Busy Bees

We have been busy little bees around our house: painting, creating posters, making crayons, ...the list goes on and on.

CedarTown

Friday, November 6

Saturday, November 7

Don't forget that CedarTown is next weekend. I will have my kid's Christmas shirts there, ornaments, painted plastic, zebra ornaments, and lots more. There will be some CedarTown specials, so drop by if you are in Ruston.

Still Working

I am not sure the t-shirt is meant to be this year. I just can't seem to get it together. Here are the designs I decided on: the original and the colors I picked. Keep your fingers crossed, and we will see what happens.

Etsy Trade Frenzy

I just got introduced to a new side of etsy--trade frenzy. For 12 hours, the traders get on and trade their "goods." I waited to be approached mostly, because it hurts a little to be told no. I traded some of my ornaments for a few things. I got Mattie Claire a pretty pair of earrings from http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7540731 The story behind these earrings is great.

I also got some great crocheted dish cloths too. I hope to get more good stuff tonight!!

Happy Halloween

Had to be fair and get some pirate pictures too; she is making her "arggg" face. The pirate costume isn't quite finished, but she loves it. We will make a little hat or hair piece before next weekend. Here are a couple of my favorite clown pictures. Happy Halloween!

What's Up?

I know it's been a while since I posted, but there is a lot going on. We can start with the good news that Mattie Claire had a great report card. She was very proud of her two A's. I hope that stays important to her as she gets older. I always feel like she is playing catch up, but she does so well. We got the news Wednesday that she will be having another eye surgery in about three weeks. She was upset, because we told her the last surgery would be the last... She said she wasn't going, but a new doll and MP3 player made it all better:-) No, I am not too good to bribe!

Molly is doing well and in LOVE with Dordor (Dora). It's amazing how she can zero in on the only Dora item in a store. She will be a clown for Halloween, and we took some pictures today. I will try to get up here and post some tonight or this week. She's not in love with that nose, but she is the CUTEST clown I have ever seen.

CedarTown is only two weeks away. I am getting nervous about doing it alone, but I will just pray that it is worthwhile. I have some cute things that I am saving to sell there. The leftovers will be at the Winnfield open house the following week.

Etsy

I think Mr. Peacock is my favorite!!

Etsy has been such a blessing to me. I have met some of the nicest and most talented people. Several weeks ago, I was contacted about being part of an ornament exchange. Of course, I said yes and let it slip my mind. I was recently contacted by the artists I will be trading with. One of them makes the cutest little polymer creations added to glass balls. Her creations are adorable and very reasonably priced. I included a few pictures of my favorites. I can't wait to get them in. I have included a link, so you can check her out!

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6346000

Do You Remember?

Do you remember when we were in elementary school, and we wore those elegant hot pink plastic charm necklaces?? You could add big bulky charms to your necklace; they seemed way cooler back in the day. I had the bottle, so I love the picture above. You can purchase this vintage necklace at:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=29460109

I think they are back. I have found Lucky BeeBee charms, and I know Mattie Claire will LOVE them. I think she will get some in her Halloween gift. They are at WalMart, Target, and ToysRUs. The prices aren't bad, and some of the charms have a little extra--open the cupcake to see a little mouse or open the nesting doll to reveal two more dolls. I got her a necklace and backpack charm holder with a total of five charms for about $20, not too bad considering what some of her collections cost!

Sock Monkey Shirts

I just made another etsy purchase--trying to get ready for Cedartown! This time from

Chic Baby Rose.

She has the cutest stuff I have ever seen. I got a couple of these shirts to put at the Pea Patch and some of her precious Halloween clips. I feel Molly's birthday theme coming together! I only got two, so give me a call if you want me to save you one. Check out her shop at

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5331741

Halloween Totes

Remember Amie? She won my last giveaway. She had already placed her Halloween order, and they are ready to ship. I thought I would share a few of her totes. I also threw in some Halloween goodies. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers this week; she is having her first little girl on Thursday!

Cowgirl Pumpkin

I promised in a earlier post you would be introduced to Henrietta, well here she is! Mattie Claire and I spent a couple of weeks staying after school creating Henrietta together. Lots of school people roll their eyes, because Mattie Claire couldn't have created her entry alone. I would just like to say that we had a lot of fun working "together" to create her pumpkin! With a second child, I think she sometimes misses out on time with just me.

How did we do it? First, the pumpkin is fake, so it wasn't heavy and was easy to work with. The legs are styrofoam cones covered in model magic and attached using paper clips. The head is a large styrofoam ball again covered in model magic. The hardest part was the hair. Yes, each strand of yarn is attached to her head! The hair was then braided and ribbons added to the ends. The hat is a molded styrofoam ball, molded and cover with...you guessed it--model magic. My favorite detail was the belt buckle. I made an oval of model magic and added balls around the edge, then sculpted a horse head. The whole buckle was painted silver with a little glitter added. Let me know if you need more specific instructions to make a cowgirl of your own.

Mattie Claire's creation won her first place in the school contest. The pumpkins were auctioned off at the Fall Festival. About half way home Friday night, she started crying. It finally hit her that Henrietta wasn't coming home with us. I eased the pain with promises of carving a pumpkin this weekend.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Pumpkin

Mattie Claire's class won third place with their caterpillar pumpkin. Each child brought a small pumpkin to class. We joined the pumpkins together using broken paperclips and glue. The joints were then covered with snakes of Model Magic--the best invention ever!! The extras were added using Model Magic and applied with paper clips. Each student got to paint a little green on the pumpkin, and they colored fruit with "holes," and the fruit was glued to the board under the caterpillar. I thought the creation was wonderful. They had a lot of fun and were proud of their creation!

FOUND!

I found some perfect clown leg warmers. Of course, they were on etsy. Check out seller:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5043139

I found these after I had bought some others, so I will have two pair. I guess Jana may need them for her costume! Can't wait--Molly is going to be adorable!!

HELP!

I need some clown like tights to match Molly's costume. I have looked all over etsy and a few other sites, but NO LUCK! Her tutu is the colors above. The tights I have found have pink, are missing red, black, ....nothing that I would call perfect. Does anyone have any suggestions??!! Thanks so much, Cyndi

Groovy Case

I am working on some party favors for a Groovy birthday party. She just had her room re-done and is having a slumber party with a groovy theme. Sounds like fun to me; here is a sample of the favors.

Go, Diego, Go!

Mattie Claire's "boyfriend" is having his birthday party tomorrow, and he is a big Diego fan. We just finished up his gift. We painted him a Diego bucket and filled with some Diego gear--flashlight, Diego puzzle, Diego Color Wonder, candy, candy, glow sticks, fruit roll ups, more candy--hope it is everything he needs for going on rescue missions.

I love the way these buckets look filled and wrapped in cellophane. It is the gift bag that you can re-use. I have done several lately as gifts; you just give your price range, and I fill for you. We can paint the bucket to match the invitation, costume, ...

International Sales

I don't have any pics to share today, but I have some news. I am now an international seller! Last week, I was contacted by a shop owner in the Dominican Republic. Her shop is a stop for cruise ships, and she wants to carry my buckets for the kids! I am sure you can guess how excited this request made me. I have been a little bummed lately by shoppers talking me down (way down) on my prices--really makes you feel like your work isn't worth much. This big sale to the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC was the boost my self-esteem needed! I will ship off her first batch tomorrow. I hope she likes them. She has promised to send pics of them in the store, so I will have to share them with you.

Coming this weekend, pictures of "Henrietta." You will just have to check back to find out who she is! Also, another easy Halloween craft. This one was created by our pre-K class, and they are cute, cute, cute!