new year's eve

Tonight I will partying like it's 1999. Oh wait, I did that in 1999. Then I'll party like it's 2009.
Actually, I don't have any plans. Yet. We'll see. My little sister wants to spend it on the beach, which I've never found to be as fun as it sounds, but Allen said he might want to do some night fishing off the pier.

What will you be doing?

In other news:
So I was a little busy yesterday.... I made oodles of cuffs!

This pink metallic leather is a perfect backdrop for almost any color!

After work, Allen and I attended Tuesday Night Movie Night where the feature for the evening was Wanted. Honestly, it wasn't quite what I expected. A little cheesy, perhaps? But it started off well and ended nicely, which is much more than a lot of our weekly features offer (think: Rad). Next weeks feature has been built up as an epic comedy classic, although the name wasn't revealed. I'll take their word for it. And soon, we'll be watching shorts of Trailer Park Boys again! Season six!

It's raining coin purses

I've tons of little change pouches that I haven't listed just yet. Partly because of other online distractions and work, and partly because of indecisiveness about which online venue to list them on. Coriandr? 1000Markets? Etsy?

Here's the latest one I've listed:
It's another in a line of laminate & leather goodies. I have one more laminated pouch with flamingos! Coming soon! (you'll see......)

It's a CLEARANCE SALE!

I'm trying to make room in my shop for some newer items so I'm doing my Spring cleaning early! Although, I live in south Florida so seasons are a moot point anyway.
Here's a sample of some items in my clearance bin!
Genuine ostrich striped cuff bracelet - only $18!
Meaty leather Cuff - only $14!

Gold safari leather cuff with exotics - only $15!

Hope you had a good one

Well Christmas is now over and we can all look forward to the new year...

Did you get the goodies you wanted?
I got new shoes!

My mother made a gorgeous meal that was enjoyed by our family, Allen and I watched dvds for the rest of evening while my cousins played with new toys until we all fell asleep with visions of left-over ham dancing in our heads.
Christmas has become a second Thanksgiving to me and mine, revolving mostly around gratitude for our loved ones and showing appreciation for all we have. We may not be able to build snowmen or go sledding, but we have warm holiday memories of sandcastles and beach cookouts; palm trees decorated in strings of bright lights, swaying back and forth in the evening breeze.

Here's wishing everyone a Happy New Year!

The eve of Christmas

I'd really rather not leave my house today. I'm done shopping. Even if I weren't, I don't imagine I would be braving the crowds at the mall. There is, however, a ton of housework to be done. Laundry, vacuuming, window washing....
I'd better get started!
In the meantime, check out this treasury I was in by decoexart:
Merry -almost -Christmas!

3 more days!!

Or two. Depending on how you count today. Well, I spent the day running errands and finishing last-minute shopping. Want to see some of the goodies I found on Etsy?

This gorgeous necklace is from littleladysboutique! (For my little sister)
And this cool chainmaille bracelet is for my older sister! It's stretchy, too!
Made by redpanda.

Also a reminder that my SHIPPING SALE on cuffs ends December 24th at 11:59 pm EST
All cuffs ship within the USA for one 40 CENTS!
Canada - 50 CENTS
Everywhere else - only ONE dollar!

new Buddy

And he's dreamy!

Holiday downer

Well, yesterday was the local chopper ride (themed Nightmare Before Christmas) and I was excited to be able to go at the last minute. My friends had made up the most amazing bikes and went as Tank Girl and Jet Girl, two of the characters from my most favorite comic wonder: Tank Girl. Here are their bikes:
Anyhow, soon after the ride started I began to get frantic phone calls from my sister who apparently had to go pick her car up at the rental place - because her lame ass boyfriend had decided to skip town without telling a soul. I ended up missing the ride to go with her and make sure she and her car were safe and sound.
So now the whole household is a bit down in the dumps after losing someone we considered to be not only a friend, but closer to family at this point.
My sister needs a nice gentleman wrapped with a big red bow this Christmas. One of these will do:
When Allen got home he told me my friends had both won the trophy for best bike. They're going to cut it in half so they can split it.

postal woes

I'm starting to have the usual holiday jitters - not about family or gifts but - shipping!
Not only do I wonder when the packages I sent to my loved ones will arrive and have my fingers crossed that packages I ordered will arrive just in time, but also I worry about my customers.

Did it get lost in the mail? Will it get there in time?

*sigh*

I've already had three people contact me about slow-moving mail and it's starting to eat away at my sanity. In the past I've used delivery conformation but I've found it to be a mostly useless tracking tool.

Please USPS, don't let me down.

tiny cases

New little change pouches!

that is all.

Coffee & Cuffs

So, I've been doing some picture-taking today.
Mostly of my new Buddy Bag (which I will be showing off soon) but also my gorgeous coffee cup that my mother bought for me. Chickens!

And I want to show off my new cuffs at my NEW shop on 1000Markets!

Toys!

I was going through some of the many many boxes still inside our old house and found....
Toys!I had LOTS of care bears and care bear cousins. I had forgotten all about the bearded gentleman in the photo above. Not really sure what set he goes with, but I had the cloud car, too!
My sister and I shared the She-Ra toys.
When I pulled them out of the boxes, they were sticky and dirty from the attic where they had been stored so they all took a nice hot bath.

Now they're clean, but full of water.

*sigh*

Fun with Sewing

I've been sewing. And I have some cuff bracelets galore to show for it:

Today I'm working on a new buddy bag (it will be black alligator-print leather with spots of bronze fish and white ostrich) AND I've found a fun new venue! 1000Markets!

Belly Buddy

This cat is so needy.
Every morning when I wake up and go to the kitchen to start my coffee, I soon feel two tiny paws slapping my legs and launching their claws into my backside in an attempt to scale upwards while crying out "pick me up! pick me up!"

So I've come up with a little make-shift sling to keep him quiet and calm while I go about my morning duties.
My mother thinks I'm nuts.

Season to Share

After a busy week full of work and unexpected guests, I've been left feeling a bit drained and unaccomplished. I'm too tired to make breakfast. I had pumpkin pie and coffee for breakfast. Although, that's not so bad, right?

So, while feeling a bit down in the dumps and frustrated, I remembered someone else.
Every year the local paper tells the stories of more than a dozen struggling families who have been nominated by local charitable organizations.

Here are just a few.
You can click on the pictures or titles to take you to the rest of their stories and ways to donate.

Shawn King

Staci Jones

Homeless Coalition of Palm Beach County

Edith Bell Smith

Diane Perry

second bag

I'm done with my second custom Buddy Bag! Deep blue with navy croc-embossed leather.
I've got a lot of listing to do so I need to get on the ball.
And don't forget about my CUFF SHIPPING SALE!
All cuff bracelets ship within the USA for only 40 CENTS!

Deedle doo

I'm done with one of my custom bags - it's silver and white!and I've been working on some high-end cuffs (genuine exotics like ostrich and alligator). Here's one of my favorites so far:
And speaking of cuffs.... don't forget about my SHIPPING SALE going on until December 24th!
All cuffs ship within the US for only 40 cents!
Canada is only 50 cents!
Everywhere else costs just one dollar!

Christmas Time

Christmas is my second-favorite holiday, next to Thanksgiving. Most of my reasons for loving these holidays are related to food, family, and time off from work. Also a favorite holiday: my birthday.

But, back to my point. I made some Christmas ornaments out of some old laminated ephemera!
Little classic cars!
Also a holiday / special event reminder:
I offer FREE gift wrapping with my online items - just drop me a note with your purchase.

This is thanks to the last 30 years my mother collecting more gift wrap than I could ever use in my lifetime. I even have old vintage gift wrap. But that's for me. Yay, mom!

Front Page

Wow! I woke up to a flurry of new hearts and began to do some investigating. I discovered my genuine black cherry ostrich wallet was on the front page!And now I need to get my rear end into the shop because I have quite a few custom orders to make! Two custom Buddy Bags (similar to these):

And a custom card case. It will be a fun day, no?

It's MONDAY!

Since I work all weekend long, Monday always feels like my Saturday.

Sunday

Why so windy?
I'm avoiding going outside to take pictures because everything will just blow away. I suppose that's for the best, since I have to go into our shop and start two custom bags and finish a custom cuff.
December is almost here and I really haven't begun the Christmas shopping I promised myself I would begin in September. Well, I did start some shopping, but once I receive the item in the mail I get too excited to wait and give it to the thought-of person early.
I think I need to start shopping around for some trades, too.
And speaking of SALES (whaa?)
I'm having a shipping SALE on my cuff bracelets until December 24th (see my last post)
Dramatically reduced shipping for everyone!

It's a Deal!

Shipping SALE for ETSY
Beginning today and ending at midnight on December 24th, I will reduce my shipping on all cuff bracelets (within the USA) to 40 cents!

Canada, don't worry I've got you covered at 50 cents!

The rest of my international friends will pay only 1 dollar!

Hooray for cuff bracelet sales!

Cuff bracelets like these:

The Weekend Rush

After a wonderful day of lying about, eating, and enjoying the company of friends and family..... I'm not ready to go back to work. I want those four-day weekends we had as kids.
Ah, well. Back to work. Enjoy the new cuff!

Gobble Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving!
I wish my family still ate the early-bird special (where everyone eats around 2 or 3 in the afternoon) but since my sister works this morning we're scheduled for dinner fun around 5 or 6pm. I can't wait that long! It smells good now!
plus, check out this cool hat pattern by AngelaCatirina.

Little Cases

Hip hip hooray for little cases!Little cases to take to work.Little cases to stuff in your pocket.
Little cases that look like bugs.