abby try again

break, what break?

I know I said I was on a break-and I am!
I was just feeling all nostalgic and christmas-y and such and I just wanted to share some of my flickr favorites with you-not that it matters-but I just wanted to give out a little visual treat!
Hope you are having a great holiday-hugs to all!
1. the coolest wrapping ever

2. the prettiest christmas lights

3. making an old wreath look new

4. the most beautiful cards

5. an owl companion

6. wise men

7. thinking about calendars

8. getting ready for new year's eve

9. a very fun present

10. a cool winter craft

Happy holidays!

break time

Well, my sister-in-law had her baby and it is healthy and happy! Congratulations to she and my brother-i cannot wait to come home and see him in January!
   There's a lot going on right now so a little break is in order. I'll still post some photos and haunt around flickr-but I need to figure some things out and be with family right now. Sorry if a comment or email is unanswered-just need some "me" time! I also have about 30 things to mail which will slowly be done....
thanks to all for your support and a very happy holidays to you!

testing...

Thanks for the great responses I recieved to the last post-wow! I really didn't think that I would recieve so many but I really do appriciate them. I love the support here. I also want to point out the fact that I have no kids, live close to work, and I've made my life so that shopping and friends are within walking distance. I realize that many of you have kids, live in a rural area or the suburbs or are just not around the same types of places we have here in Portland. My life right now is very easy compared to a lot of you and I just want to put it out there that I am not trying to scold anyone for shopping or not shopping somewhere-just venting my own feelings and trying to figure out a way to live my life (not that anyone suggested that, just that I felt a little preachy when I went back to reread what I wrote).  I cannot imagine how much harder my life will be with kids and all that comes with it. Anyway....

   So I found a link to a tutorial on making matchbook notebooks via craftlog. Well, I am not one for measuring and properly following directions. I took some cardstock that I use as my "testing" paper when I am stamping cards and made a little notebook. I used old papers I had to fill the inside and I sewed it together instead of stapling it because I currently had no staples.

It was really fun and I really like to sew on paper. I've done it before and really I think I will make some better looking ones-less chaotic you know?

I think I am going to try different shapes-long ones maybe? And with cuter designs-after all this one was just a test. By the way-my ahop is closed after today. I will reopen it in January or Febraury-after I figure a bunch of stuff out. So if you want anything-let me know now!

Thanks----

on eating local and buying american

So...
this is so not crafty-so if that is what you are looking for, sorry.
Well, the whole eating local thing is going well. There is an amazing store here that has this intense website.  It is so cool because the products that are from Oregon, Northern California and Southern Washington have special local markers. I look to see if there is anything local on sale-and put those things in my virtual cart. Then I look at the produce section and add local things in my cart. Then I see what kinds of dishes I can make from the sale items and in season produce. I delete any unnecessary items from the virtual cart, peruse my pantry and add any other items I may need and then print out the list. This way-I know exactly what I am getting, I know exactly what I am spending, it is organized (all the dairy items together, etc), and I minimize the amount of wasted food because I have a planned out menu! I am so happy about this. Let me tell you, I am usually not a very organized person.
    Last night we had homemade pizza with local cheese, onions, and cremini mushrooms with a side of garlicky swiss chard. And it was cheap because the stuff was local! My favorite part about this eating local business is the fact that we buy our milk in a glass bottle from a local dairy and then we return it and it gets refilled-just like in "the good ol' days".  This is important to me because it often uses more time, energy and money to recycle something than to just plain re-use something.
    I watched the Frontline about Wal-Mart last night ( you can watch it here online). It just really makes me sad that American manufacturers are being shut down and jobs are being sent by thousands overseas where labor laws aren't exactly fair. I would much rather buy clothing from American companies like this one. You know, it is really not just WalMart-it's Target, Kmart, BestBuy an all of those other "Big Box" stores that are popping up in strip malls across the nation. These companies spends millions targeting us, too! Females 18-45 years of age are a huge market for these places-I just love Target advertisements and I must remind myself that they spent millions studying brains of my peers-that's why! You know-that is just not okay with me. I will not let myself be roped into that. I am smarter than that and saving money isn't worth giving up my beliefs. Anyway, I buy too much junk as it is. Do we really need more junk?
    You know, it is really sad when you are traveling and every town looks the same-oh there's the Olive Garden/Target/PetsMart/Chili's/Starbucks strip mall. Mearles, a most awesome diner in my hometown was the place to have ice cream, a first date, a birthday party, etc. Locally owned and operated since the 1950's it was adorable with its bright yellow booths and salty waitresses. After the recent invasion of a giant strip mall that included said restaurants above Mearle's just couldn't make it anymore. How sad is that? The one cool place left in town has been shut down because they just couldn't compete. Let's not let this happen!
   I am vowing here and now-not that it matters to anyone but myself-but I am pledging to support local business. I am pledging to support handmade business, too. I rarely go to these giant conglomerates-but now-I will never go again. That's right-never. It is not okay to me. I can get that shower curtain from the local hardware store-that cute Issac Mizrahi stuff is not as cute as stuff I can find at the thrift store. Yes, no more target,  Wal-mart,  or kmart for me.

Summary of some busy days...

****Stringing cranberries while halfway watching The DaVinnci Code (boring!)***
****Receiving great mail, including a lovely package from Hildy with these ornaments****

****writing, writing, writing and mailing, mailing, mailing!****
****buying local foods and planning a menu for the week (super proud of this)****
****wanting to answer comments and emails from you all-maybe today?****
****working, working, working****

****hanging lights in strange places****
Thank you for all the kind words about the stamped t-shirts and onesies. I am going to take a shop break starting next week and do some re-evaluating. I just received my wholesale account info from American Apparel so stay tuned for shirts, hoodies, onesies, and more in the future-thanks! Hope your holiday season is going well:)

I've been productive-whoo hoo!

    I've made a to do list and definitely checked it more than twice-and I am actually getting things done! Ya for me! Of course, the recent computer issues we were having may have helped, too. I am so productive when I am forced off the computer and TV is not an option (which for me-daytime TV is about as appealing as being shot). 
         I finished my button wreath and the above photo is all I have because we got nooo light today to take pictures with.  It was a lot of fun and I plan on making more. Man,  glue guns are awesome! It's been a while since I used one-but wow-fun. You should try this little craft if you are bored and have a lot of buttons....

    The mailwoman's dropped off some wonderful loot around here lately including these rad vintage stamps from Molly (thank you sooo much!) and a packet of goodies and ephemera from Lisa. Included in the pack was this little note of someone's French lesson in 1954! How cool!

    I also packed up 15 orders today-whew! Thanks to all of you who ordered stuff from me this weekend-it really did help. Also, if you'd ever like something and don't want to deal with etsy-that is cool, feel free to drop me an email. I just want to put that out there because I've had a few orders off of etsy and they seem to work better for some.
     I've been trying to think of some creative gifts for the holidays-ways to use my stamps that aren't cards and I came of with a few. I tried it on some onsies and a t-shirt and I love the results. I need to play around with color and inks-I just used an old shirt and the cheapest onsies I could find-but I think these could evolve into something really cool. I am excited!

    And because this post is full of randomness like always-I am thinking about  eating local for a week. That sounds dumb-let me explain-these people ate food that was grown or raised within a hundred miles of their home for one year. There are several reasons for this, and you can go to that link and read about why. I am thinking about doing it for a week or so and then evaluating from there. I think in Portland it is completely do-able and easier than it would be a lot of other places. I feel at this holiday season when we are urged to consume, overspend, and overeat it is important to stop your self from doing so. We took a large step of getting rid of our car-we need to do more! Anyway.....just got me thinking....

Shameless self promotion-sorry guys! and a WIP

I've been ripping my old buttons off their cards, making piles in hopes that I will have enough to make one of these beautiful darlings. Gees-this Stephanie needs her own magazine I tell you what! I am excited about Christmas-I've got a few decorations up. Since I am so young and never really had a yearning for my own tree (at least not in my adult life) James and will pretty much be starting from scratch ornament wise. Any suggestions for cheap decorations?

I am going to have some strung up cranberries-they were on sale at work- and I have some dot garland-but any other ideas?

Have you been reading Shari's handmade gift guide-soooo good! She featured me and I was so proud to be in there. Thanks Shari. I think you should read the interviews because they are really sweet and give you an inside peek into how other women create.

Now-some horrible promotion. I am having a sale on reindeer, glasses, and umbrella cards-a big one-click here to shop! It is just for today and tomorrow-I am really hoping to make a few dollars more to buy James a certain surprise! So-they are deeply discounted for you-and I think I will pull the reindeer next week so if you need certain cards or tags-now would be the time to let me know!

Thanks for helping a girl out!