R & D time

As 2009 draws to a close I am looking forward to the new year ahead of me.

I have a few months off from the market but will be doing the First Thursday events with Idaho Indie Works at the Pioneer Tent Building.

I am hoping to take this time to develope some of the ideas that have been floating around in my head. I'm doing a little "research & development."

Without giving too much away, expect to see some more record vinyl creations for the home (hint: a "bright" idea), some more uses for the corks I've got stockpiled, new record vinyl necklace designs, more belt buckle creations, and a new addition to the "accessory" category.

I'll also be taking some time to list more of my work on Etsy, and try to give my own website it's much needed makeover.

And cross your fingers, because this week I'm sending in the storage buckles to Marth Stewart... yes, 2010 is going to be the year of Miss Courageous!

Holiday Grooves

"Where...?"

Today Greta handed me the globe and asked: "Mommy, where do the unicorns live?"

Lost thoughts

I dreamt up a great blog post, it was something about "5 types of..."

It was witty, clever, and well written.

I told myself I would remember it when I awoke.

Apparently I lied to myself, I've no idea what it was, but I distinctly remember it was 5, it was funny, and well, now it's forgotten.

I hate when that happens.

pool of spools

Somehow my parents find the coolest things.

And you can now find them in my Etsy shop!

The Color Purple

This morning when swimming lessons were finished and we were about to drive out of the parking lot of the Y, Greta sighed and said: "I wish everything were purple."

I don't quite get a three year olds obsession with a color, but I can't wait to see the look on her face when she wakes from her nap to see what came out of our garden for dinner!

"That was Awesome!"

Let the fun begin! Ear protection and a fan to wave away the smelly smoke. The magic pagoda.
Sparklers are cool.




We go to my parents house every year for the 4th. Its fun to watch my dad, brother-in-law and nephews take their stab at pyrotechnics and risk loss of digits while my sister reminds them there is no burn unit in Boise. The neighbors gather at the foot of their driveways, each setting off their own fireworks and cheering when my father gets out his mini canon and makes the loudest bang of all. Good times.

This was the first year that Greta didn't go in the house and hide from the noise. Grandpa gave her the headphones to wear and Grandma gave her the fan to wave away the smoke. When the loud fireworks screeched and thundered I expected Greta to get frightened and want to go inside. Instead she turned to me, grinned and exclaimed "That was awesome!" The sparklers were a huge hit, she waved them and twirled and danced like a patriotic ballerina.

This is it folks, America the Beautiful.

Please Vote For Capital City Public Market!

My Latest Etsy Purchase

Okay, I couldn't resist this one, she's sooooo cute! The doll is magnetic and comes in her own cute little tin, perfectly portable for keeping little ones entertained on the go.
The shop is cheariefearie Creative Quandries and she has an entire section for magnetic paper dolls, check them out!

Cargo Bike

Yes, they are giving one of these away, and I think my lucky streak must go on... (crosses fingers)

Choice Cuts

I don't eat mammals, but I can appreciate a well drawn pig and the irony of wearing it on your belt.

These were a special order for of all people, another etsy artist that works with record vinyl. I hope they're a hit. Be safe, buckleup!

a little Whimsy

Greta and I both get our haircut by Gigi at Whimsy salon. They are nominated for the parents connect best haircut, please give them a click!

For Haircut
in Boise

Ah, Spring!

You too can be a better driver

One day I rolled down my window to let out a bug, my daughter sitting in her car seat behind me asked "who are you going to yell at mommy?"... hmmm, did I have a problem with road rage??? I do admit to getting furious when people speed down my street or roll through the stop signs (which btw seems to be more common than actually stopping at them).

I do find myself much more aware of my driving and behavior behind the wheel since my car is now so easily identified and advertises my business. Thanks to a fellow Idaho Indie Works artist HollyDoodle for my window decal.



I no longer speed, I don't tailgate, I never cut people off, I always stop at stopsigns, and, well, I'm working on controlling my road rage at other drivers. I have no idea why when my husband tooted the horn to wave hello to the neighbors my 3 year old yelled out "NICE STOP!" ;)

Race

The other day as we were driving around town, my daughter asked me "Mommy, why do the ladies have pink hair?" She had seen the billboards for the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure. Cancer is not an easy subject for a three year old, and I'm not even sure what answer I gave her, something about the ladies were sick and they didn't have any hair because the medicine they take to help make them better makes them lose their hair.

So for her and all the other little girls out there I hope you will never have to face this disease. For the survivors and the fighters, for the courageous and the heroic, I dedicate this blog post to you. To all who fight this terrible thing called cancer, I thank you.



Since I will not able to participate in the race for the cure, I am giving pink record vinyl awareness pins (while supplies last) to thank those that do. Just stop by my booth at the Capital City Public market, on the Grove in front of Qwest Arena. Plus, for Saturday May 9th I will be donating 20% of all of my sales (at the market and on line) to the Susan G. Komen foundation.

First Thursday!

Come check out Idaho Indie Works at first thursday 6th & main, old Boise

Come Find Me...

on the Quad at Boise State University for their Earth Day Celebration, Wednesday April 22nd from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.


at First Thursday downtown Boise May 7th from 5:00 p.m.- 9:00 p.m.


on Mothers Day (May 10th) at Sawtooth Winery


and every Saturday until Christmas (well almost) at the Capital City Public Market 9:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.


or shop anytime at MissCourageous.etsy.com

Come see me Saturday!

This year marks Capital City Public Market's 15th anniversary! The opening day of the Market is Saturday April 18th. Look for me on the Grove in front of Qwest arena.


I am excited to debut some new record vinyl jewelry designs and some fun new belt buckles I've created.


To celebrate opening day I will be giving a free bottle cap key chain or ring with any purchase to anyone that mentions this blog!


See you Saturday, the market's hours are 9:30-1:00

...like a record baby, round, round...

So today I was cutting some vinyl to make some bracelets... and decided to cut circles out of any left over vinyl scraps... and well, looking at all those circles on my workbench gave me an idea... I hope you like it! I will be making more in different varieties, nice step up from the pendants, don't you think?




I still haven't gotten around to making the bracelets, oh well... another day.

Have you heard the BUZZ?

Yeah, that's right... bumble bee pendants! In ten mouth watering colors! And they're available for only $5.00 with free shipping in the U.S. (and cheap shipping everywhere else)

Plus I've added a new section to my shop, "Just the Pendant" for those of you crafty enough to add your own chain/earrings/whatever!

My Album Cover

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Originally uploaded by Rundadar

Grand Theft Childhood
"nibbled to death by ducks"

To Do This
1 - Go to "wikipedia." Hit “random”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to "Random quotations"
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use photoshop or similar to put it all together.

I hope yours turns out as cool as mine did, thanks Rundadar for such a cool photo!

Soft Focus

So I took a bunch of photos today, and they were all a little fuzzy on the left... was it my settings? the lighting? too much caffeine? Nope, it was Greta... which also explained why there were photos in the camera of toys, the tv, the dog's tail, and the cat under the bed...







note to self... clean camera lens... and clean under Greta's bed.

Etsy Front Page

Etsy Front Page 2/27/09 Admin, originally uploaded by Etsy Front Pagers.

My pressure gauge belt buckle was on the front page last night. And gone from my shop this morning, hooray!

Thanks Adam

So this is what I found in my fridge this morning after my nephew babysat last night. Greta said I was supposed to scream, but I laughed.

And yes, we eat a lot of cheese.

What Google Analytics Tells Me

Well, now Etsy has enabled their sellers to have a new obsession. It's google analytics. This is a tool meant to help analyze your business, but alas, it's a tool that's driving me nuts.

Now rather than, has anybody bought anything today??? I find myself asking:

-how many people were at my site today?
-how long did people stay on my site?
-where are the people from that are looking at my site?

and, the most amusing and frustrating: "what key words did people enter to find me?"
This is amusing because people have searched for things like "amelia earhart hat", "felted wool" and "soap deli" and found my shop. hmmm, interesting.
But the frustrating key words are the ones that tell me somebody out there doesn't want to buy my stuff, they want to make it; "how to cut recycled records" and "make buckle with resin and jar lid" made me a bit defensive. Now the cutting records, okay, I'm not the first or the last for that, but I am the only one that I've ever seen make a belt buckle out of a jar lid.

End of rant.

Here are a couple of my latest creations, try not to copy them, it just pisses me off. :)

I was Tagged (delayed reaction)

tagged...

I was tagged by Holly of Holly's Diner / HollyDoodle / HollyDoodads fame. I'm finally getting around to playing. (I always lost at tag)

Here are the rules:

1. Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So here it goes...

Random/weird (possibly embarassing?) facts about ME:

1. In elementary school I performed a dance routine in a talent show... on a pogo stick to the song "Bare Necessities" from the Jungle Book.

2. I have never been stung by a bee. Consequently I'm terrified of them.

3. My birthmark starts in the white of my eye and works it's way up through my hair, kind of like the hawaiian islands. (good thing I'm not bald) My sister used to make fun of it when she french braided my hair.

4. I had a pet rabbit named Bruce when I was in high school. He would follow me around, jump up on my lap, and even chased cats out of the yard. (and he liked to eat Lucky Charms and grape kool-aid)

5. I'm allergic to cats, but I have two. I believe you can develop immunities to your allergies if you deal with them all the time.

6. I once got lost at Disneyland. I was with my campfire girl troup (okay that part is embarassing enough) and I stopped to look at some flowers and when I looked up the group was gone. I went to the next ride that we had talked about going on and they never showed up. I was found by a couple that had rode up with us (someone's uncle I think) and they bought me ice cream. The group went on two rides without me before they realized they were one kid short. Apparently, even though I was a good head taller than everyone else, I was easily overlooked. Yeah, whatever, I didn't want to go on the stupid submarine ride anyway...

7. I can wiggle my nose and my ears.

Since Holly has already tagged most of the people I know with blogs, (thanks Holly) I'm taqging some more of the IIW team: fran with homemadeoriginals, Pixie with pheartsb, Amber of Refinerii, Hattie of monochromed, Silvia of svsoaps, and a couple of other etsy sellers my sister freakyoldwoman, and a fellow vinyl artist; Amanda of vinylrocksmyworld