Rock Prairie Designs

Sprites and Fairies

2011-08-03T08:41:00.000-07:00

As I began working on "new" renaissance-inspired designs, my mind started to wander toward the other things often found at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival.

My own personal style leans more toward the boho-eclectic look - which to me of course means that I like a lot of vintage, odd, and earthy things that don't necessarily "match" each other but blend well. I feel that renaissance faires and festivals embody this feeling well, with a variety of handcrafted items, art and jewelry that are made by the basic elements which people have been crafting goods from for thousands of years.

Stone, wood, leather, glass and metal wire are all staple items in my jewelry supplies. The focal point on this necklace consists of green Australian jasper, glass and wood beads all wound together with gold wire. It hangs from a suede leather cord and fastens with a handcrafted hook-and-loop closure.

Fairies have also wound their way into renaissance festivals across the United States. This flower fairy was captured near my flowerbed. Since she glows like a firefly, I stuck her in a jar on my window sill. In reality, I hand-sculpted her face, neck, arms, legs and wings from polymer clay and attached them all to a soft cotton-filled body and dressed her in white chiffon flower petals. She comes shipped in her capture jar, complete with air holes drilled in the lid. Unlike real fireflies, her glow (which comes from an under-shift made of special light-activated material) will last night after night. So yes, she really does glow in the dark after she's been exposed to bright light.

The leather corselet, waist cincher, hip belt - whichever you prefer to call this item, has also become a commonly-seen apparel item during fair season. This belt is reversible, with decorative hand-stitched detail at the back seam which is visible from either the suede or smooth side.

Ashley is wearing the belt over a handmade handkerchief-hemline skirt
with a drawstring waistband. The skirt is a 100% cotton print, and can be made-to-order in any size or fabric.

She's rather sprite-ish (is that even a word? Maybe spritely? Elfin?) in her funky tights and the Rock Prairie Designs skirt and belt, but I think the Washington t-shirt is a dead giveaway that she's a human teenager.

The inside seams are all finished to last a long time, and the drawstring eyelets are all reinforced on the inside and overcast by hand. These eyelets will not pull out or rip apart after repeated wearing!

With renaissance faires and festivals quickly approaching, I have time open for new custom costume orders. I can sew from your existing pattern and materials or work with you to design something original.

Feel free to visit my Etsy store, Rock Prairie Designs, to browse my current stock or to request custom leather work or sewing.

Prom 2011

2011-06-17T12:30:00.000-07:00

Prom 2011 - My son and his lovely girlfriend in her new Rock Prairie Designs gown. She drew a picture of her dream gown, and two trips to a couple metro area fabric stores and two fittings later... voila!

This spaghetti-strap gown is black satin, and laces up the back with a 1-3/4" red satin ribbon. The belt is silver metallic vinyl and embellished with a ruby crystal cabochon. The top of the gown is spangled with Swarovski crystals. The separate underskirt is black satin and tulle, which is just barely visible at the hemline. The white angel-wing shrug she's wearing is sheer silk chiffon and trimmed in a double-flounce of black lace.

Special event dresses are truly one of my favorite types of sewing. If you can't seem to find exactly what you are looking for in retail stores and have an idea in mind, or even if you have a pattern but no time to sew, feel free to contact me via my Etsy store, Rock Prairie Designs.

With Renaissance faires and festivals coming up, I will be adding historic attire to my Etsy inventory within the next couple of weeks - so check in often!

Custom Penguin Patches

2011-03-13T15:05:00.000-07:00

A customer wanted some patches made from these penguin appliqués that were on a seat cover (I did not ask the reason, I just did the sewing). Almost any embroidered piece can be turned into a patch for a motorcycle jacket. With the right tools, even an old car seat cover can become a memorial patch.

The "Bite Me" Patch was moved from the vest to the jacket. Due to old damages on the edges of the patch, I repaired the embroidered border before reattaching.

And of course what biker doesn't need an occasional rally patch sewn on? In addition to motorcycle leathers, I also sew patches onto letterman's jackets as well.

Once again, feel free to "Request Custom Item" from my online shop, http://www.rockprairiedesigns.etsy.com/.

Renaissance Festival Costumes

2011-03-13T14:33:00.000-07:00

Between going to school full-time and "family stuff" I've been keeping pretty busy over the last fall and winter. Not to say that all that hasn't included sewing! Below are some pics of costumes I've made for wear at the MN Renaissance Festival. I will do custom gowns as well as sewing from patterns - if you're in the market for a new gown, please feel free to convo me at http://www.rockprairiedesigns.etsy.com/!

(All of the pieces below are spoken for, but I can duplicate these dresses in other fabrics)

The Tudor gown shown below was made with the customer's fabric and notions. Shown without the hoop-skirt underneath, the skirt on this gown expands to almost 4' across. The blue is heavy upholstery-grade velvet, the gold on the sleeves is also upholstery fabric. The underskirt is embroidered gold dupioni silk.

Jobless? Maybe Not...

2010-06-09T05:39:00.000-07:00

I was fired from my job last Tuesday. Evidently, my efforts were not what the new supervisory staff thought they should be. At first, I was devastated; not only did I not see it coming, but my income was the only income for my family of five. By the time I got home that day, I had a different perspective, so it really doesn't seem so bad now.

I have been truly blessed that each time something bad has happened in my life, God's grace has made a way out of the problem, and often times the window opened was far better than the door that had been closed. My first day was spent applying for unemployment and reviewing financial changes that we would have to make. My second day I planned on getting some serious house cleaning done and working in my garden (Uff da, my back! What was I thinking?!?). By the time my husband came home from work (he does handyman work with his brother - which is great when he has work, but as of late he had only a few jobs) the phone started ringing. Non-stop. Within that one evening, he had enough work lined up for both himself and his brother that they would be busy for at least a few weeks steady.

So now my garden is about three times bigger than it was before. I may be unemployed, but I will not be out of work, and we will not starve! My house is much cleaner than it was, and I have more time to sew. When I look at all the positives and possibilities, I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I guess if I were to boil it down to the bare elements, I'd much rather be working to sheer exhaustion for my family and for myself than to put in an eight-hour day making someone else rich. Does that sound odd? Of course there are far more risks involved in being self-employed than working for a steady, established company. Obviously, I am going to keep looking for my dream job where I can work in a low-stress environment, utilize my creativity a lot more than at my old job (which the lack of made me want to cry some days) and get a really nice paycheck each week. But I will definitely have more time to work on my own thing now. Here's a photo of the purse I will hopefully be finishing today for my Etsy store:

And a closeup of the crochet:

It's not done yet, which is why it looks a little odd at this point. When working with leather, binder clips are a great way to hold things together. When sewing fabric, I would use either pins or paperclips; pins would leave permanent holes in the leather, and paper clips don't open wide enough to accomodate three layers of leather. I used strong white acrylic yarn to crochet the body of the purse, which I will line with a tan acetate that is similar to the color of the suede leather strap. The top will close with a matching tan zipper. Barring anything weird happening during the assembly process, I hope to have this on my Etsy shop by this evening.

My New Baby: the Consew 230 & Summer SWAP

2010-05-17T10:23:00.000-07:00

I finally took the leap and purchased an industrial sewing machine. There are a few reasons why I wanted one, and my husband also wanted one for sewing leather (motorcycle seats and gear, mainly). We talked it over, decided what we could afford without making payments, and after a lot of research and visits to local sewing shops settled on a model that would hopefully suit both his and my needs. I will say all that work paid off, we're both happy with the old Consew 230R we found at a local sewing machine repair shop. This machine is built like a tank, sews over 2000 stitches per minute, and sounds like a jet airplane getting ready for takeoff. I'm in love.

I took a break from sewing the jeans I am making for my youngest son to play around with my new machine. I really wanted its power for stitching through the multiple layers of denim at a quick pace, but I didn't want to ruin his new jeans when the walking foot took off with my denim. I had already picked out some calico for a few summery things for me, so I figured a broomstick skirt would be a good practice run for my new machine. With almost 6 yards of material cut into 12-inch strips, gathered, and then stitched together into three tiers, that skirt was by far the best practice piece I could have chosen.

By the time I was finished with the skirt, I had the speed-thing under control. Operating an industrial sewing machine is rather like driving a car; there's a clutch-powered motor under the table that's attached to the head (the actual sewing machine part) on top of the table, and the whole works operate by a pedal attached to the base of the table. My MIL warned me to watch my fingers since my SIL ran over her finger tips twice with an industrial machine. I guess it doesn't feel too good.

I did finally get back to the jeans. Now if I could just pin my kid down long enough to try them on, I could finish off the button hole on the waistband and get the hems done. I did make another dress, too - in a black paisley that I adore:

I've gotten myself involved with a SWAP (Sewing With A Plan) for a summer wardrobe; I've chosen a few colors and some pieces to sew that will either match or coordinate with each other, so the dress and the skirt are a part of that collection. Thankfully, school is out for the summer so I should now be able to get that done before summer's over :)

Once I get caught up on some personal sewing I may even have enough time to put together a few things for my Etsy store. I've actually been able to sell a few things here and there, now that I'm done with school for the summer I plan on focusing more attention on that. Our MN Renaissance Festival will start in August, so now is the perfect time to start costuming.

Pictures :)

2010-04-05T09:59:00.000-07:00

My Etsy store is growing - thanks to my MIL (mother-in-law). During our visit to the in-laws over Easter weekend, I took some pictures of the quilts they've made and little by little I am posting them to my store. My MIL does the cutting, piecing and sewing (with some occasional piecing help from my boys when they are around), and FIL does the quilting on the long-arm quilter. They turned out great; some are pale pastels, and others are bolder and brighter colors. So far I've got three of these beauties in my store. It takes me a while to get the photos sized, and after the running around we did this weekend I only had the energy and patience to put three online.

I also have some photos of my completed leather alteration job:

(This first one is a "before" photo)

And these are "after" - I removed the zippers and sewed an insert in where the zipper opening was:

Oh, yeah - I finally have a photo of the last sweater I finished:

On Friday morning, my son had a doctor's appointment in St,. Cloud for a broken knee that's been in an immobilizer for the past few weeks. He broke his kneecap in two places - I told him the next time he goes down on one knee in front of a girl he'd better have a ring, and not because she'd just tossed him to the floor with a karate move (It wasn't an act of self-defense, I guess they were just playing around). My point is, we were in St. Cloud that morning, and the Sewing Center there carries industrial sewing machines. So I had a chance to check out what they've got and learned a little bit more about what I should be looking for in an industrial machine.

Hubby likes the idea, and thinks that it would be a good investment since I've had multiple requests for repair work, patch sewing and alterations. He worked for a place in the past where he made motorcycle seats, saddle bags and other heavy leather items so I'm sure he also has a few projects in mind he'd like to work on. I guess I will have to either get rid of my piano or talk Hubby into adding on another room!

My Projects Are Growing...

2010-03-30T15:05:00.000-07:00

So people are beginning to realize that I sew. Is this really a good thing? I suppose I can look at it this way: I like to sew, and if it adds a few more bucks to my bank account, why not? I will have to post my pictures soon, before I get carried away & forget - but my current projects are a pair of jeans for my son (at no charge, of course - he's my kid), altering a pair of leather motorcycle chaps for a friend, and making a renaissance festival gown for the same friend who needs her chaps altered.

I think I may buy an industrial sewing machine. I think I've sewn more denim and leather on my $75 Brother sewing machine from Walmart than anything else. That's the best cheap sewing machine God ever created.

So now that I've got the business cards, what do I do, Sharpie-in "Leather Repair and Alterations" on the back of the cards? Or have more printed, with an "edgier" design? Whatever. Maybe I'll just set up a stand at all the motorcycle rallies and bike shows with my pink-flowered banner. If I stick out like a sore thumb, at least I'll be noticed!

Anyone selling a good cheap industrial sewing machine?

Business Cards :)

2009-12-23T11:52:00.000-08:00

Very simple, no-fuss. Now I just need to keep this address and phone number at least until my business cards run out, right?

This is all coming along quite slowly, but my goal is still to make constant progress with my little shop. Even if it's just a tiny bit each week.

While other at-home businesses focus on selling a product that someone else has already made (or mass-produced, as in most cases) with marketing tools that have already been tried and tested, I have to focus not only on what it is I'm selling, but also on how I'm going to market it.

My "product" isn't just one item, either - which works perfectly with Etsy, since there are already other vendors in that venue that operate the same way. An artist may start out making jewelry, but then they decide to add a jewelry box or something else that compliments their existing product line. If the jewelry boxes take over the majority of sales, that vendor may switch to making boxes rather than earrings. I haven't found out which of my items will be more popular, which is why I had my business cards printed with "Original Art, Jewelry & Gifts." Maybe I will eventually find my niche, but for now I am really enjoying what I do, so I guess it's not so important to me whether or not someone looks at me as an artist, a jewelry maker or just someone who crochets in front of the TV at night.

However, that does make it a little more difficult to describe what my store is to people who have no idea what Etsy is. Is it enough to simply say that it's a venue for artisans to sell their wares? Probably not. My own store may appear like a little craft boutique, but it won't compare with the online stores operated by a rogue chef who's decided to quit his day job to sell gourmet marshmallows and cocoa, or the stay-at-home mom who's using her degree in design into a way to help support her family while she's caring for her kids.

And so I ordered business cards. And I will have to start actually wearing my jewelry that I make. I am really not one to dress up or wear jewelry. I don't even wear makeup. As long as I am dressed each morning and my hair's not sticking out at odd angles I am content with how I look. I suppose if I carry business cards I can at least hand them out when someone says they like the sweater that I'm wearing.

"I just finished this one last week," I can say. And then I can give them my card, with my store's contact info, in case they would like to see the other items I've made. Maybe by then I will have another sweater put together like the one I just finished. I have, in fact, received quite a few compliments on it already.

Maybe if I slow down enough to be caught on film, one of my family members could snap a quick photo of me in my sweater to share here on my blog :)

Blue Treasure Box

2009-12-17T09:05:00.000-08:00

I really enjoyed painting the red box shown in my last post, so I decided to paint another one. Of course I love blue and green together, so I had to go that route:

Of course I had a lot of blue and green paint on my palette, so I kept right on painting.

This one's pretty small, just 5"x7", but I thought it would be the perfect size to lean on a bookshelf or in a wall grouping.

The sides of this one are painted too, so no frame is required. It could still be framed, though. Both of these pieces can be found at my Etsy store, Rock Prairie Designs.

My New "Art Studio"

2009-12-04T09:28:00.000-08:00

Wow, I blogged about my messy area, and what happens? I came home yesterday to find that Hubby rearranged the living room so I now have my own little art studio. It's really just the area where a dining room should be, but our sectional is just way too big for our living room - so our big dining room table is in the shed, disassembled. My work table is now in that corner, with my big cabinet of supplies (and of course, my piano - but you can't see that right now because I've got it buried under sheet music and school books).

This is what it looks like, of course there's a bunch of stuff loaded onto the table since I'm continually in the middle of a project:

And this is the project I was in the middle of:

I painted this little red trinket box in a brilliant shade of red, then embellished it with Norwegian rosemaling-style shapes of flowers and leaves. The lining work is done in gold acrylic, then the whole thing was finished with Kamar varnish and reassembled.

It can now be found at my online Etsy store, Rock Prairie Designs.

Here are a few more views of the same box:

Artistically, I like this last image the best:

A challenge for me is the photography part. I can take pictures of flowers or frogs just fine, but when it comes to anything shiny, I fail miserably. I can never seem to capture the color correctly without the glare of the varnish or the gold paint. Clarity is important too, and I know some of the pictures that I took of earlier items were pretty fuzzy.

Hopefully my images will continue to improve!

Tiny Steps...

2009-12-01T09:15:00.000-08:00

When I was very little, my parents encouraged me to put my pennies into my little piggy bank. Well, it was a Holly Hobby bank, not a pig, but either way it was good advice. Even if I put a few pennies in each week, it would eventually add up to enough to do something with or to buy something nice. When I was little, small pieces of candy only cost a few pennies, and the big jolly rancher sticks were a dime, so it didn't take long to save for a really good treat like a 25-cent candy bar.

The same could go for my little online Etsy store. I'm always strapped for time, but if I add an item or two (wow - even three, maybe?) per day - pretty soon my store will fill up! It's not like my Inventory doesn't exist. It's there, alright. Just ask my husband - it's driving him nuts that I have a big, old, second-hand dining table from Craigslist in the middle of our living room, covered in beading supplies, tubes of acrylic paint, my serger and sewing machine, and of course a zillion and a half paint brushes of every size and shape. He's picking up sewing pins and needles out of the carpet on a daily basis, and God bless his soul he hasn't yelled about that once. At least not while I've been within earshot!

Our bedroom is in a shambles, I've got three big Rubbermaid tubs of fabric stacked in front of my armoire that I have to move every time I want to wear a pair of jeans that reside there. My dress form stands in front of the bedroom window, provocatively dressed in nothing but a June-Cleaver style full-front apron and a cowboy hat left over from my former years of living up north with the horses, cows, pigs and poultry. I've got an almost-finished king-size quilt awaiting a binding that sits on the only chair in the room, and a half-finished crochet afghan in a plastic grocery bag on top of it.

I like to think that it is better to foster a sense of creativity than to worry about what people will think of our clutter. Knowing how to clean is a good skill to have, of course. Especially if you plan on being a maid or a housekeeper. But I've got kids who want to be rockstars someday...

(They do have to help clean, of course - but I'm not obsessive about it.)

One day I may have a perfectly clean house. That will be the day of my wake, when all of my friends and family members have gathered to hopefully remember me for my creativity - rather than for how you could eat off my kitchen floor. But for now, I will keep painting and sewing at night and on the weekends, and crocheting in my van on my lunchbreak since that's really the only way I can get a break from work anyway. Housework will continue to be done on the "ACK! Your mother's going to be here when? Did you say TEN minutes?!?" basis.

I guess if you look at it, my Etsy store is really my third job. I work full time as an "Administrative Coordinator", then of course I'm still a full-time mom and wife. Wait, do I also count taxi-cab driver of teenagers and feeder of dogs?

So it may be a while before my house gets fully cleaned... you get the picture, right?

A picture or two per day, another item posted to my store, even a post to my blog every now and then...all in good time, all in good time.

My Very First Show!

2009-11-30T12:22:00.000-08:00

I worked my first show as a vendor on Saturday. It will hopefully be the first of an annual show, the 1-Stop Holiday Gift Party. It was sponsored by some friends of mine, Paula Wiltsey of DW Enterprises and Robin Hinrichs of Tastefully Simple. It was held in the reception room of Gily's, a local bar located in Becker, MN.

My MIL (mother-in-law) drove down from Fort Ripley to share a table with me. She brought a bunch of her beautiful handmade quilts and pillows, and some embroidered dishtowels, slippers, and doilies that her mother knitted. Yes, she knits her doilies, rather than crocheting them. At 102 years old, she's been making them that way for years, so who are we to question?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fdecomite/ / CC BY 2.0

Of course with all the hurry and hustle of making sure my painted items and jewelry were ready to go and priced, I didn't think to bring along my camera. Drat! Luckily, a reporter from the Sherburne County Citizen was there with his camera. I am definitely watching for his photos in the paper! We (all of this year's vendors) did get our group photo taken with Santa, who was there with his wife, Mrs. Claus for a visit with local kids. I'll have to scan that one when I go to Walmart next so I can share. They were also collecting food donations for the local food shelf.

Sales weren't too huge, as this was our first year. Hopefully next year will bring a better economy and a bigger crowd. I have posted some of my new items on my Etsy store, and I still have more to photograph and post there. I think my handpainted crosses were the most popular item I brought to the sale. As far as I'm concerned, that's just wonderful since I like making those the best. It doesn't take me nearly as long to finish a painting as it does to crochet a hand towel or a snowflake tree ornament

Another reason I like doing the painted wood items, is that they are so much easier to customize than a clothing item. I can get a paint sample or color swatch from the room someone wants to coordinate with, and since I mix my own colors it's a very simple process. Costumes are not too difficult if the customer is at least in the same state, but it would be far more difficult to fit someone who is a thousand miles away.

Check back often - I've booked at showcase slot to promote my painted crosses and other art at Etsy on December 12th, so I will be posting a lot more at www.rockprariedesigns.etsy.com between now and then!

A Modified Design

2009-11-06T18:54:00.000-08:00

I love to crochet. Most of the time when I make something, it goes to someone else. This time, I decided to make something for me.

I started out with a pattern, Lion Brand Homespun's brand pattern number 60750AD, Vintage Tie Jacket. I liked the lines of this sweater, but needed to modify it to suit my tastes & shape.

I really love the yarn that is called out in this pattern. It's very soft. I thought it would be hard to work with, since it's got a wonderful looking wavy texture and multicolored fibers. Once I started working with it, it was easier to get a hang of than I thought.

I am a little wider across the rear, so I extended the length and increased the width from the waist down. I also extended the length of the sleeves, since my arms are either freakishly long or patterns are just generally developed for short people. As I was doing this, I went even longer, with the intent of folding up the sleeves into cuffs. I will leave the seams open near the cuffs in order to add a button closure, more like a jacket than a sweater.

I only have one of the sleeves completed, so I'm not finished - yet.

I still haven't decided whether or not to add the scarf.

The last photo really does capture the color well.

Hopefully this will be finished off this weekend.

Pictures - finally!

2009-11-06T17:45:00.000-08:00

I took some photos of some of my

projects - about time, right?

Way back when, when I was having a heck of a time trying to get a dress form that worked for me, I did end up purchasing one on eBay.

It was in pretty rough shape. My hubby was kind enough to tear it all apart, and he recovered it with tan pool table felt. We both used to work at a furniture store, so he would bring home all the "scrap" fabric - if there's a small tear in something, they would order a brand new cover, and what was removed would typically get thrown away. In some cases that meant several yards of fabric would go into the trash. Neither one of us thought that was alright. Especially since we could make use of it at home.

I've got Renaissance Festival costumes that are made with "scrap" upholstery fabric. When Hubby brought it home, I couldn't find a single thing wrong with it. What a waste. For them, anyway.

This is how the dress form turned out. I think it turned out great, Hubby's a bit critical of his work, though, and thought it could've been better.

The construction of a dress form is basically very simple. I took a photo of what the inside of the form looks like. The panels are held together and adjust by sliding metal brackets and wingnuts.

Another thing that has made my life easier is my "new" serger.

I had to try it out, and I had this vintage-style "Hotel California" fabric. What on earth do you make with something like this?

I thought this fabric was a bit too loud for anything I would wear in public. At least to anything less than a halloween party.
An apron, perhaps?

When Hubby saw the back view, he thought this "dress" was a little revealing. He was kidding, of course.

At least I found that my serger works really well!

TGIF... Yeah, maybe it's a bit cliché, but... YAY!

2009-10-23T05:21:00.000-07:00

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Through all of the craziness at home and work lately, it's been a real struggle to focus on my business plan. Our church's fall fundraiser has been successfully completed (hooray!), as of the final wrap-up meeting downtown today, our company fundraiser at work is officially over for this year (also a BIG hooray!), and my less-than-successful garage sale adventure is over (BIGGEST HOORAY OF ALL! WHA-HOO!).

Since my sale only garnered a whopping $7.95, I remembered why I haven't had a garage sale in the last twenty years. Hopefully the next sale held on my behalf will be when my children are ditching the junk left over after I've died - you know, the stuff no one is going to fight over when I've passed on to that glorious place with streets paved of gold - and no yard sale signs.

One of my goals for each weekday is to accomplish at least one thing that will be a boon to my business. Yesterday I had to be downtown for a business meeting at my "real" job. Since I was right in Minneapolis, I had searched the local Freecycle.org and Craig's List sites online a few days before to see if there was anything I could use. A woman happened to have an entire banker's box full of tissue paper, the kind used for sewing patterns, which was just sitting around taking up space. I happened to need just that item. Finding a whole box for free was a real perk, because I only needed a few yards to start out with. The lady who wanted to be rid of it was only about 10 minutes out of my way, so I figured it was well worth the trip.

Earlier this week I found a cabinet on Craig's List - for free, too. Now I finally have the ugly metal file cabinets out of the corner of the living room, and what once was a great cherry wood entertainment armoire is now my supply cabinet. Not everything fits, yet - but I think I can figure out a way to put shelves inside to stack & organize some of the smaller boxes so it's manageable. I think the cabinet fits right in where I put it, in the corner of the living room. It's finished with a pretty cherry colored stain, and was made by a friend of the people who gave it to me. When I spoke with it's previous owner on the phone, she told me it was real wood.

"Wow!" I exclaimed. "Real wood? Not sawdust and glue?"
"Real wood," she confirmed. "Bring help, it's heavy."

And it was in their basement. Thankfully, Hubby used to work at a furniture store, so he knew exactly how to move this beast of a cabinet. With the help of a oversized dolly and the husband of the lady who had placed the ad, he was able to wheel it out the back door, up a big hill, and around the house to the driveway where we managed somehow to get it into the back of the van.

After writing everything down, I think I wasn't slacking off too terribly. I just haven't been posting on my blogs as often as I think I should. We all had some "crud" that was going around last week, so I haven't been feeling very ambitious. While I was at home recuperating I started crocheting a sweater jacket that I had picked up a pattern for last December. Yep, that was almost a year ago. I had knee surgery then, and picked out a ton of crafty things to keep me busy while I had to stay off my feet, and I don't think I finished more that a couple of things.

Funny how I'm always more motivated to finish a project for a friend or a customer than for myself. Maybe that's not entirely a bad thing?

Next: to get motivated enough to snap some pictures of my sweater & other stuff to share with you in the next post :)

DIY at FaveCrafts.com

2009-09-24T04:29:00.000-07:00

I love crafty things. Whether it's sewing, art, or just something to keep the kids occupied so my day runs a lot more smoothly - what's not to love? Even if I weren't trying to bring in a little extra cash by selling my own homemade blankets, jewelry and costumes, I would still be making time for the projects I adore.

FaveCrafts.com is an awesome site with 1000's of free craft projects, home decor ideas and DIY tips. They add new projects and tips every day. Some of the free crafts projects they update daily include Christmas Crafts, Free Knitting Patterns, Free Crochet Patterns and Crafting with Kids. Make sure you sign up for their free daily e-mail newsletter Quick & Crafty and grab a free eBook like Creative Crafting all Year Round: Crafts to Celebrate the Holidays eBook. Get is all at http://www.favecrafts.com/.

My last little inspiration came from the FaveCrafts.com website. It seems as though every Sunday I end up getting a little spot or something on my church clothes since I don't ever have the sense to change into playclothes before cooking lunch. The fabulous apron ideas in their article, 14 Favorite Free Sewing Patterns for Aprons, reminded me of my own mom's apron collection. She had at least a dozen or so, from the 1930's through the 1960's. They not only hung in the closet, we wore them on special occasions like Thanksgiving to keep our nice clothes clean. I will be sure to post pictures of the apron I am designing once it's done - inspired by one in particular that my mother used to have.

This is my most recent project:

So what do you do when a grandpa-to-be wants a Minnesota Vikings football-inspired blanket for his new granddaughter and his wife wants a soft, girly blanket suitable for cuddling into?

This is what my girlfriend Terri came up with for an idea. She found the pattern idea in a book and we hunted for a couple hours before finding the perfect fabric. The quilt top is a soft cotton & cotton/poly blend. The back is the softest yellow micro-terry that I have ever seen.

New mama-to-be Hannah went into labor yesterday, today at work I will find out if the new baby has arrived yet or if this was just a false alarm.

How exciting! it's been a while since I've sewn baby stuff. I almost forgot how much fun it is - everything is so small! I think I have enough terry left for a sleeper or two. This weekend may be a busy one!

I did get a chance to use my new serger on this blanket. What a deal! $75.00 and it runs like brand new.

I Found a Serger!

2009-09-17T12:08:00.000-07:00

I am so happy! After scouring http://www.craigslist.org/ I am happy to announce that I have found an affordable serger. I will drive an hour to pick it up tomorrow after work. For a mere $75, a believe the drive will be worth it. The cheapest price I've been able to find so far on even a worn-out used machine has been around $200.

In case you do not know what a serger does, it produces a neat, professional-looking finished edge on whatever fabric you happen to feed through it. This is what a serged edge should look like:

This photo was found on WhatTheCraft.com, a great site that can help even a beginning Do-It-Yourselfer (a.k.a. DIY-er) with basic sewing techniques. If you want to try your own project, do stop by and check them out.

This afternoon I am going to the biggest fabric store that I have ever seen in my life.

SR Harris Fabric Outlet is a 30,000 square foot warehouse that has been in business since 1966. They carry any and every type of fabric you can imagine, from the typical cotton prints you can find in WalMart to designer-brand textiles and even full-size leather hides This place is so huge you don't dare go alone, in case you get lost! Well, I'm wearing comfortable shoes and leaving work early, so Hubby won't even miss me until around dinner time. Most husbands either stay in the car with a good book or just stay home since a visit there can be an all-day affair.

Today's trip won't be an all-day one, of course. A friend of mine asked me to make a baby blanket for her step daughter who is expecting a baby very soon, so we pretty much know what we're looking for. That still won't stop me from leaving there with a van load, I'm sure!

Garage Sale

2009-09-15T14:00:00.000-07:00

Ever have one of those weeks that seem like you are running into one obstacle after another? Last week was my week for that. This week is shaping up to be a lot better, thank God!

Most of my existing sewing supplies are in storage. Literally packed away behind a ton of household goods that were sent to the storage unit in town when we had our house on the market a few years ago. Since our house is so small we just kept the storage space (we do not have a garage). Now, with the economy being what it is, I cannot justify spending $85 per month to store things I have not used in years. Yes, years.

I think it’s time to have a garage sale.

What? No way – a garage sale? Like I want to spend the next few weeks digging through the storage unit, cleaning things up and putting price tags on the whole lot? Not really. I mentioned to Hubby that I was planning on “cleaning house” – without mentioning the dreaded G.S. words, and he actually brought it up. He even thought it was a good idea!
Let’s see if he still thinks it’s a good idea on October 8th, 9th and 10th when strange people are wandering up the driveway, asking if he wants to sell something he doesn’t want to sell! God willing, we can get rid of all our excess stuff so I have a bit more room to function in. I can hardly wait to have some space on our own property to set up a real work area.

I’ve been scanning www.craigslist.org for “to be moved” buildings. Ideally, I will be able to find a small garage or large shed that I can move onto our property. I can finish off the inside on my own. Sheet rocking is something I know I can do (unlike manufacturing my own dress form). Another obstacle that hit me squarely in the forehead last week: I can hardly afford to pay for our own laundry at the Laundromat. When I sew, I always pre-wash (a.k.a. pre-shrink) the fabric. I would have to hook up whatever I get with electricity and also have some running water for a washer and dryer.

Uff da! Sorry, that was my Norwegian showing.

Auction Finds

2009-09-11T07:19:00.001-07:00

I love antiques. Yesterday, I took off at noon to pick up some cool items I found on auction. It was a pleasant surprise to find that my winnings were even better than I expected.

After picking those boxes up, I immediately went to my storage unit, with intentions of eventually getting a walkway cleared to the back where I have several totes of fabric & craft supplies. By the time I got home, my van was full to the brim with things I either want to sell or just give away. My hair was full of cobwebs and my once-white T-shirt was covered with grime. Of course I was exhausted as well, and still had yet to cook dinner. After the dishes were washed and the kitchen was back in order again, I cleaned up some of my cool auction finds and took some photos. By the time I had two new listings in my Etsy store, it was ten minutes past midnight.

Where on earth does the time go?!? Granted, I did a bit of research on the web before listing the two things I did manage to get online, because I really wanted to be confident that the demitasse set wasn't a reproduction. I'd hate to get the reputation for selling "crap" - trying to pass off a fake as an original.

Needless to say, I shut off the alarm while still asleep this morning at 5:15, and fell back to sleep. Eddy, one of Hubby's business contacts, called at 6:50am - the time we are usually rolling out the door for school and my "regular" job.

6:50?!? I saw the time on the alarm clock and swore, Hubby jumped out of bed to yell for the kids - since no one else had bothered to set their alarms at all. Somehow, the boys all managed to get dressed, eat something, and even get their hair combed and teeth brushed before getting out to the bus - on time! The bus pulled up at 6:56 and they were all climbing aboard. I even managed to make it to work on time - with about 5 minutes to spare even. Of course my van is still half-stuffed to the gills with antiques and old clothing for the Good Will, but that's the price I'm willing to pay to make this all work :)

As I Promised...

2009-09-09T20:16:00.000-07:00

Photos of my horrible Dress Form Fail! This is me, encased in plaster. Unless you've ever been in this situation, don't even begin to think it's humanly possible to stand perfectly still for 2 hours.

Even the small amount of movement I made while trying to be so careful ended up wrinkling the back of the cast.

My husband was such a dear, when I was away at work he taped up the mold and stuffed it, since the foam one turned out looking rather like Quasimodo. It's larger than I really am, but I can use it for a larger size dress form, anyway.

And no matter what angle you look at the foam one from, it's horrible! The boys want to paint it up and put it in the yard for Halloween. They may be on to something. Maybe that will be a start to a new product line :)And again, Hubby is my knight in shining armor. He found a used dress form that he thought I might like, so he bought it and brought it home. Over the phone he said it looked to be about my size. It's a men's 40. :) Well, it's his size, anyway!Now it looks more like his style! So instead of one new one, it turns out that besides this men's size form, I won a used "size A" vintage dress form on Ebay. Total cost including shipping was about $60.00It has been a busy week. Now, I better start sewing so I can afford to build an addition on to the house so I have room for three dress forms.

I started cleaning out the 10'x 24' storage unit that I've been renting for the last eight years. It was supposed to be temporary, after all. I can't justify spending the $85 per month anymore. Time to have a big sale, before it gets cold out. That way I'll have more room in the house for stuff I will be selling, or at least my sewing stuff.

G'night, all!

Dress Form Fail!

2009-09-07T14:52:00.000-07:00

Let's just say that I would have saved myself lots of time, and if time is worth money, I would have been better off just buying the expensive dress form! I will upload some photos soon, but I really want to make this work before I say too much. In a nutshell, like I said before, Hubby would wrap me up in plaster cloth to make a mold, then we'd fill it with expansion foam, right?

The plaster cloth didn't dry very hard, as there were "mushy" spots. Maybe I should have purchased more. I started out with 3 packages of plaster-impregnated gauze (2 rolls were 9 inches wide x 180" long, the other roll was 4" wide x 180" long). Wearing a plastic bag wasn't a good idea so I had Hubby wrap me in plastic wrap. Another bad idea! If I were to do it again, I would sacrifice an old, form-fitting t-shirt - wearing that underneath the plaster. Or maybe just slather on the Vaseline instead. Forget the plastic. I'm washable.

So we cut off the plaster form. It didn't look too terrible, but I never realized how bad my posture is! It was still a bit damp, so I let it dry overnight. The next day we taped the entire works back together again with duct tape. Against my gut feelings, we stuffed a plastic bag inside - I was afraid it would hinder the expansion foam and wrinkle in all the wrong places. As the saying goes, always trust your gut insticts. My dress form has only half a bustline, so to speak, the plastic bag created a huge crease down the right side of the chest, and the shoulders over-expanded to give my form the appearance of a gorilla on steroids. The foam didn't dry as expected, it took two days before it was a solid piece of foam. I may whittle the foam down to a core and then fill the cast in two sections, then put them together around the core and tie shut. We will see!

I am still trying to remain optimistic, as I am not counting this as a total loss yet. I may be able to fix this so it's usable. My earnings so far are approximately $50, when that number grows, I may just buy a nice dress form.

DIY: Dressmaker's Dummy

2009-09-04T10:49:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you who have been following and leaving comments. I really appreciate it; I can always use encouragement! For some reason, I occasionally can’t get in to post comments in my own blog, I get little red X’s on the screen I would normally see a comment box on. So what the heck, I may just respond to comments here in my blog itself. Why not, right?

As I’ve mentioned before, when you’re on a small budget (zero, to be exact), finding supplies can sometimes be challenging. But there is fun to be had in almost every challenge, right? Assuming you approach it with a sense of humor?

One of the dream-items that I’ve always wanted for my costuming projects is a dressmaker’s form. Even the cheap ones are expensive, and the really nice ones are what I would definitely call “cost prohibitive,” i.e., about $2,000 for the really nice one I found online. Of course, being the unconventional weirdo that I am, I decided to make my own. I found directions online at a sewing magazine website, http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/3659/clone-yourself-a-fitting-assistant. After searching through the local Michael’s craft store, I managed to find the plaster cloth I needed and stopped at the Home Depot next door for expansion foam. You know, the kind you fill in the gaps around your dryer vent and/or plumbing with?

Alright, so picture with me how this will go: I put on a large plastic bag, have Hubby wrap me up in the plaster cloth and stand still until it dries. Then, Hubby will (carefully, I hope) cut the body cast off of me in two neat sections. We will then tie the two sections back together and fill the empty shell with the expansion foam. Then, after the foam has fully dried and we’ve removed the plaster cast, Voila! A dress form, custom-made exactly to my measurements! Then I will only need to trim off the rough edges, cover with a soft & stretchy jersey-knit fabric & mount it on a stand.

My girlfriends at work fear I may not make it out of the body-cast part. They’ve warned me to keep my cell phone handy! Yes, it may be more difficult than it sounds, but there is only one way to find out, right? For a thirty dollar investment, I think it’s a risk I’m willing to take :) If you don't hear from me within the next few days, I'm trying to find a way out of my body cast!

Costumes

2009-09-02T10:26:00.000-07:00

My favorite item to sew, hands-down, would be costumes. I have been sewing costumes for over twenty years now. In high school I made my own and also sewed for friends. If only I had the foresight to take pictures! I guess I’ll just have to start over again. Some of the costumes I’ve made over the years include a lacy, black, harem-girl’s outfit; a giant fuzzy gray mouse (worn to cover my pregnant tummy at a Halloween party), a dinosaur, a Viking queen, a Viking raider (like the ones on the credit card commercial), kilts with pouffy shirts for the guys, and several renaissance women’s costumes.

A friend of mine talked her daughter into trying on a costume before they borrowed it for the MN Renaissance Festival. This is one I made two years ago:

I am looking for a decent, low-cost serger that will allow me to sew these faster, with professional-looking, finished seams. From what reviews I have read, it sounds like the Brother serger that is sold at Wal-Mart is a good one. At $200, it’s one of the most affordable machines I’ve seen. That will probably be the first bigger investment I make in my little company.

Because I can't sell non-handmade, non-vintage items in my Etsy store I have some things listed on Ebay, as well. Even though I have two separate doll listings, I am stating adamantly that I am not a "doll person." In fact, since my own childhood I have strongly believed that the only thing good about Barbie was that I could design her clothes and make her furniture. I never cared whether Barbie & Ken were dating or if they were married. As far as Skipper was concerned, She could just sit in the case with all the extra clothes and shoes, because she was flat-footed and couldn't wear the high heeled shoes like Barbie could. After all, if I was designing Chanel knock-offs for my dolls, why should they go barefoot?

Never Enough Time!

2009-08-30T19:41:00.000-07:00

So I decided I would work all day on Saturday, uploading pictures and working on getting my Etsy store "just so". I don't know why I ever bother making plans! I woke up around 6:30, had a cup of coffee with Hubby before he ran out to do a construction job with his brother. Finally, quiet time to myself with the boys still asleep, I could work in my pajamas and get so much done. Well, that's what I thought. For some reason my internet connection kept flickering in and out and my Photoshop software was running really slow. By the time my husband came home at 2:30 in the afternoon, I was still on the couch in my PJs with my laptop running at full capacity. I think I've got it figured out, though. I still only managed to get four things listed on my shop. At least I did manage to get my Etsy link posted here on my blog, if you'd like to check it out! Now that I know how to post things there, it won't be long before I have more added to my store.

By 3:30 on Saturday afternoon, a girlfriend of mine stopped over to borrow some costumes for the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. I was still in my PJs. We dug through my assortment of bodices, chemises and skirts, finally finding the green skirt which matched the bodice of my friend's choice that was hidden away in the back of my closet. Hubby was searching the upstairs, thinking I had stashed it away separate from the rest of our medieval gear, when he found some more material I lost track of. That was a good thing, I was able to whip together a "pouffy shirt" (a la That 70's Show) for my friend's two-year old son before they left for home. Another good thing that came from that unplanned visit is that my friend's daughter was kind enough to model a costume for a few photos. I will have to upload those tomorrow as this weekend has totally gotten away from me! It's now almost 10pm, and I had planned on being in bed by 9pm to make up for the late nights over the weekend. See what happens when I make plans?

Good night, all :)

By the Way...

2009-08-28T10:59:00.000-07:00

Did I mention how cool it was to get a big package in the mail, addressed to Rock Prairie Designs? My hubby put that one on the top of my stack of mail so I would see it first. It made opening the bills bearable!

Tonight's the Night - Hopefully!

2009-08-28T10:43:00.000-07:00

Hopefully. Due to dire financial straits I am going to have to list some things a bit earlier than I planned. Mad dash planned for this afternoon when I leave work - I think I've found a printer for my artwork, so I will meet with them and hopefully they will have the scanning capabilities to handle larger-than-standard paper. The woman I spoke with didn't understand what "tooth" means, which is a word that describes the texture of canvas for painting. I told her I wanted to use a heavier-weight paper, something about 100 pound. Something with a little tooth, not smooth. She answered by saying, "I don't know what you mean."

We'll see how this goes. She was only the woman who answered the phone. Let's see if the person who calls back is more knowledgeable. Hopefully this will be the case.

I did get my Certificate of Assumed Name back from the state. For $100, the local paper will publish my notice for two consecutive weeks. One more small step taken! They sent me a nice folder full of advertising rates and samples. Maybe someday I will be able to afford advertising :)

I'm not really fully ready to start putting things online, but thankfully, I've got kids who are artistic and also want to add things to my store. My middle son is quite the sculptor. The picture below is of parts of a marionette he is making. Think "The Dark Crystal" by Jim Henson, if you've ever seen it. He's not done with it yet, of course. I will get more pictures of that one, for sure - it already shows promise of being a really cool finished product!

Donation Items

2009-08-18T16:38:00.001-07:00

Here are the items I made for the Silent Auction at the motorcycle rodeo. Like I mentioned before, all of the jewelry sold out, but the purses didn't even get a single bid!

The photo above needs a little bit of tweaking, the lighting is too harsh. The one below is a bit too fuzzy. I will have to work on my images before I post them in my Etsy store.

The big white bathtowel is ok as a background for my pictures here in my blog, but I will probably use the dupioni or taffeta fabric from my inventory of dressmaking supplies in the future.

A trick to staging a good photo is to use a few different sizes of boxes under a nice fabric dropcloth. I also have some black velvet that would have worked well as a background for any of these items.

A wooden dowel wrapped in the same makes for a good spot to hang earrings for display; a paper towel tube will work just as well for bracelets.

The purses are really just placemats that have been sewn together. Shh... don't tell anyone!

A.K.A. Rock Prairie Designs!

2009-08-17T08:06:00.000-07:00

I filed my Certificate of Assumed Name with the State of Minnesota today! That was one check that actually made me feel great to write out. $25 will allow me to legally use the name Rock Prairie Designs for ten years. When I get my certificate, I will have to publish it with a legal newspaper for two consecutive weeks.

Since I am not “officially” conducting business yet, I have been researching all sorts of things and learning more about my market. This weekend we had our ABATE of MN Sand Dunes Chapter 13th Annual Motorcycle Rodeo. I made a necklace/earrings set, another single pair of earrings, a bracelet and two purses for the silent auction. All of the jewelry did sell and had a few bidders, but the purses did not sell. Granted, participation was really low due to a full day of rain. After the opening events, a 3-hour motorcycle ride and a stunt show by a group called SquidWheelies, the rain came down and the rodeo games were cancelled. At that point a lot of people went home, without bidding on any of the items on the auction. There were a lot of really cool items that didn’t sell besides my purses, so I will not take it personally. I did get some compliments before the auction even began, so I won’t discontinue my purse designs all together, yet!

I took a HUGE amount of photos over the weekend. Uploading them may take some time, so that is on the agenda for this evening. I also will be putting together some more items specifically for the United Way campaign’s silent auction at my “regular” work and also for the Fall Sale at our church on October 3rd.

Inspiration can sometimes be found right in front of your nose, I realized over the weekend. A girlfriend of mine was over to our house for the rodeo, and asked if I had a spare costume she could borrow for the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. Of course I do, so I pulled out what I had and realized that all those costumes take up about 1/3 of my closet space. That is not counting the 31-gallon Rubbermaid tote that contains the kilts, belts, sporrans, and other tartan gear that my men folk don in appreciation of their Scots-Irish heritage each year. What a concept – adding costumes to my inventory! That’s one thing I know I can sew well. We get asked each year where we purchased our costumes. So thanks, Lisa – I owe you credit for that one!

The Minnesota Renaissance Festival is the largest in the U.S., with more than 500 entertainers, 275 crafters, and 120 food booths, attracting 275,000 visitors from across the nation annually. If there are 275,000 visitors to that festival, there are at least that many potential customers who may be out there shopping online. I’d say that’s a good start to a potential customer base. Who knows, maybe someday I will be a vendor there with an actual brick & mortar (or shall I say wattle-and-daub) booth :)

Ribbons & Lace

2009-08-14T07:51:00.000-07:00

Photo uploaded from Playingwithbrushes at www.flickr.com

I helped a friend move some boxes from her old house to a new apartment yesterday evening. She and her husband are downsizing from a big house to a senior citizen apartment; and the idea of cleaning out her craft room is overwhelming. She unloaded a few shoeboxes full of bias tapes, ribbons and lace on me – which helped her to clean out some things she hasn’t touched in twenty years and doing me a HUGE favor by giving me some neat “vintage” supplies. It was easy work for my 16-year old son and I to move a vanload of boxes, yet it was something she could not do on her own. Her husband would have loved to help out, but he’s still recovering from back surgery and was unable to. I did not ask for the things my friend gave to me, but she knows what I am working towards. If you tell your friends and family what your goals are, you may end up with help you did not expect.

There is a wealth of information on the web regarding home businesses and starting your own. I believe the more information I have and the more research I do before fully diving in to the operation of my online store, the better. It also gives me more time between everything else to build inventory prior to listing items for sale. Stocking my inventory is the part that will take the most physical work, but I really enjoy it. Making the time to do it is the most challenging part!

I have not taken out a business loan; the amount of my own money I have invested to date is less than $50. One thing I do know how to do is find good deals where they can be had, which has been helpful in finding supplies for my creations at very low prices (and in some cases, for free).

Here is a list of some of the sites I’ve been learning from:

http://www.myownbusiness.org/
http://www.sba.gov/ (US Small Business Administration)
http://businessonmain.msn.com/default.aspx
http://www.entrepreneur.com/
http://www.uspto.gov/ (United States Patent and Trademark Office Home Page)
There is definitely more to starting your own business than just sewing a few things to sell on Ebay!

8 Mistakes To Avoid When Naming Your Business - Entrepreneur.com

2009-08-14T07:07:00.001-07:00

Although I've already picked a name for my business, I did read this article and found it very informative. I believe I've picked a good name, as I've read the article and didn't immediately identify with any of the "don'ts" listed therein.

8 Mistakes To Avoid When Naming Your Business - Entrepreneur.com

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Web Hosting - Do I Need It?

2009-08-12T10:37:00.000-07:00

In between working my regular full-time job and all the sewing, beading and melting of ribbon-ends to make them unfrayable, I have been researching my web-hosting options. There are enough companies out there that all seem to offer the moon, but at a price!

Things of note that I will need to compare when shopping around: bandwidth, whether or not their disk space is unlimited. I will need 24/7 support and at least 1GB of transfer volume per month. I’ve also learned that it would be better to register my domain name independently, rather than going through a web-host. 4 to 5GB is the minimum amount of “disk space” I should look for.

What does all of this mean to me? In a nutshell, I want my site to be up and running 99.9% of the time. I want friendly, cooperative customer service reps to assist me with any problems I may have, even if it is 2am. I want my customers to be able to place an order whenever it is convenient for them, and if they have any problems doing so, I want them to be able to reach me at an email that ends in “@rockprairiedesigns” dot whichever com, net or whats-it I am able to get.

Now, if I can find one that is affordable, that may be the bigger part of this challenge. I do not have hundreds of dollars to invest in a web domain. I may have to use Etsy and Ebay until things take off. I will keep you posted.

Promoting My New Biz :)

2009-08-12T08:56:00.000-07:00

I’m all for social networking, especially because it can help you to promote a home business or keep in touch with family and friends. I checked this new site out based on a tip from a Tweet, and if all goes well, this could prove interesting. Possibly profitable, to boot! It’s free, so there’s no harm in trying this out to see how it goes. I got 100 free shares for joining, check it out for yourself: http://www.me2everyone.com/445386.

If anything, it will be one more place to promote the new biz :)

My First Photos...

2009-08-09T19:56:00.001-07:00

I finally took a couple of photos - it just so happened that I had a model to wear one of the dresses I made. After seeing these online, I now know what I will do to improve my pictures before posting them online in my Etsy store.

While my grand-niece is absolutely adorable (I may be biased), the dress I made for her is about two sizes bigger than what she should be wearing. I made the dress bigger on purpose; kids grow like weeds, she should be able to wear this for at least a year before she outgrows it.

I believe I will have to make some that fit her properly for an advertising photo. My other thought is that I should have a better background. My garden looks horrible right now! I will probably take her to a flower garden that isn't too far away for a good photo background. I will also take a more candid shot, so she doesn't have the "look, I'm so pretty" smile - she's even prettier when she's not posing.

Any thoughts?

Welcome to Rock Prairie Designs

2009-08-05T13:16:00.000-07:00

Or, shall I say, welcome to my attempts to get a home business up and running! To put it in a nutshell, I've got a family of five and an income of approximately half of what we need in order to survive without the bill collectors knocking down our door. My husband was laid-off last October (seasonal unemployment), called back to work in early July, and hasn't been able to work a full forty hours since then. Not forty hours per week, mind you. I mean collectively, to date. Praise God in heaven I had enough money hidden away so that we've been able to pay our bills on time - so far! I guess the addition to our little 784 square-foot house will have to wait. This will be the spot to watch if you are interested in seeing how my home-business endeavors fly (or crash)!

Unfortunately my husband is also having some horrible back problems, and until we get some other medical bills paid he is refusing to see the doctor. I understand there will be trials in this lifetime, but I am really beginning to wonder if our entire lives are one BIG trial!

Thankfully I was taught to sew at a very young age, and my spare hours on rainy days have always been filled with sewing, beading and other crafty projects that seemed useless - until now. Now I am hoping that my little hobbies will help to bring in a little desperately-needed cash. Blogging is a great way to document progress, so here I am.

As I get things put together and ready for sale I will post pictures and links to my stores. I have a wide variety of interests, so be sure to check back often - my plan is to offer a wide variety of things for sale. And again, welcome to Rock Prairie Designs. I seem to have nothing but rocks in my field, but I am determined to make something good grow here.