Monday, January 31, 2011

Adventures in Craftiness: Simple Paper Hearts.

Our little palm tree we used for our Christmas tree this past year is still alive and doing very well. That’s saying a lot because I’m not good with plants. I decided that while it’s still around I was going to decorate it for different holidays. Since Valentine’s Day is coming up I decided to make some creative paper hearts for our tree. I have a ton of cards from different occasions that I hate to see just sit in a box, so I used them, as well at other scrap booking paper to create fun little decorations!

Supplies:
Scarp paper, magazines, or old cards
Floral scarp booking embellishments, buttons, and/or glitter
Scrap booking tacks (“Brads”)
Scissors
Mod Podge or your favorite adhesive
Ribbon, string, or yarn



Step One
Cut out small heart shapes that will be the center of your ornaments.
Step two
Trace a larger heart around your small heart for the outside background.



Step Three
Glue smaller heart shapes to the center of the larger heart shapes and let them dry.



Step Four
Take your tack and put it through your embellishment as well as through your glued card cut out.



Step five
Cut your ribbon to your desired length and push your tack through both ends of the ribbon. Open and fold down the ends of your tacks when you’re done.



Then presto! You have lovely heart ornaments just in time for Valentine’s Days! These would also make really great kids crafts or even bunting! Have fun and great creative!!








a sad moment.

They aren't selling the hair clips I use at Micheal's anymore... it makes me sad... maybe it's a sign of moving on to bigger and better things...



I know I can probably find them online really easy, it's just not the same as going to the store. I like buying things in person most of the time...

that is all...



*sniff sniff*

Saturday, January 29, 2011

I have a question.

I was just curious if anyone out there crafts in public? Do you ever go to a coffee shop, and make jewelry? Or sit in a book store café, and knit?


Yoola


I was just thinking about this the other day. I can really use a good way of getting out of the house. Being a stay at home mom and going to school online doesn’t really make for getting out a lot. Just being able to get something done other than laundry or homework would be a nice change. So, if you do craft in public, do you find it awkward? Have you ever been told by someone working to stop whatever it is your doing? I can’t really see that happening but you never know. Is there any kind of art or craft that’s a big “no no” in public do you think?

ohmay


I’ve done some crafting in Starbucks before. I was making wedding invitations and I was surprised I didn’t get any weird looks or questions about what I was doing at all. Just personally, if I see someone making something in public I always want to know what it is they are doing. I guess I’m just noisy like that though.

wildolive


So, any thoughts on doing it in public? I’d love your point of view!

Friday, January 28, 2011

I ain’t no fashionista.

Yes, I know the title has horrible grammar, but I couldn’t help myself.

Recently I’ve come to a conclusion; I don’t have the best style in the world. I try and pretend like I’m “hip” and “trending” but I fall pretty short of all those cliché terms. I came to another conclusion after I realized my lack of style; I’m okay with that. When I go clothing shopping I tend to go for comfort more than the latest styles. I prefer my jeans to a skirt and my flats to high heels. It’s not that I don’t like fashion or I don’t have a style at all, I’m just a little lazier about it.

Now here comes the mom card. I am the proud mother of a soon to be three year old little girl. Most of the time I’m having tea parties, dancing, and playing outside, all of these acts don’t really constitute for a cute floral pattern dress and sexy vintage kitten heals. I know it’s an excuse a lot of mothers use as to why they where sweat pants and hoodies all the time. I’m glad to say I am at least a step above wearing my pajama’s all day, but sometimes I just want to wear my tye dyed Dave Matthews Band t-shirt and call it a day.

I’ve never really had the best fashion sense in the world either. When I was a little kid I wore over sized jeans and huge t-shirt, most of the time those t-shirt has wolves on them or they were my soccer shirts. I hide a lot behind my clothes. As I got older I started to express myself more and more through my clothing. I went through a crazy stage of black eye liner and leather pants. I have had my hair dyed blue, green, platinum blonde, and there was an attempted orange that failed and I was called “Tang” for a long time. I also had a pair of bright orange pants that I wore almost religiously. They were so comfortable and loud! I miss those pants a lot now that I think about it.

Above is a photo of my two best friends from high school and myself. Please note I am the one in the orange pants... yeah... I know... they're awesome ^_^


As I went on to college my style didn’t change a whole lot. I still wore my dark make up, but I switched from wearing bright colors to wearing black ALL THE TIME! I wore a red shirt one day and my theater Professor was actually shocked and stopped in the middle of class to comment on the color. I also wore a spiky belt at all time, which I still have but I never wear.

I'm not 100% sure what I was doing in this photo. I know that we were rehearsing a scene for a play. I wore the zebra t-shirt a lot in college. Who doesn't love zebras?


As I got older my fashion started to change and I just became a pretty average person. While working at a salon I started to try a little harder, mainly because I had to. I did my hair, learned how to do my make up, and dressed nice. Most of the time I was told I looked like an elementary school teacher, which I think it pretty nice, but a far cry from my former style.

This is my sad little shoe collection. I wear shoes hard so I go through them really fast. I have to mention my Crocs. My dad bought them for me for Christmas this past year, and I have to say they are so comfortable! They are a close second to my old vans, I wore those shoes till they talked to me.


I still like pretty things and I’d love to wear dresses with lots of pretty accessories and things but it’s just not practical at this point in my life. I am going to make it a point to try and look nicer every day. I think it’s important for a woman to feel like she looks good when she looks in the mirror. I don’t think I’ve really done my hair or put make up on in five months, and I think it’s a good time to start. I don’t plan on going over the top; I’m just going to try to avoid the t-shirts more often and wear something cute, and maybe slightly stylish.

This is one of my more stylish outfits. Its very comfortable of course. The necklace is from a great seller on Etsy. My friends bought me it for my wedding present and I wear it all the time. Rock My World Inc. was able to take my finger print, my husbands finger print, and out daughters finger print, and made a beautiful heart pendent. I love it


I think there is this stereo type for a lot of blogger, crafters, and artists. Somehow we are supposed to be very fashion forward stylish individuals. I think a lot of times that is true. I do really enjoy blogs where people post their outfits of the day; I read a lot of them daily. It gives me a little inspiration to try something new myself. I wouldn’t expect that to be coming from this blog anytime soon, but I’ll keep reading and following them myself.

This is another outfit I wear a lot. I got the shirt from Target when I was pregant with Aurora but I love it so much I still wear it. It's not a materity shirt, it's just very flowing.


What are you opinions of fashion? Do you have any horror style phases that you went through? I’d love to hear about them!

Aurora was helping me with my little fashion photo shoot, and wanted me to take pictures of her too. ^_^

Aurora in her fairy dress, isn't she lovely?


While I was lining up my shoes Aurora went, and got all of hers and put them in a line too.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

The Spirit of New York.

For my Principles of Digital Photography class our final project is a Photo Narrative and my Professor gave us an example of what that looks like. I found these images to be breath taking and real. If you've ever been to New York, or if you love photography, you'll love this slide show.



I'm totally in love with this photographer right now. It reminded me why I want to do this. So amazing.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

list and energy and brooches... OH MY!

I’ve been a super busy bee today! I woke up kind of early and finished all of my homework before Aurora woke up! I was also able to start making a new blog button, which I love if you didn’t notice. I then made a To Do List for the rest of my day. It was pretty busy but I’m proud that I fit everything in!



I even got to make a brooch for my mom. She had asked me to make one for her when we were visiting over Christmas, but I just haven’t found the time, or the energy. I finally did it and I’m excited to get it in the mail for her. It’s kind of a surprise and not something I usually do for my mom, so I’m a little tickled by it.



I even got in two blog posts today! I don’t know where my energy came from but I wanted to get stuff done so I just did it. It feels good. I still have to drop off my prescription and go to my doctor’s appointment. It’s nothing serious just routine stuff.

How was your day? Busy? Lazy? I love both kinds of days!

new layout!

While my husband, Marc, was watching football on Sunday, and Aurora was taking a nap I decided it was time to revamp my blog layout. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. I think there's still some fine toning I need to do but I haven't decided on what yet.


I love Shabby Blogs, they have the best free layouts I've found. Their website is really easy to use too.


With the new blog also came a new blog button! Yay! I used pinik.com to edit the image. I thought I needed something to go with my new theme.

with a chance of


Want to make a grabable blog button of your own? Check out Manic Mother's button how-to! It was so helpful! I also checked out Linneyville, which is where I found picnik.com. Some really awesome stuff. Happy editing!

So, what do you think?

Sunday, January 23, 2011

My husband is nesting.

About two weeks ago Marc did what a lot of people thought he would never do; he sold his truck. His beloved 2004 Red Dodge Ram 4x4 now has a new loving owner. This relationship lasted for six years and his truck saw him through a lot. Unfortunately it was unrealistic for us to bring it to Phoenix with us, so it stayed in Pittsburgh. I’m very proud of his decision to sell his baby to someone who really needed a truck. For a while he went through the five stages of grief, and almost bought another truck. We came to the discussion to wait until we could really buy something worth it, something big, beefy, and manly.


I think my lovely photography work really helped it sell ^.^. Well, that and it's an awesome truck.


So, Marc moved on to something else, the living room. I am completely thrilled with the fact that he decided the best thing we could do was buy some furniture for our bare living room. Before he started his nesting period all we had was a recliner, that was completely chewed by the dog, an end table, and the TV and TV stand. Now, we have a couch, a love seat, a coffee table, two end table, two lamps, AND a 50 inch flat screen TV. The TV will soon have a new home in a beautiful entertainment center. We got an amazing deal on the furniture at The Room Store here in Phoenix, and the TV was practically free with the deal. We’re fancy now!!!!


This photo doesn't do it justice, I'll update with a better one later. I'm just so proud. Who knew I could get so excited over furniture!


Needless to say, Marc can nest anytime he wants to. Maybe a new kitchen table will be next!

Happy Sunday anyone!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

another giveaway!?

I just had one thing to share really fast:

There are so many amazing giveaways going on right now! You have to go check out the "I've got the blues" giveaway over at Grin & Bear it. One, because it's a super cute give away and two, because it's a super cute blog!

the giveaway:


the blog:



Have you entered yet?!?!

card love.

I’m not one to typically hold onto cards. I love receiving cards and I typically hang on to them for a certain period of time and then they get discarded. I just can’t stand clutter and I usually purge every so often to keep things low key. There are a few cards I do hang onto. One in particular was from my parents for my birthday a few years ago. It’s slightly cheesy but I like it. It has a very arty quality to it and kind of makes me want to take on the world!



My parents have always tried to be as supportive as possible but they haven’t always known quite how to verbalize how they feel I don’t think so to me; this card means the world.

Are you an avid card keeper? Or do they just end up in the trash can? And for that matter are you a card giver? I really wish I sent more cards out. Usually I remember it’s someone’s birthday to late or I forget to send thank you cards. I really need to work on that.

Card Love:

Need to say thank you in more then just two words? Neat Things has the answer! Saying thank you like: "Thank you for not asking to borrow lots of money to fund your new bacon scented after shave business." Gotta love it.

NeatThings
+++++


Okay, so this one is a little on the raunchy side but I love mincing mockingbird! How clever is the artist behind these wonderful little paintings of birds with such great humor! I'd keep this card for sure.
mincingmockingbird
+++++


It's simple cute and vintage inspired, what's not to love?

dodelinedesign
+++++


I want to learn to embroider paper! I think this is one of the most original cards! Tattoo art and embroidery? Color me creative!
crookedsister
+++++


Okay, a Boston Terrior in a tutu, enough said.
AfricanGrey
+++++


I hope you have some lovely cards headed your way soon!



Saturday, January 15, 2011

the men's clothing issue.

Today I got to get out for a little while. Marc, my husband, got a gift card to Kohl's from my parents for Christmas and he is in desperate need of some new work attire. He attempted at one point to go shopping for himself but only came back with one dress shirt and a Princess outfit for Aurora. Although the Princess outfit is super cute and came with a wand that Aurora has been "Poofing" everything with, Marc can't really wear it to work. He asked me to take the gift card and find him a nice outfit to wear. I didn't think this was going to be a very big deal until I actually got to the store.

I have come to this realization; men's clothes suck. There is hardly any verity or choices. It's a selection of different colored jeans or kahkis with a small selection of shirts to wear with the bottoms. I know a lot of guys can get really creative with what they wear and I give them a lot of credit for that. My husband is a simple man and I almost feel bad for him. With woman’s clothes at least you have variations is colors and patterns or even design. We can wear pants, short, skirts, or dresses. We also get a more wide verity of accessories to go a long with our outfits. Even the most "basic" of woman's attire can get pretty complex.

kohl's.com


Why am I telling you all of this? I have no idea. It's just a thought that crossed my mind about the way men view getting dressed every morning. "Should I wear the jeans with the brown shirt or blue shirt?" Not all that exciting. Although a lot of times I feel very lazy about looking nice and "getting dressed" I feel lucky to have more options then a lot of men feel like they do.

kohl's.com


Any thoughts on the male fashion predicament?

Thursday, January 13, 2011

what a find!

I had to let everyone know about one of the most amazing giveaways I've ever see! Over at little chief honeybee Kaelah is giving away a Diana Mini Lomo Camera!

HOLY COW!

Sorry I'm just very excited about this. I love lomography and I'd just love to have one of these beauties! Go check out out her giveaway. Not sure what lomography is? Check out the great flickr selection Kaelah found here.

Still not sure? Here are some great Etsy selections:

bomobob

+++++

photopia
+++++


lola's room
+++++

Did you go enter yet?


Happy Trails!


Wednesday, January 12, 2011

music is magic

For many many years my entire life was focused around music. Music is still a huge part of my life but in a very different way. Growing up I worked very hard to becoming a musician, I thought I was going to be a song writer, well life changes doesn’t it? I really do believe for the better. I still get a chill from listening to certain musicians that inspired me to write in the past. Before I even knew who Sara Bareilles was I was listening to her music. Her voice just grabbed my ears and demanded to be listened too. Her song “Gravity” was the first song of hers I heard and I just wanted to share it with you.



Thanks to a good friend for sharing this on facebook. I almost forgot about how lovely this song really is!

Happy Trails!

Monday, January 10, 2011

Better late than never, right?

Hey everyone! Sorry it has taken me so long to post anything. I’ve been having a seriously tough time getting motivated lately. I’m still trying to shake off winter break I think. We really did have a wonderful trip back to Pittsburgh, PA. It was really great to see all of our friends and family! The newest addition to the family, Lily, might be one of the cutest babies ever! I am her Aunt though so it comes with the territory. We’re all getting adjusted to being back in AZ and I must say, again, I love it here. I love the people back in the ‘Burgh that’s very true but there is something about this place that I just love. I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday! I promise not to slack so much in the future. As soon as I shake the last bit of dust off my motivation things will be back in full swing, you’ll see!

Here’s a look at our wonderful holiday!









Happy Trails!