JACKPOT!!!!!

So I am doing a custom journal for someone right now that is for her father who came to the US from Italy many years ago. I needed a few more images and came across an old geography book I bought from Vinnie's in the summer. I opened it and to my surprise there were about a dozen old report cards for little George Drerer circa 1911-1916! Love that kind of stuff. Now what to do with them. Hoard them is the most likely outcome for these little ephemera gems.

Making Stuff again....

....and boy does it feel good. Now that my slate is clean for a little while I can actually do what I opened my store to do. I made a bunch of quilt and lace pendants today and even a few lace ornaments (orange backround). I have them all displayed on a little tree in the store and it looks great! I love using these little discarded bits of fabric for something beautiful. Most of the things I use are tiny scraps that would normally just be thrown in the trash but me being the hoarder that I am of course cannot throw them away.
The weekend was a lot of fun. The auction went really well and we are meeting tomorrow to figure everything out with the money side of it but I think we did really good! I know there were about 120ish people and a few of those bid a lot a big thank you to them. I was very pleased with all the support of the public and also everyone in Art and About. A few of us went to Tony's after for some delish pizza and then off to do a little bar hopping which we really don't do very often. It was a super good time we stayed out until 2:30! Oh well. Of course it is taking me days to recover. All the details of the auction will be on our art and about blog soon so if you are interested go here!

A fun fun fun weekend!

Here are some pictures all the juicy details to come tomorrow!

Some things just stump me.

So there is a local forum here in our fine city where it is commonplace to grumble about anything and everything. Now I don't get it at all because if you're gonna grumble then you darn well better back that grumbling up with some action to change those things. Or at least that is how it works in my head. We have been working very hard on this chair auction and have always been very clear with what we are doing with the money. 50% to scholarships, 25% to the Rahr West our local art museum to help fund educational activities, and 25% back to the group to fund future art events. Now I don't know about you but that seems to be going right back into the art community and very worthy of a charitable contribution. So anyone who doesn't agree please just ignore the auction, move aside and let us creative people pave the way for innovative thinking that will allow our community to move forward. Posting negative thoughts about a project that has been nothing but a positive force...really necessary?

Super Duper busy week.

So I have a crazy busy week going here already. The Fall Art Tour is starting with a reception here on Friday night 6-9 so I have to get ready for that and then the tour continues on Saturday where I will be demonstrating ATC's and letting people make their own for FREE! Then close promptly at 4 run upstairs get pretty and head to the Rahr for the chair auction! So before then I have to clean everything and do all the pre auction prep stuff (with the lovely Heather and other art and about members) I also had a Sputnikfest meeting this morning that really got me excited all over again for that not that I ever wasn't excited but other things took priority for a little time there. That festival is going to rock so hard. Then I meet for a downtown meeting Thursday that will also make me think about another thing that needs to be done. Just breathe Kim.........so I may not post here for a bit but don't worry I will be back in full force next week and hopefully have time for daily posts again!

I haven't made really anything lately due to that lack of time but I did squeeze these in yesterday. They are cookie press pins...cute huh...and only $3!!! You need one.

Chairs for Charity is almost here!!!!

So I got up bright and early this morning because I knew the article for our upcoming Chairs for Charity auction would be in the paper. So I stuck my hair in a ponytail and ran across the street to Kwik Trip to get the paper. Our picture is on the first page with a full page article on the cover of the lifestyle section. Here is the link to the well written article....

http://www.htrnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071021/MAN04/710210430/1398

I really hope there is a huge attendance to the auction and fall art tour. We have worked really hard on this for a long long time and I can't wait to see how it will all turn out!

The fun artful weekend next weekend will kick off with a Friday night reception at Persimmons from 6-9 where you can mingle with the artists and continue Saturday with a tour of 5 studios where you can see artist demonstrations and displays. Then at 6pm the doors will open at the Rahr West Museum with the oral auction starting at 7pm. There will be treats from Garnishes, Pine River Prepack, Stumpjack,and Van's Liquor. It will be a good good time with all the money going right back into the arts in our community. It has been a really fun project that would have never happened without the hard work and dedication of my good friend Heather Doucette and the other members of Art and About. Being the founding mother of the group just less than 2 years ago I am very impressed with the things we have accomplished in such a short time and look forward to the things to come! If anyone is interested in helping us showcase our area and all the talented artisans that call Manitowoc county home please contact me. See you at the auction!

Rearrange that store.

I had a rearranging bug this morning so I spent about 2 hours moving everything around. Pictures always make it look so full and haphazard but in real life it looks nice. I like to move stuff until tonight when I feel like my hip is going to go out.

In a collaging kinda mood.

So this is what it looks like when I get in this mood. I like it messy.
And here is what I made with all that mess. It's been awhile since I have made shadowboxes and now that I made a few I'm not quite sure why. I love making them.

Little alien.

I made a whole bunch of onsie's before I left for vacation. Of course it will take weeks until I stitch and finish them but I did get this cute little alien done. I listed him on etsy today so if you like it you should probably go buy it now.

etsy commercial

I just found this cute etsy commercial while looking around at the forums on etsy. Check it out....

http://youtube.com/watch?v=v2g31xjdfhQ

New Ideas.

I wish I had a camera to take pictures of the new little notebooks I am making. I am taking vintage postcards from the 1920ish range and making little notebooks with them that I am selling for $5. I am really liking that little binding machine. I made some journals with the old hard Bingo cards and vintage game boards too. I have many ideas yet to come. Vacation was good for inspiration.

I also made a few collage sheets that I am selling at the store. I have so many customers ask about where I find my vintage images so I thought why not make a few pages of them and reproduce them so everyone can enjoy them? I made a couple of color ones with stamps from all over the world and a silly mix of things I threw together as well as the black and white people images. And hey if no one else thinks they are as cool as I do I guess I have lots of images to work with. I am selling the black and white ones for $1 a sheet and the color ones for $2 a sheet.

Oh yeah I had an etsy sale last night!!! A nice girl from the United Kingdom bought some of my vintage fabric. I like it when I have etsy sales because I spend whatever I make back on etsy so that means I have a little play money now. I really should buy a christmas present for someone but I won't.

Back in the swing of things.

Vacation was really fun. I didn't really want to come back because I so enjoy not having to do dishes or laundry but I did miss the store. I of course have a lot to do now but kind of still feel like I am in vacation mode so I need to snap out of it.

I don't have a camera right now so this mushroom picture will just have to do.

A new little restaurant opened today in downtown Manitowoc. I have been watching the progress through the window and was very excited to see it open when I went past this morning. The owners are so nice and will be a great addition to our beautiful little downtown. I got a breakfast burrito and a mocha and they were both pretty darn good for the first day. I wish them much success! Oh it is called Wrap It Up and it is right on South 8th next to the old cooks corner.

Visiting all the downtown's we did the last week I have seen both ends of the spectrum and I must say even with our vacancies right now we still rank as a pretty attractive an vibrant downtown. Of course we need to fill the empty storefronts but overall it is a great looking city that we should start looking at through new eyes. I really think the potential for this town is so freakin great and it is on the verge of exploding. We need people to get excited and help us out so if you love it here and want to help please come see me!

Look at my beautiful child.

I think the best picture ever taken of her. We found this beach with tons of really cool rocks. It was an unplanned surprise we just happened upon on a rustic road.

Joelle and Robs wedding fun

Having fun dancing with the boys
Doing the Chicken Dance
And passed out. We had a lot of fun at my sister in laws wedding. It was a super freaky warm day that began with a little shower. They got married in a beautiful little chapel in the Baraboo Bluffs. The reception was very small and intimate. Molly obviously had a blast and passed out at about 10:30. She was super well behaved and made me tired just looking at her. We planned on going to Devils lake the next day but I am getting old and wearing 4 inch heels made my feet unbearably sore so we just went shopping in the Dells instead. I had a wonderful night spending it at one of my very best friends Julie. Her boyfriend Chris made us a great steaks on the grill. It is always nice to get a home cooked meal when you are on vacation. Today we did go to Devils Lake and Molly had a lot of fun swimming. Who would ever have thought that we would be swimming in a lake on October 7th! We drove and ended up in Minocqua. I like it here. We are staying at a great hotel and ate at a really yummy pizza bar for dinner. We decided we are staying until Wednesday. I really really really needed this. It is nice to spend some quality time with Glenn and Molly.

On Vacation!

So we leave tomorrow morning for VACATION. Oh it has been a long time. I will be closed Thursday 10-4 thru Tuesday 10-10. Except on Saturday 10-6 Annette and my sister Kelly will be working for Oktoberfest. We are going to Glenn's sister Joelle's wedding in Baraboo on Friday night...visiting friends...and then??? We really loved living there so it will be fun to take Molly to places we loved like Devils Lake and Java Cafe our favorite coffee shop. I love visiting our old friends. So after Sunday we will decide if we will stay in Baraboo or drive wherever the road takes us. I am happy. We found a great friend Lindsay to take care of our house and Holly so there is nothing to worry about there. Of course it is super busy today in the store which it never ever is on Wednesdays and it is making me feel guilty to close but I think I will get over it.

This morning a very delightful woman named Holly came into my store and we got to talking. She retired recently from teaching and got a really neat idea for these candles she had been buying for years from a man that lives in her area. They have this very neat all the way through glowing quality that is quite beautiful. He sold them as plain candles but she thought it would be great to funk them up a bit and here she is. She showed me her preliminary design for the packaging and a few of the actual candles and it is a beautiful line. Check out her website here black and light co. She is still working on all of it but I think she will do well. So good luck Holly.

So I am bringing my computer but am not sure if I will be connected so like my store my blog will be on vacation for a few days! Enjoy the weekend and I will catch up next Wednesday!