Valentine's Day

So yesterday, on Valentines Day, I decided what I REALLY needed to do was....not the chores, not the laundry, not plan dinner, but make these

One for each of the girls. I had no real plan for their purpose, just thought they were cute. Warning though... they are VERY addictive. So quick and easy to make that you just want to keep making them. Thankfully the girls loved them and wore them as necklaces. And so far I've limited myself only to making 4..... anyone else want one?

Hope your Valentines Day (and every day) was filled with love.

I am.....

• still happy sewing things - swaps on swap-bot, projects for friends, and projects for me




• enjoying baking - lots of lunchbox-able snacks, ALL of our bread (including this and this recipe) - yes haven't bought bread in nearly a month!!! Trying out lots of new recipes found via Pintrest and expanding my recipe box.

• Realizing that cooking more takes planning and trying to get better at that
• realizing how addicted I can get to the computer - checking emails, facebook, google reader, playing games.....trying to limit that
• still working on my OLW and trying to consciously live it every day
• trying to be content with the baby steps I am making rather than disappointed at not reaching the goals.
• saddened by the trials that friends are being but through and trying to be, in turn, grateful for the small blessings we receive every day
• all in all thinking that 2012 if starting off to be a good year!

New Year, New Intentions, New Resolutions

Every year Ali Edwards does her "One Little Word" project. Every year I look at it and think - yeah, great idea, but not for me. These year when I started seeing it pop up on the blogs "my" word popped into my head and it won't go away...... so I guess it's here to stay. And the more I ponder on it, the more it fits....

DO

So this is the year I will - DO

DO - be deliberate in my actions and decisions

DO - more crafting

DO - take time to enjoy the now

DO - take action rather than sitting and worrying about possible outcomes

DO - exercise

DO - take care of myself - not just everyone else

DO - take risks

Part of this will be an effort to blog more - which helps me hold accountable (even if no one else is really reading) Of course having said that - this week is a crazy one - TCDE heads to NYC this weekend for 5 days and I am going as chaperon so I won't be around much. But I will be practicing my word - I am taking the opportunity to go with my daughter - while she still wants me around - to make memories that will last a lifetime :) So though you may not hear from me again till we get back, I will be back again soon. Till then here is a collection of what I did "DO" last year.

Welcome 2012! I look forward to the possibilities the new year brings.

Taking a time out....

I have a teenage daughter...........

She is exhibiting textbook teenage behaviors......

Sometimes I need a time out.......

So the other day - rather than attack the piles of laundry, or clean something that desperately needed cleaning, or curl into the fetal position and never come out...... I made something - because making things is what reduces my stress levels - plus I can close the door to the craft room and pretend that I don't hear the activity from upstairs as my darling husband takes a turn of coping with a teenage daughter - being an only child this is ALL new ground for him!

I decided that the girls bathroom needed new bath mats - and so that's what I made

It's just fabric squares (300 or so) backed with some old towels. It's not the neatest quilt project I've made (terry toweling is not the best fabric to work with...) but it gave me the time out I needed to be able to venture back into the battleground. Plus it makes me smile every time I walk past their bathroom :)

Finding a rhythm

I don't know why it's taking me so long to find a rhythm to my days....... Some days I feel energized and merrily check of my list of things to do for the day. Other days I fiddle around with this or that and never really accomplish anything before my 2nd job of chief taxi driver and homework helper starts promptly at 2:45pm. I get frustrated a lot but then try to remember that really in the grand scheme of things this is really such a short period of time in life. Next year the girls will be in middle and high school (ugh!) which adds an extra hour to "my" part of the day, and before I know it they won't be needing me for driving OR homework. SO I try to be content in the "now".

One of my goals had been to fill my etsy store by the end of this month....it's not going to happen. Don't get me wrong - I'm still making stuff all the time but a lot of it are things people have ordered from me already so the extra's are not getting made. So if you have seen something on my blog or on my flickr account that you would like me to make - please just ask me. I LOVE to make stuff :0 ) and would love to make you something. Meanwhile I will keep working away on my store stuff and hope to have it stocked soon - and hopefully soon find a rhythm to my days.

Saying goodbye...

So I had to say goodbye to my mum last weekend :( It always makes me more than a little homesick when I wave her off on a jet plane - I really miss seeing my family and particularly my sisters. But it's a good chance to send a bunch of stuff home since I can't go myself. So gave her an extra suitcase and we loaded them up as close to the weight limit as we could!

For #2 (my husband likes to number my sisters rather than use a name..) with my almost 3 yr old niece and another niece on the way, we send home lots of fun new clothes and books for the girls - some new, some made with love. Some particularly requested items were a twirly skirt which my DD made, and a scarf to match the one I had made my sister for Christmas (it's winter there at the moment).

#4 received an antique cocktail shaker that I stumbled upon while browsing Nostalgia one day :)

and #3 owns a restaurant so I thought a handmade apron would be something she would like

It has a pocket to hold a order pad and pen, some vintage buttons and trims, and some paris newsprint fabric to remind her of our trip :)

Doesn't even come close to getting on a plane and seeing them in person but at least they'll know I'm thinking of them!

This week I....

Did a little sewing

played with some more ATC's

spent some time exploring new (to me) places in our area

and celebrated my mum's birthday- this year in the same country as she was!

All in all it was a lovely week. :)

A change of attitude

So lately I've been having a rough time with life in general......

Nothing major

Nothing horrible

Just life.

Most of it is out of my control and I just am going to have to suck it up and deal with it. Some of it I could change but due to the subsequent consequences I'm not ready/willing to right now.

So I decided what was needed was a change of attitude.......

So come April 1st I am going to try



It's a 5x7 album with rings so that I can add stuff along the way if I want to. I used different papers from different companies out of my stash. I did kind of decide on a color scheme but that's as much planning as I did. The pages are already numbered to keep me honest :o)



I'm going to add a few more embellishments before I start but most of it I'm going to do as I go. The pages are not all the same size.


Some pages I'll just journal on, some I will add some photos or mementos too. By the 30th of April I will have a book to look back on and remember all the things that make my life wonderful.

Won't you join me? I'd love to share your joys :o)

At the beach.......

We try every year - or at least every other year - to get to the beach.


The beach is one of the things I really do miss about living in Australia. We lived just an hour from the beaches in Sydney. My grandparents lived for many many years just 5 minutes from the beach. Our youth group went on many beach trips - both day trips and camping ones. The Australian beaches are clean bright yellow sand and blue, blue water. When I moved to Washington State we had to drive to San Francisco to see the kind of beaches I was used to. Then we moved to Knoxville........ thankfully a friend at work told us if we wanted beaches we had to go to Grayton Beach outside of Destin. We did - and have gone there (or one of the beaches close by) ever since.
I LOVE the beach!

Still here.....

Yes I'm still here and still trying to catch up with my life! School is back in full swing as are all the extra curricular activities and birthdays and store events..... it's just crazy! I have been doing some creating - you can see the monthly challenge group stuff over at the diva blog and some cards I've made over at the Store.
Speaking of birthday's we have had 2 in the family this month (3 if you count my dad's - miss you dad!) My older DD requested an iceskating party for her birthday so here was the invite


And here is the party in full swing.

She is also the one with the pig addiction so while in Seattle this summer I made sure to take lots of photos of Rachel - the Pike St Market mascot. So for her birthday I made her a mini book to remember our trip

It sits on her bedside table for a nightly viewing before bed :o)
My niece turned 1 this week and for her birthday I made her a rag doll which was SO much fun and I already have requests for several more. It hasn't made it through the mail across the ocean to her yet so I am crossing my fingers hoping when she gets it she loves it as much as I do


You can see behind her a matching quilt still in progress. I hope to have that completed before Christmas - or sooner even!
My older DD auditioned for and was accepted into the Tennessee Children's Dance Ensemble so that now takes up a lot of our free time but it is a dream come true for her. It's still an adjustment for me.....

My younger DD's birthday is coming up next month so I need to begin planning for that.... and then before you know it, it will be Christmas! Ugh! Hopefully I'll be back here before then :o) Thanks for checking in on me!

What happened to summer?

I know, I know - it's been much longer than a week since I updated. Summer used to be endless hours at the pool or at home just hanging out and relaxing - this summer though it seems I'm never home! Feels like I spend all day dropping off and picking up the kids from one activity or another. I guess it's just the age they are at - they seem to be enjoying it though. My mum is here for a visit and I don't think she's enjoying it quite so much. It's been a few years since she's had this much activity in her house.
I have managed to get a few things done. Made some more present pillows for a birthday party for twins (with my DH as the reluctant prop guy)



and also another bag made to order



I never would have chosen these fabrics to go together but it came together surprisingly well - a little brighter than I would have picked, but she loved it and that's what counts.

For Father's Day we went up the mountains to our favorite picnic spot. I love how every time we go there is something new to discover and this time was no different.

In all the years we have been going there I can't ever remember seeing so many mushrooms!!

They were in every color and shape and size and the more you look the more you found

So my oldest DD and I went on a mushroom hunt - hoping to catch a glimpse of a fairy or two along the way. We never did see a fairy but I'm sure they were just to fast for us :o)

The end of another month

I just can't believe how fast time is flying by!!! Seems like I don't have much time for anything anymore and before you know it the kids will be out of school for the summer. I have been making things just haven't had the time to write about it as often and if there is anyone out there still checking in on me and my little blog I apologize for the huge time lapses between posts. I did make a second pillow for the charity art auction which is this Saturday

Sadly the fabric was still sitting on my table from the last one....I won't tell you how long it had been sitting there!
We had our next diva meeting too.
My piece was made for my youngest DD who is mad about mice and can't understand why I don't want her to have a pet mouse in a 2 cat household....... but that's another story! I made 50 thank you cards for the PTA president to give out to all the lovely ladies that dedicate so much time and effort to the school - of course no photo of them. I also made my DD the cutest pencil roll to store her watercolor pencils in. If it ever resurfaces from the black hole that is her room I will be sure to take a shot of it and share. I should have taken one straight away but I wasn't expecting to disappear so fast!
Next project? Hmmmm....... I uncovered the girls school scrapbooks and found them to be YEARS behind so I swore I would catch them up before this year of school got out. I have been dreaming of a new bag for me. End of year gifts for the teachers and girl scout leaders (one of the teachers has asked for clipboards so I might decorate some for her) Still have plans for a quilt for my niece. New placemats for the summer. Some skirts for me. Some new pillows.......... the problem is never what to do but what to do FIRST! For now however it's bedtime. I promise to try and post once a week from now on and hope that you will come back and say hi. Happy May!

New (old) Toys

I have looked at typewriters and secretly coveted one for a long time - though I really had no specific use for one - I just wanted it. Then the other day while wandering through my favorite vintage store "Nostalgia" I came across this one and knew it had to come home with me!

I think it was the color that got to me. I thought that we girls could all use it but my oldest DD immediately decided that this was NOT something to be shared - she HAD to have one of her own. Luckily I had happened to notice another one at the store (only $25!!!) and so we quickly returned to get her one of her very own.I have since received many sweet notes painstakingly typed and you can hear the "tap tap" of the keys at all hours of the morning and night. Who knew such a simple object could bring such happiness?? She has even started typing her homework! Got to love it.

Last weekend I took some down time and made another bag - this time specifically ordered by a friend.

She picked out the fabrics so all I had to do was put it together and it came together quite nicely :o) You can't really see in this photo but the top side of the straps are the black fabric. Good job Sherrie!
At the moment I am trying to whip together some little things for my DD's for Easter. I'll show you if they get done!
Happy Easter!

Happy Spring!

I love this time of year when it's still cold enough to be warm and cozy in bed at night but during the day the signs of spring are showing - sunny, warmer days, flowers peeking out from the ground, fresh bursts of growth on the trees. Just in time to watch the new season unfurl I thrifted this lovely chair and it has given me a new happy corner in my house.


Now all it's needs is a comfy pillow - I think I have some fabric somewhere that I could use.....

I got some more of the FQ swaps in the mail this week. It's so much more fun to go to the mailbox when you know there are packages headed your way. Thanks Maggie, Melissa, Laura and Donna!

And on a crafty note I made this art journal the other day - it's still a work in progress but I like it so far.

It's just random papers sewn together and bits and pieces of fabric, buttons and ribbons added here or there. I have decided to make it a book about my dad - it's been 5 years this week since he passed away and I think I am ready now to be able to make a reminder of him. I will show you when I have finished it.

We leave next week for a spring break trip to Washington D.C. and New York with the highlight of the trip (from the girls point of view) being a trip to, and lunch at the American Girl store.

Enjoy your spring days!

Snow!

Today the girls were out of school today for MLK day and we got to do this

There was enough for snowballs now and then but not enough for a snowman. It was still pretty to watch though and it was enough for schools to be closed again tomorrow - yippee!

We bought the Wii Fit this weekend and I am ever so slightly addicted.... How can I tell I'm addicted you ask? Maybe by the pain in my thighs....... I am competing against my 10yr old and only just beating her - it won't take long and I am sure she will surpass me at all the games but for now she is ever so slightly behind me - well on most of them anyway.

Don't forget to come back tomorrow for the bird giveaway!

A new year

Yes I know it's been a while - I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays! I spent much of December busy in the craft room sewing and scrapping gifts for all my favorite people. You can see some of my sewing projects on my flickr account. Over the holidays I took a break from just about everything (the computer, crafting, cleaning....)and it was nice. Now that school is back in session I am easing back into life again. I made some decisions over the holidays of things I want to do and want NOT to do for the new year
To do:
1. craft more - it makes me happy :o)
2. reduce, reuse, recycle more - I already do it some but I should do a better job of it.
3. use what I have first (see #2)
4. take time to stop and enjoy the little things - time passes oh so quickly!
5. say "no" more - I am very quick to say yes to anything and everything people ask me to do and then end up wishing I had not committed to so many things.
6. let other people do things too
NOT to do:
1. over commit myself trying to make everyone happy
2. wait until December to start on Christmas projects!!!!
3. obsess over things that I have no control over.
4. expect other people to change
5. try to do EVERYTHING!

So far this week I have spent 2 days at home just crafting and I am a much better person for it! One of the things I got hooked on over the holidays was making little bird ornaments - this one is my favorite so far

Most of them ended up finding new homes so I wanted to make some more for me. Well today I stumbled upon a bird exchange - perfect timing to get me motivated! Details are here if you are interested but more importantly part of the exchange is to give away a bird on January 20th - so make sure you check back here then to register for your chance to win one of these birds :o)

Another challenge piece

I think this has to be one of my favorite challenge pieces from the group yet. I thought it would be hard since we were just given the one piece to use but I love the way it turned out!

It was my older DD that insisted the piece needed a mushroom and I found one just the right size :o) It has the colors of my bedroom so I think I am going to hang it next to my bed. Coincidentally today was also the day that our little group was featured in the local newspaper! How fun is that?!? You can read it here if you are interested.

The weather here has turned cold and as I usually do when it is cold, I have turned back to my sewing projects. One of my favorite websites Sew Mama Sew has a daily count down to Christmas gift guide on thier blog and there has been lots of fun projects to try - of course it's not like I am really in need of new projects - I still have about 5 or 6 sitting here with all the fabric waiting to be started..... some supposedly are to be finished in time for Christmas......... better get back to my sewing machine!

A day at home....

It's been so long since I have had a day at home alone with nothing that "HAS" to be done - well you know there is always housework.... but that's definitely not on my list of have to's today! I need these days of quiet to re-energize now and then. It's the perfect day for it too - cold and wet outside, the leaves falling off the trees with astounding color. Inside I have butternut squash roasting in the oven in preparation for making my favorite soup - no one else in my house will make it but I decided I didn't care - I'm making it anyway! The cats are curled up asleep on the chairs, the coffee is brewing, music is playing and I'm crafting - I'll show you what when it's done. Love these days and the are so rare lately I treasure them even more.

One thing I have been meaning to tell you all is that my baby sister has an etsy store now too so go check her out and show her some love. I am the proud owner of several of her creations :o)

Wishing you all a day of peace and happiness!

More baby goodness

The challange pieces we recived last month for the group just looked like a scrapbook page to me and luckily I had the perfect little photo for it

LOVE it!!!! And wouldn't you know that this month was the month that a reporter for the local paper came to interview us so this little face will be featured in our local paper. We will have to collect and save many copies :o)

Hope you all had a great Halloween - here are my 2 DD

The oldest was NOT a witch - she was "Countess Vanessa" (don't ask me where that came from....) and the younger was "Holly the Ice Dragon Princess" (again - no idea where that came from - she is reading the fairy series of books by Daisy Meadows and I'm guessing that's where the idea came from)

Happy Birthday baby girl!

My youngest turns 8 today!! I know it's said over and over again "enjoy them while they are young because the time passes so quickly" but it is SO true! These 8 years have just flown by and with every minute of anger and frustration she has caused us have also come hours of joy. Happy birthday my little girl!

In our house once 2 birthday's have passed that means Christmas is just around the corner. I swore I would be ready for it this year and I really am going to try! I have a Christmas card stamp-a-stack this weekend at the store and these are the cards I made for it.

Of course I haven't made any for me..... But it has helped me start thinking about it anyway. I am also really trying to cut back this year and make more handmade gifts again. We really all have more than we need and I think it's much nicer to get something that you know someone has made just for you.