Etsy Favorites Wednesday

Hello, after the brief vacation hiatus last week, here's this week's edition of Etsy Favorites Wednesday! These are some delightful things I've found while perusing Etsy:

Care Bears Bracelet - aww yeah baby! I've been listening to this new 80's radio station and I have been rocking it out and channeling my old, middle-school-aged self. You know what, I just realized something as I wrote that, I've often thought of "the 80's" as my high school years, but I was in HS from 92-96. Hm, weird. Anyway, I've been thinking about the fads of the 80's and yes, I was a fan of the Care Bears. This bracelet cracks me up! I would never wear it, but you have to admit it is sort of cute, all of that Care Bear goodness! It doesn't feature my Care Bear though - Birthday Bear!

Mixed tape soaps - made from a mold of an actual cassette tape. Classic. Is this an 80's or 90's thing? I'm not sure ... most of my mix tapes were from the 90's, probably because I was older then and had established some favorite artists. And my mixed tapes were filled with Dirty Dancing songs, mixed with some Sinead O'Connor and Bryan Adams. Yesssss. Ipods are cool and all and I dig the "Genius" mixes, but creating a mix tape for someone, and being able to insert your own introductions to the songs, was AWESOME.

Crocheted hair ties - whoah! From the rainbow 80's to hair ties. Sorry to give you whiplash there. I do like these ties though, especially the button centers.

Jack beads - is it too early for Halloween? I salivated when I saw these!

DIY 2010 calendar panel - I have been eyeing this for about a month now! I need to buy it now so that I actually get one made up before 2010.

We're back from vacation!

We're baaaack from Up North! We had a great time!

I put the entire stack of our photos on my Flickr account, which is here. The Flickr set is divided into four sections, based on what we did during our week.

This was the first trip we've made just the four of us. We've gone for camping trips with family and those have been great, but this trip was extra special because it was just us. We went to Higgin's Lake, Michigan, and stayed seven days in my grandparent's cabin. Growing up I vacationed to Higgin's Lake with my family ... there was an awesome photo album that my grandma had compiled of pictures from when they bought the cabin (in I think the 60's) and had photos throughout the years of my parents being up there before they had kids and photos of us kids, my brothers and my cousins, playing in the lake and the cabin. The place holds a bunch of special memories. My grandpa's ashes are in the lake and at the cabin too, which added just a nice feeling, a feeling of history and family.



It was coooolllld when we got there on Friday night. We had to turn the heater on! We were able to take advantage of the cold days though and did some sight seeing. We traveled to Houghton Lake a few times for groceries and to eat. Houghton is a bigger, more tourist-y destination just south of Higgin's Lake.



We had three good beach days on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. What's awesome about Higgin's Lake is how clear the water is ... and you can walk out from the beach 100 or so feet and the water is only up to your hips. The girls loved that, being able to be away from the shore, but still able to play in the water and run around. On Wednesday we went north to the Mackinaw Bridge area. We went to Mackinaw City and bought some fudge (of course!) and then went across the bridge. That was cool. The girls got quite a kick out of that. We spent time in St. Ignace in the Upper Peninsula just north of the bridge. That place is cool. Not quite so tourist-y or crowded at Mackinaw City. We bought sweatshirts and coffee cups and took pictures on the boardwalk. We then went to Harbor Springs to visit Tom's Mom's Cookies, which is hands down, THE best cookie shop of the north. We bought a dozen and savored them until they were gone! The girls were beyond excited to go there, because two years ago when we were up camping in Petoskey we had bought them t-shirts. They told the gal getting our cookies, "We have t-shirts that say Tom's Mom's on them!" and they were giggling and laughing. We drove to Petoskey for dinner that night and then took a really pretty scenic drive back to Higgin's Lake.



The trip wasn't all fun and sights though! Oh dear! On Tuesday, I had woken up with what I thought were mosquito bites all over my legs. When I get bit by a mosquito, it itches like mad and swells up really big. Well I had easily over 100 bites all up both legs. I thought I was going to go insane. I doped myself up on Benadryl but it was still miserable. By Thursday, we were seriously starting to wonder if something was wrong with me, because the bites had gotten bigger and were itching more. So then we realized, awww &$%#! I had fricken swimmer's itch! My cousins that go to the cabin frequently had warned us about swimmers itch. It's a larvae in the water that gets under your skin and dies (majorly gross!) They had told us to buy sun screen with bug spray in it. We did that and coated the girls totally and also put it on ourselves. Obviously not well enough. Because then MIKE GOT IT! It was at that point that we realized what it was. It wasn't mosquito bites, because I only had it on my legs ... and while I was in the water, I had never really gotten wet above my hips. Hence where all of my spots were. Mike's spots were probably the normal person's reaction to it, they were mildly itchy, but bearable. We had planned on leaving the cabin Friday morning, but instead left on Thursday night, because it had become apparent that I needed to see a doctor, I was having a bad reaction. I was going to take a picture of my legs, but um, I don't want to remember it forever! We left the cabin a day early to get to our hotel near Flint, Michigan. My cousin was getting married on Saturday so we had planned on ending our vacation there before coming back to Ohio.

I went to a doctor Friday morning and you know it's bad when the nurse goes "Oh my GOD!" when she sees you! Yeah, it was bad. I was at my wit's end with the itching and I have this horrible phobia about skin rashes anyway, so I was going insane. I got a steroid shot there on the spot and then a prescription for a six-day steroid medication, along with an antibiotic, because the doc didn't want me to develop a secondary reaction/infection. I got a prescription for itching too. By Friday night the spots had gotten much better and I had stopped itching. But I tell you what, I was doped up. The rest of the trip was pretty much a fog, which made me mad, because I sort of just floated through seeing my cousins and aunts and uncles and going to the wedding. I
was in a medication haze! But at least I wasn't itching!

We got home late Sunday, and we were very happy to have our week of memories (minus the itch) but we were also very excited to get home. The girls immediately started dragging out toys and playing and it was like Christmas for them, playing with stuff they hadn't seen for a week, it was so funny!

How adorable is this photo? That dapper dude is Griffen, the girls' second cousin. I could just eat him up!

I got some great pictures from Higgins Lake and our sight-seeing trips, but didn't get many from the wedding. The girls had the CUTEST dresses ever, but I didn't get a very good photo of them. (I'm telling you, I was doped up and not thinking about much other than keeping my eyes open!) I'll have to have them pose in the outfits again. It's Monday night now and I'm just now starting to feel like myself again. It was, say, interesting, to go to work today and try to do work while on all of my medications. I realized just how loopy I was over the weekend because I had to concentrate really hard on not sounding like a dope-head when I talked to people at work. Hopefully I didn't embarrass myself too much. This week is our county fair and we have a tent and it's our biggest marketing opportunity for the community, so this is like "my week" and hopefully the steroid medication will continue to wear off so I can get back to reality and let the air out of my head!

By the way, Michigan has the most awesome snacks. Man oh man did we get our fill of Vernor's Pop (they have it in their soda fountains man!), pickled bolgona, Koegel hotdogs, and fudge!

I've been trying to catch up with people's blogs ... did I miss anything big? Fill me in! I had a blissful no-technology week, which was much needed. But I'm back to blogging now! Glad to be back!

Gone fishin'

I'm on vacation! I'll be back July 27. Very much looking forward to a computer-free week! I'll blog and share pictures upon my return!

Etsy Favorites Wednesday - A to the E

Hello blog readers! This week's Etsy Favorites Wednesday list has a theme! And because I'll be relaxing on the beach with my toes in the sand at this time next week, I've filled this week's list with ten items, not the customary five, to tide you over. Enjoy!

A signet ring

A letterpress brooch

Bee print

B is for Bees
(I think this mayBe my favorite in this whole group!)

C glass

C is for Contortionist

D wall wear

D note card set

E pillow

The Letter E necklace

Ahhhh ... can't wait

We leave for vacation Friday morning and I cannot wait! We're going to Higgin's Lake, staying in a cabin for an entire week, having fun at the beach and traveling to the sites in northern Michigan. Can't wait to see this on Friday night, a Higgins Lake sunset:

Stamped baby-safe dolls!

I have received a few requests for baby-safe dolls, without the button eyes. I had a special order for a baby-safe doll a couple weeks ago and I ended up embroidering the eyes on, which ended up really cute - the recipient is just absolutely precious, check out this post!). But, I wanted to see if I could still offer the button-eye look for the babes, so I had the idea to improvise. So looky look! Here's the result of my experiment with paint-stamping fabric! Now I have baby-safe dolls to add to the Two Stars shop! I'm pretty excited with how these came out.

I carved a button-eye stamp and a mouth stamp and set them into the fabric. It's super easy to do, and I will for sure be making more dolls with this method, and maybe even designing some fabric to sell on Etsy. The stamps go on just like you're using a regular stamp on paper, then you iron it on to set it permanently. To be sure they were truly baby safe I washed a sample, and that paint isn't going anywhere! It's stuck on there good. So these dolls are slobber proof for sure!

I made the skull/scissors (love that fabric!) doll for myself for this experiment, but then I made a boy doll for this little dude ... which I will be giving him Friday when I see him. I apologize to his mommy for posting pictures, which sort of ruins the surprise, but I couldn't wait to share! The boy dollie has a shorter body and a squatty bottom and he's wearing pants. All of his seams are double-stitched so he's pretty durable.

Tell me what you think - should I create a few more to add to my shop? And what do you think about the boy-doll design?

Now this is funny, the process to create the eye stamp was trial and error. The first button eye stamp I made was a bit large ... it came out a little creepy. I've submitted it to the Craft Fail blog, because it cracked me up how sort of horrible it came out ... but the end result was that I was able to modify my design with a smaller button stamp, which came out to be the perfect size. If my post makes it to Craft Fail I'll post a link!

*** UPDATE! *** The creepy first version is on Craft Fail! Go here to see it!

Look what I bought

I got it! I purchased this skeleton key, as featured on last week's Etsy Favorites Wedensday list! I can't wait for it to come in the mail. I think I might wear it as a necklace ... or perhaps put it on a key ring. Yay!

Feeling grown up ... a little

I hate to admit it, but I feel like a grownup. Gasp! I know, how could that be? But, this past week has been an eye-opener for both my husband and I, for both of us in different situations.

For me, this week has been awesome at work. This week the law was passed that allows our agency to change names, which makes me just so proud - proud of our government and its recognition of the importance of the name-change movement and proud of being part of something that is giving a real sense of worth to people. Go here to see what I'm talking about. I am so proud to be working in the field that I work in. I absolutely love my job. Sure, it has its ups and downs and I get annoyed with people and certain situations really made me mad, but overall my job is awesome. I don't like being away from my children, it really stinks. I'd much rather stay at home with them and play and do some crafting, but I chose to work. And it's working out fantastic, my family has developed a sense of balance between work and play and it works out wonderfully. My children are just the most sweetest, well-behaved, polite little girls you'll meet and that is the result of providing them a loving, balanced home. In the past I've questioned whether I wanted to be a working mother, because it's not easy. But this week, my 'a-ha' moment came when I realized that I am doing good. I am doing good for the people that I work for. And I'm not talking about my boss, I'm talking about the people who don't have a voice, people who don't get noticed, people who get put-down just because they were born a certain way. I'm proud of my chosen field and I'm proud to serve those people, to give them a voice and the recognition that is way, way overdue. There's a LOT more work that needs to be done, but I'm ready for the challenge. And that makes me feel awesome.

For my husband, he's been dealing with some health issues in his family. I don't want to go into specifics because it's not my place, but basically, my husband has been the strength and the voice of reason in more than one situation, and I could not be more proud of him. If it weren't for him, things would be a lot worse, because he has been the glue that has been holding things together and molding things into shape. He looks at a situation with a practical view, and he doesn't let his own emotions or desires get in the way. I think there comes a time in your life, as an adult, when what you know, what your vision of how the future will be and who will be in your life, changes. Things happen and people get sick and you're left with either scrambling to deny it and scrambling to put yourself forward, without regard to others, or you simply listen to your heart, and you help those that are hurting the most. You can either rally around someone in their most critical time, or you can continue to be selfish and put them last. My husband puts himself last, without being asked to do so. He helps out without the desire to 'get ahead' or get something out of it for himself. And for that my heart just swells. I married a good man, a good son, a good father.

It feels good to know that what you are doing is the right thing to do. To be adult enough to be able to prioritize your life, to make your life equal and share your heart and your love equally. To have an "oh, so this is what it feels like to grow up" moment.

... but for the record I still love Jack Skellington and Edward Cullen and I keep a piece of my old tattered baby blanket close to my bed, and my husband loves his video games and fart jokes. So don't be alarmed, we haven't grown up that much. teehee

Win a purse!

My crafty friend Kelly is doing a give-a-way from her blog! (I linked to her wallet in this week's Etsy Fav list, her Etsy store is chuck full of eco-chic stuff!) Check it out and enter to win this great purse! Her blog link is here.

Etsy Favorites Wednesday

It's another edition of Etsy Favorites Wednesday, yay! Enjoy this week's list.

Striped Wallet - I went to high school with this crafty chic! She just recently opened up her Etsy shop and I really like her stuff. I just purchased a fabric flower pin from her! Her wallets and organizers are really hip!

Little Red Heart House - how cute is this little clay house? Super cute. Super duper cute. Would be really cute on a windowsill or knick-knack shelf, or, oooo, on my printer's rack!

Beaded skeleton key - How clever is this ... a skeleton key with a glass lampwork bead fused right onto it. I'm so, so tempted to purchase this right.now.

Sunday Picnic Print - Just cute! I love the garland! I want to jump into the painting and eat those delectable desserts!

Quilt - In doing research for my quilting project, I've been looking at different quilts on Etsy. I came across this one and was so happy to see the scissors fabric mixed in!

I have an idea (and lots of projects to do)

I have an idea, and I really hope it works. I have wanted for awhile now to make my own fabric. I've long admired these fabric artists on Etsy - Summersville and Leanne Graeff. The screen print their fabric and/or had it professionally digitally printed based off of their digital designs. I know I can't do anything on that scale (yet!) so I wanted to start small by stamping fabric. And then I got to thinking, why don't I try to create a button design, and print button eyes on the fabric that I use to make my dolls. Therefore creating baby-safe dolls! So I bought some non-toxic, heat-set fabric paint (I went to the coooooolest art store which is right by my house, didn't even know it existed!) and a Speedball carver and I'm set to start. I'm going to carve a button stamp and see how it goes onto the fabric. I hope it works, because if it does, then I plan to branch out with a couple other neat stamps that I have. Ooo, I could even make stamped tea towels! See, the possibilities are endless. My new print-making supplies:

I also plan to make a few little boy dolls ... see this cool boyish fabric that I found? Isn't that monkey print cute?! I have that in mind for a little boy I know!

This weekend I visited my favorite craft store and got a whole SLEW of quarter yards of fabric and I'm going to make myself a quilt! I looooove all of these prints! Especially the scissors print! I've never made a quilt before, so I'm just sort of going to wing it. I'm going to back the quilt with the scissors print on the far left, the pinkish one. (these pics didn't come out the best, but you get the idea)

A closer look:

Stay tuned for a progress report!

This is what happens when Lydia takes a nap in the afternoon

The girls are to the age now where they don't take naps during the day. But occasionally they will. Lydia took a nap yesterday afternoon, a lengthy one that got her good and rested up. Which means that when she went to bed at night, she wasn't tired. Instead of sleeping, she carefully placed each and every one of her stuffed animals and dolls into the grid of her bunk bed. When I went to check on the girls about an hour and a half after I put them down for bed, this is what I saw:

I stood at their door in shock for a few second, not really sure what to make of it. Then I just started laughing. It's a bit horrible that she hung her dolls and animals upside down (especially the doll toward the front, with the red dress on - that's the 'Wendy' doll that used to be mine!) but I couldn't help but laugh, because it's just funny. I don't know what in the world she was thinking! After I got done laughing, I called Mike in so he could witness it, and he had the same reaction I did ("what the *&$%?!") and then I just had to take pictures!

I turned on the bedroom light and used my flash and she didn't budge! I guess her "work" had tired her out! Arlene was asleep on her top bunk, oblivious to it all.

See how they are all carefully tucked into the wire of the bunk bed?

I took all of them down because it just seemed like a hazard. This is the pile. That's a lot of dolls and animals to hang from your bed!

I left that little plastic one still hanging up because I thought it was hilarious. It's a little Strawberry Shortcake doll. Lydia had turned her head around so it was facing backward. Ooooookay.

This morning I told Lydia that she can't hang her dolls from her bed, that it's not nice and it might hurt them or it might hurt her. She said she wanted them to "be above her." I really didn't have a reply for that. Should I be worried? I don't think so. I think the child just has an active imagination!

Etsy Favorites Wednesday

It's Etsy Favorites Wednesday time! Here's five fantastic finds:

Have a Heart Small Dish
I love the textures of these dishes!

From Up High art print
Isn't this cute?

Skeleton Key Windchime
Ever since the movie Coraline, I've been liking big black keys. I'm curious as to what type of sound these would make? Interesting.

Hand carved moustache stamp
Because you never know when you might want to adorn something with a thick 'stache.


Round fabric bag
I'm thinking about our vacation (a little over two weeks away, hooray!) and starting to think that I need to get a new bathroom bag. This one is just darling!