blossom

Ha Ha--it is now the dawn of 2009, and I can hardly believe so much time has passed since my last post. A time for new beginnings, eh? Happy New Year to me.
So much has happened over these last few years. My crafty life has all-but-disappeared--on the outside, that is. My inner crafty girl is still waiting in the wings for some life-clutter to be cleared enough to whip out some felt and embroidery thread. I DID manage to succeed in setting up a beautiful new crafting table/corner in my office over the holiday. I think this entry may inspire me to snap some shots of it to post---tomorrow, that is, when the light is better.  So much for instant reformation!  Baby steps, right?
New Year equals resolutions, and I stumbled upon a blog that could have been my own list of good intentions, which you can visit here.  She has a beautiful letterpress etsy shop, Pistachio Press, and I am craving one of these lovely letterpress calendars, now on sale! (but only 15 left!)  It would be the perfect place to record all of the wonderful days that are coming to me and my family in 2009!

Well, clearly life has gotten crazy again around here, and my successful journal maintenance has ground to a screeching halt. The good news--well, there's so much good news, depending on how you look at things.
As far as the shop goes--I think I'm officially never making anything of my own again. No, that's not the good news. And its probably not true, either, but some days it certainly feels that way! The actual glad tidings are that we have SO MANY new artists joining the site for Fall, and sales have really started to pick up, so maybe this isn't a very elaborate game of make-believe after all! In case anyone is interested to keep tabs of how things are shaping up in Blossomland, you can bookmark our "New Products" page (here) and refer to it often! (like I do--except I am rightfully President of the Blossom Geeks Club, and rather obsessed with gawking at my own handiwork)

labor day weekend, originally uploaded by blossomb.
Elseware in the news, we travelled south to Fredericksburg, VA for Labor Day weekend, where we visited my mother in her new home and her new urban-ish life, as well as my Nana and Papa, who seem to be so happy to have my mom nearby after all these years. My Nana is on her 3rd round of chemotherapy for 4th stage ovarian cancer, and it has been killing me to be so far away. Thankfully, she looks wonderful, even though she has lost some weight, and, as always, a nice visit was had by all. It is a hard time for our family, but we all love each other so much, and have had a wonderful life all together so far, with many happy memories, and more to come, I'm sure.
I am including some pic's of the car ride (as taken by Corey) and our visit.
labor day weekend 2006, originally uploaded by blossomb.
labor day weekend, originally uploaded by blossomb.
"trot trot", originally uploaded by blossomb.
My favorite is the one above, where my Papa is playing "Trot, Trot to Boston" with Finn, which he once did for me long long ago, and which Finn already knows and loves because I play it with him practically every day. I hope his children will love it, too!
Back safe and sound at home in rainy PA, it was our 2 year wedding anniversary on Tuesday, September 5th. Unfortunately, Corey had to work evening shift, so he was gone from 2pm until 10pm, which kinda screwed things up for us. Plus, things are pretty tight right now, so no chocolates and champagne for us! Boo hoo! What I did muster for my hubbie's happy belly was a late night Chicken Pot Pie (my own secret recipe), with a little message baked into the crust. Possibly my most sickeningly domestic moment of all time, but, I have to admit, strangely and fulfillingly fun. And let me tell you, in Pennsylvania Dutch country, a well-made pot pie is worth its weight in gold....:)
anniversary pie, originally uploaded by blossomb.

Now this is where the good news gets kinda tricky...Also on Tuesday, I started back to work full-time, for the first time since Finn was born. Well, actually, I worked pretty much full-time last Fall at Earthrhythms, but Finigan came with me, so it didn't really count. This time around, however, its the real deal--the deal I promised myself I wasn't going to do, the deal where Finn goes off to daycare to be with people who don't even know that when he throws his head back in his highchair, you're supposed to do it, too, and then everybody laughs, and we do it all again...Oh, god, It's been a hard week. I know he'll be OK--Eden was, and other kids are, too. But that doesn't make it the best way, and I was pretty sure that there was a better way to live, that if we just made sacrifices, we could make a different path for ourselves. Well, for whatever reasons, it didn't happen, and now the world's sucky financial burdens have forced my hand. Is this sounding anything like good news? Well, like I said, it all depends on how you look at it. Two weeks ago, we decided that I really needed to try to find a job, and, the next morning, my old job called out of the blue and offered me my old position. Kizmet? Well, I've never been one to look a gift horse in the mouth, so, 5 days a week, I'm the girl answering the phone "Good afternoon...Imagine That...Alex speaking!..." Its kinda surreal, stepping back into that word, but, so far so good. So, thank you, universe. For opening a window.

Well, I'm trying really hard to make up for lost blogging time by posting many many things today, until my son wakes up from his nap (uh-oh!--can I hear him already??). In my last post, I was supposed to add some thrift thursday photos, but you can see how that ended up...I've been so busy with the end of summer, getting ready for school to start, and (BOO HOO!) going back to work (starting after labor day--it's so sad!), not to mention posting many new products in the shop and sending out a newsltter! Phew! So, I'm playing a little catchup before we trot off to my mom's house in Northern VA this weekend--if it doesn't flash flood, that is, which, with my luck, it most likely will...!

First things first, its thursday, so...It must be Thrift Thursday! Below is a sweet little fairy illustration that I bought at an antique store in Adamstown, Pa. I found it on one of my first thrifty outings with my husband, who, actually, wasn't involved with me in any way at the time other than friends (little did we know!). I paid $4.00 for it, and intended to give it to my mother for her birthday, but OOPS! kept it for my greedy little self!...

It's thrift thursday! Ok, well, I didn't actually thrift this one, but it's so pretty, I needed to post it anyway. This was actually my very own crib sheet--an embroidered top sheet, which I still use for my son in the summer, just because he likes a little something to cover up with, even when its 100 degrees--and, really, I'm completely with him on that. Good news: my MOM did thrift it--yardsale, actually. And, knowing my mom and her amazing skills in the art of thrifting, I'm sure she scored it for an amount that would make us all swoon.

It's Eden's first day of second grade! Doesn't she just look too cool waiting for the bus? She picked out this outfit herself--and the great part is that we thrifted the skirt a couple of weeks ago for only $2!!! She's such a cool kid, and very excited about her teacher's seven classroom turtles. How quickly time flies--I remember my 2nd grade year too well to have a daughter starting now! I My famous memory of second grade was teaching my entire class how to draw unicorns at recess. Believe me, I was the unicorn master. In my heart, I still am....

(self portrait in a mirror--my signature! If only I could teach Finn to hold the camera...of course, he'd rather model the goods! shhh! don't tell dad!) New headbands by Handmade Childhood! They are actually for children, but I was jealous of Eden's, so I tried this one on for size! Its true that I have a smallish head, but these headbands seem to be flexi enough for daring mommas, too! Eden loves the one she picked for the first day of school--"not too tight--ooo, i love it!" was the reaction. She even kept it on all day-- gotta love that!
I'll try to have them posted for sale ASAP...you can always reserve one in advance, though! (they're only $5.00!)

here's the full spread of headbands. seriously, they aren't annoyingly tight at all--they're really comfy, but they actually stay on your head, too! I know, this is a lot of enthusiasm for headbands, but the new school year has got us pretty excited about anything that actually does what its suposed to, doesn't evoke any morning fashion fights, and is easy-peasy and super cute! Yay for pretty headbands!

so so pretty! i am loving jessica's fabric stash! more lovelies (some a little gnomish--tee hee!) to come from this talented girl!

It's Thrift Thursday, and I can't believe a whole week has gone by with no post! I really thought I was getting better at this! Actually, I have a good excuse for once. We switched our techno-allegience to Comcast (they now officially own our soul in a three-pack bundle!), who is giving us internet, phone, and cable for the sweet deal of what we were paying for phone and internet before...So I guess my days of feeling somehow lucky to be free of cable are over, and now we're just TV-watchin' fools like everyone else! Of course, there is ONE show for we are very, very excited to indlge our addiction--Project Runway!!! Corey and I were both sickly sucked into the first season, missed the second altogether, but we're back! Now we can grumble at the judges atrocious judgement (WHY is Vincent still around? COME ON!!!) with everybody else--YAY!!! Of course, there was a price to pay for all this advancement--three whole days of waiting for Comcast to get it together and get my internet working, which was absolute torture!!! I couldn't even get email--it was like leaving your baby to play outside alone! How would I know how that feels? I wouldn't--'cause who would do that?! No one!! It felt terrible, but, actually, nothing terrible happened, so onward and upward.
Speaking of which, my dear Raquel sent me a cute little toy today, so here is my virtual tarot reading (based on my secret first name...teehee!) for the day:

You Are The Star

You represent the ultimate in truth and purity. Insightful and illuminating, you provide guidance for others. You also demonstrate unselfish, unconditional love. You posses many spiritual gifts, including the ability to heal. Your fortune: Your future is looking brighter by the day. The near future will be a time of both hope and healing. Luck is about to come your way, perhaps the best luck you have ever seen. Life is about to get a lot easier and much better!

Thanks for visiting me today! Now I'm off to find something fun and thrifty to post above! Happy Thursday!

Thrift thursday!!! (see more Thrift Thursday goodies here.) I adopted this little girl at Shupp's Grove a few weeks ago. She is Bambi's little girlie friend, Faline (the sticker with her name is still stuck on her ear!). The woman who sold her to me said that she got her when she was a girl--I think she said 1965. One leg has been glued back on--poor thing! I don't mind--she's cute!--and worth every bit of the $5 I paid for her! Yay!

So much fun mail today! You can see I have bit of a a baby deer theme going today. I threatened my husband that I might need to have a collection of little deer, but the eye roll was so that I've reconsidered in favour of a happy marriage. I got this little packet of cute japanese fabrics from sweetheart Kumi whose shop is full of irresistably adorable things. I really wish my sewing machine was working now--I see adorable new toothfairy pillows in my future! I guess I'll have to remedy my sad sewing situation soon (nice alliteration, huh).

More good mail--what a day!! This time an ebay fabric score all the way from japan...and more on the way! evil, evil!--but, oh so pretty, who can resist???

Corey and I were seriously silly when we stumbled on these prints at Shupp's Grove last weekend. How 80's punk rock is this little dude? check out the jewelry! um, can anyone say boy george? these prints are actually the cover art for holland-american cruiseline menus from dinner on thursday (perfect!), november 19, 1970. We paid $2 for the pair! (see below for his hot little sister, and other fun finds!)

ok--corey and I had to snatch this set of prints. How 80's goth is this little girl? love the choker! these prints are actually the cover art for holland-american cruiseline menus from dinner on thursday (perfect!), november 19, 1970. We paid $2 for the pair! of course, this is one of my new Flickr group contributions...Am I getting with it, or what?!

Well, I finally joined a Flickr group, thanks to a post from Primrose. The group is called Thrift Thursday, and these earrings are one of my contributions! Ummm--yeah, I know: it's Monday. Well, anyone who knows me can tell you that I am either way of ahead of my time, or way overdue. There isn't much middle ground for me. And when a moment springs up out of the abyss for me to accomplish a little something extra, I have to take that instant of inspiration and run with it, lest it be lost forever! For example, my dear friend Melissa, who lives way too far away, called me last week (Melissa, I'm writing this for you until that moment comes along again...), and I was supposed to call her back that evening when the tempest that is my life quiets a bit. However, the god-awful heat was producing nasty power-outtages, so our phone and everything else was frustratingly unusable, so the moment of connection passed, and now...Oh, dear, can 4 or 5 days have swept by so quickly? I am truly the worst! Note to all who have to endure this irritating quality of mine: I'm so sorry!!! I love you, I mean well, and I promise life will catch up to me with another opportunity soon! Don't give up on me!
Well...back to my thrifty earrings: this was an opportunity for loveliness that I did NOT let slip away! I snagged these cuties for $2.00! Aren't you jealous? :)

Ugh--the heat! I am accomplishing NOTHING!!! A few emails, a load of dishes, a few tours of the downstairs in hot Finn-pursuit (he's getting to be quite the mover and shaker!), and I'm whipped! So, this blog post may be the closest I get to any work this week, at least until the heat breaks (please, somebody tell me it going to!). It's not even a very eloquent post, just a little reminder for my kind readers that, if they need a little "pick-me-up" to freshen their homes and senses, we have lots of super pretty sachet stacks in the shop, plus SO MANY other pretty pillows by the lovely Primrose. You're crazy if you don't snatch one up!!! They make such wonderful gifts, even if you just bag it up and give it to yourself! (which, of course, I never do...I swear!)

I have a secret confession...Even with the awesome Primrose sachets in my house all the time (its heavenly!), I had to indulge in some of Pillows For the People sachets ( pic's above and below) over the Christmas holidays for my girlies' gifts (we actually sold out of Primrose's sachets at the time, so I had an excuse...). I keep trying to get her to consign with us--I'm a bit of a nuisance when I put my mind to it. I just adore the fabrics she uses!!! I remembered her today when I stumbled on her link at Cotton Monster's blog earlier tonight. (she's redone her site--its great! check it out here...). Alas, with all of the crafty goodness in the world, its no wonder I can't get any REAL work done!

Just a little glimpse into my world at 10pm...In case you thought I ever slept, in fact, this is when my workday begins!!! No wonder I have so many typos...:)