Hiya Bloggers! Enjoy my blogs about life, crafting, kids and the gray hairs popping out of my head. It's all about having fun
here - just the way it should be! Go ahead - post a funny moment too, we ALL need to keep the laughter going!

Friday, October 21, 2011

Most Awesome Job Evaaaaaaa!

So, how incredible is it when your business is making baby gifts and your one and only sister is having a baby?  Wahoo! Is about all I can say.  I keep showing my husband things I am making for my sister and brother-in-law (and the baby of course!) and he just shakes his head at me and the enormous pile and I sorta smile shyly and giggle. 
Well, I cannot help it!  Of course I am going to make a whole bunch of stuff for my sister!
Baby shower this weekend - I can't wait to see what she thinks - not only have I made her atleast one of every item I sell at my shop, but, I have also enlisted other incredible Etsy artists to make them some other items to go along with mine! 
Pictures to come later - don't want to spoil the surprise.....

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Can I Write Off Pop Chips for my Business?

We call them Crack Chips because they are sooo addicting......
An open bag is enormous and it seems to be calling my name every 15 minutes while I am trying to get work done.  I roll them up (after taking an enormous handful) and clip em and put em back in the pantry but I keep coming back and opening them up again and again.  What is in this stuff?
I am not getting any work done because I am either in the pantry or stuffing my face with 6 of them at a time.  Man, I need some kinda distraction.  Oh yeah - time to call my sister!
Maybe I'll get some work done after that...

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Back to Reality..

Well, after a mad final week of no sleep and a huge amount of new inventory and a few new products, small show #1 turned out to be a total bust - not just for me, but for the other 7 vendors as well.  The promoter didn't advertise properly and we all took a hit because of it.  All the vendors left (including myself) halfway through the sale.  Oh well.  The up side is that I got to set up my stuff and see how long it took me and see how it looked.  I met several other vendors and from them have found out about two other shows.

So, on to show #2 - just one week later - had all my inventory, but no sales satisfaction from the first show. After working sooooo hard for that first show, I was in terrible need of a big payback.  This second show was one step up - truly a Flea Market instead of a craft show(not really my market), but nonetheless - I got to figure out my outdoor setup and made some sales and practiced the art of the sales pitch!  Success!?  Sorta, but not to the level that I need yet...

So, onto show #3 - in a couple weeks - June 11th.  This is definitely a better one - 29th Annual South Windsor Strawberry Festival and Craft Show.(an actual craft show!)  I sent my application in today - hopefully I make it in - it is pretty late and there may already be someone selling baby gifts, we shall wait and see.  If I don't get in - it will be Tag Sale day like the rest of the Parkman School families.



In the mean time - I have a big order to fill for a shop in Australia that will be reselling my gifts at Tattoo, Car and Alternative Shows! What fun! I get to make more novelty items - loooove it!

My Etsy shop it doing well - I have sold over 60 items and have a few custom orders in the works right now.  I am continuing to sell gifts locally by word of mouth too and have family members to create for as well.  I now have the Belly Time Blankie (modeled by little Ezra) and the Clean Cheek Cloths and will be doing receiving blankets soon as well...keep an eye out!

Friday, April 29, 2011

A Daunting Task Ahead..

I always considered my sister the queen of procrastination (she would agree).  It was like clockwork, I would get a call from her some random afternoon just to chat.  It was always suspicious....my family doesn't "chat" much.  We call with a purpose only.  So, I always knew that she had some sort of ridiculous deadline the next day that she was procrastinating for.  Too funny.  I would give her her much needed break from the writing and she would (hopefully) get back to her work with a fresh outlook. 
So, I guess I better call her now because my piles are getting bigger and my deadline is getting closer.
Why is it that when I need to get more physical stuff done, I go into cleaning or organizing mode instead of work mode?  Yes, it feels good to organize my fabrics according to size, product, color and design(what am I doing?) - but is it necessary?  Wouldn't I benefit better from actually making an item instead of preparing to make it easier to make the item? hahha of course.
So, what do I do now to get out of the procrastination funk?  I have already drank a half pot of coffee, played with the boys, set up new apps on my little fingers gifts facebook page, cut 10 yards of terry cloth for burpers and read a gazillion FB comments about the royal wedding (I dvr'd it to watch later - heh heh - I cant believe I just admitted to that).
Oh, I know - blog about it.  Maybe now I can get back to work - talk to ya later.....(hopefully not)
:-)

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Week #4 of Single Parenthood in 7 Weeks...

I guess that sums it up. 
Soccer practice last night, dance class and girl scouts tonight and soccer practice again tomorrow night.
"Letters from Juliet" tonight and an enormous Peanut Butter Cup Sundae from the local creamery.
Or sleep.
We'll see how I am if he has to go again in two weeks....you may not be able to comprehend any of my words anymore...

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Every Baby Deserves Something Handmade...

I have been inspired - a cloud has passed and I am feeling like a whistling bird again!  I read such a lovely discussion on Etsy Success about how important it is to convey the soul of your handmade item.  In this day and age - so many more people are going back to basics with different aspects of their lives: growing their own food, buying organic, shopping at farmstands, joining CSAs, buying  eco-friendly or sustainable products.  You can see it everywhere --- even at the big ticket stores.
Hey - I am all for it!
I also think that many of us are finding that certain things are better and certain things are worse.  These days, an appliance is made to only last 5 years - a table you purchase at a big store will fall apart in 7 years - nothing is made anymore with enduring qualities...craftsmanship is not found here.
It is a common thread.  Unfortunately, with this economy, most of us cannot afford to buy from local artisans all the time.  I remember my last home in western NY state - there were Amish folk everywhere.  They grew the best flowers and veggies and were so friendly and affordable.  They built gorgeous cabinets and furniture - wow, I wish I could furnish my whole house their wares.....They took great care with what they made - using skill and artistry to build each and every piece of furniture, - rocking chairs, beds, bassinets, the family table. 
True craftsmanship.
So, this Etsy discussion was about how to convey your soul in each piece that you make and sell on Etsy.  It made me think about how I label my gifts and describe them and tag them.  Maybe it shouldn't be about cookie cutter explanations - it really should be about the story behind that particular piece - what made it special to me.  It reminded me that each and every piece I make whether it be a blanket for a friend or a bib to post on my site is made with the utmost care by me, Heather - a person with a story just like everyone else.  I choose all my fabrics, wash, dry and fold them, cut the patterns, sew them together like little stories.  I know who I am making them for - little fingers - that's where the name came from.  Soft, chubby little fingers that every parent has kissed, held onto while learning to walk, taught to clap, washed gently and softly placed on their own cheeks.  I know these gifts are for your children and your friends children and with every choice, cut and stitch I believe it shows in my work.  Yeup - they are baby gifts and you can buy baby gifts at Target or Walmart or Babies-R-Us....but, don't your little fingers deserve something handmade?  yes, especially something that is stitched with love...love from me.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Rainy Days and Mondays...

....always get me down?

Nope.  Sorry, Carpenters.  Karen, you have a beautiful voice and you apparently know how to sing about depression, but I am not agreeing with ya today.

I am sooooo enjoying this rainy day.  Ok, so it's not a Monday, I can't control that.  But, it is rainy and cold and just plain "yucky".  At least, that is what my 2 1/2 yr old called it outside even though he wants to walk around our spongy soaking wet lawn with his Bubble Mower.  I guess yucky is a good word to a little boy. Go figure.

Yup - the kind of day you get absolutely nothing done, because you don't want to move a muscle for fear of getting chilled even though you are wearing your pajamas under a sweatshirt with knee high fuzzy socks and sweatpants meant for a defensive football player.  Oh, and you have two blankets piled on top of you too....and a purring cat.

 Oh wait, I got something done!  I blogged.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Week #3 of Single Parenthood in 5 Weeks.....

Ugh.
Ugh.
Ugh.
Yeup - my husbands job is unpredictable because it is located in another state.  Sometimes, he has to go back to his main office for a week at a time.  Sometimes he goes once in 3 months - sometimes it's more.  This just happens to be week number three in the past 5 weeks of him traveling for his job.  I am exhausted.  Kids, house, new business, new garden, waaaaaaaay too much compost to move with the wheelbarrow, and no break from my husband for 5 days.  My body hurts.
Good new is - I get to watch whatever I want on tv while I sit around in my bright orange sweatpants and overly enormous sweatshirts and drink tea and eat whatever girl scout cookies we have left for dinner.A little catching up on some series like Pushing Daisies, Chuck, Vampire Diaries and Fringe and maybe some chick movies like Dear John or A Room With A View, or maybe some eye candy like the new Spartacus series...mmmmmmm yum....muscles.

Anyone wanna join me? Maybe there will be wine...

Friday, April 8, 2011

Green Things Are Growing In CT

Is it strange that our biggest and best news of the day is about getting a pile of compost dumped in our yard?  Well, to each their own, right?!
I am excited.  But, to be fair, I am excited because it means I can fill up our new raised bed for veggies and I can plant my asparagus crowns and start some peas, radishes and lettuce.  My boys are excited because, well, because it's a pile of dirt - that's why!

Erik even told the dentist this morning about how he was going to use his new wheelbarrow and gardening tools today to help Mommy move dirt.  How sweet.  We'll see how long the work lasts and when I start seeing him just climbing up the 5 cubic yard pile of black gold.  It is black gold, by the way.  We ordered it from Collins Compost last year and we're so happy with the results, we may be making an annual order.  Collins Compost is part of Collins Powder Hill Farm.  They are famous in my kids eyes for their Creamery - the creamiest ice cream ever and a happy place on the hill to eat it on a warm summers day.  Oh, did I mention that it is only a couple miles from our house! Yippee.  My garden is happy, but not my waistline!

Anyway, our 4' X 16' garden was a huge success last year, so we made another (much to my husbands dismay I put it right next to the other one where he thinks the kids will kick balls into it all the time)  Now, we just need to fill it up and get the cold crops going!
I already have lots of veggies and flowers growing in my basement - with the advice and help of my friend Sam who is, a master gardener!  She helps run an incredible venture in Morristown, NJ called Grow It Green (check it out www.growitgreenmorristown.org ) where they provide a wealth of information for the community about gardening, sustainability, the environment, flora and fauna, etc.  The teach a multitude of classes and hold events all the time.  They have created the most amazing community garden and urban farm right in the area.  It really is truly incredible!  A wonderful venture and a wonderful opportunity.  She is my "go-to girl" if I have a gardening question and I am sure she is quite used to my quick little messages asking about how to thin seedlings or when to plant winter squash.  So, I hope I can somehow show her I have been listening!  We shall see when it is time to harvest.

Last years garden was excellent - shelling peas, sugar snap peas, green pole beans, 3 different kinds of lettuce, broccoli, strawberries, carrots, radishes, pumpkins, birdhouse gourds, peppers, onions, 2 types of tomatoes and a very poor attempt at cucumbers (we'll have to fix that this year)  All in all, I would say it was definitely a success! Who knew 4' X 16' could hold so much! Yeah, succession planting!  Now, I am going to add brussel sprouts, asparagus, baby leeks, parsnips and more types of carrots (they were the best!)

Is it strange that I am excited about this? Well, maybe just as strange as my love for birds.....I am sorry to say this, but gardening and birding is considered such a "senior" type of hobby. My sister, the happy birder, will pout when she reads this, but I am sure she agrees.  All I can say is, at least my sister, Sam and I (and many other friends and family that I know) are trying their best to change that mentality in this day and age.  I am happy to see many young people starting their own gardens or joining a CSA -Community Sustained Agriculture.  My family is doing a local CSA again this year at Easy Pickins Farm ( www.easypickinsorchard.com) even though we will be growing our own as well.  My husband and I want to support locally grown food and hopefully show our kids the importance of community that is harder to show these days.  No farms - no food, right?

Not only is this an important issue, but the whole pesticide issue comes up too.  My husband and I are going to sit down to discuss what foods that we need to buy organic even though we simply cannot afford to, with one income and three kids.  But what choice do we have? The amount of pesticides on fruits and veggies is staggering!  Countless articles are proving links to cancer from eating pesticide ridden strawberries! Strawberries!?????  My kids LOVE strawberries! Are we slowly poisoning our own children?  Geez, people.  
So, we grow our own, we buy locally grown organic produce and hope we aren't killing our children.  I guess I better learn to can my food.  My goodness.  At this rate, I will be using a washboard to wash clothes and leaving pies to cool in the windows...just call me June....you all know how much I love my housewife duties!

Monday, April 4, 2011

Babies Love Skulls!




 Is it strange that I should find skulls, daggers, tattoos  and cowgirls appropriate imagery for a baby bib or blanket?  Hmmm.....
I always love finding the strangest fabric I can (love the basics too) to make my gifts.

Scary - Silly - Novelty - Absurd - Burlesque - or just plain Ridiculous! (I am going to be making stuff with playing cards and dartboards - hehehehee)

Honestly, I guess the question is really this - do OTHER people find this imagery appropriate?  I hadn't really pondered that question until I opened my etsy shop last month.

http://littlefingersgifts.etsy.com

I was a mad and maniacal computer woman - checking my sites to see if anyone had favorited the shop or an item of mine, if anyone was viewing my gifts or liking my facebook page or reading this blog. My kids only got a dazed look from me when they came to see me, wondering if they were going to be fed or if they were just going to have to fend for themselves with Kix and crackers...

Funny thing is this - on my etsy shop, the most views I get ARE for my oddest fabrics!  I have been open for one month right now, I have sold 17 items online, had my shop favorited by 8 people, and had 12 specific gifts favorited and one of them put in a treasury list.  Out of the 12 favorite items, 5 of them are my crazy novelty fabrics! So, I guess the answer is yes! - other people find my novelty fabrics fun too.

Now, would ya just buy 'em since ya like 'em, people?  Every baby needs their own skull bib! :-)

Thursday, March 31, 2011

How Do You Clean Chapstick Off Your Sofa?

Somebody throw some ice on me, because I am boiling right now.  It's a wonder I don't watch my boys like hawks knowing all the myriad naughty things they can be doing in just a few seconds of time.  I blame my first child - she is just too sweet and innocent and well-behaved.  I have been permanently spoiled.  Her teacher called me yesterday and actually joked with me about wanting to take her home if I ever wanted to get rid of her!  Ha!  Take my boys, not my daughter!  OK, I am just kidding, my boys are truly awesome little dudes - super adorable and intensely loving - they are just boys.  Ya know - boys will be boys?  Well, to what extent can we just keep saying that excuse?  When do we say, NO, that's not OK, even for a boy?  Again, I am spoiled by my easy first child and am under a cute little boy mind control as well....so, somebody please throw some ice on me to not only stop my anger, but wake me up from this hazy outlook!
Here's the latest - I walked downstairs to water some seeds that I am growing indoors for our garden.  It literally took me 5 minutes to complete this task and come back upstairs. In that time, my youngest - my 2 1/2 yr old - decided it would be a good idea to open a tube of Grape Craze Chapstick, unscrew the entire stick of waxy goodness and then proceed to pull it into pieces and rub the purple goo all over our sofa, (which incidentally still does not have the freshly washed cover on it yet)  OMG!  I walked up the stairs and into the den where I saw him sitting in front of his masterpiece and looking like he knew what he did was wrong ( as soon as he saw MY face)  How do you clean this? I have no idea....
The irony of it all is that I was just talking with my girlfriend last night, while sitting on this very sofa, about taking a step back when your kids do these 'kids things' and how to not get too upset.  She had mentioned a certain little daughter of hers cutting a hole in her new furniture because she wanted to see if her Mom could mend it with that Magic Mender 'as seen on TV' product.  Too funny.  In hindsight she doesn't care - its just a piece of furniture, but at the time she was really angry, but she took a step back and didn't go completely ballistic on her daughter.  So, as I walked up those stairs and saw the mess, I told him he made a big No - No and proceeded to clean up what I could.  He immediately apologized - "I sorry Mommy" in that sweet little high-pitched voice with those big baby blue eyes, and what did I do?
Nothing. 
It's just a sofa and boys will be boys.

To be clear though, I am still boiling.  I hope no one gets in my path for the next few hours....

Monday, March 28, 2011

Seeking Balance in Life...

I actually had time to read a few articles in the paper yesterday (no, they weren't about Libya or Japan).  Usually, a common site on my kitchen floor is the past couple days worth of newspapers still wrapped up in their signature blue plastic bag, sadly waiting for me to pull them out and immediately recycle them. 
Oh well.
Anyway, my favorite columnist and blogger at the Hartford Courant spoke to me with his article called 'Seeking Balance In Life Has Us Out Of Whack'.  I have been contemplating this thought for a few weeks now (more than usual because of my new business) and was happy to hear his thoughts on the matter.  I know my friends, Colleen and my Aunt Pam will appreciate this article because it mentions the hardships of having kids on travelling teams.  Check out the column - it's short and sweet - at www.courant.com/tooshea
Check out his other articles too - he tells it like it is.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

That Dreaded Day...

OK, we all know it is coming at some point, that day when your kids start to surpass your knowledge of certain things - how to play a game, say a slang phrase or look cool in school.  At 36 years old, I was so sure that that day was waaaaaaaaaay far away.  Ya'll know what I am talking about - I still feel like the exact same person that walked into her first college class.   The same person that met her husband at age 20 in the basement of a fraternity house drinking cheap beer for a measly 5 bucks all night long.
Yeah, the same person that just got up at 6:30 on a Sunday morning; made breakfast for her family of 5, unloaded the dishwasher, did the dishes, drank a pot of coffee, folded the laundry, worked at her new business and it is still only 9 am.  Wow. 
But, this particular morning is a little different.  A certain young 6 year old, that doesn't spend much time playing video games was just overheard telling her father -in that 16 year old girl voice- how to play an I-Spy game on her little brothers Leapster.  Of course, I was in the other room taking care of my housewife duties when I heard this and immediately walked into the den to point and laugh at my husband who tried desperately to explain that he knew how to play the game and was just being nice to the kids.  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I am still LMAO. 
Honestly, I have to admit that I had no idea how to play the game my kids were playing and that I am just as lame as my husband.  Yup - I may have childishly pointed and laughed at him for being told how to do something by his kids, but it was just an infantile defense mechanism of mine (I am the second and last child, ya know).  I know, very well, that today is that dreaded day when my husband and I start to realize that we may not be as cool as we think we are and that our kids are growing up and becoming their own little entities.  We may still know more than them right now, but from now on, my husband and I are forever tainted.  We were just served by our 6 year old and there is no going back.....

Friday, March 25, 2011

Cheater's Guide to a Clean House - Parenting.com

OK - even with just two agreeable comments about how hard it is to work from home with (or even without) kids, I am now determined to find an answer. SO, here's a breakdown of what most people have to do on a daily basis: clean and dress themselves and their children, feed themselves and children, clean the home (including dishes, tidying, laundry, occasionally vacuuming and bathrooms) and make some sort of family dinner (atleast I try to). Oh - and work at your job, yes, that too. Of course, you really need to add in there that you need to play with and enrich your children as well......:-)
So, here's my first tackle: cleaning. I am a notoriously poor housework housewife. I loathe my inner housewife duties. I hate the word housewife, too. Let's just call me (and whomever agrees) a structural manager. Anyway, I don't like to clean - never have. I still shiver when I hear Elvis Presley or Frankie Valli because that is what my mother would blast when it was time for my sister and I to help clean the house. So, with three young kids, I am pretty much screwed. No matter how many times you tell them to eat over their dish or to wipe their hands on their napkins (instead of under the table or on the furniture) there are a multitude of crumbs and smears everywhere they go..... It's like a trail of evidence....
Just this morning, my youngest decided to put Chapstick on the sofa - of course, I just washed the cover and FORGOT to put it back on. Great. Excellent.
So, with my hatred of cleaning part explained - here is a small light at the end of the tunnel - an idea to try:

Cheater's Guide to a Clean House - Parenting.com

We'll see how long this lasts....

Thursday, March 24, 2011

How Do You Work From Home?

Seriously? How does anyone work from home without being interrupted, being distracted or feeling guilty around your small children?  Really?  I am currently typing this with a 4 year-old on my shoulders and a 2 year-old banging his grocery cart against my computer tower.  I can't believe I haven't made a spelling error yet...
Oops - there goes a crayon under my desk....oh, now it is being used to draw lines all over the desk.  Hmmm, somehow I just don't care. :-)
Actually, my boys are pretty fun to be around, but just like a cat jumps on your newspaper as soon as you open it up, your kids sense when you want to get a few minutes of work done and they climb on your lap as well.  It's almost uncanny.
Guess I haven't much more to say today, but gotta go - gotta go play with my kids.  They are, after all, the reason why I have this business.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

West Coast Style

My friend came over today to pick out fabrics for her niece who is (as we blog) in the midst of giving birth to her very first baby many, many miles away!   As she walked out the door, we noticed the emerging daffodils, tulips, hyacinths and crocuses pushing up through the frozen ground.  Signs of spring!  Newborn babies, sweet little budding flowers, fledgling birds, and oh yes, allergies (but that's another whole blog to rant about).  I am so excited about the birds coming back to my yard and perusing the garden I create for them - the spring bulbs, the climbing vines, the roses, the veggies, the ornamental grasses, the foxglove, the lupine, the irises, the lilies (ohhhh the lilies - I am my grandmother's granddaughter) and even the Cascade hops that my husband - the amateur beer brewer - wants to harvest and make an IPA.  Gotta love that.  But, back to the birds - I can't wait to have them back.  Can you tell I missed them this winter?  Check out this grouping of fabrics in the pic.
This is an order I just sent out to a friend on the west coast - I love these fabrics together - the birds, the blues, the mod look of it all.  It was really hard to let go of this one, but it went to an important customer ( a returning customer and a friend! )  Hope her friend likes it as well!  I also hope she loves the birds as much as I do.  Happy Spring.

Monday, March 21, 2011

What thu?

Seriously, I am so technologically inept - I am amazed that this is working (atleast I hope it is). My friends are all laughing at me - they couldn't believe it when I actually got a cellphone ( like, 2 years ago, even though it's still just a tracphone)  As I try to get my creative business out there in this computer world, with all these electronic devices that I have no knowledge of (when people discuss apps for their iphones, all I hear is the wa wa wa wa from the adults in Charlie Brown specials) it poses quite a challenge.  So, maybe I took on a little too much today by creating a Facebook page and a Blog for my new little business.  Ya think?
Well, if ya got any advice or wanna point yer finger at me and laugh, let's do it - atleast we'll be laughing.
I think I just tried to like myself on facebook...is that possible?

These Little Fingers...

These three little sets of fingers are why I am here writing down this silly information and my personal reflections.  I would never have started this business if it weren't for them...wanting something better, something softer, something stronger and (let's face it) something more adorable for them!
Funny thing - lots of other parents feel the same way :-)

I'm sure there are lots of little fingers out there that have made the same impact as mine have.  Agree?  Maybe I can make you something for your favorite little fingers or someone else you know.... they are very special, aren't they?