Happiness is a Pink Skull Purse

I finally made this purse, it was all cut out and waiting for me to finish for months. But yes, finally it is complete. :) I did a couple different things to it that I had not done before to my purses like a serged edging to the top of the pocket and I made two large pocket areas instead of one. I am now in the mood for more purse making. Yay!
Diaper making is coming along but is frustrating as the girl I am making them for can't make up her mind how she wants them to be made. I turned in a really nice one I was proud of and she doesn't like the width of my stitch line at one spot and tells me it needs to be wider. So, I take home the next batches and try my hardest to widen the stitch space and the fabric just won't get caught in the line of sewing. More ripping and sewing. ugh! So, when I get to her house to turn in the un-finshed ones that she will finish for me I see the other lady sewer there and I look at her diapers and what do you know, her top stitched seam line is exactly how mine was. double ugh! I tell her that is my frustration and she says I say you use a 1/8 " seam allowance and you can use your personal judgement. It's like she is setting me up for failure and is never happy with what I produce. That is what is so frustrating, not the diaper making but the inconsistencies of the boss lady. We'll see how much longer I can do this, I'm just not sure it's for me and I will go back to making my own things to sell.
Well it's Sunday so we are off to do Sunday things. :)

I have a new job

I started working with an at home company making cloth diapers. This company is taking off and I'm starting with it at the beginning stages, it's such an awesome opportunity. These diapers are amazing and well designed. I am considered a "sewer" and there are other people doing the "cutting" and other parts of the process. It's like an assembly line in different houses that makes it all come together. I am going today for training and will eventually be able to do my work at home and get paid. Yay! It's an opportunity I have been wanting for a long time. Yay me!!! Check out her site if you are interested in cloth diapers or know someone who is interested in Going Green. I know the price of each diaper is a bit much when you first see it but if you were to add up how much you spend on diapers over 3-4 years including potty training you litterally spend about $3-$4 thousand dollars in the time frame. If you buy these re-usable diapers you only spend several hundred dollars and you are not filling up the landfills with diapers.

Two scooters and one bike STOLEN

Yes, that's correct. Nicholas' new bike of 3 months was stolen from our front porch yesterday morning. Two scooters were also taken as well, one of Nicholas' and one of Daphs. Both kids were supposed to be locking them up with bike chains but had gotten lazy and weren't doing it. Some thief had the nerve to just pick and choose what they wanted from our front porch. They didn't take Daphs bike or Nicholas' Power Wing which cost more than the bike. That was the 3rd bike we had bought for Nicholas in a years time. The other two broke, if you can imagine that. So, now he has no bike and we are not running right out to buy another one. I am not bothered by the scooters but more the bike. I also can't believe our big ole dog didn't bark up a storm and let us know. She sure has a bark fest when the squirrels come in our back yard.

What do I want to do?

That is the question I keep trying to figure out every day. I get so swept up in all types of new crafts and have tried so many and yet I can not decide what I like the most. I have so many different craft supplies in my house that I literally have a craft store. You name it, I have it. So why do I keep searching for the one craft that I will love and stay focused on? I wish I could and I'm sure my hubby wishes the same. I see so many talented people who can make the most gorgeous knitted items or beautiful lampwork beads. I get hooked so fast on new things and do that until something else strikes my fancy. I want to do one thing and stop flip flopping around. I have been working with lampwork beads and I do love it but a person has to spend hours upon hours to perfect that craft. I don't have hours and hours, I have a family to take care of no time to be on a torch for 6 hours. I bought a new book the other day on ceramic clay jewelry making. It looks like fun and simple enough to do, I have made quite a few things with polymer clay so how different can this be. Well, not to much difference except the cost of a high priced kiln to fire them in. Why does every craft have to involve hundres of dollars just to produce one item. Why is crafting so important to me, I ask that everyday. I don't get it, it lives inside me, I think about things I want to make everyday but go many weeks w/out making a thing. I spend more time running around town picking up all the ingredients to make the crafts and then there they sit in the bags for weeks and never get used. What is wrong with me. You know how some people have eating disorders and eat when they are sad or something? I do that with craft supplies. I'm not sad but just trying to figure out "what I want to do" with myself. I know I am mom and wife and daughter and sister and aunt but I want to be something else besides those things. I want to be someone that has a talent. All my life I have had no talent, I'm just me. I have no unique distinct qualities to myself, I'm just me. I want to be something interesting. I have no imagination despite what my mom thinks but moms always say nice and inspiring words to their children. I can copy most things I see but I have yet to create something of my own. So, today another day I sit trying to figure out "what I want to do and who I am" besides mom, wife, daughter, sister and aunt.

Been busy

I've been busy so far this summer with the new puppy and the kids keep me pretty busy. Our little Sadie pup has been such a great thing for our family. She is just what we needed around here to perk things up. She is almost housebroken but still not perfect, but she is trying. :) She is doing so much better on walks too, she isn't pulling as hard as she was before. We take her out every evening and I think that helps her to get use to the leash more and more each day.
Today was such a hot day, we are looking at 100 degree weather for several days in a row without a chance of rain. Our electric bill for june doubled from what it was in May, we need to conserve our energy so next months bill doesn't double. I can say since we have lived in this house for 9 years we have never had a bill this large. I also got our June water bill and that one was almost doubled as well. We told Daph she can't use the sprinkler out front anymore to jump in to cool off unless we are watering the yard. She and her friend were using the sprinkler almost everyday so that makes sense why our bill was so high. We have to tighten up with everything since food is high, gas is high. *sigh*
Let's see, I started taking another lampwork bead class for shaping and control of bead makine. I am getting better but still no pro, that is for sure. I'll keep trying, I won't give up, I really enjoy making beads. Oh, that reminds me, I went to an estate sale today and the lady happened to be one crafty lady and I scored a small kiln. After I bought it realized this thing must have been made in the 1960's. Oops! I can't find any information about it so I am hoping the glass bead store will be able to help me with how to use this new thing. If not I just bought something I can't use. I will have to save up for a new one unless I come across one that is not vintage. lol
Daph's birthday is this Wednesday and we are not sure yet what we are doing but it will be fun.
Eric has been working on the front yard, tearing up the stretch up by the sidewalk that has been a pain to keep the grass green. He was out there with a pick ax digging out that large limestone rock. That was a tough job. Now we have some sun tolerant plants and it looks great. I'll have to take photos of his awesome work.
Guess that's about it for now. I'm trying to keep things updated as best I can.
I wanted to add some recent photos of my bead work from my recent classes.

New Puppy in the house

We got a new puppy. If you had told me a week ago that I would have a new puppy I would have laughed so hard at you. But, we have a new puppy and she is a mini-Doxie Piebald. Eric has always wanted a weenie dog so he is super thrilled. The way I got her was when I went to get my haircut last Saturday a customer came in and said she was giving away her puppies and I jumped on that one right away. These are AKC registered pups and they were free, it doesn't get much better than that. We had talked about a dog but didn't want to spend big bucks to get one so this seemed like it was meant to be ours. The kids absolutely adore her and she has bonded so well with them too. Actually nobody had any idea I was getting her, I surprised them all and boy were they surprised. So, it's all good. Take a look at our new furbaby.

Cuppa Frogga

We have new residents at our humble abode. I should have taken a pic but for awhile I had a garden ceramic high heel shoe in a pot outside on my front porch and when it rained it would fill up and a frog would stay in the shoe, it was adorable. Well recently we planted hydrangeas in those large grey pots and removed the ceramic shoe. One day I noticed the frog was back and living inside the grey pot under the leaves of the plant. How cute we admired and we would look out for him everyday. We also have a bakers rack on the front porch with some small potted plants sitting at the top. One day Eric was watering the small plants and discovered the frog nesting in one of the pots. We ohh'd and ahh'd on how cute it was to see him in his new abode. I was curious how he made his way all the way up to the top and into the plant but I guess those guys have sticky enough little paws to do it. This morning I went out and sure enough, he was back as he was missing yesterday. I said my good mornings to him and went about my way. Later when Eric was going out for a bike ride he discovered that there was now a second fron living in one of the other small planters. We now have a second resident. I hope they don't go telling all their frog buddies to come over as we only have one more plant left. I suppose they could make it a time share. lol Way to cute and the kids are loving the whole thing. Here are some cute pics of our new friends.