even the best day ever can be better.

today = completely insane.

but it ended in the black.  yay, i had a good show tonight!! 

and i helped 15 3 year olds make turkeys by painting on their hands this morning.  that right there was priceless.

and that’s all i’ve got, so i’ll tell you a story.

the girls had an exciting day.  titi was around, mom came to parent help in the little one’s class, we went for a special lunch and the coffee shop.  we went to the craft show all together, then hunny took the girls to mcdonalds tonight for dinner.  he let the big one pour her own drink from the fountain.  she pours the drink, takes a sip out of the top of the cup, savoring the sweet orangie goodness.  she closes her eyes and sighs, then tells her daddy – this is the best day ever.  but i need a lid.

can’t stop, i’ve got mod to podge.

holy frick.  busy. craft show tomorrow. among other things. today i made clothespins:

and some more clothespins:

and a few more clothespins:

 

and

 

i imagine i am going to be this busy until mid-december, maybe i’ll actually blog some WORDS some time around new years.

just one more advent calendar…

i think this is it for this year:

this one is so fun and festive!!!  it’s got magnets on the back of each block, and the muffin tin

underneath can hold a little treat or trinket.

 

so fun!  it’s listed in my shop, but i am also taking it to my show on thursday – it’s available for a limited time! =D 

 

i bought myself a prize…

i bought this for myself last night, i couldn’t resist:

 

it’s from ObjectsOfAffection on etsy. 

last year i bought a nightlight from her and planned the decor in the spare bedroom around it, i loved it that much!!  she’s got some really cute things in her shop – and some great gifts, too!

*****

 i made these a few nights ago- the clothespins are a special order, but the box might just stay here with me, i love it!!

i’m working like mad to get all my stock listed in my shop, and i’ve got my next craft show this thursday, so i

am a flutter of crafty activity today!!

on to the next thing…

i can’t say how it happened, because i’m not sure, but i am going to make an ali edwards december daily book. i picked out some of the materials tonight, and prepped the book, now it’s just a matter of making it!

look here for a few specific details:

http://aliedwards.typepad.com/_a_/december-daily-2009-.html

mine won’t end up being as chunky or as texture-y as hers, but i see this as a book that my girls will be able to look at and bang around, with matchy-matchy layouts, one side for each day, maybe with a few extras for other odds n ends.  i’m looking forward to making a project for myself, even though the timing could be TONS better, it seems like everything happens in november.

crafty, crafty!

it’s SUMMIT WEEKEND here!!  there are 100+ ladies at the Simsbury Inn scrapbooking and having a jolly old time…  hours upon hours of scrapbooking and relaxing – sounds good to me!!   i’m working at NESC, tending to the ladies that didn’t go to the summit,  ladies that choose to crop here, and the ladies that left the inn to see what we had happening over here.  we have been BUSY!!!  but i had a few minutes to make a few things myself this weekend…

some frames

some clothespins (and you can see a muffin tin advent calendar behind it – this one is c.u.t.e!)

and a few big clothespins for the craft show i’m doing this thursday.  novembers are so crazy, so much to make!!!

friday night wrap up…

look at this cuteness:

last night daddy was out at happy hour with some work people, so mama decided some little girls were going to bed e.a.r.l.y.  we had a special treat and read 6 whole books in mama’s bed before going into their room for the night.  a special treat for everyone.  we read a couple of my favorites – rotton ralph’s birthday (from when i was a little girl), and guess how much i love you   (“that’s good hopping”)…  along with a pile of sandra boynton books…  a lovely way to pass the evening.

and one more bit of cuteness:

(horsey back rides)

alas, cleanweek did not conclude as i had thought it would….  the delivery of my new diningroom table was terribly anticlimactic.  i’m still missing 2 legs.  are you kidding me?  sorry, no, i am not.  so i lost my cleaning mojo.  perhaps next week….

coat closet, cleanweek, i’m pooped.

it’s so gloomy here today, and i’m wiped out from all the excitement of the past few days.  so, you get my coat closet.  again, not so bad, but i counted up my husband’s coats and called him to ask him to guess how many coats he had in there.  he guessed 6. there were 11.  and now there’s 5. =D  and i got rid of a couple myself.  and the girls’ old coats are in the car to go to a program for children in limbo between home and fostercare.  in the beginning, i was so sad to get rid of their cute little coats, but i feel better knowing that a little girl (or tow) who might not have much of anything else has an adorable coat to keep her warm.

(to see a larger size, go here:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/queenvannacreations/4098304203/ )

the wooden boxes are Scrap Can Do! stock.  there’s not much in-stock right now, we sell our kits so fast! =D

this is another spot in our house with a light that doesn’t work.  this one may require a call to the electrician, it makes me crazy.  hunny’s always like “oh, we don’t use that light anyway…” and i’m all like “we pay a lot to live in this house, stuff should WORK.” crikey.  please tell me i’m not the only one. 

 

well that was easy…

we finished doing-over the spare bedroom downstairs early this summer.  it’s the office/guest room/laundry-prep room.  the girls call it the “changing room” because that’s where we would change them when they were in diapers.  bobbie jo calls it her room, christy calls it her room, but if we’re going for time spent there, it might be my mom’s room.  (sorry girls!)   i love many things about this room, but it is also the dumping ground for random things.

before:

nice beer box.  it’s full of office supplies.  cuz we’re classy like that.  we don’t even DRINK beer, i’m not sure where that box came from…  and if you know me closely, you’ll know that the second i enter my house, the jammie pants go on.  i play with my girls, i crawl around all day, i want to be comfortable.  so there’s my pants, waiting for the next time i have to leave my house.  again with the classy.  we have a new printer, so that area is clean right now, hunny loves him a vaccuum.  and sometimes i make beanie take a “rest” in there, so the bed is unmade…

after:

ooh, vaccuum lines and everything!!

before:

my halloween costume.  my hairdryer that belongs in the upstairs bathroom, picture frames under the chair, hunny’s working-outside clothes, the dressup stuff, and a stupid closet full of stupid stuff.

after:

i don’t wanna talk about the dustbunnies that were under the chair.  the air-intake register is right there, and it was sucking all KINDS of things into that location.  *shudder*  3 blondes in the house, i can’t blame just one of us for all that hair. ew.

and the girls’ crafts from school – i took a few down and spaced everything out, i’m darn proud of this curtain rod full of loveliness.

there’s stuff on the shredder that i *think* needs to be shredded, but that’s hunny’s task.  only he knows for sure.  =)

today was an easy one.  tomorrow i’ll go back to the craftroom.  there are some decisions to be made in there.

tuesday – cleanweek 2009

i just spent 3 hours in my craft room.  and i’m still not ready to show you the progress.  there’s just TOO MUCH stuff, that’s all there is to it.  all the wall space is filled, the cabinets are packed, there are still stacks on the floor.  too much stuff.  and it’s not pretty.  AND i remembered that i invited a little friend to come over and play after school tomorrow.  the overflow from the craftroom is still in the diningroom so we are very much NOT presentable for company.  i’ve gotta kick it into high gear.  i’ll tell you about the progress in the meantime =).  there are 3 xl bags going to the trash, the recycling bin is filled with scraps and old paper, and i have a nice pile of stuff that’s going to the store next time we have a crafty tagsale.  i sorted through and found papers for 4 or 5 perpetual calendars that i am excited to make, and i cleared out enough space to add a bookcase that’s been in the middle of my diningroom into the craft room.  and it’s filled with stuff now.  i’m not quite ready for the show HOARDERS yet, but i might be close.  you may want to check back on my next year and see if i’ve changed my mind about that.  and now, a sneak peek of tomorrow:

spare bedroom. *ugh*