Regroup & Replenish

I have to post this right now. 

I have to tell the whole world how good of a job I did today. Did I just really compliment myself? Wow. I don't do that very often, if at all. 

The craft bazaar I told you about in my last post was today and it was a major success. Major for me. I didn't make a bajillion dollars but in my little world of crafting...it sure felt like it. 

I've only done 2 craft shows (the one that I did in March doesn't count) but I have to say that even though I have made a profit - it's not all about the money (it sure helps) but I love seeing people's reaction to my creations. It really makes me happy that people enjoy what I make because it's something I love doing. It's so awesome to see someone smile about a set of coasters or a button bracelet (which were the biggest sellers today!!)

Needless to say, I can't wait for the next show in 3 weeks!! I know the next one is going to be HUGE - not just for me but for everyone involved. It's located at one of the biggest churches around the area. That stated, I am going to have to regroup  which means taking a breath, cleaning my craft room and get to makin' more stuff! I mean seriously MAKE. MORE. STUFF. 

In other exciting craft show news, I finally got to use my Square! It was a big day for me!

If you purchased something from me today, stopped by my table or even picked up a business card and you are reading this, I just want to say THANK YOU! Your support, interest and kindness mean so much to me. It helps to keep me inspired and driven to do what I love! 

I sincerely hope that you enjoy your creations that were purchased. I loved making them for you!

UPDATE

Oh yeah, in my last post I talked about chicken enchilada soup in the crock pot and gave a link to the recipe, you need to try it. The soup was awesome. The only thing I added to the recipe was taco seasoning. It gave it a little bit more flavor. Also, garnish it with some cheese, sour cream and crushed tortilla chips. Yum! Go try some. Have it for dinner tomorrow. 

...until next time...

-Sam

The Three Cs

Hello, all!

I hope everyone had a great week and you are now enjoying your weekend! It's a cold one - a great day for cleaning, crafting & cooking. The three Cs - which is what I'll be doing as soon as The Today Show goes off. I love "relaxing" (I call it "relaxing" because mainly its just a method of procrastination from what I really have to do - cleaning.) on a Saturday morning with a cup of steaming coffee, my computer and The Today Show! 

I posted about Zoe, the new puppy, in my last update a few weeks ago. We love her to death and she's still a handful. She also makes a mess and pulls all of the dog toys out of the toy box and they are spread all over the living room floor. Basically, I have to clean more. I'm really not a fan of that. I also have to catch up on laundry and I'm not really a fan of that either. 

Next weekend is another craft show at a local high school. I'm really excited but I still have a TON of work to do. I have to name/label all of the button bracelets, coasters still have to be worked on, cards have to be made. I also may have just increased my workload this morning by emailing a local boutique about selling my creations. I'm so nervous! I'll keep you posted on the news!

Yesterday, I finally received my business cards from VistaPrint. They turned out so nice! See? The picture isn't so nice - thanks to being a cell phone picture but you get this gist of it. 

So, for the cooking portion of the three Cs. Tonight is Crock-Pot night. I don't feel like cooking anything so I'll let the Crock-Pot do it. That thing is like a magical pot. I don't have to do anything but put the ingredients in there and let it do it's thing. I'm thinking of Chicken Enchilada Soup for dinner tonight. The hubby said that he wanted some Tex-Mexiky. I found this recipe on Pinterest and I think this is "the one." Sounds yummy!

It's 9:00 am now and I guess I should get up and start cleaning and getting ingredients ready for the Crock-Pot. Procrastination time is over. 

Whatever you are doing this weekend, whether it be cooking, cleaning, crafting, shopping or nothing at all, enjoy it!

...until next time...

-Sam

Just an Update

It's after midnight on Saturday morning and I thought it would be a great idea to start typing an update about what's going on in my life. I'm now starting to think that was a horrible idea because I probably need to go to bed instead of typing random things about my life and watching reruns of "The Office." Oh well. I digress. 

Meet Zoe (the little 4 legged creature). She joined our family of 3 about 2 or 3 weeks ago. It's been somewhat of an adjustment having another dog around. She definitely keeps us on our toes! 

This is my table set up at my first real craft bazaar! It was so much fun and I actually made a profit! I think I'm addicted to doing craft shows - three more have been booked already since last weekend! 

My button bracelets were a hit! I have to admit that they are really cute! The Virginia Tech color scheme was a hit as well as my table covering that I wrote on. If people weren't intrigued by the button jewelry, they were intrigued by my table covering made of postal wrap. Thank you, Pinterest! 

Other little things that are going on right now:

1. I'm getting a new shotgun tomorrow! Yes, a real shotgun. It goes bang!

2. We are painting our kitchen and redoing our cabinets and adding a pantry. I hate home improvements but I love the final product. 

I'm running out of things to ramble about. Goodnight!

...until next time...

-Sam

New Website!

I've been a pretty busy little bee lately. I've been working on button bracelets (orders and for the craft show), coasters and a brand spankin' new website!

This is the contact page. There is also reviews, FAQs and a gallery. Pretty awesome stuff. I soon hope to have an actual working store. It just makes ordering from me a whole lot easier. 

If you want to take a look at the website, click here.

If you see anything that needs to be changed or if you would like to see something on the website that isn't there, please let me know. 

I'm also pretty excited about how my button bracelets have been taking off. I've sold them to pretty much every woman I work with and I have orders coming in on Facebook and at church. I hope to sell these in a local boutique soon. I just have to muster up the courage to do so. I don't like rejection. Haha!

This bracelet is actually the hubby's idea. He thought it would be a good idea to add the little "Hope" ribbons. He was right. Did I really just say that? I admit, he has good ideas every once in a while. My bracelets also have these really pretty sparkly buttons. So cute! This photo has almost 15 likes on Facebook and just recently received an order for 2 of these. This particular bracelet is $15 if you would like to purchase. Please email me at justdarlincards@yahoo.com.

Well, that's all I have for today! Enjoy the rest of your weekend! 

...until next time...

-Sam

Photo Share

I am still behind on my Project Lifing/Sn@pping. I started working on our little trip to Baltimore, MD on Memorial Day. I really like this picture mainly because of the text that I added. It was pretty boring before but adding a little text adds a lot of character to a photo.

This picture took a lot of work because my printer wasn't cooperating a whole lot. Sometimes, wireless printers can be a pain in the butt. I love my printer when it works because it prints awesome photos but it's a stubborn thing.

That's really all I have for today. I just wanted to share my picture. 

What are you creating today? Are you doing anything fun?

...until next time...

-Sam

No-Kink Hair Ties

I have curly, thick, sometimes unruly hair and I alway carry a hair tie on my wrist or in my purse. I've finally joined the bandwagon on these no-kink hair ties made out of elastic. I love them!! They also look great on your wrist - they make a cute bracelet as well!

I have a ton made so far. They are an easy and fun thing to do while watching TV. In my case, I was watching some of the first season of Friends. I have to say that I've never really watched that show until now. A really good friend of mine let me borrow the complete first season and it's kind of addicting. I will be watching more today because it's a rainy Sunday. I love rainy Sundays!

The only problem that I have with this project is the elastic is kind of tricky to find. I couldn't find any at Michael's. Hobby Lobby has it in the hair accessories section and Joann's has it tucked away in the sewing section in the back corner of the store.

You really don't have to follow a tutorial to make these but if you do, I used this one. If you know how to tie a knot and use a lighter, it's easy peasy. If you are going to try and make them, I recommend cutting the elastic at 9" intervals.

I plan on packaging and selling these on Facebook in my Just Darlin' store and also at upcoming craft shows. 

Enjoy your Sunday and have fun making these awesome hair accessories!

...until next time...

-Sam 

Updates & Stuff

I am most definitely still alive and kickin'. You probably wouldn't know that by the lack of posts here on my blog and also on my Facebook page. I am so bad about this blogging thing - I even remember writing a post saying that I was going to blog everyday. So much for that!

Anyway, for those of you that do stick around and read what I have to say, I have an update on some things and just want to share what I've been up to lately. 

Here. We. Go.

Okay, I am dying to go back to last week and relive it all over again. I was vacationing in Myrtle Beach and this was my view every morning and night. This week, my view, is my desk at work. Whoopee.  

Gorgeous, right? 

I am having withdrawals. Seriously.

The hubster and I had such a great time with our closest friends.

Aren't we adorable?

So, like I said before, this week has been just another week doing the same things as always. Yesterday, I was told by a little birdie that there will be another craft show in October at a local church. I think I'm going to go and sell some things of mine. Hopefully, this show works out better than the last one. I don't think I'm going to have many cards there this time. I think I'm going to have some Christmas ornaments and coasters and possibly some new things. I don't really have a whole lot of details yet but I'll try to keep you posted.

I'm still doing the Project Life/Sn@p thing. I'm so far behind on that. Like, woah. 

I went to Hobby Lobby today and they have some really cute stuff for Sn@p/Project Life. I was pretty excited. I walked away with a couple of cute things!

Other than my vacation and a possible upcoming craft show, there hasn't been a whole lot going on.

Can you believe summer is almost over??

...until next time...

-Sam