ready for summer parties

Happy Monday! I come bearing a small gift for everyone. The kids have been invited to some birthday parties throughout the summer so I thought I'd share the gift tags/cards that we're using to accompany our gifts. You'll find the download here. Enjoy!



Have a great week!

making progress

This afternoon you'll probably find me by the pool and enjoying some Pandora tunes and a magazine or a good book - after I'm done making my poor abandoned house look decent. At least that's the plan for now. I just know that I need to get away from my work for a bit because I just finished my manuscript (woohoo!) and the tremendous weight that has been lifted off my shoulders is huge. Huge! It's not the last I'll see of it for sure (more editing to come) but at least I've made it over this hurdle. My presence will still be a bit scarce because now I have to tackle the photography of the projects but I find that less stressful to manage. I can't believe the whole thing is finally coming together. Sometimes it still doesn't seem real.

So now that you're caught up with that here are some friday tidbits and thank yous...

- Thank you to the very talented Stephanie for inviting me to be a part of her series of interviews of artists that blog. It was fun to answer her questions and I was so honored to be included. Check out my interview here.  I can't wait to get the piece I just bought from her shop to add to a little reading corner in our home.



- I just found out about this yesterday and I love it! I made an icon for my website so that iPhone users can add it to their home screens if they'd like. Even if no one uses it, I'm thoroughly enjoying it myself. Isn't it cute? The logo I uploaded is the one you see in the upper right hand corner. The iPhone automatically added the rounded corners and the 'shiny' effect to the top half of the image. You can find all the instructions on how to make your own icon here. It's very easy and quick to do! (via The Small Object)

- The Austin MakerFaire preparations are underway and here I am (oct 2007) in the post where they've made the announcement. Thanks Natalie! I hope to go again because we all had a great time last year.

- Belated thank yous to Cookie Magazine and Heather for posting my alphabet mat boards!

While I'm at it, thank you so much for all your kind comments about my bootie. How unexpected! The funny thing is that I look at it now and I wish I had made something like that when our little C was a baby. I have plans to make something else for her though. I've decided that sewing is definitely something I want to get better at.

And if I forgot anyone or anything else please forgive me. My brain is on 'pause' right now. Have a great weekend!

I just love linen

I just finished this a few minutes ago. I made it for fun - for this. The design popped into my head as soon as I read about the contest several weeks ago. I'm happy because it came out exactly as I imagined it. Unfortunately, I doubt one bootie will get me very far in the contest but that's ok. I also made it to get away from what I'm really supposed to be working on. This is one of those side projects I jump into to give my mind a mental cartwheel. After this little break I'm hoping it will be easier to concentrate on the real task at hand.

And yes, I'm still on my internet hiatus - ha! As you can tell, I'm not being as good as I could be but I'm working on it.

See you next week!

Edit :: If you also like working with linen I just created a made with linen flickr group. Come join us here.

I'm this week's Craft Sanity sponsor. Of course, I plan this when my wall art, which is what I receive the most requests for, is at an all time low (one piece left). I guess that'll have to do for now. I love Jennifer's podcast because of her laid back interview style and because of everything we learn about her guests. I rarely listen to her show without some project or other in my hands. If you're curious check it out here.

crafty tuesday

The crafting department on this blog is picking up some dust isn't it? All my 'creative' time has been focused on the how-tos for the book. Trust me, by the time I'm done I'll be able to convert any measurement from inches to centimeters. Why oh why are there two systems? To be perfectly honest, I've lived with both and I have to say that I do prefer the metric system. It just makes more sense. But you didn't hear that from me!



If you're in need of a crafty project and are a planner I did manage to squeak out the new 2009 Calendar. I've had several customers ask me for the new template so they can start on Christmas gifts. I admire their ability to plan that far ahead. I can't even fathom doing that at this point. I don't even know what we're going to eat for dinner tonight (not kidding). In any case, without further ado here is the new template in my shop.

Remember that this project is meant to be a semi-recycling idea. The card stock to print the months on may not be on hand but most of us certainly have scraps of fabric or colorful paper to use for each of the letters of the months. Have fun with it!



The summer does have it's good things doesn't it? Among them is having the perfect weather to leave everything behind, even if it's just for one day, to get recharged at the beach. Here is where we were on Saturday (only an hour and a half away). I'm still suffering the consequences of burned shoulders. I'm the mom that goes around checking everyone for sunscreen and even applying double doses but forgets about her own susceptible body parts. Yeah, (trying to raise hand) that's me!



I'm actually cheating by being here. I'm supposed to be on a self-imposed internet one-week (maybe two) blackout. No news, no blogs, no Flickr, no anything. Nada. Zero. Zilch. I've cheated a little here and there but in general I've been good. There's too much to do and the exodus is actually helping me. We'll see how long I can keep it up. Wish me luck!

I hope that you're all doing well!