Happy Holidays!!!

Hi everyone! Wow... I can't believe it has been so long since I posted. Okay, actually I can! It has been a crazy year... moving... my daughter starting Kindergarten... helping out at school... potty training my son... my Etsy shop... the list just goes on and on.

I wanted to pop on quickly to let everyone know I have been working like crazy on new holiday card designs for my Etsy shop. I'd love it if you checked them out here: www.pixelperfectboutique.etsy.com -- just click on the HOLIDAY/SEASONAL CARDS section to see them all! Leave me some comments to let me know what you think!

My custom Jones Soda labels are currently being featured on Your Homebased Parties -- one of my favorite new websites! Leigh Anne has recently started a new party consultant business and let me tell you, she has some fabulous ideas! Be sure to check out her other awesome sites as well... Your Homebased Mom, Homebased Scrapbooker, and if you live in the Portland, Oregon area (boy, I sure wish I did) Homebased Portland for some great things to see, do and eat in the area!

Karyn :o)

My Etsy shop is being featured...

...on this awesome birthday party blog -- Polka Dot Birthday!

Check it out here: http://www.polkadotbirthday.com/2009/05/printable-photo-birthday-invitations.html

This is a fantastic and highly addicting blog dedicated to all things "birthday!" There are party ideas, recipes, tutorials, party favors, clothing, etc. -- everything to help you plan the perfect birthday party! I love it!!! You need to check it out for sure!

As for me... I am finishing up all my packing today for the big move tomorrow. (Have I mentioned how much I HATE moving!?!?!) I hope everything goes smoothly... for my sanity's sake! I should have my computer back up and running by early next week, so I'll post an update then!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Karyn :o)

My Etsy Tteasury!

Hi all! Sorry I've been MIA again! Lots going on -- moving next weekend so I am busy packing, packing, packing! My Etsy shop has been pretty busy lately too, so hooray for me! I just wanted to pop on and do a quickie post to share my latest Etsy treasury -- Beach Bliss!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=59749

I love how it turned out! Please check it out and click on all my selections & leave a comment too if you can! Thanks!!!

I hope you are all enjoying your holiday weekend! I'll be back soon to update everyone on what's been going on here lately!

Karyn :o)

Announcing YouCanQuiltThis.com!!!

My favorite website, YCMT has announced the upcoming launch of their new sister website: YouCanQuiltThis! I am so excited about this new site! I love quilts, and as you know, I am still trying to find the time to get back to work on my quilting project! Having a site dedicated to quilting, in YCMT style, is like a dream come true! Go here and sign up for their newsletter and get some FREE ePatterns while you are at it. You can also sign up to WIN a Janome sewing machine here!!!

Hooray! My Responsibility Charts are Listed!!!

Hi everyone! I am pleased to announce that I have my newest product -- Chore/Responsibility/Behavior charts -- listed in my Etsy shop! They are really great motivational tools for children, and so far I have gotten nothing but positive feedback about them!

You can see them here:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=22195028

Take a look and let me know what you think!

Karyn :o)

New Designs

Hi all! Busy, busy, busy as usual, but I wanted to post a few of my newest designs!

There are 2 new Baby Shower Invitations -- one for a girl and one for a boy. I am very pleased with these new designs! I'm so happy to be designing things for Spring and Summer! The weather has been gorgeous here for about a week and we have been outside every day enjoying it! It has been such an inspiration! Anyway, here are the Baby Shower invites:

AHOY! It's a Boy...



Spring Blossoms for a Girl...



I have also designed this adorable Birthday party Invite for a tropical Luau themed party... I've always wanted to have a luau!!!



Let me know what you all think! Also, I worked on the prototype for my chore charts today and they came out great! I will post them soon to get your opinions!

Have a great day!

Karyn :o)

NEW - St. Patty's Day Design

Just wanted to let all of you know I have a new St. Patrick's Day invitation design listed in my Etsy shop! It's a super cute design... perfect for your "Wearin' o' the green" parties!



Check it out here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=21441898

Karyn :o)

Oooops!!!

So here I am... apologizing again! My poor, neglected blog. Almost a month without a post. I am so embarrassed!!!

It had been a crazy month... wait, on second thought, it is just a crazy life! I didn't name my blog Karmic "Kommotion" for nothing! ;o) It is very fitting for me! I swear, I used to be such an organized, on-the-ball person... and then I had kids. It all went haywire shortly after that!

I have been a busy little bee. First off, I am still doing my Biggest Loser challenge. We are 6 weeks in and I have lost 14.5 lbs. so far, so... yeeeeaaaaa me!!! I have not been working on my quilt at all, but I have been following along to see how the process is going and how the others have been doing. I do plan to get to it one of these days, as well as my many other sewing projects.

Believe it or not, we were struck with the stomach virus AGAIN! And this time, I had it too. It lasted over a week (and it is still lingering a tiny bit) but we are all better for the most part now. The only ones not to get it were my daughter and my brother who was in town visiting from Texas. And where did we pick up this lovely little bug... Disney World!!! We took the kids there for one day to the Magic Kingdom for Jake's first trip. He had such a great time, we are planning another longer trip soon! Can't wait!!!

Other than all that, I have been busy designing. I have several new Birthday Invitation designs listed in my Etsy shop, with many, many more coming soon. I am also very excited because I have decided to branch out my business a little bit more and I will soon be selling coordinating treat bag toppers, address labels and more to offer my clients a whole coordinated party package! I am also starting to design chore charts and will have them listed shortly as well. I just wish I had more hours in the day so I could get it all done faster!

So, that's what's new with me! Sorry it took so long to post an update! Hope everyone is well!

Karyn :o)

History in the Making!

What an exciting day, don't you agree!?! We now have a new President! Did any of you watch the inauguration this morning? I did and I have to admit that it got me all teary-eyed! This is an exciting, historical day for our country and hopefully the beginning of good times ahead!


Yesterday was also an exciting day for me as I sewed a new blanket for my son. Jake is OBSESSED with the movie CARS, and especially Lightning McQueen, so I made him a new snuggly blanket. I sewed it all by myself... without any help from my Mom and no pattern. I know those of you that are really good at sewing won't find it too impressive -- how hard can it be to sew two rectangular pieces of fabric together, right!!! Well for me, a sewing novice, it was a great accomplishment. And Jake LOVED it -- he was beaming ear to ear when I gave it to him and he said "I love it Mommy!" -- aaaaaawwwwww!!! He hasn't put it down since I gave it to him! Here he is showing it off...





It is a cute Cars fabric on one side and the other side is green (his, and my, favorite color) minky fabric. It came out really well and I am now even planning to make a cute girly one for a friend's daughter's 1st Birthday this weekend! It gives me an excellent excuse to go back to the fabric store tomorrow at any rate!


Of course now Kierstyn wants to know when she is getting one too! I explained to her that she is getting to be a big girl and she doesn't need a blankey, so I'll make her something else. I am thinking I will go ahead and try out those Easy Fit pajama pants that I had wanted to get done before Christmas, but never got to!


I still need to catch up on my quilt project and I had intended to get more done last night, but we were having terrible weather and under a tornado watch, so I didn't really feel like it. Maybe tonight!!!


Karyn :o)

Time Flies...

Wow! I am so sorry for not updating sooner! It completely amazes me how fast the days go anymore. I have been super busy the last 2 weeks -- working on new designs for my Etsy shop (check out my link on the sidebar!) and several custom birthday invitations for clients, focusing on my diet, oh, er... I mean, my new healthy lifestyle (DIET is like a 4 letter word to me), dealing with the roller coaster of irrational behavior of the "terrible two's" as exhibited by my son Jake, planning a mini day trip to Disney in a few weeks, scoping out the after-Christmas clearance toy deals at Target, not to mention cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, etc., etc. etc.! Fun, fun, fun! Anyway, I apologize!

As for me and my resolutions, they are going pretty well. So far I have lost 8.5 lbs. since starting my Biggest Loser challenge on January 2nd - yay me! I am behind in my quilt project, but plan to buckle down and get caught up tomorrow (2-year old permitting, of course)! Luckily, it is a "No Stress" project, so I am not sweating it! I know I'll get there! I also have some other crafty projects in the works, so I'll share them when they are done.

I think I need to add another resolution -- to keep up with my blog better! I am really enjoying blogging and I look forward to keeping it up and having fun with it! I am also planning to have some fun contests in the future too, so watch for those! Who knew it would be so addictive?!?

So, I think that pretty much sums it up. I feel like I am forgetting something (other than the fact that today was my brother-in-law's birthday -- sorry Sean!) but I can't figure it out! Oh well, maybe it'll come to me later!

Type at'cha again soon!

Karyn :o)

So Far, So Good!

So, it's Day 2 of my Biggest Loser Challenge and I am off to a good start! Both yesterday and today I ate really healthy, watched my portions and got in 30 minutes of cardio. I am proud of myself so far!!! One resolution off to a great start!

Resolution #2 -- as per my previous post, I mentioned that I wanted to keep sewing. Sooooo, I have decided to start a new project. A quilt!!! Pretty risque for a novice at sewing, eh?

Kim from www.youcanmakethis.com is looking for some sewing buddies to sew along with her on a simple quilt and I decided to go for it! You can read about it here: http://ycmt.wordpress.com/ -- I am kinda nervous but super excited at the same time. I am looking forward to seeing what I can do -- following Kim's instruction of course!!!

So stay tuned for all the exciting details and to see how I continue to do with my resolutions!

Karyn

Happy New Year!

I am so sorry that I have been MIA for the past couple of weeks! Unfortunately, my Grandfather passed away on Christmas morning and it made the holidays a bit more stressful than usual.

For those wondering, everyone loved all of my handmade gifts this year. Because of my Grandfather's ailing health the last few days before Christmas, I did not get everything accomplished that I had wanted to, but I made way more than I ever would have if I hadn't been part of the challenge, so I an thankful for that! Being part of the challenge has re-ignited my passion for crafting, so one of my resolutions for this year is to do more... especially sewing!

On to another resolution for this year... believe it or not, I am now taking part in a new challenge! A challenge to lose weight and get healthy for the new year... and the rest of my life. I have gained so much weight since having my kids and I have been so unhappy about it for such a long time! I am taking part in a "Biggest Loser" challenge over the next 12 weeks with a group of ladies from a Mommy forum that I am part of. My goal over the next 12 weeks is to lose 30 pounds. After the 12 weeks is over, I would like to lose about 16-18 more to get back to my old pre-baby, pre-husband weight! LOL!

I will post my progress here on my blog so that you all can help cheer me along! I can use all the encouragement I can get!!! I have never been this heavy before and never had so much weight to lose, but I know that I can do it. Being part of this new challenge will be fun, challenging and exciting!

Thanks for catching up with me! I hope you are all well and I wish you all a Happy, Healthy & Safe New Year!

Karyn