Wisdom of the Day

"If you want to feel rich, just count all the things that you have that money can't buy"

Tagged

I have been tagged by my bloggy friend Prasti at Here to There to do this bloggidy fun!!
Here are 6 random things about me (These will confirm to you all that I am indeed a freak)


1. I do not like balloons, they are unatural and I cringe when kids have them because then they are sure to pop which scares the crap out of me! To torture me in college my sorority sisters would hide balloons in my bed and since I was on the top bunk I didn't know they were there till I climbed up on the bed.


2. I don't mind being under 5 foot until I need to reach something on the top shelf or something happens like when my sorority sisters store my towels when I was showering, fully knowing that I was too short to reach the curtain rod to remove the curtain down to cover myself. They only gave it back when I threatened to come out in my birthday suit!


3. If I had super powers I am pretty sure that I would be on the bad side! (Is this bad considering that my husband is a police officer?)


4. I hate eating chicken, the mere thought of it makes me what to heave. I only eat chicken in fake forms like chicken wings and nuggets. Chicken that has been just baked with no coating is especially gross to me. Now give me a mdium rare steak and then we will talk!


5. I want to live in Maine. It is ideal weather, I love the sea, and lobster is on my "if I could eat it everyday foods". I peruse travel catalogs and imagine myself buying a house and a boat there that is all weather worn with a beautiful garden.


6. I would much rather talk to someone in person or over the phone than email. I can never tell a person's tone from an email and love the back and forth that goes with conversation.


Now that your fears that you are friends with a freak are confirmed here are the rules for the meme:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write 6 random things about yourself.
4. Tag more or less 6 people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know he or she has been tagged.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.


here are the folks i'm tagging:
J.Leigh Designs
Bloggin It Up
Moxylyn
Wendolonia
How About Orange

Giveaway!!!!

To celebrate my great month on Etsy I am going to give away your choice of either 250 Mommy/Family cards or 20 invitations/baby announcements. Both items are pro-printed, full color, and the invites will come with matching envelopes. The invitations can be for a baby shower, a birthday, or an upcoming holiday celebration, whatever you need them for.

Just leave a comment with what item you would like and how winning it would make you happy! I will do the drawing this Friday and will announce the winner on Saturday morning.

(Only one comment per person please, make sure you leave contact information. If the winner does not respond in 2 days a new winner will be chosen. )

Happy Birthday AJ

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!!!!

Today we just kept it low key and celebrated AJ's birthday with lunch in Ashland with Klint's family and then dinner at Auntie Carena's complete with cheesecake! AJ got a whole bunch of really nice present including some new dolls, a Cabbage Patch doll (a tradition of ours), a dollhouse bookcase from Klint and I, and tons of great books. She didn't really destroy the cake as we were hoping she would, being a true fan of food most of it landed in her mouth neatly. (Waste not is her motto!)

New Listing on Etsy

A couple people have asked me whether I do birth announcements so I decided to give them a try!! Here are some designs for my store:

Surf's Up Sunday- AJ's Picks

Well, it is the one week countdown to AJ's first birthday. We had a small get together with family yesterday to celebrate since her birthday is next Friday which was a lot of fun. She got lots of baby dolls and books, her two favorite things, along with some fabulous clothes. What a little princess!

Here are AJ's picks of the week for this edition of Surf's Up Sunday!!

And finally I have to share the awesome scrapbook that was made for AJ by a very talented Etsy artist: J. Leigh Designz!!! I can't wait to add pics to it tonight... very beautiful work!!

More pics can be found on her blog: J. Leigh Designz

(I did her blog banner!!!)

100 Posts!

"Why do so many.... settle for so little? I don't understand why they're
not greedy for what's inside them." - Jack Gilbert

This quote fits perfectly for my 100th post! So many things have changed in my life since I started this blog, none of them I regret. I told someone back in January that I would give anything to be at home with my girls, to dance again, and to have my own business. And now, thanks to a leap of faith (that initially failed) I have all of that and so much more. If that friend would have told me that it was possible I never would have believed her, like Dorothy, it was something that I had to figure out for myself.

I hope that each of you can find it in yourself to really stretch your wings and reach for the impossible. What is the point of living if you spend 8 hours of your day at a place you despise, doing something you care nothing about, dreaming of better things? That is not living my friends. Don't settle, just go for it!

New Projects Abound!

So for those of you who truly know me you know that I bounce from projects and interest pretty quick. I like to change things up a lot and can't stand repetitive things that require the skills of a trained monkey to complete. I also love to learn new skills and to try new ways of doing things, even if they don't make sense initially. I have found that if something works, go for it, don't fight it.

Well here are some new projects that I am working on!

1. Resin Jewelry: This is a hot thing on Etsy and I was really skeptical to try it but so far so good... no reports of blindness or skin rashes. Here is the tutorial that I used to guide me, plus a kit that I bought from PatCatans. I will share pics as soon as the pieces are done hardening.

2. Chalkboard Paint: I really love the idea behind chalkboard paint and can't wait to complete the project this weekend in the girl's room. AJ is a natural troublemaker so writing on the walls isn't a farfetch. At least now she will have an area of her room to draw on and it will be ok, plus chalk is pretty easy to clean up.

3. Learning how to sew- This is a dream project meaning that I have every intention of learning but each time I think of how easier it is to use stitch-witchery or fabric glue and put the machine back. I have downloaded cute patterns for bags and pillows... even picked out fabric. Curtains are about all I can manage right now though. I would love to make an apron one day.... anyone want to trade skills? =)

Surf's Up Saturday- The Apple of My Eye

Fall is here!!! I love it more than mere words can descibe. The promise of cool nights with candles aglow, warm apple pies, crisp breezes, and colorful foliage all around me. This is the thing that keeps me going all summer long through those dreadfully humid days. (Well that and fair food!) So here's to apples, pumpkins, and fall... may it last longer than a few weeks!

Here is a simple apple crafts that is perfect for a last minute fall getogether: take 12 apples, bob them in water to see how each floats, mark a dot at the top that is floating, take the apples out of the water and trace a tea light over the dot, cut as deep as the tealight all the way around, dab some orange juice where the cut is so the apple does not brown (lemon juice works as well), pop the tealights in and viola! Instant center piece. You can also just put the apples in a pretty non-flammable bowl on a table for an inside party. Picture above is from Martha Stewart Living

Here is a great craft from Wondertime... a fave site of mine for cute crafts... see the flower tees from before! Submerge a peeled apple for about 5 minutes in water with 2 tablespoons of salt and the juice from one lemon. Then use a skewer to carve eyes, a nose, and a mouth. The bigger the features, the more dramatic the outcome. Set the carved apple in a warm spot and watch the face of your wise friend emerge over the next two weeks.

Isn't this beautiful?! Yet another work of art from a very talented Etsy seller- IronOakForge

This room by Pottery Barn inspires me sooo much... I love quilts that look like this... the color of the foot stool is awesome as well!

AJ's new tee shirt.... the girl loves her dollies! Made by Ellabee- very cool tees!

Craft of the week- Button Bracelet

Although we did many crafts this week, this is one of my favorites to do with Gabby. It does involve lacing string through button holes though so unless you child can do this you may have o do most of the actual work yourself.


Supplies:
elastic cord
buttons


How To:
Cut some cord to wrap two times around the wrist. Thread the cord through the button holes, keeping the buttons overlapping. For four hole buttons, criss-cross the cord. It is easier if you flip the bracelet over every other button. The nice thing is that the buttons don't slide off so it is easy to keep them in place. Once you are done then you can either tie it off a couple times, or you can use a crimp bead to secure the cord. Easy as that!!

Is it just me? WARNING: May cause uncontrollable laughing!

Or is there something really wrong about these high heels for babies? I love shoes, LOVE them... but really? High Heels?! And the sad part is that there is some fashionista somewhere toting a baby around in them....

Find them and other quirkiness at Spoon Sisters!

Wordless Wednesday- When we were only three...

When Little Feet Move Mountains

AJ took her first steps today. Those wonderful, clumsy, hopeful steps away from her daddy towards me, arms out, dolly in hand. I was so excited and we could tell she was too, from the mile wide grin on her little face. She knows that she did something special. I am so excited for her, but of course sad that she is growing up so fast. Doesn't it seem only a few moments ago that she was being taken away from me in an incubator and ambulance, to the NICU since she came a little too early? Seeing her tiny arms poked and hoping that today is the day that she can breathe all by herself? And here she is, in front of me, dragging a doll and trying to get to her sister's toys.
You will move mountains baby!

A lil bit of randomness

Ok, here is some randomness from yours truly. First off, Gabby and I tried a cute art/science project from Wondertime magazine. Basically you take a plain white tee, add some cute sharpie dots, a little bit of rubbing alcohol, and voila! Cute tee!!!

Here are the better directions:

1. Cover your work surface with newspaper: Choose a picnic table outdoors (ideal), or a spot indoors near an open window, as the alcohol can be fumey. (It's flammable, too, so stay away from heat sources.)
2. Lay the T-shirt flat on the work surface, then slip the cup inside the shirt from the bottom, standing the cup upright in the place you'd like to start decorating. Stretch the rubber band over the T-shirt and the rim of the cup, pulling the T-shirt taut.
3. Put the bottle cap in the center of the stretched fabric. Have your child use a marker to make a circle of dots around the bottle cap, keeping the dots fairly close to the cap.
4. Remove the bottle cap. Using the eyedropper, slowly squeeze 20 drops of rubbing alcohol onto the blank spot where the cap was. (Supervise closely or do this part yourself; the alcohol can sting and is dangerous if ingested.) As the fabric absorbs the alcohol, the ink will spread outward in a circular pattern like fireworks. Allow the design to dry for 5 minutes before repeating on a new area of the shirt.
5. Experiment with different shapes — a dotted star, a heart, or concentric rings of dots. To make flowers, when the designs are dry, slip some paper towels inside the shirt and draw stems with markers.
6. When the shirt is done and completely dry, pop it in the dryer for 20 minutes to set the colors, then wash and dry as usual.

......and the cute results!

Next I wanted to share Klint's lunch for tonight in the new lunch tote... I am so proud of it. I didn't realize how much fits in this tin though... Three tiers is a lot of food! The menu included some chili with cheese in the shape of fish with sausage eye and smile, crackers, apple crisp, peaches, mini carrots, and gummi worms. When I get my rice cooker and egg shapers then the lunches will look a little more Japanese, but Klint was pretty excited about my creation!

Speaking of being in the kitchen, we repainted ours a wonderful pumpkiny orange color. We hadn't planned on repainting, but a little DIY oops demanded a do-over. I love the color though, changed the whole feel to the kitchen!

And finally, a pic of the soon to be one year old... isn't she so big? She is a total camera ham =)

Surf's Up Saturday- The Return of the Bento Box

I have been slacking on putting together whole bentos for lunch, most of the time Gabby is just happy with the cute shaped sandwiches and the skewers of fruit. But last night I got a bento style box and am back to a full blown obsession! Here is my new box, purchased from World Market and called a Tiffin Tin: Here are some sites that I have found with great and very inexpensive accesories for creating your own bento lunch. Aside from being fun to put together, I think that bento boxes are the way to go if you are trying to save money and be environmentally friendly. Kids are drawn to them because they are fun and nothing mixes.

Jbox is a very interesting site that has a whole bunch of Japanese items, not just bento things. The prices are great and they have a lot of things that other stores don't have like weiner shapers... who doesn't want their mini hotdog turned into a tulip?! =)

The Tiffin Tin is a great blog for getting ideas for your lunch, whether you carry a bento or brown bag it. I love how clean the layout is and very informative.

Wendolonia is another blog that is very bento- centered. This woman amazes me! She just had a baby (JUST) and is still making bentos for her little boy and posting fabulous pictures. I love how simple her bentos are and kid friendly. Gabby's lunches are very similar to her little boy's.

Another great store is called Bento Crazy. They have a good amount of bento kits and supplies. I really like red two tier box!

I Love Obento is my new shopping site. They have such cute accessories like grass dividers and silicone cups for keeping items seperate. My favorite is these cute apple mayo cups, complete with little spoons that look like worms!
Finally is a new find for the day- Japan Centre. It is a foreign store and all the prices are in pounds, but everything is only 1.49 pounds which is $2.63, not bad at all. There are a lot of people on Flickr who have ordered from there with fabulous results.

Preschool Worksheets

I was working on making some worksheets for Gabby to help her with her letters and came up with this... I am sure that there will be more to come, it is a lot of fun making sheets like this!

Etsy Seller of the Day

I just wanted to give a quick shoutout to a great Etsy seller and customer- Kat whose store is DesignsbyKat619. She has great jewelry and is so sweet to work with. I highly reccomend checking out it out! Here are some of my favorite pieces:

Success is sweet!

Well I believe that the opening of my store was a complete success! I have 1 completed sale, 2 pending sales once I get the design done, and 2 trades. YAY!!!!! I love designing business cards and such and I think that with each customer I am getting better and better at trying to fit the store perfectly.
If you haven't, check it out, the link is on the side. In the meantime, here are some designs that I have done in the past few days: