Self-Portrait

Lately, I've noticed that good photos of me -- well, any photos of me, really -- seem to be absent. Possibly, party of the problem is that I'm loathe to turn over the camera to someone else, and my sad, over-the-hill camera lacks a timer. My new computer allows me to take photos of myself, but even so, it doesn't happen much.

I'm starting to think part of the reason is that weeks like this one leave me feeling a little like this:

Craft fair season starts now...

This week marks the beginning of craft fair season for me, so if I seem a little absent from blogging and being on Twitter, it's probably because I'm elbow-deep in taking inventory of products, pricing everything and rearranging my display for the millionth time.

Craft fairs are exhausting.

I did want to take a moment to tell you where I'll be in the coming weeks, though, in case you happen to be in the area. If you do stop by one of these shows, please come by my booth and say hi! I'd love to meet you in person.

Friday, Nov. 13: ISU Holiday Craft Fair
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Pond Student Union Ballroom

Sunday, Dec. 6: Pocatello Co-Op Holiday Fair
11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Kinport Junction, 815 S. 1st Avenue, Pocatello

Sunday, Dec. 13: Missoula MADE Holiday Fair
11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
N. 1st Street W., Missoula, MT

Inspiration: Thanksgiving table decor

In the midst of everything else, I'm getting quite excited to host my family for Thanksgiving dinner. One of my favorite parts of playing hostess is getting to plan the decor, especially for the table during the big meal. This week, I've been on the hunt for beautiful Thanksgiving table decorations.
My search for Thanksgiving table inspiration was first inspired by this photo, which was part of a Real Simple story on inexpensive ways to decorate your table. I love the idea of bringing bits of nature indoors and turning them into modern, elegant decor.

This photo from Martha Stewart (and found on Apartment Therapy) has that same sort of flair. I love the way this simple seed pod is turned into something so elegant and remarkable when used as a placecard holder.

My search sent me browsing through Flickr for more inspiration. This photo, posted by postscript love, is just so gorgeous in its simplicity. I love the idea of a simple setting allowing the beautiful nature of the rich foods to stand out.

This is another Martha Stewart photo. I love the rich, warm colors in this one. The oranges, greens and golds of the season are one of my favorite things about fall.

I also found this photo on flickr, posted by wisecraft, and I loved the simple, down-home, do-it-yourself nature of this place setting. This is the kind of home I would like to have Thanksgiving dinner in.

This photo is actually from Williams-Sonoma, but I loved the way they used squash as the center of the table decorations. We still have a bundle of squash and pumpkins stored from our garden. They just might have to make an appearance on our Thanksgiving table--as whole squash, and in the dishes!

How do you decorate your Thanksgiving table (if you celebrate the holiday)? How about Christmas?

Welcome to November

I made these delicious pumpkin cinnamon rolls (they were really, really delicious) Sunday as a special, welcome-to-November treat.

(I found the recipe here. I followed it pretty much exactly, except I subbed in maple syrup for rum and added some leftover cream cheese frosting that we had used for cupcakes the day before.)


I'm excited about November. There's so much anticipation, and I have a few decisions to make that could make big, wonderful differences in my life. We get to go to Missoula to celebrate my little brother's 21st birthday, and my family will be here for Thanksgiving, which I am almost giddy about. The weather for these first three days of November has been dreamy, and I've been crafting some beautiful things that I'm so proud of.

There's plenty to be stressed about this November -- three or four craft fairs, an shortage of time, a shortage of money, and a whole lot to do and big decisions to make -- but I'm choosing to embrace the excitement of the month. This is the first holiday season since we graduated where I won't be working the days before or immediately after the holidays, or even on the holidays themselves. In addition to all the crazy things I have to do, I plan on having some fun, too: baking like a madwoman, gaining 5 pounds, decorating a beautiful Thanksgiving table, having fun with holiday gift wrap, and maybe stringing some cranberries and popcorn.

Welcome to November.

In case you were wondering what we were for Halloween..

C was Spock. I, of course, was the random '60s crewmate in the background.
Isn't my '60s hair impressive?

Happy Monday, and happy November!

P.S. A little photo tip: If you have lousy photos (ours were taken in a dark kitchen, and they turned out yellow, blurry and pixelated), try applying some fun actions to them in a photo editing program to give them a cool retro effect, like you meant to do it all along. I got my actions for free here.

We have a winner!

First of all, thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway for my "Start Fresh" screenprinted poster. I so appreciate all your support and comments -- and it's exciting to hear about all the ways other people are starting fresh, too.

To pick a winner, I stuck the number of comments into the always handy random number generator, and this was the result:I counted down 4 comments from the top, and the winner was Louisa Rose, who, by the way, has a beautiful photography shop on Etsy. Louisa Rose, send your address to kbcarpenter@gmail.com, and I'll pop your print in the mail to you.

I'm headed back to my to-do list for now. Hope you all have a great Friday, and a happy Halloween!

Countdown to November

Sometimes, you just need a little cider pick-me-up to make it through a long, cold day.

On my to-do list for the rest of the week:

• Add the finishing touches to my Halloween costume (pictures to come!)
• Figure out what dish to make--and make it--for a Halloween party (any suggestions? I'd love something with pumpkin or acorn squash in it, but at this point I'm flexible)
  
• Spray paint my new display items in preparation for craft fair season
• Find some brown fabric to turn into a table cloth for my craft fair display
• Brainstorm a gorgeous but so easy to make banner for my craft fair display
• Oversee a photo shoot for the holiday issue of our local family magazine
• Pack & ship orders to my wonderful customers
• Print the final layer of some cute new notebooks I'm making
• Get ready for Saturday's final farmers' market
• Prep my shop for full-on holiday mode starting Monday (speaking of which: are you on my e-mail newsletter list? You should be. A special holiday discount for subscribers is coming next week. The sign-up is at left.)

Whew! It just might be a crazy couple of days! I'm going to hunker down and get to work, but don't forget to enter the drawing for my "Start Fresh" print -- I'll be back tomorrow to announce the winner.

Happy Thursday!