Getting Ready for the Big Craft Sale!

As many of you know, I participate in only one craft sale a year. it is NoCoast Craft O Rama in Minneapolis. Besides being a super wonderful sale, I take part is this one because my daughter is one of the co-founders. She and a group of wonderfully bright and talented gals started up this annual event 4 years ago. It keeps growing and growing and is fast becoming one of the "must do" Holiday events in the Minneapolis area.

My other daughter has always gone with me to be my sales assistant. And believe me - I could not do this without her! The second year of this event I had made us some vendor aprons to keep our money, pens, and other misc. items in during the sale. They worked ok but they were not great. I had just slapped them out with some fabric I had laying around and, other than serving their purpose, they did not have much appeal.

But this year, I am taking it up a notch! I found these great vendor aprons made by MyLittle who has a great shop over at Made it Myself (referenced in my last post). She embroidered my shop name on them. How classy is that!

Here they are. If you need vendor aprons - give this shop a look-see!

Halloween

Wow! This was a great Hallowe'en for Granny and Grampy! We went to visit with our granddaughters and go out Trick or Treating with them. The weather could not have been better! And the kids were out in huge numbers. I mean the streets were loaded with goblins and witches and spidermen and bunny rabbits and all kinds of fun and interesting creatures.

I love going to visit my grandkids at this time of year. They always have the most creative costumes that they put together with the help of their very creative mom. And the people in this small community really go all out. Lots of the grown ups wear costumes, they houses are decked out with some of the most creative and fun decorations I have ever seen!

Here are a few more of the creativeness we saw on Halloween night:

Still Trying to Learn the New Camera

So I got this new camera a while back and am having mixed success in learning all the ins and outs of using it. It is a Canon Rebel. I like it because it is a digital camera but has features that Grampy and I missed when we gave up our 35mm manual camera - the ability to take lots of shots without the delay you get with a digital, having a zoom lens and focusing ability. One of my favorite settings in the "Sports" setting which allows me to just hold the button down and the camera will take about 5 or 6 rapid shots. This is especially useful when trying to get photographs of my grandkids when they are riding their bikes or doing gymnastics.

The above shots are not very good, I admit. I was trying to get some good shots out my patio door of the birds at the feeder. I was trying to catch some in flight using the Sports setting. The lighting wasn't very good and the darned birds were just too quick for me most of the time. I sorta just stood there with the camera aimed at the feeder and was trying to catch some as they were flying in. Unfortunately, they were already landed before I started clicking - bummer!

But, I will keep trying. So along with the pictures I posted some time back of the Red Tailed Hawk that adopted us, I thought I'd post a couple of my not so hot bird pictures here and maybe we can see how I progress as I post some more in the future. Winter should be a good time for getting some great bird shots!

BiFocals Suck!

As if the wrinkly skin and aching bones wasn't enough, old age had to further make itself known to me by requiring that I now needed to wear bifocals! Yuck!

Actually the adjustment from my prescription reading glasses (which I have worn for years) to bifocals was not that difficult with one major exception. I did not have the problem many have with going up and down stairs or with reading. Thankfully, I quickly found the right head position for machine and hand sewing. What I could not master was seeing the computer screen!

No matter what I did; no matter how I held me head; no matter how I tried to adjust the location/position of the screen it was just a big blur and kind of made me sick to look at it. I finally gave up and went back to see the eye doctor. Well, it turns out that the bifocals probably will never work for me when working on the computer and needed to see the full screen. You see, I have what is called a "lazy eye" and usually only use one eye (the left one) when looking straight forward. So finding that mid-range "sweet spot" for looking at the computer screen becomes much more complex and often impossible.

There is a solution, however. Per my eye doctor I am now using my old prescription reading glasses for computer work. Because the prescription for these is the same as the close range prescription in my new ones, she assured me that I am not doing any harm to my eyes by switching back and forth. She cautioned me, however, to only use the readers for the computer so that I continue to perfect my ability to use the bifocals.

So old age continues to creep up and play nasty little tricks on me. I am trying to fight back as best I can. I just got a new bike and am taking up bike riding after more than 20 years. I am having a little problem adjusting to the new-fangled bikes. I did get one that is made especially for people like me who learned to ride on the old fashioned biked that did not have the seat up so high and the handle bars straight out. That seems to be working pretty good for me but I still have to adjust to the skinny tires. Wish me luck and pray that I don't break a leg!

WWWG Street Team Finds

As I was browsing through the listings of my fellow etsy Wild Wise and Witty Grandmamas of Etsy Street Team members, I must have been thinking flowers! Maybe it is because summer is beginning to come to a close and the flowers in my garden are fading, the blossoms are getting smaller and everything seems to be preparing itself for the winter that lies just around the corner.



Whatever the reason, all three of my picks to feature this time all have a flower theme. So, although they are diverse items, they all speak to my love of flowers.










Stormeejean is the maker of this wonderful jacket. The soft, subdued colors are perfect. I think this jacket is so versatile that it works for the office, an evening out or even with a nice pair of casual pants for a walk around the Farmer's Market!











When I came across this beautiful Fused Dichroic Glass Pendant made by Firefly Glass Design I fell in love. Her shop is full of wonderfully designed pendants and deserve a closer look if you are in the market for a unique piece of jewelry for yourself or as a gift. Check her out and I am sure you will love what she has to offer and find her prices quite reasonable.









I suppose part of that "fading summer" mood I was in this morning is one of the reasons I was so drawn to Kelseys Korner because she has some of the most beautiful Christmas Ornaments I have seen in a long time! This Victorian Rose is so delicate! And she has many more to choose from, so please give her shop a look over! You will be glad you did.



So if you are like me and get a little sad when you think of the flowers fading and summer coming to a close, check out these lovely shops and find a way to have the flowers in your life all year around!

More Great Finds From WWWG etsy Street Team

I have been busy looking through all the shops of my fellow Street Team members and find that the variety and quality of items my fellow "old gals" are putting out on a daily basis is astounding! Here are three more sellers that deserve a closer look:

http://ennadoolf.etsy.com/ has a wonderful shop with a wide variety of items. If you are looking for some really beautiful Barbie Doll clothes, you really need to check her out! She has lots of these wonderful reversible dolls. I remember my daughter having one of these when she was little and she loved it

http://circleinthesand.etsy.com/ - this is another great seller! She has tons of vintage stuff, including buttons, patterns and Christmas items. Take a look - you will love it. And interspersed throughout her shop listings you will find some great handknit items for baby!

http://scottieacres.etsy.com/ - in keeping with her shop name, this seller seems to have a Scottie on everything in her shop! These cute little craft aprons, bibs, t-shirts and a whole lot more. So, if Scotties are your thing - you have got to check out this shop.

So enjoy checking these shops. If you would like to check out the other grandmama's who are nat letting the aging process interfere with the creative side of life, you can check out all the Wild, Wise & Witty Gramdmamas Street Team by entering wwwg team in the search bar at the top of the etsy page.

Wild, Wise and Witty Grandmamas Street Team

I recent joined a Street Team on etsy. For those of you who are not familiar with the inner workings of http://etsy.com/, one of the feature in place to help out the sellers is the ability for sellers to form teams to provide each other with support and community. Teams get together and give each other advise, find ways to promote each other shops and just build a sense of community.

I have been an etsy member for 3 years and have never really felt compelled to join a team before. But the title of this team - Wild, Wise and Witty Gramdmamas - kind of caught my eye. Although I am not Wild (well, one night I stayed up until 10:30!), any wisdom I once had is long gone and my wit is often described by my children as being a little on the sick side, I thought that at least I qualified as a Grandmama!

So one of the goals of any Street Team is promotion! Today I am promoting three excellent Witty Grandmamas that are on my Street Team.

First, there is http://judysnow.etsy.com/. This is a wonderful shop that features many different types of items. I am drawn to the wooden toys because I now have a grandson. One of his latest tricks is to point to the sky when an airplane goes over - thus I love the helicopter!

Ah! Then there is http://elenamary.etsy.com/! Her jewelry is to die for! Please check out her shop and see the wide variety of things she has to offer. And, remember - Christmas is just around the corner!

I have always had an affinity for pottery. My house is full of it, so naturally I am drawn to http://jnpottery.etsy.com/ I am in love with this bowl! And her shop overflows with so much more! You really have to take a look-see!

In the weeks to come, I plan to feature more of my fellow street-teamers here. I hope that you all will take the time to check them out and find out all the treasures that are out there waiting for you. You could have all your Christmas Shopping done before Hallowe'en and tons of time to bake cookies!