It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

This holiday season snuck on me so fast! Thanksgiving has come and gone. I’m still recovering from Turkey day!

I was thinking I had all this time to prepare myself for my first Etsy holiday season, and now all of a sudden it’s the weekend after Thanksgiving! I put together my inventory a few weeks ago, and am just now getting together all of my listings to post on Cyber Monday.

I spent a big chunk of this weekend taking photos, editing photos, working on item descriptions, and updating existing listings for my holiday sale. You should see my craft room right now! I was supposed to clean it up this weekend, but I’m afraid to even go in there! I’m in my computer phase right now (versus my scrapping phase) and during this time I only step in that room to grab a pair of scissors or a ruler!

My work place had a craft fair a couple weeks ago – only open to employees – and I didn’t have much success. Which in a way is ok with me because now I can list everything on Etsy and hopefully kick off my store with a good Etsy holiday season!

How was your weekend? Did you spend lots of time with family? Get any Christmas shopping done? Have you gotten any snow yet?

Craft Gawker

I came across a website that features various artists and crafters. On Craft Gawker, artists submit their items hoping to be chosen out of the many talented people who submit their items as well. So…I decided to try it out and submitted one of my listings. And 2 days later, it showed up on the front page! The picture you see here is the item they accepted.

I urge you to give it a try. You never know what can happen! I’m going to submit a few of my other cards as well. I’ll keep you updated on their progress. And make sure you check out Craft Gawker to see all the amazing talents out there!

Happy Halloween!

It’s Saturday morning again – my favorite time of the week – and getting ready to start baking my first apple pie…EVER! It’s no secret I love to cook, but baking? I’m not such a pro. I’m prepared to change that though. Well, maybe. We’ll see how it goes.

Today is Halloween and I’m looking forward to hanging out with my fiancé where he’ll probably get me to watch a scary movie. I am not a fan of scary movies. They creep me out and when I’m by myself I always end up thinking about them! This is the first year we will not be going out on Halloween and I’m definitely looking forward to it. We just moved into our new apartment where there are a lot of kids. So who knows, maybe we’ll get some trick-or-treaters?!

In light of the holiday, doesn’t this look yummy from tetoncocoacompany?

Etsy Favs - Orange Crème

I am just loving fall and decided to make my own mock treasury, since I can never seem to get online at the right time to actually get one published. So here is my fall "treasury"

Orange Crème

Nogginsnbobbins

Moocowhandknits

AmandaLouise

EfiaFair

Khollis

Lenni08

A breath of French Air

Don't these items just put you in the mood? Be sure to check out these Etsy shop's who all have tons of other fabulous items.

Update

Back again! My blog is feeling neglected, but I have good reason for not posting for so long. First and foremost, my fiancé and I moved into our first place together! October first was our move in day and we now finally feel situated and organized. AND best of all, I have my own scrapping room! Actually it’s technically our “guest bedroom” but I have so taken it over. My poor fiancé has to do his work in the living room. No complaints from him yet though…yet.

I also started a new job a couple months ago which made me so mentally exhausted at the end of the day that I didn’t feel like doing much when I came home except crashing with a glass of wine in front of the TV. But with the holidays just around the corner, I have decided it is due time to start relisting and making some holiday cards and tags. I will also be involved in a craft fair at work the week before Thanksgiving. I am super excited since I have never been a part of a craft fair before. So we’ll see how it goes.

And now with no further ado, I would love to share with you a few of the things I have been working on.

I'm being featured!

Check out my interview at here on DZfantasy's blog. And don't forget to pay her Etsy shop a visit where you'll find fun and unique fiber sculptures of fairies, mermaids, and more!

Feelin' Like Fall

We have been having a little taste of fall with some stormy weather here. I just love fall and everything that comes with it. Fall and spring are the two seasons that I just crave following a harsh season before. I love decorating for fall too. Getting out all my warm colors and spice candles give me a sense of hominess and security.

This morning I woke up to clouds and wanted to watch the Food Network channel (funny how those two things come hand-in-hand for me!) I love watching their chefs prepare comfort food dishes while it’s cold outside (it was only 45 degrees when I woke up!) and sometimes wish that I could be the chef on the show in the beautiful kitchen and cooking whatever I want – no matter the cost – so I can show off my talents to amateur’s. Let me clarify…I AM an amateur and only WISH to be the professional chef (oops, it’s back on. Gotta take it off mute).

Here’s what I’m watching right now:

Ellie Krieger making Mushroom-and-Onion Pizza with Basil

Mmm, I LOVE basil; definitely my favorite herb. I have never watched Ellie on the food network before (my favorites are Giada de Laurentis and Tyler Florence). Ellie seems to be a health nut…hmmm, not really my style. But hey, if it’s healthy AND tastes good then I’m definitely first to give it a try. And I just love her kitchen. Second from watching what the chef is cooking is seeing how their kitchen looks and flows together. Ellie has white cabinets with dark grey countertops – could be soapstone? It’s hard to tell. But I love the contrast of light cabinets and dark countertops. She has a beautiful glass subway tile backsplash and mullion cabinet doors to show off her pottery. Can you tell I love kitchen design?

Here’s the recipe for the pizza:

Ingredients
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 medium red onion, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (10-ounce) baked thin pizza crust
• 1 cup marinara sauce
• 1/4 cup sliced, reconstituted sun-dried tomatoes
• 4 ounces shredded, part-skim mozzarella cheese (about 1 cup)
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Heat the oil in a skillet over a medium heat. Add the mushrooms and onions and cook until tender and most of the liquid evaporates, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and remove from the heat.

Place the pizza crust on a baking sheet. Spread the sauce over the crust leaving a 1-inch border. Top with the mushroom mixture and sun-dried tomatoes. Sprinkle with the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Bake until the crust is crisp and the cheese is nicely melted, about 13 minutes. Sprinkle with basil, cut into 8 slices and serve.

Looks easy enough, right? (oh no, the sun is coming out!) Now I just need it to truly be fall so I can get out my warm jackets, spice candles, and change up my décor.

Enjoy the recipe!