Welcome Penelope!

Penelope Elizabeth Ringia Was born this past Monday, July 25th.

I have another beautiful amazing daughter, Autumn, who is about 2 1/2, and I am absolutely amazed by how different the birth of Penelope was.

Sunday evening, or in reality, very early Monday morning, I woke up to go to the bathroom and my water broke.

I wasn't really sure what had happened, because I was under the impression that when your water breaks it is pretty obvious. It was almost more like I peed myself, and then continued to expel fluid for about an hour.

I had not had any noticeable contractions before my water broke in this pregnancy, and they did not start immediately after it broke, so I was not really sure what to do... so I called my mom, who just happened to be at the airport waiting to fly back to her home in Savannah.

My husband called the hospital, and they told me to come in within 6 hours or when I started having contractions.

I had an order that needed to be rushed, so I went ahead and printed that while I was waiting to start having contractions, and before I got it packaged I started having contractions. I quickly finished packaging the order and called my dad. I dropped the package off in the mailbox and my husband and I drove my daughter to my dad's house.

My mom decided to stay in Albuquerque a few more days to meet my new daughter and I was lucky enough to have my mom at the hospital with me. Only my husband and the hospital staff were in the room for delivery because that is what I was comfortable with, but it was really wonderful to have my mom there for so much of the process.

She was at the hospital for the entire labor and delivery process and kept us company for various parts of Penelope's birth. She was in the room when I called for the epidural and left when they administered the epidural. A few hours later, after a nap she came back and she was really impressed with the difference the epidural made :)

The delivery was easy and fast, and I had a successful VBAC.

I had my other daughter Autumn Via emergency C-Section and it was much more stressful. I never actually went into labor with Autumn, and I was really worried I wouldn't know when I went into labor with Penelope. When Autumn was two weeks past due I went to the hospital to be induced. I was 8cm dilated when I had the epidural and it was only starting to become painful at that time, but the contractions never felt anything like what they felt like with Penelope. Autumn was not positioned correctly and after 17 hours of labor I was whisked away for an emergency cesarean. The recovery for Autumn didn't really feel that hard, but in comparison I feel really great after this pregnancy. Recovery is MUCH easier after a vaginal birth.

I also am having much better luck breast feeding this time around. I know it is much harder to breastfeed after a cesarean, but I am sure that the hours spent with lactation consultants when I had Autumn probably helped a lot this time around.

I was surprised to have to stay in the hospital for 24 hours after Penelope was born, I guess I felt so great that I thought I should be able to go home right away.

I was released from the hospital in the afternoon on the 26th, and it was really wonderful to come home to my mom and my beautiful daughter Autumn. I have spent the past few days relaxing and recovering with my family and finally started production again for Caustic Threads. I have several orders that I will be slowly catching up on, and will reopen shop when I have all of my current orders (including my wholesale orders) complete.

I don't expect to be finished and back in full swing especially quickly, as I have more important things to tend to.










(The beautiful blanket in many pictures was made by Angela, her etsy store is http://www.etsy.com/shop/allthingsgranny )

It's July Already?!?

Hello!

This year has flown by for me. It has been a hectic whirlwind, and....

I'm tired.

It is so amazing that little Penelope will be here soon, and I am clearly nesting. I made new curtains and some decorative pillows for Autumn and Penelope's room, and re-coverd the rocking chair that we got in a very impractical light color because I am to frugal to spend twice as much on the same thing in a dark practical color.

I like how it turned out, I think it is cute. The pillows and curtains match, and the cushions are actually reversible. It was also a pretty easy thing to do that really made the chair look much better. The cream was a beautiful color, but not appropriate for an item used by a baby or a toddler. It is kind of like white and pastel baby clothes- which for some reason are available in abundance- but not good for more than a few wears because they get so stained. Which makes me want to run off on a tangent about baby clothes, but I guess I have digressed enough. Back to nesting.... I also really want to replace autumns bed. She has been sleeping on a futon mattress, because although her crib turned into a toddler bed, she does not like sleeping in it because it is a "baby bed".

Since we have another baby coming, we will certainly be keeping the crib, but it is really crowded in there with a futon mattress on the floor, so I would like to get autumn a proper bed. Either a toddler bed, or a proper twin bed... or what would be really cool would be to build her a loft that can be transformed into bunk beds later. I have a cool design in mind, that includes turning the bottom portion into a playhouse. Adam is not a fan of this idea, since it is likely that he would be making it. I also really want to paint the walls in thier room.

Oh... and the carpet... I want to steam clean the carpet- but not just in autumns room... in the whole house.

I am also finding that when I am working on orders for Caustic Threads, my mind is really wandering. I have so many fun items I want to make for autumn and Penelope, that it is hard to stay on task. Despite this, it seems like I am doing a better job of juggling orders, helping my dad at the shop, and taking care of Autumn, I just wish I had a little more free time to spend with Adam and Autumn.

Autumn has been pretty difficult lately. I am not sure if it is because there is a new baby coming, or because she gets less attention from me now that I am a little overloaded. It is probably a combination of things. I know why kids this age are so damn melt-your-heart CUTE at this age though.

Finally, speaking of being overloaded, Caustic Threads had a record month in June. Amazing. It was the best month ever, we even beat December of last year. It is exciting, and gratifying. I am not sure what kind of goal I should have for July though. Not only do I think expecting to beat June is a little unrealistic as far as actual sales are concerned, but with a new baby I know that the amount of work I am able to do right after she penelope is born will be limited too.

And to say Adieu, here is my newest design in Caustic Threads.

Tiger RAWR Onesie $14.00

Have an excellent weekend!

♥Erica

So, in the news… Erica is due at the end of July with (odds are) baby girl number 2.

This is exciting, as it will:

1. Give Autumn a moving toy to play with for the foreseeable future.

2. Fulfill replacement value reproduction

3. Reward the parents with a tax break

4. Be another cute child

5. Give the grandparents something new to talk about

This is less exciting because it will require:

1. The purchase of Diapers for a few more years

2. Another baby seat, filling the car completely

3. Tolerance of house being a disaster for additional years

4. More of Mommies time, leaving less for Daddy

5. And will reduce the number of hours that Daddy can sleep

Generally, blacksmith shops are not considered very baby friendly environments. Carpentry shops are almost as bad. And Blade smith shops the worst of both worlds, plus some sharp edges.

I don’t know why, but people seem concerned about mixing a child (or children) with limited hand to eye coordination with a scattered and disorganized pile of blades you could shave with. Go figure.

I don’t think that I have ever seen Autumn hold a knife the wrong way, and she knew what they were and what they were called before she was 2.

I keep her out of the shop mostly because I don’t have protective gear small enough and she doesn’t like to wear it when it falls off like that. Also because she makes it more likely that I will hurt myself due to the distraction.

At least she can’t really open the door to the shop while I am working yet. But I can’t imagine that day is too far away. Sigh.

And here are some recent pictures of Autumn, since I was talking about her...

With her brand new big girl skates!

And again...

and just waking up from a nap...

Happy New Year!

Lets start the new year with a look back! So much happened it is hard to remember everything! It feels like the days passed in seconds and I expect this next year to be equally busy.

This past year I was travel team captain for The Munecas Muertas roller derby team along with my friend Killer Queen. That was one of the most interesting and challenging experiences ever. I probably should not have run, but had so many people tell me they thought I would be good at it that I ran anyway. I am not one of those people who loves power, or leading things, or anything like that. I am even kind of shy, so the whole experience was way outside of my comfort zone, and the job came with a ton of paperwork. BOOOORRRIIINNNG. I became pregnant, about two months before the season ended so I removed myself from the travel team and then almost as soon as it was too late to put myself on for the last tourney, I had a miscarriage. I had a dream recently that the current travel team went to nationals! That would be so exciting!

I also opened my store, Caustic Threads, on etsy. ( http://www.etsy.com/shop/CausticThreads ) I started my account at the end of last year, but didn't actually list anything until April of last year, and since I have started listing things I have been really thrilled with how things have been going in that store. I have another store where My husband and I sell other items that we love to make, mostly Fine Art and Knives. That store is called Acrylic and Steel ( http://www.etsy.com/shop/AcrylicAndSteel ), and have to admit it has been pretty neglected since Caustic opened.

Those are the two things that stand out the most, but I also: had my gall bladder removed, started selling items on consignment, had a pregnancy, and a miscarriage, started running, lost 35 pounds, gained 40 pounds, had my blood tested A LOT, stopped eating corn syrup,traveled all around the US, played a lot of roller derby, had a great time with my husband Adam and daughter Autumn (pictured above) , went to visit my mom, laughed, cried and loved.

It has been quite a year.

I am also very excited because I am pregnant again, and things seem to be going well.

Thanks For visiting!

♥ Erica

NEW CAUSTIC THREADS:

• 
  dia de los muertos Sugar S...

  CausticThrea...
  $14.00 USD
• 
  Long Sleeved Cruiser Bicyc...

  CausticThrea...
  $22.00 USD
• 
  Sugar Skull with rhineston...

  CausticThrea...
  $12.00 USD
• 
  Key to my Heart Skeleton k...

  CausticThrea...
  $3.50 USD
• 
  Womens Octopus cotton tee...

  CausticThrea...
  $18.00 USD
• 
  Crochet Love ladies Tee Sh...

  CausticThrea...
  $18.00 USD

Last week we did something new and very fun, we too autumn to her first pixie class at the place that was once roller king. She is the one in the green shirt sitting OUTSIDE the big circle. I am pretty sure that at barely two she was the youngest one there, and I was surprised at how well behaved she was. She had a lot of fun and I plan to bike her up there tomorrow for the pixie class.

This weekend was very eventful, on Friday Adam's mom came into town via train, which sounds like a great treat. My brother was also in town from Las Cruses so it was really a big treat for me to be able to see him. We all went out to dinner Friday.

On Saturday we almost went to Old Town because Adam and I both enjoy it and thought his mom would enjoy it but she said she would rather go to the zoo after sleeping on it. I am very glad she stated an opinion because there are few things more annoying than a guest that isn't enjoying themselves or cant tell you what they want when you ask them. The Zoo was fun, and we got through about half of it before Autumn got tired and we were ready for lunch.

After that we went to the Tram to take it up Sandia Crest but it was closed for annual maintenance. Isn't that amazing? it closes once a year and it happens to be closed now. We ended up driving up to the top instead, and got there right around sunset. It was freezing and we headed back down the mountain. Before we got to the bottom I had a miserable cold, which I have since recovered from, and Autumn is now ailed with.

Sunday November 14th was Autumns second birthday. Last year we threw a huge party, but we kept things a little simpler this year. We ordered a pizza and some salads from dions and the grandparents came to out house. There was a huge social gaffe committed by a grandparent and it took a second for me to pick my jaw up off the floor. I only know what Adam thought about it because I didn't ask anyone else about it, and actually I think HE brought it up to me. I was glad that everyone at least appeared unaffected by it because it could have potentially elevated to a very unpleasant situation. Maybe I am too American or something. I know there are many other countries that are more open about some things, but I was very upset by it.

meh, family. You cant live with them, and thank god that as Adults we don't have to, but life would be far more dreary without them.

Autumn had fun either way, and she got lots of fun presents from Adam and I and the grandparents.

Mary, Adams mom, went home on Tuesday. I hope she enjoyed the train home as much as she enjoyed the train trip here.

and this is the new screen I burned this week, a Dinosaur. It is oddly unisex. It is blue, but the dino has flowers and hearts.

and I bought these super cute and cozy arm warmers from my friend Tracy at www.babynest.etys.com .

See you all later, I hope to post sooner than later, but I will be back next Wednesday if not sooner.

♥Erica

Adventures in T-shirt land:from the workbench

I recently sent out an order to the owner of ISLAND GIRL in Catalina, California. I hope she loves her shirts and they sell well in her store.

I sent her 15 of these, three in each size, and matching arm warmers.

I also thought this would be an awesome Item for her next order:

My thought was that the wings would actually be in burn out, not silver and the shirt would be a light blue. It isn't a totally random suggestion, she has expressed interest both in wings and in the skully heart design.

I am hoping to also get another new wholesale account, it is for a store that specializes in Roller Derby merchandise! I think it would be really fun!

This is my new design of the week, both are brand new screens. The skully heart art is not new, just the screen. This screen is a little smaller than the other one and the colors are inverted.... Right now I have a bunch of screens I want to burn.

I want to do a smaller set of wings for onesies and children's shirts, as well as some text to go on the front. I also want to reburn a few screens that have very fine lines and are hard to print. I think I should invert more designs, especially some of the ones with VERY fine lines, like my revolver screen, and for new art I plan on drawing a dinosaur. lately that has seemed very important.

and something else that is VERY VERY IMPORTANT:

Pictures of my lovely daughter Autumn. She is turning 2 this weekend!

I promised her she could watch a cartoon or two if she let me finish this post, so I guess it is time to turn the computer over to her for a little while... besides, I have 8 dresses that are VERY quickly approaching deadlines.

See you soon!

♥Erica

Adventures in T-shirt land:New Packaging

First off, here are some pictures of autumn in her Halloween costume.

If you ask her what she was for Halloween she says "pumpkin face"

And every morning since halloween she wakes up and the first thing she says is "Halloween?"

So, this would usually be my workshop post, but I don't have many good "in progress"pictures. I am working on some new things, that aren't ready to be photographed, and then there are the same projects I have been working on, but the details are not very interesting, and there are a few graphic design things I am working on... which has been a little daunting. Sometimes I wish GIMP were a little more like photoshop, I am trained in photoshop- but alas, gimp is free.

One thing I am working on that I can show you is my packaging. I am trying to come up with a new way to package my items because I have discovered that what I am doing becomes very time consuming when I am mailing several packages a day.

Right now I am wrapping most of my orders in tissue, tying a ribbon around them

and putting a label on the back. My pillows don't fit in tissue, and I do something extra special for bearing necklaces. I use solid tissue most of the time, but I have not restocked since I am trying to come up with something new.

Since I usually feel like I am fighting time in the morning when I am getting my packages ready to ship, I am trying to come up with a professional looking way to package my items that takes much less time. I am pretty sure I have settled on shipping in brown paper bags with either my logo or any of my other designs screen printed on them, and then sealing with a thank you label.

how do you package your items to ship?

I got an email from the owner of stilo lifestyle today and I will be getting my first consignment check this week! WOOO. I also need to replenish some items, so that is awesome !

I hope everyone is having a lovely week!

xoxo!

♥Erica

We had a fun and busy weekend around here, which is usual. I was hoping to have pictures of autumn in her costume to share with you all, but, I dont. The only pictures we took were on Adams new fancy smart phone. I played in the duke city derby championship bout on Saturday. My team lost but I felt like I played really well and I had a lot of fun.

On Sunday I fit the last girl for the damas dresses I am making. She was about a half an hour late, after not showing up at all for the scheduled fitting. I am not annoyed with the girl of corse, it is not her fault, it was her mother that caused her to be late and also to not show up for the scheduled fitting but it really bothers me that she wasted my time like that. I am already offering these girls a STEAL as a gift for my old co-workers daughter, so I am annoyed that she was so disrespectful of my time. After that we took Autumn trick or treating and that was soooo much fun! she was so cute! I will get some pictures soon!

Autumns birthday is coming up, here are some great handmade items that are inspired by autumns birthday:

• 

  Sweet Vanilla and Confetti...

  BiscottiQuee...

  $8.49 USD

• 

  BIRTHDAY PRINCESS RIBBON

  Joosycardco

  $5.00 USD

• 

  Swing high, in the sky. 4...

  ibitelikeamo...

  $14.99 USD

• 

  Ballet Baby Booties Amy Bu...

  BriannaBeans...

  $18.00 USD

ok, hopefully I will have something good to write about later this week!

take care!

♥Erica