'Twas the Night Before Christmas - the Air Force Way

I saw this on Laura's blog and decided it was too got to not share here. I am fortunate to have my Air Force husband home this Christmas, but many of our friends are spending it far from their families. Please take a moment to remember all the troops that are serving far from home this Christmas.

Twas the night before Christmas, and he lived all alone;
In a one bedroom house made of plaster and stone.
I had come down the chimney with presents to give,
and to see what manner of person in this home did live.

I looked all about, a strange sight did I see;
no tinsel, no presents, not even a tree.
No stocking by the mantle, just boots filled with sand,
And on the wall hung many pictures of far distant lands.

With medals and badges, and awards of all kinds,
Suddenly a thought so sobering came into my mind.
For this house was much different, it was so dark and dreary,
I was in the house of an Airman, once I could see clearly.

The Airman lay sleeping, silent, all alone;
Curled upon the floor in this one bedroom home.
The face was so gentle, the room in such disorder,
Not exactly how I imagined I'd find an airman soldier.

Was this the hero of whom I'd just read?
Curled up on a poncho, the floor for a bed?
I then realized the families I saw on this night,
Owed their lives to these airmen who were willing to fight.

For soon 'round the world the children would play,
And grownups would celebrate a bright Christmas day.
They all enjoyed their freedom each month of the year,
Because of the airmen, like the one lying here.

I couldn't help wonder how many more lay alone,
On a cold Christmas Eve, in some land far from home.
The very thought brought a tear to my eye,
And I dropped to my knees and started to cry.

The Airman awakened and I heard a rough voice,
"Santa, don't cry, this life is my choice;
I fight for our freedom, I don't ask for more,
My life is my God, my country, my Air Force."

The Airman rolled over and drifted back to sleep,
But I couldn't control it, I started to weep.
I kept watch for hours, so silent and still
Until we both shivered hard from the cold night's chill.

I didn't want to leave on that cold, dark night
This Guardian of Honor so willing to fight.
Then the Airman rolled over, and with a voice soft and pure,
Whispered, "Carry on, Santa, it's Christmas Day and all is secure."

One look at my watch and I knew he was right
Merry Christmas, my friend, and to all a Good Night!

!

Thank You!

As the year draws to a close, I want to take a few minutes to say thank you to all who have supported me this year. Sales in 2009 have far exceeded my expectations! At the beginning of the year I set a very small sales goal for myself. When I reached that goal by August, I set another very small sales goal. The shop is now $27 away from reaching that goal! I am humbled that my customers had the faith in my product and me, to spend their money here. With each sale I was able to put money back into the shop and help support other small businesspeople like myself. In the fall I was able to start paying myself a little salary! When I quit working three years ago, to stay home and raise our son, giving up my paycheck was the hardest part. This year I am able to buy Christmas gifts with MY VERY OWN MONEY! I purchased gifts from other artisans in hopes that they too will pay it forward.

To officially say thank you I am having a giveaway in January! Keep your eyes open for the details!

Kim

Featured Twice in One Day!

This afternoon I stepped away from the computer for a bit and when I returned, I was pleased to find I was featured in not one, but two treasuries!

The first is a grouping of all Homefront Team members and is called Met Me Under The Mistletoe. This one is especially exciting since I hung my mistletoe today!
The second beautiful treasury features my Elegance in Juniper memory board and is aptly named, Juniper and Mars.
If you have a chance, stop by each treasury and view each of the items featured.

It's Raining, It's Pouring!

This weekend was the Old Norfolk Christmas Craft Show at the Fred Heutte Center in Norfolk, VA. I had everything planned out. I had PowerPoint presentations of my booth set up. I had more merchandise than I had storage buckets for. And I had mud. Yep! Mud!

When I arrived on Friday to do set up the ground was already muddy because it had rained for what seemed like an entire year. Saturday was promising more rain. I dropped off grid walls and tables and my tablecloths.

Saturday my friend Christine and I arrived to find this…

a big, giant, muddy, mess. I was grateful all of my stuff was still standing but my white tablecloth was missing. Huh? I would later find out that it had somehow ended up two booths away and was laying in the mud - so dirty in fact that the vendor thought it was hers an she took it home to wash.

As the day progressed so did the rain. The large tent had a pocket right above our heads and we spent our day poking the roof with a broom to release the build up of water. Eventually, the temperatures dropped. Thankfully a very kind man brought us his giant butane heater and we all gathered around it to keep warm.

Our reward for Saturday was Sunday. The rain broke and the sun shone bright. The vendors from the tent set up on the sidewalk. We basked in the sun and worked on our tans.

You can see here the mess that was left behind in the tent. We had layered straw, plastic bags and more straw but the mud still seeped through.

All in all, it was a great weekend. I met new vendors and made connections for new groups as well as got some great information on upcoming spring shows. My plan going forward… stick to inside shows!

Treasuries!

Today has been the day for Treasuries over on Etsy.

I was notified by Kathryn that I had been included in her very special treasury. She so kindly chose my Silver Elegance memory board. Her treasury is honoring the special memories she has of her mom, whom she lost last year. Please stop by and view all the wonderful items Kathryn has selected to honor the wonderful times she shared with her mom!
At the same time Kathryn was selecting one of my items, I was selecting one of hers! You can check out the treasury here! Make sure to give some love to all the featured items.

Hang Your Papers In Style!

I have a new special listing in the shops. Any two magnets for $10.00! Magnets are normally priced $5.99 each. Just browse the shop and decide which two magnets you would like and then let me know at checkout. It is just that easy!

Featured!

Soapdeli recently did a blog post on getting organized and she featured one of my memory boards! Stop by her blog to check out all the other beautiful organization tools she has featured!

My workspace

Several months ago I got fed up with working at the kitchen table. I had to clean up my supplies every night in time for dinner or we had to eat around everything. Not to mention I have a toddler so it meant trying to sterilize the table after every meal so that nothing transferred to the fabric and ribbon. But mostly, I needed far more space for supplies than the Rubbermaid ™ tub was allowing for.

I initially tried moving to the game room over our garage but one trip up there on a hot summer day changed my mind. My husband and I finally decided that the guest room was being wasted just waiting for the houseguests who never arrive. The only catch… I have to share the room with the bed that will become my son’s and all the bears I have collected. I love my space. The best part is that I can close the door and leave the mess behind. I never have to worry about my son getting into stuff or peanut butter and jelly ending up on expensive fabric.

The desk where the magic happens.
I have my very own memory board that I am in the process of filling.

These tubs hold the finished memory boards

The fabric collection (and my yarn stash as well!)

I share my space with my teddy bear collection.

The shelves that hold all the magnets

Treasury Feature

Memories To You has been featured in this beautiful treasury.



Stop by and check out all the beautiful items!

Save The Ta Ta's!

It is Breast Cancer Awareness Month! For every pink item sold in either store, $1 will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation! Stop by and support this wonderful cause!

Something Old, Something New

Check out these beautiful memory boards. Some are favorites that have been listed a while now but one is brand new! Can you guess which one?

New Discounts

Several memory boards in our sale section now have a new, lower price. Stop by and check them out!

SALE SALE SALE!

This weekend we are having 20% off all 9x12 Memory Boards. You can check them out here and here!

A new 9x12 was just added yesterday... A Little Fairy Frost!

This memory board can also be made in a larger or smaller size!

Check out the latest items in the shops!
Memories To You on 1000 Markets
Memories To You on Etsy

Custom Orders

I love doing custom orders. Not a lot of sellers enjoy it, but I do. Each and every one is a learning experience; the opportunity to step out of my norm and change things up a bit. A few months ago I was contacted by a buyer who wanted something way out of my norm… a memory board that was 2’ x 4’! I was confident I could do it but had to work out some issues first. First there was the math. I have spreadsheets all formatted for the sizes I normally make but now I had to add, multiply and divide - many times to make sure I did it right! Since I don’t buy that size canvas on a regular basis I had to figure out if my supplier could get me just one. I drove to the beach to pick it up and decided since I was going that far, I should make a day of it. Two girlfriends came along and we hit all the fabric and yarn shops in town.

Did I mention that the canvas was 4’ long? We were quite a sight in the parking lot - three of us trying to fit this into the trunk of my Volvo. I ended up taking my son’s car seat out so that I could put down the back seat and stick it through the hole one would use for their skis. Except… I don’t ski and therefore have never used this feature of my car! When we finally got it sorted out we had the car seat and one stroller shoved to the side in the trunk and one friend shoved to the side in the back seat. Next up was a trip to P.F. Chang’s and much deserved drinks!

Once everything was ironed, stapled and sewn, it was time to pack and ship. Hmmm… this seemed easy enough. The U-haul website said they had a great box that could be adjusted to fit this memory board. Great! Except, when I hit my two local U-haul shops no one seemed to know what I was talking about. They ended up selling me two boxes that was supposed to do the trick with little effort from me. Sure! You know how the toy never fits back into the box the right way? I think I went through an entire roll of tape getting everything secure.

The shipping was the biggest adventure. I had entered the measurements and weight into both the USPS and UPS websites. UPS had a price of $25. That made sense for a package this size. Except… the lovely girl at the UPS Store quoted me $111! No matter how hard I argued she held fast that it had to be $111 or nothing. I picked the nothing. A quick stop off at Fedex Kinko’s secured my business for large sized items forever. They stood by their price, were kind, courteous and they delivered in less time than quoted!

So, if each custom order is a learning experience, what did I learn from this one?
1. Communication between seller and customer is priceless.
2. Have every single price in hand before you make your estimate. From a seller’s standpoint this will help keep you from losing money in the end.
3. Measure the trunk before I head out to buy canvas!

Welcome!

Welcome to the brand new blog for Memories To you! Keep checking back for new posts.