Scrumptious Scrunchies

I've added something new to my shop: scrunchies! You know, those decorative hair elastics people use in their ponytails or braids. Prettier than a plain band, but still very functional and useful. So far I've listed two, one orange and one grey. I'm kind of trying to make them in colors you don't see made into scrunchies as often. There are lots of pretty pink and purple and blue and yellow hair accessories out there, but so many of them seem aimed at younger girls. I want to list things that adults would like too, that are in colors adults wear. Not that girls/tweens/teens wouldn't like these too, of course :-)

"Christy"

I picked up Christy: The Complete Series on dvd a few weeks ago, but didn't get a chance to start watching any of it until today. I put on the pilot episode as soon as the boyo was down for his nap, and pulled out some craft projects to work on while I watched.

I'd forgotton how good this series is! And how much I like Dr. Neil MacNeill (Stewart Finlay-McLennan). And how, the first time I saw Sarah Michelle Gellar on TV, she reminded me of Kellie Martin. I'd watched most of this series when it was on TV 15 years ago, and while my little brother wasn't much of a fan, Mom and I dug it.

Sadly, the pilot lasted longer than Daniel's nap, so I'll have to finish it tomorrow. But I did finish pinning together some little reversible purses I'm experimenting with. Now I just need to find time to pin them together. Two of them are made from this lovely springtime fabric, and I can't wait to see how they turn out!

Opinions, Please

I'm considering changing my "Five Dollar Fun" section in my shop. I'm thinking of renaming it "Little Luxuries" and putting things under $10 in it, instead of limiting it to $5 items. What do you think? I'm also thinking of moving the $5 sachets into the general Sachets section so people don't get confused about why some are in one section and some are in another. Any thoughts about that as well? I'd keep my little crocheted flowers in the Little Luxuries section, as well as my mini notebooks (which I'm going to make more of as soon as I wrap up a couple other projects). But do you think the name change, and moving the sachets so they're all together, will make things easier for potential customers to find? And is it too confusing to have my mini notebooks not in the Journals & Address Books section?

Am I just thinking about all this way too much?

Ginger Snaps

I just made my great-great-grandmother's Ginger Snaps today. I'm sending a care package to a friend who's serving in Iraq, and she requested I send her lots of cookies, so I baked up a batch of these for her. Don't they look yummy? I made them into Easter shapes, butterflies and eggs and crosses, because the package should reach her in time for Easter.


Ginger Snaps

1 cup sugar
1 cup shortening
1 cup Karo dark syrup
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 tsp baking soda
3 cups flour
pinch of salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp vanilla

Put sugar, shortening, syrup, and vinegar in a pan and let it come to a boil. Pour into a big mixing bowl (really big, so it doesn't overflow during this step) and add baking soda. Let cool. Sift in flour, salt, cinnamon, and ginger. Add vanilla and mix. Roll out, adding a little more flour if it's too sticky. Cut out, placing at least 2 inches apart on cookie sheets (these spread a lot). Bake at 350 for 6-8 minutes. Cool on sheet for 30 seconds before transferring to wire racks. Makes 5 dozen cookies.

I'm as Restless as a Willow in a Windstorm

I think spring has arrived at last! Sure, it's only 39 degrees today, and it snowed on Friday, but I saw fourteen robins at the playground this morning. Fourteen!!! Yesterday, none, and today they're all over the place. Yay! I'm tired of this maybe-style weather that can't make up its mind to stay winter or not. But when the robins arrive, I know it might as well be spring.

I'm celebrating the occasion by listing a fun new item in my shop, a set of crocheted embellishments! This cute little flower with its two perky leaves makes me think sunny, happy thoughts, just like those robins. They'd make a cute addition to many different projects, from a scrapbook page to a pair of your baby girl's jeans to that plain purse that needs a touch of charm.

Yup, I'm a Treasury Addict

Didn't take long, did it? I got my first treasury only five days ago, and already I've done another one. This one's called "My Heroes've Always Been Cowboys" -- can you guess what theme I might have gone with?

That title is very true of me, by the way. For as long as I can remember, I've loved cowboys. When I was little, I wanted to be a cowboy when I grew up. I used to pull out Mom and Dad's big atlas, turn to the two-page map of Texas, and figure out exactly where my spread should be. I can't remember a time while I didn't love western movies and TV shows. There's something special about the genre -- things seem more true, somehow. There's good and evil, right and wrong, and people in westerns know the difference between the two.

So this treasury is a tip of my Stetson to all my heroes, fictional and factual, who ever rode a horse or fired a six-shooter or kept the bad guys at bay. My heroes really have always been cowboys, and they still are today.

New Shop Section!

I've added a new section to my etsy shop: Five Dollar Fun. Every item in it is, you guessed it, only five bucks! Right now I'm putting my mini-notebooks and some smaller sachets in there, and I have ideas for some new items for it too. Just need to find time to make them, lol.

It's been an interesting couple of days. I woke up at 3am yesterday with horrible back pain. Went to the doctor and learned I have aggravated my sciatic nerve. And it's sure been aggravating me right back! But that's put the kabosh on some new items I wanted to work on, as sitting down actually is less comfortable than standing. And that's also why this blog post is as short as it is.