The Professor

You remember the Professor, don't you?  He was smarter than Gilligan, more handsome than the Skipper, but not as rich as Mr. Howell.  Two out of three ain't bad.  He could make anything out of bamboo and coconuts but couldn't, for the life of him, figure out how to fix a two-foot hole in a boat.  Ginger turned his head, but second only to his love for botany was his love for MaryAnn (this we all knew deep down).

Very similar to the Professor on Gilligan's Island is the other Professor, husband to my frequent commenter MaryAnn.  He's the strong, silent type.  He can make stuff out of nothing.  He's smart.  He's handsome.  He's not at rich as Thurston Howell, III.  He's crazy about MaryAnn and loves her coconut cream pie.  And today, he's fifty years old. 

Happy Birthday, Professor! 

Wordless Wednesday

What A Difference Six Months Makes

I call this weather progression photography.  Over a span of six months the mercury in this (my) thermometer went from -14 degrees F to 100 degrees F.  Minnesota rocks!

January, 2010

June, 2011

In The Shade Of The New Canopy

About six months ago I decided my mantra for this fiscal year would be you have to play big to win big.  That meant forking out some money to improve not only my product, but my image. 

Three months before that there was a canopy malfunction at one of my outdoor shows.  I bought that canopy second hand from a woman who had done shows for a number of years but had to quit due to physical limitations.  I'm not sure how long she owned it, but was nice to think of me and offer her entire setup for a very reasonable price when I decided to hit the road with my crafty biz.

When the malfunction occurred, six years after I bought the canopy, Husby and I looked at each other and decided we probably couldn't make it work for another year. 

Back to my mantra, I decided to bite the bullet, do the research, and purchase a brand new canopy.  Because of the very long winter and terribly wet and mucky spring we couldn't set it up until this past weekend.  (And seriously, if you buy something like this be sure to set it up ahead of time to make sure all the parts are included and it isn't damaged.  You don't want to find surprises when you're "on.")

How much do I love my new canopy?

The best part about this canopy is it comes in a really nice carrying case.  The entire set-up weighs at least sixty pounds so it's nice to have a caddy with wheels.  The carrying case also has arm straps so you can carry it on your back if necessary.  Yeah, like I could wrangle that on my ever-so-delicate (haha) self.  Of course Husby had to prove his mightiness and show how easy it is to lug this thing around backpack style...

Don't you just love his Sears catalog model pose? 

Well, no matter if Husby carries the new canopy on his back or I wheel it to where it has to go, I'm ready for action this summer.  See me at the Chateau St. Croix Winery for the Fete Des Fleurs event June 11th and 12th.  I'll be the one under the brand new canopy.

Custom Made, Just For You

When you're in the crafty business you get a lot of help.  People of all kinds, friends and strangers alike, have all kinds of suggestions and ideas.  Lots of times they're really good ideas, but I'm only one person and can execute only so many of these ideas in a year. 

Over a year ago a woman saw my bottle cap drink charms and she got an idea.  I created a set of custom charms for her with the characters of one of her favorite movies.  She walked away a happy camper and I was very happy I could accommodate her request.

Recently that same woman contacted me via an Etsy convo.  For those of you unfamiliar with Etsy, the convo is an internal e-mail system where Etsy members can converse with each other.  I received this convo and lo and behold she had another idea.  Another brilliant idea. 

A friend of hers is graduating with a PhD.  What a marvelous and admirable accomplishment.  She thought it would be a fun idea to give as a gift a set of bottle cap drink charms depicting the theorists he used in his dissertation.  While she confessed she thought the idea was "geeky," I thought it was a really fun and unique idea for a graduation gift. 

We went to work together.  She gathered pictures of the theorists and I worked them into the charms.  I must say we make a great team.

So, at the risk of ruining a graduation surprise, may I present to you The Great Names In Christian Ethics...

Kudos to the gift giver who thought of this fantasic idea, and a million thanks to her for trusting me to turn her idea into a tangible gift. 

A couple of years ago another person commissioned me to make charms for a Girl's Weekend involving all of the female members of the family; each "girl" got a charm with her picture on it. All weekend long they had their own personal charms identifying their wine glass.

If you have ideas for custom bottle cap drink charms or magnets, let me know and perhaps we can work together on a project.  Ideas would be wedding favors, save-the-date magnets, family reunions, and class reunions.  Contact me at auntiebswax4u@yahoo.com, or if you're a member at Etsy (buyer or seller) shoot me a convo with your proposition.

Auntie B would love to be at your service!

Cheep Cheep Cheep

A little while ago Husby and I were so happy to see in the Christmas tree stashed in our back yard a perfectly constructed robin's nest.  Within that nest were three perfectly constructed robin eggs.

Husby and I are often very enamored with bitty little animals and love and protect them like we would our own children. Little bird eggs are no exception. No, we're not weirdos who think animals are human and we don't interfere with the natural circle of life or the vicious food chain. We don't handle the tiny new creatures who happen to be born in our back yard, but I root for them and hope with all my might that they survive in their wee states.

I was thrilled to see that all three perfectly created robin eggs had hatched and all three bitty birds were keeping each other warm in the nest once they broke out into the big world.

How tiny and bare these little creations. I was tempted to stroke with a single finger that soft fluff, but resisted.

After the Memorial Day weekend I went out and checked out the inhabitants of our Christmas tree once again. Mrs. Robin flew quickly from the nest as I approached, and as I was positioning myself to click a photo she made a beeline for my head ~ grazing it lightly, but enough to startle me. I took the best picture I could and decided it would be the last time I wander back to take a peek...at least for a week or two until the little birds look more like birds than bugs.

But see, they're looking more like birds every day.

It's so much fun to see these little creatures grow.  Pretty soon they'll be hopping across the lawn with open mouths behind their mama who will pick worms out of the ground and feed her babies with her findings.  And then, at long last the little fluff balls will be full grown robins able to fend for themselves.

Oh, they grow up so quickly.

Wordless Wednesday