Ouch!

So one of my newer pieces with lots of brilliant color. I love my bright orange leather! It is really really bright and kind takes over though so it needs extra bright and cheery colors to go with it. Fun times! I am getting to like the whole zipper experience too. I like the feeling of little secret compartments.

So I hurt my knee doing a yoga stretch the other day. It is really sore and bothering me. So now my lovely walks downtown have been interrupted, which sucks! I think I am going to attempt a walk with my little knee wrap so I can see if it is still do-able. The trouble is, Ciaran needs exercise, and so do I. There is only so much you can do to entertain yourself in a tiny little apartment, so I at least need to be able to make it down to the school grounds so Ciaran can run around in the afternoons. Ick! I feel like I have been sitting on my butt for years now. I want to be outside in the fresh air, watching my son run around like crazy. Get better soon knee!

I Can't Move!

So for some reason, I can not move my upper body this morning. I don't know what happened but my neck, shoulders, and the middle of my back feel like they will break if I move at all. So instead of working my butt off today on wallets I will be trying everything under the sun to get rid of some of this discomfort.

I did happen to finish my first button/zippy wallet last night. I really like it! I am hoping that the zipper compartment will come in handy, I always find a little extra storage helpful. I have quite a few others ready to go but no such luck until I can move my upper body again. The next color combo is a lovely sage green with black, lavender, and grey appliques on it. I think it's going to be yummy but we will see when all is said and done.

Yesterday, we went for a nice walk downtown to the post office and to Mark's work. Mark was sweet enough to get Ciaran a whole bunch of balloons to play with and I ended up having to tie them to the stroller and bring them home. My last adventure with balloons nearly got me killed. I got a huge balloon bouquet from a co-worker many years ago and they all flew in my face while I was driving home from work, and almost caused me to lose control of my car. Luckily, I was driving late at night and there was no traffic, so I would have been the only victim of the balloons. The only rotten thing that happened with the balloons yesterday, was getting all tangled up in the balloon strings here and there and would have to untangle myself. It got to be pretty tiring by the time we hit our corner. I was ready to set them all free but I just couldn't do that to my little son. That would make me an extra mean mommy. I am only mean sometimes.....usually Tuesdays and Fridays from 10 to 10:30 am.

Back to Work

So the Design Collective is over, I took the day yesterday to clean-up a little bit and improve some designs and now I am back to work. I have started listing some new wallets and I am making more day by day. I love the color combination in this one the bright raspberry pink with black and pumpkin orange. It stands out! I have decided to make my travel wallets just a smidgen bigger to fit a check book and more cash! I think it will go over well. I just want to design and make things that are pretty and practical. I think I am on the right track.

I am trying a new pouch design in sage green, lavender, and black that I think will look wonderful when done. I am going to be adding two zipper pockets, and a lot more slip pockets to the design to make it super usable. I am excited! I love the process of creating, you never do know what you'll end up with but the learning experience from the process is the key. That to me is worth it. Even if the project doesn't work out and you have to scrap the whole thing, at least you have learned what will or won't work.

Today we head downtown for a few errands. The weather seems to have changed into its more Autumn like appearance. Overcast and colder, with a tease of sun at the very end of the afternoon. I love it, but it definitely bugs a lot of the people around here, they so wanted more of a Summer. I can't say I blame them, but I still like the idea of bundling up in a nice warm sweater, hot cocoa, coffee, and a nice long walk. No more sandals, I guess I have to wear real shoes and socks. Not my favorite thing to do, but, I will give in for the sake of my poor chilly feet.

So back to work I go, hopefully I will have some good sewing karma and some amazing stuff will come out of that. No holding breath or crossing fingers though, it will be what it will be, no flipsy-changos!

What is Up With My Style?

I don't really have one, but I do a lot of catalog, magazine browsing. I tend to fall in love with clothing and shoes that are highly inappropriate for the climate here. Lots of sandals and dresses and clothing that doesn't work well with walking long distances. I just fell in love with a pair of boots with cut-outs all over them. Those will be perfect for the rainy season! I can't wait for super soggy feet! OOOOH and walking in the rain in soggy feet with heels, EVEN BETTER! It is a really good thing that I do not have extra money to spend these days or I would be making some poor investments in a useless wardrobe. I will just stick with my chunky boots, knee socks, sweaters, and my one skirt that fits.

I finished another wallet yesterday. I wasn't sure about combining blue, brown, and red, but it worked really well. I think I may try a couple more with the same color combination/theme. Maybe a little pouch next time.

I am so excited about a postcard exchange through Etsy, I love postcards! I also love the idea of connecting with my fellow artsy/craftsy persons. I also signed up to be a pen pal and I love that too! I had so many pen pals when I was younger. It was so wonderful to read about their lives and living in other places. I even got to meet a couple of my pen pals when I was younger. Twins from England that used to write my best friend and I. It is a shame that we didn't keep in touch after that. I can't wait to start writing! Ciaran and I are heading out today to collect some postcards to send off. Then back home to make more wallets:)

My custom ladybug wallet is all done and very ladybug-i-licious! I am quite proud of it and I really like the design. I expanded on the polka dot wallet by making it a little bigger and adding on slip pocket for cash. I hope it is well loved by it's new owner.

Earlier, Ciaran and I had an appointment up the street and decided to take a walk through the fields. We saw lots of beautiful blooming plants. His favorites are dandelions and buttercups. I really love looking at all the different colors and shapes of the wild flowers. We also saw lots of blueberries and currants, yum!!! Now I want blueberry muffins, crumble, waffles, and anything else that tastes wonderful with blueberries in it. We saw a lot of birds out there today too. Two hawks that were soaring overhead and lots of hummingbirds zooming about. It was a really wonderful way to start the day.

I am so glad that Ciaran takes his cookie monster toy wherever we go because he usually falls flat on his face when he is running around and cookie monster it seems, has saved him from scraping his little face off. All those little mini heart attacks, and it just gets better from here. So I am off to my secret laboratory to work while the little guy snoozes. Have a great day!

Applewine and a Walk Downtown

I got to try the applewine last night. It is really good! I can't wait to have more than just a sip. Yummy, slightly sweet, kind of dry, like hard cider. Mark is getting pretty good at this brewing stuff. I hope he keeps his interest. Now everyone in the family wants to try his concoctions, mostly out of curiosity. I think everyone should be pleasantly surprised. The applewine should be ready by my birthday next month so I can celebrate my 39th with a nice cold glass! EEK! 39? Already? How did that happen?

Today, Ciaran and I are heading downtown to mail out a few parcels and pick up some interfacing and paint. I will probably cruise the thrift stores to see if there is any treasure to be had. It is a foggy day, not too cold, not too hot, just perfect for a walk. A perfect day for coffee, a cookie, the post office, the fabric store, and the thrift stores. I just found a pumpkin orange suede jacket yesterday, I can't wait to make things with it. I have been so inspired by the colors of the lupines and poppies growing along the highway, I really want to make a few items in those particular colors. The colors we have in this world are really amazing!

Later, I am hoping to get a few minutes to solder a pendant and a ring that I have been working on for ages. The ring is a mixture of copper and sterling silver, which will have an opal set in it, and the pendant is one of my fused sterling silver pieces. My real concern is the ring. I haven't soldered copper and silver together in a long time and this piece is a custom order for someone else. This is my second attempt at this project. I only solder when Ciaran is safely asleep so it might have to wait until late tonight. I will be the secret midnight solderer. I have my fingers crossed that all will go well. Soldering is tricky even when you know what you are doing. It gets really tricky when you pick it up after not doing it for a while. I hope I have good soldering energy tonight. Wish me luck!

An Orange Day

That is the color of the sky today. Orange, hazy, foggy, smokey, it is such a weird color. I wish I didn't have to go out in it but I need to make my way downtown for errands. I don't have a lot to do but enough to make me get off my butt and make the trip. I just hate walking in this stuff it makes me super wheezy/sneezy. I was hoping the fires would die down soon but it seems like the ones east of us are growing. Apparently around Burnt Ranch. That makes it extra smokey and weird down here at the coast. So I will be taking it easy today as much as possible. Working all my little things, watching Ciaran race around the house, watching the cats watch Ciaran run around the house, and then running off to hide in various places. They are fearless of everything else, except a happy screaming toddler, the most terrifying of all creatures. Ciaran is so sweet to them too. He rarely tries to touch them, he just looks at them and speaks baby to them. Occasionally he tries to kiss their ears but ends up drooling in their eyes. Or he pats them gently. They are all terrified of him though, no matter what. Maybe he is offering threats of death in their language or something. Drowning them in his drool, or trying to feed them cheerios and peanut butter until they explode. It is a mystery to me, I don't think I will ever uncover this mystery. It is not my destiny to uncover it. I just get to sit back and giggle about it. It is a sight to behold. An amusing mystery on this weird, orange day.

Happy Fourth!

Not much to report today. I will be taking the kid downtown to our annual Fourth of July festival on the plaza. It is a really nice way to celebrate the holiday with lots of arts and crafts, local food, and music. It seems that all of Humboldt County is out celebrating. Mark doesn't really want to go, he is so over the arts and crafts thing. So it will be me and Ciaran. Then later this evening we trudge back downtown for our annual foggy fireworks display. I don't think I have been through one of our fireworks displays that wasn't foggy. The fog adds to the beauty I think. After that, we head home, put small child to bed, and I pass out on the couch from exhaustion. When the day is done I will have walked to town and back four times(over 12 miles), I will be tired, but at least I will have gotten my exercise for the weekend. Have a great day everyone!

Today I Try Something New

So I recently tried snaps as a closure which worked out fabulously and I have many more to put together to list and sell. Today I am trying an experiment with a wristlet I have been working on for a while now to make expandable, meaning, I will be adding a little extra leather to the bottom and sides to give a little extra room for stuff while it is being used. I sure hope it works out. I love the bag already, it is in deep purple suede with a tree branch design in black leather and golden leaves. If I mess up then back to the drawing board. I will post a photo when I finish.

Other than my adventures in expandable wristlets, I am going to be cutting up another leather coat for use in my projects. I always love that part. For some reason it just feels really good to deconstruct an article of clothing and know it will be reconstructed into something wonderful. This time it is a full length leather coat that has a few dings and tears that I can work around. I just picked up a pair of brown suede pants too! Should be a fun way to spend this foggy day.

When the sun comes out later, if it comes out today, we will venture over to the pastures and say Hi! to the cows. We haven't been out that way in a while and it is so peaceful out there. I love watching how the light hits everything out there at the end of the day. The only thing I don't like are the sneezes and the little bitey bugs that seem to find me and attack. That should be a great way to end our day. Then it is rice pockets, veggies, and cake for dinner.