Poppy and Ivy

The part where the stars aligned.....

Yep. They did. The clouds parted. Angels sang. Did you see and hear it?

JOHN did a blog header for me. (I think I was a little TOO blue Friday). So...we have discovered that JOHN has quite a bit of talent in the design business. Then he started messing with my blog, adding page breaks, dotted lines, new colors and I got snippy with him. I apologized. I mean...he IS my designer and all.

We got an Etsy account up and going...but it is raw work in action...I won't really perform the unveiling on that until later this week. And it might just involve champagne for everybody me. This has not been as simple of a task as I had thought it would be. Quite the opposite in fact.

I had the shop open today just to test the waters. It's my "day off" (that always makes me giggle a bit) and I went and set up for the Embroidery Class, caught the UPS man and just fussed about the shop. I am interested in being open Mondays. NOBODY on my stretch is open then and it surprises me, but we ARE all single owners and being open 5 days a week is tiring enough as it is since ALL of us make a lot of our goods for sale. It is basically a seven day a week job. I used to have great Mondays up on Alberta...they far surpassed my Wednesdays. And in the perfect world....I would have a free employee who worked one day a week. Hahahahhaaaaa.....

In my shop, it really doesn't matter if you are a great "sales person"....honestly. It either catches folks eye, or it doesn't. Maybe you could inform them of sale areas, special events or new items...

More pics for you...

In case you needed to know body parts in Italian...I will share with you. Just this once. And maybe again next week. Who knows?....it's all a roll of the dice with me.

Now...should you ever go to Italy and you want to compliment someone's...uhhhh....body parts.....you can! I would avoid handing out chin compliments. But that's just me.

My favorite shots from Artful Blogger by Somerset...I have been DROOLING on this issue all weekend.

 

Go grab yourself a copy....it's good times...good times.

Happy Monday!

I cry Uncle!

I just give up. I am throwing in the towel for tonight.Etsy might be killing me. I have a blog header to apply...but it won't "take". And now Etsy...sweet mother of pearl. It says ALL my photos are too big, my files are too small, my parameters are all wrong.....this has been an hour of just trying to "set up shop". I am pulling out my hair. This seems WAY too tedious. And I can't change my name...I signed up a year ago to just buy and now that's my forever I.D. UG. Really cranky. I had FUN stuff to list too......

I hit a mother load of a sale and this was her SECOND weekend. I can't even think about the stuff "that got away".....I have to just be thankful I got ANY of it!

Bless this gal's heart for her pink, silver and white 1950's Christmas collection. Ohhhhh....my heart went pitter and patter. The lady also sewed all of her own clothes and they were AMAZING. And when she was older, she was a square dancer...but the outfits were a size 22 (good for her dancing every Friday night!) and a bit tired. Large and tired. I know the feeling.....

Oh...I think I posted too many photos too quickly....this site keeps threatening to "stop running this script". Have I been cursed by the Computer Gods this week or WHAT? No banner, no Etsy and no photos....Shesssh....

Okay....I have to try to sneak in a couple more....I do not know WHERE my children get their stubborn streaks.....

Okay...I really had better not push it again. I had best go prepared for the Tuesday Embroidery 101 Class (featuring my favorite line....Sublime Stitching) at the shop. It filled up! Yeah.....still some openings for the August Vintage Card Class if you feel like brushing up on craft skills....Happy Sunday.

(Photo courtesyof Jenny Hart & Sublime Stitching)

 

 

Saturday...Sunday...however you want to look at it....

I have 3 giggling kids in my basement.

Two (almost) 10 year olds...and a 7 year old. I only hear laughing, giggling and snickers. It is almost 2:00am and I would go down and say "HEY!"...but is it worth it? I would have LOVED that at their age!!!

So...here I am killing time....

Today I started an Etsy account and I will post tomorrow. I want to start with more than 2 things....so I will go to the shop and take great shots of stuff....wa-hoo for me!!! I have wanted to do that for 18 months now!

I flipped some stuff in the shop today. I made a beach/coast section and cleaned up the white department and added to the orange department. So busy.....

I came home to some funny stuff. I had my Honda Accord stolen from our front yard about 4 years ago. I got insurance money, but one night about 3 years ago a lawyer called saying he was representing my county. That I could come see the trial of man who stole my car. He'd stolen 3 in one month...so the county was prosecuting on our behalf.

Two months later I got a check for 12.50 cents.

Today, I received a check for 12.50 cents. 3 years after the fact......

Can someone explain where that money comes from? This seems so silly.

Do I get a reimbursement every 24 months?

I could maybe buck up and accept 25.00 every 2 years...that's fine too. LOL.....

Oh. Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....kids have been quiet for 20 minutes. They might even be ASLEEP.

Happy Sunday!

A better day....?

Okay....DO over. Yesterday was a long, hard day. Could you tell?

Today..the camera card works, I got my foot wrapped up pretty well, I hit an estate sale & the local Goodwill in the early evening (not much of a haul...my head wasn't in the game) and sent my daughter off for her Youth Group Camp today. Maybe I had that weighing on my mind more than I realized yesterday. I don't love it when she's away. Thank God we never have to worry about that with my son. He will still be here --glued to my hip, in my craft area or on our trampoline--when he is 39.

She's been a mess about leaving. She's been so clingy yet she's also trying to be "grown up" and hang out with her friends and the occasional boy, then she gets worried and comes home because she misses us. Then she's mad at US that she felt homesick.In her OWN neighborhood.  Ahhh....13 years old. What fun. So, this morning at 6:30am, she headed off to Lame Deer, Montana. That child has been to more wide-open states this year...hahaha! They told her to pack a hat and she wanted to head to the Nike store for a "cool  baseball hat" but then she decided to be a little different....

Howdy partner....when in Montana, do as the (?) do....

Her brother was to the right, then he wasn't. I do not know WHERE he went off to in the time I said "Stand next to Madeline" and put my finger to the button. That's just how he rolls.

The yard is coming together despite my neglect.

Here are some of the finds. Again...my mind was on getting Madeline packed, so I don't think I was fully engaging "my Spidey senses".

I just want to sing "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and hop around my yard when I see these. But....that would be kinda weird.

I finally finished the big alphabet re-haul for my craft area, I had an explosion of alphabets. Just all over the place. So, I purchased these wooden boxes from IKEA, swore like a pirate trying to build them, had JOHN take over the construction and then the kids sorted all the alphabets out for me. That makes up for 3 years of pretending that they "didn't know" if the dishes in the washer were clean or dirty so they didn't empty it. Okay...almost. Well, really...it's not even close to making up for it.

 

I tried to explain this little project to my mother and she was quiet and said "I think I'd have to see it in person". So...there you go Mom! Hollah!

Here was the street outside the shop yesterday...

See that car WAY up there coming out of Starbucks? Well...they didn't come by the shop. Nobody did. My store was like a sad little museum.

All of us shop owners just walked around to each other's shops and chit chatted. Splurge had donuts.Wish I had known that when I was REALLY hungry...but that wouldn't be a wise move. Because one donut leads to two.....all bad. Especially since I can't work it off for 2-3 weeks! Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

Even the barber shop next door was quiet. I mean really...on most Fridays, if I had a nickel for each guy that entered that door...I'd make more than I made yesterday! Hahahaaa....

Here's to a happy, upbeat and prosperous Saturday, cheers!

New items & other delights

I received a new line of cards today by local water color artist Linda Daily. She is primarily watercolor and she dabbles in collage art. I liked her style....

And I even got some more cards produced myself last night! My son allowed me into my own art area. He's been quite busy. He's made several 2009 calendars that must have a production cost of around $417.00 a piece. Amazing how quickly a kid can blow through a nine dollar box of adhesive, a six dollar box of buttons and various packs vintage ephemera. Ug. If it's true that life is just one big test...then I do here name him the most excellent of professors.

Carrying on.....

 

Oh....some fantastic cocktail rings came from Angela, my unstoppable bead artist. She never rests. She's amazing. And she's into so many styles right now.....ALL charming.

Other pieces of eye candy for you....

So, it seems tonight I will not be doing any crafty work, but laying in bed icing my foot and taking Ibuprofen. I do have an injured foot and now I awaiting news of whether it's fractured or broken as well. Ug. I knew something was up. I messed it up Monday. It hurt after Jazzercise and then I walked 3 miles on it and was just in agony during the walk. Drat. I walked thinking I was just in need of a good stretch of the foot. Little did I know...so I gave in and visited the doctor today. I am now hoping, hoping, hoping it's not a fracture. I do NOT have the patience to keep off my foot for 4-6 weeks! The 2 weeks will be torture enough! I have a marathon to train for! I have a kid to pack up for camp! I have a dog to walk! I have kids to yell at for goodness sake! (I am kidding about that...it is WAY too late in the game to make the yelling effective.)

Happy Thursday to you all. Seems there are MANY estate sale & garage sale signs popping up today. Looks like a good weekend! I need a personal shopper to go get the goods......

A Year Ago ....

I  used to sell these candles and need to re-order them like CRAZY. I am much more in love with the packaging and long life of the Archipelago candles. My favorite...Positano and Pacifca.Mmmmm.....these candles pictured above on clearance now! What a difference 12 months (and 12 blocks) can make!

 

These guys always felt like they were cheering me on during the day!  

The graphics and story line of this book is fantastic. I sold it about 3 weeks ago...after keeping it for  myself for one year. I just couldn't let go! But it ended up going to a good home. Whew.

Ahhhhhh.....the good old days when I had TIME to go to estate sales.

Oh. This book was the book that would change my life. However....I still have the fabric that I purchased WITH the book in a sweet little pile. <Deep sigh>

Oh...THE EGGS. It was THIS week that the egg business started! That was the oddest thing! The gal at the post office couldn't handle it anymore. By my 7th visit with little white boxes she broke down and said "I HAVE to know!!!! What are mailing?????".

She came to the shop a week later and bought some herself!

I enjoy looking back. It reminds me how far Poppy & Ivy has come! It also makes me want to to estate sales this weekend. Trouble......

Happy Tuesday.

Maybe I shouldn't be given "free time".....

I was SO enamored with all my "free time" the last few days, that I have done the wackiest things.

I ran off to a scrapbook store Saturday before a big Bunco school fund raiser. I had to be back to Portland by 7:00...but I DID it. It was an hour and half round trip and worth EVERY minute of it! We just have nothing left in Portland really as far as scrapbooking goes and I honestly try to avoid the box chains if I can....they are putting the little guys in jeopardy! I still want to hit Art and Scraps in Vancouver really badly...but this Scrapbook Fever was our destination of the day. And I always have collage...but I was looking for the Creative Imagination Cafe line in particular. So much fun.....

 

These journaling strips are brilliant. They are sold by the foot and you can stamp on them, write on them, use rub-ons...you name it. Brilliant and about 4 designs.

The new travel line by Making Memories....for all that traveling we do. HA!!!!!

Why did I drive that far? Because I was with my friend! My good friend Kate (of birds-on-canvas, felt birds and NikePlus Kate) is moving to Toronto for 2 years. It's JUST TEMPORARY...she isn't even selling her home here in Portland...but she is the buddy that can go to these places with me and never say "But WHY?". Instead she squeals and darts all over the place just like I do...and the little angel on my one shoulder says "What a great opportunity for their family. They HAVE to take it..the kids will learn so much, they can experience great new things...all so good". The little devil says "Is she TRYING to ruin my life? WHO will I shop with???? Can I still text her at 3:00am??". JUST KIDDING!!! (says the good angel).......

And guess what I did at the shop?

I found a little corner for Christmas goodies! I have TONS.

And yes....I am a vintage shop, but I still pulled all my vintage Christmas when I moved in January.

And then...I forgot where it went.

And then...I found it. On Friday night. So....WAHOOOOO.....And Ho-Ho-Ho...

Oh so much fun. Off to unpack and process even more Holiday additions. Seems weird when it's 76 degrees at night. HA!

Happy, Happy, Happy.....

So...the children in our family (my adorable offspring) have let me know that maybe...just maybe...I have worked too long, too hard for the last few years. They say "It was bad enough when you were working too hard for a person who didn't even CARE that you worked that hard...but now that you work too hard for yourself...we are cranky".

Okay....message received...loud and clear.

So...I called a local gal and she is going to work for me every Sunday for the summer. That was really my HARD time...that second weekend day. And I have another gal who has offered some hours ...but I felt so badly because she sounds like she works like a dog as it is...so I even though she is ASKING ME for hours...I feel bad saying "Yes...Thursday mornings would be great"...but I might just need to do so....

Maybe I have hit a wall.

I have been feeling worn down, falling behind in almost every aspect. Falling behind in shop, home and family... I work ALL the hours at the shop unless my husband covers... (aerobics half an hour a week). And I also make some of my top selling items and I am falling behind on most of those items.

It is TIME that I ask for help. I get SO concerned about covering hours financially...but I think it's where I need to head at this point. I need to get some balance.

The mere IDEA that I have the next 6 Sundays off makes me GIDDY. Honestly. That is sad, but true. It makes me feel like a little fire has been lit beneath me!

I have two special order scrapbook jobs that have fallen behind and I cannot participate in any local art shows that might help promote the shop because I am so low on handmade items.

This might just be a win/win decision I have made.....

Photo Time for you....

A record for children. Love the colors and graphics.

Here is the "simple task" my husband left for my daughter and myself. We have already pounded our thumbs a couple of times. Not good. I have bent many a nail.

Then he says tonight on the phone (he is in NYC "working" but WAY too many fun stories are being reported back) "Oh yes...those nails DID seem hard to work with".

Really? So that came across as a "simple task"...but he forgot to mention the nails? Sheesh.....

Birds, Birds, Birds.

I love me some birds.......can you tell?

A children's book. I laugh every time I read it! There is a monkey involved of course.....and he is a friendly one. And yes...I HAVE read the book. Hahahaaa...

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm...

THIS is how big I have been smiling since I heard that I had Sundays off!

I can easily say "Since I have had Sundays off, I am smiling as big as Rebecca at Sunnybrook Farm!".....and I really mean it.

Here is Heidi in a different language. I can safely say I am not 100% sure what language it IS in. If you know...feel free to hollah! (German???)

A close up page....

Not my language....but folks seem to love the foreign language story books. Is this German? The cover is so vivid...so lovely. I will ask my neighbor next door at Sofia.

Happy LATE Thursday!

 

Lucy Dog, new stuff and a hungry Jazzercise instructor

I am going to do my blog earlier today than I usually do because I had the GREAT misfortune to attend an aerobics class of a gal that had just returned home from vacation. And apparently we were ALL gonna pay for her vacation indulgences. And I personally think she was missing that diet today. Boy howdee....I fear that I might lose the use of my arms by 6:00pm....so I'd best type fast. That chick was MAD at tripceps today...and delts. Don't get me started on delts.

Seems the "heat" has passed a bit. My little black dog is so happy to hear that. She visited me at the shop Sunday and she was thrilled with the cement floors. She cooled herself off quite nicely and effectively.

She likes following me during her "photo shoots"....

I recieved a new jewelry line today. LOVE it. I left some for my customers...no worries there. I had planned ahead and ordered some doubles, but I wanted to get a good representation of her line and she has about 200 designs!

 

We got a new "kitchen" at the shop....pretty excited. My old cupboard was co cluttered, too low to really shop it and see everything and I have noticed that my kitchen wares don't sell as well here unless I do a kitchen window display...then it flies. Deductive reasoning told me....."open shelf time". I got the smarts really good some days.

Okay....Typepad is acting up. I'd better wrap it up before they shut me down. Happy Wednesday to you!

Where are the people?

Baby....it's hot outside. "Could be worse" I always say....but it is a bit uncomfortable. It's not Arizona or anything....but that is one hot breeze coming through my front door. Might be time to hit the a/c button. Love my air conditioning at the new shop!

Not many shoppers or walkers out & about today, but yesterday was a buzzin' all day....it's all good.

I do love having time to organize, clean and finding treasures that have fallen behind other displays! It's like Christmas is July!

I have spent a GREAT amount of time going through all the vintage clothing in back and finishing off all the small details. Replacing hook & eyes and securing buttons is the name of my game today. With the big rack of clearance outside, I have space in my back room to dig and discover!

 

I also had time to play catch up on some fun blogs...

A Thing for Roses

Velvet Strawberries

The Nesting Place

Cherry's Jubilee

Pink Paint & Roses

Happy reading on this lovely Saturday....