The Kickstart!

Time to break out the pleather pants!

Maybe you’ve already heard the news, but AmyD is moving down to The Kickstart!  Starting on September 5th, you can find me in the Short North.  I’m so excited!  The folks there are the nicest.  Honestly, I was a bit worried.  You know, it’s supercool there.   (Scooters and fantastic coffee and seriously attractive people)  But thankfully, everyone is nice and so fun!  I hope you love it too!

We are having a party after the Barista Jam Saturday!  I’ll be there along with Mr. AmyD, so stop by and say hello!

I still take custom appointments, and we can meet there!  You can still reach me at 614-266-5454 to set something up or email me at amyd@madebyamyd.com

In other good news, my site is back up.  You’ll notice that there are fewer things there.  That’s due to the wonderful people who took great advantage of the 40% off sale.  Thank you!  So the sale is over, and some new things will be added soon!

Starting 9/5, you’ll also be able to find The Lucky Ladle soups and turnovers at the Kickstart too!  Isn’t that great?  I’m telling you, after you try this soup, you’ll think about it nonstop!

Lots of changes!  See you soon at The Kickstart!

xoxoxo

40% off everything online at madebyAmyD.com

Here’s the announcement from my site. ….

DANG!  Fried server issues!  This means you can see the first image of each item, but when you click on an image, it’s blank.  ROT!  To help you with this problem, I’m giving a 40% discount on everything here until the problem is resolved.  FORTY PERCENT!  Here’s what you have to do to get it……send me an email at amyd@madebyamyd.com with the name of the item you want.  I can either send you a paypal invoice, or send me your phone number, I’ll give you a call and we can work it out.  The 40% off is to cover the pain-in-the-ass factor.

Thanks!

xoxoxox

AmyD

Another zucchini save

What is the purpose of zucchini?  I need to look that up to see what is in it that makes people grow so damn much of it.  There is still some left and Mr. AmyD won’t touch it.  So I have another zucchini-hiding idea for you.

This week i made wraps with it.  I diced it up and put it on a tortilla with those tiny black salty olives, green olives and hummus.  Oh, and sundried tomato.  Holy cow it was delicious.  The zucchini gave it just a little bit of a crunch and some texture.

There’s some big stuff brewing in AmyD land.  More on that later in the week!

xoxo

Love those Crafty Michiganders! Lots of pics!

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of participating in the Columbus Crafty Cotillion’s craft fair at the Ohio State Fair.  As far as craft fairs go, this was one of the best organized ones I’ve been to.  Parking was great, loads of fantastic volunteers to help load and unload.

The logo that Clinton Reno made was over the top wonderful.  Here it is…

Clinton Reno made this!

Also, I saw REUSABLE PAPER TOWELS!  Now, I’m sure we are all using less paper towels than we ever have, right?  We know better, right?  We use only cloth towels in our house, but at times I can barely shut the dang drawer because there are so many.  Well, Lisa Miner has developed a way to help me with this problem!  Check out this pic…

The Un-Paper towels are at the top of the pic.  they are squares of fabric that are cotton on one side and terry cloth on the other.  They have little snaps that hold them together and come rolled up like paper towels!!  Genius!  From an email Lisa sent me, “I use resin snaps and there are 10 towels on a roll. I sell them for $20-25 (depending on the fabric).”

Ok, final review of the craft fair is this, it was well-organized, great vendors, and great creations.  It was at the Ohio State Fair, and in my experience, the best craft fairs are the ones that stand on their own.  Meaning, not a craft fair attached to another event.  Money-wise, it wasn’t so great.  But, I had a good time!

Crissy Gipson, of Indie Biz Chicks, Lish Dorset and Bethany Nixon of Handmade Detroit made the trip down from the Mitten to visit us here at the Crafty Cotillion Handmade Expo!  First off, do click on those links.  Each one of these fine ladies has a website on which you could spend an entire evening!  It was so nice of them to make the drive and we had a great time afterwards.

See?

me, Dilara Casey, Lish Dorset, Olivera Bratich, Bethany Nixon

Crissy was taking the pic, unfortunately, or you could see her sweet ass too!  She is recovering from being gravely ill (read: blood transfusions…plural…for real!) so I was so happy she could even make the trip. Dilara Casey is there in the pic, she is Buckeye Bling.  That’s right….the inventor of the Buckeye Rosary.  Olivia is the owner of  Wholly Craft.  I seriously felt like I was witnessing some kind of spectacular craft summit.  I felt like I was in the scene from the Godfather where they meet in Cuba!

Here is a nifty video documenting part of the fun!  Keep in mind that it was a bazillion degrees and I was sweating like an Easter pig!

We all were so similar, it was instant b0nding and great fun.  I can’t wait to see them again!  I’m crossing my fingers that I get into the Detroit Urban Craft Fair!

On that note, if you’ve stuck it out with me and made it this far, I made it into Craftin Outlaws!  Hooray!  See you there!

Zucchini idea

My brother recently gave me a ton of zucchini.  My friend, Trish, gave me some too!  I’m waiting for more to mysteriously appear on my porch, probably from random neighbors.  There’s always more than anyone wants.

I hate for food to go to waste, but no one in the AmyD homestead is a zucchini fan.  It’s a vegetable I hide in other things.  Like shredded in pancakes.  Ever try that one?

So here’s my latest zucchini idea.  I diced it very small and fried it with onions.  When everything was soft and cooked, I added some cumin and chili powder and crushed red pepper.  I put it in burritos with refried beans and lettuce.  No one noticed!  Shazaam!

Maine

My oldest is sailing for a week in Maine.  Without me.  Without his dad.  He’s with his grandparents.  They are trustworthy and know how uptight I am, so i’m not worried about his safety.  But still.  On a sailboat, in the ocean, “What ever could go wrong?!”  I keep thinking of Jaws.  Orca.  Dead Calm.

We aren’t a sailing type of family.  My people don’t really sail.  We canoe…in the Hocking.  We use “tube” as a verb.    Sailing is like skiing.  It’s a different economical set.

So he’s sailing and I’m worrying.  I hope he doesn’t get sick.  He’s almost 15, so he’s pretty much able to care for himself.  But on a boat in the ocean?   What will he eat? I hope they make him brush his teeth.

Also, now I have to empty the dishwasher.

Do jeans have to be uncomfortable to look good?

Do you have a favorite pair of jeans that you just love?  I used to.  I used to when it was the 90’s and the saggy ass look of an ill-fitting pair of men’s Levi’s was hot.

Now that it’s 2009, I have one pair of jeans that I wear, and even those aren’t comfortable.  There’s this fun website, called Denim Debutante.  I’ve been reading it and looking at the way different jeans fit.  I hadn’t given it much thought since I wear skirts every day.  But now I’m thinking of stepping back into a nice pair of jeans.  It’s just that now, they have to fit more closely to the body to look remotely fashionable.

Look at this girl’s butt, in photo three.  Seriously?  It looks great, but don’t those jeans look so tight?  Is that what I’m supposed to be going for?  I’m not putting out a rhetorical question here, I’m being sincere.

Are there comfortable, attractive jeans that don’t hurt your crotch after a day of wear?  I don’t want mom jeans either.  I’m just wondering.  If you know of any, do tell!

Need something cool to do this weekend?

It’s like a dream come true for me!  I’ve loved and coveted Flamestitch handbags for quite some time, as you may already know from this article.  They are lovely, perfectly-stitched, and have a great sense of humor.  see here…

so it is my definite honor to have a Flamestitch trunk show at AmyD this Saturday, 6/13 from 4-7.  Come and you will be pleased!

Another exciting thing is happening at ye olde shop!  Heavens to Betsy is opening up next door!  you may know Lisa Lorraine from GirlPie, but now she has her own fabulous clothing and accessories shop right next door to AmyD.  Our grand opening party is from 6-9 !  Cupcakes!  Balloon animals!  Cool Clothes!  Loads of fun to be had!  all the shenanigans are happening at 211 E. Arcadia, Columbus Ohio

Agora, Washington DC, and Comfest!

Thank you so much to the fantastic folks who stopped by my booth at Agora!  I had a great time!  My booth was right next to Wholly Craft and one over from Umbrella Girl, lucky me .  I loved the hanging light fixture in Emily’s booth and sharing a beer with Olivia, from Wholly Craft keeps any day on the sunny side.

The Lucky Ladle and RadDog, as always, provided some delicious treats! One of the nicest treats was having Jennie from Pattycake Bakery buy a skirt!  Here she is, looking lovely.

Jennie from Pattycake in her AmyD skirt!

The boy is away on a field trip to Washington, DC.  This is causing lots of sleep deprivation here at the homestead, but I’m sure all is well!

In lighter news, just got accepted to be a vendor at Comfest!  I’m so excited for this opportunity!  It will be my first time vending at Comfest, so if you have any advice or words of encouragement, I’d love to hear it!  For out-of-towners, Comfest is a giant three-day festival here in Columbus.  Click on the link to find out more.  It’s MASSIVE fun!

A Little of this and that

Damon at the tea party

My brother had a tea party for my girls at his house.  This is him in his fancy hat.  He and his partner, Tim, went all out for this!  They had a blast!  Fancy sandwiches and tea and cookies.

In other shocking news, the intern was here today.   She’s a very nice girl and a great worker.  I had my iphone hooked up and we were sewing and Sinead O’Connor came on.  I asked her if she had heard the song, she said “No.”   It was “emperor’s new clothes.”   Ok, that’s fine.   Maybe she’s heard “Nothing Compares 2 U.”  Nope!  I find the whole thing quite shocking.  She’s never HEARD of Sinead O’Connor!!  How is that possible?  It freaked me out.  I mean, I’m 39, and she’s 18, but STILL!

I’m getting ready for Agora! Pretty excited for this one.  I’ll have new dresses and things for you to see.  It’s on Saturday the 16th at Junctionview Studios.  Click on that link and it will give you all the info.  It’s FREE!

My youngest has started softball and asked a boy in her class to marry her.  She’s 4.  That’s really all I can say about that.

And if you call and i’m distracted, it’s because of THIS TIME WASTER…… I’m not kidding.  I’m obsessed.  My son got to 1000.   It makes me insane!  The highest I’ve gotten is in the 800’s.

Ok, off to sew you a snakeskin pleather apron!

xoxooxoxoxox