Saying Good - Bye To My Card Rack 2019

After many many years (I think maybe 20+) I closed up my final booth at Cranberry Hill. The store moved to a much smaller location after the building they had been in from many years was sold.  The new location is not easy to see from the main street and the foot traffic just isn't there anymore. I just had my card rack there but with so many other card makers selling there now, I wasn't making enough to cover the rent. Since I also don't teach classes there either, my sales went way down.  It was a very tough decision to leave, as I want to support a small business but my current work schedule makes it hard to keep my card rack fresh. The store also isn't open on Sundays, my only real day off so that sealed the deal to close. Have to thank Geri (the owner of Cranberry Hill) for always being supportive of us crafters. 
Now the challenge is what I should do with all my cards (half are being donated) and how to sell the cards I make in the future. 

Drinks after work

I don't drink alcohol (never developed a taste for it) but I do find it's nice to come home and sit and unwinded with a beverage while I throw the ball for Annie. Peach Snapple has always been a favorite of mine. I add a big squeeze of lemon or lime when my trees are producing. The deer sometimes take out my trees when Annie is on vacation so I don't have them year round. 

Winter Bloom 2019

This is my first winter bloom for 2019. Of course living in Bay Area, we don't get snow or extreme weather, so blooming flowers happen all the time. This plant is by my front door and it's always a surprise when it starts blooming!

First Video - Annie's paw command

Trying something new for me, posting a video. I may live in Silicon Valley but I'm not that tech savvy. 
Annie knows several hand commands but I realized she has one for me too! She's not allowed to bark at me unless it's an emergency. So instead she does a paw up when she wants me to throw her ball, that's her signal to hurry up and throw it.  Just cracks me up that she found a way to get want she wanted without breaking the rules. 

2 Peas Holiday Card Swap

I'm so excited about the up coming 2 peas holiday card swap!  I make a lot of card and it's always fun to make cards for other card makers! There are 109 people signed up so I hope to make that many. A few are in other countries, so hopefully I'll be able to get to the post office in time to send them! I'm going to make about 25 of each design because I know I will get bored doing the same one 100+ times. 

Coffee - Pour Over Works for Me.

I'm not a big coffee drinker but I do love the smell of coffee in the morning. When my little coffee maker died several months ago I stopped buying coffee beans. Using my french press was OK but such a mess to clean up plus I never got the proportions right. So I just stopped. 
Well in my picking adventures at the thrift stores I kept seeing this pour over thingy (not sure what it's called) and decided for $2 to give it a try. I did read up on how to use it and what makes a good cup of coffee. After a few experiments I think I have it dialed in. One thing I didn't like about my coffee maker and the french press was that I never knew how my coffee would turn out. With this pour over method it comes out the same every time. Not sure why this works and the other didn't but there you are. The best part is the clean up is super fast!

2 peas Christmas Card Swap

I'm so excited for the 2Peas refugees Christmas card swap!  It always fun to see what other card makers send! Mailing Christmas cards is a dying tradition but I'm always so happy when I get snail mail not to be confused with bills. :)
So I picked up these penguin napkins at Tuesday Morning last weeks to turn into cards. I added a ton of Stickles which I have tons of.  I have so many half bottles of stickles from back in the days when I taught a lot of classes. I'm trying really hard to use only what I have in my stash, so if I can finish off some of these bottles it's a win. 

Halloween Treats 2019

I found these little pumpkins at the Helping Hands thrift store down in Carmel a few months ago. When I first saw them, I thought it was a little pricey so passed on them. I visit the thrift stores everyday when I'm there because you never know what will be put out. On my last day there, everything went 50% off. All the thrift stores in Carmel put things on sale at the end of the month but the Helping Hand did it a few days early. I work with 3 other people so 3 pumpkins was just too perfect. The candy was made by another crafter at Cottage Crafts so it was a very fast treat to put to together. I like to think it's pumpkin brains on the inside in a non creepy way. :) 

Hero Arts - Eat Cake set 2019

I finally got around to getting these done! It's been in my design book for a long long time.
I've wanted a monster die for awhile now and Hero Arts "Eat Cake" set is perfect! Has both the stamp and dies together. It's a birthday set but I used it for Halloween. 
I also used the Lawn Fawn treat box which I've be waiting to get because of the price point.  Had to have a few ideas before making the investment in the die. I added eye ball candy (can only get at Halloween time) inside the box to go with the monster eye. :)  The bats are from an old Quickkutz die that I've had for years. Not sure where the trick or treat die came from but I know I found it at a used rubber stamp sale. 
Made these boxes for my card making group and will make them for this month's PaperCrafters at FabMo

Samples for FabMo 2019

I volunteer at FabMo every month teaching a paper crafting workshop. 
FabMo gets asked to do a presentations on going green and reuse of the materials coming in everyday. I was asked to make sample of some of the projects I've done. People think FabMo only had fabric but really there are many crafting things that get donated. FabMo is on the short list of clean outs (when an estate has to be cleared out) when there's a crafter involved. Some amazing supplies have come in. I don't really sewing but I try and visit FabMo when I can to see want craft supplies have been donated. Always worth checking out. 

October Pickings. 2019

I'm a picker, always looking for the next cool item to flip for a profit. I got started wanting unique things for my own home so started hanging out at auctions.  After dragging home so many bulk lots, I started selling off the excess. Now it's more of the hunt that's fun and if I can flip it, that's the bonus. 
Many times people can't see the cool factor in something until it's cleaned up and put in the right setting. These are my treasures going into my booth at Cottage Crafts in Campbell.

Gluten Free Pizza

Since I have gluten issues, I do most all my cooking at home. There is one pizza place that makes a gluten free pizza but the timing from crispy to burned is very short. After having so many burned pizzas, I gave up ordering them to go. I've tried making my own crust but the amount of cheese you have to use to hold everything together is heart stopping. 

Trader Joe's now has 3 different types of gluten free crusts. 

Butter Nut Squash, Cauliflower and Broccoli and Kale

So far I've tried the butter nut squash one. It was just OK, more corn meal than squash. I'm going to use goat cheese on the next one to mask the corn meal taste. Wish me luck!