thankful #3780

i'm thankful for aging.

you know, the inevitable wrinkles, stiff joints, hoary head..  all that *fun* stuff.

just kidding.

i'm not gettin' older.  matter of fact, i refuse to.. sOo, today i'm thankful for other sweet reasons.. (which do include another year passing..)

my only girl made me a cake & jewelry.  sOoo sweet.

pretty awesome, huh? her 1st cake EVER. she rocks!  <3

my j-boy #1 made me breakfast AND dinner!!  ^.^

the other j-boys cleaned their room! :D

i'm thoroughly impressed by my peoples.. sO thoughtful!

i went shoppin' yesterday & got some oh sO groovy shoes among other goodies.. 

i'm on a tiny, cute, lil' cloud of happiness.  <3

phunny photo..

sorry.. i'm a lil' bummed right now..

nothin' to really write about.

but a pic is worth a thousand words, right?

okay.. so it's NOT.. but this one is worth a few.

Hardee's does not exist up north. and honestly i think that should change!  they have the BEST burgers ever.  no one has to tell you that. once you have one you'll know..

they're all over the south as far as i'm aware..

in this pic, the guy chooses a SUPER-sized soda instead of a burger.

O_o

bad choice.

pic credit here..

Quirky lil clock toot..

i needed a new clock... turns out that one of my clocks that had been reading the SAME time forEVER was that way cuz it was BROKE.  haha!  :D

sOoo.. i decided to buy a new one.. but just a cheapie..  it looked *okay* online..

o_O

honestly, i could NOT in good conscience put this up.. reminds me of school..

sOo, i decided to go fancy.. cuz, well.. u know me.. lol

i broke out my stash of modpodge, magazine cut outs & a brush & went at it!

i used old Anthropologie & Free People catalogs..
they have awesome texture & prints..
:)

Step 1: remove the clock glass *face thingy* before you begin..

Step 2: paint your lil' magazine papers everywhere!

Step 3: put the face thingy back on before the podge dries completely.. (to make sure you don't jack up  ALL your hard work.. podge dries hard.. you want the paper to give a lil' as you put the face thingy back on)

Step 4: enjoy all your hard work!

okay.. sO, i know we're all different, but i appreciate a lil' bit of quirkiness..
sO, i let the numbers below the podge peek out a lil'
for dimension..
& quirk's sake..
;) 

i warn you before you do this one.. modpodge is a LOT like kindergarten glue projects..

i started havin' flashbacks of when i had to peel the *skin-like* layer of glue from my palms..

good times.. good times*...

<3

christmas cards...

EVERY year or MOST every year, i make my Christmas cards..

it's fun.. AND i enjoy the personal touch that it adds.

i'd LOVE to receive handmade ANYthing, sOo.. why not give handmade, right?

;)

anyway..  i've been told by people for years that i should *publish* a line of handmade greeting cards..

o_O

honestly, the idea intimidates me as well as makes me mentally constipated..

i can't think of a good idea to save my life!

not good.

but, i've been doodlin' a lil' bit here & there and i thought i'd share a quick lil' doodle with you..

another lil' birdie..  ;)
should i color my doodles??
i sure could use some input..
*sigh*

i'd love some feedback.. should i make greeting cards???

leave me a comment..  let. me. knowwwww..   <3

Cool pic...

Good for those times when there's nothin' really to write about, but I KNOW you deserve a lil' sumthin..

;)

And in case you had any doubts, YES.. it's a fly. Don't ask me why. I just grabbed it for your viewing pleasure.

Am I thoughtful or what!?

and of course this pic would inspire another whack haiku..

lookin' cute all wet

yet you still so, sO dirty

i never liked flies.

Nevermind... O_o

photo cred here..

toot time!!

this is my FIRST ever tutorial!!
how exciting!!  ^.^

i decided to create a wreath... got pretty inspired the last few days lookin' at all these different ones that are available thru crafty folk...

i think it turned out sOoo adorable.. & so, i thought i'd share a lil' toot with you so you could make one, too..  :)

shall we begin??

FIRST:
grab a WIRE hanger.. (if you don't have one, go get sumthin dry-cleaned again..)
stretch out the wire until you've got a nice roundish sumthin..

THEN:
find a rag or two & cut it into strips.. (i used an old towel..) wrap it around the hanger over & over & over again until you've got the WHOLE thing-a-ma-jigga covered in rags..  lay it flat as you go so the strips don't shift.

NEXT:
you wanna get some fiberfill (the kind that's used for quilting cuz it's a long one piece thingy) cut a strip or two of that about 3 inches wide & wrap that around the strips of rags..

THEN:

wrap with yarn.. (honestly at this point, i didn't know what i was doin', but this seemed *right* lol)

turns out the yarn will kinda tie the other stuff together..

NEXT:
collect *stuff* to prettify your wreath.. i wanted mine to be made of mostly felt, so that's what i used.. as a base, i chose one color (i found this cheap sweatshirt poly-sumthin to use as the base color & wrapped it inside out so that it would have the same fuzzy texture as my felt decorations)

i discovered that my glue gun was my best friend (who knew?) i cut lil' leaves & flowers out & just played with the pieces until it felt *right*. i added embroidery floss to give it a lil' more
definition..

i think it turned out pretty cute.. you? :)

fuzzy leaves..

i discovered these sweet wreath concepts that are very pretty.. thinkin' of makin' one, but it's way more complicated than just choosing one.. turns out i'd like to make sumthin a lil' less perfect..

irregular makes a wreath look a lil' more realistic, no?

sOo.. i went thru the wreaths and grabbed my picks that i thought combined would make the *perfect* door adornment..

leaves! sweet lil' idea.. but they need to be more than one color.. in *my* opinion.. 

sOo.. add pops of color like this one has!

& these flowers in varying sizes would be awesome...

 i'm gonna give it a shot.. wish me well.. this should be fun!  :)

*confession* #327

WHY confession #327, tea?  cuz it sounds cool, right?

confession #1 sounds whack..  like i never had to confess anything until now.. pshhh..  lol

anyway.

i NEED this stuff *right* now.
i'm not even playin'!
check out this shirt.. if it wasn't for the price tag attached, i'd hafta snatch that one up! :)
(remember.. i'm the girl with the $5 price "rule")

 & of course with the pants.. one word.. *STYLINNNN*

i actually have a blanket with this kind of knitted pattern.. i'm feelin' sOoo tempted right about now.

anyway.. inspiration can only get u so far.. then you either hafta start BUYing or MAKEing..

it's up to you.. me. which gets pretty complicated.. i'm one of those girls who doesn't really care for sewing..  *ick*
i'm tempted to buy some ol' skool patterns, though.. maybe that would make the journey a lil' more exciting.. we'll see..  ;)

*remember* confessions are good for the soul. <3

sweet slipper shopping.

i was sO totally doin' some VERY necessary slipper shopping online when i decided to check on etsy.

now anyone who knows etsy KNOWS that etsians are VERY much a people who want to make money, (you know.. greenbacks, cheddar, dough). heh heh...

in other words, they ain't sellin' no peanuts.  O_o

but i hafta say, i found some awesomely crafted stuff..

there are some eXtremeLy creative people in the world!


look at these..

super adorable. insane, actually. (but i can't give her my 50 bucks for 'em)

and these!! 

now she KNOWS if i'm not givin' the boot girl, my $50, 

i'm certainly not gonna give her $75 for some peas.  O_o

and these!! (for when i feel like being a happy elf)

but, for 65 bucks, would i really be THAT  happy???

and these for when my feet shrink..

a LOT.

obviously, as you can tell, i am the WORST person to shop with ever. i prefer not spending over 5 bucks for ANYthing. (cheapskate)& unfortunately, i tend to have funky, but expensive taste.. cuz people who think funky, also think *show me da money*

just kidding..

but just ask me for my paypal account info if you wanna donate to my slipper fund. :D

just kidding... lol 

o__O

photography love!

her work is SWEET. well, not all of it is hers, but i'm thoroughly impressed..

sweet green!

vibrant colors..

the one below is a great photographer also.. it's from this guy.. quite impressive photography.. some a lil' yuck, though..  :D

his subject matter may make you a bit *squeamish* lol

i'm lovin' the double rainbow.

:)

happy fall y'all!!

a lil' doodle to celebrate this rainy 1st day of autumn..

:)

momma's day.. er... weekend.

i must've had the best mother's day ever this weekend!  i was tOtaLLy spoiled!

on friday, i got my biggest & most exciting gift of all.. of course, i'm undeserving.. but i'm enjoying it sOoo much!

meet my djembe!!  ;)

i'm a happy momma!  i'm always tappin' away at stuff.. i didn't realize how much i'd enjoy having a drum until i brought it home!  the sound is superb!  very deep base tones, but the rim makes it sound sorta bongo-ey..  it's sO enjoyable to play!

THEN on Saturday, i got a necklace with matching earrings from my big girl along with lots & lots of hugs!  i'm on a cloud.  ^.^

THEN on Sunday, Pastor Carter must've preached the best message for my heart. & i received a big ol' challenge that will definitely be followed up with some good ol' ACTION.

:)

i got mother's day cards.. more hugs.. a warm, sunshiny day.. and a wonderful family ...

all for FREE!! 

who could ask for anything more!

:)

happy momma's day, friends!  <3

new recipe book..

cute, huh?

i have lots of recipes that i'm attracted to.. that i'd like to make & haven't yet tried, cuz their on lil' scraps of paper tucked away in my cupboard.

BUT.. if i had this lil' recipe nook book, i'm sure i'd be alright.

;-)

funky decor!

... and of COURSE, it's from a free people store. i seriously can't get enough inspiration from this place! ha!!

u would think i have a wardrobe full of their clothing..

unfortunately, i don't.

i can't afford it.. LOL..

*BUT* we can ALL afford a few strips of polyester scarves cut and braided together to hang from our ceilings..

OR.. some old yarn tied around some "found" vessels to put on a dusty shelf..

OR..

some old bandannas from the thrift shop shredded to wrap around SOMEthing useful.

anyway you look at it, there's some AWESOME color awaitin' you.. if you're willing to be adventurous.

hmm.. QUESTION: what funky decor should i work on next...?

:)

free people. or freepeople.

i have decided that i seriously need to get an internship at freepeople. i mean, come on!! they're RIGHT in PENNsYLvaNia!!! there's no reason why i shouldn't be able to go & hang out with them.. i LOVE being around fun fabrics.. trims.. and COLOR!!! OMGness.. i'm in love with COLOR.

i truly think i could live in a fabric swatch warehouse making patchwork stuff ALL day.

maybe i'm just a lil' too emotional right now..

free people.. freepeople. however u say it. ROCKs.

;)

images from freepeople blog

i need a job..

'cuz this is aBsOLutELy insane!! =)

it's unbelievable how much space i would have if i just could put ALL of my beds and shelves inside of the wall.. you know what? i'm gunna stop writing.

you GOTTA see this:

the lil' things..

yea.. sO, if u read my last post about enlightenment, passion and all that good stuff, you now KNOW that my joy/passion (wutever u wanna call it) is to work with youth.

Assata asked for a lil' handmade gift... for her birthday.

anyway, i made this lil' box for my cute friend Assata.. one of the junior high girls that i work with.. and she let out a VERY high-pitched squeal!! talk about makin' a girl's day..

i told Nadine that i don't make things for my own gratification, but as i write this, i can't help but wonder if there's a slight bit of joy received when we GIVE from our hearts. needless to say, Assata liked her lil' presents. =)

**QUILTS**

am i 'spoze to be a quilter and i didn't know it or sumthin??

mannnn... this quilter is AMAZING!! i know it must've taken her YEARS to complete the thing.. and now, honestly.. the thing should be in an art gallery somewhere.

it's AWESOME.

and so, yea.. go figure. i have a "new" love interest..

i wanna make a quilt. =)

coasters!!

i have "inherited" a HUNORMOUS amount of magazines.

yes, i know hunormous is not a word, but ever since J-boy #2 started saying it when he was five, it's stuck..

anyway.. don't distract me..

as i was saying, i have a hunormous amount of magazines.. the thought of getting my fav mag subscriptions for 5 bucks sounded awesome at the time, but when ur in danger of embracing your "inner packrat," all you end up with is more JUNK.

(did i just say junk?) i meant treasures.. *heh heh*

and just as i was having an epiphany regarding throwing them out so that i could become more organized, along comes the EVIL plot against me to create coasters! *gasp*

i was sO NOT lookin' for this.. but, honestly, i cannot resist at LEAST trying this tutorial for coasters as attractive as these..

i'll put up my finished projects.. one of these days.. summer is here and that means i need to put my creativity to work or i'll go crazy with regrets when the season is over..

wish me luck! =)

wallet #3

N girl is just that.. a girl.

she wanted a wallet, too.. a feminine one.. i took the fabric remnants from some baby clothes.

fun. =)