i'm really lazy and that's not good!

i have so much that i need to do before christmas and i'm just not into doing any of it! i had grand ambitions of making quilts for all the nieces and nephews, but didn't get them started in time and have now changed my mind and plans! i've been spending more time working on hair bows, headbands, and clips for my shop so i've been neglecting all other things...including the house! (hubby's not terribly pleased with the house neglect!)

today is already starting to seem like it will be one of those lazy days when i just don't want to do anything, but i know that i need to since i have a showing tomorrow night! i also have some sewing projects to get to for gifts they just aren't quilts so they won't take nearly as long. i also have an order for some crochet food that i need to get done this week, with a possible order for more. so i have things to do i just put them off as long as i possibly can and that's not always a good thing! oh well, guess i should get to it all, that's always the first step to change...just get up and do it!

i'm so excited, my business cards arrived today!

my really nice, professional business cards came today so i'm off to a pretty good start with my crafty little business! i've had a good month with a couple sales in my etsy shop and a home show at trisha's house, i'm hoping for at least one more home show in december, possibly two.

now, i'm not expecting to be completely profitable for at least 6 months and i'm alright with that. my eventual dream would be a booth at some local craft shows. i'm headed to one tonight to get some inspiration, ideas and possible tips! i'm just so excited! i try to pimp my products as much as i can! there's no real point to this post...i just wanted to say that i'm so excited!

visit my store! http://chunkybugdesigns.etsy.com

i've been busy...really, i have!

well, i'm finally updating my blog and there's just so much that i've been doing and i don't know where to start! i did finish the wedding quilt for my brother and his wife, just in time for the wedding. luke was driving up to the pre-ceremony picture site as i was finishing attaching the binding, but it was done and that's all that mattered to me! it seems to be the way quilts work out for me when they are gifts...i'm always finishing them literally right before handing them over! it's prograstination on my part and i know it, as hard as i try i just can't (or won't) change that part of me! i can always say that i do my best under pressure!

my newest craft obsession is hair bows, included in that would be hair clippies and headbands. i'm not really sure why i decided to try my hand at hair accessories since my daughter doesn't really wear them, but now i've started them and i love making them. so logically the next step was to start selling them and i finally opened my etsy shop on november 1! i need to add more items and plan to this weekend, but at least i have a few things to get me started!

my etsy shop, www.chunkybugdesigns.etsy.com, has my hair clippies and some of my jewelry. i couldn't quite decide what to sell and had just planned on the hair clips but a friend asked about my jewely so i figured i'd throw that in there, too! so now my store is a little hod-podge of jewelry and hair clips...soon to have tons more things after i take more pictures! i've already sold a few things and "hosted" a showing last night where i sold more things and have the potential for putting on another show next month! yea, for me, i'm finally going to be able to support my craft habit!

searching for an iron

well, my iron died sometime yesterday so all my fabric projects are on hold until i can get to the store and get a new one. i'm not looking forward to that since i'll have to take jordan with me and it'll be one of those hurried trips to target or walmart and i'll just pick something that will work without worrying about any bells or whistles. i'd really like a nice, pricey iron that will never die, but sadly can't justify the cost right now. guess it's always that way for me...all the things i want are high priced and never in the budget!

so i'm off to the stores to get a new iron and will hopefully be back to work on clothes and quilts tonight. i got some new fabric to make jordan more dresses and am very excited about getting those done...it's amazing how much fabric excites me these days!

remembering when i just had one child

yesterday my hubby had me dig through some of our boxes of stuff in the overcrowded abyss we call the garage, to find him old pictures of when he was young and unmarried! as i was looking i came across some of our old family pics, too and started remembering what it was like with just one child and way less stress and noise! so i just wanted to share a couple pics of my first born being silly, modeling one of my first crochet hats, and eating on the couch that i obviously didn't care about getting dirty! the days were much quieter but i really wouldn't change the way things are now...even as the children yell at each other while i type this!

so i'm off to the garage again to find more pics since i didn't find exactly what my hubby was looking for...so much for resting on my butt all day! you know at some point i really should clean out the garage and go through everything we have in there...but it just overwhelms me so i'll wait til we're ready to move again in about 2 years!

i love pillowcase dresses!

my little model, showing off the "olivia" pillowcase dress!

i finally got off my lazy butt, started making dresses for jordan for the upcoming fall/winter seasons and found that i love making pillowcase dresses! they are super easy and quick to make, the three dresses i've made so far only took a couple days...i would have been done sooner if i didn't insist on doing a million other things at the same time! i still have a few more dresses to make for her in the coming days and fully plan on getting them done by the first of oct only because it's getting colder and that damn wedding quilt keeps calling my name!

now, since i do have a "knack" for making super quick and easy dresses for my daughter and she's still at the age where mom clothes are just fine with her, i plan on taking full advantage of that! it saves me a ton on clothes for her since she insists on wearing dresses and in most cases i can just use the fabric that i already have. i will confess that i do tend to overbuy, whether fabric, beads, yarn, or whatever craft related thing i'm into at the moment so there is virtually no shortage of supplies in my house at any given time! so that makes things much easier when the mood strikes me to be creative, it drives my husband crazy but it keeps me happy...and that's really all that matters sometimes! for example, having extra fabric came in handy this past summer when i decided on july 3 to make a july 4th dress for jordan! see, further proof that i wait until the last minute to do things!


the orange and purple dress is for clemson, we're not really clemson fans but my hubby wanted something for jordy to wear to aggravate his dad and i just couldn't bring myself to spend $40+ on a cheerleader outfit! the pink dress has little pink ribbons for breast cancer on it and was supposed to be an actual pillowcase but i, obviously, had to make it into a dress!

i've been busy!

i've been working on all kinds of different projects over the last few weeks and really would like to show them off...unfortunately i have lost the camera so no pics! i'm completely frustrated about the whole lost camera thing since it seems to me like really, the house just ate the damn thing since i've looked everywhere for it and still can't figure out where it's gone to! so now i'm in the digital camera hunting process and am not happy about it...i'm trying to keep us on a budget and a new camera is just not part of that budget! seems to be the story of my life...there are my want things that never fall in line with my needs!

but, i have been working and that's the good thing...i even took a whole day off from cleaning so that i could work on various projects just because. of course for me, putting off cleaning is really no big thing since i try to avoid it on a daily basis anyway! i got a couple necklaces and bracelets made, finished quilting and binding jordan's "tea set quilt" (that's what she calls it since she wants to only use it for her tea sets), and quilted the table runner that i decided i would give to my mom for her birthday...i'll be binding it tonight and tomorrow, finishing it just in time to give it to her on sunday! nothing like waiting to finish things at the last possible minute...that's the story of my life!

i'm hoping to get lots more done this weekend and still have that wedding quilt to finish...clocks ticking but it's not screaming at me yet so i can ignore it for a few more days! fingers crossed that i find the camera or just breakdown and buy one!

see, i really am working on something!

since i've been neglecting my blog, i thought i would post some pics of what i have been working on so it doesn't seem like i'm just some slack woman who has no follow through...which in all honesty, i can be at times and i'm okay with that!

the quilt squares (on the left as i type this) were supposed to be part of a bigger quilt until my hubby said he didn't like the colors so they are now going to become placemats once i add some more fabric on the sides to make them wider. i now have tons of that fabric group so i'll be making lots of placemats, tablerunners and probably a quilt for me since i really like the fabric group.

i also thought i would try my hand at crocheting food and it's really a lot easier than i thought it would be. i made the ice cream cone and donut yesterday, the cupcake and oreo cookie were made today. jordan loves them and has requested strawberries, more oreos and a blueberry donut! i'll be starting on those shortly, after i finish the little octopus and penguin that she has also requested...and when i say requested i mean told me "make me that, mommy!"

and of course i'm still working on the wedding quilt for my brother...just 2 months away, but really no pressure! so now you know why i haven't kept up with my blog or starting my own business for that matter! but i'm working on projects so eventually i will get my stuff together long enough to add some things to my etsy shop which has been empty for about six months now...it's a really good thing those shops are free! now i'm off to sew or crochet something for someone...just haven't decided what or for who!

finally starting the wedding quilt!

well, my little brother is getting married in october and while i've known about this for almost a year, i'm finally starting on the wedding quilt that i said would be their gift. i've gone back and forth for the last 6 months about the colors, the pattern, the size...just about everyway to put off the unavoidable! but now i've finally picked the pattern and the colors and once i get going i should have it done in about 2 weeks...so i'm off to cut the squares! i'll have to post pics once i get it started just for my own benefit and to help decide the final layout! so, i'm off to cut some fabric and hoping beyond hope that i have enough!

wow! i'm lazy!

so i haven't been keeping up with my blogging and feel so lazy! i've been working on lots of things lately though, not any of it having to do with jewelry making or starting the business that i really fully intend to start very soon! i did manage to get some pieces done for our moms club sale and even sold some, just enough to cover the cost of the spot in the sale...better than i expected so that was good.

i'm working on dresses for jordan, crocheting a blanket from a swap that i did...my first ever swap, and at some point getting pics taken of the jewelry that i've made and getting them put up on a website somewhere...either starting my own or a free web set-up type deal. who knows! i'm always wanting to do more than i really have time or energy for!

finally!

i finally made some new pieces this week! i'm very happy with the things that i made and i may have my first sale! i'll have to post pics later once i cut them down and get them setup for my etsy store...all things that i must do this weekend before the kids and i go out of town next week. my big goal is to have at least 5 pieces listed in my etsy store before leaving on tuesday for atlanta...so far i just need to make one more piece and then just list them.

the hard part for me is listing the pieces...i'm afraid that i won't give enough info or that i'll give too much, that i'll price too high or worse for me, that i'll price too low and not make any kind of profit! guess i just have to wait and see...i've tried the etsy thing before with other crafty things and sold nothing after 4 months of listing, but i didn't really promote myself all that well-a problem that i plan to solve this go round! oh, well...off to make more pieces, i feel the need to add more bracelets and maybe some earrings!

i am so lazy!

i am so lazy...i haven't made a singe jewelry piece since last saturday! well, that's not completely true now that i think about it, i did re-do one piece the other night. but still i need to be much better since i really need to get going on this whole jewelry selling business! i have taken my first steps and signed up for my moms club sale in may...that will be my first test! i'm excited and nervous all at the same time!

i'll be working on some new things this week, along with finally finishing some kind of outfit for j, and getting more squares done for my first evert crochet block exchange. this looks like it's going to be yet another busy week for me...guess i really should stop being so lazy and get more done!

my newest creations

i had a great weekend...the kids went with my folks so i got to shop at a local bead store that i've wanted to visit for a while now. so here's what i made from a few of the beads that i purchased. i just love working with mother of pearl and shell beads! i'm thinking that these will be some of the first things that i try to sell once i get everything set up.

i didn't get j's outfit finished in time for her birthday but she decided to wear something else so that made me feel alright! i'm off to try to finish it today, get started on some crochet squares for a swap, and try to make a few more jewelry pieces. on top of all that i still have my daily housecleaning duties...busy day, busy week!

my first blog!

i'm so excited! i'm taking my first steps to starting my own home based craft business and wanted to have a place to vent about all my upcoming experiences! in the coming days i'll post some pics of all my projects...for now i'm off to finish my little girl's birthday outfit for tomorrow and clean the house before all the dust and laundry rise up and revolt!