new books! yay!

here are a couple of books that i have neglected to post over the last few weeks... i know, i know, i'm behind! i've been pretty busy, though, so give me a break?

i really love the way lara's book turned out. the simplicity of the brown and green is just beautiful. and i did learn something new! the little swirly motif can be found under the wood ornaments (typeface/dingbats), who would've thought?

sara was brave enough to try out some new paper i picked up at the new paper-source in dallas (when we were on vacation, of course). i think it turned out great... i just love the gold swirly pattern...

dominique is having a peacock themed wedding and chose this marbled paper for her book. you can't see it in the photo, but the gold in the swirls is metallic and pops right off the paper.

and stacey... another beautiful book made with this kraft/flourish paper. this stuff has never disappointed me because it seems to match everything i pair with it :)

in the kitchen...

i was thinking earlier about the things that we've done to our home since we moved in this past january. longer is the list of things that we still need (and/or want) to do to our investment. the funny thing is that my favorite room to spend time in is the kitchen. why is that funny? i don't particularly like to cook. it's not that i don't enjoy it to some extent... but i always get nervous about trying out a new recipe. and i hate going to the grocery store to just get a few ingredients. i love looking through interesting cookbooks, but get frustrated when i have no clue what some of the ingredients are or where i would find them in my local grocery store. maybe my love of the colors, textures and gorgeous natural light in this little room will inspire me to learn to make new tasty meals and experiment a little more with ingredients... or a least make me want to eat at the table more often:)

our little kitchen table we got from my friend, and my father in law graciously refinished it for us. it has these nifty little leaves hidden under the top that just pull out when you want to expand the table. it's also the perfect spot to take pretty photos of guestbooks. my father in law also made the mixer stand and the white shelves in the corner. 

i really wish we had more counterspace, but we have lots of storage for our needs, so i can't complain too much.

this is also the spot of some of my favorite things. the vintage clock was a wedding gift from my grandparents. i'd always admired that clock hanging in my grandparent's kitchen, so i was thrilled when they told me i could take it home! the art is just some random stuff... a screenprint purchased from an artist on ebay, an andy warhol gun print, and some flowers made from... well i'm not sure, but it's not paint. i saw it at the acb thriftstore and had to have it.

i would really like to focus on the living room next... we painted it a nice peachy color when we moved in. doug and i really thought it would look great with the white fireplace, bookshelves and white tile. fresh and clean... but not so much. there's really not enough light to give the effect i was looking for. so now i'm off to the drawing board again, hopefully the second time around will be better...

i love me some vintage

as i was on my way to amarillo saturday morning to spend time with the folks, i decided to stop at an estate sale that my mom had told me about earlier last week. i love estate sales. especially when the person just kept everything and never threw anything out. well this estate sale was in a beautiful 3-story house (with a basement!) in the historic part of plainview, tx. there were beautiful serving dishes and furniture, but the best part was on the third floor. there was a closet full of vintage dresses. not all of them were my style, and i only had a few bucks to spend, so when i laid my eyes on this gorgeous red and pink polka dot dress... i had to have it. it has this translucent fabric over a full skirt of netting. not that i would ever have anywhere to wear it to, but... you know. well, i'm sad to say that when i tried it on later that evening in amarillo to show the parents my unique find... it didn't fit! now, i'm not the smallest girl ever... but i'd like to think my upper body is pretty narrow and i can usually fit into some of the smaller vintage dresses that i find. but alas, i could only get the zipper about halfway up my back before it wouldn't budge anymore. oh well, at least i have another awesome piece of history hanging in my closet.

i also found this pretty little nightgown. it's about as long as i am tall, but it had this intricate lace detail on the front that i couldn't pass up.

new books!

i really love this kraft paper with the white flourish print. it seems to work with just about anything. i especially think it looks great with the swirlies on the front panel design. stacey, i had a wonderful time working with you and i hope you love your book!

i'll be posting some new books up here in the next few days... it's been quite busy since i got back from dallas, but that's okay! i must warn everyone though... i won't be working on saturday because we're going to amarillo to be with my dad on his birthday!

goals

so let's talk about my goals from july. i didn't accomplish all of them, but i think i did a pretty good job (on most!). i ended the month with 52 sales (goal was 50) and finally reached over 100 hearts on my etsy shop. 

i didn't do quite so well with the other goals though. i didn't introduce those new products to my shop... i didn't create the new earrings... and i just finally got my stuff to the retail location that i am starting to sell at here in the LBK. (i have yet to order my brochures though...)

so what does august have in store for me? now that i finally have some sample stuff at hodgepodge, hopefully i will get some orders in locally. i also have a gal i'm working with that owns a photobooth rental business... more on that another day though.

so, here are my goals for august:

~70 sales (on etsy) by the end of the month

~150 hearts

~move office in with the hubby's (so there will be an actual 'spare' bedroom! heaven forbid people want to come stay with us...)

~10 local book sales

~(maybe) new earring designs

i think for now that's enough on my plate. i'm also looking at purchasing some photo album (complete with spine) blocks and making real photo albums to go in my shop too. i've found some that include glassine inserts to keep your photos safe. i will also most likely be raising my prices towards the end of the month. 

ok folks, it's time to get some sleep!

my first scrapbook!

my first scrapbook! well, my first one to make the actual book by hand... i myself have tried the whole scrapbooking thing, and find that it just takes me too long to complete one little page! i spend hours moving stuff around and trying out different layouts, so i really find it hard to sit down and scrapbook anymore.

this one is for marian, who ordered a guestbook from me and wanted a matching scrapbook to keep all her wedding memorabilia in! i think it turned out great, and hope she enjoys it.