The Best Present Ever

You may have heard me talk about this before, but if not, here you go.

About 11 years ago, I was living in Athens, Ohio.  Work was all-consuming.  My son would have to have dinner with me at my office.  Needless to say, my house was a disaster.  Like a frat house after a party kind of disaster.

My dear and wonderful friend, Holly, has known me for a long time.  We met when I was 14.  She was all punk-rock and super cool, and I was a dork.  Total dork.  I had feathered hair.  It was 1984.  She had black hair and a long white braided tail.  Right?  I know, now you say “Oh god that’s dumb!”  But then, well that was the shit!

Me, Mr. Holly (Eric), and Holly 1992?3?

So you get that she’s known me a long time.  She’s known me through some very unflattering stages and changes.  Well, this year I was overwhelmed with life, the way one gets.  For Christmas that year, she gave me “Wife Wednesdays.”  Wife Wednesdays meant that EVERY Wednesday for 3 months, she would come to my house while I was at work and clean it.  CLEAN.  I mean, she swept, picked up, did dishes,  did laundry, PUT LAUNDRY AWAY, changed sheets.  She did it all.  But the best part was she would make a casserole and put it in the fridge with instructions on how to cook it so the boy and I could have a nice dinner.

The first Wednesday was the day after New Year’s and she came!  It was so fantastic.  It’s not like she didn’t have stuff to do either.  Holly has three kids of her own and a husband.  (he’s pretty foxy, but so is she)  But still she managed to do this wonderful thing.

Holly - stole this pic from Eric's Facebook

So if you are looking for a great gift for a single mom, this would have to be the most wonderful gift ever given.  Better than your only begotten son.  (ok, calm down, just kidding)

Thanks Holly, it’s been 11 years and it’s still the best gift ever given!

 

Today’s Action at Whole Foods in Dublin

When I was first approached with the idea of selling AmyD aprons and coffee sleeves at Whole Foods, I thought it would be cool and that it wouldn’t happen.  Today it happened!

When we met and talked about what I do, the team at Whole Foods was really interested in the way I recycle material.  We decided that for Whole Foods, I would make the aprons with reclaimed fabrics.  A bit of a challenge to find and take apart sometimes, but I think it was worth it.  I brought the coffee sleeve to them as a thank-you gift and they decided it would be a great fit in the mix too!

Here is a pic of the rear of the display at Whole Foods and me looking dorky.

This was taken with the iphone, so not the best, bear with me.  Patti, of That Patti, was there taking pictures and I’m sure they will be way better!

The whole experience is pretty surreal for me.  You may be reading this and be a successful entrepreneur and think it’s small potatoes.  To me, it’s the first time since I’ve been doing AmyD that I think, “You know, this might be a viable career choice!”  I might get to make stuff for a living!  The possibility of the possibility is exciting.

My husband has been really great through this whole thing of not sleeping, cleaning, or cooking that I’ve been doing while getting this ready.  Of course, I delayed because I kept thinking the order wasn’t coming.  This is when I should have been preparing, but nah, I wasn’t.

And Kristin, my wonderful friend who helped orchestrate this whole thing has inspired me to try all kinds of new things.  By the way, “helped orchestrate” = put the whole thing together and kept making sure I was on task.  She just thought it was going to happen and it did.

Here is Kristin and I putting together a rack…..

I was really sort of nervous to meet the folks at Whole Foods.  They were so easy to talk to!  They answered questions and let me talk all over myself, as I tend to do when I’m nervous and sleep deprived.  All of them really seem behind the idea and want it to be successful.

This is a whole new audience for me.  I’m unsure and excited and a little freaked out.  It might seem small, but to me it shows a possible option.  That’s huge! Hooray!

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