currently. (aka: alive & kicking)

watching: Now that the Christmas season is over and I’ve been through Elf, Love Actually, A Christmas Carol, and yes, Badder Santa a hundred times…I’ve moved on to back seasons of Always Sunny in Philadelphia to keep me laughing as I scurry around my house cleaning, organizing, and creating space for the new year. It’s been a great choice so far - I highly recommend.
listening to: Joy the Baker podcasts and just knowing we would be friends if we knew each other.

thinking about: change, cleansing my home for simplified living, what actions I want to take to be happier, healthier, and more productive. And of course, how I’m going to go about my Project Life album for 2014…am I going big again or taking it down a notch by using a Handbook….

looking forward to: starting fresh again. The new year is always a great excuse to do this and give meaning to all those things I want to do and maybe actually do them all in the name of “new.” I don’t do resolutions for obvious reasons, but I do partake in projects throughout the year to maintain focus. I’m looking forward to seeing what this new year brings and making a pact with myself that it HAS to be different than 2013. It has to.

reading: I just dove into Book One of The Clan of the Cave Bear series. My sister-in-law is way ahead of me, and has been distracted by it ever since she started reading so I knew it was one I wanted to read. Getting lost in a story is something I have always loved, so here I go.

making me happy: my Christmas tree. I know Christmas is over, but I can’t wait to turn the lights on in the morning and see it standing there in all of its magic and glow. I hate taking it down and put it off for as long as I can stand it. I try not to let it carry into the new year, but sometimes I just can’t help it. If it makes me happy, why deny myself?

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and thank you so much for reading and supporting this space of mine. I am not a regular blogger and idolize anyone who is. It is a space for me to feel like I am connecting with like-minded folks out there, and I hope to take it up a notch in 2014 with a new design and more scheduled postings of my daily life, projects, and thoughts on current social themes…because boy do I have a lot. :) So, again, thank you for hanging out with me and I look forward to what this space will bring in the coming new year.

around my town: holiday market.

We put on our first Holiday Market at the Birdshit Saloon last Saturday promoted by and featuring a local potter in the Lynchburg area. We used to throw in some local crafts on our farm open house days, but it’s been a while. We had a nice turnout and hope that the event will grow each year. That is, if we do it again…which I think it’s all pretty unanimous that that will happen. It was nice for folks to have a one-stop-shop destination, all local, and they got to talk to all of the vendors who were all family and close friends. We saw a lot of familiar faces, but there were a few new ones which was nice to see that word got around and interest was shown in putting on something like this in our area.

This pottery is made by Bea Clements, who was the featured craftsperson of the day. I think her pottery style is so pretty with the carved lines and earthy colors. I ended up buying a new mug for the coffee I’m really not supposed to be drinking…oh well. See that line of brown mugs? Yeah, that’s mine all the way in the back. Love it.

Here was my little setup which I really enjoyed. I love Christmas lights so much, so once these were added, it was like, Boom. I actually displayed my stamps which I’ve been against in the past for some reason, but it seemed to click that this was gonna be the setup from now on. Not sure where my ‘display head’ has been lately, but each time I set up my table, I can’t help but learn so much for the next time. The pegboard behind my table held my sign and a few woven wall hangings I made to sell, which I ended up selling all but one of them. If you follow me on Instagram (@petaline) you may have seen the one I just finished last week. Yeah, couldn’t sell that one yet…and not sure if I’m ever going to. Maybe if I make some more like it, it won’t seem so special because it’s pretty darn awesome to me at the moment. Toot toot!

Next to me was my sister-in-law’s father with his awesome metal art. He never ceases to amaze us with his work and has quite the family following around here…. Matter of fact, I got two of his works as birthday presents!! I love the copper with the dark metals…beautiful! 

My sister-in-law’s sister and brother-in-law were all set up with their goods from Owl Ridge. Maggie had jewelry, knitwear, and ornaments that she had made and Cody was selling his homemade soaps. I bought a few pieces from Maggie…I love her use of natural materials in her jewelry and makes it extra special when I know they came off the farm. They will be up here permanently after the middle of December and I see many a crafting soirees in our future…and maybe even a few craft show adventures. (If we can find some that fit our aesthetic. It’s been bleak around here.)

Our neighbor makes these incredible knives in his blacksmith shop and has recently teamed up with a few guys to expand their product line to include those awesome neck knives you see on the top row. They’ve been all the rage around here and top sellers when they set up at events. He handed me one for my birthday which I was pretty darn stoked about.

And then I just have to put this one of my niece so proud of her petaline prints. purchase. Let me tell you about this girl…killing it on sales. She set up a little table and was selling drawings from 12-5 without skipping a beat. When other girls came in with their parents, she coerced them to work the room selling her artwork. Hustlin’, I tell you. Love this girl.

// Reminder: Use code FESTIVE20 for 20% discount of total purchase in the shop until December 18th! //

our thanksgiving.

Just wanted to share some pictures from our Thanksgiving lunch this year. We usually celebrate down by the creek area like here and here, but since it has been cold as a witch’s *BLEEP*, we decided to bring it inside this year and take it to the Saloon. We had a delicious meal prepared by all of us and sat around a bustling wood stove to feast. It was a great way to spend the holiday…family, friends, and full bellies.

shop update + discount code.

I’ve added a few new holiday-inspired listings to my shop this weekend…I feel like this year is flying by so fast!! I can’t believe it’s already December…I already celebrated my birthday (yesterday)…and Christmas is right around the bend. I’ve hooked up a discount code (SPARKLE20) in honor of ‘Cyber Monday’ to take 20% off! So, when ya get to checkout, type in the code and you can get a little deal on your purchase!

New listings include:

I always love picking out the papers for these books, and I’ve been making my own for a few years now. I love the feeling of it all full in my hands, and it is such a great, simple, and quick way to capture the season in one place. Since everything is digital now, so many pictures just sit somewhere and never really get seen by others. I’ve enjoyed sharing what I’ve done with my books with family & friends…sure does bring back a lot of great memories. I’m pretty excited to fill in another mixed paper book this year, allowing my seasonal/holiday mini-book stash to grow. I just love seeing them all together on the shelf in my craft room. Matter of fact, I can finally start on it….

I’ve also designed some new stamps for the holiday season:

I’ve also added this gem which I think is pretty fun:

Do you do any sort of special documenting of the holiday season? I’d love to see!