Item of the year!

As we count down the days until 2009 is complete, we must face a stark reality: we have not found a crystal squirrel this year. As upsetting as this may be, there are many other wonderful finds we have been blessed with this year on our hunt. I present to you the find of the year:

An Eight-year Old Girl's Dream Come True

Where the magic happens

Hello Fellow Hunters!
First I want to give a shout to my bf who got back from Iraq about 2 weeks ago. Finally!
I know it has been way too long since we've blogged but that doesn't mean we haven't been making progress on the Crystal Squirrel. In fact, today we saw the first paying customer! Thanks to co-worker Meredith, we are in business.
I will admit that I have been slacking on production but I am doing my best to catch up. Since I don't have a lot of new stuff to showcase, I will use this blog to tell about my sewing work space. Keels and I each have a room in our house designated to squirreling (we've coined that word BTW). My room just happens to also be what normal people would use as their dining room. It even has a dining room table which has turned into a sewing table. The table itself has a story.
The red and chrome retro style table with 4 matching chairs that have seen better days used to be the kitchen table at my grandparent's cabin in Wisconsin. The cabin was built in the late 60s by my grandpa and other relatives. It is a beautiful cabin that sits on a hill overlooking Thunder Lake. My fondest childhood memories happened at that cabin. My grandma's side of the family is quite large and all live very close to each other so we used to spend a lot of time together. Most weekends my cousins and I would pile into the car with various aunts and uncles and second cousins and head up to the cabin which was less than an hour drive.The cabin was three stories with a huge open living room and dining area, windows lining the wall of the middle story. Two bedrooms and one large loft area with about 8 beds. The beds were actually just mattresses piled on each other, maybe a box spring, maybe a frame. My cousins and I had names for each of the beds. Usually the name referred to the color of the comforter or blanket that covered the bed, but I remember that our favorite was the middle bed that was about 3 mattresses high. We always tried to 'call' beds when we got up to the cabin for the weekend. I could go on and on about this cabin.
When I asked my grandma where all the stuff in the cabin came from, she told me that they didn't buy barely anything new for the cabin, they got it all from relatives who had extra dishes or furniture or from garage sales (this is where I get part of my thriftiness from). I can't remember exactly where the table came from but knowing my grandma, it is probably written on the underside of the table somewhere. She likes to document things like that, usually on a piece of her famous orange tape. Well years went on and times changed and my grandparent's decided to sell the cabin when I was a teenager. I was able to get a few of the items from the cabin like dishes and a pillow or two but I didn't get the table until I moved into the house I live in now which was about 2 years ago.
My aunt had the table at her house in a shed because she didn't have a place for it. She offered it to me and I gladly accepted. I had to clean it up quite a bit because it had dirt and rust and spider webs on it. It is not in perfect condition even now but I like it better that way. Now I get to sew at that table and remember all the great times I had at the cabin.You can see that my table is full of scraps and tools and other necessary items... My aunt, who taught my everything I know about sewing, instilled in me the idea that you should not throw anything (scraps) away because you can always find a way to use it. I don't know if I agree with that but I still follow it so now I am accumulating little piles of scraps all over.
Since this room is a dining room, it is only natural that there is a boxspring in it. Well, actually that's not natural but it is reality. My roommate was going to put it in storage but instead it is in the dining room. So I started using it as a clothing rack to showcase finished products.The room does not have a lot for decoration but it doesn't need a lot when it has this gem. This frame art is titled 'Things we have made' and it is a piece of construction paper with a list of things Keels and I have made and can potentially make for the CS. Essentially, this paper is the birth of the Crystal Squirrel.

Claaaaaassic Crystal Squirrel

Mike & Joanie: our new best friends

Another weekend of hunting for the crystal squirrels. This time we ventured farther than ever before. It was a land called Eastern North Carolina. It was an adventure to say the least. It started with a trip through Rocky Mount onward to Williamston then Edenton and ending in Elizabeth City. Keels and I treated ourselves to a gourmet meal of Little Caesar's and Fruit by the Foot.

We found a few good finds at a local thrift store conveniently located next to the Little Caesar's. Then we headed home. Lucky for us, it was daytime and we got to see all of the things we missed in the dark the night before. We made a pit stop in Tarboro and thankfully it was September 26th, Historic Day in Tarboro. Not sure what the ship had to do with the Civil War, but maybe I'm just not up on my history.

We spent Saturday night like true businesswomen, sewing and planning our future endeavor. We decided one more trip to the flea market was necessary. It is going to be closed for a month while the State Fair takes over. I found this cute little metal UNC box that I managed to buy for $4 from a man with a missing tooth.We didn't buy anything else that day but we got some good ideas about our next step in the business plan. We made our weekly trip to Michael's to get some paint and inspiration. We got more than we could have dreamed of. We stumbled upon our new (possibly temporary, maybe permanent) logo. Say hello to the Crystal Squirrel.And here is one of the product offerings that the Crystal Squirrel has for you. One side is a men's shirt and the other is a t-shirt. holler!

Construction Paper Business Plans

The Crystal Squirrel is on it's way towards fruition! This week has been a huge leap for the squirrel in becoming more than a dream on a pink piece of construction paper. We are expanding our product line by the day and will be debuting our line at the Raleigh Flea Market in November! Get ready!

On the Edge of Edgecombe County

There is a special place in eastern North Carolina just past Rocky Mount and right before Tarborro where for a brief moment you are on the Edge of Edgecombe county. This weekend, Ging and I had the pleasure of passing through when took a spontaneous trip to country roads of the eastern part of the state. I was going to Williamston to volunteer Friday night and like the good friend and business partner she is, Gina came along for the adventure. After stopping in Williamston to do some good, we ventured on through Edenton and then on to our final destination Elizabeth City. After treating ourselves to the "fancy" hotel, we spent the day scrummaging around the metropolis of the king's daughter. We found the Children's Hospital of the King's Daughter thrift store like a moth to a flame. After purchasing four men's shirts and a cute little white chair, we found ourselves at the Colonial Restaurant, where apparently, roosters are in and crazy old ladies are even more in fad. A grill cheese and a mysterious pitcher of sugar later, we headed back west. 

On our drive back we were getting increasingly excited about passing through the Edge of Edgecombe county again, when alas, there was a sign on the highway warning us of "event traffic." Naturally, we went against the sign's advice and took the exit. And it is a good thing we did because it just so happens that it was "Historic Day" in Tarborro, NC and from what the owner of the antique store on Main Street said - it is a big deal. Imagine this - two girls in an old blue car named Linus talking about the Civil War and looking at beautiful old southern homes when suddenly they turn a corner and BAM there are children reenacting the Civil War. Yes, children dressed up like confederate soldiers chasing each other with guns (and my personal favorite, one rather large child wearing real camo, apparently no one was a stickler about historical accuracy).  

So thank you eastern NC because now we have a country music  department at the Crystal Squirrel and thanks to Edgecombe County - our first single is bound to be a huge hit.

i've spent an hour trying to think of a good title

My couch & chair were delivered today! Well, it's hanging out at Keels' place for a while but here it is!Thanks to Ben from the Bargain Barn, I have new furniture!