The Overdue Book Calendar!

Ah! Ok, so I have been working on this project (read: procrastinating) for quite some time, and I am really really really really happy to have it done and out in the world. Reading is great, right? I am assuming everyone here knows how, because, well, yeah. So literacy, and three cheers for it, and all that, but books are Expensive, and so we need libraries. As some of you may know, I am deeply enamored with a certain Canadian(a) book blogger, and happened to one day wonder how she managed to borrow so many books without dying of late fees. Because, I, my friends, am plagued by late fees. My husband worked for the KC Public Library for 5 years, and as an employee had a get-out-of-late-fees-free-card, but I still managed to accumulate some $50 worth of fees, despite the fact that he checked out most of my books for me. Which is to say that if I TOUCH a library book, I automatically will owe at least $1 for it eventually. So, I thought, what would make it easier to keep track of these things? And THUS was BORN the 2010 Overdue Book Calendar! Fanfare! Shouting! Bored Silence! You pick! In any case, it is a GREAT last minute gift for any readers on your list, and since it is sold as a PDF it comes QUCK and you can print as many as you want for all those random aunts you never remember are going to be there. Here you are, Aunt Lillian! Oh, you can't read? Well, it is still pretty! Enjoy!
It has books, you see!?! And you label them, with the books that you check out! And then you write in the due date, and you circle it, and it is PRETTY! And you can KEEP it, to prove to people that you can read! I feel pretty dorky to be so excited about this kind of silly little project, but I do love the way the final product came out, despite all the gnashing of teeth that comes with any extended bout of Photoshop editing. Our computer loves to freeze, my friends, but only when you've just gone 45 minutes without saving your changes.
If you are interested, they are EEEEN the etsy shop, for a measly $4 for as many as you can print. You will get instructions to download the PDF emailed to you within 24 hours of the order being made. I had mine printed at a color copy place, but that's just because I like their fancy paper. ENJOY! and GOODNIGHT!

Hi Blog!

Hi! Remember me? We used to party a bit, back in the day... Uhm, December 3rd, to be exact. I really will eventually write the craft fair summary post, but today I am to lazy, and also have these adorable pictures of My Children. Rufus's nickname (or one of them,) is Muppet Face, I think this photo makes it clear why. Baxter loves to pass by Rufus and wrap his tail around Rufus's neck. Is this a thing that cats do? I suppose so, as the cat does it. This is some stretchin' for the ladies, Lottie and Millie. Note the little kitty paw in the upper right corner.

Liberty of London for Target

(Image has absolutely no relevance, but I cannot post without one.)

Ok, so I typically am not a blog that is all, Oh, I will buy this thing, because this thing is so good and you should want it too. Because I TRY not to be too wanty about stuff, and not get reoccupied with brands and that sort of thing but O.M.G., Liberty of London for Target, people. And not just clothes, but home decor and organization and BICYCLES and lingerie and kids stuff and GARDENING EQUIPMENT? And I know I'm feeling that somewhat gross crazy consumerist itch all over, but I am EXCITED. I have been obsessed with Liberty fabrics for a while now, but could never justify it. But Target, Target you sly fox, you. You have made my shopping dreams (potentially) come true.

However I need to remember not to get my hopes up, at least not until I see some pictures. I remember the Orla craziness, and I got uber excited, and then went in and... well. Eh. It was good stuff, but I just didn't really NEED any of it, and wasn't so in love with it that I could pretend I did. I ended up with two plastic cups and a laundry bag that I got on sale. Is this going anywhere? Probably not. Are you kids excited for this? Are you already planning Black-Friday-esque morning raids on March 14th? Are you slobberng over the thought of a Liberty bike? Are you dying to know if they will sell curtains? (Fabric! FABRIC, PEOPLE!)

Winnnnnnnners!!!!

Well, we all know of course, that all of you are winners, in your own special way. That said, only two of you are actual winners as in "the people who get the stuff". So, congratulations to: who won the Flock charm pack, and also to who won the limerick writer's FQ giveaway! Thank you all for playing, I wish I had something for everyone, but sadly I have not yet come into my fortune. Alas, alack (sp?) and Craft Show Blah-de-Blah coming soon!

Wow. Limericks. Wow.

Yeah, this is what I do when I am bored.

Well, my friends, I have a lot of little pieces of paper that I need to put names on. I am TOTALLY awed by how many people signed up, and even more, how many of you WROTE LIMERICKS. You are eternally awesome in my book. (Which reminds me, I should get a giant leather bound book so I can pull it out when I use that expression. I will make a smarmy face while writing, and then look at the person through a mimed monocle. Oh, and write with one of those big feather pens. I have a sore throat and took the prescription Robitussin with Codeine {sp?} and should probably not be writing so late, as I tend to go off on tangents, and) OK. I think where I was going is that I was so amazed by the number of limericks that I am going to pick a second winner from the limerick writers, who will get to pick a FQ of their choice from any of my fabrics. Also, I will be posting some of my favorite limericks, just because I can.

And, just to remind you, this is the last day of mah Whatever-Holiday-Excuse-for-a-Sale Sale, so get while the gettin' is good. Most toes under $20! FQ's for $6.50! Blah! Gratuitous product shots in 3, 2, 1-YOU'VE BEEN TOTE-BAG-SPAMMED! HA-HA! DEAL WITH IT!

Get Some For Cheap.

You want some fabric? Well, all of mine will be $1 off Black Friday through Cyber Monday. The fabric packs will also be $1 off per piece of fabric, which means you will save even MORE moo-lah because the packs are already discounted. I will show you, with my mad math skills:

1 FQ = $8 ($7 on sale! Whooo!)
4 FQ Pack = $30 ($2 less than 4 individual pieces already) $26 on sale!

So, since unfortunately not everyone can win the charm pack (Though Oh My Godness I wish you all could, because the limericks are AMAZING and my favorite thing to read, ever. You guys are disgustingly awesome) anyway, since you can't all win, if you have your eye on any of the "Flock" or Bicycle fabrics, now is the time!
Now is the time is such an incredibly cheesy thing to say! I would be a TERRIBLE copywriter! Which, ok, totally unrelated story, yesterday I went to the doctor and told him about my hand going numb when I'm using the computer and he's all, I have this AMAZING thing for you to try, everyone loves it, and my nurse will bring it in! And she does, and seriouly, I cannot stop laughing at the thing. Because it is RIDICULOUS. It is a giant pillow that you put on your arm, essentially. And it is called a Pil-O-Splint, because it was apparently named in 1951. If I hadn't had the awesome nurse who knows me, she would have thought I was INSANE because I was laughing so hard at the thing. It gives you a PILLOW ARM! It is HILARITY! Anyway, I think where I was going is, I am bad at being serious, and also writing anything that is not completely stream of consciousness. I am like a really stupid and sober Jack Kerouac, but not at all. ANYWAY.
Also, all my bags are 10% off, and I am putting up a whole heap of new ones made in the "Flock" fabrics, and a stray Tree Tote or two. $22 - $2.20 = Somewhat less than $20. I'm not going to get more exact than that people, YOU have calculators.
I am doing this sale as part of the 2009 KCEtsy Sale, "Handmade for the Holidays", which you can read more about here. There are a TON of awesome local etsy sellers participating, so you should definitely check it out, because do you really want to give your mother-in-law Isotoner gloves again? You can search for the tag kcetsysale09 on etsy, or check the team blog for individual sellers sales. (Holla to my girl, Lori of ditda, who is working on a project with me, and is selling all her already really reasonable stuff for 20% off!) So, CONSUMERISM! Onward! And keep writing limericks! I love you! Goodnight!

I Am Giving Stuff Away.

I would love to have some clever words here, about giveaways and fabric and what have you, but I am still recovering from "baby's first craft show" (that's, err, I'm the baby is what I am implying, and it was my first.. ) and my mind is still made of creamed corn. I don't think you need any more proof than that I have given you in the previous sentence. So I will just spit it out- I give away charm pack "Flock". You want win?(SIick of fabric in circles yet? TOO BAD!)
It is a pack that includes 3 squares each of 12 different fabrics, 36 5" squares in all. To enter, just comment on this post, and you don't have to write anything, but if you want to have a short creative writing assignment then, uhm... thinking... Oh! Write an original limerick. Keep in mind, this is COMPLETELY OPTIONAL, so I expect to read exactly two limericks. ALSO, if you want to be entered twice, just start following me on twitter. See, I am ensnaring you in my sticky social networking web, or something. And if you are a blog reader person who already follows me on Twitter, you've already been entered. Yay!SO that's all the big words I can dredge out of the old corn pit (my brain), I will be taking entries until Friday and then announce the winner on Monday. Woohoo! Oh, and prepare yourself for some massive tote-bag-etsy-updatery, I have quite a few to post now. (Another post on the craft fair, will come soon, complete with TERRIBLE pictures and lots of gushing over Things I Got.) Ta-ta!

Are You Ready For the Giant Fabric Pile?

I made fabric.I call it "Flock". Because, birds, get it? Yeah. You did. "Catch" some at the old etsy shoppe, here. Hyuk Hyuk! Seriously, my favorite ones are the medallion prints. I love me a good medallion print, and I think these came out pretty decently, if ah do sahy so mahself.

Catch Up, The Factory, Caves.

So this is going to be one of those posts where I try and say all of the things I have been meaning to write, and will forget 2/3 of them. I guess the best plan is to just start typing them before they float out of my sieve of a brain, as things tend to do.
We were in Arkansas, and we went to a cave! I have always wanted to go in a cave, and this was my first one, and according to all experienced cave tourists, it is a pretty unimpressive one, but I loved it because it was all ROCKY and UNDERGROUND! Which is my only cave criteria, really.Also, I have been sewing like a crazy person because I signed up for my first craft show, and because I am a super awesome (Ha.) I signed up TWO WEEKS before said show, which, according to everything I have read and been told, is Not Enough Time and Decidedly Not Smart. In case you haven't noticed, though, Not Smart is kindof the way I roll. That and Let's Just Wing It. That is in face my middle name: Lauren Kaye Brooks Spencer Let's Just Wing It Hunt. Just falls off the tongue right?
So, sewing, a lot. In the past four days I have made 37 tote bags. And, as always, as soon as I have one Very Important Task to do, a MILLION other things suddenly pop int my head that insist they also Must Be Done Now. Like, I finally realized how I want to rearrange the office, and the craft area upstairs, and what pillows I want to make for the couch. Oh, and I have in my head the exact desk that I want for the office, and nevermind the fact that likely this desk does not exist. Are you tired of reading this yet? Because this is what has been going on inside my head for the last week and a half or so, and fun fun fun it has been.
Oh, and I have started to calling myself "The Factory" and talking in third person all time time. The factory is angry at the sewing machine. The factory's fingers are sore. The factory REALLY NEEDS to get a QT iced tea. I'm sure this is not annoying at all.
Oh, and I have decided to start tweeting (again). I say again because I had a twitter account as "myself" (Lauren, who is oddly slightly different than the person who writes this blog, I don't know why,) but I only tweeted, like, twice. However, I think if I do it as Blog Alter Ego, I will probably do it more often, because how much more ridiculous can I be in short form than I already am in long form? Also, soonish I will get an internet-type phone, which I think will make me a better person. Or perhaps just far more communicative, which I am not actually sure translates to better at all, in my case. (SO! twitter.com/myauntjune if you need some more of THIS solid gold. Don't all rush up at once.)Oh! And I got STICKERS! SO MANY STICKERS! I'm gonna sticker the heck out of...something?
There were supposed to be cave pictures in this post, but I am currently too lazy to go get the camera to download the photos and process the raw files and edit in photoshop, and I think I am already Asleep. We'll talk soon though?

Hello, From Eureka Springs!

We're on a wonderful November vacation in Arkansas, where, for some ridiculous reason, it is 75 degrees in November. I am attributing it to Eureka's proximity to the Jesus of the Ozarks getting it some divine favor. Tomorrow I will finally fulfill my lifelong dream of going in a cave! Today we discovered a Hawaiian-themed quilt shop! Adventures, everywhere, folks. I want to live in this cabin.I've been crazy busy for the past two weeks, so it's si nice for us to get away for a while and just do nothing. Or, semi-nothing. The other night I went to my first KC Etsy Team meeting, and met tons of great crafters! It's so cool to meet people that love crafting like I do, and some people who even do it for a living. We had a gift exchange, and I was lucky enough to get some goodies from Jill of For Strange Women, it all smells AMAZING.
TTFN folks, I'm off to do nothing!

PS: Because I am unable to ship any etsy orders until I come back next Wednesday, all items in my etsy shop have FREE SHIPPING until midnight on the 11th! Shipping will be refunded after purchase.

Fall and I Are Friends Again.

Our yard is an odd collection of all these things that previous tenants have left in it. We have a bag of Quik-Crete that lost its wrapper and became a bag-shaped concrete statue many moons ago. We have ceramic rocks, and strange pagoda sculptures and spoon windchimes that are so tangled they are incapable of chiming. I heart it.Can anyone tell me why the geranium that was dying ALL SUMMER, (dead, I thought,) became alive again when it got chilly? It's had no help from me, that's for sure. He's just perfect, isn't he? Other than all the nipping and knocking-over-of-fragile-and-liquid-filled-things? Mmhm.

Thanks for all the kind comments on the quilt! And since a few of you have asked, the video I posted a while back is located here, and I eventually plan on doing another one that is more demo and less... me mumbling? Yeah, that's it. Har.