Poppy and Ivy

The Sign, Fun Things & The Men Behind the The Venture

The sign went up at Found on Fremont! Yahooooo!

 


 

I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning packing up all my smalls from Poppy & Ivy. At Found, we have to have initials on everything so the cashiers can ring it under our names. Bobbins, typewriter keys, buttons, vials, etc. were put aside for the last 6 weeks while I tackled the big stuff--closing accounts (power, gas, Qwest...did I mention I hate Qwest? Sorry if they employ you or your partner...but I dislike them mightily), getting my initials on bigger items, placing Holiday orders...all that FUN stuff! 

Finally took the blinders off and got my act together. 

 
 Tonight we celebrated our grand opening. WHAT a show of folks! Neighbors, customers from all of our old stores, Portland Picks shoppers...fun was had by ALL! 

But we want to all give a huge thanks to the men behind the venture. They have moved our shops, hung chandeliers, painted, listened while we panicked, sat with us at some *funny* Happy Hour *meetings*, ran for business cards at Kinko's at 11:00pm, built our sign, hung our HEAVY sign...and yet, they smile and stand by us all the while! 

 
Here's to a lovely Sunday for you and a GREAT night of sleep for me.  Cheers!

Pumpkin Patch, Charms & Grand Openings

Portland weather has officially gone over to Fall weather. I love that kind of weather. Even if it's sunny, there is a crisp chill telling you it is time to make soups, hunker down, move the sweaters to the front of the closet, but MORE importantly, it's time to GET PUMPKINS!  

Portland is surrounded by farmland and we have so many choices of pumpkin patches. Our family tends to visit the same farm every fall. Traditions! The corn maze, the hayride, the country store for corn stalks & hay bales. 

 


  
Love the hayride every year, but this year it  took a fun twist when good old Mom (that would be me) fell off the hayride. Yes. Ker-plop. The good part is, the ride had STOPPED. They didn't leave me out in the field. THAT would have been bad, but it DID happen right in front of 100's of people waiting to get ON to the ride. What a tool. I have spent 15 years clutching babies, toddlers, children and teens praying THEY didn't fall out. Sheesh. I am all about setting examples. But really...they DO need sides on those rides. I am just saying.....

I just finished a charm swap. WHAT was I thinking. Really. I am not a jewelry maker. I love paper. I want to be good at knitting, metal work, painting...I want to. But those charms nearly killed me. I didn't even get to attend the charm swap party. Maybe it's best that way because I might have circled the room apologizing. Andrea ran the swap and was going to gather mine and bring them to me. I am sure I will just be embarrassed. I was THRILLED with my end result because a) my daughter saw them and asked where I bought them (yeah!) and b) I actually finished. But I know the other gals are PROS and theirs will be over the top.

 

Now I will continue to go get ready for the Grand Opening! Only 2 more days to prepare! Violet joined the crew at Found on Fremont this week, so she should be up there setting up soon, JOHN is still making the sing for the building, postcards are out, e-mails are being sent...it's getting all official and stuff.  

 

 
Hope we get to see you there!   

 

The Kick I Needed!

So, the oh-so-lovely, creative, silly girls at Come Play: Eugene and I have been talking about doing an event up here in Portland. Eugene is only about a 2 hour drive away from Portland, but I knew some Portland Peeps let that deter them from going and we need to CHANGE that! I think once people take ONE class, they will be hard pressed to miss another even if it's 5 hours away! I attended an event of theirs for the first time back in June and I had one of the best days of my life. Certainly, a most memorable, touching day.

So the time has come, a date has been set and the teacher is.....drum roll please....Alicia Paulson of Posey Gets Cozy. 

Yeah. For reals. 

You can sign up for her class at Come Play: Portland:. I know a few people who have signed up and space is limited to 15, so HURRY my crafty peeps! Run! Grab your purse! Get your crafty mojo ready to go! Look at what you are making. No. Seriously check it out. And drool. And then realize you too can play these reindeer games at my home!

or/and:

So....if I needed a kick in the pants to get all the half finished jobs around the house ready...this is it! ALICIA freakin' PAULSON..in my house. Holy Smokes. No pressure. I could pretend my house is always put together, but hello...I blog about how upside down it is. Oops. My mistake.

So. I am off to make curtains (shush you Emily) and go hot glue gun the hair back onto the dogs (kidding PETA....I'd use cool glue).

Now, if I could talk Emily and Jill into Come Play: Maui.

Cheers!