Clean Up In Aisle 3!

Growing up I always knew what items in the grocery store were on sale. I knew this not because of tv or radio commercials, nor did I know form flyers. I new things went on sale because our cellar would look like Bulk Barn. I would always see shelves full of instant coffee or honey, or around Christmas time, Brandy Beans. If stores needed to restock, I'm sure they could have called our home.

 I remember a time I went grocery shopping with my mom. (Grocery shopping was something I would take advantage of. I would beg my mom to take me with her because going to town was exciting for me. Anything to get to some civilization and away form the farm for a bit) Anyways, this particular day, Brandy beans went on sale, and in one or two swoops of her arm, the entire shelf was un-stocked and piled into our grocery cart. I can only guess that doing so was cheaper than buying a box of chocolates and a bottle of brandy. And with the freezing temperatures in our house, the brandy was needed to stay warm. My dad always says to put on another sweater, but I think there is a limit to how many sweaters one can wear and remain mobile. 

ashamed

The point of this short story of mine is that I am turning into

 my mother. Oatmeal Crisp went on sale this week 

and my pantry is full.

PHEW!

(interesting thrift story and fun fact at end)

I got a little bit worried yesterday.  A few weeks ago, I worked up the courage to apply for a vendor booth for the Ancaster arts and craft fair. It took some consideration form my end because as probably not too many people know, I have a fear of judgement. I had the application filled out and the cheque signed. I packed it neatly into the envelope and stuck a stamp on it. I walked it over to the mailbox. I ran home to get into the warmth.
Yesterday ( more than a month after sending off my application), I cheque my finances while paying the bills to find out that my cheque had not been cashed.
Nervously I send an email to the Ancaster Lions Club to raise my concerns over the whereabouts of my money and application.

This heart is filled with
buttons...not anger

As I hit the send button, I decided to browse the website of the fair. I happened to click on a link that lead to a page for the 2011 spring fair . In big bold letters it said:  Sorry we are full. And then something about not accepting anymore vendors. My heart sank...and filled with a bit of anger... but only a little.  all I could think about was showing up that morning with boxes full of merchandise, display set ups  and who knows what all ready to go and no one informed me that I was not going to be part of the show! I think I thought about that too much over those next couple of hours. I right away began thinking of other places to take my things.
However after praying about it, today when I got home form work, I chequed my emails ( I mean checked my emails haha) I found a lovely short email from a lady which simply read "yes you are in the show" What a relief!!

This is my label. see the
SYD in the bird?

A lot of the work is done, but I still have a lot of ideas running through my head. What I have mostly left to work on is display ideas. I have about a month and a half to do everything but the biggist part of the sewing is doen and the moo mini cards are in the mail and should arrive in 2 weeks or so. It seems that everything is falling into place.

Simply Yellouw Designs is about simplicity. I like simplicity. I like simple details. The Yellouw is supposed to be a play on my name. " But your name starts with a J!"   yes it does, but how many people other than my friends realize that the J is in fact pronounced like a Y? Not too many. It's not a silent J either people! if I called it Simply Jellouw Designs then I worry that people would come to my booth expecting to be served a jiggly snack. So I figured what's the harm in making it a Y for pronunciation's sake?

I think the fact that I have my own label makes it feel more real. I don't know if this project will work or if the whole thing is going to flop. But I'm enjoying doing the work, and I am excited about the show. My goal for this is to make back the money that I spent and to have people enjoy my work. If this goes well, then maybe I can start making other things too. we'll see.
Here is a little of what I have been working on. Keep in mind there is way more than these four. Also they all come in sets but no multiples of sets...this
ain't Campbell soup ( Warhol joke...anyone...anyone? Beuller, Beuller?) :

look! My labels!

Value Village Story

So the other day  (I just had a thought that this story is like a when you stay until after the credits of a film to see a little extra....only this is opposite...you see a bunch of words...then some pictures and then another story...if you stay until after the pictures of course) I was working in value village and someone donated a large 4-4.5 foot giraffe. I love giraffes, they are such incredible creatures. I still had an hour left on my shift so I had to wait until then to make the purchase and sweat dripped down my brow as I saw other customers eyeing the item. Anywho shift is over I walk to the giraffe and see a price tag of $40. Ouch (yes hefty price for a thrift item) But this giraffe is fantastic. Hand-carved from on solid chunk of wood. It's the real deal, not mass produced this one. so I pick the item up to inspect it. I phoned Fritz up to okay the purchase with him Only because it was more money than I would usually spend on anything. End of the story is that I have a cool giraffe in my house and I'm not allowed to purchase anything form Value Village for two months.

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fun fact:

 Circa 1990's, it costs $20,000 to purchase a live Giraffe ( now it's probably $25,000). Though it's probably  frowned upon to do so unless you own a preserve or zoo.