I love to cook and experiment with new flavors in the kitchen- particularly when I get to try my hand at new flavors from another country. However, the flair of their local fare often comes from ingredients that are easier to obtain there than here. I’m hesitant to shell out a lot of money for some unusual foreign ingredient if I don’t know how to use it very well or even if I will like it! Such was the case, as some of you may know, when I tried to make Hot and Sour Soup. If not, let’s just say … Read more

Our trip to Boston was won-der-fulllllllll. I am so looking forward to living there soon, Lord willing! While we were gone we took lots of pictures, naturally, and we also made some travel vlogs while we were driving. I was hoping to post one of those today, but due to technical difficulties with the video, I’m going to have to postpone that one. So instead today, I want to share with you one simple travel tip: go to the library! First off, it can be a good idea to visit the library before you leave and check out some books … Read more

A couple weeks ago for the Hack-a-Week Challenge, I took the idea of a no-assembly-required hack and posted several ideas on that theme. This week is another multiple idea post, but this time all of the ideas revolve around upcycling the same item: a sign stake. You can pick one up at the hardware store for about a dollar, and ram it into the ground, and use the two coils to hold up a sign (as it is intended to be used) … or you can buy two and think outside the box on how to use them! A couple … Read more

I’ve been getting creative business questions from various people, so I decided to make a vlog to answer questions, and hopefully help more people at the same time! Spoiler .. there’s a fun little “fast forwarded” packaging video toward the end. 🙂 Disclaimer: These are my opinions! I’m not in a position to give any kind of actual legal advice, so please understand that these are opinions. Thanks! 🙂 Thanks to Sierra McClain for this week’s questions! Some useful links: Etsy teams: helpful to join a team of experienced sellers in the same field Import/Export Information: the section labelled “Individual … Read more

Time for week 3 of the adventure-a-week challenge! This week’s adventure is a little bit different and at first glance might not seem as obvious as an adventure. However, it did certainly feel like an adventure to my little one! 🙂 And it fits all the rules as outlined in the first post. Specifically, that it must be enjoyable, but doesn’t necessarily have to be entertainment based. I think we do ourselves and our kids a discredit if we think that enjoyment needs to always come in the form of entertainment. The entertainment industry tries to pump that into us, … Read more

I’ve been wanting to give vlogging a try for a while – so here we go, my very first vlog! WooT! It starts with a stop motion intro, and then the rest of the video is a couple announcements I’m very excited to share with you! (If you’re seeing this in a reader/email and the video isn’t showing up, just click here.) (Music: Kevin MacLeod, licenced under Creative Commons) So, thinking of ideas yet? Make sure you leave them in the comments below– as many as you want! In the spirit of fun and thinking of ideas, I’ve made a … Read more

I’ve been wanting to give vlogging a try for a while – so here we go, my very first vlog! WooT! It starts with a stop motion intro, and then the rest of the video is a couple announcements I’m very excited to share with you! (If you’re seeing this in a reader/email and the video isn’t showing up, just click here.) (Music: Kevin MacLeod, licenced under Creative Commons) So, thinking of ideas yet? Make sure you leave them in the comments below– as many as you want! In the spirit of fun and thinking of ideas, I’ve made a … Read more

I’ve been wanting to give vlogging a try for a while – so here we go, my very first vlog! WooT! It starts with a stop motion intro, and then the rest of the video is a couple announcements I’m very excited to share with you! (If you’re seeing this in a reader/email and the video isn’t showing up, just click here.) (Music: Kevin MacLeod, licenced under Creative Commons) So, thinking of ideas yet? Make sure you leave them in the comments below– as many as you want! In the spirit of fun and thinking of ideas, I’ve made a … Read more

I’m very very excited today about a new line of prints I’ve just launched in my shop, and I wanted to share it with you! The theme of the new line is the incorporation of vintage art. By melding vintage illustrations with modern typography and design, it combines into whimsical and fresh pieces of art. The illustrations are old enough (from the 1920’s and prior) to be in the public domain and are no longer under copyright. So I’ve worked them into my new print designs, often altering the colors (most were in simple black and white) and pairing them … Read more

Personally I love to wear vintage clothing. I like the classic meets whimsical aspect of it. But if you love vintage like I do, then you’re probably been here before: you discover a fabulous vintage clothing find that seems to be in your size, only to realize that you would need to remove some major body organs and perhaps some limbs in order to be able to fit into it. Sizing: it was the single biggest problem that people voted for in a poll I did on why people don’t wear vintage. Not surprising, since no matter how much you … Read more