Salem Cottage Shoppe -coming soon!

Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve liked arts and crafts. My Aunt Bunny and I made Christmas presents every year. I remember one year making reindeer ornaments out of glass balls and felt. I still have the hot glue gun scars. I start projects with every intention of finishing them before the holiday season which ends with mixed results. The afghan I started last fall for my grandparents is still only half done.

At this current moment, my kitchen qualifies for federal disaster relief (12 days till Alice deadline – I’m not stressed). The counter is covered with cornstarch and food colouring. The table is buried under mixing bowls and jars. At least the kitchen items are grouped by project which is far more than I can say about the renegades scattered throughout my flat. 

The counters are lost to an experiment in homemade sidewalk chalk. Somehow, I don’t foresee getting my security deposit back. I’m convinced I did something wrong, even though it involved mixing literally three ingredients. Ratios.  I’m turning the first batch over to my nephews for product testing. Their mother is not going to be happy with Aunt Tatum.

The jar cookies stand a much better chance of not ending in disaster, I think. How hard can it be to layer things? So far, the difficult part has been coming up with recipes that are unique but not too weird. Also, finding 32 oz jars has been a mission, but find them I did. I bought 2 cases to start with. Later tonight, I’ll be printing recipes to glue onto the pretty cardstock to be tied to the jars with the pretty black ribbon. I should have gotten glue sticks. 

Why the sudden urge to be crafty? Simple: Mama be broke. I’m a writer and while it sounds glamorous as Paris in the 20’s its more often like the Oklahoma in the 30s. Since I’ve gotten more serious about writing, I’ve had to come up with ways to support it. My day job covers all else, but this, the one thing that really drives me. I’m told the self-publishing route is not as expensive as I’ve been lead to believe. However, my mother taught me to always have plans A-D in place. 

With that said, I’ll be at the Raleigh Flea Market at a table called the Salem Cottage Shoppe. I don’t know where exactly on the grounds it will be located, but look for me in two weeks. I’ll post more information once I have it, but I’ll love to see all of your smiling faces at the booth. There will be jar cookies, sidewalk chalk, aprons (one size fits most) and order forms for custom crochet Granny square blankets.