Google girl

You know when you use Google to search for something and to the right of the search results are some little ads? And usually they are useless, but sometimes they are good? Well, I bought one of those ads. I am experimenting to see if it will drive any traffic to my site. Basically, you pay a $5 startup fee and then set your monthly limit. My limit is $50 and I hope to God it wouldn't cost me that, but I think it might not cost me $1. How it works is, depending on your monthly limit, they do some math and figure how much time per day your ad can show. Then someone has to be searching for your key words at that time to see your ad. In other words, your ad won't pop up at any old time.
Then, if someone clicks the ad, you pay 10 cents or something. I will be interested in whether it works even once, but we'll see. It's worth a shot. I did find my ad once, but I'm glad I didn't click it after all because then I would have charged myself.

Really, it's going to be pretty someday

This is my flat pattern design class project. It will be a fitted shirt dress made of this yellow and white seersucker (or perhaps the wanna-be plisse. I haven't done the secret test I learned in textile science to see if it's genuine):


But for now, it's made of muslin and it's actually coming along well. I know that may be hard to see, but trust me. There are some complicated concepts to a button up shirt that I am not completely ready for. This dress is just pinned together in front, and one sleeve is more finished than the other. Also, the sleeves are poofing up quite strangely the way I'm holding my arms. Remind me not to stand that way when I wear it!


In the picture below, my arms look deformed. But they are quite normal in real life, I promise. You can see that along the shoulder blade region I have a bit of fabric pinned up. I don't know where that excess came from, or how to get rid of it, but that's what my instructor is for. I also have some weird pointy butt seam going on, which is also pinned.



Overall, here's what needs to be fixed (I'll come back to this post when I lose my notes):
1. Armholes are a bit too tight
2. Need elastic around sleeve bottoms.
3. Back bodice is shorter than front bodice.
4. Back bodice has weird excess along shoulder blades.
5. Butt has weird pointiness in seam.
6. Skirt front has extra 1/2" along open seam -- take off.
7. I don't like what the button stand does from bustline to collar.
8. Add 1" to hem.
9. How to sew on collar so there's not an ugly seam?
10. How to sew on a cap sleeve so there's not a seam allowance showing under arm?
11. Hips fit perfectly, but I doubt I can sit. I need to add a bit of ease.

I guess there's more work than I thought! But if you compare it to the outcome in this blog post, you'll see a bit of progress!

Easteryiffic totes and purses

Yes, I know it's a bit late for Easter bags, because by the time you get them, Easter will be over. But they are still Springeriffic, too. Click on any picture.

Making it official

I'm taking the steps to make Burst of Happiness an official business. I have applied for a state tax ID, which I need to do the arts and crafts show this summer. Then I'm going to go for the city license and whatever else. I'm actually really confused about all the things I need to do, which really irritates me because I'm taking a small business class online through SFCC and I am not learning anything. I have tried asking my instructor on the posting boards but have not received an answer.
For instance, I don't get what a CRS number is. You'd think you could Google it and get an answer, but I have and I still can't figure out if it's the same or different from a state tax ID number. I emailed the Small Business Association in the area about setting up an appointment, but they have not responded. I also emailed the city about the steps I need to take. They have an email listed on their Web site for these types of inquiries, but apparently everyone just sets up emails that they don't ever read or respond to. This happens a lot in my life.
I guess after I get my tax ID response, I'll physically go to the city building and talk to someone.
Still it's exciting to be taking these steps and see where this whole thing takes me.

Do cuter fabrics exist?

My thing right now is fabrics that are in coordinating colors but different patterns. I am going to design some new patterns, as well, of purses and totes.

My business picked up. I sold three things in a week! I know that was probably a fluke, but it was great. That's six things since mid-December, but I guess these things take time. I've been promoting more through business cards. Lots of etsy sellers accept business cards that they throw in with their sold items, so I've sent some of those out and also some with 10% off coupons. I also leave a stack of cards at places where I see they let people do so. I have been handing them out to friends who know a lot of women, also.
Every time I post an item for sale, I also cross post it on my blog, on my myspace page, on the etsy myspace page and on craftersbuzz.com.

Ultimately, it would be great if I could make this work to the point that I could work from home for a while if we decide to have kids, but I don't have high hopes for that. That would be really hard to do because there are only so many items one person can design and sew in a day, and to make what I make now, I'd have to sell A LOT of things every day. And I could never keep on top of making that many things.

I'll also be doing a craft show this summer, but I'll post more on that later.

On the other hand, I was exploring some Web sites with purses and totes and they are priced very high. Perhaps when I get established I can sell my stuff for a lot more. We'll see. For now, it's off to the sewing machine. I ditched school today to sew -- both for my school projects and my business.

My husband, the bargainer

Brief update on my earlier complaints:
The hot tub is fixed. The pipes were full of air and it got "airlogged." That is not covered under warranty, but he convinced the guy not to charge us.

He called Directv and let them have it. They offered to send us a refurbished DVR/receiver for $20 shipping and we could install it ourselves. He got mad and they transferred him to someone else who is giving us: A brand new DVR/receiver; free installation on Saturday; and they will take our old one and install it for us upstairs in our bedroom. Even though it doesn't record properly, it still allows you to pause and rewind live TV, and let me tell you, once you're used to that, regular TV is a major inconvenience. I mean, you have to pay attention while you're watching it! What the hell!?!

Why must we choose between our luxuries?

I get very lazy about maintaining the hot tub in the winter. I hate winter and avoid going outside as much as possible. Last week, Mark decided to drain it and clean it out, for the first time. I've done it all the other times it needed doing. I told him exactly what to do, and I don't know if something weird just happened or if he did something weird, but after he filled it a few days later and turned it back on, it just quit working. It wouldn't heat up and was making an awful sound.

But before we noticed it wasn't working, we did notice the satellite TV wasn't working. As soon as the hot tub was fired back up, the satellite went bye-bye. Mark finally made this connection after spending quite some time on the phone with the satellite people. During this conversation, they had him reset the receiver completely. I'll get back to this.

After he hung up, he started to wonder if it was related to the hot tub having been turned back on that day. They had both run simultaneously all this time, but who knows. He then discovered near the breaker box a plug that kept popping out the reset button. When he pressed the button, the satellite would come on for 30 seconds and then the button would pop back out. Eventually we gave up and went to bed, because without TV, what is there to do? (Well, there's knitting and reading and other things, but when you are really tired, those aren't options.)

The next day the TV started working, but I had to turn off the hot tub, which by now hadn't warmed up at all and was making an awful sound. Initially, I wondered who the a-hole neighbor was using such an annoying sounding machine. Then I realized it was us.

Back to the reset problem. Our entire recording to-do list was deleted. When we went back to reset them, it wouldn't let us set several of the shows. You can choose one-time recording or series recording. For instance, American Idol on Wednesdays let us record series, but it didn't pick up Tuesday's like it should. So we tried to set that one too, but it won't let us. It did this with about half of our favorite shows. It said that last night's Idol was set to record, but then it didn't record it.

Oh, and yesterday I waited around all day for the hot tub guy and he never showed up. So now, no TV shows, no hot tub. Life SUCKS.

p.s. hot tub guy just arrived. Life could start to improve!

Did I mention I was productive this weekend?

I got home from work Saturday night around 11 p.m. and then sat down and made these before bed:

I really love this little purse. I got the fabric from the remnants bin for a great price (remnants means it was the end of the bolt and just little pieces left. They then discount it). These two fabrics were just piled in there, but they looked perfect together!


It's not clickable because it was given as a gift, but I still wanted to share it.

I also made this tote. I love the bamboo handles. It was inspired by my friend David's mom, who I have never met. But he was talking about having me make a bag for her for Christmas and then he pointed out some things she liked and I thought this would be the style.


I would name it after her, but I don't even know her name!

Productive weekend

My latest creations, available on my Web site, or click the pictures.

White cable-knit belt:


White brocade purse with pink flowers and a pink butterfly pin:


Polka-dot tote bag:

It's all downhill from here

In the post below, you'll see I got excited about how to fold a T-shirt. In this post, we'll observe my slow descent into Loserville. I definitely am a loser of sorts because I can never remember which hand to make the loser "L" with on my forehead so that the "L" will go the right direction. I have been told that makes me a loser in and of itself.

In this post, I get overly excited about an ironing board. But once you see the picture, perhaps you'll understand:



Mark may get mad that I bought a new, not very cheap ironing board when we already had one that worked, but allow me to present my defense:
1. He doesn't iron. Ever.
2. I do.
3. Pressing is an essential and integral part of sewing. One must press constantly and between every step.
4. This ironing board is much wider than a normal ironing board, and since I do a lot of my pinning on the board, this allows me a greater work space.
5. This ironing board has a holder for the iron -- thus leaving me with more work space.
6. This board has a little bar that folds out to hang shirts, which comes in handy when I iron MARK'S shirts and have to walk each one to the bedroom to hang it as I go. For the record and in Mark's defense, he does pay me to iron his shirts. And I do complain more than necessary despite that.
7. This board has a shelf underneath on which to store my pressing ham and roll. Do you see how snug and comfy they are down there? I can also hang the spray bottle there.

Mark doesn't necessarily understand the importance of these factors, but I'm sure you do. And in all liklihood, he won't even notice that the ironing board is different.

UPDATE: Mark noticed the ironing board the very second he walked into the room. I was not in too much trouble. He appreciated the holder for the iron, at least.

Magic Asian folding lady

What does your t-shirt drawer look like? Admit it. It's a rumpled pile o' cotton ugliness. But now you can learn to fold t-shirts like a pro!



Look -- it works!


OK, but really, I tried it a few more times and it actually was pretty close to working. Except my t-shirts were wadded up in a laundry basket for a week and hers was perfectly ironed.

Job offer!

I have this cool orange and gold brocade skirt for sale. Today, someone contacted me to see if I had more of the fabric because she wanted me to make four of them for her bridesmaids and two dresses for her daughters.
I don't have any more, and I bought it last fall, so I doubt I can find it, but it was a great compliment and sort of a terrifying prospect, as well. It would, at this point, be a lot of pressure for me to make skirts for someone's wedding, and in differing sizes, no less. I don't have pattern grading skills, yet, and I am not sure how I'd approach the whole project, but I think it would have been really cool!
I'm going to go check for the fabric tomorrow, just in case.

Too lazy to write my own blog item

I went to the dentist yesterday and found out I have a cavity. My husband said, "What, are you 10?" Well, "mister I haven't had a cavity in 50 years," I never had a cavity until I became an adult. This is because my mother didn't let us eat crap. Then I rebelled as soon as I became old enough to say, "You're not the boss of me" and not get smacked. Not that my mother beat us.

Anyway, I have a cavity. And it reminded me of my brother's blog item about his recent dentist visit. Here it is, reposted without permission:

Forgive me Doctor for I have sinned, it's been 10 years since my last visit.

Went to the dentist today for "Phase 2" of my cleaning. (Phase one was a cake walk as they only used blunt objects like jackhammers and mallets & chisels).

During my cleaning the nice hygenist said somethings like, "Your gonna go home and eat a steak tonight, or better yet, some liver." Me (with my mouth full) managed a "hugggh?" She replied something along the lines of, "Well with all this blood loss and all." Now, up until this point I thought things had been going pretty good... When she removed the pointy metal things from my mouth I said (concerned), "It's bleeding alot?" She said, "Oh Yeah! Can't you taste it?"

At that point I quietly said, "No." (probably with a worried look on my face) and kind of just sunk back in the chair, stared at the Van Gogh poster on the ceiling, and tried to make myself zone out.

She offered to numb me up (and it was pretty painful) but I decided to tough it out because I like to avoid needles whenever possible. (YES, even though the pain from the needle would have been nothing compared.) Throughout the process she stopped a few times and said, "Are you SURE you don't want anisthetic?" After declining she said, "Ready to finish this?" and I said "Bring it ON! And don't stop until we're done."

I figured if I could zone out for the rest of the session I'd be fine. I guess she knew my strategy because at one point she said, "Are you in your happy place?" and I simply replied, "Ugh-Hugh" feeling like a helpless little kid.

Now, I like my dentist alot. I am very comfortable with them and trust them completely. I've yet to be nervous when going there (which is a BIG change from my childhood) They have magic tools that clean your teeth without most of the scraping I had to deal with 10 years ago. Unfortunately I don't get to dig in the cardboard treasure chest for a reward when I'm done. Man, I used to love getting crappy little toys from there.

I'm the kind of person who would rather get a painful situation overwith instead of stopping every now and then for a rest. I would prefer not to even stop for the spit suction thingy. Lets just take care of business then mop up the blood or hose down the room when were done.

(And the zoning out thing really did work... at one point I snapped out of it and had forgotten what was going on. Then I was like, DAMN... and tried to get back into it.)




(((I'd like to know what those magic tools are. My dentist still uses pointy scrapers)))

Same blog, different name

Burst of Happiness this, Burst of Happiness that. You may have noticed the name and url of this blog have changed. It's no longer Burst of Happiness the blog. It's now Roady Jane.

Here are some FAQ:

Why the change, Robyn?
Well, I just wanted something different. Burst of Happiness is my business, and I sometimes promote it on here and will continue to, but I have a main site, Burst of Happiness, and a Burst of Happiness etsy shop.

Who is Roady Jane?
Take a look to the left. She's my cat and I love her very much.

Is your other cat, Baby Suggs, jealous?
Maybe, but would you want a blog named "Baby Suggs"?

What are some synonyms for Roady?
Here you go:
1. Just a little thing
2. Little angel sent from heaven above
3. Peeker
4. Little precious
5. The tiny one

What does Roady have to do with Burst of Happiness?
Roady has bursts of happiness, and she kind of is the root of the term, invented by my husband.

Aren't you sort of copying Amy's Chickenbone Jones blog by naming it after your pet?
Yes.

Where does the "Jane" come from?
Jane is her middle name. It's rarely used, mostly when she's in trouble. Her full name is Roadcat Jane Vines. Her new dad has yet to formally adopt her. For short I call her Roady. Many people think Roady is short for Roadkill. This is false. She was found in the road once upon a time but is clearly not roadkill.

What else can you tell us about Roady?
She is 14 and just got a checkup and is quite healthy.
She has a spot in her eye, but it just looks weird. It doesn't hurt.
She is the sweetest, friendliest cat you'll ever know, and she can convert even a cat hater.
She's a gray tabby like all the others on the outside, but on the inside, she's like no other.
She hates faces. Don't be offended, she hates mine too, and there are more hideous faces than mine.
She's always cold.

Tote yur stuff, look cute

My latest creation is a Burst of Happiness in itself. It's a very summery flowered and striped bag, in coordinating colors. Flowers on the inside, stripes on the inside. Pockets, magnetic snap, fun colors. What else do you need?

Lies, all lies

Anyone who has ever read a fashion magazine knows there is article after article about how to achieve sexy, tousled hair, like this:


Supposedly, all you have to do is wash it, put in some gel or mousse and then scrunch it while you dry it. And then you have sexy bed-head! Luscious waves! Cascading curls!

I have always wondered why they perpetuate this lie. Does it ever work for anyone? Still, I try it again and again, thinking this time I will miraculously end up a wavy-haired goddess. But this is what I end up looking like:




Don't be hatin', folks, don't be hatin'.

Healthy little kitties

Anyone who knows me knows that my two cats are like children to me. I talk to them constantly and they follow me all around. We're a happy family.
Recently, I've known three people who lost their cats in three weeks. My mom pointed out that her cat hadn't been himself lately. He died a week after he started acting strangely. I noticed Precious Roady hadn't been herself lately. She stays in bed longer, but they are both 14, so I guess that makes them old. I just felt that maybe something was wrong and I should either get it fixed, or consider putting her out of her misery if it was bad. I was really nervous.
Today was vet visit day, and they weren't excited. Everything checked out beautifully. Yay! I've got two super healthy elderly cats, although they'll always be babies to me.

Thank you, Dreamweaver

I have an old version of Dreamweaver, but I have always been too lazy to figure out how to use it. I also thought that programs were for wimps. I prefered to make my Web pages the hard way, through good ol' typing in of the HTML. Well, I was having a horrible time restoring my Web site after the disaster, considering the tables within tables within tables. I couldn't figure out what was what after a while, and everything was doing very strange things.
My brother's coworker suggested using a program and not doing it the hard way, so I tried it and I figured it out quickly. I'm up and running again, so come and visit and buy lots of stuff from me at Burst of Happiness..

Crash and burn

Yesterday, I had a long day at work. I was covering for someone else, so I got off early at 7 p.m. I went to the store and bought some supplies and then went home to make soup. Some time later, the soup was looking lovely. I thought it needed about 5 more minutes of simmering, so I ran upstairs to grab my robe. Then I saw the computer and remembered that I had needed to ftp the index page of my Web site, Burst of Happiness.

For a few weeks, I'd been blaming my brother, who hosts my Web site, for the fact that I couldn't ever get a connection to the server. Meanwhile, I noticed that my ftp program was having increasingly more trouble starting up. I finally decided to uninstall and then reinstall it. Now it worked beautifully (so I guess it was my problem, not my brother's), but when I reuploaded the main page, it was blank.

I went to the html file on my computer and it was EMPTY. Everything was deleted out of it. I have no idea how this could have happened, but it was just gone. I thought I had one last chance -- right before I reuploaded the page, I had been looking at the old version online. I could hit the back button till I got there and then hit "source code" and copy and paste it. Alas, I had closed the browser and reopened it since then. Therefore, I have to start all over writing it.

To make things better, I forgot all about the soup and when I went downstairs, all the liquid was cooked out. I almost started to cry. Somehow, I did salvage it by adding more water, and it tasted pretty good.

They stole my design

I was going to do this for my draping class final.

(The Associated Press)