the other day with th...

Hello!  Today, I did a little bit of crafting for fun.  I have a couple of projects in the works for my kids that I'll share when they are done.  I also did my usual chores and meal prep.  But realized I couldn't cook dinner early today because we have absolutely no room in the fridge to put a large pot of chili in when I'm done cooking it.  So I guess that'll have to wait for later this afternoon after I pick up my 2 out of 3 kids from school.  Wednesdays are interesting because I have to make multiple trips out of the house for pick ups at different times.  Just thinking about it makes me wanna take a nap!  But instead I ate some pie.  In case you are wondering, my 3rd child will get picked up by my hubby.  Don't worry, I only forgot to pick up one of my children once the whole time I was a parent.  That's not too bad, is it?  Oh, and once I overslept while napping which is why I don't nap much during the day anymore.  I...

Hello!  Yesterday, we attended the fair at Hawaii Kai Retirement Center.  It was a pretty short fair, only about 4 hours but the time did crawl at some points!  It was kind of a different fair for me and a different crowd.  Less crafty people for customers, I think.  I'm so used to speaking with people who like to make cards and stamp, and I think I kind of missed that yesterday.  But all in all, a good experience. But someone did ask me how I have the time to make so many crafts.  And then she asked if I work.  I still have to get used to answering questions like that.  Do you work?  Do you have a job?  What do you do?  I'm so used to saying no, I don't work.  But really I think I have a 24 hour job.  I don't have a regular 9-5 job.  I work all the time even in my sleep!  As a parent, do you sleep so soundly that you don't wake up when you hear a noise?  Ever since having children, I haven't slept we...

Hello!  Our third craft fair was at the Rubberstamp Expo again and I think I like this venue better than the 99 Ranch fair.  Mostly I guess because there is light!  It's kind of important that people can actually see what they are buying!  I will be signing up for the November 15th Rubberstamp Expo as well.  Not sure if that will be my last fair for this year or if I should go into December.  I think my hubby is getting burnt out!  He misses his Sunday naps.  It is nice talking with everyone and seeing familiar faces.  It's nice to talk about stamping and crafting with others who share that same interest.  People ask me about my coloring and all I can say is "practice!"  If you look at my early cards, they didn't look how they do now.  I think my style has changed and evolved.  Less papers and more about the image than the background.  These are a couple of cards I was trying to complete for last week's fair but...

Hello!  Wow, it is a hot day today!  Spent the morning with my youngest at a small pumpkin patch.  It was so hot we couldn't stay very long but we got strawberry lemonade and that was yummy. You would think that going into my 3rd craft fair I'd be better prepared but not really.  There is always something more I could be doing but I think I'm just gonna stop for now.  I'm so tired!  Plus today is laundry day and I have to cook dinner so the most I can do is take inventory and pack everything for the fair tomorrow. Some cards that I'll have at the fair.  Sorry for the reflection, I already packed them into their clear bags. I love these cards! I love these too.  I think she looks great in red.  All stamps from Sister Stamps. So if you are local, come stop by the Rubberstamp Expo at Blaisdell Hawaii Suite on Sunday, October 18 from 9 am to 3 pm.   Thanks for stopping by today!

Hello!  Welcome back!  It's Sister Stamps release day!  Get your cute peek-a-boo stamps today!  I have a couple more projects to share today so I'll get started. I made these little shaker boxes to use on my next cards.  I added a pinch of this and that, and they are so fun and cute. I turned the shaker boxes into Christmas presents by adding a big bow on top and added Peanut on the side to have him peeking out from behind.  Then I used an alphabet set from Lawn Fawn to create the sentiment at the top. Then this is the sentiment on the inside. This one has a red bow with Peanut. Then a green bow with a gray Peanut. I also made more desk calendars but they are shorter and wider than the ones I shared yesterday. Here is Bobo.  I love the way these peek from the side.  So cute! More of Peanut. Lastly, we have Pixie and she is my favorite.  I love the expression on her face!  So cute!  I layered the ca...

Hello!  Welcome back to another day of Sister Stamps projects!  Aren't all of these peeking animals so cute and clever?  And they are so quick to color so it was easy for me to make tons of stuff with these new stamps.  These bookmarks were actually the first set of projects I made with these stamps.  More animal puns here created with Lawn Fawn's alphabet stamps.  I made these bookmarks for my 3 kids and they have been using them for a while now.  I had this idea in my head to do a partial die cut to just frame the heads of these animals peeking out.  I also stamped, cut and glued extra paws to go over the heart diecut to give it that extra detail. So sweet, right?  These bookmarks are extra sturdy.  I used some clear contact paper over the cardstock on both sides so the bookmarks are glossy and hopefully will last longer. They each have hearts in the sentiments too. Here is the side view and maybe you can see the g...