life+running » etc

that’s it?

chimes — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Three things.

Originally I had two things, but I got an e-mail this morning about something fun and I had to share.

ONE: I finished this little sampler that I’ve been working on. I think I figured out how to do most of the stitches I wanted to figure out. So I’m moving on from this piece and onto something more fun.

I’m sure it will become part of a zip bag. Or a wallet. Maybe a pillow. It was too cute not to share.

TWO: I had an awesome run last week. And I say last week because Nike+ and I are not getting along and it’s not syncing runs like it should. Regardless. It was the first run I’ve had in a while that was somewhat what my average pace USED to be before I broke up with running in November of 2011.

However, my tweeps still are under the impression that I run miles and miles and miles. Not only my tweeps, I guess, but pretty much everybody ever that I’ve known since 2002 when I started running. Now I kind of get what my dad [ who had knee replacement surgery almost 10 years ago and can't run anymore ] feels like — except he was ACTUALLY quite awesome at running — we have a lot of trophies in our basement back home.

Anywho, I got razzed on twitter.

I shouldn’t be surprised. The entire reason I’m friends with @porkrind is because of the amount of crap he gives me. And because he married one of my beautiful and talented crafty lady friends.

Regardless, it KIND of bothered me. But as usual, he redeemed himself. I think he gives me crap just to get my reaction because he’s the master at that.

For the record, I didn’t run anywhere NEAR 5 miles on Sunday. I biked around all day and it was almost 90° in Iowa. I attempted to run after my long day of biking and made it about 3 miles.

I giggled a bit later when I got a rebuttle from his wife.

^truth. But he’s still my favorite friend that I’ve not met IRL but talk to daily via the twitters.

Three: I got an e-mail this morning from Lindsay at the Lean Green Bean with my match for this month’s foodie pen pals. Basically it’s a box of awesome foodie stuffs that I send to somebody and I’ll get a box of other awesome foodie stuffs in return from another person. How cool is that? I’m pretty excited about this venture.

Anybody else get burnt out on something they used to love? And is anybody else doing foodie pen pals?

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what is all this craziness?

chimes — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 15:00:00 +0000

oh hai dere.

You may or may not have noticed that my blog went from pretty bland to freaking screaming pink in about 24 hours.

Aaaaaand you might have also noticed that it’s not “chimesblog” anymore. It’s back to “life + running”.

Whaaaaa? Wait. What?

Exactly.

So this all started when I decided to go to the BLEND retreat in May. My friend Kelly, who goes to the Bloggers in Sin City event [ and holy freaking cow she won a free ticket yesterday ] was all, “Dude, you need to make sure you have biz cards for this shiz.”

And I was all, “Obviously. I’ve got a TON Of chimesdesign biz cards.”

And she was all [ in more words or less ], “Um … might want to consider making one that’s not for your etsy shop / design stuff and one that’s for YOU. A business card that encompasses what you and your blog and online presence is about.”

Aha! So hot pink?

After fiddling around for a bit, I ended up with this design [ and am contemplating letterpress because it's badass, and I'm a graphic designer ]:

So I have business cards [ in theory, they're not printed yet because I'm not sure about ponying up the $$ for letterpress ] … but what about my website? Shouldn’t that match?

Yes.

And I got into Fireworks to create a new header for my blog — complete with drop-down menus for ease of navigation because I blog about a LOT of random topics … whyyy Fireworks? Because I apparently was extremely lazy, when in fact, it was entirely possible to create what I wanted to create directly IN WordPress by putzing around for a couple hours with a theme. But nope, I decided to do this the “easy” way.

So. Wrong.

I ended up with this when I uploaded the HTML/CSS/Javascript files on their own [ not into WordPress ]:

My friend Steph graciously showed me how to put it on my blog … though I had already tried to do it that way, and lo, it didn’t work. Because Fireworks and Dreamweaver puke out shitty code. I know these things.

Instead of working with more pukey code, I downloaded a new theme and decided it would be best to just start from scratch. Found an awesome theme and pinked it up. AND I built my drop down menu using WordPress’s custom menu feature. It’s FANFREAKINGTABULOUS. I think. You be the judge (it’s at the top of the page … check it out!)

OH. And there’s another big thing: The name change back to life + running.

I realized that I’m doing all this work on an identity for something that was essentially a passive-aggressive stab at the fact that I had a running injury. My original blog, runningchimes.blogspot.com — life + running — was started when I decided to run a marathon. Marathon ran. Leg hurty. So I started blogging about my other interests, which you all know are crafts, food, geekery and ranting. So I made a new header and changed the title to “chimesblog … where there is no cohesive theme” [ because obviously bloggers ought to have a theme. my theme was non-theme ]:

And I have no clue why I thought that header was “cool” or decent design. Buuut, it didn’t last long because I moved my blog over here. And I changed my header to match my portfolio website and craft business because I mainly wrote about crafts, and, after all, my blog is hosted on my chimesdesign domain.

So I’ve seen my blog mentioned places and it’s “chimesblog” … obviously, since that’s the title I gave it. It’s weird and kinda stupid. So I racked my brain for something that fits, but nothing catchy really did, or was already taken. But then I remembered WHY I started blogging in the first place: life + running. Running is secondary now. But I’m still a runner. Or at least that’s part of how people identify me. I don’t consider myself a runner anymore based on my weekly mileage, but I still like to run, and am still competitive about it when I do [ Mark will tell you that I have to win at everything ]. And I am hugely into health and fitness, so why NOT life + running? I checked the internets, and there isn’t another one out there [ there's a Life Plus Running In Iowa, coincidentally ]. I added the tagline “a little bit of running + a whole lot of life” to better reflect the content of my blog nowadays. I can switch that if I ever become obsessed again, but I doubt that will happen.

Also, I’m about 95% sure that my old blog’s tagline was exactly the opposite “a whole lot of running and a little bit of life”. Unfortunately I can’t find any proof. But I’m pretty sure.

AND here I am! Well, also, I’m here too [ you can reach me from a redirect URL of lifeplusrunning.com — easier to put on business cards — didn't want to move everything over / buy more webspace, so domain masking it is ].

I got impatient and went ahead and switched to my new theme. It’s not EXACTLY where I wanted it to be when it went live, but the big things — the header + nav bar — are exactly how I want them. The rest of the bits and pieces are likely going to shift and become better-designed as I blog on. One thing — I’m not loving the hot pink links everywhere. I liked the idea of using ONE color + black so that way I can change the entire blog by doing a find and replace for that color. I could do holiday colors. Or change with the hot color of the season (tangerine tango??). How fun would that be? Or obnoxious? I’m not sure. The footer refuses to mutate to my CSS changes, so ignore the fact that the font is totally effed and that I’ve not actually written the stuff I want in the footer just yet.

Oh, and after the last 20 posts or so … there’s likely not going to be a preview image. I just can’t go through 700+ posts and pick an image for all of them. Well, I could, but I think that it could be a giant time-suck.

Hope you like it and if the pink is giving you seizures, I can tone it down a bit. This is the official “Calee Pink” (TM) as coined by Kelly sometime during our college years.

AAAND SPECIAL THANKS TO NIKI FOR ACTUALLY KNOWING WHAT SHE’S DOING WHEN I TOTALLY ALMOST FFFFED THIS UP.

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Suuuuurvey says!

chimes — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Happy Monday! It’s spring break here. And it is the first official spring break that I do not have vacation … since I was like, 5. Of course it’s going to be GORGeous this week:

SEVENTY-SIX FREAKING DEGREES ON THURSDAY?! I’m at least getting to work holiday hours (7:30 AM–4 PM) this week, so I’m going to change my weekly chiro appointment to Friday (did take that day off b/c my sister is coming that day) since I already have another Dr. appt in Des Moines that day anyway.

Also, I may have channeled a little old school Family Feud in my post title today. Janetha of meals & moves created a survey on her blog, and a bunch of the other Blends were doing it, so I’m bandwagoning.

Also, I filled this out on Sunday [ CHEATER ] but since I already posted something on Sunday, I scheduled this for Monday so I wasn’t spamming y’all. I knew you’d understand.

A is for age: 27, and I’m realizing I’m well on my way to 30. I’ll be 28 in October.

B is for breakfast today: The last of the crustless veggie quiche I created yesterday. YUM.

C is for currently craving: Oddly enough, NOTHING. I am still full from yesterday — I made quiche, had a giant bowl of cereal for lunch [ found gluten free cocoa krispies ! ], leftover Mexican for dinner and a GINORMOUS bowl of yogurt and butterfingers from Orange Leaf. So I guess you now know that I may have also cheated and told you what I’m planning to eat for breakfast since I’ve not eaten it yet … and it’s 11 AM. And I guess I told you what I was craving yesterday.

D is for dinner tonight: Chicken cacciatore. And either some broccoli or asparagus.

E is for favorite type of exercise: Ha. This used to be an easy answer, but it’s kind of a point of contempt right now. I currently hate running. I think we broke up. Or at least we’re on a break. So for right now? Interval training + lifting.

F is for an irrational fear: Oh I have SO many of these. Biggest one? Probably fear of the dark. Which kind of encompasses a bunch of other irrational fears.

G is for gross food: Fast food. Period. Even before I was a healthy gal, fast food always grossed me out. I can deal with the occasional order of fries (I don’t order them, but I steal from others). But gross. None of that stuff is actual food. I actually just get ice cream when forced to stop at a fast food place. I figure nothing on the menu is good for me anyway, so might as well.

H is for hometown: Monticello, IA, where my mom is currently mayor and it’s home to the second-largest fair in the state: The Great Jones County Fair.

I is for something important: Health. Period. I’m most concerned with mine, but try to infuse this blog with some hopefully easy things to help others be a bit more healthy.

J is for current favorite jam: Doomtree Bangarang. Not currently my FAVORITE, but it’s stuck in my head, and I just saw them last week. Better than Saturday’s song that was stuck in my head: I’m Elmo and I know it [ yes, the ELMO version, not the LMFAO version ... whyyy?? I dunno! ]

K is for kids: Not yet. Not anytime soon. I have things I want to do with my life first, and things I want to work on with myself before I have the ability to give my full attention and care to others. I do, however, live with the equivalent of a 14-year-old and a 10-year-old [ Mark ~~plays with Legos~~ engineers things with Legos and it's adorable ]. And I have an adorable 5-year-old doxie named Mr. Barnabus Stinson, II [ Barney ].

Oh, and my good friend Adria just had a baby a couple weeks ago. And I kind of like this kid.

L is for current location: Ames, IA. Been here since 2003 and still going strong. With any luck I’ll be out of here in 2-3 years. Hopefully starting my MFA in graphic design this fall, and Mark may or may not be working towards a PhD in mechanical engineering.

M is for the most recent way you spent money: Craft supplies and groceries. I foolishly thought I could make a wool-eater blanket using only the stash yarn I had. Boy was I wrong.

N is for something you need: A new pair of boots to replace my gray Blowfish boots. They are actually falling apart. The bottom of my left boot has a hole in it. The sole of the right one is coming off. But I love them SO much!

O is for occupation: Communications Specialist II at Iowa State University, where they apparently have lame and vague titles for everybody [ so it's not just me ].

P is for pet peeve: When people refer to things as “healthy” when they are clearly not. Example: Healthy Brownies. Brownies are brownies and are dessert no matter how you make them. And if they’re “healthy” they’re likely laden with fake shit, which is what I call artificial sweeteners and low-fat versions of things.

Q is for a quote: I love this because it applies to so many things in life. And I need a reminder because I am super-routined.

[ click image for source ]

R is for random fact about you: I skipped kindergarten. Yup. The one part of school that had scheduled nap time and coloring. And I skipped it.

S is for favorite healthy snack: Apples with peanut butter and dark chocolate chips. YUM. And I love the peanut butter I get at our local co-op that you freshly grind right there. No extra sugar or salt. Just all peanuts.

T is for favorite treat: Frozen yogurt. Hands down.

U is for something that makes you unique: I enjoy both 80-year-old-woman crafts and 14-year-old-angsty-teenager metal.

V is for favorite vegetable: I have a LOT. I’m starting to get over broccoli. I couldn’t eat it for years because it made my tummy hurt, but now that I realized gluten was the culprit, I’ve been eating a TON of broccoli. I love beets though. They are AMAZING. But I never get them because nobody else will eat them. Especially Kelly.

W is for today’s workout: LiveFit day 43

X is for X-rays you’ve had: I’ve not broken any bones or anything, so basically I’ve had dental x-rays, which you get yearly, or at least I do at my dentist. I’ve also had an x-ray of my tummy area because I had MAJOR GI issues for the past 8 years. And the verdict? They told me to take a laxative, daily. Even though I told them I had abused laxatives in the past. Good idea. Give a drug abuser a daily dose of coke, why dontcha? Needless to say I’ve since gone holistic for care.

Y is for yesterday’s highlight: RUNNING. Also, cheating, and hopeful thinking. I woke up on Sunday knowing my only job I needed to do was RUN. And go to bed at a decent time because of the effing time change.

Z is for your time zone: CENTRAL STANDARD TIME. What up.

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coooooooooooooooooooooooookies

chimes — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000

I may have lied to you yesterday when I said that I would have a blog post with a prom recap. Who was I kidding??

I mentioned the other day that one of my friends just had her baby.

Well, I promised her that I’d make her some food for the family to nom and not have to worry about cooking. Today is the day for cooking!

Don’t worry. I plan to feed them more than just cookies. But after the enormous batch this recipe made, they might not NEED to eat more than cookies. Or want to. These are freaking awesome.

I give you the chimesmonster cookies. These are modified from a recipe I used when I was a kid. I may have perfected these. In my opinion anyway. Mark gave these a standing ovation. And I’m guessing that Adria and her beau will be grateful as well.

I mentioned as I was making them that I hope I don’t kill her dad with these cookies … he’s a diabetic (stay away, Steve!). I may have eaten quite a bit of cookie dough (psh, raw egg, shmaw egg, I eat raw eggs for breakfast. Not really, but that would be cool. And gross). But I’ve kicked my sugar habit. Mostly. I ate a lot of this dough, which was the first time I’ve had this amount of sugar for a while (used to be an almost DAILY thing) and my heart rate was CRANKED. I may have also done some Richard Simmons-like moves while dancing to the theme to Dr. Who in the living room (hey, that theme is awesome. LISTEN!).

And I may have had two for breakfast. I’ve proceeded to put the bags of cookies in the garage to chill and be out of my site until I can get them safely to my buddy. Because otherwise, she won’t get any cookies. I just ate 3 stalks of celery to combat the sugar (it’s working already) and am sucking down some green tea. Whoops. Now I’m going to have withdrawl symptoms all week.

Also, this recipe is pretty much why I love parchment paper. I had to bust out ALL my cookie-sheet-like devices for this recipe. Otherwise I would have been waiting for sheets to cool and that’s a waste of time. I prepped all my sheets (5!) with parchment and didn’t have to wash them afterwards. BEST. INVENTION. EVER.

[ FYI this bowl is 18 inches in diameter. no joke. ]

[ also, my mom got me this awesome cookie scoop a while back. I can't find it online, but I'm sure it came from the Beyond section of Bed Bath & Beyond. ]

[ ummm ... there are 2 more full sheets in the oven baking in this photo. yeah. nuts! ]

the chimesmonster cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 c butter (1 stick)
2 c brown sugar
3 eggs
1 T vanilla
1 1/2 c chunky peanut butter
5 c quick cooking oats
6 oz plain M&Ms *
6 oz white chocolate chips*

Directions:
You will need a LARGE bowl. And an army of cookie sheets.

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Cream together butter and sugar. Add peanut butter and beat until somewhat fluffy. Combine eggs. Add oats in small portions until they are completely combined. FYI this is a hand-mixing job — this will kill your electric beater. SUPER thick. And you might work up a sweat mixing these.

To make regular sized cookies, drop by tablespoon onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Or if your dough allows, roll into balls and place on sheet. Smash your balls or drops down with a fork or spoon (these don’t flatten out as they bake, but get terrifically chewy!).

Bake for 12-15 minutes. Depends on your oven and your desired done-ness. I like mine a little crispy, so I go for 15 minutes.

Makes 5-6 dozen, depending on how much dough makes it to the cookie sheets and not in your belly.

*You can mix anything in of your choice here … possibilities are endless! I usually do M&Ms and dark chocolate chips, but I thought I’d mix it up.

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More Ryan Gosling

chimes — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Guys, I found Typography Ryan Gosling and Graphic Design Ryan Gosling. Neither of which are worth linking to because they only have 1-3 posts a piece … but still.

Check it out. I love that the type isn’t that god-awful on these (which is kind of the point).

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!

chimes — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

I’m ringing in 2012 by going to the Bears vs. Vikings showdown at noon today (aye carumba!).

Who will win? It is a tossup. When I bought the tickets I thought the Bears were sure to win … but now I don’t know. It’s sure to be an interesting game!

Happy 2012 everybody! If you’re suffering from a hangover and/or from watching football, why not try making one of these football-friendly comfort foods?

Amazing chili
Greek Turkey Burgers and Coleslaw
Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever
Nutter Butter Knockoff Blizzards
NACHOS.

Also, in case you’re wondering, I did NOT dye my hair red again. I snagged this pic from my facebook from last year. However, it is about this same length again!

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I’m ba-aaack.

chimes — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Maybe.

Just maybe I’m back.

And I can thank my fabulous former roommate for running a marathon last month — 20 minutes faster than she anticipated even!

What am I talking about?

For those of you who’ve forgotten, I used to love running — in fact, that was the ENTIRE purpose for this blog in the first place. It used to be called “Life plus running” and be over at blogspot.com. Then I obsessed over it and ran a marathon. Then we broke up for a while. And then running was a huge pain in the ass because I had to be strategic about it, so it became a chore instead of a beloved pastime.

But now //

// I think it’s fun again*.

And I can blame my old roommates. Both of them. One of them got married and the other came and stayed with me for the evening before the wedding. Danielle and I used to run together a lot in the 4 years we lived together. That’s how I got my start. In fact the last time I ran any significant distance with anybody was a 7 mile run right before the marathon 2 years ago with here.

What better way to get back in the saddle than by enlisting the help of a friend to make running fun again?

So we ran about a 10K. I haven’t run more than 3-4 miles in at least a month. In fact, I hadn’t run AT ALL for 2 whole weeks. And the weird part? I didn’t miss it a bit. Not ONE tiny bit. I was actually DREADING our Saturday run so much that I put it off until we absolutely had to go in order to get the rest of our stuff done before the wedding that evening.

Then it started again. That feeling. The almost giddy feeling I used to have every day knowing that when all my work was done that I got 45-60 minutes ALL TO MYSELF (and, let’s face it, 5 years ago Slipknot was there too). My time to relax. My time to think things out. My time to pound the pavement and bust out all the bad feelings I felt before I made it home and they eeked out into the rest of my life.

Sunday I RAN my errands. I had to pick up a prescription, and guess what? HyVee is on my 5K route. So I ran a 5K. THE DAY AFTER I RAN A 10K.

The thought of being injured again made me very wary of running two days in a row since the PT lady told me not to do that 2 years ago when she released me back into the wild after 3 months of physical therapy. But I’m lifting and training specific muscle groups now. I’m seeking chiropractic care once a week. I’m being SMARTER and I know my body and my limits now.

So all that being said? Yeah. I think it’s back. I ran a mile yesterday too — 2 laps backwards in fact — which makes 3 days in a row of running. Not of running significant distances like before, but the victory here is that I want to run again. It makes me happy. No more hours plugging away at boring cardio machines or workout videos. I have the option to run. Whenever I want. And most importantly I have the drive to run again.

Where am I going with this? Nowhere in particular. I haven’t set any weird crazy goals for myself — except not to get injured again and to continue to enjoy being outside running like I used to. And of course, to get some of the awesome gear associated with running.

*Sorry for the weird typography … I’ve been reading the typography bible and I’ve been wanting to try some new things for separators.]

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Did I mention …

chimes — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 13:00:00 +0000

I think I forgot to mention that I decorated a little bit. Mostly our room. Check it out!

The table in the corner used to be primary blue and red, from when Mark was little, and apparently was Mark’s mom’s furniture when she was younger too. I spray painted it an avocado color that we liked to go with the quilt and body pillow.

I spray painted all of these random frames one color and placed them around a mirror. This is really neat, but it’s kind of a pain in the butt at night because it’s right next to our bed and it’s easy to knock things off the wall …

And here is our geeky living room. It’s in progress. I want to add my Roseanne Afghan that I’ve been working on since 2007. Yes. Since 2007. It’s mostly done. I have to weave in ends on 120 granny squares to finish it. Which means 1200 ends to weave in. So I might be done by 2017.

But we’ve got a framed print of all the doctors from Dr. Who and of the main cast of Buffy (courtesy of my awesome friend Seth) and a framed x-stitch of a PBR label (courtesy of our awesome friend Katie).

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Two Years

chimes — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Five years ago today I posted this photo on Facebook:

And two years ago today we went from close friends to being nearly inseparable. I’m going to be disgustingly sappy, but I’m so thankful I found everything I ever dreamed of and more all rolled into one amazing guy. And he’s mine.

Here’s a photo from the first night we went out in public as a couple. Steph and Nathan just got engaged so we went to The Lift and Fong’s to celebrate (where else?).

Here we are at Welch Ave. Station in Ames (again … where else?). One thing I love about Mark is that I’m not the only one geeking out over 80s tunes when he’s around. Full-on belting occurs when “Come on Eileen” or “Take on Me” is played.

February 2010 — Night of the Living Prom — this is our Billy Idol pose. Rock.

New Year’s 2011 (man I looked bad with RED red hair!). This is an ill-advised hair moment for both of us. Advised by who? Me. Of course. I kept dying my hair red while telling Mark he should grow his out again because it’s so cute … [thanks to Justin for the pic!]

Spring 2011 (I may have put this one in just because I love my hair and earrings combo here). For the record, I LOVE BEARDS. I didn’t like facial on men before I fell in love with Mark. Now I realize that fur on the face makes the man.

And at Steph and Nathan’s wedding in May of 2011 (yeah we came full circle here!). Thanks to Kelly for this pic. I included this because Mark looks awesome in a suit and I absolutely adored the flowers we got to carry.

July 2011. Last photo of us together … most likely because we haven’t gone out forever. Mark bought a car in August and I’ve been pretty much worked to the bone since July. We’ve been hitting up La Fuente like nobody’s business, but otherwise have pretty much spent our nights at home with Netflix and Buffy, Kevin Arnold and zombies.

Happy two years, babe. I hope we have many many more.

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FO Friday: New Wallets!

chimes — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 15:00:00 +0000

A while back I talked a bit ’bout making new wallets. The first one was cute, but not what I wanted.

Well, I sketched and sketched and put together another few before I finally got these down. And I had two days this week between jobs (I’m unemployed for 2 whole days! whoopeee!) so I got to sewing.

Introducing my new and improved wallets!

PS the one in the middle is MINE.

How are they improved from the old version of my wallets? Well, for starters, they are sewn better — all thanks to my NEW sewing machine that I got on Wednesday. This Janome DC1050 solved all my problems of skipped stitches and weird tension happening with my old machine. AND there is a stop/start button, so I can use that instead of the foot pedal. This feature comes in handy when sewing a lot of the same thing in a row. Hit start, feed everything through the machine, then hit stop.

Also, there is one additional feature that my old wallets didn’t have — a divider with card organizing slots. And the closure? It’s not a button anymore. It’s a magnetic purse snap. It’s like my wallets went and got all grownup on me!

[one of my old wallets for reference]

I’m thrilled to have all these wallets ready for Craft Saturday next weekend. I also made a bunch of revamped teeny-tiny wallets. They’re a bit bigger to accommodate cards (which was the ORIGINAL idea … but my math skills got in the way) and they’re more nicely put together. Again, thanks to Ms. Janome. All of my old inventory will be on MAJOR SALE next weekend to make way for the new stuff.

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