This is getting serious!

I have had 2 great selling weekends and I am right now with my bro setting up a website just for the belly dance wear and custom garb. I am very excited. My bike pants with the silk bell bottom tiers are a huge hit, and my new choli tops would sell better in different colors. I am getting geared up to take my tie dyes to The Dead shows in Philly this weekend.

I am also getting some major sproutage on my vegtable garden. Here is a list of what I have started:

Peppers, Tomato,green and yellow squash, cantalope,cilantro,parsely,basil, oregano,sage,tyme,sunflowers,broccoli,spinach, lettuce, carrots, lavendar,oregano,acorn squash,onion.

pictures to come!

Is this week over yet?

I feel like I have been running a marathon this past week, except I can't seem to get ahead. With the kid out of school and all the million of other commitments I have piled on myself, I haven't had a moments rest. It has all been mostly good, except for Wednesday which was a day from hell, but hopefully tomorrow after cleaning the martial arts school and 2 hours of core and grappeling classes, after making jello eggs, pound cake and brownies and before Easter Vigil services at night, I will have time to take pics of my new tie dyes for ETSY and get all the prototypes done for my new choli tops. I am really hoping to do well at the belly jam. I think my tie dyed belly dance wear is really different. I also found out how to make my own bindi's so I am going to give that a whirl.

The garden is coming along. I got most of the cold weather leafy veggies planted outside and I am all set up to start planting seeds inside for transplanting outside. I am using up the old plastic milk containers I have had laying around and I want to use old cans I have been saving instead of going out and buying flower pots. I also still have to go get some fruit seeds. My strawberries that come up every year have already started to come up. This year I am ready to can so hopefully it won't go to waste this year. I wasn't prepared for the strawberries last year.
Well enough chat, I have seeds to plant and patterns to make, and hula hoops to tape!!!

Spring has sprung....

....and it is 35 degrees outside!!!! Oh well, I know warmer weather will be here soon. I have been working really hard on getting my business going, and I just did a craft show and have a few more shows lined up. The show I did on Friday was not great, I only sold 2 shirts, but I got a lot of people looking and got a lot of nice compliments. I need to find a show that has my audience. This show was juried but because they had empty spaces, they let everyone in so there were some vendors selling things cheap and that hurt the rest of us. I am hopeful for the vending gig I have next weekend at a bellydance workshop. I have a ton of fabric set aside to make choli tops. I have also been working closely with my brother helping him get his photography business up and running. He will be at the Belly Jam and that is another reason I am looking forward to it. When we work together there is definatley synergy.



I started planting my victory garden. I prefer this term to "recession garden" I feel that is not a term that encourages plant growth! I weeded the garden area and planted seeds for the veggies that are colder weather plants. I have 2 types of lettuce, spinach, peas and carrots. I am going to do the rest in pots (more specifically recycled coffee cans). I am going to keep some of the herbs inside for a year round garden. This is my first major gardening effort and I hope it works out well. I have already started harvesting dandelion greens for the bunnies and I think it would be great to have lots of veggies and berries to store and eat.



Well, I hope to keep this site a little more updated, hopefully my brother will inspire me to keep up with it!







http://www.jlcimages.net/


Edit: got Joe's website wrong. It is dot_Net

New Year, New Direction

Greetings and Happy New Year!!!! Thanks to the miracle of modern pharmecuticals I am much more focused and organized that I have been in the last several months. I have been working hard getting all the crafts I had half finished, done and up on my ETSY store. I have had a few sales, which is encouraging, and it seems my tie dyes are getting the most attention. I did a few personalized ones for my niece and nephews for Christmas, and they loved them so that really got me motivated. I have so many ideas swirling around in my head, it is hard to finish one project at a time, but I am forcing myself to catch up before moving on.

I am still working on all the handcrafted Christmas gifts I was so sure I would get done on time! Oh well hopefully the recipients think the gifts were worth the wait.

I also had to organize my basement studio so that I didn't have to take over the living room to work on the computer, and it makes it easier to be in the craft room while working on the craft business. They only problem was I have no room, so I made myself a little "cubbard under the stairs". It would actually be quite comfortable if it wasn't so cold down here! I did find the little space heaters we bought for our last house which was old and drafty. I have it facing twords the sewing machines presently in an effort to stop myself from playing too much solitare on the computer, and actually go finish sewing my line of tie dyed bellydance wear.

I really want to keep this site more updated, as there have been a lot of crafting going on over here.

I am also working on a project with my brother, that I am sure will be hillarious, we just need to get it started. I am hoping to do this on Friday. More on this as things develop!

This year is all about hope and change, and I am doing my very best to make the most of my situation. Here is to a happy new year to us all!!

Happy Crafting!

Long time no see.

I have been trying to take my crafting in a new direction so I haven't been posting lately. I am hoping that starting in the new year, I will have myself more organized (one can only hope) and I will get back to regular posting. For right now though we are decorating for Christmas and you can see that my Frodo does not approve!

Hey....Kool Aide!!!!

I finally made the jump to dying yarn. I had some left over handspun merino and I decided to just go for it and dye using the kool aide packs I have been hoarding for about a year. It was as easy as I had been told it would be, and the yarn smells so nice! I can't wait to knit with the yarn. I now am on the hunt for blue and green kool aid!

In other news I had my first ETSY sale!! I sold a set of my dancing bear stitch markers! I am so excited. I just went on and put up all the lovely crochet tops my mom made for the site, and I want to get up some of the pictures of the bags.

My goal for the week is to really work on getting the business side of the business going. You know finding craft shows, getting a tax id number.

The next project I am working on is tie dye skirts and bandanas. Next week I want to spin up the ton of angora I have and try crocheting some beaded necklaces. I want to do this with my mom who is coming for a visit next week. I so can't wait to see her and my aunt. I feel like it has been so long, but really it was just over a month ago!

Need to go put my black garbage bag full of tie dye fabric in ziplocks in the driveway to heat. Oh what the neighbors must think!!

We be Jammin'

Well I have gotten precious litte crafting done in the past 2 weeks. We cancelled our camping trip but the son is still home from camp for 2 weeks and it has been a little hectic. I have also been babysitting for a very good friend while she gets ready for a big doll show. I have a few pics for you of a shirt I made a few weeks back.

I thought you might like to see pics of my craft studio, and I put a picture here of my new favorite pastime, canning. So far I have made strawberry jam and peach butter.

I am looking forward to getting some more bags finished so I can finally get some up on the website.

It has been a long 2 weeks!