Doll Show Preparations Part 1

Hi everyone! I am running around like a crazy person getting ready for the doll show on Saturday. I have been fortunate that a lot of my dolls have been finding homes lately and it has been hard to build up a stock. I say fortunate because sales are always a good thing but it leaves me feeling anxious that I won't have enough BeBes. I think I have enough, I have to have enough, there is no more time! Aaaaahhhh!

Ok. breathe.

I thought I might need a little break from the crazy thoughts to write a blog post about BeBe goodies. When a BeBe is adopted I always try to send along a little gift with my packages. I have given all kinds of treats like note pads, pins, postcards, stickers, etc. I have been needing something new for a while and I had been contemplating what to get or make. Then I saw this blog post about making InstaMagnets. I thought they were really cute but decided not to use InstaMagnets (mostly because I couldn't figure it out but also because I ended up buying a new printer, which by the way is a long, frustrating story in itself where by the end I had forgot about InstaMagnets anyway).

So! I used an app called Lomo Studios and it allows you to make your pictures look all old timey. It is super easy to use and you can do sepia, black & white and more! Then I printed them out on my snazzy new printer and stuck them to the magnet sheets. It was super easy and I think they look amazing. I think they look so good I might list some in my shop for sale. What do you think?

More Summer!

Yesterday James and I went on an awesome bike ride along the Row River trail which was suggested by my Dad. We started at Mosby Creek and rode to Harms Park were we had a pleasant diet-approved snack and waded in the lake. The ride was awesome and we want to do the entire trek once we are a little more fit and able. I think we probably could do the whole thing but we probably would have been dead because even the small leg we did do made us both sore.

The entire path is paved which was awesome! It was also awesome that there were lot's of places to stop along the way where you could rest or use the bathroom. The trail weaves between farm pastures, forests and lake shores. It is truly beautiful! I had to stop and take a photo of these cows because they were so cute and shy.

When we go again we know we will want to pack swimming suits, towels and wading shoes because when we finally reached the lake we had the whole beach to ourselves. There were a few picnic tables and fire pits but no people! When we were leaving a couple people showed up but not before we had our fill of wild blackberries and wading in the water.

DIET UPDATE: In one week James has lost 12 lbs and I have lost 3.5!!!

Oh and check out the Etsy shop I am adding these two shortly!

New Design...Upcoming Show...Diet...SUMMER!

Hello everyone! It has been a long time since I posted...sorry about that! A lot has been going on around here so let me catch you up.

SUMMER

It is finally summer break for me as I don't return to school until the end of September. Summer for me means work work work on BeBes! I love having the whole day, without interruption, to work on new projects to stock the BeBe shop with. Also now is a great time for any special orders so send me a note if you have been thinking of adopting a BeBe. I can't say how much time I am going to have this year because I will be starting at the university which means a much harder and larger work load.

Luckily the Weather was Nice for Summer Camping on the Lake

New Design

Here in Oregon we have not had a very nice summer this year. We have had much more rain than usual which has left the warm sunny days few and far between. Even though I am longing for many more summer days the thought of fall is on my mind. Fall is my favorite season and designing dolls for Halloween is my favorite also. Luckily a lovely customer came along and asked for a black BeBe cat which I had never done before. I say luckily because I think she is one of the cutest BeBes I have made in a long time. I love her so much I am heading back to the fabric store to get more of this black fur so I can make several more. If you want your own black cat drop me a line! You can see more pictures of her here on Flickr.

She is wearing an adorable tutu I made her in Halloween colors.

Upcoming Show

On September 3rd BeBe Babies will be in Portland Oregon at the Dolls 4 All show. If you have never been to one of these doll shows I will tell you they are awesome! I have exhibited several times over the years and have always had a great time. At this show I will be bringing along some skill sheets and will be providing demonstrations on plush doll making skills. If you have been interested in learning the ladder stitch or where to get started making dolls please stop by and see me. For more information on the show see this page.

I should have lots of new BeBes at the show so if you can make it please stop and say hello!

Diet

Remember how I said one of the only things I could think of as a goal before I turn 30 was to lose 20 lbs? Well thanks to my psychology class earlier in the summer I decided that I need a little more structure to reach this goal. So I have embarked on the 17 day diet plan and am currently hungry on day 2. Why this diet? Well because the book is here because my boyfriend is doing it. Basically the diet is a three phase thing with high protein/low carb/low sugar meals.

On Sunday night we spent diet-eve eating copious amounts of McDonalds which was a big mistake. First of all we don't eat that unhealthy and rarely eat fast food as it is. However the positive was that I wasn't even really hungry in the morning so my two egg whites and half a grapefruit seemed like a satisfactory breakfast.

Yesterday went pretty well. The food wasn't much different than what we normally eat. For instance a normal dinner for us is a chicken breast, asparagus and rice. That's basically what we had for dinner last night just without the rice.

This morning was a different story. I woke up crabby because I literally woke up twice last night because I was hungry. Breakfast was a cup of berries on top of 6 oz of yogurt. By lunch I was ravenous and devoured my salad (which by the way is all lunch was). To be fair it was a huge salad with eggs on it but still I am learning that I was very dependent on carbs. And while I like vegetables I like them best dipped in something creamy like ranch dressing. On this diet the salad dressing is olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

I don't want to write too much more about the diet but will keep you updated on results. The diet boasts 10-12 lbs in 17 days which seems highly do-able if I went off my stomach's opinion at the moment. It would be great to get halfway to my goal in 17 days. Oh and after the first 17 days the next 17 day phase consists of more food during a day. Yay! This is basically the motivation that is keeping me from scouring the cabinets for a bread crumb or cracker.

That's all for now! Until next time...