Fleur De Lis Art Fair, 2012

Had a show a week & a half ago! It would have been a GREAT day... if it weren't for the amazingly awesome Ohio valley weather!
I watched the weather all week. It was supposed to be SUNNY and around 90 ALL DAY. Not a cloud in the sky.
Set up was supposed to start at 7am - show opening at 9. So... what does it start doing at 6:45am? Yep, YOU guessed it... STORMING!!!!!! It FINALLY stopped about 8:30. So I start setting up... Here's what I ended up with that day...

It spot rained a few times through out the day. Thank goodness I was able to borrow the pop up tent from my friend again! The show was supposed to end at 6. SO... what does it start doing about 4:00??? Yep, you guessed it... STORMING again!!! Bad this time! SUPER loud lightening... Raining so hard that it was collapsing the tent! Thankfully it didn't break it! But ALLLLLLL of my inventory got SOAKED! ALLLLL of my bottlecaps were ruined. Tutus soaked, and ME... yeah, I was soaked to THE BONE.

Needless to say, it would have been an amazing show if the forecast had been CORRECT!

Beginning Of Summer!!

That's right, it's the first day of summer!

So, what are your summer plans? Since the kiddos are out of school...
Our plans are pretty laid back. No summer vacation for us this year. Since the hubby works a LOT, it's mostly just the kids and me. One day last week we spent an afternoon at the pool. Let me tell you, that is NOT easy by yourself with a 5 year old and a 19 month old... I don't advise it! Haha.
But we'll be spending days at home playing around the house, days at the Zoo and pool... just spending time together before my oldest starts school this fall.

BUT... the fun doesn't have to be paused! We are hosting an Auction to celebrate the beginning of summer!!! I'm de-Stashing some older inventory, as well as some newer creations! The album is now open to shop, the rules are simple... comment on the photo with your bid, bid increments will be $.50. Shipping will be $2 plus an additional $.50 per item.

             

Hillview City Fair, 2012

This was my longest event ever! Thursday 6pm - 10pm. Friday 6pm - 11pm and Saturday 11am - 11pm. I was fortunate enough to be joined by a friend, Kate, who is the owner and creator of Bitty Bundles Of Joy. Super Cute appliqued onesies, shirts and OH-so many other things! 

Thursday was a little slow, but was still successful. Friday was even better and Saturday ROCKED! The morning started out with a Dog Show! SOOOO Stinkin Cute!!! I had a couple girls come by to adorn their little babies with Tutus and Bows before the show!

Both of these girls placed! First and Second!!!

Then the rest of the day just took off! Kate joined me later in the afternoon.

Overall it was just a super fun time! Made some new friends, some new possible networks and obviously some awesome sales! It was a huge success!!!

Now it's time to get to work... spending some lost time with my kiddos and replenishing some stock for the Online Store as well as prepare for the Fleur De Lis Art Fair next week!

To, Too, Tutu

I wanted to add more inventory before the city fair I'm going to this weekend... so I made a couple more Tutus! I still want to make a few more to add to the inventory, but it takes time! Why do these kids think they need to eat and be entertained all day? Don't they know Mama wants to be making pretty things ?!? Hahahaha!!

Ok, here's the newest ones! Tell me what you think!

Tag, Tag, Tag!

I just made more than 200 price tags! I haven't been very prepared the last few shows, but for these two I will be!

I use my business cards as my price tags. Saves a step for me and allows for every item that I make to be attached to my logo and contact information... thus Branding myself in every aspect possible!

SO I've punched little butterfly holes, stamped prices and counted more than 200 tags. Now it's time to go attach them!

It's been a LONG Day's night...

Yep, you heard that right.
My husband is a Utility Lineman and heavy machinery operator. He usually goes into work at 6:30 am and gets home when he gets home. It could be anywhere from an 8 hour day to 12-15 hours on average. He has spent time out of town... a LOT of time out of town. The entire first 18 months of our son's life he was gone from 4 days to 2 weeks at a time... and at the end of that he was gone for 3 months straight without a break. That was in 2008 when Hurricane Ike hit, he was in Houston and Galveston for Hurricane Restoration.

Oh yeah... Long day's night...
Well, Yesterday, Thursday, he went to work at the normal time. He calls me at oh... mid-afternoon to check in and I hear "I probably won't be home at all tonight." Yeah... nothing THAT new. I know that usually means I get to put the kiddos to bed myself and I'll likely be in bed before he gets home. Not this night... He didn't get home until nearly 10am Friday morning! A 27 hour work day! What did I do when he was gone? Well, after the kids were in bed of coarse... I crafted! It's my therapy!!!

So he got the call today, which actually woke him up at 4pm. Telling him they needed him again tonight ALL NIGHT. So he left again at 7:30 tonight and there's no end in sight as to when he'll be home. So what did I do tonight? Yep, you guessed it! I made more pretty things!

I can't begin to tell you how much I love my husband. Don't get me wrong... we used to have, um, 'words' about these insane hours. But we were married before he began this line of work nearly a decade ago... so we had an idea of what we signed up for. It just took us both a while to get used to it. I just Praise GOD that my husband has an amazing work ethic. In an economy that has hit the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 20's, my husband is out there working 50-80 hour weeks, doing whatever he has to do to provide for his family. He is great at what he does and I am VERY proud of him.

Ok, rambling over... going to bed now.

From The Heart

 

Dear Reader,

Everyone knows someone who has been affected by heart disease or stroke.  My own grandfather met an early demise when I was only 5 years old with a heart attack.

On September 22, 2012, I’ll be helping the American Heart Association fight the Nation’s No.1 and No.3 causes of death — heart disease and stroke — at the Heart Walk. Funds raised through the Heart Walk support research, community service and public and professional education programs.

My personal goal is to raise $1000.  Your support will help.  Your donation of $500, $250, $100, $50, or whatever you can manage, will help me take a stand against the #1 killer of Americans, including women. Not only will you help me achieve my goal, you’ll also help the American Heart Association make important advances against heart disease and stroke.

**Just complete the information WITHIN THIS LINK  with your donation. Or simply click on the fill-up bar on the right of the page. The Heart Walk is quickly approaching, so please send it as soon as possible.**

Thank you for your support of the Heart Walk. Together we will make a difference!

From the heart,

Tia