My week thus far

So it is September 29th today.  The end of September.  Fall has officially begun and I assumed that cooler weather would soon be coming our way.  I love scarves and accessorizing with them so I was really looking forward to actually needing them versus suffering for the sake of looking cute.  =)

But alas.  Southern California weather has not been so helpful.  The weather has been well over 100 for two days and still staying in the high 90s today much to my chagrin.  And since it is so warm, I'm having a hard time getting myself to focus on the work that is before me - and hard to remember that it is, in fact, the end of September and that the Christmas holidays are upon us!

But Etsy has done a wonderful job of trying to force me to remember so I am doing that.  Besides my Christmas shopping updates which you have been seeing, I will also be keeping you all up to date on my jewelry preparations for the holidays and trying to give some (hopefully) helpful ideas for all of your shopping needs as well.

But while I am working on all of those things, the late Indian summer we are having right now has been inspiring as well as difficult to work in.  There have been magnificent sunsets and the most breath-taking harvest moons.  My husband took this shot over the weekend and you can even see Venus in the shot too.

While we wait for the cooler weather that does usually come to Orange County during the autumn and winter, I will endure the heat if I can enjoy more beautiful evenings like these.

Have a beautiful week everyone!

Operation Christmas Shopping for Family: Third Status Report

The hardest person to shop for has been shopped for!  Alright, so it is probably just going to be a stocking stuffer or something but still!  This item is perfect for my husband - I couldn't believe I found it today!

The Perfect Gift!!!

I love my tech-savvy husband dearly and he truly is "adorkable".  =D  I'm really excited about this one.  

Have a great day everyone!

Operation Christmas Shopping for Family: Second Status Report

So my search is continuing for gifts for my family.  I have an idea for my mother-in-law and that is a bath/beauty/spoil-yourself-at-home kit.

Here are some things I've found so far:

• Scrubbies!  I thought these were adorable and super useful.
• Sugar Scrub! This sounds amazing and this vendor included actual customer reviews (which are always a great thing to see!) and they all sound like very happy people.  I'm tempted to get two... (I want one too...)  =)
• Scents!  My mother-in-law already has a warmer so these yummy scents would be great to do with her scrubbies and sugar scrub!    
• Or if I can't decide on all these great individual products, maybe I'll just get her a "Spa Day in a Box"!  This set looks amazing and this vendor is right - great idea for emergencies or gifts!

And if I did the first three items, my total for her gift would be about $25!  So I would either have a luxurious gift at a great price or a little more to get her something else to go with it!  

If I keep up this pace, I'll have everything purchased for my family before we get to Thanksgiving!  =)  But that is also part of the goal.

Have a beautiful day!

Operation Christmas Shopping for Family: First Status Report

So I am realizing that my previous post about it being almost Christmas is quite serious.  I really do need to get on that.  But I am incredibly indecisive and am going to be asking for you, my readers, help very shortly.  Before that though, you should probably know who I am shopping for.

Objective: Gifts for all on this list

• Hubby
• My mother
• My father
• My brother
• My sister
• Mother-in-law
• Father-in-law
• Brother-in-law 1
• Brother-in-law 2
• My brother's girlfriend
• Brother-in-law's girlfriend

So quite the list.  I am feeling a little scared right now...  But with Etsy, I know I can find something for everyone and still stay in my budget!  Especially if all the items are as great as this first one that I have found!

So I was browsing around the Geekery section on Etsy and stumbled across this seller: http://www.etsy.com/shop/beanforest.  Beanforest is one of my new favorite Etsy vendors!  I spent an hour sitting in front of my computer yesterday going through literally every single pin and loving all of them!  Not for the prudish or easily offended but great for the person with a dry sense of humor and incredibly cheap!  So for this price, I am thinking of buying a batch of them and adding them as stocking stuffers or a manly version of the bow on their gifts!  What do you think?

Have a beautiful day!

It's ALMOST Christmas!!!

I know this is probably extremely premature for some of you but I have more people to shop for this Christmas.  This is only my second Christmas as a married woman and finding gifts for all of the men on my husband's side of the family can be challenging.  Not that the women are much easier.  Both my mother and my mother-in-law are amazing people and I want to get them something special and meaningful.  But I am determined to do most of my Christmas shopping on my new favorite website: www.etsy.com!  So that is my objective between now and December 25th.

Mission: Christmas shopping for family
Time:  Immediately
Execution: Scour Etsy for the perfect Christmas presents for all of my family members!

I invite all of you to join me in this journey towards that monstrous goal!  =)  I hope you enjoy the ride.

Have a beautiful day!

Getting my act together!

Hello all!  Many apologies for being gone for an unforgivably long period of time.  But now I am back and my goals are set, my materials are staring me in the face, and everything is pretty set to go with those collections I keep teasing all of you with!

But I am still stuck facing that insurmountable obstacle: myself.  I love pretty nearly every single thing I make.  I know this business well enough to know that I won't be able to keep going if I don't believe in my designs and products 100%.  So I invest a lot into what I am making.  That being said, I still want other people's approval of what I make and do.  And that tends to get me into an uncreative rut.  I get stuck waiting for other people to sit and look at what I'm doing and say it is amazing.

Self-sufficiency is the number priority on my to-do list this week. =)

Have a beautiful day!