every little thing

A twenty for your thoughts....

 

UPDATE! I wanted to pop in and say that I've closed the comments and  here are the winners!

Janice and Amy!!! (Your congratulatory emails are on the way!)

Hooray!  Giveaways are such fun, and thank you all so much for the thoughtful, generous feedback.  There was a lot of brown-nosing going on (don't inflate my ego too much, you guys!)  There was also a plethora of useful and awesome ideas.  Many of the suggestions I had already thought of, or planned on doing but hadn't gotten around to yet.  This has definitely been a kick-in-the-booty for me to get in gear and make things happen.  I'm working on a little Q & A post from all the wonderful comments, and I'll have that up and rolling later this week.  Thank you again, everyone.  You dig what I do, and that makes me happy.

~Amanda

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I created some new gift certificates for the  The Emporium.  You know, in case you want to give the gift of tiny-things to a friend or loved one.  But if you want to WIN one of them RIGHT NOW, then join in my little Giveaway!  Just leave a comment in this blog post to be entered to win one of two $20 gift cards good in any of my etsy shops: The Emporium, A. Bel Studio, or Out Like Bandits.  I'll draw the winning names (using the number generator-thingy) next Monday, June 30th.  Be sure to leave an email address, or some way for me to contact you.  Friends, family and International folks are all welcome to join in!

Also,  if it's not too much trouble, I'd love to hear any ideas, suggestions and comments you may have about my little cottage industry, most especially the Emporium.  Do you have any thought on how my shop could be better?  Ideas for different themed samplers?  Items that you think I should or should not carry?  Any general small-business advice?  I would love some constructive feedback!  I feel like I'm always struggling to stay ahead of the game, and I'll take absolutely any help I can get (even if I have to bribe you for it.)

Pretty please?  Thanks!  You all are the best!

Stand Back

*Thank you, everyone, for the birthday wishes for my dear mum!  I've got lots of things to blog about this week, a new giveaway to host (hooray!) and another blog-tag to fulfill, too.  But now I wanted to sneak in a bit a crafting-sewing real quick, since that subject has been so scarce over here lately:

 

I bought this pattern a few weeks ago because I had this "summer dress" in mind for months now, and I'm really itching to get it made. Butterick B5181.  My vision was a tropical vacation at a posh resort, lounging at the tiki bar, kind of frock.  Tiny, yet tasteful, on top, with an all-the-way-to-the floor skirt.  Flowy and drapey, but still kind of sexy, too. Could be worn with a large-brimmed hat or big earrings, and definitely flat sandals.  You getting my drift?  I will be using view D (shown as the black dress in the photo.)  I really wanted to use a fabric from my stash, and I have *just enough* of this amazing vintage (thirfited) fabric pictured above.  I envisioned a bold floral print, just not the bawdy type that screams "luau."  I hope this one works, it has a fabulous weight to it, and I know it will wear well.  The pattern looks easy, and I've been going slowly, reading and studying the directions thoroughly, trying to act like I know what I'm doing.  I was a little disheartened by the negative pattern reviews on this wonderful site.  But, none of them were for the longer version, and one commenter had made her dress from quilters cotton, and that just makes no sense to me.  I mean, that type of cotton isn't for adult-clothes making, right?  You'd never get a good drape with that stuff, certainly not on a flowy sort of dress like this.  I'm hoping that the weight of the long skirt will correct the "maternity look" that some reviewers complained about.  Honestly, my belly pooch isn't going to help in that area either, but that's a whole other issue. 

I was considering doing a test-run with this solid grey fabric here, but I can see that bodice will be the only part to give me potential problems, and since it doesn't require much fabric, I think I'll just jump in with the floral as planned.  I have no doubt the dress would be equally nice in the solid grey, too...just not the look I had in mind.  Maybe, if all goes well, I could whip up a grey dress in the shorter, saucier length.  I could wear it with leggings, maybe (are those still in fashion now?) 

Anyway, the pattern is cut, and the ironing is done.  Hopefully I'll have a dress to show off soon!  (In my fantasy-world, I'm wearing it on a sunny day, under an unbelievably blue sky, and I'm twirling hypnotically like Stevie Nicks.  I promise to recreate my dream in video-form and share it on the blog.  That is, if the dress turns out.  Wouldn't that be interesting...)

50 and Fabulous

My Momma turned fifty last Saturday, and there was a party.  A very, pink party.

With pretty pink poufs hanging in the air,

and tables topped with little, pink flowers.

Everyone wore pink,

..I mean everyone.

There was even a pink cotton candy machine, and my sister wore a pink vintage dress and vintage silver shoes while she (expertly) made cotton candy for everyone.

And it was magical,

..and delicious,

and memorable.

But mostly, it was really, really, really pink.

Happy Birthday, Mom! 

About Time

                      

(there's always time for cinnamon toast!)  But that's not what this is all about. 

I get cyber-tagged now and then by very sweet bloggers and, being the inconsiderate soul that I am, I usually space out and forget to fulfill my tagging obligations.  Well, I was chosen by the fabulous Molly  to answer a few questions about myself, and by George, I'm going to do it!  Right now! 

#1.) What were you doing 10 years ago?

I was just 17 (if you know what I mean.)  I had returned from Idaho to Virginia, and I was slinging coffee at Joe Muggs Cafe inside a Books-A-Million (which is a cheap-o version of Barnes & Noble.)  I spent most of the summer inventing new Italian soda flavor combinations and getting to know a certain shaky-handed fellow that I'd end up marrying three years later.  Oh, and I gotta give a shout-out to the old ball-and-chain, he's turning 33 today (ha ha...what an old geezer!)

#2.) What's on your to-do list?

Buy mint, basil and cilantro so I can make summer spring rolls.  Watch the John Adams series that I just got from Netflix and look out for my brother. Make some of these for my mom's upcoming Birthday.  Pay the bills, clean the bathroom, (ugh, and it's all downhill from there...)

#3.)  List 5 snacks you enjoy.  (Just five?)

Currently I'm very much into these cookies (highly recommended recipe), bing cherries, celery sticks, leftover homemade pesto pizza, and Max's Lime Freezes (mix juice and pulp of 2 limes, scant 1/4 C. of sugar, 3 C. ice, and a big splash of water in the blender until smooth.  Yum.)

#4.)  What would you do if you were a millionaire?

This pretty much sums it up.

#5.)  Where have you lived?

Eastern Virginia and Southern Idaho.  (And I'm ever so happy to be back in good-old VA!  I'm an ocean girl at heart, always have been.)

There, I did it!  Now I'm going to tag my old buddy Kristy, because I'm pretty sure she will play along and she has a very fun blog to read (if you're into movies and stuff, which I am.)

Dudsville

It's that time again...

Shop Talk!!

 

I call these the Bavarian Rose Cupcake liners.  You would not even believe how hard it is to find these cute, retro baking cups.  And as soon as I find a good one, they threaten to discontinue it.  Why, I ask you?  Why?

This much preciousness should be illegal!  I know they are probably intended as wedding favor boxes, but I have the feeling that a little glitter and what-not could jazz them up even more.  Plus, they open up so you can have a secret place to hide your tiny treasures.  Adorable.

Have anger issues?  Need to express them via cupcake decorations?  I think these are the perfect fit for you.

Retro-action bottle brush trees for your Holiday crafting pleasure.  Think it's too early to start listing Christmas stuff?  I couldn't agree more.  Unfortunately, that's not how the retail biz works, you gotta stay ahead, people!  You have to be on the ball!  These trees are actually for the 2012 Holiday season...I'm sold out for the next 5 years.  Better start your shopping earlier next time, folks.  Snooze you loose.

Speaking of discontinued (and I was speaking of it, up there somewhere,) the powers that be are threatening yet again to ruin my life and discontinue the super special fawns that are a major cornerstone of my business.  I swear, these people live to make me suffer.  Just in case it's for real this time, I have been shopping for alternatives.  It's not going too well, but I have a few replacement fawns I will introduce soon, and I'd love to get your opinion on them.  And while I'm blabbing on and one about the Emporium, I did want to mention the DUD packs I now have available.  You see, I hand-sort all of the miniatures I sell to weed out the imperfect ones.  Most types of miniatures only have a few here and there that are irregular or broken, but some have A LOT of duds (hence the corresponding higher price.)  Of course I can't throw anything away, ever, so the duds have been piling up over this last year, and I thought I'd pack them up and sell them as "seconds"  at a super discount. 

You can find more info over at the shop, but these are really great miniatures that are still very cute and usable, they just aren't perfect. The labels are off-center, or scratched.  The fawns have not-so-fabulous paint jobs, etc.  Think of them as the runts of the litter.  They are like Wilbur.  They are special.

(What's with me and all the italicizing today?)

i can't help it

BEST. THE. CARS. SONG.

EVER.

(OK, so all of their songs are pretty stellar.) That video, however... seriously, what's with the shitty camera tricks?  I'm pretty sure that the sibs and I made better home movies with our grandparents gigantic VCR video camera when we were kids.  Of course, all of their videos are sort of dopey.  Maybe it was a conceptual thing?

Other choice picks:

Tonight She Comes (pop a Dramamine before you watch that one)

Just What I Needed (white people attempting rhythm)

And if it's 90+ degrees where you are (like it is here), then open your windows, grab a Dr. Pepper, click this link, and CRANK UP THE VOLUME, because nothing ushers in the dog days of summer better than this song.  The first few lines say everything I could ever wish to express about this amazingly beautiful, and often cruel, season.  Somehow the song just makes me feel good inside.  Listen to it, you can thank me later.

Dryer Report

So, we are still doing without a clothes dryer, going on three months now.  There are no major problems to speak of (and I can say that at this moment because I am currently completely caught-up wit the laundry....ask me again next week.)  I mean, it's not the most convenient thing in the world, but in all honesty, our dirty laundry hasn't piled up any more or less than it did when we had the dryer.  Plus, the weather has been ideal lately; hot with a nice breeze.  When the weather is prohibitive, I try to keep from getting behind by using a metal clothes rack to dry small loads indoors.  It's a collapsible rack I bought last year for craft shows (I used it to display the printd slips.)  That thing has proven to be more versatile than I thought, and some clothing, especially lighweight garments, dry surprisingly fast indoors.  The only real problem I have sometimes is the lint.  Some clothes, mainly darker ones, produce a lot of lint when washed, and since they can take a spin in the dryer to remove it, they look a little dusty and, well, lint-y.  Anyone have any tips or suggestions for this?  Maybe colder water in the wash, less agitation?  Hmmm.

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