Yum Yum! (for the dogs)

I finally had time to list the dog treats that I made earlier this month. There are four flavors to choose from at $2.50 each. Or you can mix and match three bags for $6!! And, as always, $5 ships your entire purchase via USPS Priority Mail!

You can find them here.

Plans...Big Plans

I have plans...big plans...life plans. Some of you may think this is strange coming from a 35 year old, but it's true. I am planning my life. Yes, I'm sure there will be some twists and turns, surprises thrown at me, and modifications.....but I'm making plans! Sadly, the people in my family don't live long lives...so I need to cram my dreams in as soon as possible. My only regret is that I didn't start working on these plans 10 years ago!!!

Right now we are in the process of refinancing the house. This time last year we became debt free (except for our house and HE loan.) This year, thanks to a nice tax return and looooooow interest rates, we are finally refinancing. We will be rolling the two loans into one and paying cash for the closing costs. We'll be dropping down to a 15 year mortgage and our payments will stay just about the same or may even go down some!

We have a lot of equity in our home, and you may be wondering why we don't take out some extra cash and take a trip to Disney or buy some new toys, but that's not my plan. My plan is to pay off the house as soon as possible. With a few extra payments a year, my goal is to have the house paid off by the time Heather goes off to college....in about 12 years.

When she heads off to college, my plan is to sell the house and most of our stuff and buy a really nice RV! Ron and I will be traveling the country with the greyhound(s) and enjoying life!

I'm not sure if you all know, but my husband has a form of Muscular Dystrophy. Basically his muscles are deteriorating and I'm not sure how much longer he will be able to work as a mechanic. I hope his body will hold out until Heather is ready for college. When his body finally gives up, I am thinking that he should be able to collect disability...but at this time I can't count on that. Should his body not hold out that long....maybe we'll just move everything up and take her with us! There are lots of online schools where she can finish high school while on the road!

For income on the road, I plan to continue my crochet designing. It's not a lot of income, but it should be enough to buy groceries! And there are always other odd jobs that can be done around the country. And lots of family and friends to visit.

Doesn't it sound great??? It does to me!

But these are my plans....just thought I'd share.

Greyhounds in Grand Junction!

I was so excited to meet some new friends on the Colorado Greyhound Adoption Yahoo Group that happen to live near me!! Well, two of them....Liza in Parachute and Jenn in Montrose...decided to come and visit Cash and me today at the Canyon View Dog Park!! It was such a blast to see 6 beautiful greyhounds run and play!! They all got along wonderfully together and hopefully we will get to visit again!

Unfortunately, I am still really bad with names...so I can't remember all of their sweet names, but I did take some pictures! I took some videos too...especially of them swimming!!!!...but I still need to figure out how to download the videos to my computer. {Cash is the big red one}

Enjoy! :)

Etsy Twitter Team Shop of the Week - tamaragarvey

The shop of the week is so much fun! Tamaragarvey has some wonderful and whimsical artwork and this elephant is my FAVORITE! You can learn more about her by reading the etsy twitter team blog.

Be sure to search "Etsytwitter" on etsy and "#etsytwitter" on twitter to find more great items from this fabulous team!

Finally Finished!!

YAY!! I just finished this afghan for Heather's school silent auction. It is beautiful, but was a ton of work! LOL!! Hopefully they will make a ton of money off it!

I love the design too...one side is your classic ripple, the other looks like hearts! The design is from the Feb 2009 edition of Crochet World Magazine and it was designed by Kim Guzman.

Happy Etsy Day

Have you shopped Etsy lately??

Living Room

One of the things on my To-Do list is to redecorate the living room. And I'd really like to get it done before my in-law's come in June.

So today I did some "browsing" on the internet to get some ideas. I really should be crocheting...but it's nice to take my mind off it for a little bit.

So, here is what I've found!


This photo is my "inspiration." I love the whole look and feel of the room. The caption reads "The tradition and elegant Hollywood glamour of the '30s and '40s is back in style and can be seen in living room colors and fixtures. " The dark wood, the gold accents, and the blue chair are my favorites. Now, I do have to work with what I already have, but I think a lot of it will work. I have a dark chocolate brown couch and a dark wood table for my tv and a pretty new dark lamp/table.

And then I found these posters that I would LOVE to frame in gold and hang in the room. I love the one in the blue/gold dress and am thinking of painting one or two of the walls in a similar shade of blue.

Since there is a fairly-open floor plan to my living room/kitchen, the colors would have to flow together well. So I'm thinking the other walls would be a pale tan color.

Now to search for some pretty fabrics (or actual curtains) to match. I'll also be looking for a blue chair and any type of greyhound art I can find! LOL!! Thanks for letting me share and if you have any home decor tips, please let me know!

My Apology

I am so sorry readers, but this month has me so busy that I will not be able to write up a free pattern. In fact, I may need to start only offering free patterns every other month or so. Luckily things are picking up for me right now, and with summer coming, I've been very busy working on patterns for publication and household stuff. Please forgive me!

Dog N Jog

Here are some pictures from this weekend. My table turned out really cute, but unfortunately sales were very poor. But I did sell this sweet fuzzy pink collar and leash set!! Aren't they cute!

Etsy Twitter Team Shop of the Week - Rhodes Annals Designs

Check out the etsytwitter teams' shop of the week, RhodesAnnalsDesigns.etsy.com! She has some beautiful knitted items, with this light scarf being my favorite!!!

Please stop by the etsytwitter team blog to read more about her! Also, search "etsytwitter team" on etsy and "#etsytwitter" on twitter to find more amazing items from our group!

Local Dog Lovers???

If you are local to Grand Junction, stop by and see me tomorrow (April 18th) at the "Dog N Jog" at the Botanical Gardens to raise money for the Roice Hurst Humane Society!!

I will have a booth there and selling lots of fun doggie-related items!! I have treats, collars, leashes and sweaters!! Plus I will have a few baby, children, and womens items too!!

10% of my sales for the day will be donated!!! So stop by and say "HI!" plus enter my drawing for a fun doggie themed gift basket!

I'll have lots of pictures to share next week too!!

Cookies! Cookies! Doggie Cookies!

WHEW!! Well, after two days of baking and the use of my neighbors oven, I made 6 batches of doggie treats to sell this weekend at the "Dog and Jog" fundraiser for Roist Hurst Humane Society. I made 2 batches of peanut butter/oatmeal, 2 batches of Beef BBQ, 1 batch of cheddar/herb and 1 pumpkin spice.





and here is Cash after a hard day of treat taste testing. They have been greyhound tested and approved! LOL!!



I plan on packaging them in bags of 10 and selling them for $2 a bag. I hope to sell them all, along with a number of collars, leashes, and sweaters that I have made over the last month or so. I am also planning on donating 10% of Saturday's sales to the humane society.

Wish me luck. This will be my first "craft show" type event.

Etsy Treasuries!

Found myself in a number of treasuries today!

A little sad today
By Diva Dea

gray and pink...
by Sumikoshop

purple purple purple
by PunkyNMunky

Blue flowers
by HuayruroPeru

Check them out...visit the creator's shops...leave comments...and click!! THANK YOU!!

HUGE Sale Starts this Weekend!

GREAT Weekend!!

Well, we had a really nice weekend here.

On Saturday we had our home inspection for adopting a second greyhound through Colorado Greyhound Adoption. Please, like many of us, they are having financial problems, so if you could help by purchasing something or donating, it would be greatly appreciated! The inspection went well and the visitor also brought her Grey to play! The dogs had a blast in the backyard!! Hopefully we will be making the trip over the mountains within the next month to pick up or new family member!!

Also on Saturday my neighbor Michelle and I had our second "Wine Fest." We had plates of cheeses, fruits, crackers and lots.....and lots...of wine! It was a blast and we drank way too much! LOL!!

Then Sunday was Easter and my 35th Birthday. Ron made me a wonderful, but ugly, cake....and he wants you to all know that he made it from SCRATCH! It didn't look so pretty....but it was yummy!! Tasted like a big brownie!! YUMMMM!!!

Heather and I attended church is our pretty new outfits!! I am totally in love with H's set made by my friend Chanda of Renaissance Angel Boutique! And of course I made the hat! She got tons of compliments while we were out!! After church I made a ton of food and then hung out on the couch for the rest of the day!!

As for gifts, I got a few cards and my in-laws sent me some $$.

Now it's Monday and I am back to my normal routine....cleaning and laundry. Now I just need to get off my butt and get moving! Have a great day!

EtsyTwitter Shop of the Week - 4/13

This week's etsytwitter shop of the week is so much fun!! I am loving this sweet headband....although I am not a huge fan of yellow, think how cute this would be with jeans and a tee!!

Check out Le'elephant Rose's etsy shop HERE.

And read more about her on the etsytwitter teams blog.

And be sure to search tweets with #etsytwitter and etsytwitter on etsy to find more great items!

Have a GREAT Weekend!

I've started my weekend celebrations early!! With this weekend being Easter and my birthday, I figured I might as well celebrate!! I have a few bottles of wine, a nice cheese and fruit tray, and a new outfit to wear! Doesn't get much better than this! I will be spending lots of time with my family and enjoying myself...after all, I think this will be my last birthday...I plan on turning 35 again next year!!

Here is Heather dying Easter eggs today! Happy Easter everyone!

Finished!

I just finished my sweater that I wanted to wear with my skirt that I posted about HERE. I ended up using Mary Jane Hall's Tangerine Top from Positively Crochet. It worked up fast and I really love how it turned out. I made the XL size in the width and 2xl for the length and used Baby Bee Hushabye Solid yarn in Boo Pink. Now I just need to hope for nice weather on Sunday!!!

I'm a Professional!! Whoo hoo!

Dear Jennifer J. Cirka,

Thank you for your “Application for Recognition as a Crochet Professional”. Per our review, the Professional Development Committee of the Crochet Guild of America (CGOA) is pleased to recognize you as a crochet “Professional”.

Congratulations! We hope you will take full advantage of the CGOA resources your status makes available to you. For example, your professional information now appears online in the members-only area of www.Crochet.org to help clients find you. Other members-only listings direct you to pattern-editing help, publication sources, sample crocheters and more from among the CGOA membership.

Visit these listings today: …
Professionals and Associate Professionals (look for your listing!*) …
Contract Crocheters/Pattern Testers …

Corporate Members Please advise CGOA[at]Offinger.com if your professional listing needs to be updated. Watch for your invitation to join the CGOA Professional Member e-mail discussion list – a great resource for keeping in touch with your fellow crochet professionals. List moderator Jocelyn Sass at xxxx@yahoo.com will contact you soon. If Jocelyn has not contacted you via email within a week, please do follow up with her via email.

Each year on the day before the CGOA Chain Link Conference we hold our Professional Development gathering. We hope you’ll join us! It’s a wonderful chance to network, and there are informative sessions focused on career growth. When details are ready, you’ll find Professional Development Day registration at www.Crochet.org in conjunction with the Chain Link Conference and Knit & Crochet Show.

CGOA also invites your help to assist new talents – those who aspire to become fullfledged professionals like you. These “Associate Professionals” are encouraged to request a one-on-one mentor to guide them in establishing and strengthening their credentials. Share your expertise and enthusiasm! Contact CGOA[at]offinger.com today to volunteer to be a mentor. The Professional Development Committee will be happy to introduce you to your mentor assignment. Remember that the CGOA Professional Development Committee is always interested in your suggestions and input about information that is most useful to you. CGOA hopes you will grow and that you will actively work with us to build the professional program and your Guild!

Sincerely,

Robyn Chachula Chair,
Professional Development Committee Crochet Guild of America

P.S. * Your online listing will appear as long as your membership remains current.

My Wish List

The Eclectic Artisans Team, one of my etsy street teams, is having a blog carnival this month! We are to post about our wish list for our businesses. I had a lot of fun coming up with mine! LOL!!

1. Adobe Illustrator. How cool would it be to have this awesome program??? I could make my self-published patterns look so much more professional along with having the ability to make crochet charts!!!

2. The Knit and Crochet Show, summer 2009. Ohhhhh!!! I have wanted to go to this for the past two years and am keeping my fingers crossed for summer 2010! It would be a dream come true to physically meet some of the amazing designers and editors that I have met over the internet the last few years. And think how much more I can learn....especially at the Professional Development Day!!!

3. Flip Video Camcorder. I would love to be able to produce crochet tutorial videos!!! I already have a camcorder, but it is a good 6 years old and I can not figure out how to upload the videos onto my computer!!!! LOL!!

4. Unlimited yarns and fabrics sent to me in the mail....free of charge. Hey, I can DREAM! LOL!!

5. I would also love to have better photography equipment and the knowledge of how to use it to take amazing photographs...plus the ability to write better product descriptions.

Etsy Twitter Team Shop of the Week - Curious Mess

Be sure to check out this week's shop, Curious Mess!! She makes some really UNIQUE items!! I love this broach!

Thank you Jenn!

Jennifer over at Crafty Goodness has given me an award! THANKS!! Now I need to name seven things I love and pass it on to seven other bloggers. Here you go!
1. My wonderful family and friends
2. The wonderful blessing of being a stay-at-home mom
3. Living in beautiful western Colorado
4. Being DEBT FREE!
5. My business, Jaybird Designs
6. Fabulous desserts
7. My evening "mommy" time walk with my neighbor

Now, I'm not going to name seven others, but if you wish to post this award to your blog...leave me a comment!

New Pattern Released!

Be on the lookout for the newest edition of Crochet Today! Magazine!! Inside you'll find my newest published pattern, Blooming Headband! I absolutely love this sweet headband!!!

Just for Me!!

So, I decided to make something just for me!! Since my birthday this year falls on Easter Sunday and we've finally found a wonderful new home church, I decided that I needed something special to wear! I found this sweet vintage skirt patterns and some wonderful floral fabric at my local quilt shop. How pretty!! I am so happy with how the skirt turned out!!! It fits too, LOL!!!

So now I want to crochet something to go with it. I can't decide if I want a cardi/jacket or an actual sweater. Here are some of my ideas:
Cut-Away Cardi Design by Lisa Gonzalez
Lilliana Pineapple Jacket design by Carolyn Christmas Savage
China Doll by Doris Chan
Tangerine Top by Mary Jane Hall

I'm also open to suggestions, so if you know of a great pattern let me know!!

I'm also thinking that I would like to make it out of Naturally Caron Spa yarn...not sure which color yet, LOL!!

Ok, time to get back to my latest project...more on that later! Happy crocheting!

Self Portrait!

I just went to take a few new pictures on my computer and when I downloaded them I found a bunch of new ones that I DID NOT TAKE! It looks like Heather had been playing with my camera again! LOL!! Isn't this just the cutest self-portrait!!! It's hard to tell, but last week she got her hair cut short again plus she lost her second tooth!

Sweet Sweet Babies

Who doesn't like babies!?!!?!

I just got an email from a wonderful customer who purchased one of my newborn hats from my etsy shop. Here is what she has to say:

"I just wanted to let you know that I recently purchased a little green knitted {should say crocheted!} hat with a pink bow from you. It's listed as a doll hat, but I bought it so that it would fit my baby girl when she was born.....Well,she came a little early (Thursday) which happened to be the same day the hat came-in =) So, my friend rushed it to me at the hospital, and she became the talk of the nurses!! I had people coming to my room saying "excuse me, we were told to come and see the baby with the green hat?" People would gawk at the nursery window whispering look at that little green hat!!! I handed-out all your business cards within the first night we were there. Just thought you'd like to know what a hit that hat was...."

And just look at this sweet picture that she sent!!! OMG!!! At first I thought she was a doll, not a baby!!! Thank you sooooooo much for sharing and congratulations on new baby Emilynn!

Also, March 31 must be a good day for babies!! My dear friend Kirsten of Oli*Beli and ZoeBebe had her FIFTH baby girl, Zoe!!! Check out her blog for some sweet pictures!!

And another local friend of mine, Jamie, was supposed to have her newest baby girl yesterday!! Still waiting to hear how things went and to see pictures!

I love babies!