Crafts and Health Insurance.

OH dear. I find myself once again on the phone in an effort to clear up issues with my insurance.  I feel so bad for the people who's job it is to deal with us unruly insured individuals. I try to be extra nice, even though inside I feel like punching someone because I get a bill for 1,124.82 that was supposedly covered....
*deep breath*
so I will do my time and spend what is already half an hour on the phone and then I will Craft.
Perhaps today I need to make some little plush animals that have cute googley eyes and tiny noses. They can take me to my happy crafty place.

It's tricky to rock a rhyme, to rock a rhyme- that's right on time.

Not sure why I'm having old school flashbacks.  I was in a construction mood yesterday and completed 4 new things of awesomeness, though as usual, I have run out of patience by the time it's time to take a picture, so they don't look so awesome.
First I made a new necklace display for me

then a similar necklace display for a fellow crafter

they're just upholstered and hinged plywood. Super cheap and easy, but I think they look nice.
And I made a ring display,

This was a piece of styrofoam that I dug channels into, then used the hot glue gun to cover with the velvet. 

And finally, my little tree that I'll use to hang my stockings and purses on

All of the wood for all pieces was maybe total $7. I have found that Home Depot has a scrap or "cull" wood section at the back of the store and I raided it, each piece there is only 51 cents! All in all, I"m pretty thrilled with my cheapy displays.

I have also been crafting, and my favorite thing I have made has to be this stocking,

I took old sweaters that had holes in them and cut around the holes to make stockings!  This one is the prettiest becuase of the sweater pattern (at least I think so) and if I didn't already have a highly awesome Simpsons stocking that my honey got me, I'd be tempted to just keep this for myself!
On another Christmasey note, I have pretty much fully decorated my house.  Poor Tim has to live with this holiday for a full 2 months.  He's wonderful.

This is the tree I have in my "library" I've already decorated it, and the second tree is in my living room, and I have yet to fully decorate that one...

But I am in love with the colored LED lights, they're so bright!

I also have decorated the mantle, with stockings for ALL of the family, the three pups each have thier own.

Yep, that's my homer stocking, and Tim has the steelers. 
Now, I was all set to insist on a real tree this year, but the green one above was FREE.  I found it on Craigslist and expected it to be smaller and crappy, but it's awesome.  So I have cedar scented oil to fool me into the Christmas spirit. Plus that way I don't have to vacuum needles. :-)

I'm off to craft, I have to finish everything, and I have PILES of things sitting here to finish!  I have a swap to mail on Saturday as well as the holiday craftular at the Atlas Theatre here in Greeley that I am super excited about. Wish me luck peeps!

Welcome November!

The leaves are falling and the wind is chilly and this is my absolute favorite time of year!

As I sit here drinking my tea and working on some pieces of jewelry, I am overwhelmed with overwhelmeyness. I have a smallish craft show in just 4 days, and I feel like I am so totally not prepared for it. At all. In the least.
So this should be a short blog because I should stop typing and concentrate on the crafting.

In exciting news, my sister is coming to visit me in 9 days, and I'm really pumped/excited/happytacular/whoohooadoodley about it. You should be too.  Not because you'll get to see her, but because you just should. Yeah.

Also, if you are on Facebook, you know that it's officially Christmas season for me, and I am going to start decorating immediately. The fall stuff is coming down and the winter stuff is goin' up, and I couldn't be happier about it. Soon the stores will join in with my joy and start putting up Christmas displays and all of you naysayers that say nay to early Christmas celebrations, BAH! I LOVE this season and any excuse to make it last longer is a good one to me.

Oh yes, this is happening right now...  I have christmasified my window in front of the computer where I do all this typing, and it is lonely, so I need to get in gear and christmasify some more things.
I promise to post updates, and you have to promise to like it.

SUCCESS!-(I couldn't post this before, But it's here now!)

I can't believe I actually did it, but three projects done!
The first has no picture because I forgot (DUH) but are the rings I had an order for through Etsy.  Done, packed and ready to mail!
The second project is my MIL's stocking,

It's made from a felted sweater and a felt reindeer.

Then my last project was one that I wasn't sure would work, but I hope to sell these ornaments...

at the Atlas Craft Show that I'm in come November.  I will have to tinker with the design a bit, and also I need to make/buy a small tabletop sized tree so I can display them.



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Since writing that post, I have signed up for ANOTHER craft show, also here in Greeley.  I hope I don't lose my mind before it starts!
it's here at
Zoe's Coffeehouse
On November 5th in the evening.

Poor malnourished bloggy!

I have a second crafty show coming up, and I also have a whopper of a swap to finish, and those are my excuses for not blogging.  Also, I am not feeling very clever. (What, you say?  The ones I have written were supposed to be clever? Well, you can shut it. How's that for cleverness? Huh?) 
SO
Here is the new incredible show of awesomeness and fabulosity

Atlas Winter Show

(This is some of the work of artists that will be there, my thing is the purse)

It looks like it is going to be soooooo awesome, and I can't wait.  But I seem to be waiting a LOT to start on my new holiday themed stuff, and that's just no good.  I hope to accomplish no less than 3 projects tomorrow, and blog about them.  Also, I have mentioned that on Facebook, so now I'm putting it out there so I have a sense of obligation to do it. Hey- self motivate however you can, right?

Also, I have been informed by the crafty masters of craftularity that I need a website. Thus begins what I'm sure will be a long process of setting one up. yay.

Copper gOODIES

So my newest temporary obsession seems to be copper.  It's beautiful, strong, and complicated.

I hope to expand on my capabilites- But I have never been one to shy away from a challenge, and I fully intend to learn all I can before this gives way to whatever whim I have to act on next.

Fall!

So I have been busy immersung myself in all things fall lately.   Anything pumpkin, apple cider, baking, leaves, and the beauteousness of autumn colors.  Simce I haven't bloggulared in a while, here are a couple fall-ey things!

This is for my sis, she doesn't have a fall wreath, and while I am far from great at making them, I think she appreciates the thought. :-)

I did not come up with the idea to put pumpkin in brownies, but O.M.G. it is fabulous. Not only is it pretty, it tastes like a chocolate pumpkin pie.  I wanted to share it with everyone I am sending cookies to, but sadly, it won't be making it into the packages due to my inability to control myself. I have made and frosted some more sugar cookies, which will be sent out as soon as I add some more cookies to the packages, and I also experimented with dried apples and make an apple cinnamon sugar cookie that I love. I have a few more fall baking ideas, and as soon as I get my buns back in the kitchen I will post pics and reviews.
Also, unrelated to cooking or crafting, but I have the cutest dogs in the world.

Tuesday might just become New Blog Day!

Well, lookie here. It's been a week since my last entry, and I actually have something to share!
Last Friday, I made myself go to Denver to the Gem and Bead shows.  Now, you might be thinking that saying "made myself" is a bit of a stretch if you know my attitude about shopping. But I very rarely go out od town to go shopping by myself.  I like to, instead, drag along unwitting family members (Mom and Brin, Dad won't go there!) or friends (ok, ok, friend.  I only have the one. Melissa).  But I sucked it up and suffered through and so on, and let me say, wowee kazaowee.  Apparently there were 8 shows going on that weekend, and I only attended 2, or really just 1.5 if you cound the fact that I didn't finish the bead show because I ran out of money and couldn't stop buying things. It was SOOOOOOO AWESOME!  I had a lot of fun at the combination Gem and Fossil show, even though it was overrun with kids.  I have to admit though, they were adorable ones, all decked out in their "I heart dinosaurs" gear. So cute. I didn't really look much at the fossils, as that's not my thing, but the abundance of gems was fascinating.  Of course, I'm a nerd and didn't take any pictures at that one, so I have none to share until I take photos of the little gemmys that I actually bought.
Now, let's talk about the bead show. Incredible.  It was like a warehouse lined with the bead isles at michaels and joanns, but with TONS more, and so much different stuff that I had to try really hard not to pee my pants in excitement. I was suckered into the very first booth I saw, and then skipped maybe 3 on my route to the back and then back to the door.  I didn't let myself see the whole thing, (that's what she said) because I just didn't think I could handle it.  The girls I spoke with at the craft fair I attended said it was overwhelming, and I didn't believe them, but I totally should have, because it is.

And these jerks below had the audacity to have basically every swarovskit known to man...

I know these pics aren't the best, but I think I could have taken a thousand of them and I wouldn't have been able to capture the ginormousness of the situation.
I wish that Melissa could have been there, I think she would have appreciated them as much as I did, and also I think she is the only shopping partner that wouldn't have minded the excessive amount of time I took studying the beads.
So that is my Friday adventure. Super awesome.

On to my today adventure.  I have been yapping about making sugar cookies for, oh about 2 weeks now, and I finally got around to finishing my first batch.  I don't know if the icing is going to set enough for me to mail them out to all of you I promised to mail to, but if not, I'll just make more, and hopefully get the icing recipe right! 

I know that leaves wouldn't have the little confettis on them but hey- they're fall-y and cute.

And then below, I made some punkins (by the way peeps, I KNOW it's pumpkins, but punkins is more fun to say) and some acorns.  The punkins are okay, acorns, not so much.

Really the only way to tell the difference is the color, the punkins being orange and the acorns being brown, except for the two yellow, not sure what I was thinking there...

That's it for me.
Toodles!

Pops of the Cake Variety

I have been informed in a not-quite-gentle way that I am slacking and should have posted an entry about my cake pops situation. So.  Melissa- shut your maw, and here it is.
I happened upon a recipe for Jack-o-lantern cake pops in my most recent Betty Crocker magazine (because I am THAT cool, to get the BC mag...) and not only did they sound deeee-licious, they were adorable and looked easy.  Well, they are delicious, and if done correctly, adorable, but not quite as easy as one might imagine. Basically you bake a cake and let it cool, and then you crumble it in a big bowl and mix with frosting.  Then you take little balls of that (or in the case of other shapes, you do whatever) and freeze them.  Then you use the easily-melted chocolate and dip the little balls in it once you've put them on the lolli stick- thus making them a pop!  Then you decorate! (oh yes, and you have to put the stick in a Styrofoam block to let the chocolate harden first)
It all sounds so easy, but making the little cakey balls look like balls and not lumpy bumpies is HARD!

Here are my lumpies. (not to be confused with whatever Fergie was talking about in that one song.)
I can say that even though they are lumpariffic, they are good.  Apparently when you let the chocolate harden it shrinks a little, and this results in cracks on some of the pops, so I did what any great product-controlling individual would do- I ate them.  It tastes like a cake flavored truffle on a stick. Fabulous.
And I decorated a few,

I used a black glitter gel, but I think that it would be loads easier if I had sprung for the $9 food coloring pens and done the faces that way.  And even though they are far from the adorable balls that are shown, I like to think my little dudes have "character."  You know, like when you ask someone what they think of something and the response is "well, it's..... different."  They are different, but unapologetically.


Look here for more goodness!
http://www.bakerella.com/

Shame On Me.

I have neglected my bloggy friends. I'm so sorry.
So here's what's new....
Un-craft related, Tim and I had a great 6th Anniversary on Sunday, and Monday we drove up to Estes Park and it was SO BEAUTIFUL. 

On a craftier note, I was trying to get into the Horseshoe Craft and Flea Market, but unless I can provide an entire booth of non-jewelryness, I'm not in.  :-(  That's okay, I could try to do a whole bunch of new stuff by the deadline, but it's only a couple weeks away, and I am just not up to the challenge.  Instead, I plan to focus my energy on finding and attempting new crafts for Christmas!  I know I'm not the only one out there that is already thinking about this holiday (Melissa, I'm theatrically winking your way...) but I may be the only one that has already bought numerous gifts. Sorry people, I LOVE to shop. Love. My poor hubs can attest to my unhealthy obsession with sales. (OH YES, I am already thinking about Black Friday!)
So.   In an attempt to be more like I was last year (broke) I am trying to make a lot of gifts, and luckily I am starting on it sooner than November this year, so I have hopes of making things while not stressing.
Oh yes, and I found just about the cutest cookie cutters whilst roaming the isles at Ross, so I think I might try my hand at cookie decorating.  I figure even if they look horrible, I'll still eat 'em. :-9

I'm here, I'm here, Yeesh!

Well well well.
So my little crafty fair of craftness went off without a major hitch, and the only minor ones being a) it was 98 hot degrees that day and b) I didn't make any money once you facor in costs, I actually lost a LOT.
BUT!!  But it was only my first fair, and I did it for the experience and not the money (good thing!) and I managed to make new crafty friends, which is a feat in and of itself for me since I am such a hermit normally.  I did sell some items, and upon checking my google analytics the traffic was up on my etsy store with 88 new visitors that day and the next, so that is WONDERFUL!!!  Okay, enough of my bragginess... here's how it went down. 
I managed to wake up at a respectable time, and the set-up for the even started at 10.  I got there at 9:59, and was suprised to see I was the 4th to arrive (there was a total of about 20 vendors).  Luckily, the organizer (Kelly Cook) was awesome and helpful and she was able to do her organizey duties as well as help me set up a little.  Another passer-by helped me with my tent, and then I needed to figure out where to put everything.  I had intentions of setting things up in a dry-run the week before, but I chickened out because I knew if it didn't look good then I would freak and not do the show. It took me the full 2 hours to get everything out the way I wanted it to be, and in the end looked like this.

(the pics aren't that great, but you get the gist)

I was actually fairly happy at how it turned out, though next time I know that I need a little more variation in the heights of table displays, and that I may choose a different "layout" since this left me very little room to move around.

 Plus, it was so hot, that (3rd pic) later in the day I had to move the backdrop curtians so that I could get a tiny breeze, and I think that took away from the look, but I didn't want to be fainting. That wouldn't have been good.
So the event technically started at 12, but no one really arrived until 3:30.  This was the first year they did an artists/crafts block, and the main event was the 45 bands that were playing throughout the day starting at, you guessed it, 3:30.  Kelly said that she plans on doing another year, but will start later next year, so I think that would be awesome.
I set out all of my items, and also a photo album (that I plan to continually update) with crafts that I've previously made for Etsy and also for swaps, and I think that a lot of people enjoyed seeing those.
I also had a woman ask me about an item that I made previously but didn't have any of at the time, and she took a card, so I am hoping that I canb put that in the etsy store for her!
Okay, so, I want all kinds of input that you're willing to give on what I can do to look better (the booth, not me, I KNOW what I can do...) and what you would have liked to see if you had been there.
Lay it on me!

This is it.

Hoooooo boy. Today is the last "prep" day for my crafty thing, and as much as I really want to yap about it, I need to get things done.  BUT!  Don't fear, I plan on taking lots and lots of pictures, and I plan on writing all about it afterwards, so check back. 
Peace out home fries.

Oh, The Ironing.

I don't think I can take any more. I'm all ironed out. Any and all future crafts will have to be wrinkly and grubby, because I simply can't do it anymore. I'm sorry. Who knew there were so many heat-applied  items and steps in crafts?!  WHO? I wanna know so I can hunt them down and poke out thier eyes. Preferably with a hot iron! (insert slightly psycotic, yet cautiously joking laugh here..)
On a happier note, I'm getting closer and closer to actually being ready for this thing!
The referred to "thing" being this:

I posted it before, and I'll probably post it again, because it's my FIRST!

And I have come up with an item of awesomeness during my craft-a-thons these past weeks.

Behold.

It's a beach, In ring form!!  By the way, if you are not nearly as excited as I about this- you can just shut it, because it was so much harder to make than you'd think, and I never gave up. So HA!

So I'm hoping to make many more of these, unfortunately I am not quite a "pro" at it yet, so they will probably be few and far between unless they are really popular, because the investment per piece grows pretty fast when you keep ruining the pieces!

I've also been making lotsa other stuff, but it's all on the PookaLakaChicka facebook page.

(this is too, but I am SO excited, I had to do a repost!)

Alrighty die-ty. I should go sew these dismembered purse corpses together....

Or maybe get a drink...

We'll see.