Photos of back home

I finally downloaded my photos from my vacation back home to Washington State.  Here are a few of my beautiful home state and a couple of my family.  Hope you enjoy :)

my super cute niece Madeline "Maddie"

A very happy Maddie :)

A picnic out on the boat in Seattle (my mom, Maddie, my sister Nicole (maddie's mom) and my brother-in-law Jason)

Sunset out on the water

Mt. Rainer as seen from I-5 on the way home to Shelton, WA

I just love this photo :)  It's an outside table at The Robin Hood in Union, WA

A sleeping grandmother and grand-baby :)

Oakland Bay, right outside my grandma's house :)

So those are a few photos from my trip home.  I hope you enjoyed them.  I really can't wait to go back home for Christmas in a few months.  Have a fabulous rest of the day!

~Jennifer :)

Give-away on Facebook!!

I almost forgot to mention, I am having a give-away on Laughing Taffy Designs Facebook page.  This time around I am asking people to post photos on the page of their most creative project they have done.  On Sunday the best photo will win a custom frame :)  Good luck to those that enter!

A link to Laughing Taffy Designs Facebook page.

~Jennifer :)

The school year and craft shows have started!

It has been over a month since I last wrote anything, but I'll catch you all up on what's been going on!  Back on Aug. 8th I took 10 days off and went home to Washington State to visit my family and take a much needed break.  I had a fabulous time back home seeing my family and my absolutely adorable niece!  I was also able to finally give my sister and brother-in-law the gift I have been working on for Madeline's room, her name to hang on her bedroom wall.  It was a great visit and I can't wait to go back in December for Christmas :)

When I got back from vacation the family also got back from their trip to Maine, which meant there was no down time for me.  The kids' summer camps were all done,  so I had them all day to entertain.  I wish it had been them entertaining me instead of the other way around... hahaha :)  But it was nice to have them back in the house.  I tend to get a little bored during the week when they are all gone on vacation.  We had a lot to do though to get ready for their new school year.  They had to finish doing their summer reading, get their school supplies, make sure their uniforms fit and most of all, just enjoy their last few weeks of summer break :)

The family did have something very exciting to look forward to though in the weeks before school, they were going to be having a new addition to the family.  No, the new addition wasn't going to be a baby, the new addition was an exchange student from Austria that will be staying with the family for 10 months.  Her name is Kerstin and she is fitting in with the family just fine and adjusting to the American culture.  I am sure that I will be sharing more about her throughout the coming school year.

Ah, the school  year, yes that has started and I now realize why my mom was so happy for it to start in the fall! :)  It's so nice to not have someone saying "What can I do?", "What are we doing?" and all those questions that have answers that after awhile the kids no longer like... hahaha :)  But with the school year has some the sports and clubs and tons of driving.  So when 3pm comes around driving becomes my main job.  Trying to juggle all the schedules so kids get picked up and dropped off in time becomes crazy at times and I don't know if it will all work out, but some how it does, and I am always surprised :)

Finally, the craft show season is in full swing.  I participated in the Upper Providence Community Day this past Saturday and had a lot of fun.  I loved meeting new people and talking to them about my craft.  I also talked to a mother who had bought a bulletin board from me a year ago for her daughter and she still loves it.  That always makes me smile when I hear that my pieces are still bringing joy to those that bought them :)  On October 3rd, I'll be at the Malvern Fall Festival of the Arts and Paws in the Park.  That will be a long day, but also a ton of fun.  I am really looking forward to it!

Photo of my booth at the Lower Providence Community Day

Photo of my booth at the Lower Providence Community Day

 Okay, I think that's all for now.  It's time to return to my job duties and also to take some photos of new pieces to add to my website.  I hope you all had a wonderful end to the summer!  Fall is almost here and I am looking forward to the leaves changing color and the nice cool, crisp air :)  Be well and always dream Big!

~Jennifer :)

It's been a little...

So, I know it's been a little since I have made an entry.  My life has been a tad hectic the last couple of weeks and sitting down to write just hasn't been in the cards.  I received several custom orders which was fabulous, but they took up a lot of time.  Add on to that, the fact that my 7 to 7 job was go, go, go.  And then add onto that the fact that I have been helping my boyfriend pack for his move down to Wilmington.  He's going to be almost an hour away from me... so sad :(  Plus several other things that have taken up time, which leaves no time to sit and write.  Which is probably why I am writing this tonight at almost midnight... hahahaha :)

I am going on vacation this coming Sunday and am so looking forward to it!  I will be going back home to Washington state for a little over a week.  While I'm there I am hoping to post some pics of my wonderful family and adorable little niece.  For now though, this is all I have time to write.

I wish you all a fabulous week and hope you are staying cool from the heat :)

~Jennifer :)

A Very Long Week...

Have you ever had one of those weeks that just seems to keep going on and on and on?  That is how this week is going for me.  It is Wednesday night, but it feels like it should be Friday night already.  Now, this could be because I just really want it to be the weekend, so I can have a morning to sleep in.  But I really just think that it's one of those never ending weeks.

This week I have been working on several projects, one of which is for my adorable niece.  A while back I decided to do Madeline's name for her room, and just recently received the wood letters in the mail for it.  So I have started to pick out papers and patterns to use in the colors of light greens, pale yellows and light pinks.  I am hoping to have it done before I head home in two weeks to Washington State for vacation.  When it's all finished I'll post some pictures of it for all to see :)

The other projects have been coasters for my website and also a set of coasters for a give away on my facebook fan page.  The non-craft projects where cleaning my studio apartment and working on organizing all of my supplies.  I always seem to be organizing.  I will have everything neat and tidy and looking great.  And then two days later it's on the road to chaos again... I really hope I'm not the only like this... hahaha :)

Today I supervised a splatter paint project with the kids this afternoon, which turned into the kids painting themselves... hahahaha :)  When I say painting themselves, I mean really painting all over their bodies... faces, legs, arms, hands, bottom of their feet... there was no way they were walking in the house that way!  Caroline, who is 15, cleaned off her feet and hands before going in the house, but Jonny had to jump in the pool to really scrub his feet and hands before heading in the house.  It really was quite a sight!

That's it for now... and the long week continues.  I hope for you all it has been a short and fast one though :)

~Jennifer :)

Paper, Paper, Paper Everywhere!

When my boyfriend goes with me to a craft store, he usually does his best to get me out of the store without buying any paper.  I love paper!  Patterned paper, colored paper, textured paper... it's all just fabulous!  I see a pattern or color and just start thinking of what I could do with it, what other patterns I could put it with and so on.  Now, my wonderful boyfriend tries to get me out of the craft stores before I buy any paper because he knows, just as well as I do, that I really don't need any more paper.  I will probably never use all the paper I have now, and deep down I really know that.  But I see something new and just can't stop myself from wanting it... hahahaha.  This leads me to what I was doing today.  I was browsing through the new products on Scrapbook.com and came across a product line I had not seen on there before called Websters Pages.  They have some fabulously styled papers and ribbons and I thought I would share them with you here.

Finishing Projects...

Today was spent working on and finishing up a few projects.  The first project I was finishing up was a framed mirror for a buyer on Etsy.  The second project was a sign for my mom.  I love my mom to death, but she can be overly picky... hahaha :)  She has not seen the "no soliciting" sign yet, but I'm hoping that she doesn't find anything wrong with it since it's beyond the point of changing.  So my fingers are crossed :)  And since my time is very limited today, this is all I'm writing... I have included photos of the two projects for today... enjoy :)