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Busy weeks of vending!

2010-12-06T06:46:00.000-08:00

The past couple of weeks have been really busy, I wish I was better at balancing my blog posts and work. Somehow, I still can't figure the best way to structure my day to get everything done that I'd like. But I am working on it.
This past week I was featured as an artist at Sports Optics, a really cool artsy optical shop on the strip of Tennyson for First Friday. While I didn't sell anything, it was a lot of fun, and I was asked to come back in February. I am also able to leave my artwork at the shop for 1 month, which would be a great way to get it on display all the time. I am excited about that at least! Then I had planned my Holiday Gift Sale yesterday, it was at our house and I had all of my items available, plus a new friend Marci from Barefoot Regalia came and joined me as well. I had visions of lots of people coming to the homeshow, lots in my neighborhood, friends and aquaintances. However, that was not the way it played out, unfortunately. We could count the number of visitors easily, and while they did spend some money, it wasn't the turnout I had hoped. I guess I know for next time, right? Had to give it a shot, but I don't know if it was worth the time I put into it.
Now, I am working on finishing up Christmas gifts...I don't want to post too much about those until the family opens the gifts..but I love how they are turning out and wish I could post the pics! This year we are going to be staying in Colorado, and won't be able to see all the items being opened up. Speaking of those gifts, I should really get to work on them and I'll post pics soon!

Hot Crab Dip, from Aunt Chris

2010-11-17T12:48:00.000-08:00

My sister and I :)

Josh and I went home to Michigan this past weekend for a friend's wedding and to visit with family since we aren't going home this holiday season. We had a great time even though it was a very quick trip, from Thursday night through Monday night.

While we were there my grandmother was asking what to do with some crab meat she had in the fridge. I love crab, it's one of my favorite foods that I rarely get to eat. She wanted to make a dip from it to use as an appetizer when she and my grandfather make the trip to Newaygo this weekend. I suggested this recipe from my Aunt Chris (I had a recipe wedding shower and use some religiously). Here is the recipe:

Hot Crab Dip
7 1/2 oz of crabmean, frozen, or can or imitation. (Much better with anything but imitation)
1 Tablespoon milk
8 Oz cream cheese
2 Teaspoon Worcester sauce
2 Tablespoon green onion

Combine Cream cheese with milk and Worcester sauce. Drain crabmeat. Add to cream mixture along with green onions. Put into small baking dish, back at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until heated through, serve with crackers.
This is for 1 serving of the dip; if you are serving more than 4 people then double the recipe.
I also often add sauteed garlic and onion, or I just throw it into the mixture when baking
You can also serve with chips or bread. Very yummy and a party favorite!

Things to keep you cozy!

2010-11-11T09:14:00.000-08:00

Rainbow Ear Flap Hat, available on my website.

My crocheting habit hasn't stopped in weeks, and I have been hooking up a storm! Crochet is so easy to create and shape items, I love it! Here are some of my newest creations. Ear Flap hats are great for winter activities, skiing, snowshoeing, etc and keep you oh, so warm.
I have also been crocheting super thick neck warmers, or cowls, whatever you'd like to call them. I love the cowl for hiking, it doesn't add too much bulk or weight, plus they are so tall and cozy that I can pull them up to cover my ears on a windy day! Keeping warm with less bulk is always key on a hike, or snowshoe expedition.

Pink hand warmers, great for that hard to shop for teen/tween in your life. Available on etsy for just $20!

Hand warmers and hat and scarf set on etsy.

Super thick and chunky neck warmer. This is great for the hiker, or outdoorsey person this winter season. Handmade buttons and a beautiful crochet edging gives versility and style.

Art expression in photography

2010-11-07T17:04:00.000-08:00

It has been 8 months since I quit my full time job, and 2 months since I haven't had contract work and I am solely relying on income from my business to support our lifestyle. Not having any other job has really made me focus on running a business solely and it has really shown me my major fault. Time Management. I have a hard time balancing sewing, crocheting, custom orders, orders for my site, computer time to add items to etsy, website, artfire, and promote, as well as daily duties regarding the house, cleaning, cooking, etc. And last week, I realized that I *have* to set time aside each week for a solo hike and photography session. It's one thing that I love to do by myself and with the dogs, it brings me peace and meditation. Below are a few of my photos from the last 2 weeks. They are available for sale in my etsy shop here.

Left: Solo tree on the cliff, reminds me of myself a solo hiker on a trail :)

Right: Belle politely waiting for me at the top of the stairs at our neighborhood park

Cactus and burning bush, well, that's what it looks like to me anyway. Colorado is famous for it's earthy subdued tones, so to see a red tree or bush is exciting!

New crochet goods ~ hand warmers, ~ neck warmers ~ hats and more!

2010-10-26T08:18:00.000-07:00

Maroon hand warmers and hat, size small, youth

I have been busy crocheting this fall, and I am in LOVE with this craft! I learned to crochet years ago from a gal I worked with in Ann Arbor at an Assisted Living home. Her name was Elena, and we worked in the lock down Alzheimer's unit together. Our female patients all used to know how to crochet or knit, but their dexterity and memory was so affected that they weren't able to craft anymore; but they sure loved to watch us crochet! So, Elena taught me and I started a project to make a blanket; I brought that blanket in each day I worked and the elderly ladies "oo'd and aah'd" over it each time. Even though the blanket was 7-8 feet long and only a few inches wide; what was I thinking? To this day, I never finished that blanket; it's about 4 feet wide now and makes a comfy dog bed :)

I stopped crocheting after college for several years, and started knitting for a period in between, but didn't love the knitting. Recently, I came back to crocheting and I am again 'hooked'! Crocheting offers a lot of variety, you can modify patterns easily, if you mess up it's easy to take out, and it's just so, so, so fun!

My current line of handmade goodies are crochet items that you can use for the outdoors; hand warmers, neck warmers, ear warmers, hats with ear flaps and many of the items are lined with ORGANIC BAMBOO FLEECE! One of my customers is quoted saying; "The fleece is so soft, I think this is what a cloud feels like."

Here are a few of the newest items, more to come! Message me if you are interested!

Crochet Thru Hiker warmers in Mustard Jess; with fleece lined ear warmer.

Black unisex warmers with wooden button on etsy

Chunky grey hand warmers and headband, on etsy

Chunky grey hand warmers and headband, on etsy

Maroon fleece lined hat and Thru Hiker Maroon Warmers

Blue unisex warmers on etsy

Slouch hat, this hat rocks!

Neglect!

2010-10-25T07:09:00.000-07:00

Taken at Nora Fabrics and Fiber in Westcliffe, CO, etsy

Wow, it's been a long time since I updated here! The past month has been a mix of busy and bordeom and I am trying to deal with this mix while staying at home and being productive. My contract job ended September 1st, and since then I haven't had any steady work, so I am staying at home trying to grow my business and take care of the house. Unfortunately, business has been really slow this season, and I am just trying to make ends meet and earn enough money for our bills each month, unsuccessfully. But, just because things are slow doesn't mean I am giving up!
I am currently offering a "make me an offer" Sale for all clothing, if you like an item, make me a fair offer and it's yours (plus shipping). Message me if you are interested, here is the link to my website.
I have been adding photos to my new etsy shop that I have taken during hikes and other times and I hope that maybe I can sell a few. I have always loved taking photos and it's really fun to display my favorites. Also, do you know that I have another blog, a hiking blog that I update bi-weekly? Well, you should check it out here.
Last weekend Josh and I had our 6 year wedding anniversary and we took a trip through the San Juan Mountains in southwest Colorado and spent time camping and hiking in the area with our new Chalet. We had a blast and I took numerous photos; here are some of my favorites.

Reflection on the water, find in my etsy shop

Beautiful aspen trees; looking through the Aspens in my etsy shop

Leaves on the trail, remind me of cross country season!

Self portrait on our hike to Spud Lake

Our Chalet :) We love her!

Rock sniffing some wild animals on our hike to Spud Lake

Views of Ski resort at Sunset. wow!

Aren't we cute?

Our new camper ~ Chalet

2010-09-29T07:20:00.000-07:00

We bought a camper today ~ we have been looking for about a year for a small, reasonably priced, camper that we could tow up mountains in Colorado. I love tent camping, and don't plan on stopping anytime soon; but we can't camp in the winter and sometimes it's nice to be off the ground and out of the rain. The Chalet is hard sided and foldes up into an A-Frame; it has a double bed on one side and twin bed that converts to a kitchen table and seats. There is also a propane stove and sink; plus, the best part is a small portable potty! The potty wasn't a necessity, but it sure will be nice to not run outside and pee in the woods; in the middle of the cold Colorado nights. Twice, I have had coyotes around me when going to the bathroom outside and that was pretty scary! A potty will sure be a step up in the world!
Plus, I am a little worried about having kiddos in a tent, and I don't want to give up camping when we have a baby; or when I am pregant. We are excited to take it out this weekend; after the farmers market on Saturday.

Here are some more pics of our Chalet.

I will recover the cushins right away, and we already started painting over the crappy wall paper.

This is the double bed/couch. I will again re-finish the cushins.

Inside, its pretty sunny, but bad curtains and stove and sink

New items, warmers and more!

2010-09-23T02:44:00.000-07:00

Thru Hiker Forest hand warmers

I've been busy crocheting and hiking this past month; and trying to create some hiking/outdoor gear that people can look good while being active. I created a new etsy shop for these items called Colorado Girl Gear. I have been toying around with the name for a while now, and I kept coming back to this one so I went with it. I have many more items to add to the shop, and when I get over this cold, I plan to take some more photos.
Things in the shop have been pretty slow this summer, and it's made me question doing this full time, but I do enjoy it much more than going into an office so for now I am going to keep pushing forward. Maybe I haven't quite found my niche online and I haven't had much experience selling locally. Most small business fail or quit within the first year, and I am determined to make this work.

I spent a lot of time this summer in the mountains by myself with the dogs, hiking. You can read about my adventures in my hiking blog. I sometimes consider redirecting my time to writing a book about hiking in Colorado; I don't know quite where to focus the book yet but I hope it will come to me like all other creative ideas. Randomly as I fall asleep or while hiking in the wilderness. For now, here are a few more of my crochet hiking items.

Make Chex mix from your old snacks instead of throwing them out.

2010-09-20T11:05:00.000-07:00

One of my pet peeves is wasting things, I hate it! Even though I try to be diligent about not wasting anything, we still throw things away from time to time and it makes me feel terrible.

One way I have come up with to combat stale snack foods and the inevitable toss, is to make the snacks into a "chex mix."
This batch in particular has old pretzels, cheezits, croutons, sesame seeds, and triscuits.
I added to it about 2 tbsp of butter; 1-2 tbsp of Worcester sauce (depending on taste), garlic powder, salt, pepper, onion powder, and seasoning salt. All to taste. Put it in the oven on 300-325 degrees (no higher) for 30 minutes or until crunchy. Take out and let cool about 10 minutes before eating. Now you have a new snack food that tastes different and uses up stale old food that you would have wasted anyway :)
Do you have any personal ways you save leftovers?

Another thing I do is to save my vegetable stumps, and anything that I would normally toss in a freezer bag in the fridge; when i fill up the bag, I boil all of the stuff in sort of a "garbage soup" for 1 hour. Drain all the "garbage" out and keep the broth; I pour mine into muffin tins and then put them in the freezer until they are frozen solid. Then remove and put in freezer bags, these now are 1 cup servings of vegetable broth. Yum!

Fun in Breckenridge!

2010-09-13T08:12:00.000-07:00

Views from the 4x4 drive road; sharp cliffs, scenic views.

At the end of August my family came out to visit; and I have been planning on blogging about it since they left. Finally, I found some time!
My parents and sister with her new hubby Cody came to Denver along with my parents friends Bob and Marsha. We drove into Breckenridge to stay in a condo for the weekend to do some hiking, shopping and spending time together as a family.
My parents flew into Denver on Wednesday and we drove up to Breck that evening sans Josh who was still working and going to drive up with Laura and Cody.
It was nice to spend some time with my parents, just the three of us; we had a great lunch at the Backcountry Brewery in Frisco (recommend the Wheeler Wheat beer!!) and a drive up the mountain pass outside of Breck up a 4x4 drive road for beautiful views of the mountains and lake below (photo above).
Thursday we explored the town and waited for Laura, Cody and Josh to come up that evening; then we went out to dinner and prepared ourselves for our long hike on Friday.

Is the head tilt genetic?

My dad, sister, Cody, Josh, myself and Bob hiked a 14er; Mt. Lincoln via the Kite Lake route on Friday, as this was the best weather day of the weekend. This is the second 14er my sister has hiked, and the third for my dad and the 9th for Josh and I.
Overall the hike went really well, everyone except for Bob Tighe reached the top, but he had been battling a bad cold and made it to about 14,000 feet, but not to the peak. The hike went better than expected, with everyone making it safely with no altitude sickness and only minor falls.
On Saturday we were all a little tired and sore from the hike, and we stayed nearby the condo, shopping, drinking and taking a ride on the free Gondola in Breck to the Alpine slide on the ski slopes. As a kid I loved the alpine slides in Kentucky and on the East Coast when I had ridden them before, I remember being completely fearless on the dips and turns. It was really fun to try it out again as an adult; it took a few minutes, but I did get my fearless nature back and flew down the mountain, yippie!!

The theme for Saturday; sit at a bar, drink a beer.

My favorite part of the day was w hen Laura, Cody, Josh and I went to Joe's Dive bar for lunch, (it was not a dive bar, it was really good!) they had great pizza, a super great bartender and atmosphere. From there the festivities continued well into the evening as we bar hopped and had fun; ending the night in a Sorry tournament that I lost every time.

On Sunday Cody, Laura and my dad were up early to catch a flight; my mom who is newly retired stayed until Wednesday.
We had a great trip with the family and hope they come out again soon. Here are a few more pics from the visit.

On the Summit of Mt. Cameron!

pretty pic of my mom. thats me way in the background

mmmm, beer

My parents at the Reservior

Gondola ride up the mountain to alpine park

Josh and I after a few beerz on Saturday

Where did August go?

2010-09-08T11:08:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe we are already into September; this summer really FLEW by! Just 6 months ago, I quit my job and took a 6 month contract position from home working just 16 hours. Now, that contract job has ended, summer is over, and its time for autumn, holidays and winter. Today I went into the office to turn in my laptop and other items and said a 'goodbye' to the ladies in the office; they were all so easy to work with and kind, it was one of my favorite jobs. But I am glad to have a little time off. I have such a long 'to-do' list that I really need to get to work on; plus I haven't had much time to work on my new organic Colorado Girl accessory and clothing line.

Along with work and the farmers market, we had a very busy July-September. We had two wedding, my sister's in Michigan and a good friends in Colorado, my family came out and visited us, including my new brother in law who joined us for a 14er hike, my 31st birthday, and trying to squeeze in camping and hiking before it becomes too cold in the mountains. While it's been a summer of fun, it's been busy and eventful, and I am looking forward to some down time this fall to bake, garden, and do some sewing and crafting for myself.

New hiking wrist warmers.

My latest crafting obsession is crocheting! I learned to crochet years ago in college, I made a huge unfinished blanket, some scarves and then I put away my hook for knitting needles and sewing. I don't remember what it was exactly that made me stop crocheting, but it must have been sheer madness to change over from the hook to knitting needles, and it feels great to have my old, faithful crochet hook back. My grandmother on my mom's side was a whiz with the hook; she made all of her grandchildren and even great-grandchildren blankets that each of us cherish. While I lack the patience to make a blanket, I have been making wrist warmers, neck warmers, ear warmers, scarves, and creating my own patterns for these items to best suit the Outdoorsey Girl. Check out some of my new items on my website and I would love to hear what you think about them! Lots more to come.

Gramma Flo's Zuchini Bread Recipe

2010-08-23T06:57:00.000-07:00

Our garden this year has produced several large zucchini and I wasn't prepared with how to use all this zucchini bounty without wasting it. I was telling this to my grandmother, who suggested I make zucchini bread and she sent along her recipe.
My grandparents are in their mid 80s and still have a garden of their own, much larger than our garden; so I knew gramma would have a great recipe; she also sent another zuke recipe that I will try with my next from the garden. I finally make some bread last night and it sure is tasty so I wanted to add the recipe here.

Zucchini Bread - Gramma Flo's from Aunt Dodo's Kitchen.

Ingredients: 3 eggs, 2 Cup Sugar, 2 t vanilla, 1 cup cooking oil, 2 cups grated zucchini, 3 cup flour, 1 t baking soda, 2 t cinnamon, 4t baking powder, 1t salt. Optional; 1 cup chopped nuts (or sub chocolate chips).

Mix together in a large bowl and pour into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake 325 for 1 hour.

Gramma says; Aunt Hazel used to add 1 can of drained crushed pineapple, but Gramma has never tried it. (sounds good though, next time:)

Since I am not much of a baker; I want to add my two cents to the recipe. I added 3/4 cup of brown sugar and just 1 cup of regular sugar since I was low on granulated sugar and it tasted great! I also poured half of my mixture into a cupcake pan, since we do not have two loaf pans; if you want to make the cupcakes only bake for 37-40 minutes. I also added a little bit of honey and chocolate chips instead of nuts.
I grated my zucchini with a carrot peeler and that worked just fine; I did leave some of the outer skin on and then I chopped up the grated zucchini before adding it to the mixture.

I live at high altitude, so I did not drain the water out of the zucchini and the bread is very moist; I also baked the bread for just about 55 minutes as things cook faster up here.

This is a yummy zucchini recipe and it turned out really good; I am eating some for breakfast now actually. Thanks gramma, Aunt Dodo and Aunt Hazel for the recipe.

Solo Camping and The Bridge Concerts

2010-08-02T20:07:00.000-07:00

One of my goals this summer was to do some solo camping, (with Rock, my dog, of course) and with my busy schedule, this hadn't happened yet, but I was determined to get in at least one night in by July. My favorite band, The Bridge , was playing in Breckenridge on a Wednesday night and Josh wasn't able to go with me due to his work schedule. I knew this was the perfect time to do some solo camping and to watch a great band; plus my cousin Patrick is the sax player in the band and over the years I have enjoyed getting to know the rest of the guys in the band as well and I was really excited about my day in the mountains!

I woke up later than expected on Wednesday and got a couple of hours of work in before packing up the camping gear and getting on the road with Rock. I arrived in Frisco, where the band was staying and my campground was located, and quickly went to the campground I had chosen, Peak One Campground, and found a spot near the water with views of the surrounding mountains and in height of the wildflower season.

After picking out my site I called my cousin and drove over to the hotel to pick him up with whatever band mates wanted to hike. In my rush to leave the house, I managed to leave directions for the hike I had wanted to do; fortunately the Breckenridge/Frisco area has loads of hikes and Kenny had observantly noticed several hikes along the stretch of highway 9 and we drove to the Gold Hill trailhead just between Frisco and Breckenridge.

We hiked for a while and found a really sweet viewpoint with a handmade swing. It was the first time I have come across a swing like that in the mountains and it was really unique. After checking out the views for a while, the guys had to head back to the hotel to set up and sound check.

I went back to camp and cooked dinner in a rush before the impending storm (the weather said 30% chance of rain)and just as I sat down to eat the rain came. I quickly put everything away in the truck before scrambling into the tent with my potatoes and peas for dinner. The rain didn't stop until 3:00am the next morning, so much for 30% chance of rain!

At about 8:45pm, Rock and I got out of the tent and drove to the show in Breckenridge to hang out with Patrick. It was raining and if you haven't been to Breckenridge before all of the buildings architecturally look very similar and it was nearly impossible for me to find this club Three 20 South. Finally, I had to call Patrick to come outside and chase down my car as I drove slowly by. After I parked one of the club managers came outside as we were remarking about how difficult this place was to find. She said; "It's hard to find, but everyone that matters knows about this place", I jokingly thought to myself maybe that was why I hadn't found it, didn't I matter?

We got into the club and hung out for a few before the guys took the stage; at first there were only a few people that had arrived, but after the music started playing, people started to arrive. These must have been the people that the club manager meant, I thought to myself.

The Bridge started rocking and the vibe in the room was great, everyone was having a good time and dancing. Song highlights of the night were; "Big Wheel", one of the newest songs; crowd favorite, "Chains;" my favorite song, "Colorado Motel;" and the encore especially rocked which was an Al Green tune, "I'm a Ram." Each time I see The Bridge I have a killer time and this Breckenridge show was one of my favorites of all time.

After the show ended I had to go back to my soggy tent with Rock and see what awaited us, it rained the entire show and it was still raining at 2am as I drove back. Somehow the tent wasn't too wet, although it wasn't dry either, but it could have been worse. I fitfully slept for 3 hours until the birds decided to park themselves in the trees above my head and make lots of noise. The tent was even more wet by morning and I was not sleeping but it was really early and I just wanted to pack up and go home! I hastily packed up my stuff, called my cousin and told him I was on my way to pick him up; he probably doesn't see 7am unless he stays up all night and groggily got his stuff around and met me to drive back to Golden.

All in all it was a great time and a good first experience solo camping, even though the rain was a real downer. It can only get better the next time I go solo camping, right?

*Post is Dedicated to Budman, 2008-2010 (as tour manager)

Jewelry, Jewelry, Jewelry!

2010-07-22T18:31:00.000-07:00

I have been really loving to make jewelry lately, the instant gratification of a finished product in a short time, (compared to making clothing) with beautifully colored gemstones is very satisfying. Earrings are also really fun to make and can be made very quickly; I could bead for hours, and often get all the beads out and sit at my table with a computer loaded full of old movies and I bead, bead, bead! Here are some of my newest items!

The necklace above is made from feldspar, agate, citrine and the pendent is painted shell. This is a longer necklace and a real eye catching piece. Find out more about it here.

One of my new favorite stones for purely visual reasons is this dyed magnesite. It's a man made stone which can be dyed easily,

it's unique cracks with the contrasting dye create really fun and colorful beads! I was able to make all the necklaces for my sister's wedding with a particular pink color of magnesite. Each necklace was unique and the colors matched the dresses perfectly!

This pendent necklace is sure to get you some compliments! This beautiful pendent is emerald jasper, paired with stunning white shell beads, silver metal, and picture jasper oval beads. You can find more info here.

This pendent reminds me of the blue of Lake Michigan in the morning. I love the water and it's one thing I miss in Colorado. This blown glass pendent is very unique and it's paired with sodalite which brings inner peace and glass seed beads.

You can find these and lots more on my website.

Wedding day is here! Part 3

2010-07-14T07:19:00.000-07:00

My only sister getting married was a pretty big deal and I was nearly as excited as I was on my wedding day for her! Everything had turned out perfectly, the dresses fit, the jewelry was a hit, all the family was happy and healthy and here, and it was a beautiful sunny summer Michigan day! We arrived at Headliners in the morning for our hair up-dos and wedding make-up. It was so great to hang out with my cousins and sisters friends for the experience, I don’t see my cousins very much, but we always seem to pick up where we left off and have a great time together. I can say that about lots of my cousins actually on both sides of my family; the Raineys and Mahers are definitely a great family to be a part of.

We all got beautified at the salon, watching and commenting on everyone’s up-dos while eating breakfast and drinking coffee. After the salon we drove to the church to get ready, I was excited and antsy waiting for the festivities to start, fortunately my cousin Amanda had the foresight to order a pizza delivery to the church so we were able to get a bite to eat.

My sister had asked all of the girls to wear navy blue shoes of their choosing for the wedding, and being a nature girl myself, I chose a simple wedge with medium sized heel so that I could walk and dance easily; however all of the other gals chose heels that were crazy tall and I looked tiny compared to everyone else. I tried on Leah’s shoes and it was pretty comical watching me walk in those heels, but the other gals rocked theirs.

The wedding started out to be a tear-fest but somehow lightened up and we all enjoyed the ceremony without too many tears. For me, this was due to the 4 year old flower girl and Cody’s cousin Almy who sat next to me. She chose me as her new “BFF” (best friend forever) and continued to crack me up with her nonstop fidgeting and talking during the ceremony. The comic relief allowed me to enjoy the ceremony rather than fighting the tears while trying not to cry 

After the ceremony the bride and groom rented a stretch hummer limo for the large bridal party stocked with beer and champagne for the 3 hour time difference after the wedding before the reception for photos. I had insisted Laura and Cody spend a good amount of money on a photographer they really liked so they could enjoy their wedding photos forever. After our wedding photo experience, I wanted her to learn from my mistakes. Their photographer Vince was incredibly nice and had a great eye for urban shots; I cannot wait to see how they turned out!

Once we got to the reception the realization that I had to give my maid of honor speech hit and I got really nervous, but after talking to Justin, the best man, and finding out that he was even more nervous than me, I calmed down and knew it would be O.K. Both Justin and I promised each other loud laughter during our speeches and wished each other luck as I went first. The speech came easily to me and I enjoyed sharing it with the families; Justin’s was even better and received a lot of laughter from the family and a little embarrassment from Cody, as it should be.

After dinner the real party began as the DJ started playing music and I tried to spend time with family even though I could have spent the entire evening on the dance floor. My favorite piece of the night was talking with my cousins who I rarely see, and dancing with my grandparents including with my grandpa to Cotton Eye Joe, a fast bluegrass song.

It seemed the evening ended all too soon, and we waited impatiently with a group of cousins and friends for a cab to the Hunt Club for a nightcap and some deers ears (potato skins). Unfortunately the kitchen was closed and I insisted Josh call a cab so that we could drive through Burger King for some grub to soak up all the beer I drank all night. Fortunately the cab came quickly and we drove through the drive through before being deposited at the Country Inn for the evening. I hear the party at the hunt club continued till 2pm, then on into the evening for the true partiers. I, however, was ready for bed. What a great night, I wish I could make it back for the next big family wedding in August.

My parents had planned a family party for the 4th of July the next day to enjoy the out of town visitors for another day. This was a great idea and we were able to visit with family in a relaxed setting. I had a great time talking to my cousin Jim and uncle Rob, who I didn’t get to talk with as much as I would have liked the day before. We enjoyed kayaking in the lake, and then taking the boat out onto the lake for fireworks with the newly married couple to watch their first 4th of July fireworks.

After many tearful goodbyes we packed up our suitcases for the next leg of our trip with Josh’s family and to start our weeklong camping trip across the country.

Wedding Preparation and summer fun!

2010-07-13T06:50:00.000-07:00

I have only one sibling, my sister Laura, who is seven years younger than me and living so far away in Colorado I felt out of the loop in helping my family to prepare for the festivities. I was eager to get to my parents to help out, and even more eager to figure out what we were going to do about dress disaster I was experiencing with my maid of honor dress. It didn’t quite fit in the, *ahem* top area, and was much too low cut for the wedding in a Catholic Church.

We arrived at my parents house early that morning and were greeted with hugs and then a ‘to do’ list for Josh while the ladies went into town to the seamstress and to run errands. Fortunately, after an unspeakable amount to the crazy seamstress on the fly in Jackson, we were able to get the dress finished and much more appropriate for the nuptials.

When we finally made it home, we were able to begin celebrating my father’s birthday with some beers and a boat ride. Josh and I put our bathing suits on for the boat ride and dove off the boat into the deep and warm lake water for a quick swim. This is a luxury I grew up with and do not have in Colorado, so I enjoy the swimming every chance I get! After the boat ride we went out to dinner at my absolute favorite restaurant The Beach Bar in Brooklyn Michigan. The dinner celebration turned into a big party when my sister’s fiancee and his out of town guests joined us for dinner and drinks. My dad had a great birthday, he turned “30” which he exclaimed several times as we cheered “happy birthday.”

It has been years since I have been home for his birthday or anyone’s for that matter, and it was so much fun to join in the celebration. He fell asleep shortly after we got home, and I snapped a few shots of the birthday boy; I particularly like the cases of beer behind him :)

Friday was the day I was looking forward to most, getting a manicure and pedicure before the wedding, I rarely treat myself to such a luxury, but the wedding was special, and I was even more thankful when my sister treated me as a wedding gift. Some of the other bridesmaids joined us at the mall for a quick mani-pedi before going home to change and then drive back into town for the rehearsal.

The rehearsal at the church was a lot of fun and I loved seeing my sister and Cody so excited about their wedding day. I was very nervous for everyone in their family to be in attendance for the nuptials because just before my wedding day, my grandmother broke her back and my grandparents missed my wedding. This is something which still brings me to tears when I think about it, and I found out the news at my rehearsal dinner, which is clouded in my memory with the sadness of my most treasured family not in attendance. Cody’s brother, Kevin and his wife live in Kentucky, she was not able to come due to being 9 months pregnant, but Kevin nearly missed the day because of some complications, fortunately, he drove in for the rehearsal dinner and made it just in time for the wedding!

After the rehearsal my mother created a slide show of my sister and Cody, photos from young through old for both of them and it brought me to tears. I am turning into a sap in my ‘old age.’ Then the bride and groom gave their wedding gifts to the bridal party, which included 6 necklaces made by me for all of the girls including myself. My sister had asked me to do this and I was honored to be asked; everyone loved the jewelry even more than I had hoped and I was sooo pleased with all of the compliments that they and I received. The jewelry even lead to several necklace sales while I was home to family and friends, and I can thank my sister for that.

Because the wedding was at 1pm the next morning, and our hair and makeup appointments began at 9am, we left the party around 10:30 to catch some shut eye before the big wedding day!

Road Trip to Michigan for my sister's wedding, Part 1

2010-07-13T06:39:00.000-07:00

Since my sister and my new brother in law picked their wedding date last fall, we have been planning a road trip back to Michigan for the wedding. Both our families live in Michigan, just a half an hour from each other, so when we visit home, we see both families, which is convenient but busy! I was excited to come home during the summer for a family gathering because not only were we able to see all of our family because of the wedding, but we were visiting Michigan during the summertime, which means swimming, kayaking, boat rides and fireworks over the water! It has been a few years since we were back in Michigan during the summer season, as we tend to only go home once per year at Christmas time, and we were both excited for the trip.
The one thing we were not excited for was the drive; it’s 1,190 miles from Golden to Hillsdale, Michigan and we have never done the drive without stopping to sleep during the middle of the night, it usually takes us 20+ hours. This trip took us 23 long hours, including several stops for road construction through Nebraska and Iowa and traffic in Chicago, we slept in a few rest stops along the way which added several hours to the drive.
It was nice to drive through Iowa, with the green rolling hills and lush river valleys, one of my favorite things about Iowa are the large windmills used for generating power. There are more and more each drive, though not as many compared to Minnesota we found out, on our scenic road trip home from Michigan.

We arrived at Josh’s mother’s house in Hillsdale Michigan at 6:30pm Wednesday night June 30th. The family was very excited to see us, Josh’s oldest brother Phil and his family were also visiting from California. We were able to spend the evening hanging with their family before getting some rest and then heading to my parents in the morning for wedding preparation!

The Farmers Market Opening for Hip-Threads, and finding balance

2010-06-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was the opening of Hip-Threads at the Highlands Farmers Market in Denver. I was pretty nervous and have spent countless hours working toward getting my items finished and booth ready to display in the months before the market. In fact, I have spent so much time on the farmers market that I have neglected some other things, like keeping my website updated, blogging, and hiking. Which has really forced me to think about finding balance with such a busy lifestyle. How do you keep up with work + all the aspects of a business, plus blogging, hiking, cooking, cleaning, gardening...there just isn't enough time in the day! I would love to hear some of your ideas and suggestions?!

As for the market, Hip-Threads did pretty well, not as great as I had hoped, but certainly not bad either. I did get asked about children's clothing, which I did not have much of; so I hope to find some time to make some skirts and pants before the next market. Now that the market is over for the month, I am working on all the things that I let slide, and getting prepared for our two week trip back to Michigan next week. My sister is getting married and we leave to go home next week! Below are some photos of my display; I'd love to hear any comments or suggestions on how I can improve my booth!

My weekly thrift store finds

2010-06-13T21:35:00.000-07:00

The Denver Farmers Market starts next weekend and I have been in need of supplies to display my items. This week, while looking for a display for my earrings, I found a huge bag of great vintage fabrics for just $2.99.

Many of the fabrics are really unique and like none I have ever seen before; there is a blue fabric with mermaids; several vintage black and white fabrics with people playing on them; lots of cotton fabrics in shades of red, which I need, and several yards of a vintage fruit and patchwork fabric shown in photo below. This is quite a good find, and I have already used several of the fabrics in my wall hangings. I did find an earring display; a bamboo tray (in photo above) that Josh added twisting back legs to it, so I can put the earrings on either the front or back of the tray. I just need a couple more things to make the table 3D and a little more unique.

Next Saturday is the market and I still have so many things to do, I am starting to wonder if I will get everything done in time. And worry if it will all be worth all the hard work. I sure hope so! I can only think of the last market I sold at, several years ago which turned into a huge disaster. But I am trying to think good thoughts and maybe the best will happen! This weekend it rained the entire weekend, so hopefully next weekend it will be nice and people will be ready to get outside and shop after a weekend inside. :)

How does your garden grow?

2010-06-04T17:07:00.000-07:00

This year I had high hopes of having a huge garden, bigger than all other years, because I am not working at a full time office job anymore, I thought I might have more time to tend to it. Boy was I wrong! We barely got two raised beds in and planted in time, and already my peas are looking hot and wilty, a product of the hot sun in Colorado and late planting. Other than my peas, the rest of my garden looks pretty good, I can already harvest salad and radishes are starting to come up! My spinach is not doing good, however, I am not sure what's wrong with it, but this is my first year planting spinach, so I wasn't sure what to expect.

In my second planter, I planted things that needed to grow after all danger of frost or snow, and as we know here in Colorado, snow can come in June. I planted these about 2 weekends ago and the onion bulbs are coming up, so are some green beans and one squash plant. I hope the raised beds help me contain the weeds a little better.
Unfortunately, when I went to check the plants today, I noticed the lettuce and radish are already being eaten by some bug! I never know what is doing this because I never see them, this is the earliest in the season we have had bugs and I am not too happy about it. I see some little flies around the plants and also teeny white wormy things in the soil, but I am not sure what either of these are.

Here is a photo of the leaves, if you have any suggestions.

I am going to go pick some lettuce and try some of the bug killer around the outside of the garden, hopefully that will get rid of some of the bugs without putting pesticide in our vegetables. But I guess it probably gets into the water and soil. *sigh* Isn't there a better way? The soapy water never works for me.
Hopefully your garden pests are staying away this summer season!

My second planter box in the photo below, I just planted about 2 weekends ago. The green beans are just sprouting out of the ground, as are the onions and squash. None of my chives or green onion came up, thus continuing my bad luck with herbs. I am going to try to replant something in those rows after camping this weekend and hopefully I can harvest something there before the summer ends.

Share the love, Spread the word

2010-05-29T08:33:00.000-07:00

Since quitting back in February, I have been meaning to send out an email to family, family and literally everyone I know, announcing my new business venture. The idea was brought to my attention in an article I read a while back about starting your own business.

I wanted to paste that email here and maybe this will help promote Hip-Threads just a little more.

Good Morning friends, family, acquaintances, co-workers, and maybe some of you I barely know.

(Thanks to the magic of g-mail which keeps every single email address that you have ever emailed in your life)

You are receiving this email because I would like to announce that I have taken my home sewing/designing business, Hip-Threads.com, full time this past winter. After a lot of thought, and 6 years of doing Hip-Threads.com on the side, I decided to believe in myself and try to make this part time hobby a full time business!

Just as I was about to quit full time work, an opportunity presented itself for me to contract part time (16 hours for 6 months) for the Colorado Central Cancer Registry. This work I do mostly from home and it's been a great learning experience and stepping stone down from full time work. I hope to be able to continue contracting part time after my current job expires.

This past winter and spring have been *so* much fun for me; I spend my days sewing, hiking, writing and working at my leisure. This has been one of the best decisions Josh and I have ever made; and I finally feel like I am doing what I was meant to do in life!

The intent of this email is to share some information about where I will be vending this summer; to give you information about Hip-threads and my business, and how you can help my business grow if you'd like.

This summer I am very excited about vending at one of the Denver Farmers Markets. It will be the market on the 1500 Block of Boulder ST in Denver. This is near the Platte River; and most notably (to me) the huge REI store near I-25. The market is on Saturday from 9am-1pm and Hip-Threads will be vending once per month; the dates are:

June 19th

July 17th -

August 14th -

September 11th -

October 2nd

You can find these dates on my website's home page, just scroll down; http://hip-threads.com/

I am trying to spread the word about my booth in hopes to get a big turnout, so please spread the word about the market to anyone you know who is in the Denver area, or might be traveling here this summer. In my booth you will find handmade skirts, summer sundresses, tank tops, bags, children's clothing, as well as handmade quilted wall hangings with a Colorado theme (great gifts or souvenirs); gemstone necklaces and earrings; handmade greeting cards, hair accessories including headbands and bobby pins. Nearly every single item is one of a kind, and most are made with organic, eco-friendly or recycled/vintage materials so that you can feel good about what you are buying!

I also sell my items online, for those of you not in the area.

My website is; www.hip-threads.com.

The look of the site will be changing very soon thanks to the help of my friend Jim who has done a lot of work to help design and create a more user friendly website.

You can join my mailing list and you will get emails about two times per month when I have updated my website with new items or sales from my regular business email jenshipthreads@yahoo.com. Go to my website and scroll down to enter your email in the box or you can also just reply back to this email and let me know if you'd like to join my mailing list and I will add you myself.

I also sell lots of items in my etsy shop; which is very simple and easy to use if you haven't tried before. Etsy is a website that sells only handmade items.

Here is my etsy shop: http://jenshipthreads.etsy.com

In this age of new technology comes new ways to market your business; one website that has done a lot for me is facebook. If you are on facebook, please "fan" or "like" my page. http://www.facebook.com/handmadehipthreads

To do this; go to the link above and if you are not a fan yet, you should see a gray "like" button at the top of the page; click it.

You can also share Hip-Threads with other facebook friends. To do this; go to my page and under my photograph there is a link that says "suggest to friends" click this and all of your friends will pop up in a box. You can suggest my page to all of your friends and they will get an email with a link to check out my site. I'd really like to hit 500 fans by the end of the summertime; I have 316 fans today.

One last thing that I could really use on facebook is "fan photos." If you own a Hip-Threads item, whether it's clothing, jewelry, or whatever; take a photo of yourself in the item and upload it to my facebook page. To do this, to go my facebook page, scroll down and on the left side there is a box under my photo albums that says "Fan Photos". You can upload a pic of yourself in your Hip-threads item there; I have none as of right now...who will be the first?

In my "spare" time, I have been writing about hiking and camping in Colorado on my blog; Trail and Park Reviews. The writing has taken the backburner while I sew frantically to stock a booth for the farmers market, along with purchasing everything needed to display my items, but I hope to write more consistently after the first market is over with. This site is great if you are looking for a place to hike or camp or even just a park to play in, around Colorado. http://trailparkreviews.blogspot.com/

Maybe you know someone who might be interested in hiking, or who is visiting the area, please send along the above link!

Additionally, I write about our life in general in my HipThreads blog. http://hipthreads.blogspot.com/

I have been writing in this blog since 2007 and recently transferred it over to a new host. The posts go really far back starting with our 2007California trip. When my new website is open, the posts will also be on the blog section of my homepage.

You can follow either of those blogs by clicking the gray "follow" button on the right side of the page.

As a big thanks to all of you who read this far; please accept 15% OFF your first entire purchase at Hip-Threads in 2010! This can be used either on my website or in my etsy shop or at my Farmers Market Booth. If you would like to use it online; please email me with what items you'd like to purchase and mention "welcome email" and I will discount your purchase. Or if you would like to use it at the farmers market, please just mention the "welcome email discount" and I will give you 15% off!

Again, please share this email or any of my websites with anyone who you think might be interested. I'd greatly appreciate it!

Here are a list of links again:

Websites

http://hip-threads.com (you will find farmers market dates here)

http://jenshipthreads.etsy.com (easy way to purchase hip-threads items)

Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/handmadehipthreads (please "like" me and suggest to friends, upload your hip-threads photos)

Blogs

http://hipthreads.blogspot.com/ (our crazy life in Colorado blog)

http://trailparkreviews.blogspot.com/ (hiking/camping in Colorado blog)

Thanks so much for your support,

Jennifer Mason (Rainey)

It's been too long!

2010-05-27T21:29:00.000-07:00

The spring just flew by and farmers market season is nearly upon us! Eep! I am *not* ready! Despite the countless hours of sewing, beading, cardmaking, etc...I still am not done creating items nor have I bought everything needed to display my items. (clothing rack, tables, hangers) This is causing me to stress out just a little bit :) I really need a helper, and have asked some friends for assistance; last week I made cards with the girls and next week I am making necklaces with Heather.
Next week I really need to gather everything together and set up a display, see what I have and need. Hopefully this will help me feel more organized! I am also hoping to have a new website published before the farmers market; my friend Jim is making it for me. I am really grateful for his help, and I really hope it gets done before the market starts.
However, in all of my stress, I am still a lot happier doing what I love each day rather than going into an office. I still get a little excited and giddy when Sunday night comes; and I think, "I don't have to fret about Monday, because I don't have to go to work tomorrow." It's a great feeling.
This weekend I had been hoping to go camping and get away from all the stress and work for a few days. Unfortunately, Josh has come down with a really, really nasty cold and it's not looking promising to leave tomorrow like we had planned. Maybe we can shoot for Saturday morning.
Happy Memorial Weekend and Summer Solstice!

Ideas and inspiration. Where does it come from?

2010-05-14T07:40:00.000-07:00

I have mentioned many times in this blog that I have some incredible girlfriends that I am very grateful for and those ladies come up with great ideas for my business. They are my "idea fairies." Often, I will come to our weekly girls night with an idea or a vague thought about something to make and they will run with it, coming up with a brilliant idea for me to create! This year I have been trying to come up with some new ideas for the farmers market booth, but I wasn't coming up with anything that I really liked.

I have been so busy this spring getting ready for the market; sewing skirts, bags, making jewelry and cards and other small items for the booth. But I still needed something else, something for the home, maybe? I decided to email my mom and my sister, two other creative ladies in my life, and see what they thought about all I had done to prepare for the market. Maybe they would have a suggestion or idea, or notice something I had missed? A few days later I received an email back from my mother; who reminded me of the wall hanging I had made for them, my grandparents and my mother in law for Christmas in 2008.
Everyone loved the wall hangings and she thought I should make more.
About a week later, my sister finally emailed back; she made some suggestions, then near the end of the email she says the wall hangings are a good idea; "maybe you should make wall hangings of Colorado landmarks?" (light bulb goes on over head *right now*!) Why hadn't I thought of that? What a great idea! Colorado landmarks for the Denver farmers market! Yes, perfect! This week, I have excitedly stitched up three wall hangings with the Colorado Continental Divide image on it; which is also the picture on the CO license plate. Next, I will cut out some with the Denver skyline both looking east and west with the mountains behind it. The wall hangings don't take me very long to make, except for one detail that nearly doubles the time on each wall hanging, the binding! Why isn't there a better way to bind a quilt, besides hand stitching it, lol? I hope to have at least 10 of them done before the market; hopefully they will be a big seller because I really enjoy making them!

Thanks so much to those idea fairies who help me to be creative, I couldn't do it without you!

At the beach, bachette weekend in Ft Lauderdale

2010-05-07T08:59:00.000-07:00

/I was really excited to bring our new netbook on vacation; I wanted to blog from the beach and share my adventures along the way. Unfortunately, The Hilton Hotel we are staying at charges $15 per day for their internet; so I have been browsing for unsecured wireless all morning, but finally found one that stays connected; thank you hotel next door!
It has been years since I have been to Florida; Josh and I came here back in 2002 to visit my grandparents and go to Disney World and then we moved to Colorado and haven,t been back since. It's great to be here again!
This morning we have been laying around the pool, reading, getting sun, swimming, and blogging...what a life! It makes me want to move from the mountains to the beach; from hiking boots to a bathing suit. But I think I would miss my hiking trails too much and I don't know if you can hike much through the Everglades. I think its about time to take a walk down the beach now....fun in the sun!

Hip-Threads is an official, on the books, business!!

2010-04-30T19:23:00.000-07:00

Hip-Threads is finally an official business! Yippie! This is a big week for me :) Because I am still doing contract work for two facilities, I had decided not to register Hip-Threads this year; but then found out I needed to do so for the farmers market I am participating in this summer. I reluctantly got all the paperwork around, it was very confusing and even though I could mail it in, Josh had insisted that I bring in in person. It was a good thing too, we had made some mistakes on the form. But after just a few hours of running to the state, then city of Denver buildings, I got it all done! Now I am waiting on my quote for liability insurance (for the market as well), hopefully it won't be too much money.

With the farmers market rapidly approaching, and my not knowing for sure what to sell, I have been sewing like mad to make lots of skirts. I need to spend some time on smaller items and hope to do that this weekend; I will probably spend one whole day working on making handmade greeting cards like these -->. Check out my etsy shop if you would like to purchase any at a great price!

And a huge, big, gi-nor-mous, thank you to my friend Jim who designed my new banner, website and business cards! Perfect for Hip-Threads; handmade for an outdoor lifestyle!