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Monday, September 26, 2011

New things up on my etsy site!!!

I just put a bunch of things up on etsy...thought I'd share. My store is Mercantile de Mama Mojo . Herer are some examples of what I put up!





Friday, September 23, 2011

Quick preview of what's going up on my etsy....

I had my first vending table last weekend. It was kind of an off day, but it was more of an experiment to see how things would work out. So, these will be going up on etsy this weekend. I'll post the link then!

Wow. Have I been neglectful...

Life just kind of grabs me by the back of the neck and shakes me sometimes!!! I will have new posts soon, as I have some really nice reviews to get up and some info on what's being added to my etsy store. Bear with me.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Neat link-Fun project

Photojojo has a really neat tutorial on making photo-realistic pouches! Note to self-must try this!
Photojojo Pouches

Monday, February 21, 2011

I am a (wanna be!) Urban Homesteader!

So, as I have a loaf of sour dough bread rising, made with flour I just ground myself this morning, and as I wait for my food co-op order to come in, so i can get my new essential oil and make some soap, I came across this facebook page: Take Back Urban Homesteading. Yes, a family in California who has done great work, has now trademarked the words Urban Homesteading, and are busy having their legal team send cease and desist letters to those using the term. And this fantastic facebook page is a great way to see how other bloggers and Urban Homesteaders are fighting back, in one way or another.

While I am nowhere near self sufficient, and never will be in this city, I believe that Urban Homesteading is something I have spent most of my life learning the skills for. I am a city kid. I love cities. I also love making bread, growing my own food, working toward self sufficiency, canning and preserving, composting and worms, and learning new skills as often as possible. I may not be an Urban Homesteader right now, but life for me is about the journey, not so much the destination. Every new skill I learn is a skill I keep. Someday....someday.. I'll be closer to that life! So, I am going to claim that title.Done ranting now. Visit that facebook page! there are tons of great bloggers posting today!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Told ya I've been busy!!!

I really have been making things. Just not writing about them. First are two cards, using Unity Stamps. Unity is one of my favorite stamp companies! Their stamps are great quality, very nicely etched red rubber. The designs are just great. Their Kit Of the Month Club is awesome too.


And a scrapbook layout. This is the same sketch I used in a another recent layout. I really like this sketch! Most of the papers are Basic Grey, and the embellishments are from a wide variety of sources.
My niece. I love her, and do not get to see her nearly enough!

The stamps on the background of the hexagon sort of shape is also from Unity.

More to come soon! I've been on a roll. I've found that the best way to get out of a rut is join an online crop and do some layouts and cards for challenge blogs. This has really been getting things going for me! Tomorrow I'll post some links to some of my favorite Challenge Blogs.

Be well!

Monday, February 14, 2011

New crafty pictures coming soon! But for now a great link....

I really have been crafting, just not taking pictures like a good doobie. I will do that tonight.

But for now, here is a great article about journaling. It was written by Noell of Paperclipping Roundtable, one of my new favorite podcasts. It's about capturing journaling information in the metadata of your photos. Once I get a new computer (since mine is making the sounds of a death rattle every time I start it up), I am going to give this a try!

Here's the link. While you're there check out the site!! The pod casts are just great, and there is a wealth of information here. I love this podcast because they all seem like very friendly people, and it feels like you are right there with them.

How You Really Can Tell ALL of Your Photo Stories

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Basic Grey Challenge 36

One final layout for the day. It's for the Basic Grey Challenge, #36-Flower Power. Most of the papers are from the Marrakech line, one of my favorites.



Materials used:
Patterned paper: Basic Grey Masala Bella,  Blue Nights, Green Tea, Jubilee, African Nectar, Mandarin Slice
Letters: Basic Grey Marrakech Alphabet Stickers
Flowers: Basic Grey Marrakech Element Stickers

Starting my Christmas Cards early!

Well, last year I got so busy i only got 6 made! So this year, I figure I'll do 1 a week or so and by the time the holidays roll around I'll have oodles. There's a challenge blog out there called Christmas Cards Challenges, which has a different challenge every week. This week's challenge: Christmas Card Challenges: 2011 Christmas Card Challenge #8 was "No Coloring." Here's my submission.


Patterened Paper: Basic Grey
Stamp: Tingtura Designs
Rub Ons: Basic Grey
Ribbon: Close To My Heart
Buttons: Unknown

New Layout

Here's a quick little layout I did of my sister and my niece.


Patterned Paper: Close To My Heart and Storytellers Club
Cardstock: Unknown
Shimmer Flourish: Making Memories
Snowflakes: Unknown and Marcella by K
Ritzy Ditzy Shimmer Mist
Cardstock
Brads

Submitting it to Pencil Lines Sketch Challenge.

More to come!!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

No craftiness today, but some pictures....

I got an iPod Touch for Christmas and one of my favorite apps is Hipstamatic. I love it. Here are a few pictures I have taken so far. The only downside I have found is their custom prints (if you want real prints) are expensive, and there's no way to get them printed properly by snapfish, etc. But the pictures come out really neat, and it's a lot of fun to play with.




The first two are where at I work, at Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, MA. The third is in Cambridge, MA. And look at this great picture of my niece I took last month! I love how the lens and film I used make this picture look like it's one of my childhood pictures.

Their website is at http://hipstamaticapp.com/ and you can download their app in the app store. It's not very expensive, and for me it has been tons of fun.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

New Year's, sort of, Resolutions....

I do not usually make New Year’s resolutions. Mainly because I am way too ADD to follow through, half the time. But this is a list of some things I would *like* to accomplish this year. In no particular order:

Gardening
Get my garden up and running again. Since I disappeared last year for a while, no one here has heard the tale of what happened to my garden (unless you read my small post below, snicker). Just a few short months after transplanting everything from my old community garden plot to my front yard, my landlord destroyed all of it. There are 2 sides to my front yard, I was gardening one side. It had gotten a little weedy, but nothing like the side that belongs to my neighbors. Someone must have complained because I came home from work one day to find the entire yard stripped to bare earth! All of my container plants in a dump truck! My worms, my lovely worm bin, also gone! This was a bin I had been caring for during the last 4 years or so, and it had almost 10 pounds of compost ready to be harvested. Gone. My 7 year old tarragon, sage, lavender, etc.? Gone!

I was devastated. This year I am building a raised bed, so it is clear that there is a garden there. Urgh. Unfortunately, it didn’t get made before the snow, and there is now about 2 ½ feet of snow in my yard, so it will have to wait. But it will happen. The seed catalogs are starting to come and I am starting to plan the space a bit. I am going to get started on a new worm bin in the next week or so, I set one up for my Dad for Christmas, and I miss the little critters. Now we have an ample supply of bunny poo for fertilizer, due to Lola, the house bunny my daughter got for Christmas. I am busy collecting paper towel rolls and toilet paper rolls to make seed starters. This year I am going to try potatoes and hops. The hops tie into my next goal.

Random Skills/Hobbies
Learn how to brew my own! I’ve been thinking about it forever and make very good liquors. But I want to try my hand at beer. I figure if I grow hops, by the time they are ready to harvest I will be ready to move away from kit brewing into more complex recipes. Now, just to come up with the $$ to get the start-up kit.

Start canning and preserving more. I want to start keeping my eyes open for crazy good deals on produce so I can do some more preserving. I desperately want to get a food dehydrator. I’ve been trying to get more involved with the Urban Homesteaders League Meet Up group, which has been a good way to get produce cheaply, every so often. I got an amazing deal on canning supplies at Target at the end of last season, so I am well stocked on supplies. I just joined a new CSA, and they have Pick Your Own days, so I will probably take advantage of that.

Find an online certification in Herbalism. Start saving up for it. See if I can find one that is pay as you go.

Crafting
This year I will learn how to crochet a granny square. I just need to find someone who crochets who can show me in person. I have tried and tried to learn from books and it is just not working.

I am going to enter more craft challenges online, like at Cupcake Craft (http://cupcakecraftchallenges.blogspot.com/). I am going to win some! So there. I am definitely trying to break out of crafters block, slowly but surely. I’ve been joining some online crops and things just to force myself to do some work. I’m also going to Maine in a few weeks to have a crafty weekend with my sister, which should jump start things.

Keep up with the Art Journal Every day. I’m trying, but haven’t been too good about it. I’m concentrating right now on getting my supplies in order more. Everything is kind of scattered.

Get my etsy shop up and running. Produce, produce, produce.

Everything Else
I really, really, really need to get my craft area more organized. It’s super small, and I can not find anything right now. Organizing in general is a challenge for me. I need to streamline things a little.

Well, I guess that’s it for now. This is more to get things down “on paper” and start moving toward goals. They’re all attainable. And I have a whole year!

Monday, January 24, 2011

A few new cards....

I really need better pictures for these! I took the pictures on my iPod, so the quality is not great but, here are 2 new cards that I've made:

Patterned papers are Basic Grey Wisteria Stone Wall and Willow
Die cuts are Basic Grey Wisteria Chipboard dies



And the second card:


Fancy Pants Patterned Paper Glimmer
AdornIt Patterned Paper Fern Collection-Owl Hoot B
Prima Flower
Copic Markers

I've been busy trying to organize what little of a craft space that I have. *sigh* The perils of small space living. I really only have a 3 foot by 3 foot space to craft on, and small spaces for supplies. I'm trying to get it more workable, so I will use it more!

I made these cards for an online crop over at Memorable Seasons . A nice way to break out of scrappers and card makers block. It was fun and I got some stuff done, 2 cards, 2 layouts and 2 more layouts that weren't related to the online crop.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

New Year, New Start!

Boy have I neglected this place. Sorry...things all went downhill fast last year.

But it's a New Year and I have started partcicipating in a new challenge to keep me busy! It's called Art Journal Everyday and it's over at this link http://balzerdesigns.typepad.com/balzer_designs/art-j.html

So, that should kick start things.

Projects this year... I want to start home brewing. As soon as I get money for the start kit and equipment I am going to jump right in.

My landlord razed my garden to bare earth last summer. We have two front yards, one that I was working in and one on the other side of the duplex. That side got crazy weedy. I was clearing my weeds out as best I could. Someone in the neighborhood complained so i came home from work one day to find everything GONE. 7 year old lavender? Gone! I had finally gotten it to overwinter well too. 7 year old sage? Gone! Well established worm bin, with about 10 pounds of compost ready to harvest? GONE!

Needless to say I cried. But this year I am building a raised bed. So I'll get going on the garden wagon soon. I am going to have to start scouring freecycle and The Urban Homestead league to find new herb plants, but that will come.

So.... I can't promise I will post every week, or even every day. But I'll be here more often.