Blue Tassels

.I made this framed piece for Steve's daughter - and I gave her an iTunes gift card too. The frame is 8" square so originally the piece looked a tad small in it. I added what I think looks like tassels by adding those 3 tiny shapes to each point. I've never tried that before and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

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Bead Trio

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Are these not scrumptious??

Gretchen gave me these beads with a gift certificate to Let's Bead! The name of the store has that exclamation point - but I would have used it anyway to note my enthusiasm for this gift. :-) I haven't even been over to the store since they expanded. I hope to rectify that shortly. I'm very happy that the store is doing so well that they needed to expand.

If you are a local reader, take a look at their long list of classes. If I had the time, I'd be inclined to take a class on chain maille. Isn't it cool?

Byzantine Chain Maille Bracelet , by Deb Sardina

I use these tiny seed beads for embellishing my Sticky Notes (and other projects). I notice though, that the bigger time crunch I get into, the less I take the time to bead. So my spring Sticky Notes are beaded. Fall? Not so much.

Paper, thread, beads - just another addiction. Beats heroin.

Oh! Speaking of addiction - I watched my first season of Celebrity Rehab this year. I Tivoed it out of curiosity, just for a giggle and was instantly hooked. It was very moving. I was really taken with Dr. Drew Pinsky, who I'd heard of but had no exposure too. I came away with a lot of respect for him.

I still don't understand why anyone would air their problems on TV - ala Dr. Phil and Dr. Drew. But being a lover of the biographical genre, I find myself hooked whenever I watch one of these.

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Rag Sky Art Studio

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(1-1/2" x 2")

Taking a break from showing you what I made as gifts for Christmas, here's something that was given to me. Mom gave me this "Fabric Jewels" pin made by Meg Hannan of Rag Sky Art Studio, in Seattle, WA.

Meg says, "Using processes of my own invention, I create my jewelry out of fabric & fibers. I first hand-dye some of it, then layer or roll the fabric with liquid glue which hardens and protects it. Finally, I slice it cross-section, essentially creating fiber 'millefiori' ".

I saw this at a Casa Larga craft show, being sold by Frame of Mind, which offers custom framing and needlework supplies. The store is located right in the village of Penfield, which I go through a lot so I could sort of picture their sign out on the main road but she had to explain to me where their building is - behind other buildings. I had assumed it was a frame shop only; I had no idea they sold needlework supplies - and this outstanding work by Meg Hannan. I'll definitely be stopping in there sometime.

The funny thing was that I had purposely made time before the craft show started, to walk around and look at the work of the other vendors because Mom usually comes to this show and invariably asks, "See anything here you want for ::: insert next appropriate holiday here :::? I told this to the nice woman at the Frame of Mind booth, so she offered to put the pin aside for me. Hours passed and no Mom . . . so I finally called her to ask if she was planning on stopping by. If not, I'd buy the pin myself and she could give it to me for Christmas, if she wanted to. I got her voice mail because you know how busy retired people are. She called me back though and this was one of the few shows she had not planned on coming to - but it's close to her house, so she did stop by and bought the pin.

People shopping for Sticky Notes in my booth often comment how hard it is to choose. In my head, I'm sort of chuckling, "How hard can it be?" But that's exactly how I felt trying to pick out just the right heart pin. Each one is so one-of-a-kind!

I think it's absolutely gorgeous - fabric, color, tiny beads, heart shaped - all things that sing my name!

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Think Pink

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This is the framed piece I made for my new niece, Jill. I bought this leather frame online at Pier 1's after Christmas sale a couple of years ago. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it but I was very excited to find a round frame - they are even harder to come by than square frames. This one has an easel back. When I asked Jill what her favorite color is and she told me pink, I knew this unusual frame had found a home.

~ ~ ~

When I say everyone at work has been sick, I mean Everyone. I looked it up - haven't had to take a sick day in 2 years. Somehow I've managed to avoid the germs at work.* Until now.

In years past my body has held on until it was convenient to be sick - like after a craft show. I remember feeling the very beginning effects of a cold during a week leading up to a Casa Larga show but they never really materialized until, literally, the last 2 hours of the craft show. I decided then and there that my body looks out for me.

This year, I think my body waited until not only the end of craft show season, but until after Christmas too. Wasn't that considerate?

Today, like yesterday, I woke up earlier than I should have because I couldn't wait to get into a steamy shower so I could breathe again. My face hurt, even my gums were throbbing! Yesterday, I really thought I was going to end up spending the day on the couch, wrapped up in a quilt with my laptop, reading and napping the day away. But once I got up and moving, I felt better. I did take a 2 hour nap in the early afternoon. But I'm expecting the same for today - feeling better as the day wears on - and a nap.

* I also believe in the power of Echinacea - plus lots of handwashing.

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Hand Beaded Earrings

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I should have put a coin next to the earrings for reference. Each earring is about the size of a quarter.

These are the hand beaded earrings I gave Mom for Christmas. I met the creator, Kyla Williams, at a craft show this year and loved her work - so tiny and fine and perfect. We were talking for a while, as I looked over her earring display for something for Mom - and kept coming back to the earrings Kyla was wearing, which were just like these except in oranges and reds. Just stunning! I asked if she could make a pair for me in the above blues, greens and purples. She came back the next day with one earring almost finished, "Like this?"

They are the same on both sides. I can't remember if she told me if there is air in the middle of the 2 sides but it feels like fluff (quilt batting, not the marshmallow spread!) They are light as a feather.

She shipped them to me shortly thereafter, arriving in a brown satin pouch. I wish she had a website so I could send you there but she doesn't (yet). Her company is called Glass Kiwi Beads & such. (Capitalized and italicized like that.) I can't wait to run into her again in 2009 - might need to buy something for myself this time. She makes some gorgeous crocheted beaded necklaces.

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The Business of Art

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The Messenger Post article about Etsy sellers is here!

I'd checked online for it a few times over the past couple of weeks, then forgot about it until a friend at work popped into my office yesterday with it printed out. His wife had read it and called him about it. I'm very happy with it - especially the mention of being "the local artist with the most unique product".

I should have known it was out because I saw a jump in my stats yesterday for both this blog and the Pine Tree Designs site. Unless the print version is different - no urls were provided, so people have been resourceful in finding me by my Etsy shop name. Cool!

And I see no evidence of my "photo shoot". So my 15 minutes shrank to 10 minutes of fame - it's still all good!

~ ~ ~

I took our Admin & IT crew out for lunch yesterday for our annual holiday celebration. It was fun - we went to one of our favorite restaurants, Bocaccinis, where I had my favorite dish, fusilli with grilled chicken, asparagus, artichoke hearts, Boca spice, garlic & olive oil. For the first time, I purposely didn't finish it so I got to enjoy it all over again for dinner last night.

I had to go to Wegmans last night for ingredients for the various dishes I'm taking here and there over the next few days. It was crowded but not the madhouse I expected it to be. Still, I didn't get home until 7:00, a bit cranky & hungry. So that leftover fussili hit the spot!

There are so many people at work taking today off that I told my boss, "It feels like today is Friday. I hope I don't forget to come to work tomorrow!" Most of us will be leaving early.

Merry Christmas Eve!

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It's Been Snowing!

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Photo by istockphoto.com.

This is what our backyard would look like if it had more hills. We think the Christmas Tree farm that surrounds us is going out of business. The area directly behind our house is quite barren of trees. And their business seems to us to be way down this year, based on the number of cars parked - or rather, not parked in front of our house on the 2 weekends prior to Christmas.

If this is true, it's only a matter of time before they sell out to housing developers and we'll have McMansions in our backyard. Now that we don't have kids in school, Steve & I could move anywhere - but we LOVE our house, it's perfect for us. First thing we've talked about doing is planting trees along our property line to block any views sullied by houses. Oh well, we'll take it day by day. We figured this would happen eventually. Can't say I wouldn't do the same in their circumstances. Gather a tidy sum of money and retire someplace warmer. (We don't know them well enough to ask them what's going on - and I figure, it is what it is.)

~ ~ ~

Update on Fleetwood Mac Guy

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I swear, I have not been thinking about him for 2 days - but this did pop into my head yesterday afternoon while wading through a boring sales tax return. (One's mind does tend to wander!) The reason I wasn't "into him" is because he thought he was God's gift to women. I think I sort of painted a picture of him as a nice young man who was smitten with me and here I was cruelly using him to see Fleetwood Mac.

You know how when someone acts like they are so darn likable, it makes you want to like them even less? Yeah, he was that guy. And here's the thing that was the most annoying thing that happened at the concert. I can't tell you a thing about the concert itself (I think it was in Buffalo?) but I can tell you this. He kept holding my hand, bad enough - but he kept rubbing my hand with his thumb. Errgh. So try as I might, I couldn't even block the hand-hold out of my head, you know?

I can just imagine what my body language was - arms folded, staring straight ahead, trying to zone out and avoid the whole hand holding thing, wondering what the hell had I been thinking when I agreed to go with him. Serves me right, really. Anyway, I think that's a really weird thing to retain in my head for 30-something years. Maybe it will go away now that I've written it out.

~ ~ ~

I went out to dinner with Kathy, Nancy & Kim last night and didn't get home until 9:00. I know, gasp! I had wanted to make Chex Mix and Muddy Buddies for work but I was too tired so I'm making them this morning - they are both cooling now.

I think what started this craving is I saw recipes for White Trash in the newspaper recently and it brought back memories of someone at work (not sure who but I know they no longer work there) making it every Christmas season. I'd never had it before and found it rather addicting. Believe it or not, I don't really care for white chocolate anymore so I decided on going the traditional Chex Mix and Muddy Buddies route.

If you follow either of the above links to Chex Mix or Muddy Buddies, check out how many other recipes there are for variations on the theme. And if you ever want to Google White Trash recipes, remember to add the word recipe to your search - otherwise you'll get all sorts of trailer-living, mullet-wearing, bad teeth-bearing, beer-swilling, Nascar-watching human beings. Or someone's wedding photos.

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Photo Shoot

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It wasn't painful, although I'm not sure the look on my face above will attest to that. The photographer, Vasiliy Baziuk, was wonderful. (I would say that even if we didn't exchange blog links!) I checked out his blog after he left - apparently the dude's a good photographer! That gives me hope these will turn out okay, referring to the subject, not the photographer.

It took way longer than I expected - close to an hour. He took dozens of photographs. He started out with photos of my hands doing stuff and then just my artwork, so I thought I was going to escape showing my face. He took a lot of shots of me cutting paper. I just kept slicing the paper into smaller and smaller bits, thinking I am so glad I have my new Cadillac of paper cutters to show off. Like anyone will notice or care, except me. :-)

I'll post the article here when it comes out. I'm even more nervous about it now that all these photos were taken. I know only a very few (one!?) will be used.

Mostly I wish my Etsy shop was chock full of stuff. I just can't get to it. As I told Steve this is the week that begins our 2-3 week of being out of our normal routine.

Monday - took Reggi to the vet

Tuesday - photo shoot

Wednesday - dinner with Kathy, Nancy & Kim

Thursday - massage

Friday - Steve's sister arrives from Colorado Thursday night so not sure if anything is planned for Friday night or not. Steve's taking the day off, I know.

Saturday - breakfast with my family at The Log Cabin, dinner with Steve's family at his brother's house

Sunday - football watching (or stitching, in my case!) with Steve's family

So far, Christmas week only involves spending Christmas Eve with Steve's family and Christmas Day with my family. Steve and I both have to work on Friday.

(Helen - your cards are almost done. You'll notice I'm holding one in the above photos. Your cards will be famous!)

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Going Our Own Way

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Fortunately, I'm a bit happier to see Fleetwood Mac in concert than they appear to be touring. They look like a fun bunch, don't they??

I jumped online right at 10:00 and scored two tickets in section 125 - pretty great, huh? The tickets are ridiculously expensive and I wanted to cheap out but Steve said if we're going to go, let's get good seats. Other than my friend Bruce Springsteen, there aren't that many bands we want to see so if we only go to a concert every couple of years, I guess I can justify it. Steve says even with the Jumbotrons, with his crappy eye site, closer is much better. So yeah, we have a medical excuse, that's the ticket!

In fact, I was so quick on the draw, the first two tickets I had access to were section 51 - the floor. The floor?? Ewww. I threw them back and got the section 125 seats. The concert isn't until March 16 - a Monday unfortunately. But like I said, every couple of years, I guess I can stay up late like a big girl.

I think these are the only two albums I had. They are the ones that look most familiar in searching for photos for this entry. I also remembered that Sheryl Crow joined Fleetwood Mac a few years ago but I'm not sure what happened there. I'd love to see her with them. This is their greatest hits tour so if I was going to see them at all, this is how I want to see them.

Actually I did see Fleetwood Mac in concert in the mid-70s. I went with a guy that I "just wasn't into" but I really wanted to see the concert and he knew it. I felt a bit guilty about using him, but apparently not guilty enough to not go. But it was kind of a win-win for each of us, I guess. I do actually still feel a bit bad about it, he was a nice enough guy - but really, Stef, get over it! It was over 30 years ago and he's probably long forgotten your name. (I just Googled him - he has a fairly unusual name - and there's a LinkedIn page that might be his and no, I'm not going to contact him to make amends.)

And this concludes the confession portion of our blog entry.

~ ~ ~

I took Reggi to the vet last night because the one cyst filled up with fluid again and there was a new lump I wanted to have looked at. The vet found two more tiny lumps - all 3 were fatty masses - lipo-somethings. He drained everything and she's good as new. He says that cyst will continue to fill up but it's harmless and not bothering her so keep an eye on it and if we have her at the vet's for something else, they can drain it again. All of the above is exactly what I thought he'd say but I'm still relieved everything is okay with my girl.

~ ~ ~

Mr. Subtle

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Most people wear a disguise to avoid drawing attention to themselves. Michael Jackson is not most people. (But I'm kind of digging that turquoise tunic.)

~ ~ ~

The show at Valentown this weekend was pretty slow. I went at 10:00 and they sprang me loose around noon so I actually got lots more Stefani Time in on Sunday than I expected. I did really fascinating stuff like vacuuming the house and somehow talked Simon into going grocery shopping with me. I only had a few things to pick up but he's always complaining "There's no food in the house", when clearly there is. We actually, dare I say it, had a good time?

Overall, I definitely made money at the show, more than I expected. First-time shows are always hard. It was set up very nicely and the other crafters had quality stuff (mostly my friends). I was just thinking. I've been calling this a last minute show but I now remember her telling me at the Junior League show in October that she was planning on doing this. I'd forgotten about it until I read her email a couple of weeks ago.

Now I'm off to the post office to ship a couple of orders, drop off Christmas cards at Mom & Dad's house and then to work. I'd hoped to be at my desk at 6:00 but I can see that's not happening today.
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Words I Never Thought I'd Say

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38 Christmas cards awaiting assembly.

I'm getting ready for my photo shoot.

Huh?

As I mentioned the other day I received a call last week from another reporter at the local Post papers, who is doing an article on local Etsy sellers. She called me during the day and asked if it was a good time to talk, so I asked if she could call me that night after 7:00.

I've bemoaned the sad state of my Etsy shop during this busy craft show season, so when I got home I quickly activated several items that had expired. I know she'd already seen the site but I felt a wee bit better about it. I had to kind of laugh at myself, thinking I was fooling anybody!

She called and we chatted for about 10 minutes and that was that.

Friday I got a call from the first reporter I worked with, for the article in the Fairport-East Rochester Post in conjunction with the Rochester Museum & Science Center show. She wanted to schedule the photo shoot for this Etsy article.

We decided on Tuesday, 6:00. And I've been frantically cleaning my studio ever since. Which is something I've had scheduled for this weekend anyway, but it definitely took on a new sense of urgency. I'm sure this photo shoot will take 12 seconds, a photograph of me at my work space and the rest of the studio will never been seen. Still.

I can't believe the way things work out sometimes. This will be my 3rd bit of decent publicity in one year - and only one was obtained by any effort from me. All this tells me that I'm on the right path. I've known for a couple of years that this is what I was meant to do -this paper art business. It's nice having it confirmed by others.

~ ~ ~

I didn't get as much done yesterday as I wanted to so I've decided to just work my 4 hours at this weekend's craft sale. I'd thought about staying all day, sitting by my work and stitching, to garner some interest but now I think my time will be better spent working on filling orders, more tidying up, getting paperwork caught up, etc.

So I'll head over there in a bit and work 10:00-2:00. Stop by if you get a chance.

Valentown Garden Club
Holiday Open House & Gift Sale
Miss Lillian's Tea Room
at the Historic Ichabod Town Homestead
267 High Street, Victor, NY
Valentown Museum Grounds

Friday, December 12, 1:00-6:00 PM
Saturday, December 13, 10:00-6:00 PM
Sunday, December 14, 10:00-5:00 PM

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Truth in Advertising

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(Click here to enlarge for reading the fine print!)

Kathy called me last night to tell me my work hours for the craft show - Sunday. She told me the hours of the show so I told her what the website said. The website is wrong - the hours are what I originally had been blogging. She's not happy about the website and thanked me for telling her.

I asked her how many hours I was supposed to work and she said they are just sort of flying by the seat of their pants (told you!) so I can work as many or few hours as I want. I'm going to go there at 10:00 and I may even spend the day there, stitching for part of the time and drum up some business. She said that was okay.

But you know what this means, right?

I have ::: drumroll ::: a commitment-free Saturday!! That was the first thing Steve said to me when we woke up this morning,"No alarms tomorrow right?" Then he looked at Reggi and Verona who sleep with us and said, "That means we're ALL sleeping in tomorrow, got it?"

So yeah, I might even sleep until 7:00 tomorrow! Go Steffy! Go Steffy!

Meanwhile, it's 5:30 AM and I'm off to the day job. I must get loads of work done today. Starting next week, I really want to bear down on this stupid workload and get it into manageable shape. I really haven't put in any extra hours since September or October when craft show season started heating up.

Then again I don't want to let up on the Pine Tree Designs stuff - keep producing!

And I have a bunch of house projects in mind.

So much to do, so little time. I really like doing all of the above things. It's all about balance, isn't it?

Valentown Garden Club
Holiday Open House & Gift Sale
Miss Lillian's Tea Room
at the Historic Ichabod Town Homestead
267 High Street, Victor, NY
Valentown Museum Grounds

Friday, December 12, 1:00-6:00 PM
Saturday, December 13, 10:00-6:00 PM
Sunday, December 14, 10:00-5:00 PM
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Feelin' Alright

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This is a birthday card for our CEO that I'll take to work today for everyone to sign. His favorite color is orange. Can you say "suck up"? I thought that you could.

I'm happy to report that I feel better today than I did yesterday. I was in such a tizzy yesterday morning, packing up stuff for the craft show. Because it's in this tiny house, I wasn't sure what to bring so I brought a bit of everything, knowing I could edit it down to what worked best.

I stopped at Bruegger's drive-thru and brought in bagels to work, in an effort to cheer up people in our area. I think it helped a little.

By the time I got to my desk, I felt the tears coming on, from a combination of hormones, stress, hormones, crankiness and hormones. I hid behind my 2 monitors in my private office and sat there, waiting it out. Releasing stress through my tear ducts is what I call it. I reached behind me for a Kleenex to dab my eyes and blow my nose. As I brought the Kleenex to my face, I felt something hit my arm. I looked down on my desk and there was a cricket.

No wonder I was cranky - I'd had a cricket in my nose!

Seriously, it had been living high up on the blinds for a couple of weeks. I'd forgotten about it actually. It must have crawled into my Kleenex box. And it's not really a cricket, but kind of looks like a smaller version of one. Maybe it brought me a smaller bit of luck.

About then Jen walked in so we talked crafts and life was good again.

Setting up the craft show was easy. Kathy had a table set up for me so I set up my big acrylic rack for my Sticky Notes and displayed my pins on the glass plates in front - it looks perfect. I really don't have enough greeting cards to display and I didn't feel like dealing with the framed art so this was just perfect.

There's a group selling Christmas trees right next to the house and the house is filled with floral arrangements by the Valentown Garden Club. MJ has her painted glass there. I'm not sure who else will be there. Set up continues today.

Good thing I just checked the site again - the hours have been changed. These are much more reasonable. No weekend craft show should ever go past 4:00 - or start before noon on Sunday, in my experience.

Valentown Garden Club
Holiday Open House & Gift Sale
Miss Lillian's Tea Room
at the Historic Ichabod Town Homestead
267 High Street, Victor, NY
Valentown Museum Grounds

Friday, December 12, 12:00-6:00 PM
Saturday, December 13, 10:00-4:00 PM

Sunday, December 14, 12:00-4:00 PM


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It's Only Wednesday??

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I'm feeling so overwhelmed at the moment, I'm going to slap up this card I made for an order from a guy at work last year and call it good enough.

I think it's mostly the day job that's overwhelming me. I don't want to go to that stoopid place and face that stoopid mountain of work. I want to stay home and work on paper art. Is that asking too much??

It probably doesn't help much that we are entering day 3 of the lobby being recarpeted. The odor and inconvenience is putting all of us out of sorts, probably more that it should. I'm sure there's a good reason but why this wasn't done on a weekend, I don't know.

In the good news department:

A reporter called me yesterday from the Messenger Post because she's doing an article on local Etsyians. She thought it would appear in all area Posts in the next week or two - so if someone sees it, please let me know? I just went on the Messenger Post website to subscribe to the Fairport-East Rochester Post - and I must be stupid because I can't find where to subscribe. The Subscriber Services button brings me back to the front page and the contact page lists a bunch of departments, none of which are circulation or subscription. I'll look at this again when I'm in a better mood - I must be missing something obvious.

The good news about the day job is that my boss let me hire our recently laid off team mate for 20 hours this week to help cover while my other teammate is on vacation and to help us get caught up or as close as we'll ever get. Unfortunately for her, but fortunately for us, she's available. She's such a good worker that I know we'll get 10 hours of work out of her 8 hour day.

It's not just me, everyone is feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work. We all understand that the numbers are down, but the volume of work still feels the same.

And I might have a wacky hormone or two racing through my body, making all of everything a bit more intense than usual. This too shall pass.

Valentown Garden Club
Holiday Open House & Gift Sale
Miss Lillian's Tea Room
at the Historic Ichabod Town Homestead
267 High Street, Victor, NY
Valentown Museum Grounds

Friday, December 12, 1:00-6:00 PM
Saturday, December 13, 10:00-6:00 PM

Sunday, December 14, 10:00-5:00 PM

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Christmas Trees

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Make a custom tree topper by inserting narrow sticks into a Styrofoam ball. Spray-paint with the color of your choice. When dry, spray with spray adhesive and sprinkle with glitter. Tip: The topper will be most secure if one of the sticks is left long (about 18 inches) so that it can be wired to the tree trunk.

This is a star covered with strips of Christmas carol sheet music.

Both of these are from Better Homes & Gardens.

It probably only happened a few times but growing up, Mom used to enjoy creating a "theme" Christmas tree, much to my chagrin, and Gretchen's. "Mother! How could you?" I can't speak for Gretchen but of course in adulthood, I totally get it now. The only one I really remember was silver, turquoise and purple. I think. Maybe that was the only time Mom did that because we harassed her so badly. Sorry to be such ungrateful snotty kids, Mom.

I especially feel bad because I've gotten to the point where we haven't even put up a tree at all the last couple of years. Steve's not a Christmas kind of guy and Simon never seemed interested in helping decorate it. So I got tired of doing it by myself, without joy, not being appreciated. Of course I worried and still do, that I'm scarring Simon for life. I guess by age 21, if this is his biggest "issue", life ain't too bad.

I was happy to see a recent poll on the Suddenly Frugal blog that indicated a fair number of people don't use a tree either. I'm not sure how many of those 18 people fall into the same category as I do - maybe they are of a different faith. And considering this is a very environmentally friendly blog, I'm surprised that only 1 person voting has a live tree, to be planted after Christmas. We used to have those a lot, growing up. Those trees are now 2 stories tall in Mom & Dad's front yard.

Here's how the poll shakes out:

56 = Reusable Fake Tree
24 = Cut Live Tree
1 = Live Tree with Rootball
18 = Don't Use a Christmas Tree

I have a small collection of snowmen that I sometimes put out - and I'm feeling like I'll do that this weekend. I guess all of this came to mind because I bought a new stocking for Simon yesterday. I haven't given it to him yet but I'm surprised at how excited I am about it. His old stocking appears to have been scavenged for mouse bedding, if you catch my drift. I saw it when he moved back in and I asked him if he even wanted a stocking anymore. I think that's when he made the comment, " Can't we at least appear to be normal please, Mom?"

I still use the stocking my grandmother made for me 52 years ago. I also have stockings that I quilted when I was married. Simon STILL bitches about the the fact, that even though his stocking is bigger than the stockings I made for his dad and me, it isn't quilted like ours. And I had made matching stockings for the 2 cats - who got quilted stockings, but Simon's isn't quilted.

Poor kid. Better start saving for therapy for him now.

It took me a long time to let go of the notion that stockings, like Halloween costumes, should be homemade. I stopped holding myself to a standard that no longer worked for me. Simon was just as happy, happier even, with store-bought costumes and stockings. I admit that I still feel a tiny twinge of how things should be but overall, I try to do what works now, you know?

So I stimulated the economy by buying Simon a nice fleecy stocking with a friendly snowman on it at Target. Wins all the way around.

Valentown Garden Club
Holiday Open House & Gift Sale
Miss Lillian's Tea Room
at the Historic Ichabod Town Homestead
267 High Street, Victor, NY
Valentown Museum Grounds

Friday, December 12, 1:00-6:00 PM
Saturday, December 13, 10:00-6:00 PM
Sunday, December 14, 10:00-5:00 PM

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Paper Straw Wreath & Almond Macaroons

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Isn't this cool? Directions by Kathleen George are here. The short version is decorative paper is wrapped into straw shapes and glued to a Styrofoam wreath base. So many projects, so little time.

~ ~ ~

My Sunday recharge day worked out well. It's so weird to me that every time I have one of those, I'm afraid I won't "snap out of it". But I do - I feel back in the game today.

I even made cookies! Steve & Simon were shocked that they were for us. These were in the newspaper the other day and for some reason they really struck a note with me. They were delicious yesterday but it turns out they are even more delicious today. I like them just as much without the chocolate as with, surprisingly.

Almond Macaroons

Here is one of the easiest macaroons you'll ever encounter, and among the most delicious, with intense almond flavor and chewy texture. If you are a purist, skip the chocolate. From Lisa Zwirn's Christmas Cookies (William Morrow, $16.95).

If you can't find whole blanched almonds, it's easy to do it yourself. Put whole almonds in a large pot of boiling water for about 60 seconds. Drain. When almonds are cool enough to handle, rub them with a clean towel and the skins will pop off. Be sure the almonds are completely dry before using.

Ingredients

10 ounces (about 2 full cups) blanched whole almonds

1¼ cups granulated sugar

3 large egg whites

½ teaspoon pure almond extract

6 ounces good quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line one or two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Combine the almonds and ¼ cup of the sugar in a food processor and process until the almonds are finely ground. Add the egg whites and almond extract and process until blended.

Add the remaining 1 cup of sugar and process until thoroughly combined, about 15 seconds, or until the dough is a thick, sticky paste.

Drop the dough by level tablespoonfuls, arranging about 2 inches apart on the prepared sheet(s). Using a pastry brush lightly moistened with water, brush the tops and sides of the macaroons, gently pressing down on them to form smooth rounds about ½ inch thick and 13/4 inches in diameter.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until the macaroons are pale golden. They should feel crisp on the outside but still soft inside. (If using two cookie sheets, rotate them from top to bottom and front to back about halfway through baking.) Remove the sheets from the oven and slide the parchment onto racks. Cool for about 5 minutes, then use a thin metal spatula to remove the macaroons from the paper. Place on rack to cool.

For chocolate-dipped macaroons, melt the chocolate in a metal or glass bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring frequently, until fully melted. Alternatively, melt it in a microwave-safe bowl in microwave, using 20-to-30-second bursts at medium power, stirring well after each interval. Line baking sheet with wax paper. With a silicone pastry brush, brush the melted chocolate on half the cookie, both top side and bottom, in a semicircle. Let the excess drip off or gently scrape it off the bottom using the brush. Place the macaroons on the wax paper and let stand until the chocolate is completely set.

Store macaroons in an airtight container, layered between sheets of wax paper, for up to five days at room temperature. Macaroons without chocolate can be frozen for up to two months.

Makes about 32 macaroons.

~ ~ ~

Valentown Garden Club
Holiday Open House & Gift Sale
Miss Lillian's Tea Room
at the Historic Ichabod Town Homestead
267 High Street, Victor, NY
Valentown Museum Grounds

Friday, December 12, 1:00-6:00 PM
Saturday, December 13, 10:00-6:00 PM
Sunday, December 14, 10:00-5:00 PM

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Paper Trees, Exhaustion & Yet Another Show

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Martha's trees are beautiful, aren't they? I should make some and "Stefani" them up a little bit with tiny paper decorations or something.

But for now, I'm having a low-energy day and recharging from a very busy craft show season. I'm happy to report that I killed at yesterday's show at School 46! Being in the gym made a major difference to my sales. I was 77% over last year - and I made my goal by 140%. She shoots, she scores!

Yesterday was going to be the make it or break it day for me at that sale. In fact, when it got started, I was pretty much convinced I wouldn't be doing the show again. I'd noticed how much purchased product there was, as opposed to hand crafted. I even saw people walking around with Avon bags so there must have been an "Avon lady" there as well. I strongly prefer shows with 100% hand crafted items.

I knew I should decide by the end of the day because vendors are given an opportunity to sign up for next year on the spot. I obviously couldn't count my money right there in my booth and I worry about trusting my instincts as to what my sales might be. But it felt right and I was told I can definitely have the same spot again next year, so that clinched it. I signed up and paid my fee so I'm committed to doing it next year and I'm very happy about it, not conflicted at all, like I was going in to this year's show.

So I've been saying this is the last show of the season for me but here's the thing. I was skimming through my overflowing in-box last week, looking for something in particular and I noticed an email from a craft show friend, titled "Holiday Sale". Ruh-roh - how did I miss this email??

Besides running her related craft business, Kathy Houser runs the Valentown Museum gift shop in her Tea Room, which opened this past summer. The museum gift shop (in it's former location within the museum) has carried my Sticky Notes as a consignment item for a couple of years now. It's extremely low volume but there's no work involved, really.

So because my Sticky Notes are already there - and I'd do anything for Kathy because I think she's very cool - looks like I have one more show to do. I only have to work a few hours over the 3 days so it will be pretty easy. However, I need to get some more things made by Wednesday, when I said I'd stop over to help set up at the Tea Room. Mostly I need to make pins because I ran out of the angel pins on Saturday and only have a few Christmas tree pins left. The Sticky Notes sold well, of course, at this past weekend's show but the pins were really a great seller too. I have lots of things punched & cut, ready to be assembled.

So this show will bring my total up to 9 shows in 9 weeks. I told Steve it felt pretty daunting in theory, prior to the shows but once I was into them, it was sort of as I expected - just one week at a time. But now at the end. I'm beat right down to my socks. It's weird to not feel like I want to work on the business or clean my studio or make anything - I usually have endless energy for this stuff! Thank goodness I know it's temporary. Very temporary.

I said to Steve, "What the heck are we going to do with all our free time now??" I was kidding because we have very long to-do lists, both separately and together - mostly house stuff. It needs deep cleaning - even painting - and I'm really going to crack the whip over Simon. His stuff is still all over the basement from when he moved back in, in September. Like I've mentioned before - several of these reorganization projects all depend on the previous one - sort of a chain reaction.

But today, I'm feeling so overall exhausted I am taking the day off. This is one of those days where I worry if I'll ever get my energy back. But I know I'll be fine tomorrow.

I went to bed at 7:30 last night, much to Steve's chagrin - and slept 10 hours. And I might just feel a nap coming on today.

~ ~ ~

Kathy and her husband restored the tiny house that holds her tea room. She gave me a tour last summer when they were just finishing up. I can't wait to see how she arranges things for this show. She has a true flair for this stuff - she's just a fascinating person. She's a retired art teacher and school principal. I hope you'll stop by if you're in the area. I'm not sure when I'll be working there. I told Kathy I'm available all day Saturday and Sunday so stick me in the schedule wherever she needs me.

Valentown Garden Club
Holiday Open House & Gift Sale
Miss Lillian's Tea Room
at the Historic Ichabod Town Homestead
267 High Street, Victor, NY
Valentown Museum Grounds

Friday, December 12, 1:00-6:00 PM
Saturday, December 13, 10:00-6:00 PM
Sunday, December 14, 10:00-5:00 PM

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It's Snowing!

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Paper genius Jeffery Rudell is at it again. (Subscribing to CraftStylish was one of the smartest things I ever did.) These snowflakes are simply round white office labels stuck to dental floss. His instructions and more photos are here. I'm so impressed that something so simple can look so cool. I'm trying to think where I can hang something like this that won't be messed with by the cats. Then again - maybe it should be dual-purpose - a very pretty cat toy!

I'd love to do it for my day-job office window, which is huge and overlooks the entrance to the building, but I have to keep the blinds closed a lot because the morning sun is a killer, heat-wise and glare-wise. What a cool effect that would be for my office and approaching visitors! (Mom reminded me the other day that I haven't posted pictures of my new office. I'll do that soon, I promise.)

On the other end of the spectrum, this is Jeffery's paper chandelier, commissioned for Tiffany's 5th Avenue holiday window. It's 3' tall and 2' wide. Read about the challenges of constructing this here. (This would look ultra cool in my office too but I won't be attempting this or anything like it anytime soon!)

~ ~ ~

Steve and I dropped off my booth gear at School 46 last night then stopped at Perkins for dinner. I'll go to the show as soon as the building opens this morning at 7:00 and get everything set up. I'm in the gym this year, which I'm pleased about. I may have mentioned that the organizer called me to tell me there was one spot open because a vendor can't do the show this year but she wants her spot back next year. But I'll be number one on the waiting-for-the-gym list for next year so chances are good I can be in the gym from now on. I'm so glad I asked for a site with electricity because I'm right under a basketball backboard and my framed pieces would really be in the dark without my lights.

I saw a bunch of vendor friends last night, all in the gym, so it should be a good show and lots of fun.

December 6, 9:00-4:00

School 46 Holiday Bazaar

250 Newcastle Road, Rochester, NY 14610

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Pin Production

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Everybody knows I'm a morning person and love to get up early and get stuff done before heading off to the day job. But even I have a rule about not waking up "in the threes". I get up at 4:00 or 4:30, depending on what time I go to bed. This morning Steve got a work-related phone call at 3:45. So I reset my alarm for 4:30, but quickly decided I was awake enough to get up and get moving.

Since we have breakfast at work on Fridays and I never have to fix lunch for Steve on Fridays, and quite often, not for me either - I've been crankin' this morning. If only I could spend my entire day this way!

I went to the grand opening of Moonflower Handcrafted Gallery after work yesterday. It was really crowded! To the point it was hard to move around and see things. It's a cute store, everything is really nicely displayed. I got to visit with my friend Vickie and her parents. I'd hoped to ask the owner if Sylvie was there - we connected through her blog yesterday but the owner was really busy. There was lots of food but I didn't eat anything. Looks like there are a couple of massage rooms off the gallery floor. I wish them lots of success.

~ ~ ~

December 6, 9:00-4:00

School 46 Holiday Bazaar

250 Newcastle Road, Rochester, NY 14610


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Newsflash: Vickie Leaves House!*

.I will be joining my new friend Vickie at this new gallery's grand opening tonight. Here's what Vickie says about it in her In My Head Studios blog:

Recently I received a consignment offer from Moonflower Handcrafted Gallery. They are a local gallery featuring local handmade items. The Grand Opening is this Thursday, December 4th from 5 - 9 pm. The Gallery is located at 330 West Commercial Street in East Rochester, NY. I hope you can come help Brandi and her family celebrate all their hard work.

Among my soldered collage pendants, she will be carrying my felted items, Christmas cards, altered domino ornaments, Scrabble tile pendants, and glass tile magnets.

The shop, although not completely set up yet as of yesterday, looks great. It’s cozy and comfortable. The displays are creative. The few items I saw there were wonderful. I know this shop is going to be a success!

Other local artist they have work from: b.meg designs, Duck Harbor Design, The Lolly Shop, The Naughty Dog Boutique, Albina Rose, Carla Morris, and Ten Little Toes.

I'm looking forward to being part of such a creative group!

* I'm teasing Vickie because she calls herself a hermit. A studio hermit actually - lucky duck!

~ ~ ~

And don't forget this weekend's craft sale at School 46 - I'll be in the gym this year!

December 6, 9:00-4:00

School 46 Holiday Bazaar

250 Newcastle Road, Rochester, NY 14610

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New Design

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This new design idea popped into my head as I was fiddling around with the last new design idea. I really like this a lot. These will be for cards and Sticky Notes.


December 6, 9:00-4:00

School 46 Holiday Bazaar

250 Newcastle Road, Rochester, NY 14610

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Christmas Tree Sticky Notes

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Before I say a word, let me say to Stephanie and others - I promise to have Sticky Notes for sale in my Etsy shop very soon. In time for shipping for Christmas, for sure.

This Sticky Notes with the Christmas tree is different than the one I showed you the other day. I've started using these scalloped shapes that I cut with my QuicKutz Revolution, rather than punching them with a craft punch. It's slower going but they come out perfect. And I wear out punches faster than I'd like. So cutting these with the Revolution has turned out to be a good TV-watching activity because it's so quiet (it's manual, with a crank handle). I actually get a good stack done before I even know it.

I just received an email from QuicKutz today about a new product they launched at the big craft trade show last summer, called the Revolution Love. Apparently they received some "good critical feedback" (business-speak for major problems). They were unable to resolve the problems so they scrapped that machine and started from scratch. The new die cut machine "should be" available summer of 2009. It will be able to accommodate a 12" x 12" sheet of paper, which is standard scrapbook paper size - I don't care so much about that. But . . . it will have the ability to cranked manually or by electric motor. Oh really?? That caught my attention.

I mention this because I had not heard they were coming out with a new die cut machine - and I'm a fairly good QuicKutz customer and am on their site periodically. I know a bunch of crafty types read this blog so I wanted to pass that along. A new toy!

I have boxes of Sticky Notes waiting to be embellished so I really hadn't planned on stitching any new ones for this Saturday's show. I had a decent supply of red & green Sticky Notes for last weekend's show but I purposely didn't go overboard because to me, these are not a seasonal item. They aren't like "Christmas dishes" that you put away after the season is over. These are to be used year-round. But last year's experience proved to me that people do like red & green things at this time of year. And last Saturday's craft show proved that to me once again. I swear, the first dozen Sticky Notes I sold were all red & green. People are just in that frame of mind where red & green is appealing. It's true that those colors always go together. I should do up a spreadsheet tracking the sales of red & green items throughout the year! A spreadsheet of all colors! Yeah, that's the ticket.

That reminds me of 2 customers I met last Saturday. An elderly man was intrigued by my pins, then he looked up and saw my Sticky Notes. "Wow, they are so symmetrical!"

Me: I know. My brain can't work any other way.

Man: Me too!

Me: I'm so glad to hear that - a kindred spirit!

Woman: I'm the same way.

Man: I was a math teacher.

Woman: I'm a math teacher now.

Me: My day job is accounting!

We laughed and nodded in agreement.

The symmetry of the designs comes up a lot and sometimes when I talk about my brain being wired that way and I just can't NOT think that way, I tell people about my sister, whose brain is just the opposite. Gretchen and I always have a good laugh about haphazard versus rigidly organized.

Speaking of Gretchen, she's writing again! Her blog is here.

December 6, 9:00-4:00

School 46 Holiday Bazaar

250 Newcastle Road, Rochester, NY 14610

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A Normal Sunday

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This is a sympathy card for work people to sign today.

I recovered from my tiredness of Saturday night, thank goodness. We took Reggi for a long walk at Ellison Park. Went to Home Depot. Did 2 loads of laundry. Embellished skads of Sticky Notes. Did a couple of minor home repairs. Stuff like that. Felt good.

A note about Home Depot. I love Home Depot. Lowes is nice, love Home Depot. But that has got to be the warmest store on Earth. Steve teases me because it's a huge drafty warehouse type store, yet I start sweating the moment I step into the store! We stopped there on the way back from the park so Steve & Reggi waited in the car. I picked up the 2 things we needed and I wanted to peruse another department to see what was available for a display idea I have.

I was so hot, I couldn't stay. My coat was sticking to my arms! I could have taken it off (which is exactly what I do the second I'm in the grocery store which is almost as hot). But I just had to get out of there. I remember one time I was wearing a spring jacket in there, and I kept putting it on and taking it off to the point that I think I was embarrassing Steve. I looked around at the sickos around me yesterday, all bundled up in coat, hat & gloves, "What is wrong with you people??"

I know, I know, it's me. This too shall pass.

December 6, 9:00-4:00

School 46 Holiday Bazaar

250 Newcastle Road, Rochester, NY 14610

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