The seasons are a-changing. But some things aren't.

Summer is definitely my favorite season, but I have always loved fall almost as much.  Love it when the air feels crisp.  Love jeans-and-sweatshirt weather: not too hot, not too cold.  Makes me a bit nostalgic for high-school football games and homecoming dances. My only complaint is that fall never seems to last long enough, but hey, maybe with the effects of global warming that will change.

I was flipping back through the family scrapbook and came upon the "Summer Manifesto" I wrote about a few months back.  And guess what?  We did pretty good at most of what I wanted to do this summer.  We did play outside a lot and went swimming quite a bit.  Picnics tapered off after June and all the super-hot temperatures, as did the bike rides.  Fall is a good time for bike rides too.  And we saw an awesome concert at the Iowa State Fair: Hank Williams, Jr.  Great show!  Another legend I can cross off my list. 

My summer reading obsession with sequels & variations of  Pride & Prejudice has apparently become not just an obsession, but a way of life.  I would hate to count how many of them I have read by now.  Some are very, very good and a few of them have been very, very bad.  Let's just say I'm doing my part to support the American economy by shopping on amazon. 

Fall is when my life gets very, very busy as the holiday shopping season (aka craft show season) begins in earnest.  It's busy and I love it.  Love, love, love it.  I get to travel around the beautiful state of Iowa a bit and I have the opportunity to talk to lots of nice people.  It's one of the best parts of my job. 

Also new this fall is that you can now find my products at Mohair Pear in beautiful Cedar Falls, Iowa.  They hosted the awesome Pear Fair last Saturday.  You can find pics from Pear Fair on their facebook page and you can check out the store at 2209 College Street in Cedar Falls (open 7 days a week) or online at www.mohairpear.com.  This was my first Pear Fair and I would definitely do it again.  Folks in Cedar Falls are pretty darn nice.  It was a great way to start my autumn. 

If I were going to make a fall manifesto, I think it would look much like my summer one.  I want to ride my bike and play outside, just like I did when I was eight years old.  Some things don't change.  And when I like something, I usually like it for a long time. 

Happy fall to you all. 

I heart Cash.

(Please note: I have NO IDEA why this photo looks funky...I took it with the new phone I got today and there is a long learning curve ahead for me, as is always the case with new technology!)

I love Johnny Cash. 

Ask anyone who's ever ridden in a car with me: nine times out of ten, I've got Cash playing.  Over and over.  And over.  I never get tired of hearing his voice and that distinctive sound.  I remember listening to him with my Grandpa sometimes, either via the car radio or the eight-track player he happened to have in one of his cars.  He got a big kick out of hearing "A Boy Named Sue." 

So this collage is a little tribute to him.  The image in the middle came out of a magnet I bought...somewhere...quite a few years ago.  The magnet broke.  And of course I couldn't throw it away.  Yesterday morning I looked at it and suddenly remembered several sheets of old sheet music I had in my stash.  So I tore up a bit of it and started to glue.  Then I remembered the guitar paper and dug through my big basket to see if I had any left.  Luckily I did, and I snipped out a lone guitar, and thought it looked pretty good.  I flipped open one of my giant dictionaries and found the definition of "legend" and stuck that on there too.  I decided to include the word "forever" rather than "legend".  I added a Hambly transparency I've had for quite a while and this little collage (6 x 6) came together.  I like how it turned out. 

How Time Does Fly.....

Last I checked, it was summer....and now here we are well in to September!  What happened?  Where did the summer go?  No longer am I just the mother of a three-and-a-half year old (not just a three-year-old, it is imperative that everyone know he is three and a HALF!),  but of a pre-schooler.  Yep, my boy started pre-school this week.  The photo above is our September calendar layout, and the photo on the right shows him all ready on the very first day.  His very first first day of school.  Ever.  I took a lot of pictures, yes I did, before we left the house, and before the teachers told us moms to say good-bye and skedaddle.  And yes, he loves it already.  And no, I didn't cry. 

September is historically a very busy month.  I don't recall too many Septembers in my life that haven't been busy and this one is certainly no exception.  As a teenager, I was busy with football games and dances and cheerleading practice and homecoming and all that vitally important stuff that took precedence over sleep.  Now, I'm busy with craft shows and a garage sale and a Day Out With Thomas, and oh yes, keeping up with Project Life!  I've done so well documenting our year that I am determined not to let that get lost in the shuffle despite the fact that I will be busy, busy, busy from now until Christmas.  I have managed to fill my schedule with at least one event every week, and sometimes two, or three, or....

So, my September calendar, when I finally got around to making it (I held off a few days so I could use a first day of preschool photo) was put together in under five minutes.  The striped paper is an old design from BoBunny and this was my last sheet.  Plain red cardstock, and that awesome "THIS" stamp is one I ordered from elisejoy.com earlier this year.  Elise Blaha Cripe is well-known in blogland and I read her blog regularly for inspiration.  She's a multi-talented gal; find her at www.eliseblaha.typepad.com.  Here's a closer look at that stamp (I'm not sure if these are still available, I know she has new stamps soon to be released!):

I've been using this stamp quite a bit in my Project Life layouts (which I may or may not share by the end of the year).  I love it because it is so versatile.  There are millions of rubber stamps available but since I am running out of storage (hence the garage sale this weekend!) I try to buy stamps that I know I can use for lots of different projects.  "THIS" stamp is definitely one of those. 

For now, back to work.  If you're out and about in Des Moines, Iowa this fall, you can find me around town at East Village Sunday Bazaar (Sundays from noon to 4 on East 5th Street) and of course at the next Market Day, coming up on October 6.  Next Saturday I am headed to Cedar Falls for The Pear Fair, a new event for me:  you can get more info on this event, which is put on by Mohair Pear (2209 College Street in C.F.) by liking this event on facebook, of course!  Just search for The Pear Fair D.I.Y. Craft & Design event.

Happy September to you.....

This is August.

What about the "lazy" days of summer?  Summer is anything but lazy around here lately.  It's chock-full of all kinds of good stuff, super-busy and lots of fun.  Lots of photo-taking going on to capture these moments.  I love summer.  And August in particular. 

First things first:  here's our calendar for this month.  It is totally simple, because I put it together in a hurry. 

The green patterned paper on top of the kraft cardstock is from the "Friendly Forest" collection paper pad by Colorbok; the "August" and "simply wonderful" tabs are from the summer tags collection by Elle's Studio (find it at twopeasinabucket.com).  And the photos?  That's the important part.  Those were taken during our visit to Knoxville for an overnight camping trip to help celebrate a friend's 40th birthday at the sprint car races.  Those slides you see Jacob on are both located at Auld Park in Knoxville, and they both just happen to be slides that I enjoyed playing on as a kid when I lived in Knoxville.  Auld Park was one of my favorite places, because it had what was known as the Rocket Slide--which was the most awesome slide ever.  It's gone, but in it's place is an amazing wooden play structure that takes the cake for playgrounds as far as we're concerned. (And we've checked out quite a few playgrounds around the state this summer so we should know!).  But both of these slides pictured have been at Auld Park for at least thirty years.  I was pretty happy to see there were still some old-school pieces of play equipment left.  Even two merry-go-rounds.  And I was even happier to watch my little man play on them. 

The big thing about August in our world is the Iowa State Fair.  We love the Fair.  Yesterday was opening day, and of course, we were there.  I took Jacob and my niece Josie and those two hit the midway big time.  We managed to look at a few things as well, but mostly they just wanted to ride the rides.  As many as possible.  Over and over.  And over, and over, and...well, you get the picture.  Here's a glimpse of our first day at the Fair:

The Giant Slide is always a must-do.  The great thing about having an 11-year-old along is that she can take Jacob on this stuff, which means I don't injure myself.

Jacob loves the motorcycles.  I love the sheer delight on his face.  This ride looks to be about 50 years old but it still entertains the little ones. 

                                           Flying a spaceship is always fun.

                                           Jacob and Josie rode these swings a few times. 

As luck would have it, Union Pacific had a train exhibit just the right size for a 3-year-old train enthusiast.  To celebrate UP's 150th anniversary, they've also got a real steam engine on display here in Des Moines, and we'll be visiting that over the weekend.  It's located about three blocks south of the State Fairgrounds at SE 32nd & Court Avenue if you'd like to check it out.  It will be there through Sunday and it's free. 

All in all, a great day at the Fair.  Seven hours of the Fair is not enough, though, so we'll be going back.  There's so much to see and do that there's no way one visit could possibly suffice.  Honestly, if I had unlimited money to spend, I'm pretty sure I could do all ten days of the State Fair and not get tired of it. 

And parents, the Megapass wristband for unlimited midway rides is worth every penny of the $25.00.  Kids (and grownups) can ride all day from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.  That's a lot of rides. 

Enjoy what's left of your summer, and maybe I'll see you at the fair. 

New stuff!

Yesterday was a very productive day, aided in no small part by singing along to some old Dixie Chicks tunes at top volume.  Hope my neighbors don't mind too much.  I tried something new and like how these turned out:

Ever since I started making collages using the images from vintage patterns, I've amassed quite a collection of old dress patterns.  More than I will ever use for collages, so I experimented with using some of them as covers for books.  Here's a glimpse inside:

Each of these books has two pockets, one in the front and one in the back.  The image stamped on the pocket is a Tim Holtz idea-ology stamp (I think I got mine at Hobby Lobby). 

Every time I cut book board, I always end up with pieces left over, so I decided to make a couple smaller books from the leftover pieces:

And luckily enough, I just happened to have some red envelopes that were just right for pockets for the red & yellow book:

I love, love, LOVE that red & yellow paper.  It's just so bright and happy looking. 

I'll be bringing these books to Market Day on Saturday if you want to see them live and in person. 

Market Day Preview: Girl Scout journal

I found this sweet little Girl Scout handbook from 1945 a couple of months ago; it's rare to find scouting books that aren't priced as collectibles, so of course I had to snatch it up!  Then last week, I came into a huge stash of awesome papers and cardstock, which worked out perfectly to make pockets for this journal.

This journal has two silver pockets, to match the sweet floral paper on the inside front and back covers.  It's the little things in life like metallic cardstock, that really make my day!  There are also some pages from the book included in the journal:

This is just one of the new items I'll be bringing to Market Day on Saturday.  Hope to see you there!  Remember, we'll be opening an hour earlier this month, at 8:00 a.m. 

Giveaway winner....

Giveaway goes to Jason Schultz.  Thanks to all for reading and look for more giveaways in the future. 
And just a little reminder to all local shoppers in Des Moines: Market Day is THIS SATURDAY, August 4, and the hours have changed just a bit: we'll open at 8:00 a.m. and run until 1:00 p.m.  I'll have some new stuff (look for a preview or two here this week) and it will be filled with awesome handmade goodness, as always.  Hope to see you there!