Snow! Books!

Here in central Illinois, we are about to get dumped on by a huge winter storm. I think I heard that 30 states will be hit by this front, with a possible accumulation between 12-24 inches (you'd think there would be more accuracy on the range). I told Dan he should work from home tomorrow and Wednesday - in response he said the IL. House of Representatives has called off their session for the rest of the week, so I think everyone is happy to stay inside for this one.

I, however, have the pleasure of living two block from work, so I'll be going in for my shift at 7:30. It will be slow, but at least we'll get a lot of projects done! Yay books!

I've been enjoying the benefits of working at the bookstore again - in that I get to check out any book that has a dust jacket for up to two weeks. With prompting from my sister, and just about every bookseller at BN, I've read through the Hunger Games trilogy (2nd: Catching Fire, 3rd: Mockingjay) by Suzanne Collins. They are lively and exciting, and have elements of social commentary I enjoy, like the books The Handmaid's Tale, A Brave New World, The Giver, and the short stories The Lottery, and Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron" and "Welcome to the Monkey House". I also am a sucker for a strong female character in YA books, and Katniss hits the spot.

Other YA books I've enjoyed recently are The Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card and (I'm currently reading) The Search for Wondla by Tony DiTerlizzi.

With all the news stations blabbing about the snow and because of general need, I stopped by the store on the way home to find this (see photo) waiting for me. That little white thing there is Baxter's back paw. I don't know how he got himself in there so snuggly, but I think he has the right idea with all the flurries headed out way. Batten down the hatches!

I hope you are all safe and warm, and that you have a kitty and good book close by.

To business cards, or not to business cards

Happy Friday world. It has been a great week here in Jane Land (although the Bears not going to the Super Bowl = sad panda.) I have some of the greatest friends, and they, of their own accord, are getting the word around about my sewing. I have been putting off getting business card made (for no good reason. Can you be afraid of success?) but I think it's to the point where that bullet must be bitten. Over on Oh Happy Day they just posted some great cards their new letter press department has made, and it's giving me some ideas. I like this one:

I also am fond of classic black on white with no image or fancy font, so I don't really need to put this off any longer.

I've also been looking into Spring fabrics and looks for my bags and clasp purses, and I saw these.

I'm so small at this point that it wouldn't be cost effective to order from them, or to order bulk from the frame manufacturer in Japan, but I found these on Etsy and think they might make it happen. Aren't the colored balls adorable?

Beige messenger bag

Hello friends! I've had a lovely morning, listening to The Lady and The Unicorn on cassette tapes (!!!) and sewing. Here is my latest. Adios!

Umbrellas lights are great

The weather is cold and a little scary today. I worry about roads between Bloomington and Springfield, with Dan now driving back and forth during the week. To perk us all up, here is a beautiful shot for a Monday morning. These whimsicle umbrella lights are is from a blog called The Bedlam of Beefy.

And, did you know I have adorable cats? They have won over Grumpy Dan and thought I'd share proof. The first is Baxter, and below is Kodak (you can see some of my color organized bookshelf in the bottom picture too!).

Happy Monday everyone!

Special Order

Here is my newest special order I put together today for an Etsy guest of mine. She wanted a waterproof lining, laptop pocket, and a wide webbing strap. This was my first time working with oilcloth and I'm happy with the results. The best advice I have is use new, heavy duty needles. This bag is going all the way to Melbourne!



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Happy birthday to me!

I had some great friends over today to celebrate my 28th birthday. It was so fun seeing everyone, hearing what they are up to, and getting to have some laughs. We ate sweets and had some cocktails, but my favorite part was decorating cookies and playing Apples to Apples!

Thanks friends for taking the time to celebrate with me!

Birthday weekend

My birthday is tomorrow! I always get super excited about my birthday, and this year I'm trowing a little shindig with some gal and guy friends. There will be lots of treats (I've been baking cookies for a few days) and a couple tasty beverages. I am a bit bummed, as I ordered some stripy straws and they didn't arrive, but the rest of my plans are coming together.

Today, I made lip balm for party favors. I have wanted to do this for a while, and I figured my friends are pretty good guinea pigs and they will be honest about texture and usefulness. It was super fun and easy.

If you are interested, it went like this:
4 Tablespoons organic beeswax, shaved for easy melting
2 Tablespoons Coconut oil
1 teaspoon honey
5-8 drops of your favorite essential oil

I also want to share a present my sister gave me:

She had a stamp made with my name from the Etsy shop Primele.
I love it! Happy birthday to me!