Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Random thoughts...

1.  Today is one of those days that I'm sure every mother has had... I have spent all day in the car!!  I am currently relaxing for the next 30 minutes and then it's back in the car for all the afternoon pick-ups!

2.  When I stopped to get gas in my car, the gas station was BLARING "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" over the loudspeaker... in my opinion, a little early and a lot too loud.

3. Why is it, that when I request a lot of books from the library they all seem to come in at the same time even though sometimes I'll be person #2, sometimes person #60, and sometimes person #232... they all come in on the same day.

4. So yesterday morning at Walmart, Eli (my 3 year old) told the cashier and everyone in line that a new baby was coming to his house (no clue where he got that idea... I am not and will not ever be pregnant again).  They all started congratulating me... I didn't know what to say!!  Then we ran to Target last night and he's sitting in the shopping cart belting out Katie Perry's Teenage Dream all through the store.  I was trying so hard not to laugh, but hearing a 3 year old singing, "put your hands on me in my skintight jeans" is absolutely hilarious.  That kid cracks me up on a daily basis!!

5.  I've had a big ol' crockpot of chili cooking all day and it smells delicious!!  It has taken every ounce of willpower in my body not to eat any of it!  Hopefully hubby will be home soon so we can eat!!

6.  The tree in my front yard is still bright red and absolutely beautiful!!!!  It hasn't seemed to have lost any leaves yet, hopefully it will stay beautiful for a couple more weeks!!

7.  I listed some Cricut cartridges on my etsy store (My store).  I have duplicates of some cartridges and so I'm looking to sell the duplicates (all are brand new in the hard plastic shell).  I usually list them on ebay, but I've had a lot of problems lately with people winning auctions and then not paying... it's really frustrating.

8.  I know I've had some other random thoughts today, but they escape me right now, so I will stop here!!

Monday, November 15, 2010

Beautiful...

Yes, I'm jumping straight from Dirty Jobs to Beautiful things, but I just want to share something beautiful.  This is the tree in my front yard...

The other pictures are looking up into the tree at the leaves... absolutely beautiful!! I Love Fall!!!!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Dirty Jobs???

Isn't there some show on TLC or Discovery channel or some channel about Dirty Jobs???

I've never watched it, but I would really like to know if they have ever interviewed the truly dirtiest job in the world... you know the one I'm talking about... those of you who live (like me) in a household full of males... yes, I'm talking about cleaning the boys' toilet!!  I just spent an hour taking the toilet apart and bleaching every part of it to try and get the urine smell gone.  It's disgusting!!

Well now that I've said that and I feel better and the entire upstairs of our house has a slightly bleachy smell to it, I'm going to go do something crafty!!

Leech trapper, cricket farmer.... HA!!  Go hang out with a 6 year old boy and a 3 year old boy!!  Ok, so the dung beetle researcher may have me on the dirtiest job... and with that I will not google the Dirty Jobs show anymore!!

It's beginning to look a lot like....

Christmas around here!!

First off, let me say that I am FINALLY starting to feel like a human again.  I have had this horrible sinus infection for about 3 weeks and now that I'm half way through with my second half of antibiotics, I think they are finally starting to work!!

Ok, so why is it beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here?!?!?  Nope, no snow in Kansas yet!!

Here's my top 10 list of why I think it's beginning to look like Christmas...

10.  I had to pull out the boys' heavy winter coats today... don't think we are going to get by on the fleece anymore!!

9.  Our heater actually kicked on during the day!  We leave it set at 63 so it's kicked on at night a few times, but yesterday was the first time it kicked on during the day!

8.  There are very few leaves left on our trees!!

7.  We receive at least 3 magazines/catalogs in the mail everyday (none of which I signed up for, I think?!?!?)

6.  Everytime I log onto ebay there is a countdown till Christmas - FYI... as of today there are 41 days!!

5.  My children have started cutting apart every single magazine we have received in #8 to make a pictorial list of what they want for Christmas.

4.  Every store I have been into this week has all of their Christmas decorations out (a couple have even been playing Christmas music).

3.  The invites to the holiday parties have started appearing.

2.  Thanksgiving is in a week and a half!!

1.  I have started posting Christmas decorations and gifts in my etsy shop... SkinnyJenny Etsy shop

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Fun stuff!!

I've been adding some fun stuff to my etsy store today (and plan to add some more tonight and tomorrow)!!

Check it out... Etsy

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Moving right along to Thanksgiving!!

I went ahead and have started listing some of my die cuts in my etsy shop.  The first set I will share on here... they are an embellished male and female pilgrim silhouette... I think they turned out really well!!
So the best thing about this is... I posted these cute little pilgrims in my etsy shop and about 15 minutes later I received an email saying that they had been picked up to be showcased in a Thanksgiving treasury!!
You should go check out all the super cute items listed in the treasury!!

Happy Halloween!!

I'm not a huge fan of Halloween, but it's ok!!  There's just so much sugar and junk involved with it that I could take it or leave it, but since my kids love Halloween,  I soldier through it.  For the kiddos classes this year, I decided to go with a non-candy option to hand out, and with the help of Buzz and Woody (my kids' costume choices) we decided to hand out play-dough.  Target had these packs of 20 little containers of play-dough for like $3 each.  We got a couple packs, but the boys and I decided that the little containers looked super boring by themselves so I decorated them... I think they turned out super-cute... what do you think??
I used my cricut to cut out the spiders and then I used a 3-d glue dot to attach the spiders to the top of the containers.  I then used my computer to print out little strips that said "Happy Halloween!!  From: David" (or Eli - for his class).  I was able to use black scraps for the spiders so the whole project was not very costly at all!

So, the very interesting thing is that I got a TON of comments on them so I've decided to add another category to my etsy shop... I will now be selling embellished die cuts by themselves as well as die cuts attached to certain items (for instance playdough containers.)  These die cuts will be perfect for making cards, scrapbook pages, bulletin boards, etc.  Stay tuned for more fun surprises!!!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Some shirts (well actually onesies)

I have a dear friend whose third kiddo will be 1 this weekend and she is having a cowboy themed party for him.  So she asked (or I suggested... I don't remember) that I make him a cowboy shirt for his party.  I have some of the CUTEST vintage cowboy material.  When I say vintage it came from my mom's stash of material (and possibly she got it from my grandma's stash).  I was going to make a long-sleeve t-shirt, but it's virtually impossible to find 18 month long sleeve t-shirts so I went with a long-sleeve onesie.  This is probably my most favorite shirt I have made to date...






The other most recent shirt (onesie) I made was for the same friend.  It is a gift for her niece Zoe.  Here are the pics of that one...



Remember you can click on any image to see a close up of the picture!!

I'm still here!!

Wow!!  I can't believe that I haven't posted since July 16th!  That's crazy.  I'll give you a brief update.  I am still selling stuff like crazy in my etsy store and on facebook!!  I love it!!  My oldest son started kindergarten this year.  It's only half day and it's in the afternoon, but man, it's kicking my butt!!  When  your kids don't get up until 9 (and I'm not complaining) by the time you get them dressed, fed breakfast, etc.  it's pretty much time to get them lunch and get David off to school.  It's now October and we are still trying to figure out a good routine (and that doesn't even include Eli's school 2 days a week or naps!!).

I have several cute things that I've recently sold that I will post some pictures of soon!!

Friday, July 16, 2010

Check out...

the left sidebar for a list of crafting supplies that I'm currently selling...

Be sure to keep checking back because I'm going to be updating over the next couple days!!

Just send me an email if you are interested in purchasing anything!!

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Alright, this is a shameless selling post, FYI...

I am trying to get rid of some stuff to make room for some new stuff.  I am selling a lot of retired Stampin' Up! inkpads, markers, and cardstock.  I figured I would post it all on my blog and if you are interested in purchasing any of it, just send me an email (jfmick (at) gmail (dot) com) or post a comment to this post.  I will accept paypal or personal checks (although I will make sure the check clears before I ship).  Shipping cost will be actual cost (I have a postal scale).  I will ship first class or whatever is the cheapest unless you request a specific shipping method.  I am definitely willing to negotiate prices if you want to order more than 1 item so don't be afraid to ask!


Classic Inkpads-- ($3 each, all are used but still very inky)
Pink Passion
Pixie Pink
Pale Plum
Orchid Opulence
Lovely Lilac
Lavender Lace
Almost Amethyst
Bordering Blue
Brocade Blue
Ballet Blue
Brilliant Blue
Taken with Teal
Glorious Green
Handsome Hunter
Sage Shadow
Mellow Moss
Green Galore
Gable Green
Barely Banana
YoYo Yellow
Summer Sun
Apricot Appeal
Only Orange
Really Rust
Ruby Red
Cameo Coral
Blush Blossom
Creamy Caramel
Close to Cocoa

Markers -- ($1.50 each, all have been used but are still in great condition and inky)
Pink Passion
Pixie Pink
Pale Plum
Orchid Opulence
Lovely Lilac
Lavender Lace
Almost Amethyst
Bordering Blue
Brocade Blue
Ballet Blue
Brilliant Blue
Taken with Teal
Glorious Green
Handsome Hunter
Sage Shadow
Mellow Moss
Green Galore
Gable Green
Barely Banana
YoYo Yellow
Summer Sun
Apricot Appeal
Only Orange
Really Rust
Ruby Red
Cameo Coral
Creamy Caramel
Close to Cocoa
Positively Pink (I'm not sure what year this one retired)

8.5x11 paper-- ($.10/sheet)
Pink Passion - 16 sheets
Pixie Pink  - 20 sheets
Pale Plum - 17 sheets
Orchid Opulence - 5 sheets
Lovely Lilac - 3 sheets
Lavender Lace - 9 sheets
Almost Amethyst - 14 sheets
Bordering Blue - 13 sheets
Brocade Blue - 2 sheets
Ballet Blue - 5 sheets
Taken with Teal - 13 sheets
Glorious Green - 9 sheets
Handsome Hunter - 3 sheets
Sage Shadow - 2 sheets
Green Galore - 10 sheets
Gable Green - 13 sheets
Barely Banana - 7 sheets
YoYo Yellow - 1 sheets
Apricot Appeal - 7 sheets
Really Rust- 7 sheets
Ruby Red - 29 sheets
Cameo Coral - 8 sheets
Blush Blossom - 20 sheets
Creamy Caramel - 11 sheets
Close to Cocoa - 5 sheets

12 x12 cardstock smooth - ($.20/sheet)
Pink Passion - 1 sheets
Pixie Pink - 15 sheets
Pale Plum - 2 sheets
Orchid Opulence - 1 sheets
Lovely Lilac - 3 sheets
Lavender Lace - 2 sheets
Almost Amethyst - 14 sheets
Bordering Blue - 7 sheets
Brocade Blue - 6 sheets
Ballet Blue - 18 sheets
Brilliant Blue - 15 sheets
Taken with Teal - 12 sheets
Glorious Green - 2 sheets
Handsome Hunter - 19 sheets
Sage Shadow - 4 sheets
Mellow Moss - 12 sheets
Green Galore - 8 sheets
Gable Green - 2 sheets
Barely Banana - 4 sheets
YoYo Yellow - 3 sheets
Summer Sun - 2 sheets
Apricot Appeal - 2 sheets
Only Orange - 15 sheets
Ruby Red - 5 sheets
Cameo Coral - 19 sheets
Blush Blossom - 2 sheets
Creamy Caramel - 20 sheets (unopened package)
Close to Cocoa - 1 sheet + 20 sheets (unopened package)

12 x12 textured cardstock-- ($.25/sheet)
Pink Passion - 2 sheets
Pixie Pink - 2 sheets
Pale Plum - 1 sheet
Orchid Opulence - 2 sheets
Lovely Lilac - 2 sheets
Lavender Lace - 2 sheets
Almost Amethyst - 2 sheets
Bordering Blue - 2 sheets
Brocade Blue - 2 sheets
Ballet Blue - 2 sheets
Brilliant Blue - 2 sheets
Taken with Teal - 2 sheets
Handsome Hunter - 2 sheets
Mellow Moss - 2 sheets
Green Galore - 2 sheets
Gable Green - 2 sheets
Barely Banana - 2 sheets
YoYo Yellow - 2 sheets
Summer Sun - 4 sheets
Apricot Appeal - 2 sheets
Only Orange - 2 sheets
Really Rust - 4 sheets
Ruby Red - 4 sheets
Cameo Coral - 4 sheets
Blush Blossom - 2 sheets
Creamy Caramel - 4 sheets
Close to Cocoa - 4 sheets

Friday, July 9, 2010

Hello, anyone remember me??

Just kidding.  I have not been around for a couple of days, and I apologize.  I've had sooooooo much going on.  It's been several fabulous mail days, but we don't need to go there!!  I've made a few custom shirts for a friend of mine.  I think they turned out pretty cute, but you can judge for yourself!!

The pictures aren't that great, but since they were a custom order I didn't need to "sell" them (if you know what I mean).  It's kind of funny because when I started my etsy store I really had planned to sell mostly jewelry, but I've had so many custom order for shirts and onesies that I haven't even had a chance to sit down and make any jewelry.  Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining in the least... I just think it's funny how things don't necessarily work out how you think they will!!

Today was a super busy day for us!  No crafty time for me!  D had a t-ball game this morning, then we went straight from there to the gym and I worked out with my trainer.  We came home, ate some leftovers for lunch, put E down for a quick nap.  I have to admit that I read during E's naptime when I should have been crafting, but I'm reading the series of books that starts with The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo... I'm on the last book, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.  These books are so well-written and so addictive that I've had a hard time putting them down, which has cut into my crafting time definitely!!!  I should finish the book very soon so I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things.  I've got 3 more custom orders that I need to work on and then I will be caught up (for now)!  (Once again I want to re-state that I love the fact that I have so many custom orders for shirts and onesies!!!)

After E's short nap, we went to our neighborhood pool for almost 3 hours.  D has been scared of the water in the past and we've finally resorted to bribery (I know, I'm a horrible mom) to get him over his fears.  Since the beginning of summer, I have told him that I would give him $5 (yeah, what was I thinking) if he would put his whole head under water, and another $5 (yet again, I must think about the current economic conditions before I issue another bribe) for jumping off the side into the pool.  Well after almost 2 months, he decided today to do everything we've ever asked him to do in the pool and more!!  He was diving for rings at the bottom, swimming laps, jumping in from all sides of the pool, it was amazing!!  Then he got smart and demanded his bribery payment (which he figured at this point had to be nearing $100).  I then had to explain to him that I, in fact, only owed him $10... I was not paying him for each time he stuck his head under water or jumped in.  He's definitely going to be an economist I think!  

Then we left the pool and ran home and changed clothes in 9.6 seconds and left to meet J at a local pizza place for dinner at which point D started in begging for his money in cold hard cash (maybe he'll be a banker??)  I had to explain that mommy never carries cash (because daddy never gives her any, but that's another story) so after dinner we would go to Walmart and I would buy him a toy worth $10 and put it on my credit card.  Then the little genius 5 (almost 6) year old figures out... hey, if you can put $10 on your credit card and not give the lady cash when you checkout, then maybe you can just put $50 or $100 on your credit card (scratch all that economist thinking, he's going into money laundering).  Then J (thank goodness he took over the conversation at this point) launched into a 20 minute explanation of how credit cards worked and how they are the possible downfall of society, at which point the remaining 3 people at the table (me, D, and E) had completely glazed-over eyes and maybe even a little drool coming out the side of our mouth!

No fears though, I broke us out of our trance with the ever-popular refrain of "who's ready to go to Walmart"??  

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Congratulations to the winners of the free shirts...

Susan Jones and Ashley Shores!!!!   I will be giving away other freebies on the SkinnyJenny Designs facebook page.  All you have to do is become a fan of the page to be entered in the drawings... I will be doing another drawing for something fun as soon as 5 more people become fans!!  It could be you!!!

Monday, June 28, 2010

Want a free shirt???

I am giving away a free 4th of July shirt (any size... baby, kid, adult).  All you have to do to be entered to win is go to my SkinnyJenny Designs facebook site... Click here and "like" the page and you will be entered to win... I will pick one winner for every 50 fans on the site and the drawing is tonight at 9pm CT so I can get the shirts in the mail to the winners tomorrow so you can have them before the 4th!!!!

Sunday, June 27, 2010

10 things about this weekend...

(Remember you can click on the pictures to make them bigger!!)

1.  Wow!!  Yesterday was super busy followed by a not very busy today... we started out yesterday running some errands, picking the boys up at meme's, grabbing lunch, running some more errands, dropping D off at a birthday party.  Then E and J and I went looking at some houses then back to the birthday party for swimming, then we went and looked at more houses then to Oklahoma Joe's for some barbecue, then finally home and J mowed the yard while I cleaned up the house!  Whewwwww!!!

2.  I made a shirt for the birthday girl yesterday and I think it turned out pretty cute!  I plan to list something similar on my Etsy shop soon!

3.  I also made the bag for the gift and I've been thinking about  listing some gift wrapping options on my Etsy shop...  what do you think?  




4.  We have an extra dog for the next few days.
 This is Max... he is our dog, a 7 year old black lab.



This is Copper... she is my parents' 14 year old mutt (and by mutt I mean mixed breed).
 I feel so bad for Copper because Max just follows her all around the house... it's annoying just watching so I'm sure she's annoyed being followed.

5.  My neighbor and dear friend recently had twins... a little boy and a little girl.  They are adorable.  I finally finished the little onesies that I made for them... I haven't finished their other gifts yet, but hope to tomorrow.


6.  Yesterday (amongst the busy-ness) I was able to get the mail and it was yet another great mail day... yes, that's 3 more cricut cartridges, someone PLEASE take ebay away from me!!!

7.  I also got the new Stampin' Up! catalog from my dear friend and neighbor and SU demonstrator and it's fabulous!!!!

8.  I found a fabulous new bead shop a couple days ago and I can't wait to get busy working on some new jewelry... aren't they just FABULOUS!!!!!!

9.  I really need to get to the gym sometime this week!!!!

10.  Ummmm... I can't think about a 10th thing... so I guess I will tell you that we had Pei Wei for dinner and it was (yes you guessed it) FABULOUS!!!!!




Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Just a few things on my mind...

1.  Sorry I haven't posted in a while... this has been the problem...

Yes that's my crafting/work station and it's a disaster!  I've been working on getting it cleaned off so hopefully tonight and tomorrow I can get some stuffs done!!

2.  It was another great mail day... just don't tell my husband!!!
Yes those are 5 new cricut cartridges!

3.  Hi, my name is Jenny and I have a cricut addiction... someone please take ebay away from me (see #2)!!

4.  My children have become fish!!  They beg daily (actually multiple times daily) to go to the pool.  I love taking them to the pool, but it has started to cut into my creative time... oh well, at least I will be tan!

5.  I took some pictures of some of my flowers in the front yard today and they turned out really well so you have to suffer through seeing them!!

6.  I took my dog to the vet today and he has lost 26 pounds in the last year which is really good!!  He has a genetic jaw disease which causes him to need prednisone so whenever he is on prednisone, his weight balloons, but now he is at 80 pounds which is right where he needs to be!!!  (He's a black lab)

7.  My neighbor 3 doors down makes the best pina coladas EVER!!!!

8.  When I was walking home from my neighbor 3 doors down, the neighbors 2 doors down who are having a large memorial service for the next 40 days in their front yard asked me to stop and drink with them.  I said no thanks!!

9.  Porn, Penny Stocks, and Alzheimer's don't work well together!!

10.  I think that's all I have for now... must go clean workspace!!!

Have a wonderful night!!!!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Father's Day!!!

Hello all!  We have had a super busy day today!!  Actually it started last night, J (my husband) went out with "the guys" in Lawrence, and D & E and I went to one of our fabulous neighbor's house for a backyard fiesta.  We had so much fun and by the time we got home and I got the boys to bed it was after 11.  Needless to say, the boys were up super early this morning for Father's Day!!  We gave J his presents, then went out to breakfast at IHOP.  We came home after that and attempted to take a nap but we only had about an hour before we headed to the theatre to see Toy STory 3.  It was soooo good!!  Then we went and met my parents at Olive Garden for Father's Day dinner.  It was a super fun but a long day and no one had a nap and after being up so late last night, we were all so exhausted!!!

Well I finally made a big decision that I've been on the fence about for a while.  I decided to resign my Uppercase Living demonstratorship (is that a word?!?!) as of June 30th.  I love their products and they have really good benefits, but I have just been devoting so much time to SkinnyJenny Designs that I just haven't had any extra time to devote to UCL.  I will be placing my last order on June 30th (if you need or want anything, leave me a comment or send me an email).

I'm excited for this week... D has VBS all week.  Not that I'm excited that he'll be gone, but I am excited that we will have some structure to our week so I'm hoping to be able to get a lot of new stuff uploaded to my store this week!  Well I think that's about all I have to "talk" about so I will leave you with a fun picture of some fabulous fabrics I've picked up recently to play around with...

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Welcome to the weekend!!!

Soooo... today was a fabulous mail day!!  Here's what all came for me today...  if you aren't sure what those are they are cartridges for the Cricut (possibly the most wonderful machine ever made!).  The cartridges I got today are Independence Day (just in time!!), Home Decor, and Create a Critter!!  My boys are super excited about the Create a Critter cartridge... they have already made me a list of which animals they want me to make for them!  I think my kiddos may like the Cricut as much (I was going to say more, but I'm re-thinking that one) as I do!!

We also got a catalog for a high end clothing shop (that has an outlet here)... as any of you who know me personally, know that we do not shop high end anything!!  As I was taking the catalog out to the recycling bin I dropped it and it fell open to this page... ummm... pretty jewelry right?!?!?   Check out the prices on that stuff...

I'm pretty sure I can make a pretty close knock off for 1/10 of that price or even less!!!!  We will see!!

I know I haven't put anything new on my etsy store recently, but it's because I have been working on a ton of custom orders (which is AWESOME)!!  I just haven't had much time to sit down and just create!  But I think I'm going to have some time to do that this week, so be on the lookout... in the meantime, here are some examples of some custom jewelry pieces I have done...

Thursday, June 17, 2010

So who or what is SkinnyJenny??

I didn't weigh 100 pounds until I was married in 2000.  Growing up, I heard the phrase SkinnyJenny many many times.  (I also had other nicknames, but we don't need to go there!!)  It has kind of engrained itself in my mind even though I'm no longer what anyone would call "skinny".  After my first baby, my metabolism slowed WAAAAAAY down and I kept an extra 20 pounds.  After my second baby, my metabolism slowed down again and I have kept another extra 20 pounds, which is where I currently am.  My goal is to get back down as close to 100 pounds as I can healthily (is that a word?!?!?)

So to keep my goal in front of me at all times, I've named my etsy store and my blog SkinnyJenny!!!!

So what's the purpose of this blog?  To tell about me, my crafting, my life, my etsy shop and everything else I feel like posting about!!

I know you all who are reading (probably just my mom and sister at this point) are dying to know my etsy store address and what I sell... I sell jewelry and gifts for every occasion.  The store is still relatively new so there's not too much on there yet but I keep working on it!!  I'm also going to be adding a page on facebook for SkinnyJenny Designs so be sure to "like" that page!!  My etsy store is SkinnyJenny Designs.