The Tax Man Cometh!

I hate this time of year, TAX TIME!

It seems like such a huge job to get all those little scraps of paper into some kind of order and put your whole work year into a few lines on a form.  But it has to be done, I just see so many other things I would like to be doing instead of adding up receipts!

I promised you a picture of the new potting bench,
well here it is!

I missed that thing more than I realized.  I use it for so many things, spray painting, staining, sanding and all kinds of crafty things.  I even do some gardening chores on it too.  I am afraid that my days of doing much in the garden are long gone.  I barely have time to get my house cleaned {and sometimes that falls short} but to putter around in the garden is history.  I do like for it to look nice, so everything I plant has to survive a Houston summer {hot with lots of humidity, half a day of shade and automatic sprinklers}.  If a plant cannot survive all of those things it will not last at my house.  Each year I buy a new fern for the patio and promise myself that I will water it faithfully, but each Spring I am back at the Garden Department buying a new one!{at my house we consider hanging baskets annuals}  Really, what I want in a back yard is someplace that looks nice while I float around the pool. 

I actually started working on things for the
Fall Craft Show season.

I made a list of all the things I wanted to get finished by Easter and I have quite a list!  I promised myself that I would get all the Halloween things finished before Easter.  Well this Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be a crafting marathon. 

As you can see I have a pile of junk just waiting to be worked on. 

Better get back to those receipts, Mr. MySpareTime just left for a 3 day business trip and when he gets home he wants to see how bad the damage will be!

Thanks for stopping by. 

Friday Finally

  The weekend is almost here and I have so many plans.  We have been having wonderful Spring weather and it is a pleasure to be outside. 

This is my backyard, I just love the way it looks in Spring.
My Granny loved azaleas and it makes me think of her.

As you can see my azaleas are in bloom and so are my roses. 

It will be the 4th of July before we know it, so I am going to savor these Springtime days.

Mr. MySpareTime will be rebuilding my potting table this weekend because it had to be removed when they re-sided the garage. I use this outside table all the time, spray painting and crafting. Who knows I might even do something for the garden!

Lovely spot in my garden, this is where the potting table was.

{I will post some pictures of the finished project!}

As you may remember from an earlier post, I had a lady ask if I sold my patterns, so that is something I will work on this weekend.  I have one finished but need a new picture for the cover.  I think this will be a new challenge and once I get them finished it will be easier to keep up.  So keep watching I might just have a give away to launch my new line of instant download patterns!

Mr. MySpareTime found a few more items for me on a business trip.

I just love the wooden bowl it has feet!

{sorry couldn't get the feet in the picture}

Thanks for stopping by.

What A Weekend

Mr. MySpareTime and I had a very busy weekend.  One of our good friends' daughter was getting married in Waco, Texas this last Saturday and we were going to take this road trip for a little relaxation.  Then I remembered that it was the Humble, Texas Trade Days and Community Garage Sale on the same day!  We were going to leave for Waco at noon so we had to really hustle to drive over to Humble, do some junkin and then get back by noon. 

We hit the mother load!

We got there just after they opened and what it looked like was a craft show/garage sale/antique dealers.  It was a mish-mash of all kinds of things I didn't want or need.  The prices were very high.  Then we ran on to a gal who had some really great items at very reasonable prices and she said every price was negotiable!
{now that is my kind of gal!} 

I got the quilt, and these two vintage sifters for $12.

Then we headed into the Garage Sale part of the building and only in Texas could you find a Garage Sale in the same place where they had a cattle show, boy did it have an odor!  I wore flip flops and was not prepared for a loose dirt {and who knows what} floor.  But we found this clock for $4 and the barrel for $5, childrens ice skates for $5 and

the Bid Kahuna of the Day,

this chair was only $5!
{That's right folks, only $5}

We hauled our treasures home and headed for the wedding, but before we could get out of our neighborhood there was an Estate Sale and I found the prim Santa for $1.

Along the way to Waco we found several Flea Markets to visit, but boy are they proud of their junk!

{I'm sorry, I will not pay $45 for a cracked crock!}
After several stops, we came away with nothing.

Then on Sunday, as we were headed back to Houston, we came across a large outdoor flea market and stopped in to take a look.  Well if I needed a pony ride or live chickens, religious icons or cowboy boots, baby clothes or produce, old video games or a hair cut, a new puppy or a live exoctic bird, this would have been a great place! 

All I found was this cute table for $3.

So my entire weekends accumulations was a
Grand Total of $40!

Now I just need to get started on them.

Thanks for stopping by.

What A Phone Call!

Just yesterday I got the nicest phone call from a gal who wanted to know what happened to my website.  She said that she had bookmarked several of my Primitive Santa's that I had for sale and that she was wanting to purchase one or two and now couldn't find them.  She said that all she could track down was this blog. 

Well to make a long story short I told her that I had switched over to the blog because most of my things were one of a kinds and it was hard keeping up with a full fledged website.  {I know, so much for keeping it short}  During the conversation it came up that she really wanted to purchase several of my patterns for these things.  Well as crafters I'm sure you all are like me, we have great plans but something seems to always get in the way of our genius ideas!

I have had a plan to scale back my shows and start moving more toward Etsy and selling patterns on PatternMart.com. 

 I even have an account on PatternMart, just never found the time to switch all my doodles and sketches to real patterns. 

So this phone call has gotten me off dead center, I am going to make some patterns!

{I don't know how many at first, but that is my plan.} 

Then started talking this over with Mr. MySpareTime and he pointed out that there are only 24 hours in every day.  He then asked when exactly was I going to sleep?  I hadn't gotten to that part yet in my plan, so we started talking about all of our online businesses. 

We have been so blessed by the wonderful customers who follow us to craft shows, who purchase printed items from Print Me Prim and the great people who have turned Kraft Outlet into more than we could have ever expected, but something has to give. {and I don't want that to be me!} 

I was a statistical analyst before I got married and I look at my craft business with a logical eye.  There is no way for me to keep up with two very busy online businesses and do more than 1 large craft show.  I have My Spare Time on Etsy, I have it on the Prim Nest and I have a very large craft show in October, so it isn't like I'm giving it up, I just need to be realistic about time and money and personal sanity!

So with a sad heart I have to say that My Spare Time Designs will not be at the Judy Dierker Craft Classic this year. But you will still find me at the Northampton Spirit of the Holidays Marketplace on October 8th.

 Come by and say Hey!

Well enough life changing nonsense!

Thanks for stopping by.

Supper Speedy Post!

Just popped in to say Hi!

We are moving our son today and headed for Dallas with a truck full of his junk. 

{it feels like we have moved this crap all over Texas in the last 4 years}

This could easily be us, except we don't have the bird!

Luckily we have his best friend and one of his brothers along for all the heavy lifting.  Hope the weather holds out and that the temps are cool.

Just had to tell you all about the Spring Celebration going on at The Old Farmhouse Gathering group on Etsy.

Take a look at all the wonderful Spring things these talented ladies have to offer.

Gotta run!

Thanks for stopping by.

What A Find!

Take a look at what Mr. MySpareTime
found at GoodWill this week!

We had to make a run to the post office and thought we would stop in at Goodwill and just take a quick look around.  When I heard him call my name I knew he had something he wanted me to take a look at.  He didn't even want to step away from the thing, afraid that someone would snag it.

This will fit perfectly on top of my black sofa table that I use in my booth set-up.  We made one years ago and people still try to buy it from us, but is had seen it's last show.  This is an actual hutch and already painted black.  We are going to add a shelf for more display, but other than that it is good to go, even has a light.

Found this great little wood piece too.  I can just see this full of greens and some kind of Santa.

Well, better get to work we have a wedding to attend this evening.

Thanks for stopping by,

It's a Conspiracy!

You ever get the feeling that everyone and everything have joined together to work against you?  Well I don't, but sometimes Mr. MySpareTime thinks like that!  I am beginning to have that feeling about this planned trip to Canton I have been talking about.  Now Canton Trade Days only happens on the the Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday before the First Monday of each month.  This is something you have to plan for.

We were suppose to go in February.

It SNOWED! 

Waited another month and had the whole trip planned for March.

Son moved, made a quick trip to Dallas!

Now I have to wait until April for my first trip of 2011 to junkers paradise!

{I just know I missed a ton of great stuff}

{I had my mouth all set for a grilled corn on the cob and hand roasted peanuts}

Do you ever think we will stop being parents?

That we will stop putting our kids before ourselves?

I don't.

That is what makes a parent, but dang am I ready for a break!

So instead of a road trip to Canton I hit a neighborhood Estate Sale and scored big!

These fantastic cutter quilt pillows made from old quilts in the Texas Hill Country.

A great little chair

vintage watch parts and religious medals

and these vintage muffin tins and old wooden spoon.

Too bad the estate sale didn't have Corn on the Cob!

Thanks for stopping by.

Just Wanted To Spread The News!

Hi all, just had to tell you that I am now a member of Primitive and Folk Artists Etsy Team and Old Farmhouse Gathering.

These are wonderful groups of talented artists that  all work together to support and promote each others craft and websites.  If you don't already know about them come over and take a look at all the great prim shops.

Also, make sure you sign up for the Give Away, what a JackPot!

Thanks for stopping by.

Grand Opening!

Today is the Official Launch of the Prim Nest!

Come on by and take a look at all the wonderful things these talented artists have to offer.

One of the thing that I have listed on the Prim Nest and in my Etsy Shop, mysparetimedesigns2, is this cute old fashioned egg carton full of Primitive paper mache eggs, nesting material, a tiny Robin Red Breast and an altered art grungy tag that has a page of sheet music from an old hymnal printed with vintage style graphics of a birds nest and a sweet little bird in an envelope, then the words "Dream Big!" stamped on.  

What a cute display for Spring! 

Then Tina, from Tattered Sisters,
 is haveing another Tuesday Blog Challenge.

So come on over to see what Handmade
items everyone is sharing.

Thanks for stopping by!