D-Day in Conneaut, Ohio

Yesterday me, Mike and his buddy Kevin went to a D-Day reenactment/event in Conneaut, Ohio. If you're not familiar with the area, it's right on Lake Erie (which looks like an ocean when you're sitting there looking at it). They have this event every year but this is the first year we've attended. I'm glad we did. It was pretty interesting seeing all the equipment and guns not to mention the campsites and how the soldiers had to live then. Of course there were plenty of those dressed up (along with women) in uniforms walking around. They had over 750 reenactors this year! We didn't get to see any of the battle reenactments as those are going on today and we won't be attending.

If you'd like to read about this event, here is a link D-Day for you to click on.
Also, here are some pictures I took while there.

American Bike

Helmet resting on the rifle

Sherman Tank: smaller than I thought theyd' be

Tank Specs

American Tents

Sitting on the table are a typewriter and camera

On the crate is a phonograph player

Inside the tent

WASP (Women Airforce Special Pilots) tent

Just thought this hand sticking out of the tent was funny.

Kids Day Event

I am sad to say that I didn't do very well at the Kids Day Event yesterday. I made a whopping $17 after booth fees. To top it off, I froze half the day. That's right--I FROZE in AUGUST. The weather wasn't too great--68º, damp, cold and sometimes a bit rainy. It didn't seem to stop people from coming out tho. I believe there was just as good a turnout as last year. People just weren't buying for whatever reason. The only vendor I saw that did well was the one directly across from me. They were selling homemade cheeses.

David, the man who puts this event together, suggested I try a couple more of the events. You're allowed to sign up for three of them (there are a total of five I think) and it doesn't cost any more than signing up for one. So maybe next year I will try that. In the meantime, I'm either going to have to get a regular job or find more events to sell at if I don't get any sales soon.

Here are pictures of how my booth looked at the event:

I will be listing unsold items in my Lilyshop this week.

Practice Run

Tomorrow is my kids day event show so a friend of mine (thanks, Deb!) came over yesterday to help me figure out how to set up my booth. I didn't do a good job of it last year I don't think. I had too much stuff, it was too congested and biggest mistake: I closed off the front of the booth. So, to make this story short: here is how the practice booth turned out:

Lay-out. Scooter approved.

On the left peg board are all my cupcake toppers.

To the right of that is a small table and my purse/bag tree.

On the right pegboard are a variety of items:

hair clippies, boo boo bags, taggy toy sets, hanging baskets

and tooth fairy bears.

Little table for glasses cases & checkbook covers along with my signage and cards.

Where I will sit and table in front of me. 

Table has tissue cover cozies, notepad holders, couple of random kids' items 

and eye pillows

Head scarves. 

I-Pad, E-reader and book covers in baskets.

On table are coffee cozies, bibs/burp cloths and coasters

On quilt rack are bib/burp cloth sets and doll blankets

In basket are more blankets and cupcake & ice cream wall hangings.

I also have more purses, aprons, and some embroidered onesies that I will hang on the canopy. Now all I have to do is load it all in the car. 

Shops Closed/Craft Show

It seems that etsy found it necessary to close both my shops. I won't get into the reason why (ok they said infringement issues). So now I only have my website (which has had no sales yet) and I also opened a site on Lilyshop's site.

Now it's back to the drawing board and having to start all over again. Trying to get people to find you is the hard part, getting them to buy from you is even harder. I'm crossing my fingers that people will find me in either place and start buying. I want to do as well as I was doing when etsy closed me down. I really hate the thought of going back to no sales at all or very sporadic sales. Really adds to the stress level if this is what you do to earn a living.

In the meantime I'm trying to get ready for the Kids Day event in a couple weeks (August 11th to be exact). This is the show I did last year that I did pretty well at. I'm hoping we have a day of great weather and there will be a nice turnout. Crossing my fingers I do as well as last year.

I have decided to sell other items as well as my kids items. Last year you were only supposed to be selling what the event was focused on (i.e. kids products) so I didn't take my other items like accessories, bags, etc. This year I'm going to have quite a variety of things. Hopefully parents will stop by my booth and find something they want. Figure I'd cover all bases.

Recipe: Stuffed Turkey Rolls

I used to work retail before I started my little online business.  During that time we always had to work Black Friday. It wasn't as bad as you may think. One reason being that the customers were generally in a great mood because they were just starting their holiday shopping. Another reason (my favorite) was because we had a potluck lunch. Everyone would bring something in to either eat or drink. One of my favorite things that a fellow coworker brought was stuffed turkey rolls. They were so good! Plus they looked relatively easy to make. So tonight I decided to give them a try--and they were just as good as Debbie's! And they were also as easy as I thought they would be. I thought I'd share the "recipe" for those of you who may be looking for something quick and easy to fix for dinner.

Ingredients:

1 box of stuffing (I used turkey flavor but you can use whatever you like)

1 can of turkey gravy

1 lb of thick sliced turkey (mine was thin so had to use 2 pieces for each roll)

Directions:

Cook stuffing according to directions. I substitute water for chicken broth. This is entirely up to you.

When stuffing is done, spread it onto a slice (or two if it is sliced thin) of turkey.

Slowly roll up turkey being very careful not to tear it. You may have to use toothpicks to keep it rolled up. 

Place in glass casserole dish and pour gravy on top. You can probably get more rolls than I did if your turkey is sliced thicker.

Cover and bake at 350º for about 30 minutes or until hot. 

Serve with your favorite vegetable and that's it!

Surprise for Me

Look what came for me last week! It's not my b-day and I didn't even ask for it. I'm not sure what the reason behind my getting this is.  You see, Mike got an I-Pad a couple weeks ago. For some reason he decided to get me the Kindle Fire. I already have a Kindle which I LOVE--and never asked for the Fire. But he thought I should have one (and really, who am I to argue) and so he ordered me one.

 I LOVE it!! It's a lot more portable than my laptop. I can take it out on the deck or in the bedroom to check my email, tweet and get on FB. Plus I can play games. Oh those games. I made the mistake of downloading Angry Birds. Oh those menacing little pigs! I still can't get past the first levels on some of them.  

Anyway...I haven't actually read any books (or downloaded any) yet because I still have a few books on my other Kindle I want to read first, but I've been told that the Fire is much better to read on than the Kindle. Will definitely be checking that out. There is one drawback: the battery doesn't last too long on this thing. Must be those menacing little pigs.  Oink.

Quick & Easy Safety Outlet Covers

Today I'm going to show you how to make some quick and easy (and cost effective) safety outlet covers for your child's room. These are so ingenius you'll wonder why you didn't think of it before!

Materials:
Painted wood shape (if you're feeling really creative you can buy plain ones & paint them yourself)
Gorilla Glue or other industrial glue
Safety outlet covers

Hold your shape in front of the outlet and then mark on the back where your cover needs to go. Be sure to mark it so the shape covers the whole outlet. Most of the time this will be towards the top of the shape.

Now squeeze some glue where you made your mark. If you are using Gorilla Glue, know that it expands so be sure not to add too much or it will gush around the outside of the cover.

Lay the safety cover over your glue making sure it's nice and straight and give it a slight push.

Now here's a helpful little hint: take something heavy (in this case I used a book) and lay it on top of the back of your covers. This will hold them in place while making sure they have a little pressure when drying.

And walla! you're done! Make sure glue is completely dry before you plug these cute covers into your outlet.

And of course if you don't want to make these yourself they are available on my website

Super Heroes

It seems that super heroes are all the rage now so I decided to make three of my great nephews super hero capes. I let them choose their own names (except for the 2 yr old--his mom chose his) and then embroidered them onto the capes. I even made masks and they LOVED them! My nieces liked them so much that now they want their own capes so it looks like they're not just for the kids.

Mighty Mouth

SpiderDude

I also decided to sell these in my Etsy shop and on my Website so if you'd like one for your little super hero, they are available in two sizes!

Shame on Me!

Shame on me for not writing a post in so long! It seems that life and my etsy business have made me a bit busy lately and I just haven't found the time (or inclination if you want the real truth). My etsy shop started picking up right after Christmas. What have I been so busy making and selling you ask--cupcake toppers! Lots and lots of cupcake toppers! There must be a lot of winter birthdays out there. I am so grateful to have been so busy tho since I wasn't getting very many sales at all. As a matter of fact, I was seriously contemplating going back to work (egads!) for real.

Another reason I haven't written in so long is because I finally decided to take the plunge and make my own website. So I got my hosting through PappaShop and it's finally all set up. There was quite a learning curve, but with their support I managed to figure it all out. Now everything in BOTH my etsy shops are all in one place! Plus I take PayPal on the site so it all works out great! Now I just need to try to drive traffic there.

Etsy Kids Team Treasuries

This post features some of my favorite Sept. treasuries from Etsy Kids Team members:

Baby It's Fall by Althea1326
Newborn Lovelies by Beanstalk by Yizzy
Keeps on Beating by Lil Princess Bow
 Making Lemondade from Lemons by Apple Tree Boutique
It's Game Time Baby by Baby Swank:

Flight 93 10th Anniversary Memorial Trip

This past Friday on Sept. 10th, we went to the Flight 93 National Memorial dedication. We were supposed to take part in a bike ride down to Shanksville and to the memorial on Sept. 11th, but when we found out they were doing the dedication and unveiling of the memorial wall and that George and Laura Bush, Bill Clinton, Joe Biden, and the group that are raising the money to build this memorial were going to speak we decided to leave a day early and went on our own. I'm glad we did.

Field opposite the crash site

So under some very dark skies we packed the bike, put on our rain suits and rode the 2 1/2 hours south to Shanksville. We got pretty wet a couple of times on the way down--which I can tell you on a bike doesn't feel all too great--but it was well worth the ride and I'm glad we went.

We got to the memorial at 9:30 am. We didn't get parked and in the park until noon. Traffic was that heavy. It's a very long, winding road that leads to the memorial itself--all through pastureland. We ended up parking about a mile or so away from the site because we got tired of the stopping and going--not to mention the above picture is what the parking area looked like. No way were we getting a bike in that mess.

Of course the line was long and security was pretty tight. The one thing I did disagree with was that they made people take the flags off the poles and toss away the poles. I didn't think that was right. True, the poles were pointy but we were going to honor the people who gave their lives for this country and I just thought that was wrong. Oh--and those are S.W.A.T. guys fully armed on top of the security roof.

This is what you see after you walk into the site. On the left, a black wall they have built to keep people away from the crash site. Far away to the right is where they had the dedication ceremony. We were all sitting in the open--the big white tent is Red Cross and the smaller tent is the pavilion where the speakers sat.

There was a lot of media. See all the trucks? Check out the guy on the left's jacket. We're still in Steelers country and two things we love are our Steelers and our country. There was a woman walking around with a Ravens bag. Wonder if she made it out unscathed.

 We were sitting pretty far away so it was hard to get a good picture of the dignitaries. Maybe you can pick out George and Laura Bush, Bill Clinton, and Joe Biden. Also the men who are raising money and started this memorial spoke (one of them wearing a cowboy hat). They all gave wonderful speeches and all called the passengers "heroes". As a matter of fact, the word "passenger" wasn't spoken as much as the word "hero".  Biden and Clinton gave credit to George Bush for pulling this country together when this happened and taking action. Biden even got a bit emotional towards the end of his speech because he recognized that these heroes saved his life--literally. If that plane had crashed into the Capitol building where he was, he and countless others would've lost their lives.

Rude People

One thing that did bother me was the fact that there were some rude people there. These people would NOT sit down through most of the ceremony (which was about three hours long) even tho they had chairs. Also the woman behind us wouldn't shut up and kept talking on her cell phone. Seriously. So disrespectful to others there and to the event itself. This was not a "celebration". So much different than when you go to The Wall. Thousands of people and you can hear a pin drop there.

The most emotional part of the ceremony was when each hero's name was called an the bells tolled after. There was a woman who was pregnant on that flight and her unborn child was also mentioned and they tolled the small bell for it. There weren't many dry eyes during this part of the ceremony and many, many heads were bowed.

The end of the ceremony came when they unveiled the wall with the 40 names. It's made of marble and each name has it's own "slab". We were a bit far away (and I was a bit too short) to see them actually unveil it, but Mike did get a picture beforehand when it was still covered. They gave the family members and guests 30 minutes to view the wall by themselves. I really wanted to see it but there were so many people there. Me and Mike are going to go down again either this fall or maybe in the spring when it's not so crowded so we can see the wall, the bells, etc. up close.

This picture was found online for one of the news agencies. We were riding for Deora Frances Bodley. I'm not sure who this man is who is touching her name-perhaps her grandfather (she was only 20 yrs old). I will never forget Deora and I will always think of her now.

Crash site. Where the heroes are laid to rest.

 Going to this memorial made this really sink home and made me realize that these were people like me and you who had lives and families, who either went to school or to work every day--just like you and me. They were ordinary people who did an extraordinary thing that day. Joe Biden said it best when he said, "Everyone has courage in them and maybe one day it will be called into use." It was called that fateful day at 9:58 am on Sept. 11, 2001.

Walking Out with a new perspective on life.

 So when you see shows, advertisements, etc. about 9/11, please PLEASE do not just think of the planes, victims, firemen, and police officers that lost their lives in NY--think of the 40--rarely spoken of--true heroes that died taking this plane down so it wouldn't reach it's destination. I give respect to those that died in NY, but the firemen and officers were doing their jobs---the passengers of Flight 93 knew they were going to die and instead of sitting back and letting it happen they took matters into their own hands and launched an attack against the hijackers and saved countless lives in so doing. That, in my opinion, is what a true hero is. I find it sad that the media does not give these 40 heroes the true recognition that they deserve. 

Just a footnote: it took the fire crew and police 15 minutes to get to this crash site after the plane went down. 15 minutes. There was no nicely paved road at the time only pastureland--and it only took them 15 minutes to get there. Please think of them too.

Deora Frances Bodley: A Fallen Hero

On Thursday of this week we received our Flight 93 memorial ride package. In it was a short biography of the Flight 93 hero we are to represent, a pin, patch, dog tags, t-shirt, and flag with the hero's name. The t-shirt has the Flight 93 Let's Roll Ride logo on the front with the names of the 40 heroes who lost their lives in a field in Shanksville, PA on Sept. 11, 2001.

Biography, T-shirt, flag, pin, & patch

Pin, dog tags with hero's name, and patch.

Back of T-shirt with heroes' names

Me and Mike will be representing Deora Frances Bodley. She was the youngest passenger at just 20 yrs old. She was from San Diego, CA and attended Santa Clara University where she was studying in French and psychology with her major and goal to be a child psychologist. Deora loved children and spent her free time volunteering at the San Diego Zoo and the Special Olympics. Deora loved her family, reading, and writing. She was on her way home after visiting friends in New Jersey.

I ask that on Sept. 11th, you keep Deora and her family in mind and say a prayer for them. So sad to lose someone so young to such a tragedy, but she will be remembered forever as one of America's young heroes.

Kids Day Event

Yesterday I set up a booth at a Kids Day Event held at our local Market House in town. I was hoping I would do well since most of my items are geared for babies and children--and guess what--I did!! It was such a BIG relief compared to the last show I did (only made $27). The man who organized it is planning to make it a yearly event, so I can't wait until next year! A lot of people were truly interested in my items and a few took my cards so I hope I get more local business from it. My main goal was to get my brand out there locally and I think I accomplished that.

Practice Booth Pics

 It was also a ton of fun! I had the PERFECT spot--right next to all the entertainment! There were clowns that were making animal balloons, face painting, and just entertaining the kids (who LOVED them!). There was also a pretty lady there who danced with hula hoops (she was SO amazing!), a band (which actually wasn't very good at all), and a DJ (who played golden oldies). So I got to watch the kids get their sweet little faces painted, try out hula hooping, and dancing. So cute!

Face Painting

 

Hula Hoop Dancer

 My biggest selling items were hair clippies and pins--mostly owls, flip-flops, and kitties:

 I also sold a bear tooth fairy plush, a couple of Cuddle Monsters, and a couple of aprons (size 3/4 seemed to be the favorite)

Oh--and did I mention the cute vendor apron I made for myself :)

 All in all it was a very good day and I truly enjoyed it!