Goodbye Fall. Hello Winter.

We had our first taste of snow this weekend.

I wouldn't be surprised if tomorrow

we wake up to a few inches on the ground

if it stays as cold as it was all day.

I'm not very good at faking that I'm not cold

and so all the pictures turned out very rigid

but at least today I got out of my pjs.

I've spent the good portion of the weekend

here on my couch making my yoyos

no matter how many I make I always seem to not

have enough on hand

I listed 4 new sets of my new alligator clips this weekend

all with a unique take on Christmas

Well I better get back to work

despite my husbands beliefs,

there are no machines

(as far as I know)

that make yoyos!

The Best Part

I spent a good portion of the day yesterday

printing out and searching the house

for all my business recipes.

I'm certain I only have about half of them

but already I am terrified of add them all up!

Profit or not -

I can't imagine how empty my life would be

right now without my shop.

I work every single day on new items

and at-least once a week my shop is updated

with a handful of new pretties.

Without this in my life I would surely be a basket case!

For whatever reason I drug my feet

on adding alligator clips to my repertoire

and how silly I was...

because they are absolutely adorable

even on big girls like me!

As you know I don't have any little girls in my life

so it's such a treat when a happy customer

shares a picture or two with me.

This vibrant little girl is the daughter of Dinnie.

Poor gal - Her order was a truly humbling experience

after I realized I missed a critical shipping detail.

Yet miraculously her package arrived after many many moons of worry and upset!

Oh my do I hope I never have to go through that again...

but through the entire process Dinnie was so kind and understanding!

There are no words that can explain how I feel

when I see my creations being worn by others.

there always seems to be a glow or spark in their eyes

... something that screams "I feel special!" :D

It's so easy to doubt oneself ...

believe me I do it more than I care to share

but every once in a while

someone says or shows you something

that makes you realize the joy you can bring into someone else's life

and that is the BEST part of the business!

I want to personally thank each and everyone of you

who has shared such kindness with me.

I couldn't do even half of what I do without your presence in my life!

A House To Build A Dream On

Jim has been mentioning this house to me for a few weeks

my man tends to be a dreamer and so I didn't realize how serious

he was about pursuing this house as our future home.

We aren't sure if we will qualify for a second home

as we still own our home in Portland.

We do have our home rented

but it hasn't been for very long.

Saturday we drove up and took a look through the windows

and walked the grounds.

My heart pounded with delight with each new discovery

butterflies still flutter in my stomach as I remember ever detail

In all the excitement I have forgotten the date of the home :(

This would have been the dining room

however the previous owners must have converted it into a living room.

Besides the kitchen this is the only room that has new flooring

the rest of the home has the most gorgeous dark hard wood floors

Most of the homed doors have a pocket window above them

to let in light and to help circulate air

and heat throughout the house.

This beautiful door strangely only leads to unfinished attic space

the rooms in the house are quite large for a house of its age

and there is plenty of closet space as well

(well perhaps not by our current standards)

this house must have been built for someone of importance!

The kitchen is so sweet

There is not a whole lot of cooking surface

but there is plenty of space to add it if you don't want

a kitchenette in the room.

Perhaps my favorite space in the house

is the kitchens adjacent pantry

which I would convert into my office!

It's perfect :D Lots of lighting, storage, and it's cozy!

Also it's in the heart of the home so I wouldn't miss anything

and could easily multi task!

One of the things we don't like about our Portland home

is that there is absolutely no connection between

the house and the backyard

In this house you could watch the kids play

while doing the laundry!

Of coarse this house has an endless chore list

not to mention needs a lot of love and pricey updates

such as a new roof, paint, wiring, windows, and yard work

but that is the trade off of owning an old beauty such as this.

but for now it's all just a lovely dream...

Halloween Sweetness

I am so so excited to share with you

my halloween get up this year!

I was going to be a bunny

but I misplaced my ears...

there whereabouts are still unknown

Once I declared defeat it was onto plan B

ummm oops I didn't have a plan B!

The ol' clock was ticking

2 hours until we had to get on the road

and I was bound and determined

not to leave the house

still upset about my lost ears

It's amazing what you can come up with under pressure!

I was going for cupcake

but I was told I looked more like an

ice cream sunday.

I had a blast trick or treating with my family

the little mouse is my youngest cousin

My grandma said she hadn't had an

excuse to go trick or treating in years

lol it's not like she doesn't have small grandchildren

but I guess sometimes it takes your oldest grandchild

to get you in the spirit :)

Hope everyone had a fantastic Halloween!

~Chelsea Ann

Halloween Crafting

I've had this haunted house in the works for over a year now

last year I picked up a few after halloween clearance items

including the adorably frightful jackolantern from Target

However I wasn't going to bother putting it together this year

that was, until I was watching a Martha Stewart Halloween Special

and I thought you know what

why do I want to watch someone else be creative

when I can get off my little rump and go make something myself

I think for the most part

I find it difficult to stay motivated

when it comes to personal projects.

I don't have any issues making things for my shop

but when it comes to making things for me

I rather fizzle out

I think perhaps it's because we so seldom have company

which is half a blessing

because that means the house doesn't have to keep clean

yet I emphasize the half

because it's also nice to have a constant flow of company

to motive the little house wife

(that's me) to do her job!

Well thank you Martha

for inspiring me to finish my little house

I'm rather happy I did!

actions and textures

from Paint the Moon

I wish I lived closer to my mother-n-law

she is a very crafty gal

oh what fun we would have together!!!

As an employee to Michael's Craft Store

she entered a halloween contest

for her store last year

and she won the national grand prize

for her flying witch!

I haven't been to a Michael's in quite some time

but I hear they have directions on how to make your own

(a bit simplified) flying witch.

How spooktacular!