Snow Brain!

I've completely lost count of how many snow days we've had already. The kids haven't had a full week of school this winter. More snow is coming today, with two more storms expected next week. The snow banks are enormous, so the kids are having a blast getting outside and climbing, digging tunnels, and sliding down them. We have an ice cover on top of the snow now, so they love the fact that they can walk on top of the snow.

I took a walk through the icy neighborhood yesterday, and couldn't help but dream about spring coming. I can't wait to see yards full of flowers!

Frigid!

We woke up to temps below zero this morning, so it's an inside day for everyone. If frostbite can set it after five minutes in temps like this, I don't want my kiddos exposed too long. Luckily the sun is bright, and it's pouring through the windows. We're all hanging in today doing our own thing. I love days like this when there is no shopping to do, no places to be, no visitors to clean for. We must look like the silliest family hanging around all day in our bathrobes, the five of us. I did get out of mine long enough to hit the elliptical machine, but as soon as I was out of the shower I was back into my comfies!

I made this multi-toned flower today. I love the colors in it, especially for Valentine's Day.


Enjoy your Sundays, everyone. It will be interesting to see if the kids have a 5-day school week. We haven't had one yet this year with all of the snow and ice. There's something about another big storm coming in on Tuesday/Wednesday.

Spacing Out

I'm enjoying my new, sunny workspace in our house. My work area is smaller than what I had before- a compromise I made so that my middle child Sara could have her own room. She and her sister Julia shared everything before- a room, a grade in school, clothes, toys...it was about time for her to have her space and she deserves it. The house we are in now lets us spread out a little.

Our master bedroom is big enough to fit our huge elliptical machine, and besides our bed, furniture and television, we still have plenty of space for my work area. So even though I lost out in the deal spacewise, I love my creative space. It is on the first floor, and I have two windows that give me plenty of sunshine. (My craft room was in a finished basement before...I felt so isolated!) I keep most of my supplies downstairs in my basement, which leaves a minimal mess where I'm working- I'm forced to keep it cleaned up and tidy, and I'm feeling more organized this way. One of my windows looks out into our back yard, so today while I was working I was able to watch the kids sledding outside.

I realized during the move that I have *way* too many supplies. I've been making bows and clips for eight years now, so I have accumulated thousands upon thousands of yards of ribbon, and thousands and thousands (that's sick to say, but true) of gorgeous appliques, silk flowers, buttons, beautiful beads, and so much more. So I've decided for now to continue to create ready-to-ship items on Etsy at a very reasonable price. My website is open also, so if you need something custom-made, you can look there. But for now, my love is finding new things to create with the boxes full of beautiful supplies I have.

Let's not talk about the bins and bins of fabric I have...

A wee bit cold...

First a blizzard, then a nor'easter, and this morning I woke up to a temperature reading of -10 degrees! Brrrrrrrrr! We got 2 FEET of snow in the nor'easter on Wednesday. I don't think we'll have any melting in these temperatures.

What is this I hear that Florida is the only state without snow on the ground? Here are some snowflake clips for winter, whether you're dreaming of snow or buried in it, like we are here in CT!

Love and Hearts...real ones.

A customer recently purchased 20 of these sweet infant flower headbands to donate to two organizations that send baskets to babies that are in the hospital for open heart surgery to repair congenital heart defects. Some will go to Annabelle Baskets, and some to Love from Lindsay Baskets.


I was so taken by these two organizations that I plan to make a donation of my own of some spring-colored headbands for Easter. Thank you to my customer "D" for contacting me to make these for some special little girls. God Bless.

Sleeping Giant

We are in Connecticut! It has been a long few months, with Mark living here and the kids and I staying back to sell the house. We did it. In 16 days we had our offer, and after some negotiating, we finalized the offer and we closed last week. It was a tough week for our family, leaving everything we knew. Girl Scouts, Karate, classmates, the creature comforts. My friends. I had a wonderful week laughing and crying with my best friends- but I know we will not lose each other just because of a move. There's Facebook. ;)

We're staying temporarily in the apartment that Mark has lived in since August. Our house will be ready to move into on December 1. For the kids, this is like a luxury hotel. For me, yes, a luxury hotel, but with five people and no personal space. So we've been heading to the playground A LOT. Sanity.

It's a beautiful area. We drive by this monster daily: it is Mount Carmel, but it is called The Sleeping Giant- you can see why. Adam wants this big guy to wake up and start walking around like The Thing. The mountain range is supposed to look like a giant sleeping on his back. We're planning to climb the "chin" in the Spring, where there is a tower.


So we're still in transition. We'll be in our house for Christmas, but I'd like to spend that time getting acquainted with the area and making sure my kids have a good transition to their new school. I'll open just after Christmas, or before January 1.

Thanks to my regular customers who have been stopping by Etsy to buy some ready- to-ship items. It's been nice to see you!

Moving along...

Our autumn is getting more exciting, and the pace is picking up for our move. We are packing the house up for a November closing, just before Adam's birthday, and just before Thanksgiving. We're looking forward to moving into the next house and a new school for the kids on December 1.

I've decided to keep the website closed during the move, and until after the holidays. It has been a nice break, but I love making bows and will be back into the fury and fun once we're all settled in. I'll still have a few things listed on Etsy, because I have a limited supply of ribbon and clips in a tiny little box that I'm keeping off of the moving truck. I have to feed that obsession, of course!