Craft Fair Days. Cow Days & Ham Days in Central Kentucky.

These are the best days for craft fairs, nice cool mornings that turn into warm afternoons, without a hint of rain. Much better than my first experience with being a participant in a craft fair earlier this summer (see July post). We had two of the most beautiful days in Greensburg, Kentucky celebrating all things that go moo.


I wanted to share a few photos of my booth for my friends who like to check out other crafter's booths (I know I do!). I invested in a few more props, taking advantage of store closings in my own town. Sad as that may be (darn the Walmarts!), I'm happy to put the store displays to good use.



I met some really fine folks over the weekend, and especially enjoyed the company of Donna and Julie, of Tennessee and Louisville, respectively. If you ladies are reading this, I miss you already! No one sleeps late like those ladies do.

This coming weekend is Ham Days in the cute town of Lebanon, Kentucky. While my new friends won't be there I know I'll be in good company. Sandi of PrettyBowtique will be there selling her cute hairbows. Sandi's mom, Bea, will join us and she has the most fun purses you can find. And driving all the way down from Lousiville is Denita Cherry and her pal who will have Top Secret Stuff that I'm sure is too die for cute. It'll be a little Etsy Fam Team get together.

I also will be celebrating 5 wonderful years with Mr. Howes, who has been patient with me this entire marriage and then some. I think he's given up trying to figure what I'll do next. We will plan to mark the auspicious occasion with dinner at The Oak Barrel in Lebanon on Friday night.

If you're in the area, come out to Ham Days. It's the largest fair of it's kind in the area. Live music, contests, and fabulous pendants!

Hurricane Ike & Windstream DSL in Kentucky *sigh*

Well, it could be worse, I could be evacuating Galveston in the anticipation of a huge, wet, and windy storm. But instead I'm living in Central Kentucky 45 minutes from the nearest shopping mall and have found myself without DSL.

I'm currently borrowing wi-fi from the allergist office where my daughter gets her weekly allergy shots. They think of everything, and thank goodness for that. Without an internet connection it's difficult to print orders, answer emails, update the online stores, and print shipping labels. So if you don't hear from me in the short term, please know that it's not for a lack of desire. It's for a lack of connectivity. I can still be reached by phone at my 800 number on www.anniehowes.com to answer all your questions regardless of which store you placed your order.

If anyone can enlighten me on why a storm in the gulf would be affecting my internet in Kentucky, I'd really like to hear from you!

Mushi Mushi, I Made Sushi!

Ah, yes, the day has finally come when I've taken the culinary leap of faith where I've taken my craft skills to the kitchen and have rendered not fat, but beauty.

Behold my first sushi experience. A simple start with just the basics: rice, nori, and fresh garden (not my own) cucumber. Known as The Shotgun in these here parts because there's something about the cucumber roll which makes the wasabi explode like fireworks in the back of my nose.

I finally gathered the courage to take the sushi plunge after visiting an international food market while in Indianapolis over Labor Day Weekend. Promptly after popping a Vicodin prescribed for my freshly broken pinkie toe (see previous post), I delved into the project. I figured pouring resin was probably not wise with the pain I was in and the effects of the medication, and besides, if I messed up my sushi roll I could always blame my toe.

So, I've come to the conclusion that if I can make a sushi roll this pretty and this tasty while hobbling around the kitchen on one foot, it can't be all that difficult after all.

The difficult part is getting sushi grade ahi delivered to Central Kentucky. I found this great site and got all excited because I could have 2 lbs of ahi for $35. Then my heart broke when overnight shipping brought the total to $74. But the point is, I could have it if I wanted it badly enough. And that, my friend, brings me great comfort.

What Not to Do While on Holiday.

My stepmom, Linda, throws a heck of a party every Labor Day Weekend and for the very first time I was able to make it to her neck of the woods to marvel in her organization and wallow in her barbecued pork chops and peach pie (the best pie I've ever tasted).

It's always a good time when I visit my parents, but rarely is a party thrown into the visit, so this was a real treat. My daughter and I made the 3.5 hour drive north to Brownsburg, Indiana, a much shorter drive to visit family than we're used to, and were eager to begin our 3-day adventure.

The party was grand, the shopping was great, and the company superb. We visited the butterfly house at the zoo, we got up close and personal with a cicada killing wasp, had lots of fun at Linda's party, and I broke my pinky toe.

How old am I? Old enough to not break a toe, I would think, but I managed to break it in half, even the urgent care wouldn't try to set it. And that was before I could make it to any good crafting stores. And then, because my mind was distracted by the damage I did to my toe, the worst part was that I forgot to take home a slice of peach pie.

New Glasses & A Trapezoidal Nightmare

So, I finally found about 5 minutes in my weekly schedule to make an appointment with an optometrist in town where, yes, they determined, I need a prescription, and though my eyesight is near 20/20, I am, well, yes, maturing, and perhaps a prism for those astigmatisms. Yes, I agreed, I have astigmatisms, but I have no idea abut this aging business.

I found another 5 minutes (different week, mind you) to drop my prescription off at a shop that promised to sell me glasses that make me look, smart, no scratch that, intelligent, no scratch that, too. I think it was glamorous.

And finally..finally, I have my glamorous new glasses and I look 10x more intelligent and about that many years younger, and I could be on the cover of Vogue. No, really.

But there is a problem. Everything is a trapezoid and I feel, like, a foot shorter.

OK, what's the big deal, really, that the world is now a short trapezoid? I'll tell you what's the big deal, I need to see right angles. I need to be able to ship glass and cut corners (not the shortcut kind, either), and do all that stuff without the aid of a ruler! I have the skill for that. But now, I am seeing trapezoids everywhere. My monitor, my picture frames, my dog.

Trapezoids aren't all bad. That's why I have the photo of the gorgeous table in this post. The designer, Nathan Hunter, must have prisms in his glasses. I'm sure of it. To see more gorgeous tables like this visit this website.

The Perfect Party Pack - How to Make Gorgeous Glass Pendants, Magnets & Rings!

Today marks my one year Etsyversary (one year on Etsy), and to mark this auspicious occasion I have developed and launched the Perfect Party Pack! The Perfect Party Pack is a quart sized paint can that's filled to the brim with all the ingredients you need to create your very own gorgeous glass tile pendants, magnets and rings!

The paint can is elegantly decorated with gorgeous Japanese Chiyogami paper and is hand labeled right here in my studio. Each item is carefully wrapped and packed inside the paint can to ensure everything arrives intact.

Here's what's included:
- 10 smooth edge clear glass tiles - .875" or 2.2cm square
- 10 smooth edge clear rectangles - .875" (7/8") x 1.875"
(1-7/8") or 2.2cm x 4.8cm
- 10 clear glass cubes
- 10 clear glass wafers
- 10 clear glass mini gems
- 20 Silver plated Aanraku bails
- 20 magnets
- 10 Silver plated adjustable rings
- 2 fl.oz. Diamond Glaze
- 1 tube of E-6000 jewelry adhesive (other kits have vials)
- assortment of Premium Chiyogami & Florentine papers, untrimmed
- 10 nickel plated stainless steel bead chains, 16" length
- Professional Tutorial PDFs with photos & tips
- 1 metal paint can to keep it all organized

I can't believe I got it all in there, and you won't be disappointed! So gather your friends and have some fun and make some pretty little things of your own!

Fun with Bottle Cap and Pendant Designs!

I don't know how many of these designs I'll make, probably a limited amount of them, but they're so darn fun and cute! It's like candy to me, but they're a bit time consuming and off the beaten track from the rest of my products.

A dear friend of mine who makes hairbows had a special request from me, and while I know my time is somewhat valuable (to me at least), I also like to help fellow small business owners when needed. Sandi asked if I would design a few images for bottle caps that she could give away with her How to Make Bottle Caps tutorial on Etsy and they turned out stinkin' cute if I do say so myself!

Each image and all of their components are created by me here in my studio. I've taken the color palette from the Made to Match Gymboree (M2MG) collection so they'd coordinate with current children's clothing trends and with Sandi's ribbons. So they're easy to match with ribbons for bottle cap hair bows or as a bottle cap necklace that coordinates with your child's clothing.

I offer the pdf file for $2.00 apiece in my Etsy store, but if you'd like to learn how to make beautiful bottle caps from someone who makes them beautifully, I recommend buying the extremely affordable tutorial from Pretty Bowtique on Etsy!