Notes from A Cottage Industry

Finishing touches.

A bit more than a year after adding a new front door and painting it, I finally got around to adding my address. It was one of those twenty minute projects that, when completed, left me wondering what took me so long to get around to.

I typed up my address, and printed it. Then, I used colored chalk on the back of the paper to make it a transfer.

I taped it to the door, and outlined each number, and then removed the paper template.

I painted the numbers and called it a day.

Easy peasy. I'm happy with it, and I am pretty sure the FedEx guy is gonna be pretty happy too.

Weekly words to live by.

Top O' the mornin' to you!

I got busy wrapping up the last of my St. Patrick's Day items for my etsy shop and my booth at Camas Antiques yesterday while doing laundry from my trip. I will finish up some wine tags tonight after work, and then I will be ready to move on to spring and Easter items!

I am also making some pretty major changes to my booth space as I move towards a springtime garden look next week, and I'll be adding some new large furniture pieces too. Some tall pine bookcases, and a small farm table will make their way over as I make room in my craft room for a new built in my daughter and I are going to be tackling in the next few weeks!

More to follow on the new look for my creative space!

 

Home again home again, jiggety-jig.

I'm heading home today with some treasured memories from four fun filled days with the band of brothers living the small town country life in Oregon. We had our adventure to the land of Chuckie Jesus, as I shared a couple of days ago. We played board games, planted our seeds, held multiple timed races around the huge kitchen island, did a few chores and some homework.

There were quite a few lively discussions, ranging from just how old someone thought a certain substitute teacher was, to identifying the guilty party that "tooted" in the car, as well as a couple of short conversations about what Ralph was doing at any given time of the day after he headed home for his work week to begin.

We celebrated the youngest brother's successes on the potty with skittles numerous times. (He's got this!) I found out that the seven year old thinks both his Mommy and I have gotten a lot older looking since her wedding pictures, nine years ago.(Okay, so his exact words were, "You and Mommy looked a lot younger in this picture!" Tomay-to, toma-to. Old.er.)

I realized the momentous impact the written word mass-printed on a cheap paper Valentine holds to a four year old.

"Cupcake, this one is from Dominic...what does it say?" he asked, as he was showing me his haul of Valentines from his one-morning-a-week-Pre-school-class.

"It says, You're my best friend, Valentine!" I replied.

"Really?! Dominic thinks I'm his best friend?! Wow! I didn't know I was his best friend!"

I wasn't about to tell him the entire class most likely received that same card from Dominic, who only picked out that pack of cards at Target because it was Ninja Turtles.)

The entire crew helped me with a marathon let's-cut-vintage-seam-binding-into-five-yard-strips for Gramma Cupcake's booth, (Free child labor is such an ugly term. I prefer assembly-line-relay-race to help Gramma Cupcake out.) and the oldest brother asked to keep the empty spools for crafting with later. (Aaaah, a boy after my own heart! I'd like to think he gets that crafter-hoarder creative gene from me.) Of course I said yes, yes, oh, most certainly yes, dear boy.

It was all too much fun, and time flew by at warp speed. I'm feeling more than a little melancholy as I think of it ending, and I am reminded of just how blessed I am, to be able to have spent this time, and make these memories with them.

Way back, in my old life, I always took for granted, and foolishly assumed that I would be the Gramma who was always able to just come and go whenever, and be available anytime. When my life suddenly changed, that scenario changed as well. Spontaneous meet-ups are not always possible, and it takes a little more pre-planning on the front end, but it makes our time together that much more precious to me.

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Bloom where you're planted.

.....And then plant the entire pot in the ground when your seedlings grow!

I saw this clever idea on Pinterest, and thought it could be fun for the kiddos while I am staying with them. Such an easy project, and it was fun for all of them, even with the various ages between them.

Simply put potting soil in basic ice cream cones, and then plant your seeds in them. Water them as needed, and when the seedlings grow to be big enough to transplant, pop the entire plant, cone and all, into your flowerpot or garden soil. The cone will eventually disintegrate, and there's no stress on your seedlings!

I had an assortment of flower seeds, and two kinds of lettuce for them to choose from, and they each picked their favorites. Toothpicks with names to keep them straight made it easy...**the one challenge we are having is that the cones are biodegradable, and the moisture from the soil...and water...make them start to disintegrate right away. Place your cones where they won't be able to tip over!**

We are all so ready for spring to get here.

#notesfromacottageindustry  #bandofbrothers #bloomwhereyouareplanted

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Just so you know, not all Superheroes wear capes.

I mean, seriously, what would you call a guy who drives you down for the weekend portion of a five day visit to care for four of your grandsons (ages three through eight) and then surprises you all with an exciting afternoon trip (Okay, the boys were far more excited than Gramma Cupcake was.) to a kid's-themed-entertainment-slash-pizza-place?

(A place you may have heard of, named Chuck E Cheese, or as one of the little men thought it was named, Chucky Jesus)

This audacious superhero (AKA my Rock n' Roll Buddy) shuttled us via mini-van into town, and there together, he and I braved the crowd of roughly a gajillion (give or take ) other little people under the age of ten, along with their designated grownups, all trying intently to not lose our said little people, watching them like hawks as they fed their golden tokens into brightly colored, loudly automated games and kiddie-rides.

We all cozied-up in a booth and the six of us enjoyed a feast of fast-food style pizza. (And by "the six of us" I mean that the two grown up people ate pizza while the little men squirmed, fidgeted, and poked one another, all while staying laser focused on their single-minded goal of busting out of the booth to play games, and then "winning" tickets at each location.)

The outing was made complete by stockpiling and then dividing all of the tickets won on the games, so each boy could then redeem his tickets for prizes at the toy and candy counter. Three of the boys chose candy (no surprise there) while one sweet boy chose a birthday present for his Mommy. (Spoiler alert! It's an incredibly large piece of jewelry that I am quite sure she will treasure.)

Now, I don't know about you, but if you ask me, a guy who will give up a weekend of quiet alone-time, watching sports network television (without ever being asked, mind you...) to spend an hour and a half to get to your grandkids home, and then spend an additional three hours eating questionable pizza, while silently praying no one in your immediate group contracts pink eye at Chucky Jesus wins out over Batman any day of the week.

#notesfromacottageindustry, #tuckinginsuperheroes, #supermansgotnothingonyou

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Weekly words to live by.

#wordstoliveby #loveyourlife #acottageindustrydotcom

Happy Valentine's Day, twenty-seventeen.

I hope your day is sweet!

Weekly words to live by.

For Kathryn, and Anne, and all of my other friends that are lucky enough to be Irish.

Not sure why this didn't occur to me until Kathryn pointed it out yesterday. (Thanks for the idea! I think it turned out pretty cute, but I'll let you be the judge!)

Now, whether you're Irish...or not, you can give your sweetheart a treat this St. Paddy's Day!

hard copy NOT Irish Treat Box: A Cottage Industry Etsy Shop

digital NOT Irish box label or tag: A Cottage Industry Etsy Shop

hard copy Irish Treat Box: A Cottage Industry Etsy Shop

digital Irish box label or tag: A Cottage Industry Etsy Shop

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Planning ahead.

Thank you all so much for the outpouring of ideas for my upcoming window display. I've added the idea of a picnic theme and the vintage boardwalk/beach ideas as well to my list, and I'll keep you posted as I continue to gather treasures on my outings.

Meanwhile, I spent last night creating a little something for St. Paddy's Day next month, and I wanted to share a sneak peak with you today....

Tonight I'll begin with my paper-crafted Easter items!

 

Booth fluffing and starting to plan for a summer window display.

I had a busy weekend of thrifting, and creating new art, and booth fluffing, and football, and it flew by way. too. fast.

I'm madly in love with these fabulous hand embroidered pillow shams, and they very nearly didn't make it into my booth at Camas Antiques.

While I was down at the store working on my booth I was asked if I would like to decorate the front small window of Camas Antiques for the month of August! I said yes, of course, oh, yes, for sure, oh me, oh my! My mind has been reeling ever since, as I try to come up with what my theme will be. I've come up with a few ideas, and I would like your input on them.

So far, I have come up with the following ideas:

Ice cream theme- old fashioned ice cream party in the yard, complete with a vintage ice cream maker, my handmade signs, tags and banners, all done in an aqua and cream theme…with a beach cruiser bike no less.

Birthday Party theme- done in fun colors of blues, mustard yellows, and browns, with banners, tags, cupcake toppers, and a children’s party set up table and chairs, and a buffet set up in the background.

Wedding theme- everything from engagement banners to wedding goblets, all done in shades of vintage whites and creams. Lots of tulle, and weathered wood…my vintage grocery scale and typewriter shaping up a buffet and gift tables in the background.

Do you like any of these ideas? Have a better one? What would catch your eye as you passed by? Please share!

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Weekly words to live by.

Successful lunchbreak thrift shop outing.

Yesterday on my lunch break from my grown up job I ran to the GreedyWill to see what might be calling my name, and I was very happy I did.

Odds and ends, mostly for my booth (yay!) other than a sweeeeeeet knitted animal for the littlest grand. (How cute is this little pupper-dog?!)

A lunch break well spent, indeed.

You know what today is, don't you?

Yep, it's Groundhog Day.

Again.

(See what I did there? Referencing the holiday and the movie where the guy relives the same day of his life over and over and over again..?)

I can't help but think of that old Bill Murray movie of the same title, and chuckling to myself. I told my Rock N' Roll Buddy we should have a sofa picnic supper tonight and watch it, because, Groundhog Day.

(He rolled his eyes like I was a more than a little nuts, making Grundhog Day into some sort of "holiday" event, but we will probably do exactly that, because we don't have any special TV shows we watch on Thursday nights.)

(And, I think he likes that I am a little nuts like that.)

Do you do stuff like that? (Please tell me I'm not the only one. Am I? I mean, well, maybe I am.)

Anyway.

I was reading some of the funny lines from Groundhog Day (the movie, not the holiday) last night when I came across this one:
"You want a prediction about the weather, you’re asking the wrong Phil. I’ll give you a winter prediction: It’s gonna be cold, it’s gonna be gray, and it’s gonna last you for the rest of your life."

That movie line hits a incredibly close to what this winter feels like for so many parts of the country this year. The part of the Pacific Northwest that I live in is expecting yet another freezing rain and ice storm later today. With some of our schools already logging in as many as ten snow days on the books, this has been one crazy cold, wet, winter for sure.

Speaking of snow days, I have to admit that my team mates at work and I have been hopeful, and nearly giddy, checking our phones for the latest weather forecasts. Periodically one of the Audiologists I work with pulls up a map of the incoming weather on his computer screen and updates us all on the odds that we too may get to enjoy one more snow day on Friday of this week. (Seriously, it's ridiculous how excited we all get at the prospect of yet one more chance to work from home in our pajammies and slippers, but there it is.)

Anyway.

Happy Groundhog day, friends. Here's to spring coming sooner than later, and one last snow day tomorrow. (Pretty please?)

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Hello, February.

I'm still not sure how it got here so fast, but I am desperately looking forward to February, with all of it's winter crispness, and ever-so-slightly growing longer days. With Valentine's day coming up in two weeks, and lots more birthdays to celebrate in my no-longer-so-little family, I for one, am ready!

I am beyond weary of all the not-so-civil-at-all online war going on, and the unimaginable hate and ugliness on every. single. news. edition I see a glimpse of.

Please, let's all be kinder to one another in this shortest, sweetest month of the year.

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