Time to list the house again, or wait?

Ahhhhh ... and so .... it possibly begins again. We are wondering if we should list our house on the market again ... and just the thought of it makes my eye twitch nervously. BUT, we still realllllllly want to move! (AND, the new house that we built last year is still sitting empty!)

Does anyone know anyone who is a Realtor who could give us advice? Does anyone have a take on if the $8K tax credit to new homebuyers would mean a difference for people like us in our situation? Our house is priced to be a first-time home for someone. But, new buyers had a $7.5K credit available last year and there were no bites on our house. Is 2009 the year that will make a difference, or should we wait until 2010?

I'm seriously looking for advice, can anyone help? And if you don't feel like leaving a comment then please email me: needlethreadbutton(AT)gmail(DOT)com

{I have blogged extensively about our struggles to sell our house. Here and here and here are all of the posts, if you're really bored and feel like reading them and then subsequently lapsing into a coma. As a side note, I really need to fix my labeling system for my blog posts. I had three different labels on the subject of selling our house and building the new one. Geez.}

Etsy Favorites Wednesday

Hello there dear blog readers and welcome to this week's Etsy Favorites Wednesday. It's a mish mash this week!

Camper Fabric

I just bought this! HOW CUTE! I have been buying quarter yards of cool fabric in anticipation of my craft show. I am in love with fabrics that people print themselves. And this weekend I'm going to go to my fav fabric store and then it'll be time to start a'sewing for the craft show! I also plan to make some dolls out of recycled fabric. Stay tuned, of course I'll blog about it!

Owl Brooch

Crafters are doing some cool stuff with shrinkie dink plastic. Like this owl pin. There's also a crafter popular on Etsy that makes rings out of dinks; check her out here. I used to play with shrinkie dinks but I didn't make anything near as cool as what these crafters are making!

Vintage Daisy Brooch

I used to have a pin similar to this. I have no idea where it is. I miss it.

Bingo Chips

I don't know why I like these, nor do I know what I'd do with them, but I want them. I have some vintage bingo cards that I've been hanging onto for a couple years now; perhaps I could play a game of bingo with the chips and the cards, or use them for some sort of decorative element. Hmm ... (wheels churning inside head ...)

Owl Decoration
And another "not sure why I like this" thing but I do. Would look cute hanging in a bathroom, I think. Just hanging out. Lookin at you when you step out of the shower or doing your business.

Why hello there handsome!

He was the only reason why I watched the Oscars. And I was not disappointed.

It's official: every baby needs a gnome hat

I crocheted up this darling gnome hat for Amber's little boy ... it turned out so cute! I'm a little worried that it won't fit him, it seems awful tiny. It was fun to make too, which is always a plus. It took me a total of three hours to make, not bad! I modeled it on Lydia's little baby, and then Lydia got in on the photo action. Every baby needs a gnome hat! Know any babies that need a gnome hat? I'm on it. My pattern is for 0-3 months and 3-6 months.

Now here's some good news!

Mike was in a contest at work: the Biggest Loser. The staff put in money to play, and there were two prizes: a cruise and a cash prize. You got tickets for the drawing for the cruise for how many pounds you lost plus tickets for meetings you attended, etc. They had the final weigh in today, and Mike lost the most weight out of about 100 people!!! WAY TO GO MIKEY!! The cruise winner was picked like a lottery, so a woman who only lost 2 pounds won, not fair! Mike had in a lot of tickets for the pounds that he lost, but it only takes one ticket to win. I'm so proud of him for losing the most weight out of everyone!!!

Someone's got the grumpies

I'm in a really bad mood today. Just about every one and every thing is making me mad. All of humanity - just leave me alone!

PSA: Brownie in a mug recipe

Thought I'd pass this along. I haven't made it yet, but it sounds super easy and delicious!

Microwave Mug Brownie

4 tbs. flour
4 tbs. sugar
2 tbs. cocoa
dash of salt
2 tbs. vegetable oil
2 tbs. water
1/4 tsp. vanilla

Whisk together dry ingredients in a large coffee mug. Add oil, water and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Microwave on high for 60 or 90 seconds. (Place mug not quite in center of microwave.) Dump it onto a plate or eat it right out of the mug!

Etsy Favorites Wednesday

Hello there! Sorry to have skipped last week's Etsy Favorite Wednesdays. I'm back this week, and it's all about rings. Enjoy!

Orange Peel Ring by Recycled Rings

This artist creates rings out of recycled materials. I thought this one was interesting.


Heart Ring by Kyle Ann Metals

I'm drawn to metal heart rings. I like this one a lot.


Little Love Ring by LunaTepatal

Ditto.

Butterfly Ring by Mixko

I like this ring, but I think I'd get tired of it flopping around all the time. It's cute though, huh?

Green Plastic Ring by Cozy June

Love the color of this one.

Last week I purchased some new fabric to make some new dolls. Here's a peek at a few:

Alphabet Fabric

I have a crush on this seller, Summersville. I have purchased a lot of her fabric. I fell in love with this new alphabet print!

Faux Bois!

YES! I finally found some more of the faux bois fabric! I'm so excited. I've been looking around for awhile for some more of this print. It makes great dollie legs! I got the brown and the pink!

It's not you, it's me

Dear IKEA,

It really pains me to write this to you, it really does. I'm breaking up with you. My infatuation with you is over. You see, this past weekend, we visited you with the intention of buying a new arm chair for the living room. Well, we couldn't find one that we liked. Every arm chair that you carry is too short. We tried lots of chairs out and just weren't comfortable in any of them. None were the right color. They were all squatty. So then, we thought, okay, no dice on a chair, why don't we check out dining room tables. We had spotted some tables on previous trips that we liked. But upon closer inspection with an intent to purchase, you know what IKEA, your tables suck. We tried those out too, and our knees wouldn't fit under the tables. No dice on the tables. So then we thought, okay, let's try to get some glasses. IKEA, what the heck? You had no sets of glasses that were FULL SIZE. You had lots of orange juice glasses, pint glasses, and wine goblets. No just regular 'ol water or pop glasses. So again, no dice! We did buy one thing, we got a strainer. Big whoop. I mean, geeeez IKEA, we came to you wanting to spend some money, and believe me, we tried hard, but we left spending just a couple bucks.

IKEA, I just don't get it. Before we'd go into your store to do some "window shopping" and I would practically salivate. I wanted IT ALL. I had a huge wish list for you. I've raved about you right here on my blog. But once we visited you with the intent on actually purchasing something, we couldn't find anything that we liked!

I'm sorry, but this is goodbye. If you come up with some non-squatty, non-suckie tables or chairs, I'll re-consider.

Sniff sniff,
XOXOXO

I have a new little friend

I have a new little friend. I got him for Valentine's Day, a day early. He stands about 7" tall and wears a stylish pea coat, a swank button down shirt and cute blue jeans. He has a perpetual scowl, or maybe he's just looking serious. Seriously cute! He came to work with me today and we're gonna hang out tonight while the hubby is out of town. It's my choice for a movie tonight and he promised he'd make me some white cheddar popcorn. This dude knows how to please! And who is he?! EDWARD FREAKIN' CULLEN, that's who!

Here he's helping me Twitter. Thanks Edward!

(No, I am not a stalker, nor am I crazy, I'm just having fun! For some other funny fun with the Edward Cullen action figure, check this out.)

It's Friday the 13th!

It's Friday the 13th, and a new Friday the 13th movie opens today! I was able to finish Mike's Jason Voorhees doll last night and give it to him. I tried to make it look scary, but it looks kind of cute, in a sick sort of way. Mike loved it! The card accompanying the doll said, "February 14th is for lovers. F that bleep, Friday the 13th is my day baby!" haha

He's styling with brown felt pants, a tan shirt and a brown jacket. He has paint on him to make him look dirty, and of course lots of blood drops.


The back of his bloody head. Yick. I wrapped his head in a 'burlap sack' because I guess he does that in the new movie.


Face mask close up. Mike was laughing because he said that it looks like I made a Jack Skellington mask because the eye holes are so big. Ha - what can I say, I have my artistic influences!

Bloody axe. Of course.

Jason's first kill. Poor dollie. Right in her eye too. Bastard!

Mike is out of town until Saturday night so he gave me my Valentine's present last night too ... I got an Edward Cullen action figure baby! Ooooohhh yeah. Edward is going to keep me company while the husband is away.

Download hearty desktop wallpaper

You can download Valentine's Day themed desktop wallpaper from Jessica Jones (graphic designer, fabric designer, and creator of the very cool "How About Orange?" blog) by going here. I downloaded the hearts and bird one and it looks very cute on my computer.

And I ask you ....

1.) What is with this weather?! Freakishly large amounts of snow two weeks ago. 62 degrees today, but thunderstorms and bad gusts of wind. The wind knocked out our power again - thankfully only for about two hours. It's still blowing like crazy right as I type and our lights keep flickering!

2.) Why can't children's vaccinations be less painful? Like maybe given orally in a grape-flavored syrup? Okay, I know that won't work, but still, I ask you - it just seems cruel, does it not?! The girls had their four-year vaccinations today, including the flu shot, a total of FIVE! Three in one leg and two in the other. The nurses were really swell; they tag-teamed and one took one girl out into the waiting room while the other was getting their shots. I about cried because the girls were being truly brave, but they screamed and cried and I could tell they were thinking, "What the HELL?! This is SO NOT FUN!!!" I think it was worse this time around because they knew what was going on. Arlene about broke my heart - the nurse said, "one leg is done, now the other" and Arlene says, "No, don't do the other leg, I don't want anymore, no no no no no!!" and then SCREEEEEAAAAAMMMM!! as she was stuck the largest of the five needles. Poor little girls. Their thighs were still sore when they went to bed.

3.) Are the prices of gas going to go back up? I paid $1.92 for gas today. I know that's much lower than what we were paying less than six months ago, but still. I liked gas at $1.51 a gallon.

4.) Why do other parents in the girls' preschool always give the kids so much candy during holiday parties? It's crazy how much candy loot the girls come home with on party days. What they come home with is just the icing on the cake (haha I'm so funny) to what they've already stuffed their faces with during class - cupcakes, cookies, suckers, etc. etc. And, I'll have you know, that my kids were the only kids who actually signed their Valentine's themselves! All of the other mom's wrote out their kids' Valentines, but not my smart little girls, they did it themselves!

(yikes, the power just flicked for almost 20 seconds ... but didn't go out, good)

5.) Does anyone else have spring fever already? I'm so ready for capris and flip flops.

6.) I am done with the octuplets mom. Did anyone else watch the Dateline interview with her? Disgusting. If she ever ends up getting her own book deal or her own TV show on TLC, because of her wretched, selfish decision to transfer six embryos, then I will revolt against all society. I read today that there is an investigation now against her IVF doctor, because she used the same doctor for all of her IVF procedures. I hope the doctor gets in trouble for not putting the crazy mom into a mental hospital after she came to him with her fourth IVF procedure. Don't you think three kids is enough for a single, unemployed woman living in her parent's home? Um, yeah. I hate it that people like the octuplets mom and Jon and Kate +8 give a bad name to IVF. When really the issue is irresponsibility and ignorance on their part. I'm so done with J&K+8 too, by the way. Did you know that they recently moved into a million dollar home? And that Jon doesn't work anymore? And that they're on talk shows talking about their "money saving meatloaf" recipe, and asking people for "love offerings" AKA "money" all the while shopping around for million dollar real estate?

7.) Did you know that Friday is Friday the 13th? And that there is a remake of Friday the 13th opening in theaters? And that my husband is so very excited about that? And that he may just get a Jason doll for Valentine's Day if I can finish it in time - my plan is to finish it and give it to him on Friday, but I don't know if that's gonna happen.

8.) I really don't feel like doing this week's Etsy Favorites Wednesday. Do you care?

My Edward fell out!

I'm walking out to my car at lunch today, and I spot something glistening on the pavement. I get closer, and I can't believe my eyes! It's my Edward! My Edward from my Edward Cullen keychain! He's lying on the ground - oh no - horror of horrors! And what is worse, he's been defeated, defamed, he's been DAMAGED people! He fell out of my keychain base, and evidentally onto the pavement, without me knowing, and people had driven over him. Nooooo! He's all scratched up and ruined. I'm so sad! I have no idea how he could have just fallen out of my keychain without me knowing. Furthermore, I've never had this happen to anything I've made out of resin - maybe the keychain bases that I got are cheap, or something! It's awful! Traci, I hope this doesn't happen to your Edward!!

He's still smiling, but he's hurting on the inside.

How people get here

Today I've been examining my blog stats again (I'm bored) and I found something sort of funny. It's a listing of how people came upon my blog.

Here's the top searched keywords that landed people here, with my comments in italics.

• button your eyes - seems to be very popular in this list
• tip toe night brace - glad to share our story with those searching for info
• dolls buttons eyes movies - that person likes to pluralize
• brace for tippy toes - ditto bullet 2
• nightmare before christmas button eyes - being lumped together a lot lately
• etsy gifts under $10 - hopefully that person bought something!
• I'll be doing that for a couple hours - the second best!
• my company was dissolved and the treasury took my money can i get it back - the BEST! unfortunately my stats don't point to the exact page they landed on, so I don't know how this relates to my blog!
• fever 101.9 runny nose - poor sick person
• someone special who could it be. this job's too big for you and me - higgly town heroes!
• crochet hooks cozy - I wonder if they liked the one I made?
• edward cullen keychain - spreadin' the love

Coraline opens today!

The movie Coraline opens today! It's got the craft world excited, see this post from Craft magazine. I am still debating on whether or not we should take the girls to see the movie ... I definetely want to see it!

Making Valentines ...

... the girls and I got a little head start at making up some Valentine's tonight. I tried out my chocolate button molds and they turned out super cute! I overflowed a few so they look a bit big, but they're still cute. I made chocolate suckers too. The girls made a few Valentine cards. Fun! We're going to finish up the work on Saturday. The girls have a list of people they want to send Valentine's to!

This picture is sideways! Oh well.

I made these cute little cards to go on top of the chocolate button bags.

Thumbs up, Thumbs down

Thumbs Up:

• Girlie-girl time. Last night I laid in the girls' room for a half hour and we giggled and talked before they fell asleep.
• New crafts. I've been working hard. You wait and see.
• Buttons. Going to make button candy & button chocolates this weekend.
• Valentine's Day. I can rank V-day as my second favorite holiday after Halloween.
• The latte I've been sipping all morning.
• Facebook. Although, it's a good thing FB is blocked on my work computer. I'd be on that thing constantly.
• The girls singing the "Five Dolla Footlong" song from Subway. It's hilarious.
• Actually getting a full night's rest last night. Go figure.

Thumbs Down:

• The dark crusty ice-mounds leftover from the snow storm.
• Not having enough time to get things done.
• Being busy at work. Um hello, I need time to blog and check my blogs. Thx.
• Other people being too busy too, and not blogging or emailing. Boo. Miss them. Much.
• People who are inconsiderate of others and only looking to put themselves ahead.
• The lack of new job possibilities. Not that I'm looking. But if I were. There's nothing.
• Our heater's intake pipe thingie freezing over last night and shutting the heater off. I'm so ready for warmer weather.
• Dry hands. I repeat: I'm so ready for warmer weather.

Etsy Favs - a GUY's guide to an Etsy Valentine's Day

This edition of Etsy Favorites Wednesday is filled with budget-friendly (all under $20!) Valentine's Day gift ideas for the GUYS. And we all know that the boys need some extra help, so instead of just five Etsy Favs this week, I found ten. So perhaps you could tell your sweetie about this list and give them a big HINT. Order now in time for V-day dudes!

Flower Heart Brooch
Okay, first of all guys, a "brooch" is a fancy term for a pin. Got it? So, how cute is this little felt brooch? Trust me, it's cute, and your gal will love it. It says "Happy Valentine's Day" without being over the top. Plus she could wear it all year long on her jacket if she so chooses. And at only $10, it's quite a deal too! And when you give it to her, tell her "I thought you'd like this brooch!" and she'd blush with pleasure at your exquisite vocabulary!


Red Heart Button Earrings

Buttons mean love. Well, at least they mean love to me. Because I love buttons. And I make stuff with buttons. But I didn't make these. Surely your gal likes/loves buttons too, so buy her these and she'll appreciate them. And priced at $12, they're also very reasonable. And this is another item that your Valentine could wear all year long.


Milk 'n Cookies card

Guys, buy this card NOW for your ladies. She'll appreciate it. It's cute, it's clever, and the google eyes are silly. These cards are priced too low for their high amount of cuteness! They're just $3.50. The seller also has peanut butter & jelly cards - very cute also. If you don't buy one of these cards I'm going to be mad at you.

Heart Gift Card Holder

$5!

Owly Gift Card Holder
$3.25!! (a huge deal!)

Your honey needs a Starbucks gift card for Valentine's Day. Trust me. I know these things. Or perhaps a gift card to Subway for your diet-conscience lover, or maybe a card to Michaels for the crafty types. But don't you dare just give her a card in those ridiculously plain cardboard card holders that come with the cards. Give it some pizazz and pair it with a fabric card holder. Plus she could re-use the card holder to stylishly hold business cards in her purse or your Target credit card.


Heart Confetti

Sprinkle this confetti on your dining room table to adorn the food you cooked for your sweetie. It's $2. Or if you're naughty, sprinkle it on your bed! heh heh


Little heart decorations

These little hearts are made out of clay. You could buy them to adorn your sweetie's gift, or just give them as is and your honey can hang them somewhere special.


Little Black Wristlet

I'm going to be expanding your vocabulary again! You ready? These little purses are called wristlets because your sweetie can dangle them from her delicate little wrist. They are all the rage. They hold the necessities for date night: cell phone, lip gloss, pressed powder, or any feminine necessity. This special little wristlet, priced at just $12, has a detachable strap, so your love bunny can also stuff it in her big girl purse. Lovely!

Monkey Coffee Cup Cozy

Heart Fabric Coffee Cup Cozy

I have a coffee cup cozy and I highly recommend you buy one for your BFF. They're cute, quirky, and green (as in, eco-friendly), which you know is really popular now-a-days. Your gal can think of you every time she sips her coffee. And perhaps you got her that Starbucks card that I suggested above? Wa-la, instant gift package! Coffee AND a cup cozy. I have two options here for you, silly or sweet. The monkey one is $15 and the heart one is $8.50.

Guys, if you need a tutorial on how to order from Etsy, please send me an email at wendyplanicka(at)yahoo(dot)com. [insert the appropriate punctuation where I have parenthesis; that's just a fancy way of hiding my email address from phishers.] I promise I'll keep your gifts a secret. The gift-giving possibilities from Etsy are crazy. You can find birthday gifts and holiday gifts. The possibilities are endless. And handmade gifts have more heart. And your gal will approve.

And no, I didn't just make this list up for myself, it's a universal list I think all girls would appreciate. I, personally, want just one thing for Valentine's Day.

My next craft show

That title should have read: MY NEXT CRAFT SHOW HOLY CRAP I'M SO EXCITED! I was invited to participate in the OddMall "Emporium of the Weird" which is basically an odd title for a really cool craft show. The show is May 8 in Hudson, OH. It's close to Mike's parents house so we'll get a visit in, and the craft show. The reason why I'm so excited about the show is because there are going to be a lot of hip and trendy crafters there. For example, check out these people: Mallory Hill, Abbydid (my crafter friend will be there and we have tables right beside each other - joy!!), B Radley, and Space Dog Studios. There won't be any cement geese clothing for sale at Oddmall, that's for sure. Or crafts made out of plastic canvas. Or cornhole sets.

NOW, I need to build up my stock, which I've been fervently working on the past few weeks. AND I'm considering opening up a whole new Etsy shop, with a new name, and take just that stock with me to the show. The new shop would only be for items that are sewn and/or have buttons, including my dolls, my new resin/embroidery pieces, and framed embroidery pieces. I was thinking of naming it "Needle, Thread, Button." What do you think?