Wish I knew what I was getting myself into

Sometimes I really wish I knew what I was getting myself into before I say yes to things. At the beginning of the year, the kids always bring home all the paperwork from their teachers. And I think that I was bummed that the last few years I haven't been able to help in their classrooms because of work, so I pretty much said yes to everything. Well, Lindsay's teacher has a great thing going in her room, she has no pencil sharpener for the students to use. She said she was tired of the second graders always breaking the sharpeners, and I know how much time they can waste sharpening pencils, so I really like this idea. However, what that means is that she sends pencils home to parents who are willing to sharpen pencils. So when I checked the box that said, "Yes, I will sharpen pencils", I had no idea what it really meant. Lindsay came home the second day of school with an industrial electric pencil sharpener for me to use for the year, and I do a load of pencils a few times a week. Really, I am thrilled to be helping the teacher, and if I can free up some of her time, I'm happy to do it.

In love with a template

So I found this new template for a box which is the perfect size to hold note cards, and I am in heaven trying it out. I have to say this one is my favorite:

This one I like, but it was my first one and I learned a lot doing it, but it's just not quite as cute as the other one:

To give credit where credit is due, I didn't come up with this template, it's one I purchased from a much more creative demonstrator, Ilina Crouse. I'm sure this isn't the last time I will go to her for inspiration as she has talent in areas that I am definitely lacking, so I'm grateful for the inspiration.

Etsy Holiday Boot Camp

I get regular emails from Etsy about how to be successful in running my shop, but I really liked the one this week. They are encouraging sellers to work hard to be successful this holiday season and in doing so, they are going to set challenges each week. I'm game in trying to increase my business and add more holiday items to my shop (I added some Halloween items today that I'm really proud of), so I've decided to participate. I'll report back when they issue a challenge (starting next Thursday) and see if I can't increase traffic to my site. In order to participate, they've asked each of us to make a pledge on our blog or website, so here's mine:

I, Jessica, pledge to participate in the Etsy Success Holiday Boot Camp to the best of my abilities. I vow to check in every week, do my homework and support my fellow Holiday Boot Campers. I will read the weekly newsletters and blog posts, check in on the weekly forum thread, read the weekly blog post, check off the checklists and salute the mascot. I promise to share what I've learned with those who need it, support my fellow Etsy indiepreneurs and, most of all, have a positive and persistent attitude. I understand that together we can spread the word about our handmade and vintage goods, making this holiday season a more unique and meaningful one to gift givers and give-ees everywhere!

Wish me luck!

The baby of the family

I'm jumping the gun by about a half hour here, but tomorrow is a very special day for Lindsay. Eight years ago Lindsay had to be coerced into joining us (as she was very content to stay snug in mommy's womb), and she has made her presence known from the start. Never content to be put down, I think I carried her everywhere for a year and a half. She was also the child that liked the middle of the night, so I don't think I slept until she was at least four, and then when she was finally six, I put my foot down and told her she had to stop sneaking into my bed in the middle of the night every night. However ferocious she may be, this girl definitely has spunk and I've always said she's the one I worry least about peer pressure--no one can talk her into doing something she doesn't want to do.

She's also the quickest to hug and cuddle with me, the first to greet me when she walks in the door, the last to say goodnight (five or six times). I don't know what my life would be like without her, and we're so grateful that Lindsay chose to join our family. I love you, sweet girl.

Halloween Decor Class

I just finished preparing the projects and details and I'm excited to share with you about my upcoming Halloween class. This class is on Saturday, October 2 from 5 pm to 10 pm. We will be making all five projects and the cost is $25. Details on what is included in that cost is included under each picture. In order to attend, you must RSVP no later than Wednesday, September 29th so that I have the time to gather necessary supplies, and of course seats are limited. If you are unable to attend that day, I will have kits available for purchase separately. Please let me know if you have any questions.
For this cute treat box, you will need a strong adhesive like our sticky strip or double sided tape.
I will provide everything you need for the candy bowl.
For this spooky tree table decoration, you will need to bring something to fill your vase (I used black jelly bellies) and the vase. If you have taken a decor class with me before, your vase works perfect. If you would like me to pick up a vase for you, please let me know when you RSVP, they are $5 and we will use them for just about every decor class I do.
For the candle, you will need sticky strip or other double sided tape.
Finally is my favorite project, the Halloween countdown calendar. You will need some adhesive such as sticky strip. I will provide glue sticks for the paper portion, but you will need other adhesive if you don't want to use glue sticks. I'm so excited for this class and anticipate it selling out, so book your space today.

Crime & Punishment

We've been having a really difficult time teaching Cole the importance of a good night's sleep. When he was younger, we discovered that he would set his alarm for the middle of the night so he could wake up and play video games. We've gone through a couple of phases like that since then, which always results in us taking away whatever it is that wakes him up at night. Recently, I've begun to suspect that he's been up again, but we haven't been able to figure out what is waking him up (his alarm clock currently resides on my bedroom floor). Well, things came to a head Friday night when I sent him to his room to write an apology note to someone in his class. I came to check on him five minutes later and found him dead asleep. He ended up sleeping through karate, something he would never do willingly, only waking up for a late dinner. So when I sent him back to bed that night, he kept doing things to keep himself up, so I finally made him go sleep on the floor next to my bed. Over this weekend, I have caught him getting up in the middle of the night almost every night (apparently he's not using anything to wake himself up, he just wakes and instead of turning over and going back to sleep, he decides that it's time to play). So, until he earns back the privilege of getting to sleep in his bed, this is his new sleep spot:
Just to give you some perspective on where this is in our room, basically, Cole is sleeping with the dog:
Charlie isn't too thrilled with the arrangement as it puts someone in between where he sleeps and where mom sleeps, so we've had the dog getting up on the bed more often than he usually does in the summer. Over all, I have to say that this whole experience is exhausting me. Of course it's happening the same weekend that J is totally sick and can't help, so I'm the one that has to patrol nighttime. He's told us he's already sick of sleeping on the floor, so I hope he earns his bed back soon.

On a side note, I thought my title especially fitting because, as weird as it sounds, one of Cole's nicknames is Crime. :D

Back to work

I was really productive yesterday, I knocked all three of these cards out. I'm hoping to do some craft fairs this fall and sell some of my creations, so I'm trying to get really busy making some inventory. Hope you enjoy.

Plans getting derailed

My plan had been to get ahead of my class schedule and have samples posted a month in advance. Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans. So, for those who aren't friends with me on fb or didn't see my post, this is why my plans got derailed (it's not easy to see, but check out the blue sign next to the tree):
We've been talking about it for a long time and finally came to the conclusion that it would be best for us to sell our house. There are many factors that went into the decision, but suffice it to say that the current market situation had a lot to do with our decision. But, just because you know that a decision is right for your family doesn't always mean that it's an easy decision to make, and I have struggled with this one a lot. I love my house. But I also have to realize that I'm not truly the one in charge of my life and my future, I just have to do my best to listen to someone who has more wisdom than myself and know that He is taking care of us.

Before the questions are asked, we don't yet know where we are going yet. Most likely we are going to stay really close here, but there is also a chance we will move closer to my husband's work. This process could take anywhere from 2 months to a year, so we're really kind of in limbo. And that leads me to where I haven't done any Stampin' Up! work in almost a week. With all the anxiety and stress, I haven't been sleeping well lately, and I find myself almost AD/HD-like during the day. I begin one thing and within minutes am bored with it and move on to something else, not being able to concentrate long enough to be productive. I find myself wasting hours on the computer because I can move on from one thing to another quickly enough to satisfy my lack of concentration. The last day or two I have tried very hard to control myself and really, in giving myself over to trusting the person that led us to make this decision, I have been much better. So now I hope to be able to make much more progress on my class samples. I'm especially excited to do a Halloween project class where we will re-use the vases from Valentines day and some other cute decor ideas.