Party Like It's 2010!

Oh my, where has the time gone?! As we wind down 2009, I figured I’d get back on track with the blog. Sorry for my absence, it’s been a busy month! This year has been, to say the least, interesting. I’ve done so many wonderful things, but to be honest, I can’t wait to start 2010. I don’t really ever have resolutions for New Years, BUT I am an extremely motived individual. I do anything I put my mind to so for this purpose I call them “goals”. Here are a few goals I have for the coming year…

First and foremost, I WILL be finding a new job. I’ve had a few things on that front lately but not really sure how they’ll pan out. For the first time, I actually believe that I shouldn’t take the first thing that comes up. It’s time I stop settling and find a job where I am truly respected. I know not everyone loves their job, but I’d like to at least like it and feel like I’m not just some monkey pressing buttons on a computer. (yes, my current boss thinks anyone can do our job and tells us all the time).

Another goal of mine is to put more time into my Artfire/Etsy shops. Granted they’re almost the same but I’d like to do a little more self promo. I’m still pretty new at it, so I think I need to do some more research. Also, I’m going to be starting a kid’s line of feather stuffs (fueled by encouragement from the Woodsman’s sisters). For Christmas, I made the Woodsman’s nieces feather headbands and hairclips and his nephew a leather and feather necklace. It seriously went over SO much better than I thought it would…

Which brings me to my last goal and I think it will be hardest. I need to work on the confidence area. I’m finally realizing that I really lack it, and I shouldn’t. So no more job doubts, or doubt in my talents (whether it be at work, cooking a meal or my crafting). I’ve had a lot of positive encouragement from everywhere lately, it’s time I just start to listen to it!

Now that I’ve rambled and exposed a part of myself that I try to hide, what about you? Do you have any goals for the coming year? Not that you have to tell me, but I always like to talk about anything. Lastly, I’d like to thank all of you, my readers, family and friends. Knowing that people actually give a crap about what I have to say/write means so much to me. There’s a lot of good things on the horizon. Happy 2010, cheers to the New Year!

They Call Me Big Sista?!

“If a kid cannot bring out the true meaning of Christmas, ya gotta be in pretty bad shape.” @Evangelic_Diva

That quote comes directly from a Twitter friend and I just can’t stress how true it is. As with every holiday season I am reminded how lucky I am to have the close friends and family. I am also very thankful for my Little Sister, Cassandra. She’s 14 (almost 15), freshman at a college prep high school and just about the sweetest girl I have ever met. Believe me, I could go on for hours about all the things I admire about her and all the great things she has and will accomplish…but I won’t :) More importantly I feel that it’s important to tell people about my experience with my little Sis and how we got to where we are now.

It was about 3 years ago that I decided to join the program. I was working at my first “real world” job as a graphic designer, and I felt like something was missing. All of my life (thanks to Girl Scouts as well as my mom) I have volunteered. From reading to kids in the cancer unit at Lutheran General to making Christmas decorations with the seniors at Rainbow Hospice, I am no stranger to giving back (and to the heartbreak that goes along with it as well). I had to find something that with my schedule I’d be able to do and after much research I found the Big Brothers Big Sisters Organization. What appealed to me was that it’s not a rehabilitation program, it’s more of an assistance program. I’m not acting like a therapist or trying to change a kid. I’m simply there to help nurture and be a good role model to a kid who might not have one.

When I told people about me trying to get into the program, I was surprised about how many negative things people said; mostly about how long it takes to get a match. I wasn’t going anywhere and was in no hurry, so I gathered my references and signed up. After numerous interviews, plenty of questions and 10 months I was finally matched with Cassandra.

Fast forward to now (almost 2 years later)…we’re closer than I ever imagined. I’d like to think of our relationship as one that was meant to be. It hasn’t been the easiest thing, but it’s been very rewarding in so many ways. Being a “Big”/mentor is something that takes a lot of time, and lots of creativity. I’m lucky that my Little is just as easy to please and laid back as I am. Never did I think that sitting on my couch, eating pizza, watching a movie would be one of the highlights of our time together. This also proves what a lot of people miss while in the program. It’s not about the money or fancy things that you take your Little to do, it’s all about the time that you spend together. There have been times that we’ve been driving to an outing or over a meal that we’ve shared the most. It’s those moments that I truly believe that I was meant to do this. She’s no longer a “match” but my family and for that, I’m grateful.

So I guess to sum it up, it’s a wonderful program and I couldn’t be happier with the relationship that I’ve made with my Little. I’d also urge anyone who can put a child they initially don’t know before themselves to become a Big. It might seem like a lot of time to some, but really it’s just another member of your family you want to spend time with.

It’s one of the best decisions that I’ve ever made, and can’t image my life without my sister Cassandra. She makes me proud in every way...just sayin’ is all!

Waters Craft Show

Yesterday was the big craft show that I’ve been preparing for… and it went pretty well. We had a great spot and my display looked amazing! I was also really happy with the amount of items I had in stock. Over all I sold 1 pair of earrings and 2 headbands. Although I did sell enough for the show and supplies to pay for themselves, I still don’t think it was the right audience. No worries though, every show I get to meet other great artisans, and get to talk to fellow crafters. Maybe next year I’ll have my butt ready for a holiday gift bazaar, but for the time being, I still have a ton of stuff to get listed online!

Check out my pictures from the show here.

The Forgotten Brush Giveaway!

Fellow artist and very supportive Twitter friend, Laura is having a great giveaway on her blog! She's a truly talented artist and seriously been a huge encouragement to me in the handmade community. Take a gander at her great blog and enter her giveaway. She's showcasing some amazing artists and you can win a bunch of crafty stuff, just in time for the holidays!

Oh, and yes, I'm part of her giveaway (just love that headband)!

The Forgotten Brush

Cookies!

So the holidays have officially begun! Happy Holidays!

It’s been a crazy week. I’ve successfully made it through an anniversary, 2 Thanksgiving dinners, got some Christmas stuff done and even made the time to price most of my stuff for the craft show. As I’m sitting here on the couch trying to figure out what to write next, I realize I should talk about what’s sitting quietly in the kitchen. Taking the place of any sort of normal meal since yesterday are the few remaining cookies from the cookie exchange I participated in this past holiday.

For the first time in my “adult” life I was asked to take part in a cookie exchange. Nothing too crazy just 4 dozen cookies to exchange on Thanksgiving…of course my baking skills aren’t the greatest. I really had my heart set on making my Hungarian family recipe for Kolatch or Kolache. I bought all the ingredients and was prepared to take a day after work to bake all of them. Then I had some time management sense talked into me and I decided to make a Thumbprint cookie instead. Much much easier and A LOT less time to make. They turned out so nicely; I’ve decided to share my mom’s recipe. I promise, they’re super easy and don’t have a ton of ingredients but are so good!

Thumbprint Cookies

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cups ground almonds (optional)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup butter (room temp)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

powder sugar (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees, Baking sheets may be ungreased, or lined with parchment paper.

2. Combine flour, ground almonds, baking powder salt, and cinnamon mix. Set aside

3, In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar, cream together until mixtures is light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, vanilla extract. Beat until throughly mixed. Add flour mixture, stir until mixed.

4. Shape dough into small balls, about 1" diameter.

5. Place balls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets. With your thumb press an indentation in the center of each ball to hold the filling. Bake 20 minutes or until cookies are set and very lightly browned. Remove cookies from baking sheets and cool on wire racks. When cooled sprinkle with powder sugar (optional)

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Oh, and I will be making Kolatch before Christmas, I’ll just need to find a free weekend to do it!

...Commented on your post.

Hello all!
Long time no blog…my apologies! There just isn’t enough hours in the day to work, apply for jobs, have a hobby AND blog. So now I’m trying to catch up here. I promise I’ll be better! Afterall, it’s almost the holidays and I’m going to actually enjoy them this year :)

So, I’m sort of a social networking site whore. I’ll admit it, I check Facebook everyday and I’m always on Twitter (I did cancel MySpace though…creepy!). For me it’s been a great way to keep in touch with family that I don’t get to see often. Everyday I can count on certain cousins (and a few great friends) to cheer me up with a comment or wallpost. I find it funny that if you were to look at my Facebook Wall and my Fanpage it’s mostly made up of my family. I’m so lucky they’re my biggest fans! I keep in touch with family from Wisconsin, Texas and my best friend (she’s also my cousin) almost like they’re here. I’m even in constant contact with a cousin (by marriage) that I’ve never even met before! She seems like an amazing person and just as loving at the rest of our clan.

So I guess this entry really isn’t about much of anything, but I think you get my point if you have family that you deeply love and appreciate that isn’t close enough to hug. Distance does make the heart grow fonder and Facebook makes the distance a little less noticeable on those days where you post a crabby comment and have your wonderful cousins to show you love.

So to all my long distance family that are friends and fans…I miss you dearly and thank you!

Giveaway!

I promised and now I’m delivering. I have officially hit over 200 followers on Twitter so now it’s time to give away my favorite pair of earrings from Flock Together Crafts.

One lucky winner will get my “Tail Feather Earrings”! They're a beautiful pair of all natural, hand picked pheasant feather earrings. I’ll be sad to part with them, but can’t wait till someone else can rock them!

Thank you all for the support, I truly love the handmade community and it’s supporters!

Here’s the details on how you can win!

• Visit FlockTogetherCrafts on Etsy and let me know your favorite item
• Follow this blog
• Become a fan of my Facebook page
• Follow Flock_Together on Twitter
• Blog or tweet about the giveaway and provide me with the link
• Purchase something from FlockTogetherCrafts on Etsy and provide me the transaction link (5 extra entries)

Lots of ways to enter and win! I wish you all good luck.

**Already a fan or follower? Just leave an additional comment with your info.

Make a separate comment for each entry.

Giveaway will end Sunday November 15, 2009 at midnight. Winner will be picked by random. This contest is open to EVERYONE!

Please leave a way for me to contact you in each comment.

Ginger Blossom

Open
Originally uploaded by FlockTogether

I was born and raised in Park Ridge, IL a nice city that border the Northwest side of Chicago. I went to school in the city, lived in the city and for a while worked in the city. I’m done with the city. When I was growing up everyone wanted to someday live the swanky city life. Get a job in a high-rise, live in a cool loft or apartment and be a regular to the bustling city nightlife. Been there, done most of that. Done and done. Don’t get me wrong, I do have a great appreciation for the wonderful sites in the city, the Field Museum and The Art Institute are two of my favorite places. For some people Chicago is the place to be, but I have visions of grandeur. I want to live in a small house, with a lot of land, a barn for my studio off a country road somewhere.

So why do I bring all this up? The other day The Woodsman said “I want to take you to a place that I know you will love…” and he was right. He took me about 35 minutes North, right to the border of Wisconsin (he’s a country boy) to a glorious handmade Mecca called Ginger Blossom. It’s a heaven for anyone who loves handmade, eclectic, ethnic art or just has an appreciation for every kind of stuff. This handmade paradise is literally up in the country. This by far is the hardest place to explain so I took a bunch of pictures. I will, try my best to explain it though.

Ginger Blossom is in Richmond, IL. It’s a few buildings situated on a working organic produce farm (you can buy the produce right on the front lawn). Ginger (the owner) travels the world to get the most amazing handmade art, decorations, textiles, and anything else you can imagine straight from the artists that make it. Anything ethnic they have it. Another major draw for me is everything there is handmade, meaning that no 2 things are the same. From the wool socks and hats made in Nepal to the hand carved armoires housed in the barn, this is a place anyone who likes the different would enjoy. It would take days to make it through and thoroughly look at everything in the various buildings.

A big perk of Ginger Blossom is the cost; everything is cheap since it’s straight from the artist. I was lucky to have The Woodsman buy me a $6 pair of hand knit wool socks and an $8 wool hat. These types of things are in abundance since there are 2 buildings just for them. I’ll definitely be going back there before Christmas. Oh, and that house in the country in my dreams, will be furnish and decorated with objects from Ginger Blossom…I guarantee it.

Check out my ‘Ginger Blossom’ set on Flickr!

What Would The Woodsman Cook?

Woodman's Dinner
Originally uploaded by FlockToghether

I have a woodsman (who I refer to as “The Woodsman”), he is the best and only one I know. He almost never lets me leave for work without breakfast and always puts the seat down. Pretty lucky, huh? He’s the grill and drink master in the summer while I usually cook non-grilling dinner…now that it’s almost winter our cooking dynamic has become much more interesting.

The other night he wanted to cook dinner and take care of the ALL the grocery shopping (like I said before, I’m lucky). He wanted to use up some of abundant amount of wild game we have in our freezer. He decided on duck breast schnitzel, potato pancakes and salad. Easy enough right? I honestly had no idea what to think because 1.) I have never cooked duck or potato pancakes 2.) it was already past 7pm. Needless to say with a little collaboration and a lot of patience in maneuvering in our little kitchen, we made an amazing and unique dinner.

So around 9pm we finally sat down to a duck breast schnitzel with mushroom sauce, potato pancakes with sour cream and applesauce, fresh veggies and salad. The duck with sauce was SO good, and it’s definitely going into out normal dinner rotation. Below are the recipes for the duck schnitzel and mushroom sauce.

Duck Breast Schnitzel
2 boneless duck breasts, flattened to 1/8-1/4 inch thickness
Flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
Fine, dry breadcrumbs
Salt & pepper to taste
Butter or Margaring
Dredge duck in flour, and dip in egg. Dredge in breadcrumbs. Salt and pepper to taste. Melt butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Add duck, and fry until golden brown, turning once. Move to a plate and keep warm (keep what’s leftover in the skillet to make the sauce)
*Taken from Ducks Unlimited Wild Feasts Cookbook

Mushroom Sauce
1/3 c flour
1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
3 c sliced white or cremini mushrooms (I used canned)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/3 c chicken stock
1/3 c light sour cream
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp minced fresh garlic

In same skillet, fry mushrooms and garlic until no liquid remains, about 5 min. Add reserved flour mixture; cook, stirring, for 1 min. Stir in stock and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring, until thickened, about 3 min. Stir in sour cream and soy sauce; pour over duck. Sprinkle with parsley.

Enjoy!

Flock Together & The Woodsman

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What A Pheasant Surprise!

After a fun filled day of exploring an amazing handmade and ethnic craft store and making our way through miles of corn maze, we came home to a welcome surprise. I had my first Etsy sale! I’ve sold things to friends and at craftshows, but this was my first “official” online transaction. I sold the pictured pheasant feather headband. I just wanted to share the good news, and I’m hoping that this will be a new trend!

Also, this morning I won a random drawing for Twitter followers from welovecolors.com. It’s an awesome place to find any kind of tights and leggings. I’m so excited to get my mystery tights. I’ll be sure to post pics of them when I receive them!

I'll be posting a lot more this week, I have a lot to share!

~FT

How To Piss Off A Graphic Designer

This was sent to me by a fellow graphic designer, found on someone else's blog.

How to piss off a graphic designer:

1 ) Hide the crayons.
2 ) Ask them to keep a work log.
3 ) Stand behind them and give direction.
4 ) Touch their computer screen.
5 ) Make them use computers more than 3 years old.
6 ) Make them wait “awhile” to purchase the newest software versions.
7 ) Ask for a JPEG to be sent to a print publication.
8 ) Call Macs toys.
9 ) Pretend to know something about design.
10 ) Ask for anything at 4:45.
11 ) Tell them work starts at 8:00 not 8:02
12 ) Ask them for a Word document.
13 ) Tell them they need to work on a PC.
14 ) Ask them what Apples are good for anyway.
15 ) Put them in a cube farm.
16 ) Let the pop machine run out of Mt. Dew
17 ) Suggest that Microsoft Publisher or Pagemaker should be used to layout a project.

Welcome to my job...

Can You Tell Me How To Get, How To Get To Emerson Street?

It’s very rare that someone can say they actually get to experience a true artist’s work. To see someone who has creativity and raw talent radiating at all times is quite the treat. What’s even better is when you can call an artist a very good friend…who is this glorious, artistic wonder that I’m obviously in awe of? You may know her as Emerson Street Stamps, Traveling Painter, or what I know her as; Molly Carlson.

Much to my surprise she’s never been featured on a blog, so I figured this would be a perfect opportunity for me to introduce you to her. Born in North Carolina, raised between home and a horse farm. She now lives in the chilly Chicago ‘burbs (yep, took that right from her blog bio…because I can!). She has a genuine love of creating, sharing, horses and her family (including a very sweet ball of fuzz, Kaya). From a personal standpoint she’s my (almost) weekly crafting buddy, craft fair partner in crime, and over all amazing friend. We drink coffee, gossip, vent and of course craft and create. From a fellow artist standpoint, she’s great at what she does and I have the utmost respect for her talent.

Right now she has 2 stores of her work online, Emerson Street on Artfire and Traveling Painter on Etsy. Both of which are very impressive. They showcase two completely different styles but are barely the tip of her iceberg of talent. Emerson Street is a great place to find just about any kind of hand carved stamp imaginable, and then some. Molly has an amazing talent to create anything you’d want as a custom order (I saw her do it at our last craft show). Her Etsy store Traveling Painter, is a shop full of absolutely beautiful fine art prints, original paintings, and illustrations. You can find anything from hand drawn greeting cards to mixed media painting. I am lucky enough to display some of her work in my home.

So….straight to my point, check out her stores or blog to get to know an amazing artist and crafter. She is epitome of sweet. If you’re looking for a little love and plenty of Southern hospitality drop her a line…she loves to chat (stole that little line from her bio too!).

Nothing new to report...

Poochies
Originally uploaded by FlockToghether

The past few days have been eventful but nothing too exciting. I sat on a jury for the first time (2 day trail downtown, personal injury). Although most of it was less than exciting, I did appreciate the experience. It was really interesting to be in a court room and observe a case first hand. I am glad that our deliberations lasted less than an hour, and I got to peace out in the early afternoon. Tomorrow I'm back to the grind for work, freelance and job hunting...yes, in that order. Every. Single. Day.

Wish me luck and till next time,
The Woodman's Girlfriend

Ps.
I just had to share the picture. Ratchet and Coffee relaxing in the sun. To be a dog...

Dani Fascinator

Waking up to good news is well, great!

This morning I got a call from my pal in Maine. I recently made her a custom flower and feather fascinator for a 40's themed event at Colby College. Aside from the usual chat, she also wanted to tell me about the numerous compliments she got on her hairpiece! I was so excited to hear how many people liked it and asked where she got it (great advertising). She also sent me pictures of how it looked in her hair and she (of course) looked beautiful. Photographers from the Colby newspaper also snapped some pictures of her hair too, I can't wait to see that either!

I also made a bunch of pieces for her peacock Halloween costume, I'm eager to see everything come together for the costume. Just sharing some good news on this lovely Sunday morning!

Thanks Dani!

The Meatload

Turkey, Spinach & Feta Meatloaf
Originally uploaded by FlockToghether

I love dinner. I don’t mean go out (that’s nice on occasion too), but I love to sit down and eat a home cooked dinner. Growing up it was the law of the land that we are home at 6pm to sit down and eat. Dinner was so important to my family growing up; my brother and I always chose to have friends over so we wouldn’t miss that time together. It was never anything fancy, your standard dinner, meat, vegetable, side and salad. My mom always made it a point to make sure that she cooked something for dinner every weeknight. This is a practice that I’ve inherited (or I would have starved to death by now).

I also love email. Sending and receiving…it’s what keeps me going throughout the day. One main person I get emails from is my best friend Heidi (she’s also my cousin so her name might also come up in family entries at some point). She lives in Austin with her family so we email each other about a million times a day. Ok, now to the point…she sends me recipes that went over really wel with her family and are generally really easy to prepare. Recently, she sent me something that has turned into a favorite of both my main squeeze and me.

Chicken, Feta and Spinach Meatloaf. Sounds good, huh? It’s so good I decided to share! I made it my own by changing it slightly but it was very good, and very easy nonetheless. Hope you like it.


Chicken Feta- Spinach Meatloaf

• 3 lbs ground skinless Chicken thighs
• 1cup (approximately) Italian Style Bread crumbs
• 3 Tbs. + /- to taste of Garlic- Pepper mix from Whole Foods
• ½ lb cow feta crumbled
• ½ bag (4 oz) fresh Spinach (cut with pizza cutter)
• 1 egg: lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix chicken, bread crumbs and seasoning. Add Feta and Spinach. Mix well.
Add Egg. Mix well.
13 x 9 x 2 Pan - form into rectangle shape about length of the pan. About 2 inches thick.
Cook uncovered 1 hour and 5 minutes


*I did change this recipe a bit and it turned out great. I halved the recipe, used ground turkey (not chicken), and used frozen spinach (thawed).


As my mom and grandma always said "make it your own". I encourage you to do the same.

First Peacock Earrings!

First Peacock Earrings!
Originally uploaded by FlockToghether

Such a productive Sunday! My friends are the best, especially when they commission me to make fun things for them!

My friend Danielle is going to be a peacock for Halloween (fun right?). She asked me to make her some handmade jewelry to accent her costume. Here's my first try using peacock feathers! Danielle has sensitive ears and can't wear heavy earrings. With this in mind I used Sterling Silver 3" threader earrings as a base, and kept it simple. About 3.5" peacock feathers strung with green/purple glass beads. I think they'll look great with her costume and even better for a night out.

I can't wait to get these shipped out to her in Maine...and I know she'll rep me like crazy on the Colby College campus!

A Circle...

When I was younger I gave people "stuff" just as fast as I could make it (no holiday needed). You name it I’d make it; earrings, necklaces, worry dolls, collages, leaves glued to paper…completely custom stuff! The main recipient of my gifts was my grandma, even if she helped me make the crafts, she still accepted and wore it like it was made of gold and diamonds. Simply, she was my biggest fan, and my craft buddy.

Since her passing I’ve gotten a majority of the things back that I’ve made for her. It’s sort of ironic, getting back the things you handmade for someone. You never really think of the life something will see once it’s out of your hands. I of course, held onto to everything but stored them away. This entry is really about the stuff that I got yesterday, nothing that I made but the stuff that was made by my grandma.

It’s been 8 years coming, it was the first time that I’ve been able to go through stuff that was my grandma’s without shedding a single tear or feel like my heart was being burned out of my chest. I finally got to claim what my grandma left behind. Her 90 years of being an artist and crafter was right there in a few boxes.

Aside from the paintings that I'm going to frame and some of the jewelry that I'll keep for myself, I found an amazing amount of very old costume jewelry. My grandma, being the thrifty lady she was re-purposed anything that was broken and obviously never threw anything out. I don't think I can bear to throw any of this stuff out either. I took a bunch of beautiful pieces and amazingly have become very inspired.

Mixing old with new, it's such a obvious concept but really shines for me in this situation. She was proud of everything I ever made her, wasn't it my turn to keep and be proud of all that she did? It's like the whole circle of life thing...but circle of crafts and handmade. Isn't that why we all do it? Not to turn a crazy profit but to share the love and heart that goes into a piece that specifically came from your hand. That's why I made her all those wonderful macaroni necklaces...and that's why I hand make things now.

This may just be the best therapy I never paid for. Whenever I feel her memory fade I'll use her rhinestone pin and make it the focal point of a feather fascinator. I'll re-purpose a cameo pendant she made and put it on a headband. Take what she's created, make it my own and share it with others...the spirit of handmade.

Happy Tails

Lately, all signs have been pointing to me writing this entry…it’s about pet adoption.

Yesterday while waiting at the doctor’s office, I picked up some random waiting room magazine that had Lisa Edelstein (Dr. Cuddy from “House”) on the cover. Since I have an irrational love of all things “House” I read on and it pleasantly surprised me. It talked about she has adopted three dogs and is big animal adoption advocate and even volunteers at her local animal shelters (‘There’s your sign!’).

I really started to think about how much adopted animals have changed my life. After years of begging for a dog, when I was younger I told myself “as soon as I have a place of my own, I’m gonna get a dog” and that’s just what I did. About a year ago I came across my Beagle, Ratchet’s (yes, I renamed him and yes, he is named after a Transformer) listing on Craigslist. I met him and fell in love. It wasn’t a case of abuse or anything like that, his previous owner couldn’t keep him because of a no-pet rule in her lease. I was very lucky to be able to adopt a truly sweet and loving dog, although it did take awhile to adjust for us both.

I’m not the only person that has had amazing luck with animal adoption. My parents (the people who never let their kids have a dog J) just adopted a Beagle named Wylie from a wonderful pet adoption organization. Castaway Pet Resuce is a small but great place that really takes the time to find the perfect home for their dogs. Wylie is super spoiled and has brought my parents a lot of joy (and he’s a great playmate for my two dogs). Another adopted dog in my inner circle is Kaya, a fluffy ball of sweetness adopted by good friends Molly & Ryan.

So what’s the point of all this rambling about adopted dogs? I guess it’s just to raise awareness about all those dogs who are sitting shelters that need loving homes. Do they take a little bit of work to adjust? Sure, but animals bought from a breeder and a pet stores require the same patience and love (I also have a purebred lab at home too). Going to shelters can also give you a real understanding of all different breeds and give you a chance to interact with all types of dogs. Adopting a pet and welcoming an animal into your home can be one of the most rewarding experiences.

(Pictures above are Ratchet, Kaya and Wylie)

She's Crafty

This past weekend I was in my first craft show selling my feather jewelry. Close friend and fellow artist Emerson Street and I shared an outdoor booth. Not to be biased, but I think we had the BEST looking booth there…I also think we were the youngest crafters there. With our booth adorned with Christmas lights, bright colored scarves and a great GM Performance canopy (thanks Dad!), you would have thought we would have had more traffic. It was a cloudy, chilly day and the last hour it poured so I’m thinking the weather was a big factor as well.

The upside is that we did sell a few things each (about enough to pay for supplies and entry fees). It was considered a pretty successful day and family and friends were kind enough to come out to support us.

Now, what I’m wondering is…how do you attract a crowd at a craft fair?
Anyone have any advice, pointers or just knowledge they’d like to share?

Thanks and until next time…

FT

Keep Yourself Alive...

On the first Sunday in a lot of weeks, I have nothing planned…that brings me here, to a blog. Something I never really thought of myself doing for many reasons. I’m not the most talented or clever writer, I apologize in advance for any boring entries, I’m quite the rookie (and my grammar is less than stellar). Also, after a split, a person from my past mentioned me by name but also criticized and questioned my goals and my personal opinion in his blog. This was not cool and most of all I took it as being pretty hurtful….so none of that here.

So why am I doing this?

After talking to a good friend about it, I said “why the hell not?” (Sorry I have a “mouth like a trucker” according to my mom). I’ve been through counseling a few points in my life and one thing I’ve always been advised to do is journal. I found it especially helpful in those situations when you need to sort it out. What is “it” you ask? I’m not too sure but here I am starting a blog. Don’t worry this won’t be me crabbing about life, or anything else too negative. I’d like to share the things that I think people can relate to and things I am interested in.

If you keep up with me, you’ll read about crafting (I just launched my own Art Fire and Etsy Stores), cooking (I’m always wanting to share new recipes I try or make my own) and learn a little about a me.

Welcome.