December Stamp of the Month Blog Hop and Blog Candy!

Welcome to the Close To My Heart Stamp of the Month Blog Hop for December!

All artwork on the hop will feature December's SOTM, "Notice The Details"  a set of 41 stamps! If you have come here from {Helen's blog} you are on the right path!  Click the link at the end of my post to hop to the next blog.  If you hop through them all, you'll see over 65 examples of great SOTM artwork!

Here's a look at the stamp set - "Notice The Details". 

As an added bonus this month, I'll be randomly selecting one person to win ALL 3 of my blog hop cards!  To be entered, just post a comment below.  Receive a second entry if you sign up to be a follower of my blog!  I'll draw a winner at 11:59 pm, Dec 1, and post the winner on Dec 2nd. 

This month my cards all feature the same 5 basic products (besides the SOTM).  They are CTMH Notebook Paper, Basic Craft Buttons, Rub-ons (Love Letter and Nature's Ambiance), Black Waxy Flax and 3d foam tape.

Card 1.  Size: 5.5" x 4.25" - The star and the whole piece of cardstock wrapped in waxy flax is popped up with 3d foam.  My wonderful hubby was the inspiration for this card.  He has been spoiling me rotten lately!

Card 2.  Size 4.25" x 5.5".  The hearts were stamped in the date boxes, and colored with tulip ink.  I also used a rub-on on as decoration on one of the buttons.  I especially love the torn notebook paper stamp.  It just completes the urban chic look I was going for on this card.

Card 3.  Size: 3"x3".  This fun little gift card was so fast and easy to whip up!  I just used a bunch of my scraps.  Now it is the perfect gift enclosure card.  The flower is a rub-on on the blue dot paper (reverse side of the pink and black dot paper), and it is popped on 3d foam.

I hope you enjoyed my cards!  Don't forget to post a comment.  One lucky poster will win all 3 cards!!!

Now hop on over to {Beth's blog}!  She is sure to inspire you with her incredible artwork!

Family Snuggle

I took this silly picture of my girls, and just had to put it in the Olivia quick page by Shabby Shoppe.  Hope you like!  Have a very happy and safe Thanksgiving!

Knitted Items

Hey Everyone!
The craft fair went AMAZINGLY well.  Mom and I each made out with a respectable day's total and we had a fabulous time.  We had 133 people come through the door (I had my counter) and everyone left with big smiles on their faces, tummies full of good food, and Christmas gifts in arms.

Don't worry if you missed out!  We will both be participating in another craft fair on December 5th at my church in Mountlake Terrace.  More details on that coming soon

As promised, I took photos of my knitting table at the bazaar, and have those to share with you now.  Some have asked if I plan to put my left over items in my etsy shop or up for sale on my blog.  It all depends on what is left after my next show.  If there is something you see that you want NOW, just email me and we can work out shipping details.  Don't wait or someone else might buy your goodies!

Here's my packed knitting table!  I only had to box up half of it to take home.  :)

Ear Warmer Headbands:

Fingerless Mittens:

Moebius Basket:

I also had baby hats, baby socks, adult socks, long scarves, baby sweaters, kid hats, adult hats, and a knitted snake.  :)

Craft Fair TOMORROW!!!

Hello Friends!

Well tomorrow is the big day!  It's my craft fair with my mom and we couldn't be more excited!  We spent all day setting up and cooking, and we are just about set for tomorrow.  Here is a sneak peek at all of our great merchandise...

A view from the entry (forgive the unpainted walls/unfinished floors - my parent's house is still in the process of being remodeled.  It is going to be AMAZING when it is finished!!!)

My mom's goodies:  glass pendants and earrings, silver jewelry, hand made soaps, fused glass plant stakes, hanging vases, soap dishes, wall hangings, and frames.  She also makes the glass ornaments on the tree!

Here's Hank the love sponge, and one of mom's fur babies.  Molly (the chocolate lab) was taking a nap.  Doggies will be outside, but available for petting.  :)

And here is my side of the room:

I have so many great things to sell too!  These include: 6x6 Accordion Mini-Albums (thanks to Joanne Walton for the inspiration for these), Cupcake photo holders, cards of all varieties, Treasure Boxes, Teacher Treat Boxes, Banks, Dry Erase Board frames, Clippy Boards, Scrapbook kits, 3 ring binder mini albums, and more.

I also have a WHOLE table of knitting - but alas, did not get any pictures as it was dark by the time that side of the room was set up.  I'll have to photograph that part tomorrow.  :)

If you want to come, and you live in the Seattle area, please email me at nonapearl@firebin.net and I will send you the address.  Hours are 10 am - 4 pm, and there will be free refreshments as well.  Hope you can make it!

Hats, hats, hats

I'm busting out the hats like it's going out of style.  With only 7 more days to my first (and largest) craft fair, I've been paper scrapping items by day and knitting by night.  My goal this week has been a hat a night - and thus far I've been able to do that.  These are the hats I knit yesterday and Tuesday.  Aren't my girls adorable!?!  :)

This is Sammie modeling a kid sized stocking cap in a soft and cozy boucle yarn.  I used two strands for knitting this one - a soft creamy white and a color very close to CTMH's twilight.  It's very "winter-esque" and will make a great hat for a boy or girl.

This next hat is so silly.  I just love it!  If Ruby didn't DESPISE hats, I would totally keep it for her.  But alas... I was only able to take a few pictures of her wearing it before she got crabby, so I'm glad I did get a cute shot.  This is made with Debbie Bliss cashmerino wool and OMGosh it is so incredibly soft.  I think I want one in my size (minus the pompoms).

(this photo shows off the hat best, but the next photo shows off my sweetie's smile best.

Notice also the gratuitous "i <3 mommy bib". lol...)

Halloween

What a whirlwind weekend!  I had a fantastic time at the Close To My Heart Regional Celebrations.  We made some incredible artwork (4 scrapbook pages, 6 cards, a covered notebook, and a "Joyful" Christmas Banner to be exact), attended informative and fun classes, and even got another sneak peek at Studio J!  It's coming soon and I can't wait to share it with the world.  :)

I'm still working furiously to get ready for my craft fairs, so posting may be light for a few weeks.  However, I did have to share some Halloween photos.  These are my two princesses - Snow White and Tinkerbelle.  Our church does a great Harvest party every year, and this year was no exception.  They went all out and included Nacho Libre wrestling (Sammie was too overwhelmed to go near that one!  Boys that have been wrestling are sweaty and stinky after all).  They also had a princess pavilion and she got her photo taken with all the princesses.  The costumes were awesome, and the little girls got to make fancy crowns and get their nails painted after their photo op.  :)  So cute!

The Promised Fingerless Gloves

I promised last week that I'd show you another knitted creation for my craft fair.  These are ruffled fingerless gloves.

I picked up the pattern in Victoria, BC at a fabulous little yarn store called "Buttoned Up".  It was a  darling shop and I found so very many, many things I wanted.  Yet, being on a budget I just grabbed the pattern and some Berroco Vintage Yarn.

OMGosh - this yarn is so yummy.  It is incredibly soft and comes in the most beautiful colors!  Unfortunately I checked 10 of the closest yarn stores in my area and NONE of them carry it!  ARGH...  Then when I checked online, it was sold out in most stores!  Double argh.  Finally I found yarnmarket.com and they had it in stock and less than anyone else to boot!  I ordered 12 different colors and have made gloves and headwarmer bands (see this previous post) with three of them now.  Gotta get busy!  Only 2 more weeks until my fair!

By the way, I won't be posting again until next week.  I'm leaving this morning for Portland, OR for Close To My Heart's Regional Celebration event.  I'm so excited to get to see my CTMH friends, and spend some time learning how to expand and improve my business.  :)  I'll be back Sunday, and will need a day or two to recover.  At that time I'll post pictures of my contest entries, and any cool news I hear about at the conference.

Have a wonderful weekend!

How do you get so much done?

"How do you get so much done?"

This is a question I hear all the time, and it makes me chuckle because honestly, for every thing on my list that gets done, there's about a hundred things that I didn't have time for.  But, since you guys keep asking, I suppose I can share a few of my secrets.  Don't be too disappointed though.  I'm just a regular ol' mom and wife!  :)

Nona's Tricks to Productivity

1. Make a list.
I like to have an ongoing to do list.  My gmail even has a task list built in, so I can add to it and cross things off while I'm on my computer.  I try to put everything on there - even the cheesy things like laundry - because it feels good to have things crossed off.

2. Prioritize.
Do the most urgent or the most difficult things on your list first.  That way you have the quick, easy and fun things left over.  I try to do one or two hard things in the morning so that I have the afternoon to do fun things.

3.  Say No.
This is really difficult for me, but I've gotten better at it.  And it amazes me that people understand when I do say no.  I have to choose to put my family activities first.  But this has allowed to me spend time doing the things I really want to do, versus doing things I don't want to but feel obligated to do.

4.  Time Wasting/Procrastination
I don't read the CTMH bulletin boards, and usually only spend 20-30 min a day reading blogs or messing around on facebook.  Otherwise it becomes a vortex of time wasting, sucking me in and keeping me from my family and to do list.  :)  Similarly, I try and get projects done well ahead of their "due date".  It just feels better than rushing at the last minute.  This is funny to me, however, because in high school I was the one up until 4 am writing midterms and the queen of procrastination.

5. Working Quickly
I really try hard not to dawdle.  If I'm folding laundry, I turn on some music and blow through it as fast as possible.  Same thing with my other chores, and even some artsy projects.  If the house is a mess, I'll set the timer for 15 minutes and see how much cleaning I can get done in that time frame.  I even time myself when typing up my monthly newsletters, and try and beat the clock.

6.  TV is not just for watching.
Dave and I enjoy quite a few TV shows, but I never just sit and watch.  I always have some kind of project going because it bothers me to no end to just sit there.  So my TV time is also my knitting time, or card assembly time, or folding laundry time.  That probably doesn't sound very relaxing, but it is for me.  There's nothing better than knitting to calm the mind and body while still being productive.  Shhhh, don't tell, but it's my favorite hobby.  :)

7.  Sleep or lack there of.
This is an area that will likely not work for everyone.  I'm a total night owl, and I don't need much sleep to function.  I can get by on 5-6 hours of sleep just fine.  We put our girls to bed at 7:30, and I usually don't go to bed until midnight or one AM, so I have between 4 and 5 hours every night without small children underfoot.  If you aren't a night owl, perhaps think about getting up an hour or two early so you can have some alone time.  I get more done in one hour without children, than 6 hours with them awake.

Hopefully that was helpful!  Like I said, it's pretty basic stuff.

Now I need to go and get to my list!  :)

November's Card Class Cards

So you saw a sneak peek at the first card we'll be making in class yesterday.  Today, I'll reveal the other 2 cards we'll make!

First is this elegant Fall themed thank you card.  It is a gate card - meaning that the card opens from the middle and the two side panels fold out.  I used the Flourished Blessings stamps (did you know you can get this set in French and Spanish as well?) and the Damask Tiles stamps.  Ink/paper colors are Goldrush, Pansy Purple, and Vineyard Berry.  I also used a large photo clip from the Pewter Mini-Medleys Collection and ribbon from the Colonial White Ribbon Rounds.

Next, I wanted to showcase how quick and easy it is to use CTMH's fabulous card kits.  These cards are from the Around the Holidays kit.  Everyone will get to make one of the four cards shown, and we'll jazz them up with gold glitter glue (not CTMH), 3d foam and brown chocolate ribbon.

Would you like to attend my card class?  I teach out of my home in Lynnwood, WA.  Class is just $7 or FREE with a $20 order.  This month's classes are on the 15th, 16th and 17th (but spaces are filling up quickly!).  Contact me for more info, or to reserve your seat!