Mojo Monday Magic

On Sunday Nicole and I went to the local production of The Nutcracker at the Krannert Center.  We knew several of the dancers, but two in particular:  the dancer who portrayed Clara has gone to school with Andrew for years, and one of the toy soldiers was the daughter of a friend of mine who has become one of Nicole's playmates.  It was a fantastic production, with the sets, costumes and dancing that you'd see in a large city.

We didn't take either girl flowers that afternoon...but I thought of doing cards with these great Fifth Avenue Floral roses...had them all stamped and embossed and cut out and was playing around with a layout when the Mojo Monday Sketch for this week came out.  Voilá!

The Start of the Christmas Season

Here are Tom Turkey's successors!

They seemed to be a big hit at the Holiday Market today.  Foot traffic and sales were down from the last 2 weeks, but veteran vendors said that they've seen this other years on Thanksgiving weekend.  It was also a beautiful day (into the upper 50s) which I bet kept some folks outside instead of (more?) shopping.

The Christmas tree farm we like was certainly hopping when we got there late this afternoon.  Like I said, the great weather drew people outside.  Coming home with our tree in the dusk we saw evidence of all the light-hanging activity that happened over the last few days.  Andrew begged off this year's tree hunt, so Nicole was happy to do the honors:

Hopefully tomorrow I'll have the energy to start pulling out holiday decorations.  In the meantime I'm heading for bed!

Holiday Market Week 2

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope your holiday is happy, healthy and bountiful!

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New Layout:  The previous one was being balky when I tried to edit it. We'll see how this one fares.

New Feature:  In the right column you'll find a link to my online card gallery.  I'll still post new things in individual posts, but this will give people a resource to turn to when they want to find something.  Fellow crafters, feel free to CASE (since I probably did, too!).

Blog & Gallery Subscriptions:  Did you know you can get an email when I post a new blog entry and/or photo in the gallery?  Click on the RSS button in your browser (often up by the web address, I believe).

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Last Saturday Marlene and I were joined by our friend, Jennifer, who makes fabulous small bags/pouches out of gorgeous fabrics.  Thanks to Marlene, she had been assigned the booth next to ours, and the three of us decided to set up as one large booth.  Her colorful display drew lots of customers!  She'll be back with us on Saturday, December 12.  In the meantime, you can check out her wares at www.inmyvastsparetime.com.

I have made and sold 45 of the Tom Turkey Treats pictured above.  They use the new SU! Sweet Treat Cups and a variety of die cuts and punches (not to mention a gajillion googly-eyes and Jelly Bellys).  Stay tuned to see what will replace good ol' Tom at this week's market!

While at the market I like to have a little something to work on when I'm not helping customers...the first week I assembled Tom Turkeys, last week I stamped and colored snowmen for this card.  It also uses a Sweet Treat Cup, but this time as a faux snow globe.

 
On Sunday several crafting friends came by and we had a marathon card-making session.  Glenn helped me set up numerous tables throughout our basement both for individual work places and for a stamp-washing station, cutting station, Cuttlebug center, embossing center, etc.  Much creative production and fun was had by all.

Want to stop by and craft?  Just let me know!

Lincoln Square Holiday Market Week 1

Last Saturday was the first day of the Holiday Market and it went well.  We had reasonable foot traffic either in spite of or because of the beautiful weather and home UI football game.  I had a few friends stop by, and a respectable amount of sales.  I think I have a good mix of items at prices that people seem happy to pay.  We'll see what happens in the coming weeks....


Here are a few pictures of the booth and some new cards that will be available this week:

This one says inside:  "It's your day - spoil yourself silly!"

It's hard to tell in this photo, but the pond and snow are super-glittery!

Still getting ready...

for the Holiday Market that starts this Saturday (see end of this post for details).  Today was a test run of the booth with my friend, Marlene, who makes bead jewelry.  I think we've got a good plan...check back later this weekend for pictures of our first day!

I seem to have finally kicked the mild H1N1 or whatever virus attacked my lower respiratory system and zapped my stamina.  Good thing, too, since I'm not only homeschooling Nicole and getting ready for this market but also this is the busiest week for Champaign PTA Council's part of the Reflections art contest that I'm co-chairing.

Here's some of the things I've added to my inventory in the last couple of weeks (double-click on an image to see it enlarged).

These 2 thank-you card designs are both being offered at the market and being used for the Champaign School Board members for "Illinois School Board Appreciation Day" on November 15.

And then more holiday cards...some are offered singly, some in sets of 8, some both ways.

Hope to see you C-U folks at the market one of these upcoming Saturdays!

More Halloween and Christmas

Here are a couple more Halloween cards I've made.  Nicole has had lots of fun playing with this set, too.

And another simple Christmas one:

I'm still working on building up inventory for the Urbana Indoor Holiday Market at Lincoln Square mid-November through mid-December.  Here's some of what I'm doing...

These are one-of-a-kind cards.

Happy Thanksgiving

Blank inside

Debating whether to put "Thanks for your hospitality" or "Welcome to the Neighborhood" in these two.

These are gift card holders - slide the band off, insert card in bottom, write a note on inside of the flap if you want, slide the band back on and write recipient's name on it - instant gift!

Feeling Very Appreciated In Chicago

I spent last weekend meeting some long-time friends for the very first time!  The Mothers & More Seasoned Moms email group has been chatting for years - some have been on there for 10 or more - and we finally decided to meet face-to-face.

So we decided to meet up in Chicago, and last weekend was the chosen time.  I had a great deal of fun organizing many of the things we did, and the lovely moms who attended were more than appreciative of my efforts.  In addition to a very generous gift certificate to use with Chrissy for Stampin' Up! products, and a wonderful send-up in a live rap on Saturday night complete with crown (look for a YouTube video posting soon), I arrived home from grocery shopping yesterday to find a beautiful flower arrangement waiting for me.  Thanks for brightening a very grey week, ladies!

While in Chicago I paid my first visit to "The Bean," a sculpture in Millenium Park that is actually titled "Cloud Gate" by Anish Kapoor.  It is totally captivating in its shape and reflectivity!  You can see by it's shape why it's called The Bean - it looks like a coffee bean!

I love the abstract effect one gets by just stepping inside the domed part:

People were very into lying down along the edge to get their reflection, so Maureen and I decided to try it out.

We have to say we didn't see the attraction.

Looking forward to our next Seasoned Moms' adventure, whenever and wherever that may be!

Crafting Update

I finally got time in the Project Room yesterday - did some organizing, photographing and crafting!  Here's some of my more recent items:


Some things I've done for Halloween inspired by this blog.

I'm getting ready to participate in Urbana Holiday Indoor Market from mid-November to mid-December.  Some things I'm producing in multi-packs:

Wreaths made from SU!'s Pocket Silhouettes and glitter glue in both traditional and Illini colors. (case'd from here)

I'm also making these in a variety of colors:

My mother-in-law passed along these plain, small notes (maybe 3.5" x 2.5") and envelopes that I've gussied up with SU!'s Upsy Daisy in Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango and Alway Artichoke.

 


I'm not sure how many people will be interested in Thanksgiving cards, so I've made about 10 of these to sell individually:

Chrissy showed this card layout at Stamp Club this month that I copied to make this New Year's version:

I liked how the little notes turned out so I made another card with the same stamped image:

I've also made a few of these more masculine thank-you cards:

And a few for those who know knitters.  I love being able to embellish with some of my mom's hand-dyed yarn!

Look for more projects when I have a chance to photograph them!