But, soft! what light from yonder window breaks?

Could it really be the sun?!


We've been deluged for several days running and of course the day the sun finally returns I come down with a miserable cold :(

Luckily I just finished a book order and can take the rest of the day to relax and read my latest in a string of dystopian YA fiction I've been devouring lately: Winter's End by Jean-Claude Mourlevat. Well, the rest of the day until the kids come home anyway. I was hoping to put on a movie for them afterschool--Tigerlily and I finished Book 5 of Harry Potter last night and the tradition is to watch the movie the next day. But now that the sun is out I suppose I really should take them outside.... I should stop my grumbling, some fresh air and sunshine is probably just what I need, too!

Playskool tragedy

Well, I've done it again: fallen of the blogging wagon. I think I'll just jump back on with something totally random, shall I?

Each evening after Lyric's been tucked into bed with a story and a song I read to the girl (Harry Potter--we're nearly on book 6, yo!) while she draws at her art space. That girl never ceases to forget to turn lights off when she's done with them, so I nearly always end up going back to shut it off. I had a laugh-out-loud moment the other night when I went back to find this:

:Skye and I had a good laugh, then I turned off the light and started devising my teaching moment for this tragic scene....

Readers only sale!

Well, the kiddos are settled into their school routine and I'm keeping busy making lots of new stuff for the shop and working on custom orders. I'm determined to maintain my sanity this holiday season (unlike last year...) so I've planned out the next few months to ensure that I stay on top of everything.

A big change this year is that I am limiting the number of custom orders I accept and will stop taking orders by Thanksgiving. I've plotted out completion dates for a finite number of custom orders and at the moment there are 19 spots left for custom books and 4 spots for custom quilts. For now I'm not planning on limiting the number of custom banner orders I will accept but that may change as I get busier.


If you're considering ordering a custom book to give to a little one this holiday season I'd like to encourage you to think about doing it sooner rather than later with a bit of a sale, just for my blog readers!

From now until the end of September I am offering my blog readers 10% off orders of $50 or more, 15% off orders of $100 or more, and 20% off orders of $200 or more! This includes everything in the shop, custom and readymade, and is in addition to the free shipping promotion already in place in the shop!

To take advantage of this promotion place your order and include the phrase "readers only sale" in the Message to Seller. I'll send you a revised invoice or, if you've already paid, a refund of the discounted amount.

Cheers!

Crafty Round Up

It's been a while since I've shared my completed projects and it seems like a good way for me to ease back into a routine here. Hopefully I'll be productive enough this season to make this a weekly post!

Cloth Books ::

monogram book

first and last name book

transportation-themed book in Spanish

10-page full name book

Buntings ::

Small shaped quilts ::


Large quilts ::


Gifts made & given ::

skirts made with a favorite pattern

Hello, stranger!

I apologize for my disappearance from the blogging world for the past month. I decided to throw in the towel on the 85 days of summer documentation when I realized it was turning into a desperate countdown to the first day of school.


No more countdown--the kids went back to school today! I love my kids and enjoy being with them but there definitely comes a time when all of us need some space from each other. We were all rather chipper this morning, excited to go off on our own little adventures. Well, all of us except Skye who is on his fourth cigarette-free day today....

I'm excited to really get to work on my blog, my shop, my business, my life in general. At the moment I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by all of the possibilities and all of this new-found time but it's only halfway through the first day. I'm sure it won't be long before I settle into a good routine and hopefully start checking some things off the old to-do list.

Over the next week or so I plan to share a lot of the work I've been doing, some of the ideas I have for the coming season, and a special offer just for my blog readers!

Thanks so much for sticking with me!

Best. Movie. EVER!

So, okay, I haven't really blogged at all in the past couple of weeks. The end of summer camp for Tigerlily saw the unraveling of all my amazing summer plans but I do have some things to share. Soon--as soon as I can find more than a couple of moments to breathe.

I just had to tell you all to drop what you're doing and go see Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Seriously, right now! I don't often go to the movies and when I do I often leave feeling like I just wasted $11. Not with Scott Pilgrim!! I really, really loved it and highly recommend it. How could you not love Michael Cera? And in this movie he's not only adorable and funny but he kicks some serious ass!


I'm definitely sneaking away soon to see it again as soon as I can. Wanna come?

85 Days of Summer

Are we really halfway through already?!? I seriously have to get on planning an end-of-summer vacation at the coast...

Happy toes on Monday (she totally cracked herself up with this one, and me, too.)

Tuesday: No shirt no shoes...scoot!

Some pretty awesome birthday art for a friend's birthday on Wednesday.

On Thursday we tackled the city as an obstacle course.

Full contact chalk drawing on Friday (shirtless, as usual)

To the Mac-Haydn for Jack in the Beanstalk with Grammy and the boys on Saturday (my nephew Andy went, too). He enjoyed it much more than this photo lets on :)

I was sick as a dog on Sunday (and am still recovering...). Tigerlily thought it might help if she, too, was a dog.