My Crazy Mind and Magnolias

Did anyone else BINGE WATCH this show???  I know I did!  I watched all 13 eps in less than 48 hours.  I LOVE THE SHOW! Please pardon the row of children's shows underneath.  LOL!  As you can tell, my Little Darling and Kiki have a monopoly on Netflix.  I was granted a small moment to watch a grown up show this past weekend.....

Today was a great day... So much over cast though.  I loved the break from the excessive and oppressive heat.  Apparently, I'd gotten sunburn on my shoulders.  I didn't know what it was!  As you can imagine, someone with my skin color doesn't get burned easily or often.  When I realized that I was burned, I figured it was time to start applying sunscreen, not just to my Little Darling and Kiki, but to myself as well.  Unfortunately, I was allergic to the sunscreen.  I can't win on some days!

While I was walking for what felt like For.Ev.Er, I had several random thoughts, most associated with walking my miles.  Because I love you, I will let you into my crazy mind, for a moment...

My Little Darling finds some coins she’d put inside the pocket of a purse a few months ago.  Today, I pulled out the purse, wondering why it was so heavy.  It turned out, there was a little money inside.  My Little Darling got to experience the thrill of randomly finding money in a purse she hadn’t used in months.  With her excitement, she yelled, “YAAAAAAAAS!  I’M RICH AGAIN!!!”  She found $3.  It really is the small things.

….  That awkward moment with the creepy maintenance man stares at you for too long because your athletic shorts are shorter than most pairs of panties you own.  I’m a tall drink of water!  What else can I say?  Long Legs, Don’t Care!

Ten thousand steps is supposed to be 5 miles.  Well, I walked that, and it was just 8100 steps…  Tall Girl Probs.

…That frustrating moment when walking ONE mile feels like 5 because I have to stop for 5 minutes on each lap to give the girls my undivided attention.

I am about 25% sure that I control the weather.  I come out during gloom and doom, and inevitably the sun comes out and bakes my skin off about half way through my walk.  While I am flattered that God holds me in his favor enough to ensure that I am able to walk miles in nice weather, I am currently thinking of ways to better use this to my benefit… Like, head out on a rainy day, as though I am walking miles, but continue onto the park instead.  Smart thinking, I think!

It just started raining.  You win, Jesus.  You win. 

Congratulations.  You now know what a crazy person I can be, as I am walking.  I have crazy random thoughts all the time, but I usually reserve them for Facebook posts.  Someone mentioned that I am doing social media all wrong.  That I should be doing my artwork in a Tumblr account (which I have, but don't use), my pretty pictures of food in an Instagram account (which I have, but don't use), and my witty stat updates should be in a Twitter account (which I have, but don't use).  I have all the accounts so I can stalk my favorite celebrities and to look for inspiration.  I can't imagine running so many accounts Effectively!  I do well to make a quick blog post every here and there!

I typically save my winning, snide remarks and random, jumbled, inappropriate thoughts for Facebook, which is also where I post too many pictures of food and the occasional personal photo of kiddos.  I like to blog and post pretty things here.

Today, I was walking and I was literally stopped in my tracks because of this Magnolia Tree!

 

I think I have established that I love nature, trees, leaves, bugs, and flowers. At least here, in BlogSpot world, that's what I have established.  If you came to my FB page, you would think I am all about food.  LOL.  There's a place for all of my obsessions. I am very organized!

 

I am actually very allergic to magnolia trees, but these flowers!  I was completely enticed by the smell and seduced by their sensual petals.  So much beauty!

 

 

Yes, I was so absorbed and fascinated that I risked anaphylactic shock to get closer looks at the buds and the leaves and whatever that puffy thing in the center is called... Flower Power Folks, help a girl out here.  I apologize for not being more versed in the anatomy of flowers. LOL!

 

 

Even the flowers that were turning brown and starting to wilt were beautiful!

 

 

I am so grateful for this moment of exploration of nature and appreciation of something truly beautiful on such a gloomy, humid day. 

 

 

So....  we all know that I have been working and working away on this giveaway thing.... But where is it, right?

 

Let me tell you the short version.  Somehow, there were Flying Ants coming out of the ceiling in my closet.  Gross.  I  know. I ended up having to throw away THREE large trash bags of yarn and WIPs that I had going.... I wish someone would have explained that when you spray a flying ant on the cieling, their corpse just falls.  So anything that wasn't in a closed container was thrown away.  I love bugs, but I am not picking them out of yarn.  Fortunately for me, I store MOST of my yarn in another room and in closed containers.  I just had my WIPS organized in open bins inside of my closet.  This is the first time my organization skills have worked against me.  I should have thrown those projects in with the rest of my yarn, safely stored in a closed container.

 

Well, the ants were in my clothes, the clothes that were out in the open on shelves, and I didn't know.  So I wore my clothes and I was bitten a few times by ants.  I am allergic to (everything!) bug venom and the bites quickly turned into raging dermatitis.  I was taking ridiculous amounts of Benadryl and using serious steroid creams to get rid of it.  I was pretty unconscious for about a week.

 

Because of this incident, I didn't get to make the items for my giveaway that I had planned.  This was several weeks ago.  There are now NO ANTS in my apartment. Yaaaay!  *Happy Dance* and I have recovered from my allergic reaction.  Unfortunately, in that time, I was on Instagram in the past few weeks, and I saw soooooo many giveaways!  I will admit that I am now officially completely and totally intimidated!  I had a great plan that I was going to do, and I have changed it and steered from it several times.  Now that I am overwhelmed, I am at a point where I will just finish the items and someone will win them (I hope!) and now, I will know for next time.

So here is a small sneak peak of a couple things I have been working on. 

I am not sure when I will finish everything, but it will have a mix of items...crochet, felt, sewing.... just different things that are part of a larger project that I have wanted to do for a few years.  I am thinking I will do the series in a week or two...  That should give me enough time to (find some confidence!) finish all the items I want to give away.  I am about 90% done!  And this little sneak peak is just the tip of the iceberg.

Hope you're having a Happy Hump Day (Wednesday!)

I am off to bed!  G'Night!

 

My Middle Finger to This Overcast

...Right here, Right now, my Little Darling has announced that the FBI arrived, riding on motorcycles.  Yeap. That's my world.  A never-ending story about random make-believe fantasies. I love it!  LOL!  I love that my daughter totally inherited my overactive imagination and amazing skills in story telling.

This week has been really busy. Lot's of running to and fro.  Lots of baby chasing, where Kiki is concerned.  Lots of cleaning, although I detest housework and I can almost ALWAYS find something better to do.

Today, however, I completely felt tired.  It might have been the busyness of the week. It might have been the mishap with the laxative tea...  Yea....  I could do a whole (hilarious) post on poop alone, but basically, it went bad.  I had a stomach ache until this morning. 

Rather than lying down, I decided to head out a walk around for a bit...  I ended up walking four miles. Not bad for someone with an upset stomach, toting around two kiddos.  But when I came in, I was (and still AM) drained.  I want to sleep!  This whole week has had a non-stop threat of rain.  There was a lot of overcast today.  And today, I am giving this weird ass weather The Middle Finger.

In order to cheer myself up and recharge my battery, so to speak, I flipped through some pictures I took on a spectacularly sunny day some weeks ago. Wanna see?

I love flowers, and this is the most interesting time of year because you can see all the bumblebees gathering nectar from all the beautiful flowers.

 

Then, I came across this AMAZING house!  The owner totally pulled up and caught me being a creep.  I just haaaad to take pictures of her garden!

 

 

It doesn't look like much from this photo, but *Oh Em Gee*, was it breathtaking!  I mean, so many different kinds of flowers and so many bugs.  I know bugs are "icky", but I love observing them in their natural habitats.

Apparently, Lavender plants = BEES!  I had no idea how attracted bees were to this plant, until I risked my life to get a few snapshots. LOL.  Yep.  Drama!  I know.

 

And seriously, there were so many plants I had never seen!  Ten bucks to the first person who can tell me what all these plants are!

Bunny in a cage!  So pretty!  I wish she had a woodland forest full of these little creatures, filled with vegetation.  I love it!

Even a plant of nothing but thorns is beautiful. I couldn't get a good enough quality close-up, but there was a trail of ants walking up and down these thorned branches.

The owner of the house also had an amazing backyard, filled with all sorts of metal work and glass art.

 

This was just one of the pieces she had in her backyard.  I wanted to take more photos, but I felt so terrible!  I mean, she was so incredibly cool about my being a complete creep and taking all these photos outside of her home...

She was wonderful and just smiled.  There were so many more flowers and bugs all over.  I could have spend hours just looking at each flower in detail and taking more and more wonderful photos. 

I didn't want this to be too, too photo-heavy, but I had to share this garden.  In hindsight, I wish I had taken just a brief moment to introduce myself, and let her know that I am not a creeper.  That way, maybe I could have taken a picture of her for everyone to see.

Taking care of plants takes patience and care.  And for her to have such an amazing spectacle to show off, despite the crazy weather we have been getting here, shows a tremendous amount of dedication and hard work.  I love seeing people take time to cultivate and grow nature!

 

I hope that, when faced with overcast ad crap-tastic weather, that someone feels inspired to give that shitty weather the MIDDLE FINGER.  Think of sunny days, blooming flowers, and bright green foliage!

 

Happy Thursday!

Liebster Award --- Part 1: 11 Things about Me. 11 Questions Answered

WOW!!!  Someone was thinking about me, and nominated me for the Liebster Award.  SO SWEEEET!!!  Yes, I am all mushy like that.  I get so excited about the smallest things!

My Wool Valley was kind enough to think of me.  So the way this works is:

I say 11 things about me.
I answer 11 questions from My Wool Valley
And then I pick 11 blogs with fewer than 200 followers/subbies and ask them 11 new questions.

Without further ado...  Let's get this party started!
This is me, as of last night...  I am pretty photogenic, no?  I kid!  I kid!  My name is Bri.

11 Things About Me:
1--  I am pretty adventurous with hair & makeup...  I love wild colors and taking chances.  For me, hair and make up are accessories like jewelry.  Style them however you want to depict your mood or enhance your features and to compliment your outfit. Yes, I am a style & beauty blog addict!  Yes, I have sold cosmetics before.  Yes, I have done makeup for proms and weddings.  I LOVE PLAYING DRESS UP!!!

Right now, my hair is a hot mess mix of colors.  It was only supposed to be purple... but staying true to my adventurous side, I have let random people cut and dye my hair.  Yup!  Just like that, on a whim.  I am NEVER mad at the results.  My favorite makeup right now is also shades of purple.  I guess to match my hair or something... Who knows.

2-  I wear yoga pants and a pony tail EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. 

3-  I text REALLY UGLY pictures of myself to my loved ones in the middle of the night.  I guess I am testing how much they love me, or something.  Like one day, they will say "Ok, Bri, enough is enough.  You are hideous and crazy.  I'm having you committed and scheduling plastic surgery."

 

Congratulations.  Anyone reading this?  You are now considered a "loved one"  Welcome to the club. 

Honestly, though, if anyone ever asks for a picture of me, I always send them this:

But you, my new friends, know the truth!  LOL. 

5--  I am NO GOOD at crochet patterns.  90% of the things I make are total MISTAKES!  Seriously.  I have a hard time reading just the words.  I also have a hard time with charts.  I need everything!  I need a chart, with written directions, a video, and a picture of the finished project.  Otherwise, I mess everything up.  Many of my projects, I have created my own way of making motifs and/or the finished project accidentally, but Luckily, came out looking well.  I try never to post the mistakes that can't be redeemed.  I need to look like I know what I am doing, right?!

This blanket below is an entire quilt made from a MISTAKE!  I couldn't understand the pattern, so I made up my own way to do it :-)  Turned out all right to me!

6--  I would love to go to Asia for a couple of months.  Beijing and Shanghai are high on my list.  I just love the Chinese language, the food, the architecture.  I feel like the history and the culture are so old and so rich.  There is so much you can learn from such an old and spiritual culture.  I would love to check out the individual styles in the city, but I am also interested in hiking through the countryside and seeing the ancient temples and buildings.

Yonghe Lama Temple, Beijing

7--  I am obsessed with storytelling!  I am all about fairytales.  I grew up with them, not just Disney, but also Fairy Tale Theatre with Shelley Duvall, and also Brothers Grimm fairytales as well.  I love to read anything that is a good story, from fiction to biographies and memoirs. 

Today, I took my Little Darling to watch Maleficent.  Ahhhhhmaaaayyziiiinng!  LOVED IT!

Check out Reviews & a trailer here.
 

8--  I love, Love, LOVE children.  I only have one of my own, but The Hubs and I talk/dream about adopting all the time.  We have both always volunteered with children.  I worked in social services for child welfare for almost 10 years.  I love it!  Children are our future, and I wish so much that people would INVEST time in our future.  It starts when they are young!

9--  I LOVE exchanging snail mail.  If you see this and you want to exchange letters with me, leave me a comment.  I love doing swaps, making my own envelopes, and other small crafts.  It's so much fun to get to know someone in this way. I have written snail mail for 4 years, and I have some of the same friends that I have never seen in person, that I still connect with regularly.  These Lovely People have become very dear friends of mine.

10--  I eat giant sugar cookies every day.  I have to stop.  The Hubs has lost so much weight, and I don't want to weigh more than he does..... but I am a true Cookie Monster!

11--  I go outside almost every day!  I love being outside.  I will take my Little Darling on walks in the rain.  I did not get cabin fever this long winter because we were out, playing in the snow just about everyday.  Also.... I walk to the bakery to get my sugar cookies every morning.  LOL

***********************************************************************************
Whew!!!!  That was A LOT!  Maybe it should have been FIVE Things? 

All right... On to the next part...
Answering 11 Questions from My Wool Valley

1--  What gave you the idea to start blogging?
Years ago, I got the idea that I wanted to sell my crafts.  I bought a book on how to sell your handmade items successfully, and it mentioned I should blog as well to promote myself and my crafts.  So that's what I did!  I actually didn't intend on this name... and I look MEAN in my profile picture because I took it late one night at work, after a co-worker sweated all over my shirt.  But, now, I love it.  It's like a virtual diary that I can share with the world :-)

2--  How did you learn to craft?
My Mom.  She taught me a few basic things when I was very young.  From then, I learned what I could on my own. The children I worked with taught me to read crochet patterns and they taught me how to do more than just a crochet chain.  I love those darling children for giving me a passion and a creative way to express myself.

3--  Who is your favorite writer?
JANE AUSTEN!

I love that she always writes such strong female protagonists.  I also love the way she depicts love.  It's not this thing that comes and goes... It's not love at first sight...  It's always something that is fought for, longed for, waited for, and grows slowly into something deep and real.  I'm in love with her idea of Love.  I am also in love with the way she finds ways for women, who were more or less second-class citizens in the 19th century, and makes find a way to persevere through their circumstances, not merely relying upon men.  Reading Ms. Austen made me rediscover the notion of true love.

4--  What are your favorite accessories?

I LOOOOOOVE earrings.  These are just a few that I have.  I don't even have them organized.  They are just in a box.  I have earrings from all over the world.  I have a few that have been sent to me by snail mail pals.  Some of them, like the piranha and the large leather triangle, aren't even to be worn.  I bought them just to have, while we were in Cancun Mexico last year.   Then, there are some that don't have a match anymore like the blue circles and pink crystals.  They're pretty, so I keep them.  My favorites are the metal teardrop earrings that my dear friend, *A* bought for me a couple of years ago and the Hello Kitty earrings from Swarovski Crystal that The Hubs bought me a couple of years ago.

5-- What is your next craft project?
I can't show a picture!  LOL!!! No peaking!  My next project are several items for a huge giveaway that I am doing in a few days.  I have a few finishing touches, but I am pretty much ready.  I am just VERY nervous about it.  Aside from that, I am also working on some thing for my dear friend, *A*, who is having her first baby!  Yaaaaayyy!!!  I love babies and I super-love making baby items. Nothing inspires me more.

6--  Where would you like to live, if you have to leave your country.
Berlin, Germany.  I love that city and I know it well.

7--  What is the hardest thing about blogging?
There are two things: One is finding the time to do it well.  I need peace, so I can edit pictures and hear my own thoughts when I type.  I only have that sort of peace in the middle of the night. So I am going back to my original game plan of posting in the night.  Two:  Not knowing if anyone is reading...  I post because I enjoy this form of expression, but I don't know if anyone cares... And because of this, it is easy for me to not make a post for weeks.  I know that a big key to successful blogging is TO POST OFTEN!  So I am working on that...  but it's really hard, when you don't think anyone is reading.

8-- What is your favorite color to knit or crochet?
RAINBOW!  I love so many colors.  It's hard to pick a favorite, but I do know that I love to use white or off-white as a background all the time.  I am slowly getting away from it, but I love to tie in all the crazy colors I use with a white background.  It calms the rainbow storm.

9-- What is your favorite flower?
Daisy.... But I am always walking around my neighborhood, searching for beautiful flowers!  I am always so inspired by nature.

10--  What would you do if you were rich?
Honestly, I would pay my debts and pay the debts of as many family and friends as possible.  I see no need to hold on to that money.  I live a full and happy life without it now, so there is no need to be selfish, I think.

11--  Where do you find inspiration for your craftwork?
Where do I NOT find it?  I am always keeping my eyes open.  I am looking at fashion, music, books, movies, celebrities, and even at furniture and ceramics/china.  I go to second hand shops. I also look so much to nature.  Nature always tells me something interesting...  Like this flower

These colors would make a beautiful blanket, I think.  I have already started to work on some of the squares!

I am also inspired so much by children.  What do they enjoy to play with and what do they find important?  I made some dolls from drawings my Little Darling made for me.  She was so proud to have these to play with because SHE designed them!

And I loved to work on pattern making and sewing!

.....  So that is it for now. I have to find 11 blogs and come up with 11 questions.  I will post that in the morning. For now, I hope you enjoyed this a little........and you aren't terrified of me!  Hahahaha :-)

Again, HUGE Thank You to My Wool Valley for nominating and sharing this opportunity with me.  You are such a sweet, darling.  Please follow the link to her blog to see her cute creations and her fun answers to the Liebster Award!

Happy Sunday.... Oh me, Oh my!  It's about to seriously storm out here!  Better take cover!

Working....In Progress...

You know, I have no idea where motivation comes from or where mine goes from time to time.  Sometimes, I get these phenomenal ideas, and I throw a lot of energy and time into collecting information (patterns, pictures, etc.) and resources or supplies to create this "Thing", whatever it is, and then, BOOM!  No more motivation. So, I will set those items and my "Do It" list associated with that project to the side with some sketches of what I wanted to accomplish.  Or maybe it's a project that will take lots and lots of small parts to create a whole.  I will get so pumped and really put a lot into getting all the parts made, and once I am done, BOOM!  No more motivation. Suddenly, I have yet another bag of crochet motifs that are stored for whenever my motivation for the project might .resurface

Finishing what I start has never been my strength.  I was never forced to finish what I started when I was young, so I never found the value in it until I was an adult.  Now, I always admire those who stay the course from start to finish. Those who had a plan and saw it all the way through.  On the other hand, however, I have also accepted the fact that I am definitely a carefree individual.  I just have to do what makes me happy, even if that changes from moment to moment.  I am just not the kind of girl who can suffer through difficult moments only to say that, "At least I stuck with my guns and finished what I started".  Yes, I always wonder what sort of person that will make me, when I am old and looking back on my life.  For the record, The Hubs and I make sure our Little Darling finishes every single thing that she starts.  We are both passionate about instilling that trait into our kiddo.

A prime example would be my issue with maintaining a fitness plan.  I am healthy overall...  I mean, I enjoy being active. I could totally stand to lose about 30-50lbs, but hey, who's counting?!  I have never stuck with a specific regimen for more than 3-5 days.  Making it to the 5 day mark warrants a "Happy Dance".

So my goal this morning was to walk 5 miles...  Reasons why I lost motivation:
1.  It was hot.....Super fucking hot.  Each lap seemed to be double the distance and my vagina gut and "under titty" were seating profusely.  I felt unattractive, and that matters when I am working out.

2.  There was an unusual abundance of creeps walking about, some on bikes, some with dogs. My Little Darling was taking a break from walking laps.  Although I could see her, I doubted that if a creep decided to abduct my one and only child that I would be able to catch that person, if I were too far away from her......  Ok.  Maybe I am just crazy, and these were all nice, elderly people who were just taking a stroll from the assisted living program that's right next to my apartment complex.  But still!  I was on high alert.

3. Weird shit was falling from all trees.  There are trees everywhere.  I am highly allergic to all trees and the shit that falls from them, lives in them, IS them...whatever.  Tree = Puffy eyes & Dermatitis.

4.  I can't do simple math, so I thought 12 laps was 4 miles... And then reality hit, and I realized that, not only am I a lazy moron, but I can't count.  Awesome.

5. My Little Darling decided to play behind a huge rock.  I couldn't see her and she couldn't hear me screaming for her.  I ran, which is, like, "Aw hell naw!  Make it stop!  The agony!" for anyone who witnessed.  By the time I found her, or she found me, I collapsed to the ground in tears.  My stomach was in my chest, my knee was to the point of giving out, my eyes were burning from pollen mixed with salty tears, and I was wheezing like someone with emphysema.  All in all, I was fucking DONE.

So I held my kid nice and tight as we walked home, her little 60-pound body supporting my 200-pound, nearly 6 foot body all the way home.  I have never been so terrified!  While caught up in my emotions, I almost (for just the briefest of seconds) thought that I needed to have more children.  I mean, what would I do if something happened to the ONLY ONE I have?!

So yea.  I am a quitter.  And I always have a great story to tell about why I started down one path, quit half way, and hopped on over to a new path.

Relevance??

I have a HUGE give away planned, but it's not complete.  More on that some other day.  I will tell you now, though, that my procrastination was medically induced!

As part of my procrastination, I have been eating lots of pastries:

Don't fret.  I always accompany the pastry with coffee or tea...and a fruit or vegetable to balance things out.  Today, it was blueberries.

And I have also been working on this "side project" for my daughter's room.  Let me just PAUSE and say that I have been trying to remodel/redecorate her bedroom for over a year!  Yes! It has been something like 18 months!  I still haven't even painted a single wall.  I need to get moving before she turns 18 and all my ideas are completely  useless...

To my surprise, I am making lots of progress on this pillow cover.  I am pretty shocked.  I just don't do well with 5,000 small parts.  But I haven't lost any.  I have continued to work on it.  And I have also started to assemble the hexies.  I chose the random assembly rather than the one that fades from one color into another.  I like random.  It's fun.

I am a little less than half way done with enough hexies to cover a small pillow.  I am REALLY excited about the progress I am making.  I have never made a pillow cover before, so this is pretty special.

At this point, I just need to decide if I want to do hexies for the front and back or if I want to cover the back with fabric.  I have some options below...

I haven't decided anything just yet.  Honestly, I have no idea how attach crochet motifs to fabric. LOL.  This is all one big learning process for me.  For example:  If I had known that stitching 500 thousand hexagons would take hours, I would have totally used a pattern or plan to connect them as I was going along.  It's all good.  You Live and you Learn. 

If you are curious about the crochet hearts... I will tell you more about those on another day.  I have a bunch of hearts made, using different patterns. I'll share them all with you as soon as I figure out what to do with them!
 

Oranges and Blues....

It's an easygoing Saturday afternoon in this house.  I'm loving it.  I love the days, where I wake up to my husband.  Then, I find out that he has done all the breakfast cooking and that I am up late because he let me sleep in peace for an extra few hours, after he's been up working third shift all night.  What a hubby, I have!  I love being spoiled a little, every here and there.

Well, I know I have been missing in action for a couple of weeks.  I was on a kick of trying out so many new projects that I didn't take time to photograph or post about any of them.  Silly me!  I have this thing about actually WANTING to be a "Jill of all trades, but a master of none".  It's like deciding between wanting to be "A person who knows a lot about one topic" or "The person who knows a fair amount about a lot of random topics".  I strive to be "ooooh-kaaaay" at many different crafts and art media, rather than focusing on just one thing at a time and mastering that skill.

Don't get me wrong.  I don't have any special formula for success.  I only excel at doing what makes me happy.  For the past couple of months, hand sewing and felt projects has brought me lots of joy.  So does making flowers, so I have been experimenting with that too. 

Then something happened...  I had to pack up everything and put it all away. Painters showed up in my apartment, and just like that, I had to shut down the little artsy vortex I'd created.  I realized that I had seventy-eleven projects going and they are all in different craft media.  I have a list a mile long of topics to blog about and a "Do It" list twice as long, listing projects I need to finish in order to make the posts.  So yea... dilemma! 

Once everything was out of sight and I could actually see the floors in my apartment, I had to pick what projects to pull back out.  Or worse of me, I had to decide if I wanted to just plain start yet another unrelated craft adventure.

Being overwhelmed, I chose to crochet!  I always come back to hooking.  I understand it.  I can do it without looking.  There's no chaos or mess involved (as long as I am not using 30 colors of yarn!) and I can easily lose myself in the calming, repetitive nature of the projects.

So I got back to hooking. 

For about a year or so, I have been obsessed with the color combination involving shades of orange, mints, sea foam, aqua, turquois, and maybe a little teal, and also light shades of pink.  I know, when I put it this way, it sounds crazy... 

But look at it this way:

I am all about this color combo!  I love it so much.  And having some time to make these tiny hexies, that also double as a sort of swatch work for me, has just made me more passionate about creating a space that uses these colors.

The plan is to redecorate my Little Darling's bedroom in these hues.  It's a slow process, but man!  As I come one step closer, slowly, but surely, I am really excited about it and I love watching the progress unfold before my eyes.

These two projects are for pillow covers.  My Little Darling told me that she wants "cool pillows".  Since I am going to be redoing her room anyway, I figured I should just make them in the colors of her new room.

The African flowers will be for a large pillow.  The mini hexies will be for a smaller one.  I just need to decide how I want to arrange the smaller ones.

In some sort of color transition:

Or if I want to just place them randomly on the pillow...

I guess the free spirit in me is leaning towards the latter.  I love the colors being tossed up and placed wherever they land.

Other projects in the works:

• Finding/ making a shelving unit with the little boxes inside.  I will sew the boxes, possibly using felt...  That is easier for me to embellish and embellishments for a little girl's room is EVERYTHING!
• Finding a headboard or making a canopy.  I haven't made a decision yet.  I think it makes no sense to do both.  I might just do a small wall art in place of the headboard and go with the canopy & mobile... again, it's aaaaalll about the embellishment and "Wow factor".
• A Quilt & pillow cases----  Yes, this involves sewing.  Yes, I am shitting my pants just thinking about it.  Everyone tells me that quilt making is really simple.  I had my doubts, which were completely confirmed by fellow non-sewing friend, *D*.  I'm intimidated, but I am determined to have this room look the way I want it to... 

A small little post for now.  Next week, I will be doing a huge giveaway, so I may not be able to return to this project for some time, but, again, I am loving the slow progress on this project.  I am watching the pieces of this puzzle come together.  Here's a secret:  This will be my FIRST EVER room that I have actually tried to "design" and decorate.  I'm very nervous and in no way going to rush this.  It's for someone really special, my Little Darling, and I want everything to be perfect for her!

Have a Happy Satruday!!!  Stay tuned for my week's worth of GIVE AWAYS, which I am planning to start either tomorrow or Monday.