Happy Kathy

I really am terrible about updating my blog. I suppose it's partly because I feel like what happens in my life isn't all that exciting. I work a lot! And when I'm not working I am taking care of my kids. So there isn't much in there that makes for a super interesting read. But the Thanksgiving holiday was nice, so I thought I'd blog a little about that. Yesterday my sister flew in from Florida for a quick visit. We had a lovely meal at my aunt's house, and my husband made delicious pumpkin chiffon pies, which were promptly devoured! I made two loaves of Challah, which turned out nice. I added more honey this time, because I saw some of the recipe reviewers said this was a good idea. I think I'll put the recipe amount next time. I didn't like the too honey taste. Today we are all hanging out an enjoying having family around. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

I have to say that my favorite part of having my own business is getting to choose all of the fabrics! I have so much fun going through the fabric choices at online fabric stores and picking my favorites. I only wish I had more money to buy even more fabric. But I have to sell what I have first before I can buy more. Here are a few examples of the new fabrics.

I am starting something a little different over here at Happy Kathy HQ, I am putting anorak snaps on my wallets as an extra option. Now if there are customers who would rather not have a magnetic snap they can choose the other snap option. I am thinking of converting over to anorak snaps entirely as I bought a very cool snap press. It's pretty heavy and industrial looking, funny for my small time operation to have this thing! Here's a photo of it. It is very easy to use and makes applying snaps so much easier! So we will see how these snap closure wallets do on the site and if they sell I will convert most if not all of the wallets over to this style of closure. Newest wallets up

One of my fellow Etsy artists, Cindy, designsbylucinda, lost her 11 Year-old son, her home, pets, possessions, everything. The wonderful community of Etsy sellers has put together a shop of donated items. Please go and donate by purchasing something! One of my wallets is there. If you want to donate by buying a different wallet, let me know. Helping Hearts Please click on the link Helping Hearts and take a look!

My favorite thing to do in my spare time is to browse through all the lovely things there are to find on Etsy. Yesterday I did a little bit too much browsing and found a few great things I wanted to share with you all. First is from a great shop called Simply Aprons Where I found this cute number. And then another great shop Vegan Kitty Where I got these for the kids And finally these great address label stickers from I love Die Line Studio And these are what I found

Today when we went to Goodwill we came across these great old coloring/drawing toys, the kind you use a crayon it's side and trace the image onto paper. I remember having one of these as a child. This was such a find! It came with all the fashion plate girl looks, complete with cowboy boots and tight jeans, or short shorts with rollerskates! Love! Also an additional card making tracing kit. Hannah had a blast and I did too! :)

That's my little brother Daniel. Of course he is not so little anymore, and neither am I! :( Ha ha. It's funny how he will always be the baby. And of course my littlest Scarlett will always be the baby in our family as well. So I'm using my blog today as a shout out to him! Happy Birthday Little Brother! I love you! Here's a picture of us when we were small. Becki seems to be missing from this shot. That would have made it perfect if she were in there. Becki being my big sister!  So here's one of us... And appropriate for this post since I am wishing a happy birthday, here we are with our birthday caps on!

Who doesn't love Valentine's Day? Candy, anybody? I could love Valentine's Day just for that one thing alone! When else do I get to buy mini-crunch bars in the shape of hearts, each individually wrapped and waiting for me when my chocolate attack comes along? Photo by Ivan Clow This year for V day the kids and I decided to make a very cool gift for each of their teachers. We got some boxes and cut the tops off to make little baskets, I thread some ribbon through slots I made on either side. The kids painted the boxes in shades of reds and pinks and purples and pasted on foam hearts that I bought from JoAnns. They loved it!  And it was the perfect activity for a day off from school for a teacher workday. Then we put some tissue paper and filled it with various gifts the kids found at the store. I also put in a zipper pouch that I made into each basket. Being a teacher myself I know how much work they do each day and with very little compensation. So I wanted to do a l