Chelstastic

Today I...

2011-02-01T22:25:00.004-03:30

Woke up at 8ish, Jett was squealing. Matt had to poke me a bit and remind me that the longer I lingered, the higher the chances would be that Jude would wake up. Made a bottle, changed the baby and took him back to bed. Fed him / dozed until ... sometime? It was freezing in the house today, the oil tank ran out.

We all ended up down stairs together. Matt took Jude in the shower with him and fed him breakfast. I gave Jett another bottle. Two couriers came, one with a box of baby food and one with a box of bath and body products for reviews. We played around and tried the baby food. I tidied up a wee bit, mostly picking up the mess Matt left in his flurry of getting ready. Broke my favorite mirror by tossing a laundry basket full of clothes down the stairs.

I did today's blog posts which should have been done yesterday, but I somehow lost a couple and couldn't make myself do them over. Blogging in the morning always throws me off and puts me behind. In between the coding was a lot of baby/toddler stuff (in between everything, or rather, everything else is between the baby/toddler stuff). A couple explosive poops. Made a to-do list.

We all played, and watched Kipper on netflix. I made bagel sandwiches for lunch with banana bread (Jett got cereal). I vacuumed, emptied all of the garbages, unpacked 3 boxes of books, and wiped down the tv stand/coffee table/exersaucer. Jude took a bath. Jude played, drew me some beautiful art. We danced.

Jude took a nap. I tucked him in with his blankey, sippy cup, and radiohead cd. Jett had an explosive poop (fml) that resulted in bathtime, where he splashed around for the first time ever. He babbled all day and did this funny little move that looked like a dog lifting it's leg to pee. He took a couple naps throughout the day.

I drew a giveaway winner, answered a bunch of emails. Put a roast in the oven (with cabbage and bacon). I put up a new sponsor, and looked at google reader. Normally I would have google reader open first thing... but being behind on my posts.. it goes on the backburner. I entered a few giveaways. Made sure to tweet some things from sponsors or companies I'm currently working with. I took some pictures and emailed a friend, tried and failed to catch up with my facebook inbox.

I did a few dishes, put them away. We've been sorting the house out for a flea market trip, so I organized a few things related to that. Did a bunch of thinking/emailing in regards to how we're going to come up with a logo for the roller derby league. I've been spray painting some things for the last two days in the back porch, putting coats on them at various times of the day. A good friend called to arrange a surprise visit. I uploaded pics to flickr and contacted all the people I blogged about today.

I cut the roast up, made scalloped potatoes for the side dish while dancing. Matt came home but left to get heating oil. He brought some groceries I had asked for and an SD card to replace the one Jude broke yesterday. I put more dishes away, played with the baby. Jude slept extra long. Matt ate, woke Jude up, fed him. I read a few parts of an astrology book. I had chocolate turtles for supper.

I wrote this post. Jett is asleep on my lap right now with a bottle in his mouth. So far I have crossed 7 things off of my to-do list.

Tonight I will...

Write tomorrow's blog posts, and two giveaway posts. I will not fuck this up today. I am going to watch a band tomorrow night with Kara so I don't have time to waste. Matt will put Jude to bed. We will catch up on our days.

I will take a shower, maybe shave the leg I missed the other day when we ran out of hot water (but probably not). I will browse some models and make my selections for an upcoming project. I will type up an interview w/ an old makeup artist friend for the PCF birthday party.

I will lose my head in some music with my headphones on. Hopefully I will talk to my best friend. I will sleep, around 3am.

What's in my bag?

2011-01-23T16:21:00.003-03:30

Cards/ID
Mixed CD Tracklist
Walmart Receipt
Lancome Powder Foundation
2 red candies
3 mac lip glosses
1 clinique lipstick
love charlie business card
broken necklace cameo

Wristlet from Lemonade Accessories

Lettuce Wraps Recipe

2011-01-13T16:23:00.004-03:30

I made some asian style lettuce wraps for a potluck recently (I didn't go, but my food made it!) and was asked a few times for the recipe :) excuse me for my bad recipe writing skills... I am not a very exact cook.

Filling:

1/2 cabbage
3 grated carrots
a bunch of frozen edamame
hoisin sauce
chowmein noodles (I used this recipe for gluten free noodles)
chicken drumsticks
thai chili sauce
frozen asian vegetables (baby corn, pea pods)
head of iceburg lettuce

Shred the carrot and cabbage with a cheese grater into a large bowl. Add the frozen veggies and hoisin sauce to taste.

Put the chicken in the oven with the chili sauce on it. Put small pieces of chicken in the bowl. No skin etc.

Cook your noodles if you're using the recipe above. You can cook them at the same time or later, just don't add them to the filling until you're ready to eat them. The filling tastes better if it sits overnight in the fridge.

Put the junk inside the lettuce ;D eat it!

lol.. enjoy :) you can put in whatever you like, I never make these the same .. mushrooms are good, tiny red peppers, different meats.. :) this is fun for parties.

xo

Chelsea

Check it out!

2010-11-07T16:48:00.001-03:30

Just quickie photo post, this is my friend wearing a custom hairpiece I made her last year! Photo taken by another talented friend - Aimee Power.

Source

Doesn't she just look *so* gorgeous in the field? AhhH!!

a day in my life...

2010-11-02T01:58:00.005-02:30

this is just s list of my day in order..sorry for the boring text only post

- wake up, get dressed. grab jude, change him, grab baby and change him too. Take both boys downstairs, make a bottle and breakfast. Sometimes Matt wakes up with Jude a bit earlier and makes him breakfast if he is working a later shift.

- feed baby, Jude watches cartoons and drinks a sippy cup/eats breakfast and lays on his pillow. He likes to lay around when he first wakes up. I post something on twitter/facebook like a good morning, or something like that. I do my blogging while I feed the baby. I try to have the content for blog posts at least somewhat lines up before hand or it just takes too long, especially one handed html coding.

- I have google reader open all day and so I get going on that.. read some posts while blogging, tweet links. I HTML code 5-6 blog posts. Then after I code the blog posts I upload a photo to flickr for each of them. I have it set so that my blog feeds automatically to both facebook and twitter each time something is posted so that saves me time. As I'm doing this I am up about every 5 minutes tidying things or doing things with Jude like playing trucks or cutting and pasting things. Jude runs around a lot or plays with toys. He likes trucks and cars and things that he can push or ride. He also likes to go on our deck if it's warm enough outside.

- After my blogs are posted, I check emails. Well, technically, I'm checking emails all day. I have tweetdeck, flickr, facebook, etsy, and hotmail open at all times. I don't have a phone so most people contact me to make plans through twitter or facebook. Anyways, I use this time to respond to things, make any changes to the website. It's a lot of work to stay on top of everything, so it has to be constant. I make it work by checking 2-3 things in between a chore or giving either child attention. When feeding the baby I have to be sitting so I take advantage of that time to do "internet stuff", with one hand.

- I make lunch for Jude and I and we eat together and usually watch videos of yo gabba gabba on the computer or he runs around, lol. Sometimes my mom stops over on her work lunch break to eat with us.

- This usually takes us to nap time, for Jude. He sleeps for about 3 hours. I change him and put him down and we read a story and spend a little time together. If Jett is asleep I will either take or edit product photos, make product, pack and ship, or anything else little hands should not get into. I also do the bulk of my chores at this time like doing the dishes and picking up the house in general. I also try to squeeze in a shower if possible. I'm still tweeting and checking google reader and facebook during this. If I'm feeling naughty sometimes I take a nap. Sometimes friends pop in during the day.

- Jude wakes up, I change him, lays down on his pillow with a sippy again. I start cooking supper. Jude usually watches me or plays around me. I somtimes fit a bath into here. Baths come when they are needed during the day.

- Matt comes home, eats supper. I clean up after that. He takes over with Jude and plays with him and puts him to bed. I take care of the baby for most of the night while watching tv/responding to more emails/doing things I can get done from the couch. We talk about our days and spend time together. Matt watches sports or plays xbox. After Jett falls asleep around 11pm I am finally free to do something like more chores, read, or work on product photos/listing. Still tweeting, still facebooking. I try to fit in some me time after the kids are asleep, but it's hard because there is always still so much to do. I'm usually up until 2-3am.

- Wake up between 9-10 am and start all over again.

Curry with Leftovers from Yesterday!

2010-10-28T17:10:00.003-02:30

Easy, peasy. You need;

Chickpeas
Crushed Tomatoes
Curry Powder
Tumeric
Cinnamon
Garlic Salt
Onion Powder
Onion
Canned Mushrooms
Butter
A little milk

I had 1/2 cans each chick peas and crushed tomatoes left from yesterday's supper, so I threw them together in one can and added my curry powder and let it sit until lunch today.

I mixed all ingredients together in a wok, and cooked for about 10 minutes. Served on top of some minute rice. So easy, 2 yr old loved it too. You could put in whatever veggies you like too.

Another yummy recipe!

2010-10-27T20:40:00.003-02:30

We eat a lot of "noodle caboodle" here... which is basically any pasta dish. Here's the recipe for Wednesdays noodle caboodle.

You Need:

Hamburger
Pasta
Pasta Sauce in a Jar
Fennel
Garlic
Any other spice you like
Onions
Chickpeas
Cheese

First, I toasted my fennel, chilis, garlic, and pepper in a pan for a minute. Then I mixed the spices in with the hamburger and made meatballs.

Put pasta on to boil.

Cooked Meatballs and Onions in a pan. Poured grease off halfway through (keep a little) and add the chickpeas. Cook 5 min or so longer. Add your Jar sauce, cook until boiled.

Drain your pasta and mix with meatballs/sauce. Pat down into caserole dish, top with cheese. Bake.

Voila!

Christmas Lovely..

2010-10-27T17:34:00.001-02:30

I splurged and bought this for my door.

The Christmas Potluck is going to be at my place this year, so I need to do shit right. I'm going to have 3 trees.

Let's Get Real

2010-10-27T15:37:00.004-02:30

I've started to notice lately that the blogging trend these days is "It's a Wonderful Life" .. what do I mean by that?? Well, some of the blogs I'm reading just seem so fake, or impersonal. Well, yes, that is your impeccably styled home (and hair-do!) but is that *really* you? How long did that take to put together? Is it really an accurate picture of your life?

I don't know about you guys.. but as much as I enjoy eye candy, I just can't get invested in these "perfect" blogs. To me, the internet (and life) is all about relationships, and that kind of thing is just relationship-less! How can I relate on a personal level to perfect hair? I can't.. (I'm sitting here typing this with hair that I last washed... uh... when?) can you? I might just end up beating myself up over the fact that I can't achieve it.

Don't get me wrong - I love a beautifully styled blog and I strive for a beautifully styled life as well, but how much is realistic? I LIKE to know that other people struggle to keep their home clean, or that other mamas don't have time to curl their hair and put on makeup (there's poop on my shirt right now). I bet a whole bunch of you have dishes sitting in your sink RIGHT NOW. I love the imperfectness of humanity. We are naturally imperfect. I'm not sure where all this idealism came from.. I know it's not new.. but geez, aren't we tired of it yet?

The internet makes it easy for us to hide our shortcomings, but it also makes it far easier to connect with people on a level that we can't always reach in real life. We can share our thoughts and feelings so easily. Why can't we be more real? This isn't a show we're putting on, people! :P For a long time I was scared to show so many people my "real" self, but now that I am not, my relationship with the internet has become especially fulfilling. I strive to be an approachable and easy-to-talk-to person.. and becoming comfortable enough to just "be" has really helped with that!

I'm often asked how I got so many followers on twitter.. for a long time I never really knew what to say, but over the two years I have used it, it became clear - I am good at keeping up a relationship with people. I interact, ask questions, and listen. I remember (for the most part, it's hard with over 14,000 peeps!) who people are and what they are about. I care what they have to say, and am interested in the mundane parts of their life as well as the exciting. I get the same in return from people. It's true that you get what you put in, to everything.

Anyways, basically what I wanted to say here was... bring your real self to the internet, because you would be surprised how many people will appreciate it. I sure do :)

xo

Three Delicious Recipes!

2010-10-26T17:49:00.005-02:30

Ahh, I have been bad at keeping up with this blog. I've really been trying to increase content on THE OTHER BLOG so I have been doing 5-6 posts there DAILY. What a work out for my HTML coding skills. Anyways, here are some recipes for some delicious foods I have made lately. Excuse the webcam photos (lost my canon charger) and my lack of using a "proper recipe" (psssh).

So, this is my awesome cheapo stroganoff and braised cabbage with bacon. To make it you need:

2 cans of cream soup, mushroom is best celery is nice too.
Hamburger for meatballs
1/2 a bag of egg noodles

And then you...

Make meatballs, cook in a frying pan.
Put Egg noodles on to boil.
Add soup cans to pan once meatballs are cooked through, cook for another few min.
Drain pasta, add meatballs and soup mixture to pasta.

This is super yummy, and super cheap, and fills up my dudes.

To make the braised cabbage and bacon you need:

Bacon
Cabbage
Onions

And then you..

Boil cabbage in medium sized pieces, until almost cooked.
Cut bacon into small pieces and half cook.
Add cabbage into pan, and chopped onions.
Cook until bacon fully done.

Voila! yum! Easy! Cheap! Filling!

Now this... she is a thing of beauty. I made this for hangover brunch for my buds after a big house party here... we all ate in silence for like fifteen minutes. You know food is good when all is quiet. For this you need:

Bacon
Canned Ham (Optional)
Butter
Cheese
Milk
Flour
Rotini

And then you...

Put your rotini on to boil.

Make a basic cheese sauce. I never use a recipe for this.. I start with a big pat of butter. In this case, I used a combo of bacon grease and butter which I highly recommend for both deliciousness and hangover curing properties. Then, I add the flour until I reach my desired thickness. Then I add the milk and cheese. I am very bad at using exact measurements, so for this recipe, you need to have knowledge of how to make cheese sauce. Make a lot of it, because some will cook off when you bake the dish in the oven.

Cook your bacon. I also had some canned ham diced up left over, so I cooked it in with the bacon grease. It was lovely.

Next, mix your meats, your drained rotini, and your cheese sauce together in a pot. Then once mixed, pour it into a serving dish, and squish it down a little. Then top with cheese and even some crispy topping if you'd like, and bake at 400 for 10 minutes or so.

Then eat it. This was the most fantastic use of half a block of cheese I have ever experienced. I fed my husband and three friends and still had a whole bunch of leftovers.

#Ilovebacon

Shitshow.

2010-10-07T12:35:00.004-02:30

Whoa, hey. I'm back?

Guess what happened to me? Sit down, and buckle in, cuz this is a long one...

Let's go back to early August. I'm super pregnant and super pissed about it, specifically, 4 days overdue. I can barely walk, can't sleep, can't eat, can't form rational thoughts... mamas, you know the drill.

Hubby is unloading something from the car, and he has some chit chat with one of the neighbors. He comes to me and says "So I guess the reason why all that furniture was left on the deck next door under that tarp is that they had bed bugs in there". I'm like.. eww.. gross.. and start googling. After reading a little while, panic sets in. I saw one of the bugs in our house a few weeks earlier. After reading even further I determine that I had gotten 3 bites around the same time that I saw the bug. After doing this research I am seriously freaked out, knowing what a problem bed bugs can be if you get them. I am about to have a baby and god knows I do NOT want to bring him home to this.

Now, this place we had been living in, it had always been a bit of a shithole. We are a young family with one income and it is hard to find places to rent in our budget, so we put up with it. We lived in a townhome attached to a row of 5 other townhomes, with an identical building next to it. Every unit had families in it, and while I am not making a judgement on them, it was a low income neighborhood and we all know what that can be like sometimes. The landlord had never been attentive, issues abounded. The heat was cut off at least 10 times in the 2.5 years we lived there, and once the water. He would never answer his phone. Every unit had some sort of issue, like broken stuff or mold.

Over the summer they had decided to move every one's waste bins from next to their doors to the outer wall of the building. Consequently, the outer wall of my home. Accountability was gone and garbage began to pile up. It was HOT HOT HOT, so you can imagine the stink. The stink was coming through my walls, and my unit was filling with flies. Said inattentive landlord had of course also built a really crappy set of buildings, and they were not very sealed off to bugs. Wait - bugs? Oh shit.. bugs. And guess what had happened to all of the garbage left by the next door neighbors when they jumped ship? It was left all along my outer wall, front wall, and on their deck. When I found out about the bed bugs it was two weeks after they had left, that stuff had been there for TWO.WHOLE.WEEKS.

So now, I'm really panicking. I send a facebook message to another neighbor (on the other side of the bedbug unit) and ask her if she knew what was going on. She comes over and fills me in - boy did she ever fill me in! It turned out that the infestation next door was so bad that an exterminator had been in three times (oh and I was pregnant next door and they didn't tell me) and the bugs were still not gone, so the people moved out and abandoned all of their belongings. So now I know the full story, and I'm super pissed/freaking out. I started calling IRAC and environmental health and filing complaints and trying to find out what my options were.

At first Matt thought I was being a bit paranoid, but he believed me soon enough, and we decided we had to leave. Our rent had yet to be cashed, so I moved the funds out of my account. I called the building manager after receiving a nasty facebook message about how dare I call environmental health, etc.. told him that I was moving and taking my rent with me. He agreed to have our unit professionally inspected and luckily we had no bugs, but it was clear that they were not making the proper effort to set the state of the buildings right and never would. I was devastated, because I had spent my pregnancy (and quite a bit of money) re-doing the boys' rooms. I was looking forward to coming home to a nest all ready for baby.

Luckily enough, the timing was very serendipitous. Matt's cousin had just bought a house and was vacating her rental property, and we were able to snag it before it was even advertised. Even better was the fact that the place was awesome... a house! With lots of space for us in a quiet neighborhood - it even had a yard. Best of all our rent would even be a bit cheaper.

Three days after finding out about the bugs, I was induced and gave birth. I already had the house 30% packed up, thanks to hard work, friends, and a wonderful husband. My labour was really smooth and we were blessed with a very sweet little bundle. I came home from the hospital to a living hell of boxes, daily harassment from the landlord/building manager, and investigating every tiny spot to make sure it wasn't a bug. I 'recovered' from delivery while not sleeping and spending every spare moment packing, sometimes with the help of friends and family. Ten days after the birth, we moved.

Because of how quickly we moved, and how much was going on, I didn't even think of my utilities until it was too late. My power took four days to be hooked up, and my internet took twenty. Because people helped us pack, I had no idea where most of my things were. I lost my etsy business completely due to things being packed instead of sent and then having no internet to communicate with my buyers.

So now, just over a month since the move, life is starting to fall back into place. We are mostly unpacked, and picking up the pieces of our life. I am back to blogging as of today, and hopefully in the next few months I can get my business together too. All in all, things are good, and if not good - on their way.

The Island Tweethearts

2010-07-20T16:21:00.003-02:30

Last week, we were given an awesome gift!

The tweethearts are a networking group of women who have gotten together via twitter - they are all super sweet! We were so grateful to get this gift .. we were able to pick up some of the last things we needed for Jett, like a change table pad and some formula/bottles/diapers. It was such a nice surprise.... something like this means so much to our young family.

The paper and card are a bit worse for wear after spending the week in my purse... but I wanted to share a photo :) Just goes to show that Islanders really are the nicest people!

Still here... haven't melted away... yet

2010-07-19T13:00:00.004-02:30

Belly - 37 weeks

So, it was a hot hot hoooot weekend! We went to Matt's company picnic in the park on Saturday and I got soo sunburnt / heat stroked - ew! Yesterday it was sweltering in our house and I spent the day trying not to move mixed with fainting/throwing up and crying. Jude was at Grandma's so we could get things done.. well.. we did nothing ;) Not good times! Today will hopefully be better... and it is supposed to be a rainy week. Here are our pics from the park on Saturday, look how fat my feet are ;)

A Long Overdue Update - and Baby Makes Four :)

2010-07-16T10:34:00.003-02:30

HeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeellloOO!!!!!!

It's been forever since I posted here :) I closed up last fall after thinking that this blog no longer suited me... well... I am back now with a new design and lots of news.

Our first big news:

This is Jett, my second baby boy, due August 9th (But hoooopefully in the next week or two!). I've been busy all these months cooking up a human!! We are so excited to have another baby, and Jude seems to be excited to have a brother, from what we can tell. It's hard to understand how much a 2 year old really "gets". My sister in law is also expecting a baby girl, she was due on the 14th - so the family is expanding very quickly and I couldn't be happier. I never thought as an only child about being an auntie, especially an auntie to a little girl.

This is my belly as of last week:

My etsy shop has been very busy since I re-opened in April, but I am now closed again for maternity leave. Don't worry, I'll be working on new things while I am away and preparing for the holiday season. I hope to be back in September or maybe before, depends when baby arrives and how we adjust to having a newborn again.

So anyways, look forward to more posts here about my life, my crafts, and my kids. Speaking of crafts... here's a picture of my first scrapbook layout since October 08! I have another in the works (well, it needs to be fixed... Jude got it with a glue runner.. oops) that I will share soon :)

xo, Chelsea

Coming Back

2010-06-20T14:06:00.001-02:30

Soon - with a new design.

News :)

2009-11-06T14:34:00.002-03:30

Ahhh so much to share, so little time.

The first news I'm going to talk about is that this blog will soon be BUH bye! I'm working with Amber Renee to develop Papercakes.ca. My two blogs will be combined into one site and there will be lots of new content too. This blog is stale, boring, and not very "me" anymore. When I started PCF I intended it to be a side project, but it has really bloomed!

Anyways, somehow November snuck up on me and I'm right in the middle of craft show season prep. I have two ads out right now, one in a local magazine and one on Creature Comforts... so all that is keeping me busy. I am taking a few items over to the farmer's market this afternoon, and hopefully they accept me to be a part of their holiday artisan market! :) True to Chelsea form I am a bundle of nerves even though they will probably like my things and I have met the man I have to speak with before and he was very nice...

So, anyways... please follow paper*cakes finds and delete this blog from your links or your google reader because this will most likely be the last post or near to last maybe with a few more unimportant rambles thrown in.

Of... fall :)

2009-10-18T10:44:00.002-02:30

Ahhh, I have gotten busy again.

I have had posts half typed here for a week or so now... languishing... lol... story of my life :) I wanted to update with a few photos, taken between last weekend (Thanksgiving) and today. I did a photoshoot with my neighbor for my makeup portfolio, visited an old church, and took Jude to the pumpkin patch.

I've been dilligently working on stock for the upcoming season - I should begin to list Christmas items tomorrow. I need an assistant so bad!! lol :) Although, Hubby has become an awesome shipping assistant! I also finished up my project for PANACHE magazine this week and it was well recieved, yay! :) Hopefully I will be doing some more work for them in the future...... and that I will stress out about it less next time lol.

xoxo

Today....

2009-10-15T10:14:00.003-02:30

I am:

- shipping - a lot!! :) and sending general correspondence
- cleaning - the house has gotten disastrous since thanksgiving
- giving raspberries to jude's belly
- blogging (I have a post here and one on the other blog to do!)
- site updates I have been trying to get to for ages
- showering (I am disgusting, too busy lately)
- most likely expecting a visit from my mother
- tweeting (as usual)
- cooking a good supper
- battling my emails/etsy convos and checking google reader
- getting started on a christmas store update or at least list a couple new things
- trying to squish crafting in, I got some new christmas stuff
- going to staples to buy ink
- (hopefully) crossing things off the to-do list

Today is a good day...

2009-10-08T18:32:00.004-02:30

The house is clean. Not only clean, but super clean. Jude is in bed early, chicken is in the oven. I got most of my work done in the day.. so I have a semi-relaxing evening of shipping parcels with the hubs.

I made a little freebie to share:

Print these out and use em as journalling spots or gift tags! (Print as full sheet). And also, just for fun:

xoxo

Battling Fruit Flies..

2009-10-08T00:31:00.001-02:30

Ugh, it's the time of year for fruit flies. I spent a few hours today cleaning and disinfecting every inch of my house after trapping them all. Blech.

Anyways, that's all I have to say. I never have anything to say when I think about writing and since peopl have started reading more I guess I think about writing too much.. that's a never ending circle?? Basically, I don't know how to write so I share photos weee. Speaking of, I updated my flickr stream yesterday and there are pictures of me!

xoxox

<3

PS: Thanks to twitter for being so full of fruit fly killing knowledge <3

Spooooooooooooooky Sale!

2009-10-07T12:40:00.001-02:30

It's a SPOOKY SALE!! All of my Halloween items are now 50% off!

An Ode to Bed..

2009-10-02T11:31:00.001-02:30

Now that it is fall, the dreaded problem of getting up in the morning has gotten worse - because it's cool in the mornings and my bed is soooo snuggly and warm.

I've recently gotten around to making our bedroom a more inviting place to be - instead of the place where things go to die I've tried to make a warm, cozy, private space. We have nice bedding (it matches!) and I put up some soft beige curtains so the light is always dim. We have a memory foam mattress, soft jersey sheets, feather /blankets, and lots of pillows. A fan adds some white noise and a cool breeze, and of course there are lots of books within reach :)

I think it's important to make your sleeping area a place you look forward to being as we come into winter - I don't know about you but I practically hibernate during the cold weather months. I once read in Martha Stewart about "carving yourself a nook" and have tried to do that since.. during the days I make the bed so I have a quiet place to escape and nap/read. I do crafts/internet from bed sometimes too. And of course, all of that time spent sleeping...

We spend so much time in bed afterall, why not make it a great place to be? :) If you haven't already carved yourself a 'nook' for the coming winter... I suggest you should :)

Dear Chinese Spammer

2009-10-01T12:27:00.003-02:30

(or whatever language that is.. uhh..??)...

Please stop posting here. I am saying profanity to you in my head.

Anyways - hey! I am trying to blog here more often. My plan is to not put so much importance on "what to write or share", and just share something. I just got an email from my husband with the following attachment.

Today is October 1st which means it is Moustache month at Hubby's work - not that Matt needs an excuse to grow a ridiculous moustache. If you don't know my hubby already - he is 1/4 Chinese and has only more recently been able to grow facial hair (when we first met 3.5 yrs ago he tried to grow a goatee for me - LOL is all that needs to be said) and has a thing for growing stupid moustaches. Anyways, that photo is last yr's moustache on Halloween Day (are you sad he doesn't wear that hat to work every day???).

I may or may not post update photos as the month progresses. Maybe I'll do a post on of these days on "Matt's crazy ability to ruin a photo" - here's a teaser/example:

lol, let's just say life is never dull

xo

Hello, anyone there??

2009-09-30T15:13:00.002-02:30

Sometimes, I feel like I have nothing to say on this blog.

I wish I had more time to share tutorials, and I wish the things I do in my every day life weren't as boring so maybe I wouldn't feel so silly talking about them.

I love sharing links and images, and chatting. I'm hot and cold on writing a paragraph of thoughts and happenings. I am somewhat uncomfortable re-reading my daily crap lol. Follow me on twitter if you're interested in random thoughts.

Currently I'm working on:

- finishing up the last of the backorders finally - light at the end of that tunnel
- sticking with a good cleaning routine
- cooking from scratch more - I hate dishes
- hating the dishes less
- always learning how to make life more beautiful for less money
- teaching my son things - he is like a sponge right now
- planning halloween costumes and starting to think about christmas and winter
- cozy-fying my house for the coming colder months
- daydreaming. lol :)

xoxo

also: new items on my flickr photostream today - soon to be in the shop. Let me know if you want anything reserved.

If you miss me when I don't post here - I post daily on my now main blog Paper*Cakes finds - I showcase handmade indie style and cute things - searching through all of the stuff on Etsy so you don't have to :)

Happy Saturday! :)

2009-09-19T17:15:00.004-02:30

I hope you're all having a good weekend. I am taking this Saturday morning and afternoon to clean house and catch up on projects. Jude goes to his Oma's house on Friday evenings which leaves Matt and I with some time to get some sleep, and relax as adults :) I like to take weekends mostly away from the internet (yeah even I need a break lol) and spend lots of time with family/friends. On Sunday mornings I go to the flea market where I have a table and in the evening/afternoons we all gather for supper.

Anyways, this post is not just about my weekend itinerary - I wanted to write a thank you to a super sweet girl :) she sent me a cute little gift when I was feeling down a couple weeks ago and it came in the mail this week..

You should check out her Etsy shop - she is Canadian, obviously super sweet, and she gets a lot of my jokes that many don't. Save some cardboard and buy an eco coffee sleeve - would make great stocking stuffers too ;)

Hope to see you at the north river marketplace on sunday! I'll have lots of new items! To see previews of some of my things please check flickr.

xo

Ahhhh, Autumn.

2009-09-16T13:24:00.003-02:30

Whhhhhhhhhew! I am *so* glad that it is fall :) the cooler weather... and the less crazy schedule are so nice! I love summer but I was getting burned out by the temps and all of the things going on.

I am finally caught up (almost) with my shop, my home, and life life - yay! :) I have been working on a lot of new items, and trying to list those which I have had around waiting for a while. I will be starting crafty classes in a few weeks out of my home and am super excited for that too!

This is just going to be a quick post, but I want to share a few of the new items I have recently released. The shop has re-opened with a BANG - thank you all for the support I appreciate it so much!

Ahhhh, Monday

2009-08-31T12:13:00.004-02:30

Hello new week! :)

I know Monday is the universally complained about day.. but I love me some Mondays. I get a bit of a day off, and I love starting fresh in the week. I have big plans for this week! I am still working on the pile of orders (slowly but surely chipping away) and getting ready to re-open the shop next Monday. I wish I has a business advisor/someone to help me set up a better working system.. I'm starting on inventory numbers and excel sheets this week.

I've been painting like crazy, and working on new products. I tried out a cupcake painting just to see if I could.. and was pretty pleased with the results :) I am going to be doing as many as I possibly can this week. Here's a few pictures of what I've done so far:

Other than painting and trying to organize my life.. I have been busy with the end of Summer. PEI Summer is so amazing, but it's so insanely busy. I am looking forward to fall :) Some of our best friends are arriving from Toronto one week from today to spend a little time with us... I can't wait - but have to ready my house for guests! They have a cute little white dog so I must "dog proof" the house somehow!

Christmas is coming... it's time to think about Fall/Winter craft shows! Are you getting ready yet? What are you up to? I'd love to know where everyone else is in terms of holiday prep. I feel behind already and it's only just September!

ALSO: What do you think I should sell paintings for? They are 8x10 - I was thinking around $40?

This is Me - An Essay of Self - By Chelsea Ling :)

2009-08-28T21:16:00.005-02:30

Hey, sup?

I was laying in bed tonight just thinking.. like I often do when I can't sleep but still want to rest, and I started thinking all about myself. That sounds kinda lame, but I guess this post is going to be pretty lame ;) (and long, just a heads up, this isn't titled as an essay for nothing) The last couple of years in my life have been very 'hectic' and I guess I have now come out the other side of that as a pretty cool person.

I am writing this post for a number of reasons... mostly just to get my thoughts out..(I sometimes don't like talking about my accomplishments, because I don't want people to notice me) but also because who better to read this than the people I talk to *all* the time?? I feel like the Internet knows me far better than I know myself and has for a very long time.. I also feel like there are many out there who can relate to me and might laugh at some of the things I have to say :) I originally thought of making this a scrapbook page, but once I started thinking of all of the things I wanted to say I knew I couldn't fit everything on a 12x12 page and still keep a decent design scheme (LOL).

I've recently learned that it's really important to be your true self at all times in all situations no matter what, and that's all you need to get through in life. I struggled with anxiety as a teen and after my son was born it all came back, waaaay back, and I didn't even realise it. Having a child and moving across the country and getting married (across the country) all in one year really did a number on me. I was completely lost. I was so sad and angry and anxious and I hated myself the most. Thankfully, my mother in law is amazing, and she shook some sense into me. I didn't like hearing it, but boy was she ever right. Anyways, now that I have accepted "me" all of the problems I had in life up until this point don't matter. The mistakes I've made don't define me. I'm happy and confident and in a good place in life, and good things are coming to me. I struggled with my weight all of my life and have lost 70 pounds since March (the beginning of all of this) without even trying. I've gone from a girl who was scared by almost everything, to a girl who wants to face her fears head on (yay!).

I have held myself back from posting things that were too personal, or too offensive on my blog because I haven't wanted to alienate any readers in the past.. but I have been letting more of my 'crazy' self come out on twitter lately (and in life) and more people seem to enjoy that than I would have ever thought. I've tried to type proper sentences rather than just typing in the way I would speak to someone because I wanted readers to think I was smart. Those days are gone - HA HA to you internet!

So, anyways. The rest of this post is going to be some facts about me... some interesting maybe, some maybe not :)

I was always teased in school, right from the get go and until the bitter end. I've always been the same weird arty girl with an awkward sense of humor. I have also never been "not fat" before in my life, so add that on top of the other stuff and I pretty much equaled a walking target. I'd also always really get upset which of course bullies LOVE. I've since learned not to do that ;)

I'm an only child, have always been considered smart, and love reading. I grew up with a single mom and had a very small family. I was always good in school but dropped out at 16. In eighth grade I stopped going to school regularly because I was tired of being teased and just wanted to play on the computer (sound familiar?) where I had friends. I passed grade eight with pretty good grades. In grade nine I pretty much only went to school for choir and social studies, and stopped going halfway through the year all together. They passed me anyways and I went to an alternative school for part of the year of grade 10, the rest I finished through distance learning on my own at home before deciding that I was bored and wanted a job. I got a job and took the GED exam.

My first job was a cashier which eventually turned into the makeup counter of the same store. I moved away to a bigger city by myself go to makeup school, and worked for a lot of different lines while also doing freelance jobs and weddings. I lived in a house above my best friend from makeup school and we had some awesome times together. Then, I met my husband on HOT OR NOT (no joke) and we started living together after about 1 month of chatting/seeing each other on the weekends (sometimes you just know when something is really right). After a year of dating I was pregnant and we had decided to move to PEI. We drove across Canada with a Honda full of our stuff one month before Jude was born. We stayed at my mother in law's house until we got our own place 4 days before I went into labour. I came home to a place full of boxes in a new city, never having held a child before my own. I started blogging again in May of '08 and opened my etsy shop in November. I broke my ankle on January 17th of '09 and it's still broken and that pretty much brings us up to present day.

I've always been very into the internet, and there are still people around from the days of my first websites that remember :) (hi guys). A lot of my friends, every guy I ever dated with the exception of HS boyfriends, and even my husband.. all came from the internet. I guess that could be taken in a way that would make me look really sad, but I don't see it as sad at all. I find it far easier to be open on the internet than I do with people in day to day life, which I'm sure many of you can relate to. I love the fact that I can learn so many things, about any subject, and from any point of view, at any time during any day. I am a knowledge junkie so the internet just gets me. I'm also an extremely visual person and I love to look at photos.. flickr changed my life, I swear (lol!). I pretty much grew up online.. a quick google of my name reveals almost my entire life. Dig a little deeper and you will also find out about a lot of my mistakes, which I wish weren't so easily vi sable but I guess they are a part of me too. FYI, don't use the internet for mischief or bad things or life will kick you in the ass. Recetly, I seem to be getting noticed a lot more than I ever have online, due to the fact that I live in a small town and the invention of twitter.

I'm a girly girl with a really gross guy stuck inside me. I dress like a lady, like being modest, and have strong values. But I really appreciate jokes about boners, and saying inappropriate things. I like to make fun of people, but out of love. I swear a lot. I like to pick fights with people online and stayed around one message board for seven years where everyone hated me, just because I loved a good political argument and the ability to ask all sorts of stupid questions and get answers ASAP. I am fairly liberal but vote NDP because I support the working man with a strong moustache. I'm Canadian as Canadian can be - I say "eh", love Tim Horton's, CBC, and MEDICINE FOR ALL. I would say that in general I am passive and agreeable, and would like to thank Canada for instilling that in me.

I've never really been a good employee because I find it really hard to devote myself to something without loving it, and like to stay out too late and not come in the next day. This also helped with the whole dropping out of school thing, since I never wanted to get up early enough. That's why I make a good mommy :) I have a flexible schedule and have to get up in the morning whether I like it or not - but I get to have naps so that rules!! I'm a night owl and do my best work at night(especially since I have had a child, the day is devoted to diapers and milk), which sometimes leads to me not sleeping at times.

I love love loooooooooove music and took 9 years of classical voice lessons. I was in a lot of choirs as a kid and went to band camp (ha ha) a few times. I wanted to go to Europe with school/choir but the dropping out thing kinda ended that.(A lot of the girls I went to school with are doing things like broadway or singing in Europe and I wonder what could have been if I had gotten a music degree, because I know I have a talent that could get me places if I applied myself. I sometimes still wonder but know that I am not in the place in life right now to devote myself to university and may never be. For now, I feel content borrowing my friend's textbooks and discussing my thoughts with the internet). I love singing still and sing almost all day. I sing TV theme songs, I narrate what I am doing in song, and I always sing in the car. I am obsessed with musicals, and my favorite thing that ever happened on TV was the Buffy musical episode. I love all music of all genres, but my all time favorite band is Death Cab for Cutie with a side of lifelong devotion to David Bowie. I have seen a lot of live music and hope to see a lot more before I die. My friends have all seen much more live music than I have, and for that they are infinitely cooler than I am.

I've always been crafty, and can't remember a time in my life when I wasn't making something. I have the kitchen table that belonged to my family when I was growing up, and beneath the current spraypaint stains are some neon paint stains that came from me painting things in the 1990's. I remember getting my tonsils out at age five and getting to make glittery crafts in the common room of the hospital with the other sick kids, so life was aight. In my teens I got really into makeup, and spent a long time obsessed with makeup until becoming disinterested in the industry and it's cattyness. I still love makeup and painting faces... it's just like crafts.

I'm easy to talk to and I don't judge people or situations. I try to see all sides of an issue, and put myself in other people's shoes. People tell me their secrets, and I am good at keeping them, but bad at keeping my own. I am good at lying and manipulating people, but choose not to because I am not a jerk :) However, this gives me a good poker face and people never really know what I'm up to sometimes.

I've had issues with alcohol, drugs, and anger. I've destroyed many a living room and caused many a ruckus without remembering it the next day, but am happy to say that no longer happens and any ruckus I may cause currently will be harmless. I like to go out and talk to people I like, see bands, and smoke on weekends.

I love ALL religions, and am obsessed with the origins of people in general. And why people do what they do.. Why we have this moral compass in us that's s instinctive. I have a thing for Jesus, he was such a hottie, and son of god or not he sure got a lot of people to remember him and had a kickass message. I dislike the organization/business aspect of religion. I don't believe that an all loving and all knowing god would judge his or her creations. I believe that the idea of god is something human and that the true nature of the concept of god is something very beyond our understanding. I love reading/watching documentaries about ancient civilizations and lost times. I believe in magic, and strongly believe in karma, and treating others the way I want to be treated. I am nice to a fault and will give someone the shirt off of my back if they need it. I sometimes end up taken advantage of, but am so nice that usually I am ok with it. I feel like the nicer you are to the world, the nicer the world will be to me when I need it, and this has proven to be true for me. I don't do much for myself beyond the creative things I do and the need to be on the internet all the time - and that's the way I like it. I get insane fulfillment from making the lives of other people better. I want to share my knowledge with the world and I want to be remembered. I believe in the power of thought, and love that a tiny idea in my head can manifest into anything. Anything! That is so neat - and leads back into why I love crafts and being creative.

I like run on sentences.

Now that you know all about me - I want to know about you. I want you to write a post like this on your blog, and then send me the link :) Writing this felt really nice... I bet it would for you as well. I'm interested in the people who are interested in me, and as you would have learned if you read this entire post - interested in people in general. So tell me your story. Tell the world your story, why not? :)

Finally, to end this post, Matt says "you're gonna looooooooooove my nuts!".

xo

And the cleanup begins...

2009-08-28T13:01:00.003-02:30

So, thank you all *incredibly* much for all of your supportive comments on my last post :) I was so scared to post that for so long... it feels nice to know that people care about you, and can forgive you, and are rooting for you to do better!

I've been taking a litte time "away" - yesterday my neighbor came over and we tackled my studio. The giant mess in there was really preventing me from getting anything done. We worked on organizing and got a very big dent put in the mess! The next step is to get all of my inventory organized, and start a numerical system to STAY organized.

When I started selling on Etsy last November, I didn't realize how quickly things were going to take off.. how large my business was going to grow, and how much attention I would get! :) its lovely... but I was so not set up for it. I haven't kept a single record beyond what is auto recorded by Etsy and Paypal. I need some serious "business running" help - so if anyone has any tips for me.. please share! I also need tips on how to manage a serious inbox problem. I've decided to release items in collections and also to raise my prices a bit...

Anyways, here are a few recent photos! enjoy! xo (I've been playing around a lot with my new camera, you can see more photos here

Ahhhhhhhhhhh.

2009-08-23T17:34:00.003-02:30

So, this blog post has been a long time coming. In forming in my head, and in finding the time to sit down and actually type it out and post.

So much has been happening in my life the last few months :) My Etsy shop has taken off and my websites seem to be quite popular. I've got a flea market booth and some items soon to be in local shops. I'm hoping to start teaching classes in the fall as well and am launching a paper*cakes crafts site .

Anyways, right now, summer has been so busy I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. I feel like I'm trying and trying and trying to get things done, and they just don't get done. I don't even sleep anymore - I recently went over 40 hours without sleeping. Hubby and I have been fighting over "who does enough" - which is stupid, because we both do as much as we can. The heat has been driving me crazy, I am a very white girl and not meant to withstand 40 celcius plus some crazy ass humidex! (don't get me wrong, this summer has been amazing, but it's time for the seasons to change!)

My online popularity has *exploded* recently, which is AWESOME - but sometimes I don't know how to handle all of the things that go with that. Sometimes, it's weird to be recognized at the store :) with this popularity has come a lot of orders and a lot on interest in the things I'm doing. So much so that I can officially no longer keep up and am admitting on my blog that I am behind behind, I am so behind I can see four years ago in the distance LOL.

This post has been really hard for me to type.. I've been going over it in my head for weeks. It's hard to admit you are failing at that which you love the most. It's hard to have humility and tell others about your mistakes, let along thousands of people on the internet. I know I'm going to get it figured out, because I always do, but in the mean time I have no idea how to get there. So those of you who have outstanding orders with me, please know I am not ignoring you. I am seeing your emails. I am trying to get this stuff taken care of, but even processing paypal items has a queue. Just replying to those emails takes me hours every day, and I don't even reply to all of the ones I need to. I am months behind on things I owe to friends as well. I don't want to take your money and leave you in the lurch, that's the *last* thing I would ever want to do.

My ankle is still broken and I spend a lot of time worrying about it. It isn't super painful, but after a long day of chasing a toddler around it bothers me. Sometimes I wake up and there are weird blood pools under my skin around the ankle. I'm worried about what is going to happen, since my Dr's have told me basically nothing I am trying to figure it out on my own. I'm worried about permanent nerve damage (it's often asleep or numb) and not being able to fix it. Last time I was at the Dr they told me that maybe even with pins in it it wouldn't heal. So, what, am I supposed to walk around with a broken ankle for the rest of my life? They told me surgery would be scheduled in August... well, it's September soon and I am still wondering. Nobody wants to talk to me about it, even my husband seems to avoid the subject. People ask me how it is doing and are amazed at what I do and how much I run around on an ankle broken in two places. I ask myself the same things actually.

I recently found out that the girl who did this to me is pregnant and naming her son Jude. It really hurt me a lot when I found out. Now our children are going to grow up together and both be little Jude's. I know this means that she was supposed to come into my life for a reason, but I still wish she hadn't. I hope when her child is 10 months old she realizes how much she screwed up my life. There was a point where we didn't know if we would have a place to live anymore because we were so broke and I couldn't work, I was just off of maternity leave as well so I couldn't get any sort of disability insurance (something came along to help us, just when we thought we couldn't be helped anymore - funny how that works, isn't it?). Anyways, I forgive her, but just want all of this to be over - it's been 8 months now. I'm ready for my life to return to normal.

Things have been going on in our family as well. Births, deaths, sicknesses, joy, and sadness. Anyways, basically, what I am trying to say in this post is that wow, life is heavy! :) I'm trying not to lose my smile.. I'm going to figure it out like I always do.. I just hope I find an answer soon. Thank you all for being here for me, for liking my crafts, for liking me as a person in general :) I appreciate so much all of the friends I have met online over the years - just because we have never "met" doesn't mean you are any less important to me! Anyways, that's enough rambling.

XO

So, I'm mad at you, CBC

2009-08-17T14:39:00.003-02:30

If you are Canadian and you have ever lived in a rural area (or have not had cable) - you might be familiar with what I am about to talk about..

I grew up on a farm, with two TV channels - fuzzy cbc sometimes, and fuzzy CTV sometimes. Naturally, I watched a lot of cbc. And was happy to. CBC had great things on TV. How many of you remember coming home after school and watching Jonovision at 4pm? I feel like the CBC has been shaping my life for years! Art, Learning, Culture, Drama, Music, etc are all big parts of this channel (to me anyways) and I really appreciate that this kind of thing is around for all of us Canadians, and for my child now too. CBC gave us Degrassi, and for that alone, they are godlike. Now that I am a stay at home mom, I have come to a point in my life where I find myself spending large portions of my day with CBC.

Anyways, CBC is cancelling the simpsons. Cancelling Steven and Chris, and some other things (fashion file.. well, who cares, it was the same episode 40 times). They are making the local evening news into an hour and a half format - which may be better in a big city but in little ole PEI I don't know if they will have enough to talk about :P The big new show they got this year?? Ghost whisperer! Really! An ok enough show, but not a good trade IMO. Thank god for the hour or I think I wouldn't want to live anymore.

Getting rid of the hockey night in Canada theme song was the beginning of the death of cbc. Taking arrested development off in the evenings just poured salt into the wounds. But, maybe the cbc is like Britney and can make a comeback from all of this, I'll never give up hope. I know this is a recession thing, so CBC, I offer you $20 a month from my pocket to get better shows. Maybe if we all do it, it will work lol :) I am a canadian and thus I am willing to pay a little more taxes for the good of all of us.

xo

Some Late Night Ramblings

2009-08-15T05:31:00.002-02:30

So.... it's 5:01 AM here in PEI, and I am blogging :) Those of you who follow me on twitter might know that I tend to be a bit of a night owl. I'm often asked if I ever sleep and I will often say that sometimes I don't (this is one of those times, lol).

I try not to get emotional on this blog (I have no problem blurting out random thoughts on twitter, but to sit down and write a paragraph tends to be a more daunting task for me) but I feel like I need to send out a little thank you tonight to the world in general :) I really believe that when you are grateful and thankful for what you have, that good things will come to you!

I am really blessed to live in a beautiful place, have an amazing family, lots of friends who I care about (all over the world, yay!), and a happy life full of stupid headbands, thrift store shopping, and spinning around my living room with my son. A life full of love and beauty and color.

What I really meant to say before I got all mushy is thank you for reading my blog, and looking at my crafts, leaving me comments, and supporting my little store/business! It means the world to me to be able to have this creative outlet, and to get to meet cool people at the same time. Things have grown to the point where I can no longer respond to every message anymore, but I do read everything :)

Anyways, now I feel really dorky for basically writing a love note to the internet <333

Also, here are some kittens I saw on my deck last week, just for fun.

xoxo

Summertime and the living is easy

2009-07-27T23:47:00.002-02:30

Just a photopost. Matt is on vacay and we intend to get some summer fun in this week :)

The 400th item was just purchased from the paper*cakes shop! :)

2009-07-25T23:59:00.001-02:30

To celebrate my 400th sale I'm offering 50% off any purchases over $50! :) Only 4 codes available - "400thsalebration"

Eeee!!! :) I am so excited! Thank you all so much for being fans of my work :) biggest x's and o's!

My genius plan...

2009-07-25T18:34:00.002-02:30

So, I have been really struggling the past couple of months to keep up with my growing business and my growing child at the same time. After this week, I will be officially switching to "the night shift". My plan is to work from 9-2am on crafting, listing, and packing and processing orders - then have a nap when Jude naps during the day. I will be able to get my internet obligations taken care of during the daytime hours - and I really like staying up late and also napping - so I think this just might solve my problem! Here's hoping anyways :)

I am so happy and so grateful to be busy like I am so early into this venture... but it has definitely been a challenge to balance family and Paper*Cakes. Thank you all for being so patient with me as my little business grows and changes.

Anyways, I also have some photos to share! I was given a disk of photos taken at my wedding by a good family friend and I was soooo excited to see them! He got some really *amazing* detail shots. It really gave me a better perspective of what the wedding was like from the point of view of the guests.

Jude is camping with family tonight, so Matt and I are going to relax at home and watch Coraline in 3-d on our flat screen! I am going on a crafty marathon tonight - the plan is to make 100+ items. I really need more etsy stock and more stock for the flea market and I need to take advantage of a Saturday to get it done! Hope you all have a lovely evening!

xo

New Accessories

2009-07-23T10:22:00.002-02:30

Hey there! Just a quick post about the new accessories that were listed in the shop yesterday - a few rings and some bobby pin sets! Check them out! :) xo

De-Junk your home and make fast cash!

2009-07-21T23:16:00.000-02:30

I'm sure we all have that closet that is scary to open.. you know the one - items shoved inside so tightly that when you even touch the doorknob everything bursts out?? I am here to save you! Here are some tried and true (by me anyways!) ways to clear out your house and make some extra cash. Who doesn't want a little bit of extra spending money these days? It feels really rewarding to turn your old junk into money you could use on something fun for the summer!

1. Set a date for a garage sale, or rent a table at a local flea market. If you set a date, you have something to prepare for and you can't put it off! Many of us think this is too much work and end up putting it off as a "someday" project while living with the annoying clutter!

2. Look into advertising if you are having a yard sale. Most people advertise in the Saturday paper, but garage sales can also be found on Facebook, local classified websites, and more. Google to see what you can find in your area! Newspaper ads usually cost about $20, and online advertising is often free. Don't forget to tell your friends, family, and neighbors. Post signs around your neighborhood, and use arrows and balloons to attract attention and guide people to your home.

3. You don't a yard or a garage! Many cities have flea markets that rent tables. You can also get creative and even use your parking spot if that's all you have. Use folding tables, boxes, rugs, towels, blankets, and more to display items. If you live in an apartment building, check with your building manager and see if you can have a garage sale on the lawn or in the parking lot. Why not make it a community effort and try to get your whole building involved?

4. Try to get those around you involved. It's fun to have company! Being around others working on the same project helps me stay motivated and think of ideas. Plus it's always nice to have someone to cover bathroom breaks, handle busy crowds, and help with setup and take down. Make it a neighborhood or family event!

5. Go through your home and start packing items into bags and bins. I recently did this and I got rid of a whole bunch of baby stuff, lots of clothing that no longer fit from all 3 of us, household goods, things I no longer needed, etc. You never know who wants that thing you think is ugly - chances are someone will pay a few bucks for it! Go through each room and sort out your things little by little. If it isn't a keepsake and you haven't used it for 6 months, get rid of it. Remember that you will be able to buy some new items or replacement items with the cash you make!

6. Don't forget about Ebay, Half.com, Craiglist, Online Classifieds, Facebook Marketplace, Freecycle, and Kijiji! You could have a virtual garage sale, just take pictures of your items and post them online and see who is interested! I sold a lot of bigger ticket baby items like this :) local pickup is easy.

Using these tips I made $600 from the old goods in my home over a 3 week period :) What can YOU make? Good luck!

Happy Monday!

2009-07-20T15:23:00.002-02:30

Hello everyone :) I hope you all had awesome weekends! We attended a wedding and I went to the flea market again. Here are a couple of photos from the wedding:

We had a great time and I got to practice taking pictures :) I also did the makeup for the bridal party. I'm glad it's Monday though so I can recover from the weekend/week. Everyone has had the flu here for the last week and now I *hope* we are almost better.

This week is a week for me to stay home and play catch up, shipping lots of orders and new products to be listed. Matt goes on vacay next week!

A Friday Special

2009-07-17T09:45:00.002-02:30

Just for fun and because I love Friday, My best selling item will be 10% off! :)

These eco friendly blooms are made of new and recycled fabrics, cardboard, lace, old clothes, new and found buttons, and of course cuteness :) I hand sew each one and they are all originals! They look so cute on scrapbook pages, hair clips, headbands, journals, collages.. really, anything! I glued one onto a pretty pink vase for my flea market display.

(please note these are made to order and have a 1 week creation time before shipping!)

Calling all ETSY shop owners! :)

2009-07-16T13:00:00.003-02:30

UPDATE: The ads are all sold out! If you wish to recieve a copy of the booklet, I will send you one for $3 - the cost of shipping and handling :)

I am putting together a Paper*Cakes publication/booklet/zine thing to hand out to the customers at my flea market booth, to put in with orders, and to pass around locally.

In this booklet there will be articles on why buying handmade is cool, how to thrift, home decor, what etsy is and how it works, tutorials, interviews, handmade culture, recycling and green living, and ads for individual handmade businesses.

I am looking for etsy shops or blogs who wish to advertise in this publication - it will be launching on Sunday! This issue will be the summer issue and will be handed out for free until the fall. My customers are very informed about Etsy in general and love handmade and vintage.

PEI has a lot of tourist traffic in the summer so this booklet could reach a very wide audience!

125x125 button ads will be a rate of $5
250x250 coupon ads will be $15
Etsy Mini Showcases will be $10

Please contact me at spikernub@hotmail.com if you are interested as this offer is limited and priced very reasonably :) I want to spread the word about handmade but ink and nice paper is a bit spendy so these ads will pay for the printing of the publication.

Why I love Thrifting by Chelsea Ling

2009-07-16T01:14:00.002-02:30

I have come to realize as paper*cakes has grown how deep my love of thrifting goes back. As a child I can remember going to various thrift and consignment stores with my mother. I also always loved garage sales. Anyways, here is a list of why I love thrifting. Leave a comment and let me know why YOU love thrifting.

All photos are from my "Thrifted/Fun Finds" photo set on flickr.

1. It's a fun activity. I love to go garage saling on Saturday mornings, armed with a friend or family member and a Tim Horton's coffee. It's fun to see what kind of silly things your friends like or helping someone find a specific thing. It's also fun to go alone and just browse and see what is around... items change so quickly there is always something/one to see.

2. I don't need to buy so many new things. I don't need to pay a lot of money for new things, and the world could probably use a little less "stuff". Don't get me wrong, I buy lots of stuff new, but I still feel proud that I am contributing to recycling by chosing to buy items already out there than newly manufactured ones. Plus, with a little love an ugly item becomes so cute sometimes.

3. I have a shopping addiction, and thrifting is cheap. Thrifting feeds my love of silly things, craft supplies, fashion, and beauty for so little! I can find a treat on any budget. Your $20 goes so much further at a garage sale or thrift shop than it does at even walmart, and if you're in need of a cheap fix you can find a cute silver handbag for $2.

4. I'm snoopy. I like to see people's old stuff. I like to wonder about what they used it for, and why they are getting rid of it. I also like the social aspect of flea market or garage sale shopping :) I have fave vendors that I visit regularily.

5. Thrift stores are often run by non profit organizations, or at least donate some of their proceeds to help out the local community in some way. I like that me buying old junk helps people out, and I like that thrift stores provide jobs for local people, a place for people to drop off unwanted goods, and maybe an opportunity for those in need :)

6. You can find things like kitten plaques, ceramic owl napkin holders, and pink princess dresses with puffy sleeves. Items from time gone by that will never be made again, and one of a kind items too. It's always a thrill when you find this great knick knack or that perfect belt!

7. You can still get coupons, deals, and sales when thrifting. I recently used a $50 off of a $100 purchase at value village, and another local thrift store has a punch card that you collect points on as you spend. Thrift stores are trying to make money just like any store so they will offer you the same consumer deals as big box store.

8. When you go to different places, the thrift stores have different stuff. I want to go to Europe and see what I can find! :) Big dream! I am happy just to check out Value Villages in different cities, and make a point to try and stop at at least one junk-store type of place when travelling.

9. You can find ANYTHING. If you are a "browser" like I am, you like to go into stores and look and see what you can find... that is pretty much the best thing about thrifting - the constant surprise. I find that I always find the best things, and stuff I need when I go in with no plan and just look around :)

10. I love books. I love owning books, and reading books. I am bad at returning library books, so I like to buy them. Used books are way cheaper and always prevalent no matter where you go thrifting. Value Village even has a buy 4 books get a 5th book free - and kids books are $0.99!

Paper*Cakes Summer Design Team

2009-07-15T10:16:00.001-02:30

Ahhhhhhhhhh! :) I know I know, this is so late! I feel like I have good reason though - I recieved over 200 applications for the paper*cakes design team. I'm so excited that so many of you were interested in partnering with my little company! It was so hard for me to choose and I really encourage those of you not chosen to apply again in the fall.

So, here we go! these four lucky ladies will have a place on the summer design team!

Brenda Weaver

Clair Rigby

Martine Rijnbeek

Teresa Abajo

Andie Carothers

The DT will have a home on the to-be-done Paper*Cakes Craft blog that will be ready to go soon and fully functional by August when the DT makes their debut! Soon you will be able to get to know the Paper*Cakes DT a bit better as bios and photos will be posted soon!

Xo

Flea Market Fun!

2009-07-14T12:05:00.002-02:30

This past Sunday, my sister and law Jessica and I opened up the new and permanent (for the foreseeable future anyways) Paper*Cakes booth at the North River Rink Flea Market in Cornwall, PEI.

We had both spent the last three weeks @ the flea market de-junking and selling off old clothing that no longer fit, home goods, etc. I was lucky enough to make almost $500 off of my old junk and was able to invest a lot of that into the startup of this new booth :)

I have been collecting vintage dresses, accessories, and knick knacks for a while. I have also recently developed a love of spray paint.. so this led to my house overflowing with both! In February, I took my crafts to the Flea Market twice, but with a cast on my leg and not enough inventory to bring back and forth all the time I decided to wait for a while, and eventually go back. There was a special this July for buy 2 tables get 1 free, and I decided that I should take advantage of it!

This last week Jess, Aimee, and myself spent a lot of time doing prep and painting and shopping for the booth. On Saturday, we had a photoshoot and had some girls came over to pose in the dresses and handmade accessories. I recently invested in a professional printer so I was able to print out some of these photos to use on our tables as display promo and they looked GREAT!

We opened with a pretty good turn out! Good sales, a lot of people looking, many business cards passed out, and many nice compliments on the set-up! I was even recognized by Karen Mehr, a local cbc radio personality! She said she saw me on twitter - how cool is that?? :) We did get there a little bit late and missed a lot of the early birds due to not being fully set up, but I feel like we still did really well and am so happy with how it all went!

Anyways... next week there will be more items, gift wrap and shipping available, a free paper*cakes zine to pick up, and 10% off again for anyone who comes to see us and mentions that you saw paper*cakes online!

Of.... everything.. :)

2009-07-09T22:53:00.007-02:30

According to my husband, I need to update my blog - I know - a lot of you have been waiting for me to post a few things! It seems like every time I try to sit down and post something life gets in the way. I have half finished posts all over the place waiting for me to sit down and code.

Annnnyyyyways, take a seat. This is going to be a long one!

I've been busily preparing for a bunch of big events.. events that have now passed since I originally started typing up this blog post (yeah, that's how long I've been trying to get this done!). We had a super busy weekend! I had a photoshoot on Saturday with some local gals to showcase some of the vintage dresses I have collected and the accessories I have been making. On Saturday evening we had people over to watch the UFC fight and I made some snacks and whatnot. On Sunday, Jessica and I went to the flea market and opened up the "official/permanent" Paper*Cakes Booth and that went well too! Photos will be coming from these events soon :)

We have all kinds of friends and family visiting this summer, and a few weddings to attend (one is next weekend and I am doing makeup for the wedding party). My husband's best friend is coming home after being in the army for months - he is about to move away to Ontario with his wife Jenn and I will be sad to see them both go. Some childhood friends of my Mom's are visiting and we will all be doing fun touristy PEI things, which I am so excited about! Not to mention all of the other friends and acquaintences coming back to PEI for the summer - and then in the fall our best Calgary friends Paul and Alma will be coming.

Jude is turning into such a little man.. which is adorable and funny and sweet but at times tiring and frustrating and even painful when he accidently hurts me lol :) I feel time blurring and my sleep is seriously lacking. I've been trying to get a haircut since april and feel perpetually 5 steps behind everything but life is very good! My ankle is still broken, I am having surgery in August and need to get things finished up before then. Matt has sporting events all the time and has become really involved with work which is fun.

With all of the flea market prep (like spraypainting) I have ended up also fixing up items around my home and finally hanging up prints and decor items I have been planning for ages. Here is a shot of the little montage on my living room wall:

So in conclusion.. I may be more "absent" on a personal level in the coming weeks, but don't worry, I am still here reading posts and comments and posting new items and shipping orders and all of that fun stuff, I just don't have as much time to be as "present" online. I will be re-doing the blogs a little and debuting a new Paper*Cakes crafts website where the design team, tutorials, and anything crafty related will live. I have been posting a lot of photos on flickr daily so if you're missing me please add me as a contact!

Lots of X's and O's

PS: Keep watching today - I will be posting the design team in a couple of hours and roundups from the past week or so later today! The shop will also get an update soon! xo

Soooo much fun!

2009-06-29T22:04:00.003-02:30

I'm having so much fun right now taking photos with my new camera... I can't stop. Here is a little mosaic of some new paper*cakes stuff, things I did on the weekend, etc :) Enjoy! xo

1. MAC Pool Party Postcard, 2. Push the button.., 3. Stealing Radios, 4. Bathtime Fun, 5. More Vintage Patterns, 6. Horsie!, 7. More Treasures.., 8. First Coat, 9. Pink Polka Dotty Bows, 10. Fire Dancing, 11. Victoria Row, 12. Eco Friendly Posy Embellies

Calling All Artists!

2009-06-26T14:28:00.001-02:30

Calling all digital artists!

I will soon be opening up a permanent booth at the flea market here in PEI and I am looking for artists to partner with. I am recycling various old frames and I would like to sell them with art work inside! I would like to print your art at home on a professional quality printer - so this would be great for digital artists. You would get 50% of the profits made, and I would include your business card and/or info with any sale made. Reach a larger audience!

If you are interested in a partnership like this, please email me! I would like to get a little bit of basic info about you, some examples of your art, and please ask me any questions you may have. Email me directly at spikernub@hotmail.com

xoxox!

Of making ugly things new again and good deals..

2009-06-26T14:18:00.005-02:30

Happy FRIDAY! It seems this Friday has come so quickly.. I guess it always seems like Friday arrives so much quicker than it should have. I wanted to share a couple of things from my Friday so far:

I went to Michaels this morning and was super stoked to find *SO* many amazing deals! Everything shown in this photo came to $51.00 even with tax - which is like 15% or something crazy here on PEI! Mostly everything I got was half off, or even better half off of the last marked sticker. I paid full price for one can of spray paint, and the other I had a 50% off coupon for :) (see Jude's dino?!)

So now Jude is napping and I am spray painting some of the hideously ugly wooden things I picked up at Value Village this week. Isn't it amazing what spray paint can do? This is with only a couple of light coats. I highly reccomend this Color Tool spray paint - available at Michaels! I'm using colors raspberry and olive bright to transform these pieces. The bowl cost $0.69 and the frame $1.99!

It's summer time and things are gooooood..

2009-06-26T00:53:00.004-02:30

If you've ever been to PEI, you will know that the summer is amazingly beautiful and you never want to go inside (this makes the crappy winter all worth it). So, I haven't been inside much and the time that I have spent inside I have spent working! Aimee has been over for the last two days helping me out with Etsy stuff! We did a little bit of a training day yesterday, and today she did her thing and I was able to get orders done as well as play lots with Jude which I have missed lately, and work on some chores.

I am finally getting out from under the giant pile of orders I had building up - I love that things are so busy but was struggling to keep up as one person with all the custom and made to order items. Annnnnnnyways.. today Aimee took almost 400 photos with my new camera! I will be slowly tickling items into the shop and onto flickr.. but here are a few previews of what is to come.

You may notice that these photos are seriously AWESOME compared to my old photos, and this can all be credited to my new best friend:

Yay! I finally have a DSLR! This is the most exciting moment I've had in a while! :) Here are a couple photos I took tonight of Jude's first trip to the lake:

It has been so sticky here so we took an impromptu trip out to my mother in law's house and went to the nearby lake. Jude loved it.. and loved being naked in the water hahah.

In Paper*Cakes news - I am slowly adding some vintage items into the shop, and will be adding more accessories as time goes on :) I'm hoping to set up a semi-permanent stall at the flea market here selling cool stuff, vintage/crafts/whatevers so I've been collecting. My sister is law is coming over tomorrow to model two very cool dresses that I found, so watch for those!!

So watch for new things to come in the following days :)

xoxo

Just a quick post to announce....

2009-06-23T10:59:00.003-02:30

The job positions! :)

I'm sorry I took so long to get these officially "blogged" - I had no idea how many applications I would get! I want to thank each and every one of you who applied and assure you that I had the hardest time deciding and I am keeping some applications on file for anything that may come up in the future.

I was so happy reading the emails - it seems a lot of you are lurkers here and I really felt like I finally got to know who my audience is! :)

So, I have hired three people for the paper*cakes team! They will be working with me PT to help me grow my business, and allow me to spend a bit more time with my family (and my housework, boooourns lol).

Keira: Keira is a mommy to 2 little girls and lives in Manitoba, Canada. She has a digital scrapbooking blog and is going to be helping with record keeping, document design, and processing. She is a long time paper*cakes reader!

Nicole: Nicole is from Portland, Indiana and she is a student. She will be in charge of Media Relations/PR and will be helping to maintain the paper*cakes flickr group, myspace page, and paper*cakes finds twitter account. She will be posting comments, answering some questions, and chatting/sharing with people. Nicole likes photography and scrapbooking! Check out nicole's flickr photos.

Aimee: Aimee is from PEI and will be working with me locally to help me ship packages, prep and photograph merchandise, and list items on etsy, and model in photos. Aimee likes photography, music, and she is super fun :) Visit her blog and flickr.

Another post will be made soon with official bios and pictures of each new team member! :)

xo

As a closing bonus, I would like to offer everyone who applies a 20% off discount to the shop and a free gift with any purchases over $10 - today and tomorrow only - please use the code: PCAKESJOBS

Prom Makeups!

2009-06-19T12:16:00.003-02:30

Yesterday, I did prom makeup for four girls! :) One being my friend Aimee's little sister (the gorgeous red head!). Aimee took these photos of the makeup and has allowed me to share them - to see more of her photography check out her flickr stream here

I'm doing makeup for a few more events this summer, weddings and whatnot :) I'm excited to be getting back into makeup and especially excited that I get to do it on my own terms and don't have the pressure of the beauty industry to deal with.

If you live in PEI and have a special event coming up, I would LOVE to do your makeup! I have 9 years experience, am professionally trained, and I have worked for lines such as MAC, Lancome, Stila, Guerlain, Elizabeth Arden, Red Earth, Shiseido, Clinique, and more :) I've done magazines, billboard ads, tv spots and all of that so you would be in good hands! I have a very extensive professional kit filled with great products in all colors too. I have experience with women of all skin types and colors.

If you are interested, please get in touch with me by email @ spikernub@hotmail.com.

Paper*Cakes Summer Design Team Application Call

2009-06-18T08:42:00.002-02:30

Calling all paper crafters! Paper*Cakes is looking for 5 people to join our NEW Summer Design team! If you think you might be interested... please read below for more info and an application form :)

Requirements:

- Design team members will be required to complete 4 projects per month - 1 / week. The projects you make will be up to you, but they must use the paper*cakes products that will be sent to you. I am thinking cards, scrapbook layouts, altered art kinds of things! I am looking for people who will make things in line with the paper*cakes style and philosophy of recycling and re-using.

- Design team members will be required to share and blog about their projects if they blog, and tutorials would be nice (but are not required) every so often.

- I would like it if you have a year + experience with paper crafting, but if you are good experience won't matter!

Perks:

- a 20% off discount to the paper*cakes store!
- a free monthly kit for your designing!
- lots of promo, as your projects will be featured here on this blog and possibly in other places like my etsy shop, flickr photostream, etc

Application:

Name:
Websites: (flickr, blog, any online galleries you may have, etc)
Why you want to join the team:
Can you meet the weekly/monthly requirements:
How internet savvy are you:
Your favorite paper crafts to make:

You may also attach a photo or two of your projects if you like :) Please email this completed form to spikernub@hotmail.com. The application process will close on Thursday, June 25th.

Paper*Cakes is Hiring!

2009-06-17T13:36:00.002-02:30

Yay! Paper*cakes is growing... and we (I) need help! This busy mamma can no longer maintain a growing business alone!

I will be hiring 1-3 people, depending on applicants and the time they can devote. I am looking for:

- Someone to maintain our myspace account. Uploading photos, responding to comments, posting bulletins, adding people to friends, things like that.

- Someone to contact people when they are featured on the paper*cakes finds blog. This would require checking the blog daily and sending out etsy convos (from a paper*cakes account) to those sellers or contributors who are featured.

- Someone to moderate the paper*cakes finds flickr group

- Someone to make posts on the blog while I am gone or cover for me if necessary. I would always leave assigned topics, you would have to input the data and make the posts

Now, onto the requirements:

- I want someone dedicated, someone kind and courteous, professional, and with a good knowledge of the internet, blogging, etsy, basic html, etc. I need someone with a bit of experience, or a quick learner. Someone who can type and spell correctly. It would be a bonus if you have the capabilities to use MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Photoshop, etc.

- This will be probably 1-2 hours each day. Things do not have to be done in a scheduled manner, as long as the daily tasks outlined are completed. This means that these positions will have a lot of flexibility.

The Perks:

- You will get a 30% employee discount on any paper*cakes merchandise.

- There will be a paid wage, paid by paypal, weekly. Wage will depend on experience and knowledge but I am thinking around $10/ hr. You can also choose to take part of your wages as merchandise credit if you like, as often as you like!

- You will be listed on the paper*cakes blog as a team member, and get to tell your friends about the cool company you work for!! LOL :) but in all seriousness, if you own your own blog or etsy shop this would be a great way to get yourself some exposure!

- You get to stay home and play on the internet (I mean, work) :)

The Application Process:

- I will be taking applications until the end of this week - Friday the 19th. Please fill out and submit the following form to me BY EMAIL: (you can also submit a resume, but I don't need all your personal address info or dates of employment and all that, it's up to you!)

Name:
Location:
Email:
Related experience and skills:
A bit about you:
Links to your website: (blog, etsy shop, flickr, twitter, etc. Anything you have online that you can share with me so I can take a look at what you can do!)
How many hours you want/time you can devote:
Your future goals:
Why you want to work for Paper*Cakes:

and that's it! :) xo my email is spikernub@hotmail.com. You can also email me or get into contact with me elsewhere if you have any questions regarding these positions!

Positions will be announced on Monday, June 22nd.

Cleaning.

2009-06-13T15:41:00.003-02:30

Cleaning, tidying, getting things in order.

Organization, newness, freshness of summer.

New stuff in shop soon!

Can I please move in??

2009-06-11T14:07:00.002-02:30

This is a hello kitty castle in Shanghai! See the original article here

Happy Birthday! :)

2009-06-08T15:21:00.004-02:30

This is just a quick post to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to two of my favorite ladies! Isn't it funny that you two share the same Birthday?? (both my sister in law and another very good friend had Birthdays on Thursday and my best friend Courtney's birthday is later in the month - I think it's no coincidence that all of these girls are born in June!).

Anyways, Happy Birthday Aimee and Chelsea Ann! I hope you both have a fun day today and remember that if you weren't born the world would be a little bit less cool! Both os these gals have flickr photostreams, check out some of their photos below. (click them to view full size - they will look much nicer and less blurry!)

Chelsea Ann

Aimee

Mother of the year??

2009-06-03T14:43:00.002-02:30

Not this gal.. snapped a few photos today after catching Jude in "action"..

First, I caught him with a blue water color pencil, yikes! Then, shortly after.. he grabs my cricut mat. The look on his face was too precious to not snap a pic.

So then he notices me with the camera... and charges over, like he always does, index finger outstretched. This being something he does when something is especially interesting..

Still determind to get the camera, he attempts to scale mommy mountain to reach it, but of course does not let the precious cricut mat slip from his toothy grip!

Stuff, and Junk

2009-06-01T08:38:00.004-02:30

This poor little blog is getting neglected! Paper*Cakes Finds has taken off, leaving me without much time to post here. So... what is new in my life... well, lots! My little guy has been walking (no, wait, running!) since Mother's Day and he has kept me really busy! It seems that summer has finally (almost) arrived in PEI - we had a 20+ day yesterday and we all took advantage of it.. I even got a little bit of a sunburn.

My hubby is big into sports, and I attended both a hockey and baseball game this week. The hockey game was special though - they were playing for charity. Here is a pic of his team after the game:

Sorry It's a little blurry!

Earlier in the week, I looked at a couple of houses. Don't freak out - we're just beginning to browse! We don't even know for sure if we could afford a house.. but we are going to speak with a Mortgage Broker this week and see what is in our price range. Here is a picture of one of the houses we looked at:

It's a 3 bedroom with a basement, and a shed. It has a beautiful yard that overlooks the water. This house is located 20 minutes outside of Charlottetown in a small town called Mount Stewart - they have a school, gas station, restaurant, and post office. The house needs some cosmetic work and was overpriced, though.. so we will just keep looking.. we are going to take our time and browse.

I also went to the Dr. this week to have my ankle checked out.. and got a little bit of bad news - it's still broken and hasn't even healed at all! I broke it on January 17th and was in a cast for 12 weeks. I have been cast free almost 2 months and walking around on it and I have very little pain. The Dr. is stumped - so they are testing me for bone diseases and have scheduled me for surgery/bone graft in August. I'm not looking forward to that but I would like to have my ankle fixed up... I can't wear any cute shoes!!! lol :) that and I don't think it would be good to walk around all my life with a broken ankle ;) ;)

There is a new LSS opening here in July, and I contacted them about teaching classes. I am really hoping to do that.. it would be a great way to meet other crafty peeps, and I love to share techniques with others! I'm also in the development stages of an online class, so watch for that! If you have any ideas or suggestions, please let me know :) So far, the projects I am planning for the first class are a teacup pin cushion, a stitched felt woodland scene, and a fold out mini book.

In thrify news.. I seem to be lucky lucky lately with finding things! Yesterday I got this mirror and set of pyrex bowels at the flea market.. would you believe I paid $6 for this whole set of bowls?! They guy said "That's a great deal" and I said "Yes it really is!!" and bought them and ran before he changed his mind... lol ! :) The mirror was originally marked $40 (a set w/ other pieces) and I ended up getting just the mirror for $18!!! I want to paint it.. but am unsure what color yet.

Orders in the shop have been crazy lately!! I am so happy/excited, but now crazy busy trying to pack them all up and send them out! I didn't get anything new made last week, so this week I am hoping to do lots of stuff! I approached a local store a couple of weeks ago about selling some of my items, and I'd like to get more things done to show them :) I'm also branching out into more jewelery as I can buy supplies here and there. Here are a few pics of some of the newest items:

Anyways, this is turning into a book so I will wrap it up here! xoxoxo

And this is why I love him....

2009-05-24T21:19:00.004-02:30

So, hung out with friends last night. Just saw this photo on facebook..

These are my lovely friends Aimee and Jennifer, and my husband in the background... doing what he does in photos... yup, he always does this, lol! And what a gorgeous photo... oh, Matt :)

PS: doesn't Aimee look gorgeous?? I did her hair :)

Come play a game with me...

2009-05-21T16:50:00.003-02:30

In honor of my new shelves and studio re-organization...

Take a photo of your desk, or a portion of it, RIGHT NOW!! No tidying!

Post it on flickr, and add some fun notes :)

Then send me the link so I can look at it, and share it!

PS: here are the pics of my new shelf!

I can't wait to go put things on it... :)

And here's a couple more photos just for fun!

Ahhhhh....

2009-05-17T23:12:00.007-02:30

What a long/strange/short/crazy week or two it has been :)

I've been:

Spray painting frames. I went garage saling this weekend with Aimee and was lucky enough to find a whole bunch of frames, and mirrors. I picked up some aqua spray paint and have been going to town! Spray painting is tricky.. I think I finally learned how to do it properly :) The mirror shown in the first photo is available in the shop now.

Speaking of garage saling.. I also found a whole bag of old sheet music, some old ledgers, an owl necklace, a paper shredder, a big giant HUGE bulletin board, some clothing and books for Jude, a woodland embroidery project, and a few embroidery hoops. I spent less than $40!

On Saturday we went to see Slowcoaster here:

No, not on the boat ;) that looooong building with the green roof... it was an amazing place to see a band! It's pretty fun to go out for a smoke break (shhh!) and stand near the ocean with a view of cruise ships. I love love loooooove going to see live music, and they dodn't dissappoint! Here's a pic of my outfit from the evening..
I snagged that headband at Le Chateau for only $5! My pearls are from a garage sale :)

On Tuesday I drove to Moncton, to pick my friend up from the airport. It was the first time I have gone off - island alone, and Jude's first roadtrip. We had a great time!

There is a lot more shopping in Moncton.. and it was a lovely day. The only bad part was that they had a brand new H+M and I came two days before it was set to open! This pink store was downtown... it was filled with tacky tourist stuff, but the front of it was toooo gorgeous!

On Thursday, we had a picnic with Jude's little friend Anneliese and her Mommy Maria, and my friend Janelle (who I went to pick up from the airport).

We had some delicious food for the ladies.. and the kidlets had a great time running around in the grass and swinging. It's been too beautiful here to stay inside.

And finally, I've been making lots of crafts!

I'm working on accessories, cards, and cutting up vintage materials to get together for the shop. And finally.. I wanted to share a little hair tutorial with you all :)

I'm the kind of girl who wears her hair in a messy bun *way* too often! My hair is long and it's an easy way to get my hair up, out of my face, and it is quick. I figured out that adding a few braids into the front of my hair before putting it up.. it's super cute and way less frumpy!

I just part my hair on the side, while wet. I do a large braid on the left side of my part, from the fromt of my face, and a smaller braid more in the middle of my head on the right side. When you are braiding make sure to hold the braid towards the crown of your head, so that it doesn't buckle when you put your hair up. I take thin elastics and loop them in a twisty way around the ends of the hair.. then put up in a messy bun as usual and add a flower or clip! super cute!

xo

Love to all the Momma's!

2009-05-10T11:55:00.002-02:30

Sending love to all of you momma's out there - mom's make the world go round! :) Tell your mom how much you love her today (and every day). xoxo

TGIF!!

2009-05-08T14:44:00.002-02:30

I feel like lately, I have been so busy I have barely had time to breathe! Not that I'm complaining.. because I am so happy with how life has been going :) It's the start of the weekend and things couldn't be better - I *love* Friday!

I have *lots* of things to share today.. starting with a little project.

I found an embroidery hoop at the flea market for $0.50 - I have had it hanging around for a while and I have wanted to make one of these fabric hoops for ages! I bought this fun fabric on etsy and stretched it in the hoop and then glued it down in the back with a hot glue gun. I also glued (not shown) some pretty aqua ribbon around the hoop itself. This was such a FUN and easy project! You could get a bunch of differently sized hoops and make some cool wall decor. I'm hoping to eventually start selling these, once I find some more hoops (I'm too cheap to pay full price!) and fabric.

I made this scrapbook LO last night using a photo from Jude's first Birthday party. I am sooo rusty - I haven't scrapped since October, and I only spent 20 minutes on this. This was scraplifted from the cover of the most recent Creating Keepsakes. Hopefully I can get a few more LO's in this weekend! :)

Jude and I took a trip to Value Village this morning, and we ended up finding some good loot. I got two pieces of fun vintage fabric, an embroidery hoop, dwell magazine, a kodak book on colors in photography, and of course Jude got a Car. That boy and cars! He found it on the shelf when I was looking in the other direction and refused to put it down.. so he has added another car to his collection. It has a little spinning ball on the top - which is a big deal to Jude as he loves all things round and spinny! hehe

Speaking of the little man.. here's a shot of him in the tub yesterday. He was telling me something, I think. He's quite the little chatterbox.

This was my outfit today.. took this photo to prove that I own some clothing that is not pink OR blue, hee! The necklace was one of the ones given to me after my husband's grandmother passed away in March and this is the first time I have worn it.

A couple of shots from my studio taken this week. I'm finally getting to the point where I can consider it "mostly clean" and am not embarassed to take photos. The desk is my etsy desk - I do all of my packing/shipping there and store most of my materials like envelopes and tissue.

And finally, some new items in the shop! My hand stamped scrolls are now available in pink. There are also some new paper packs available, and I'm hoping to get more up this weekend! Hope everyone has a lovely Saturday tomorrow!! xo

Busy busy!!

2009-05-06T17:13:00.002-02:30

I've been busy stocking the shop... here are some of the newest goodies that can be found there!

I've been cleaning my studio, and found lots of paper products to de-stash! These are just some of the new items.. so make sure to check the shop. I also took a few pictures of my "etsy desk" - check them out on flickr if you want to see my little shipping area.

Do you ever..

2009-05-04T12:07:00.005-02:30

Have so many things you are excited to share, that you just don't know which to choose? That happens to me a lot, especially when I have been busy. I feel like the last month or so has just flown by! Here's a little peek into what I've been doing:

Slowly cleaning and organizing my studio, and finding things to De-Stash. I have such a hard time deciding to part with supplies - there is so much potential in everything. If only I had unlimited time and space! These two Love, Elsie mini albums have made their way into the shop.

Making things just for the sake of making something beautiful. Now that I put together and packaged all of these papers.. I want to keep them. Yes, I am silly! I hope to make a few more of these soon - any color suggestions? I am stuck stuck stuck on pink and aqua.

Spring Cleaning - still! Yes, this has been a pro-longed effort! I keep making lots of progress, though :) Yesterday I attempted to clear out the cupboard under my bathroom sink and found a lot of beauty products to give away. I have so much perfume and lotion and things that I won't be able to use up - someone else needs to help!

Slowly Making Jewelery. These first two sets of ear studs on tags are available now in the shop.

I'm feeling a bit sick today... so that's all for now folks! xoxo

Sunny Sunday..

2009-05-03T09:33:00.004-02:30

Argh, I am so tired! I only slept 3 hours last night... I think I am dreaming this..

We took Jude and the Wagon down to the waterfront yesterday. We even went and explored a pond :) He took me on a little walk down the path.. but was unsure about crawling around on the leafy ground alone. I am so excited to scrappbook these pictures - there are many more on my computer. I missed national scrapbooking day yesterday, so maybe I'll find some time today if I am lucky! Cross your fingers for me.

I'm giving away one of my Recycled Paper Posy magnets - all you have to do is comment! I made a bunch of these and I want to share them! Open until the end of tonight - winner to be posted Monday morning! xo and good luck. Paper Posy magnets are also available now in my etsy shop and make a great gift.

How To: Make a Posy Magnet from recycled paper

2009-05-01T17:02:00.006-02:30

Here's a little craft for a rainy Friday. I made this magnet this morning out of 100% recycled materials. I cut up three different cards, some sticker packaging, and letters from a magazine. The posy is one of the ones I sell in my shop - they are made from recycled paper and scraps!

Step One: I cut out a 5x2.5" square from some repurposed sticker packaging. I chose a thicker type of paper to give the magnet some weight. This is going to be your base.

Step Two: Use a glue runner to trace around the edges of the back of your square. Mount your square on another piece of paper, in a coordinating shade. You can see from the photos that I glued my white piece to an aqua piece, and then a pink piece of paper.

Step Three: Cut your stem. The stem pictured was cut free-hand from an old thank you card. I colored it a little bit with water color pencil crayons.

Step Four: Attach your posy. They have a brad in the middle and can be attached that way, but I chose to mount mine with 3-d foam adhesive squares for a little bit more pop. These posies are made with layers of circular paper, they are simple and easy and you can use any paper scraps you have around.

Step Five: Cut out a saying. My saying was taken from a magazine page and adhered with a glue runner.

Step Six: Add embellishments if you desire. I chose to use glitter glue and run it all along the edges of the white square.

Step Seven: Cut a piece or a few strips of adhesive backed magnet sheeting, and adhere to the back of your square. Voila!

This craft would be a great one to do with the kids, and would make a great gift for mom. (Mother's day is may 10th remember!). In total, using a pre-made posy this took me less than 10 minutes to put together and cost me almost nothing! Have fun crafting.

Just a quick post today...

2009-04-29T09:14:00.003-02:30

to share a link! I wrote a tutorial for a new blog called My DIY Wedding Day, owned by The Knot. Please check out the link, and learn how to make these Save The Dates that I designed especially for the blog! It's a little folder with a magnet inside... super cute!

news news news!

2009-04-28T15:10:00.002-02:30

Ok, this is going to be a photo-heavy post! How can a girl have so much news from only two days?? Yesterday our power was out for almost the entire day (yes, that sucked!) so I missed out on a days worth of sharing. I wanted to start with this amazingly cute dress that I found at the flea market on Sunday.

Now, this dress was a VERY happy find. I loved the pink polka dot fabric and picked it up without even looking at it. I often cut up old clothing for the fabric. Anyways, got it home and thought... hmm this might fit me - and it did! I am not a small girl and cute vintage stuff never fits me, so this was a big score! and it was only $2! I also found a few pretty brooches:

Yesterday when the power was out I made a few things:

The first picture is a little collage made on recycled cardboard. I covered it in patterned paper, affixed the pink lace around the bottom, freehand cut the birdie out and attached with pop dots. Then I added some pearls and flowers :) just a little something to pass the time. The second two photos are of some pretty little ear studs - paper*cakes will soon start offering accessories! These are the first of the lot.. and you better bet I am keeping quite a few for myself!

This arrived in the mail for me yesterday:

From the ever lovely Elizabeth of Creative Breathing. Now I have one more craft to add to me E pile! hehe.. not that they are in a pile. Previously, Elizabeth sent me a very special embroidered heart, and a dutch girl pegdoll (because I am dutch!). She sent another pincushion to Chelsea Ann too. Please go read Elizabeth's blog - she posts great stories! And finally... a photo of a couple of notebooks that I recently picked up.

I'm SUCH a sucker for all things paper, especially notebooks! I love to make lists.. I just love writing on the unspoiled paper - lol :) The pink notebook is to make a little art journal about myself and my likes right now.. some self exploration. I don't know if can see the writing on the cover, but it reads "today I had a conversation with my true self. She asked me why I had abandoned her, why I had ignored all her constant advice. And then she reminded me of all the things I had forgotten. And never once did she say "I told you so".

That's all for now! xoxo

My DIY Wedding on a Budget!

2009-04-26T02:44:00.008-02:30

I got married in September of 2008, and in order to save money we (me, my mil, my mom, and her friend) made most of the decor elements of the wedding ourselves. This was really challenging as I got married in Alberta and was living in PEI at the time. It was a great idea to DIY because we saved so much money on wedding insidentals and were able to put that towards the travel expenses. I hope these pictures can provide you with some sort of imspiration :)

I wanted to talk first about the wedding invites, since these were the most labour intensive of all of the DIY projects we made for the wedding. My mom worked in the multi-media wing of the local college so she was lucky enough to know a graphic designer. He designed the image, and we based the invite around it. I designed and printed all of the cards, and designed the pocket fold set-up. Every invitation was printed at home and cut out on my paper trimmer! We used http://weddingannouncer.com to set up an online RSVP service which was awesome!

We got married in the atrium of a museum, and they did not allow any decor on the walls or hanging from the ceiling, so our decor options were limited. We decided to make the tables the focus. We rented two lanterns and two park benches, our only decor other than what was on the tables.

My grandfather and a little baldie Jude, sitting on the bench, in front of the lantern.

My mom sewed all of the table cloths - I found pink/gold satin fabric on sale so it was really economical - it worked out to about $8/ cloth. My mom's best friend made our centrepieces - white vases found at walmart with faux cherry blossoms. To make the centrepiece, she filled the vases with rocks, tucked in some branches (she spray painted these dark brown), and added flowers. The blossoms themselves were found at michaels. Then she tied a light pink ribbon around the vase. Cost was about $10/centrepiece.

This is a shot of the head table, decorated with more of the bolts of fabric we purchased ourselves. Wedding rental places offered table cloths to rent, but it was far cheaper to buy the fabric. I still have the pink fabric and use it as a table cloth for craft shows :)

Here is a better shot of the centrpieces, and the card box that I painted. I found it at michaels and used one of their coupons with it. I painted the outside white, the inside pink, and freehanded cherry blossoms on the outside.

We did a small candy buffet instead of favors. We purchased jars, and decorated them with ribbons/bows. I found heart shaped candy scoops at michaels. Guests were given little boxes to put candy inside. We saved a lot of time and money doing favors this way because only those interested helped themselves, and we could purchase candy at costco. This was a huge hit and was gone way before we even expected thanks to all of the children in attendance! (by the time this photo was taken, a lot of the good stuff was already gone lol)

I saved a lot by doing my own makeup, and the makeup of my bridal party. I am a makeup artist so this was not stressful for me :) My cousin is a hairstylist, and she did the hair for the bridesmaids. Ok, that's all for crafty photos... now onto some "just for fun" sharing!

I ended up wearing these silver flip flops instead of the shoes I bought for the wedding... much more comfy!

Here we are cutting the cake! I got a yummy coconut cake with buttercream icing, and then chocolate cupcakes and white coconut cupcakes. Yum! Too bad the only bite I got was right after cutting.. would have loved to eat more cupcakes.

This picture was taken at the Nikka Yuko Japanese gardens, in Lethbridge AB. We got our photos taken there and they have this giant gong.. makes for a pretty shot :)

This is pretty silly... but it shows the background of the japanese gardens.

Two photos taken during the ceremony. We chose this museum location because it overlooks a river bottom. In southern alberta there are "coulees" which were formed many years ago by glaciers scraping out channels in the land.. anyways, it makes for a nice view! My bridal party wore gold dresses that had brown bows, and matching bow necklaces.

This shot was taken before the reception, during cocktail hour. I love that it shows the windows in the museum :)

The cake, pro-spoiling! I requested buttercream icing and NOT fondant because fondant is not overly delicious!

She's HERE!

2009-04-22T14:53:00.003-02:30

My kitty from Lori Marie arrived a few days ago! I am a bit late sharing pics since my internet in the studio was down.. which means I had no photo uploading capabilities!

Please visit Lori's Shop and get your own! She still has a pink kitty left.

The last few days have been busy busy, as usual. When is it not busy here? The weather today for Earth Day is kinda crummy - rain, wind, and grey skies. What is it like where you are today? Take a picture and upload it here to share it with everyone in honor of Earth Day!

Just wanted to share a quick recipe - I've been trying to make easy, healthy(ish) breakfasts that I can make ahead and cook quickly when needed.

Spinach and Sausage Breakfast Bagel

- 1 egg
- 1 bagel
- 3 large spinach leaves
- 2 pieces of bacon, 1 piece of ham, or 1 sausage
- a few pieces of cheese

Microwave egg in small bowl for 45 seconds - it comes out round. Toast bagel, and cook your meat. Place Egg on bagel, top with spinach and then add your meat while hot. Place cheese on top! Voila. This takes about 15 minutes to make in the morning or do what I do and make a bunch up ahead, freeze or refridgerate them, and microwave just before eating.

I'm off to do laundry! xoxo

Smoothie Recipe

2009-04-20T22:27:00.003-02:30

We just made some really great smoothies, and I wanted to quickly share the recipe. I recently (I mean finally, whoops!) unpacked the blender we recieved as a wedding present and today I bought lots of smoothie ingredients at the store. Here is the recipe:

- 4 ice cubes
- 4-5 scoops of mango and mandarin flavored yogurt
- 1/2 can of each of pineapple and peaches
- some chunks of frozen fruit mix

All you do is blend. Super easy - yay! This is really quick in the morning and we can all enjoy it - I'm trying to make things that are Jude friendly as well as adult friendly.

I have lots of stuff to share!

2009-04-19T10:02:00.005-02:30

Jude's Birthday party was yesterday, and it was great! :) Here are a few photos to share..

Trying out the cake. He wasn't sure about it... and he didn't get as messy as I would have liked, but he was cute poking the cake with his fork. I made the Birthday crown that he is wearing, and the appiqued "1" onesie.

Pointing at the cake while Daddy tries to light the sparklers. Reccomendation - don't buy sparklers at the dollar store! They wouldn't light and left little bits all over the top of the cake - ew.

A shot of Jude's little cake before I iced it... I baked this in an oddly shaped pyrex dish with the mix left over from the cupcakes. Because of the odd shape, I cut it in half and layered it with a mixture of cake/cream cheese icing in the middle.
I think it looks like a giant macaroon in this picture...

"J" is for Jude!

Playing with his favorite toy, a Pooh car that Grandma gave him for Christmas.

He loves cars... everything is all about cars lately. He said his first word the other day and guess what it was? Yep, "Car".

Matt chilling in the corner.. I love the goofy look on his face :)

More food... yum! Cupcakes with home made cream cheese icing, and the chocolate bar favors. Most of the women from my husband's family who came to the party are involved in a diet challenge, so I ended up with lots of sweets left! I made the cupcake toppers and the chocolate wrappers (those are caramilk bars inside) with a graphic purchased from Http://Govango.Etsy.com.

Jude sticks his toungue out at his little friend Anneliese, who is 9 months old. Isn't she a cutie?

Chewing on the big puffy sheep, which was a gift from mommy and daddy. I found this sheep yesterday for $1.99 in the Easter clearance section at superstore - score! That's all for pictures for now... I took hundreds though and have yet to look at them all so maybe a few more will show up here later.

This is a blurry picture, but my friend Maria (Anneliese's momma) made Jude this robot pillow. It is super cute, with a little flap that opens and closes. She used vintage fabric and sewed it all herself (and designed the pattern, wow!). She commented that she thought I would like it even more than Jude... and that is probably true lol :)

I wanted to share a bit about the crafts that I made for the party. I was on a small budget so I wanted to do a lot of DIY. I made the crown using two pieces of felt, ironed together with stitch witchery (the "1" was applied with the same, and glittered with stickles). I attached an elastic in the back by hand stitching. Jude wore the crown for most of the day and didn't even try to rip it off! I would like to try to make another crown for him for play at some point - but it would need to be a little more durable and maybe sewn on the machine. Anyways, the crown ended up costing me less than $1 to make and I think it really added something special to the photos. The onesie was made using stitch witchery as well - I just cut a "1" out from some red fabric and ironed it onto a plain onesie we already had.

Also - since a lot of people on Twitter asked me for my buffalo chicken dip recipe - I thought I would share it. I served it at this party and usually make it for most occasions. It is super easy, and a crowd pleaser.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

- 2 softened packages of cream cheese
- 1 small container of sour cream
- roughly 1/3-1/2 bottle of franks red hot sauce or other buffalo sauce
- 1 shredded chicken breast

This dip is made in a crock pot and served warm. Add your cream cheese, sour cream, and most of the buffalo sauce (to your own taste) to the pot and set it on low. Place your uncooked chicken breast on a cookie sheet, coat in the rest of the buffalo sauce, and bake until cooked through. When chicken is done, shred it with two forks and add it to the now softened cream cheese mixture. Serve on crackers - voila! You could also bake this in a dish in the oven, but I like to use the crock so it stays warm.

Anyways, I'm going to wrap this super long post up. Thanks for reading!!

Supply addiction anyone??

2009-04-16T10:50:00.003-02:30

I have to confess, I am totally addicted to craft supplies! The reason I love crafts is really because I love supplies... I asked my twitter followers about this topic and you wouldn't believe the amount of replies I got! It seems I am not alone in my supply addiction.

On that topic.. here is a picture of my clearance haul from Michaels yesterday.

- Dollar bin Cupcake cards, $1.50
- American crafts spring ribbons, $0.75 - half price
- Making Memories little pink letter stickers - I am *addicted* to these - $2.99 down from $4.99
- Woodland critter stickers, down from $4.99 to $2.99 as well
- Dollar Bin chipboard circle thingies - $1.50

A pretty good score for around $20, if you ask me :) I also picked up a set of Martha Stewart clear stamps leftover from valentine's for $5 (Walmart).

I've been so busy with life stuff, packing orders, and spring cleaning lately that I haven't had much time to make new crafts... but I have some ideas in the works, like these new stickers.

Happy Birthday to You!

2009-04-13T12:06:00.004-02:30

Today is my son's First Birthday!!

He is no longer a 0 and is officially a ONE!!! :) I am so proud of myself for getting through this first year as a mommy... and so proud of him for being a special, amazing little guy. He has brought so much joy to not only my life but the life of my Husband, and all of our family. I am so happy you were born little man and I can't wait to see what this next year brings!

Speaking of Happy Things... my good friend Jenny Holiday is having a great sale in her shop today! She has great things and I have never seen her put them on sale before so I think this is a BIG DEAL!! Please go check out her shop! This is a great chance to score some of her amazing art at a great deal.... spoil yourself!

Today is also the day that Chelsea Ann makes her first post on Paper*Cakes finds - check it out and leave her some love!

My day in pictures...

2009-04-10T21:18:00.002-02:30

Today was a day of..

Playing with pretty little things..

Makeup Photoshoots..

Birthday Wagons..

Making Posies..

And Oatmeal baths to help soothe rashes..

Yay!!

2009-04-08T16:53:00.004-02:30

I like to keep my two blogs pretty separate, usually, but this news is too exciting not to share!

Chelsea Ann is joining the Paper*Cakes finds team! She is going to be sharing her cute finds with us every Monday! I can't WAIT!!! :)

If you're not sure who Chelsea Ann is, please go check out her blog! She is my best internet crafty pal and she makes some of the cutest things. Here are some pictures from her recent studio move:

She is too cute! I just love her :)

Na na, Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey Hey, Goodbye!

2009-04-07T17:35:00.002-02:30

I know you're sick of seeing this picture... probably as sick of it as I was of having it on my leg! But good news - I am cast free!! At lest for one more month, when they will re-evaluate the possibility of surgery. The fractures still don't look healed, but I have no pain so the Dr. let me go home castless!! *cautious happy dance*

I'm off to take a two day long shower!!!!

Of Birthdays, Spring Cleaning, Silly Kittens, and Making Plans

2009-04-06T10:17:00.003-02:30

Last night my mother in law had Birthday Supper for me at her house, and she does the best Birthday suppers! She lets you choose your own menu and always makes delicious stuff. We had chicken wings, 3 home made sauces, vegetable casserole, sweet potato fries, and apple cheesecake - all from scratch! Yum! Next weekend is her Birthday supper, and we're having fondue. Birthdays are always so fun in our family!

I don't know if any of you noticed... but I put my etsy shop on a little bit of a hiatus for a few weeks. I'm taking a little break for a few reasons... I want to do some spring cleaning around the house/yard (things have really slipped with me being in a cast!), I'd like to make some crafts for myself and my family, and my "real life" schedule is really busy for the next few weeks!

My little guy is turning 1 in just 7 more days! I can't believe a year has passed already. It was one of the quickest (and slowest in some ways) years of my life so far. I've been doing a lot of thinking about life in general lately... how mine is different now that I have a child, and about his life. He is so smart, and so busy. I can't wait until he can talk to me - he is close now with his fully inflected sentences that sound like they are in some other language. I'm planning a nice robot themed party for him... I'll post more about that in the coming days.

Tomorrow I'm going to the hospital to (hopefully) get my cast off, for good. I'm trying not to get my hopes up because twice now I've been in to get it off and have had to spend more time in it. If my ankle isn't healed, the next step will be surgery. I'm hoping and praying that that doesn't happen - I would just really love if life could go back to "normal". This whole thing has been a really long, hard journey - both physically and especially mentally. I would say this is the hardest thing I have ever had to do... even harder than childbirth because at least that is over in a couple of days lol! Things like everyday hygiene, climbing the stairs with the baby in my arms, cleaning, etc just became really difficult. It's amazing how much of your abilities you take for granted until they're gone. That said, I'm proud of myself for being able to adapt to the situation.

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about etsy, and my Internet projects like this blog and my other blog Paper*Cakes finds. Now that Jude is bigger, and busier, the time I have for these things has definitely lessened. I am not going to give them up entirely because they really save my personal sanity, but I need to find a new way to accomplish things while still devoting enough time to my family, and I need to take more time for my personal well being too. I want to be a better friend, wife, mother, and daughter. I also have some plans for a shop makeover and I want to start selling some small pieces of jewelery/accessories. Hopefully during this little break I can do that :) It's so hard to find a balance.

Anyways.. I feel like I just wrote a novel and if you read this blog regularily you will know that I am not one for writing long posts, so I will leave you with this silly kitten necklace - I wish I could buy the orange one!

A new friend shall soon arrive....

2009-04-04T13:18:00.003-02:30

I *finally* scored one of Lori Marie's lovely creations!

Just a little late birthday present to myself. I'm so excited!! I've wanted one of Lori's items for so long and now one is on it's way to me.

Happy Saturday everyone! PS: If you're a mom you should read this great blog post by Crystal of Little Bit Funky.

I'm off to start my giant spring cleaning project... I am taking a little bit of time away from etsy so I can get some stuff done "in real life", like cleaning my house. Things have gotten so behind since I broke my ankle. It's going to take me a long time because everything does these days... but I figure that progress is progress and even if I slowly chip away at it it is better than doing nothing.

Jude's first birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks and I want to make some crafts for it, heck I would even like to make some crafts for myself! Maybe even a scrapbook page... if I remember how.

Wish me luck! Xoxo

Guess what today is???...

2009-04-01T10:18:00.002-02:30

MY BIRTHDAY! No Foolin! Today I turn the big 2-3! And I wanted to celebrate with all of my blog readers so I am offering 50% off of *everything* in my whole shop! You heard right, 50% off everything!

So If you've ever wanted some of these cute paper posies

Or one of my one of a kind cards

Or some cute cucpake gift tags

Or even some scrapbooking embellishments...

It's ALL HALF OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I must have gone crazy :)

:)

2009-03-25T12:00:00.004-02:30

Matt and I went to see the Weakerthans on Saturday night, I love them! Here are some pics of me and my outfit :) It's my birthday soon so I got some new goodies...

The headband is made with one of my posie embellishments, and the necklace is vintage. Sweater/top from old navy. I love love love old navy.. especially when you can get a cardigan for $15 and a cute top for $10!! :)

And check out my ridiculous pin!

I purchased this from Imyourpresent on Etsy - I love it! My husband thinks it is totally crazy... but it makes me smile BIG! :) Look at the kitty's rhinestone collar.. she is so sassy. I really love Imyourpresent. Her dresses would never fit me unfortunately but I can still look at them! Go check out her shop - she has some really kitschy cute stuff and she sent a pair of earrings and some yummy candy as extras.

The Paper*Cakes SALE is still on - 25% off EVERYTHING in the store until April 1st. I very rarely run a sale so take advantage of it now! You can also get free shipping if you spend $25 - after the discount. I am adding a lot of new items so now is the time to shop! :) I have no more room for inventory so I need to send it to loving homes!

Here are some photos of some of the new stuff!

Heart Cookie Embellishments

PIIIIINK Eco Friendly Posies

Lollipop Clear Stamp

Xoxo

Sale extravaganza!! :)

2009-03-23T12:53:00.003-02:30

In honor of my Birthday which is next Wednesday, Paper*Cakes is having a HUGE! Sale!! Everything in the shop is 25% off, including clearance items. Spend $25 nd get free shipping. All orders shipping out with FREE gift! Sae ends April 1st, and does not apply to custom orders.

Best of all, there are NEW items in the shop! And more listed later today!

Been experimenting...

2009-03-19T15:48:00.002-02:30

I've been trying my hand lately with fabric crafts.. it will be better once I can figure out the bobbin on my sewing machine. Here are a couple of brooches that I made yesterday.

I have some bad news... unfortunately my cast did not come off - I was actually sentenced to *three* more weeks, because my bones just aren't healed yet. I'm feeling really sad and low about it. It's my birthday on April 1st and I was really hoping to be cast free... plus I really need to get a job and nobody seems to want to hire a girl with a broken ankle. Anyways, I hope you all like the brooches :) I might make some headbands too.

Gooooooodbye!!

2009-03-17T11:54:00.002-02:30

In approximately 3 hours I will leave for my cast removal appointment at the hospital! (it's a good thing, since the bottom is completely busted out anyways). Today is 8 weeks and I am soooo thankful that the end of this is nigh. I know my leg will be a bit wobbly for a while... but I am just *so* looking forward to taking a SHOWER!!!!

I've been working on a few new things.. here are some photos.

I finally found more mini notebooks so I'm making about 16 of them.... expect to see lots more in the coming days :) If you have any requests or suggestions for designs please leave them in the comments! I'm feeling a bit lacking in inspiration lately.

Happy Sunday!

2009-03-15T13:10:00.003-02:30

Ahhhh Sunday, my favorite day of the week! On Sunday Matt and Jude and I all go out to either his mom's or my mom's place and we have a nice dinner and then we all watch big love. Sundays are totally the best!

Yesterday I was sick so I didn't get much done at all... we attended a baby shower and I attempted to make that pie I wrote about yesterday. Well, the pie didn't turn out so well but luckily I am creative so I made it work. The crust was too crumbly so I just smashed it up and layered the bananas, custard, smashed crust, and whipped cream in a pyrex dish and called it "Banana Cream Pie Trifle" instead and it was a hit!

I was puttering around this morning and I made this pincushion jar filled with art supplies..

I made the little cupcake push pin with polymer clay. I hope to make a few more of these because I have quite a few baby jars around and this is a great way to turn them into something useful! I am always saving jars and tins.. the top of our kitchen cupboards looks like a recycling bin lol :) These little jars should be available in the etsy shop in the coming days. Speaking of the etsy shop, I have added a few new supplies recently.

Wooden Mushrooms

Puffy Hearts

Puffy Iridescent Stars

Tomorrow I have an interview on Paper*Cakes Finds with Craftpudding! I am so excited... I love love love her hand carved stamps! Be sure to check it out! Xoxo for now!

A few recipes...

2009-03-14T11:03:00.002-02:30

Today I'm attempting to make the Banana Cream Pie that Martha Stewart had on her show this week. It looks awesome! Here is a link to the recipe. I am not very good at baking so I'm desperately praying that it turns out... I think the odds are in my favor as the only thing I actuall have to bake is the crust. (not my photo)

And something else delicious that I made this week... buffalo chicken strips! Uh huh, from scratch! (not my photo again)

These were so awesome!!!! Matt picked up some chicken breast filet strips really cheap, so I breaded them and we added buffalo sauce.. uh.. yum! Here's a little recipe/how to.

For the breading, I crushed up a bunch of stoned wheat crackers, and mixed with flour, salt, pepper, and garlic. I broke two eggs in a bowl and mixed with a little bit of milk. Dip the strip in the egg/milk mixture, then roll in the breading until thoroughly coated. Heat a frying pan with a little bit of oil, and pop the strips in. Cook until golden brown, turning a few times in the process. Coat with buffalo sauce, then place on a cookie sheet and broil for a couple of minutes. Finally, remove from the oven and coat once more in buffalo sauce. Serve with ranch and carrot sticks. Yum!!!

A few new things...

2009-03-12T11:00:00.003-02:30

I've been quietly working on some new stuff lately. I try to at least make a few goodies every day. Orders have been busy lately and taking up a lot of my time... but I did get a few things done!

There are a few more that are not pictured, to see them check out my Etsy Shop.

I've been diligently chipping away at my studio mess.. and I am happy to say it is much better, but not quite there yet! Yesterday was a write off since my computer decided it hates me and I spent most of the day coaxing myself back into it's favor. I hate it when technology doesn't do what it is supposed to!

Anywho, I'm off to pack up a giant order (26 items to one person! It made my month!!) and work on a little project I am really excited to share with you, maybe I will be able to post it tomorrow.

Xoxo.

Reorganization...

2009-03-06T09:59:00.004-03:30

I've been struggling for months and months to make my studio into a space that really WORKS for me.. and failing. Now it has come to the EPIC FAIL point and something must be done! I have so much stuff in this tiny room, not to mention there is a play pen in here too! My business is rapidly growing and I'm now going to the flea market weekly so my old storage of completed items must change! I can't deal with piles of crap everywhere all the time and things not having designated places... or they have designated places but they don't make sense in relation to how I function in the room so stuff just ends up everywhere!

My plan is to turn my little writing desk next to my main desk into a "shipping/merchandise" area, and to keep my main desk stocked with MATERIALS only! And then, I will put all unused or not as often used materials and supplies in the closet or the cupboard. I'm going to put things I very rarely use on the top shelf in the closet, and put away all "display" type items that take up valueable organization space. This seems like a better idea.. I hope it works!

So wish me luck! I've promised myself to devote most of my day to doing this and DOING IT RIGHT! I can't count how many times I have attempted to do this and gave up half way.. which just ends up with me not being able to find anything. Here's hoping I can turn this epic fail into something better ;)

PS: the photos in this post are obviously from cleaner days... lol

Happy Thursday...

2009-03-05T11:12:00.003-03:30

Wow, this week flew by! I can't believe it is Thursday already. I went in to the hospital on Tuesday to have my cast removed, and was unfortunately sentenced to another two weeks in a cast :( boo! This is pretty stressful to me since my maternity leave is up and trying to find a job with a cast is.. well... impossible.

Anyyyways... onto happier things. I wanted to share a picture of the new cutie I made yesterday, this little felt cupcake magnet. I listed it on etsy and it has already sold but never fear, more are in the works. I attempted to sew a camper plush last night and ended up screwing it up... maybe tonight I will try to fix it. Wish me luck! Sewing "big" items is sooo not my thing lol :) Trying to learn new skills.

I've been doing a lot of work on Paper*Cakes finds these days, and I have a series of interviews coming up with some amazing artists. Holiday Jenny, Tim of Fantastic Toys, and LoveLeeSoaps to name a few! I can't wait to share those with everyone. If this is your first time finding out about Paper*Cakes finds - please go check out the blog! I started this new blog a couple of weeks ago and it has been going so well. Every day I feature cuteness that I find on the internet (mostly on etsy).

Anyyyways, I have got about 40 bajillion things to do so I better get off and do them! I am going to leave you with a picture of my favorite show right now (yes, I know this show is for kids but I totally adore it! Chromeo was on last week!! EEE!!).

If you want to know more about Yo gabba Gabba check out the wikipedia entry here. It's an awesome kids show with lots of indie music!

How to make... gift card holders!

2009-03-04T10:55:00.004-03:30

Disclaimer: PLEASE DO NOT use this tutorial to make and sell your own gift card holders. I am sharing this for personal use only and I might be very angry if I see people selling items made from this tutorial.

1. Start with a piece of 4x6" cardstock, heavy is better. I reccomend bazzill.

2. Punch one egde of your cardstock with an edging punch, I like to use fiskars "threading water". There are lots of nice edge punches on the market.

3. Score your cardstock at 1" and 3.5" making sure to start at the non punched edge. Fold and attach the bottom flap using strong adhesive. Glue runners do not work for this, I use glue lines. Be sure when applying adhesive that you don't get it too far into the middle or gift cards will not fit inside the flap.

4. Cut 2 1" x 4" strips of patterned paper. Adhere one to the front and one to the inside, as shown in the photos. I like to add a bit of glitter to my patterned paper edges on the front only, but this step is optional.

5. Cut one 3/4" x 6" strip of patterned or plain paper. This piece is to hold the gift card holder closed. Fold it around the holder, affixing in the back. Be sure to make it tight enough that it stays on, but keep in mind that the holder will be thicker when a card is inside so make sure to leave room for it to slide easily on and off.

6. I often like to embellish my strip with a circle and a cutout from patterned paper, a bow, or a stamped image. This is optional of course. I also often add a little embellishment to the left or right side of the inside pocket. It's really up to you!

I hope you enjoy making this project :) If you make it, be sure to share some photos with me!

Back from the Flea Market!

2009-03-02T10:13:00.002-03:30

Yesterday was my "big debut" (lol) at the Flea Market.. and I'm pleased to say it went well enough for me to get a table again next week. The Flea Market crowd is tough.. because they are mostly there looking for good deals, but I did sell an OK amount. I can't wait for craft show season! I passed out a lot of business cards and got a lot of great feedback about my items.

A promised... here are some (BAD) photos of my table at the flea market :) The lighting in there was so terrible!

Matt and Jude helping

A really crummy shot with flash...

My spinning rack full of goodies

Close up of my setup

and one more closeup

Here is my outfit!

I love bubble bead necklaces <3

So now I am going to work on next week :) The cupcake magnets I made were a huge hit, so I want to make more of those and more bow headbands as well.

Only one more day!

2009-02-28T14:14:00.002-03:30

The flea market is tomorrow morning! I'm embarassed to admit it but I am nervous! I just want everything to go well and for things to be well recieved. Our power went out this AM and I had a mini freakout in my head... I need the computer to do so many things still like printing signs. I have a list so as long as I follow it everything should happen according to plan. Wish me luck!!

Anyways, I just wanted to share a couple of photos of the headband I wore last night... I kept seeing these everywhere so I made myself one. I cost less than $1 to make, with a headband from the dollar store and ribbon.

And just a couple more things I've been working on:

I gave the little trailer magnet to a friend yesterday so I hope to get a couple more made tonight, but I'm pretty much done making itema and now am packing up items, making sure the last preparations are done.

Oh PS: Paper*Cakes got a FACEBOOK page yesterday so if you're on facebook please join!!

Love ya!! xoxo Chelsea

Paper*Cakes on FACEBOOK! :)

2009-02-27T12:29:00.002-03:30

If you are a facebook member, pretty please become a fan of our page!

Still plugging away....

2009-02-27T10:14:00.003-03:30

So I'm still trying to work like crazy in preparation for the flea market on Sunday.... I have NO idea whether or not people will buy my items or how much they will buy. I'm keeping my hopes up but the flea market crowd tends to be tough.. everyone is looking for a deal. I'm hoping to combat that by offering a few cheapie items, like these new Paper posies!

These will be $0.50 each

I've also been making up craft kits. I've gotten about 40 of these done so far. They are all unique and super fun!

And finally, a couple more larger pieces

I'm working on more little gift boxes, some camper magnets, more posies, deer embellies.. and whatever else I can pull out of my butt by Sunday! hehe

So cross your fingers for me - I really hope people buy my stuff :) My maternity leave is over now and I am jobless so we could really use even a little income from me!

Got some stuff up my sleeve...

2009-02-25T08:59:00.002-03:30

I am going to be at the local flea market this weekend.. so I have been working on a few "larger" type items. I don't sell things like this online because the shipping costs are astronomical, so I have been having fun with this! Here are just a few of what I have done so far:

Oh Deer! Frame

Fawnd of you Gift Boxes

Pretty Princess Silhouette Frame

Bird On a Branch Fabric Picture

Do you like them?! I'm working on more things... I have a few magnet boards going and I will be making 2 more items with the pink frames... 3 more fabric pictures.. some magnets, needle books, blair waldorf headbands, and maybe some fabric pouches. I'm totally on a roll!! :)

Wish me luck at the flea market.. I need it! My maternity leave expired 3 weeks earlier than I expected and I can't exactly work with a broken ankle.. plus the job pickings around here are slim. Hope you enjoyed these photos!

Don't forget to check out Paper*Cakes Finds - my new blog that showcases cuteness and eye candy found mostly on etsy!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

2009-02-23T20:11:00.001-03:30

Broccoli Cheese Soup
Originally uploaded by musicpb

I made broccoli cheese soup tonight, from a really easy recipe my mom gave me.

Here's the soup recipe:

1 large bunch of broccoli - use stocks, as well, and remove before blending
4 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 cups milk

2 cups cheese - optional for broccoli/cheese soup or sprinkle on top of cream of broccoli soup

Cook broccoli in chicken stock until tender - DO NOT DRAIN - cool a bit, remove broccoli stems, and run through blender (use hand blender) to desired texture - set aside.

Melt butter in large sauce pan - add onion and saute on medium heat until limp - DO NOT BROWN. Mix in flour, salt and pepper. Add milk - heat and stir until it boils and thickens. Add blended broccoli (and cheese, if desired and heat until melted).

It's super easy and so good!

Pink bows....

2009-02-22T11:34:00.002-03:30

I'm obsessed with pink bows! Here are a couple quick photos of some of my latest creations.

These are stickers :) They're perfect for scrapbook pages and crafts and will be available tomorrow!

It's here!

2009-02-21T14:13:00.003-03:30

Paper*Cakes Finds has launched! Please click the image above to visit and to read our interview with the lovely Lorie Marie Johnson.

Have you seen these sweet little deer?

2009-02-19T09:53:00.003-03:30

These babies are just waiting for you to take them home! They are made of cardstock that I handcut and glittered, and mounted on adhesive backed felt. Perfect for scrapbooking, art journals, collage, and basically any crafts you can think of :) They are available in the shop now - and there are lots to go around!

Stuck Under a Mountain

2009-02-18T10:11:00.003-03:30

That's how I'm feeling lately!

I've never been the most patient person, ok, I have never been a patient person at all! :) Having a broken ankle has really been an exercise in patience because everything takes me sooo long to accomplish. Thus, I am a bit swamped at the moment with a messy messy house, tons of orders and packages to ship, emails to answer, photos to upload!

The good news is that I got a walking cast yesterday and that my fracture loooks good :) The bad news is that now I am able to do a lot more and alllllll of those things that I haven't been able to do for a month have sure piled up. My husband has been such a great help but he has his own jobs, and adding mine on top of that has taken it's toll on him as well.

So I'm just asking a wee bit of patience for the next week or so while I take a little mini blog holiday to "catch up". When I come back, Paper*Cakes finds will launch as well! There are some great interviews planned so don't forget to watch for that announcement.

xoxo

Chelsea