Oh the Cuteness!

Hi everyone! Well, once again the holiday season has thoroughly kicked my butt, but this year I kicked some right back! I know I haven't updated the blog in a good while except to advertise sales and such (Although if you follow my instagram  @ohthecuteness then you've seen what I've been up to!), but I have some fun new tutorials and crochet patterns coming up in the new year! Also all of the craft fairs I did this year went so well that I didn't have much left over to list online, which totally blew me away! As soon as Halloween rolled around Johnny and I were so consumed by decorating that I didn't get to post anything, and as soon as Halloween came down Christmas went up, and by then I was consumed with making things for the holiday fairs as well as family functions. I've really been enjoying the lull for the past week and found time to take some nice photos of the house all decked out for Christmas. I think I might keep the photos of Halloween till next yea...

Everyone has till midnight tonight to get 20% off their entire order, including sale items! Just go to http://ohthecuteness.etsy.com and use the code SALETIME at checkout!

Just a reminder for everyone that today is Small Business Saturday! Please help support independent artists and shops so they can keep doing what they love! My 20% off sale will be going on through Midnight on Cyber Monday, and remember the discount also applies to all of the owl plushies and owl pincushions that have already been marked down! Head on over to http://ohthecuteness.etsy.com and use the code SALETIME to get your discount!

I'm having a big sale this weekend, starting at midnight  tonight and ending Monday at midnight! Go to http://ohthecuteness.etsy.com and use the code SALETIME to get 20% off everything in my etsy shop, including all of the already-discounted owls! Happy Thanksgiving!

I was thinking about saving this tutorial for next Christmas, but I've seen a lot of people doing something special for Valentine's day this year called the "14 Days of Valentines". I'm guessing it's a play off of the 12 days of Christmas, and I thought this might be a fun way to participate. This year I wanted to make Johnny an advent calendar since we didn't get to spend as much time together as we would have liked (he lives a little ways away from me). I used my favorite little single truffle boxes, which you saw as place cards during  Thanksgiving  , as the containers for my little gifts. I drew all the numbers on them while they were flat with a green felt-tip marker. All the objects I collected or made were something from our relationship, either actually or symbolically. It was harder than I thought it would be to find 23 little items that would fit in the boxes, but it all came together so sweetly. Now, I say 23 items because an ...

I'm happy to announce that the RAC's annual Holiday Arts Festival was a complete success! I've done this fair for 4 years now so it's quite the tradition for me, and if you'd like to see my posts for the last few years here's 2009 , 2010 , and 2011 . This year was the first time I've had a booth all to myself and I was a little nervous, but since I know lots of the other regular vendors and staff members it was just as easy-going as any other year. And this fair was extra special for a few reasons. Firstly, I decided to make tons of fascinators and center my booth around them since they sold so well last year. I was worried that with the fair being only one day this year instead of two that I wouldn't sell as many, but it was great!  Also, I was incredibly happy with how my booth display came out, and you'd never know it from the look of it, but it's made entirely out of oatmeal and baby formula containers from the local artist'...

This time of year is a stressful one for me, mostly because I'm so busy but also because I have so many people to buy presents for and cash is always tight. And I know I'm not the only one out there who feels this way. So I'm having a Cyber Monday sale in my Etsy shop ! Everything is 30% off , just use the coupon code CYBERMON during checkout! Not only does it help people save money on their holiday gifts, but it also helps me buy my family's gifts, so everybody wins! And to sweeten the deal, my 100% biodegradable moustache straws are back in stock! Also, and this is our little secret, I'm giving blog readers free shipping too! Enter the coupon code BLOGMON in addition to CYBERMON and there you go! The 30% off coupon went out with my newsletter, which you can subscribe to by entering your email on my sidebar, but the free shipping is to say thank you to everyone who makes this blog worth writing! Happy holidays! If you have any questions or need help using ...

Just a quick update today! I'm selling at the Richmond Art Center's Holiday Arts Festival again this year. I always love this venue, and this will be my 4th straight year! I was a staff pick this year because everyone loved my fascinators I debuted at the last fair, so I'm doing a ton more this time (and I got a photo on the flyer)! Click on the flyer to be taken to the RAC's website for more info! And as always, blog readers that come visit me get 20% off anything at my booth!

Recently I've gone through quite a few changes job-wise and I realized the other day that I haven't even shared what's been going on with me, and what has been causing some of my absence on here. Where should I start... Well, I finally couldn't hack my commute out to the toy store in San Francisco anymore, and Dennis and I wanted to go to Portland for Christmas this year, which my boss would never have let me do. So the winds of change came blowing my way and I gave my notice after I got a part-time gig at a scrapbooking store in Berkeley and a couple ongoing freelance gigs. This was at the end of September, and all was well until a couple months later when I was spectacularly laid off from my really fun position at the scrapbooking store. But the funny thing is, I wasn't really all that broken up about it. Granted, I honestly enjoyed the job and it was a source of endless inspiration; I learned a lot of new techniques and had fun starting to make a scrapbook. But...

Yes, friends, it's that time of year again. I will be selling at the RAC's Holiday Arts Festival . I've done this fair the past two years and have had such a wonderful time, and even though my usual partners in crime weren't able to share the booth with me this year I have found a couple friends to take their place. Errol of Metaphor Organic (Check out their new website, I did the photography!) will be there selling his delightful soaps, and my good friend Suzanne will be selling her beautiful hand-knit scarves, hats, and gloves. Come support local artists and have a great time! If you mention you are a reader, as always, you will get 25% off any of my items!

First of all, Happy Turkey Day to all my readers out there in blogland! In honor of our strange shopping tradition of "Back Friday" I am having a free shipping sale for all my readers, now through Monday night (as Monday has become "Cyber Monday", the online cousin of "Black Friday"). To get free shipping in my etsy shop just enter the coupon code blackbird when prompted in the checkout process. Happy shopping!