No really, it's cake day! Get silly, bake billions of glorious cupcakes, organise your cake making tools, treat yourself to a gorgeous palette of food dyes, let the kids decorate a sandwich cake with all the daft candy they want to, make carrot cake for breakfast, show your creations on your blog, or bake your Christmas cake and get a head start on the soaking process...Have fun!
Yesterday was the best day the kids and I have had in a very long time. We all got along, no yelling (well maybe over phonics, just once) and NO tears! A banner day. We did school, we played games, and we drew for hours.
My CH (cute hubby) could not come home until after bedtime and I refused to have the kids just watching TV alone so I took the night off. Yah, I was so burnt out from my sewing-palloza of a weekend. So I broke out the new chalk markers and the chalk cloth.
Just look at the scribble and splat mat, there is barely an inch not used. We are in love with the new chalk markers!!! Even Aidan the one that hates to write or draw jumped right in. In fact is is so rare of him to draw, I cherish every scrape of paper he touches! I am ssssoooo using this for school work. I think I have to give the Occupational Therapist a mat and a marker for others that find it challenging to use those sweet little hands!
Once we had exhausted the day, we all piled up into my bed in our jammies and started reading Little House in the Big Woods (again). We read first 4 Little House books to Maddie when she was in first grade, she was in a Little House Book Club (wow that seems like a million years ago) and now she wants to read them herself! love that!
I wish everyday was like yesterday all hugs, laughter and little work! My parents had two full time jobs and little time with us, I just see myself repeating that! I know it sounds like I am ungrateful for being swamped, (when you are a stay at home mamma being swamped is a mixed blessing) but I am just missing me kids on those busy days, thats all! At least this year I have a lot more helpers, and for that I am endlessly grateful!!!
Life is a lesson in balancing what is needed and important. I feel like I am learning everyday!
What great stuff chalk cloth is! I am totally in love with it and all that I have made with it. I just realized that between the two shops I have gone through 18 yards in 13 days! That is just amazing to me! The most popular item that we make out of chalk cloth are the chargers, 19 sold and 5 given away as gifts. The bad thing is that at this point I am going to have to start taking orders, good news is a new bolt is on route and all orders will go out on December 3rd.
I got some cool new markers for the chalk cloth you can use them on the chalk cloth and they don't smear like chalk. I had to get them for a Richmond Craft Mafia - Handmade Holiday project and could not resist getting a few extra for my upcoming shows. I have white, red, orange, yellow, green, blue chalk markers-- a rainbow of creative goodness! I'll see if I have enough to sell at Modern June and at Oilcloth Addict later!
If you haven't done so already please sign up for the Modern June newsletter! We have the first issue is in the works now and I want you all to see it! I promise that there will be lots of good stuff with in, not to mention a coupon too!
Ok, I have to show you this shop Cupcake Wrapture! I am sending this woman an apron and after looking at her shop I knew I had to share! Lisa..."realized that all those pretty cupcake liners refused to stay pretty once an actual cupcake was baked inside them.
Desperate for some stylish togs for her fashion conscious cupcake friends, Lisa reached for the scissors and paper and voila! Cupcake Wrapture was born."
It is 5 am and I need to get working, I need to whip out two cupcake aprons, a size two childs apron, and 5 tree skirts for the morning mail. Is is any surprise that I am stalling? Look what I found while trolling etsy for a bit, this is something I love!
We need a few good volunteers! Volunteers will do things like help vendors unload/load their cars, help shoppers find their way around, pass out show maps, and generally keep things running smoothly. You can stay for part of the day or all day long. Volunteers get a free admittance to the Ticketed Preview Party on Friday night and our never-ending love and affection.
Friday Volunteers are needed to help folks unload and setup in the afternoon, between 4pm and 7pm. We will have a large number of vendors trying to get into a somewhat car-challenged space, and need some active, afternoon helpers to keep things moving.
Friday Show Volunteers are needed from 7pm - 10pm to assist customers and generally keep things running smoothly.
Saturday Show Volunteers are needed to assist in shifts, from 7pm - 10pm. we will need assistance with customers and generally keep things running smoothly. First shift will commence 9:30 am.
Take-Down Volunteers are needed from 4:30 to 6pm, to help vendors pack up and clean up the facility.
Here are four paper items that I have loads of luv for!
Aren't these totally cool and oh so Modern June. They are perfect! zou zou's basement makes great greeting cards and much much more!
Banners, you know I love me some banners! These will be great for those times someone is sending a Modern June goodie straight to a friend! I love to gift wrap and having the perfect card to key!
Paper craft is one of my families most entertaining thing to do, we like to listen to an audio book and cut and create! These are from paper box. I can't wait to my a my own mini-obama-fig, yah for change!
And this little piece of magazine love is tucked away for my next day off! I am going to curl up with a nice cup of coco, my Grr's crazy quilt and read this from cover to cover on Thanksgiving day. The December issue is my favorite one of the year, well, maybe the Halloween issues ties with the Christmas issue! Oh, I wish it were Turkey day today!
Look at this wonderful order, Melissa from furtub.com has a great 1950's home that she is looking to decorate up with some retro Christmas stockings and I am the lucky one to set her up with that! This is the part of my job that i love the most. The memory making part. Her family is going to have these hanging year after year. When her family sees them in 10 years from now they will be reminded of holiday gone by. Ok, enough sappy nonsense!
furtub.com is a great place to shop for unique gifts for the upcoming holidays. My picks... the Record Bowls and the Holiday Peacock Tree Set. Modern June will soon be offered at the sister store weeTUB.com, more on that later! But for now you have to check out all the cool wry baby stuff on the site!
Yep, my mental to do list for the winter has long begun, so now it is time to get it written down...
LIFE 1) work on the 1000 piece puzzle again. 2) hang out with my kids A LOT MORE (this=sewing less) 3) find 30 minutes to cover up my gray hair. 4) take yoga classes (and not just one) 5) take kids to pool on Thursday afternoons 6) start dating again...my husband of course...silly people! : ) 7) start doing family game night again, BOARD GAMES ONLY! 8) start taking bubble baths again! 9) have more on my life list than my work list... i.e. get a life : )
WORK 1) send out a newsletter 2) redo my flikr site 3) redo my blog roll 4) go back and leave hundreds of wonderful feed back for all my great customers! 5) finally get someone ( I am not mentioning names, honey) to finally get ModernJune.com PRETTY 6) look into more wholesale at brick and mortar boutiques. 7) check into have that store on Paterson and Libby that has all the cool stores in a store. Always dreaming! 8) look into simplifying shipping, check in to UPS??? 9) get new tags, and finally get Modern June labels. 10) buy a proper dress form 11) go to the gift market in Atlanta, just to check it out! Someday I will take Modern June to market, in the mean time I would like to see what it feels like at a big market. I need to see it first. 12) Pare down my products. 13) re-work the art smock! It is my only product that is not my own pattern and to be honest that really bugs me! I have an idea brewing! 14) re-do photos for oilcloth addict.
Grateful Eight giveaway update... I will have the kids pick a winner on Monday so please leave us a comment and you can be both grateful and hopeful to win a Modern June Holiday Banner! P.S. I have been stalling while we make up another round of banners. We sold out of the first batch. But this just gives you all another chance to enter!
Sorry to have totally MIA, but this has been the week from hell. Lot's and lot's of sewing, loads of local shop deliveries (Feathernesters, Strawberry Fields and Nicola Floral) and one fun little show. Wait till I show you what I got! Fun greeting cards for Modern June and two necklaces for Maddie's Christmas.
Today I was so in so much pain, (my neck and right hand hate me) I took off and went to see my beloved chiropractor. Dr. Jo said she could save time by writing down what was good with my back! Now that is bad!!! The kids and I went and did some errands and I planned to surprise them with an afternoon at the movies, their treat for dealing with my heavy work schedule, but I was so tired that I was afraid I couldn't drive home safely. When home I snuggled in for a 4 hour nap. Man those kids we good. they only woke me up 5 times. : )
I will ready to kick it again tomorrow with my renewed back, hand and attitude! I am now so horrible far behind of orders that the 4 hour nap will soon be needed again.
The above photos are a few of the goodies that I listed this week. If you need something grab it fast, I have sold 4 of the retro oilcloth tree skirts in 2 days. I am sorry if I sound like I am boasting but really I am just so proud of them, they are just so fun and festive.
I would really like to thank my wonderful TEAM JUNE for all their hard work. You gals are kicking it hard and I am so grateful for every stitch and cut you all do. I could not stay sane with out you all.
This week is totally insane! I have a show on Thursday and two shops to stock on Wednesday and a third shop on Friday. Mental note beware of the second week of November from now on. So this weekend I had to kick it hard. Suzanne will be sending out 14 packages in todays mail, I think that is a record number even for a Monday!
Look what I found at my sewing machine yesterday! Chocolate and a love note, I love my cute hubby! Just what I needed! thanks husband!
Ya'll probably already know this by now but just in case you don't Sew Mama Sew is having a sale! Here are the goodies that I am getting! I love that shop!
I am getting a little something to support my Heather Bailey craft crush. A while back I read that she was teaching a class for these cool pincushions. I fell for them at once! I was thrilled when Kirsten, the cool Mama behind Sew Mama Sew, had this pattern featured in her newsletter!
And some fun fabric to play with next year! I love a good toadstool. I think it's the polka dots that get me. Plus they remind me of my favorite scene from Alice and Wonderland. Man that movie totally freaked me out as a kid.
Go on now, go and see what goodies you might find!
OMG, I AM TOTALLY SLAMMED! Life is so busy isn't it? Between the kids hating school with a vengeance (STRESS) and a show and two wholesale orders next week I am dying! I was so tired yesterday that I had to take a nap while our son was in occupation therapy for an hour. Maddie sat there torturing me! Calgon take me away!
And I forgot to list a "product of the day" yesterday so today we get to have two! LOVE THEM! Here is what the kids did with the Chalk Cloth Runner for our Halloween gathering. I have to say this chalk cloth is rockin'!
Check out the new chalk cloth chargers-centerpiece-placemat! I am totally in love with the possibilities! It makes me want to have 40 parties just so I can play with them! Just think about it dinner parties, buffets, kids birthday parties. Fun stuff.
Use this as a centerpiece to mark you wine selection. Things look great in threes this would be wonderful lined up on a buffet table...one for wine, another for cheese, and the third for sweeties.
I can't wait to use them a silly chargers (BIG placemat). You could put everyones name on them and use it as a place card, then after dinner give your guests a pack of multi colored chalk and watch out for the after dinner fun!
Remember order today's "Product of the day" and receive a free gift! Hey, a charger makes a great free gift! hmmmmm...... I'm always thinking!
Last night I took my Maddie to her first big concert, The Cheetah Girls! We had a blast, and I mean we, I too am a fan of those rocking girls. My Girlie Girl is growing up. Too much scary fun! Husband scored us nice seats, stage left second level--we could see wardrobe, hair and make up come and go. And, we got a sneak peak at Keily checking out her mike before the show. I am sure my hearing is permanently damaged from my screaming child.
... 800 that is. I am grateful for 800 sales! Today I reached my 800th sale and I am in total in shock! How did that happen? To celebrate, I want to host a give-away! Tell me something that you are grateful for and you will be entered to win a free Oilcloth Christmas Banner. Why the banner? Because the 800th sale was a Holiday Banner! So get thankful and enter today!
I totally forgot all about this. Thank goodness Suzanne reminded me this morning!
So here's the plan...
November's craft lounge will be this Monday, from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, at Fleur Fabric Boutique. Since the holiday season is fast approaching we're getting a jump on handmade holiday cards (greeting cards, invitations, place cards, etc.). Techniques on how to incorporate fabric, yarn, and ribbon to your cards with fusible webbing and even sewing will be discussed and demonstrated. I'm into recycling last years cards into new cards to give away this year, and looking for more ideas--so if upcycling is your thing, come out and swap ideas!
As always, you are welcome to bring whatever you want to work on if card making isn't your thing. Bring your goods and we'll see you tomorrow!
Originally posted by Dawn Anderson at the Craft Lounge Blog!
Yep, you heard me, today is Housewife Day! I consider myself a housewife and happily so. I think in this day and age it is an honor to be at home all day. Now, I might like to be in my home alone part of that day, but that is not the point! Staying at home was a choice, as was schooling at home and working at home. I am a home body, I admit it. I really would dread having to be gone all day--everyday.
Here is little note I received from my newest yahoo group, The Brocante Home!
Ladies today is Housewife's Day and no, I didn't make it up although I really rather wish I had!!
Today is the day to celebrate all things housewifely... to buy yourself a new pinny, bake yourself a Happy Housewife Day cake, wear a tiara when you serve dinner, take a photograph of your kitchen at it's sparkly best or serve yourself a Bloody Mary for elevenses... it's your day, do whatever it is that makes you smile!
For more good reading about this most special day, check out what a google search turned up on the subject! Happy housewife day to you all. I believe we all have a little June Cleaver in us, so go bake a pie!
Note to self: I have to figure out what "elevenses" means. If I am supposed to be drinking, then I need to know about this! : )
Aren't they pretty? I am so in love with this collection! I really think it is something special. They are lots of hard work but totally worth it! The elves and I are up to the job!
In the spirit of National Blog Posting Month not only am I going to blog daily, I am also going to list a new Modern June "product every day!"
Honestly, this is really to motivate myself to get all my finished items listed. I have mentioned before that I often make something and never list it. Now, this is not such a horrible thing since I supply several local shops with Modern June goodies, plus I have lots of indie craft shows that I attend as well. It is nice to have new things for them, things you can not find in my on-line shop. But, I'm not doing a ton of shows this season since the Etsy shop is going great guns, and unfortunatel,y I just cannot spare all my Saturdays. On-line success has its down side.--I will really miss all those great shows and meeting all the people that come out and support buying handmade here in Richmond, Washington D. C. and Baltimore.
Every day I will post something to my blog, and then share my new stuff with you. At the end of the month I hope to have everything listed, just in time for the holiday rush! So come on back and check out the new goodies! There is a photo the today's PRODUCT OF THE DAY in the side bar. I will also archive each one here with a link. At the end of the month we will have a little give-away with this feature and this post.
