crafting, shopping, and artsy fun ( =

I've been crafting up a storm. I've made tons of cute shrink plastic ornaments. ( = The green monster is my favorite. I had no clue who bro bee was, but someone requested this. Turns out, its a kids show, and everyone who's seen this ornament, loves this little fella.

Sunday, I spent the morning in Atlanta with Rhonda, who I work for at Mimi's Attic. We went shopping for new Christmas stock for the store. We found some really great stuff! I cant wait for everyone to see it. I work tomorrow, so I'll get to show it all off. ( = I found me some pretty cool stuff too. I got a killer new pocket book, and some cute scarfs. I'm still on the hunt for a handmade scarf though. Anyone know of any scarf knitting Etsy goddesses? I'd love love love to score a cool handmade scarf! Message me if you know of anyone who does awesome work. I'm not a knitter, but I have considered making this no knit scarf that I found on Martha Stewart.com. I'm keeping my eye out for "bulky-weight yarn." Anyone know where I can find it?

Along with shopping, I've also been working on a special order Red Sox album. Mrs. Amanda at Still in motion photography, needed a red sox themed Christmas gift. I think my handmade album will go over well. I made the album cover myself too! I've never made one exactly like that, but I was pretty happy with it. I used a tutorial I found online line, and it was quite nifty. If you need a custom chipboard album, let me know. I can make these any size or shape you would like, and I can cover them in any color paper you want too.

I happened to run up on a killer find the other day, my local thrift shop had baskets of chipboard that the college art department had donated. I bought it all! The sweet lady at the register said: "what is that stuff? It's been sitting there for a while now. Everyone asked what it is... and I had no clue." I explained to her what it was and that it was rather expensive at craft stores. I was amazed to find out that it has been sitting there forever without someone swiping it. I'm glad though, because now I have tons of chipboard! YAY! Maybe I'll make chipboard notebooks sometime soon. I'm trying to come up with cool projects I can do using this chipboard. I am not a huge fan of the albums with the metal rings, so I trying to avoid that. Anyone got any cool ideas? I haven't really had time lately to look for cool projects online.

Today, I made some bottle cap necklaces with my new sun and moon "glaze drops", and I LOVE these! They are so easy to use. I hope that they last as long as the traditional resin? We'll see. Have you heard anything about how these hold up? I'd love to hear about your experience with these. I'm considering buying more, but want some feedback first.  {Message me}

After a morning full of crafting, my hubby and I went on a little walk over to the Howard Finster art gardens. I never know the story behind this place. (Msnbc tells the story here.) Its really neat from the outside and I want to check out the tour they do of his "memory gardens." It's kind of ashame to see this place all ran down. I looked up some photos of it back when he was still alive, and it was SO beautiful. I would love to see someone restore the "upkeep" part of the area. I notice the newer signs with website information, I hope that someone new is taking over it to help get it looking good again. I took a few pictures before my camera batteries died. -sigh- Ill take good photos some other day. ( = promise.