It's Raining, It's Pouring!

Today I took the kids outside for some fun in the rain. They loved splashing in the puddles!



I wanted to go to the fabric store last night to get various notions, and we ended up waiting out traffic in Woburn, so we didn't get home until late. Which was disappointing, because I had many plans for sewing last night. And tonight is knitting group, so I guess there will be no sewing until tomorrow...I did manage to cut out some sachet fabric during naptime today, so I was at least a little productive.

Rainy Day!

Best spent crafting, or dreaming of crafting if you aren't able, like me. I do have the day job, so as I'm taking care of the little one I'm thinking of all the new projects I want to start when I get home with my own little Bug. That is, after dinner, and some cleaning up is done.

Today I picked up Simple Sewing, by Lotta Jansdotter. I am in love with it and can't seem to pick out what to do first. Although I'm leaning toward the dishtowels, because they're a very simple project that I can do in one night, so that's probably what I'll do. I just love all the colors and patterns she uses in her book, and the photographs are really amazing. Truly beautiful.

As far as the shop is concerned, I just finished sewing in linings to some zipper pouches, so be on the lookout for those! Maybe some dishtowel sets will make their way in?

Some friends and I drove two hours--one way--to see the Yarn Harlot (Stephanie Pearl-McPhee) in Northampton. She is an amazing speaker, and was very gracious in person. She signed our books, and we were allowed to skip to the front of the line due to potentially screaming toddler. Plus, it was held at WEBS, which is the absolute largest yarn store I've ever been in in my life, and I was so overwhelmed I only came back with two skeins of Lorna's Laces sock yarn and six buttons. But awesome mini road trip!

My husband is visiting home--Seattle--right now. So I'm in essence a single parent for a week, and while it's tough, I always gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for anyone who has to do this everyday. I can't wait for him to get home: only three more days!

Tiny Update

I did a tiny update today, in between our flower planting excursion and multiple snack times. Oh yes, I managed to make, photograph, and post eight cards today! I feel accomplished!

This weekend I went to Ikea, which is no small feat in itself, and picked out a bookshelf, which happened to be on clearance, so I spent the rest of the weekend sorting and purging craft items. I feel like a new person now that I can just grab items as I need them, and put them away as I'm done with them. It's so nice! I'll post pictures when I remember to take them.

Monday was my day off, so Bug and I went downtown to visit the Method store and watch the Boston Marathon. I love Method products, so I may have gone a little overboard, but I think a naturally clean house and self is worth it. The marathon was great, and Bug liked watching the runners go by, and clapping for all of them. Yey! We also walked through Boston Common and saw some birds in the trees:



Even the seedlings were able to enjoy the nice weather!

Spring is Here!

I'm reading The Creative Family, by Amanda Blake Soule, who blogs here. I love her ideas, and am so inspired to get Bug I and II off to a creative start. So we've been trying to get outside more, and this weekend I'm going to attempt to organize our crafting things a bit better to make them more accessible so we use them more. This involves a new bookcase, which either entails a trip to Ikea, or perusing craigslist. Either way, I hope to get a new piece of furniture this weekend.

Yesterday we played barefoot outside and discovered soft moss, cool dirt, rough bark, smooth sticks, and pokey green grass. After work, we took Nibbler for a walk and found some wintersweet (forsythia, I think you New Englanders call it) and a renegade daffodil to put in our owl vase. We smelled the magnolia trees, watched the big kids play soccer, and said hi to the birdies. It was a pretty good day, which was made even better by the fact that I got to purchase a new sewing machine, since my $55 machine needed $95 worth of work done to it. So, better to spend the money on a new machine. It was an early Mother's Day present. :O)

Today was a picnic in the park day. We brought sunscreen, a ball, bubbles, floppy hats, and bread to feed the ducks. We were prepared! We saw swans, one of which was being mean to another, who was probably defending his mate. At least that's what it looked like to me and my non-swan expert eyes. But we got some nice pictures of the aftermath, and the two (courting?) swans.

First Sale!

I sold my first item! It's so exciting! If I had a retail store, I'd post a dollar on the wall, but since I don't, here ya' go:



Pretend it's on my beautiful store walls.

Anyway, the lucky owner of the "A brief note of thanks" card set will get her cards in a few days, as I am going to skip to the post office in a few. It's so exciting to see something you created actually purchased by someone else to be used, and hopefully loved. Yey! Thank you Etsy buyer!!!

That was my favorite item, so I want to make more. :O)

This weekend I have big plans around the house, including, but not limited to, working on our grass, sewing shopping totes and pajama pants, baking a test run of cream cheese filled chocolate cakelets for a friend's birthday party, KinderMusik, babysitting, and scrubbing my bathroom. I bet you wish you were me right now, or will when I'm scrubbing the grimy bathtub. And with that, I'm off to change a diaper! Or two. :O)

Etsy Update Complete

Whew! I finally finished my first update! Last night Jes managed to fix my computer (really he just used a different application, but that's OK, it works now.) So I have 25 items up in my shop. Woohoo!



Now I can get back to creating--right now I'm thinking of elephants and giraffes, and Mother's Day and tags.

Etsy Technical Issues

Having technical issues, bear with me. I've emailed Etsy support, so hopefully they'll get back to me ASAP. In the meantime, I've managed to get four items online, and decided that I don't like my photos much anyway, so I'll be taking new photos. But that's OK.

I also created a banner. It's not much, but I like it. I'm going to upload it to my blog as well. Tell me what you think!

Thanks!

I also took Bug and Bug II to our house for lunch today, and while we were there we planted purple and yellow peppers, and rainbow chiles. They're now sitting in the windowsill on top of the heating pad under the grow lamp.

This weekend we need to head to Pemberton Farms to get some organic fish fertilizer (smelly!) We'll also be working in our postage stamp-sized lawn--we need to add lime and compost, and reseed some bare spots.

I found a great tutorial online for making your own kids pants, so I'll also be working on those when I get a chance. I work a lot this week (besides my day job)--tonight, tomorrow, and Saturday and Sunday, so I don't have a ton of free time, but what little bit I do have I intend to use to the fullest. In addition to some old T-shirts of Jes' I bought some CUTE airplane flannel for jammies for Bug. He's so skinny I hope this way we can actually have some pants that fit him!

First Shop Listings, Weekend Fun

Wow. I just placed a few of my latest creations in my Etsy shop It's naptime, so I'm trying to get a bit of this work done while I'm at my other work (does that make sense? Remember I'm a nanny...) Anyway, the wireless network doesn't like to let me upload, so I think I'll finish uploading all the items when I get home. But I have two up now! Yey!

We had a pretty good weekend, in spite of the nasty, grey weather. Some friends and I went to the Mothers of Twins sale, which was a riot, and pretty overwhelming, but we found some great deals on clothes and toys for our children. That night I puttered around the house, cleaning up and working on my plants. I can't wait to get outside more!



Last night I had to return some shirts to American Eagle, because they were too big (gosh, I hate when that happens!) And I discovered that Anthropologie had opened a new store in my mall. It was actually quite funny, as I was walking quickly through the mall, all intent on getting to AE and out again, saw the sign, registered what it was in my mind, and nearly fell over. You see, Anthro is probably my all-time favorite store. When we lived in Seattle, I would take my lunch break and check out all the aprons and kitchenwares (and sometimes clothing) nearly one to two times a week. So it holds a near and dear place in my heart. However here in Boston, we only had two stores, both of which are a total pain in the neck to get to. So having one in the mall--my mall--makes me want to cry. Almost. Mostly it makes me want to buy things. Which I did. I got a lovely owl glass (which I am using as a vase) and a set of four blue milk glasses. And this is what I did with my "finds:"

Getting Started

I live in a very Tiny House, hence the name of the blog, as well as the name of my Etsy shop. I like to say that it's 791 square feet of love, since myself (Jessie,) my husband (Jes,) my son (Bug,) our pug (Nibbler,) and our cat (Pecan,) all share the same space. It's also where I create my, well, creations.

I grew up moving around the middle of Washington State, living mostly with my mom and step-father, and visiting my father and step-mother. I have lots of brothers and sisters, of which I consider myself to be the oldest, although three are technically older than me. My two older foster sisters moved away when we were young, and don't keep in contact, and my older brother is mentally challenged. My point being that I have taken on a lot of responsibility from a young age, which I believe has led to my love of keeping home and all things considered "domestic."

I have a degree in Interdisciplinary Visual Arts, with a minor in Art History, from the University of Washington. Basically, I couldn't choose which degree to major in (painting, sculpture, design,etc.) so I took the sample platter. And I'm quite happy, because it didn't force me into one specific career. Although try getting your first job out of college with a degree in art. I think you'll agree it's not an easy task. My first (non-food/retail) job was as a receptionist in a private college. What was yours?

I've spent the past five-odd years wondering what the heck I was thinking, choosing to not only study, but pay for, a degree in a field that a.) doesn't pay well, and b.) isn't well-respected. So I've had a lot of office-type jobs. I've worked my way up from a receptionist to an enrollment coordinator, and from an administrative assistant to an office manager. Then I had my son. Bug has changed my outlook on a lot of things, including the usefulness of my degree. So while I don't have a job using my degree, I still feel like it's a bit validated, since I draw (haha) on it when I'm looking for things to do with my child, or to make for him or the house.

BTW, I work full-time as a nanny. I sit for a lovely little girl, to whom I'll refer as Bug II. So I don't have a ton of time to create (if I had my way, I'd spend all of my time crafting and keeping my home, but this is the real world and in the real world we can't all be stay at home moms.) So this is the next best thing for me. I still get to bring Bug with me to Bug II's house, and during naptimes I get to create sometimes. It works for us.

Yesterday was my two year anniversary of living in Massachusetts. I don't like living so far away from family, but we've made it into our home, so that's that. In the words of our MA friends, "it is what it is."

So that's about it for catching up. In a nutshell, I live in a Tiny House, and I create in a Tiny House. Enjoy!