Summer sale!

Take advantage of 20% off everything on milkshake crafts! When checking out, use the code summer09 to receive the discount. Happy shopping!

Updated!

{new {faye} bloom square}

I finally updated my website with new magnets and squares. Yipee! It took all day on Monday {which also included play breaks, snack breaks, meal breaks and outside-time breaks since school is finished for Malayna}. When I list my products on my site, I don't usually use real photos - I use the digital file I created for each item. I'm not sure how this translates on the web. Would it be better to show the real photo? Someone said to me recently that she thought my squares were thinner than they actually are, based on what she saw on the website.

What do you think? Should I keep the clean digital images I have on there now, or should I use real photos of the products in action? {You can see some real photos in my last post. I would take better ones if I were to use them on my site.}

{new {lucy} dream magnet}

Arts in the Park

Good things about yesterday: great weather, lots of friends stopping by, and lots of dogs to pet. Thanks to everyone who stopped by!

{necklaces}

{new wall hooks - yet to be uploaded to the website…}

{new magnets - being uploaded as we speak}

{wall hooks and matching squares}

{more squares}

{view of the booth}

{my clean-up helper}

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head

Malayna's preschool performance yesterday was hilarious. She loved being on stage. Here's a video of one of the songs they performed. She's near the middle, wearing a denim jacket and a green dress. By the way, this side of her comes totally from her daddy.

Luco's "memorial day"

We planted a tree in Luco's memory last week. Malayna had been asking daily when we were going to have Luco's "memorial day." So on a beautiful day last week, Malayna, my mom and I went to the garden center and picked out a white kousa dogwood. We already have another dogwood in the front of the house, so this one will be a nice addition. The new one is in the spot where our very old maple used to be.

Malayna helped us get the spot ready, put one of his tennis balls in with the tree and put some dirt on top. After that, though, she was off - playing with her friends on her new swingset. Jimmy and I each took some of his ashes and sprinkled them at the bottom of the tree. We then took turns filling the hole with dirt.

Knock, knock. Anyone there?

{Spring.}

I can't believe it's been 10 days since I've updated this blog. Totally unintentional. I've been thinking about things, business-wise, and trying to make sense of all the ideas I have in my head. As is always the case before a show, I've come up with some new stuff. But trying to stay motivated, stay in the house and work on producing it is proving difficult. When spring (and the warm weather) rolls around, all I want to do is be outside and dig in the dirt. See those pictures, above? That's why I haven't been around here. I just want to soak it all up.

Be back tomorrow! I promise.

Slowly grieving

Malayna has been pretty emotional these days, crying at the littlest things, quietly sucking her thumb, needing more hugs and cuddles than usual. She's been crying when Jimmy leaves for work in the morning, when mom-mom goes home, and when I drop her off at school. She talks about Luco often during the day, and always before going to sleep at night. Every night she tells me she misses him and wishes he could come back. I tell her I do, too.

Every time we come home, she says "I still expect Luco to be there." He would lie by the front door, and when I would put the key in the lock we would hear him scramble to get up off the wood floor. Because of this, I would open the door slowly. I still do. I am reminded every time I open that door that he's not here anymore.

It's the little things that get me. No more dog bowls in the kitchen, no hearing him shift around and sigh during the night, no companion for me while Malayna's at school and Jimmy's at work, no furry face begging for scraps at the dining room table. I miss his sweet face and his silky ears that I would kiss before going out. I miss him keeping us company while we sit on the porch (one of his very favorite places to be). I miss him acting like a puppy when Jimmy would come home from work, jumping and wagging his tail.

The house feels so empty when it's just me here. I'm reminded every morning that he's gone - he would sleep by Jimmy's side of the bed, and would stay there until Malayna woke up. He would go into her room and lie on her floor while she was getting dressed, and then follow us downstairs. He was so big that he would be in the way, and we'd have to squeeze into a tiny space to help Malayna get dressed. It would be slightly annoying, but now there's too much room in there. I miss his big, old, furry presence.

I've been thinking about how to write a post about Luco - about how incredibly awesome he was and how much he meant to us. How he was our first baby. How he was so gentle and patient with Malayna. How sweet he was. I just can't seem to do it. I can't yet find the words.

We're going to have a memorial service for him soon. We'll plant a tree, bury some of his toys, talk about him, and cry and laugh. We have his ashes, but we haven't told Malayna about them yet. One thing at a time…