Goals

I couldn't really think of a super amazing topic to write about today (tomorrow's will be better), so I thought I'd share some of my goals with you. Plus, I hear it's better to write down your goals anyway.

* Blog more often and on a regular basis
* Include more of my own pictures in the blog posts (this one will be hard since I tend not to think too highly of my pictures. This will give me a chance to work on them!)
* Non-blog related: Increase the inventory in my Etsy shop to 40 or so by Christmas shopping season.

Those are mostly the goals I can think of blog and shop related. Of course, I have a few other personal goals. But the world doesn't need to know what they are. Watch for a post tomorrow where you can learn from my trials & errors/mistakes.

Now to crochet some before I read and go to bed. Back to work tomorrow after having last week off.

Shop Update!

While on their photoshoot, the camo monkey, rainbow bunny, and purple bear decided to take some time for a tea party.

The amigurumi above are just a sampling of new items in the shop update for today. In total, there are four new bears, three new bunnies, and three new monkeys, plus the penguin listed earlier in the week. My shop finally looks a little more respectable!

In other news, I got my new car yesterday! I love it. Though the trunk is smaller than I thought it was going to be. And now I feel broke. Due to that reason, I've had to resort to inexpensive ways of entertaining myself, like sewing seams, and then ripping them out! The sewing knits isn't going quite as planned. Oh well, live and learn and then try, try again!

Deconstruction!

I started working on a new project for myself. If you follow me on Twitter, you probably know what that it is. I've been seeing all these awesome custom T-shirts on Etsy. However, most are too small for me (I'm not a big girl, but I'm not super skinny either). So, I'm going to sharpen my sewing skills and make some for myself. First, I found a T-shirt that fits well. Next, I ripped it apart so I can make a pattern. (Which is quite theraputic.) Here's what I have so far!

Tomorrow, I'll make my pattern, then start cutting and sewing! I will post an "after" picture after it's done. After that, watch for a step-by-step blog post, if you want to do it yourself. Unless I fail miserably, then it may be awhile. :D

Shop update: I already listed a new penguin in my shop tonight. The rest of the bunnies, bears, and monkeys will be posted this week.

Blog Love

As you've no doubt noticed, I've fallen off the proverbial blogging horse. But I've gotten back on and will try to stay on longer than last time. Anyway, moving on.



If you're in the Sioux Falls, South Dakota area, you should come and see me at Cute as a Button Children's Expo (and mommy's too) at the Washington Pavilion on Saturday, August 21. I have lots of new items that aren't in my Etsy shop. Such as.....





I will also have a couple other new items available as well as old favorites (such as a variety of duckies). I'm pretty excited. This is the first big craft show/expo that I've taken part in. I'll see how it turns out. Whatever doesn't sell at the expo will be part of a shop update the week after. I'll let you know when that's coming. Stay tuned! (Or if I sell out, I'll let you know when I restock the shop.)



Things I'm loving right now:



Sherlock Holmes - The books and the movie. I love it when the movie quotes directly from the books. "Data, data, data. I cannot make bricks without clay." Fun fact: Spock quotes Sherlock Holmes in the new Star Trek movie.



Florence + The Machine - I'm a little slow to this one. My favorite songs are Hurricane Drunk and Blinding. For some reason, some of the songs seem like they should be in a movie set in New York. No idea why.



Willy Wonka Dark Chocolate Domes - They are so addictive! You can't eat just one. Trust me, I've tried. It's impossible.

I Heart ITunes

I have a huge music collection. I love music and discovering new bands. It used to be really hard to do that when I was in high school. A new music magazine I used to subscribe to helped feed my addiction. However, I used to be hesitant to spend my hard earned money on a CD I may not like. Or, I couldn't find the music I was looking for at Best Buy or Walmart or Target.

Not too long after I started college, I discovered Itunes. Some would say that was my downfall. I think it was one of my greatest discoveries. If it weren't for Itunes, I wouldn't know half of the bands I do, or have half of the music. This seems kind of a delayed post considering how long I've been using Itunes and how long it's been around. I just thought of it this weekend when I was considering a few albums I could never find here in South Dakota. I decided to sing its praises. (But you won't find that on Itunes. :P )

On an unrelated note, I just listed the above purse in my Etsy shop. I think it's a cute party purse. It has a beaded handle and a satin bow as well as a gold speckled lining. It's a smaller purse, so it probably can't fit all of your loot, but it will fit your party essentials.

The next purse I'm going to make is a medium sized purse. It has some funky fabric. Hopefully, I'll be able to list it by the end of the week. I'm moving slow this week!

Pet Christmas Pictures

I would never want to be a pet photographer. It was quite a job this weekend taking Christmas pictures of Dinky for my Christmas cards. My sister and I took around 160 pictures to end up with three good ones.

I bought the cute sweater above at Target. I thought it would be good for pictures because he always acts like he's in a straitjacket when I put clothes on him. I figured he wouldn't move around. Instead, he acted sad and depressed. So we took it off and kind of put it on him like a bib. That didn't work either. So after quite a few more pictures, the picture below is one of the three options I'll send in my Christmas cards.

I think it turned out cute enough. I'll have to figure out something else next year.

Christmas Tree, Oh, Christmas Tree...

I finally have decorations outside.... And inside too. As you can tell, the picture above is my Christmas tree. You can't really tell by the picture, but it's a blue tinsel tree. I love it! I'm a sucker for anything colorful and sparkly.

As far as the decorations outside go, I don't have an electrical outlet outside. So other years I was never able to put any lights out. My mom found some battery powered Christmas decorations this year. This year I have three lit up peppermint decorations. I also have a "candy cane" (which is really a shepherd's hook to hold the battery pack) and I wrapped the pot holder hanging on my house with tinsel too. It probably looks a little ghetto, but it's not Scrooge-like anymore! (I would post pictures, but in reality, it's pretty pathetic.)