Hi everyone! It's been awhile since i've posted. I've been busy making jewelry, sewing "experimental" lunch bags and enjoying the last few days of summer vacation with Tim and Casey (and Hana when she's around!). Now it's starting to feel like fall - aaarrrggghh, I love the summer - and time to focus on the holiday season. I can't wait to see everyone's new stuff! I'm really looking forward to our Open House in September.
So, till we chat again, happy designing :)

New Artist ~ Beth Shepherd

Hey Everyone,

I'm still waiting on some photography equipment, but went ahead and took some quick snap shots of our new artist Beth Shepherd's note cards. The photos do not do them justice, you have to see these in person to fully appreciate them. We absolutely love her work. She is a good friend of co-owner Karen and we are so glad to have her as part of our team. Beth's work is done by manipulating Polaroid photos with a car key, creating a painting-like effect. She says she tries to recreate the feeling she had at the instant she captured the image. It's hard to remember that you are looking at real objects and not a watercolor painting. So here is a sneak peek at a few of her photos. We will have all of her cards on the website next week. Welcome Beth.

Me and My Spontaneous Family!

One of my favorites things is to go to Oceans Shores with my family. I love how quiet and laid back it is. No, it's not the most glamorous place to visit, but I just adore the Ocean. So Sunday Ed, Josie and I spent hours at Shipwreck Beads (our son Jared is visiting his Granny in Colorado). I figured our day was complete as we were heading to the car. When I opened the trunk I noticed the DVD player was in there. I asked Ed how long it had been in there and he said he put it in there this afternoon. Then he said that Josie might get bored in the car on the way to the Ocean. I got so excited. It really is the little things in life that do it for me. We have been working non stop lately and a quick trip to the beach just sounded perfect. Half way their (an hour or so) I asked Ed if he packed anything else and apparently he had decided to take the trip just as we were leaving for Shipwreck, so needless to say nothing was packed. I love the priority of the DVD player though!!! We are 30 minutes from Ocean Shores and I realize the weather is rapidly changing and it's almost 7:30p. We get out of the car at the beach and its freezing cold and so windy! All that Josie has on is a sundress and purple Crocs which already don't match, but wait, the outfit gets much better. There is no way I was going to start shopping for coats in August and they would probably all say Ocean Shores on them, so we were going to have to make due. Luckily we found a pair of BabyLegs leg warmers (rainbow stripes might I add) and a pink sweater with one button. The only thing else remotely close to clothing is a towel. Scroll down to see our daughters stunning outfit.

Our total time on the beach was maybe 20 minutes since it was so cold. However, it was 20 minutes that I will never forget and well worth the drive. Check out that sunset!

We saw shells and a large flock of pelicans flew right in front of us and one by one dipped down to scoop up water in hopes of a fish! The best part though was Josie running to the water yelling "Da beach, da beach, I'm runnin' da beach". She was beyond thrilled. We could have stood out there forever, but it was so cold; noses and eyes all running. So tempted to get a hotel room, we settled on a nice dinner. And I'll share what a dork I am. During dinner I leaned over towards the window to try and catch a glimpse of the remaining sunset and was surprised at how long it was lasting. Come to find out that I was looking at the roof of a Shell Gas Station, lol! There was a glare on the glass okay! I'm so grateful for my family and I just love the beach!

Seattle Seafair 2008/We Met Sig Hansen!

Sorry for the late posting, got busy lately, but Phil and I were able to get passes to the pit area at the Hydroplane Races this year at Seafair in Seattle. Our friend Al, who is in charge of all activity around the Race area let us sit on a really nice boat in the pit area where we could see the air shows and races. It was a great weekend. The Northwestern, one of the crab boats on the show Alaska's Deadliest Catch, was tied up at the north end of the log boom. We were hoping to see Sig Hansen, captain of the boat. Phil had a cod wood carving for Sig. We had been trying to hook up with him for a couple months thru Seafair, and we were sitting on the boat, and Al says, "Phil, there is someone here who wants to meet you". Well, we both jumped up and looked down only to see Sig!. It was exciting to say the least. Sig is a really nice guy, quite sexy I would say. He thought the cod was realistic and really appreciated it. We took our pictures with him. Our mission was accomplished! Thank you to Al and Gary for all your efforts to help us meet Sig.