Clackety Clack

Anyone else remember that annoying carbon paper? Still love the sound of a typewriter...

http://www.jemjoop.etsy.com/

Shabbyriffic Bowls

Just dropped into the shop!

It's always in bleakest, darkest mid-winter when I start craving color and things get painted pastel. Hide the children.

http://www.etsy.com/Jemjoop

Shabbytastic Shelves

Brand new in the shop today, it was a painty Wednesday!

Oliver vs. Baking Cupboard

Halloweenies and a Kindness

A very nice neighbor took these photos of the two youngest boys and kindly emailed them to me this morning.

This is middle boy Luke's favorite time of year. The little one Oliver is 22 months and didn't quite understand what was happening. He's a quick learner and by the third house of a door opening and a very nice person holding a huge bowl of candy at him that he could take and eat, he was onboard with the whole thing.

Our little hamlet of Caledonia, IL, population 199, really comes into it's own on Halloween. It was settled in the 1820s and we have a mixture of Victorian, Craftsman, and later period houses. We have a house across the street straight out of a modern development. We think it may have landed here accidentally. Also, there are some historical old tenant farmer cabins dotted about, still proudly wearing their last whitewash now dulled from a few decades of wear and tear. Within a mile down the road we have an herb farm, a pumpkin farm, a sheep farm & wool mill, an alpaca farm, and miles and miles of feed-corn and soy. It's harvest time around here and the corn is being trucked all day long to the mill down the street.

Most folks dust off their annual decorations and the houses become spookily festooned from September on. The retired couple next door regularly plant pumpkins in their garden and then wheel them out front in a wooden trailer, free for the taking. Yesterday afternoon was lovely and warm here and I was still planting mums. Then around 5:00 we put the final touches on the pumpkiny graveyard out front. As we set off last night, we met a very nice couple and their family of four boys. As he was an amateur photographer he had a pretty nice camera and asked if he could take Jango Fett's picture. We said sure and he kindly offered to send us copies of his pictures. Which was just as well, since my camera was out of commission and I was really hoping to get pictures this year for Grandma.

Just when I contemplate the downward spiral of society, people are still being nice to one another out there :D

All Hallow's Eve

The boys' costumes for this year have been happily located. The bounty hunter and the...err...bounty

http://www.target.com/s?keywords=jango+fett&searchNodeID=1038576%7C1287991011&ref=sr_bx_1_1


http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4282883

(And the original Surprised Kitty YouTube sensation)

1/12 Shabby Chic Pumpkins

Playing with Sculpey today, I thought some pastel colored pumpkins might be fun for a little elf doll or a magical garden scene. I knew that old grapevine on the back porch would come in handy some day, since it no longer produces grapes. Love how the curly stems turned out.



Just listed in the shop, five sets only.

Happy Halloween!



Fairyland Pukifee Icis is on model duty today. They don't show but she has the cutest little elf ears <3

April

Hallooo. Whoops, I totally forgot to post at Easter. Sorry about that. But I have a good reason, my folks were visiting us from New York and we were making bunny cakes and going on egg hunts and playing Uno and all that fun and suchlike. The week before that was the obligatory housework tornado and scrubbing baseboards and wiping out the silverware drawer and all that Mom cleaning that I only do when she's about to arrive.

Otherwise I've been working and trying to get the garden shaped up for Spring. It seems the season has started early this year and I'll take it after all that snow. The iris and chives are huge already as is the raspberry patch. Daffodils and tulips have sprouted their green leaves but no buds yet. All of the birdhouses are occupied. Feathery tenants abound.

The oldest boy has joined a band that has him playing guitar all over town so that's all exciting at the moment. We're not allowed to go yet because he's too nervous, but some day.

The middle boy just got a new bike and has gone Lego mad. He carries a Batman minifigure around in a case in his pocket "so his cape doesn't get wrinkled." Bless.

The baby learned to walk and has become very fond of chocolate. He quite enjoyed the jellybeans in his Easter basket. Every time he was given one he would say "ank yoo" (thank you). He just got one of the red & yellow little pedal Flintstone cars. He prefers going backwards in it.

We are totes enjoying the new season of Doctor Who.

Oh! And Target is awesome as ever and has recently stocked special anniversary editions of Hayao Miyazaki films Ponyo, Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, and Kiki's Delivery Service. If you're into that sort of thing. I bought a Totoro resin figure and also a Totoro umbrella music box from eBay.

I really need to take some pictures, there's nothing on my camera but BJD dolls and I keep forgetting to take it out places. We went to the zoo last weekend. Will get some pictures up soon. Both of my Flickr accounts are maxed out so I need to bite the bullet and buy a Pro Account. On the list.

Hope you all get some good weather :D

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy Valentine's Day

A very

Happy Valentine's Day

to all of my blogging buddies

Free clip cart from http://vintageholidaycrafts.com & http://vintagecatnip.blogspot.com/
Thank you!

Christmas Wishes

My French Life by Vicki Archer just arrived in the post today on Christmas Eve. I have been waiting for this book all year and boy was it worth the wait. It has a beautiful floral binding and the end pages are heavily textured. The book features gorgeous color photographs of France on every page and it even has a lovely red silk page marker.

In Northern, IL we are in the midst of an ice storm and have lost power twice. The trees are covered in a thick coating of ice and branches droop down to the ground. If any of them are fortunate enough to survive, I am going to treat them to a feast of fertilizer and food this Spring. Poor things. The hens are snug in their barn, the cookies are all baked, and little one is tracking Santa through Europe at the moment on the NORAD website http://noradsanta.org

So, I plan on wallowing in this wonderful book all Christmas Day. Even if the power goes out again, teacup candle at the ready....

I hope you all get your heart's desire this holiday season. Merry Christmas xo

1 Year Blog-iversary

1/12 Hook Shelf

Time flies! This month marks my one year anniversary of blogging. The first post on December 3, 2008 was about making Christmas cards from Etsy supplies. Not much change there, I just did that again last week. It's been so fun to meet all of you in blogland and get a peek into each other's lives.

What a year this has been. Is it me or was 2009 very eventful? Bit like a spin in a washing machine in Jemjoop land. Not even just the recession and money issues, just everything else too. No doubt I'm not the only one looking forward to 2010 and good times to come. I hope everyone has a safe, healthy, and happy new year and maybe a little bit of fun thrown in for good measure.

I'm hoping to find more balance, probably you're hoping for the same. I'd like to be a little more organized with my time. It's a rae every weekend to keep up with the errands, chores, and ever present TO DO list. Things got a little wonky when the baby was born (he's 1 today!) and then again when I got a full time job. Oliver is an angel, no trouble at all. Give him a snack and he's happy. The new job quickly got out of hand and has pretty much required overtime every week since September. No complaints but things do have to slide around the house when Mom gets busy. Nevermind the fun stuff like hobbies and blogging. That 100 Books in 2009 almost worked, I'm currently at 61 and can probably squeeze in two more library trips before December 31st. Not a bad finish. But, I've not blogged as regularly as when I began but it's a goal. I have managed to keep up with Etsy orders and every once in awhile even add new stuff to the shop. It's been a real treat to make miniatures on a day off or before my shift starts. They are a real de-stresser and the chance to be creative sure helps to recharge my batteries.

Pancakes, nom nom.

Many, many thanks to you all for peeking in from time to time and saying hello. It's a treat to read your blogs. See you soon...

1/12 Winter Crates

And finally, since the holidays are upon us again, I'll repost this little tidbit from little one's elementary school newsletter-

Top Ten Requested Teacher Gifts:

1. Books

2. Gift Cards

3. Board Games

4. Stickers

5. Stamp/Stamp Pads

6. Coffee

7. Fun Magnets

8. School Supplies

9. Fun Pens & Pencils

10. Food

Dear Nana and Papa

A letter writing assignment by Luke, age 8:

"Hello Nana and Papa

I hope you have a Merry Christmas, you will receive this as a present for Christmas.

I hope you didn't have any repairs to your house. I hope your state isn't doing anything bad.

You are fortunate that you have a grandson like me and a little grandson too. I hope you didn't have any catastrophes or any happenings or both.

I wish you lived with me so you could help me with mistakes and problems. And you could also comfort me when the Earth is heaving.

With love from,
Luke
Miss Carlson's 3rd Grade Class"

Cute Handmade

How exciting, Brooke at http://www.cutehandmade.com/ is featuring my Etsy shop "Jemjoop" on her blog today. Thank you Brooke! :O)

Check out her cute Etsy promotions and submit your shop or recommend your fave Etsians.

She also Twitters at http://twitter.com/cutehandmade

Speed Reader

http://buckscountyframes.etsy.com

Awhile back I gamely joined the blog challenge to read 100 books in 2009. It is October 14th (already?) and I have only read 40. Books 41 and 42 are not finished yet. Alas, has anyone ever read 60 books in 2 1/2 months? Probably not. Well, at least I've read 40 books that might not have gotten read without the little push of a challenge like this one. It was a good justification for the $120 something fee we had to pay to join the nearest library for the year.

http://hitoritabi.etsy.com

Particular stand outs were the biographies of Amelia Earhart, Martha Stewart, and Queen Elizabeth. Cherie Blair's was really interesting too, very down to Earth sort of person but highly intelligent. Elizabeth was chosen on a whim, it was on the shelf end as I was passing by. It did turn out to be fascinating and well worth the late fees for keeping it an extra week so it could be finished. I read Martha & Elizabeth back-to-back and I was amazed at the personality differences in the two. Both women of power, one rules with an iron fist and makes grown men cry and the other is extremely well thought of and known by everyone to be pleasant on every occasion for the last 60 years. Guess which was which? Now, I do love me some Martha but if Queen Elizabeth has the time and the discipline to be nice...tsk tsk


http://Strangestudios.etsy.com

The Lost Men by Kelly Tyler Lewis was another fascinating book, and again well worth the extra late fees for keeping it a week past it's due date. The story of the two- year deprivation of the men chosen to lay the food depots for Sir Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated Endurance trip to the South Pole.

There is another book I'm hankering to read called My French Life by Vicki Archer that's supposed to be very good. I keep just missing it on eBay. Maybe this is the week. I'm feeling lucky...


http://jjbackman.etsy.com

Has anybody read something yummy lately?