Five days and counting

until the Diva Designs Annual Christmas Fair. I have been working like a six foot elf making what I hope are enough treasures to sell at the show this coming weekend. I did find time to do some house cleaning and play with my furbabies... I am so thankful to my hubby for taking care of most of the chores including feeding me. I am so lucky to have found him... it only took three tries to get a terrific husband!... hee hee! I work the next three days and I just do not have any time to work on my crafts those days, so I only have Thursday left and I need to price, take inventory, pack... wait I cannot think about that now I am getting nervous.

Here are some photos of some of the items I will sell. The bird motiffs are refrigerator magnets, and gift tags, the plates are cookie and cupcake plates... in case you were wondering...

Hope you had a great holiday weekend spending time with those you love, and doing things that you enjoy!
Don't forget to laugh out loud at work tomorrow... it makes people wonder what you're doing.

Inge

Bow Wow! Meow!

I have been busy getting ready for the Christmas Craft Fair this coming weekend. I didn't realize this was so huge... I mean I have participated in other craft fairs but not as fancy as this one! I am really excited now and have been making more treasures to make sure I have enough to last three days. I will be located outside in the orchard of a ranch house outside the Chico city limits, so I bought a canopy and will decorate it with Christmas lights since Friday we will open in the evening. I will take lots of pictures...

At the moment I am taking a break from all the gluing and the pasting... it's funny that I like to collage because I do not like sticky fingers... never have... I'm full of paradoxes. I am watching the movie "French Kiss "with Meg Ryan and snooping around etsy my online muse and I found such a cute shop!

Do you have furbabies? How about friends or loved ones who are the proud parents of a pooch or kitty? Did you know there is a shop at etsy that turns photos of those adorable furry creatures

and makes fun collages and doggie "licenses" out of them? They are www.yappyhappy.etsy.com/ and www.happyyappy.com/

How YappyHappy.Com Began...

"Like most dog lovers, I'm always on the lookout for uniqueitems for my own dogs. And when it came time to shopfor a new dog tag, I wanted something special.
Unfortunately, all I could find were boring metal tags thatmade a lot of noise – and for my Chihuahua's they wereway too heavy.
So, one day while I was creating a scrapbooking project forone of my dogs, I decided to create a miniature driver'slicense for use within my project. It turned out so good, thatI decided to make a dog tag out of it.
Reaction from the local Orange County dog parks about mydog's new tag was unexpected. And I found myself making tags for all my friends as gifts.
As a result, I started YappyHappy.Com to make available myunique dog tag for everyone. Today, we make not only dog tags, but key chains, magnets, tote bags, luggage tags, and more.

And, although my original intention was to make a dog tag that looked fun, I quickly realized how much more important they were to my customers. By having so much important information about your dog on them, they better ensure your baby will be returned home safely if they should ever get lost.

"My dogs are considered members of my own family. There is nothing I wouldn't do to keep them safe. I hope our products will not only add some fun in your lives, but will aid in the return of your pet should they ever get lost."
- Deanne, Founder YappyHappy.Com

I do not have a great deal of money to spend this year... so I will be supporting only small businesses online and in my neighborhood. I have lots of friends with dog children so Happy Yappy is definitely on my shopping list! Stop in and buy something fun and unique for your loved ones!

Have a fun day and don't forget to laugh out loud!

Inge

I would like to toot my own horn

and show off my booth in Paradise. It's all glammed up for Christmas... actually the last six pictures are of my booth and the rest are pictures of other booths in the antique mall. I can't believe I am decorating already but everyone had to be ready by this weekend for Christmas preview... all shops in downtown Paradise participate... so here we go! Christmas shopping in Paradise has officially started!

Have a good Monday and laugh out loud... lot's!

Inge

Let me start off by saying... I am typing with 2 Chihuahuas and a cat on my lap... I need longer arms...

I worked at Treasures from Paradise today... I really enjoy it! People who shop in antique shops are shop interesting... at least I think so. Business is picking up... even I sold lots of treasures from my booth! yippee!!! for me!!! I am sad to say I have decided to close my booth at the end of the year though, because I need to concentrate on moving down to southern California... even though the move probably will not happen before June. John is flying to Switzerland to visit his sister in April... a trip planned a long time ago... so it is pointless to move before that and for him to start a new job and ask for time off... I was hoping to move sooner but that is the way things go sometimes.

I am just ready to move on... we miss the ocean; I want to sell at flea markets and the ones around here are terrible; I will be closer to family; John and I don't relate to people here... we do love our home though... I had to look at 34 places before I found this place. I was shocked at how the rentals are kept around here... the excuse is the college students will mess it up so why maintain the property. There was one place I looked at that I thought was a crime scene! The college students are used as a scapegoat for alot of things in Chico like the low wages, but if you ask me I think the business owners are just cheap! I read that 60% of the jobs here pay below $10.00 an hour! How can anyone live on that?

I learned a valuable lesson though for the next move... research median income and use the demographics and stats page on Google! When we moved here it was at the end of the hot housing market and everything within 200 miles of San Francisco was priced crazy! We liked the environment... hey they had two health food stores and Trader Joes was on it's way... great parks and hiking trails... it's a college town so it must be pretty liberal right? Wrong! I'm not knocking Chico but it is far away from family and the nearest airport is 90 minutes away... John and I are just ready to go. We think that Chico is great if you have alot of money and are retired but we have some years left in us and the business ideas we have will not work here.

So I will use my time learning new job skills, researching places to live (any suggestions you have are welcomed), crafting, playing with my furbabies, working in that crazy restaurant, etc. Oh, and surfing the web...

I snooped through etsy today and found www.ohmybuttons.etsy.com/ Another fun and fabulous shop! She has terrific gifts to get you ready for the holidays. I especially like the ornaments made from silverware. The owner has one son and 11 kitties!!! I think her 4 legged friends also work as models for alot of the artwork she makes! I am sure you will find the perfect gift for you or that special animal lover in your life in Oh My Buttons Shop.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend. Don't forget to laugh outloud!

Inge

This is how I have been spending my days lately!

I found this graph floating around the internet and thought it fit perfectly with my life!

Oh, the fun adventures of menopause!

It feels like Spring around here

and I am enjoying it! Fall is definitely my favorite time of year...my favorite author Leo Buscaglia...I have all his books www.buscaglia.com/about.htm is a big fan of fall too... namely the falling leaves part... he has written a book ""The Fall of Freddie the Leaf"... a children's book to cope with the death of a loved one...oops I'm rattling on... there is something wonderful walking through freshly fallen leaves... I can't explain it very well at the moment...just go out and try it!

It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is so close! John and I do not celebrate it anymore since we usually work that day so other's can spend time fighting ... I mean enjoying their family's company. We like the food alright but I would rather see James and Anna without the pressure of a holiday.

I bet Vermont is gorgeous this time of year... I lived in Asheville, N.C. in the late 70s and loved the fall trees... they don't call it the Smokey Mountains for nothing! If you have never been back east during the fall, I highly recommend the trip! Speaking about Vermont, there is a watercolor artist who has a shop www.amberalexander.etsy.com who paint nature and animals that are whimsical and fun!

Her work is lovely... my furbabies give her a 4 paws up!
She says she generally paint with watercolors, but you'll find the occasional acrylic painting here as well. She lives in Vermont with her husband and two crazy poodles., and is always interested in hearing from people, so drop her a line... or tell her if there's something you'd like to see in her shop!

Well, gotta run for now... don't forget to walk around in some leaves today... and don't forget to laugh out loud!
Inge

I like Keepsake Boxes

and I found beautiful ones at www.thehouseofedward.etsy.com/ I have never seen such unique keepsake boxes than the ones Pamela makes and sells in her etsy shop.

She writes that she has always been enamored of the keepsake box, the reliquary, the chinese box that only she knew the secret way to open. In the spirit of treasures and secrets, She has been making Keepsake Boxes for clients and friends for several years. She enjoys creating them so much that she is now making a few available through The Shoppe at The House of Edward. Each one unique, these boxes feature vintage and antique items and are embellished with various florals and German glass glitters. And, each one comes with an autographed photo of Edward himself!

I think her shop name is great too... so sophisticated and quirky! These keepsake boxes will make a great Christmas gift by itself or to put something fabulous in for you or that special someone! Oh...be sure to visit her blog http://www.fromthehouseofedward.blogspot.com/

Happy Monday and don't forget to laugh out loud today!

Inge