:)

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!! :)

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...

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!!

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!

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...

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...

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...

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...

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!

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!

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.