This Crazy Idea

About three months ago I got this crazy idea to do the bazaar circuit this fall.  I saw myself with a cute little table full of soap, lotion, jewelry and more.  I signed up for bazaars, paid my money and started making stuff.  I must have been downright crazy.  I'm always caught in the middle on this.  You see, I like to make way more stuff than I can use.  And, I always buy way more supplies than I can use, but when you start making stuff to sell, you realize that all those supplies are somehow insufficient and you need more.

I put my foot down this week and said, "No more supplies!"  I filled every jar I own.  Made every last tube of lip balm and bottle of lotion.  It is actually a whole lot of stuff.  I really hope it sells.

Mostly the shows are in Tri-Cities, but there is one in Spokane this weekend.  I would love to see some friendly faces.  Friday I will be here. 

I guess it's hard to read the fine print.  It is at the Kennewick Senior Center, which is at 500 South Auburn in Kennewick. 

Saturday I will be at Ferris High School in Spokane.  The bazaar is a fund raiser for their all-night graduation party. 

Please spread the word.  I love bazaars.  They are such a fun environment, everyone sharing their talents with all those hand-made things.  I have vowed to take one child to each bazaar.  Mazie is joining me on Friday.  I don't know who will be with me on Saturday, maybe Dylan.  He will be the only one willing to get up at 5 a.m. to get to Spokane and set up on time. 

Hope to see you there!!!

Finally

I suppose I should have posted when it happened, but the biggest news right now is that our house in Big Timber, Montana finally sold.  This is one huge burden off our shoulders.  The week before we got the offer on the house, Nathan interviewed with Stillwater Mining.  We went back and forth.  Should we go back an try to recapture the life we had, or should we hang on a little longer with the faith that we are where we are supposed to be?  As it happened the offer on the house and the offer for the job came the same day.  We took the offer on the house and closed that chapter of our lives.  It was a bittersweet decision.  We miss Big Timber-- the people, not the weather.  The kids miss going to school and having friends.  I miss having a real house and having time to clean it.  Josie would be in Debbie's preschool this year.  I would have had whole mornings to myself.

However, I just couldn't go.  We love the long growing season here.  We love our families.  It's hard to be far away from them.  Nathan doesn't love his job, but it pays well.  I spend a lot of time with my mom.  I missed her those five years we were away.  My kids see their grandparents everyday and their cousins every week.  I just couldn't give those things up again. 

So, we move forward like we always do.  The kids are adapting to home school.  The boys both have one more football game and then there is wrestling and basketball to look forward to.  Dylan takes art lessons from his great-grandma, and now spends a lot of time drawing.  Our house is chaotic and loud.  We are closed into a very small space.  Everyone fights and yells and it often feels like there is no peace at all.  But, we harvested our garden and bottled about 50 quarts of grape juice.  I canned tomatoes and spaghetti sauce, pears and pickles.  I even made raisins for the first time with our table grapes.  This lifestyle on a little farm in a tiny house isn't glamorous, but it's okay.  For now, at least. 

I do hope that someday I will have a house again.

Sad News

Remember how I did this post awhile back about our new little kittens.  Sadly, one of them is dead.  I went to visit a friend and when I came back, the kitty was lying dead in the middle of the driveway.  I looked her over thinking maybe the dog had done it, but then I realized it wasn't the dog.  It was my car.  I know she didn't run out in front of me.  I can only assume she was up in the underside of the car when I backed out and bailed as I started going forward again.  The girls are sad.  Josie asked several times that day where her kitty was.  Of the two, there was one that loved to be held and cuddled and one that was always running away when you tried to pet it.  Of course, I killed the one that loved to be cuddled.  I'm really sad.  The kitty seemed to like me best, so whenever I would sit outside she would come sit in my lap. 

It has been a few days, and the live kitty meowed pathetically for her sister.  The kids have been spoiling her.  She now lets Josie pick her up and carry her all over the place. 

I know this is how it goes with pets.  Still, I'm bummed, and there is no one else to blame besides myself.

DIY Heaven

I think I need to change the name of my blog.  Instead of Clutter & Chaos, I may have to rename it "All Things Handmade". 

My friend bought the DIY mineral foundation kit from Brambleberry.  She made me some foundation, but it was a shade too light and pretty sheer.  I kept bugging her to let me borrow her recipe book, just because I wanted to read all the recipes and see how hard they were.  Instead, she brought me her whole box of mineral make up ingredients.  She's used about a tablespoon out of the entire kit, and she accidentally bought two copies of the make up book, so I get to keep one.  (Sweet!)

Tonight I made myself the full coverage mineral foundation.  LOVE IT!  Then I looked through the box and I saw all those shades of brown.  I just couldn't help myself.  I made three small jars of eyeshadow.  THEN, I melted down a few tubes of lip balm and made THE PERFECT shade of lipstick. 

I know, I know.  I should post pictures.  I'm not good at self portraits.  You'll have to take my word for it.  I'm looking HOT right now.  Ratty capris and all. 

So, here's the handmade tally:  I am currently making all our lotion, body butter, lip balm, soap, vintage jewelry, some summer dresses for the girls, and now make-up.  I am a DIY addict.  I need therapy.

The same friend said she may be able to get me hooked up with the owner of a country store on the highway so I can sell soapy things and make some cash.  I have a whole fall line planned.  Now, to find the cash for supplies....

Crazy Woman

If you've ever been to Big Timber, Montana, you know that the town lies in the shadow of the Crazy Mountains.  If you ever stopped to pee at the rest area between Greycliff and Big Timber, you might know that they used to be called the Crazy Woman Mountains because some woman went crazy and left her wagon train and wandered into those mountains and died..... something like that.  It was a short stop; I didn't retain much from the historical marker. 

Now, if you had ever LIVED in Big Timber, Montana, you'd know that just about everyone has a T-shirt or sweatshirt from Crazy Woman Trading Company, and what do they say?  "Crazy Woman," of course.  So, why does everyone look at me like I'm crazy when I wear my crazy woman T-shirt?  Dang.  I should have gotten the hooded sweatshirt, because then I could wear it everyday in the fall.  Next time I visit......

Missed

In my blogging gaps of late, I have missed a few things.  One of them was sweet Josie's birthday.  She is now three.  I can hardly believe my baby is such a big girl now. 

Do you see the shovel in her hand?  I told my mom not to bother with toys.  This girl is outside constantly.  The shovel was her favorite birthday present. 

This hat and glasses was part of her gift from Nathan and I.  We also bought her a Dora backpack and a watering can for when she's playing in the flowerbeds. 

This was her birthday cake:

I tried the fondant cake again.  First problem:  I need new cake pans.  The layers need to be taller.  I love Joanna's stripes, but my cake wasn't tall enough for that.  However, I bought good food coloring this time and the colors were exactly what I was after.  Originally I had planned on doing flat flowers all over the top layer and butterflies in the middle, but the butterflies proved problematic for me, so roses it was!

After I cut the cake, my sister-in-law asked if I had taken a top-view picture.  I hadn't, so I took one.  This gives a better view of the flowers.  They did turn out cute.  

Okay, so you know how everyone says you have to make a heavy pound cake, or fondant won't work?  If you do that, you end up with yucky cake and really sugary frosting.  Well, it's a lie!  I made my cakes right off the box.  Then I froze them.  I also made a real buttercream frosting, so it would be fluffier than frosting like I usually make.  The cake was delicious and so was the buttercream.  Some of my family didn't like the fondant, but there was plenty of yummy cake and frosting under it.

So, this brings me to the real question.... Do I like fondant cakes better?  Honestly, I think the answer is no.  It takes forever and makes such a huge mess.  They are cute, but not necessarily cuter than a cake decorated with frosting.  (Especially since I found that buttercream recipe that pipes like a dream.) 

As soon as we sat Josie down to sing Happy Birthday, she started eating fondant flowers.  We couldn't get a decent picture of her because she was so distracted by the cake. 

(I'm looking less-than-fabulous, but then again, I had just spent all day making that cake and didn't have time to beautify before the party started.  Oh, well.)

At three I usually potty train my kiddos.  I realized the other day that Josie can't dress herself.  It's not because I always help her, because I don't.  But someone always helps her.  It's usually Mazie.  I've been making an extra effort to have Josie dress herself and told Mazie she could help her pick out clothes but not put them on.  Yesterday the girls went running down the hallway for clothes.  Josie cam out with one arm through her dress and her head stuck in the other arm hole. 

"Mom, can't!" she said.  This might take some work.

Winners!

I put the names in a bowl and had Dylan pick the winner for the necklace.  He drew.....

EARLGIRL!

Then Ethan said, "I want to pick one!"  I agreed.  The cuff bracelet with the black rose was up for grabs second.  Ethan picked....

MAMA ECHO!

But, picking one wasn't enough for Ethan.  He wanted to pick another winner.  The next item to give away was the large rose ring.  Ethan drew...

ASHLEY! 

So, there are my three winners for today.  Can I just tell you right now how bad I am at mailing things promptly?  I am.  It was different in Big Timber, because I went to the post office everyday.  Here the post office is 8 miles away, and I hate the post office here, so I avoid it whenever I can.  I will sincerely try to mail them before I leave for girls camp next week.