fish story...

I spent the weekend with my family at the Paulsen Cabin in Yankton, SD. My aunt and uncle have a new boat and my grandpa is celebrating his 79th birthday today, so we had a little get together.

On Sunday morning my brother caught an almost 5 pound walleye! So cool!! There was a lot of fishing all weekend and finally on Sunday morning the big fish was caught!

There was also a lot of eating, chatting, boating, kayaking and even a little shopping. I think everyone had a great time.

I have posted all of the photos to my flickr site:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristieweiberg

p.s. it was the worst kind of hot this weekend. i am so ready for fall!!!!!!!!!

new glasses...

On the best girl vacation ever my glasses broke in half. I was so sad. They were my most favorite color combination. So today I picked up my new ones. They are similar in shape but as an added design flair they have real feathers pressed in the plastic (they are still a little blue and brown though). It makes a pretty cool pattern. So we will see how long these last me. I guess its a good excuse to get new fashion accessories ;)

art girls adventure...

Being back in the real world is hard today. I miss the tress, lakes and cold weather of northern Minnesota. Bobbi and Cassie and I had a great art girl vacation. Here it is...

Day 1:

Leaving for Minnesota and of course I way over packed. So in an effort to fit everything in Bert (Bobbi's Element) I quickly re-packed into a smaller suitcase. And off we went. I still had more stuff than the other girls, but I did bring some camping supplies.

We had a great little lunch in Albert Lea, MN. It is a cute town with a lake in the middle. We ate at a little cafe next to the lake. It was yummy.


Next on to Northfield, MN. Northfield is a cute town with great downtown shops. They have a store called Digs. They have the best fabric ever! So we all bought cool fabric ;)

We then headed to Minneapolis. We camped in Amy's (Cassie's friend) backyard. We had a fun dinner at Chino Latino, watched the last half of a movie in Loring Park and met up with my cool friend Eric. He even gave us a tour of the agency he works at. Very cool!

Day 2:

The next morning Bobbi and Cassie needed coffee and we needed a little internet fix. Off to the coffee shop. Then kayaking! Yeah! We went to Lake Calhoun and rented kayaks. It was Bobbi's first time and she did great. I think she might even be addicted. After kayaking we headed north! We arrived in Duluth to find cool weather. Wow, I love that place. We took a quick tour of Duluth and headed north to Two Harbors.

I love Two Harbors. It's right on Lake Superior. We stopped at a little shop and we bought matching sweatshirts. We are nerds ;) Then off to our campsite.

We took a walk along the lake while the sun was setting.
This photo is one of my favorites. It was so cool to see the sun setting behind boat.

Day 3:

The next morning we started our big sight seeing day. We had breakfast at Betty's Pies. And yes, we ate pie. It was so yummy. Then we hiked it all off at Gooseberry Falls State Park. After a nice morning hike we went to the Split Rock Lighthouse. And then onto Grand Marais. Along the road there was an amazing flea market. We actually went there twice...on the way there and on the way back. They had tables and tables of dishes and shinny glass. We were so drawn in! I bought two pyrex bowls, some silverware and a couple old keys. I think I could have stayed there forever!






In Grand Marais we ate lunch at the Crooked Spoon. We all had fresh white fish sandwiches. We shopped and sat by the lake. It was beautiful. I also bought a lighthouse and a moose cookie cutter. I can't wait to use them.

Day 4:

The next day (Thursday) we headed home. First we stopped in Duluth. We shopped a little more and had lunch. Then the long drive back began.

I had so much fun. I think I might want to live there someday. And I have the best traveling friends ever! Bobbi and Cassie are the best! Thanks girls :)

I have posted all my photos on my flickr site.

(To read Bobbi's version click here)

it's official...

So it only took me about a year, but my etsy site is up and running! YEAH! I am going to try to add more jewelry to it in the next couple of days. You can click to my etsy site through the images to the right...or the link is:
www.flatwearjewelry.etsy.com

Of course it did take me a little longer than it should have. A few hours after I had it live I realized I never set up my paypal account and then my account number was at home and I had to run and get it. It's never easy ;)

the sleepy day after...

Well...I am sitting at my desk today and I am a little sleepy. The weekend was fun and overwhelming. I could have never done this without my amazing friends. So many people helped and I owe them so much!

Over all we seemed busy. A couple of times there was a line-up outside of the tent of people waiting to get in! Hard to believe. On Saturday Janet figured out that we were selling 4-5 pieces an hour. That felt like a lot. Sunday was a lot slower, but that was really nice because we were tired. Total pieces sold: 47. I have not added up the total money made yet. I was so tired last night, and I could not figure it out.

I had great booth neighbors. It's so nice to know that most art people are nice. The guy next to us was having fun listening to us. I am guessing he had not been next to a booth of really happy/squeal-eee girls before.

Overall it was a great weekend ;)

Oh...and the official Flatwear Jewelry website had been launched. This week I am working on opening my etsy.com so people can purchase online. I will let you know when that is up and running.

http://www.flatwearjewelry.com/

the day...

Today was so busy and fun! It felt like we were busy all day. We are very, very tired. I feel like I can't even move. We started setting up @ 7 am. We left the park at 8 pm. Tired girls...

Here are a few photos of the booth. We start again at 10 am tomorrow. I hope we will fell like we can do it again after a good night rest. Oh, and we are waiting for our pizza to be delivered ;)

God loves me...


Look...Saturday is going to be 79, breezy and cool. This seriously could not get any better...Yippie!!!!!!

it's official...

FlatWear Jewelry is booth #22. Yikes! Thanks to everyone who is helping or coming. I could not ask for better friends ;)

The official website is: http://www.bsaf.com/

it feels like fall today and i am almost done dremeling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

new obsession...

I keep seeing cool pyrex everywhere! I LOVE it! I am going to start a collection. I think I will just look for it on garage sales and thrift stores to start with. It is all designed so beautifully!

Jewelry update:
One more day of dremeling and I should be done with that part. YEAH! On to the drill press and the polishing and then the fun part of putting it all together. I am getting closer.

it's working...

After my second trip to the sporting goods store I have jewelry polishing right now! On my first trip I purchased the case tumbler in the photo above. I know I looked totally out of place in the ammo aisle in Sportsman's Warehouse. Two guys tried to help me. I did not actually admit to them that I wanted to use the tumbler for jewelry. However, I did purchase the wrong "media"...which is what does the polishing. So after trying it the first time I read the back of the package and realized I had the wrong kind. So tonight I went to Scheels. I casually made my way to the gun area. First I had to look at shoes, then clothing, then kayaks and finally the guns. I found the media really quickly and I thought I was going to make it out un-noticed. Wrong! Just as I was grabbing it off the shelf the Scheel's guy says. Do you know what you need? Well...yes I actually do this time. He gave me a very stern look and walked away.

The minimum time suggested for polishing is 2 hours. I took a sneak peak after 1 hour and it is one its way. This is the best news ever! Thanks Bryce!!!!!

On a side note. The brand new air conditioner I had installed exactly a year ago is not working. It is currently hotter in my house than it is outsite. I guess I will have to call them tomorrow :(

the weekend

Today I am recovering from my travels. The weekend always goes so fast when I go to Nebraska. The driving, the visiting and this time the jewelry making.

We were able to squeeze in a kayaking evening. Above are photos of my new kayak. I had no plans of purchasing a new one. But it was on sale, it is sky blue and my other one is already sold. And I just really thought it was pretty.

News on the jewelry front...
Saturday was a jewelry making day. I did get a lot done. I am super excited about a possible polishing time saver. My brother had a great idea...he told me to get a case cleaner (these are normally used to polish ammo cases). I did a little googling this morning and found another lady who used a case cleaner on jewelry. So I am off to Sportsman Warehouse today to purchase one. If this works, all the polishing will be done automatically. I can just start it and go. No more polishing by hand. I am so excited!!! This could save days and days! I will keep you posted :)

officially one month to go...

The Brookings Arts Festival is exactly one month away. Sometimes I have to talk myself down from complete panic. It is kind of scary...making something and putting it out there for the whole world to see.

i get to be my own girl...

When ever I get time to myself I call it being my own girl. I know it sounds stupid, but having time to myself to so wonderful! No deadlines, no job numbers, no time sheets. So this weekend is full of time to be my own girl. I am officially done with work until Monday morning. It is now 2:39 pm on Friday and I am at home. Better yet it feels like FALL!!!!!!!!!!!

Those of you who know me, know my obsession with fall. Since memorial day I have started my official count down to fall. So today makes me happy! It also makes me think about Colorado. I guess I am just weird that way.

On the agenda for the weekend is house cleaning and jewelry making. I can't wait!

weekend...

Well the weekend brought an unplanned trip to Minneapolis. Yeah that sounds cool...except I had to go there for work. Saturday was a beautiful day and I spent most of it at a printer, starting at 7:30 am. Lucky for me a I had a cool travel partner. Sarah (better know at work as Winkel) and I decided after finally leaving the printer that we were tired and we would not drive home. That ment...ikea. I LOVE that place! We didn't get there until 7 pm and it closed at 9 pm, we made it most of the way through. Oh course I bought stuff and wanted almost everything I saw.

Now its back to work. All I have to do is make it until June 16 and maybe I can have a life. That is when the really big campaign launches that I am working on. Only 2 weeks to go!

I am off to Target to purchase a new blow dryer. My most favorite blow dryer ever sparked fire yesterday morning :(

new music...

I think I need to be stopped! In the last 2 weeks I have bought 4 albums off itunes. It's my way of bribing myself while I have to work. This is how it goes in my head...

well if i have to work tonight/weekend i might as well have new music to listen too. that will make me feel so much better and keep my mind on happy things.

I think itunes is loving me right now! And I probably need to seek help.

anniversary

Today is my Paulsen Anniversary #11. Wow I have been working there a long time.
I must be getting old ;)

memories...

Today I was ready etsy's blog section of their site AND they had a post about Harry Whittier Frees. He was a photographer and children's book author (1879-1953). I recognized his photography. When we were little we had some of his books. I think they were my moms when she was little. I have not thought about these books in forever! The photos were so cool/odd and none of my friends had books like these. I guess Harry is becoming famous again. Some of his images have been re-printed in a book.

It's amazing that you can see an image and it can take you to another place. I am going to have to find these books next time I go home.

(Bryce do you remember these?)

* you can read about Harry Whittier Frees here.

best ebay purchase ever!

These arrived today. They could be the best group of spoons ever. I can't wait to make them into jewelry ;)

my grandpa...

Well, I am at work again and I am finding everything distraction possible. So I thought I would introduce you to my Grandpa Jess. Today he had surgery to get a pacemaker. He is doing well and should be out of the hospital tomorrow. He is 87 but you would never know it.

He is a pretty amazing guy (although I could be a little biased). I fell so lucky to have him. He has remodeled every house we have lived in. He served in WWII in Europe, delivering tanks to the troops (he has some pretty amazing stories). He saved our house from being burned down when my mom tried to make him homemade donuts (grease fire). While I was growing up he had a cabin/house on a lake in Missouri. That was the coolest thing...to visit him and swim.

And if anyone is wondering where my chocolate addiction comes from. It's all his fault ;)