Guess Who's Back

The past few months...let's me honest the past year, has been freakin nutso.  And as I do realize that is not the greatest excuse for not writing a three paragraph blog 2-3 times a week, it's what I'm sticking to.  I've really missed writing this blog and so here I am again with random rants and crafts and even some personal progress.


In the past year I graduated as a Master Esthetician, opened my own business, expanded ladybug&babybird, moved twice (the second time into our own home!), expanded our little family by eight (chickens), and just recently survived watching ky getting into a horrible motorcycle accident.


People say you don't know what you have until it's gone, well I want to change that statement, you know what you have then watch something horrible happen then realize even more how much that thing means to you.  It was a crappy Sunday for motocross and as it was the second day of racing my initial nerves had worn off.  I've always loved watching the races and even more I love watching Kyle do what he loves.  As his race started I felt this urge to get up from behind the propane heater I was nuzzled behind and let him see my standing there as he raced by.  To be honest I can't recall a whole lot of what happened after that, Kyle came up off the jump that had a step up to it and as if it were in slow motion the whole bike flipped around and landed on top of him.  Everything passed in front of me and all I could think of was I can't do this without him.  I slightly recall jumping a fence (keep in mind I am not agile at all), my landing was sloppy and I ran.  I was the second person to him and he wasn't talking, finally he woke up and through my sobs I heard him say "I'm fine, don't trip". Never in my life have I been so happy to hear the term "Don't Trip".  The second thought that came into my mind was "is he paralyzed?", this was not only my fear but all of the other great guys that were so fast to get to him, they made sure he could move everything and eliminate that fear.  Before he was put in the ambulance I informed him that he better of had fun because never a-f*cking-gain (harsh as it sounds my comedic timing was perfect and even Kyle got a good laugh out of it).


He broke two bones in his back and his collar bone and shoulder blade, and as bad as that sounds (and is) it really could have been so much worse. As I'm not usually the one to rely on the "count your blessings" phrase I think this might be my exception.  Kyle has given me permission to sell his dirt bike and as of right now we are on the hunt for a new hobby, he's really considering refurbishing vintage motorcycles...as long as he can't jump them I'm totally supportive.


I guess what I really want this post to relay is that every single moment is precious with the ones you love and never ever take that for granted. So happy to be back and look for more posts, I promise to be vigilant :)


Steph

Only Monday?!

Ky and I have been working pretty solid since January without any good breaks, we love to travel and with our schedules right now it is almost impossible.  Well Friday we are going to Vegas and I cant really handle how excited I am! we are going down for this huge esthetics conference (IECSC), almost everyone from my school is going including a lot of the staff haha I guess everyone else is needing a vacation this week. 


These past couple of weeks have really been dedicated to knitting my hats for shows and for something new that I'm really excited about.  Signed & Numbered is the awesome local art store that I gab about like all of the time, well they are opening a local artisan boutique and asked if i would like to be apart of it. This is what I really love to do, I'm a huge visual person so when I can see what I am buying before I buy it I feel so much better about it.  Selling over the internet is great and has become huge with sites like etsy and such but when it comes down to it I love when people get to actually see and feel the quality of the product that I make.  Each of my hats and my booties, as well as the quilts I make are all made from the best quality of yarn and felt, I can really appreciate quality but also appreciate not over-pricing things.


I have updated my etsy page,  I love the direction my work is going in and all the new stuff that I have made is here...


http://www.etsy.com/shop/ladybugandbabybird?ref=pr_shop_more


Trust me I can pretty much make anything with felt so if there is something you are wanting and you can't see it on my etsy page please let me know and I will do what I can.  Everything is made to order so you can choose whatever colors, sizes, and anything else that you want.  We can even get as crazy as you want...

yup that would be a raccoon with a mustache :) (mustaches can be added to any characters).  I will keep updating the new items that I add to my etsy page so please keep looking back there or like Button Button on facebook and you will see the updates there :)


There will not be a post this Thursday because we will be getting ready for our trip to Vegas  so look for another post next week :)

bunny

I just had to show you my newest little creation :) This is Bunny, I just bought this cute cotton candy blue colored felt from The Handmaiden on Monday and thought it went perfectly with the coral pink colored yarn that I have from Cascade Yarns. !


Look for some new characters popping up in the next little while because ladybug&babybird will soon be sold at the signed & numbered boutique!! You know where I get all that artwork from? well they are opening a local artisan boutique and I am soooo excited about it.  I will let you know any more updates :)


Remember to become  a fan of Button Button on facebook to receive $5 off an order of $20 or more

Countdown

I realized today that I only have two months of school left and then with one rather large test I will finally be a master esthetician, I have this thing where I adopt a lot of different hobbies or passions and after awhile I don't really have the same spark for them.  This is not the case for esthetics or even the crafting that I do now because I have finally found what I love to do and what I want to do with my life.  I spent the weekend in my home town with my hubby and both of our families.  I miss it, I miss how simple it is and how the pace is so much slower, the city we live in now isn't that large compared to other cities in the U.S. but it's still a lot bigger than what I'm comfortable with.  Growing up I always wanted out of Price, I had big plans to go to California and who knows where it would go from there.  I think what makes me want to go back to Price so badly is Kyle, he reminded me of who I really am and how important family is, especially the fact that I want our little kids to grow up right by their grandparents.


I'm so excited for what the next few months hold for us, we have a few trips planned that we need really badly and I'm so excited to be done with school just to have a normal life and to really get ladybug&babybird in full swing.  My biggest goal is to start my own little spa :) but we won't get too much into that until later.


This weekend has been really crazy and while my mom helped me with reading clothes patterns and what not I haven't really done a lot of crafting, I did get back into my quilt today though :) Like I said it's totally ok to take a break from your projects just as long as you finish them eventually, there is nothing as motivational and positively boosting as finishing a project and hopefully I can have this quilt done by the time school is over.

I really wanted to reminded you all about my handmade crib blankets, they make fore the greatest gifts and they are so soft and warm but not too heavy for the summer.  I can basically make anything on them so if you have any ideas or questions please let me know :) these blankets are only $75 and will make one happy little fashionable baby.   My email is asay.stephanie@gmail.com :)

Find a Button, Pick it Up

I love finding buttons, Whether they be the extra button you get with a new shirt or one that falls off of an old one I just love finding them and putting them in the top drawer of my sewing desk.  I think that is the same little kick I get out of finding things at the antique store, I can't help myself but get excited and wonder what the item has been through or who owned it before me.  In my mind older stuff is always cooler than new stuff (well in most cases :)).  I think we live in a world today where not many people look to the past because that is kind of looked at as a negative thing, but I believe that the things we have gone through and the history we have laid down as a foundation for ourselves is what we need to cherish.  I never really had grandparents, my grandma's died before I was born, my grandpa Koss died when I was three and I was never close to my grandpa Atwood.  The only thing I had of theirs were small items they had like my grandma's hanky, or my grandpa's paint box.  Since I was little I really cherished these things as a way to connect me to them, that basic idea grew into what I love now, the idea that the antique I just bought has a history to it, even though it's not my history.


I'm really lucky that Ky has the same love for it as I do and we've started to make it a habit to go to the antique mall whenever we can, Sunday we were able to go and I found the coolest thing :) When women used to quilt they generally stitched it by hand piece by piece, when you find quilts like these they generally run $150-$200 and I really don't think I could get away with that.  Sunday I found this beauty...

This is an antique quilt that I found for only $30! I really couldn't pass this up, judging by the fabric I would say it was made in the 60's or 70's maybe earlier, it needs a little love seeing as the one thing I don't really like about it is that the back it terry cloth. Never fear I'm going to Price this weekend and my mama bear is going to help me fix it :)

 We need to fix up a few things like this, but that will be really easy.  It a little bigger than crib size so it is going to be so perfect for when we have little ones :) (boy or girl!)

Oh ya! I finally went and picked up my second piece of artwork from Signed and Numbered in Sugarhouse, It's of a whole stack of birds and I just adore it.  The framing turned out perfect and the charcoal matte board the girl working suggested made the ink work really pop, can't help but love this bad boy :)

Energies and Baby Booties

I've been learning a lot of interesting things at school and lately it has been all about the different energies we all have and auras and what not.  I thought I might share some of that with you and you can take it or leave it :)  So basically we have an inside and outside energies, our chakras are our inner energy, there are seven of them and each govern something different.  Our Auras are our outside energies radiated from the Chakras.  When you get your aura read or see pictures related to it all the colors mean something different and together make us the individuals that we are.  We were lucky to take a field trip the other day and were able to get our auras read.  I'm not going to lie I really wanted to have to step into a dark room heavily decorated with velvet and have my radiant energy read by a woman resembling a gypsy. Unfortunately this was not so, all I had to do was place my hand on a hand shaped metal disk and a computer produced this picture....

Everyone's colors were different, mine had mostly blues and yellow, she said the blues meant that I was very creative and artistic (yay!) she also thought that I had a really good connection to meditation.  The yellow means that I have good humor and somehow the combo means I'm a good writer.  Before we finished she mentioned something about my ear and asked me if there was something going on with it, after we left we figured that maybe it had picked up on the piercing that I have or the pressure my ears feel because I have gauges in them.

It was a really cool experience, given my sarcasm it was hard not throwing some jokes around but all in all I can really respect those people who can really open up and believe in this kind of stuff whole-heartedly.

So what's been going on in the crafting part of my life? Well I just registered for a craft show happening after I graduate so I will let you know if I get into that.  While knitting my little fingers off whenever I possibly can I've been working on updating my little baby booties.  I love what I make now I just need to make them just a little more efficient ...

Become of fan of Button. Button, Who's got the Button on Facebook where you can receive $5.00 off your next ladybug&babybird order of $20 or more :)

A Little Findy Find

I have no baby announcements to make at all (just to make things clear) and even though I find baby clothes to be soooo cute I have really held back and haven't purchased anything to save for later.  However, Sunday Ky and I went to the Capital City Antique Mall and there I found vintage baby clothes with the original tags still attached, really...how could I stop myself?

 This is a little nightie that I actually found the pattern for at Joannes a couple months ago, I think this simple little dress with a knitted cardigan would really be the bees knees.  I'm going to start making these sets within the next couple of months (when I have a normal life schedule)

 I can't help but love this little romper with all of my heart! The only thing that I might be worried about is that it is for a 0-3 month old and our babies might be born toddlers if they take after their father at all :)
The ruffles on the bum are really what got me I think.

Last but not least I found this knitted sweater and pixie cap! How could I not buy this? I've already starting looking at the pieces and I'm making a pattern out of them to be able to remake them :)
Antiques aren't for everyone but if you look even harder you can find amazing things like this and to top it all off they were all only $5.00-$9.00.  I love preserving the past, my kids might just hate me for it but then again maybe they will pass what I love onto their kids as well :)


Steph

yarn what?

I wanted to show you guys the coolest thing that has actually been in the news quite a lot lately...

It's this crazy thing called yarn bombing, basically taking the idea of grafitti and turning it into knitted or crocheted goods.  It's thought to have been started in Texas with a group of women just trying to brighten up the world without defacing public property.  The cool thing is that it has really caught on and is happening worldwide.  You can find these "yarn bombs" in the form of sweaters made for statues, wrapping trees or poles and I even read an article how potholes down a street in Paris were filled with yarn chains.


Check out this awesome website where it shows some great stuff http://yarnbombing.com/


Oh and International yarn bombing day is June 11th!


I also stumbled upon this little gem while meandering through the world wide web... http://thetoysociety.blogspot.com/


This is a group that you can join that leaves softies for perfect strangers, no strings attached, I love this idea and thought you might too :)


Become a fan of button button on facebook and as always...word to your mother :)

Making the New

I've started really pushing hard on making new product and coming up with new ideas for ladybug&babybird.  I really wanted to show you all and offer an awesome special.  Here is some of the new stuff...

Elephants are my favorite animals, and when their trunks are up like this it means good luck and fortune, This hat can be made for a boy or a girl in any size or color. "Baby Elephant"

"Fishy".  Who doesn't love a cute little fish? Each scale is sewn down securely but has great texture for baby and looks awesome on.  All colors can be made to order :)

"Flower Patch" I love doing flowers on hats, these are just a little out of the ordinary and make an adorable little accessory for your baby girl.  All colors are made to order.

Crazy enough this little guy started out as a bear but decided he wanted to be a monkey.  This hat can be made for a little boy or girl, a little bow is added for the girls.  All colors are made to order "Monkey".

I just love cupcakes! I've done this before but this time a swirl has been added as the cherry on top.  All colors are made to order "Cupcake".

Anything with owls on it is my favorite, this is an update on an old favorite that has been really popular in the past.  All colors are made to order and can be for a little boy or girl.  "New Owl"

Last but not least we have this little guy, fun for little boys or even girls, colors are made to order. "Alien"

I really love these great little hats and I hope you do too, if you are interested in making an order please email me at asay.stephanie@gmail.com. All of these hats are just $20.00 and come in any size, when you place your order please give me as much detail as you can :)

ALSO!!! I have a great offer for you! If you like Button, Button Who's got the button on Facebook you will receive $5.00 off your next purchase of $20.00 or more, just comment when you have liked and you will get your discount on your order. If you are already a fan don't worry! you will still get this awesome deal :)

Let the Games Begin

For the past little while I have really wanted to kick my knitting into gear and really get my inventory up to par with the amount of shows that I really want to do after I graduate from school.  Today was the day that I really started picking at the goals that I have and it feels really good.  I love making lists, to do lists, goal lists, grocery lists (even though I hate the grocery store) but the thing is that lists are not for everyone.  Find a way to make goals with whatever it is you may be doing, I adore sticky notes  and the hello kitty note lists that they have for $1.00 at target.  My goal is to have 100 hats done by August as well as a more blankets, booties, and clothing made.  It seems like alot and with school 40 hours a week it really can be but because I make my goals I feel like I'm not going crazy with what I am doing.


Kyle and I went down to Price for the weekend for a couple family events including Mother's day and just being around family made us realize even more how much we would love to move back there once I am through with school and what not.  The only option that I might really have for work down there is to open my own spa, which is my dream anyways.  The longer we were down there and talked to different family members who really encouraged me I think my new huge goal is to seriously start cracking down on getting a spa in Price.  I'll be honest I couldn't sleep last night because of all the ideas running through my head, from what services I would provide to what the logo would look like.  It gets me even more excited about what I love to do and I'm going to stop being the one that is telling myself that it is not probable.  I have the biggest capability of being my own worst enemy sometimes and I've come to realize that there is no fun in that.  I don't expect any of my goals to come easy, just like I don't expect my hats to knit themselves, but I do know that with a solid support system anything is possible.


Here are a few ideas for you to think about this week...


Would you like to know how wool is processed and made into yarn and other stuff like soap?  On may 21st there is the lamb and wool festival at Thanksgiving Point (in Utah).  It sounds like a lot of fun for little kids and adults as well and if we can make it I might just drag ky there.


http://www.thanksgivingpoint.com/calendar/events/lamb_wool/LambWool.html


You can now follow me on twitter, @Stephanieasay (it still confuses me)  here I will be "tweeting" about stuff going on with Button, Button, ladybug&babybird and whatever else.  Feel free to befriend me on facebook as well and like the button button page.


Also this weekend my mother in law made the greatest table decorations for my sister in laws bridal shower, they were pinwheels made out of 12X12 scrapbook paper and wooden dowls, they were amazing!  Here is something similar from craftgossip.com

Thank you so much for reading and look for a new addition to the button, button facebook page where I will post all available product through ladybug&babybird including pricing etc.

Steph