Working for the Vacation

I've had this vacation planned for about 6 months now. Somehow it still seems like it has snuck up on me! Dan and I are headed to Las Vegas and St. George, Utah for a week! We will be staying at the Luxor for a few nights then headed to my Grandparents beautiful home in Utah. We are both very excited to leave this cold, rainy place known as Minnesota.

Now, I have been a very busy girl the last few weeks! Let's see, well, I graduated for Normandale Community College with my A.S. in Elementary Education. Dan's parents came and took a bunch photos, but I will probably never see those.

We also celebrated Dan's birthday by going to a Twins game. Here is a bad photo we took of ourselves!

The weather was fantastic that day (for once) so that was fun!

Let's see, what else....I started selling my etched glassware at the Midtown Farmers Market in Minneapolis. I will be there once a month on Saturdays and Tuesdays. Check out my Etsy site for more dates!

I also had the privilege of being an artist at Johnstock this year. It was supposed to rain and be icky all day, but luckily, the sun was shinning in the morning! My friend April and I were quite excited! April makes beautiful jewelery and I was happy to get a spot next to her, so we had a super fun day even though it did rain and get a little chilly! I look forward to participating again next year!

I started my next step in my college career at Minnesota State University-Mankato by taking my first summer class. It is a Music Methods class for Elementary Education, so it is pretty fun. I am remembering all of my music training from years ago!

(Ok, while I am writing this up, I'm listening to my Har Mar Superstar Pandora station, I love dance music, and I just heard the new Daft Punk song Get Lucky. Totally just bought the album. Yes!)

So, where were we? Right, I am also learning to play the recorder. Yes, the recorder. That silly clarinet-looking instrument. It's actually kind of fun! I have been plugging away for the last few days getting a ton of my homework done so that I don't have to worry about it on my vacation.

I have also been working on new etchings for my upcoming shows! Here are a few preliminary photos:

 

Let me tell you about some of my new designs.

First off, Congratulations to my state for passing a Marriage Equality Bill! Now ALL couples can marry! So in honor of that, I made some new GLBT glasses! The one shown is a little hard to see, it's hot off the press! It is a heart surrounding two males holding hands! I made an additional set for the ladies too! I have a few other fun ideas to celebrate this exciting new future!

I also did a set of 6 green wine glasses with trees on them for a custom order! One of the images is a tiny bird on a green port glass. The glass is about the size of a thimble, it it TOO cute!

I am hoping to get some great new pictures on my Etsy site in July.

Until then.....(I'm going for a bike ride and I'm going to think about starting to pack. We leave tomorrow!)

Spring Cleaning??

It is very difficult to get motivated when the weather is like this.
It is difficult to even get out of bed and go to work/school!
But, I am doing it. I have been going to work and to school. I even got officially accepted to Minnesota State University-Mankato for the fall in their Elementary Education program! I graduate from Normandale Community College on May 20th!

Some other exciting things I have been doing is teaching Tap Fitness classes for Minneapolis Community Education (adults!). I teach on Monday nights at Pratt Elementary School and on Wednesdays at Washburn High School. So I have been pretty busy!

Soon to be etched..

Also, I have been trying to make the transition from having a "working" sewing room into a "working" etching studio. It isn't too much of a difference, as I still have my sewing things, like industrial machines, in the room, but I have turned my cutting table into my etching table!

I started working on Saturdays at a quit shop! It is called Blue Bamboo. I am loving it. I am a little crazy because I really have no days off anymore, but a lot of times, it is easier for me to get along in life to stay busy. I am sad that I have to take a few Saturdays off this summer, but it is for good reason!

I will be selling at the Midtown Farmers Market! Here is my calendar of days I will be selling there:

Saturdays 8:00 a.m. to 1:00p.m.
May 25
June 22
July 20
August 24
September 7
October 5

Tuesdays 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
June 25
August 27
October 8

I will also be selling at Johnstock in Northeast Minneapolis on Saturday, June 1, 10am-6pm. I am excited about this one because my good friend April will also be at the event! We used to do this show years and years ago, and we sold in a tent together under the name Brightlounge Boutique. Those were fun days! I will one day I will start sewing fun things again.

Talking with my roommate about making a fun new food blog. It will be exciting! I will post it on here as soon as we start....

Another craft show....another project..

In my last post I was lusting over some shelving units. Well, I've done it! When I was in Round Lake for Thanksgiving, I talked to my dad about it and helped draw up a plan. I had only one week to complete a shelf in order to have it ready for the Crafty Pancakes Art Fair on December 1.

I rushed over to Home Depot, got all of the parts and headed home. I forgot to take pictures of my car filled with wood, but here is one after I had started.

I cut the wood to what I thought would be the correct size, painted them with leftover paint from my front porch (awesome!), waited for the paint to dry....then glued, nailed and screwed them together!

Only to realize that I didn't account for the angle of the frames being open, so the shelf brackets weren't big enough! BUT, I just opened them a different way and it works even better!

Unfortunately, I am right in front of  huge window, so I am finding it difficult to take a really nice photo, but you get the idea.

Since having this shelf display I have sold several sets of glassware and have MANY more people actually looking at them! You can now clearly see that they are etched glasses and not just a pile of glasses on a table. Even dads are looking at them now! How exciting!

I also had someone pick up these and say "Put a bird on it!" It was awesome. She didn't buy them though....buy you can!

Needless to say, this sale might not be as profitable as I had hoped for in the end, but my display looks great and I realize some new glasses I need to make. I also completed this blog and I will be adding to my Pinterest as well! It's been a good day!

Now to create more fun glasses for the next show, the 15th Annual Art and Soul Holiday Sale stop by, that one will be super fun! And April will be there!

How To: Occupy Your Time Wisely

Here I am at a craft fair. I went into this thinking, "It will be great! I will sell SO MUCH stuff that I will have to scrounge to make more inventory!" That is sadly not the case. There are enough people here, but too many lookers and not enough buyers. I brought homework just in case and they have wifi, which is great! Here is my T Do list for this event:
1. read chapter 16 in Astronomy book CHECK
2. take chapter 16 online quizzes CHECK
3. read chapter 10 in Geology book CHECK
4. sit around being bored/texting April and Shelli about event CHECK
5. get inspired for a new blog! (thanks April!) CHECK
6. write new blog CHECK-ish

April and I went back and forth about why I am not selling much at this event and I think it may come down to the display. I got pretty good at displaying my clothing items when I was selling clothes, but now I am onto glassware and I just can't get the display right!
This is my current display, it just isn't that great.

Here is what I am thinking of building:

Basically, the bases of the shelves would come out so it folds nicely. I could make several of them and nix the table situation all together. I feel like people have a hard time looking at all of the glassware because it is at waist level night eye level. I guess I have my winter project lined up then!

I have also received requests for two new items that I am very excited to offer! Dog/cat treat jars and etched glass baby bottles. Lately I have run into several people who are using glass baby bottles, so I am thinking it is on the rise, I do not know if it will be economical to purchase them, etch on them and re-sell them, but I am going to look into it! The  dog/cat treat jars however, what a great idea! I even have a few jars that are big enough in storage to start on this week!

One other thing that has been asked a lot lately is, "What is the process for etching?" Next time I have an etching session, I will write a blog about it and document it so I can show people at events when they ask!


Until next time!

Labor Day, Halloween and other business

Birch Hollow

We went to Dan's cabin up in Ely, Minnesota for Labor Day. It was great. Three full days of yard work and lazing around and eating good food. Dan went fishing and caught a few (which I made him throw back).

I had a rough time for the last few weeks as my grandfather passed away from brain cancer. Wally was hilarious and will be greatly missed. So I was back in Round Lake, Illinois a few times.

Wally, proud Mall Cop!

We are now getting ready for Halloween Bash 2.0 so frantic lists are being made and the house is getting clean and organized! We also have two new roommates in the house, which is fun/stressful, but strange because I never see either of them!

The last piece of news I have is that I am doing an art show on Saturday, November 3rd.

Holiday Shopping With a Cause!
Saturday, November 3rd 10:00 am-4:00 pm
Coon Rapids Evangelical Free Church
2650 128th Ave. NW
Coon Rapids, MN  55448

I will be selling my vintage etched glassware and handcrafted greeting cards! Stop by and mention you saw my blog and receive 50% off your purchase! Crazy, I know!

Until next time!

Overwhelmed and Uninspired...

I started school on Monday. It was a little rough only because of what my weekend plans were. Dan and I were in Stillwater, Minnesota at a wedding on Saturday, so we decided to spend the weekend at this beautiful bed and breakfast! It was just great! However, we stayed two nights, and I had school at 10am on Monday, so we had to leave at 7:30am to make it back in time for me to quickly drop him off and get to class!
Classes went ok, I am taking a lot of science which I am not very good at, so I am already overwhelmed and it is just the first week. I have gotten VERY good grades since I started on this leg of my college journey and I will NOT let these science classes change that! So, everyday I have been studying and trying to stay on top of things...but it is hard.
I am eagerly awaiting September 5th, when financial aid gets disbursed, so I will know if I have to pay for some of my classes out of pocket...I sure hope not.
I started this post a few days ago and I am finishing it now. Today, is a good day. I went down to the Mill City Farmers Market to visit with April and check out her booth there, which is adorable! Now I am procrastinating at packing to go to the cabin in Ely, MN for a few days.
 Dan is working so it is my job to pack everything then scoop him up from work and drive north! I have so much homework to do in addition to packing, but all I REALLY want to do is SEW!!! I talked to my mom about participating int he Mill City Farmers Market next year and I am getting all pumped up about it! It is a beautiful day and I am feeling really creative, but unfortunately, I have to do other things.

If I hurry and pack, maybe I can do a teeny bit of sewing and finish some projects!

I hope you have a lovely Labor Day weekend and get to lay around and do nothing labor-intensive on Monday!
-m

Getting ready and getting creative!

All week long I have been getting things ready to start school again next week. I took classes this summer, but it was so fast that by the time I got into the groove of things it was over! I like to be super organized for the beginning of the semester. So, today, I cleaned out my desk and labeled my binders, folders and notebooks with all of my class information! It makes me feel ready. Here is a picture of what I did!

I also finally cleaned out the garage! I do not have any after photos yet, but I will post before/after one day. It feels great in there! It took all day and a great friend came and helped me out!
After cleaning out the garage I was feeling pumped up and motivated, so I cleaned out my sewing-storage room and my sewing room! Dan helped me with the sewing room, which was dusty and glittery and making him sneeze! But I was grateful for the help.  I have since plowed through one of my totes labeled "unfinished projects" which makes me feel really good! Most of the items in the tote were things I had started on a long time ago or had an idea for that never got fully thought out. So, I feel good to be done with those even though they are not things I really sew these days, it made me feel like I have moved on to a new level of my sewing skills, which is fun! Here is something I have been working on from the tote:

So, it has been a very busy week, but I have gotten a lot accomplished. I am going over to a friends house tonight, she makes beautiful jewelery. A while ago, my grandmother gave me a beautiful vintage crystal necklace complete with clip-on earrings. Well, my friend April has turned those things into something wonderful for me! I am going to get the necklace tonight, I don't even know what it looks like! I am also purchasing a wonderful black and red beaded necklace from her, I am very excited! I do not typically wear jewelery because I am allergic to many kinds of metal, but April has been using surgical/stainless steel clasps and jump rings for me! I think she has even found a glass clasp for the crystal one!
I am planning on wearing one of the necklaces to a wedding this weekend, I am trying to channel Audrey Hepburn, so we will see.... I will post pictures later.
Have a great weekend and do something on your list that you don't really want to do...it will make you feel better to cross it off, trust me.
-M