Think Pink!

What fun! A fresh new look for the blog.
I have to admit, I'm a total geek. I'm learning coding to create my own blog templates. I can't wait until I have a few under my belt and then I can share. I've found most blogger templates are a bit too blingy for me - seem to be designed with the 12 to 15 year olds in mind - so it's fun to design and create the look I want. I have found a few sites that offer some waaaaay cute layouts, so I'm using the feel of some of those as a reference.

Back at work this morning. After 4 days away, it takes me a while to get back into the swing of things and remember what I'm supposed to be doing. I swear I suffer from temporary amnesia sometimes.

A little time away...

It's so refreshing and renewing to know that I have 4 whole days away from work. I had planned to be at the shop at least for the afternoon, but got sidetracked with housework and spent the day at home.
Christmas Eve was lovely. Went to visit my parents in the afternoon and exchange gifts with my sister. Then just a quiet evening at home.
Christmas Day was quieter than I had expected because I was snowed in and couldn't leave the house until my brother plowed my driveway for me in the afternoon. Yeah, I have a terrific family.

I'm not used to so much down time. I have a whole load of stuff to work on. One of the first things on my list is a new design for my blog now that Christmas is behind me. I hope to have that up in the next day or so. Lots of new things for the New Year.

Something to think about: I always have a theme for the year. I've chosen this year's theme, but I'll wait for the New Year to post it. It takes a considerable bit of thought and introspection. I want something that will challenge me and move me forward, but still reflect where I am in my life.
Anybody else out there have a theme for the year?

Looks like a White Christmas

It's snowing today. Big white lazy flakes. So far about 3 inches with much more to come, I'm sure. It's beautiful to look at. Too bad it has to be COLD in order to snow.
I hate being cold. I'd stay home all snuggly in my big ol' bed with a book and my awesome electric blanket and my warm fuzzy kitty, but I have a few last of the season orders to send out today.
I have a couple of gifts to get packaged and sent as well. My poor family usually gets something that involves vinyl... go figure. In the past it's been glass blocks or a plate with lettering. This year... it's a do it yourself kind of thing. Everybody likes to get a gift they have to make themselves, right? Riiiight!!!

A sample of things to come

We're still pretty busy with Christmas orders, but will be wrapping it up in a few days.

While I love being so very busy, I also look forward to some time to be creative again. That involves new layouts and revamping our website so that you will be able to see more of the awesome stuff that we do.

It's a party!

Twelve days until Christmas.
I haven't started my shopping yet. I have no idea what I will get for everyone. I'm sure inspiration will strike at some point. Most likely at 3 in the morning when there's nothing I can do about it and by the time get up, I'll have forgotten what my inspiration was.

My sister emailed me to order stickers for Christmas ornaments. She's had a great idea - at least I think it's great.
We made the ornaments after dinner on Thanksgiving and that was a big success. Everyone made a dazzling ornament and stuck stickers to their hearts content.
So... since she has a 14 year old daughter who has a million friends, instead of spending a million dollars for friend gifts, she's inviting everyone over to make their own ornament.
Cute idea, huh? We'll cut everyone's name and the year 2008, and then they can plaster them with snowflakes or stars or hearts... whatever, stick a bow on it and voila! How fun is that?

Show & Tell

This is a photo of a project I completed over the weekend. The lovely lady who ordered it was very pleased... and so was I.

This sign is 24 x 36 inches and will soon grace the front porch of the Anderson home.

Whaddaya think?

Oh the weather outside is frightful, or kind of

There's a sprinkling of snow on the ground this morning....
I'm trying to be cheerful and focus on how beautiful it is - and it is gorgeous - and I am grateful because we need the water.
But....
I really hate being cold!

I feel so much better now that I have complained about something.

Our craft show schedule is done for the year. Thanks to everyone who stopped by our booth and spent a few hard earned dollers. It's a ton of fun and a ton of work doing a craft show. Many of you are crafters, so you know what I'm talking about. Answering questions, demonstrating the product, making sure that everybody finds what they need. Setting up... taking down. Whew!!!

I need a hot drink...

Oh yeah....
A shout out to Megan in Ohio who pointed out to me that some of the tile designs were missing from the website. Oh my goodness! about half of my layouts were gone!
Got it fixed. Thanks, girl, I'll send you a freebie.

I've got telephone ear...

One of the things I love best about what I do is talking to people. Especially at this time of year when so many are calling to place their Christmas orders. A fair portion of my day is spent with my ear on the phone, and I gotta tell ya, some of you women out there are just a hoot!
I remember the first time I got a call from someone on the east coast... it was a big deal to me. It's still a big deal. The internet has made it such a small world... now every once in a while I get a call from another country. That's a big deal too. I guess it doesn't take much to thrill me.

After the first of the year, we'll be implementing a shopping cart which will simplify the ordering process tremendously. It's a necessity, and will make things easier for everyone, but it makes me kind of sad, because it will also reduce my time on the phone.
My customers are my source of inspiration. I NEED that! So call me!!!

Yay! Christmas packages!

I love Christmas! I love Christmas shopping. I know that's hard for most people to imagine, but I do.
Because of the crazy long hours I work at this time of year, I do the majority of my shopping online. I think it's the thrill of the hunt... finding the best price, hopefully with free shipping. There are any number of sites that list what's on sale and where, so I watch for the best deal, then jump on it quickly before it's gone.
Got my first Christmas package delivery this morning. Can't tell you what it is, cuz then it wouldn't be a surprise, now, would it?

Come see us in St. George!!!

It's officially the Christmas season! I can play Christmas music without causing major groans and complaints, the phone is ringing constantly, and I snagged the Black Friday bargains that I wanted online so I didn't have to risk physical harm and frostbite.

For those in the St. George area who are out and about picking up a gift or two, we are currently set up at
SANTA'S WORKSHOP at the Dixie center today and tomorrow (Saturday the 29th). Stop in at our booth and say hi and ask for your free sticker!
Next week we'll still be in St. George, still at the Dixie Center for
THE DICKEN'S FESTIVAL, Wednesday thru Saturday. Dec. 3-6.
Come see us and be sure to ask for your freebie there too!

Love this one too...

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.
-- Thornton Wilder

Love this quote....

Sometimes I just need to jot something down.

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was "thank you", that would suffice.
Meister Eckhart

A little bit of this, a little bit of that...

Friday was my birthday.
It was crazy busy, but I still managed to be able to sneak off an hour early for dinner and a movie with my Sis and her daughter. We had yummy Italian food - everything was delicious, but we waited and waited and waited for someone to take our order, then waited some more for the food to arrive. Finally, we had to complain that we were going to miss our movie if the waiter didn't get his act together. We debated about having them make the entre to go, because we could bring food into the theater with us. We didn't have to do that, but did have the waiter bring to-go boxes along with our plates.
We went to see Bolt in 3D. It's a great little movie and I loved wearing the dorky 3D glasses.

Yesterday was fun filled. I lounged around the house for a few hours in the morning and then bopped over the hill to the big city to get wood and ribbon and a whole bunch of other stuff.
We stopped at the cheese plant to feed the need for squeeky cheese, then off to Sam's club where they had lots of tasty samples. As usual, I ran into someone who wanted to know if his signs were ready... jeez! can't go anywhere! (yes, they're done)
The dudes at Home Depot were extremely helpful and saved me about an hour of work by cutting my 1 x 4 boards into 24" lengths for me. Yay! now I just have to router them, which I like to do.

Now I'm doing a little laundry and catching up on some email and then I'll be at the shop for the rest of the day.

I have great big Christmas balls sitting on my worktable. I'm waiting to be inspired. Should I put words on them? Stars? Snowflakes? All of the above? Hmmmm....

Actually, I don't have time this morning to do anything with them. So much to do.

We're getting stocked up for Santa's Workshop next week and the Dicken's Festival the following week. With those shows coming up and orders coming in, it's a little hectic around here.

Maybe I should play some Christmas music to calm things down a bit. Yeah.... Some Christmas M&Ms will help too. After all, chocolate is my drug of choice.

The very best kind of help

Busy Monday today. It's crazy getting everything stuffed into a box and ready for the UPS truck at 4:00 and then running to the Post Office at 4:30. I feel like I've made the big touchdown and I want to spike the ball (or box) and do a little victory dance every time I make it to the Post Office before they lock the doors. The ladies there have assured me that if I were to place my sad little nose against the glass and squeeze out a tear or two that they'd let me in anyway. I'd prefer not to put that to the test.

I had a helper this afternoon. My niece Dani came with Grampa 'cuz it was her turn. She's five years old and very smart and loves her Aunt Becky - told you she's very smart. After we got tired of drawing monkeys, she went through my desk drawer looking for treasures. Found a couple of quarters and a guitar pick, a paperclip, an envelope, a q-tip and some sticky-notes. Then she sat on a stool next to my work table so that we could "talk", and informed me that when she grows up she wants to be a Pop Star.
At first I thought she said Poptart, but I was corrected very quickly. She's going to be a Pop Star and wear cute boots and ride in a limousine. She would also like to go to Disneyland. And ride a horse a lot. Oh yeah - she's gonna wear a long pink wig too. Grampa is going to drive the limo.
When I told Grampa of her plans for him, I was reprimanded because I wasn't supposed to tell him. She was a little upset because he laughed. How do you relay to a child that sometimes they say funny things? I explained that some of the things she says are funny because she's so smart. That got me a big smile and everything was okay again.
Then we sang the alphabet song and counted to 29... that's as high as I can go.

Jr. Mints and a Peaceful Afternoon

It's Saturday and I'm in the shop doing some catch-up and trying to crank out a huge order to ship on Monday.
It's quiet, and being the weekend there are no interruptions. I'm munching on the FABULOUS special Jr. Mints that are out this year. I can't seem to get enough of 'em. I've propped the laptop up on the work table so I can watch movies while I pick vinyl. It's not a bad life.

I've been working on some NEW DESIGNS today too. So many have asked me for smaller block-sized stuff for neighbor gifts and I think that's a wonderful idea. I'll be putting them out on the site in the next day or so. The price will be low so that those who have a list as long as their arm will be able to afford something special for the someone special(s) on their big long list. They're so cute, I think I'll make some for me!

Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-laaaaaaaaaaaaa

We are well into the swing of the Christmas thing.
I love love LOVE Christmas time, but it gets here way too quickly and by the time it does, I really need a nap.
This year, as in the past few years, our glass block designs are a big hit. We've added new printed designs, and of course, still offer the old prints and the custom vinyl stuff as well.
My happy find of the month was at Lowe's. While on an excavation to buy glass blocks, I discovered that the store in my area has been enlightened and pulled in a few cases of PRE-DRILLED glass blocks. That's right! they already have the hole - a nice big one - drilled in the side. Pretty reasonable price too.
While we offer the drilled blocks for sale, the cost of shipping is fairly prohibitive so I usually advise folks to try to find them in their own neck of the woods.
Just in case your local hardware store has not seen the light - or the lighted blocks - and you want to drill your own, I'm happy to sell you the perfect drill bit ($20.) and instruct you in how to drill the blocks without losing your sanity or the sanity of a loved one.

Linking to the Website

I started this blog a long time ago with the intention of giving my customers and friends a way to communicate ideas and to give us a way to know each other a little better.

As is evident by the dates on the first few posts.... it took a little longer than I expected. I could have simply deleted those posts, but in reading through, I like them and think they should stay.

I'm a blog junky. Love to read what others are doing and what they think about things... what they had for lunch on Tuesday. The whole point of this particular blog is to share some of the new ideas that come into my world all of the time... mostly from my fabulous customers. So yeah... please share!!!

Chocolate

This afternoon I am watching the movie "Chocolat" while I am browsing and writing. I love the spirit and fearlessness of the main character, and of course, I could look at Johnny Depp all day long. Most of all, I love the gorgeous images of chocolate in all of it's decadent forms.

This reminds me that I must add more chocolate quotes to the website. I know there are women out there who are indifferent to chocolate and all of it's mind altering effects... I just don't know who they are!
As for me, the darker the better. Thank goodness the medical community has decided that dark chocolate is good for you.

"I like my men like I like my chocolate... a little bit sweet and very rich."

Be glad of Life

Be glad of Life
because it gives you the chance to Love, and to Work, and to Play,
and to look up at the Stars.

I love that. I love it so much that I put it on my livingroom wall. Really big so that I can see it and remember it every day. Yes, I do this stuff for a living so you would assume that my walls are filled with quotes and signs and all kinds of wisdom and/or wittiness..... well, that isn't so.

I discovered long ago that the things that sell the best and appeal to the most people are not necessarily the things that I want to live with in my home. So I have only a few things on my walls.

This quote reminds me that even though it may be midnight and I'm just getting home, I can pause on my back step and look up, and see the most dazzling display... just for me. How amazing is that?

A very fine place to start...

The first post is always the most difficult.
Whew!
Now that's over with, I can get on with things.