Thimble Kiss Creations

The college students calendar.

2012-01-25T06:44:00.003-05:00

I find it hilarious that I never know what day it is anymore. Instead of saying "It's Wednesday!" I say "Only one more day of clinic this week!" The weeks are measured not in months, but in how many days are left until the next break. My neighbor in class gives the countdown every class day. "45 class days until spring break!", she says.

This is such an odd way to live. I never thought I would be a 'real' college kid with a 'real' college experience. Until this program, I just went to night classes a few nights after work. Now, I'm emmersed. I kind of love it and kind of hate it, but I've realized that this ride is going to keep going at full speed so it's wise to hang on tight.

Last Post... August 23rd. Sooo Sad.

2012-01-02T11:19:00.005-05:00

I am pretty sucky at this blogging thing. Truth is, I don't have much that is exciting going on. I go to school, I work, I come home, I drink wine, I go to bed. Wash, rinse, repeat. I did complete my first semester of X-ray school (Rad tech school? I dunno what to call it.) which was HARD, exhausting, anxiety inducing and fun. I have some pretty awesome people in my class that I'm glad I'm going through this with. We've all learned pretty quickly that we have to lean on each other to get through this. Finals were probably the most stressful two weeks of my life and I was SO glad they were over!

Right before I got down to business for finals, I was called last minute into the biggest show of the year here in Asheville, The Big Crafty Holiday. I do The Big Crafty Summer each year which is inside and outside of Pack Place in downtown Asheville. It's always a good time so I applied for the winter show which is a LOT more exclusive because it's all inside (meaning they only have about 1/4 the space they do for the summer show.) I shared a booth with the amazing Rachael who I'd never met before. She makes the most darling clutches. We got through the whirlwind together. That's exactly what it was... people were PACKED into the venue and were ready to buy! It was my most profitable show EVER and I'll be SUPER depressed if I don't get in next year. (The pictures above were from the local newspaper!)

Speaking of Thimble Kiss... I just made a custom dog collar for a dear friend. It was a lot of fun to make the collar (I practiced on one for my sweet Belle) and the gem was that I made a flower that was removable for it. It was to be worn by Layla who is a rescued Pitt Bull and such a doll. She's an older girl and I LOVE how it looks on her with her snowy muzzle. =) I'm thinking of making matching collars (with flowers) for people and their pets. I'm taking custom orders now if anyone is interested!

Winter break is winding down. I have one week left before the slave driver that is school starts again. I'm looking forward to learning more, but am anxious about everything I'm already expected to know from last semester. I guess it's the nature of the beast. Only 4 more semesters to go! I can't wait until May 2013!

Happy New Year, Everyone!

Week 2

2011-08-23T19:53:00.001-04:00

It's week two of my radiography program. HOLY SHIT THIS STUFF IS HARD!

Just wanted to get that out there.

I'm completely overwhelmed, exhausted and my brain feels like mush. IT'S WEEK TWO.

I have four tests this week.

F. M. L.

The last week in food

2011-07-31T19:15:00.006-04:00

I've been in a creative mood lately when it comes to food. I made a cake! In the middle of summer! Not the smartest move, but the cake turned out great. It was a drier cake which made it perfect to eat with coffee. Cake for breakfast...mmmmmmmm.

Lemon and blackberry cake. I found the recipe HERE. The only thing I did differently was I made a 'frosting' out of cream cheese and blackberries cooked down with a little sugar and lemon juice. It was perfect because it wasn't really sweet but gave an extra creamy texture. It also made it a lovely purple color! You'll notice that the recipe calls for it to be baked in a bundt pan, which I don't have. I did two 9 inch rounds and put a layer of the 'frosting' between. I also kept a little of the cooked down blackberries to drizzle over each slice. Yum!

I've also been canning like a MoFo. Our tomatoes are all turning red at the same time (yay!) and I've been drowning in salad cucumbers from the garden. I haven't gotten to can anything tomato based yet, but I've made pickles, pickled okra, pickled jalapenos and dilly beans.I have also made and frozen 10 cups of pesto from all of my basil plants! This picture doesn't even have the newest batch of pickles. 4 quarts and a few half pints of chips. Lots of garlic. Hopefully delicious!

All of the recipes I've been using have come from this wonderful book "Canning for a New Generation: Bold, Fresh Flavors for a Modern Pantry" by Liana Krissoff. The pictures alone in this book will make you drool. They're gorgeous and the recipes are easy to follow. This is my first REAL time canning and I found it intimidating but this book really does make it seem easy.

Jigga What?! Two updates within a year?!

2011-07-23T12:50:00.004-04:00

(These are Bailey's chubby thighs on her birthday. I LOVE them!)
My best friend Christina left yesterday, taking with her the cutest chunkie monkey ever. I was really mopey after she left, but we did have a (jam packed!) good time while they were here. Lots of shopping and antiquing and EATING which is always fun.

I also got my Silhouette machine! YAY! I haven't really played with it yet but am really excited to! This is my maniac face after I got the box in the mail.

I'm also really excited about my recent amazon purchase. I got a new canning pot and cookbook! I'm super pumped about some canning! I think it's safe to say that my metamorphosis into a full fledged granny is complete.

That's it. Life is good. My week off from work is almost over. Guess I better go play with all of my new goodies!

What's up Pussycat?

2011-07-18T14:38:00.006-04:00

I'm not even going to say it. Every time I stop by my little corner of the interweb I weep inside because of my lack of interest in posting! I think about posting... I come put with blogs in my head and then POOF! They never happen. My last semi-substantial post had snow in it. SO SAD! It's hot as Hades outside and I'm LOVING it! That's the true southerner in me.

A list of random truths since I last blogged:

* I got accepted into the radiography program at my school! Not my first choice program, but after doing some observations and orientations, I think I'll be just fine. I start in August! If your kid breaks their arm in the Asheville area around June of 2013, I may very well be the one x-raying it!

*I got denied any financial aid grants. Thanks SO much North Carolina for your stupidity when it comes to spending money! I never get federal help (I make too much money...or did.) but I usually get a little bit from the state. Not this time!

*I will quit working in August when I start my program at school! I'm finally getting to be a full time student... though with the previous mention of no financial aid, I will most likely have to find a part time job in the evenings.

*I've been doing lots of craft shows and am now selling locally in another shop! I'm in The Dry Goods Shop as well as Wink Salon now. I just did The Big Crafty with Shannon (of Early Girl) which was a blast.

*I won a Silhouette machine on Tip Junkie! Woohoo! I never win anything and this is a rad prize.

*One of my besties is coming up this week to visit with her Bailey Bean! So excited!

*I adopted a dog for my mom and aunt. Seriously the biggest brownie point earner EVER!

*I'm getting better at wading through stress instead of letting it wash over me. This is huge for me and my stupid anxiety. It's made my relationship a lot better too.

*George has lost a ton of weight and now looks as good as he did when he was 18. Seriously. Bastard. =) (This is him in his get up ready to go zip lining 4th of July weekend!)

*I'm getting a lot better about keeping up with my Etsy store! I am super proud of that and it is a part of my consciousness now. I NEED to do it.

*When I'm a full time student, I've decided that along with my Etsy store, my job is going to be one of those insane couponer people. Yeah, like from the show. We'll see.

* I've finally gotten on board with Skype. It's made seeing the besties that live in other states possible and for that I'm grateful. You don't realize how much you miss actually SEEING people until you do.

*I cut all my hair off, loved it and George hated it. Well, he didn't hate it, he swears he likes it but wants me to grow it back out. Men.

*I want to be a *real* crafter and am still thinking of ways to come up with something unique. I love my flowers, but I feel that creatively I need to stretch some.

*I'm excited for the future!

Warming Up!

2011-02-17T20:14:00.004-05:00

Since my last post was such a cold one, and it's been unseasonably warm I thought I'd post a lovely treasury that I was featured in called "Entrance to The Secret Garden". It makes me so excited for Spring! Thanks Our Strange Days! Please, click over and leave a comment if you wish!

(Of course you can click the image to make it larger as well!)

Win a Sizzix!

2011-01-28T15:01:00.000-05:00

Shoe Sugar Month: Day 13 SIZZIX BIG SHOT GIVEAWAY!!

Grosgrain is giving away a SIZZIX BIG SHOT! I really want one of these and you can pop over there to learn how you can enter to win too!

Snow Day / Alternative Advertising!

2011-01-10T14:22:00.002-05:00

Today we got 8+ inches of snow and it hasn't stopped yet. I live on a busy street with a hill that slopes down to it so I decided to deck out my 'snow girl' in some Thimble Kiss gear and write my shop name on the hill in the snow! I love her and hope she lasts!!!

That time of year

2010-11-06T12:19:00.002-04:00

It's that time of year again. I woke up to a dusting of snow on my deck and little flurries swirling around the dogs as they went out to pee. Crap. I hate the cold. Guess it's time to break out these bad boys!

(image via LLBean.com)

And whenever those guys come out, these guys aren't far behind.
(image via zappos.com)

Coolest bike EVER!

2010-11-04T15:38:00.002-04:00

Have you seen these bikes? They're made by an amazing company called Madsen. How awesome would I look toting around my big and little dogs, groceries or even the kids I nanny for with this puppy?!

Pictures of....well, me.

2010-10-30T14:49:00.004-04:00

I happen to take all of the photos of myself for my Etsy store. Okay, that's not entirely true, my friend Annie took the photos at the Biltmore Estate for me. Other than that one shoot though, all pictures have been taken by me. Of me. This means I have hundreds, if not thousands, of photos of myself on my computer. Is that kind of weird? I think it is, but it doesn't bother me. (and TRUST me when I say there are hundreds, if not thousands of HORRID pictures of me too!) I am one of the rare breed it seems that enjoys having their picture taken. Maybe it's because I've been told all my life I should be a model*. Maybe I'm just a narcissist? I don't know. I do think I photograph better than some other people... but ONLY when I take the pictures myself. haha. That's kind of like saying "only after I photoshop the pictures into non-recognition". Anyway, it's a lot of work for me to come up with a look and then try and execute it so when the pictures come out good, I get really excited. I happen to really like how my hair turned out after this last photo shoot ( I slept in foam rollers, people! Do you know how much dedication that takes?!) So I am shamelessly putting them on my blog. And my facebook page. And my Thimble Kiss fan page. Okay, so now I'm kind of sick of looking at myself, but that probably means I'm not a narcissist, right?! Good.

*"You should be a model because you're so tall!" Gee, thanks.

Imitation is the sincearest form of flattery, right?

2010-10-24T21:16:00.003-04:00

I did a photo shoot for Thimble Kiss today. If you are my friend or fan on Facebook than you know this. I kept thinking that this one photo I took looked SO familiar and then it struck me! It looks just like the photo from the Lady Grey pattern over on Colette Patterns! I've been seeing this pattern a lot recently since the lovely Gertie is leading a sew along for it. Okay, so it doesn't look like the photo from the pattern, but the button that Gertie made for the sew along. Close enough! I'm not brave enough to do a coat yet, but one day The Lady Grey will be mine! =)
(photo credit to Gertie over on Blog for Better Sewing!)

Ugly Crush

2010-10-23T17:05:00.007-04:00

Do you have anyone you have a crush on that is less than stellar in the looks department? Mine are all musicians, but yours could be authors or movie stars. My mom's ugly crush is Tommy Lee Jones. She says his "confidence is sexy." George brings this up EVERY time Tommy shows up in ANYTHING.

My number one ugly crush will always be Adam Duritz. I love the Counting Crows SO much and the pain in which he sings some of the most beautiful words ever... well, it gets me every time. I must not be the only one because he's dated some of the most beautiful women in Hollywood including Courteney Cox, Mary Louise Parker and Jennifer Aniston. He's (I think) still dating Emmy Rossum. I also was on a flight with him once from Newark, NJ to Orlando. He sat right across from me while we were waiting to board the plane and looked at me at least 20 times. Its probably because the color of my face was going from pale white to deep purple. I ♥ him. (Just not as much as this guy apparently... scary. )

My latest ugly crush has been Win Butler, the lead singer for Arcade Fire. Now, I say ugly, but he isn't really. He's just not what I'd normally be attracted to. I was home in Savannah recently and late at night I caught a live show Arcade Fire did on tv. Ever since then, the crush has been full on. There's just something about him! I can't put my finger on it. That cute girl in the yellow dress? Totally his wife. =)
"We Used To Wait" Oxegen Festival 2010.

10 Things About Me

2010-09-24T08:37:00.004-04:00

Carolyn over on Diary of a Sewing Fanatic passed on the challenge to post 10 things about your self you've never posted before. Well, considering I'm such a crappy blogger, unless you know me personally you probably know very little about me, actually! Okay, here it goes.

1. I don't feel completely validated in calling myself a crafter or even 'crafty' most of the time. I know, I have my own Etsy store, do craft shows and sell in local stores. I read all of these fabulous blogs from people who are SO much more talented than I am and who put SO much time in to their craft and I feel not worthy to even be partially in the same category. I know this has to do with some sort of weird crafting self esteem thing, but its true. I think it also makes me feel guilty that I don't spend more time on my craft business.

2. I don't like crafts/sewing projects that take more than one sitting! If I see a project sitting on my table, partially finished it makes me hate it. I like em quick and easy. I did finally make my first dress from a commercial pattern. It turned out to be a tent that was too short for me to wear. I fixed the tent part but am still going to have to give it to a friend because it's too short.

3. Most of the time I am too busy to miss my friends and family, but when I stop and think about them I get really sad. I have friends all over the country and my family is in Savannah, Ga. I go down to visit every now and then, but not nearly as often as I should.

4. My mom is still the most important person in my life. She rocks. I love her and I have a panic attack just thinking about the fact that there is a good possiblity that one day she won't be around. She is bitchy, has an attitude, can curse so well it will make any sailor blush and is my biggest cheer leader. She coddles me which I don't get anywhere else and is my go to person for advice. I wub her.

5. I am one of those crazy people who is obsessed with her dog. I actually have two dogs but clearly have a favorite. It may very well be because I'm his favorite too. =) (Said dog and myself.)

6. Custom orders for weddings stress me out so much I almost give myself an ulcer. Its so very personal and is completely about taste. What if they don't like what I've made? What if I can't find or make what they want? Ugh, I don't even want to think about it. (Custom wedding order)

7. I love fabric way more than I love sewing. Actually, that's not completely accurate. I love sewing too, just not all of the ironing, pinning and cutting you have to do first. I'm also not that great at sewing. I'll take a shortcut if you give me one and usually my stuff comes out pretty sloppy. That's handmade, right? I need to get better at that.

8. I am going to be trying to get into a competitive program at school this year. I'm trying to get into the medical sonography program (think ultrasounds). There are only 11 spots in the program and roughly two thousand applicants every year. What if I don't get in? It makes me want to wet myself to think about.

9. If you haven't guessed by the theme of this list, I'm a Negative Nancy. Glass half empty all the way! I can't help it, and the sad thing is I'm usually right!

10. This is the biggest secret, even to the people who know me personally. All five of you that read this blog (that includes the strangers! haha) will be the few in on the gig. George and I have pretty much decided that we aren't going to have kids of our own. In some ways, that feels weird to me because my entire working career since I was 15 has been about kids. I love them, they love me and I'm good at my job.

(The rugrats I currently nanny for)

Its not that we're never going to have a 'family', in fact its the opposite. We fully plan to adopt. We're pretty dead set on it. I don't know exactly from where or when, but we'll probably have to get started on the loooooong process in the next few years. It's super expensive too. We would definitely want a newborn. The craziest thing about it all as that a lot of the agencies I've researched will adopt to a single mother, a divorcee, and married couples, but not couples who aren't married. In theory, I get it, but George and I have been together 9 years. I don't really see us separating anytime soon and even if we were married who says we wouldn't get divorced? Because of this however, I think we are going to have to get married, soon. Most agencies require you're married for at least a year, usually two. I'm not sure how I feel about this. I have created a comfy little identity with not being married but being committed to him. I believe in the reasons why we've stayed this way for so long. If we do get married, it will be an uneventful thing at the courthouse that resembles notarizing a legal document, but it still irks me. Anyway, off of my tangent, I am excited and nervous and terrified of the process all at the same time.

Lets Cook! Kale, Sausage and White Bean Soup

2010-09-06T09:43:00.007-04:00

This is a good recipe. Super easy, quick and delicious. I say 'recipe' loosely as you can pretty much do whatever you want with this soup. Throw in a little of this or a lot of that if you want. Make it thicker by using less stock or more soupy by blending half and adding more stock. You can make it veggie by eliminating the sausage and using veggie stock. You still have the white beans in there for protein and sometimes I make it that way just for a change. Either way, its delicious.

I used leeks because I had them. Slice them in half length wise then chop crosswise and throw in a big bowl of water. That way, if there is any sand in them (which there usually is, don't skip this!) it falls to the bottom of the bowl. Swish them around every now and then.

This time, I added sweet potatoes. Sometimes I use regular potatoes or no potatoes at all.

TIP! When you go to drain the leeks, use a slotted spoon instead of just pouring them all into a strainer. You don't want all that grit you just washed out to get dumped back on them!

I add a little olive oil to the pot to help my sausage brown up. Its a local sausage I've used a lot so I know it doesn't give off too much fat.

Local sausage I use. I like the hot kind, but any kind will do.

Brown up your sausage in the olive oil and when most of the pink is gone, go ahead and toss in your leeks. Drain the leeks well first and maybe even roll them around in a dish towel to dry them.

I use this prepackaged kale. Its already chopped and ready to go. I used about half of this big bag.

Let your Kale wilt down a little bit. Stir the sausage and leeks around with the kale (making sure you're not leaving your sausage on the bottom of the pot to burn!)

Add your chicken stock. Scrape any bits of sausage that may have gotten stuck to the pan at this point.

Sweet potatoes, AWAY!

I used two cans of great northern beans, rinsed.

Grate in your garlic. If you ever chop garlic, you're a chump. Use a microplane like the cool kids do.

I forgot to take a picture of it, but I also added a big can of crushed tomatoes with about half the juice drained. I love smoked paprika so I add a generous amount of that. Also, add in salt and pepper of course and any other herbs you like. I did grate a little nutmeg in there too because I love nutmeg with dark greens.

Now we're looking like soup! All you should be waiting for at this point is for your kale to get tender and your sweet potatoes to be done. keep checking them and when they're soft enough for you, turn off the heat! You're done!

Good...

Better! Grate some parmesean on top and maybe a splash of lemon juice. DELICIOUS!

Holy Tooth Extraction, Batman!

2010-08-28T17:03:00.006-04:00

source
I have to have my wisdom teeth pulled. All four. Two are partially impacted under my jaw bone (doesn't that sound lovely?) and two are just gnarly. I also have four cavities, one of which is in one of the wisdom teeth. My dentist wants to put me completely under with iv drugs but I'm not so sure. First off, its around $500 for just the drugs. Not to mention, I'm kind of excited to get the crazy gas. I mean, you've seen this video right? it's been all over everywhere and still makes me laugh every time!"I feel like a unicorn just took me on a ride... to a magical palace with blueberries..."
Not to mention that the IV stuff is expensive! I think the gas has to be cheaper, right? I'm looking for a budget friendly buzz thankyouverymuch!

Just be thankful that I'm too lazy to scan in the photos the dentist gave me yesterday. HD high quality glossy photos of my mouth printed on professional photo paper... I mean, seriously?! That's what my money is being spent on? And why do I need a copy to take home? I highly doubt these will get framed!

Dyeing fabric... a new addiction!

2010-08-21T18:37:00.004-04:00

Have you ever tried dyeing fabric? I did it for the first time yesterday. I made a hand cut linen flower and thought it was pretty, but would be better with some color. I saw the tutorial that Kathleen put up on her blog, Grosgrain and decided to go for it! It's SO fun and satisfying! This is definitely the first of MANY hand dyed (doesn't that sound fancy?!) flowers in my future!

A GREAT Tutorial

2010-08-20T10:23:00.002-04:00

Are you struggling to hold on to summer as much as I am? I found this tutorial for a 'shirt skirt' over on Sew Like My Mom the other day and fell in love. I adore a good jersey knit skirt. They're SO versatile and easy to wear with flip flops (my staple) or even Chacos (an Asheville staple). I went to Good Will the day after I found this tutorial and bought two shirts to try but haven't had time to yet. I think if I can find the right shirt, it could even be a great skirt to wear through fall with some tights and my Ugg boots!

Asterisks Abound

2010-08-08T17:54:00.005-04:00

List of Shit to do or that has been done by me:

*Visit Austin,Tx.
I did this and it was a hell of a lot of fun. Went out dancing with the bestie and drank way too many Shiners. Thankfully we found a fan with a mister under it and planted ourselves there to get our groove on. My false eyelashes even stayed on. Yay for bff's good with eyelash adhesive!

*Do the Wink Heads and Threads CRAFTACULAR show.
I did this yesterday, and while it wasn't a great show monetarily, I did get to actually have a conversation with the other crafters. If you've ever done a craft show, you know how rare this really is. There was also free lemonade and cookies. Yay for free!

*Pay tuition for this semester
I did not do this. I got an email from the financial aid office saying my application had been revised and they were putting me on a 'do not purge' list. Yay for not purging me or my classes! Also, yay for another week to scrape up the funds for tuition.

*Sit around and read a sickening number of books
I have been doing this for a few months now. Right now I have five library books checked out and have read all but one of them. I got said books not even one week ago. Usually this is a sign that I'm going into depressive/hermit/toostressedtodealwiththeoutsideworld mode, but really I've just been reading some good shit. If you need a suggestion for funny chick lit, let me know. I have the hookup.

*Do the laundry and dishes before George gets home
I have done a few loads of laundry and a few sinkfulls of dishes, yet the piles never seem to dwindle. I think I'll blow the rest off until he has a day off to do them and I'll go read some more. =)

* I'll throw this in just because it's obscene. That is a donut covered in chicken fingers. Really fucking good chicken fingers.

Sewing Failure?

2010-07-26T09:08:00.002-04:00

(Photo from Freshly Picked)

I have held on to this awesome tutorial from Freshly Picked in my Google Reader for a while now. It looks so easy and just like the kind of skirt I like to wear... simple cotton, gathered, knee length... and with POCKETS! I've looked over this tutorial a million times and finally tried to construct it myself a few weeks ago. I got the inseam pockets on the first try (woohoo!) and all was going great until it came time to attach it to my 2" elastic waistband. I had kind of a hard time getting used to the whole stretching the elastic from both sides as you're pushing it through the machine thing. Then, I realized that instead of following the directions exactly, I had been slack and actually had 2 times the amount of fabric (my waist measurement) instead of 1.5 times. This really added up when I realized that the elastic wasn't stretching THAT much and that I had a huge bunch of fabric left over all wadded up in the front of my skirt. I couldn't just cut it either because one of my precious pockets was included in that wad! UGH! I put it down and walked away.
Jump to yesterday when I decided I really wanted that skirt. The fabric was too cute and I had made those pockets, dammit! I went outside and sat on my deck with my trusty seam ripper and went to ripping away the waistband elastic. I finally got it off and decided it would be best to pre-gather the fabric and then attach it since I now know that there isn't enough stretch in the elastic. I did that (have I mentioned how much I hate gathering with the basting stitches technique? I NEVER get them even enough to satisfy my OCD) and actually got a finished skirt! I was all proud of myself and put it on to show George. Know what he said after staring at it for a solid minute? "It looks HUGE!" Excuse me?! What did you say?! ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY?????! "It's HUGE because I'm HUGE you jerk-off!" Then came my two year old tantrum. I knew what he was saying... it was too full but after the seam ripping and feeling like I salvaged the skirt it was all I wanted to hear. I can kind of agree with him, I should have gone with the 1.5 times my waist measurement instead of a full 2 times but STILL! Oh well, I'll still rock it. I don't care if I look bigger. I think the cute fabric and the pockets make up for it. Hmpf.

... and I call myself a blogger...pfffft!

2010-07-18T19:09:00.004-04:00

Man, oh man. I am a horrible blogger. I always think of things to write but then realize that no one wants to hear about it. haha. Then again, I subscribe to over 400 blogs (or something equally embarrassing) and a lot of time I read crap I don't want to so I have decided just to go for it.

Some things that have happened recently in no particular order:

*My business, Thimble Kiss, is booming! I started selling in a local salon, Wink, and have had to replenish clips twice already because they're selling like hot cakes! Its great money for dropping off merch and letting it sit. I even had a girl come up to me at a huge craft show I just did and tell me that she bought one of my clips to wear for her wedding the weekend before! She saw my stuff on etsy but it was really last minute so she popped over to Wink and picked one up. I love those kinds of stories!

*Oh! And tomorrow is my one year Etsy anniversary! WOOHOO! I've sold way more than my 'sold' count suggests, but I'm fairly happy with this year's work.

*Said huge craft show was The Big Crafty here in Asheville. It is a semi-annual show that is definitely the biggest of the year here. I was included with 140 other vendors and had a really, really great day. I also got a pair of earrings from Figs & Ginger and met a few people who's blogs I read and who's names I've seen about town! It was SUCH a fun day and I'm really glad I did it (and made mad dough to boot!)

*My best friend, Christina, had her baby girl! Bailey Annabelle Bolton was born June 12th. I got down there as soon as I could before that new baby scent went away and got some snuggles in. She really is the sweetest little mush ball ever. I also have an affection for angry baby photos. =)

*My summer break is winding down now. We have had a few visitors come into town and had a great time this summer. I've been working and have enjoyed being able to come home at night and crash at seven pm if I want to. Classes start back up in August. I'll be sad to be in class until 10pm three nights a week (after working 10 hours all day...ugh.) but I'm getting closer and closer to finishing. I'm happy to report that this semester will be the last math class of my college career. EVER. I. AM. SO. EXCITED.

*In a few weeks I am heading west! I'm going to visit my bff in Austin. I have no idea what we're going to do except shotgun beers and dance like fools. Should be a good time.

*My friend Annie took some photos of me for my etsy store at The Biltmore Estate a few months ago. Its the largest private home in America and I try to avoid it like the plague. The grounds are vast and gorgeous though so we found some off the beaten trail places to shoot (ie: no where near the house!) and I am kind of obsessed with these photos. I know, its sick to be obsessed with photos of yourself, but there are a few of them that I swear I've seen in dreams. I have an affinity for wheat field/tall grass photos and we took quite a few. Needless to say, I haven't actually used any for my etsy store. I have a few that I am planning to use for some listings tomorrow and I'm excited about that. Honestly though, I need to make more flowers! After The Big Crafty and another shipment to Wink I'm nearly dry!

*I saw a great quote that I think could describe me pretty accurately today. I think it was on the back of a book or in some liner notes. I can't remember the source but it was something along the lines of 'I could never be president because the US media outlets can't say the word "fuck" and so they would never be able to accurately quote me.' I love my potty mouth. =)

So that's really it for now. I am seriously going to try harder to post stuff I find interesting and hopefully won't bore you to death. You can also find me on the virtual book of faces you never wanted to see again here: Thimble Kiss Fan Page

Spring's Bounty

2010-04-26T10:51:00.008-04:00

It seems like this time of year is when beautiful photos of local farmers markets start popping up all over my favorite blogs. If you can't beat em' join em'! Here are a few photos of some of the wonderful goods found at the Asheville City Farmer's Market this past weekend!

This asparagus was in the field 45 minutes before I bought it. I LOVE that!
We even have a local company that sells bottled water from a local source. Its tasty too!

Dinner!

2010-04-17T23:00:00.008-04:00

So George was having a rough day today. I wanted to make something nice for dinner but with limited groceries in the house, I knew I needed to be creative! We had pork chops and stuff for salad so I went to it to try and make it special. After a long winter of cooking inside, it was time to break out the grill! I had never grilled by myself and managed not to set the house on fire. I have an obsession with cast iron cook ware and even our grill is cast iron! I HEART LODGE!

So I put on my grilling face (which happened to include red lipstick because I had been shooting new photos for my etsy store!), cracked open a beer and got to grilling!

First, I marinated the pork chops in 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/2 cup lemon juice and a crap ton of onions and garlic. I let those sit in the fridge for about 4 hours but only because I had thought about it. I've let them sit for as little as 30 minutes and they still turn out good. This is great for pork loins too! I don't think you'd want to leave them over night because the acid would cook the meat too much. Anyway, a little salt and pepper when they come out of the bag and you're good to grill! Here is the left over marinade after I had all the chops on the grill (you should have seen the people walking down the street stare at me holding this bag of gray juice and taking a picture of it!)

Throw those suckers on the grill and let them go!

MMMMMMMM....meat. That statement is funny coming from a former vegan.
I also made a lovely baby spinach salad with a blue cheese vinaigrette!

I made some creamed corn and when George walked in he sat down and was presented with a platter of goodness! I definitely earned my keep (and beer!) tonight. =)

No crafting = no good.

2010-04-04T01:02:00.002-04:00

So I haven't been crafting. I came up with (and am still tweaking) a new clutch that I hope to make and get into the store soon... along with 500 other things I've been sitting on not photographing.

I'm still not feeling 100%. I have a little bit of a lingering cough from this horrible cold thinggy that I had. It will NOT go away! Needless to say, I haven't been to the gym because I still can't breathe (that's my excuse and I'm sticking with it!)

I do get to go on vacation this week! George and I are taking advantage of my spring break at school and heading down to Miami and then driving to Key West this week. We leave Monday and I'm SUPER psyched!

I also cut over six inches off of my hair today! It was pretty cathartic and it just feels OH SO MUCH lighter! She thinned it out and put a lot of texture in which is really nice too!

okay, so that was my quick recap of the whole lot of nothing going on with me!

(ready for Florida!)

Copy Cat

2010-03-31T10:03:00.002-04:00

Okay, I just turned on VH1 morning music videos because I couldn't stand anymore nick jr. and I saw this video by some guy I never heard of that looks like it is filmed in front of the EXACT store from the Like I Love You video... his outfit even looks similar! COPY CAT! Okay, glad I got that off my chest. = )

Justin Timberlake "Like I Love You"

Jason Derulo "In My Head"

Sick Ick Ick

2010-03-16T08:09:00.002-04:00

I've been sick for about week now. It started as swollen glands, a horribly sore throat and head congestion. Then morphed into laryngitis. Now the little bugger has dropped into my chest and is punishing my poor lungs. I'm hacking constantly and I won't even tell you about the gobs of stuff coming up every morning. It feels like that fat guy (in the mucinex commercial) has decided on camping out and has started a proper camp fire in my lungs. OUCH. I'm ready for this to be over.

Crazy for LOL

2010-03-14T14:11:00.007-04:00

Have you been to Target to get your Liberty of London haul yet? I did. Today. The first day it was out. I thought I'd be sneaky and go when most people in the bible belt were in church but I guess I live in a heathens town because it was still INSANE. People had carts overflowing with all kids of lovely florals. I heard more than one Target employee mention how they were shocked at how many people had tried on all of the different dresses so far. For my load I got the following items:

Cute ruffle dress (perfect for my Miami vacation coming up!)

Nightie (also perfect for my vacation ;) )

I can totally see me on this bike with a cute basket on front, but alas they didn't have it at my Target... I looked!

I did get this tray. I thought it would be perfect to display my flowers on at craft shows.
I also got a floral print box that they were calling a gift box but it really looks like a mini hat box (for craft shows and storage) and a black and white tunic/beach cover up that I can't find a picture of anywhere. Its super cute and really light. I think it'll be perfect for cruising South Beach and Key West in a few weeks!

Reading

2010-03-10T10:13:00.002-05:00

I recently got my little amazon box on my doorstep that contained my newest addition to my craft book library! Its called Handmade Marketplace How to sell your crafts locally, globally and online and its by Kari Chapin. I have only had a little time to thumb through this gem, but I can tell you that it is FULL of insider information!
If you have ever been terrified of starting an etsy store or submitting for a craft show, this book will help ease your fears! It has a little bit of just about everything in it, marketing, blogging, selling, branding... everything! Its got guest spots by some of my most favorite authors on my blog roll and crafty heros which makes it ten times more valueable to me. I know that all of these people have started from the bottom and are HUGE now! Okay, maybe only to the crafting world, but that's the world I want to live in! =) I highly suggest buying the book if you're looking to further your business or create new avenues to grow. You can buy it on amazon for a little more than ten bucks! (Perfect when you spend all of your money on craft supplies!)

His and Hers

2010-02-26T22:33:00.002-05:00

The Good Books of our house.

A Day in the Life of a Nanny

2010-02-24T18:49:00.007-05:00

Have you read The Nanny Diaries? I'm not talking about that crappy movie they made from the book, I'm talking about the real deal. No? You should check it out from your library. Seriously, its a good read. I knew a LOT of nannies who went through similar situations when I lived around Manhattan. The hired help, indeed.
I wasn't meaning for this post to be about The Nanny Diaries! I had a fun day with the kids and I thought I'd share some photo/video evidence of what a typical day may include.
Yesterday started my military-esq assault on diapers. We are in FULL ON potty training mode during the day. Sara has an irrational fear of pooping on the potty after an incident where she actually did poop on the potty but stood up and a little poop fell on the floor. I reassured her that it was perfectly okay, but she is kind of a neat freak and it totally bugged her out. She still will randomly say "Katie, I don't want to poop on the floor anymore!" I don't discourage that! haha. Anyway, today was day two of the hardcore, setting the timer and sending them (screaming usually) to the potty. If they didn't go then they had to go sit every 15 minutes after until they did go. They were both doing pretty well and as an 'extra treat' I pulled out some "big girl/boy pull ups" to entice them to want to go and to tell me when they needed to go. It worked pretty well! They were all about their new pull ups and here they are showing them off... complete with muscles!

Next we did a little arts and crafts and made puppets! They really loved doing this. They love doing any 'special pwoject'. = )

After a major sucess in the potty arena after nap (I just had Sara be a "Nudy Judy" since she hadn't gone #2 all day and I knew it was her usual time to go) when Sara not only went on the potty, but told me she had to go and ran in and sat on the potty herself! (I think that fear of going on the floor had more to do with it than anything!) Anyway, this was cause for a celebration! How does a two year old girl celebrate? She puts on her 'ballerina princess' Halloween costume and has a dance party of course!

Stolen From Your Sisters Closet GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!!

2010-02-23T15:53:00.001-05:00

Stolen From Your Sisters Closet GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!!
How cute is this dress?! You can enter to win it! Click that link and head on over!

Guess who was featured!

2010-02-21T11:55:00.006-05:00

(Click to enlarge and get the whole screen feeling!)
I woke up this morning (at eleven am! Lucky me!) and checked my email only to find a little note from the Statsy Featurator (if you have an etsy shop, and don't use this you're missing out! I would have never known but if you get featured they send you an email letting you know... unlike etsy! check it out HERE ) that I was on the FRONT PAGE! WOW! For those of you without etsy stores, this is something highly coveted amongst sellers! I am on cloud nine! I'm also very thankful to Tim Burton for remaking Alice in Wonderland (which is how my clip The Alice got noticed!) Woohoo!!!!

Love, Love, Love, Love

2010-02-14T10:17:00.006-05:00

(random picture of George and I at the Acropolis)

Happy commercial-exploitation-of-something-that-should-be-untouchable Day! haha. While I do feel that statement is true, I am not completely a Valentine's Day hater. I think that all of the gimmicky garbage is just that, but I do like the idea of taking a day to reflect on all of the people and places and things that I love. I LOVE love. I am such an over emotional sap and I love anything sentimental. Valentine's Day doesn't really lend itself to being sentimental, because its really hard to be nostalgic (I find) when everyone around you is doing the exact same thing. Valentine's Day has evolved into something that is annoying in some ways too... like how Halloween is all about girls getting a 'free pass' to dress as slutty as possible. I really hate public displays of affection. I don't mind hand holding, and I don't mind a peck every now and then, or a hand on a knee at the dinner table but people these days just go SO overboard! It doesn't show the world you're in love, it shows the world you're INSECURE! It just looks desperate and nauseating. It looks as if the couple is so scared that someone will think that they're not together or something else (gay?) that they have to cling to each other like the ship is going down! Its walking down the street people, not walking down the aisle! Be confident enough in your relationship that you don't need to touch the other person 5000 times when walking one city block! I think it speaks volumes when you can tell two people are in love and they never touch each other in front of you. Your energy should speak for itself. Okay, sorry about the rant. I like to view Valentine's Day sort of like Thanksgiving in that I just reflect on the things I love and am thankful for and if that happens to include presents like a new Ipod touch then so be it! So yes, I am thankful for you, my readers and a whole lot of other things. Happy Valentine's Day!

Acadia National Park, Maine 2003-ish

Fun

2010-02-12T21:25:00.004-05:00

I bought this shower curtain today at Target. I think it is so SO fun and I am so glad that retailers are in on my sense of whimsy these days. It is one of those bitter sweet things though where you want it accessible, but don't want everyone to suddenly have it too, you know? I still like it. Yes, this post was about a shower curtain.

(These pictures suck. Go to the website and look at the close ups of the cute squirrels and owls!)

Who doesn't love Audrey?

2010-02-04T20:15:00.004-05:00

I mean really. What girl doesn't love Audrey Hepburn? I mean, granted, I love her more than most probably do, but is there really someone out there that doesn't like her? Even if you think she sucks as an actress (which she doesn't!) you have to agree that she is a beautifully giving person. Just look at all of her work with UNICEF! Anyway, I am one of those super fans who is slightly obsessed with anything Audrey. So much so that I have the name Audrey on my short list of girls names (for some day far away when I decide to have kids of my own) and I'm thinking of getting my bangs cut like hers. I did that doppelganger thing on facebook last week and said I get told I look like Katie Holmes and the daughter from The Gilmore Girls all the time, but Kim, who I used to nanny for, told me that with short bangs and my hair back I look like Audrey all the way. I think that was the nicest thing anyone has ever told me! I've been wanting to do it for a while but what do you think? Short bangs are such upkeep but it may be fun for a while. Here's me tonight and then a few pictures of Audrey.

What do you do?

2010-01-30T16:46:00.009-05:00

When it looks like this outside?

Well, in my last post I whined about being backlogged in projects. It was a prime time to sew! And cook! And we kept power this time which made both possible! YAY!

I stopped by the store on the way home from work Friday before it started to snow. I think everyone was shell shocked from the last snow we had and was totally expecting the worst. Of course, all of the milk, eggs, bread and peanut butter was sold out at the grocery store. Why do people but such mass quantities of bread eggs and milk when the weather is supposed to be bad? Are they all making huge amounts of french toast? And what is with the peanut butter?! Since when did that become a survival staple?
Anyway, I digress. I made a hungarian style chili served on top of a bed of smoked gouda cheese polenta... YUM! George had to work at the hotel and got put up in a room for the night since the roads were bad so it was a pretty decadent meal to eat alone! Here is a picture of my (first) plate.

You can find the recipe over on Rachael Ray's website HERE.

My boots also came yesterday! and they FIT! HOORAY! Here is a picture of me modeling them with my pant leg down and up! haha. I'm such a dork.

I LOVE them. I also got one of my projects out of the way, Christina's nursing cover! She's having a little girl so pink polka dots were a must. I love the purple ric rac too! The flower is on a pin so she can ditch it if she wants to.

There's boning in it so that it bows out at the top. That way, she can see the kiddo but no one can see her ta-tas! I used a tutorial over on TaDa! Creations. It is a great tutorial that is easy to follow so thanks for that, Angel! The designer ones are called 'hooter hiders' which I find hilarious. So far its been a pretty productive snow storm!

Backlogged

2010-01-28T21:38:00.002-05:00

I am so backlogged with projects! I get stressed even thinking about it. I have a lot to do and a lot I want to do that I daydream of sewing and crafting without doing much of it. I think about it but walk into my sewing room and feel to overwhelmed with all I want to do and turn around and walk out! We're supposed to get a good 10 inches of snow starting tomorrow, and my boss has told me that he'll send me home around 1 so I don't get stuck so HOPEFULLY I'll get some done this weekend. I'm still catching up from Christmas (I know, horrible! Its easy to do though when you're as post office adverse as I am and all of your friends live out of state!) and I have a best friend's birthday, my mom's birthday and a best friend expecting her first baby girl to sew for! And I would like to sew a dress or two before I go on vacation in April and May...AND my Etsy store is in desperate need of attention. YIKES! I have it all planned (for the most part) and most of the materials I just need to get down to the nitty gritty.

Man Calves, Don't Fail Me Now!

2010-01-09T11:17:00.003-05:00

I have an amazing group of friends with some truly amazing connections. My lovely friend Lindsay (pictured on the horse) grew up in Santa Barbara, Ca where, being a California girl, she surfed. One of her sponsors was Ugg. Yeah, those Uggs. She still gets a pro deal from them (which means a SERIOUS discount... like more than half off!) and so we put in an order the other day. She was gracious enough to allow me to pick a pair and I just pray that they fit my man calves! I HATE having fat calves and I'm hoping and wishing on every star that these puppies fit because MAN they are beautiful! They're lined with sheep skin and are waterproof which is perfect for our winters. They are exactly the boot I was looking for, a riding style boot with no heel and warm! I cannot wait for them to get here!

No Posts Since Early December, WHAT?!

2010-01-03T11:28:00.005-05:00

Ah, the joy of posting. It really does become habitual and I have fallen out of the habit as of late. I will post some pictures with captions to sort of sum up what I've been up to!

I hung out with these kids. These are the kids I nanny for, Sara and Julian. They are getting so big!

I got to go to Xmas Jam 2009 and see Ani Difranco and The Counting Crows among others. I was SUPER close to the stage and had a really, really great time.
See. This is me, Adam Duritz of the Counting Crows and the FLOCK of camera men who are in all of my pictures! I guess its the price you pay for being so close.

Then there was SNOWPOCOLIPSE 09'! We lost power for three days which meant no heat, no hot water, no stove and no *gasp!* facebook!!! One night in our house it was 50 degrees. You could see your breath it was so cold! We had to drink moonshine to keep us warm! (or at least that was our excuse!)

(Doesn't it look like he's trying to catch snowflakes on his tongue?!)
Home Sweet Home, Savannah for the holidays! (or close... I just had to get out of that snow!) Then I took a trip home and got to hang out with my pregnant best friend, Christina and eat big pickles. =)
FINALLY GOT MY BALDINOS!
Did a weird touristy photo shoot with our dogs in Forsyth Park
WORN OUT!

And to start the New Year, George bought me tickets to see The Avett Brothers. It was a great show though it was entirely too crowded! The people watching was priceless. I leave you with my favorite song from their newest album, I and Love and You.

Tales of a Raincoat Not Gotten

2009-12-04T16:15:00.003-05:00

I'm going to keep this short. I fell in love yesterday. I fell in love with a Lands End raincoat. It was a very intense relationship, though brief. I found her, fell in love, called George and had him typing in the credit card info on my way home. However, by the time I got home he informed me that my size was sold out. SOLD OUT. In the 15 minutes that it took me to get home. I called customer service to find out when it would be back in and was told that they aren't going to carry it again this season AT ALL. So now, I will share my grief with all of you. My search for the perfect trench coat continues, though I think I found and lost it all at once. Le sigh. Betty (because how could you not look like a total Betty in this coat?!), you will never be forgotten.

(Image via Land's End)

Fun with Knits

2009-11-28T16:37:00.005-05:00

Today the in-laws left. I loved having them visit. We had a good time and did a lot of eating. When they got here on Thursday, we put together our new table and immediately sat down to eat. We didn't do a turkey, but went with a leg of lamb, collards and a host of other yummy treats.

Friday we went out to dinner to Savoy, the restaurant where George works a few nights a week. Its fine dining and was super good as always. They really enjoyed themselves which was nice. This morning we hit up IHOP (I had the pumpkin pancakes... SO GOOD!) and then sent them on their way back to New Jersey. It was perfect timing because George and I were just reaching our limit for company. Our house is perfect for the two of us, but when we have company it can get a little cramped and we both like having our space. Anyway, it was a good visit. Here they are at dinner at Savoy.

Today after all of that hooplah, I just wanted to do some mindless crafting. I just got an order of knits in the mail the other day and was excited to play with them. I've never really worked with knits and have always been a little scared, but I'm so glad I did it! The fabric I ordered is a cotton/bamboo blend so its SUPER soft. I also wanted to play around with elastic thread so I started out to make a scarf but was just kind of going along and ended up doubling it up, putting a button hole in and making it an elizabethian/scarflette/ ruffle thing! I think I'll play with it some more (like sew straight so the sides are ruffled even for instance!) but these may be fun to attach my flower brooches to! Who knows!

Hot and Not

2009-11-25T08:03:00.004-05:00

I'm joining the bandwagon over at Lobbylu...

HOT:

Best Friends!- How amazing is my best friend, Jasmine? Amazing. I asked her to help me design something for my mini business cards I want to make and look what she came up with! I LOVE it!(The side with the words is the back)

BUYING HANDMADE!- I'm so excited to be making as much as I possibly can for my friends and family for Christmas. Each year as my crafting confidence grows, the list of people I make for gets longer and longer. I have some good ideas in the works... and even though they're just ideas at this point (well, I've purchased materials!) I'm excited.

Etsy black friday/cyber monday sales!- I'm having one! (If you use the word "blog" in the message to seller I'll give you an extra 10% off any item in my store! Most items are already 15% off so that's llike 25% off! Woohoo!) If there is something I don't think I can make or something I'm just not going to get to in time, I'll be searching black friday sales on etsy for them! I'm excited!

Starting Traditions!- This year is the first year we're doing our own little Thanksgiving. George's parents are driving down from NJ to spend it with us! I don't eat turkey, and they're Greek, so we're doing a leg of lamb. It's not going to be all Greek though, I have to throw some of my southern flair in there so we're also having my famous collard greens! I don't know if they technically go together, but its going to be yummy! I'm all about the sides, so there will be lots of other goodies too. His parents are also bringing us a kitchen table from Ikea which leads me to my next HOT thing...

Ikea!- I'm so excited about my table! It'll be nice to be able to eat like normal people!

NOT:

Grocery Stores- The day before Thanksgiving.... yuck. How come I ALWAYS forget something? ugh.

New Project

2009-11-23T19:48:00.003-05:00

So tonight I came home from work and got started on my latest project, a light tent. I found some great tutorials online on how to make cheap versions of them and thought I'd give it a go. I've been trying to come up with some studio options for photographing my hair clips since going outside to shoot won't work because of the crappy weather we've had lately. Here are some before and after pictures. I'm really happy with how it turned out! I still have some tweaking to do, like putting some white paper draping from the top down (think of the backdrop you sit on when you go to glamour shots!) to cover that sloppy seam I ripped at the bottom, but as for the lighting results I'm happy! I cut out the top too so that I could put downward light in if I needed it. These shots are only with two side lights. Oh! Here is a link to the tutorial I used LINK

Before: (With the same two lights pointed at the sides as in the after picture)

After:

My Lightbox

The pictures are a little foggy because my lens was dirty. Oops. It was just a practice shoot anyway!

The Holidays - The Horror

2009-11-15T17:56:00.003-05:00

I am a procrastinator by nature. I put everything off for as long as possible, unless its something I really, really want to do... and then it has to happen NOW. I hate the holidays for this reason. It gives me a stress filled deadline. I am trying to work on new pieces for my etsy store, but that is taking away the little time I have for crafting for friends and family. Ugh. Its a tough call. As you can imagine, its the busiest time of the year on etsy and I've been slacking. I haven't sold anything in over a month and since I'm still racking up relisting dues, that just won't...well... do.
All of this leads me to the photos below. These are a few sneak peeks at my new brooches I've been working on! I've cut them all from fabric myself and assembled them. They are super cute and fun and I've got tons of ideas for more.

Also, if you, like me, are a procrastinator, then I HIGHLY suggest you check out Jodi's Big Cartel site. She takes amazing photos and I'm lucky enough to call her a friend. She lives in Wisconsin and loves winter and gardening and roasting vegetables. You can also find her over at The Women's Colony where she writes. She is also nice enough to give out a discount code through November (WOMENSCOLONY11) that will get you 10% off any print! Now go shop!

Super Hero 5K

2009-11-08T12:45:00.002-05:00

I was so happy to be (on the sidelines!) at the Super Hero 5K this year, cheering on one of my best friends, Natalie and her husband Sutton. This is an annual race put on by the Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company where the racers run around downtown in super hero costumes! How fun! The race is followed by free pizza and beer. I had the pleasure of watching Lydia as her mommy and daddy raced. A good time was had by all (just look at Natalie's face in that group shot!)

Recent Creation: Where the Wild Things Are Costume!

2009-11-05T13:27:00.003-05:00

Just a quick update. I made Julian's Halloween costume this year... well, part of it. I suggested he go as Max from Where the Wild Things Are and thus earned myself a project. The white onesie was purchased as was the crown and tail (from etsy). I created the hood (which he didn't wear... they were in LA and it was too hot!), sewed on the (crooked- very handmade!) buttons and the tail and made and sewed on the claws onto the hands and feet. I think he looked super cute and really wished he had gotten to wear the hood. It took a LONG time to make. Oh well. I've thrown in a picture of Sara as a 'pretty princess' because, well, she's cute.

Meet JoJack

2009-10-31T21:16:00.003-04:00

This is JoJack. George named him (as part of my attempt to keep these names from being bestowed on possible future children!). We found him in the street near our house. We weren't sure if he was a wild turtle at first, and he had what appeared to be scrapes on his shell. I wasn't sure if he had been run over and gotten scraped on the underside of a car or what, but when I looked closer I could see that they weren't scrapes at all but sticker residue! Some kid had put stickers all over his shell. So, that answered the question of if he was wild or not. George and I took him home and my endless research on box turtles began. We had a reptile tank from a short stint with a snake (that I made George take back! It wasn't so much the snake that bothered me (though it did) but the thought of live rats in my house waiting to be eaten! EEEEEW!) but I soon found out that box turtles don't do well in glass cages. They need room to dig and walk around.... so I created his 'habitat' out of a 53 gallon storage container! I need to get him some plants, but he seems pretty happy. He has feasted on night crawlers from the bait shop and even has his own swimming pool!

Juxtaposition

2009-10-27T00:07:00.005-04:00

I hate this time of year. I read probably 60 blogs a day in my Google Reader and over half of them are jumping for joy that its fall (or spring for my Australian friends!) and I just hate it. The beginning of fall isn't so bad because its a nice change from the scorching heat, but I hate this end part... when everything starts dying and getting cold! Examples:

***************************************************************************************

Yes, that garden in the last picture is the same garden that started like the first picture. Amazing, eh? That's what three weeks of straight rain, being in school and working full time will get you... a garden over run with morning glories! Those things are INSANE! They tangle EVERYTHING together. And the mosquitoes....horrendous. I did get quite a bounty of herbs for this late in the year before I winterized though:

Cravings

2009-10-25T08:27:00.003-04:00

First, let me start by saying NO, I AM NOT PREGNANT. I feel I need to get that out there for friends and family who may stumble upon my blog. I do eat like I'm pregnant though... all of the time. That's not really true, but I do get really strong cravings that can last for weeks, even months! Lately, I have been craving Baldinos. Baldinos is a sub shop that is a very small chain through Georgia and parts of North Carolina (though not near where I live). They make THE BEST subs. I grew up on these subs. My mom and I would eat there usually once a week and I always got the same thing. I graduated proudly through the years from their kids meal mini sub to a full fledged 'regular' sub. I always had the choice though of getting a regular sized sub (which is HUGE) or a half sized and a big deli pickle. I almost always chose option B.( That's another constant for me, my love of salty, brine-y,vinegar-y anything!) There is something about the smell of a Baldino's sub that I just love. I've been craving it for MONTHS now and have been trying to replace it with Jersey Mike's which we have here in town. They are good... I've had two this past week, but its just not the same. First off, the subs are like half the girth of a baldino's sub. I'm not sure that's a bad thing, but its just not quenching my craving! Hopefully I can get the next person to drive up from Savannah and visit me to bring me a sub!

ps. I can't believe I just posted a whole blog about subs! It is true though that subs, sushi and Indian food are things I could eat every meal for the rest of my life and be happy.

Orange in Ten Minutes

2009-10-17T14:58:00.003-04:00

I decided to take Jodi's challenge over at The Women's Colony this week. I thought finding orange things that weren't just leaves would be hard, particularly because I'm not very fond of orange so I don't decorate with it, but I found all of these pictures in about ten minutes. Now I feel accomplished. =)

ps. No hate comments, please! I did put all of the recycling into the appropriate bin! -)

An Open Letter To The Man I've Been With For EIGHT Years.

2009-10-17T09:22:00.001-04:00

Dear George-

Today marks eight years together. I sincerely want to thank you for constantly loving me even though I can be a psycho emotional, indecisive woman. I also think that it would be a good time to thank you for making it these eight years without killing anyone. I know there have been times where you have really struggled with this, but, you did it for 'us'. Visiting prison would take away my time at the fabric store and conjugal visits just aren't on my five year plan. Lets keep this streak alive!

Love,
Katie

Hair Update

2009-10-09T13:22:00.006-04:00

I posted a while ago that I was going to get my hair cut like Zooey (click here for a refresher!) but I never shared the results of said haircut. The thing that was really changed was my bangs. The rest of my hair is pretty much the same, just cleaned up, so This picture just really shows my bangs since my hair is up in pig buns (did I just make that up?!) and I'll throw in a picture of one of my pups to ensure proper cuteness content. = ) Have a good weekend!

ps. Here is Zooey wearing some Thimble Kiss-esq flowers in her hair... Love it!

Craft Show and Birthday Fun!

2009-10-05T08:28:00.002-04:00

booth 3, originally uploaded by KatieBelle003.

The craft show Saturday was a success! I had so much fun and made a little money too. George took me out for sushi and a group of friends joined us. So far being a quarter of a century old has been great!

Getting Prepared

2009-09-26T19:46:00.007-04:00

I'm getting excited and nervous. Next weekend is my very first dabble into the craft show world. (It also happens to be my birthday!) I've been working on this for a long time so I can't tell you the satisfaction I got today when I finally did the mock ups for my table. I'm sharing a tent with my boss' mother, and I wanted my table to be full, so I chose a small table instead of a larger one. I'm worried it's TOO full though... is there such a thing? Would you feel comfortable picking up and looking at everything on the table? I actually have even more product I didn't have room for... which is okay by me. I'm off to finish sewing my table cloth!

ps. That random hair clip and those little speck things (from where I tore the moss in the flower pots) won't be there!

15% Off EVERYTHING this weekend!

2009-09-25T11:24:00.001-04:00

CLICK HERE! This is my big feature in The Storque's Weekend Deals! Hurry and get 15% off this weekend!

Weekend Deals

2009-09-24T18:32:00.003-04:00

I got a handy dandy email today that told me that I was chosen to be featured in this weekend's edition of Etsy's Weekend Deals! The 'deals' should be posted tomorrow. I'm having 15% off my entire shop in honor of my birthday which is next weekend! I'll be doing a craft show on my actual birthday at Biltmore Lake, so if you're in the Asheville area, come say hi and buy some discounted hair accessories! (You can also get the discount in my etsy store by putting "Weekend Deals" in the message to seller section at check out! )
Now I thought I'd post some fun pictures from a few weekends ago when I took Thimble Kiss to new extremes: Whitewater kayaking! Okay, so my kayak was only inflatable, but it was still important to look stylish on the river! The wet suits made that kind of hard.

The Touch, The Feel of Cotton...

2009-09-15T20:29:00.003-04:00

Okay, so I'm sure everyone has seen this cotton commercial staring Zooey Deschanel. I LOVE it. I love her. She can sing, she can act and she is engaged to the lead singer of my favorite band. If you haven't seen the commercial, here it is!

I am going to get my hair cut Friday and I'm thinking about stealing her look. Its not so far or a stretch from where I am right now, just some more shaping, but I love it. I'll actually have to curl my hair to get the waves, but its worth it! How cute is she?!
Her retro pics are my favorite, and even though I'm not going short, these are still great looks!

Goth Treasury

2009-09-12T16:50:00.002-04:00

Here is a picture of a treasury I was featured in today! Its a red and black goth treasury. Interesting... hopefully with Halloween I'll get some sales! = ) Thanks so much to WickedDarling! <--- Go check out their shop!

Included in another treasury!

2009-09-09T08:59:00.006-04:00

Here is a screenshot of another treasury Thimble Kiss was featured in! Thanks to .RetroAttack for including me! (I now realize I should have taken screenshots of the last few I was in including the one I made because once they're expired they're gone forever!)

(Click to enlarge!)

The piece that is featured in this treasury is one of two that I have done as part of a limited edition fall collection. This piece and its partner can be seen HERE and HERE! Let me know what you think.

An Exciting Day!

2009-09-05T22:27:00.002-04:00

Today has been a great day! First, I was reading through my google blog reader and happened to see on The Storque, Etsy's blog, that I was featured! I totally freaked out! You can see the feature here:LINK!

I also managed to get and create my very first Treasury on Etsy today! You can see it here! Link 2! Its all about Alice in Wonderland. I'm really happy with how it turned out

I came up with some new hair accessories I'm in love with and got to go to the fabric store. It was a great, great day. Tomorrow is going to be filled with pictures I feel!

Shhhh... its quiet in here!

2009-09-02T07:50:00.003-04:00

So it has been a little quiet on the blog front. Its not because there hasn't been anything going on, I assure you!

This past week I really got started in my classes for this semester. I go three nights a week after work from 6-9pm. That is after I have been at work since 7:30am. Its EXHAUSTING!

Along with class, this weekend my mom was here for a long weekend. It was great to see her and spend some quality time together. When I go home to visit Savannah, usually I end up splitting more time with my friends than my mom and she's awesome about that. She wants me to spend time with them because it makes her happy to see me happy... how great is she?! It was great to just go out shopping and blow a ton of money with her though. We also had a few really great meals together which is always good!

As for Etsy, I made my first sale this week!!! I'm so excited. Its a custom alteration of one of the pieces in my shop and she wants it for her wedding which is so flattering! Hopefully she'll send me some great pictures too.

How has everyone been? Its crazy how quickly the summer is running out the door. I'll be sad to see it go.

Do You Like Giveaways?!

2009-08-25T08:34:00.002-04:00

If you like giveaways and are a fabric whore like I am, you should hop on over to Retro mummy for a chance to win some Heather Ross fabric! Heather Ross is my absolute favorite fabric designer. She is so whimsical and fun! You can leave a comment for a chance to win HERE. Check out the rest of Retro mummys blog too! She has some cute kids!

Listen to THIS

2009-08-23T09:46:00.001-04:00

The new As Tall As Lions album, You Can't Take It With You is AMAZING. I love all of their stuff. If you haven't ever listened to them, listen to samples HERE.

That is all. Hope everyone had a good weekend!

My Creative Space aka The Disaster Zone

2009-08-22T16:39:00.006-04:00

I love looking at photos of people's work space. I love seeing how people organize and label all of their items and I especially love it when they don't clean up before they take their pictures! Here is the real thing folks, this is where I walk into all excited to start a new project and sigh. This is The Disaster Zone.

This is the view as the door opens. Dresser and Strawberry Shortcake chest covered in stuff.

Close up of the dresser. The flower pot and trellis are my project that I'm working on for my craft show display, what do you think?

This is my vintage Strawberry Shortcake box that George bought me from an antique store when we first moved in together. It holds my fabric stash.

Sewing Table. Machine folded down into the table and one under the oilcloth sewing machine cover I made!

Inspiration Wall. Pretty much ripped from the pages of the Anthropologie catalog.

My window. That's a picture of my dog, Belle taped in the window. I made the silhouette of the Frenchie above the window too.

This is my cutting table which is covered in flowers. I made the bird mobile above it.

Did I mention that this is also our guest room?! Don't you want to come and stay?! Its also our library and George's closet. Its a multipurpose room.

Want to Look Like Britney Spears?

2009-08-19T07:53:00.003-04:00

Is that a valid selling point? I'm not sure. Here is Britbrit on Letterman last night (in her bikini!) doing the Top Ten Countdown. Look at the flower in her hair! It looks just like the Red Queen piece that is in my shop! Soooo... you too can look like Britney without shaving your head, wearing a bikini on national television or going to rehab! Yay for simple solutions

Fun with the Critters

2009-08-16T17:44:00.005-04:00

I really needed to to another photo shoot so that I could list a few more items. I've been busy though! First I slept in. Yay for sleeping in! Then, I went with George and my friend Natalie and her husband and baby, Lydia to India Garden for their lunch buffet. It was sooo yummy, but I really don't know when to stop at a buffet. By the time we got done with that and stopping by a kitchen supply store, it was already 4pm! And the weather was turning kind of crummy. I decided to go for it anyway and took some photos of two pieces. The second I'll have to reshoot because they didn't come out too great and it was looking like it was going to rain any second. For some extra 'cute' factor I shot a few with my dogs, Rolley and Belle.

Sneek Peek!

2009-08-12T19:21:00.005-04:00

I worked forever last night. I just got that creative mojo! I love it when that happens. I haven't been inspired to work with feathers in a while. Its what I did when I first started making hair accessories and last night it was fun to play with them again. Here are just a few (not that great) pictures.

Group Shot! Everything is on alligator clips. I just can't get over how fast and easy they are to put in your hair! Even that (ENORMOUS!) sunflower is a cinch to put in with one of those little guys. The flowers on crochet headbands, for little girls, are on alligator clips too, so you can swap them out with other flowers depending on the outfit!

More fun with silk. This one is in a fan/half flower shape and I added the yellow jem for some bling.

I just love the antique look of these charms. I had a lot of fun trimming the feathers into that shape too, though I was COVERED in feather remnants.

BREAKING NEWS!

2009-08-10T16:57:00.003-04:00

I'm so excited and thankful to be included in my first ever Etsy Treasury! For anyone who may not know, an etsy treasury is sort of a coveted thing. Its a member curated list of items. Basically, you pick a theme and pick your favorite items from etsy that match your theme. Then, (here's the key part!) there is a chance that your treasury will end up on the FRONT PAGE OF ETSY! Or, in my case a treasury that I'm included in. How much amazing exposure is that?! The catch is that its really hard to get to make a treasury. You have to wait until enough treasuries expire (48 hours) and POUNCE! to create yours. You can read more about creating a treasury HERE If you want to view my actual treasury nod, click HERE.

Also, I just wanted to throw out there that Thimble Kiss has its own facebook fan page. If you'd like to become a fan of Thimble Kiss I'd be forever greatful!

Thimble Kiss on Facebook

Camping and Skinny Dippin'.... Falls that is.

2009-08-10T15:33:00.006-04:00

I had guests in town this weekend, my friend Jasmine and her husband Derek. We went camping the first two nights which was exhausting and fun and then today before they left we took a ride up the Blue Ridge Parkway and did a mild hike to Skinny Dip Falls. I took some of my pieces to take pictures of so I thought I'd share them here... along with some better pics of Christina's fascinator.

For Christina

2009-08-04T18:13:00.007-04:00

One of my best friends on the planet, Christina is getting married next May. She has bestowed on me the honor of not only being a bridesmaid, but of creating her birdcage veil and feather hair fascinator. Here are a few sneak peeks at the prototype for the fascinator. You can find out more about Christina over at her blog Almost a Bolton.

(excuse the red mark on my face...these southern mosquitos have no mercy!)

Silk and Fire

2009-08-02T19:40:00.000-04:00

Last night I decided to play with some light weight silk and chiffon I had and tried to come up with some new ideas for hair accessories. I'm in such a flower mode lately that both of the ones I came up with ended up looking like flowers, but I like them both. The fire comes in because with both silk and chiffon, the edges fray terribly! One of the best ways to stop the fray is to singe the edges, literally melting the fabric. I had great fun with this, and my house is still standing! Here is a peek at one of the new pieces.

soopsee

2009-07-31T21:02:00.000-04:00

If you haven't heard of this site, you should check it out. Its a place where your blog, etsy store, twitter and everything else that all of us crazies use is all in one place! Click below to go to my soopsee~

Food Pride

2009-07-29T19:01:00.000-04:00

I have a little bit of food news. George does a lot of the cooking and bread baking around here (it is his profession after all), but some nights I get home before him and I'm usually starving. That's when I crank up the Avett Brothers and get to cookin'!

Tonight for dinner I was in a pasta mood and it was also the fastest thing I could come up with. A few nights ago I did a HUGE herb harvest from our garden and we had tons of lemon on hand so I knew I wanted to use those. The rest I just made up as I went! The end product was ziti in a white wine/ lemon / herb sauce with some yellow squash and tomatoes. The squash, tomatoes and herbs were all from my garden. The tomatoes were so fresh they were still warm from the days sun. I also added a little butter (I am from the south after all!) and some red pepper flakes for heat.

My next bit of food news comes because my banana peppers have been growing like CRAZY! I have never canned anything before (never needed to!) but last Sunday I canned my first jar of banana peppers. I just heated up some vinegar, sliced the peppers, added some salt and whole cloves of garlic and voila! Pickled banana peppers. One of my favorite vinegar-y things! I can't wait a month or two down the road after they have really cured to taste them! I know it's not real canning (the lid sealed itself after it cooled down a bit... no water bath needed, but it was a good intro.)

Have you had any food pride lately?

All of the Madness!

2009-07-25T21:38:00.000-04:00

Here in Asheville, North Carolina, we annually have the largest street festival in the south east called Bele Chere. It is a huge deal that blocks off most of the downtown streets to cars and only allows pedestrians. There are bands that play throughout the weekend on two stages and tons and tons of vendors from arts and crafts to every kind of food on the planet. That was this weekend.
I am the volunteer coordinator for the local, non-profit division of the Sierra Club called Inner City Outings. We take low income youth on various outdoor trips through other youth organizations (think YWCA and Boys and Girls Clubs). The trips can range from caving to white water rafting (our March and April trips) to horseback riding or just good ol' hiking.
These two worlds collided this weekend because Bele Chere offers the chance to man all of its beverage stations to local non-profit organizations. That's right, I was out on the street slinging Budwiser (and Bud Light!) to festival goers. I have to say, I was concerned about it, but to be honest, it was tons of fun! We were situated right by, and I mean right by the kareoke tent. It was both a blessing and a curse as you can imagine! I'm glad we had the music (most of the time) because we made the best of it and danced and sang along! We were raking in the tips which is amazing because we get to keep all of that money for the trips! I'm super excited to find out how much the night shift made tonight because this afternoon the girls were killing it! Here are a few photos.

One of our volunteers, Robin and our beer booth.

Our Asheville ICO Chair's daughter, Lydia.

Me and my tip earning red lipstick = ) (That's a Thimble Kiss flower I'm wearing in my hair!)

First Listing!

2009-07-23T08:27:00.000-04:00

I listed my first item on Etsy last night! This was a big step for someone as nervous as I am about taking on new ventures. It took a long time to get everything up and running... writing the bio was the hardest I think. why is it so hard to write about yourself? Now that I have all of the basic shop policies down, I think listing subsequent items will be easier. I'm concerned about taking pictures of my items. I really love how the last photos came out, but that's a lot of work! Not so much taking the pictures, but getting all dolled up. I'm a jeans and tshirt girl who NEVER puts on makeup of any kind so when I want to do it, it takes a lot of trial and error to not look like a drag queen. Not that there's anything wrong with that. = )

Check out the (one) item in my shop! Obviously, more to come.

www.thimblekiss.etsy.com

I have to give a huge thank you to my best friend, Jasmine who did my banner, logo and avatar. She also made me some kick butt tags to put on my items. Thank God for friends who know something about design, because I sure don't!

Where Did You Get That Name?

2009-07-22T19:08:00.000-04:00

No one has asked me yet, but I am going to toot my own 'clever' horn for a second. I am a huge Disney fan. Being a nanny, I get to watch the classics all the time. I was watching Peter Pan about a year ago and the scene where Wendy and Peter trade a thimble instead of a kiss struck me as extremely cute. I kept sitting on this idea and when I toyed with the thought of starting an Etsy store I knew this had to be my store name. It just went so well with my love of sewing and had the romantic/ whimsy element that I so love. Here is a quote from the book.

"I think it's perfectly sweet of you," she declared, "and I'll get up again," and she sat with him on the side of the bed. She also said she would give him a kiss if he liked, but Peter did not know what she meant, and he held out his hand expectantly.

"Surely you know what a kiss is?" she asked, aghast.

"I shall know when you give it to me," he replied stiffly, and not to hurt his feeling she gave him a thimble.

"Now," said he, "shall I give you a kiss?" and she replied with a slight primness, "If you please." She made herself rather cheap by inclining her face toward him, but he merely dropped an acorn button into her hand, so she slowly returned her face to where it had been before, and said nicely that she would wear his kiss on the chain around her neck. It was lucky that she did put it on that chain, for it was afterwards to save her life.

Recent Work

2009-07-20T10:44:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I got all gussied up and took some fun pictures of the newest of my hair pieces. I am working diligently on finally getting my etsy store off the ground! I'm lucky to have a talented best friend who is proficient in graphic design and willing to help a sister out. I was channeling my inner Alice in Wonderland it seems for the shoot.

-K

In the begining...

2009-07-20T09:48:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the very first Thimble Kiss blog post. I am currently working on my etsy shop and should have it stocked full of all kinds of fun things soon. Please check in often for the latest or go ahead and subscribe to my RSS feed!

Thanks again for stopping by!
Katie