It's Been a While

So it's been a week since I last posted, and 2 weeks since I've posted anything interesting. I was really busy with these...These are the books you need to commit to memory when studying for the bar exam in NC. The last few weeks have been really hard on me and my family as I downed more and more caffeine in order to read and read some more. Vanilla Coke became my friend. Last Tuesday and Wednesday I took the exam and I am really disappointed with my performance. I won't know until the beginning of September how I did, but my gut says not well enough. And knowing that the bar exam here is considered extremely difficult isn't really enough to make me feel any better. So what is a depressed chick to do? Craft, especially since I had entered a self-imposed craft ban months ago in order to focus on studying.

I may not have been crafting, but that didn't keep me from seeing what others in blog-land were creating. I have to say since I learned about blogs earlier this year I've really been impressed and inspired by the projects my fellow crafters have completed. Also inspiring is the entrepreneurial spirit so many of these talented women possess. I love that they have taken their talent and found a way to profit from it while enjoying the creative process. There are four crafters who sell their wares whose blogs I especially like to read since they all maintain households, craft, spend quality time with their kids, and manage to blog. If you get the chance and have not seen these blogs, I urge you to take a peek at: Anny Purls, JC Handmade, Knit and Purl Mama, and Wee Wonderfuls. I have yet to purchase anything from JC Handmade or Wee Wonderfuls, although I look forward to shopping from them in the near future. I have been lucky enough to purchase from Knit & Purl Mama and Anny Purls.

From Knit and Purl Mama I purchased Personalized Stitch Markers. At the time I purchased from her she had a promotion going on so I received as a free gift a second set of stitch markers. I LOVE THEM! Handmade just for me with pink beads and they spell-out my name! The price is really great and if you're interested check-out her Etsy shop here. She even has stitch marker -earrings sets! Check-out her blog to see too cute photos of her little boy and to see how she manages to fit in time to play with him AND create on a daily basis!

My other recent purchase was from Anny Purls. She designed these Buddy Bags and sells the pattern through a link on her blog. Scroll down to the entry for July 16, 2007, and you can instantly buy the pattern that comes with patterns for the bag, each pocket and the finger puppets. I cannot wait to start one for my Little Man, and I'm also going to do one to match the sweater I'm knitting for my nephew. (And as Anny points out you can use the pockets with the finger puppets on anything!) What a deal, and how creative. Oh, and did I mention she has a 2 year old and a new baby, she's amazing!

As for me I'm working on a project of my own design that I'm really excited about and I hope to show you my progress on it in the next day or two, but I have finished the above COWBOY BOOTies for a new arrival due in September (whose Daddy IS a cowboy, hence the theme of the booties!) Other than that I've been catching-up on house work (that should take me another few days), and I have started (again) the ever-so-fun task of looking for work.