Another week has flown by

Well another week has flown by. I still remember my grandma telling me how much faster time goes when you are an adult. It is so true. Seems like just yesterday I was enjoying the summer with my friends and getting ready for school. Now my youngest child will be a senior in high school!

One thing that I am thankful for is my family and friends. They have been with us through the tough times and the fun times. Please take time to let your friends and family know how much the are valued.

This Saturday I have decided to set up my bags and jewelry at the Farmers Market in Independence. This is something new for me. I heard they they have a few craft vendors and the fee is very affordable. I am going to try it a time or two and see what happens.

Getting a little discouraged with our craft shows. I understand the economy is not the best so I am trying to stay positive. We always get a lot of nice comments so that is good just need to turn those lookers into buyers!

We are thinking about trying to do a few home shows to see how that would go. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Keeping Up With the Appearances..

Have you ever watched the show on the BBC channel called Keeping Up With the Appearances? It's kind of a funny little comedy about a woman who is trying to be high society but her family keeps bringing her down to the real world. Her name is Hyacinth and all of her sisters have flower names as well. Anyway this title just kind of popped up in my head today when I thought about blogging so that's that. June and July have proved to be very busy months for me.

We had a nice 4th of July weekend. My husband and I went to a T-Bones baseball game which was great and they had a great fireworks display after the game. Then on the 4th my husband daughter and I went up to the square in Independence and enjoyed their fireworks display. We also had a nice 4th of July dinner of cheeseburgers, potato salad, corn on the cob and brownies with ice cream! A big thank you to all the men and women who have and are serving our country!

We have 2 craft shows coming up. This Saturday 7/9 will be at the Bingham Waggoner Estate in Independence and next Saturday will be in Atchison, KS at Amelia Earhart Day. I am hoping for good weather and good luck both days. I am also to offering Free US shipping in July on all my etsy store items.

I hope everyone has a great week!
Chriss

Birthdays!

Every since I was a kid I have always loved birthdays! As you get older people seem to dread them but I don't. I still think that a birthday is a special day all about you not to mention cake and ice cream! My birthday is in a little over a week and this year I decided to have a little fun and give a gift to my etsy customers. For the remainder of June I am offering 20% off any purchase they make in my store. I am hoping this will spark some interest in my new jewelry.

I hope everyone has a great week!
Chriss

These are a few of my favorite things.

I decided that I would list a few of my current favorite things. I have a few favorites that have been with me all my life but as I grow older I seem to appreciate more things and I go thru phases. A couple years ago I loved making cards. All my extra time was spent making cards. One year I sent all of my family and friends cards for every occassion. It was a lot of fun but it started to be come more of a chore than enjoyment for me so I decided to lay off doing it for a while. I am sure I will eventually go back to it but for now here's what I am in to.

1) Jesus first. Without him I would be nothing. He is always there with me. I am truly blessed to have a personal relationship with him.

2) Spending time with family and friends. One of my best friends from college and high school moved back from California about 2 years ago. Since her return my buddies have started hanging out together more and I love it! It makes me feel a little younger!  My kids are 21 and 17 so they aren't into hanging out with me as much. I hope that changes soon. My husband & I are still best friends so we are doing more and more things together again. We recently started biking. Well Mike has been riding for a while but he is being patient with me. We are trying to ride 2 to 3 times a week 2 to 3 miles each time. Mike rides almost every day and when I am not with him he rides 10 to 25 miles at a time. I am hoping to get to 10 by the end of summer.

3) Crafting - There is just something about crafts that makes me feel good. I love working with my hands. It teaches me patience and humility at times! I feel really great when something turns out just the way I planned. I began selling my crafts about 2 years ago on Etsy and last year I started doing craft shows. I am having a great time doing it. Right now I am into wire wrapping jewelry and making my shabby bags. I want to learn more about metal stamping and get brave enough to incorporate soldering into my jewelry as well. I have tried it but I have to say it kind of scares me..

4) Ice Tea - If anyone knows me they know unsweet ice tea with extra ice is my main staple! I drink it all the time. If it's not tea it's water. Our local QuikTrip has a ice tea bar and I love love love the Black Mango Tea and they of course have good crushed ice! I like to treat myself to a couple of these each week (I just finished one grin).

5) Buttercup - Last October we decided to help our son by selling him my husbands old truck which was in great shape. That left us short a vehicle. I decided that it was time for me to have a fun car since I have been driving mom cars for quite a while so after looking and looking I decided on used light yellow VW Beetle convertible! I immediately named her Buttercup. I only had a few weeks of weather before it got too cold and the top had to stay up. Summer is here and let me tell you I am having a blast. I chopped my hair off and bought some new shades. Looking for a light yellow VW ball cap...

Well that's enough for now.

I would love to hear some of your favorite things!

TTYS!
Chriss

Too many things too little time...

Well I have not been able to post every day like I had hoped. I have so many things going on right now that I don't know which end is up. This week I am feverishly working on new bags and jewelry for our show this weekend.

I decided to go biking with my husband last night in 94 degree MO weather. Well I made it almost 3 miles but I have to admit I had to get off and walk because I thought I was going to die! I am not giving up though.

My feature today is my new Etsy blogging pal Stephany! She is a 16 year old who has a wonderful blog and she is about to hit her 280th post! She has decided to celebrate by having a give away! Knot2Shabby is donating a $25 gift certificate so please take the time to visit her blog. She is a nice Christian Girl and I am so glad I met her on Etsy.

Here's a link to her blog!

http://stepheny-weaver.blogspot.com/

Well I am off to sew sew sew!

Day 2 The Adventure Begins!

Hello to all you guys and gals in the blogging world! It's me again. I haven't given up! Thanks to my new friend Stephany I am excited about this new adventure!

I decided that I  would talk a little big about one of  my co-workers at my real job who is also a fabulous photographer! Her name is Randi Kampeter and her Photography Business is called Randi Photography. If you want to smile please check out her website! I absolutely love her photos and she has one adorable little boy as well!

Here's a link to her site and her blog!
http://randiphotography.blogspot.com/
http://randiphotography.com

Oh I almost forgot! I wanted to let you know about a a couple craft shows that we have coming up in the month of June.

The first one is 6/11 It is Festival on the Trail in Gardner, KS.

The second one is Waterfest in Excelsior Springs, MO. This we be a weekend event running from 6/24-6/26.

More info to come on those and future dates.

My next quest is to figure out how to add a favorites bar so I can feature some of my friends and favorite things.

Have a super day!
Chriss

Blogging for Dummies?

This is my first official attempt at blogging. I have several friends who have wonderful blogs and I think it is a wonderful way to display your thoughts and creativity so I am giving it a shot! Welcome to Knot2Shabby Bags & Brags Blog!

My name is Chriss Blystone and I am the proud owner of Knot2Shabby Bags & Brags. This is my small handmade bag, art and jewelry business. I started this almost 2 years ago and I am having a great time with it. I am a Etsy addict and have learned a lot from all the new friends and contacts I have met on this site.

Here's a link to my Etsy Store.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Knot2Shabby

I also enjoy doing craft shows with my buddy Milla. She has a small business called Milla's Custom Creations. This is our second year doing craft shows. This year we are branching out and doing a few shows in Kansas as well as Missouri.

Well enough about business stuff. Here's a little info about me.

I am a 43 years old. I was born in Kansas City, MO and moved to Independence, MO when I was 2 years old and I have virtually lived there ever since then. I graduated from high school in 1985 and attended University of Central Missouri where I majored in Graphic Arts Technology. I graduated in 1987 with my Associates in Science degree. I am a daily planner for a printing company. That job pays the bills. My dream is to own my own little shop some day but until then I dream...I love all sorts of crafts. Right now I am totally into wire wrapped and twisted wire jewelry. I love scrapbooking, sewing, mixed media and all sorts of funky things.

I met my husband Mike on a blind date when I was a sophomore in high school. We were married February 13, 1988 and have been married 23 years now.

I have 2 children.
Cody is 21 years old and enjoys football. More like Loves Football. He still lives at home and is currently a press feeder.

Kelesy is 17 years old and will be entering her Senior year .this fall. She enjoys hanging out with her friends. and driving her mustang. She works part time at a local retail store.

In addition to that we have several animals which I am sure will pop up in this blog from time to time.
We live in a small house on the outskirts of Independence. The house is very small but it is on 3 beautiful acres which I love more than the house.

Speaking of Love. I purchased a used convertible VW Beetle last fall and I am having a blast beeping around town in her. Her name is Buttercup.

Well I better stop there for now. Please drop me a line if you happen to stumble upon this blog.

Talk to you soon!
Chriss