Rayne's Birthday Party

Rayne had a birthday party "for the girls" Saturday, and what a ball we all had! We went to Brio, a restaurant I have never been to, but really liked! Fun was had by all!

It has been so long since I have been out with "the girls" and I had such a blast. I hope I can have a girls-only birthday celebration in November for me!

The Hoppensteins visit!

We had an impromtu dinner at our house with the Hoppensteins on Saturday. Emma had a blast running around with Lance and Seth, and Rachael slept through all of the noise and ruckus! Little Lance has been diagnosed with diabetes and had to get 2 insulin shots while he was here. Emma kept saying "Lance is very brave." He is very brave and Emma enjoyed the boys, while we had some nice adult conversation.

Jenny comes to play!

Nancy had a sorority alumni event on this side of town Saturday, so she dropped Jenny off to play with Emma for the morning. Jenny is 9 and an amazing child. She can practically babysit Emma and is so patient with her. They created some pixo's, played with Jenny's DS and ate hotdogs. Emma had a blast and was exhausted enough to take a 2 hour nap. Jenny, you are welcome at our house ANYTIME!!! Since Jenny is a budding artist (like her mama), she will be coming over to paint ceramics with us very soon!

I'm back...

After a couple of grueling weeks of market, I'm back and ready to blog again, but don't have much to blog about! Market was actually fun. It was nice to get dressed up each day and have people say I looked nice (me? I usually wear sweatpants and T-shirts, so I've forgotten about compliments). It was also fun to meet with customers, see new trends and do a little shopping for myself! Sales were definitely down, though more so in Atlanta than Dallas. Some say that Dallas is a bit more protected from the recession because of the oil industry here. Who knows? I'm just glad we're not in as bad of a recession as some parts of the country.

So now we have a new President in office and I can't say that the President used to live in the house across the road from me (President Bush lived in that house until he became Governor in 1994. He will be moving a few miles from here...needless to say I have not been one of the onlookers who have gone to check out his "new" house).

Let's hope 2009 will show some economic improvement, though I'm not holding my breath yet! But I am optomistic that things will start to be better in about a year. I am working hard on some new products and having fun with it, though am stressed as well because of the deadlines. Stay tuned and I'll be showing samples in a few months!

Creations for my girls

The only "artwork" I've had time to create for baby Roo

My Favorite creation...Emma's teapot chandelier...it took me weeks to

make and I almost set fire to the house trying to wire it!!!
Similar ones sell in stores for about $1000, so I was proud I made this one myself.Tea sets for Emma and her American Girl doll
(which we have yet to buy for her since she is not very interested in dolls yet)
Bunny and teapot Lamps
Emma's footprint plate, clock and small plate
(actually made in China along with my crosses, but I no longer sell them)
These were some sample frames I was going to be producing in China...stay tuned...
I'm planning on selling some new creations like these real soon!!
Emma's mosaic mirror made from broken ceramic pieces

When I was pregnant with Emma, I had LOTS of time to create lots of decorations for her room. Here are photos of some of the things I created for Emma. When Rachael came along, I was so busy, I haven't even had time to complete her footprint plate (I have the footprints on the plate, just haven't done the decorations yet...). I did paint a mural on Rachael's wall, though. Enjoy, for those of you who haven't visited our house in Dallas yet!!!

(p.s. I did paint a mural in Emma's room, but we moved houses and I haven't had time to paint one in her new room yet)

To market to market

I've been busy at the Atlanta Gift Market for the last few days and I am sad to say that the economy is in bad shape! Orders are way down from last year, but we are still getting orders and did get some new customers...We'll just have to see how the market shapes up in the next year...I did an entry before I left and will post it now so you all have something to read while I am busy at market!

Alan's Birthday party

Emma, "helping" to bake the cake

My brother, Alan, turns 45 this Thursday, but since I am going to be leaving for Atlanta that day, we had a little birthday celebration Sunday. Emma helped me bake a cake and we got Alan some Ed Hardy T-shirts for his birthday (THE in-fashion statement for those in the know...). His substitute nanny (Lisa is in Germany), Laura, took the kiddos to buy him presents and they all had a blast watching daddy unwrap his gifts. Happy 45th, Al! We enjoyed celebrating with you!

Rachie's first dip in the pool

We took Emma and Rachael swimming in the heated pool at the JCC New Year's day. With everything going on, it was impossible to take my camera...but here are some shots of Rachael in her cute bathing suit. She had a great time and Emma can almost swim all by herself now (thanks to mommy's swimming lessons for the last 3 years). Rachie-Roo really enjoyed the water and kicked and splashed, then crashed and slept for an hour. We can't wait until summer when we can take both girls swimming every day in our own back yard!!

Happy 2009!

Happy New Year! We spent a nice new year's eve at our friends, Natasha and Jan. They made some INCREDIBLE sushi...wow, so good! Unfortunately, I forgot to take my camera, so no photos. Emma found a new friend in Elan, and the two of them sat watching Wally with their arms around each other! I wish I had my camera!!!! Here's to a great 2009!