Etsy Craft Party: Pick Some Flowers

I love blogging, but there is one thing I dislike about it. Blogs have a way of showing you
just how flaky you are! I said I would post this yesterday, and obviously I didn't. In fact, I was only one the computer for a few minutes in the morning to print one of my coupons, and that was the end of that. So without further ado, I present...

Pick Some Flower

Dara with Pick Some Flowers has contacted me to not only to offered a set of fun, handmade business card holders, but also to volunteer to raise money for the Red Cross. I am so thankful for both!  (The picture of the felt cases below is an example of what she has offered to give, but may not be the exact item. Either way aren't they adorable!)

Dara started out teaching her self how to crochet and embroider so she could give cute homemade gifts to her family and friends, but now she has her Etsy shop open so she can share her love of the craft with others.

So you know, this is my favorite item in her shop! I do love the felt cases, but this hat is just fantastic!

If you are interested in donating a door prize or volunteering to run a booth to raise money for the Red Cross then please email me at talesofanewhousewife (at) gmail (dot) com.

Etsy Craft Party - Your Design

Your Design is located on 211 S. Main Street. While they are primarily a custom frame shop they also offer a wide range of other artistic services like mural painting, faux finishes to any surface, and art classes.

They also host art shows for local artists every two months with one coming up on June 3rd.  You can learn more on their Facebook.

Anyway, I received a message from Alisa at Your Design about the demonstration in front of her shop during the Etsy Party!

She writes:

Faux finishes are one way to add interesting texture to your walls, ceilings or furniture. Many people are interested in learning how to create a faux finish on their own, without the expensive price tag for professional labor. June 10^th, 2011 from 10am – 5pm you will be able to take part is several of these demonstrations! 

Your Design at 211 S. Main, will be hosting these demos in front of their shop.  They will be demonstrating x3 different finishes throughout the day: Torn Paper, Glazed Leather and Texture with Tissue.

In addition to the faux finishing demonstrations, Your Design will be discussing how to change the finish of accessories with house hold items!  Make sure you stop by and see what it is all about.

Also, after talking with her a little bit longer this evening, I found out that she is kindly letting us use an area in front of her shop for a face painting booth for children.  The face painting is going to be free, however we asking that you make a donation. Donations will be given to the Red Cross here in Tulsa to help with tornado victim relieve efforts around Oklahoma, Joplin, and anywhere else there is a need.

After speaking with a man with the Red Cross, I learned that they have received enough tangible items and now need blood and money more than anything to make sure all the collected items arrive to the destinations (gas money) and that they are distributed. So while we aren't able to host a blood drive this is an easy way to help out while enjoying the community. Anything you can do helps! (Also you can contact the Red Cross about donating blood.)

I'm still looking for volunteers for other children's booths. If you can donate an hour or two (or 5) of your time I would really appreciate it. Please email me if you are interested: talesofanewhousewife (at) gmail (dot) com.

P.S. I also received an email from a local Etsy shop that has decided to give a door-prize and help out with children's activities. I will be posting about her tomorrow!

Blogger Meet-up and Jennifer Paganelli Give-Away!

While in Utah I went to the Quilt Market Meet-up for bloggers.  If you follow my Facebook at all then you'll remember how desperate I was to go to this, and how I "bribed" my way into the door at the last minute!  Oh I am so glad that I did!  Other than meeting new people, and putting a face to the blogs I read, two great things happened while I was there!

Number 1: I won a door prize!  I received an copy of "ReSew" personally autographed by the author, Jenny Wilding Cardon!  If you can't tell by the delay in my posts please understand that I'm still catching up from Market, not to mention starting new projects like the Etsy Craft Party, so I haven't had time to make anything out of this book.  However, I have glanced through it, and I'm anxious to make a dress I saw somewhere near the middle.

Number 2: The second thing that happened to me was Jennifer Paganelli saving my reputation! I had been outside talking to Josh on the phone, and all of a sudden the wind picked up. My dress started flying up, and it was definitely a Marilyn Monroe sort of moment, just not quite as sexy or graceful! As I hurried for cover back in the restaurant who should be standing in the doorway ready to help me in other than Jennifer Paganelli?!

At first I didn't even know it was her. I just started talking with her, glanced down to read her Market badge (like most of us had), and then about had a conniption when I realized who had saved me! That is right people. Jennifer Paganelli saved me from showing my goodies to the world!

After I met her, I figured there was no way the day could get any better so I said good-byes and made my way back to the hotel. Mind you I changed into my "street clothes" before venturing out into the wind again.

Now in honor of my meeting fabric royalty I'm going to host my first give-away! 

I've picked the last 5 fat quarters of Jennifer Paganelli fabric out of my stash. Don't worry, I will soon have more on the way because I found a great deal on "Honey Child" on Etsy.  (Please forgive me for being to selfish to share the link with you on this one until I get my sticky little fingers on it first! *laughs*)

How to win....

Each comment is a separate entry. You can have up to 3 entries.

1. The Freebie: Leave a comment about whatever you are thinking about doing after leaving a comment. 
2. Facebook:  Post about this giveaway on Facebook. Then come back here and leave a comment saying you completed the task.
3. Blog: Put this on your own blog. Then come back here and leave a comment with your blog link.

Okay I changed my mind... If you click to follow my blog using Google Friend Connect over on the left side of the blog then you can have a 4th entry.  This is really easy to do, especially if you already have a Google account, just be sure to leave another comment letting me know you are following me.

*Since this is my first give-away I've decided not to open it up to international readers, unless you happen to have a shipping address in the United States.


*I will use random.org to determine the winner.


*Also be sure to leave an email address or someway to contact you in your comment so that I can let you know if you won.

This give away will close on Tuesday, May 31st, Thursday, June 2nd at 11:59pm central, so be sure to comment before then. (Comments after the cut-off will not be eligible for the prize, but are still welcome because I love hearing from people!)

Good Luck!

Heartsy

Have you ever heard of Heartsy.me?  It is the Groupon of Etsy.

Earlier this week I bought a $30 gift certificate to a fabric shop on Etsy for only $14.  The gift certificiate is good for 3 months so I'm hanging onto it a little bit to see if they get anything else add before it expires.  Either way, there are cute things available at huge discounts every day.

Click the Heartsy monster icon and sign-up. When you make your first purchase you will receive a $5 credit towards your next purchase!

Volunteers Needed

I need a handful of people who are willing to donate a couple hours of their time for a good cause. I would like to be able to set up a couple booths for kids during the Etsy Craft Party and need people to man them. All money raised from these booths will go to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts.  I will make sure that the supplies needed for the booths is provided. I just need someone to man it. 

Anyone willing to volunteer any amount of time can email me at talesofanewhousewife (at) gmail (dot) com.

Gingher Had to Go

Now that I've posted about the Etsy Craft Party (under this post), I am able to post about Gingher.

Monday, after getting back from Salt Lake City, Josh and I spent the day getting our birthday present - a Wii with a few new games.  While we were out and about we decided to stop by the pet store to get some water conditioner for Gingher because of the chlorine. One thing led to another and a $9 bottle of conditioner turned into a $300 purchase including a new aquarium with stand, rocks, filter, and everything else the most spoiled turtle in the world could ever want!

We were so excited and talked about it all the way home, and it was quite a trek because we were on the opposite side of the city at the time.  By the time we arrived home we had decided where we would put the tank, and that we were going to order a friend for Gingher, to be named "Fisker" of course!  After Josh wrestled the bottom half of the aquarium out of the back seat and carried it up to the apartment I found a note on the door.  This was not a good note!

The note said that we owed our apartment complex $50 for breaking the no pet agreement in our lease, and we would owe $10 every day after up to 14 days upon which we would be evicted if we didn't comply.  Oh boy was I upset.  We went down to talk to management. We asked if we paid a pet deposit if we would be able to keep Gingher and they said that even if we lived in a pet building we wouldn't be allowed to have a turtle.  Really? Because a turtle is going to ruin the carpet? Keep the neighbors awake with noise? Scratch up the walls? Are you kidding me?

Either way, we had to face it, we weren't going to be able to keep Gingher. So we loaded the aquarium back up. Packed up Gingher with his food, and we took him over this Josh's parents.  They have a fountain in their back yard that should be a good place for a turtle. The sad news is that no one has seen him in the week since he has lived there.  I really hope that it is because he was about to get free and not because he was eaten.  On the bright side we were able to return all the aquarium stuff, put the money back in savings, and not drive back across the city to do it.

So that is the story of Gingher. I do miss him a little even though we only had him a week.  I'll be happy when we live in a place where we can have a turtle with no worries. It will be awesome.

P.S. The apartment manager did waive the fee after coming in and searching every room and closet in our apartment to make sure we complied.

Etsy Craft Party

I have been so super busy this last week after market that I’ve not even been able to catch up with all the Market posts I have to tell you about. Not to mention, I need to tell you about Gingher, but that will have to wait for now because I have the most exciting news!

I’ve decided to host the Etsy Craft Party in Broken Arrow this year! I’ve already talked to the city about permit requirements, and I’ve also started working with the Main Street Merchants!

Here are the details so far.

June 10^th, 2011 from 10am – 5pm. This is a come as you like event.

Your starting point is Centennial Park on the corner of Main and Broadway.  I will have a table set up where you can register to win door prizes which will be donated by the Merchants on Main Street!  There will also be a secondary table where Etsy Artisans are welcome to leave a stack of business cards or something along those lines for people to take. 

From the starting point you can just work your way up and down Main Street visiting each of the shops. The shops will have demonstration or merchandise booths set out in front of their shops. More details about the shops will come as we get closer.

If you plan on attending be sure to include your link in the list. You can either scroll down to the bottom of the page to add your link or select the "Etsy Craft Party" tab under the blog banner.

Unfortunately, this event is so last minute that I was unable to get permits to allow for Etsy shops to set up their own booth. However, if this has a good turn out and runs smoothly then I will hopefully be coordinating with the city to have a huge craft fair on Main Street later in September or October. If you have an Etsy shop and are interested in having a booth during that event then be sure to come out and support us now. (There will be a separate sign-up sheet for interests in future booth spaces. People who sign-up will be the first in line to receive booth space at the next event.)

If you have any questions please email me at talesofanewhousewife (at) gmail (dot) com.  If you are an Etsy shop owner and would like to donate a door prize please contact me about that as well.

Awesome!

For those who already read my Facebook I'm sorry for the repeat....

Everyone else...

I'm so very super excited. This was double coupon week at Harps. I spent more than I thought. I'm not going to take the time to break it down completely because it gets boring watching someone display their grocery list!

Basically my weekly grocery budget is $120, and like most people this includes my hygiene stuff also.  This week I spent roughly $180!! However, I was able to purchase 3 weeks worth of groceries, and start little bitty stockpiles of a few things.  I added to my napkin stockpile since they were free! I probably have enough body wash to last well into the fall. I shouldn't need disinfectant wipes for 6 months, and I use them quite a bit. I shouldn't need unmentionable female items for the rest of the year. I also have a couple things to take to my parents that I received for free, but don't use.

I was a little sad about the amount I spent until I put all the items away, and rough sketched the menu. We will safely be able to eat a different meal each day for two weeks if we wanted, but since we usually have left overs of some sort we will definitely last through 3 weeks, maybe even an extra day or two! So that is about $60 a week, not including a few staples we will have to get on weeks two and three.  After looking at it like that I think this couponing thing is definitely awesome!

Spring Market 2011 - Moda Dinner

Every Market Moda hosts a dinner party for their customers. This year was my second time to go, and my first time to stay the whole time. 

I was going to make a long post about the courses served and everything, but I decided to delete that stuff and summarize.  The salad is a salad, what else can you say.  The main course was fantastic.

The dessert is always out of this world amazing. (Raspberry custard - oh I'm definitely going to look for a recipe soon!)

The company is usually always wonderful! Last year the company was kind of boring plus there were other things going on in Minneapolis so we ditched early.

The bar is available until they close the event around 9:30 - 10:00pm. 

I stayed with my new friends the complete time! In fact the DJ finally said enough was enough and basically made us leave at 11:00pm!  (Hey girls I hope you are reading this! If so send me an email suchislife (at) gmail (dot) com ! Thanks!)  We had a load of fun, maybe to much so!

The next morning was a bit rough, but a bit of chap-stick, aspirin, and water, and I was good to go!

Sample Spree

The flight to Utah was quite easy. The worse part was changing planes in Denver where it was sleeting, but even that wasn't bad because the airport was toasty.

I had kind of expected Salt Lake City to be a gray and dreary city from different people's tellings of it, but it turns out that it feels a lot like Tulsa, just a bit cleaner.

Anyway, after throwing our stuff into the hotel we headed straight for Sample Spree.  Even though our flight had been delayed were arrived early enough to get good spots in the line, and we were only about 20 people in!

This year I went with about half the amount of money as last and a general idea of my "shopping list". The truth is that I still have a lot of the fabric I bought at last year's sample spree in my stash, so there really isn't a need to add a lot more. Mostly I was looking for Japanese fabrics and maybe one more small fabric bundle.

This is what I bought. A 1/2 yard bundle of solids from Art Gallery (10 different pieces). A bundle of 8 fat quarters from Lecien. I love these because of the cotton/linen blend!  I normally don't buy patterns, but this one is of a French penguin in a snow globe. Who can resist that? The pattern company, Metropolitan Quilt, is new, so new that they don't have a website yet. However, I'm hoping I'll be able to work with them more as they get established because the patterns are so cute!

The last thing I bought was the Aurifil thread box. I actually went over budget with this by $2, but Chris was able to loan it to me. *laughs* Just to give you an idea of how much I love Aurifil thread - I usually order it from Pine Needles in Minnesota, and it cost something around $12 a spool after shipping. That is a bit much for thread in most cases, but this thread is the best I've found. I especially love it for hand sewing becuase it doesn't knot up like every other thread I've tried. Even better I've never had to "condition" it first with beeswax.  It probably would have been smarter to get more nuetral colors, but I couldn't resist these bright colors especially now that I see how well they go with the Art Gallery fabric!

Last, but not least, the wallet is from Art Gallery as well. It is so adorable. Chris bought this for me because she gets gifts for everyone each year -Super Sweet! The awesome thing about it is that I was looking for a wallet before Market, but couldn't find one I thought was worth the money. Now this one is perfect for me!

Tomorrow is the last day of Market, and I have lots of pictures to share. For now though, I need to get my bags packed because we leave Market early to catch our flight. Unfortunately, even though our flight leaves at 4:20pm tomorrow, we won't be home until almost mid-night thanks to the delays.

Good Night!

CVS on Sunday

I did 3 transactions at CVS and saved lots on Sunday. Here is the break down.

Transaction 1

2 cases of water bottles: Retail $7.98 Sale $2.44

2 Glade Automatic things: Retail $21.58 Sale $14.00 With Coupons $6.00

Total (with tax) $12.01 +plus $4 EC on next order

Transaction 2

4 Xtra laundry detergent: Retail $11.96 Sale $5.96 with Coupons: $3.96

2 Cover Girl items: Retail $11.18 with MFR coupon $8.68 with CVS Coupon $5.68

Plus I used the $4EC from the previous transaction.

Total (with tax) $6.85 +plus $3EC on next order

Transaction 3

8 boxes of brownies: Retail $8 Sale $6.76 with Coupons $2.67

16 cups of cereal: Retail: $16 Sale $13.34 with Coupons $5.34

1 box of brownies I was charged for but didn't receive $0.83

Plus I used $3 EC from previous transaction and a coupon for $4 off purchase of $20

Total (with tax) $3.28

Across the board

Retail: $77.70

Sale: $56.42

with Coupons: $31.92

With store cash coupons $22.14

A Bobbin, A Bobbin

Before I could sew anything this evening I had to clean my machine. My goodness, I don't remember the last time I did it, but as you can tell by the globs of lint, it was past time to dust it off!

After cleaning, searching for empty bobbins, and finally getting the machine threaded I was able to finish my four-patch posy blocks. I had planned on getting this quilt done last month. However, I put it in a project basket after taking it to demonstrate at the guild meeting in April, and out of site out of mind it went.

Since this quilt was just for fun anyway, I'm going to leave it on the design wall for a day or so. I don't like the distribution of dark pink in the quilt, so I'll spend some time staring at it tomorrow. It is to late to set it together tonight anyway.

Here is a fun song to wind up the evening...

New Addition

I've been busy with the newest addition to our family the last few days, hence my lack in blogging.  Everyone I would like to introduce you to Gingher! He is our Red Eared Slider turtle!

Doesn't he look pretty sharp? hehehe (People who sew will get the joke. Others may have to look up "Gingher".)

Josh found him on a ramp at the airport. He sent me a video, and I loved Gingher from the moment I saw him trying to escape the fruit cup Josh was keeping him in at the time.  Wednesday was kind of hard for Gingher because we didn't have a home or food for him at the time, but Thursday I visited the pet store and picked up everything the little guy needed.

We weren't sure we would be able to keep him at first. However, he adjusted to his new habitat quickly, and started eating his pellet food so he can stay!  Last night, we filled the bath for him, and let him swim because he is an aquatic turtle.

He swam so much I'm surprised his little flipper feet didn't fall off! After playing for 45 minutes I was ready for bed so he had to go to bed as well, which I don't think he liked to much. I've never had a turtle before, but I think this is the perfect pet. How could he not be, he's so tiny and cute!

Colorful break!

I never had a box of 64 crayons when I was a kid. I posted this on Facebook sometime last month and one of my friends, Adrianne, brought me a box at work. She said part of the fun was reorganizing them so they were in any order that I wanted, and she was right!  Thanks Andrianne!

Now I need to get back to the chores I neglected this weekend. I really meant to get them done, but I was busy then greatly distracted.

Project #2 -In Progress

I moved all the pots and pans out of the cabinet and put my make-shift recycling bins in their place. The plan is to have actual bins to sort everything into, but these paper bags are what I have for now so they will do.  The more I look at it the more I think that I need to find a better spot. For starters I'm going to end up with my pots, pans, cutting board, colander, and bake-ware scattered around in random places all over the kitchen now, and that isn't good. Second, there really isn't an easy way to set it up in this cabinet and still make all the bins easily identifiable. 

I think I might be able to set up bins in the top shelf of the laundry room instead. This would allow all the bins to be easily seen once the labels are adhered, they would still be out of site, and I would continue to have a place for all my cookware!  The only downside is that I'll need a step stool in order to reach the bins every time i want to sort something. Decisions. Decisions.

On the bright side, I did finish the labels. All I have to do is have them laminated so they will last.  Plus, they match the pantry labels because of the bird! So everything is nice and matchy-matchy, just how I like it!

As for the other project, the pantry jars: I hit a snag with covering the lids so I'm in search for the perfect ribbon to fix it. I am also trying to get the goo from the original labels off the jar. I will let them soak more tomorrow and then use lots of elbow grease to clean them up nicely.

P.S. I never did get around to writing/posting a "Flashback Friday" so maybe I'll get to it next week, who knows.