Visual Puns...

Well, I'm off on my boat trip later today, and I'll be back Friday...so until then, here are some visual puns for your amusement!



A pool table



A Nightmare



Dr. Pepper




An Eggplant

A Salted Peanut

A Card Shark

Light Beer

Pipe Troubles and Tuesday's Tips

A lot of you probably don't know, but I'm a landlord. It sounds much more exciting than it really is. When my ex wanted to buy a bigger place (since my own condo was good for either one pack rat or two normal people), I didn't want to sell, so I rented it out.

Well, now the pipes are backing up into the sink from other condos that share the same pipes...The association (which I pay a bit to every month) is supposed to pay for this kind of thing, but the plumber will only charge them if they call the plumber and not me. Well, try and get them to call the plumber! I'll have to call them again at 9 my time and get them on it. We had to go over there last night and cap the pipe so that their kitchen wouldn't overflow during the night.

In other news with a tip:

My doggie sweater made it into www.TimothyAdamDesigns.blogspot.com's weekly top ten! If you haven't checked out his blog, it's a definite must! Lots of how to's...Lot's of marketing ideas...It's definitely where to go when you need any information about etsy. He also is responsible for handmadeology.com which is another invalueable resource!

Want more tips? Click here for all the tips published thus far.

Out to Sea...

Well, out to the lake really...

The boyfriend and I are going out for a two day trip on Lake Mead...you see, his boat is named "The First of May" and so he thought that it would be fun to take a trip on that day. Because of our schedules, we will actually be sailing back to Vegas on the First, but it will still be lots of fun.

There are lots of coves and stuff that we haven't seen because it takes a whole day to get there by sailboat...even with the motor, our top speed is about 5 knots (don't ask me what that is in mph, all I know is it ain't fast).

We're leaving Wednesday night, but cell phone service is suprisingly good on the lake, so I'll still have access to email and stuff.





New item:

I finally got my newest headband up and listed. I really like how it turned out, and I think the picture is so much better than my last headband picture that now I think I need to retake the blue one.

I'll be working on the bolero jacket today and if I don't finish it by the time we leave, I'll take it on the boat with me!


Other news:

Some of you regulars may have noticed something new at the top of my blog...yes, it's an email subscription. Save yourself time scrolling through posts and get this blog directly to your email. I know for me it can be difficult keeping up with all the blogs I follow, this is so much easier!

Sunday Sale!

I haven't posted a sale in quite a while, so I figured that I should make this a big one. Buy anything in the store, and take 50% off another item of equal or lesser value!

**All you have to do is send me a convo with what you'd like to buy and I'll reduce the listing for you!**




In other news:
Yesterday, because I was short of money and the Venetian was short of people, I resurected my role as a living statue. It had been at least 6 months since I did it (I used to do it every week), so I was really nervous about how weak I might be and how sore I might be the next day.

Well, everything was fine. It was quite busy so I got to move a bit for pictures (which really helps the muscles) and I did give a couple of people a bit of a scare (which means I'm being so still that they think I'm really a statue until I wink at them.)

I might do it again on Tuesday which will be good since I traded the rest of the weeks days to go sailing (yes I live in the middle of the desert and yet I can sail all the way to Arizona!)...I'm so glad they let us trade shifts, so I can go and have fun and not lose any money.

Book Review and New Projects!

I've been working on a couple of smaller projects lately. I finished a new headband in a pretty green color and am almost finished with a blue beret. I don't know if I'll have the time to list them today, but they should be up by the end of the weekend. I want them up soon so that I can get started on another custom order. The Bolero Jacket is quite a hit and this will be my third order for one...yay!




Book Review:

I just finished Losing Ground by Catherine Aird. I love a good who-done-it, but this one was quite dull and I was quite dissappointed. By the end I only sort of cared who did it...I can't say that I figured it out before hand, because I wasn't quite moved enough to try. Apparently there's a whole series of Inspector Sloan novels, but I think this one will be enough for me.

I'm also in the process of reading Birds Without Wings by Louis de Berniers for my book club. So far it's a really beautiful book, I'll let you know what I think when I've finished it.

Comment Question:
I was asked yesterday to post some pictures of the River Run...unfortunately I think we only took 2 or 3...When the boyfriend finally gets them off his camera, I'll post them.

Friday's Favorites and River Run!

I had a great time at the River Run yesterday. We road down, and I was probably the only motorcycle passenger listening to NPR podcasts along the way.

Have you ever heard of the expression "having a bee in one's bonnet"?...well that happened to me. A bee flew up inside my helmet and scared me so bad. I was waving frantically at the boyfriend to pull over and he thought I was having some sort of seizure!

I must say, these motorcycle things are a great place to people watch. You have such a wide variety of people going there...everyone from truely normal looking families, to grandmas in leather with tatoos! I was loving every minute of it.

Now on to the Favorites!

For this weeks favorites it was all about recycling...not only in honor of Earth Day, but also due to my yarn recycling obsession of the moment. Some of these were submissions, and some I found while perusing etsy...enjoy!

River Run

The boyfriend and I are off to the River Run today in Laughlin, NV...It's about an hour and a half outside of Vegas. We're going because it's an annual motorcycle thing that goes on there...I'm not quite sure how it will be, but I was promised presents...I'm so easily bribed.

Got the iPod ready to listen to on the trip (yes, of course we're going there on the bike), got comfortable clothes that will protect me and not embarrass my boyfriend in front of the other motorcycle gangs (no, leather chaps though), and he even put a drink holder on the bike for my comfort...We're taking off soon! I'll let you know tomorrow how it went.

Submissions for Friday's Favorites:
In honor of my recent recycled yarn bug, I'm looking for items that are recycled (or upcycled as the case may be). Please post your links in the comments and you could be featured tomorrow! (it doesn't have to be knits, it can be anything recycled)

Don't have anything recycled? Well then, check out mine!

New Item and Stylish Potties!

I finished the Upcycled Light Blue Poncho Style Capelet! I really like how it came out with the yarn. It's soft and fuzzy and there's a hint of sparkle because of the silver metalic threads that are run through the yarn. I love wearing these when I need to stay a bit warm but am wearing something nice. It adds to an outfit rather than a coat which just looks like you're cold (which you are, but people don't necessarily need to know that).




In other news:
The boyfriend redid the toilet that goes on the boat. It had a manual pump which broke, so he put in an electric one. Then he took the Betty Boop Toilet seat that I had bought for my house but that didn't fit on any of the toilets...Then he decided to practice his airbrush flaming technique, and put flames along the bottom.

It's definitely the most unique boat toilet ever! It makes me giggle every time I look at it.

Tuesday's Tips for Etsy

Here's something really neat that I'd heard about, but finally signed up for. It's called Google Alerts. You can type anything you want it to search for, and when it finds it, it emails you. I currently have it searching for my shop name and my blog name...it's amazing where that stuff will pop up!



How to do it:

1. Go to www.google.com

2. Either sign in or create an account

3. Under "My Products" go to "Alerts"

4. The rest is really self explanitory once you get there.



In other news:
I've been using my latest recycled yarn to make a new poncho style capelet. It seemed the perfect choice because the last one sold so quickly...I hope this one does too...I got a lot done on it yesterday, and only 12 more rows to go on it today, so I'll probably finish it in between shows...don't know if my energy will keep up with me to list it tonight, but it should be up there soon.

Have you missed some Tuesday's Tips? Click here to view all of the previous ones!

Addictions

OK, I think I'm totally addicted to unravelling sweaters now. It's like crack to me. I can't wait to go to the thrift stores to find more sweaters that nobody wants so that I can unravel them. It's worse than bubble wrap, and I have it pretty bad for bubble wrap too! I'll sit there for hours popping each one or sometimes if the mood strikes me, I'll roll it out like a red carpet and walk accross it while the bubble pop in between my toes...*sigh*...I need help.
















New Item:
In between getting my sweater fix, I managed to finish a shawl with the remainder of the first recycled sweater. I think I got the sparkle better in the picture than I did for the wrap. I still have some of the yarn left over which I might sell as a supply (I don't have supply section yet, so it will be something new). I just have to figure out an easy way to guage the yardage of what I have left....any suggestions?

In more news:
I found out this morning that one of my halter tops made it into a treasury!
Please click and give it a look see...help boost up it's popularity just a little...thanks!

Sunday Funday!

First things first...We got out to the boat yesterday and everything is fine. There was a lot of damage to some of the boats and their lifts on other docks, but "Q" dock was A Okay! The boyfriend was very much relieved as was I, so to celebrate, what did we do? Well work on the boat of course...For those of you that have never owned a boat, the projects never stop...you finally finish one, and then there's like fifty more that you either want or need to do.

And now for Sunday's video. It's amazing the patience people have to do something so pointless just for the entertainment of the rest of us...



Can't get enough of the Sunday Funday videos? Click here to see some of the ones you may have missed!

My first upcycle/recycle!

Well, first things first...Still don't know about the boat. The people down at the lake said nothing much happened out at "Q" dock, but no one could go out there until yesterday afternoon. Both me and the boyfriend had gigs, so he'll probably go and check on everything after work...keep those fingers crossed. I really don't know if I could handle the bouts of depression that could incur if there is more damage than a little dirt...a little dirt we can handle.



In Recycle news!
I finished my first upcycle/recycle project and put it up on etsy. It's a Blue Sparkly Wrap with fringe and beads...I really shouldn't be as excited as I am about the beads, but I've never put them on a project before...they added a nice weight to the fringe.

It was really hard to show the sparkle of the yarn in the photo...I can see it, but I know it's there...I might have to do some more shots of it soon.

I had a bunch of yarn left over, so I'm making a shawl in the same sort of vein. I doubt I'll finish it today, but hopefully by the end of the weekend I'll have something to show for it.

Don't forget to tune in tomorrow for the "Sunday Funday" video!

Friday's Favorite Finds

Before we get into the favorites, just a quick update...We still don't know if the boat is OK. Lake Mead Boat Harbor is still not letting people go out to the docks to check on their boats. Hopefully the boyfriend can go today, but he has a gig tonight, so I don't know if there will be time.

Also, I made a sale yesterday! Yay! I sold the Blue Poncho Style Capelet. I have new item to photo and list today too, once I get squared away with my music and stuff for the show tonight.

And now for the favorites!
Because Mother's Day is coming up pretty fast, I decided to go with matching mother/daughter listings. There were so many cute one's to choose from!



Do you have a mother/daughter listing in your shop? Post the link in the comments so that other's can see it too!

A gig...finally

Well, due to the economy and what not, the phone has not been ringing off the hook...in fact, I haven't booked a gig in 2 months. Yesterday, however, I got booked for a show tomorrow! 45 minutes of close-up magic and an 8 minute set on stage. For most private parties, I only get booked for close-up, so it's awesome that I'm doing a stage set...it really is my favorite place to be.

I took the day off from the Venetian for tomorrow, since the gig starts before my last show is done...Luckily all the performers need days, so it was easy finding myself a replacement...This also means that I get to sleep late for the next 5 days! Although, sleeping late for me is waking up at 8:30, regardless of how tired I am.


In other news:
Due to the strong winds out here, the boyfriend's boat might be no more...we don't know yet. Many of the docks were blown off their moorings down at the lake and many boats have crashed into one another...He went down on Wednesday to pick up some tools, and the bridge to his boat was out and he saw some of the damage...he hasn't gotten to look at his boat yet...they weren't letting people out there yesterday, so he's going to try to go out there today and see...I think she'll be ok, but he's worried sick. Send some positive thoughts out for "The First of May" (that's the boat's name).

Are you in an area that's cold right now? Click here to help yourself warm up!

And tune in tomorrow for Friday's Favorite Finds!

New look!

If you've been here before, you might have noticed that my blog looks slightly different than it did before. I used the banner sketch from the previous post and made myself a new banner. I like how it turned out, but I wish I could move it to the right to go over my posts and not the sidebar. If anyone has any suggestions on how to do this, please let me know.

I also redid the banner for my shop. Take a gander at it and let me know what you think. It's quite different from the last one.


In other news:
I'm making an evening stole out of some sparkly recycled yarn. I would have been finished yesterday, but I decided that it would look so much better with a beaded fringe, so I'm holding off on posting it and am going to get some beads and fringe it up!

Today I'm going to make a shawl out of the same yarn. I'm really hoping I have enough left to make it...if not, I'll use my fancy shmancy yarn ball winder (that I talked about here) and I'll wind it back up!

Tuesday's Tips for Etsy

For today's tip, I'm going to focus on shop appearance...most importantly the banner. Now I have realized for a while that my shop is in desperate need of a new one, but life and knitting have gotten in the way. Hopefully next weekend I'll be using this cool tool I found online:

bannersketch.com is a free tool that can help you make banners any size for your shop. I played around with it last night and saved what I've been working on, so hopefully soon I'll have something new to show for it. Have fun with this one!

Need more tips? Click here to view the previous tips that you might have missed.

Two Book Reviews

So I finished the two books I was reading. Neither of them are going to set the litterary world on fire, but they were still lots of fun...and sometimes that's the point isn't it?


The first book is The Ruins by Scott Smith. It reads like a typical "b" horror movie, so you get comfortable in what you think is going to happen...then something else entirely happens. Since it takes place on a mountain near Cancun, it's the kind of scarry book you can read in your house late at night and still not be scared that anything is going to come and get you in the middle of the night.




The second book was Final Theory by Mark Alpert. To me it seemed like the scientific version of The DeVinci Code, but instead of Jesus' lineage, it's the theory of everything that Albert Einstein created and if found by the wrong people could mean the end of the world. It's full of action, and I could totally see this one as a movie if one hasn't already been made of it. (I don't see too many movies, so I'm kind of out of the loop where that is concerned.

Need more book reviews? Here are some previous posts where I discuss the strange things that I read

Sunday Funday and Eggsellent Easter!

Happy Easter everyone!


I finished my newest Halter Top yesterday! It's really soft, really comfortable and I just love the combination of the white and the blue. It should be a great casual top for the summer!

Sunday Funday Video!

I don't know about you guys, but I'm a huge fan of the game shows. Having the game show network on my cable is like crack to me and I could sit and watch it all day...What's better than game shows? (well, a lot of things actually, but that's not what I had in mind)...Game Show Bloopers! Enjoy everyone!



Have you missed some "Sunday Funday Videos"? Click here to see some of the videos from previous weeks

Almost Finished...

...with almost everything.


Everything is at that kind of point today where with just a little work it will be done. Only a few more rows to go on my newest halter top (which is similar to the one pictured here), only a few more pages to go on 2 of the books that I'm reading, and only a few more rooms to go on my cleaning...well...maybe all the rooms in that last one.




Cleaning is definitely my first priority today. I find a happy house is one that actually has a pathway from the front door to the kitchen. Our living room is full of tools and projects: my boyfriend's projects (for his boat and his newest airbrushing obsession), my projects (knitting of course), and my doggie's projects (she likes to build forts out of blankets)...and that's only one room!

I'm not going to make outrageous claims like, "I'm going to clean the whole house today!"...but at least making the downstairs presentable would be nice.

Tune in tomorrow for the "Sunday Funday" video!

Friday's Favorite Finds!

Today's favorites are going to be a little different. Since I was able to snag a treasury yesterday morning (while the boyfriend was waiting impatiently for me to get ready), I decided that the items in the treasury were definitely some of my favorites.

Click here to view the treasury...and give it a few clicks to help move it up on the list!

Then, out of nowhere, one of my doggie sweaters was put in someone elses treasury! So I'm going to add that one to the favorite finds too!

Click here to see lots of super cute doggies in their super cute outfits...WARNING: CUTE OVERLOAD!

Also, just to let you guys know, one of last weeks favorites was sold! Yay for Tootsytwo!!!

Loving my toy!

I got my yarn ball winder in the mail yesterday. Such fun! I made at least four balls last night...three are yarns from a sweater I'm upcycling/recycling. Even the boyfriend had a blast. For those of you yarn people out there, I highly recomend getting one...even if you don't really need it, it's still hours of entertainment.

In other news:
Sorry, this might be a little ranty, but I am sick of getting blamed for other people having bad magic shows. It seems people go and see a magic show and if it's bad, they come to me and rant about it. If they'd only asked, I would have told them good ones to see...the problem is that there is a lot of really bad magic out there, and people who see one bad magic show get so scarred that they never want to see another one again. And then they come to me (I've gotten yelled at a couple of times) telling me how horrible it was...Like I didn't already know!

For those of you coming to Vegas, the best magic shows (in no particular order) are: Mac King, Lance Burton, and Penn & Teller...Sometimes more good ones will crop up along the way. I'm not saying that all the others are bad, but these are the most highly recommended.




Shameless Plug:


You can look tres chic in this beret...and with free shipping, it's quite the steal! Maybe you're not an off white type of gal? You can order them in other colors too!

Go ahead, buy one and make all your friends jealous.

Remember to tune in tomorrow for "Friday's Favorite Etsy Finds!"

The Bag Lady

She's done! I finished The Bag Lady at work yesterday. I'm really proud of how she turned out, but I think I'm going to have to retake some of the pictures...they're a little darker than I'd like them.

Finally a place to put all those plastic grocery bags!

Do you stuff them in a drawer? Do you cram them behind a refrigerater? Or do you, (gasp!) throw them away?

Now you can store them in the bag lady. Her skirt is made to hold plastic bags until you need them.

She measures 15 inches from head to bottom of her skirt, and has a loop above her head for easy hanging. Her head and torso are already stuffed with plastic bags to help hold her shape, but the skirt is all yours!

In other news:
I have my bookclub meeting tonight. The general consensus is that none of us were particularly crazy about the book, but tonight we'll be picking next month's and hopefully it will be a lot better.

Tuesday's Tips for Etsy

Despite my best efforts, the bag lady didn't get finished yesterday. I came down with a massive headache and all I could do was lie there and wait for the Tylenol to take effect...When it did, I was able to finish her dress and make her hat...just a couple of arms and she's ready to go!



Tuesday's Tips:
Not only is it good to get more hits to your esty store, but it's also good to get more hits to your blog to help drive traffic to your store (hopefully from many different sources). Some people do this through Social Networking Sites, some through Blog Directories.

Lenox Knits wrote an amazing blog about this: Click here to see it.
When I read it, I knew that there was no way I could do a job even half as good as this, so please go and check it out!

Want more tips? Click here to read the ones you missed.

Projects and stuff...

Well, I started a project yesterday which I'm hoping to finish today. It's crochet bag lady...now before we start wondering if that is PC or not, it's a doll whose skirt holds all those plastic grocery bags that one never knows what to do with. I've wanted to make it for a while, but kept putting it off...now it's almost done!

It's so nice to be psyched about a project again!




In other news: I mailed out a bunch of magic brochures yesterday. Though the post office near me closed, I found another one that's open on a Sunday. Why is it that whenever I need anything mails, it's always Sunday? And the best part about this particular post office is that it's right next door to "Tropical Smoothie Cafe"! So I get to treat myself for running an errand!

Hmmmm...what should I mail out next Sunday?

Sunday Funday Video!

I'm getting really tired of the sweater that I'm making. I think I'm going to put it down for a while and make something else. I started on a scarf last night that I might work on today, but there's also a scrap crochet project that I've been wanting to make forever that I just keep putting off. We shall see, but for now the sweater is on hold...Since I'm not into it right now, I don't think that I'll put the love into it that it deserves, but maybe next week I'll be feeling it again.

Sunday Funday Video:
There are so many cat videos on the web. Some are boring, some are funny, but they all are cute...here is a compilation I found with some of the funniest cat moments...enjoy!



Cats! Cats! Cats! - video powered by Metacafe

Do you have a cat that does crazy things?

Click here to view past Sunday Funday Videos

Never ending projects

I've realized that it's been a while since I've done a mailing for my magic stuff to the agencies in town, so that is today's project...if I can get the printer to work, that is. Hopefully it will get me a couple of gigs, since I haven't had any for almost 2 months (it seems like longer)...

I'm also going to look for a yarn ball winder for some of my recycled yarn...I saw some for around 40 bucks on ebay and some for a little higher on etsy. I'd really rather buy one from etsy, though, so we shall see. If anyone reading this has one for sale in their shop, please leave me a comment so I can take a look.


Shameless plug:

These lovely pastel fingerless gloves are great for those of you where Easter might have a bit of a chill in the air...but they're great for anyone really...super soft too!

Don't forget to tune in tomorrow for the "Sunday Funday" video of the week!

Friday's Favorites

Before we get to the favorites, I just have to say that I have one of the most wonderful boyfriends in the world...yesterday, started out as a bad day with a million things going wrong, me bumping my head, and the final straw was Sprint telling me that I had $200 worth of text messages that I owed them (yet, I have unlimited texts!)...well, he got up, took me to the AT and T store, bought me a really cool phone, signed me up for a new plan, and then took me to Jamba Juice (my favorite!)...*sigh* he turned a bad day into a great one.

Now for the favorites!
In honor of Easter, I went with some pastels. Some are items that were submitted and some I found on my own while browsing through etsy...enjoy!



Had enough pastels for this season? There are some other colors and styles in store for you right over here!

Busy Bee

I've been quite the busy bee at work. Yesterday I finished my Poncho Style Capelet. I actually made one for myself a few years back, and of the things I've made I've probably worn this the most (well, after the house socks...my feet get cold). I'm also really proud of how the picture turned out too!

In other news: It seems as if gigs are coming back to Las Vegas. The boyfriend had 3 this week. All of them on stilts, so the poor baby is really tired and I'm letting him sleep in today. I haven't gotten any calls as of yet, but one of my goals for today is to do a mailing...maybe those calls will start coming in again and I won't have to stress about money...*fingers crossed*

Friday's Favorites Submissions: Since Easter is on its way, I thought I'd do a Friday's Favorites section on pastel colors. If you have an item that's pastel (can be anything from jewelry to paintings to knitwear to whatever), post the link in the comments and tune in tomorrow to see the Friday's Favorites picks!

Short

I'm running a little late this morning, so this post will be on the short side.

I finished the custom order yesterday and got it posted and listed. Today I should finishe the new poncho...

Now I need to get to work!