Happy Kathy

Back from Italy

2012-02-09T14:46:00.000-08:00

I am back from my very amazing trip to Italy. My sister and I had a great time and I learned some great things while I was there. It was my first time to Venice and we had a tour guide of the Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Church. It was so interesting to learn the history and makes me very motivated to learn more about it.
I'm back into the swing of things sewing away!
I am hoping to get some new fabrics in the shop soon, but it will have to wait until I catch up on all of my orders. I'm getting there.
Here are a few photos from the trip!

2012

2012-01-08T18:16:00.000-08:00

Here it is, a brand new year! I'm excited for 2012 for a number of reasons. The first being that my wonderful, and extremely lovely sister is taking me with her to Italy at the end of January! In a mere 19 days! I am so flipping excited! Last time I went to Italy was in college, in 1998. So a very, very long time ago. We are going for nine nights, three in each of the following cities, Rome, Florence and Venice. When I did my study abroad in Rome all those years ago, I never managed to make it to Venice. The reasons are pretty stupid, but at the time I was very concerned about over spending and was on a very strict budget. And a trip to Venice was a lot of of extra dough that I didn't have to spend. But now in retrospect of course I see how ridiculous that was of me. Oh to go back in time with a smarter brain! But alas, that's what being young is all about.
Now at least I feel like I will get a lot more out of a trip to Italy then I did back then. I certainly will not be checking out the young men...or any men for that matter. Which as I recall was a primary attraction that my younger self indulged in the entire time.
So I plan to just really enjoy everything about this trip. Including my favorite part, the eating. I intend to eat as much and as often as possible. I am not worried at all about gaining weight and do not care if I do gain weight. You are only in Italy so many times in your life and the food is so good! In fact it is so good that I can recall specific places I ate and the amazing dishes I ate there. Something that just doesn't occur all that often in my normal day to day life.
I am very much looking forward to seeing all the sights and checking out all the amazing works of art that we have time for.
It will also be very nice to get away from working on my shop, which I do almost constantly, and to be an adult without children for a little bit as well.
So with that, here is a little photo to get in the mood:

Long time

2011-11-25T12:17:00.000-08:00

I really am terrible about updating my blog. I suppose it's partly because I feel like what happens in my life isn't all that exciting. I work a lot! And when I'm not working I am taking care of my kids. So there isn't much in there that makes for a super interesting read.
But the Thanksgiving holiday was nice, so I thought I'd blog a little about that. Yesterday my sister flew in from Florida for a quick visit. We had a lovely meal at my aunt's house, and my husband made delicious pumpkin chiffon pies, which were promptly devoured! I made two loaves of Challah, which turned out nice. I added more honey this time, because I saw some of the recipe reviewers said this was a good idea. I think I'll put the recipe amount next time. I didn't like the too honey taste.
Today we are all hanging out an enjoying having family around.
I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

Lots of new fabrics

2011-07-14T14:44:00.000-07:00

I have to say that my favorite part of having my own business is getting to choose all of the fabrics!
I have so much fun going through the fabric choices at online fabric stores and picking my favorites. I only wish I had more money to buy even more fabric. But I have to sell what I have first before I can buy more.
Here are a few examples of the new fabrics.

Using new closures!

2011-06-01T09:24:00.000-07:00

I am starting something a little different over here at Happy Kathy HQ, I am putting anorak snaps on my wallets as an extra option. Now if there are customers who would rather not have a magnetic snap they can choose the other snap option. I am thinking of converting over to anorak snaps entirely as I bought a very cool snap press. It's pretty heavy and industrial looking, funny for my small time operation to have this thing! Here's a photo of it.

It is very easy to use and makes applying snaps so much easier!
So we will see how these snap closure wallets do on the site and if they sell I will convert most if not all of the wallets over to this style of closure.

Newest wallets up

Sad news

2011-02-09T10:25:00.000-08:00

One of my fellow Etsy artists, Cindy, designsbylucinda, lost her 11 Year-old son, her home, pets, possessions, everything.
The wonderful community of Etsy sellers has put together a shop of donated items.
Please go and donate by purchasing something!
One of my wallets is there. If you want to donate by buying a different wallet, let me know.
Helping HeartsPlease click on the link Helping Hearts and take a look!

Some great finds on Etsy!

2011-02-07T19:40:00.000-08:00

My favorite thing to do in my spare time is to browse through all the lovely things there are to find on Etsy.
Yesterday I did a little bit too much browsing and found a few great things I wanted to share with you all.

First is from a great shop called Simply Aprons
Where I found this cute number.

And then another great shop Vegan Kitty

Where I got these for the kids

And finally these great address label stickers from I love Die Line Studio
And these are what I found

Do you remember these?

2011-02-05T17:26:00.000-08:00

Today when we went to Goodwill we came across these great old coloring/drawing toys, the kind you use a crayon it's side and trace the image onto paper. I remember having one of these as a child. This was such a find! It came with all the fashion plate girl looks, complete with cowboy boots and tight jeans, or short shorts with rollerskates! Love! Also an additional card making tracing kit. Hannah had a blast and I did too! :)

Dan's Birthday Today

2011-02-04T09:09:00.000-08:00

That's my little brother Daniel. Of course he is not so little anymore, and neither am I! :( Ha ha. It's funny how he will always be the baby. And of course my littlest Scarlett will always be the baby in our family as well.
So I'm using my blog today as a shout out to him! Happy Birthday Little Brother! I love you!
Here's a picture of us when we were small.

Becki seems to be missing from this shot. That would have made it perfect if she were in there. Becki being my big sister!
So here's one of us...

And appropriate for this post since I am wishing a happy birthday, here we are with our birthday caps on!

Valentine's Day

2011-02-02T12:35:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't love Valentine's Day? Candy, anybody? I could love Valentine's Day just for that one thing alone! When else do I get to buy mini-crunch bars in the shape of hearts, each individually wrapped and waiting for me when my chocolate attack comes along?

Photo by Ivan Clow

This year for V day the kids and I decided to make a very cool gift for each of their teachers. We got some boxes and cut the tops off to make little baskets, I thread some ribbon through slots I made on either side. The kids painted the boxes in shades of reds and pinks and purples and pasted on foam hearts that I bought from JoAnns. They loved it! And it was the perfect activity for a day off from school for a teacher workday.
Then we put some tissue paper and filled it with various gifts the kids found at the store. I also put in a zipper pouch that I made into each basket.
Being a teacher myself I know how much work they do each day and with very little compensation. So I wanted to do a little something extra this year. I didn't do much of anything in years past, but just figured why not this time?

Treasuries and lovely blogs

2010-08-09T13:40:00.000-07:00

I have been working on creating new treasuries, but they are fairly time consuming, as I like to make sure the shop is legitimate before I include them. Also, finding photos which are good is equally challenging. Sometimes I just want to try to help he seller out with a message of tips, but think that would probably not come across the way I would like it to in print. Here is my newest treasury, it's all about back to school. http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c603373d2856d91434b4daa/back-to-school-in-style?index=0
I was attempting to include newer shops with not so many sales. I am going to work another one soon.

Also of interest, to me that is, I found a great blog that had featured my wallets one day last month! I was so excited I almost choked on my big gulp of coffee I had just taken.
Here is the link:
//cafecartolina.blogspot.com/2010/07/found-pattern.html
I wish my blog could be as nice, but I think that would require a bit more time on my part and I haven't been all that great about posting regularly.

As for Sunday Market, it did not end up being worth it. Two particularly bad Sundays in a row convinced me to give up on the enterprise entirely. On the other hand I have been hard at work creating new items for Happy Kathy. I'm very happy with the new fabrics I have gotten recently! They are really lovely!

I am going to become better at blogging, I swear it, looking at the other blogs today has given me a real push in the right direction.

Happy Kathy will have a new label soon!

2010-07-26T22:32:00.000-07:00

I am so excited! The new labels I ordered for the shop will be coming soon! They are going to feature flowers in a row with my shop name across the bottom. They look very cute and I am excited to change it up a bit. Sometimes it is fun to make a few changes here and there to make things feel fresh.
I received some very lovely new fabric from my wonderful aunt who recently returned from a vacation in Hawaii, she picked me up some very cute Japanese fabrics, and some awesome floral prints, as well as a thing or two with hula dancers on them.
I have actually already used one of the Japanese prints to make a wallet with already and it's in the shop.
I only have enough fabric to make two wallets from it.
Things are going well here. Just having a lot of fun with summer vacation and having the kids home all the time. They are full of energy from the moment they get out of bed in the morning until I'm ready to pass out at their bedtime! Can you even imagine what could be accomplished with that kind of energy? I wish I had some of it, even a bit of it! God I feel old! ;)
Thanks for reading!

Sunday Market Tomorrow!

2010-05-08T08:08:00.000-07:00

How exciting!!!! Mother's Day is tomorrow! And the First Sunday Market!!! I will be there with Cindy and we will be having a grand ole time hanging out and trying to sell our wares! Wish us luck!
Update to come after!
Photo taken from the Astoria Sunday Market website, unsure of artist.

Cool news

2010-05-02T13:35:00.000-07:00

What an honor! I have been chosen for the Mother's Day Voter Page. It's an etsy voter page. If you want to please go vote for me! I'm the roses wallet, the link is at
http://www.etsy.com/voter_list.php?ref=voter&room_id=105
If I am among the top voted on then I can maybe get on the front page! :) That would be fantastic!

This is so cool! I can't believe it. I've sold this wallet once already but have plenty of material to make more.
Getting ready for the market...
Have so much to do. Labeling all of my items, making orders and inventory. I have to also make sure that I am prepared for the big day with all the essentials all packed and ready to go and on top of all of this is the news that I have a big interview for a kindergarten position at the school I LOVE! So I am really nervous and trying to prepare for the interview. I would really absolutely love to have this position, I think it is the perfect place for me and Kindergarten is the best!
Wish me luck!!!

I made it to the Front Page of Etsy

2010-04-21T10:35:00.000-07:00

Wow, this is very exciting! I made it to the front page. And I was asleep when it happened! I found out after a bunch of other people, I didn't know they would automatically post about it on my Facebook page. Very way cool! I sold that wallet and two other items, which I have to get busy making. So looks like I know what I'll be doing for the next couple of nights!
I have been working like a fiend to get things made for the market. I want to buy some baskets for displaying all of my wallets and small zipper pouches. I am thinking about going to Ross to buy them, since they tend to have pretty good deals on baskets. I need shallow ones though, so we'll see what they have.
I have been doing a lot of research online about what to bring with me to a craft fair, and I've compiled a list from all of my reading and I'm going to repost it here. In case anybody else is interested in this information!
(A good website to refer to is www.festivalnet.com)

LIST

Snacks/Water

Chairs (foldable)

Tape

Safety Pins

Notebook and Pen

Wet Wipes

Money Apron

Lots of Change

First Aid Kit

Table Covers (Sheets/Tablecloths)

Big Gallon's of Water for weighing down tent

Extra Price Tags

Bowl of Candy (for kids)

Garbage Bags

800 number for credit card authorization

Charge/Credit Slips

Receipt Book

Guest/Buyer sign up for newsletter

Photo book of other work you've created

Business Cards

Signage! Lots of it!

Clearly priced items

So far this is my list, I am sure it can be added to and I will try to add to it when I think of more items I would need. Oh and the Tent is pretty self explanatory, you wouldn't want to forget that!

Featured on a blog

2010-04-16T15:02:00.000-07:00

Very cool! One of my wallets is being featured on a blog, http://www.mylazyapples.blogspot.com/

House, and other t.v. that inspires

2010-04-15T19:29:00.000-07:00

So my husband, who is attempting to enter nursing school got us addicted to this show.

Well actually it goes back further than that, my sister-in-law who is just now finishing medical school started it all. She suggested that Josh watch the show because it was sooo good. We started watching and she's right! It's pretty addictive. I love the guy who plays Dr. House, Hugh Laurie. He's a fantastic actor. And the American accent is so well done that you can't believe he's actually British. Part of the main story line is that he is addicted to pain pills. (Long story short, he has lots of pain because his thigh muscle had to be removed) Anyway, it's completely believable the way he uses the pain meds all the time. You find yourself totally sympathizing with him. For example in one episode the hospital administrator tries to get him to quit, and the entire episode he is suffering and you just want to throw the pills at him to give him some relief. While some of the episodes are a bit on the far fetched side, they are very entertaining, which in my opinion is what t.v. is all about.

We watch the old episodes by renting the DVD's from Netflix. Works out really well, and when we finish and are up to date on this series, we have plans to begin the show "Breaking Bad." And I am still waiting for Season 2 of True Blood to come out on DVD. NEED to watch! More about True Blood in my next post!

Lots of New Handmade Fabric Wallets

2010-04-15T08:17:00.000-07:00

Hello! Thanks for stopping by! I have so many new wallets up on the etsy store. It's exciting everytime I make a new one because I always wonder how they will do in the store if somebody will like one enough to bring it home! I always love them all and am so excited when I post them and I guess I expect everybody to love them as much as I do! :)

It was a slow first week of April in Etsy Land. But it seems to be picking up now and I am happy about that! I have bought so many supplies and the new sewing machine so keeping my fingers crossed for more business! I do have the Astoria Sunday Market coming up in about a month's time. This weekend there is a big meeting for all the market vendors to meet and discuss protocol, etc. I am very excited about this!
And I have to get into gear and make more things to have available for the booth!
I am only participating a few Sundays throughout the summer because I just don't think I could make it on what I have available at the moment. I have to get busy sewing!
But as it is I am working a lot in the schools, so my only time to work is in the evenings and the weekends, and then I feel guilty for not being with the family. I think if I keep it up too much they may forget who their mother is! LOL
I hope not!
What did Mothers do hundreds of years ago when they worked from sun up to sun down?
Or rather, what did those kids do? I always bring this up because I am sure that mothers and fathers for that matter had little time to devote to playing with their children. I know this from reading Little House on the Prarie books. Those kids entertained themselves all the time!
Thanks for reading I better go get to work on something!

Coast River Business Journal article is up!

2010-03-25T19:03:00.000-07:00

Here is the link to the article that Joanne Rideout interviewed me for. It's so nice!

http://www.crbizjournal.com/Publication/volume5/issue4/section16/article2619

Enter the Giveaway!

2010-03-12T20:48:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, Dang Gina, of DangGinaGives, is hosting a giveaway on her blog of one of my wallets. So head on over there sometimes before midnight on March 16th and enter to win~
http://dangginagives.blogspot.com/

New Fabric!

2010-02-24T17:17:00.001-08:00

Today my new fabric from Japan came in the mail! I am so excited because now I can make some new wallets. I'm really looking forward to that. They are pretty cute very kitschy prints, silly things like dogs and little trees. Just pretty and cute!
I will have a hard time selling them, because I will want to keep them all for myself.
Also, put the application in for the upcoming Sunday market in town and so I need to really get busy getting things made for it. I hope I'll have enough things to look like I am a real an proper business!
Oh and Joanne Rideout is interviewing me for Coast Business Journal! She's doing a story about home based businesses, this is very cool.
That's all for now!

Featured!

2010-02-04T13:24:00.000-08:00

Hello and welcome back!
I just got a message yesterday from Jennifer who runs a blog about her favorite etsy finds, seems that she has chosen my ruffle black flower bag for her gift finds blog entry. You can go see it at the following address: http://jollyjennifersetsyblog.blogspot.com
Very cool! My first time!
Also been making a lot of wallets around here, pretty frequently actually. Off to make another one today.
I have some ideas for a new bag that I'm going to be working on in the next few days, I'll post a picture as soon as it's up.
Thanks for reading!
Sarah

Interesting day

2010-02-02T23:01:00.000-08:00

I had a pretty interesting day today, went to the dentist for my first ever cavity filling and it was quite the experience. They numbed my mouth on one side and it was the weirdest thing afterward, I couldn't smile right and I couldn't eat or drink without spilling on myself! It was actually pretty funny, but I would hate to have my face permanently like that.
I'm so happy that I have been making connections to people in different parts of the world, what a great feeling it is to know that there are people all over the world who will be carrying or using something that I made here in my little part of the world. Really neat!
I really want to work on getting some more things made for the shop, I have a lot of ideas, just have to work out when to do them all! I have a substitute teaching job tomorrow and then once I am home again I plan to get to work sewing. *Of course the kids might have something to say about that! *

New website...

2010-01-30T09:13:00.000-08:00

Hey all, Just started up a new website, but it's kind of hard to find time to edit it because it's a regular site that requires all of the software and uploading, etc. So It's nowhere near perfect, yet!
But if you want to stop by to take a look at it, the website address is www.happykathy.com
Thanks! Oh and I am really going to be doing the Astoria Sunday Market! I have a few friends and we are going to go into it as a co0p. Which is so awesome, my friend Cindy who does awesome stuff with glass, and my friend Kelly, who is going to be doing painted wooden blocks. I am really looking forward to doing this! I just have to get our application turned in. And barring any unforeseen snags, we should be able to set up starting Mother's Day this year.
Wish us luck!

Holy moly 2010

2010-01-16T20:13:00.001-08:00

Wow, 2010 already. I am very excited for the year to come, I have so many ideas of new creations I want to make and getting prepared to participate in the Astoria Sunday Market. I am going to be collaborating with other mothers in the area to combine our various skills and creativity into a joint venture!
More new things on the horizon! I've been working hard on making wallets, I think they are pretty awesome. I actually really love the one I made for myself, it works really well.
I am making small tote bags now, perfect for taking your lunch in. Or really any use! They are small, but with two inside pockets.
I really like how they are turning out. And Hannah and Scarlett are pretty excited about them too, I think they'd like it if everything I made was just for them!