Busy! Busy!

So much has been going on lately! Been making more sales (yay!!), crafting away lots, and working on readying items to be posted in the shop. For example:

These are all shots I was just playing around with today and none have been finalized for the shop. The first two are the fruit-centric cuffs I've been making for the shop and the last two are the super soft, chunky scarves I'd been working on a couple months back. I plan on making scarves that fit the style of the graphic beanies and mittens I have, but also wanted to offer something simple and classic for those who aren't crazy about colorful graphics. So the detail to these is that they are keyhole scarves with supersized button accents. I love that I'm creating items that suite both sides of my personality - the teen and the lady.

Oh! While on the hunt for supersized buttons, I ventured into a teeny, whole-in-the-wall button/bead store that I happened to notice in the same shopping center as where I get Moondoggie's food. I've misplaced the business card I grabbed and can't remember the name of the store, but I have to say, what that little shop lacks in space it totally makes up for in merchandise. The place is PACKED with buttons and beads of all kinds, ribbons, brooches, glues, etc. It was amazing! I couldn't stop my eyes from darting around, even as I was paying and readying to leave, afraid I'd miss some hidden treasure. I got some great buttons I plan to use on a couple more knitted cuffs and of course the buttons for the scarves. I plan on going back this weekend for some beads I saw and stupidly didn't purchase. 

Gotta get back to the crafting but look to see lots more new stuff in the shop soon!

Knitted Cuffs

This weekend was a busy one for me! I got a gift package last week from my crafty soul mate and in it she included this awesome trinket. It inspired me to try to make my own version of a cuff, though, I admit, one with a totally different feel - both tactilely (?) and stylistically. So I started knitting up some cuffs with button accents and I am loving them! So quick and easy to make and it's a great way to use up every last bit of yarn (since it doesn't require much). And such an easy way to add a pop of color to casual outfits. I just finished blocking the completed ones this morning and am working on choosing and sewing up the buttons for them. Wanna see? Of course you do!

In my head, I imagined they'd all have funky contrasting buttons, but I find myself placing complimentary ones on some. I guess it just depends on the color and what my eye finds pleasing.

This weekend was also occupied with taking care of Moondoggie. Full disclosure, I wasn't really the one who ended up with the job. After giving him his usual bath on Saturday afternoon, he became really antsy, whiny and trying to climb the fireplace to look out our front window - behavior very unlike him. He seemed like he kept wanting to go outside so I opened the front door, the back door, but he wouldn't go. Just stayed inside moving restlessly about. We couldn't figure out what was wrong. I went to sleep about 2am and The Doomed stayed up watching tv. I awoke at 5:30am to find that The Doomed still hadn't come to bed and when I opened the door to investigate, I was slammed in the face by an awful, overpowering smell. I found Moondoggie quietly in a corner and The Doomed on hands and knees, scrubbing the rug in his office. Turns out our pooch got horribly sick half an hour after I went to bed, puking and shooting liquid poop for the next 3 hours in our living room, dining room, and finally the office. The Doomed had stayed up all night taking care of him and cleaning up his messes. He hadn't wanted to disturb me and figured with his war experience, he'd smelled everything bad in existence, so his gag reflex wouldn't be as delicate as mine. Poor Moondoggie walked around ashamedly, tail tucked between his legs and looking generally awful. I took over Moondoggie duty and The Doomed finally went to bed around 7am. By then Moondoggie was a little better but he didn't regain his appetite until Sunday evening, after just a bit more puking and pooping. Luckily, he had more control of it by that time and I was able to get him outside to do it. Poor thing! We can't figure out what made him sick, since we didn't feed him anything different or new (though he has been known to take a good, unintentional chomp out of snakes and lizards he finds outside) but I'm just glad he's back to being his happy, hungry self.

Well, that wasn't shop talk! - but, hey, it's what makes up my days.