It's all about the real life....

Life has been difficult lately. I mean REALLY, honestly difficult. Over the last several months, I have realized a lot of different things that have caused me to reflect on my life and how I live it. I realized that I blog a lot more for my business than because I have something to say. I used to blog all the time about my struggles with my weight and my life. I have a pretty good idea why I stopped writing about things that were personal .... I was so concerned about what someone else might say, or how they might think of me as a person or how I deal with my life. Generally, I don't care what people think.....generally. So I honestly can't figure out why it was so important for me to start censoring what I was typing and never even consider what I would say to people that were standing right in front of me.

After several days of pondering this, I have decided to go back to blogging about myself. I'll still add my sales and new stuff on ETSY, but I want to be able to let it all out and say things I need to say. Blogging is therapeutic for me and I'm sure a lot of people feel the same way.

So for my very first "I really am a person, not a business" blog post....I want to put in my disclaimer.....

1. I used to write a blog called "My Butt Looking Cookie Day" on AOL, which can no longer be viewed.....probably a good thing though. It was about the way I envisioned myself and how very delusional I really was. I knew I was overweight, but for some reason, I had it stuck in my head that it really wasn't that bad. Gimme a break. Anyway, one day I purchased a new pair of jeans. I was getting ready to go shopping the following morning and went into my bathroom to finish up right before I left. I had full length mirrors on my closet and for whatever reason, I truly have no idea, I pulled out a mirror and decided to look at my butt in my new jeans. I was thinking.....these jeans are cool, they must look really hot..... I held the mirror up, positioned it just right and realized that my butt was HUGE. I could use it for walking billboard space and probably be able to pay my rent every month just off of that income. I just stood there, dumbfounded. I set the mirror down and tried to figure out in my head where I had come up with this deluded thought of what I really looked like. I was sad, I was dissapointed, and I was angry. So I marched myself right into the kitchen and ate a cookie...the only thing that would sooth away my frustration. And that's when it donned on me....this is NOT going to help the size of my butt nor is it going to help me feel better about myself. After that day of feeling miserable and having one cookie filled pity party after another, I decided that the only person that could take control of me was me. That's where my story started.....
2. I don't general censor myself and I'm not really for the faint at heart. I say what I feel in my life and that's what I am going to be doing here as well. Censoring myself is why I closed my blog and started holding in all of my frustration. That stops now.
3. I get wordy. I don't know how to stop that, it just happens.
4. I sometimes can share too much information....TMI. I'll try to post a warning first and I apologize in advance if I can't remember to do that.
5. I cuss. I'll make a big attempt to keep it to a minimum or not at all....but I cuss.

I'm open to comments, critiszm, and opinons. If you say something that pisses me off, don't be surprised if you are the topic of my next post. Generally though, this is just about me and what I'm doing and getting out whatever I feel like I need to talk about.

So here it goes, todays "Real Life" post.....

Since March of this year, my life has been turned upside down, shaken, not stirred. It's been many many things, nothing catastrophic, just stuff. My brother and my son both moved in with us just days apart for different reasons. I don't have issues with that at all....it's just stuff. Then my daughter graduated high school and told me a week later that she was pregnant. I tried to be very supportive by not throwing up in her hair while I hugged her and told her it would be ok. It's her life, she can do with it as she pleases, but I know from experience the struggles she is facing. The bank that holds my home loan has been more than just a little difficult to deal with. When all of this stuff started happening with the housing market and the banks stopped lending we got caught up in a mess. A year later, we are still dealing with it and getting no where with the bank. At this point, I just want them to tell me what my house payment it so I can make it and move on with my life. They can't seem to do that so I have taken a step in a different direction to force them to do that. The stress from that alone is unbelievable. How hard is it for a bank to say "You pay us X and you still live there?" Seriously???? It doesn't seem like rocket science, but what do I know?

So that's my mini version of the messes that are currently working. I wanted to give a rundown so that when I get excited about something or go off on a rant...you could have a clue about what I am talking about.

To answer your question....yes, my butt is still there...nothing has changed and maybe it's gotten a little larger, a little flatter or a little lumpier. The cookies are still there occasionally too.

So I ask you....

When you know that you can't control everything in your life, how do you get motivated to work on the one thing you CAN?

Some AWESOME Sales on New Products

Well, I'm back. I keep trying to get better about blogging, but it always seems like the last thing I seem to get too...when it really should be the first.

There are some AMAZING new things in my ETSY store!! I'm really excited to show them off. First though, I want to promote a book that I think isn't getting nearly enough attention....

Most of us on this planet have had issues with our weight. I'll be the first to admit, I'm one of them. I've struggled most of my adult life. I've done all the weightloss programs with some success, but never followed all the way through. So when Tallula MOM came up with this wonderful idea for a diet journal, I was completely on board. The journal has everything. Places to log your progress, areas for photo updates, measurements and plenty of room to journal how you are feeling when you are having trouble or maybe when you have found something that tastes amazing and have few calories. No matter how you track your diet journey, this book will be a wonderful addition.

You can click on any of the above pictures to go to the journal.

Now I want to show off my new creations. Just like the journal above, you can click on the photos to go to the product.

These were probably the most fun to make out of everything so far! There are 2 different sets of Monster Magnets and I also have 2 sets of Garden style magnets. One of the Monster magnet sets has reminders for clean & dirty dishes, dr. appt., don't forget and others. They are a cute little gift.

I've also been busy sewing. I've only managed to create a tote and a wristlet, but they are both wonderful. The tote is great for small craft projects that you want to take with you someplace or you could easily use it to take your lunch to work with you.

And finally...this is very cool. If I had a sister, I'd keep this book for myself. It would make a great Christmas gift. Fill it with wonderful pictures and memories and give it to your sister or take a weekend and fill it together. Either way, it will be a wonderful memory keeper for years to come. I'm only posting a few of my favorite pages and closeups. You can check it out on my store for more complete, full page pictures.

Happy Shopping!!!

~TM

I made it!

So I skipped a couple of days, but I had good reason.

I've added several new products to my Etsy store, I've been working on a new Digital Kit and then there is some general life stuff shoved in there too.

My Etsy store update has probably been the most time consuming, but totally worth it! Rather than trying to show you everything, I'm going to give you some sneek peaks instead....plus it takes up less room LOL.

This is an AWESOME album called "Memories in the Making." There are a lot of photo mats, journal spots and clips, just in case you need more room. If you want to check it out, click HERE.

This is a Birthday card that I made from an idea I saw in the book. Of course I took the idea and turned it into something totally different, but I was still inspired by the book just the same. If you want to check it out, click HERE.

The cards below come in a set of 6 with coordinating, handmade envelopes. All of the birds have been colored by hand. This set was a lot of fun to make. If you want to check it out, click HERE.

This has been one of my favorite projects to work with lately. It's a set of 5 Disney Tags (3x5) with embellishments and ribbon on them. If you are interested and want to check them out, click HERE.

These are some other cards that are in my store that are hand colored and they are HERE & HERE



These little star albums are really cute. They are in my store HERE and HERE


Another star album HERE and a REALLY COOL Diet Journal HERE



All these things and a bunch of others are in my store HERE!

Happy Scrapping!

HA! 2 Days in a ROW!

I actually made it two days in a row. Aren't you shocked??? Yeah, me too.

I even managed to upload 2 new products in my ETSY store. I'm on a roll now.



Anyway, I created one book with the idea of "It's all about us!" in mind. There are several different sizes and shapes for the pages and lots of places for notes and journaling. It was created from a book I purchased from Kaiser Craft. They use a different medium than chipboard, so the book is much more sturdy. The edges have been painted and sanded to give it a very finished feel. If you are interested in the book, you can get it HERE.

I also uploaded a book for Friendship that I took a TON of pictures of. ETSY only allows for 5 photos, so I wanted to make sure and list extra photos and closeups here. If you are interested in this book, you can find it HERE.

It's Handmade....and it's WONDERFUL!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again....I'm a bad, bad blogger! But this time, I think I might have a reason....

I've been working hard on a ton of awesome new products for my ETSY store. It was kind of slow going at first. I had so many ideas I felt like my head was just swimming. But then I sat down and started to get myself together. I started gathering papers and digital kits and elements that would all mesh together and found books that I liked to start making. Today is just the tip of the iceburg. I was going to participate in a Craft Fair on Labor Day weekend, but there have been some family issues that have come up so I have decided to push that aside and list everything in my ETSY store. It's going to take a while, so stick with me. I'll make sure to get at least a couple of new things up everyday and I'll make sure to post here about them too!

Today I've posted a brand new 6x6 Disney album. Here are some pictures of my mini masterpiece:


So if you enjoyed checking out my little book, you can go see it in my store HERE.

Facebook Block Party!!!

Well, I'm really falling down on the "Blogger" job aren't I? Guess I need to really step it up here.

First things first. Divine Digital is hosting a "Facebook Block Party" which includes several of the designers, me being one of them.

If you have a Facebook account, you can check it out here. Everyday there is something new and different from the designers. Today I have my "Sock Monkey Love" kit on sale for $2.00 which you can find here.



I have absolutely no idea what I will be doing for tomorrow. I'm always open to suggestions though.

My how the time flys....

So, it's official! I'm a bad blogger!!!

We've had some upheaval in my house. Nothing serious, but enough to cause some adjustments that have taken some time. Enough about that!

I've had some new kits in my stores and I've started creating scrapbook albums in several different styles and selling them in my Etsy store. I kind of started this store as an experiment not only to see if my stuff would sell, but to see how interested in doing these things I could stay...I tend to stray occasionally....ok, often. So yesterday I got to work, checked my email and I had made my first sale. It was a really cute Disney Vacation album. I was incredibly excited! So I have uploaded 2 more albums to my store along with an album that I uploaded when I set the store up. If your at all interested in this kind of thing, please check out my etsy store at www.talllulamoon.etsy.com

Here are the pictures of the new albums I've posted (there are some extras here because etsy doesn't give you nearly enough room):


I also have an album listed that was created more toward little girls, but I didn't add any word art or anything like that, so you can kind of use it for whatever you want too. This one has 6 pages on the inside.




This is basically what I have been up to lately.

OH! Wait!! This probably keeps slipping my mind because it started at the beginning of March and it took a little while to come out, but I am now a Contributing Editor for Scrapbook Dimensions Magazine! It's pretty cool and a challenge to say the least!!

Creating these books has brought up an interesting question for me. As a digital scrapbook designer, I would be fine with someone using my products to create something like this and sell it in their own Etsy store. So I started sending out emails to designers that have products that I love. I received an email back from one designer that doesn't allow use of her products for anything that is sold on the internet. Hmmm.... Ok, obviously, that's her decision but wouldn't it make more sense to allow use of your products for these types of things if you already allow Scrap for hire use? I guess it just confused me because to me, the designer is making the sale which means money in their pockets, and I also offer to put a direct link to their digital store in my etsy description. To me, even is someone doesn't buy my album (or whatever it is) they may still like the design and go purchase the kit from that designer. It's like free advertising for the designer AND they make the money from the purchase of the kit. If anyone has any idea why you wouldn't want someone to use a product that way, please let me know. Maybe there is a reason that I just havent' managed to come up with on my own. I understand that some designers in this industry or very much about the "competetion" but really, people need the competetion or they will never need to work any harder to get any further. It's just my opinion.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

~TM