Friday Feature -- Scene Not Herd

This week's Friday Feature is Holly, a fellow SF Etsy member who is the creative force behind Scene Not Herd. I love the whimsical jewelry in her shop, and the hand stamped personal touches really add a unique element. I particularly like her "Shine" lantern necklace. She says it's "reminiscent of that old thing your dad busted out on camping trips" -- spot on!
Enjoy the interview!

1. Please tell us about the items in your Etsy shop. What do you make? How did you learn your craft? What is involved in your creative process?

My jewelry is a collection of what I like to wear, girly but simple. Many of the pieces feature hand stamped tags that make them personalized and a bit more special. I love giving gifts so many of the pieces are inspired by friends and what I know they would love to wear. I took a simple jewelry making class at a local adult ed program and learned the basics a few years ago. Since, its all been experimentation until something works!

2. Tell us two other interesting things about you.

I am also an algebra and science teacher to middle schoolers in Oakland. I originally started making my own jewelry because I often noticed I was wearing the same stuff from the mall as my middle school students. Yikes!

My husband and I are in the process of adopting two little children from the Democratic Republic of Congo! My Etsy shop is helping to offset the crazy adoption costs. I'm also hoping to raise awareness for what's going on in DRC. I would love to be able to take a huge stash of formula and baby supplies when we visit the orphanage to bring our little ones home.


3. What is your favorite item in your shop? Why is it your favorite?

I'm partial to my "Oh Snap!" necklace. My students say it all the time and it never ceases to make me laugh.


4. If you had a gift certificate to Etsy for any one item you wanted, what would you buy?

I have an unhealthy love for succulents, so I'd get this.

5. What crafting skill do you wish you had or hope to learn someday?

I would love to knit, I've tried but I'm too impatient.

6. If you had to live out the rest of your life as a famous fictional character, who would you be and why?

Anne Shirley...there would be no shortage of adventure. And let's be honest, who doesn't love them some Gilbert Blythe? (He's as close to my real husband as fiction can get!)

7. If your life was a book, what would be the title and how would your story end?

"Second Hand Heart" The end is the beginning of a new day, full of hope and promise.

8. What is the craziest gift you have ever received?
Some friends gave us a $5000 check to help out with the adoption costs. They aren't wealthy, it just seemed like the right thing to do to them. I've never been so overwhelmed.

Good News; Bad News

It's been a rough week -- just as BJ was getting over the crud that had him home from school almost all last week, BB started showing symptoms. She's been down with fever and cough since Tuesday, poor boo. 102.6 yesterday! Down to 100 today, but still feeling really yucky. Sigh.

Thank goodness my parents are here visiting and able to help out! With S teaching 3 classes this quarter, it's pretty crazy around here at the moment. I don't know what we would have done without them! (Well, I do -- either S would have had to stay home, or I would have been scrambling at the last minute for a substitute for my classroom hours on Tuesday; Wednesday would have been really challenging with getting BJ to his play rehearsal and field trip; this morning I'd have to be on the phone trying to line up somebody to fill in for me in the box office after school to sell play tickets!) I wish they weren't having to spend their precious visit time in what my mom has taken to calling "Ward X" (and with all the coughing and hacking around here, she has a point!) -- right now I'm just praying this nasty cold doesn't get them next....

The good news is that BJ was well enough to make it to the opening of his play last weekend! He was still feeling a little puny, but his fever had been gone for a full day and he managed not to cough while he was on stage. He was pretty danged cute in his teddy bear costume.

He was so happy to be able to be there. We got there a little early so that his drama teacher could take him on stage ahead of time to review things with him. So kind of her. He remembered his lines, smiled through most of the performance, and had a good time. Can't ask for more than that!

The last two performances are this weekend. It will be really fun to have my parents there to see them as well. Sure hope BB is well enough to join us by then!

Meeting Up with other South Bay SF Etsy Folks!

Today I managed to escape the Family Plague Ship for a few hours this morning to meet up with some other SF Etsy folks at TechShop San Jose! (Big thanks to S for watching the boy while he was home sick again from school.)

It was so nice to meet other crafty, creative folks! Always energizing, and especially so when I'd been cooped up with sick kids for several days. (Did I mention how much I appreciate that S was able to be home in the morning so that I could go???)

Here we all are:

From left to right:

Valerie of Valerie Preston Jewelry
Ilana of The Golden Gear
Devika of Devika's Art
Kathryn of Splendid Colors
Ruhi of Live Decor
Kate of This Charming Candy
Jen (yours truly!) of Mama's Magic Studio
Suhita of Sketch Away

I don't want to be overly dramatic, but it's possible that this meeting could lead to some wonderful things for me. I've long dreamed of working seriously on art quilts, but I've been hampered by the lack of space in my "studio" (the corner of the bedroom) and also by the capabilities of my Janome sewing machine (which is a decent little machine and has done me well, but it's not really up to major quilting on a large scale). Every time I go someplace like Fab Mo, I start dreaming about the upcycled art I could make. But I've told myself to stay serious, keep it under control, put back that huge stack of velvet and brocade, it wasn't possible, maybe someday but not now...

Well, someday might be sooner than I thought. It turns out that Tech Shop San Jose has a gorgeous long arm quilting machine!

Next year, when BB heads to kindergarten, I could take classes to learn how to use this baby!

(Am I excited? Let's just say you should have heard that squee of joy when I saw this beautiful machine. It's bigger than my living room! And it's ten minutes away from my apartment! And I could use it if I were a Tech Shop member!!!)

Tech Shop is full of creative goodness and amazing supplies, tools, machines -- and from what I hear, talented and helpful teachers to let you learn how to do it all. Here's their Bin Wall of supplies for members:

They have a woodworking shop, a metalshop, a 3D printer... all sorts of amazing things.

If you're interested in more, you can check out the rest of the pics I took here on Flickr.

Now I'm seriously scheming for what impact this might have on next year's plans. Stay tuned!

BB's Five Year Checkup and the Family Plague Ship

On Monday, BB had her Five Year Checkup, and she was such a good kid at the doctor's office! She had vision and hearing tests (vision 20/25, hearing totally fine), all the usual prods and patience-testing doctor stuff, and then she had to have three shots and her TB test! She was so brave. She didn't flinch once. After the appointment, all day long she was telling me how brave she was. So proud of my girl! And she's getting so big: 47.4 pounds and 43 and 3/4 inches tall. Wow!'

On Tuesday, BB woke up feeling sick, so she stayed home from preschool. BJ also woke up with a bit of a cough and not feeling so well (after S had been down for the count all weekend -- even cancelled class on Friday, which is really unlike him!) but it was the day for the play's tech rehearsal, so he really wanted to try to go to school. S was feeling much better, and so he headed in for his turn to volunteer in BJ's classroom. Unfortunately, BJ got to feeling worse and worse, and so at noon when S was done volunteering, BJ came home from school early. Had to miss tech rehearsal.

BJ was home from school again today, bad cough and fever. Not much fun dragging them both to Kaiser to get BB's TB test checked -- the good news is she's totally clear for TB (not surprising) -- but happily they were both pretty patient. Other than our trip to Kaiser, we hunkered at home and watched movies and just tried to get through the day, because I got to feeling pretty lousy. I hate it when our household starts to resemble a plague ship!

Hopefully we'll all be healthy again very soon....

BB's First Allowance

Our girl is sure growing up! Now that she's five years old, she's earning allowance. She received her first dollar today!

100 Days of First Grade and Fun with Sharkie

Today is BJ's 100th day of first grade. Where the heck is the time going to? (Mom, you were right. It just gets up and gallops.)

For his 100 day project he brought in a baggie full of one hundred mini-marshmallows. And though he amazingly waited until the end of the day to eat any, as agreed (he insists this is the case and I believe him) I didn't manage to get a picture. He came home and ate all but about a dozen in one sitting.

Yes, this week I'm that kind of mom. Eat all the marshmallows you want, kid. (Truly, there were less than a cup's worth, not all that much. It's easier to have this kind of attitude with him because he's equally likely to eat all the sliced red peppers or sliced mushrooms that he wants.)

Today BB wanted to do some of her "Fun with Sharkie." She had two things she wanted to do: Trader Joe's and the park. First, we took Sharkie to TJ's to hunt for Sharkie. (Believe me, she wouldn't have wanted to go there if it weren't for Sharkie!)
For once, we didn't have to circle the store twice to find Sharkie! Spotted him right away in the refrigerated aisle, peeking out from inside a shirt in the decor.


The store employees were pretty amused by it all.

After the store, we headed to the park. She had a great time on the slide with Sharkie!

It had been a while since we'd had a morning at the park. We should do that more often.

Other families have taken Sharkie to Disneyland, to Happy Hollow Zoo, on airplanes... this may be as exciting as things get for our Adventures with Sharkie. We'll see. BB seemed pleased, at any rate, and that's what matters! Now I get to document everything for the class book...

Happy 5th Birthday, BB!

My little girl turned 5 years old today. Last week, I enrolled her in kindergarten. This little girl of mine isn't so little anymore!

In honor of her special day, she brought in donut holes to share with her preschool friends. And at the end of the day, she got to bring home Sharkie! Sharkie is the preschool room mascot (yes, the teacher who introduced Sharkie was a local hockey fan) and kids are supposed to take him home for a week for "Adventures with Sharkie." We decided it would be fun for him to help BB celebrate her birthday.


We had cake (vanilla with chocolate frosting, made by me -- which explains the sliding blue flowers on top of the cake) and went to BB's favorite restaurant, Sweet Tomatoes. Of course Sharkie came with us.

Note BJ's "why can't I hold Sharkie" expression. Way to get in the celebratory spirit, eh?

Lest you think all those veggies on the tray in front of her are an example of her stellar eating habits, take a closer look: the red plate is mine and the empty tray is hers. What makes Sweet Tomatoes her favorite restaurant? The noodles and "special cheese" (grated cheddar) and the macaroni and cheese. And sliced black olives and, occasionally, some sliced mushrooms. Finished with ice cream for dessert.

Before we headed out for dinner, BB opened her presents.

We managed some FaceTime with my folks so that they could see her open the ones from them. Brave new world, that's all I can say.

I shake my head and realize this seems utterly normal to BB and BJ. Still amazes the heck out of me.


She loved the sewing kit, stuffed unicorn, and cupcake set. Thanks so much, Giki and Pop-Pop! She made cupcakes right after finishing opening her gifts!


Many thanks to Nana for the Princess dolls! BB was excited to see Mulan and clothes for her. (We have yet to see the movie, but the Disney juggernaut has made sure she knows all the princesses names and qualities, regardless.)


The cash from Grandpa D and Grandma C was definitely a hit. Thanks!

BB decided that one of her gifts should be from Sharkie. So I gave her one of ours to her and told her it could be from him.

He gave her a new leotard for gymnastics! (A size 8, if you can believe it!!! Remember what I said about her not being so little anymore??? That's big even for her, since she's usually a size 6.) She picked it out herself.


It's so sweet how good she is about saying her thank yous and giving hugs. S managed to snap a pic of the two of us while she was thanking me for her gifts.

S and I gave her a responsibility chart of her own, since she's starting to earn allowance with turning 5 years old. We also gave her a Jasmine doll -- the Disney forces got us too, what can I say? -- and BJ gave her a Flynn Rider doll so that Rapunzel can have her prince.

She really liked the dress from Auntie B and family -- perfect choice! Thanks so much!

And now begins that crazy two months when I say, "I have a 5 year old daughter and a 6 year old son!" Happy Birthday, my dear girl!