MY WAY

I've been so busy reconfiguring my studio, I haven't been creating. Not good. I did, however, try making my version of a Pinterest item, the tee shirt necklace.  I added some wooden rings for interest.  Here's what it looks like.  I kind of like it.  No. I like it a lot.

Fun Junkin'

I've spent the last two days -- well, just part of each day -- junkin.

First, on Friday with BFF Ruth in Galveston. We made it to the Salvation Army thrift store, which is in the process of moving to another location, which means SALE. Then to the RCC (Resource Crisis Center) resale store on Tremont. We also made it to the RCC store in Texas City. It was on the way home, after all. We also enjoyed a yummy lunch at Millers on the Seawall. It was a lovely day. Beautiful weather and fun girl time. I found a couple of jackets and a top for me. But the best buys of all were the yellow suspenders which are printed like a measuring tape, which I will reinforce with a woven fabric or ribbon and use as purse handles; and an almost complete 18-yard roll of burlap trim for a mere 75 cents, also to be used as handles and trim on one or more of the jean purses that are in the works. I love bargains. Ruth made out like a bandit, too, with some jackets and a cute, cute tweed skirt.

Then on Saturday, off junkin' again with BFF Sue. We made the shops closer to home: the DAV (Disabled American Veterans) Thrift Store in Alvin, Carley's Resale (new on our beat) in Friendswood, Hope Village Thrift Shop in Friendswood and finally the RCC shop in League City.

At the DAV I found, of all things, a tan suede western fringed skirt for western days at the dance club and anywhere else I can dress cowgirl; also I scored a pair of purse handles for next to nothing. I love those buys. I bought jewelry at Carley's, a jacket at Hope Village and another jacket at RCC. Sue all but shopped 'til she dropped and went home with tons of goodies for herself and family and friends. Oooh. What a frugally fun day we had.

And laugh. I haven't laughed so much in ages. I didn't realize how much I had missed girl-time until I had megadoses of it this week. Besides all the junkin' with girlfriends, I enjoyed GNO (Girl's Night Out) with fourteen other women from St Christopher; we all dined together at the Olive Garden Friday night. My spirit is renewed. God certainly knew what he was doing when he improved on his creation and made women.

So, here's some good advice for you girls out there. If you're feeling down, lonely, just not your normal cheery self, treat yourself to a megadose of girl time. GNO can cure any number of ills.

Organized Chaos

I've been spending most of January reorganizing and cleaning out here in Oak Cloister Studio. The introduction of the 8-foot cabinet and its configuration with existing furniture pieces is only a part of the process. I've been cleaning out fabrics and clothing and linen items (purchased for the fabric). I've already sent four huge bags to the thrift shop as donations; and another huge bag, filled with yarn, went to a friend who knits nonstop.

I've just about finished with all the organizing and am on my way to creating once more. I've decided to work with like items; pant and skirt tops to be made into bags being the first of many projects. I have a stack of items pinned and ready to go to the sewing machine.  The next, and sometimes hardest step, will be to choose what fabrics to use for linings and what to use as purse handles.  Since each bag is one-of-a-kind, I have many combinations to decide on. That's one of the things that makes this endeavor of mine so much fun.

Upgrade

Wow. A month since I last posted.  Bad girl. Bad girl.

I bought myself a birthday present. An 8' cabinet for my studio. It's white. I topped it with an existing bookcase, a cabinet and a cubby. All are also white. It looks like a built-in. Much better than the hodgepodge I had before.  It feels good to add grown-up furniture to my space.  Here's some before, during and after shots.

Before - Such a hodgepodge.

During - well-made, solid wood

After.

Busy, Busy. Ho! Ho! Ho!

December has been such a busy month.  The 3rd was the AVA Shopping Extravaganza in Dickinson. Set up my display a bit differently this time.  It was more shopper friendly, and more attractive. Check out my new gift bags.

The 10th was Farmers Market at Clear Lake Shores. I'll be there again this Saturday, the 17th.  Changed up my display for FMCLS also.  Changed to bins and flat display. It looks really nice. One of my FM neighbors said it looked "very inviting."  It was cold, windy and cold. Brrrrrrrrrr. Made up a gift basket with a couple of produce bags and three MarkeTees with my signature recycle label on the front of each of them. It says, "Save a little plastic tree. Carry me. Yayamade." Cute, huh?

Come on out this Saturday to the Farmers Market at Clear Lake Shores and shop for Christmas and for the kitchen.

Time Flies

These last two weeks have whizzed by. Speed of time! Flying.

I've kept busy in the studio experimenting on my new felting machine, a Simplicity machine. Fun. I'll work on it after the holidays. And also sewing some new things for the shop - my Artfire shop - and the Dec 3rd show.

The little white bags with the kids on the cell phones were made from Ikea fabric. The wine bags from a table cloth and dish cloths. There's also a Magic Carpet Ride bag made from a home dec fabric that reminds me of little throw rugs and place mats.

The big white bag with the girl in the knit cap sold as soon as I put it online.

FARMERS MARKET LIFTOFF

Enjoyed my first venture as a vendor at Farmers Market at Clear Lake Shores. I opted for the big tent in order to get the benefit of more foot traffic. Pretty good traffic, but other vendors said the crowd was more sparse than usual.  My main focus was on set-up, to see what would work and what wouldn't. There are some things I will change for next time. Farmers Market is a lot different from craft shows. The u-shaped format appeared to discourage lookers, so I may opt for bins the next time and front tables only. I'm thinking that over.  Here's a pic of my set-up.

I sold one of my favorite bags, the red, white and blue Macro Hobo that I made from a hoodie. I have toyed with the idea of keeping it for myself, but held out. Sure enough, a very nice lady bought it. I hope she enjoys it and ALL THE POCKETS inside, eight roomy ones.

 The neighbor to my left was Helen of Cloth & Ink. I wrote about her last week when I visited FMCLS, but hadn't taken any pics. I'm making up for it. Here's a couple of Helen and her booth. She really does have lovely lovelies. Check her out at www.cloth-ink.com and www.etsy.com/shop/clothandink.

The weather was perfect. A little cool in the morning. It warmed up, but was still quite pleasant. I was fine in a long-sleeved tee. The wind whipped through, some pretty good gusts. I'm happy to report that my set-up survived the winds. Nothing fell over. Just a sign flipping up here and there. 

The neighbors on the other side of me were super nice ladies, retired school teachers raising money for a scholarship with a bake sale, homemade goodies. Yum. Yum. One of the nice ladies, Fran, who also has a word-of-mouth embroidery business, gave me a kolache for breakfast and then sent me home with the leftovers. I bought some peanut brittle for MSH; they're one of his favorite desserts. I must confess that I also bought a chocolate cherry cake - or is that cherry chocolate cake. It's a chocolate cake with cherries in it. Super moist. Super good. Triple YUM. Back on the wagon Monday!

 I also sold some market bags. Specifically, several MarkeTees and a MarketCase. And a couple of GiftBags.








 I am proud to report that Charlie the FMCLS fearless leader has invited me back after the holidays to ply my wares - my Market Bags. So I may go once a month or so after the first of the year and offer my MarkeTees and other Market Bags to the public. I'll be at FMCLS twice more before Christmas, December 10 and 17.

Speaking of Market Bags, the ones shown in this last pic are lined. Very nice bags.

First Day at FMCLS, I'd rate as successful. Ending with a great hamburger at Joe Lee's just down the street from the farmer's market, accompanied by MSH. A nice day all around.