nyc bound

....in t-minus 18 days! eeeeeeeeeeekkk! i am ecstatic because
1. we are road-tripping
2. jeremy has never been there
3. i will see my sister because she lives there
&
4. IT'S NEW YORK CITY!

I've been blog searching to find interesting things to do because there is so much to choose from, I want it to be special for us.  So far I found some great ideas at no big dill and here and here. We will definitely be going here, to Graceland Brooklyn, a tattoo shop/salon where my sister works. Maybe I'll get my first tattoo, but we'll see, I'm reaaaally indecisive about those things. If I decide to get something, it'll be no more than the size of a nickel.

We bought a new Canon REBEL for the occasion.  So far, it takes amazing pics and I can't wait to introduce it to the diverse world of NYC.

 Here's my favorite picture I've taken so far (the weather has been nasty rainy on the weekends and I'm still waiting for some prime sunshine to really get some good shots).

These are the fuchsias I bought my mom for mother's day. They are so lovely even when they haven't bloomed.

Despite the lack of permitting picture-taking weather, I was still able to take some great pictures for my etsy shop. I'm working hard to try and get things moving along. I set up a facebook page for August Rain on etsy. If you click the "like" button to the right, I will give you 15% off your first purchase at August Rain. Write on the wall for details and the coupon code.

I'm working on some other projects so stay tuned for some tutorials to come. Here's a sneak peak:

Crochet headband for adults

Crochet headband for kids

They are super easy to make and there's a simple pattern at CreativeYarn.
She calls for a size 4 crochet hook, but where I live, I could only find 4.25 so I made some adjustments to the pattern. I'll post on this tomorrow along with my own tutorial version.

Goodnight!

time for a holiday Etsy sale!

Everything in my etsy shop is 20% off from Wednesday Dec 15th at 12:00amEST to Saturday Dec 18 at 12:00amEST. That's 3 whole days people!

I absolutely love these little hooters and I cannot believe they haven't sold yet. Owls are so popular these days. Everytime I walk into a Goodwill or Salvation Army and see something owl-ish, I HAVE to grab it. This little treasure actually came from an estate sale. It's a coin bank. Maybe I should keep it because I could use the advice it entails from time to time. But I figured it needs to go to someone who truly loves it (and has the space for it!).

My love for owls recently spawned an idea for my second etsy shop called MyNightOwl. I've decided the focus for AugustRain to be vintage and secondhand items while MyNightOwl is a collection of things handmade by me. This winter has been crazy, as far as looking for work and it not being available. My goal for next year is to have both shops up and running in full gear!

aaaaahhhhh!!!!

So I recently found out that I will have no job as of September 13th! I've been hunting like mad for the next place of employment. My options are slim. It is quite possible I can be utilized in a doctor's office at the hospital I currently work for but...... I can't stand it there. I know, a job is a job and I am very thankful but my true desire for employment lies elsewhere. A friend of mine and I have been discussing starting up a retail/art/coffee/tea/pie/pastries shop for a few weeks now but there's no way in hell we would qualify for a small business loan in this crappy Michigan economy.

Therefore, I resort to making hats and attending the Fulton Street Artist Market and craft shows and etsy. I've had 2 sales on etsy and it got me pumped but now...no action. I'm still getting things in my shop in time for christmas shopping to begin. Yuck, who wants to think of winter already? Not this girl.

Here's a crochet hat that I made and listed in my etsy shop (pattern coming soon):

I love the 1920s look of the low flower over the ear. I make alot of hats like this, usually with a nice big button in the center of the flower. Hopefully I will have some free time soon and be able to write up a simple pattern for this hat. But as for now, it's all in my head.

Visit my etsy shop on the right sidebar to see more of this hat and watch for others I post this fall.

I really need to crank out some hats starting now so I am ready for the cool weather when it comes and people start going crazy for fall/winter clothes. My eyes are stinging from lack of sleep due to working, cro-ing (shortened verb for crocheting), and etsy-ing.

It's a beautifully gloomy day and I wish I were cro-ing at the local apple orchard, sipping cider and eating a pumpkin spice donut, but I must get back to work.

Toodles!

first blog EVER!!!

Hello everyone! I am so excited to finally have started this blog. It was hard getting motivated about it, having doubts about 

"who wants to listen to what I have to say" and 

"whatever I write won't be good enough" but what the hell! 

I made my first etsy sale yesterday so I was confident enough and figured I needed to celebrate. Cheers! 

Here's my first sale...

It's a vase and I thought he was so cute when I picked him up. I hope he is going to a home that will love him dearly. Anyway, this is the reason I am starting my blog. This is what has got me rollin.

So here it is, the start of something new for me, and hopefully something BIG.

You see, I've been on etsy since December of 2009. The main reason I joined was to buy these amazing earrings for my sister, Kim for Christmas.

At that time, I had just been finishing my bachelors degree and job searching seemed to be stressing me out. Not a good time to start an etsy shop. One does not know the importance of dedication for etsy success when first signing up.

Now that I know it takes major commitment to make an etsy shop pay off, it has been easier. The hard part is finding the time in my busy schedule to make items to sell, take great pictures of those items and post them on etsy with a thoughtful description.

My ultimate goal is to do etsy full-time and not be stuck in an office job for the rest of my life and do what I love...

CRAFT and CREATE!

It's going to be an interesting journey and I hope you can join me as I uncover the path to happiness via etsy!

*Missy*