Do you need an Alice?

When I was younger, I used to watch the Brady Bunch and wish that I lived there. I loved how even though the siblings fought, at the end of the day, they still loved each other. I loved how all of life's problems could be solved within 30 minutes time. But mostly, I loved Alice. In many ways, Granny was my Alice. After school, I went to Granny and Papa's house where Granny fixed me a snack, helped me with my homework and then cooked dinner for all of us. Just like Alice did with the Brady bunch kids.

Have you ever wished you had your own Alice? Someone to go to the store to get your house-hold items? Someone to keep track of when your laundry detergent is getting low, or when you're almost out of toilet paper? And then, that someone brings all of your necessities back to your house?

Today I saw a posting on Facebook from a friend who had tried this new website - www.alice.com. She said she had just gotten her first shipment in and LOVED the service! I wanted to pass this on to you, because I've checked out the site and it looks totally wonderful!

You can order things like this:

Or this:

Or even this:

And have them shipped for FREE to your home! That's right, don't pay for shipping! Woo-HOO! You don't have to go to the store, fill up your cart, haul it to your car, drive home, unload it and put it away. You just order it, it ships to your door, and you put it away! Alice will even find coupons for you, keep track of the frequency of your orders so when you start to run low, she can remind you to stock up again. Brilliant! It's about as close to a real Alice as I can afford! :)

Make jewelry? You *need* this!

So... way back here I wrote a little DIY blog about earring cards. Somehow, a wonderful lady named Dee, read my blog and contacted me. She sent me a package of awesome stuff to make earring cards. I can't believe I used to make earring cards the old way, her products are amazing!

Here are the punches. The one on the left is for just two small holes for fish-hook, or straight backed earrings. The one on the right is for leverback earrings. Let me tell you, they work BEAUTIFULLY! And the best part is you can make earring cards out of any paper you want. Like business cards? Cardstock stamped with your logo? Pretty scrapbook paper for gifting earrings? It's totally up to you!

And what's even better, Dee has lots of various items in her shop to help you along. :)

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How about these lovely blue designer cards?

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Or even these lovely floral designer cards? Dee has a few more designs in her shop, go check it out! I'm sure you'll love it!
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Getting ready for a craft show, OR do you sell to a boutique? Try out these wonderfully handy adapters. They are SOO easy to use!
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I really hope you check out her shop! She's working on getting her punches patented and getting her products out there for everyone to see and love!

[All pictures are my own, but the products are all from Dee.]

Team Feature Tuesday - RightBrainy

Last night I went through my blog and tweaked it. Okay, tweaking involves minor changes, I gave it a near overhaul. I've still got a few things on my list to look at BUT, I have to say, I really love my blog right now. I feel the look suits me perfectly and I hope that my posts are interesting enough to make people keep coming back.

Anyway, as I finished up working on my blog, I popped into the TeamCAC thread and met a fellow CACer that I hadn't met before - Right Brainy. I introduced myself and then went to check out her shop... I LOVE it! There are a few things I'm thinking about purchasing, as soon as I have made a couple more sales. But, in the mean time, if you haven't met Elo of Right Brainy yet, I really suggest you pop over to say hello and see all the wonderful paper goods she has to offer. Here are a few of my faves:



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Isn't this Marvelous Mini Portfolio just... well, marvelous? She's got several cute ones in her shop that would be great for holding on to important things like receipts, papers you need to sign for your kiddos, to-do lists, grocery lists, dry-cleaning tickets, etc. Really, you know you need this... don't you... :)

Okay, THIS Be Still and Know Card is one of the items I've got my eye on. I even know which friend I'm going to send it to. BUT, now that I think about it, I think I know a few other friends to send one to. Maybe I need 2 or 8? lol.

Here is the inside of my favorite card. This

Be Still and Know Card is perfect for when you aren't sure what to say, but you know that silence is NOT the answer....

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A Baptism Card? I have never even thought about it but it's a wonderful idea for keeping on hand. Especially for my hubby and I since you never know when one of the kids in our Youth Group will decide to be baptized into the Body.

How fun is this?!?! I remember when I was a little girl and I LOVE writing little notes to EVERYONE! I know that I would have fallen completely in love with little notes if they came in such a cute Post-It Purse!

If I make a lot of sales, I REALLY want this GORGEOUS set of Encouragement Cards. I want this so badly... if anyone wants to get me an early birthday present.... (hint, hint). :)

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Well, I hope you enjoy this week's TeamFeature Tuesday. It's 11:04 pm my time so I guess I made it in time to spare... lol. :) Remember, you can find lots more items from TeamCAC by typing "teamcac" in the Etsy search bar. Thanks!

Sooo... which item is YOUR favorite?

An exciting giveaway in Blogdom!

Hi all! I have to tell you about this wonderful giveaway going on right now in Blogdom. :)

If you love Kristin of

Then you're also going to love...

The Shabby Nest

I promise.

Now, skip on over to The Shabby Nest and check out her giveaway. It's so gorgeous! :)

Both images are taken from the blogs of The Shabby Nest and The Faded Prairie and are not my own creations. :)

Aquetia Awaits - My Poetry and Paintings

For a while I was really working on putting together my poetry and my paintings. I haven't done much of that lately, but I think I'll work on that a little more sometime in the near future. I wrote this poem about 4 years ago and last year I did the painting to go with it. They are both called "Aquetia Awaits." I hope you enjoy. :)

Aquetia Awaits

When the peonies are in full bloom
before the reign of Death
I'll go to Aquetia.


In a coral, jalopy shell - pulled by green fins
with Amphidon unforsaking my side
I'll go to Aquetia.


Salty bubbles swarm each stroke
amuse the lilies holding their breath
I'll go to Aquetia.


Jelly chandeliers, seaweed curtains,
pathways of current.
I always longed for Aquetia.


Unseen rhythmic movements
lulling coral to slumber.
I'll go to Aquetia.


Kins' half nakedness,
unalluring, mesmerizing gestures.
I'll go to Aquetia.


No walls, no confinementality
everywhere is unforbiddenness.
I'll go to Aquetia.








The story behind the painting: At my grandparent's house there used to be a 3ft X 3ft flower bed with a huge peony plany in it. Every spring the plant would bloom and create these HUGE, beautiful, fragant flowers. I loved them so much. I couldn't bear to pick any of them, but sometimes a few petals would drop to the ground and I would gather them and walk around feeling how soft they are and smelling them.

Unfortunately, it never failed: within a day or so of the flowers fully blooming, a big rainstorm would come and beat to death all of the beautiful flowers. Sometimes, if it happened early enough, there would be several buds left that still got to blossom, but again, another rainstorm would come to beat them to death too. (Therefore, there is a play on words here: When the peonies are in full bloom before the reign[rain] of Death.) This also explains the upper right-hand corner of the painting.



The rest of the poem is just how I imagine this magical, underwater world - Aquetia. I've always loved the water and have been fascinated with sea life since I was little. I've always said I wanted to be a mermaid so I could live under the sea. I created characters for my magical place - Amphidon, which is a combination of the Greek god and goddess of the sea - Poseidon and Amphitrite (not that I believe in Greek mythology, but I do like learning about it). I also played more with words by combining 'confinement' and 'mentality' into "confinementality", which is a reference to how, when we get older, we lose some of our childhood creativity and imagination and are therefore confined to the mentality of adulthood.



Aquetia is a place that is always alive in me and is where I can go to be free ("unforbiddenness"). It represents my inner child that I hold on to, and can therefore look at the world and see the good, the positivity, the beauty.

What's-a happenin' hot stuff?

So... I realized today, as I was playing around in the Etsy forums, that I've been neglecting my blog lately. I've logged into Blogger and then skimmed through one or two blogs and then I'm done. Off to do something else. But I promise that this time, unlike the last time I neglected my blog, I've actually been working on productive things. In fact, here's some pictures of the things I've been working on... :)

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Charity Bracelets. Gosh. I started this project last Wednesday, and it has absolutely taken off like crazy! It's just ridiculous! I've sold 3 online, mailed off an order for 6 today, I mailed off an order of 5 yesterday, I am working on another order for 6, and still have 2 or 3 other orders of "several". It's been a wild and crazy ride, but it's great because it's just the validation and affirmation I need, to let me know this is something I should be doing. It's awesome! What great is that this weekend, I'm going to Wal-Mart or United, and I'm buying about $50 worth of flour and cornmeal. Then next week, the hubby and I will venture down to Disciples in Action, and hand over the flour and cornmeal to those people so they can distribute it out to the needy people here in Levelland. I'm so excited! Next, I'll be making a monetary donation to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. I'm also pretty excited about that. In fact, along with the triathlon I'm doing in June, I've decided to participate in Lubbock's Susan G. Komen "Race for the Cure" that's being held in October. So excited about that! God is really speaking to me about doing this charity work, so I'm going for it full force! And in return, God has blessed everything I've done so far. It's amazing!

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I've also been making jewelry (that's not Charity jewelry) for my etsy shop. These earrings are my first attempt at wire wrapping. I know I probably don't have the technique down perfectly, but I think they came out looking pretty spiffy. Now I'm on the prowl for more wire in the right size gauge. I'm not really sure what gauge I'm looking for, I just know I'll know it when I see it. The wire I used on these is kind of too thin. But I made it work, and I really like them. This year I think I'm going to keep expanding my learning, and see what other cool techniques I can learn. I'm working on wrapping head/eye pins around, but that's really more tricky than you'd think. Well, at least it is for me anyway. I also was looking online for a metal-stamping kit, but I'm going to hold off on that for a bit. Let's tackle one thing at a time...

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I've also been planning the Sweetheart's Banquet for the church with my friend Carley. I saw these beautiful soaps in my Martha Stewart book and decided we could make some and include them in our gift bags. Of course, ours don't look quite that amazing as we don't have the metal-stamping tools, nor did my cookie cutters work as well as these appeared to. But no worries, I found a heart mold at Hobby Lobby and will be working on these more this weekend. :) Sounds like I've got a busy weekend.... as always. BUT, last weekend, the hubby and I got stuck in the black hole known as Lubbock ALL DAY! I refuse to let that happen this week, as it just completely drains my entire day. SO, we're going tomorrow evening. :) YAY! Plus, I need beading wire. I'm out of it and was so upset when I went to get some tonight and they were OUT! Grr...... But anyway, sorry, I digress. The Sweetheart's Banquet is going to be so cool. I'll take lots of pictures of everything and post them soon. But the banquet's not until the 20th, so you're going to have to wait a little bit longer... :)

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I'm also in the middle of planning another great event. I can't tell you what it is, because it's a SURPRISE! BUT, it'll look something like this>

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Okay, there's lots of other things going on, but right now, since it's 1:30 in the morning, I think I'll just leave you with these. Good night all and I promise to be back soon with some Weekly Wishlists and Features.

love MUCH love

What if?

In 2005 my grandmother passed away. The cause was determined to be pneumonia, but in reality, Granny had a weak body. For years she suffered with Diabetes, Heart Disease, irregular heart beats, high blood pressure, etc. Other members of my family including my dad, my grandfather, and one uncle all have had bypass surgeries on their hearts. Several members of my family have diabetes. Several members of my family have/have had some form of cancer. I'm sure, if you're reading this, you probably have people coming into your thoughts right now that you know, or knew, that have faced this.

When I drive my nice car around I see people walking down the road. I see kids playing in the street. I know that there are people that are hungry. People that are sick. Parents that can't feed their children. Elderly that can't afford food. People with breaking hearts because someone they love just got diagnosed with cancer. Someone scared because the doctor told them they only have months to live.

I look around and I see people that are hurting, hungry, scared, broken, breaking, lost, wandering, cold, hot, tired, sick. What am I doing for these people? I know what I should do...

Matt. 25:34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

Here's my question: What if? What if there was an easy way for you to show your support to people? What if you could donate some money to a charity, so people could be taken care of?

What if I donate $500 to a charity? Then that's $500 that they didn't have before that could go to food, clothing, shelter, research, etc. What if I can get 10 friends to also donate $500? That's $5000! What if those 10 friends got 10 of their friends? Do you see where I'm going with this? I hope so. :)

Here's what I'm talking about: I'm going to start making bracelets. Each bracelet will have a certain color theme to it that corresponds with a certain Awareness (i.e. heart disease, breast cancer, child abuse, etc.). I will then sell that bracelet for $10. From that $10, I will donate $5-7 to a charity. [I'm taking little to no profit for these bracelets. I'm offering free shipping on them, and the other $3-5 dollars will go towards listing fees, sales fees, shipping, etc.] The point is, each bracelet I sell, I am sending the maximum amount I can to a charity. The charities that I will be sending the money to include but aren't limited to: American Cancer Society, Disciples in Action, Susan G. Komen Foundation, Hunger Action Center, etc.

Your call to action: Buy a bracelet - right now, I only have one listed in my Etsy shop but I hope to have more soon --- http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=39957733

OR, make some bracelets. I know that several of you who read this make jewelry. It doesn't take much to get this started. Just use some of your extra beads that you have, put them together, and make a bracelet. You can donate to the charities of your choice, you don't have to donate to the same ones that I am.

There's a reason I was put here on this earth, just as there's a reason you were put here. What if our reason is to help others? I don't believe I'm asking a lot. Buy a bracelet or make a bracelet. Can you help?

Here's a website with all the Ribbon Awareness symbolism so you can get started:

http://www.personalizedcause.com/

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=39957733

This blog is 97% recycled

As I was reading a fellow friend/blogger/teammate, Dionne’s blog I was taken back to my childhood. Back to a time when things were so different, when I was so different. It reminded me of a poem I had written several years ago. I've decided to share that poem with you.

The poem below was written during my Creative Writing class. It was written in a style similiar to E. E. Cummings' poem "Spring is Like a Perhaps Hand"
Enjoy.

"Within the Inner"

I used to run freely -
in the Corn Patch
behind my grandparent's house.


Inproperly, unshamefully barefoot on the Earth (cool
between the rows of Stalks.)


Strawberry pig tails chasing -
warmed by the summer sun; following after me.
The Loyal Lady bouncing
not too far behind.
Curiously.


Thoughts of Freedom pass, vanquishing the Evil at hand,
secrets sealed in shadows,
concealed in the cloves;

Within the Inner.

I realize it may not make any sense to anyone, but it makes perfect sense to me, and frankly, that's all that really matters.