It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I know, I know, we haven't even stuffed ourselves with turkey yet, but I thought you oughtta know...there will be a FABULOUS free shipping sale in my etsy shop!  I don't care if you're from Australia, Japan, New York or Timbuktu!  Your package of goodies will ship for FREE on Black Friday...all the way through Cyber Monday!  Write this down!  Here's your coupon code!  Ready?
merrytoyou
That's it.  That's all you need to know to get free shipping.  At checkout, apply coupon code: merrytoyou and you will save some moolah!  In addition, all Christmas ornaments are on sale!  There will be other items on sale as well...some surprises!
All of my items are ready to ship so you won't even have to wait!  Isn't that fabulous!?
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and a very merry Black Friday and Cyber Monday!!

I'm a Great Auntie!

I'm not announcing what a fabulous Auntie I am, I am actually a Great Aunt!  This is Holden....he's precious...utterly adorable.  He has LOTS of hair, my niece's nose and he squeaks when he cries! He weighs nothing...his skin is so soft I can hardly feel it as I stroke his little cheek.  He smells like heaven and his elbows and knees are wrinkly and sweet.  His head feels like the softest, most luxurious velvet.  Did I mention how precious he is?
I am in love!
Truth be told, there is an issue.  It seems that every single "Great Aunt" I've ever known has been very, very, very, very, very old.  Elderly in fact.  So, while I relish my new role, I have a bit of angst about it.  I think I could handle Grandma better...there are young Grandmas...I've met some...but Great Aunts have traditionally been crotchity and smelled of old.  I suppose it's up to me to shatter that perception!  I'm up to the challenge!  Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to the drug store to buy some more hair dye!
:o)
Welcome to the world little Holden!!

Birch Bark House Charm

On a walk yesterday, I spied some white birch trees with long strands of hanging, peeling bark.  I told my hubs that I HAD to have some!  He is used to my constant scavenging...so he waited patiently while I gathered it up!  When I got home, I covered a funky little house charm with it.  I love it!  It's so natural and light...it seems cozy...like a good place for a little bird to wait out the winter...

Etsy Fave!

I cannot express how much I enjoy perusing The Frantic Meerkat on Etsy!  I have purchased a few items from her but always check back to see what's new!  I always find myself giggling when I browse her shop and my daughter always calls up to me "Mom, what's so funny?"...to which I reply, "You wouldn't understand".  You really have to visit The Frantic Meerkat to see for yourself!  

My Funky Little Houses Hit the Big Time!

A few months ago, I was contacted by Interweave to do a "how to" for Handcrafted Jewelry magazine.  I was thrilled to do it!  Little did I know, they would put my humble little houses on the cover!!!  I'm shocked, thrilled and totally freaked out!  My hands were shaking and I couldn't think straight for at least two hours!  I'm so grateful for the exposure, for the cover...and that something I made is considered good enough to show the masses.  It's humbling and fun!

Too many dictionaries!

I've become a collector of vintage dictionaries.  Not because I particularly love dictionaries, but I do love making these pendants out of old glass watch crystals...which requires fabulous dictionary illustrations.  So I pick them up at yard sales, thrift stores, antiques shops...and its very hard to throw them away.  What if I discover another word that inspires me and I want to extract it from every dictionary I have?  If I throw them away, I won't have them.  What if I overlooked a fabulous illustration?  What if I find a use for the incredible aged pages that were rejected for this project?  And the arguments go on as the books pile up!  Did I mention that some dictionaries are very big?  They are.  They take up lots of space.  Have  you seen the humungous ones that are literally 10 inches thick?  I have a couple of them.  They're actually pretty cheap to buy...because people can't find anyplace to PUT them...trust me on this!  I don't really know what to do.  Yes, I know, I could bite the bullet and chuck 'em....but what if....?
See my dilemma?
:o)

Featured!!

One of my funky little house charms has been featured on Jenny Doh's blog!  You can see it here!
Thanks Jenny!

Aaaaaaah...

She stepped outside..., originally uploaded by HA! Designs - Artbyheather.

Getting ready for a much needed break...
Two of my three kids are home...my boy is at Airborne school...jumping out of perfectly good airplanes.
We're all going to be together soon and I'll be taking a week off for fun.
SO....I will be offering a vacation discount in my shop starting Friday, August 12th...until Monday, August 23rd...mind you, I'll be completely ignoring my shop during that time so you'll have to be patient for your order!
To get a 15% discount on your entire order, use coupon code: funinthesun
at checkout.
Don't you just love discounts?

Friends...

A good friend is hard to find.  My best friend came to visit from California last month.  It was SO FUN to get to spend time with her...laugh...talk...laugh...giggle...laugh...we laugh a lot!   We have history...we've known each other for 35 years.  We love each other's kids...know each others secrets...bear each others burdens...help each other see clearly when things get foggy...
I cherish our friendship...guard it...treasure it in my heart and I get greedy when she's here....because time with her is precious...
We forgot to take a photo of us...so this one will have to do.  (Truth be told, we didn't shut up long enough to pose) These gals look like they're reading each others minds...remembering the time they...(fill in the blank).  They look like they're about to bust up laughing because one of them said "click...click...click..." and the other is about to snort with utter glee!!  (It's a long story...)

10 Pounds Lighter!

Us, originally uploaded by HA! Designs - Artbyheather.

A little update...I finally hit 10 pounds lost in spite of a little vacation, family dinners, celebrations and chocolate. Back on the wagon!
I'm going to add more exercise to my routine this week...gotta get moving! Up to this point, exercise has been minimal.
There is 8 weeks left until our cruise...and the absolute certainty that I will be wearing a swim suit...in public...
Wish me luck!

WeightWatchers update!

I'm down 8 pounds...and counting.
A few things I've discovered:
I can live without cookies.
Raw veggies are VERY good dipped in hummus.
Watermelon fills you up.
Sugar is overrated.
You don't have to be a "points nazi" to stay on program.  I'm guesstimating and it's working fine.
A few bonuses I've experienced:
I sleep better when not hopped up on sugar all day.
I don't beat myself up for having that second through fifth cookie ...or piece of chocolate...or cake, etc.  every day...because I'm not having any!
It is MUCH easier as time goes by to tell myself no...and I don't dwell on it.  It's becoming a lifestyle.
My pants are looser...but I'm not quite ready to go down a size...

This is how I feel...so I joined Weight Watchers!

This is how I feel...so I joined Weight Watchers!, originally uploaded by HA! Designs - Artbyheather.

Lola, the cat, best depicts how I've been feeling...flubby and chubby. So...I joined Weight Watchers last week and I lost 6.6 pounds!  I'm not very good at detaily stuff...points I can do...and I'm just doing a guesstimate every day. Gosh, they provide all the info for you to get down to the nitty gritty of every little thing, but I'm not.
So...this first week, I really stuck to the points. I don't think I went over even one day. I walked a few days, not every day. 

The thing that REALLY seems to have made a difference for me is that I haven't had any sweets. I have about a half teaspoon of sugar in my morning coffee but that's about it. I've had trouble staying asleep for about the last couple of years...I wake up at 2am and can't go back to sleep until around 5am when my alarm is about to go off! But this week, I've slept until 5am without waking up! It's a freakin' miracle! I had chalked up my sleeplessness to my age...peri-menopause...lovely things like that. But maybe sugar has something to do with it. I have a really HUGE sweet tooth. Surprisingly, I don't miss it!

So, on I go...a journey to a thinner me. I have about 30 more pounds to go...wish me luck!

Tulips!

Oooooh...Aaaaah..., originally uploaded by HA! Designs - Artbyheather.

Tulips are a sure sign of spring! This field of tulips is in Mt. Vernon, WA. We took a little trip up north for Easter to see the tulips! It's been so cold...so rainy...so unspringy this year that I had to go get a glimpse of spring to reassure myself that winter is truly over!
It was beautiful! It was colorful! It was heavenly! It looked like spring!
So, now I'm back home enjoying the tulips I bought...on my kitchen table...waiting for my cherry tree to bloom while it pours outside...thanking God for the hope of spring!

Fun Foto Friday

Thought we could use a fun photo today...amid all of the concern for Japan.  I don't know what this couple is looking at, but perhaps it's a look at the future...and a reminder of how tragedies are difficult in the moment and in the recovery...but someday, it will be sunny again...in time...and in the mean time, we pray and hope for those who are suffering.

Fun Foto Friday!

Oh!, originally uploaded by HA! Designs - Artbyheather.

I love these photos! This little guy is so cute!
My daughter found these one day when we went to my favorite antique store. Little did I know, she is a vintage photo addict too! We looked through boxes and boxes of photos and laughed and laughed! Mixed in with the prim and proper cabinet photos and staged family photos by the Christmas tree, we found photos of people with real senses of humor. People who would break with tradition and decorum and ham it up for the camera! I bought several that were too good to leave behind. There's just something about someone elses' photos...perhaps I'm a little voyeuristic...yep, I'll bet that's it...

Wine Charms

Wine Charms, originally uploaded by HA! Designs - Artbyheather.

Something new...pick-up line wine charms! I made them for my daughter for Valentine's day and I may add some to my shop soon!

Speckled...not blue.

Speckled..., originally uploaded by HA! Designs - Artbyheather.

One of the ladies laid a beautiful speckled egg today...not blue. Speckled. I have been waiting, waiting, waiting for my Araucana hens to lay their blue eggs. The other day I ventured out to collect eggs and noticed Opal...one of the Araucanas...sort of hovering around where they all tend to lay in the coop. She was standing up but obviously pushing...I could tell she was going to lay an egg. I was SO EXCITED..."I'm going to get to witness the laying of my first blue egg!!!"...and a few seconds later...plop...out came a BROWN EGG! I was dumbfounded. So...apparently, even though my Araucanas LOOK like Araucanas and have all the characteristics of Araucanas (looks like a duck, acts like a duck), they don't have enough Araucana in them to lay blue eggs. That figures. I'm still holding out hope that Pearl will lay blue...but I'm not holding my breath.
Ah well...brown is beautiful...and speckled is divine.