Here is another wip that I have on the list:

getting this little bunny framed.

I bought this little guy from Brightcolorart on Etsy.

Brightcolorart has sold more than one of these brooches, but each is an original illustration, slightly different and one-of-a-kind.

This whimsical little bunny will go very well with some of my other recent Etsy bunny purchases, like this felted piece, from TheMoonGoat:

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Why all the bunny love?

Why start a major home renovation just as the economy is taking a nose dive?

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Because, I have one more wip, Dear Readers.

No idea if it will be a boy or girl.

It’s going to be a surprise!

The best surprise ever.

: D

Wishing you all a wonderful day!

Jenn : )

Today has been filled with paperwork and a dentist appointment.

But everyday, since late June, has been filled with the sounds of work being done on our upstairs.  We are renovating the entire third floor of our house (and consequently, sleeping in our diningroom!)

This has been a much needed project – we had old plumbing, knob and tube wiring, little to no insulation in the walls (!) and even a small hole in the siding that a clever squirrel had taken advantage of to build a warm and cozy nest inside our walls.  Our house was originally built in the early 1900’s and has seen many families come and go.  We are happy that we can make these much needed upgrades to make this house more safe and cozy for Josh and I and future families. : )

Here are some snippets of our home wip:

Getting ready for construction to begin.

Layers of old wallpaper.

Insulation going up!

Out with a wall, and in with a loft!

A bathroom with enough space to turn around in -

what a luxury!

The many people who have been working on this project have done a great job.  These two, however, are very demanding and unmotivated!

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Now I have renovation rebates to work on.

It would be good to get a little money back for the improvements we’ve made on the house.  But I will have to kick myself in the butt to sit down and work on those.  I’ve been filling out an inordinate amount of paperwork lately!

‘Til next time,

Jenn : )

Here’s another work in progress item…

…getting through this book.

Have you ever gotten about halfway through reading a book and realized that you don’t like it?  But by that point you’ve invested half a book’s worth of time, and now you feel like you ought to finish the darn thing?

I thought this would be a fun read, since I’ve been in a similar situation myself – cooking along with Alton Brown.  I’m about 3/4 through reading this and I still haven’t gotten to the good part.  In fact, I’ve pretty much decided that there isn’t going to be a good part.

I don’t like the main character.

The story isn’t engaging…. or believable half the time.

The main character constantly equates food to sex to the point of ridiculousness.  ie: at one point she likens trussed chickens to “sex-crime victims”.  (Um… nope.  Can’t say I’ve ever had that thought in my own kitchen.)

The movie promo suggests that Julie and Julia share screen time about 50/50.  I haven’t seen the movie yet, but this is not so in the book.  Julia is sadly missing most of the time.

What really stinks is that I have very little time to read lately.  Maybe one of these days I’ll go get a coffee and slog through the rest of this thing and be done with it.

Save yourself the trouble and just rent the movie!

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Another to-do I’ve got on the list is going over to Goodreads and logging in the books I have finished.

Here are a couple:

I don’t work on my Goodreads reading list very often – but I do love seeing what my friends are reading and taking a peek at their book reviews.  If you enjoy books – this is a great way to discover new ones and share your favorites with your friends.

‘Til tomorrow!

Jenn : )

I love to go to other people’s blogs and see what they are working on, right now, at the moment.  And since my blog has been sadly neglected lately, I thought I’d commit to sharing a full week of WIPs to show what I’ve got going on over here.

Notice that it’s Tuesday?  Yeah…. well, doing the WIP post turned into a wip yesterday – Ha!  So today I’ll post two wips to make up for Monday.

(That’s me for ya.)

So anyway, here are my wips for Monday and Tuesday:

A flurry of hand embroidered snowmen!

These will eventually become Christmas ornaments, that I will sell in my Etsy shop.

And here is a whole wardrobe full of little embroidered coats (or blouses if you like).  These will become needlebooks, also destined for my shop.  I hope to have alot of these done in time for the holiday shopping rush.

Wish me luck!

Fly busy little hands!

There’s still so much to finish!

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Also on the list:

Visiting and commenting on my fav blogs,

writing letters to family back home,

and returning long overdue emails.

Check back tomorrow to see my next WIP!

Best,

Jenn : )

Josh and I have been super busy over here.

We’ve got lots of projects going on these days.

The renovation of our upstairs is moving along quickly.

Here are a couple recent photos:

Our new railing!  There used to be a wall there.

This loft space will now be my new studio area,

instead of a cramped, neglected guest bedroom.

And we have new tile in the bathroom.

Josh has been working on several freelance design projects.

My latest custom order was for a large sized needlebook.

I tried something new with the cover and scalloped the edges of the embroidery. My customer was very pleased and so am I.  I think I’ll be doing more decorative edges on my needlebooks from now on.

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I was thrilled to learn recently that I’d been featured over at Evergreen Moms.

Evergreen Moms is a great blog that features items made by Northwest artisans and small businesses. You can sign up for their newsletter and receive a short message about their latest finds!

Thank you Heather, for including my items on your fun blog!

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And just this past Monday one of my taskets was featured in a Plaid Happy Collection over at Indie Icing!

Check out Indie Icing for gorgeous photos of cool handmade items!

Thanks to Jessica for including my tasket! : )

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I think the carpenters have left early today, so the cats and I are going to enjoy the quiet and the afternoon sunshine. Have a great day!

Jenn : )