Of The Fountain

The World Is Yours

2013-01-01T00:30:00.000-05:00

And to that, a fantastic New Year awaits!

Glitter Presents for Everyone!

2012-12-21T21:50:00.001-05:00

I think I went a little nuts with the Christmas glitter picks from Michaels. Every package I wrapped got one. They were 70% off and I just couldn't resist! So much glitter. It's not Christmastime unless you are covered in obnoxious specs of glitter. ;) Also, I don't know how to make a multi-looped bow that doesn't look floppy and sad.

Happy Holidays! ><

My Daily Companion

2012-12-19T22:59:00.000-05:00

This winter has been hard on Catty. In the summer he was free to roam up in our sweltering attic, and he could also go out into our sunroom and smell the fresh air through the screened window. Now that it's super cold outside, I have to keep the doors to these two areas closed. This makes the cat more bored than usual and in turn, he requires more attention and becomes more...needy.

I bought him a heated cat bed to keep him warm during his daily sleeps during the winter. I feel he has a love/hate relationship with this bed, as he is either happily sleeping in it, or gnawing on it and tossing it about the room...

Thinking he now despised his heated cat bed, I brought down his other cat beds from the attic for him

to use.

He rotated between a few of the beds before returning to the heated bed - except for taking it out of his cat house.

His final bed is our bed.

He shows up to our bed at the same time every night, right on schedule. He has a little routine:

-Hop around on top of the bed covers while I read before bed

-Jump on top of the chest of drawers and leer at us until we turn off the lights

-Leap onto the bed from the chest of drawers (preferably landing on someone's guts)

-Meow in my face loudly while scratching at the covers

-I lift up the covers for him to get under, he runs away

-Right as sleep is upon me, he returns, meows in my face, I lift up the covers

-He climbs under the covers, meowing the entire way

-Purrs loudly, then begins to snore.

[repeat 2-6 times a night, every night]

He also seems to be whinier than usual...

Why we have a mattress/boxsprings in our dining room, the short version: Got new mattress, wanted to store old mattress but old mattress didn't fit through the doorway to our attic or basement. Didn't know where to put old mattress. Left it in dining room and now too lazy to move it to the garage or take it to Goodwill.

For the first time ever, Rasputin will be boarded during Christmastime. This will also be the first time we've made the 1200 mile journey home to Georgia to celebrate the holidays without the cat. I'm excited, because this eliminates a lot of hassel we encounter during this yearly trip (sneaking him into hotels, trying to coordinate getting food, etc.) but I am still worried about Catty being happy while we are away.

Unkempt with a Side of Snow

2012-12-08T21:44:00.000-05:00

Wow.

To say that I've been busy lately would be almost laughable. I've been crazy occupied the last month! That's what you get when you combine working in retail + holiday shopping time, so I'm not necessarily surprised. This is my fourth holiday season as an Etsy seller, and each year is just as awesome as the last.

However, I'm now burned out.

With the F*CKING HOBBIT coming out next week, this quote from Bilbo Baggins comes to mind and resonates with how I currently feel:

"I am old Gandalf. I know I don’t look it, but I’m beginning to feel it in my heart. I feel thin, sort of stretched like butter scraped over too much bread. I need a holiday, a very long holiday. And I don’t expect that I shall return. In fact, I mean not to."

While I shall return (aka: reopen my shop after the holidays), I will definitely be limiting my work load. I think I'll be taking about 20% the amount of orders that I'd regularly take. I need to decompress after the fullness of the past few months. There are some plans I've had for the shop that I have put off for years, [years!], simply because I really haven't had a nice chunk of time to work on anything new. (Also, I need to get some of my guts tinkered with in January, and will probably need a little time to recover from that).

While I finish up the last batch of holiday orders from 2012, I'll leave you with some photos of my past few months:

Light snow in October.

Catty being terrible.

Myself with Brother and Mim, stocking up on crap for Hurricane Sandy, even though we were only subject to windiness. >< (A stranger volunteered to take our picture, lols. We are from Georgia after all!)

December 1 Snow

On my way back from the Post Office (I walk most days).

My new phone case, engraved with a photo of my late grandmother. ♥

Leather dye disaster.

Catty Bear/Poops MaGoops/Rasputin in his winter den.

Husband guy carrying a mannequin home on the train - at my request.

Our Thanksgiving meat. Our oven doesn't maintain a constant temperature, so I didn't want Husband Guy to have to deal with cooking a turkey in an unreliable oven (I was working most of the day and couldn't help him. He's such a dream boat!)

So...my plans for the shop for next year are a little up in the air. I admit, it will be nice to have more time to tend to the house: to have a clean house and clean clothes and clean dishes and a clean catty. I'll see how it goes from there.

Junebug Weddings Giveaway

2012-11-14T05:00:00.000-05:00

While I'm not taking custom orders through the shop for the rest of year, there is one way to get a set of customs tags - and for FREE!

Junebug Weddings is holding an amazing giveaway full of fabulous "honeymoon & travel treats!!" Please check out the giveaway here. The winner will receive 2 custom leather tags stamped however you'd like (along with a ton of other neat products!*).

-Custom thank you cards from Wedding Paper Divas

-Premium photobook from Shutterfly

-Maxi dress and robe from Plum Pretty Sugar

-Perry tote from Sosie

The giveaway ends on November 26th, so mosey on over and enter to win! :)

The Most Unoriginal Coupon Code Name Ever

2012-11-12T04:00:00.000-05:00

Today is the last day to place orders for 2012 (and thus, the upcoming holidays), so here is my evil catty-bear with a small gift:

Yep, enter FREESHIPPING during checkout at the shop to receive, you guessed it!, FREE SHIPPING off your entire order, no minimum purchase required. I'll be closing the shop after today, November 12th, to work on holiday orders, but will this coupon code expire and be invalid when the shop reopens in January 2013?...

....probably not, as I get quite excited when I notice that someone has used a coupon code! Like, I put that coupon code out there, and someone took it. I shared something with someone...kind of. There was an exchange of information going on! ::Amazed::

Perhaps I'm over thinking coupon codes...

It's That Time Again! (+ Some Inspiration)

2012-11-05T22:19:00.003-05:00

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, that means the next lil' bugger of a holiday is quickly approaching as well! Perhaps most people don't see those holidays as being that close, but retailers like myself are all too aware that the holidays will be here before we know it (and thus, we gotta produce!).

A week remains to place orders for the holidays and the rest of 2012 for custom leather tags and keychains. I'll be closing the ye olde shoppe on November 12th (well, November 13th at 12:01 am) and will reopen in early January 2013.

While I can't guarantee that orders placed today through November 12th that will be traveling outside the US will arrive by Xmas, US orders placed by November 12th will arrive by December 24th.

If one might be looking for some inspiration, below are a few recent favorites:

Wee sentiments.

Celebrate a journey of a lifetime.

Don't let them forget that special place!

A large keychain spells out the essentials.

A tiny message in the corner speaks volumes. <3 p="p">

And for each, a quote!

MR AND MRS

2012-10-19T05:00:00.000-04:00

It appears a new trend has developed in recent orders I've received for luggage tags. Featuring MR and MRS on the tags seems to be the new 'thing to do' and I love it! It adds a little bit more formality to the travel experience, which I think is lacking these days.

Sadly, I have yet to receive an order for some MR and MR [or] MRS and MRS tags. :( Maybe one day!

Halloween Masques

2012-10-16T12:19:00.000-04:00

In two weeks my lovely Mother and Brother are making the trip up from Georgia to visit me in Massachusetts. I am beyond ecstatic. While Mother has visited once before, Brother has never been to visit me since I moved to MA over 2 years ago. I am excited to share my adorable town with him, and let him see how different New England can be when compared to the South.

These folks are visiting me during the week of Halloween, so I'd like to make sure they have a fun time (and thus encourage them to return!). Whilst wandering through Target the other day, I found some things that I felt would drastically enhance this upcoming visit. Looking back, this logic was probably nonsensical, but at the time, it seemed quite important to my cause. Cue the fabulous Halloween masks!

Holy crap! I saw these masks and just HAD TO HAVE THEM! They are so fun! And they were cheap as hell, too. $12 each for the two large masks*, and just $8 for the smaller white mask. And they have so much detail! I see us donning these lovelies with a fancy Halloween drink in hand while taking part in happy conversation and giving out candy to trick-or-treaters. :)

*Update: NOW ON CLEARANCE FOR $7!

I tried to pick out masks that would work for either Mother or Brother or me. I personally love this silver beaked mask! There are two pieces of elastic in the back that are joined with velcro - so the fit can be custom to each individual's head.

I was thinking of Brother when I picked out this gilded mask. While it does have rhinestones and lace, I feel the shape is so masculine that it could work well for him.

I thought Mother might like this dainty mask. I still cannot get over the detail for only 8 bucks!

Husband Guy ~~refused~~ didn't want to pick out a mask to wear for the Halloween festivities as he wears glasses and didn't feel like having to deal with glasses + mask. However, he did kindly, briefly model a mask for me while he was also cloaked with a white Sphynx scarf (it's heated!). <#<#<#

I hope to get some fun photos of us in the masks. I guess I should be wearing some type of costume as well... Pretty much the only thing I have that is not 'normal clothes' is my Old Reliable Dress - but I won't complain about having to wear it! I like to bring it everywhere, just in the off chance I'll get the opportunity to put it on.

Yay! I'm so exited.

Apparently, Ask & You Shall Receive!

2012-10-13T13:00:00.000-04:00

A month ago the conversation above transpired. After it was over, I didn't really think much of what was said (except for the bit about buying whole coffee beans - I am STILL annoyed about that...). Then, about a week or so later, this face was looking up at me from our mailbox.

Oh mah gawd! I know that face! It is the face of an Etsy Queen! But why are they sending me mail!? This is odd...and yet so welcome.

And then I opened it. Oh yeah! I told Husband Guy I wanted this. What a surprise! (For reals though. Even though I did ask for exactly this item, Husband Guy has practically never just bought me something when I requested it out of the blue.)

I LOVE this quote. Before I met Husband Guy, I was kind of a Jane Austen junkie. I would read this beautifully romantic stuff in her books, just so I could mope around and be depressed about it later - "real guys aren't like that! What bullcrap..." And then I met Husband Guy, and I found that there are guys out there that are even better than Mr. Darcy!*

*I hope Janites out there don't think this is sacrilegious. :)

Working from home = I can't fathom the idea of wearing make up (or spending money on make up). Sorry Husband! ><

Yay! Since receiving this lovely scarf, I have worn it every time it's been nippy out - which has been quite often here in Massachusetts. Plus, it is nice to be able to wear something out that reminds me of Husband - besides my wedding rings of course. ;)

A Wee Bit of Travel Inspiration

2012-10-05T16:49:00.004-04:00

Find it.

Get Organized with Custom Tags

2012-10-01T05:00:00.000-04:00

Most of the tags I make end up on luggage, so it is always neat when I get to make tags that are intended for other uses. I recently made a handful of tags that I assume were intended to label storage containers.

I usually don't know the story behind what I am making for customers, so I have fun imagining how certain tags or key chains will end up being used. :) I imagine the set above was used to adorn lovely wicker baskets in a storage closet.

Wicker storage container from Lowes.

I don't have any storage baskets of my own that I can "tag", but I recently bought a few of these guys, and have yet to add a label in the metal holders on the front. I am now super inspired to make some custom leather strips to add in the little holders to assist in my own quest to get organized. Eeeee! ><

No Regrets...Well, Just One.

2012-09-28T08:00:00.000-04:00

I try to be the kind of person that lives without regret. I wouldn't take back anything that I've done or said or experienced, as that has made me who I am today. Except for one thing. If I could go back in time, there is one event that I experienced that I would drastically change.

Circa 2000:

I am at the orthodontist. My braces are finally off after 3 years of torture, however I now have to wear a "mouth guard." Like the plastic mouth guard athletes wear, this contraption has been molded to my teeth, except slightly adjusted so as to train my teeth to get just a wee bit straighter. So, when I bite into it (as I am told that I will have to do every second that I am awake (and not during school) for the next few months) my teeth slide into the new positions in the mouth guard and are straightened.

Anyway, this mouth guard is clear, yet huge and bulky and I can barely close my lips over the damned thing. As I am sitting in the orthodontists chair, being told how often I have to wear this hideous thing, I am asked if I wouldn't mind showing it to another patient. You see, this other patient would have to be wearing the same mouth guard thing in a few weeks, so my orthodontist wanted to prepare her. Upon being asked this, I reply that I don't mind, and the girl is brought over. I stick the plastic mouth guard in my mouth, as instructed by my orthodontist, and then smile so this girl can see what's going on in my mouth.

Then, this c*nty girl busts into a laughing fit. Being a self conscience, gawky, 13-year-old girl, I am mortified and start to cry. Seeing how upset I am, this douchey blonde, cheerleader-type girl quickly comes up with some stupid excuse about how the mouth guard reminds her of her stupid friends and that it really isn't that bad.

I leave the room to compose myself. This is the moment. This is the moment that I will regret for the rest of my life. If I could relive the next five minutes and have a "do-over" I would pick that opportunity over winning a million dollars.

I should never of left the room. Here's how it should have gone down:

::Girl laughs at me::

After slapping the shit out of that terrible girl, I call her horrible names and tell her what a worthless human being she is. Upon departing the office, I locate her guardian and tell them what a worthless human being she is. I probably spit on the girl, too, at some point...

That. Would. Have. Been. Awesome.

But alas, that didn't happen. I left the office dejected and shamed.

So there you have it, the one thing in my life that I wish I would have done differently. I know it isn't much, but every once in a while, I relive that moment, and it haunts me.

Blah.

Bitches, man.

Impulse Buys of the Week

2012-09-27T19:47:00.002-04:00

I recently discovered a local organic/natural grocery store on my way to the post office. I tend to do my worst impulse shopping at these kind of stores, as I feel I can justify the expense of it easier - I'm buying healthy food. At least it's not cookies and crap...

I had no business being in this store. I had just done my regular grocery shopping, so we didn't need any of this stuff at home. I have a weakness for new foods.

These 4 items cost me about $22, which I feel is a little ridiculous. I *love* goat milk, so hence the splurge on that. I love trying new bread, but I wasn't a fan of this bread (which is sad, as Husband's name is Matt). Turns out, I hate anything 'breakfast blend', so I won't be buying this coffee again. The pineapple chips are quite tasty, but sadly, the cost does not warrant them being a staple in our household.

On an unrelated note:
The second trailer for The Hobbit recently came out! I think I prefer the first trailer, with its more serious tone.

The Littlest Smile

2012-09-21T05:00:00.000-04:00

I thought this stamped smiley face guy turned out so cute! Initially, I was a little worried the text symbols (c: wouldn't translate that well onto leather, but I was pleasantly surprised! I think a little smiley face like this could look just darling hidden away in a corner on a set of tags, like it was peeking at you. ::boop::

Hanging Out Outside With Catty

2012-09-20T12:32:00.000-04:00

Map Coordinates For Us

2012-09-18T05:00:00.000-04:00

Sharing the memory of a special location...

...with initials...

...with each their own tag...

...or with names together. <3 p="p">

A little tidbit of info from Grammarist:

"In American English, the inflected forms of travel take one l—so, traveled, traveling,traveler, etc. In varieties of English from outside the U.S., these forms take two l’s—travelled, travelling, traveller, etc."

Some trivia for the day! :)

My Own Hydrangeas

2012-09-15T22:44:00.001-04:00

Over a year ago I was lamenting apartment living and my lack of exposure to the plant world. I would buy flowers at the grocery store to help me "connect" with nature. However, after a while I couldn't justify the expense of buying flowers (I'd rather spend the money on organic groceries and fancy booze, ha ha!) and soon became quite flower-deprived.

Luckily, our new place has a few flowers on its microscopic lot. It just so happens that all of the 'few flowers' are living on one plant - a hearty hydrangea bush in our front yard*.

*By "yard," I am referring to the 2 feet of space separating the front porch from the street. New England is expensive. :(

I am not a gardener. I don't know how flowers work. Pathetic story: Soon after moving into our new house I noticed that over half the blooms on our hydrangea bush were really dark (ugly) purple - to the point that I thought the plant was drying out and I rushed to Lowes to buy a hose so I could water it! Before I could even hook the hose up, my new neighbor kindly informed me that the plant was doing just fine and that this dark purple color was normal for hydrangeas. Even if it is normal, I don't like it. Compared to the bright blue blooms nearby, the dark purple blooms look like dried up, dead blooms (even though they are alive and well!).

Bright blue blooms alongside super dark blooms. [Husband guy LOVES taking pictures of me that feature one eye opened and one eye closed. Thanks!]

I need to figure out what is going on with the soil, so I can attempt to change the color to something a little prettier. Though, if the range is from blue to pink, I wonder where dark purple lies on the spectrum?

Below are my favorite blooms. Seeing that I only took pictures of the pretty blue flowers, and not the dark purple flowers, kind of makes me feel like a jerk. Oh well.

Crazy bloom with blue, pink, and white. IDK.

Tomorrow, I think I'm going to go out and cut some flowers and make a lil' flower arrangement. I am all for free flowers! {Hopefully I don't kill the bush by cutting the flowers off the wrong way...}

Kewl Kwotes

2012-09-10T21:06:00.000-04:00

A little quote collection:

Cold Catty is Cold

2012-09-04T06:00:00.000-04:00

Before we moved out of the apartment, Rasputin developed a new habit of sitting on all the warm spots in the kitchen. He didn't start this until August of our second year in this space. He waited until the apartment was nice and hot to take advantage of the spots that were nice and hot. What a weirdo.

On top of the George Foreman Grill after we grilled some salmon. Sometimes, I think he looks like the weirdest little creature.

Big stretch!

A recently used oven creates a warm stovetop for Pooper to relax on.

An hour later, and he is still enjoying the residual heat.

Now, in the new house, the Catty spends most of his afternoons in our sweltering hot attic. He has a handful of cat beds up there, but he usually prefers to lounge on a cardboard box, with his limbs all flopped out.

So happy! So sweaty.

I have no idea what his plans are for winter...

Petite Tags Now Available In a 4-Pack

2012-08-30T20:41:00.000-04:00

With accessorizing groomsmen gifts in mind, I'd like to present a new item at Of The Fountain: The Petite Tag 4-Pack. This set of 4 custom leather tags is an adorable (and super manly!) way to mark gifts for those involved in a bridal party and beyond. The wee little tags (2" x 1") can be customized to read initials that are unique to each recipient.

Of course, if more or less tags are desired, I can accomodate.

The perfect touch to add to toiletry bags, laptop bags, Kindle cases, golfing bags, or whatever the cool kids are gifting to each other these days. :)

Hoping The Ghosts Take Pity On Me

2012-08-25T02:11:00.000-04:00

This past week my husband was out of town. I was left all alone in the new house for 8 days. I didn't really think this would be a problem. I could get some alone time, I could work on orders, I could continue painting the walls in the house. I had stuff to occupy me.

What I didn't think of when agreeing to this arrangement (Husband Guy did check to make sure it was ok to abandon me for over a week), was how I'd feel about sleeping alone. I can be a semi-paranoid person when I am left alone. My nighttime imaginations can scare the crap out of me. When I was little, I'd wake up from a nightmare and sit up in the bed. I couldn't go back to sleep because I'd scare myself into seeing a line of shadowy ants walking above the baseboard, going around my room. They were everywhere. [And no where.] My point is, that I can work myself into quite a fright.

Since Husband Guy is working out of town, I'm alone in the bed, with the cat joining me periodically throughout the night. He likes to venture into the attic, so I leave the door open so he can roam up there as he pleases. What bothers me most, is that when he is under the covers with me at 3 o'clock in the morning, I hear noises up in the attic.

A room in our super creepy attic.

I get that we now live in an old house, and old homes inherently have creaks. (RIGHT?!) However, it still scurrs me. When I am laying in bed, I can hear noises from all over the house, not just the attic. Eeek.

I hope that 1.) The noises are, at the worst, friendly ghosts (and NOT EFFING PEOPLE HIDING IN MY HOUSE THAT ARE WAITING UNTIL I GO TO SLEEP TO CREEP NEXT TO MY SLEEPING FACE AND KILL ME), and 2.) The ghosts think upon me in a kindly fashion. ie. They see that I want to make the house nice and that I appreciate it and I am all alone and I'm not snooty and I brush my teeth twice a day and I try to be a good person while I'm in the house, etc. Surely, if I have such qualities the ghosts will have to be nice?

I wonder at what age I will be when I am able to not freak myself out.

Off To College Gift - Custom Key Chain

2012-08-20T06:00:00.000-04:00

SCENARIO: Student will soon be starting school. Student will be living somewhere that requires that they have a key to gain entry. Student needs something to attach to key so key doesn't get lost.

SOLUTION: Custom key chain.

Frustration.

2012-08-18T19:25:00.001-04:00

I recently moved into a new house with mah husband. Luckily, there isn't too much work that needs to be done. Mainly just painting. Our bedroom was the room that needed paint the worst. It had a lot of cracks and blemishes on the wall that I needed to spackel, sand, and then paint.

The awesome thing was that I loved the paint color that was already on the walls, AND there was a full gallon of this paint color in the basement. Free paint = Happy Brandy.

When we were moving in, I had all of our bedroom furniture deposited in the spare room, leaving this bedroom empty so I could get to work immediately. I tried to repair the walls as best I could (though I fear the wall above will need to be replaced in the future), taped plastic over the floor, and then taped around the trim. I was ready to start painting with the free, awesome paint that I had in stock!

I retrieved the paint can from the basement, and upon attempting to open it, I ran into a few problems. Problem #1: Since I didn't just buy the paint, I didn't have any paint can openers (or paint stirrers, but I remedied that by using an old ruler). How the hell was I suppose to open this paint can? I first tried using our can opener from the kitchen (It has a metal piece on it that I could wedge in the top of the paint can). That didn't help too much. I then grabbed a butter knife and started hammering it into any cracks I could find in the lid.

Problem #2: Pain. This method eventually got the lid off, but it hurt like a bitch. I repeatedly hit my knuckle, and well, it hurt. But I needed to get this freaking lid off! I didn't want to go buy new paint when I had paint on hand. After 20 minutes of hammering the butter knife around the lid (and numerous hard strikes with the hammer on my knuckle), the lid was off. Well, it didn't come off completely. I was able to pull it mostly off with some pliers, and then the lid stayed attached to the can like a hinge.

Ew, son.

Problem #3: I've finished painting the walls, but I now can't close the lid and store the rest of the paint. I had a little empty container and put a small bit of paint in that to keep for touchups. I guess I'll have to find a way to dispose of the rest of the paint and the can...

This is the knuckle that I often wound when stamping tags, so this type of injury isn't new to me. Poor hand. :(

This is a different wall in the room post-painting. I think it'll do until we decide to change the color. It should help hide the plaster blemishes once we add in furniture, things on the wall, and some nice, fluffy curtains.

Next, to tackle the pink dining room!

Keep On Keepin' On

2012-08-14T22:01:00.002-04:00

Keep on keepin' on.

I love it when people say this to me. The situations where this comment is directed towards me are usually kind of out of no where (random, per chance?), but it always gives me a comforting feeling when I hear it. Perhaps it's because it is instruction that requires minimal effort to accomplish... :)

Anyhoo... I've finally got all the backordered supplies required to fulfill custom tag and keychain orders, so the shop is now open and taking orders! Yay!

In other news, I've moved into a new studio space, which is odd. >< I'm used to everything being in a certain space for the past few years (ie. spread out haphazardly over my entire dining/living room in my old apartment), and now that I've moved, well, things are just different. I have my office in one room, my work station in another room, and my "supply closet" in different room. While it could prove less productive to have all my work areas not in one place, I'm hoping I can make it work. Maybe some ingenuitive storage solutions will enable me to pack everything I need into one room. I see a day-long visit to Ikea in my future. :)