So this is Christmas...

I finally finished the Christmas presents for my second son's Kindergarten teacher and teacher's aide. They're getting matching totes.

I love the pattern; it's very teacher-ish.

The best part is the card I enclosed. They both read:

Yes, this is your Christmas present. Merry Christmas! Does it count that I've had it cut out since before Christmas? How about the fact that my Christmas tree is still up so it must still be the Christmas season? You probably wouldn't have used it that much in the month it took me to finally finish it anyway.
Seriously, Thank You! You're awesome!

Orange you glad I didn't say banana?

I thought that I'd share what I did this evening. I was lucky enough to get some oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit from the parents of a boy in my after school care program. Thanks Dee and Mark! My kids don't eat the flesh of the oranges, so they got juiced.

We have a fridge and freezer full of orange and grapefruit juice, and a produce drawer full of tangerines. Yummy! For those of you not lucky enough to get oranges from someone's backyard this is what they look like. They're not all orange, and some even have brown patches. But they beat anything you can find in the store in the taste department.

And then we have the leftovers. Hubby is going to have to take that one to the curb. It's heavy!

So anyone have any good recipes that use orange or grapefruit juice? I could use one or two.

Smelly cat, part deux

Well, it's Monday, and no video.
My voice was not co-operating, so it looks like next week will have to do.

Fabulously, Fantasmagorically Friendly Friday!

It's Friday!!!

This week I'm featuring Shelley (another Swanky friend) from Nahia Creations. Her shop name means "desire" in Basque, which is a nod to her husband's ancestry. In fact, all the products she makes and sells are different translations of "desire." She chooses the translation based on the ingredients representative of that country or culture. She is inspired by different cultures, and her shop is her way of sharing cultures from around the world with her customers.

Although she started her college career in Apparel, Textiles, and Merchandising, she switched her major to accounting and discovered she actually liked it! This background comes in handy while running her shop.
Skin troubles gave her a reason to start making her soaps, and staying home after the birth of her twins gave her the time to start her business. Most people would find it difficult to run a business with twins, but she takes full advantage of naptimes and bedtimes.

Check out her shop to see all her great products, including her favorite bath salt, Makemake. She also has a website with a blog attached to keep her customers updated.

Etsy Buy Handmade nahiacreations

Smelly cat, smelly cat...

I was all set to record a video today. I had the first segment of hand dyeing a child's toy bag all planned out, and then I woke up today without a voice.
Actually I do have a voice, but I sound like an old smoker. It ain't pretty. Think Phoebe from her sexy voice smelly cat days only raspy.
I'm still holding out hope that I'll get it back this weekend, and I'll be able to record something. Otherwise the video will have to wait until next Monday. Sigh.

Something new???

I'm thinking about trying something new. I've been cruising the crafting video podcasts, and I have to say, um... So I talked it over with my resident computer expert, and he said it would be costly to do one "up to his standards." Whatever.

I thought that maybe a short little clip every Monday (I'm not sure how long they could be.) would be kind if fun. I could do a different project in segments and post it up here. The finished item would be for sale in my Etsy shop. I might as well take advantage of the video posting capabilities on Blogger, huh?

Two reasons, I have the need to do everything better than what I've seen so far. If you have an excellent craft video podcast that you love, please let me know. I have not seen them all, so don't be offended and assume that I think your favorite is terrible. I may not have seen it yet.

Second reason, it would force me to finish at least one project a month! If you've been watching my shop, you've probably noticed nothing new has been added in quite a while. Yeah, yeah, I'm a slacker.

Well, okay, there's a third reason. I bite my nails. I've been trying to stop forever, and it comes and goes, but if I know potentially the whole world can seen my hideous nails I might have more incentive to stop completely. It's a vain reason though, so we don't need to spread it around.

So anyway, let me know what you think. I've been told I'm somewhat funny and definitely clumsy, so I think it would be amusing to watch. So yeah, let me know what you think.

Fabulously, Fantasmagorically Friendly Friday!

Hey, look at that, it's Friday and I'm doing a friendly Friday post!

This week I'm featuring Kelly, another Swanky Mama friend, from Klymyshyn Designs. Her shop name is actually her husband's true Ukranian last name. There are no more males to carry down the name, so this is her way of keeping that beautiful name going.

She is inspired by her precious girls, who model pieces in her shop. She also has a need for everything to be perfect, and often thinks she can do better than products being sold in stores (sound familiar?).
She picked up her knitting needles again when her now two year-old was an infant who only slept while being held. She learned she could juggle needles and a baby with no problem. In fact, her favorite pieces to make are newborn items.

She designs all her own patterns, and is looking forward to having them published as well as finishing a knitting book herself.
Visit her shop at Etsy to see all her cozy pieces, and buy some would you?

Etsy Buy Handmade klymyshyndesign

Fabulously, Fantasmagorically Friendly (day after)Friday!

Maybe I should just make it a Swanky Saturday post, and give up on the whole Friday thing...

This week I'm featuring the Swanky Beth of Tada Designs. Her shop name came out of the joy of showing off new creations. "Ta Da! What do you think?" accompanied every new item showing. She got her crafting start from her mother and grandmother who taught her how to sew, but she found her passion in painting.

She has always loved lettering, even though her handwriting is terrible (her words not mine!) She practiced her writing and drawing, and dabbled in calligraphy while decorating her room in Coca-cola and word collages in high school. She's still not sure why she never became a graphic designer.

Visit her shop at Etsy to see her lovely pieces and to be inspired with beautiful home decor items.

http://tadadesigns.etsy.com
http://tadadesigns.blogspot.com

Etsy Buy Handmade tadadesigns

Fabulously, Fantasmagorically Friendly (day after)Friday!

It's a little late, but a lovely sinus headache prevented yesterday's post, sorry!

This week I'm featuring Michelle from Cozy Moments. I should insert a warning here not from the Surgeon General, but from me. Her products can be addictive. I personally know many addicts... many, many addicts. That being said, her shop contains many special treasures all for treating the special people in your life. She carries luxurious bath products gentle enough for everyday use.

She named her shop Cozy Moments because those special moments are what we look forward to, those "cozy moments."

Michelle started making her products out of personal need. As a lady with dry skin, she found most products weren't rich enough, so she started experimenting. Her candle line began as her love of candles left her with headaches. All the store bought candles she burned seemed to have the same result. She researched soy candles that burn much more cleanly, and as a result, don't have the same effect.

She loves to create her products, especially soaps, whenever she can during the day, but most of her creative time is at night, after everyone else is asleep (a true crafty mama!). Taking care of her family is, of course, first priority, but a need for nurturing her creative side is what drives her business.

Check out her shop at Etsy for more wonderful products, and be prepared to get addicted!

Etsy Buy Handmade CozyMoments