Tile Drink Coasters

I'm really pleased with how these came out. I made a bunch as Christmas gifts this year and they went over very well. I only used black for them and wanted to experiment with color this time. I found this fantastic stamp at a garage sale for $2! Can you believe it? I think she bought it for a particular project then decided to unload it. I love the stamp. So much so, that I made cards with it, too.

Back to the coasters. I used permanent ink instead of sealing with acrylic. I did this for two reasons. One, it allows the roughness of the tile to be felt and I like that. Two, I can't use acrylic seals because of my asthma. I could take the artistic road here and say it is purely aesthetics, but that would be a big, fat lie. I spray acrylic, I don't breath so well.


I put little felt feet on them and, voila!, they are finished. I really like these. I think there are going to be more gifts going out.

Well, crap...

I finally got some time to work on the layout. Notice the nice 3 collumn design, thanks to bloggerbuster and I swiped some things from Katie's blog. She is papermakeup if you check my blog roll.

One of the things I swiped from her is the playlist. I love Peter Gabriel's Solsbury Hill and put it at the top of the list. I have my speakers turned up and wouldn't you know it, some dude is singing in the background! That's what I get for not previewing the songs. Now, I have to go back to the site and change it.

Sheesh!

Wok Turns 60

Wok, also known as my mom, turns 60 tomorrow. For her birthday we got her a family ring. It is very simple and pretty. It has a stone for each of us, me, my husband, the kids, and is set in silver. I think she'll like it.

For a card, I wanted to make something a bit sophisticated instead of silly or funny. I'm thinking that 60 is a milestone and want to give it the respect it deserves. I have this great paper from K&C Company. It is double sided and I really like it for cards. Instead of having a blank inside, there is a pattern. I just put plain, light-colored card stock on one side for writing a note.

I don't have to worry about Wok seeing it, as she doesn't read my blog. I think she would be perfectly happy living without a computer. Oh, the horrors!

Maybe I need to stop...

I sell things all over the place. Half. com. Ebay. Etsy. Local consignment sales. All places.

This last week I have been ironing, tagging, sorting and pricing for our local city wide consignment sale. I have been really busy with it and am selling 178 items.

This morning, Stas was jumping up and down on the wii fit pad and I told him not to. He says, "why are we selling it?"

Guess he thinks mommy has a one-track mind.

So I was wrong...

I had originally said that I would never put pictures of my kids into such a public forum. I didn't want some freak to see them. What would happen, I didn't know, but I didn't want to go there.

I was talking to my husband recently about starting a family blog that other family members and friends could view. It would, like most family blogs, have pictures, events and such so other could keep in touch. Here is the conversation:


Him: Don't you have a blog?
Me: Yes, but it is public.
Him: So?
Me: Well, don't you want a private one for pictures of the kids?
Him: Why?
Me: So not just anyone can see them.
Him: Why?
Me: So pictures of the kids are just for those who we choose to see them.
Him: Why?

Seeing the pattern here? I wrongly thought that of all people, my husband would not want pictures of our kids floating out there in internet space. He doesn't care. As long as I don't post location (like I would) he sees no problem with it.

Ok, so I totally misread this one.

And, here are my boys, Stasiu and Bohdan.

Would You Like Some Wine?

My friend who shall remain nameless--ok Katie--got me hooked on Bella stamps. I only have 3 now, but us moms get together and stamp out each other's Bellas like we were doing drugs. In our stamping bellas haze, I managed to get some of Katie's winobella stamped and have made a few cards.

I originally thought I would use them for party invitations. My husband and I keep saying we are going to have an adult wine --notice the lack of "h"-- party sometime soon. Still hasn't happened. Instead, I used it as a birthday card for my dad's wife. I think she will like it. While I was at it, I made an envelope for it. I thought it made a pretty package.

I'm usually long winded. I have a lot to say. About a lot of things. But, blogging is not easy. I have a blog because I joined etsy and it is supposed to be a good marketing tool. I honestly don't know how. Really. I have had a few sales only. No one has heard of me let alone my blog so who is going to bookmark me to come and read and re read the fascinating life of moi?

So, I am going to try to post twice a week for those who have never seen or read my blog. Well, my husband has. But he doesn't count. It is his job as my husband to read my blog, visit my shop, my flicker account and generally be extremely interested in what I do. I don't even think my mom has read my blog. That is bad when your mother hasn't.

I have also read that it is important to write about other things than your shop. Stuff like your kids, life, vacation, etc. Well, my kids aren't getting posted on a public forum. Sorry, but their pictures aren't getting put out there for anyone to see. The world is just a bit too weird for that right now. I do, however, have a great picture of my dog that I just took. I'll post that later. No one is going to grab him. Not and keep their hands.

So, I will post a picture of a daisy. Yup, a daisy. I have been fooling around with my camera. I would really like to get better at photography. I have been especially working with the macro setting and the flash. Yeah, newbie stuff, but you have to start somewhere. Here is an upclose picture of a daisy sitting on my kitchen table. I think it turned out pretty good.