Backyard Preparations

Today my dog Daisy and I ventured out into the backyard to take photos of my cup sleeves in preparation for the opening of my Etsy shop!

( Well, I took photos and Daisy mainly barked at birds) ;)

Here's a few peaks from my afternoon

She's just the cutest sweet little thing <3

The scene is set!

Bring on the cup sleeves!

Here's a look at what my product shots will look like! I love the way the woodgrain from our fence looks in the back ground!

Whatcha think?

Finished Product

Hello my friends! I hope that your Christmas season has been grand !

I wanted to share with you the Harry Potter scarves that I finished up a couple weeks ago!

I'm very proud of myself, these are my first full scarves and they are now being worn by some very lovely ladies! I have loved creating these Ravenclaw and Gryffindor scarves and I am so glad that their new owners love them too!

Next project here I come!

Caffeineation is Key

(photo weheartit.com)

Less than two weeks before Christmas folks!

We are in high gear around my house in preparations!

Christmas baking, Christmas wrapping, and Christmas movie watching!

In addition to these festive yule tide preparations, we are working full time friends!

I might as well call Starbucks home, and when I'm not Christmas wrapping it's filling orders for commissioned crochet work! Hustle bustle is right!

Meanwhile Matt is having all day long editing sessions, when he's not networking or working on marketing.

It's all good fun really....but coffee has become my very best friend!

Luckily as a Starbucks employee I have easy access to it!

Merry Christmas friends!

Crochet Goals

It has been about a year since I first sat down with a crochet book I got from the library (Ok, a children's crochet book) and I am still at it, and people are actually wanting to buy the things that I am crocheting !

However, there are so many crafting techniques that I really want to learn. I need some goals for crocheting before I can move on to the next thing. Here we go!

1. I need to learn to crochet in a round, so that I can make beanies and a number of other projects!

2. Granny squares! I would love to make a granny square blanket!

3. Cowl neck scarf. I think I already probably can do this one with the techniques that I know...but it's a bit intimidating so....I just have to do it!!

Harry Potter Project!

Hello! I hope everyone's week is splendid so far!

For those of you who don't know ...I have become a bit of well....a GIGANTIC Harry Potter fan!

I am still in the process of reading the books but I adore the movies!

A good friend of mine named Bre asked me to tackle a Harry Potter project for her and I was more than happy to help!

I have been enlisted to make her a scarf in Gryfindor colors. Which only makes me want to have a great big Harry Potter marathon while I crochet it!

Not to mention the new movie (which was fantastic , and I may or may not have seen it more than once already) ;)

Anyhow...here are some of my favorite moments from the movies!

(all images weheartit.com)

Ta da!....the scarf in progress. I have made MUCH more progress since that photo was taken.

Very fun project! Thanks Bre!

Productive, Crafty, Christmasy Morning = Happy Heart!

Oh I had the best morning today! (the afternoon and evening were a bit...shall we say sticky?..... but no matter)

I got up early, had two cups of coffee..and got to crafting,

I crocheted by the light of my Christmas tree while I watched Polar Express!

I also packaged up a few prizes from the recent giveaway as well as a few custom orders that I completed this week.

I found myself wishing so much that crafting could be my full time job...I just feel right when I am doing something creative!

I think that doing one creative thing can spark ides for all kinds of other creative things...I also dreamt up a few fun concepts for photo shoots while I was in Christmas crafty magic land!

Creating makes my heart oh so happy!

I would love to stay in bed and hibernate all day.....

like this perdy redhead.....but it's go time!
The holidays are in full swing, and I have alot to do!
It's that time of year when Christmas music is almost constant in my household, and I'm a cleaning/organizing fool getting ready to put up Christmas decorations!
Prep for Turkey day cooking is in full swing, and all me lists are made!

Make cure to swing by tomorrow because I've got a special Thanksgiving Day surprise you won't want to miss!
Happy preparations !

November Craft Shows!

Hey there, stopping in to fill you in on the many craft shows I was in this November!
This fall has been such a wonderful experience for me. Four craft shows in the span of 30 days!
I fared pretty well at each one too!
I would love to participate in a few more next year as well!
But for now , let's take a look at my table from each show!

1. My first November craft show was called Canvas, a local art show put on by a church called Element here in Brandon, FL . It's an awesome event, I attended last year to see some art, grab some coffee, and catch a few performances by some amazing local bands! I'm so glad I got to show my stuff in this year's show!

2. Next up, an event called Red Wine, Green Art put on by Wholefoods. Nikki and I got to set up next to each other! We sat together, hot chocolate in hand (as it was quite cold that night) ready to sell our supply! Good fun!

Check out Misses Octopus's adorable show display! I just love what Nikki has done!

3. The Stower's Elementary School Hoedown!
Nikki and I shared a space at this fun little event, and I think together we made our table quite cute! It was fun crocheting behind our table in the down time, and selling our crafts together! Plus there was a dance recital in the cafeteria (where we were) so we even got a little show!

All in all, I'm very happy with how these shows turned out! Even if I didn't make too much money, it's still a great experience with craft show and lot's of fun with crafty friends!

I 'm starting to think about how to upgrade my display for more shows. If you look at photos from show to show...it morphs every time! lol
Any suggestions?

Confession : I'm a Christmas NUT!

Yes I'm afraid it's true. Hi, my name is Sara and I'm Christmasholic.

I just love the general spirit of the season!

Christmas is a time of year that has developed A HUGE number of traditions in our family over the years.....i love how we do special things at special times all together as a family.

Get's me thinking about what traditions my own little family is going to develop through the years....Exciting to think about!

Some of my Christmasy (is that a word? It is now!) favorites include:

1. Christmas decorations! In my family it's a tradition to decorate the tree together, and my mom gets us each a new ornament every year!

Matt and I have adapted this tradition a bit. We don't just get one another an ornament...we try to get an ornament that really symbolizes the changes we went through that year or how our interests adapt. It's been fun!

2. Christmas cooking! This is a fairly new "love" for me....cooking that is. But there is something about the smell of gingerbread or pumpkin spice cookies wafting through my house that I just adore, and nothing is better than cooking a delicious turkey with Matt! ( I especially like to cook WITH Matt )

We will see what treats we'll cook up this year!

3. Merry Christmas Charlie Brown.

A 30 minute iconic Christmas short about the TRUE meaning of Christmas!

Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, who gave us such a wonderful gift of salvation, which is why we give gifts to one another!

I always get to feelin' super Christmasy after I watch Merry Christmas Charlie Brown!

4. Holiday Drinks from Starbucks! As a Starbucks barista it's easy to let myself get overloaded with Gingerbread lattes and Pumpkin Spice lattes(as they are free to me while I am working, and have a great discount when I'm not working)....so I like to only have them every once in a while so it's festive and special!

5. This tradition is one of my favorites! My mom and I have done it every year since I can remember! We call it "light looking". It's exactly what it sounds like.....we drive around different neighborhoods and look at Christmas lights! It seems so magical when everyone puts up their lights! Houses lit up with beautiful Christmas scenes! Oh I love it!

Well....now you know my little secret . Although I don't think it's much of a secret from my friends and family ;)

What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?

(all photos vis weheartit.com)

Time Flies!

Hey folks... boy it's been a whirlwind month!

First off, October was a HUGE month for my husband and my photography business Matthew R Photo (5 wedding in one month!) which is wonderful but it makes for a lot of ruckus!

Add on top of that preparations for the Indie Craft Show, which was the first craft show I had ever done which went so well that I decided to participate in 3 other shows just last week!

Add to that mix 2 more weddings since the beginning of November and a full time job slingin' coffee at Starbucks and I am one busy (and sleepy) lady!

But things are beginning to slow down here a bit,

and I'm ready to share ideas inspirations and maybe a giveaway or two!

Thanks so much for bearing with me so far.....more fun to come this week!

Indie Craft Show 2010 Part 3!

Dun duh duh.....my booth from the Indie Craft Show!

I am so pleased with how it all came together!

After many MANY run throughs...I finally figured out how I wanted it to look....

take a look and tell me how you thought it turned out!

I fit all my cup sleeves, hair accessories, jewelry, and other crocheted items into my "lemonade stand". It took so much work to get it just right with all my merchandise fit in...and it turned out JUST RIGHT!! :)

Hope your week is magic!

I've got lots planned, check back!

Indie Craft Show 2010 Part 2!

Now for the fun part!

All the ladies that participated in this show made such gorgeous boothes!

I'm so glad about the turn out by both vendors and customers.

Each booth was so pretty and fun!

Im going to take you on a tour of the Indie Craft Show, from one end to the other!

Here we go!

1. Jessica.Humphreys!

2. The Social Cellar!

3. Tinker's Box!

4. And the Pickles Mystical Page Pets!

5. Dee !

6. Misses Octopus!

( also check out her blog!)

7. A Beautiful Reflection!

8. Sew and Love!

9. Painthesky !

(check out her blog!)

Where is the Lovely Lemon booth you ask?.....You get to see THAT tomorrow!

Come one back , I have lots of fun things planned including a Giveaway!!

Indie Craft Show 2010 Part 1!

Hello! I hope your Thursday night is splendid!

It has been almost two weeks since the Indie Craft Show and I think I am fully recovered!

I'm back to blogging and ready to share all the fun details!

Part one:

the decorations!

Who doesn't love balloons?

Originally I was going to mix them all up into colorful bundles but I'm loving the look of them all seperate! They look like gumballs!Fun!

A large table was set in the center of the space covered in brown paper, we also set out crayons, colored pencils, and markers to let everyone doodle!

It was fun for adults and for kids!

pom pom flowers! :)

fabric pennants are my favorite right now and also the perfect way to spruce up the kitchen!

Coming tomorrow......a tour of the vendor boothes!