busy, busy, busy....

oh my poor devoted followers. how i've been neglecting you....

but especially for someone who doesn't have a full time job, and doesn't really have a life, i've been unbelievably busy. go figure.

anyway, since we last left our heroine, she got the bright idea to try a local craft fair. you know, make some extra money, get her name out there. as a general rule, i don't like to do outdoor shows. why? simple answer: the weather. but i decided to take a chance and give it a whirl. since it was the day before mother's day, i wracked my brain to come up with clever crafts for people to buy as last minute gifts. so in addition to my amiguruimi (crocheted animals) and my other stock, i added clothes pin bags, lightweight summery scarves, key chains and lanyards, and purse skirts to fit 31 bases. my motto is always go big or go home, meaning i ALWAYS over do it. i like to have variety and i like to have a lot. but in the end it almost kills me because i make too much and run myself down in the process. anyway, it rained. and i was so bummed. and it didn't just rain all day. nope. off and on, piddly little rain showers. enough to keep people away. but on the bright side, i made back my space fee and a little extra, so the day wasn't entirely wasted. and then right after i got everything away, the sun came out. full on. thanks, mother nature.

so that, in addition to making an afghan for a bridal shower, and working two overnight stocking shifts (which pretty much put me out of commission for almost two weeks), consumed my april and the first half of may.

then the following week, involved making three costumes for my upcoming dance recital. i can't believe i forgot about dance. i take polynesian dance at a local dance studio. this is my third year, and i love it. all of our costumes are handmade. so when you're in three dances, and you need three dresses, it's up to you to make them. thankfully, the tahitian dress (where we wear a grass skirt) is super simple. our dress for praise and our stick dance were both tricky. my praise dress ended up too small and i had to figure out how to add a panel without it being noticeable. but i succeeded and was able to participate in picture day. since i'm the resident crafter of the class, i ended up getting talked into making the tassel belts for two of my classmates, and one hat as well. not that i mind, really. i'm getting paid and it's something i enjoy doing. now i just have to wait until this weekend for recital. i'm SUPER excited.

that takes us to the end of may. after that, i was making wedding presents. i have three wedding to go to this summer. one was last weekend. super fun. i made a dress for the occasion. it was a beatles print fabric, matches my tattoo almost perfectly. every girl needs a dress to match her tattoo. seriously. the best part was that from far away, it just looks like a black dress with red, blue, orange, and green squares. but when you get up close, you can see it's the beatles. i need to figure out how to post pictures, because it is awesome.

the second wedding is a vow renewal for my boyfriend's best friend and his wife. so they get a handmade wedding present (which i actully finished this weekend, and used yarn from my hoard and ran out about 15 stitches from the end of the row. angry face. but it worked out in the end), plus i want to make a dress for that too. i have 6 yards of black and white polka dot fabric in my hoard, and a vintage-y pattern. so i think that's the route we're going to go.

the third wedding is my sister's. so of course, there will be epic amounts of handmade goodies for that. i don't need a dress because i'm in the wedding party and i have no choice in the matter. saves me some time. plus, i some how ended up in charge of the bridal shower. and i'd be a bad crafty sister if i didn't make stuff for that too.

i guess this being unemployed/working part time gig is working out for the best. if only the pay didn't suck....

anywho, i decided i'm going to take a chance on another outdoor show- the taste of hamburg-er festival labor day weekend in good old downtown hamburg. i sent in my application today. i hope they accept me! heck, 35,000 people came last year, and each year it gets bigger. if that's not an epic market to sell some stuff, i don't know what is! wish me luck!