Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!

This will be my first weekend off since the first weekend in October.  But, no slacking....no, no, no.  My show in Conifer on Saturday was my best ever for a one day show.  Customers were buying everything in sight so I have a whole bunch of sewing and painting to do.  I still have my show running in Cheyenne, so I may have some stock to return from it.  I sold both Crescent Santas, all my long johns, my snowman in a mitten, my sugar canes snowman, and most of my ornaments.  So, I am busy, busy this week and most of next.  I have setup on Wednesday for Red Rocks, setup on Thursday night for Unique Boutique, and Friday set up for Ye Olde Yuletide Boutique. 

On Sunday, Randy and I, along with Skylar who was a huge help to me at Saturday's show, went to Cheyenne for little miss Addyson's birthday.  I love this pic of her in her new Bronco slippers.

Well, I am off to work on projects.  More later!

A Whole Week has Gone by..........

So, I know I haven't posted for a while, in fact for a whole week.  I really don't know how I survived all those years, with kids, a job, and all this stuff.  Anyway....On Monday, I had to unload my car from my show at Dakota Ridge.  The show, on Saturday and Sunday, was really a good one for me and I will put it on my list of shows to do again next year.  As I unloaded my car, I kept hearing this loud meowing.  We don't have a cat, so I thought maybe there was a cat that was stuck or injured.  I looked all over and finally found a tiny kitten stuck in a corner where our garage meets our house.  I bent down to pick it up and it hissed loudly at me and went on the attack.  So, not knowing if the kitten was ill, I got it some milk and left it alone for its mama to come and rescue it.  That didn't happen.  When my husband came home, I told him about it and he put on his leather gloves and picked it up.  We kept it inside in a dog kennel for the night, not wanting it to be dinner for a fox or coyote.

You can see how tiny it is....Anyway, that was Monday and today is Friday and the kitten has become part of the family.  It follows me around, uses the litter box, and torments the dogs.

On Tuesday, I made the trip to take my products to Christmas in the Country, held in a log house north of Cheyenne, Wy.  I had been recruited at the Greeley show and was very intrigued.  If you live in this area, it is well worth your while to make the trip.  The show lasts for 11 days and lunch is available.  Here are a couple of the items that I purchased for myself:

It snowed here on Wednesday and Thursday nights.  It was in the single digits so this morning, I went out to make sure the chicken waterers were not frozen.  Just had to put on my special all weather boots:

In the middle of all this, I finished a couple more crescent Santas, many more Reindeer Food, Hot cocoa packets, Snowman poop, Lucky pennies, and Prayer rocks.  I also made another Christmas angel and four more of the bobble heads:

I kinda like the ones with their scarves pulled  up on their faces, do you???

Well, I have to run a couple of errands, then load my car, then set up tonight.  My granddaughter, Skylar, is coming along to help me tomorrow.  If you are looking for some great gifts, come by and see us at Conifer High School tomorrow from 9-4. 

 

Finally Friday....

I say finally, but this has been such a busy week for me that I think I could've used another day.  Tonight I set up for the Dakota Ridge Craft Fair.  It is a two day show, so no rest for the weary.... 

I had to replenish some stock and I got a new pattern so, here are some of the items that I have been working on:

More bobbles and crescent Santas:

A new pattern from the Craftaholic Creations  called "Annie Angel"

And a couple of prim angel ornies:

I also have a couple of new items but they need a bit of polishing before I photograph them. 

So my bloggie friends, have a great weekend.  If you are in the Littleton  area, stop by Dakota Ridge High School and give me a shout out. 

Tired on Tuesday

It was a really fun weekend, but a very busy one.  We (my sis and I) did the Greeley Tribune Craft and Gift Show.  It was so much fun, met so many great people, got recruited for another show, and best of all spent a little time with my two youngest grand girls.  But....I am paying the price this week.  Yesterday hubby and I had some errands to do and today, my stubby little nose has been pressed to the grindstone.  I did sell enough that I am having to replenish some stock.  I have a two day show at Dakota Ridge this weekend and on Monday I take my inventory to Cheyenne for an 11 day show called Christmas in the Country.  This woman holds a show there out of her home in the country.  I am always excited to try something new.

One of my best sellers this weekend was my crescent Santas.  I only brought two and they went within the first couple of hours. 

So, I had better get busy on some more of these.  I only have a couple left.  I am also working on some ornies, some angels, some raggedies, and some reindeer.  Once I get some of the new items finished, I will add some pics.  Stay busy, my friends. 

Finally Friday

I know, I know....kinda slacking on the posts, huh?  Well, here's the deal.  I worked all day Wednesday on finishing up some projects:  more snowman paintstick ornies, more gift tags, some hot chocolate packets, etc.  Nothing new, nothing big.  I am setting up today for my Greeley show and won't be back home until Sunday night.  Monday I have a legal appointment so I probably will not post again until Tuesday. 

I guess I am kinda like my puppies......I love routine.

So, I am a bit discombobulated lately.  Normally I shop, bank, etc on Friday.  But I was setting up for a show last Friday so it got pushed until Monday.....but, oops, Monday was a banking holiday so I shopped Monday, banked on Tuesday.  I attend a Weight Watchers meeting on Friday mornings.  But I missed last week all together and went yesterday.  So the normally stay at home gal was gone several times this week.  I am such a creature of habit!
If you are up north this weekend, look for me at the Greeley Tribune Gift and Craft show.  It is a new show so I'm not sure what to expect.  I get to see two of my grandgirls on Saturday so that is exciting!  Have a great weekend. 

Tutorial Tuesday

This is an oldie but goodie tutorial on how to make my paintbrush santa ornaments.  I have been making these for years, and they sell very well at craft shows and make great gift.  I am showing you the finished product but I 'll explain how to get there.  You will need a paintbrush, any size.  Its kind of fun to buy those multipacks that are several of different sizes.  I like to make several at a time.  You paint the handle of the paintbrush in whatever red you like to make the hat.  (I used barn red)  Paint the bottom of the brush, including the metal piece that holds the brush to the handle.  Choose whatever white shade you like.  I chose light buttermilk.  I like to dip the bristles into the paint.  Its okay if the bottom of the brush has more paint than the top.

While the brush is drying, paint a circular wooden piece (you can buy them at the craft store) some shade of flesh tone.  Also find whatever you are going to use for the mustache the same shade of white that you used for the bristles.  The pieces that I used are part of a pack of "woodsies" that you can also get at the craft stores.  Its fun to experiment with this.  Sometimes I use a heart and turn it upside down.  A small star also works. 

When all the pieces are dry, blush the face and dot on black eyes.  Glue to the metal part of the brush.  Glue on the mustache.  Then garnish!  I used a metallic paint and dotted the brush handle, added a piece of warm and natural batting for the hat band, and glued on some greenery.  I also used rusty bells and wires to string through the hole in the handle. 

Have fun with this.  You could glue a pom pom on the top of the handle or top with a big bell.  Instead of dots, make a plaid pattern, or write with a black marker something like "He sees you when you're sleeping"  Or "He's making a list ...."  You could cover with glitter if you like.  Just use your imagination!

Short Monday Blog

Sorry, my friends, but this will be an oh, so short post today.  I had a very busy, very traumatizing weekend.  On Friday morning, it was so cold and so snowy and I loaded all my stuff into the truck only to find out the battery was dead and it wouldn't start.  Thank you God for my son who came over, started the truck and then followed me to Littleton and helped me set up my canopy and carry all from the truck.  There was snow on the ground and by the time I got home, I was tired, sore and my feet and socks were soaked.  Since it had snowed and more was predicted, I decided to leave everything in the totes and go down early and set up on Saturday morning.  My grandson had agreed to help.  I was really nervous, hoping that the truck would start.  The temp was in the twenties so about 10 or 15 minutes before I had to leave, I went out and started it.  I was so happy that it did start!  But, somehow, I don't know quite how it happened, I locked the doors and went back in to pick up my coffee.  I locked the house, and went out to leave and alas!  I couldn't get in.  Nor could I get in the house.  My purse, my cell phone were in the running truck.  I finally found a way to break into the house.  I called my hubby who was in Alma, about 50 miles away at work.  He had to come back and unlock the truck.  So long story short, we were late for the show and still had to set up.  It rained and snowed all day.  My sales were not the greatest and my hubby was quite unhappy.  AND then yesterday the Broncos lost!

So here is for a better week ahead.  I did some shopping today, but tomorrow I will have to start getting ready for the next show that will be held in Greeley this weekend.

Hope to see you there!

Thrifty Thursday

So today, being Thrifty Thursday, I decided to finish up some re-usable gift tags that I made.  I got this idea from Pinterest.  The back side is painted with chalkboard paint, so you can erase and use year after year. 

You start with these little wooden circular discs.  Before you paint, drill a hole in the top for a hanger.

Paint one side of the disc your favorite shade of snow.  When dry, flip it over and paint the back side.  Don't forget to paint the sides.  You could do them either in the white or in the chalkboard shade.  There are different chalkboard paint shades.  I just happened to have some black, but you could use gray, red, etc.  The chalkboard paint will require multiple coats.  You want total coverage but you need to let it thoroughly dry between coats.   After both sides are dry, paint on the faces.  I think this is the fun part.  I used a marker for the mouths and dotted the eyes with black paint and used a Canyon Orange shade for the nose. 

For the hanger, I simply used all six strands of embroidery floss.  The holes are small so I just threaded the floss onto a large needle and poked it through.  When you are painting multiple coats of paint, sometimes the holes get painted shut so the needle opens it back up.  I then blushed the cheeks with regular blush.  I think these are a really fun idea and will be great for your craft shows.

I am setting up for the Friends of the Littleton Library Craft Show tomorrow and the show runs from 9-4 on Saturday.  They are predicting snow, but oh, well, maybe that will put shoppers in the mood.  So since I won't be posting for a couple of days, I want to share another ornament that I finished up yesterday.

These little guys are from a pattern from the Olde Country Cupboard.  I had actually sewn this quite a while back, so I had to finish stuffing them, painted their paws, bellies, and neck and sewed on the eyes and collars.  I think these are really cute and I can even see them in a centerpiece, on a mantle, or nestled in a Santa display.

Come see me Saturday!

What'cha workin' on Wednesday????

I have a number of irons in the fire, so to speak, but what's new????  Remember how I referenced plagarizing one of my friend's Santa pins???  Well, I put my own spin on it and instead of making pins (I already have oodles of pins), I made them into tags.  Really easy, peasy, lemon squeezy.  They are made out of those little vase fillers that you can get at the dollar store.  Just simply paint the flat bottom side.  Be sure you paint the features first and then fill in with your white on top of that.  You have to let it thoroughly dry between painting the nose, eyes and mouth and adding the snow background.  I had to do two coats of white.

 . 

The tags are tea dyed and baked in the oven.  Then I took a small snowflake stamp, dipped it into thinned white paint and dabbed onto the tags.  I made sure that some of them ran off the side of the tag for a more random natural look.  While the paint was still wet, I very lightly dusted with an ultra-fine glitter.

 

I made another one of the primitive snowman in mitten wall hanging.

I finished up a few of these large pumpkins.  I usually sew them throughout the year and store them flat.  When it gets close to my show times, I get them out, stuff them and finish them up.

 

And I reformed a skull that I found at the dollar store!

 

This was really simple.  I coated the skull with mod podge and dumped glitter over it.  I shook off the excess and then I let it cure for a day or so before I glued in the 'ruby' eyeballs. 

Well, I have more to do.  Chili is in the crock pot, laundry is in the dryer, dogs are sacked out on the couch so I'm headin' off to the studio. 

Tutorial Tuesday

So a few weeks ago, I was shopping with my Granddaughter, Skylar, at Hobby Lobby.  We saw this really cool ornament in the hundreds that they have displayed and a tiny (somewhat dim) lightbulb went off in my little brain.  I think I can make that!  I think the ornament sold for $8.99.  So I bought a couple of the glass ornaments that were on sale for 50% off.  ($1)  These are large ornaments that are round but not circular.  Am I saying that right???

And then, I found an old Christmas card.  On the back piece, I traced a circle.

I took the circle that I traced and cut out and put it over the area of the card that I liked and cut out the picture.  I then cut little "darts" in the circle so that it would lay flatter.

Coat the printed side of the circle with my new best friend, Mod Podge and lay the printed side down on the clear ornament.  Now, if you are using a greeting card, it is going to be stiff.  In order for the mod podge to set up and the card to remain flat, you have to use rubberbands so the card "hugs" the ornament.

You can see that the rubberbands weren't enough so I ended up wrapping the ornament in painters tape until the glue dried.  I worked like a charm!  Mod podge will dry clear .

You need to coat the back again with mod podge.  Then for good measure coat it again.  While the second coat is still wet, go to town on the glitter. 

 

I added a little glitter to the inside of the ornament and an organza ribbon.  That's all there is to it....Pretty simple.

 

Now here are some other ideas if you want to try this project.  You could print out a Christmas scene from your computer or cut a picture from a magazine.  I think lighter paper would be easier than the card stock.  (hugs easier)  Another great idea would be a family photo.  Use a color copier so you don't ruin the original photo.  Or print a digital photo.  Wouldn't this be a great gift for a newlywed's first Christmas?  Or do one every year for your kids or grandkids to document their growth. 

 If you are not a "glitter girl" you can always paint the back of the ornament. Be creative!

Busy Monday!

Normally, I do all my errands on Friday.  You know, the bank, the post office, the groceries, etc.  Well, somehow, I had all that stuff to do again today.  Gas station, insurance company, bank, post office, Walmart(our coffee pot broke again!) and pharmacy.  But I still got home in time to work on a couple of things.  This is an item made (loosely) from a pattern from 0
Sew Many Prims.  I don't like my items quite as primitive so I gave it my own interpretation.

The little trees are made from grapevine wire and homespun.  It all turned out pretty well, huh????

And to my dear little friend, Peppy, I am trying your idea for snowmen pins.  I will let you know when and if I get them done. 

Join me tomorrow for Tutorial Tuesday.  You're gonna love it!