my alliday wishlist

Way back in October I found out that I was one of the twelve artist selected to launch the new format of The Alliday Show, which I have been a part of for two years before but has been totally revamped this year to be extra cool! The event is coming up this Friday and Saturday and so I decided to scope out my fellow artist and put together my wishlist/gift guide for the event!

This is from their home page about this year's show:

Oh, Tulsa.  We sure do love you and we sure do love handmade which is why we're bringing you a brand new shiny Alliday experience for our fifth annual show!  We're thrilled to share that this year, we're partnering with the goodness that is Retro Den to bring you a TWO-DAY show on December 12th from 6-10 and December 13th from 9-6 in their gorgeous shop. 

Tickets are now available for Friday night's Holiday Alliday Party!  If you only attend one holiday party this year, this is the one you'll want to be at!  For sure.  Saturday will be FREE entry with priceless fun to be had!

Here are my picks for gifts from Alliday 2014:

1. Large Ombré Braided Necklace - Petunkalunka
2. Hand embroidered blue Mason Jar pillow - Simple Splendor
3. Yay Cake Topper - Three Eleven Designs 
4. Breathe Print - Scarberry Faire
5. Plush Crochet Strawberry - More Projects Than Time
6. Romeo and Juliet Studs - Favoring Brave
7. Airship Wing Necklace - Bohemian Romance
8. Faux Taxidermy Elephant Head - FALTO
9. The Quincy Scarf in Rust - StudioXXVI
10. Letterpress of Tulsa Map Tee - T~Town Teez

For more info on The Alliday Show this year check out their website and blog.

the cat in the hat

So, in a fit of insanity, I decided to build a six foot tall Cat in the Hat (out of book pages) while my baby napped a couple weeks ago. For a scarecrow contest. Because reasons. And insanity.

But I did it and now that it's done I LOVE it! I am planning to keep him on display year round and probably decking him out with seasonal decorations. 

I made him with a PVC skeleton and a chicken wire overlay and then layers of book page paper mache and paper clay. I plan on posting a more exhaustive tutorial in the future once I get all the pictures organized.

All his detailing is done with pages of real Dr. Seuss books, especially "The Cat in the Hat" itself, which was a blast!

welcome to the bookerie II

So August 2nd of this year I opened a second shop. I know, crazy. But after uh, two minutes of going to work with my then 7 week old son at our matchbox sized original store I knew the writing was on the wall. Either I quit working in the store completely and just made stuff at home (which was the scenario I opened the first shop to avoid originally) or I needed a new place that was more constant-companion friendly. Like the Tardis. But I digress. I started looking for a space when I was about 5 weeks postpartum and the building owners I talked to were all like, "You just had a kid and now you want to do what?" Crazy, I know.

But after a surprisingly short search, I found a space that was perfect. It was the right size, had an open back room for dedicated studio space, and a little corner nook room to be the little guy's own special playroom. The price was right, the landlords are a darling couple excited to see me succeed, and everything seemed to be laid out right in front of me. The sweet, sweet lady that covered my maternity leave was willing to take over management of our Tulsa store (which has so many wonderful and loyal customers we knew we didn't want to close it unless absolutely necessary) and so that settled it. Baby and I would be the new owners of a shop in small town Oklahoma - Sapulpa, to be exact. 

Above is our front window reading space and below are snaps of the rest of my space. I am so in love with it. I will be posting a studio tour soon too!

back from obscurity

Good morning!

So a year of silence. Unintended but necessary. Turns out that I found out I was pregnant the day of my last post - August 28, 2013. I was initially planning to keep blogging, but much sooner than I like to admit all my clothes stopped fitting, the holidays ramped up at work, and I just fell out of the habit.

My life got complicated, and it is only more so now that I have a 4 month old munchkin in tow. This 4 month old munchkin to be exact:

And though he is crazy adorable and such a good natured kid, life is still a little, well, complicated. In a fit of what some would consider insanity I also opened a second shop this summer so that baby boy and I could have space to go to work together, which is what we do now five days a week. So when I am not trying to fix his currently horrible sleep schedule or entertaining during tummy time, I am managing a growing company, making two stores worth of handmade product, and trying to save a remnant of sanity.

And that is part of the reason I am coming back to blogging, but the focus of my blog is going to change. I don't really intend to become a "mommy blog," but I am a mom now, so some of that is bound to get in here somehow. I find myself wanting to share my experiences as a working mom, small business owner, artist, and crafty person on a budget trying to lose some baby weight and help my family eat healthy. But most of all, I want to starting writing again because all the people I love have been telling me that I should.

I find myself constantly faced with questions about what I should do in the hard situations I find myself in as a business owner, wife, and parent and the answer always comes back: you need to favor the brave. Do the hard and right thing.

So I am going to try this again. I am going to once again favor the brave.

sparkling wednesday

Today's post is about taking a break. Taking a moment in the middle of your week to say "okay... here's what I need right now." Today I needed some freaking chocolate covered pomegranate seeds. So when I gave myself a break around 2pm today I made sure that they happened. 

I am teaming up with Ozarka® Sparkling Waters to help you relax this Wednesday, so how do you like to treat yourself during the week? Do you have a midweek ritual that helps you make it to the weekend?

Every hump day Ozarka® is sharing some of their favorite ways to feel good and escape the midweek hump.  Head over to their Facebook page every #HumpDay to have a feel good moment and share your own!

Happy Hump Day!

This post is sponsored by Ozarka® Brand Sparkling Natural Spring Waters.

center of the universe

In July I had the pleasure of being a vendor at the first ever Center of the Universe Festival here in Tulsa. It was hot, hot, hot, but I decide to go to let people know about my shop grand opening. I handed out almost 1000 grand opening flyers and got heat sickness, re-sprained my ankle, and battled a thunderstorm with my products made out of - that's right - paper. 

But you know what? At least 50 people who went through my shop this week met me there. They have told their friends, and my network of supporters has grown and grown thanks to that two days of sacrifice. So that's what I'm reflecting on today as I wear my commemorative COU tank top - with a little bit of hard work and sacrifice up front you never know what might come to be.

flock of seagulls

This dress reminds me of Chandler's wonderful 80's hair in the flashback episodes of Friends (which were always my favorite). I saw a trend report recently that told everyone to throw out their bird prints and embrace "non-floral, natural prints," which I clearly listened to. Not really.

Truth is that this is the FIRST bird print thing I have ever owned and I just got it, so I'm not about to let it go that easily. Those lists are stupid anyway; who wants to sheepishly follow all fashion trends? Except for the bird print one. That one's okay because I like it.