A new and fascinating hobby!

(Title borrowed from this photo from Elsie's blog post)

This post over at A Beautiful Mess officially made me want to start my own art journal. I've thought to myself before, "Oh, that looks like fun" but always sort of dismissed the idea. I think the timing just wasn't right. Lately, though, I've felt like I need some kind of creative outlet.... my free-time is very limited, and most of the time I don't feel inspired to draw or craft....it would just zap too much of my energy (isn't that horrible?). But keeping an art journal seems....easier, somehow? I see inspiring things every day - I'm notorious for picking up feathers I find, or pretty flowers, or bits of pretty yarn -  and I love the thought of having them all in one place. Plus, an art journal is something I can just throw in my bag/backpack.... tuck a few things in the pages during the day, and glue them when I have a chance later!

A quick search on Etsy led me to a few great shops with really pretty hand-bound journals, but coreymarie stood out the most. I chose a recycled-pages journal and a super-cute ephemera pack, plus a cute mini-journal for my science-y inspiration!

Journal

Ephemera

*Photos borrowed from coreymarie's etsy shop*

I'm so excited to get these in the mail and start journaling! I've already started rifling through my magazines and cutting pretty things out.....

Does anyone else out there keep an art or inspiration journal?

I'd love to see some pictures!

P.S. HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!

A few Etsy favorites...

Tuesdays are soooo looooong for me. Seven hours of classes, and then babysitting...and then I had chem homework AND Ecology homework! Ugh. Anyway, its done, and now I'm exhausted, but... there are lots of pretty things on Etsy! Add these to my Christmas list.....

Enjoy!

Vintage cloche from LaBrocanterie

Elephant mug from Abby Berkson

Faux-fur earmuffs from Tidabeads

Gator scarf from The Alligator Factory

♥

Tuxedo dress from Minxshop

Felt brooch from Designed by Jane

Felt flower brooch by Brigite

Only 1 week left!

Don't forget, my readers get 15% off of any item from Snefter for just one more week!

Here are a few of my favorite items:

Go to their shop here, or click on the link in the sidebar on the left.

Just mention Crack the Sky at checkout to get the 15% discount, and hurry! The deal ends Sept. 30!

Flutter by...

Just popping in really quickly to tell you I added a little something to the shop today...

Get it here!

A ring on every finger...

A ring on every finger

These are all items from my Etsy Favorites....see how obsessed with rings I've been lately?

Dreaming of Fall

Visions of acorns and harvest hues, preppy jackets and knit scarves, oxfords and satchels filled my mind today, being the first day of school and all. Well, my dreams were quickly dashed - melted, really - by the 95 degree weather today. What is up with that?! It finally cooled off over the past week, and then its back up to nearly 100 degrees today! That's not fair!

And, I am very sad to report that my beautiful new sandals are the most. uncomfortable. shoes. EVER.

My feet are literally blistered and bruised from walking around campus today. I have bruises on the tops of my feet, blisters on the sides and bottom, and bruises between my first and second toes (where the thong goes). I'm so sad! I love those shoes. But... I think I'll reserve them for sitting-only days!

But anyway, back to my dreams of Fall (I'm still trying to banish all thoughts of this heat!). Here are some items that I would just love for Fall!

Fox tights from Anthropologie

Prepare to Fly top from Modcloth

Fashion Harvest skirt from Modcloth

Rodeo boots from Urban Outfitters

The Rucksack by Beesnetta

Now, if only it would cool off!

The FIRST special deal for Crack the Sky readers! Brought to you by Snefter.etsy.com

Check it out! The super-sweet chica from Snefter was excited to have her awesome body harness featured on today's Obsessive Thursday feature (here), so she's offering my readers

15% off all orders from her shop!

Just mention this blog when you place your order, now through the end of September!

How cool is that??

I'm definitely digging this necklace/harness and these chandelier earrings...

Plus, don't forget - anyone who follows my blog gets 10% off PLUS free domestic shipping on EVERY order from my shop, all the time!

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Listening to The National: High Violet: Sorrow

Obsessive Thursday

Thank you for the sweet comments about my new 'do... I'm really digging it! I like having 'boy hair'; it makes me feel like I can dress uber-girly without looking ridiculous. Gotta balance the masculine with feminine...which leads me to Thursday's blog feature, Obsessive Thursday! - stuff I am currently obsessing over - what fun! :)

I'm kind of obsessing over big, statement headbands... here are a few on Etsy that have caught my eye:

Fluttery Cluster by Jewelera

007 Heartly by Ape Zoppa

Oh Deer by Pretty Good Things

Woodland Owl Wing by Sleepy King

Ella Headband by The Little Prints

 Notice how all of the pictures feature girls with short hair - pure coincidence; I didn't pick these because of that! It just proves my point - short hair is a license to wear big stuff on your head! :-D

P.S. Check out the treasury I just made, in fitting with this theme:

My birthday wishlist

My 25th birthday is just around the corner (10 days!). Last night, my mom asked me what I would like for my birthday this year, and I honestly had no idea! Let's face it, I don't really neeeed anything (besides about a million dollars), so, what do I want?

Today, I must be in the mood for rings.

Amethyst is my birthstone...

and Aquarius is my zodiac sign (both by Garnet Girl Designs)

Not-Your-Granny's Sweater!

Just a quick post to let you know that this gorgeous sweater is now in the shop!

I really want to keep it for myself, but its just a tad too big for little ol' me. Boo!

I've got tons to do tomorrow- work, drive to Annapolis, go to the Rise Against show in Baltimore, come home Monday a.m., go to school (and be there until 9:15)..... whew. Its going to be a doosey!

I promise I'll be back soon, with a few tricks up my sleeve!

Have safe and fun weekends!

My Christmas List - part 1

Every year, when the weather starts to turn cool, I get that tingly, excited feeling in mystomach. The familiar pitter-patter of tiny elf-shoes teaching sugarplums and candycanes to dance in formation to the Nutcracker Suite. Its simply unavoidable (and the fact that Wal-Mart, Target, etc. already have Christmas stuff out definitely isn't helping).

Anyway, although it is only October, I have already begun to compile a Christmas list. What with Etsy's "favorites" function, its all too easy for me to make a list that stretches for pages, and pages, and.....well, you get the idea.

So here are some of the very lovely things I have "favorited" in recent days, and the beginning of my ever-growing Christmas list.

Bird of Peace espresso mug and saucer by Holli Bolli

Coral earrings by Spilly Jane

Silver Spoon keychain by Webby Sue

Silver Spoon earrings by Revisions

Porcelain Goldfish magnets by Revisions

I'm especially coveting those goldfish magnets. How gorgeous are they?!

Well, today I actually have class... I feel sort-of reluctant to go back, but at least I know its just a few weeks until Thanksgiving break. Its hard to believe the semester is almost half-over! Boy, how time flies. I have a Lit. quiz today (meh), and a GIS exam tomorrow (eep). Not cool. I studied a little bit this morning, but I'm just having one of those days/weeks when I just don't feel motivated. I'm really not too worried about it. I just have a lot of things weighing on my mind right now, and I'm going to take care of myself/my sanity first, before stressing over a silly 15-point quiz. I always do better than I think I will, anyway.

Feather Headdress

Ok, I was actually not going to share this drawing on here, but I'm so excited about it I just can't keep it to myself. The idea for this drawing came to me at work this other day, just kind of out of the blue. I drew it up in record time, and I just love how it came out - not to toot my own horn! Hehe.

Anyway, this drawing is in the August issue of Just Because You Can't See It. I'm also thinking about maybe featuring this design on other things..... but we'll see.

***

I finally got this awesome organizer wristlet from The Laughing House yesterday. It came all the way from Singapore, so it was registered mail (meaning I had to sign for it). The first delivery attempt came while I was on vacation last week. So I went online and scheduled a re-delivery for yesterday since I was off work. Around 11 a.m. I ran to the post office that's down the street from my house to drop off a few packages. When I came home, my grandma told me that the mail truck had just been at our house, with my package. Ugh. She told me to go 'chase him' down the road and get my package. ?!? So....I hopped back in my car and set off to find Mr. Postman. Luckily, I found him a little way down the road. He asked for my pink delivery slip. Crap. Ran back home, got said slip, drove back down the road in chase of the postman, and FINALLY got my package. HA! Anyway, it was totally worth the chase. Look at home awesome this baby is! My grandma didn't believe me that it was handmade. It is of SUPERB quality, for sure. And very inexpensive, too! I am totally carrying this to work today. Thanks Winniel!

And this is my souvenier from the OBX. Its a little picture clip. I absolutely adore it.
This is the picture I have in it:


This is me and Lani on our trip to OBX last March. Notice I'm wearing a TANK TOP. Ah.

Saturday things

Today is going to be a great day.

I'm getting ready to go to a few yard sales, and then I'm meeting up with a very dear friend of mine, whom I haven't seen in months, to go to the 26th Annual Arts & Crafts Fair at Caledonia (which, everyone should know by now, is my most favorite park ever). I'm so excited to see Lauren; we talked on the phone last night for 2 1/2 hours. It was really good to catch up with her.

(That beautiful ring above is one that I'd had my eye on at the Goodwill for a few weeks now. I finally broke down and bought it the other day; and no, it is not going in the shop! Its mine, mine, mine! ;)

***

I'm so excited - I've had quite the little flurry of sales in both Crack the Sky and Quiet, Quiet over the past few days! So far, the new shop seems to be gathering some interest. This is very good, indeed.

***

I also just found out the a very sweet girl that I work with has just opened her own Etsy shop (and, I'm proud to say, I am the one who told her about Etsy, after she had asked me where I got my raincloud earrings last year! Haha!). She has some really pretty notecards featuring photos she has taken. Swing by her shop and have a look!

Etsy Love

I was searching for a camera case on Etsy yesterday (since I can't seem to find mine); and I came across this shop with the most lovely and useful bags. The best part is they're custom-made with the fabric of your choice, and the prices are amazing!

I instantly fell in love with this one.

Image borrowed from The Laughing House's etsy shop

This is the fabric my bag will be made in:

Image borrowed from her Flickr

I'm so excited! I think this is probably the coolest bag I've seen on Etsy. I can't wait to get it!

I also ordered another graphic novel on Amazon this morning. This and the one I ordered yesterday will be my first forays into graphic novels... I like the idea of picture books for adults.

And now, I must be off. I have to make a quick stop at the post office this morning and send out a few packages before heading to work. Have a lovely Thursday, everyone!

Best Day!

Oh man. I am having the best day today! Actually, both yesterday and today were pretty awesome...

Yesterday, while my sister was simply taking a stroll through our yard, she spotted some things that looked curiously like cherries lying on the ground under a big tree that has been growing in our yard for, oh I don't know, eight or nine years.

She called me over from my veggie patch (where I was picking fresh cilantro, yum!) to see what I thought they were. I thought, surely, they can't be cherries. Why, we don't even have a cherry tree in our yard! So... I ate one. Hehe. And guess what. They are cherries, indeed! I'm quite sure that a bird planted this cherry tree (if you know what I mean...), and also that the tree has never had cherries on it before this year! I am sooo excited! They're the little, tart, pinkish kind of cherries, too, which I actually prefer. Oh, they are delicious!

My sister also informed me yesterday that we have wild strawberries (itty bitty!), mulberries, and raspberries (I knew that...we have them all over the yard!)! Isn't that just awesome?! And that's just what's growing wild in our yard. As soon as my little vegetable garden is ready, we'll also have yellow squash; green, red, and yellow bell peppers, broccoli (some is sprouting now!), and tomatoes; and we already have sweet basil, lavender, lemon balm, cilantro, marjoram, chocolate mint, and spearmint. Whew! I told my dad last night the only thing we need now is a chicken or two so we can have fresh eggs! Then I will be peachy-keen-perfect!

Oh yeah, and guess what else. I was doing a bit of promoting in the Etsy forums last night (something I haven't really done much of in the past because it seems like the Promotions section is nothing but 'games' and gimmicks...not exactly my style); but apparently it paid off because my red stripey dress sold overnight! Woo hoo! I'm excited, but sad to see it going (even though it didn't fit me) because its so pretty.... but I'm glad someone else can love it and wear it!

Oh yeah, and one other thing - I just got done talking to Kristy from Dulcet about my vintage cat eye glasses I ordered that were too small for my head. She is wonderful! I was getting worried because I had convo'd her last week about doing an exchange and hadn't heard back yet. I re-sent the message this afternoon, and (as I suspected) the system 'ate' her convos to me and I was worrying over nothing. She said she already has the other pair packaged up and ready to be mailed to me! And, even though they're a few dollars more expensive than the original ones, she said we'll call it even since I have to pay for the shipping back to her. I thought that was really nice of her. I am pleased as punch!

Oh! Haha! I just thought of something else good that happened today. I mentioned to one of my supervisors how crappy my work schedule has been lately (I was only schedule to work 3 days this week!) and she literally handed me the schedule book and said, "What?! Pencil yourself in whenever you want to work. I'm giving you hours." Peggy, you rock! So hopefully now I'll actually be getting money in my paycheck, instead of barely even breaking even for the week! Haha!

Mine, all mine!!

Oh yeahhh.... I totally snagged those blue cat-eye glasses from Dulcet. And thankfully, in case I get them and I look like an idiot, they accept returns. Yesss! :D

I also grabbed up one of these adorable little comics from Miss Emily.... totally sweet. I was sad when I noticed there weren't any left in the shop tonight, when suddenly one appeared! And for only $6, quite a steal for such a whole lot of cuteness!

In other news, my car wouldn't start today. Hmph. Luckily my dad spent a few hours this evening figuring it out, and its something fairly simple and inexpensive (about $40), so that's good. Its probably going to be until Tuesday or Wednesday next week until he can get the part, however, so it looks like I'll be borrowing my mama's van all weekend or bumming rides to work with my sister! Oh well, it could be worse.

And now, I'm off to bed. I have another *exciting* day at work tomorrow. Hehe.

Goodnight!

Hmm...its payday....

You know what payday means? It means I'm soooo tempted to buy all of the nice things I've been spying on Etsy!

Lately I find myself daydreaming about what my future house will look like, and all of the lovely things that could fill it. So, here are a few lovelies from Etsy that I would decorate my house (or my self) with:

These adorable light-blue cateye glasses from Wicked Pen.... I've been wanting a pair, and these are smaller than the others, so they'd probably fit my tiny little head...hmmm..... If they're still in the shop tonight when I get home from work (and, ahem, depositing my paycheck!), I will understand it to be a sign that I NEED these.

Ok, so I don't have my own kitchen at the moment...but someday I will! And I will need these, for sure!

I need this for my kitchen, too.

And this cashmere pillow would look so pretty on my someday-couch...

And this little guy will surely look so sweet on my front porch, right beside his green cousin!

This is supposed to be a toy box, but I think it would be pretty cool as a shoe bench, or to hold linens, or something....

More stuff for my kitchen...

And of course, I just plain love this!

So, there you have it. Those are just a few of the many, many things I've been peeping in on now and again. Now, where is that paycheck....? ;)

♥ ♥ ♥