Truly Outrageous

Alice in Wonderland Birthday Tea Party

2010-03-07T13:10:00.000-08:00

My daughter turned 5 on friday, and of course we had to have an "Alice in Wonderland" themed birthday party.
It was also very "Etsy" themed since I got a few things from there. One being her cute Alice dress! Also, the best tasting sugar cookies ever! Not only do they look amazing but they are perfectly tasting. I got her owl and puppy cookies for my birthday, and I think I will have to get some for every holiday.

We had a cute little tea party since we were just having girls to the party. I got all the plates and tea cups from the Goodwill along with all the vases I put red roses in. I got Regan a special tea cup from Anthropologie since we love tea! Don't worry, she drinks Organic kids tea with no caffeine ;)

I Also made my first fondant cake. Regan insisted on not having cupcakes, go figure. They are not special enough anymore since we make them like once a week. I still had to make some because I knew not everyone wanted strawberry cake like her.
It turned out ok, not really what I had in my head but the checkerboard look worked. I made it around midnight the night before so I really didnt want to go crazy and then mess it up. It's a little too simple looking, but none of the other fondant accessories I had planned had worked right.
Also, I used my new black foil cupcake liners, they are so fancy. And mixed with the blue gingham cupcake wrappers, really made it match with the Alice theme.

DIY Weddings

2010-02-22T05:34:00.000-08:00

I know it's only February, but I am already getting swamped with orders for weddings. It is a great time to get married now. Almost everyone is doing a DIY wedding, and with so many options out there, it's easy to see why! It doesn't even matter if your on a budget or not- everyone wants their wedding to be uniques and as special as it can be.
With that said, I am working on a pinwheel wedding. I am so excited for it! I have made alot of pinwheels for weddings- for cupcake toppers, but finally I get to make bridesmaid pinwheel bouquets! I will definatly show photos when they are done, maybe I can get some from the actual wedding?

Here is my new favorite fancy cupcake liners for weddings, they are called "Elenor Black" so pretty!

Snow Day!

2010-02-10T16:11:00.000-08:00

So my birthday was yesterday, and I just didn't feel like making cupcakes even though I really wanted some.
Today ended up being a total snow day, everything is closed, I mean EVERYTHING! You would think we never had snow before.
So I decided it was time to make some Valentine's cupcakes..only I had one problem. Nothing is open, I wasn't going to shovel snow anyway, but I have no ingredients ;( My husbands idea, use a can of soda.
Hmmmm What are you talking about? I forgot that he actually told me about this awhile ago, but I didn't need the info then.
So I take a box of cake mix (I had red velvet,so appropriate) and a can of soda. mix together and bake!
No eggs, no vegetable oil. Just soda! Take a sip or 2 of the soda first, then use the rest. So now its vegan!
Also, it turned out to be one of the best cupcakes ever! The batter tasted like Dr. Pepper...haha YUMMY~

Also, I have been working on some new custom wedding cupcake toppers, so I took some photos of it with the cupcakes.
Buy them in my store!

New cupcake goodies

2010-02-03T13:55:00.000-08:00

It has been far too long since I wrote anything on here. To tell you the truth, I forgot my email and password to log into my account.
So things have been super busy here. I have been working alot on my stores.. I have a ton of new cupcake products, including alot of cupcake liners in bulk! Perfect for bakers who are tired of the boring white baking cups! Anyway, here are a few pics. My handmade butterfly cupcake toppers, perfect for weddings. Doing a DIY wedding? I would LOVE to make custom ones. I love these butterflies. I think they look so elegant. Anyway, I have nonperils too and new sprinkles, and new GINHAM cupcake liners!
I am totally in love.

Sugar cookies!

2009-12-21T16:20:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to share some of my new sugar cookies I made to show off the cookie cutters I have for sale. Along with all the decorating stuff you need to make these! You can buy it all! And I have to say, I really didn't want to eat the cookies after decorating them, but I am sure glad I did....They were the best tasting cookies I ever had! The royal icing and all the decorations, really make the cookies that much yummier. The dress cookie cutter is part of the "princess" cookie cutter set.

Cupcake Challenge

2009-11-22T15:03:00.000-08:00

HI everyone!
I just wanted to tell all my fellow bakers out there, there is a cupcake challenge next sunday here in Moorestown,NJ.
It is at "Swanky Bubbles" an amazing dining place that also has a location in Philly. It is Sunday, November 29th at 5pm.

Do you want to enter? First prize is 100$ Right now they only have a few registered bakers, with limited spots open, so join NOW!
There will be tons of prizes, and giveaways. I am personally donating a ton of items for giveaways, so you will not be disappointed!

Also I am a guest judge! YEAH! I get to eat cupcakes for free! YUMMY!

Here is the site for more info:

http://www.meetup.com/Iron-Cupcake-Challenge-Moorestown

Upside Down Rainbows

2009-11-22T08:48:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I saw this! Actually my little guy pointed it out when we were coming out of the car into the house.
I never heard of such a thing, and when I asked my family, none of them have heard of it before either...so I googled it.
You should too, it's so amazing, and rare!

Also, if you look at the one photo, there were 2! one is smaller :)

***YOU MAY NOT TAKE OR USE THESE PHOTOS FOR ANY PURPOSE! IF YOU WANT TO PLEASE CONTACT ME***

Bamboo

2009-11-22T08:46:00.000-08:00

I just thought I would share a picture I took at the zoo the other day. I thought it was lovely, and I am so glad it turned out nice :)

Rock Star Wedding

2009-11-01T15:22:00.001-08:00

The bride and groom with Regan. She wasn't happy until she got to see them. She talks about Claudio all the time and she was SO excited about the wedding.

Doug and his celebrity girlfriend, Richard Christie from Howard Stern fame. I call him Dougs girlfriend because he would much rather hang out with him then me. oh well.

My cute guys.

My artsy photo of the ceremony. SO beautiful outside, the rain didn't even bother us.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-30T12:07:00.000-07:00

More Birthday Pics

2009-10-30T11:55:00.001-07:00

I know it's been awhile. Here are some pictures from the birthday spread.

Raising money for Charity

2009-09-30T06:06:00.000-07:00

SO we did a fundraising gift for Harry's first birthday, and I am so proud to say that we raised 475.00 for the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia! The first children's hospital in the country, and one of the top pediatric hospitals in the USA! If you want to donate, go here~ CHOP

Happy First Birthday Harrison!

2009-09-19T13:22:00.000-07:00

My sons birthday is on September 26th. We have chosen to do a charity party instead of getting toys.
Here is the flyer for the party, and info on how to donate!

My son the supermodel

2009-08-28T14:29:00.000-07:00

Here he is for the Burlington coat factory ad that will be printed this fall- Regan just got her picture taken today for I think the holiday catologe- so cute! No, we didn't get paid.

WINNERS

2009-08-19T07:01:00.000-07:00

The winners are...
ERIN from canada
and
JANETTE from Norway

thank you for everyones comments!
I will do another one soon- with my new products....cookie cutters!!

Obsessing with fabric

2009-08-06T06:50:00.000-07:00

So I stumbled upon some beautiful fabric by Heather Ross, and starting really obsessing over it. I couldn't sleep because I kept thinking about how it was out of print. So I finally decided,after weeks of dreaming about it, to finally buy it. So while I waited to figure out what to make with it (I decided to make Regan a quilt) I kept looking at all the faric that people are selling on ETSY, and found this super cute fabric called "Bot Camp" As soon as I saw it, I had to buy it. Our friends are about to have a baby (aka baby bot) and it just seemed to fit for them, perfectly. I finished the baby quilt, and decided to share some pics with you. It is my first quilt, so I tried to make everything nice and neat. I guess it is really just a blanket since I didn't do any "quilting". I haven't really figured that out yet. Maybe for Regans quilt I will.
Anyway, I got the Bot camp fabric from theFabricbar

I also bought a Heather Ross book from Joann's, and made these freaking CUTE pants for my little guy with fabric from Fabricworm

I will share some ore photos of Regan's quilt, as I begin it...or when it's finished. There just isn't enough hours in the day!

HUGE GIVEAWAY!!!

2009-08-05T13:39:00.000-07:00

I have new products in my shop that I just LOVE!
So I wanted to do a giveaway and give 1 lucky winner a sample of my favorite stuff. I also want to give a runner up a few freebies as well. SO to enter, just leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite tasty sweets are ;) Don't forget your email address so I can contact you, if you win. I have a few things up my sleeve as well, so try to keep checking back for more!
So here is a picture of what 1 lucky winner will get....just 1 of the few items I plan to give away. This contest will last for 2 weeks...hopefully people will enter, otherwise I will just extend the time limit. thanks!

Press

2009-07-24T18:04:00.000-07:00

Hey cupcake lovers! I always get emails about people using my photos for promotions on their sites, and in their magazines, but I figured I would share this one with you. it is on Utterly Engaged an online ezine. You can see their pics/site here
They used my Yellow tulip cupcake liners. They just so happen to be the most popular item in my store. So popular for wedding season that I had to take down the listing. Well try the Orange ones instead! Just as pretty :)

I just love pretty spreads of beautiful monochromatic color schemes. Uh it just makes me so happy! Enjoy

New Liners

2009-07-19T06:27:00.000-07:00

Ok, so all my late night googling has finally paid off. I found the manufacturer of these awesome liners! So I get great prices, and now I have new amazing liners for my shop!
Hooray!
Enjoy these cupcakes we made yesterday morning.

Zebra Print Cupcake Liners

2009-06-17T14:38:00.000-07:00

These are so perfect for a bachlorette party!

YUMMMY... I just got my copy of Martha's book "CUPCAKES" as I assumed it had alot of things from her magazines in it..I guess they run out of ideas?! Anyway I made cupcakes last week and here is a pic from that.I have a new found fondness of the zebra print baking cups. They just look so cool! I also got my first neutral comment on my website after a purchase....She wrote that the leapord print cupcake liners are just "OK" and she complained about the shipping price...(I wish she would read this)
First off, I charge less then my competition...second...what do you expect out of a cupcake liner? Its paper...do you want it to do back flips? This lady is crazy and I bet she complains about alot of things in her life...so I will just ignore it ;)
Anyway I am now in the wholesaling business! So if your interested in buying fancy cupcake liners in bulk for your shop just contact me!!
Dont forget you can purchase these cupcake liners at my shop!

2009-06-10T18:00:00.000-07:00

Memorial day cupcakes

2009-06-02T17:15:00.000-07:00

ok- yes- its a little late...but i thought the cupcakes me and Regan made were super cute! She did all the sprinkles.
Too bad they totally melted on the way to the BBQ ;(

yumm

2009-05-30T10:19:00.000-07:00

We made these this morning...I am so confused by these new mini red foil cupcake liners I got. This is actually the same cupcake photographed with 2 different backgrounds..I don't get it..Also, I have a picture before baked, and after baked because the color changed after baking..wierd right? So how do I sell these? Do I call them hypercolor?

Customer Photos

2009-05-13T06:16:00.001-07:00

I always love when people send me pictures of the things they make with safety eyes I sell, but I had to show you these pictures because this kitty is too cute! Thanks to Carolyn M. French who made this cute kitten. SO ADORABLE!!

Paper Flowers

2009-05-04T11:10:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would show you a pic of what Me and the kid have been making, they are so lovely! I love them! We made these for Rach's Birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY RACH!
I am planning on making alot of these to sell, mini ones, for cupcakes or flower pots.. I think I might make a huge bouquet too- instead of flowers that die, these stay pretty forever ;)

Anyway I better get back to my orders, things are getting crazy hectic! I got my 4 year old getting orders together, so cute, she loves putting my stickers on the boxes, and tissue paper, so cute ;)

Gratitute Fridays

2009-04-24T10:35:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone....or no one. Well this sure was a busy busy week! My friend, that I have known since high school cam and stayed for awhile since the hubby had to take a long trip. I had,what was supposed to be a few cavities filled, but turned into a horrible mess because I waited to long. I now have to get a crown, and maybe another one after that is done. What sucks is I don't have dental insurance ;( anyway, I started getting a million orders from my ETSY shop
and I couldn't figure out why...until someone had sent me a message telling me I was on a highlight from Etsy's website..they call it the storque...I have no idea why, and I never "hang out" online to read all the crap they say anyway. Of course I looked, and it was a great article, but I had already seen it on the Martha Stewert show like last year or something...so it isn't totally original idea for them to feature it...but still good! AND THANK YOU!
Anyway I though I would show you some pictures I hung up awhile ago on my stairway. We have lived in this house for over 2 years now, and I haven't really decorated that much because I figured we will live her for the rest of our lives, so I have plenty of time to decide exactly where I want things to go. In our old house, we had for 5 years, I painted every wall at least 2 or 3 times...the living room had about 5 to 6 colors of paint on it until I decided...right before we sold the house, that I would paint it a textured sand paint by Ralph Lauren....It truly was awesome! Expensive, also since i had to do alot of coats of it but it looked so rich and fancy, and really fit the house well....I havent painted this house still- except my daughters room,playroom and our bedroom because they use to be poop colors! gross! ( it was that color when we moved it!) anyway I thought I would show you some newly decorated walls from my daughters room with some art prints from The Black Apple on her yellowish walls.....

and then a pic of the hall way....

and a close up of a picture I LOVE which is my husband when he was a baby, and his father...which also shows why I had to buy this print from the black apple below it....look similar? anyway I will put that in my son's room when it is ready for wall decorations.

ALSO if you can see the plant that is there...that is a plant I have had since I moved out of my mom's house when I was 17 years old...I'm 31 now, so it's been awhile..It was part of a plant my mom had since she was in her school days...It lives and grows, I have since took a piece of it and gave it to our old roomate- who will be moving into their very own first house! I hope they pass the tradition on to their kids too, if they have some...they better!

Pirate flag cupcake toppers

2009-04-21T08:57:00.000-07:00

Pirate flags...for cupcakes and cake parties, are not just for the boys!
Add these to your birthday party decorations, for a super girl pirate party...ARRRRR
I also handmade some pirate flag cupcake toppers, check them out here SHIVER ME TIMBERS

Fun with pinwheels and cupcakes

2009-04-18T15:24:00.000-07:00

I figured I would show a new picture of things me and Regan have been making the past few days, pinwheels...and cupcakes.
I have lots of new cute cupcake liners and cupcake toppers to put in my shops so of course we had to take pictures of them all in action! We got handmade happy birthday flags for cupcakes, we got pirate flags, not just for the boys by the way!

I love coupons!

2009-04-14T06:33:00.001-07:00

Ever since I watched an episode of Oprah with the coupon mom on, I have been hooked on saving money with coupons. At first I only saved like 10 bucks here, then the next time, the savings kept going up and up... I keep breaking my record of money saved every time I go shopping. This last time I figured it was good enough to share with you...Since, I, unlike other people online, ONLY buy food that we normally eat, I don't buy things just because they are on sale, and I don't revolve my dinner plans around what is the cheapest. That is probably why people save more on their bills, because they only buy things on sale. I am just trying to get what we normally eat, for a cheaper price.

It has been great, because I read that you are supposed to "stock up" on the things while they are on sale for the lowest price. I have been doing that with the foods we eat on a regular basis and it has been awesome. I couldn't go shopping for a whole month because with a newborn, and a 4 year old it was just too much to handle. But it didn't matter because I had such a great stock pile of food that I didn't need to. We drink soy milk so I had 3 or 4 cartons of it, and I might have told the hubby to get bread on his way home from work once.
Anyway it really makes a difference too, when now, I go to the store only when the stuff I want is on sale, even if I don't really need it at that moment. I no longer have to budget a huge amount of money for grocery shopping, because now I only have to buy necessities, (bread, milk, or fresh fruit and veggies)

SO here are some pictures from my best grocery trip to date. My bill was 191 and I saved $58.76! almost 60 bucks!! You can do so much with an extra 60 bucks! like buy really expensive formula for my little guy..oh well, I can start putting the saved money in a savings account when he's done drinking formula, wouldn't that be a great way to put money into your savings account. Because it's money that you would have spent anyway!

Gratitude Fridays

2009-04-10T19:56:00.000-07:00

I know it has been a little bit since I wrote. Today I had a little surgery, I am totally fine, just a little thing to deal with. Anyway being at the hospital makes you realize how worse things could be for you. I am truly thankful that for the most part, I am very healthy. Also, I am happy to say that Cupcake Social has been a success! Over selling Truly Outrageous by far. But it is alot more stressful! Someone straight up ripped me off! That is what I get for being a nice person. I guess there are some crazy people out there. ALso, I have been sending almost every one priority, so that is stressful, I didn't really want to go to the post office everyday. Especially the other day when it was down pouring and I have a 4 year old and a 6 month old to drag out. Of course my 4 year old loves it, because she has a hello kitty umbrella, and she loves stomping in the puddles. Of course I let her, who cares if she gets a little wet.
Anyway I got these polka dot cupcake liners in, oh so much fun! We made banana cupcakes...not so yummy. Oh well, we will try something else next time!

New Stores "CUPCAKE SOCIAL"

2009-04-01T06:01:00.000-07:00

First Iwould like to say this is why Etsy sucks....because it sucks all your money before you even make a sale. herre is what I paid this month Total payments: $117.03 BOOOOOOOOO!
Anyway on to more positive things :) I just opened a new Etsy and Art Fire store called "Cupcake Social" Obviously selling things having to do with cupcakes. I finally invested in a scale to weigh my packages accuratly so I can ship more things from home. Unfortunatly things have been going from at the post office so if I ship with tracking at least there will be some record of it. My buddy at the post office tells me they are doing alot of lay offs and things are backing up and getting delayed. I had a recent package take over a month to get to its owner which is a little crazy. Another one got lost, I think, I sent her another one which she should have gotten but she is probably so mad at me. It sucks that it makes me look bad when the packages go through so many hands before it actually gets delivered. Did you hear about the post lady that got a storage locker to put all the mail she was supposed to deliver in....She forgot to pay the storage fee 1 month and they opned it up and found thousands of undelivered letters and packages! I think it was like Indiana or something. That sucks! AANYWAY I am totally excited about the cupcake store. I am planning a cupcake decorating party on sunday with my friends to test all the products and take cool photos to list online. So here are a few pics- we got the mini pink danish baking cups with shiny gold designs, There are one of my favorites- Pink floral shabby sheik cupcake liners and then super cute red, blue and orange swirl cupcake liners!

www.CupcakeSocial.artfire.com

www.cupcakesocial.etsy.com

Of course I prefer the artfire store...NO FEES!!

New release today!

2009-03-24T11:43:00.001-07:00

BUY this new release from one of the best bands in the world, Coheed and Cambria, released today. Oh, did I mention my husband and his partner Anderson produced and directed it :)
Even if you don't like the band, this is THE best live music DVD that has been made, ever!

New Cards

2009-03-21T15:57:00.000-07:00

I got new "Mini" cards today. I love them. I stumbled onto this website and found how EASY it was to design my own cards by bringing my photos from my Flickr account. It seriously took 5 minutes! You get 100 in a cute little box, and you can pick as many photos as you want- you could have 100 different cards in 1 box if you want. They are great quality too. Seriously so awesome. I am already looking forward to getting more.....for my next online store. That's right. I have another project in the works. Coming soon to Etsy and Artfire :) In the meantime, I have a huge update to Truly Outrageous I am doing within the next few days. Sorry it's been awhile since I wrote but I had sorta a rough week.

Little girl birthday

2009-03-08T06:41:00.000-07:00

So my daughter just turned 4 years old. We had to make her some cute cupcakes! Here are some pics of them. I got the cute supplies from online... ! Anyway I can't wait to eat these mini cuppycakes :) Yummmmmmy

NEW hand painted safety eyes

2009-03-03T13:27:00.000-08:00

PLAID! you can purchase them only on my artfire shop. I don't know if I really want to part with them..oh well- I can make more!

Things to make with animal eyes and zippers

2009-02-28T12:06:00.000-08:00

So I just bought a bunch of cute fabric from beautifulwork.etsy.com and I couldn't wait for it to arrive...finally it did and I was so excited! I am obsessed with matryoshk nesting dolls. My mom had a bunch of different sets on her bookshelf while we were growing up and my sister and I loved them! Even though they really weren't supposed to be played with- we always did and always put them back without our mom seeing us. Ever since then I have loved them- but it wasn't until I went to China with my dad and sister (while I was in college) that I always wanted to have some of my own. I bought (of course) some panda nesting dolls to bring home with me. They lasted many years until my daughter was old enough to play with them and they have all been missing. So recently I started buying things with matryoshk dolls on it. Like a tshirt, and apron, stamps, and now fabric.. anyway here is a picture of something I made yesterday with the new fabric and some of my 4 mm black safety eyes. I cut off the posts on the back of the eyes and glued them on with special fabric glue. Trust me when I say- they will not come off! I made a t-shirt 2 years ago with rhinestones and this glue and they have not fallen off yet. I have worn the shirt a million times.

Notice the wizard of oz book? I will write about it later...

2 YEAR anniversary on ETSY and the beginning of Art Fire

2009-02-26T11:24:00.000-08:00

So I just realized while looking at my past ETSY.com "Fees" that I have been selling on Etsy for over 2 years now! Thank you thank you thank you to everyone who has purchased anything from me- either supplies or handmade cute guys. Thank you! Though I haven't really made a profit after paying Etsy fees and paypal fees, shipping fees, and packaging fees..then paying for health insurance, it is still all worth it! I enjoy being creative and I am SO happy that other people enjoy the things I make- or get to create things of their own from the supplies I sell.

I am also happy to say that I joined ArtFire.com about a month ago. I have to say I think it will take over Etsy in a matter of time. To it's advantage they do not take fees like Etsy. You can sell up to 10 things at a time for FREE!!!!! I tried that until a day or so ago and then just upgraded my account to take advantage of their limited (first 5,000 accounts- hurry they are almost gone!))seller slots for 7$ a month fee for unlimited listings, and up to 10..yes 10 photos per item!! and they are constantly changing and improving the site since right now they are in Beta mode. anyway my first sale the other day was a custom made little monster, I am so excited! I can't wait to watch it grow & blossom.

I figured I will leave you today with this pretty simple photo of a zipper..art directed by my hubby..at least my photography degree is being used in some way :)

Internet Buy- Hoodie

2009-02-25T05:16:00.000-08:00

I spend alot of time online, between selling, buying and just plain being bored. I buy ALOT of stuff online. Almost all my gifts for people I buy online. The one thing I never buy online is clothes. They never fit right or once I get them they are not at all what I though I was buying. So years ago, I gave up trying to buy clothes. But the other day I decided to reorganize my closet since my husbands clothes were piled on top of mine. Being a stay at home mom, I pretty much end up wearing sweatpants and my favorite thing of all time- hoodies! So I looked at my 15 tshirts hanging in my closet- all black of course, except 1 or 2 gray ones- my attempt at color in my wardrobe, and it looked pathetic. I have probably twice as many hoodies- almost all black with a few pink ones and some cute summer ones....but the cute ones don't fit me anymore since having my son. So when I saw the picture of this hoodie- I HAD to have it, and it was a size large! anything cute I find online is always an xtra small :( Even stuff on ETSY- mostly smalls or mediums, and for the record I usually wear a medium but American Apparel size mediums are like an xtra small in reality- I can't even get the mediums over my chest- which isn't that big. ANYWAY I had to buy this- I got it the next day in the mail and I flipped out when I put it on, and it fit- comfortably! Of course I had to find the creators website and emailed her about how happy I was. http://hollyhue.com/
Thank you Holly- You ROCK! OH i forgot to mention, houndstooth is my favorite print of all time- that and Plaid! & my favorite colors- pink and teal... and look at this hoodie- it was made for me! I swear.

OH I don't want to forget- I bought it from Art Star.... http://www.artstarphilly.com/
I like them but 250 dollars for a table to sell at a craft fair is a little crazy don't you think? Maybe I am just sad because I don't have that much money :( Oh well.

New supplies on Etsy......ZIPPERS

2009-02-23T14:04:00.000-08:00

I recently became obsessed with zippers. So I decided to really get into it, and sell them online. I love all these bright colors and the possibilities to create things with them are endless. I have been making some zippered pouches, and pencil cases, they are so fun to make! I can't wait to sell them at my next craft fair. Here are some pics to get you excited.

Pics

2009-02-21T07:22:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from yesterday- (click on them to make them bigger) I figured I would take a new pick of my crafting area since I had to clean it. (Half of the room is the kids playroom...I have slowly been taking over the room. In our old house we had alot more room for my "junk". We also didn't have so many toys back then either. oh well. I really hate clutter so at times I freak out and want to throw all my belongings in the trash...which I actually use to do. But then I realized I would rebuy all the things that I threw away! So I stopped throwing things away. Now I sell them on craigslist...haha. Anyway here is a pic of my clean work area, and a picture of my daughter with the dogs. She just adores them even though they drive me nuts! They are more high maintance then having kids. and poor Lucky (black dog) is getting real old. Can you tell from his beard? Meanwhile Vegas (little guy) is a year younger then Lucky and still acts like he is a puppy! He is so crazy- at least in the summer Regan will play with him in the backyard for hours, but in this cold weather no one wants to go outside :( I can't wait for the spring! please hurry!!

Free patterns for crochet testers

2009-02-19T10:58:00.000-08:00

HI! I have a few new patterns- well kinda old but I finally made them in photoshop. Anyway I need some crocheters who would want to test them for me. I can email you the pattern- and you make them and let me know if there are wrong items or if they are confusing etc. I need help :) Let me know if your interested!

I have the following patterns-
Halloween teddy bears ( super easy, actually this is the first pattern i ever made)
Family of Octopi (need to know the bobble stitch)
and soon to come- the SQUID and Jellyfish patterns!
email me Jen@trulyoutrageous.com

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

2009-02-10T07:49:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my birthday...I am now 31. oh well. I still feel like a kid. anyway here are some things I got....

Sick Sick Sick

2009-02-07T07:32:00.000-08:00

I was sick last week, and so was my daughter and the little guy :( We all got some stomach virus, it was so gross! anyway it made me late on some orders since I couldn't get out of bed let alone drag my puking kids to the post office. I couldn't even go on the computer. anyway I just saw on the news last night that the health officials actually shut down a local school because over 100 students were out from school with the stomach intestinal virus thing too! So it is going around our area and they said they are trying to figure out what it is....scary isn't it? I always try to figure out where I get sick from but I went to 3 different places so I could have gotton sick from any of those...including the dentist, grocery store and post office....I am thinking it's from the grocery store because it is kinda dirty and we used the bathrooms there that were really gross...:( Thank goodness we are all better now and feeling normal. Being sick sucks. Anyway here are some things that were ordered this week from my ETSY shop which kind of display the way I felt..

snow day!

2009-02-04T07:07:00.000-08:00

i love snow, it makes me very happy :)

FREE AMIGURUMI CROCHET PATTERNS!

2009-01-25T14:59:00.000-08:00

Here is a pattern for my Piggy and Kitty....Have fun!

MATERIALS:
Size F/5 crochet hook
12mm safety eyes
Stuffing to fill
Needle for nose and sewing together
I used "Red Heart" super saver yarn
-Black
-Gray
-light pink
-Dark pink (for bottom of piggy's feet)

Abbreviations:
Sc-Single Crochet
tog- crochet 2 stitches together (decrease)
Ch- Chain
Hdc- Half double crochet

BODY: Same pattern for both animals
Start with Gray for Kitty, or pink for piggy)
Round 1~ Chain 2, in 2nd stitch from hook, Sc 6 into it to make a circle.
Round 2~ Sc 2 into each (12)
Round 3~ Sc 1, Sc 2 into next. Repeat around (18)
Round 4~ Sc 2, Sc 2 into next. Repeat around (24)
Round 5~ Sc 3, Sc 2 into next. Repeat around (30)
Round 6~ Sc around (30)
Round 7~ (change color to black for kitty)
Sc 4, Sc 2 into next. Repeat around (36)
(Attach eyes now and do nose detail on kitty)
Round 8 through 18~ Sc around
Round 19~ Sc 4, Sc 2 tog. Repeat around (30)
Round 20~ Sc 3, Sc 2 tog. Repeat around (24)
Round 21~ Sc 2, Sc 2 tog. Repeat around (18)
Round 22~ Sc 1, Sc 2 tog. Repeat around (12)
Continue to to Sc 2 tog until closed- making sure to stuff before its closed :)
weave in ends.

LEGS: (make 4)
Start with black for kitty, dark pink for piggy.
Round 1~ Chain 2, in 2nd stitch from hook, Sc 7 into it to make a circle.
Round 2~ Sc around
(change color to light pink for piggy)
Rounds 3 and 4~ Sc around
leave tail for sewing onto body

Kitty ears
Round 1~ Chain 2, in 2nd stitch from hook, Sc 6 into it to make a circle.
Round 2~ Sc around
Round 3~ Sc 1, Sc 2 in next. Repeat around
Round 4~ Sc around

Flower for kitty's eye
Round 1~ Chain 2, in 2nd stitch from hook, Sc 6 into it to make a circle.
Round 2~ Chain 3, Sc into next stitch, repeat around 4 more times

Kitty Tail
Round 1~ Chain 2, in 2nd stitch from hook, Sc 5 into it to make a circle.
Sc around for 7 rounds. finish off, leave tail and sew onto body. do not stuff.

Piggy Ears
Round 1~ Chain 2, in 2nd stitch from hook, Sc 6 into it to make a circle.
Round 2~ Sc 2 into each (12)
finish off, fold in half and sew to head.

Piggy nose
Round 1~ Chain 2, in 2nd stitch from hook, Sc 6 into it to make a circle.
Round 2~ Sc 2 into each (12)
*in back loops only Sc around
leave tail for sewing to head. Embroider nose detail and stuff before sewing to head.

Piggy Tail
Chain 10, turn, Hdc gooing back up the row and finish off leaving a tail to sew to body.

ETSY Treasury

2009-01-18T08:39:00.000-08:00

yeah for my pink camo amigurumi octopus!

Art Fire

2009-01-14T15:02:00.000-08:00

Check it out! My crocheted sock monkey is featured :)

thank you!

AHHHHHH

2009-01-13T15:18:00.001-08:00

Too much stuff to do and not enough time.

Get woken up by my almost-4-year old
Try to exercise (if baby is still sleeping)
Make her breakfast
Change babys diapers
Make a bottle
Feed him
give him medicine (boo)
clean up mess that hubby left the night before (he gets home late)
Do dishes
Make coffee
Make husband tea and/or lunch
Check email
Get ETSY orders together
Relist ETSY items
Try to crochet...ah right.
Get kids dressed
oh change more diapers
clean up breakfast mess
do a load of laundry.

ok now its lunch time!

New underwater creatures

2009-01-13T07:27:00.001-08:00

I guess I was going through a purple and pink phase.
Right now im in a purple and blue phase- just finished my jellyfish pattern- so excited! photo coming soon :)

Christmas is over giveaway!

2009-01-07T08:20:00.000-08:00

I made this D.I.Y. kit for my ETSY store, which didn't sell, although the PDF version sold pretty well. So instead of having it lay around, I figured I would give it away! So just leave a comment about your favorite christmas ornament and you will be entered to win. Don't forget your email address so I can contact you if you win. I think I will run the contest til February so people have a chance to enter. Hope you like the kit :) (only for US residents.)

Christmas 2008

2009-01-05T11:59:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pics from christmas, Regan got her very own handmade "pinkie pie" as she calls them. Made from a pattern by Amy Gaines for a poodle. She totally LOVES it! She has been asking me to make her a pink poodle for weeks and I worked on it after she went to bed for a few days, so she wouldn't see it. Harry, only 3 months old, only got a few toys, that he doesn't even care about yet. hehe.

NEW MONSTERS!!

2008-12-22T12:56:00.001-08:00

Here are my new monsters that will soon be able to be purchased as patterns....These guys have since been sold because of the holidays, but I just love them. I want to make them all over again because they are so freakin cute :) I hope they went to good homes! I still don't know who got my green bear that I dropped in philly over the weekend...I hope I find out soon because the anticipation is killing me.

Toy Drop

2008-12-20T18:03:00.000-08:00

Here is the bear being "dropped" in philly. I pulled over and tied the cutie to a tree...I drove by later and still saw the red ribbon there, but no bear :) I hope we hear from whoever took him home soon! I am so impatient.

Thanks

2008-12-15T18:48:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everyone who helped me out at the Shop,Rock, and Roll craft fair. And thank you to everyone who bought stuff, or traded with me :) I am very thankful for making a profit because to tell you the truth, it was pretty empty. It was fun all in all. anyway I want to take this time to share with you a picture of my plush bear I am going to "drop" in philly this weekend. I joined "the Toy Society" for christmas, for more info- look at their site...
http://thetoysociety.blogspot.com
So if you see him hanging from a fence by the playground...take him home, he's all yours :)

Next weekend!

2008-12-06T15:44:00.001-08:00

Photo Booth

2008-12-04T15:24:00.000-08:00

Anyone who has a macbook like myself knows what "Photo Booth" is. There is a built in camera on my laptop and an application that you get to take photos- and with some neat special effects. SO my smart little cookie of a daughter knows how to use the computer- she has mastered all the kid games on nick jr.com at a ripe age of 3.5.....(and has also learned to type her own name) She also has figured out how to open photo booth on her own, and likes to take pictures of herself. Its actually rather adorable when I look back and see the funny pictures she took of herself when I'm not looking. I have to delete alot of them since she takes like 100 pictures at any given session. anyway here are a few of my favorites from the past 12 months :) of course the last one is my favorite, you can see me in the background feeding the little guy- I had NO idea she was doing this, I almost peed my pants when I later saw the picture..hahaha what is she thinking?!

Self Portraits by a 3 year old.....

2008-12-03T18:41:00.000-08:00

YARN HEAVEN

2008-11-21T16:29:00.003-08:00

Lion Brand opened up a storefront in NYC.....thank goodness I don't live closer or I would be in big trouble :)
Just look at all those colors lined up in perfectly organized cubbies. AAAAHHH that makes me relaxed.

More felt

2008-11-20T13:23:00.000-08:00

OWLS!

Felt Christmas Ornaments

2008-11-17T07:15:00.000-08:00

NOW in the shop- make your own bird ornaments. Right now only the christmas ones are listed but I am working on a whole rainbow of color schemes. I also have owls- of course- which will be listed soon. This kit contains everything you need to make the ornaments- i mean everything! felt, eyes, embroidery floss, a needle, ribbon, and even stuffing! OH of course it has the pattern and step by step illustrated instructions, which I like because I never read instructions, I do better by looking at the pictures i.e. Ikea instructions. haha

Birthday buddy

2008-11-14T08:24:00.001-08:00

Here is a dino I made for one of Regan's friends. He is from a pattern made by www.curlsofsunshine.etsy.com although it is a little different. I made triangles for the scales instead of the little round ones and I made a different face because I wasn't paying attention while I was crocheting- but I think it still came out so cute! I love these colors together too.

Happy Halloween

2008-11-01T18:17:00.000-07:00

I decided to ask Regan what she wanted to be this year for halloween. She said "pinky pie", which is what she named her pink stuffed poodle..well she has like 4 of them i think. It is her absolute favorite thing she has. So I found a crochet pattern to make the hat even though I had to improvise alot on it, I think it turned out well.- here it is. And I am so glad to say that she loved it!

THE WINNER IS....

2008-10-16T15:21:00.000-07:00

Starrydance! Congratulations- you were picked from the drawing to win a custom made amigurumi owl. My daughter did the picking out of a bowl from the mere 5 names that entered. Thank you for all your nice comments :) I thought about making one for everyone but the shipping would just be too expensive. Thank you everyone!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRISON!

2008-09-28T05:31:00.000-07:00

I am writing to you from the hospital bed- internet access...WOW. And I got a flatscreen TV and it's free! So Harrison was born on friday- September 26th at 11:38pm. He was 9 pounds and 1 ounce....what a big baby!!!
(Don't worry, everyone who made Etsy orders will be all mailed out tomorrow, on monday.)

CONTEST ~ WIN A CUTE AMIGURUMI OWL!

2008-09-23T14:01:00.000-07:00

HI Everybody :)
SO I am doing my first blog contest. I am trying to think of ways to increase sales and promote my site but also I want to give something away for FREE because I will soon be welcoming a baby boy into our family. My due date is only a few days away and I am getting anxious.
SO if you would like to enter the contest- all you have to do is comment on this posting, I will then pull a name out of hat. Make sure you leave your email address so I can contact you.
ALSO who ever wins will get a custom made owl. You get to pick the colors and everything.
also- I want to limit it to people living in usa and canada only..sorry.
Thank you for looking at my little blog, and I hope everyone has a great time being crafty in their lives :)
contest will be over 10-10-08 to coincide with the sale I am having on my ETSY.com store

New Design

2008-08-31T07:34:00.000-07:00

Someone asked me for a custom order last week- and here it is. An amigurumi SQUID! I have always wanted to make one, but never had a reason too. It was so fun researching and drawing ideas for this guy. And I had no idea they had 10 arms...geez. I guess 2 isn't enough :) anyway, what do you think? I need to make a pink one for my daughter..everything I make, she wants a version of it in pink.. Is it my fault she is obsessed with pink? probably.

New Safety eyes and milestones

2008-08-15T07:09:00.000-07:00

I have added a whole bunch new plastic safety eyes for your amigurumi, or dolls, bears, knitted animals etc. I am really excited about all the eyes I have in stock now. :) anyway I know I haven't written in awhile...I don't think anyone reads this anyway, but I figured I would write since we have such a big month coming up... September. First it is my husbands birthday- which anyone who knows him, knows that its like a celebration for him for the whole month.. except no one cares but him... haha, and me of course.

Also- It is the month when we moved into together- 10 YEARS AGO! I can't believe it. I was graduating from college and my lease was up, and even though we were only dating for a few months, he let me move into his studio apartment.

This September I will be giving birth to our son ( as long as he doesn't come early).

This month is also the 1 year anniversary of my husband and his partner starting their own company!

Also in October marks 10 YEARS OF QUITTING SMOKING! thanks to my husband for telling me that I looked like a hooker when I had a cigerette hanging out of my mouth..gross, why did I ever smoke. well it did get me through alot of all nighters in college during finals.

So with so many milestones..it's hard to not to be happy :)

Thank you Thank you Thank you. I am truly grateful for everything I have.

New monsters

2008-07-25T07:39:00.000-07:00

I have been working on my items to make a book- here are my monsters. I am such a profectionist that I made like a million of each before I was happy. oh well. This is gonna be a pattern for 1 monster- 3 ways :) Hope you like it!

DVD Premiere- Trip to NYC

2008-07-07T15:48:00.000-07:00

July 1st was the release date for the Lamb of God DVD that my husband worked on, so they had a big premiere of the dvd in NYC on June 30th. My husband and I went up and stayed the night and made a nice mini vaca out of it. So once we got into the city, we had a late lunch/super early dinner with some good friends that all live up there. Then we made our way to the "Cupcake Cafe" which I always wanted to visit since seeing it featured on Martha Stewart. The cupcakes were good- I wouldn't say out of this world- but they weren't over sweet like some can be. One of our friends mentioned a place called "Crumbs" next time. I am obsessed with cupcakes- I love them, so we will have to try that place next time.

Then we made our way to the theatre, where we even had seats saved for us! YEAH. The documentary was freaking hilarious- you can't expect anything less when Doug is involved..I thought I was the only one who thinks his humor was funny cause I am his wife. But as it turned out- everyone was laughing..alot. So they got great reviews from everyone who came. It was great to see our friends shoe their support too. They don't know anything about the band but they still came and had a great time. Thank you guys for coming and showing that you care :) The Pic on the bottom is Doug being interviewed by a big Metal blog..If I knew how to add the link I would.

Afterwards we went out and had some great italian food with our friends and went to the hotel and relaxed. We bought a payperview movie of some comedy which I quickly fell asleep to. I awoke in the morning with a bill under the door....15 bucks! I would have tried a little bit harder to stay awake if I knew it was that much. oh well. I also got breakfast from the hotel- room service..this is what an 80 dollar breakfast looks like. All Doug got was oatmeal...haha It was good and worth not having to wait 3 hours for my husband to wake up sp we could go eat somewhere..I mean I am pregnant- I have to eat like 3 breakfasts. Well I eat like that even when I'm not pregnant. (oops)

So when we left our hotel we had to make our way to the Sony building so Doug could sign a contract for his new project. Then we decided to walk around. Our day of fun kinda turned into a work day which kinda sucked. We had to go to a camera store so he could buy a bunch of equipment for his next job taxi there and here, and wait around to go back to Sony so he could pick up a check from them later...so we decided to go to the movies but then there wasn't enough time to see the movie before we had to get back so we really just walked around while I sweated my fat belly off and got cramps in my legs. Oh well. When I think back to it- I am so happy I just got to hang out with him by ourselves, holding hands :) I think that was my favorite part of the whole 2 days.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

2008-07-02T10:15:00.000-07:00

So my friend Dana had her baby on Friday via C-section and we went to visit her on sunday. She is the freakin cutest thing ever. So perfect in every single way. Her name is Kyrie- I don't know if I spelled that right- but she was an angel and I had to beg my husband to let me hold her. She was so cute and tiny- it's hard to believe that we were once that little. wow. Regan was really excited that her baby came out and she couldn't wait to touch her soft skin. She kept saying how cute she was and she has been calling her "sister" since Dana was pregnant. She was a little too cared to hold her, I don't know if she really understood that it's a little baby- and she is gonna grow. But she was so excited either way.
On our way home from Allentown,PA we stopped off at this place called Yucco's that had hotdogs and stuff...I was scared to eat there, but it was freaking great, Doug was in total heaven and got 2 hot dogs, and fried periogies. Regan was so cute- some guy gave her a photo he took of a panda bear,which he sells online- she loved it and would not let go of it.

YEAH!

2008-06-25T09:06:00.001-07:00

Today my husband got a surprise in the mail, the new Lamb Of God DVD that he worked on for the past 2 years. YEAH! We are going to the premiere in NYC next week, and I can not wait!
Sorry I havent written in a while, but my husband was in the hospital for 4 days, having surgeries on his kidney...they had to put a tube in his back and go through it to try to break up the stones in there. They got some of them out, but there was more at the top, so they had to put a new tube in higher up, so now he has a tube about 5 inches long sticking out of his back. They would do the next surgery in a week or 2 but Doug has to go out on the road to work for a bit, so he is gonna do it after. plus he can't miss his movie premiere in NYC, seriously!! anyway i got a present too in the mail :) a check for my consignment stuff at "The Curiosity Shoppe" in Philly. THANK YOU! I am working on more stuff for them too right now...almost ready. I have to plan my trips to philly correctly because I always get a freaking parking ticket, no matter what! I think I am just gonna park at my secret spot from now on...it's fool proof for no tickets, no meters, and no high parking garage fees..hehe it's my secret :)
so anyway, go out and buy the new dvd my husband and his company worked on, even if you hate the music- you will LOVE the documentary, behind the scenes footage. Pure entertainment. seriously.

Thank you

2008-06-13T06:16:00.000-07:00

This friday I truly have alot to be thankful for.I am so truly thankful that my husband has a great job and that I am able to stay home with my daughter, and my soon to be baby boy. I am so truly thankful to have health insurance and that my husband can get the medical help he needs. I am so thankful for everything we have, things like our house, and everything in it, but also the great friends we have that are always there for us.
I took this picture because I remember not so long ago, living int he city, that we didn't have a tree to call our own. It sounds so stupid, but I looked up and saw this branches, and I notice when they grow, I notice when they get berries on them, I notice when the leaves change color, and then fall to the ground. Living in the city, we were lucky to see the leaves change colors, because you just don't get the same effect as you do in the suburbs. So I am thankful for having trees, and grass, and flowers, that I can all my own :) thank you

I also want to announce that today I made my 500th SALE on ETSY!!
YEAH! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!

Shop update today

2008-06-12T10:43:00.000-07:00

So I become obsessed with cotton candy colors for some reason. I decided to make a whole gang of animals with pink and blues. Here is the set of pandas I just finished and listed on Etsy.com I am still working on the large owl and the deer, but they are turning into such cute guys...I really don't want to get rid of any of them because they are so SWEET!

ETSY front page

2008-05-28T19:20:00.000-07:00

I awoke the other morning to a wonderful site....my custom made owls featured on the ETSY.com front page. I was so excited!! I am so thankful for the feature, thank you :)

Gratitude Fridays

2008-05-16T07:50:00.000-07:00

I have to say the last week or 2 have been some of the best days I have had in a very long time. Being thankful has really made me alot happier in my life. We all should really be happy for what we have, and not to be upset by the things we don't have, because you will never be happy that way. I am thankful everyday for having a healthy family, and I make sure I tell myself that often. I am happy that everyone around me is healthy and happy. I am so truly thankful that I have a great roof over our heads and a car that runs great. I am thankful that my Etsy site has been getting batter and better, and will continue to grow. I am also thankful that I have had to make numerous trips to the stores that sell my toys because they needed more. :) I am extremely thankful that I can go to the grocery store and buy food. I am also thankful and happy that I got to plant 2 trees in my yard this week, and some great plants that will stick around year after year. Which are all getting soaked with the down pour of rain happening right now. So anyway, make sure you appreciate everything you have right now, even the little things. I am also thankful for my beautiful plants I got on mother's day, one of which was a hibiscus bush (yeah!) and this year I got a pink one! I love pink! I will post pics later, after the rain and the blooms open up.

BOY O BOY

2008-05-09T06:31:00.000-07:00

IT's A BOY!
I went to the hospital the other day to get an ultrasound to make sure everything was ok with my placenta- which it is, although still laying low, the doctor assured me it will be perfectly fine by the time I deliver. He said everything is perfect, the baby is perfect- YEAH! I don't have to worry anymore. And we are so excited to have a boy, especially since we have a perfect princess already. She is so excited to be a big sister. She has been telling people there is a baby in mommy's baby, and now all she wants to do is hang out in the baby's room. Although it is still filled with alot of junk, I at least bought new curtains so I can match the colors to paint..etc. It's kinda funny that I had to nag my husband to put Regan's crib in the attic for a year and a half...then he does and a month later we find out I am pregnant. I wonder how long it will take for him to bring it back down. haha

New supplies on ETSY

2008-04-27T14:12:00.000-07:00

So I finally took some new photos of all the "animal safety eyes" that I have for sale on ETSY. It took me awhile, but I had so many wholesale and custom orders coming in that I didn't get around to it. Plus I have been shopping my Crochet book around to publishers, so that has been stressful. I decided to find a real awesome photographer, and I have to remake all the toys and send them to him so he can take some cool pics that I can put in place of all my photos. I am really excited because his work is amazing, and he is very artistic and has great ideas. SO making a whole inventory of my toys has been keeping me busy too.
I also have some great new craft eyes coming this week. I am so freaking excited that I can't contain myself. It is amazing what inspires you, ya know? I am getting pink owl eyes and all I can think of is how many things I want to make with them. (yeah)
So check back to see all my new eyes. You can use them for knitting, crocheting, and plush animals or dolls. They are really for all your crafts or dolls and teddy bears.

TGIF

2008-04-25T15:24:00.000-07:00

Well I would like to start by saying, Thank you to the guy who really helped me try to fit a huge plastic pool into my minivan at Wal-Mart today. I really didn't think it was that big until I dragged it out to the car. I tried to bend it and push it to fit but it was just not going in. I was determined to bring it home after all, it was nice out, and it was the best way to distract my 3 year old so I could mow the yard. I had to go buy rope, but the nice guy in the parking lot ties the back door and the pool as tight as it would go. Luckily I was only going 3 or 4 lights away. I am sure I looked really stupid trying to do it myself, after all I am 41/2 months pregnant (although I just look fat according to my husband) I have a little girl with me, AND I am short. Sometimes I have to jump to grab the van hatch just to close it. They must have made those remote door closing systems for short people :)

SO THANK YOU, whoever you are.
Also I went to the city the other day to have lunch with my friend, and then we took my little one to the park. It was so nice to see that someone had left some change on the meter..WOW how nice! I decided to leave it there because maybe the next person would need it. But the 5 minutes later I watch from the playground as a meter maid writes me a ticket :( Not for an expired meter, but for expired inspection...OOps. You can blame that on my husband though.

OH and I still didn't get to mow the yard. I just can't do it anymore. It hurts my Uterus :(
And now I will leave you with a picture of my Hibiscus tree that I got last year for mothers day. sadly it didn't make it through the winter. But I was grateful for every day I got to see these beautiful flowers :)

Spring is here

2008-04-22T07:43:00.000-07:00

This week the weather was so great. Thank goodness it has been nicer because I have been going crazy in the house. I have just wanted to spend time outside in the sun. It was hot enough the other day that Regan got to wear her bathing suit and played in the sprinkler...all day. We even cleaned out the shed, which had stuff left over in it from the previous owners of junk from when they redid the house. I still want it to be nicer though, so I can feel comfortable enough to bring out the cushions for the chairs. I still feel like it's not real.

Looong time, no blog.

2008-04-14T09:05:00.000-07:00

Sorry that it has been awhile since I have posted anything. I have been having a rough pregnancy, to say the least. I have had all day and night morning sickness, and total exhaustion. All I wanted to do was sleep. I would try to eat, but everything made me sick. I actually lost about 7 pounds. I started getting really worried. But finally I feel better, and I am excited to eat everything :)
But then my doctor tells me, after my ultrasound, that I have "Placenta Previa" She tells me nothing about it except that it means my placenta is attached at the lower part of uterus and is covering the cervix. She tells me that I have to go to a specialist in a few weeks to see exactly whats going on. If it is still as it appears, then I need a C- Section. Which is fine. But of course, in this day in age, all I have been doing is researching it on the internet. Which is a HORRIBLE idea! For any medical research, really. You find the worst of the worst things that could happen. Then I start freaking out and start crying at what "could" happen. I am of course upset, you never want to hear that there is something wrong with your pregnancy. And luckily I have been going back to the secret, which is helping me through it. But it is so hard to think positive when such horrible things may happen. I just keep thinking positive and I started imagining my placenta correct itself. Which, on the internet, I found does happen most of the time. And even though this happens to only 1 in 200 pregnancies, it only stays in about .05% of the pregnancies by the time the baby is born. So that is great news! I just hope and pray that the baby is getting everything it needs through the placenta, and the embilical cord. I know the baby will be fine in my heart. I just have to keep reminding myself that.

In other news, I have not written my gratitute blogs. I have been writing them down in my book though. To help me think about them, and truly be thankful. Of course I am thankful that I have a healthy little girl, and a healthy husband. I am truly thankful that my husband has a job he was born to do...OH speaking of which, we went to a movie premiere of a documentary he worked on. "Hori Smoku" The life and times of Sailor Jerry. One of the most known and pioneering tattoo artists of the U.S. It was at a theatre in center city, philly, and it was really awesome. To see his name on the big screen...WOW. It just makes me melt with how proud I am of him, and of everything he has accomplished in his over 10 years of filming/editing...etc.

So the last thing I want to be thankful for, today, is the 4 hours of Beverly Hills 90210. It's on from 8-12 noon on saturday mornings on the Soap net channel. I look forward to waking up early every weekend just to watch. Even though right now they are on their 2nd year of college..booring, and I hate these episodes when Dylan goes back to drinking and is broke cause his step mom ripped him off....I still watch and think about how we used to talk about this in Jr. High. If you missed an episode, you were totally screwed the next day in class.

I am truly thankful for everything I have in my life. My family, my house, my great friends, my growing business, and the fact that I am alive, healthy and happy. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.

YEAH!

2008-03-20T12:28:00.000-07:00

I just got the book in the mail....of course I got so impatient that I bought it on Amazon.com...but that didn't arrive yet anyway.
I am so excited! I made the Deer and the Bunny on the bottom left....of course I didn't know that the "about me" was gonna be in the book, so all I said was where I live. how lame. BUT I don't do very well talking about myself.
Anyway the book is super cute :) go buy it!

Coming soon!

2008-02-25T12:21:00.001-08:00

On March 4th this book will be released, and I will be in it :)
I know it sounds great, and it is!!! BUT I think it's just like a tiny tiny picture of an animal I made with my info. No worries because I am so happy and could not be more excited if I wanted to be. I am absolutely honored to be asked to be even a little part of this publication. Thank you! Make sure you check it out, or buy it on Amazon.com. I can't wait! YEAH!

Amigurumi Animals: 15 Patterns and Dozens of Techniques for Creating Cute Crochet Creatures (Paperback)
by Annie Obaachan (Author)

Gratitude Fridays

2008-02-15T17:37:00.000-08:00

After watching Oprah (a tivoed episode from earlier this week) I am EXTREMELY thankful for what I have. We might have some credit card debt, a mortgage payment and 2 car payments...and insurance payments, and we might also be in a huge debt in medical bills due to some asshole stealing money from the employes (one of which was my husband) BUT BUT BUT
at least we are working to make our lives better. We do have a lawyer to help us with the medical bills...which is taking forever, We did consolidate our credit cards bills and are paying them off slowly, I am starting to make enough money from ETSY to pay for our health insurance and I am very happy and thankful to say that today I sent out a payment to pretty much payoff one of the cars :) Of course we will have the mortgage payment for awhile...until i win the lottery! But I am happy that things are going good, and getting on thier way so we can plan for our future.

I am also very thankful that I have the best relationship I could possibly think of. I am so glad we have a good and healthy marriage. Although it wasn't always that way :)

And last, but certainly NOT least, I am thankful that my mom is healthy and ok. She was in the hospital yesterday, but was discharged later on at night after they figured out what was wrong. And thankfully enough they know how it will be treated.
So Thank you..to the universe. and the doctors.

Peacock

2008-02-07T08:21:00.000-08:00

So a looong time ago, someone from ETSY wanted me to make her a peacock, (I know I told this story earlier, but in case you didnt see it, here it is again) I told her it would take me awhile so I can figure out how I would make such a complex bird. SO I told her I would let her know when I finished it, shortly after my computer hard drive failed and I lost her information, with no way to contact her. Anyway, I figured maybe if I posted photos of the peacock, maybe she will find it :) Here it is, all done..well mostly done. There is something missing, but I still don't know how to do it, or if I want to. Here it is anyway for you all to enjoy :)

Gratitude Fridays

2008-02-01T10:15:00.000-08:00

So Today, after endlessly searching the internet for help for our health insurance situation, I am thankful for having a such a happy and healthy family. I am truly grateful for having a perfectly healthy little girl. I have started watching "A Baby Story" again on the TLC channel, and have started getting excited about having another baby. I cry at every single birth on TV and I get over joyed and happy about it. I hope our new baby is as healthy as Regan is.
OH, and I am going to predict the gender of the new baby..A girl. In case you have never heard of this before, the "Chinese Birth Chart" has been said to be 99% accuarte. It figures out the sex by the age of the mother at time of conception, AND the moth the child was concieved in. It was right with my first, and i am sure it will be right with this on...but I know, there is still a chance of having a boy :)

Happy Love Day..soon.

2008-01-30T12:47:00.001-08:00

Here are my new kitty cats, perfect for Valentines Day! Now for sale on my Etsy site! get one :)

TGIF

2008-01-25T10:32:00.000-08:00

Ok. I am going to start saying thank yous on fridays. It is a good thing to do, and I saw another lady doing something like it on her blog, what a great idea! anyway.I don't know why I thought of this..BUT I would like to thank the universe for not ruining my 700 dollar brand new (at the time) digital camera that I stupidly left outside on a table..overnight..in the pouring rain. That happened last spring time, i think. I had only had the camera for a few weeks, maybe. I was taking tons of photos outside of my little one, and of flowers and basically everything. Then I guess I got distracted and came inside and never looked back, until the next day when i was looking for it and couldnt find it. YIKES! I totally freaked out when I saw it on the table in the yard..and the rain was pouring down on it. Well I have to say THANKS to NIKON for making a freaking awesome product. There was absolutely NOTHING wrong with it. I honestly can't believe it. And thank you! OH and thank you to Tokidoki..I am so obseesed. I found this today.

Think of Spring

2008-01-21T07:35:00.000-08:00

So I am trying to work on new designs between the millions of other things I have to do. I was drawing on little post-it notes with my daughter and I drew a ladybug so I decided to make it:) Regan LOVES them of course, but she named one of them starscream...after one of the Transformers...actually it might be a Deceptacon, not sure though. Anyway I am working on the pattern now but these guys are for sale on my ETSY site....

2008-01-15T06:31:00.000-08:00

So this was my first attempt at embroidery. I've had this drawing laying around for awhile and needed to do something with it. I'm not to excited at the way it came out. I might do one of regans shirts, but I am a little scared at what the inside is gonna look like. The book I have tells you nothing about making the inside look neat. Oh well. I still don't know what to do with the owl. I wanted to sew it onto a shirt, but I don't have the slightest idea how it will look ok...think positive..think positive..think positive.

The Art of Crochet and Life.

2008-01-14T07:09:00.000-08:00

So I have been working on "art" pieces to hopefully get a gallery opening sometime soon, maybe within the year. I have this huge peacock, that I made for a customer on ETSY, but since my computer crashed right after, and I lost all my info on my harddrive, I have no idea who it was, or how to contact her. So I guess I will just hold onto it for a gallery, and maybe she will find me in the future. It really is a work of art. And I think my background of all the mixtures of art I have done really came in handy for it. Along with the fact that my dad is macgyver. (not the tv show one...long story, but it's true) ANYWAY.
I have been piss poor and have been working my ass off. Something just doesnt feel right. I have been looking for a "real" job but it's hard finding a job when your resume says "stay at home mom" and your last job was a tattoo artist for 5 years. I think people look at that and automatically assume that I don't fit into a "real" job. I can't go back to tattooing, not only did I sell all my equiptment, but we moved away from where I used to work. Not to mention there is no daycare from noon to midnight! My husband travels like 4 months out of the year, so I am basically a single parent for that time. I could get a shitty job..but then after paying for daycare, I am lucky if I make 20 bucks a week. What is a woman to do???!!!!! Forget about going back to school. Which is what I really want to do. I have a degree in Photography...and I love working in a darkroom..oh wait everything is digital,give it to me now! OK..So I did apply at the portrait studio..in Walmart. and the "employee" test..It states. You may not have a goatee or beard, or visible tattoo or piercings.. WOW I thought people were over all that bullshit, guess not. I can hide mine anyway. just longsleeves,and collar shirts..all year around..but they didn't call me anyway.
I thought about applying at hot topic..afterall im tattooed and know a little bit about music. Maybe if I tell them how cool my husband is, they will hire me...BUT WAIT. its minimum wage..right. BUT I could walk there if there was a crazy snow storm. That is a good employee..I guess I will continue to fill out applications at the mall, and keep creating stuff, and keep picturing myself win the lottery for a million bucks.:)
OH in case your wondering why we are so poor...some asshole at my husbands previous job embezzled money and ripped off all the employees, and clients..for more than half a mil. and since he kept the insurance premium money instead of paying the insurance company....they canceled our policy for a year earlier..oh and my husband had 3 or 4 surgeries in that time..So now we owe the hospital 72,000 bucks. And our lawyer says we can't go after "asshole" cause the IRS already has him, and he has nothing to begin with. When I do win the lottery, I will sue his ass off, just to put him in jail, i dont care if i get a penny out of him. I just think he deserves to rot in jail.
OK now with all that bull out of the way, I can think positive and in vision myself happy, healthy, and independantly wealthy. :)

recap...christmas.

2008-01-12T09:47:00.000-08:00

I forgot to post about christmas...heres some pics..First Regan got some princess stuff from her Great Gramma, and on Christmas we decided to go stress free and go to our friends Tim and Anj's new awesome house, right down the road. We had a great time :) Regan loves their son, Sebastian, who she calls....habastian..and you can't forget pups..the Boss and Louise:)
Thanks for a great dinner and a fun time..love you guys!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2008-01-12T09:41:00.000-08:00

from left to right..Anderson drinking soy eggnog, Rach, Anj, Me, Erin, and Tim with his head cut off (camera was set up on a table...Doug and mike are in the background dissing the camera.
Happy New year!

New Year, New designs.

2008-01-05T07:52:00.001-08:00

I just had to make a ballerina for my daughter. All she does is pretend she is dancing on her tippy toes and twirl around like a princess. I used a stitch to make it look like she really had knee high socks on. I think it's so freakin cute, I could never sell it. It was nice to actually take time and make something with little details like that. I am now working on (still) my art show pieces. Hopefully I will be able to show them by January 25th! At the Curiosity shop on 4th and south street..philadelphia. We shall see :) OH Regan got her xylophone yesterday and she is so psyched. She was jammin like crazy. SO CUTE

HELP!

2007-12-29T15:51:00.000-08:00

I have a major addiction..ETSY! I can not stop buying from it!! AHHHHHHHHH
here is what I bought within the last week or less :( :)

Wall Hanging Clock - Cuckoo Clock - Orange
from decoylab

1970s Retro OWL with Moons - Mounted Rubber Stamp
from sideshowstamps

Crocheting a Scarf - CROCHET KNIT CRAFT - Mounted Rubber Stamp
from sideshowstamps

1970s Retro OWL with flowers - Mounted Rubber Stamp
from sideshowstamps

1970s OWL BORDER - Owls Stacked on Tree Branches - Mounted Rubber Stamp
from sideshowstamps

Origami Crane necklace
from luxedeluxe

Vintage Childrens Art Animals Polka Dots Alphabet Scrapbook Accents
from candyconnection22

Animals in Love Vintage Valentine Images on CD Scrapbook Crafts
from candyconnection22

ICE CREAM SOCIAL Christmas

2007-12-23T09:50:00.000-08:00

Happy Christmas from ICS! We had our christmas party and exchanged gifts, and Kat showed Doug how to really bowl on the Wii.
haha All in all ,we all got great secret santa gifts and had a GREAT time...see you all next year girls! and hopefully we will have an edition to our group..ERIN!
oh, and check out Luckydog in the middle of us, he just had to be in the picture..haha

What a bunch of dicks..at Dick's!

2007-12-19T11:17:00.001-08:00

I would first like to start by saying that I have been in a GREAT mood! I love Christmas time, I love being happy and seeing other people happy. anyway, I went to Dick's today to return something and to buy a treadmill. ( I am sick of not fitting into my clothes!) So I am going to make this LONNNNNNG story short. I asked a salesperson to help me with buying a treadmill, he told me to take this form that he filled out with info and take it to the costumer service....I went there and was ignored by some lady with a stick up her ass. I'm not gonna go into what happened cause it is long and painful..bottom line, I left with an Eagles sweatshirt for myself..(from the exchange) and with NO treadmill cause the "Customer Service" wouldn't answer me and procceded to help 5 other people (who were there way after me) before I gave up and left. bottom line...they are a bunch of Dicks! actually just the one lady, the kids working there who probably get paid a ton less, were more helpful.

Musicians in the family

2007-12-14T14:16:00.000-08:00

Here Kristie teaches Regan how to play drums, the guitar, and of course the great Zylaphone!

Squidfire Craft Fair

2007-12-10T11:14:00.000-08:00

So we went to the Squidfire Art and craft show in Baltimore Maryland on Sunday. It took us just about 2 hours to get there.My sister, Rach and I had so much fun. First off I was toddler free, Regan spent the night at Gamie and Pop pops on saturday night because we were leaving at 8am....or supposed to anyway. So we went out to dinner saturday night and spent my wonderful gift of 100 dollar gift card complements of the cheesecake factory from having office supplies in our food....(see previous post for story)
We sipped mojitos...or gulped them and had great appitizers..the entrees were not so hot. Then Sunday morning, Kristie drove while Rach and I were getting a litlle scared of the city we saw when we got off the highway..I kept thinking..this could be really bad. (see photos)
BUT then we arrived at the Lyric opera house and were happy by the look of the neighborhood. It was a litlle intimidating since we had NO idea where we were or what was around. We didn't go get food all day cause didn't see anything in the 2 block radius that we had paid attention too. We did, however, have a major sugar rush fron only eating candy that Squidfire had given us as a treat. Thank god they gave us bottles of water too! THANKS!
So we set up the table with like 5 minutes to spare before the doors opened.( I took the photos before the doors opened. Our table is in the last picture in the left corner of the room) It was a very relaxed and happy place to have our very FIRST craft show:)
We met a few nice vendors and LOTS of great customers. I could not believe the great responses we had from people about all the toys I made. And most of the customers got stuff for themselves...not just for kids. It really was a great time. I sold a total of 599 dollars worth of stuff!! Anj sold a few things, people LOVED her hats but we didnt have enough space for all of everyones stuff.
My sister sold lots of scarves, which was amazing because every other person sold hats and scarves. I was just pleased that I made enough money to cover all my expenses, that's really all I care about. I learned alot of things too. I was surprised to see how many people take credit cards and checks. We did take checks, and hopefully it will pan out..hehe Maybe in the future we will use credit too. Alot of people didn't buy stuff for that reason :(

So I learned:
-always bring your own food and bottles of water.
-Be organized
-take credit and checks
-spell check your price signs..(haha, seriously how embarrassing)
-having 2 people to help is way better!
-and when you start selling things, DO NOT go walk around with money in your pockets...because you will spend it ALL..oops
at least they are all...mostly christmas presents:)
THANK you Kristie,Rach for helping me with everything.
THANK you Anj, for taking care of my puppies while we were gone and for being so supportive :)

next time...ICE CREAM SOCIAL needs to do a craft fair..with 2 tables!

My new Zombie bear

2007-12-07T16:58:00.000-08:00

2007-12-05T14:44:00.000-08:00