Happy Halloween!!!

This is the pumpkin my husband carved for me. :) It even has a little mouse.

I'm such a sillyhead

ARGH! I just wrote out a nice long post and my request took to long and I lost it. Long story short....I changed my mind again on how my table will look for Vendor Night. Much happier and don't you worry....I will find a use for the other fabric. Billy turns 4 on Saturday and is learning his alphabet and getting good at it. Jr turns 13 on Wednesday and that is nuts. Tomorrow is Jr and Clark's favorite holiday.......mostly for the candy and gore. Yuck. That is it in a nutshell. :)

So close.....

I am one away from 100 sales....oy. If I had my shit together...it would've been today...but that is okay. I've had a crappy day...couldn't get much of anything done. I did bag some ephemera and cut some more trim...I am way over 200 yards of trim. I hope you Bellas like your trims. :) I didn't get a chance to go to hubby's office and do a run through....I did it on the kitchen floor again. I will be using some of the things from the thrift store after all...oooh...I need to remember to price those as well. I want to come home with nothing but the things I buy. :) I got my fabric and it is too cute. I've been painting a little bit everyday and it still seems like I haven't made a dent...it was that way with spaghetti growing up....I hated spaghetti whenI was a kid. :) I love it now. We had some a few weeks ago and I used the Barilla Plus pasta...not bad. I tried whole wheat lasagna noodles as well. I got off track again....food does that to me everytime. I've got so much stuff I've been hoarding for SB.....now to just pull it all together. I love the idea of the vendor night.....I can sell things that aren't really feasible on Etsy....not if I want to cover my Etsy fees....they are so high. :) I've got a lot of things priced under $5...I've got a bunch of things under $1...who am I kidding. I just figure you don't always want a whole lot of something and don't want to have to spend a lot either. This way you can get a little of something and so can someone else and neither of you have to pay out the ass for it. :) I'll take all the cheap goods/sales. My Dad has an excellent idea...he said I should make up a little sheet/board with the trims I have more of at home, so that people can see what I have and if they'd like to do a special order they can. I started cutting 6-inch snippets of all the trims I know I have plenty of.....I cut four yards of each trim. Some trims only had four yards, some not even that, and I have some that I have loads of.....that is what I get for getting my trims here and there. Most of what I am bringing is all I have of most items....so that I can start building up my inventory again...I love a reason to thrift shop/yard & estate sale. :) I am bummed though...my artistic idol....Julie Collings isn't going to have a vendor table at SB afterall.....argh. I was so looking forward to meeting her and buying out her table. :) I guess one of these days, I'll just have to get my ass on a plane, go home to visit the folks and see if we can meet up somewhere. :) I guess I should get back to work....I'll bring the basket of trims into the livingroom with me to roll and bag....."Chuck" is coming on. I can't miss "Chuck".....it's right up there with "Pushing Daisies", "Ugly Betty" and "Grey's Anatomy" for me.

Wicked Witch Switch

This is the loot I received from Tanya of Enchantments and Giggles. Not bad. She fed my fabric addiction. Thanks, Tanya. Silver Bella preparations are coming along...I've been painting this morning....had to wait until Billy went back to sleep. I got game/flash cards bagged and tagged yesterday. The pom poms are done...nice old school craft supply. I actually have some left...argh. Too many of certain colors and not enough of others....oy. I think I'll donate those to Billy's class. :) I started making a list of what was left to do. I asked Clark if he could take me into his office this weekend....they've got some long tables...so I can do a new run through off the ground. I think I'll be able to visualize it much better. So much to do, but I'm not as stressed about it anymore. I'm so excited my sister will be coming. Her birthday was Saturday and she got a cuttlebug courtesy of my parents. I did get her an embossing plate and one diecut.....I just need to send them. I'm waiting because I had something neat for her, but in all this SB stuff....I've misplaced them....argh. Yes, the happy place is a mess yet again. :) I need to take the things for SB that are done and move them to another room. We shall see. Well, I need to go...more work to be done. I have been thinking of new things for the Etsy shop as well.....unfortunately, those will be on the back burner until November. :(

Ooh, that's bad

I did a run through of my table with said props and merchandise....ugh. It was not pretty and I was back at square one. Good thing I got those things at thrift stores and they were cheap (they'll make great storage in my happy place though). :) I was so stressed out. Man, Karla has two out of three done and packed......Heather (Pretty Petals) knows who she is and what her table is going to look like (wonderful, of course.....I love all that romantic shit).....grrr. Yesterday, I was putzing around on Etsy...hoping for a sale.....very slow week.....very....non-existent. That is a totally differnt thing. :) I figured out what to do and got a few things off of Etsy. I did have to run to Michaels (I went to our new Jo-ann's as well...it sucks) to find a few things. They didn't have evrything, so I may have to hit Hobby Lobby this weekend. I love that we've got a couple options of places to go. I'm not spilling the beans though.....top secret. :) I am really excited about it though. Very happy and I will be painting this weekend. I ordered my sweater for Vendor Night and my sister got me a tiara to wear as well. She is coming, too. She'll be helping me and taking classes. I think we'll have a good time and the support and help on Vendor Night will be wonderful. She's waitress part-time, so she will be writing up the sales slips.....plus, she has that "I hate you for paying attention in grammar school" handwriting. The kind they teach you...she liked it so much, so that is how she actually writes...cursive and all..bitch. :) I've ordered our shirts and charms and am really starting to get a little excited. There is still a lot to do.....pack up my supplies, work on swaps, finish vendor night wares.....feeling much better about it all. I got all my Halloween swaps...Lili has pictures on her blog of both of ours....thanks, Lili. I've got pictures of what Tanya sent, I just need more time to blog them. I've got a meeting at the school this afternoon and really should eat something....because I'm STARVING!!!! I was so busy this morning my breakfast was piddly. Bad, bad Wanda. At least I ate something. :)

This blows

I just found out ME Home Companion is ceasing publication soon...the DEC/JAN issue will be the last one. That totally sucks. I love her magazine. I've hoarded them...I guess it will be a good thing for our weight limit. I used to rip out pages and keep them, but as I've gotten older my tastes have changed a little and when I find an older one....I like to keep it for inspiration. We've had a long weekend and it's been a very low key one as well. We stayed home (except one trip to the Post Office for my two sales.....I'm lucky I got those two sales...and a trip to the commissary for food) and lounged about, watched SciFi (not really me...those cheap horror flicks are just not my thing), worked on the exercise bike we got two weeks ago, and just hung out. I got a little SB vendor stuff worked on.....it's hard when Billy is home....he likes to touch and feel and throw everything. I need to really knuckle down and get the vending stuff out of the way, so that I can work on the ten ATCs for one class and my swap. I just can't quite decide what I want to make....cookies, cake...the options..oy. Dinner was good....I tried something new....roasted red potatoes. I just read that getting more fiber in your diet helps you lose weight. I got some of that Fiber One yogurt as well....the key lime pie one is pretty good. I'm hoping between watching what I eat and working on the bike...I'll be a tad more slimmer for SB. At my DR's appointment last month...I was at an all time high (non-pregnancy) of 142 (with clothes/shoes on). I know, some of you are thinking that isn't bad.....if you are 5' 5" or taller. I'm 5 ' 1 1/2"...if I'm lucky. So I look at a tad dumpy. I won't be dressing up in a gown.....too much trouble, trying to find one and since I'm vending...it will be easier to wear pants. I did find a really cute 1950's sweater to wear.....I'm thinking of going as the girl who didn't get asked to Prom. :) It wouldn't be a far reach...I never had a date to any prom...I always went by myself. :) Some saddleshoes would be cool and rolled up jeans. No curlers in my hair though.

Trims, trims, trims

I was tagging some loose trims and decided to count how many I've bagged and tagged so far for SB....oy. It's a lot and I have trims I haven't even started cutting into 1 yard lengths. They are going to range in price from $1-$2/yd. I've got old florist ribbon that I cut up into larger yardage and they are 25-50 cents/yd. I've got more of those to cut as well. Well over 100 yards of trims in 1-yd increments. If you want trims, I'm your woman. I got all my vintage birds tagged today. I'm about halfway through the vintage Christmas ornaments. I've got five mini boxes to wallpaper and then I need to start filling those and the other little boxes with all sorts of treasures. What else am I bringing??? Vintage millinery fruit, vintage tart and jello tins, some sort of ephemera packets, yo-yos made from vintage fabric, "cotton candies", misc vintage items (small figurines, baby bonnets & booties, etc), vintage jewelry, loose vintage beads, unopened packages of ric rac and bias tapes, some funky flocked fruit, vintage cake decorations and whatever else I can tag and bag before November 1st. That is the date I want to be finished tagging. I'm going for a German flea market feel to my booth. I want people to just dig and have fun finding inexpensive things for crafting. I've been finding containers to use at thrift stores...I plan on having those for sale as well....neat tins, silver footed bowls, metal trays. I want to bring little to nothing back with me. I'd like to find one or two bigger containers....a hat box would kick butt. Something that can be towards the back and hold a bunch of stuff. :) Happy day....I got my box form Lili today. I'm waiting until Clark gets back from work....that way we can all see what is in it together. I know if there is candy, they'd sniff it out and find it anyhow. :) For you Bellas....are there any vintage things you are looking for??? Maybe I'll be able to find some before the 1st of November. Jewelry...just stuff to make other things with or do you buy for collections as well??? Questions, questions....always loads of questions.

Things are starting to go smoother

I got my tax stuff taken care of and the lady from NE is going to send me a sales tax form and envelope. We are supposed to collect sales tax, but we won't need a license....sigh of relief. I've am on the two other yahoo groups for Silver Bella....these were an information mother lode. I'm starting to feel the stress go away. I think I can start having fun with it now. I only got a few things bagged and tagged today. I'm waiting on a custom-made rubber stamp that I had commissioned from a lady on Etsy....CraftPudding. I can't wait to see how it turned out. I still need to figure out table ideas/storage containers. I found some really great favor containers on sale at Michaels that I plan to use....they should fit right in with my "food" theme of my store. I just can't decide if I should pre-fill them or or have a larger container of mixed up things for them to scoop out and fill themselves. Which would you prefer as a buyer?? You don't need to be a Bella to comment....delurk..all five of you. :) I still need to work on my giveaway prize....which will probably turn into a "I've sold 100 items in my store" or "It's Halloween" giveaway. I only need to sell 8 more things...I think. I'm happy to report that Lili's box made it to the Netherlands and they will be having a good Halloween. I can't wait for my box. So excited. I don't know if Tanya got her witch box or not. Lili is having a giveaway.....I need to put her on my sidebar...bad Wanda. Elizabeth is having one as well....."Thoughts of an Evil Overlord"....she is on the sidebar. Go forth and try to win some goodies. I will be updating my sidebar. :)

I'm a winner and a total loser

I won one of Karla's giveaways...the one for just Bellas. I get one of her handmade creations. Now the loser part...I was working on my own handmade creations and fudged one up. Man, that glue works well and it really sucks, because I only have so much of that pattern wallpaper. Argh...it was my new vintage wallpaper from Donna (Under the Red Roof). I want to scream...oh, wait..I did...thank goodness Billy had already left for school. I guess that will be a keeper. No, I didn't just screw up the bottom, I screwed up the top as well. I'm having an off kind of day anyhow. Have you ever had dreams that just stuckwith you all day even after waking up and you kind of go through the day completly out of it?? (I know you all are shaking your heads going why are we still checking out her blog...crazy woman.) I did get a lot accomplished yesterday.....I worked on my mouse sized boxes.....I'm covering those little paper mache boxes in vintage wallpaper....like little hat boxes for mice. I have all the "faux" leather boxes made up...I just need to start stuffing them to the gills with goodness. I'm thinking of keeping them for SB. It depends on whether I can find some more and get them done in time. I have plenty to stuff them with...I spent most of my "free" time (aka...Preschool) cleaning up my happy place. It was getting crazy. It is so much easier to get to things if they are all together. Who knew? I do and it still doesn't matter.....rat's nest....I need to have a sign made up for my door. :) I gathered up most of my trims in one large container...forgetting to keep some out for my giveaway project...argh. Of course, that contianer is now covered with other contianers. I suck. I'm so excited..."Pushing Daisies" comes on tonight, followed by Project Runway......it's a good girly night of television. I love all the retro looking clothes that put the gals in....inspiration for prom night...ha. That search is not going well....at least I'm not the only Bella having problems.....if the chat board is any indication. :) Oh well. I need to start on a new box...I've got two to cover and two to finish up. Happy first day of October!