It has been a long time since I have posted, but I have decided on giving my blog another try.  I am still making bows on a small scale and have started some new flip flop designs as well :)  Since my bow making has become much smaller, my blog posts will probably focus more on the "Mama" than the "bow making".  I will continue to post new creations, I just won't focus solely on my projects.

My first return post is in regards to my now three year old daughter.  She is the sweetest, most lovable thing ever, 50% of the time.  The rest of the time, she is a complete terror.  To put it lightly, her tantrums are out of control.  I am not talking about one or two a week.  I have been dealing with at least two plus a day!  I have read a couple books, tried "talking" it out (there is not talking for her), hugging it out, time out, talking to her pediatrician, etc.  Nothing works.  There is no rationalizing with her, she can't even tell me what is upsetting her.  It's difficult to deal with a screaming, fit throwing three year old who doesn't even know what is wrong.  I pray for patience and have tried to make room for the things I enjoy, just to "get away" a bit from the craziness.

How do the rest of you deal with your frustrations with your child(ren) and how do you choose to "get away" for a bit?

New Projects and New School Year

Now that Labor Day has passed, the kids are back in school and all chaos broke loose.  This past week has been a crazy one.  Our oldest started back in school, he's in 1st Grade and going to school all day now.  What an adjustment it has been!  Saying that he has been tired and cranky, would be an understatement.  Got the kids pics taken on Thursday for fall and Little Miss Grabby Hand's 1st Birthday.  On top of all of that, the kids have been sick and now I think I am the next in line. We had the 1st Birthday party yesterday, so that meant Friday and Saturday were completely booked.  Getting ready, dealing with sick kids, and having the party most of the day.

Needless to say, my time has been extremely limited.  However, I did find some time today to experiment with some kanzashi flowers.  My results are below.  These are after quite a few no so good starts.  I plan on selling the headband in the store and putting the clip there too.  I am also going to sell the pink clip on my Etsy site.  What do you think?  They weren't easy to make (well tie anyways) but I kind of enjoyed making them for something different.  Much more time consuming than my typical headband or clip, but I think they are pretty neat looking.  The flower on the headband looks kind of squished.  It's just how the flower way laying for the picture.  It doesn't really look that lopsided.  For the clippie, I only made the light pink flower by hand, the shocking pink one was an embellishment.

Happy Labor Day!

After a wonderful 2 days (or was it a day and a half?) up north, we have returned back home.  It was a short trip, but pretty nice despite the fact that the weather was not that pleasant.  We went up on Friday night, then Saturday we went west to go to a winery and did some tasting.  I found quite a few varieties that I liked and bought all but one of them.  After the wine tasting, we went downtown and I took my son to get some fudge.  Yummy!  We did some bumming around at the mall and then headed back.  Then we decided to leave today instead of our originally planned departure date or Monday.  We wanted to beat traffic since school starts up Tuesday.  We hit a few outlet malls on the way home and I got the kids some clothes for the fast approaching fall season.  Cooler weather is drawing near and nothing fit either of the kids.   We also stopped for pizza at a place that my father in law loved.  It brought back some really nice memories and made me wish he was still here to see the kids.  I wish our kids had the opportunity to meet him.

So, here we are back home and I got some craft time in to make a few things tonight for my Etsy shop.  I'm pretty sure I will have to put in some serious crafting time this week.  My sister said my items were selling well this weekend at the store.  She stopped in there today.  I put an order in for supplies on Friday but don't anticipate them coming until Thursday or so.  Bummer, since I am really starting to run low.

Hopefully, we will get some time tomorrow to take the kids to the festival and let our oldest ride some of the carnival rides.  Honestly, I am craving an elephant ear myself.  I haven't had one in years and it just sounds really good.  Not that I would let that influence my decision to go, it's all about the kids having fun....right?

I want to take this time to wish everyone a Happy Labor Day.  Have fun, be safe, and I hope you had a great weekend.

Time

Well, today is Little Miss Grabby Hand's 1st Birthday.  I feel like she kind of got cheated though.  I didn't have time to make a cake (my sister made her cupcakes today) and we really didn't have a celebration.  She did open one gift that her brother picked out (Baby Mega Blocks in pink and purples).  They seem to be a hit with her since they are covering my family room floor.  I have been so busy trying to get items done for the festival this weekend that I just completely ran out of time.

This is the big weekend in my hometown.  The festival begins tonight and goes through Monday.  Tons of people come to town so traffic should be good in the store.  More people, more inventory, and boy did  I need more inventory.  More inventory equated to late nights.  Going to bed at 2-3 in the morning and waking up for work the next day was not fun.  .  I really hope that these late nights pay off, I have enough inventory, and that all of it is gone by the time I return on Tuesday.

One thing I did learn is that the mini korker baby barrettes I made were a huge hit with everyone who saw them.  I got so many compliments on them.  Now, I wish I would have bought more of the tiny ribbon, but I played it safe when purchasing because I wasn't sure if I was going to like it.  So, needless to say, I will be placing an order for some more and in more colors. Here is a picture of them:



Well, I'm glad the rush is over for now.  At least until the next show or festival comes up.  Hopefully, I can get to bed at a reasonable hour tonight and get some sleep tonight.  After I work on a few things, of course...

Being behind, birthdays, and yummy food!

I hate feeling like I am behind.  With the Peach Festival coming up this weekend, I feel like I will not have enough items at the store.  Then part of me fears I will make too much and it will never sell.  I just keep plugging away and I made a half dozen to a dozen more items tonight.  It seems the more I wonder about how much to make, the more I look at my supplies and think I want a better selection.  I am getting tired of looking at the same unused resins and the same colors of ribbon.  Thankfully. there are only a few days left until the festivities begin on Thursday night.    I did make a really cute Haloween Korker bow this evening.  I will have to post it on here tomorrow since I don't have the pictures yet.

On a plus side, my mother in law took the kids for the night so I could have some peace and quiet while I worked.  Hubby went birthday shopping for "A" and that was a huge relief for me.  He even picked out things that were on the list.   A huge bonus.

Since I was going solo tonight, I decided to get take out.  I had a craving for Asian food.  I don't get it often because I am the only one in the house that really likes it.  I decided to try Pei Wei for the first time and it was WONDERFUL.  The sesame chicken had just enough kick to it.  So yummy and I have leftovers for lunch tomorrow :)

The Begining

Well, this is my first official blog post.  I can't believe I am doing a blog.  I was never much of a writer growing up.  Much more of a verbal and social person.  However, I thought it was time to do something different with my time (or lack thereof).

As you can see by my "About Me" bio my little girl is about to turn 1.  In less than a week in fact.  I can't believe how quickly the time has flown by and I am not ready for her grow up quite yet :(  It seems like just yesterday she was this itty bitty thing in the NICU and today she is cruising around the furniture and "Little Miss Grabby Hands" is always getting in to something.  She is so different from her brother.  He was so well behaved as a baby and we never had to worry about him getting in to trouble or putting something in his mouth.  She touches everything and is constantly putting EVERYTHING in her mouth.  While it can definitely be trying at times, I think this is what I love so much about her.  Her individuality and curiosity about the world around her.  I can already tell she is going to give us a run for our money in the following years.

Things have been crazy, work is busy, my oldest is getting ready to start 1st grade in less than 2 weeks and I am starting to prepare for Little Miss Grabby Hand's 1st Birthday Party in 2 weeks.  I know, I should have been all set, organized, and planned weeks ago.  I have just been so busy with parties, kids, work, and trying to get my Etsy shop going I have not had much time.  Thank goodness for a sister that has offered to make her cake (and she makes GREAT cakes).  Now here I am finding time to start a blog.  What was I thinking??

Anyways, I will post a few things I have been working on (and are in my Etsy shop) for you to check out.  As new items come up I will continue to post and as I find things that really intrigue me, I will also share.