Notes from A Cottage Industry

Baking America great again. (Or, how Ralph and I are working to achieve the quarantine 15.)

What can I say? I'm a stress baker.

We are currently on day 12...er...13 (...572?) of quarantine, and apparently I am determined to single handedly guarantee, through cookie baking, that my household meets the Quarantine 15 in record breaking time. (Our love language is carbs.)

Forget toilet paper. We've had to buy milk twice as often as we usually do.

How about you? What types of stress relieving activities are you doing these days to cope with the current situation of staying at home? Are you watching a record breaking amount of television? (No judging here. Have you checked out Tiger King? If so, do you think Carol Baskin killed her husband?) Rearranging all the furniture in your home?  Cleaning out pantries and cosets? (that was around day four for me...)Are you staying up so late that you have totally messed up anything resembling a routine time to eat meals? I'm dying to know what other folks are doing to cope, so please, do tell! 

And please friends, stay home.

Weekly words to live by.

A housewarming gift for my green thumb friend. (And a sweet little freebie for you to download.)

Continuing with yesterday's I-am-so-ready-for-springtime-weather, I thought I'd share a housewarming gift basket I did a while back for a friend who is an incredible gardener. I'm sharing it because so many people think gifts have to be big and fancy, (and spendy) and that's not just not true. While I am a fan of the more-is-more train of thought in the entertaining and gift giving arena, I know that what people value is someone who gets them, and it really is the thought that counts.

I love gifts with a theme, and in this case, it was gardening. I picked up a sweet little lavender plant at the grocery store, and I wrapped it in brown kraft paper tied with a length of black and white gingham ribbon. (That alone takes things from ordinary to extraordinary, don't you agree?)

I grabbed a basket in the size I was after from my stash of thrifted baskets in my garage. (Keeping your eye out for cheap baskets and containers is always a great idea, because they come in handy for so many things!) I added some crumpled paper to the bottom of the basket, and covered the top third or so with landscape moss (I have a stash of that on hand at all times too, courtesy of my local Dollar Tree store...)

I placed my lavender plant in the basket, and headed to the kitchen to bake up some sugar cookies. I went with a bee skep and heart theme, as you can see, and once my frosting set up on the cookies, I placed some in a little to-go box. (I get these at my local Cash and Carry Restaurant Supply Store - so many uses for these!!!!)

I keep a pretty extensive list in an online folder of fabulous quotes, and if I can't find the perfect one in my list, I google it. For example, you can google housewarming or home quotes, or garden quotes. You get the idea...)

I had a great quote for housewarming gifts, and so I printed it on my computer, and then made a little tag to go along with it. I punched a hole in the skinny tag and fed a kabob skewer through it, as it seemed to me to be the perfect plant stake.

I tied more ribbon on the to-go box and tucked the quote under the ribbon. Once it was done, I placed it in the basket along side the lavender plant.

Cute, and easy, and fast, and thoughtful all at the same time.

I was thinking about the quote card yesterday, and it occurred to me that it could be used on pretty much anything. You can tuck it under ribbon as I did, or glue it to the front of a gift bag. You could punch a hole in it and hang it from a bouquet of fresh flowers from your own yard. (Or from the grocery store...) You could matte it to the front of a home made card. Heck, you could even print it out and frame it to keep for yourself....The possibilities are endless!

What would you do with this little quote and tag? Click here to download your very own copy, as a little prezzie from me to you, while we are all at home.

An updated sunshine-y feeling spring mantel refresh, even if it is predicted to rain until next Thursday.

The iphone isn't all that accurate, and neither are the local meteorologists, so I'm gonna remain guardedly optimistic that there will be some sunny patches as the days unfold.

That being said, I'm making my own sunshine here indoors, and I decided to shake things up a bit yesterday afternoon in the living room, and on the fireplace mantel in particular. 

I have a white with wood color base inside my home, and I do that for a very good reason. I like projects, I like to tweak, adjust, and foofify things, and I am therefore forever changing the layout of things on shelves, or where a chair is going to be, or what have you. With a white slipcovered sofa, white bedding, a collection of white dishes and serving pieces, along with white white walls, I can change things up anytime, and transform the entire feel of my home. By keeping my large pieces and walls neutral, it also saves me money. 

I have two distinct colorways I go with, depending on the time of year. Starting the day after Thanksgiving, until Valentine's Day I always use my red, grey, and blacks with my whites/creams throughout the house. I love the cozy feel these accents provide, especially on winter's dark, short days! It's like walking into a big warm hug each time I return home.....so cozy.

Once February 15th hits each year, I am so over all that boldness, so I gather it all up, put it away, and bring out my yummy Robins egg blue/green and pastel coral/rose colored quilts, throws, and pillows. This is really my most favorite color pallet. It still has a cozy, welcome vibe, but it's light and airy, and I feel like it makes everyone who enters feel comfortable and relaxed. 

With the now twenty four seven time we are spending in our homes, it's a perfect time to use what we have, where we are, (it doesn't cost us a dime!) to make things look fresh and new. Since the weather isn't 100% cooperating here in the Pacific Northwest, I'm working inside currently. I'm deep cleaning as I go, and that's a good thing too. Even the biggest homebodies are beginning to feel a bit of cabin fever, and keeping busy, mentally and physically, keeps me from losing my marbles entirely.

If you are lucky enough to be experiencing sunshine and warm weather where you are, be thankful, and go hose off your patio and maybe paint your house numbers on your mailbox. If not, pick a room, or a closet, and get moving. The television will be waiting for you later tonight.

I'd love to hear how you're spending this gift of time at home.....please share with me!

Stress relief.

I know.

We could all use some, right about now.

I was thinking just that yesterday, not long after the Governors of Oregon and Washington States declared Stay-at-Home orders. Feeling an odd mix of emotions; a sigh of relief that decisions were made, and a growing anxiety about the many unknowns still out there, (Health and loss-of-income to name the two big ones) and knowing friends and family are feeling the same way.

I was thinking about how I would like to make up some little unexpected surprises for friends, you know, just a as small diversion from all of the non-stop news, and the forced family bonding that is now going on day four, five, or six (seven?!) for some folks.

You may or may not know that I love to bake, and I love to create fun packaging for baked goods gifts, and my mind started to whirl, as it does sometimes.

Before I knew it, I had made a fresh new ginormous mess of paper clippings and strips of ribbon in my newly cleaned and organized workroom.

(Ugh. I knew that was gonna be short-lived.)

Anyway, one idea led to another, and after a while, my papercraft project landed me in the kitchen, baking up a batch of chocolate chip cookies at about 8:30 pm. (I think Ralph was happiest about this part of my frenzied activities for the evening.)

About this time it stuck me that maybe other kindred spirits out there felt the same way, and I decided to add my newest papercraft creations to my etsy shop to share with fellow bakers looking for cute cookie packaging. (Digital here and hardcopy here. ) Also, baking is my superpower, but if you're not a baker, you could still make someone's day with a sweet little boxed or bagged store bought treat you can mail to them, or leave on their porch!

Stay well and stay safe, my friends!

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Weekly words to live by.

The post where I share the really short version of what I've been doing while I wasn't blogging.

I've started and stopped, and re-started this post about a gajillion times, trying to decide what I should write about in today's blog post. (It's been a minute, I know.)

Pondering whether or not I should maybe just jump back in with a post on the latest cookies I baked, (They were pretty cute, if I do say so myself) or go deeper and put my two cents in about how strongly I feel we all should be doing in regards to this new virus world we are living in. (No, I think we all are growing weary of this topic on every.single.form.of.social.media. and I am no expert on it.)

So....with that being said...er...pondered...I decided a short catch-you-up post could be a good re-entry-to-blogging post.

Okay, so here is an incredibly abridged version of some of the things I have been doing these past few months, between sporadic blog posts (Most of which have been my Weekly Words to Live By...) so I can have it out of the way, and you're up to date. Then, I can get back to sharing all sorts of fun stuff I have been doing, and creating.

Life has been good, and I have been busy! Time spent with family and friends (holidays of course, girlfriends get togethers, visits with grandkids, and my son's promotion ceremony to Captain in the Nevada Air Guard!) and time at home with my Rock n' Roll Buddy. (Car shows, car rides, band gigs, yard work, football games, gatherings with friends, and lots of sofa picnics while we watched football or Netflix...)

Some small-ish items to note:

Remember that I had taken a second booth space at the new shop in town? (Reliques Marketplace) Well, I gave it six months, and I guess I just wasn't a fit, because my sales were flat the entire time, so I gave my notice and left there at the end of November. I'm still a customer there!

Meanwhile, I've been going gangbusters at Camas Antiques, and pretty much outgrew my boothspace there. I moved to a larger booth space in mid-February. (Yay!) I'm still kind of getting settled in to my new space, but loving the additional square footage and taller wall space for displays.

I've been expanding my etsy shop, and am right in the middle of adding about thirty new banners and bags and signs, so I'll be sharing some of that very soon! (Happy Hour, birthday, Mother's Day, Cancer Survival, and party in a box to name a few!)

I'm still doing my Redfin Real Estate thing, and I am getting ready to renew my license, which means I have been doing this for two years now. (Time does fly!)

I think that covers some things I get questions on, so now we can get back to my more usual and expected kinds of posts. Until tomorrow, stay well my friends!

Weekly words to live by.

Something to ponder while we all are spending a bit more quantity time at home this week...Happy Sunday, my friends!