i’m gearing up for the holidays, making a few christmas items. it seems so early, but the past couple of years i’ve felt so far behind. it seems like i’ve gotten a bunch of larger special requests, too, so i’ve gotta do what i can when i can. happy halloween! =D
we had an incredible afternoon with Gwen of Gwendolyn Pellegrino Photography today. the girls got to frolick and spin and climb on a beautiful red sofa wearing the prettiest petticoats in the middle of an apple orchard on a warm fall day. what could be better?
i hope gwen doesn’t get mad that i snuck this shot, she and the girls were giggling and having a ball.
i can’t wait to see the final result.
pumpkin cakeballs (in appearance, not flavor) – were made today as a peace offering for a
meeting tonight that i have a feeling will go on forever. running a preschool is hard work, y’all.
and did you hear the news? christy’s back. wooohoo! and all i can say about that is all is right with the world again.
i’m in a crafting FRENZY, and i decided this morning that i’m not going to have my in-home craft show this year. in past years i’ve sold things that haven’t been listed on etsy, some things i’ve tried that just haven’t worked out, or things that are best seen in person. it’s by far my best show money-wise, but it also requires having new and fun things to sell (that i don’t have time to make), and cleaning my house. a few weeks back i told myself that i was done running myself ragged, and this is an extension of that. i anticipate a record year for sales on etsy, and at my craft shows. i’ve picked up a couple of new wholesale accounts, and said i’d do a couple of promotion boxes that need to be shipped in november. i just can’t throw anything else into the mix. (and i don’t wanna hafta dust my diningroom.) (though a quick note to my real-life friends – i’ll make you anything you want as a special request, just let me know.)
in parting, have a look at one of my new Christmas Countdown Calendars – available on etsy and in person. just not at my house.
Imagine.
Imagine walking twenty miles.
Imagine walking twenty miles in a driving rain.
Imagine walking your first ten steps in an ankle deep puddle.
Imagine not being able to see from side to side because of rain hoods and ponchos.
Imagine needing windshield wipers for your glasses all day.
Imagine your feet sloshing, squishing, sliding, slooping and swimming from mile 1 to mile 15.5.
Now Imagine This:
Imagine 5,600 walkers showing up knowing under those conditions they would still walk 60 miles.
Imagine looking forward to stopping at a port a potty just to stay out of the rain.
And then Imagine losing your under wear under layers of soaking, dripping clothing, fanny packs and ponchos……
Imagine an all volunteer crew cheering you on, taking care of you, feeding you despite the driving rain from morning till night.
Imagine kids from the local elementary school cheering you on through rain soaked windows.
Imagine overwhelming the only deli along the route and the owners who rose to the occasion with pots of hot coffee, hot tea, and hot chocolate.
Imagine on mile 16, the rain dripping down your face, your hair plastered to your head, your lips blue, your teeth chattering, a fellow walker turning to you and saying " Dahling, you look marvelous!"
Imagine climbing up the last hill on mile 20 only to be told they had to cancel the 3 Day.
Now Imagine This:
Imagine the true theme of the 3 Day- HumanKind-Be Both
Imagine warm fleeces, dry shirts and 5,000 mylar blankets to anyone in need.
Imagine being soaked to the skin and not even knowing it.
Imagine stepping out of a food tent and stepping into ankle deep mud- good for your face but not for your shoes.
Imagine digging in to a steaming hot plate of delicious tortellini, crispy garlic bread and Baby Watson Cheese cake (thanks Crew)
Imagine singing and dancing to karaoke and kicking to New York, New York while waiting to be evacuated.
Imagine dragging your cold, wet, exhausted body into the comfort of the Rockland Community College gym floor.
Imagine your contributions combined with the contribution of other to add up to the grand total of $9,000,000 net for this New York 3 Day alone.
Imagine an end to breast cancer.
fall is here! i’m drinking GALLONS of pumpkin spice coffee and dressing my children too warmly or for summer at the wrong times of day. good times… i’ve signed on to do 4 craft shows so far this season (5 if you count my home-show!) and i’m panicking to make new and fun products - and darnit, i keep selling them on etsy! (i’m not complaining, really.) currently, queenvanna creations can be found in shops in alabama, tennessee, california, and CANADA! i’m working on some things for a shop in brooklyn, ny, and something BIG for a well-known website. weee! on the subject of business:
did you know queenvanna has a fanpage on facebook?
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/QueenvannaCreations
how about scrapcan do? http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/ScrapCanDo
did you know new england scrapbook company has a fanpage too? http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/NewEnglandScrapbookCompany
we’re very fan friendly around here!
so much to do…
and i have the feeling i’m going to be making a lot of these! 
labor day weekend… it’s sunday night and i’m exhausted. the girls heard somewhere that tomorrow is a holiday, and they fully expect to have a picnic on the diningroom floor. i’m pondering a menu that requires the fewest crumbs and spills.
made some cakeballs this weekend:
cookie monster, grover and oscar!! they were a big hit at sheila’s sunday picnic:
we enjoyed golf cart rides, playing pass with ken, bryan (brian?) and mitchell, and smores by the fire…
it perplexes me that beanie likes smores. smores have more ingredients than she usually eats at once. it might be the simple pleasure that it’s something she can make herself, after describing to the minutest of detail how to prepare a good one…
tomorrow involves puttering around the house, and i’ve got a lot to do to get ready for the next few weeks. hopefully everyone can play nice and be entertained by daddy so i can get some stuff accomplished. i know! maybe i can send them back down to the lake…
i made 7 calendars in 7 days. here’s 4:
and omg, omg, omg, look what i found in the halloween section – cakeball eyeballs.
this little girl had her pictures taken, and *poof* she was really really 3 years old:
everybody seems so big all of a sudden:
i’m a little over-extended right now (by a whole lot), i’ve got my fingers touching on EVERYTHING, and i’m
feeling a little overwhelmed. it’ll pass, i know, but til then…. oi.
did i week go by already? we stayed close to home this week, all the galavanting has worn me out! elena came to visit with her girls, and the children played so happily all afternoon… i think my girls enjoyed being the “big girls”
i had a little time to get my craft on, too. i’ve signed up to do a couple of shows later in the fall, and i know it’s time to get my butt in gear.
i also contributed to the little black box this month. i don’t know what it is, but every-other time i send samples to her, i have to buy a box of my own. there are some really cool contributors this month, check it out! i am working approximately 723 hours at the store this weekend, so hopefully my little box of sunshine will arrive early next week – a special little treat for me!
i’m also teaching at the store a little bit, so i’ve been making class layouts for a back to school class, and a halloween class.
we still have 2 weeks left til school starts, and so many fun things to do!!
ups and downs, downs and ups… for all the crazy things that have hapened, i’m trying to make the most of it all. this has been an incredible summer. a few years ago, i decided the sign of a good summer was flip-flop tanlines. i achieved those early on. and my girls have tan legs and little white booties. that’s gotta show they’ve been having fun, too! i have been so lucky to have this time to spend with my girls. my hunny works hard so that i can play hard. tomorrow he has the day off and i’m hoping to come up with a fun outing for us so he can enjoy what we get to enjoy almost every day…
the girls have tried lots of new things this summer, including the tooting turtle sprinkler (it doesn’t really toot though, how disappointing!):
and babycakes enjoyed her 3rd birthday party – tinkerbell themed:
she just saw this pic and said “that’s my most favorite scooter ever!”
and i’m gonna toot mah horn and say the decorations were awesome. i may not take them down ever. behold! my mantle!!
and the cake. omg, the cake. i will lie to you and tell you it was impossible to make. you don’t need to know how easy it was.
RAINBOW CAKE! or TIE DIE CAKE! or WIZARD OF OZ CAKE! or GAY PRIDE CAKE! or DANG HIPPIE CAKE!
frosting recipe was supplied by keith at mindless pursuits. click his shop name and see his version of a rainbow cake! it’s a stabilized whipped cream and it was fantastic – the cake looked like a cloud til i cut into it, then there was the shock of color. awesome. and delicious!
now for the rest of the day i will put laundry away and shuffle things around. we’ll stay low-key today, for there’s a lot of celebrating to be had tomorrow!
|
