So....The Fair

So, Ciaran and I went to the fair after his nap yesterday. I had to get another sheet of copper for a mask I am finishing and grab something for dinner so we did all that first and then cruised the fair. I guess the end of the fair is not the time to go. We saw lots of beautiful things, lots of tired vendors, and lots of sun burnt, hungover fair goers. It was pretty giggle worthy. I remember when I was teaching a few years back, Mark and I would go and hang out on the grass, drink beer, and listen to music. I was always super paranoid that one of the kids or their families would see me there and scrutinize me. So I usually took it pretty easy and had maybe one beer, followed by a cup of coffee and definitely some food, so I could keep my composure while I was there. Now I wonder why I ever bothered.......the entire town of Arcata is there and drinking up a storm. Lots o' tipsy persons wandering around. Truly giggle worthy indeed! Funny, Funny stuff, and no puke this year, usually I end up walking behind someone that has had too much sun, fun, and alcohol, and loses it all over his or her feet and everyone else near them.

Other than that I got my mask just about put together. Now comes the hammering fun! I love the hammering part but the family does not! Mark gets grumpy, the cats scramble and hide, and Ciaran runs laps around the couch shrieking at the top of his lungs. Someday, I will have my very own studio, and none of them are invited on hammering day!

Back To The Fair

The two newest pieces in my newest favorite color scheme. Each also has some of the improvements I have been talking about, mainly extra storage in the pouch and a zipper compartment in the wallet. Now that I have a few pieces in this combination, I will be trying out some different colors over the next few days. I am expecting a pair of bright orange leather pants sometime tomorrow for more wallet making fun! Oh it will be a colorful and busy week, full of deadlines and surprises, Yay! keep the coffee coming!

So, my goal was to get the kid and the man to go to the fair yesterday but due to a certain man's indecision about the whole thing, we ended up staying home. I took Ciaran for a nice long walk just to get out of the house and get my grouchy grumblies out so I wouldn't have a nasty, un-fun evening. I think I would be fine with indecision if it didn't mean that everyone is effected by it. Especially since I was led to believe that the dude wanted to go, so I waited for him to go for his bike ride, then we waited for him to shower and eat lunch, then after I had gotten all ready to go...........he changed his mind. Man, I could have taken the boy while he was out riding and stopped for a cookie and a coffee on the way, hit the fabric shop, the antique shop, and the art store! Now I have to put all my shopping off until Monday! So today, Ciaran and I go to the fair, whether indecision dude wants to go or not. It is such a shame when people you love act lame! I love the man but he deserves some extra sour raspberries at the moment!

Zippers, Snaps, and Buttons

This is my newest color combination: a very muted but beautiful one in sage green, lavender, grey, and black. I am finishing up a pouch right now that shows off more of the yumminess of this color combination. I am off to town later to find a couple of pieces of fabric, a couple zippers and some snaps that will work well with this combo because I am making quite a few pieces with these colors. I love our local fabric store. I can always find some little square of fabric that will work for my pieces and our local antique store has a great supply of antique and vintage sewing notions. Too cool! I am excited as well because the North Country Fair will be happening today and tomorrow so Ciaran and I, and possibly Mark will enjoy the local artisans' work, and some yummy food all accompanied by live local music.

Then it is home and back to work! Hopefully I will get the evening to work on stuff, I tried last night but the kid kept waking up so I finally gave up around 11:30pm. I hope the trip downtown, the fair, and our walk home will be enough to wear him out for a decent sleep tonight. My brain is fading after a whole week of this. I feel sort of dull, and uninspired, and I am sure it is due to sleep deprivation. The only word I can think of is "WHATEVER!" in big green letters and red polka dots flashing all around them when anything good or bad happens. Oh well, it's better than the phrase that went flashing through my head in bright violet letters last night when I ran foot first into the vacuum cleaner. I won't repeat what the phrase was, I don't want to offend anyone.

It Was Only A Tease:(

So the happy sunny day was just a precursor to a partly cloudy rainy day today. I woke up to grey-violet skies and drip drops on the deck. The sun came out to smile just once and quickly got tackled by more grey clouds. Not that I don't love the rain, I just wanted to get out today. I finally have the use of my upper body again, and I want to take stinker out for a walk. So instead I sip coffee and work on new things.

My latest color combo reminds me of a stormy day. Lots of muted greys, violets, and greens, very soft and soothing. I have three little pieces to finish up today, so the rain helps as far as planting my butt in the chair and getting things done. It feels good to work without having to take OWIE! breaks every ten minutes or so. I am still sore but able to move. Maybe my neck knows it is Friday and time to PARTAY!

Hey! Where Did You Come From?

So I am just sitting here minding my own business, trying to figure out how to sip my coffee with a kinked neck, when I look outside and BLAM! The sun is shining! It hasn't been around for the last few days. All of the sudden it is super shiny and happy out there. I think that is why I love living here so much. We don't have very many sunny days, so when we have one, after a whole week of grey skies, it is like magic! Even though I can't move my head from side to side to well still, I still feel peppy and happy and ready to work.

I am working on a lot of projects at the same time and that is really stressing me out. I just so badly want to get a lot done by the end of the year. I am finishing a long overdue birthday present for my lovely sister and I feel horrible because I keep having to put it off to finish other stuff. This is the weekend to get it done though, whether I want to or not! I would describe the piece but she might read this and it would ruin the surprise, so I will post a pic and description when it is all done and sent off to her.

I am also excited about the mask I am getting ready to make for our local Maskibition. Which shows at the Ink People Center for the Arts in Eureka. It is held each year during the month of October, and it it one of the most interesting exhibits around here. I think the mask brings out a whole other side of creativity in people. The mask is such a magical and mysterious thing.....I can't wait to get back to mask making. It is a true outlet for me. I just hope my little fingers still know what to do with all that copper!

I Can't Move! Part two

So my whole upper body is still cramped and sore. I can't move much of anything so far. I tried doing a couple of yoga poses to stretch stuff out but the soreness keeps coming back. Today I had planned to catch up on some sewing and a little bit of metal work but since I can't move my head or neck.....or shoulders and arms, I am out of luck once again. I am getting some of my new items listed in my Etsy shop and my icraft shop though. There is one of my newest billfolds, I love the caramel colored leather, it is so smooth and soft. I wish I had tons more to work with, but the jacket it came from was on the small side.

I guess I could work on some patterns. Since I am "improving" a few of my designs, I wasn't to improve the patterns first. Now that I have my little portable desk, I can work on that without moving too much. I just feel silly taking time off to nurse a sore neck.

I spent some time playing around with my icraft shop yesterday. I am trying to split up my work between both my Etsy shop and my icraft shop but I my original idea for my icraft shop was to showcase my handbags there and leave Etsy as my leather, jewelry, etc. shop. I would love to finish a few more handbags by the holidays. I guess if I get over this soreness and really bust my butt, I could make a few for the shows and my shop. I really like the icraft set-up, I wish I knew of some other ways to get the word out about it, I try with all my might to let others know about it, since it is less than a year old it is hard to tell where it will go, I hope it does really well.

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.