Christmas Marketplace

I have been a busy bee trying to make as much as possible for our church's Christmas marketplace December 15th. Last weekend I made quite a few hair bows and headbands. Today I made about 7 sets of cup coasters, my first time doing so but they turned out very cool. Still have to put a few touches on them and will post pictures when I do. Tomorrow I plan to do some canvas and wood paintings. I also want to make some more bows as well. I figure the more I have the more likely I am to make a good profit. We could defining use a little extra money for the holidays! I've added a few phone pics of the bows I made, if you see any you like I would be happy to make one for you!!

Been awhile...

Been awhile since I updated! I have been making paintings, bows and graphic design as usual. This month has been especially good for me, I'm feeling blessed. I am also excited about our upcoming trip to Philadelphia for my moms 50th birthday, my sister's 30th and my aunt's 60th!

Here's some pics of my work I've been doing, please excuse the phone camera pictures!

A set of fleur de lis for a friend and some hair bows!

My Sister and Me

So my older sister graduated with her Masters of Nursing today, I'm SO SO proud of her. She's amazing; did it all while working full time, raising a little girl, being a wife and being involved in church (among other things!). She achieved something so few do, especially not those who have all that going on in their lives. My sister also proves that you can be a good mother and and still achieve whatever you want to achieve. If you use your children, your spouse, your job or all of the above as reasons why you can't follow your own dream, you're just making excuses!

Me and my sister are so very different though. I love being a stay at home mom. Granted I do graphic design work and sell hair bows, but in no way is that a full time income. But it's definitely what me and my husband have agreed is best for us and what we all want. I definitely think about going back to school and getting a masters or another bachelors, but only after my kid(s) are in school. Until then, I am perfectly happy with my what my job is as of now. Besides I definitely have plenty to keep my busy with my very active 16 month old and doing freelance design, design for my church and making and trying to sell hair bows. 


Some may look down on me for not working full time, some may look down on my sister for working full time and not staying home with her daughter (and soon to be new baby boy!!!) But I say we are both successful, because we are both doing what we love AND taking care of those we love. It doesn't matter to me, and I'm more than sure it doesn't matter to her, what people may say. Let's face it, people will always have their opinions about how OTHER people should live their lives. I'm definitely not going to say what I do is as hard as what my sister did or does, but it's me and my husband's choice and it's definitely not easy! 


Sure there are times when I think I should just go try and look for a job, it would certainly make things better financially for us. But, I am and always will be a woman that seeks after what I believe God wants and every time I pray about it, or look into some kind of position somewhere, God has other plans. I fully believe that even if for just right now, God wants me at home with my daughter. Now that may change as soon as next week, but I take comfort in knowing I'm doing the job God wants me to do. 


So even if no one else is, I'm proud of me, my husband is proud of me and even though she can't say it yet I have a good feeling my daughter is proud of me as well!

Who Are You Representing

So an unfortunate encounter with a police officer yesterday really got me thinking; since the comment was made "ugh, cops..." after having encountered this extremely rude, disrespectful, arrogant and condescending cop, I realized this one cop makes us think of all cops. Don't get me wrong I have the utmost respect for police officers and what they do, our cities would be chaos without them. But ones like this, who obviously don't think about what their actions are reflecting on their shield and their department, they make all cops look this way, which is why many have such a negative view of them. 


If you know my husband you know he is extremely kind and respectful, (a product of a single mother who wasn't afraid to put her foot down) so when faced with this situation he hardly said anything but yet the cop continued to be rude and demeaning to my husband, while me and my parents were in the car. Now I definitely have encountered nice cops, I've been let off with a warning by a couple, it must be different for men getting pulled over than women because that cop already had it made up in his mind he was going to write a ticket. (We're going to contest it by the way because he definitely wasn't speeding, anyways...I'm also hoping the fact my husband was black had no bearing on his decision.) Not to mention the cop had to add in there "and with a baby in the car, I'm definitely going to notate that on the ticket" which honestly was an obvious sign that it wasn't our car he caught on the radar with so many cars passing us, my husband would NEVER speed with Ava in the car. Anyways I digress...


This cop disgraced himself and his department by his actions and attitude and tone of voice. Had he approached the situation differently I would have had a totally different view of him, he would have just been doing his job. But he didn't. This made me realize our actions reflect upon anyone or anything we have a connection to. 


As a Christian, my actions are looked upon as such, and can either negatively or positively influence how people think about Christians. Not just that, upon the church I attend and the pastor of my church. Do we really want our actions to be the reason someone looks down upon any of these? I understand as a Christian we are definitely going to do, say, or act on things people may not agree with, but many times it's the spirit in which we do it as to whether a person will say "ugh, Christians" or "I respect your views, but I don't agree." 


The same can be said for all our connections, even if you aren't a Christian, they way you act or speak reflects upon your family. Be it spouse, parents, siblings, grandparents, etc. You may be making a bad name for your whole family and not even realize it. But that's the point, we need to realize that our actions have ripples that go far beyond what we may ever see. Whether or not those ripples are positive or negative depends upon us...

Bow Pictures

Well I've posted pictures of all the bows I was busy making this week! Check out My Facebook page to see all the new designs! I must say I have the most beautiful little model in the world! My baby girl is adorable!!

Check out my bows and let me know if you are interested in purchasing them, don't forget I can make them in different colors!!

What's Goin On

It's been a few days since I've written, I've been busy! Monday my hubby had off work so I took the opportunity to make bows since he would be handling the one year old! It can definitely be difficult to do arts and crafts when you have a curious 15 month little girl wanting to look at everything!!

Been doing quite a bit of graphic design work, which is much easier to do than crafts with her around! I did some banners for Mark Condon Music's Facebook page, just a small paying project, but hey, paying none the less! Did some bulletins and a flyer for the church. I have even more church design to do tomorrow for a youth event. Then helping out someone from our church starting his website and wanting graphics! What a busy woman I am!


I have put several things on my Etsy Page, I haven't actually sold something on Etsy yet (which is kind of bumming me out), a few things to friends and church people, but nothing on the site yet. I have more on my Facebook Page, than Etsy, so if you see anything there you like let me know and we can work out payment and shipping on there no problem! I will be adding pictures of all the bows I made Monday, which is several different kinds including a few new ideas, some I like, a few I'm not crazy about, but someone else might be!


Other than that, tonight I made some delicious individual pot pies from scratch! One of me and the hubby's favorites! I like to do small ones instead of one big one, it just makes it better to me!! Here's the recipe the portion with different color font are where I make changes. 

• 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie (I admit I use pre-made store bought! For the individual pies I need two packages of pre-made)
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (I chop them up before cooking, it's much easier to me)
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning (usually I just do seasoning salt and garlic and parsley)
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
• 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• salt and pepper to taste
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Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease and flour a 2 quart casserole dish.
2. Place chicken breasts, onion, and poultry seasoning in a medium saucepan and add enough water to cover (for more flavor I use chicken broth instead of water). Simmer over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Drain and dice chicken (I dice before cooking!).
3. In a large bowl, combine chicken, onions, cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, Cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, mixed vegetables, mushrooms, and salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly.
4. Lay one sheet of pastry in bottom of greased and floured pan (I do 6 small pie pans instead of one big one). Pour chicken mixture over pastry. Cover with second sheet of pastry. Seal edges of top and bottom pastries. Cut steam vents in top.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes (if doing smaller ones start at 40 minutes), until pastry is golden brown. Classic Digital Cooking Thermometer And Timer

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 It's a pretty easy recipe, it's gets time consuming because I do the individual pies, but SO worth it! It's by far the best pot pie I've ever eaten, and all those I made it for agree!!


Well that's all for now! Sorry for the randomness!

My shop

Well I have officially put things in my shop. I have put up some artwork and some bows. I will add more after I have had a chance to take pictures of my bows. Ava of course will be my model! I am waiting to make my first sale on etsy, I have already sold a few to friends and people from my church, now I just have to get the word out! Check out my shop and favorite it!

Vacation

Well we have been in Louisiana for the last week, and once we get back I have got to get to work! I need to make hair bows and have some graphic design jobs that I have to work on. I'm excited to be going home! Going down to Louisiana reminded me how much I love Ohio. It's too hot and humid there!!! I was not made for the weather for sure! My poor baby girl is so tired of the car too, not to mention she cut two teeth during the whole ordeal! Here's a few pics of some art I made for my new niece and nephew, I will be selling these in my shop as well!

Yummy Salmon Burgers

So one of my husband's favorites that I make is salmon burgers, there is an awesome recipe at www.allrecipes.com for it. It's pretty easy to make, of course I make some substitutions though! There are not a lot of recipes that I follow verbatim unless it's baking or desserts!

The instructions are as follows: (I put my substitutions beside it)

• 1 (16 ounce) can salmon, drained and flaked (I use the bag of salmon you buy at walmart, just take the skin off!)
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes (I don't use this since I don't like heat and neither does my 1 year old!)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
•  
• 2 tablespoons light mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 pinch dried basil

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the salmon, eggs, parsley, onion, breadcrumbs, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon of basil, and red pepper flakes. Form into 6 firmly packed patties, about 1/2 inch thick.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the patties, and cook for 4 minutes per side, or until nicely browned.
3. In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and a pinch of basil. Use as a sauce for your patties.

I really do recommend the mayonnaise, it gives it that extra kick of flavor! I usually put the food in the food processor for just second so it's more ground! I will be posting many more yummy recipes as I make them, they will be put in my recipes tab so that you will not have to scroll through a bunch of posts to find them!

Making Progress

So I have been making many trips to Joann Fabrics and Hobby Lobby trying to get everything together to start making things, I'll be posting pictures as I make them so people can see what I'll be selling. I won't have them on my Etsy shop til I get back from our trip to Louisiana. I figure it would be quite pointless to start the shop and then right after close it for over a week! I requested some free samples of fabric from a site online since I have been totally unable to find mesh material anywhere! I found one color at Joann's today, but she told me it was just a special fabric in for the the spring, they don't have any other colors. So hopefully I'll like the sample and be able to buy more of it so I can make the hair things I want to! I have a lot of ideas, hopefully they all work out well. Not to mention I hope I am able to sell my stuff! If the store goes well I'll start to look up craft shows and such to sell things! Wish me luck!

So I decided to start a blog to go along with starting my shop on etsy. The shop is not up and running yet, but will be soon! I'm in the process of making things to sell, making the logo, and doing other things to make sure that it is a good as possible and the best reflection of me! 


The shop and blog are of course named after my little diva of a baby girl Ava Rose. Whenever she was born I wanted her to be as glammed out as possible, but doing that proved to be much harder than I thought. I could find little ribbon bows that were pretty simple and plain, but not many that I thought fit my little girly girl! I also had a terrible time finding decorations for her nursery that lived up to my level of cuteness that I expected! 


So I went to work; I've always been pretty crafty, I graduated from art school for goodness sake, lol. So soon I had many cute things for my little Ava. Well, every time at church, or the store, or the park, or wherever I got questions as to where I got the cute bows in her hair, my response "oh, I made them." I realized that people would probably pay good money to get these cute little things for themselves. I am already making them for my baby girl and my niece so why not make a little money making them for everyone else!? 


So I'm hoping my store is successful, I know it may take awhile, but getting a customer base definitely takes time. Who knows, I may finally do my goal of learning to sew, then I can add all the cute clothing I would like to make as well!