Bagels

I made bagels! It was super fun and really easy. I love making things that I would normally buy. It's fun to see how they're made. I will definitely be making bagels again.
Here's a trip through the Chet and Dot Bagel Factory::

After rising overnight in fridge

Boiling in water bath

Getting ready for baking with garlic added to some

After baking, golden brown and delicious

Stocking Up

I have been thinking about the impending holiday season (yes, I know it's only August) and trying to figure out how to make it run more smoothly. Every year, things are crazy around here from October through December and I am amazed if we manage to get the house decorated and the tree up. We spend all of our time filling wholesale orders or getting ready for the craft sales. We always say we're going to start in August, but never do. Well this year it's different. Different, I say! See! I've already got a small pile of stuff set aside for the holiday madness.

We've decided to sell at the Urban Craft Uprising sale in Seattle, because I've heard nothing but great things about it, the Handmade Bazaar, here in Portland and possible Crafty Wonderland's Holiday sale. It seems so overwhelming, but I think if I get things going now, I can do it. I think. I hope. I may be passed out under the Christmas tree with with punch bowl full of eggnog nearby, come Christmas Eve, but I'll some extra cash. I am a little worried about being able to keep up with the wholesale, etsy shop, website and all 3 craft fairs. That's a lot, right? I need a personal assistant.

Some new totes for the shop:
Pandas and Owls. These fabrics remind me of summer so I thought I'd better do something with them while summer is still here.


I'm off to sew!

Change is Good

I designed a new banner for the shop today. It was time for a change. I think I'll make one for here.

These little sweets are in the shop. I love this wool felt. It's really lovely to sew and it takes dye nicely too.

I Was Attacked

We went to the farm last evening to get our cucumbers and pick some berries. I was happily strolling along stuffing my face with blueberries when I spotted a delicious berry in the middle of the bush, so I reached my hand in only to recoil in pain as I realized I'd been stung. Suddenly there were 20 bees flying around, one was stuck on my shirt and I was jumping around screaming. I had apparently stuck my hand in some sort of bee construction zone and they weren't pleased. I just wanted that blueberry. Needless to say that ended our visit to the farm. Luckily we were about to leave anyway. The bees aren't winning any points with me lately. My precious little kitty, Fifi was stung a few weeks ago and now this. I appreciate all their hard work but do they have to be so rude?

We made pickles! They look like pickles and I'm pretty sure they'll taste like pickles. These are straight up dill pickles. Straight up.

I managed to get some stuffies and a sewing kit made yesterday, in spite of the attack. The sewing kit is awaiting it's pins, but will be in the shop soon.



This is Kitty the Lamb, so named because I intended to make a kitty but ended up with a lamb.

Pickle Crisp

Last night I was flipping through the channels and happened upon The Two Coreys on A&E. Anybody seen this? Well if not, there's no need. It's a horrendous train wreck of a television show. How this got past initial brainstorming sessions, I'll never understand. I'm a little tired of the whole voyeuristic celebrity "real life" television shows anyway, but some of them are at least watchable. The Two Coreys however, is not. First off I feel a little old because it's been 20 years since the Lost Boys came out. 20. Second, I was totally in love with Corey Haim as a teenager though now that's all gone right out the window. He is now a royal moron. He's 35, unemployed, single and from what I could tell, completely obsessed with starring in a Lost Boys sequel. At one point, he was crying because he found out that a sequel is in the works and he's not in it. These people aren't even interesting. at all. At least Gene Simmons still performs and is a total nut, these guys are just pathetic.

Ok, so on to something far more interesting, sewing!
This is my first handbag featuring a successful application of bias tape, whoo hoo! I pretty much want to put it on everything now. I'm trying to think of more projects that require it. I'm thinking coasters, wallets, checkbook covers and soon a quilt.


We're going to the farm this afternoon to get cucumbers for pickling. I've never made pickles before so I'm curious to see how they turn out. Allison made them a couple of years ago and they tasted good but were a little soft, so this time we'll be using 'pickle crisp'. Pickle Crisp! I love that there is an actual product called this.

50.

So maybe it's not as much a milestone as 100 but this is my 50th blog post. Notable, I say.

I've been practicing the application of bias tape on some little tissue holders. Somewhere along the way bias tape and I parted ways and are only now becoming reaquainted. This is one technique that makes me feel like maybe I am challenged mentally. I've read instructions, watched online videos and studied quilt edges all to no avail, until now, that is. I think I've finally got it. Of course, I've only done two so far. But with only a couple of minor issues. And now I can see why some find it addictive. It looks so nice when done properly.

I remember my first encounter with bias tape, my ex mother in law asked me to apply it to some printed bibs she'd bought. So she brought over her sewing machine and the supplies and said she'd pick them up in a few days. So I sat down thinking 'this looks easy enough' and proceeded to destroy the whole lot of bibs. The corners were the worst. When she came over to pick them up she looked at them and then at me and asked if I was on drugs. I blame her, really, she should have shown me how to do it rather than leaving me alone with my future nemesis bias tape. Well look at me now! Applying bias tape like a real pro, well sort of. See::




I even made the bias tape myself thanks to the instructions in this book.

Happy August

It's going to be a hot one here today, I can tell. Well, that and the weather person said so.

This is Prescott Peanut, he's quite happy to meet you!

Yesterday, we happened upon Dove Vivi, a new pizza restaurant, that it turns out is owned by an acquaintance of ours. It was delicious! The crust is made from cornmeal and was so crispy and yummy. I can't wait to round up some friends and go back.

The Last Day of July

So our neighbors have acquired two little tiny Toto dogs. This, we learned in mid Spring and I'm pretty sure they haven't stopped barking since March. Occasionally, if I'm outside, I'll yell at them to stop which works for a few minutes. I must admit it's difficult to yell at them because they are adorable, although it's getting easier. I really don't want to be one of those grumpy neighbors who complains, but the barking is driving me nuts. I don't even want to open the windows in the morning because I know the barking will come and it does, without fail. I'm not much of a dog person, I prefer cats, but I like to think that if I had a dog, I wouldn't let it bark the day away in my backyard. Apparently, not everyone shares this sentiment.

I've been whipping out purses like crazy lately. I have to take advantage of the purse making desire while it's here, because it never sticks around for long. These are so fun to make, maybe it'll stick around a little longer this time.



Have a lovely last day of July (can you believe it?), I'll be in the backyard cursing at small animals like a crazy person.

Polka Dots Make Me Happy

I just picked up this lovely stack of fabric from superbuzzy! I'm so happy with all the lovely polka dots I'm finding lately.

The Handmade Bazaar is tomorrow which means I have lots to do. Happy Saturday!

Sunday

The Handmade Bazaar is this weekend. I'd love it if some of you stopped by to say hello!

I may be holed up in the craft room for the next couple of days assembling shelves and getting ready for the sale. I'll try to emerge with more fascinating tidbits from my life, as I know you've come to rely on me for that. : )
In the meantime you can get acquainted with some new friends::

::Miss Frances Flax::

::Pierre::

Productivity

I'm making all sorts of progress on operation craft room. I haven't made it to Lowe's for paint samples but everything else is going great. It's looking like I might need more shelves than I originally thought, but we'll see.

I did get some sewing done last night amidst the clutter:

A Flocking Good Time

This afternoon I went to a Rubber Stamp supply store in Vancouver (WA, not BC). I used to go all the time when we lived there but hadn't been in at least 2 years. I was pleased to find they had moved to a more central location. I used to love going in there. It's owned by two older women who are the sweet grandmotherly types. They are always willing to stop what they're doing and answer any questions you have about a product or technique. I've had them give me mini demo's before. So it was lovely to see them again. They have a really nice little shop which has all the usual and somewhat tacky rubber stamping supplies, but they also have stuff I've never seen anywhere else like quilling and flocking supplies. That's right flocking, it's amazing. It can be applied over glue to make your image FUZZY. So. Adorable. I haven't done any flocking in a long time, perhaps I'll do some flocking soon. A few years ago, they actually sold me some vintage flocking supplies they'd had for years. It's impossible to find now, so that was quite a score!

This lunch tote will be in the shop tomorrow. Things are moving slowly here in craftland lately. I've been on an embroidery kick lately. That doesn't happen as often as it used to so I'm taking advantage of it.

P.S. the store is called Pampered Stampers-ha ha.

What you're about to see took great courage

I have been working on getting my craft room organized and ready for the new shelves I'm getting. I think the shelves will be the solution to my fabric storage and organization dilemma. I've tried many different types of storage and they all lead to this:

A giant fabric nightmare. I am a very messy crafter and seamstress, that's not going to change. I've accepted this fact, but have also come to realize that the more organized I am to begin with the less likely it is the mess will get out of control. So shelving it is. After the room gets painted and the shelves are in, my next project is the craft table. The table we have now has a large base in the center which is fine except that it's a lot of wasted space and with a craft room that is overflowing with that space is precious. My idea is to find 2 cabinets that I can put either side by side or back to back with a table top mounted on them. This will give adequate table space while providing storage below.

Now, I've got to decide on a paint color. I adore choosing paint color. Though, I've gotten rather boring in my color choices lately. I think it has to do with the fact that I have an awful lot of stuff on the walls and cluttering up every flat surface in the house, so when you add a bright or busy wall color it's just too much. That, and I've adopted a 'less is more' attitude lately. I'm trying to apply it to all areas of my life. It's working out fine, indeed. So, in most of the house, I've left the walls white. I'd like to give them a fresh coat of creamy satin paint but I just don't have the time right now. The craft room, however, needs some color. I'm thinking grey. I know, so boring. If you had told me 3 or 4 years ago that I would be considering painting a wall grey I would've scoffed for sure. Yet, here I am loving, grey, beige and cream. The new Martha Stewart paint palette has a lovely shade called beachglass, it's kind of a light blue grey. I like it but I've only seen it online. I may stop in at Lowe's tomorrow to see the swatch in person. I just found some vintage, white, dotted swiss curtains that I bought last summer, still in the package even. They are very nice on the window in the craft room. The white curtains would look lovely with 'beachglass' walls I think. You can't really see the curtains here but you can see my cute little red basket full of Japanese fabrics.

Sorry for the long winded craft room post. This is a very important facet of my life and I've struggled for years with getting it organized so the idea that I may have finally devised a system that works is very exciting. I'll keep you posted for sure.

A Magical World of Well-Designed Yet Affordable Goods

It was so awesome. I didn't have nearly as much spending money as I would've liked but I was in IKEA before the rest of the city, that's what really matters here : ). Regardless, it was great fun! Before this one opened here in Portland, we used to have to drive to the Seattle IKEA a couple of hours away. It always made me crazy because I felt this need to get everything I could possibly need to get because it could be months or years before I made it back. Those days are gone, my friends. I am now a mere 8 minute drive from the greatest store ever! Here are some pictures and now I'll stop talking about it.




Some new lunch totes are in the shop. I'll be listing more tomorrow.

IKEA

I had a delightful time catching up on my sewing last night while watching a marathon of this.

This is Lucinda, she's is going to a party and is presently waiting in the shop for just the right invitation, I hope it comes soon, she's all ready to go!

I also did some fabric printing last night, just little bits here and there, like this apple and polka dots.

I love to sew. I think I enjoy the process as much as the final product. I occasionally have an idea in mind of what I'll use a fabric for when I buy it, but I usually just buy stuff I like and it sort of finds it's way to the perfect project.

Speaking of fabric, I just got off the phone with Krissy, who invited Allison and I to the Friends and Family day at IKEA. Her friend works there and the dear, sweet man gave her a coupon to get it. Yes, we are part of an exclusive group of people who get to go in to IKEA BEFORE the public. I'm sure that I've mentioned IKEA here before, as it's been a life long (well, 10 year long) dream of mine to live near an IKEA. So one of my dreams has come true today. Today, I will enter the fabric department of IKEA and all will be good with the world for a short time at least. I'm charging the camera batteries as I speak, but oh that's right even if I weren't there are batteries for sale at IKEA. I'm so excited I could pee my pants! But I won't, I'll keep it together. Must go find something to wear to IKEA. More later!

Did You Miss Me?

Hello! I've missed my blog these past few days. Things have been so very hectic lately, but I think they are starting to slow down. Maybe. I will be spending the next week preparing for the Handmade Bazaar so maybe there won't be any slowing down. Can you believe it's Friday again, already? Summer is just flying by.

Some new twill tape is in the shop. I ordered a few new fabrics and will be working on some lunch totes and sewing kits this weekend.

I just finished several wholesale orders for Robot Candy, one of which included 48 bookmarks. These are fun to make so it wasn't like work at all, now the coasters on the other hand, are very much like work. There are some new coasters on the scene which is always good though. I get tired of seeing the same designs day after day so I try to add new ones to the mix as often as possible.

Enjoy your weekend!

I'm Here

I'm taking a short and unexpected blogging break. I'm presently surrounded by coasters and their components, working on 6 six different wholesale orders. I'll be back in a few days.

Frosty Friends and Tacos

Complete and on it's way::

More Frozen Treats for the shop today::



I hear there is a new taco wagon in the neighborhood, so I'm off to find it. Word on the street is they make their own tortillas. Anyone who knows me knows that I love a good taco.
I know most of the good spots around town and the not so good ones, too. There are some ultra cheap and delicious spots we visit often and there are a couple of higher priced, once-in-a-while-indulgence spots I love too. The thing that always amazes me about a good taco is the sheer simplicity. Two flat corn tortillas, some well seasoned and perfectly cooked meat, a handful of cilantro and onion and you've got pure perfection! It took me a while to get used to the idea of not having cheese, lettuce and a crisp shell, but there's no going back now. I do like a bit of verde salsa on top. We'll be making verde salsa and canning it in the next month or so, stay tuned.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

edited to add:
Well, the new taco cart won me over. The handmade corn tortillas were amazing!

A trio of feathered friends has just flown over to the shop.
They were joined briefly by happy and sad little creamsicle friend but Creamsicle, I'm happy to report has found a home!


We went to the Farmer's Market last night and bought these yummy blueberries. I think these will be finding their way into some muffins. Maybe with a bit of lemon and topped with sugar, yum!
Happy Weekend! Again, already.