I'll be {busy} for Christmas. ( with crafts galore!)

Sorry it's been so long friends. It's an extra busy time of year for me. I hope you are all enjoying this holiday season. Here are some of the things that have been keeping me swamped:

We have a brand new Mini Boutique in a local fabric shop called Mimi's in Rocksprings GA.

Paper yoyo holiday wreaths are one of my favorite projects this year.

Paper book page projects have been a HUGE hit this year.

And.. Exciting news... Theses little beauties below will be featured on next years Christmas episode of Extreme Home Makeover! How Exciting! 

In other news... There have been some major changes with Paper Pixie Crafts lately. I have partnered up with a dear friend of mine who's a work at home mom and has been helping me though the rush of craft show season. We work together so well and have created some pretty awesome stuff together. Since I have this new found support, I have decided to finally take the next step with my Etsy shop. For months I've been pondering the idea that I need to have a focus on only paper items in my shop. I craft so many other fun things though, I knew I wanted to still offer them to the Etsy community, so together, my new partner and I opened a brand new Etsy shop called Emmescloset.etsy.com.

At Emmes Closet you can find all our other creations that aren't paper craft related. There's lots of cute stuff. You should check it out: 

fun fleece scarves & boutique clothing.

fun ribbon tassel keychains. These were our biggest seller at Craft shows this fall. We offer them in the colors schemes of your choice. Everyone HAD to have these to support their team this football season. It tickles me to see all the cute little girls bouncing down the school line with these on their bookbags, or to spot my work on a sassy mama's keys at the gym. I love seeing my work in public. I secretly smile, and say: "Yea, I made that!" lol
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These are our new travel cups. Aren't they cute? I think this one would make an awesome teacher gift.  (= Plus, I'm finally using my Cricut machine some. That's right... vinyl monograms for the mugs. Yay for monograms.

Chalkboard mats! These were another big craft show hit this year. Cute fabric on the outside, and a pretty ribbon tie with a loop for your chalk are just frills to the awesomeness that is chalk board cloth. I love the stuff. It's just like a REAL chalk board! These are sanity savers for Mom's with young children. Perfect for waiting rooms, the car, restaurants, and more! We've made tons of these for stocking stuffers this year. Our chalkboard fabric is in high demand right now, and we have a limited amount of the material, so if you want one for your little one... better claim it quick! Click HERE to see what we have premade and ready to ship.

We have also moved our boutique hair bows to Emmes Closet. We have some CUTE new ones, so be sure to check though out while you are visiting. Also, don't forget that we always welcome custom order if you need special bow designs.

If you are looking for jewelry, we've got that too! All of my handmade earrings are only $5! Can't beat it. There are some real beauties listed light now, and again, I'll accept custom request. Head over and pick up that last minute gift for the ladies on your list.

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So.. That's the new Emmes Closet for you. We have tons of new ideas coming soon that we can't wait to share with you. Keep a check back often as we are always adding new stuff. For those of you who are Paper Pixie Crafts fans, never fear, Paper Pixie is hear to stay... we'll just focus on paper goods and seasonal things now. It's still the same ole me... you can just find me over at Emme's Closet now too.

Ready for more news? Yea, theres more. There have been some adjustments at our house and I finally have my craft room back! Thats right my little creative corner of the world. It's not exactly creative at this very moment... because it's trash with tons of supplies, but I'm working on organizing. Let me rephrase, I HAVE BEEN (since before Thanksgiving) working on organizing. I'm slowly but surely finding that I have WAY to many supplies. My hobbies have changed so much over the past few years that I now have supplies that I'll never use, or that I just have WAY to many of. I can't bring myself to trash ANYTHING EVER. (Call me a hoarder, I guess) My crafty partner and I joke that between the two of us we have enough supplies to open our own craft store. After pondering it for a few days we decide that we should destash and open a supply shop on Etsy. Ta DA.... Closet Crafters Supplies was born. That's right, ANOTHER Etsy shop. But I think you'll love this one. We will be listing all our extra goodies at a fraction of the price. It's a great way to keep everyone crafting. It's a slow roll getting everything going, as you can tell I've been SWAMPED with work, but the destash shop is slowly filling up. AS of now, I've mainly been listing my jewelry making and bead stashes. Some of them were so popular that I had to reorder more just to fill supply orders! I know what your thinking... i'm supposed to be DESTASHING, but I just can't help passing on a great deal to a fellow crafter. ( = You aren't a jewelry maker? No worries, I'll be destashing fabric, scrapbook supplies, and other crafty supplies soon.  Are you wondering just what you'll find at ClosetcraftersSup.etsy.com yet? head on over and check it out.

Writing this post has remined me of just how much work I should be doing right now. whew! I better get back to it.

Thanks for reading.

I've been lazy.

Very lazy... BUT.. What better way is there to spend summer than at the beach?

We watched some BEAUTIFUL sunrises...

alligator hunting on the causeway.

imperfectly beautiful flowers in the merritime forest

Every time I'm at the beach, I feel a sudden childhood urge to collect sea shells.

We enjoyed learning all about the "Spineless Wonders" of the sea at the  state park education center.

Crabbing! Who knew crabs like chicken? ( =

seining at the marsh

We survived the wrath of hurricane Irene.

Celebrated Dylan's Birthday at Midevil Times dinner show. Go Yellow knight!  ( =

Rode on the Sea Screamer, the world's largest speed boat.

Even if Irene did ruin one of our days of sun, at least she washed up some beautiful treasures the next morning.

After a storm is the perfect time to hunt Shark's teeth.

We spent our afternoons strolling the beach board walk and catching local bands at the oceanfront stage.

Dylan learned how to ride the waves on his boogie board... Well, he sorta learned... He's under there somewhere.

We had a great time at the beach. Huntington beach state park is the best private beach in the area, and we love visiting all the touch tanks, glasses, and cool adventure programs there (seining, causeway, crabbing, and more!). Dylan finally got to visit "Mideveil times" that he's been squirming to see since the Jim Carry Cable Guy movie. We had a nice family BBQ at the beach with my parents and little sister. Survived Hurricane Irene. Are some amazing sea food, visited the water park, and the new Myrtle Beach board walk. Seen fireworks TWICE, road on a giant speed boat, and so much more. I'll stop now, so I don't make you jealous with the massive amounts of fun I've been having lately. ( =

GREAT TIME! 

AWESOME VACATION!

 FUN BIRTHDAY! 

AMAZING SUMMER... and it's not even Labor Day yet! ( =

Dylan & Emily 2011 Myrtle Beach.

How was your summer? Go some where fun? Have an awesome stay-cation?

 I'd love to hear what you've been up to. ( =

I'm a Secret Millionaire!

Remember me telling you about the amazing resource Learn Vest in this post?

Well, the nice folks at Learn Vest gave me the amazing opportunity to participate in their own mini "secret Millionarire" undercover contest.

I can't post all of the details here, as I promised to let them post it on their site exclusively. If you would like to read about the contest, my daily journals, and see who I decided to make a donation to, please check out the following links.

"We’ll post Emily’s journals on LearnVest every weekday from now until Thursday the 26th, when she’ll reveal who she picked to receive $250. Read Emily’s first entry, and find out why she applauds a single mother turning down a job, how her town is coping with tornado damage, and what that has to do withAmerican Idol."

Secret Millionaire Diary: Day 1 – Shock and Devastation | Current ...

It's the first day of the Secret Millionaire contest, and the timing could never have been better.

Secret Millionaire Diary: Day 2 – Frustration and Disbelief ...

Emily's friend tells her about the job catch-22 she finds herself in: Work, and lose income. Stay jobless, and stay afloat.

Secret Millionaire Diary: Day 3 – Crossed Paths | Current Events ...

Today I volunteered at a local nonprofit organization and my day crossed paths with a man whose experience stirred my emotions about our city's resources.

Secret Millionaire Diary: Day 4 – Working Class | Current Events ...

I met a broken woman today while volunteering. I was brought to tears to see how much this lady was hurting emotionally.

Secret Millionaire Diary: Day 5 – When Life Gives You Lemons ...

Emily meets a woman while shopping that makes her rethink how she thinks about food stamps and government assistance.

Secret Millionaire Diary: Day 6 – In Your Own Backyard | Current ...

An ice cream truck arrives in Emily's neighborhood...and gets her thinking about the fate of low-income children.

Secret Millionaire Diary: Day 7 – The Big Reveal | Current Events ...

Emily concludes her emotional week - and reveals who will get her $250 donation. This was a great experience and I hope that you will all take the time to read through my journals to see the depth of my week long journey.

Hello again world! It's Craft Show time! ( =

Guess what? My summer job has ended and I'm back to my crafting self again. Yay for life getting back to normal. Working for those short few weeks have helped me to learn just how lucky I am and how thankful I should be for the blessed life I have been given. I am blessed to have the opportunity to be a stay at home wife.
In the days since my job ended I have been a crafting fool! It craft show season here in Georgia and ever spare minute I get is spent getting ready for shows. My crafty friend Megan (from Peachy Keen Dolls) and I participated in a Craft Expo at the mall a few weekends ago. Here are some fun shots from our weekend:

We have lots of fun events planned for upcoming months and are busy working on new craft show Ideas. I have been looking for cute new display ideas and quick to whip up items for the show. Some of my newest additions are:

Bottle cap necklace sets for the generation of bottle cap kids that are now tweens. Careful girlies... these are grown up enough that mamas might just lay claim. ( =  These sets are available in the design of your choice in my Etsy shop Find them HERE.

Mr. Owl the felt pencil topper who was featured in a treasury within his first hour  on Etsy!

Yoyo headbands for girls and crafty mamas alike.  Oh so Cute!

We have a major show coming in Sept. that I am preparing for and I'm out of ideas. What do you sell well at craft shows? Any cute project ideas? How about displays? I love seeing how everyone sets up their booths and displays all the cute little products. If you have any suggestions... I would love to see a comment for you today OR if you want to be super secret ninja style.... you can message me directly HERE. Thanks for reading and welcoming me back in to the crafty world. I look forward to hearing your brilliant craft show ideas soon! ( =

The EZ way to sell online. Check out EZShoppes!

Have you heard of EZshoppes?
Tried selling on Etsy or Artfire? To complicated? Ezshoppes is a new easier way to sell online.
I opened a shop with them last week, you can visit it here. I was set up in a flash. It took me about a half hour to sign up, fill our all my policies, shop announcements, welcome and about info, set up checkout, and add a few items to my store page! Ezshoppes is so easy to configure and even has cute built in templates for your page.
I really like that all check out is routed to paypal and Ezshoppes allows you to control all your transactions via paypal. For the beginner, I would recommended give Ezshoppes a try. I think you'll like it. And you can't beat the price at less than $40 PER YEAR! Thats right, for less than $4 a month you can eliminate all your shop fees. (in exception to paypal fees.) ( =
The site is growing every day, so check it our and add your shop to the site. You never know, you might have just stumbled upon the next big market place! Click here to visit EZShoppes. Not a shop owner? There is still something for you. Hope on over to Ezshoppes and check out all the cool family friendly items up for grabs. Just follow the link above and click on the "Let's Go Shopping" shopping bag graphic.

"We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same." -Carlos Casteneda

   Thats right ladies. I've gone back to work. And this time... I mean a real job. I started yesterday. I've always worked in boutiques, shops, or with children but last week I was faced with a brand new opportunity. My sister in high school decided to take a summer job at a local packaging factory and asked me to join her. We are working long 12-18 hour shift for a less than gracious salary.
   When I told my husband that of the job he quickly wondered why I agreed to spend my summer in such a way. I wasn't really sure how to answer other than that I feel like it's what I should do.
Yesterday was our first day, and boy was it hard work for me! I have never worked in a factory, or even 12 hour shifts for that matter... but I'm going to do my best to hang in there.
  I feel like this might be an eye opener for me. I'm spending time with a totally different group of people at work then I would usually socialize with, but who seem nice. I think I'm going to appreciate my time off more and make better use of the time I get to spend with my DH. I think it will be good for me to become more appreciative of my hubby working while I home make. I'm not exactly sure what will come of working this summer, but I have a good feeling that it's going to be something pretty great.
SO... I'm sure a few of you are spazzing while reading this, wondering if I am ending my blog... well, fear not.. I wont be disappearing, but only make less frequent appearances. I'll still be filling orders from my Etsy shop, and I'll accept custom orders on a longer production time. I hope that you guys can understand that I'm going though this little self discover phase. ( =
Anyone else returned to work recently after years of being a home maker?

Bootcamp

No, I haven't joined the Army, or enrolled in some sort of strenuous physical boot camp, but I have discovered another "boot-camp" that's pretty darn cool. Have you heard about Learnvest.com yet? It's an awesome site that has all sorts of informative articles about anything you can think of, these guys range from date ideas to how to refinance your home. The reoccurring theme I see at Learn Vest is how to get more out of life for less. There slogan is "Where life gets richer."  I check out their site almost daily for fun articles. A few weeks ago i signed up for their free get out of debt 15 day boot-camp. Compared to the average American family, our debt is tiny, but I would still love to accomplish a "debt free" status. I have to say that I really liked the set up of the program and I feel like It covered a lot of points in a short period of time without becoming overwhelming.
The inspiration that I took with me from the program is:
"No one will ever care about my money as much as I do. I am in control of my financial future."
So what did I learn?
-To be honest with myself about where my debt is coming from.
  * Used neato Learnvest calculators to see exactly how much my debt is costing me with fees. (a $2000 charge card paid at $70 a month for 4 years (with no farther use) could actually cost $3345.81!
-Learned the difference in good and bad debt and why it's important to quit contributing to bad debt.
-Organized my current debt between monthly bills, actual debt, and current spending using the Learnvest budget calculator.
-Learned some skills for gaining control of interest rates. Including visiting billshrink, learning how to negotiate with companies for lower rates, and some tips for what to do when companies don't cooperate with your negotiation.
-Discovered the pros and cons of balance transfers, when it's a good idea, and when it will actually hurt your credit. When and how to manage a transfer and what to do afterwards. *Never do more than one balance transfer per year and be careful with hard inquires that can harm your credit.
-Shared ways to free up more money to help pay off debt.
-Calculated my yearly interest rates, transfered all bills from credit to debit, organized spending habits with a spending journal, created a budget, attempted to negotiate card rates, set up auto pay on credit card to avoic late fees, and recognized my bad spending habits and triggers.
-Learned what debt to tackle first and how to set reasonable goals
-Was introduced to several free credit counciling services, learned what average and good credit rating are, and how to obtain a free credit report and start seeing improvements in as little as 90 days.
In short:
Set goals, know your habits, cut cost, live within your budget, pay down debt, raise your credit score, and reach your goals. ( =
One thing I learned, sad, though somewhat comforting fact I learned though this whole process is that my credit score is about average for someone my age, and that our family's debt isn't even enough to consider a councilor. I hope that also means that I'll be able to buckle down, and pay off what debt that we have, so that we we start house hunting, we'll get the best rates available. ( =
I hope that you'll take the time to stop by and check out LearnVest. They offer other great boot camps too.

shock and devastation

Sorry I've been out of the blogging loop, but there has been some major things happening in our area, and I'm focusing all my extra attention on these issues. A week ago last Wednesday our little rural area was devastated by the longest running tornado on the ground in U.S. history. The death toll continues to rise and many people have missing family members, and/or have lost all of their worldly possessions due to this horrible EF-4 tornado.  At this time there have been 355+ deaths, and 100’s reported missing. The National Guard has sent out search teams to look for missing residents within the rubble. The Red Cross has triage centers set up to treat injured residents and shelters for people who are now homeless. Almost a week later the Red Cross is still housing 80+ families.  My family was very lucky to be in small area of the region that was for the most part, sheltered from the storm. All of our neighboring cities took a hard hit, and most schools and business have been out of operation. Our county will resume school tomorrow, but other counties will be forced to rebuild their schools. Ringgold, Ga (better known as the hometown of American Idol star Lauren Elena) is about 15 minutes north of where I live, and the whole town is in complete shambles. All of the roads are blocked, including the interstate, in exception to emergency personnel. Friday morning the National Guard bussed in families to survey their losses, the view was devastating.

photo credit

photo credit

photo credit

Friday after the storm I immediately wanted to try to help the tornado victims. The area was in such shambles that the city deemed the roads unsafe for volunteers. I checked in with our local mission to see what I could do to help. Although most of our city residents were not affected, the areas of mass destruction where so close to our town that the Red Cross and the United Way are referring Ringgold residents to our county food banks and relief resources. We will continue to serve victims until the food banks in Ringgold are rebuilt. This is putting a huge strain on the budget of our mission, who will be serving the tornado victim in addition to the 4,400+ families they already serve each year. The need will extend far beyond the immediate assistance that the Red Cross and relief programs can offer. The need will grow in coming weeks as families move from shelters, back in to their temporary homes and need to restock their life. The tornado hit an area that was already struggling immensely economically, and that’s sure to make the recovery process even harder for victims. I hope that the community will support our relief services to help get our sister cities back on their feet again. If you are not from our area, you can learn more about the storm, and how you can help by visiting this website: Click here to help!

The story of the Ugly Chair.

Don't forget to check out yesterday's Extreme Couponing review and enter your shopping savings for a chance to win a free coupon binder!

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There once was an ugly chair that landed on the curb when our old neighbors moved out. The chair was ugly, dirty, and no one claimed him. He was destined for the dump. Enter ME. I spotted this ugly chair and seen potential in it's rounded back and lightly worn cushioning. I help the ugly chair make it's way to my front porch where he was scrubbed, vacuumed, and disinfected. Enter my husband, and his disbelief that I've brought home yet another curb side find.
I was determined to make this chair a little less ugly so that I could bring it in the house without catching too much grief. It remained on the porch covered with a sheet while I contemplated recovering it for weeks, but every upholstery tutorial I ran across looked complicated. Now Enter Trixie, our new puppy, who quickly became an "outside dog" after chewing up my favorite dress shoes. Trixie decided to pull the sheet off the chair and chew a big hole in it. *Sigh* As I was getting ready to throw away the sheet, I thought: Hey! I might as try to make a slip cover from this fabric. After all... if it was a project fail, I hadn't really wasted any supplies. So off I went... on a crafty slipcover adventure.
Wew! This project took so much longer than I planned. I had never made a slip cover, had no clue where to start, and the chair had an odd shape to pattern. I traced off each section of fabric from the chair and made my own pattern. I wanted the cover to fit kind of tight around the chair so I only left about an inch seam allowance... bad idea! 3 hours in to the project, just when I was seeing light at the end of the tunnel, I put the finished cover on the chair, just to see that it was too small! *sigh* I decided to split the cover down the center and add in some accent fabric. I love that Micheal Miller fabric and had enough in my stash to add an accent stripe as well as trim the T cushion and make a pillow. As for the back of the chair... I added a pleated panel that ties like a drape with coordinating ribbon from the accent pillow. Sorry there's no picture of the back of the chair. And just for those who are wondering why I choose the blue ribbon ties... it's hard to tell from the photos, but there is a touch of blue in the Micheal Miller fabric, and I'm also incorporating the blue in to some of my spring wall art. (=
The chair and cover looked a lot better before yesterday when Trixie struck again and managed to sneak inside the house to put her muddy little paws all over my new slip cover. *huff* I pulled the cover off and threw it in the washer. The fabric puckered at the seams when I washed it and I had to mend a few places. *Note: I recommended pre washing BOTH fabrics that you plan to slip cover with. SO you don't end up in a pickle when you wash your finished project.
Live and learn... so I've got a few puckers in my fabric... it's ok. I still think the "Ugly Chair" has a pretty good new life.
The chair is by no means perfect, and there are tons of projects out there that look a 100x better than this, but for a first attempt at slip covering, I'm proud of the results. AND... it just so happens that the new chair is one of the doubtful husband's favorite new spots. ( =

RIP Ugly Chair & Welcome my cute comfy chair. ( =

Have you ever made slip covers? How about re-upholstery projects?

I would love to see your projects. Link us up below: