Whoa.

Whoa. Haven't been on this page in a while. Life is finally slowing down, like the whole world is finally exhaling again after many months of breath-holding. I don't really know what to think about all this...sudden inactivity. I'm so accustomed to only arriving home late at night that now, I can hardly recognize the place in daylight. Okay, so that's a mild exaggeration, but I have been getting home after school, finishing homework, doing some dishes and then looking to the clock to see it's only...four o' clock?!!?? What now?

I found a whole slew of hats that I don't remember making. Well, okay, I do remember making hats. I remember making hats in a desperate attempt to stay awake during various classes, but I do not remember making such a large quantity of hats. I must have been more spazzy than I thought. Thank goodness Show Choir is over with for this year. I will miss the stage time, though. As you may have guessed, I'm a bit of an attention freak.

So, in other news, I'm teaching a group of Girl Scouts how to sew and alter their own clothing on this Friday. Pretty cool.

Okay, I ought to get something done.
Goodnight,
Carolyn Michelle

Thanks guys!

All your awesome comments about my good fortune make me feel so special! I am really happy to have readers like you. *bows to your nice-ness* Love you all!!

Life is about to get crazy, like so crazy that I'll have no idea which way is up and which way is down. It's show weekend for my school's Singsation (singing and dancing in sparkly costumes on a cramped stage) and I happen to be performing. Tomorrow is opening night and I don't think I have ever been so ready in my life. I have mentioned in the past that I love theater to death so I'm guessing you understand that this is going to be a huge rush for me. :D Besides, I'm hosting the opening night cast party.

Haha, my parents must be crazy in the head for allowing thirty make-up and hairspray covered teenagers to come and rave in our house. Bubba, if you are reading this, thanks again. You have done so much work this week for me and my ca-razy friends. Love you!!!

So, this weekend is going to be a whirlwind of curling irons, costume changes, dance shoes, and sporadic bouts of attempted homework in between wild fits of partying. I'm excited. But once it's done, I'll have nothing to do besides chores and homework. So there will certainly be a huge amount of "Oh no! I have no life now" crafting going on at mi casa in the weeks to come.

I just have to survive next week and then I have SPRING BREAK!!!!! Glorious, glorious spring break. There hopefully will be a Fiber Freaks event. I'll keep you posted.

And Jenn, you are so strong!!!! I'm keeping Shelby and your whole family in my prayers!! I love you guys! And on Saturday there may be a super-secret-covert-Carolyn stopping at your house to drop off a little something I've been putting together for Shelby.

For those who don't know, Shelby is one of the three sisters I babysit for. She has been in the hospital for the last week, at least. Read her mom Jenn's blog here. And keep their family in your prayers, they really need it.

Okay, I suppose I should attempt to get all this make-up off my face before I pass out.

Good night one and all, sorry for the ramble-ness.

Love, Carolyn Michelle

A Day of Good News

Hellooooo everybody!

Long time no blog, eh? I have very little time on my hands right now, so I'm trying to keep this brief. Here's the scoop: Today is full of good stuff.

Good thing #1: I just got done doing a photo shoot with my mom and sister. The three of us are going to be featured in Rockford Woman's Magazine in the May issue. The article is about mothers and their daughters and what they have in common. Our family's crafty-ness and my shop are going to be featured in the article!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good thing #2: My Chaim Mail fingerless gloves got featured in a treasury on Etsy. Check it out here if you feel so inclined. :)

And finally, the most exciting and crazy Good thing of the day...

I GOT EXCEPTED FOR THIS SUMMER'S EARLY COLLEGE PROGRAM AT SCHOOL OF THE ART INSTITUTE IN CHICAGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh. My. Gracious. I'm studying Fashion Construction for two weeks this July. In Chicago. At School of the Art Institute. I can hardly believe it. Hardly. I just, wow. I'm so excited. Excited doesn't even cover it. I'm enthralled, I'm spasmodically amazed. I'm I'm I'm....ready. This is going to be so great.

Show Choir will be done with after this weekend so hopefully I'll have loads of free time to catch up on my Etsy-work (and my house work, and my school work...yikes)

Talk to you guys later.
Much love!
-Carolyn Michelle
magazine

FIERCE AND NERDY!

Hello folks, just dropping a note to say that the Luck, Love, and Hedgehogs Design Shop has been FEATURED for the first time ever in a Blogozine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The online-magazine's name is Fierce and Nerdy and can be found here: http://fierceandnerdy.com/

Not that I'm REALLY REALLY EXCITED or anything.

Ahem, of course.

The article launches tomorrow (Wed. 25th) at 10 Am. Be sure to go take a gander. I haven't even seen the article yet! So, head on over to Fierce and Nerdy and read the article tomorrow. Tell all your friends!!! :D

Okay, I'd better get going on all my other projects. Hope you all are having FABULOUS weeks.

All my love,
Carolyn Michelle

Winter Cleaning?

I'm just feeling chatty today. I think I've been driving my sister crazy. The whole time she was playing various computer games I was asking, "And what are you doing now? What's going on? Whatchyadoin?!" Two-year-old-style. She'll be glad to get away from me.

Happy President's day! Yay no school! In order to celebrate, I've been...doing my history homework. Wonderful. Luckily, I'm all done with my work and it's not midnight, so perhaps I'll get some time to myself for crafty goodness. Cleaning my room shouldn't take too long...

On second thought...it's been a while since I could see my own floor.

Today has been productive so far. I woke up at ten am, ate some left over Olive Garden pasta for breakfast, did homework, started a loaf of bread in the bread machine, more homework, made lunch, did dishes, finished homework and renewed ALL the items in the shop in some desperate attempt to sell stuff. It's been a long time since I've sold anything. But I do have 31 hearts on Etsy. Hooorah for that. And I have sold two hats at school...and that huge order of twenty two crocheted chocolate candies was delivered to my teacher last. Okay, so for a slacker I'm not doing too poorly.

mmkay, I have to go take Tara to a Girl Scouts thingy. Hope you all are enjoying your day off of school/work as much as I am.

All my love,
Carolyn Michelle

Fires!

The Toy Society: Bushfires: thetoysociety@gmail.com
I'm sure you've all heard, but wildfires are sweeping Australia. Thousands are left homeless and as of yesterday, the death toll is 173. Personally, it's hard for me to imagine being forced out of my home and wondering whether or not my house will be reduced to a pile of ashes by the time I am able to get back. These fires are personal for me because I know many crafters through the Internet who are based in Australia.

You may recall my involvement with The Toy Society, which began in Australia. If any of you are looking for crafty ways to get involved with relief efforts, you may want to read The Society's blog here as they have some good links. You can always make a plushie and send it off to Toy Society members in Australia who will make sure it gets into the hands of someone in need. Just send them an email for the information: thetoysociety@gmail.com

And the Red Cross always works, too.

Crafters, let's reach out!

Love,
Carolyn Michelle

I was featured!

Long time no blog.

Wow, life is crazy. I only have a few minutes to post this little blurb about the Treasury I got featured in, on Etsy. You can see it here if you check it out within the next few days. But hurry, Treasuries sadly are not permanent. But, it is exciting to be featured nonetheless. :D

Good deal.

In other news, I got two orders from people at school this week. One netted hat and a whopping TWENTY TWO crocheted chocolates. Wow. My whole purse has become infested with the things. I'm almost done and hopefully, at some point soon, I'll get enough "me time" that I'll be able to hot glue all the little buggers into their wrappers.

Still got lots to do, this is my only free night this week...I'm beginning to forget what my house looks like; I'm never home. :P

Hope you guys are having wonderful weeks and are staying warm *fingers freeze off*
Love,
Carolyn Michelle

I was blogged

That's right! To my knowledge, this is the first time I've been blogged. Check out the one post of glory about me here, on Noricum's blog. Special, huh? I thought so. :3 She apparently was quite taken by my Tin of Sardines with she found on my Flickr page, so she posted a little tiny blurb about it.

Thanks Noricum! You made my day...even if I found the post a little late....

Okay, now that I feel all warm and fuzzy from being blogged about, I think I'm off to bed. I do have work tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get a chance to talk to Bubba, my in-house accountant, about my SS-4 form tomorrow. That crazy governmental mumbo-jumbo made my head reel a little. *sigh*

Goodnight dear readers.
-Carolyn Michelle

This is Getting Scary!

So.

Guess what my plans are for my day off of school?:

Filing for a tax ID number using an SS-4 for Luck, Love, and Hedgehogs Design.

That, my friends, is scary. That means my little shop is sort of...moving forward? Moving towards, I don't know, becoming more of a legitimate business? By that prospect, I am excited and also terrified. The future is a scary, uncertain thing and the thought that I am taking steps to insure that my future is what I want it to be makes me quake in my boots a little. I keep telling myself that if I don't have to power and courage to take initiative and stake my claim on my dreams, then who does?

Okay, maybe I'm over thinking this a little. But that's just how I'm feeling right now. I want to spend the rest of my life doing what I love and today, it's all a little tiny bit closer to my reach.

It's just the IRS, after all.

Love,

Carolyn Michelle

Two quick things before I dash out of the house:

Happy Friday, loves! I've officailly survived the first week back to school after my glorious two week break. This week sure felt like a month-and-a-half. But, I did get a lot done. There'll be pics later, I promise! :D

Now, for the two quick things before I dash out of here for my Friday night festivities:

1. Look at the banner!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!! Isn't it spiffy? Made for me by my new friend on etsy: FashionCandy. I met her in an almost random way. One of my friends, Allison (also a Fiber Freak), was telling me that her aunt made all sorts of stuff and sold on etsy. She gave me the URL and I introduced myself. She is pretty much one of the coolest designers I've come across in a long time. I'm a major fan, now. *girly squeal* Her stuff is so durn cute!!!

2. I'm debating something important right now: shall I or shall I not book a table at the famous Pecatonica "Pec Thing?" Okay, so it's not very famous if you don't live within thirty miles of Rockford, IL but, oh well. It'll be my first show if I decide to book. I'm kinda wary, considering it is primarily geared towards antique buyers. And...my creations are not antiques. >.< BUT it is a huge sale, and all the other area sales are, well, tiny. I want to get a big audience. It's in May...I believe. Debate debate debate. Any advice??

Okay loves. Thanks for reading. Enjoy your Friday night!!!!

Yours,
Carolyn Michelle

The Fiber Freaks Update

Sorry about the long wait for this post. Life went a little berzerk for a while. Getting back into the swing of school is almost as hard as going back at all. My alarm clock is SO not my best friend right now.

Okay, without further ado, here are some quick shots from the Fiber Freaks party on Saturday December 27th:

Top to bottom: My new sewing machine!!!!!!!!!, the jelly donut pinchusion I found time to make, Sammi (in blue) making some shrinky dinks with Jessie Jo crocheting in the background, and me, freaking out a little.

The party was a total success. Everybody made some super spiffy stuff. I only wish I had a ton more pictures to show you. The whole thing was like a whirlwind, I only remembered to ask Tara to get her camera out at the last second. Too bad, there were some great projects. Such as:

-Sammi's rainbow crocheted american girl doll turbin

-Jessie Jo's Huge massive lime green knitted scarf

-Rachael's crocheted acorn

-Tara's tiny tiny tiny shrinky dink cupcake

-Kody's crocheted bug

-Dan's crocheted...thing

-Danielle's crocheted "Texas tie"

And about a trillion others.

There are a few more pictures on my Flickr so check em out!

In other news, two new shop items, go look!!!

Love you lots!!!

-Carolyn Michelle

Ready or Not, Here it Comes...

New Years.
I'm ready, but not so willing to leave 2008 behind. At least, not with a nice looong look at the year that has passed:

January: Spent New Years Eve with my Costa Rican exchange student and fourteen other host families.
February: Valentine's Day.
March: Spend Spring Break on a road trip to Indiana with my cousins, aunt, uncle, Bubba, Dad, and Tara
April: Art Class Trip to the Art Institute of Chicago.
May: Finally get my Driver's License. Done with school!
June: My spanish club leaves for Costa Rica, I see them off tearfully. June 6th, Luck, Love, and Hedgehogs goes live on Etsy. June 7th, Luck, Love, and Hedgehogs goes live on Blogger.com
July: The annual Aldersgate UM Church Corn Boil
August: Back to School
September: Audition for the High School Play, rehersals begin
October: Performance of Oklahoma! on Halloween weekend. My second-to-last High School Play EVER. *sadsadsad*
November: November 14th, Luck, Love, and Hedgehogs sells it's first item!! I turn 17
December: Second and third sales at Luck, Love, and Hedgehogs. Christmas, joy, love, and New Years Eve-Eve (today)

It's crazy how it feels like just last night I was in a house crowded with Costa Rican exchange students, counting down to the new year, dancing to salsa music and snowmobiling across an opened field. Time really does fly. Oh, how it flies.

I have a few tradtitional New Years Resolutions I want to make before I wrap up this post.

1. Take Luck, Love and Hedgehogs to it's first events. Really get the name out there more. In conjunction with that, host more Fiber Freaks Gatherings. Being with Crafty people really makes me more creative and feeds my soul.

2. Be more opened with my faith and more passionate in my relationship with God.

3. Bring more positive people into my life. I have a ton of them but you can never have enough.

And finally:
4. Tell more people that I love them.


That's all I got, people. Have a super-wonderful new year. I'll be talking to you soon with the update about Fiber Freaks.

Love,
Carolyn Michelle

Christmas wonderment

Christmas was full of wonder this year. It was such a joy seeing new members of my family get to participate in the traditions I have grown up with. My favorite being the annual sharing of the cheesy tates. You really can't beat something like Grandma's cheesy tates. yumyumyum. I have some cheese tate leftovers in the fridge right now. I'm thinking lunch.

I really hate to go off and list what I got for Christmas (because that's really not interesting or even polite) but I would like to tell you about one key gift: a sewing machine.

I GOT A NEW SEWING MACHINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is the best gift ever ever ever on the face of the earth ever. EVER.

You get it.

It's a Brother brand machine, Project Runway Limited Edition spiff-tacular beast of computerized stitch selection glory. Yes, glory. It even automatically adjusts the stitch length, width, and tension for me when I change the stitch. Thank God above who created such clever sewing machine engineers! I am really really stoaked about this.

Thank you bubba, Tara, and Daddy...if you guys read this. <3>

In other news, we are one day away from one HUGE explosion of creativity in the Hedgehog household. Fiber Freaks!!! I can't believe it's already here...

In case, somehow, you missed the e-mail and previous posts and would still love to join us, here's the 411:

Where: My house (directions through e-mail)

When: 11am-10pm come as you please

What: FIBER FREAKS!!! Crocheting, knitting, and sewing like madwomen (and men)

Bring: fiber of any sort, an opened mind and FOOD!

See you there?

Hope you guys are feeling as blessed and fuffilled as I am. May God guide you throught this crazy weather safely!! Have a wonderful day, enjoy your gifts :D

All my love,

Carolyn Michelle

Winter, as I know it

On December 20th, I completed my secret mission: the Toy Society Christmas Toy Drop. Read all bout it on their blog here and see if my toy has been posted/found yet! I'm really excited about this, I actually cannot wait to see if I hear from anybody.(:

The Christmas season in officially in full swing here in Hedgehog land. The 20th was my first "Christmas" celebration of the year. I partied with my dad's side of the family at the famous Grandma Kay's house. Sadly, Tara and Bubba were sick and stayed home to rest. The snow is really drifting and blowing here, making life crazy. More crazy...I suppose...





Also, my cousins Alicia and Joel are back. Visiting and such. I really miss seeing them with more regularity, even if it was only ever once a year. I haven't see Alicia since 2002. That's a loooong time when you think about it. In five years I've gone from middle school to high school, from riding to driving, from single to...wait, no, I'm still single. Okay so some things never change.






One thing that I wouldn't mind a change from is this super-deep-crazy-lunatic cold weather. Ug. It is so cold here that my pipes froze! Yup. You know the water pipes leading to the washing machine? Yeah. Frozen. My poor father is working on them right now. I have no idea where this winter season thinks it's headed with this sadistic weather. Definatly not winning any points with ME. And just when I was getting into the whole snow thing.





Hope you guys are warm, safe, and festive.





And crafty. Very very crafty. :D

Today I:

Today I already:
rejoiced about the snow day!
did the dishes.
shipped a cuttlefish (and it only costs $5 for priority shipping, who knew??).
got stuck in the driveway (twice) with my dad driving the truck.
wrapped all the gifts for the kids at Saturday Kid's Club.

Later today I will:
decorate the tree with Tara.
wrap MORE presents.
not be going to ring bells for the Salvation Army ):
play in the snow.
clean.

This weekend:
is the Toy Society Christmas Toy Drop! Check their blog to see what I drop!
is the Christmas Party for Saturday Kid's Club, I'm excited.
is my family Christmas party with my dad's side of the family. :D
I get to see my cousins that I haven't seen in...forever.
is going to be cold.
is going to be spiffy.

To those in Northern Illinois, enjoy the snow!!! It's very pretty. I'm finally getting in to this whole winter thing again.

More Information About Fiber Freaks:

What: The first ever meeting of the Fiber Freaks Group
When: Saturday December 27, 2008
From: 11am-10pm open house style
Where: My house (directions when you rsvp)
Rsvp: ASAP

So, as you know, the Fiber Freaks are just a group of freaks like me getting together to learn and teach crocheting, knitting, sewing and what not. Now I have more information as to what the Fiber Freaks will be doing at our first ever meeting-thingy...

Got some extra yarn that you'll never use? Bring it along for a yarn swap! If somebody else has some yarn that you like perhaps you can convince them to trade with you. You never know! So bring along some yarn and swap to your hearts content! Other things you could bring to swap: old clothes, fabric, felt, hooks/needles, misc. craft supplies, sewing machines (like I said, you never know!), pretty much anything...

Also, what's a crafty party without food? When you come be sure to bring some snack-type food or dish to pass to share with the group. That makes it easier on me and Bubba, preparation wise. I'd rather be teaching you guys how to crochet than slaving over a hot stove.

Know how to crochet, knit, sew, or what not? You might be called upon to teach some newbies. It's no big deal, I'll make sure they play nice.

Remember to bring you latest project! I can hardly wait for this EPIC event...it's gonna be good.

Good things that I have failed to mention...

Good Thing Number 1:

I'm participating in my first ever toy drop with The Toy Society this Christmas. *points to button on the right sidebar below the mini shop* You'll have to check it out on the weekend right before Christmas.

I'm super excited about this. I love doing random acts of kindness and what better way of doing it than leaving a cute little hand made toy for somebody to take home? This is such a great project, I plan on participating in more toy drops after the crazy-time ends.

Good Thing Number 2:

Guess who is back? Thar't riiiiiiiiggggggghhhhtttt...
The cuttlefish is coming back to the Luck, Love, and Hedgehogs Design Shop. I got a request for on earlier this week and that request go me thinking, why haven't I made more cuttlefish? Hmmmmm, I don't know. So I have another project! Yay! Seriously, no sarcasm whatsoever was intended there. I love making stuff for people.

Good Thing Number 3:

As you can see from my Etsy-mini over there to the right *pokes sidebar*, I finally updated the shop!!!!!!!! YAY!!!! It's only two more items, but hey, I'm making progress...

Good Thing Number 4:

It's a SNOW DAY TODAY!!!!! YAY!!!!! I've gotten so much stuff done already. My room is all decorated for Christmas, I vacuumed, I did the dishes, and I updated the shop. Later Tara and I are going to make sugar cookies :3 I love the holiday season so much...

Good Thing Number 5:

I'm going to the Art Institute of Chicago tomorrow with my art class. Which means I'm not going to be at school, which means I'm not going to stress too much which means I can seriously enjoy the day in my favorite city. I do love winter in Chicago: The snow, the bell ringers in front of every shop, the cheeryness, the sales, the decorations, did I mention the snow? I mean, honestly, the flakes are GIMONGOUS there. Must be the Lake Effect...or something...

Hope you guys have tons of good things to list. Enjoy the snow, but stay safe. The roads are super super bad (hence the snow day, I suppose). Just stay home, put on your pjs, sip some cocoa, and get crafty.

All my love,

Carolyn Michelle

Luck, Love and Hedgehogs Design (and Bubba) are hosting...

...The first ever meeting of the Fiber Freaks group. What are the Fiber Freaks? I'll tell you! The Fiber Freaks are people who are obsessed with the art of manipulating fibers into wonderful creations. (Aka, people who crochet, knit, sew, embroyder, tat, felt etc etc etc).

Basically, the story goes something like this, there are a ton of people at my school and in my family who are interested in learning to crochet (or knit or sew or what-have-you) so I have contrived this sort of...club thingy called the Fiber Freaks. There are at this point no "meetings" or "memberships" for the Fiber Freaks, just a group of wierdos getting together to get crafty. Care to join us?

Saturday, December 27th
At my house (I'll give you directions when you RSVP) near Durand
From 11am-10pm, open house style
Rsvp asap by e-mailing me for more details...

Luckloveandhedgehogs@hotmail.com

There will be people to help you with the basics of crocheting (or knitting or sewing or what-have-you) as well as plenty of opened electrical outlets if you care to bring your sewing machine. All ages and experience levels are welcome.

What better way to spend the Saturday after Christmas than crafting with your favorite silly people?

In other news, I got my car stuck on my road last night after babysitting (yeah, I'm fine Jen, it was no big deal). The road was really drifted over and stuff so my dad had to come and plow me out. Praise God for trucks! Hope you guys are liking this cold weather...I'm not enjoying it too much. Coldcoldcold. Perhaps I need a coffee...

All my love,
Carolyn Michelle

Oh, December!

It's cold here. Very very cold. I'm fairly certain that I'm one hundred percent NOT a polar bear.

Anyways.

Last night was quite an adventure since I went on my first ever college-type visit. Bubba picked me up after school and we drove to Northbrook (outside of Chicago) for the School of the Art Institute Chicago's (SAIC) Information day thingy at the Renaissance Hotel. It was splendid. Splendid, I say, splendid. I've been seriously considering going to an Art school for a while now and after this visit it seems like this actually could happen. I actually could go to school for the thing I love, get a job doing what I love, and make a living (you guessed it) doing what I love. Does this happen in real life?

I got some information on Summer Courses that SAIC offers. I think...I hope...I'm goint to be taking a course in fashion design this summer....

I am beside myself with giddy joy. School girl-like joy. Summer...in Chicago...studying fashion...and getting college credit...as a junior in high school. Like I said, does this really happen in real life???

In other news, tomorrow Tara and I are going to do a fun sister-bonding-and-shopping-for-Christmas-stuff day. I'm pretty pumped. We just have to babysit from 10:30 am- Noon for Eliana and Dylan. Not bad. We sat for them again tonight..and now I'm sitting for Riley and Shelby and Avery. Not going to lie, I love using Jen's laptop. (if you are reading this Jen, thanks!!!)

In other other news, I have my whole Spain/France 2009 trip paid for. THANK YOU MRS. WEBB FOR YOUR AMAZING FUNDRAISING POWERS!!! Seriously, my art teacher is brilliant. My whole trip, totally paid for, thanks to fundraising. Wow. Lot's of work, but oh so worht it. I can't wait for the moment I see the eiffel tower all lit up in all it's glory in the Paris night air. Oh, poetic.

Crafting has been s.l.o.w. thanks to the ever-time-consuming skeleton project for Anatomy and Physiology. It's due on Monday so hopefully that'll clear up my schedule a great deal. What a shame I am. Not updating my shop and such. Lame child I am. Mhmhmh.

Okay, that's all the stuff I've got for now. Stay warm guys, drive safely and avoid telephone poles. Please.

All my love,
Carolyn

Busy...

....is an understatement. Happy December, everybody! And to all those with snow outside, enjoy it. It sure does make my lawn look pretty, although it makes my house COOOOLLLLDD.

Hopefully they'll cancel school tommorow, the roads are bad out here.

Upcoming events (I actually have one to list!!):
The First Meeting of the Fiber Freaks Crocheting and Knitting Group
On December 27th
More details later if I get some free time. Ha ha ha...funny. Free time?? In December? Hahaha! Get it?!

Okay.

I'm crazy.

And loving it.

Happy December, again.

All my love,
Carolyn Michelle