Just One Moment

Today, I have been super busy.  Things have slowed down for the day, and I am finally having a small, late lunch and getting lessons for homeschool started with my Little Darling.  While she is studying, I figured I would write as I snack on this delicious apple cake I baked the other day.  It's so yummy and so easy to bake that sometimes I will make one every week!

Today, I had to rush from place to place, getting things for later in the week.  My husband and I have our eighth anniversary Thursday and we are going out.  I have no clothes for "fun nights out", so I needed to buy top.  I am hand making something for him, but I ran out of yarn and had to run to get more.  Don't you hate it when you get so close to being done, and you run out of what you need to finish?  With my superior planning skills, it happens to me aaaallll the time!

After this, I went to check out a gym.  I am signing up, taking the plunge.  I am ready to whip my body back into shape.... a shape it hasn't been in seven years!  I am so guilty of making excuses about not having money for a gym, not having time to get to the gym.

My last stop landed me at the Post Office, which is where I really began to ponder TIME in general.  It's that time of year again, and I need postage for packages, cards, and letters.  Standing in line, while an older woman talked about every bit of irrelevant Christmas-related topic of her life she could conjure up into conversation as the clerk patiently and attentively played into this old lady's ploy for attention seeking, watching my precious time dwindle really got me to thinking about time and the way it's spent.

Every  year, I write Christmas cards.  Yes, I go to the Post Office, wait in the longest line in the world for stamps and then I go to a store, pick out a set of cards or two, ask everyone for their updated contact information, and hand write a personal message into each card before returning to the post office to mail them.  Every. Single. Year.

Each year, someone makes the comment about how they forget about giving cards or how they don't have time.  Well, I see it this way:  Christmas is the same day at the same time each year.  Each year, you have your hand out, expecting cards & gifts from someone.  Around that same time, each year, you have about 350 days to find a card, write something inside or sign it, and drop it off.  No one ever complains about the time they don't have when it comes to Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Vine, or Instagram.  Everyone has plenty of time to check ALL of those social media networks several times per day.  I do it myself, but I don't confuse that interaction with meaningful ones.

I guess what I am saying is that, for Christmas, I wish more people would re-evaluate their time.  Think about what really counts.  If you have time to scroll through 750 friends' status updates, then surely you can write your loved one a hand written message.  It's not about the card.  It's about the fact that time is worth more than anything in the world.  We have more of it than we realize, but we have convinced ourselves that we do not.  We have lied to ourselves and said that we are too busy to take care of ourselves, too busy to chase our aspirations, and too busy to take a moment to genuinely interact and think of someone else.  Each year is filled with 74,880 minutes, chances, to offer up your time to put a smile one someone else's face.  Think about that!  That's a lot of time.  Life is Long!  Life is Sweet. 

Don't fall for the trick that it is so short that you have no time to make meaningful memories or take time for others.  When your life comes to an end, you will only think about each moment missed because you told yourself you were too busy to notice how much it mattered!

My challenge to you is to write a Christmas card to someone who isn't expecting it.  Brighten their day.  Take a moment to be IN the moment and be compassionate towards another human.  I know that, as life bustles on, you will forget this moment, but this moment, this time that you are gifting...  it's for the heart of another.

Season Greetings on this fine, chilly Monday afternoon!

Walking In My Winter Wonderland

I cannot believe that it has already been about a week since I have last posted.  That is what happens when I decide that I will post more often...  I somehow end up not posting anything at all.  I have issues with follow-through, commitment, and authority. Even when, in all of those situations, I am answering only to myself.  Something to work on:  Hold Self More Accountable.  No avoiding eye contact.

I do have a good excuse, however.  I have been BIZZAY!  Being sick for 5-6 days right after Thanksgiving was so much more than I bargained for.  I was completely out of it, and my apartment went to hell.  Growing up, I remember seeing how hard the women in my life worked.  They always warned me that a Woman's Work Is NEVER Done.  Back then, I thought, "Yea right!  I will design my own life, and I won't get sucked into the terrible, unpredictable, upsetting bowels of domestic life like you all!"  How clever I thought I was back then.  And then, just like that, I was right where they knew I would be.  I was stuck in the throws of domesticity, running around like a mad woman, doing everything in my power to make sure that my little world I worked so hard to create stayed functioning smoothly.

I started to feel better very late Wednesday, so I pulled a practical all-nighter to finish all my laundry.  I then spent all day and most of each night on Thursday & Friday completely consumed with errands and housework.  No sleep for the wicked, I guess.

But even with all this, I still managed to spend time with The Family.  Friday, we got our first snow of the season!  I don't know why, but I have always been excited about the season's first snow each year.  I can't drive worth a damn in bad weather, and I seriously hate being cold, but there's something magical about it.

 

 

 

I love looking at nature, as it is literally frozen in time.  We walked around the neighborhood, playing in the snow and taking pictures.  It was a great time. 

 

 

Ok, call me crazy, but I really love to eat ice cream in the winter.  I prefer fresh fruits and salads and warm tea all summer long, but, Baby, when it's cold outside, I only scream for ice cream!  So when we came back in from our little winter excursion, we all had some ice creams.  I am pretty plain.  Just vanilla with a little caramel and some pecans.  The Hubs and our Little Darling had much more extravagant sundaes.

 

Luckily, I finished some additional projects before I became sick.  I definitely didn't have the energy to work on things while I was under the weather, and no time for it when I was feeling better in these past few days.  I meant to post this little ta-dah moment earlier in the week.

 

 

I made these precious items for my friend, Mama M in Finland.  She has recently had her second baby.  I am really happy for her.  And, you know how much I love-love little, baby girls.  It's so much fun to make things for little girls.  I hope that sweet Baby M and Mama M love her little hat and headband bow. 

 

I am still getting used to making hats.  I somehow have only managed to make just a few, less than 10, in all my years of crocheting.  I made these hats quickly and I am happy with both of them!

I made this for her sweet son *G*.  I remember, when I was little, being jealous whenever one of my siblings got a gift.  My parents didn't have a lot of money, so we were always encouraged to share with one another, but my parents didn't always have the money to buy additional gifts for everyone each time one of us had a birthday.  I hope *G* likes his little hat.

This is the first time that I have made a hat with ears.  I think it's absolutely Adorable!  It's so precious that I have already made some plans to recreate this same style of hat in other colors just to experiment with what I can create.

I hope that both Mommy and the kiddos are happy with these gifts.  Mama M actually knits herself.  I am always nervous about giving someone who is crafty things that are handmade.  I don't doubt my skills, but I am worried someone will think, "I could do this myself and much better than this!"  But then again, it's the thought that counts.  I had Mama M and the kiddos on my heart this holiday season, especially since we have reconnected as pen pals in the past few months.

For me, I am going to call it a night, as far as the Cyberverse is concerned.  I have so many things I have to take care of ... preparing for the week and such.

Have a great week!

It's December!!!

I just can't believe that it is already December.  It's gotten here so quickly again.  Remember being younger, during summer breaks from school, wishing time would go faster?  Remember not being able to wait until you were older?  I do.  And now, I keep begging for time to slow down and give me just moments longer in each phase of my life.  Funny how things like this change as we get older.

Well, today, you can find me on the floor of my living room, sipping gingerale out of a tea cup and snacking on saltines.  I think I might be the only person alive who gets terribly sick during the feasting time of the year.  Yes, Friday afternoon, The Hubs and I went out to eat.  Nothing fancy.  But hours later, I was violently sick.  Food poisoning.  So!  Here I am, 10 pounds lighter (yea, true food poisoning is no joke!) with a continually upset stomach, and no energy.  But, seriously, it's DECEMBER!!!  Who has time to be sick?  Not this (Super)Woman right here!

My house is a wreck because I have been out of commission all weekend.  I only began to recover yesterday morning. I have a HUGE pile of paper and notions on my dining room table for Christmas projects that were supposed to be completed over the weekend.  I gotta get our tree up.  It's a home school day.  There's laundry... meals... errands... tasks...  Uhm yea.  It's going to be interesting here in the next coming days.

Fortunately for me, I have already finished a few projects in the past week, so this week will basically be one Reveal after another.  Of that, I am proud!  I rarely finish anything, and I definitely rarely do it in a timely manner. So, allow me a moment to do a small Happy Dance *WOOT WOOT*

Remember this little cutie that I showed a little while back?  Well, I have a pattern on half African hexies that I used to make some of the edges a little less odd-shaped.

The finished blanket looks like this:

 



My apologies for the poor lighting.  I'm still hoping to find a good deal on some photography lights.  Of course, not just for blogging, but the lights would definitely come in handy for this too :-)

I had to go around the blanket with a few rounds of a boarder because the half hexies stick out a bit.  I also had to modify the pattern just a tad, so I will need to practice with this modified pattern a little more and then I will happy share!  If anyone is interested in the pattern without it being perfected, let me know!  Trust me, I am not a crochet guru at all. Ha!  So if you think you can whip this half hexie into submission, the pattern is all yours!

 

I had some extra African Flowers left over, so I decided to turn one into a hat.  I had done this before, just to try it out.  So I tried it out again.  And again, in typical ME fashion, I didn't write down how I did it at all!  Everything is trial & error with me.  Ha!  Sometimes it works, and sometimes, I just have to chuck it up to a learning experience.  But I think this hat it really cute.  I hope Mama S & Baby R like it as well!

 



I also made a little bow.  I love bows on baby girls.  They are always so adorable in photos.  This is attached to a headband, but the bow is removable and can be attached to the hat as well.

 

It's a little sad to end this project.  Can you believe that I started it back in April?  Seems crazy!  But these items are ready to be boxed up and shipped overseas to their new, warm and loving home.

 

This project was a lot of fun.  It was also very easy to finish, as soon as I had the time.  I just hope that both Mama & Baby are satisfied with my work :-)  It makes me truly happy to see others happy because of the work that I have done for them.

 

Throughout this month, I suspect you might be hearing from me quite a bit as I knock out gifts, decorations, and other things. I don't typically feel as motivated as I do during the holidays!  Something about the month of December that brings out my creative side in every way imaginable!

 

Have a great Monday! 

Rock, PAPER, scissors

Hello, Hello!  I hope everyone is having a great day today.  I am :-)

Today, I am ready to mail a package to my dear friend *M* in Holland.  As you know, I love exchanging handwritten letters.  I have had many of my snail mail friends for about four years now.  *M* is one of those friends.  She is so much fun and I wanted to send her something special.

I am all about PAPER!  I love making things out of paper:  envelopes, cards, journals, stationery.  I am not good at making most of those things, but I really enjoy trying to be.  And I am a PAPER HOARDER!  I have soooooo much paper!  Whenever Hobby Lobby has a 50% off sale, I grab at least 4 packs of scrapbooking papers.  I also go to my local art stores and buy lots of Japanese papers.  I'm obsessed!..  Or maybe, I am just a creepy paper hoarder. Ha!  No doubt, I have more paper than I could use in about 3 years' time, if I were working on paper arts constantly and never bought a single sheet of paper during that time.

So in my paper adventures, I decided to try something new.  I decided to try making paper dolls.  I used to make paper dolls for my sister and me, when I was younger and we wanted new dolls. My parents didn't always have money for new toys.  I would use paper that had old school assignments on the back.  I made the girls into bunnies and I created all sorts of wardrobe items for the paper dolls.  I think doing this for my sister and myself all those years is what inspired my love for arts and fashion.  It also taught me to re resourceful and make something out of nothing.

Sorry about that tangent!  For my dear friend *M*, I made some paper dolls.  These are the first ones I have ever made like this.  Lots of adjustments need to be made.

 

I will give my best ones to *M*.  I will likely give away the others as well. 

 

 

 

I will definitely be making more dolls, so that I can discover the best way to go about making them. 

 





 

As for how I made the dolls, I used my Cricut.  My sister gave it to me 7 years ago, but I have only been learning to use it and all its features in the past year.  Each doll has about 90 kabillion small parts to her and I then have to assemble them and embellish them.  Even though I have lots to learn, I love the way these first ones came out.  There are 4-5 more patterns left that I didn't try yet.  I will soon, however.

 

 

And then, I made some envelopes.  I love envelopes.  I have made my own envelopes for years.  When I first began snail mailing, I wanted something more original than the envelopes I could find in stores.  I also knew that I had no intention on spending so much money on them.  That's when I started making my own.  I used cardstock and my Cricut to cut out the address labels.

 



This is the first bunting that I made a few weeks ago.

 

I made the bunting out of scrapbooking papers.  I made the mini bows by hand and I sewed little beads on to them.



Of course, all this comes with a cute, hand-written note inside of this handmade card that I threw together.  I love making cards, but I wouldn't say that I am very good at it.  I need much more practice!  Considering how much I love paper...and how much paper I've got stacked piles high, I think that some card-making might be in my near future for the holidays!
 

 

I felt really embarrassed about sending *M* a bunch of paper.  I love paper, but I am not sure how everyone else in the world feels about it.  LOL.  I decided that I would add in something special.
 

This summer, my family and I went to Mexico.  I found these adorable little handmade dolls.  I find toys from other countries to be so interesting.  These handmade dolls are so sweet.  I bought them so my Little Darling would have something to play with on the plane ride home.  They are so adorable, I just had to keep some for myself, and I chose to share them with my friend, *M*.  For just a few dollars, my Little Darling got about 15 dolls.   And I think the coin purse speaks for itself :-) 

All of this was so much fun to make.  I hope *M* enjoys everything in her little package.  In the next few weeks, I will be cranking out gifts for friends and their babies.  I look forward to completing some of these projects that I have had on my shelves! It feels so good to have time again to be creative.  It feels even better to have a computer to be able to share these adventures with someone!

Hunting For A Bunting

This week has felt really busy.  I think I forgot how involved blogging can be.  I also forgot about the notion that, when you have a craft blog, you are also expected to work on projects and complete them on a regular basis. HA! Well, lucky for me, I have about 20 projects that I have worked on for the past year or so that are near completion.  I just need to get hookin'!

I also discovered that the light in my apartment is horrible!  I may as well be living in the Bat Cave.  With that said, please excuse whatever terrible quality the pictures have for the moment.  It would be great if I could find some photo equipment with the holiday deals that will be coming up.  I am hoping to get some lights for sure!

So, let me get into what I have been working on this week:  Buntings!

I made my first one a few weeks ago.  I made it as part of a package for a snail mail pal.  I will show it to you some other day, as I have just found out that the photo is really terrible.  I really loved making that bunting. It was easy and fun to make.  Of course, I decided to make more "trial runs" and see what I could do.

 

This is the second bunting I made.  The other day, I mentioned going completely mad over details and trying to incorporate light blues into this color combo. Clearly, I was unable to make that happen, but what I did end up with is much better than what I dreamed possible. Lesson Learned:  Just go with it, and let creativity guide you, rather than being too much of a control freak.

 



 

 

I was really happy with the oranges, pinks, and greens. 

 

 

This is for Baby R's package for another snail mail friend.  I Love to write letters and to give gifts this way.  It's such an amazing way to share and connect with people.  To exchange something hand-written and handmade can really make someone's day.  It says, "I thought about you and I chose to give you something more valuable than anything:  My time!  I care about you!"  Or at least, that is the feeling I get whenever I get a letter or package from a pen friend in the mail. 

 

After feeling happy with these results, I had so many triangles and little things out. Remember, I had this perfectionist melt down, and I made 70-something triangles and bows and found all these little notions... 

 

 

So, I figured, why not make one more. I had fun making the other two once I remembered the real purpose behind being creative.  So I took the left over patterned papers and got to work on another.

 

 

I have another pen friend, M, who also just recently had a baby girl.  I think there is something in the water because there are precious baby girls being born all over.  Let me just say this:  I seriously Adore making things for little girls.  This is a little simpler than the previous bunting, but I wanted to try different things.  These are all trials for me, as I learn to perfect the skill. Don't get me wrong.  I try to make my trial runs as perfectly close to how things would look after I've gotten a grasp on the skill.

The buntings are made from paper, like most of the ones I've seen.  Just regular scrapbooking papers.  I have this huge box of bows, buttons, flowers, ribbons, and sparklies.  Those were the main source of my embellishments.  I made all the mini bows on the buntings by myself.  I am a tall woman, with big man-hands, so that was a lot of fun. LOL!  No, really, I had a blast making tiny bows.  I made the tops of this particular bunting sparkle with a little pixie dust that I have had in my stash for ages.

I am hoping to get even more creative with the buntings I make.  I have so many more ideas on ways to embellish them and different styles.  To me, these are some big accomplishments because I love learning to make something new.  I hope I can max out on the creativity here.  More importantly, I hope that both Mama S and Mama M enjoy these buntings for their babies. 

Have a great week!
 

Method? Or Just Madness?

Good early afternoon to ya!  I am shocked that I am up and functioning so well this morning and I haven't had any coffee. Very shocking!!

I usually do my "work" late at night.  That's how this blog came about actually.  I was working third shift and cranking out projects all night...  I figured I could chronicle those late night creative adventures.  I haven't worked third shift in years, but I guess old habits die hard.  I still feel most alive and creative between the hours of midnight and 3am. 

Last night was no different.  The Hubs was being helpful and grading our Little Darling's school work for the past 6 weeks.  He gave me a chance to... well, essentially, all I did was make myself a little crazy under the premise of "working".

The blanket I showed you in my last post here is actually part of a collection of items for my friend's baby girl.  Another part of it is a bunting.  I am new to making buntings and I really, really, like it!  The hard part for me is coming up with the right color combos.  Baby R has light green walls, so I needed something that would either coordinate with or pop out against that wall color.

 

For some reason, I was obsessed with greens, blues, and oranges.  Then, I thought I should add some pinks in for good measure.  In the end, I had about 70 little triangles cut out that I kept arranging and rearranging into patterns.  Let me just say that there is nothing more frustrating than wanting something to look a certain way and not being able to accomplish it no matter what..... and so my madness begins!

 

 

Eventually, I settled for these colors.  They are, more or less, what I was looking for:  the greens, oranges, pinks.... No light, bright blues though.  Don't even ask me what my obsession with the blue is about!  I couldn't tell you.  At any rate, I found happiness in this pattern.

 

 

Then comes the fun part:  choosing the embellishments.  Yes, I know a bunting is essentially a string with some triangle fabrics or papers hanging from it, but that just seems so boring when I make them that way.  Much like the woman who can't imagine making a crochet blanket that doesn't have 20-30 different colors in her granny squares, I just need more.

My problem, the madness, is figuring out how much more.... or even what kind of "more".  I made about 10 mini bows last night, trying to figure out a ribbon color combo and a ribbon style.  I also rummaged through all my random piles, buckets, drawers of odd ends to find little flowers, bows, buttons and other things that could be used for the embellishment of this bunting.

Where does your inspiration come from?  For me, it's almost always my dreams, physical activity, and music.  Mainly my dreams.  I had a dream that I made this adorable bunting with polka dots, blues, oranges, greens, and pinks.  It was embellished perfectly and it was a focal piece in the nursery.  Ok, maybe I am flattering myself a bit.  The maddening part came from having to face the reality that I don't always have the supplies I need to make my dreams come true, so to speak.  I also get annoyed at my skill level.  This will be my second attempt at a bunting ever and I am already contemplating ways to seriously up the ante!

Fortunately for me, my husband beckoned me to bed and I got live to go insane over minute details another day :-)

I will admit that I drove myself a little mad trying to be perfect.  That is when I noticed what was happening.  I was becoming irritable and disappointed, which should never be a symptom of creativity. I had to stop right there and appreciate the true purpose of the project:  To put a smile on Mama S's face and to provide a heartfelt gift for Baby R.  I also needed to really think about WHY I create.  It isn't about outdoing myself, upping the ante, or even to be perfect. It's because I love the feeling of working on making my dreams come true.  I may not have the supplies or skills at this moment, but I love the process, the growth, and the heart that I put in.  I love seeing my efforts grow into a tangible manifestation of my dreams!

Happy HUMP DAY!!!!  Hahahahahaaa!!! 😉

A Field of Lavender

Why HELLO!!!  It's be a long time... No, a Long Time!!

I have my reasons for having taken such a long leave of absence.  Excuses are like assholes, so I will show you mine.  Why not get all close and personal on my first post back?

1-  I worked too much. No time to be creative killed a part of my soul.  Now, I am staying home full time.

2- My laptop BROKE in every way possible, from the hinge to the outlet; from the mother board to being hacked with viruses.  I'm making (this) my first post on my new Baby!  It feels great to be reunited with the tech world!

3-  My art room was a colossal disaster:

 

 

 Clearly, I've solved that little problem.  Now, I have Time, a Computer, and a Creative Space!   Who knew there was a recipe for blogging perfection? Now, I know this!  And yea buddy, I just rose up out my chair and did a Happy Dance!  Ha ha ha :-)

So what have I been up to?  This summer was loaded with travels and writing letters to pen pals.  I love snail mail!  My family returned from our last little vacay at Disney World in late September.  I quit my job shortly before we left.  Since then, it's been about developing a new routine and finding all these projects that I have started and not finished over the past three years that I was working too much.

I chose to start with something adorable...

 

I started this project for a friend back in April. She's a special friend whom I've actually never met in person.  She and I started writing to one another about four years ago.   She has had a sweet, precious baby girl.   My friend loves this color, so I was pretty happy she had a girl. It would have been a little difficult to incorporate lavender into a blanket meant for a boy!  Not impossible, however.  I've got some design skills!

I absolutely love making African Hexies.  They are so beautiful to me.  It's prettier than stripes and, to me, more interesting to look at than granny squares.  The only thing I can't handle is the weird edges!  It makes the end result look like it's unfinished.  A long time ago, I searched for a pattern to fill this in.

I found a pattern online somewhere about three years ago.  As you can see, I haven't added these parts yet, and I don't know what to expect once they are added to the edges. I have never made them before, even though I've had the pattern this whole time. I'm hoping for some magic!

 

 

I am not finished with the blanket yet. I have one  full row to add and then all the half hexies.  That's tonight's goal.  I hope within the next few days, I will have a finished blanket with a hat and maybe even a cardigan.  This will be a Christmas gift for sweet Baby R's first Christmas.  I hope she & Mama S like it!

 

 



 

I will post details about supplies and patterns on my next post, when the project is complete.  I'll also give you a small sneak peak into my next project.  It's gift-giving season, so I'm going to be busy, cranking them out!

 

Have the most lovely of Sundays!