Making Paper

I've been pondering and pondering; I know I want a hobby but I just couldn't figure out what type. Historically I get all excited about something and then get bored and never stick with it but I think I may have finally found a good one. I found a link via project felt , and I've decided to give paper-making a shot. Project felt directed me to Craft magazine where there is an article on paper-making ; for some reason the thought of playing with pulp and water reminds me of making mud pies as a child which I really miss being able to do. So for my birthday in February (hint, hint BF) I will be requesting all the necessary supplies to make paper and away I go. Oh won't it be fun to turn all my junk mail and bills into lovely nice paper!

Bath Time: Smells Good and Feels Good

Three more items from my Sampler

Faccia Bella Face Scrubby from Smitten Kitten, a very soft handmade facecloth that I really don't want to use because I don't want to get it dirty. Smitten Kitten has a "Posh & Practical All Handmade Boutique" at Etsy. She sells all sorts of goodies from afghans to scarves and hats, men's scarves and kitchen and bath items. Everything is made without a pattern and born of her obsession with yarn.



Next up is the scrumptious sounding Pink Sugar Cocoa Butter Bath Truffle from The Lote Tree:
I cannot wait to plop this in the tub at my next bath, I love all things cocoa butter. The Lote Tree is run by husband and wife Jessica and Marcus Booth and their mantra is Handmade Luxury Body Care made with Love. Everything on their site sounds delicious, I'm particularly wanting to try the Dulce de Leche lotion nugget (it's solid, you warm it in your hands to apply) and the Cajun Vanilla All-Over Lotion.



Lastly is a soap sample from Sublime Dragonfly called chocolate cherry. When I opened this up, I truly thought it was a piece of candy and was about to pop it in my mouth until I read the card that came with it. Whew! I did not want to wash my mouth out with soap now matter how yummy it smells. But this soap really truly smells like candy, I am still wanting to eat it as it sits here in front of me wafting its scent my way. mmmmm Sublime Dragonfly's products also appear to be possibly edible, I'm wondering is there a market for all-natural soaps that wash the inside as well as the outside? Tops on my list to try are the sugar scrubs which come in flavors such as Almond Biscotti, Mint Cookie, and Peanut Butter & Jelly. I'm also liking the lip balms which are made with mango butter, Cafe Latte and Raspberry Lemonade for me please!




Is it wrong that I'm wanting something sweet to eat after writing this???

Juniper card holders beware!!!

Thursday I received my Juniper credit card statement in the mail and I noticed the envelope was only sealed in the far left corner. It would have been very easy for anyone to slip my statement out of the envelope and jot down my account number, put the statement back in the envelope, seal it up, and I'd be none the wiser. This is the second time the envelope has arrived unsealed so I emailed Juno:

Me: My statement arrived in the mail unsealed. Should I request a new card with a different account number? Also, is there any way to opt out of receiving statements in the mail?

Juniper: We understand your concern regarding the receipt of your billing statement. Please keep in mind that your statement only has the last four account numbers printed on it. At this time we would not suggest you request another account number as we do not believe your account has been compromised. Your account is not eligible for paperless statements. Therefore, you can not opt of paper statements. We apologize for the inconvenience.


Which inconvenience are they apologizing for, the unsealed envelope? the possible identity theft? or the fact that they kill trees by not offering an opt-out for paper statements?

I emailed back and confirmed that yes the statement does only show the last four numbers of my account, however the payment coupon lists the entire account number right there to the left of my name and address for anyone and his brother to see. How do they not know what their payment coupon looks like? Anyway since today is Saturday I don't expect a reply back until Monday so I shall update this later. Hopefully my concern will be all for nothing, but someone I know had his credit messed up because of stolen mail so I'm trying to be extra vigilant.

And dear Juniper please get with the program and offer an opt-out option. All of my other credit cards do it, the cable and phone companies do it, you should do it too.

Sampler and Funky Artsy

Last month I bought my first Sampler. For those of you not in the know (which was me until last month) the Sampler is a marketing and promotional tool for indie businesses. Every month various indie artisans send samples of their wares to Marie at the Sampler (soon to be Allison), Marie promotes them on the website and via the SamplerGram and I'm not sure how else. She then portions them out into Sampler packages which people like you and me can then buy and receive all sorts of indie goodness. Here's a picture of my Sampler:



I decided that I would go and check out each and every one of the contributors to my Sampler and post back. The first one up is Funky Artsy who included this cute box of matches (the picture is from their website.) Funky Artsy is "an art collective. We create one-of-a-kind jewelry, clothing, hair accessories, and art. Specializing in bead/wire jewelry: earrings, necklaces, bracelets, anklets; hemp jewelry: hemp necklaces, bracelets, anklets, belts, headbands (w/ hand-blown glass beads); fabric/feather/leather hair pieces; and Batiked clothing/cloth/art. We also do custom work on an individual basis."


Funky Artsy also has an Etsy shop where you can find items like these:

Another addiction

I spoke previously about my addiction to Babble which I play everyday. Another site that I visit almost everyday is Etsy. Since joining on October 19, I have purchased 10 things and I have to restrain myself from buying every single one of my favorite items because my wise BF says I need to stop shopping right now!!! But as someone who considers themselves artistically challenged, seeing the sheer brilliance of these Etsy artisans makes me happy. And an added benefit of Etsy is that a lot of the sellers have blogs, you will note several of them in the sidebar, I read those almost everyday as well. My neck and shoulders ache from sitting at the computer too long every night, but I feel as if this exposure to all this handmade goodness and inspirational design is making me into a more thoughtful and better person. This is hard to express, but all these Etsy-ers are such a happy and kind community that I want to be happy and kind whereas before I was content being a pill.

my walter

This is Walter, he's my newest friend. When I am very good and get up on time he makes me a yummy double tall nonfat vanilla latte to take to work with me. When I am bad and don't get up on time, Walter and I are both sad because no latte. I bought him on Amazon, he came with a milk frother that works splendiferously. I also purchased some Illy coffee and Torani syrup and now am good to go. I worked it all out and at an average price of $4 per latte (at the latte shop) Walter and company will have paid for themselves in only 22 lattes. I think we will be very happy together.

it snowed today

Ferber gets crazy excited whenever its really windy or its snowy. This afternoon it was coming down in really big fat fluffy flakes and I had to open the window so he could gets his sniffs while he watched the snow. Then of course he just had to come outside while I took the pictures, but it was very cold and he asked to go back in almost immediately.