where has the summer gone?

sometimes you have to pat your own self on the back

yeah, we’re complaining around our house. why are we so busy? yikes! is it almost august? where has the summer gone?

to be fair, it’s the good kinda busy. i’ve put a booth together twice now: an indoor one for the sew funky marketplace and an outdoor one for the awareness fest that i did this past weekend. i’m happily working on custom orders and improving my etsy store. the hubby has been traveling for work {a job he loves}, writing book chapters, and working with the students in his lab. together we’ve been painting the house, improving the garden, and looking forward to our first tomatoes.

but still, all of the sudden the end of july is looming ahead of us. {good thing it stays hot and summery here until october, huh? we’ll have plenty of time to enjoy it!}

don’t worry too much about me/us: this weekend we’re heading out on a two and half week adventure through the wilds of alaska rounded off with visit to vermont to watch two dear friends get married! and we are so happy that our travels take us far north, away from the heat of southern california {it’s 105° as i write}. the high in fairbanks is 57° today.

want your own busy bee award? check out free printables at alenka’s printables! like the font? check out the cool {free!} handwriting fonts at fonts for peas. i used pea sugar noodles.

grace

i’ve never told you this {probably because i figured you’d stop reading right away}, but i consider myself to be deeply spiritual. not the ring-the-doorbell-and-try-to-convert-you or the picket-carrying varieties–and i promise never to beat anyone with a bible–but spiritual even so. just not real vocal about it.

there was a time when i would have talked of god, but i’ve always struggled with conventional religion. most of us who were raised christian have an image of “the big guy” in our heads: he’s a dude, he’s white, he’s sittin’ on some clouds. and then there’s the word of god, which was unfortunately written down by fallible humans, again all dudes. {did you know there was bloodshed and fisticuffs at the first ecumenical council of 325, when the nicene creed was written?} and i can’t get behind the eye-for-an-eye half of the bible. plus i’ve never really gotten the whole trinity thing. {i mean i’m willing to believe in the possibility of cylons, but one being inhabiting three entities? i mean, come on, that’s sci-fi.}

nonetheless, i do feel that there is something greater out there, i just don’t know what it is. it’s a presence, a life force, a call for us to be our best selves. i call it grace.

grace has been present in my life and sometimes i feel it intensely, like the time i didn’t come forward for communion and the priest {female!} came over and gave me a blessing and i actually felt grace flow into me. {yep, that’s how & why i became an episcopalian. well, that plus our congregation was racially diverse and accepting of gay folk.} sometimes i feel grace in quiet moments, like in the warmth of a child falling asleep on my shoulder. a few times i’ve tapped into it while doing yoga. sometimes it’s not such an intense feeling, but looking back, there it is: the grace that sustained me for the few years that i was a social worker; the chance meeting of someone who would end up having a profound impact on my life; the encouragement of loved ones to pursue a non-traditional career path.

it always brings tears to my eyes, and i guess that’s how i know it’s there. you could tell me that i’m just experiencing the release of a neurochemical. you could call me silly. you could beat me at rock paper scissors. but you won’t change my mind.

grace is all around us {even though it’s sometimes hard to feel}. do you know what i’m talking about? i’d love to hear your thoughts.

uncanny

my happy home colors

i just took the homegoods stylescope {which asks you 10 questions to determine your style} and look what it came up with! i’m an ‘elegant classic’ and those cheery colors are my happy home colors. funny…i see my living room, my dining room, and garage door in there! the best part is that the quiz said: “you go for things with a timeless appeal, and appreciate old-fashioned virtues like manners and handwritten notes and making a home that is welcoming for others.” omigosh, yes!

on an unfortunate note, it said that my design challenge is organization. um, yeah, that part’s true, too.

if you take the quiz, let me know what you turned up!

goody goody gumdrop necklaces!

looking for something fun for summer? how about a fun necklace?! goody goody gumdrop necklaces come in seven juicy colors, so there’s one for everyone. {or everyday.} they come strung on my signature sterling silver cable chain with a secure lobster clasp closure. each one measures 18 inches in length, but just let me know if you want it longer {or shorter} and i’ll be happy to make one just the right size for you.

goody goody colors

goody goody gumdrops in coral

 

goody goody gumdrops in sunshine

goody goody gumdrops in seafoam

goody goody gumdrops in lagoon

goody goody gumdrops in sky

goody goody gumdrops in water

goody goody gumdrops in dolphin

don’t worry, i won’t tell if you wear it after labor day!

key to my heart necklaces

key to my heart necklace in silver

new to my etsy store: key to my heart necklaces in sterling silver & bronze and gold-fill. that’s right, i’m bringing gold and bronze to my store because of special requests! {you’re welcome lisa} look for more bronze and gold to come.

each necklace has an antiqued key at the center and a little heart charm that i’ve attached near the lobster clasp closure. the chain for each is my signature delicate cable chain that i love so much {sterling silver or gold-fill}. i’ve made them 18 inches in length, but will happily make them shorter or longer based on your preference.

key to my heart necklace in bronze

perfect for everyday wear for you, your best friend, or the love of your life. hope ya like em!

sew funky marketplace

hello there! i am happy to report success at my first ever show! not only did i meet my sales goal at the sew funky marketplace, i also met lots of cool crafters and had lots of fun. my display came out great {even though my backdrop was a little wonky–i learned that i need to use the heftier pvc pipe!} and i wanted to take you on a virtual tour, in case you were unable to make it. look for some of these newer items in the store soon!

there were so many other inspiring ideas and great crafts, too. check out henneman’s photography’s photos of the whole event. i didn’t have time to walk around and take pictures {& i think hers are way better anyway}!

piles of stuff ready to go to sew funky market

the whole shebang

rings and things

check out that cute necklace tree

a tower of necklaces

earrings all carded up

a close-up of one of my diy tiered tray

i like how the printer's tray turned out!

all those boxes!

a close-up of one of my signs

goody goody gumdrop necklaces

check out the rest at henneman's photography

getting excited!

who doesn't need a turntable pillow? from theleef.

it’s a little too late to worry, as tomorrow is the sew funky marketplace! not that lack of time ever stopped me. do i have too much stuff? have i made enough? will my display get put up in time? will anyone buy anything? what if i don’t have enough bags? what if, what if, what if?!

i wanted to share with you some of my personal faves of people coming to the market. i can’t wait to get my hands on these goodies! there are so many cool vendors coming. if you’re in the area, i hope you’ll stop by! as far as i know, this is the first crafts market of its kind here in riverside, and i’m super excited to be participating in the very first one. i hope there will be many, many more! i love meeting other crafters and seeing their beautiful creations.

just click on the link to get more info on these cuties. better yet, stop by the market and pick on up! we’ll be there from 9:30 am to 3 pm at the Riverside Marriott!

how about this cute marvin the whale softy from JaneeLookerse?!

pretty soaps from ThreeLuckyDucks

i solemnly swear i am up to no good bracelet by foxwise

genius body bib by ayokletjessup {with mushrooms!}

and i may have to go home with some felt from BobbySoxie!

four more days to go!

i'm focused on the finish

what’s funnier than watching basset hounds run? mmm…nothing, really. thanks to the hubby for sharing this hysterical round up. in the mix i found the above picture, which reminds me a bit of how i feel right now. super excited, somewhat insane, and all over the place. only four more days to prepare for my very first craft show ever {the sew funky marketplace at the riverside marriot this saturday, july 9 from 9:30 to 3}. if you’re local, i hope to see you there!

i promise to look more put together once everything’s all set up.

happy fourth!

statue of liberty by viaje mais magazine // via inspire me now

happy fourth of july! i hope you’re doing something wonderful to celebrate the day. last year at this time, i was painting our brand new living room all by myself {the hubby was out of town}. this year, i’m enjoying sitting in our finished living room, with the a/c on {it’s 104 here} and the future promise of barbecue chicken, my homemade barbecue/steak sauce, corn, some yummy veggies from our csa box, and frosty drinks with friends. mmm…frosty drinks! what are you doing for this lovely summer day?

the garage: before and after

woah baby, did our garage look run down and skanky when we first met.

yikes {before}

i hated the electrical conduit running across the overhead beam, so those came down tout suite, as did the star jasmine vine. we put on a new roof and finally got around to painting the durn thing, which actually involved tons of prep work before we could share the final result {which is fabulous, if i may say so myself. it makes my heart happy just to look at it}.

yay! {after}

you’ll notice we still have the scuzzy table we “inherited”, but like i said, there’s still a lot to do. i’m putting this one down in the how-to-turn-an-eyesore-into-a-focal-point file.