New items to list

I have a few items that I need to get added to my store and hope to accomplish that tomorrow. Here's a sneak peek at one of the items:



I love the bright colors in this paper; I already have some cards (blank and versatile!) and tags listed on goshery that were made with this same paper.

I'm having a little camera issue - I know - but hopefully I can get the pictures downloaded, edited, resized and list my new items very soon.

Call me Toby . . .

One of my favorite shows on TV is The Office. This show originally aired in Britain and before the American version even hit the airwaves there was controversy about whether or not the American version could possibly be as good as the original. I read an article about the show and made a point to watch the pilot; as an employee in an office I thought that it might be a show that I could relate to. I'd like to brag a bit here and say that I loved the show right from the start, even though the ratings and viewership were not that good. Yes, I know a good thing when I see it.

One of the classic and often repeated lines on the show is "what she said". Michael, the boss, uses that line when he can't think of a good come back and it's always funny. You really need to hear it in context to get the humor. I use the reference in some of my title columns - look to the right.

The show is just all kinds of awesome. The boss is Michael Scott, and I'm so very glad that I've never had a boss like him because I'm not sure that he would be as funny in real life. But this is TV and he's hilarious!!

My counterpart on the show is Toby, the HR Manager. We are the fun-wreckers in the office, the policy police, and Toby plays the role so well. On the last show of last season Toby left The Office, and that made me so sad. Here's Toby, played by Paul Lieberstein; he's also a writer and the Co-Executive Producer of the show:

He has such deadpan delivery and plays the part so well. I hope he comes back because the show just won't be the same without him!

The first show of Season 5 aired last night and I have it on my DVR but haven't watched it yet. I know! It's on my list of fun things to do this weekend.

If you haven't watched The Office yet you really should check it out. I'm not even getting paid to say that.

Weekend Getaway

I'm lucky enough to belong to a book club with some wonderful friends, and we were all able to get away for a long weekend together last weekend. It was so fun and relaxing and the weather certainly cooperated. We were able to spend some time on the pontoon cruising around the lake on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.



We also took time to discuss our most recent book, Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult. It was an interesting book with lots of great discussion topics including transplant surgery, motherhood, prison life and the death penalty. Whew!

I actually spent 3 whole days away from my computer and my Etsy store which was probably a much needed break. Now I'm back at it though, and ready to make some more items to add to my inventory. Be sure to check it out!

First Etsy Sale!

Tonight I had my first Etsy sale! Yay! I happened to be online and when I saw the email pop up I was so excited. I sold 4 cards and quickly got to work gathering the cards, the thank-you notes I had already made, the envelope . . . what else do I need to do?? It was kind of confusing since I haven't done it before, but Etsy is a very organized website so it really walked me through the steps. Also, I've spent a lot of time reading forums and blogs to try to understand the process.

Since this was my first sale I added an extra card as a surprise for my buyer - I hope she likes it!

Ok, should I sit here all night to see if I get another sale?? Just kidding, I don't expect things to happen too quickly but it does make it kind of hard to walk away from the computer!

Boo!

There's a chill in the air and the leaves are starting turn a beautiful golden yellow, so Halloween must be right around the corner. I just listed a set of Halloween Treat Bag Toppers in my Etsy store; see photo below.



These Treat Bag Toppers and cello bags would be perfect for giving out Halloween treats.

I've never been a huge fan of Halloween when it comes to dressing up, but I sure do love seeing the little ghosts and goblins when they come to the door on October 31st.

When my daughter was younger she not only thought up her own costume but she also came up with a costume for her dog. In real life he's a Golden Retriever, but on Halloween he's been lots of different things including a camel and a cow. Here he is dressed as a cow:



Poor dog!! He was always a good sport and was just happy to be out and about with his best friend!

Please be sure to stop by my store and check out my other items!

Nickle Dickle Days!

Today was the 47th Annual Nickel Dickel Days celebration in Waconia, MN which is about an hour from my house (if you include all the road construction detours - so annoying!). Although this celebration has been going on for 47 years it was my very first time to attend. What made me interested? The news that "Mementos", a scrapbooking store, was having a HUGE paper sale! If you read my previous posts you know that I'm addicted to paper, so when I heard about it there was no doubt that I wanted to go.

I went with two good scrappin' friends and we arrived there around 10:30 a.m. The town of Waconia was packed and we had to look long and hard to find a place to park. Since it was raining we were happy to find a spot in a nearby parking lot.

The deal was that for every piece of patterned paper you bought you got the second sheet for 5 cents!! That's right, 5 cents - a nickle - just like the name of the celebration! Here's how much paper I bought:



I'm not sure if this picture tells the true story, but trust me when I tell you that I bought a lot of paper, and a few other things too! It was a successful shopping trip followed by lunch; doesn't get much better than that.

Or does it??

On our way home we decided to make a stop at JoAnne Fabrics in another nearby town. I needed some more folded cards & envelopes to make all of the new cards I want to make with all of my new paper. We all found a bunch more stuff to buy there including some really fun ribbon and a paper stack called "Harvest & Holiday" by Debbie Mumm (love her!). Yes, we actually bought more paper. It was another successful stop; doesn't get much better than that.

Or does it??

On our way out of town my girlfriend noticed that "Lillian's" was open. Lillian's is a specialty store that sells adorable purses, billfolds, sunglasses, etc. Since they are only open a few weekends a month it's sometimes hard to get there. We saw lots of cute things and managed to buy even more. Now we have lots of craft supplies and some new accessories; doesn't get much better than that.

Or does it??

Yes, we actually did more shopping! I don't even like to shop, except for craft supplies! There's a really nice scrapbooking store just two doors down from Lillian's so as long as we were that close we had to drop in there too. We all managed to find a few more things we needed - yes, needed - and then we really did go home. A really fun day spent with friends; doesn't get much better than that.

Or does it??

Just kidding! No, it really doesn't get any better.

Now that I'm home and I've organized and put away all of my purchases it's time to get back to work. Can you guess what I'm working on now?



I have about a million ideas in my head of things I want to make with all of my new paper, so off I go!

My Etsy Store is now open!

I returned from my trip to Oregon (taking my daughter to college) and have opened my store. Here's a peek at a few of my items; please visit my store to see more.



I've had lots of views of items already so now I'm just waiting for that first sale!

Fall is definitely here and there's a chill in the air. The best part of fall, for me, is football! I'm anxious for the first MN Vikings game on Monday night.

More to come . . . be sure to stop by my Etsy store!