Photo frustration

Okay, I have GOT to figure out how to take and edit a decent photo for etsy. I just listed my second item on etsy and I don't think the photos are one whit better than my first attempt. Here's what I'm talking about:


I wouldn't even buy from myself if all I saw where the pictures I took! :) It really is a cute onesie--really! I wish you didn't just have to trust me on that.

I'm spending Sunday with my folks downtown and plan to pick my dad's brain so we can all loo forward to an improvement next week (I hope, I hope). And if any of you have tips you want to share, go right ahead.

Bib Banner

So I had this idea for a pennant/banner thing for a baby shower--it serves as both shower decoration and a baby gift--made up of real bibs that could be unpinned and used after the shower. The bibs are reversible--I used the back side and just taped letters on to spell "BOY." When the bibs are used as bibs you can just remove the paper letters.

Here's a first stab at it:


And here's one of the bibs close up:


And here's all three bibs from the front (obviously the backs are all the same). I love this little cowboy fabric from Material Girls and love working with it. I used one of the fat quarters to make along strip of bias and really like how nicely it turned out. :)



Man, I really need some help with taking photos and cleaning them up in Photoshop! Thanks for your patience with me while I learn. :)

Boutique

So I was so excited about making stuff after doing the boutique with my friend and co-worker Christy today that I had to come home and try something new. Amazingly, I had the discipline to tidy up my work space (that discipline didn't extend as far as the rest of the craft room, so don't be too impressed) and to finish some half-done bibs, but now I'm going to piece together some 5 x 5 pieces of Moda fabric to make a tiny purse pouch, inspired by a little one Christy made for today's boutique. I want to try quilting it a little to see if I like that. Thanks for the fun day and the inspiration, Christy!

Oh, if you want to take a look at our boutique table, Christy posted some on her blog. She's got some totally amazing beautiful bags and purses on there, too, that you'll totally want to see. :)

This is pathetic!

I can't believe it's been 4 months since I posted. I am such a creature of habit that once I get away from doing something (exercise, blogging, housework :) ) I have a really hard time getting back into the habit. I just talked with my sister Sarah on the phone (she and her family just got electricity back in their Houston home following Ike's visit, fortunately they had friends to stay with) and she reminded me to post to my blog, so here we go.

Of course the biggest news is the birth of Levi, my first grandchild and the most wonderful little baby that ever lived. I can't believe I was actually worried before his birth that I might have a hard time feeling a connection to him. :) Being around him gives me more joy than I've ever felt in my life (sorry Erin, Suzie, and Zan). He is a little miracle. Here's a recent picture of him.

He's wearing a onesie I made to sell on Etsy--isn't he a cute little model! I seriously can't get enough of him. Last night I had him for a whole hour to myself while Erin picked up Nathan from work--I chatted, Levi cooed, we played with his piggies, we took a walk--it was pure heaven.

Aside from Levi, I've been busy making things to sell on Etsy and at a craft boutique this Saturday that I'm doing with my friend Christy at work. I haven't done a boutique since Erin was an infant and that one was a total bust. Given that experience, I'm not holding my breath for this one either. I'm loving, though, the opportunity to make a bunch of stuff since making stuff is what I really love (right behind Levi). As soon as I take some pictures for Etsy, I'll post them here, too. So far I've made a bunch of bibs, onsies, and pincushions. Next I want to make some old-fashioned needle books with recycled/repurposed wool sweaters that I've felted. And I want to make some seasonal paper banners with the SU banner die. I'll keep you posted.

Okay, time to do some actual crafting while I listen to my new favorite podcast, Speaking of Faith, an NPR program hosted by Krista Tippetts. Mom and Dad enjoyed listening to her interview with Robert Millett when they were here on Saturday. My favorite so far is the program linking Buddhism and 12-step programs. Here's a quote from the program that really struck me as true: "The grace of spiritual life is how we live with our struggles, with our suffering. That's why happiness is not about pleasure."

Holy Hannah

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted. I finally, finally, FINALLY got internet at home yesterday, so here I am! Wahoo!

Here's a quick update since the last post: I got moved to my new, wonderful house. I've been unpacking, ever so slowly, and setting up my craft room (I'll post a picture as soon as I find the rechargable batteries for the camera). I had the sewer back up in my new, wonderful home. I had a nasty tooth pulled. And Erin graduated (she finally really looks pregnant, which I love). I'm ready for a few quiet weeks. :)

More soon . . .

Closing tomorrow . . . I hope!

I'm scheduled to close at 3:00 on Friday and will get the key Monday. And the movers are scheduled to come Monday at 9:00! Wahoo! I think it's really going to happen!

Wedding Album X 3

While Suzie's been here we've (finally!) been working on her wedding album from August 2005--one for Suzie, one for Matt's mom, and one for me. Here are some quick pics of the project:

All mounted and ready to arrange . . .


Darling Suzie first thing this morning . . .


And arranging photos into spreads . . .


Happy Sunday! Can you believe the snow?

Must craft, must craft, must craft . . .

It's just about driving me nuts to have most of my craft stuff packed! Arghhhh!

On the up side, I got to spend time in the new house yesterday while showing it off to my visitors. My dad took a bunch of photos that I hope to post later this week if he can burn them to a CD while at my brother's house. I already packed all of the CDs and he didn't have the cord to download to my computer. The house was just as beautiful as I remembered and now my mind is awhirl with ideas for arranging the furniture and decorating, and more than anything, how to set up the craft room. I think I've decided against built-in cupboards since that could be limiting if I wanted to sell the house sometime. Here's a list of work areas I'd like: sewing (including room for the ironing board to be always set up), beading, papercrafting, computer and paperwork, weaving, knitting, origami, gift wrapping--hmmm, that's 8 places. I think I'll need a rolling chair!

I don't have pictures of any new crafts to post, but it's so fun to put up pictures I'm going to find an old one.


Okay, here's one of me as a kid with a foreshadowing of the indie craft movement--check out the short, straight bangs! Way to go, Mom!

Yup, I'm still packing

Nothing new here aside from the fabulous interest rate I locked in today, thanks to quick work on the part of Jeff W. at Stirling Mortgage. Wahoo, Jeff! I finished packing the craft room tonight, finished the laundry room, and am about half done with the downstairs bathroom.

Oh, I did get to do a little knitting and origami star folding during a long meeting today and Christy joined in with the stars. She's a whiz--picked it up so easily. Here's to Christy: YAY!

Oh, another way cool thing today: Annie brought in mini-cupcake lollipops today that were just the coolest thing ever--Kristina took a picture; I'll post it if she'll give it to me. :) Lucky Annie has her sister and nephew visiting. And I'm going to be lucky later this week when my sister Kris and her hubby, Kent, come up for the wedding of our growing up neighbor, Joy. Kris is the most amazing, totally cool person you could hope to meet, and she's the mother of 11 children!

Here's a pic of Kris at Bear Lake last fall when she and I took a vacation together. We weren't really good at relaxing, though; six days were definitely more than we could handle! And I'm pretty sure Kris was tired of me beating her at Boggle. :) (Don't pay any attention to Kris if she tries to tell you she was the one to school me at Boggle.) Finally on day 4 we came home early so we could get busy on her Neal's wedding. :) Back in Riverton we got to shop and eat out for lunch every day--now that's relaxing!

Packin' it in

As of yesterday afternoon, my house is under contract! The buyers accepted my counteroffer and we are set to close around April 9! I can't believe how quickly it all went and I'm so, SO grateful. Now I can pack up the rest of the house, putty and paint the nail holes, and give everything a final scrub so when moving day comes it should be a breeze. I think I'll start with my bedroom/craftroom today and see how far I get. My folks are coming for a visit next weekend and are planning to come back for the move, and Suz is coming the following week to celebrate her 25th birthday, so the time 'twix now and moving day will go quickly.

I'm still folding origami stars to fill sconces--I don't think I realized how long it would take to make so many. :) Looks like it will be a long-term project. Here's the little pile I've got so far. Believe it or not, these little babies represent about 3 hours of work. Isn't that crazy! Each star is folded from a 1/2" x 12" strip of paper (beautiful paper, Jen!).

Here's a link with instructions for making the stars; and another link; email me if you have any questions. It's so much easier to show someone in person than with diagrams.

It's so nice to know I'm not the only one out there making crazy amounts of stars (often called lucky stars).

Oh, when my dad is here next weekend, he's going to begin teaching me how to take good pictures; I suspect you'll all appreciate his efforts. :)

Good News

I got an offer on the house this afternoon; while it wasn't as high as I'd like it comforted me to know I had that option. Then Kelly just called to say another agent is writing up an offer right now and will fax it to Kelly. Sadly for me, Kelly isn't in the office (can you believe he'd have a life of his own while I am trying to sell my house!) so I won't know what the offer is until morning. I'll sleep well, though, knowing I've got some choices. Wahoooooo! I'm sooooo grateful.

As soon as I've got a signed agreement, I'm going back to the townhouse to look and drool and make plans and just feel happy. Who wants to come with me?

Tonight I don't have a lot of mental energy to make anything creative so it's a good time to fold up a bunch of origami strip stars. I'm thinking positively and making them in neutral colors to go in my new home . . .

Quick cards

Man, I wish I was a better photographer. These are all blurry and weird colors--you're just going to have to trust me that in person they are all the same colors and quite crisp looking!

I made these quick cards with the packet of bejeweled felt flowers I found in the Easter craft aisle at HL the other night. Did I mention that all the Easter crafts are 50% off this week, making the packet of flowers only 99 cents--BOTD (Bargain of the Day). I used extreme control by buying only one packet; it was actually kind of painful yet oh, so necessary. :)

On the house front, I had three more lookers last night, so here's to hoping that one of the lookers will become a buyer!

Fine glitter is fine: chunky glitter . . . well . . .

I saw glittered eggs on Martha Stewart's site yesterday, so I stopped at Hobby Lobby on the way home to buy the stuff: mini paper mache eggs, pastel glitter, and a little glass dome. I also brought home a couple kinds of glitter from work to try them out.

First I tried the Lobby's pastel glitter: YUCK! It hardly glitters, which seems totally contrary to its name, and it is too chunky to stick well in this application.

Next I tried the chunky glitter from work and, while it is truly glittery--YAY--it still didn't stick well to the egg. (I used the Podge for my glue.)

Finally, I tried out the fine glitter and, voila, it was perfect! Way to go, Glitter!


Here are the eggs in the little dish . . .

. . . here with the dome on it.

I'm happy. :)

On a side note, someone looked at my house tonight and two more are planning to come tomorrow. And here's what Kelly, my realtor, said about the people who saw it on Saturday: "Tricia, the agent who showed your home called back. Her buyers have
determined its a little too far South for them but they thought the
condition and price were excellent." That gives me hope. I'm so glad they didn't just hate it. That would have been really sad.

My dad called tonight to get all the details about the townhouse, so I directed him to the Hamlet Homes site and we looked at the layout together for the Mackenzie model, which is the one I'm getting. Just thinking about it makes me smile--I can so totally picture myself there, working away in the basement craft room (mistakenly listed as "family room" on the layout) while someone else shovels snow and mows the lawn. Ahhhh, that's the life!

Good Egg

. . . and here are some eggs I made to put under glass domes.

Here's how they look in the domes. I got this idea from something in either Martha Stewart's magazine or in Good Housekeeping at Halloween time. I thought it was cool.

Easter Goodies

I ended up making the Easter goodies . . .

Sweet

I don't know if I could be any happier right this minute: I've got this whole delicious day in front of me with NO getting-the-house-ready-to-sell work in front of me. Should I work on the owl I'm knitting for grandbaby-to-be? Should I see what I can come up with for a paper valance? How about putting together the little Easter goodies I got for my friends at work? Or maybe I'll watch some of Kristina's MACM videos and get inspired to make cards . . . Oh, my word. It feels sooooo good to get to create today.

SMILE

Well, I haven't heard anything from the realtor, so I guess my hopes have been cruelly crushed. :) Maybe next time . . .

Fortunately my crushed hopes didn't get in the way of playing with paper tonight. I decided on the chocolate color scheme and used white flowers as a unifying theme (doesn't that make it sound like I know what I'm doing (grin)?). I wish the pictures were better so you could see the little dry-embossed dots on the M and the lines of stitching through the flowers on the E. I guess you'll just have to come over and see it in person. Maybe a hot cocoa party . . . ?

And here's the finished piece all framed and hung in the Not-Noah bedroom with my darling daughter Erin doing her best to look five-and-a-half-months pregnant.

. . . and the framed piece all by its lonesome. I wish the colors weren't so goofy--it really is very soft and pretty.

To backtrack a little here are the before and after pictures of my craft room today, the absolute final frontier in getting the house prepped for showing. The before picture reminds me of my desk at work, sadly. I just like to think a messy desk is the sign of a creative (rather than a lazy) mind. :)

Scheming

Okay, I've only got 10 minutes to write this, put on some clothes and makeup, and get out of the house so I'll be gone while a prospective buyer looks at my house! Wahoo! I think they should just fall in love and make me an offer right away; Kristina thinks so, too. :)

So I've decided, upon MDF Patti's advice to decorate the white room at least a little. I bought a long frame with 5 openings at Ikea this morning and I'm going to put "SMILE" in it. I'm also going to make a paper valance for the window and I'm thinking about two slightly different color schemes. I think both look good with the bedding; I've just got to decide which accent color I want: rose red or chocolate.

Here's the one with a little chocolate in it (darn, you can't see it really well): The paper is lying on the pillow sham.

And here's the one with rose red:

Okay, I've got 4 minutes now. Gotta go. Let me know what you think. :)

Oh, soooooo close

Quick update before work: I painted the room last night and it looks so bright and clean then this morning I put the blinds back up, vacuumed, and moved what furniture I could. Maybe MDF Patti will follow me home from work today to help move the bed. :) Here's a picture of Annie's corner looking much better.


I can hardly believe that a week ago that room was covered with a contingent of Noah and friends! Now I'm wondering if it's better to leave the walls plain or to hang some things. The new owners (I'm thinking positively) might prefer to have no nail holes in the wall, but a too-plain room may not appeal to potential buyers. Any opinions out there?

The only, only thing left is to finish tidying my room and I suppose I'll have to make my bed, too, everyday that the house is on the market. Sigh.

Happy Friday!

Final clean up

Hey! Today is the final cleanup to get the house listed on Friday or Saturday. I'm going to start at the top and work my way down, touching up paint, scrubbing walls and doors, tidying up, etc. Then I'll shop for whatever final little decorative touches it needs (the fun stuff) and be done! If I don't run out of time, I'm also going to paint Zan's room today and put it all back together. the photographer is coming tomorrow, but he's not worried about the bedrooms so I could paint Thursday night if I can't get to it today.

Last night I actually had fun caulking around the floorboard in Zan's room. I didn't think I could make it look good, but I did and I'm just bustin' with pride. I just had to breath deeply and go slowly. Wahoo! I'm surprising myself with how much I'm enjoying this home fix-up thing!

I heart origami

I tried a little origami tonight--it's been so long since I've done much origami until I saw a flower made from three $1 bills in Craft:. I'm getting the itch to join the fold again, so I looked up one of my favorite origami sites online, Joseph Wu, and found a little box to fold. Cool, huh!

Wallpaper is nasty, nasty, nasty!

After spending hours yesterday and today scraping at wallpaper, I consider it a swear word! I promise right now I will never, never, NEVER put up wallpaper.




Okay, maybe it wasn't that bad and I did have help from the amazing Annie who did all of the area in the pictures; it is quite a chore, though. And it was desperately needed. I'm a little embarrassed that Zan had to spend her entire high school life living in a room papered with Noah's ark. She did her best to cover it up with pictures and such (as witnessed by the plethora, and I do mean plethora in the real sense of overabundance!, of holes in the uncovered wall) but Noah's ark it still was. Sorry, Zan.

Once the walls dry completely, I'll paint the room a pristine white--all in preparation for putting my house on the market. After Friday, though, when I began to look at houses, I'm not so sure I want to sell mine. I saw only one house I liked and it's already got another offer on it.

Online I did just see a townhouse at Daybreak that looks interesting. I really like the idea of no yard or exterior home care. I think I'll take a look there next.

I was so busy tearing down wallpaper all weekend I didn't get to MAKE anything! Here's a picture of the paperbead bracelet I made last week, though.


I got hooked on the whole indie crafting idea while at CHA and loved attending a seminar given by an editor at Craft: magazine. I guess I'm already something of an indie crafter, albeit without the short, straight bangs. :) Anyway, in the seminar we got to make paper-bead bracelets. I'm tellin' ya, it just doesn't get any better than that!


I used a cheapie glue stick and a small metal crochet hook that was sitting on my desk to roll up the beads on. Then I gave the beads a good shellacking with the Podge. In the background of the picture are the long skinny triangles of paper for the beads. Okay, just thinking about the beads I'm itching to make something right now, so I'm going to sign off and say, "Happy Making!"

Frogs and snails and puppy dog tails

MDF Patti told me today that I now have to post pictures, so here you go, Patti.

I just took some pictures of recent projects with my little one-step camera and my version of a back-drop (the flip side of some printed emails) and studio lighting (my desk light strategically placed near the back-drop).


Whadda ya think? Do you think Kiddie Kandids need worry?

I knit this little nookie buddy for my first-ever grandchild who is due in late June and who I'm sure is going to be cute when he's born even though he looks like an alien right now.

For Christmas, mother-to-be Erin gave me two really cool knitting-for-babies books: Itty Bitty Nursery by Susan B. Anderson and Essential Baby by Debbie Bliss. She then pointed out all of her favorites in the books, this frog from Susan's book heading the list.

I also made a set of cupcake mittens and hat from Susan's book in a lovely, girly shade of pink before we found our little-bundle of joy has his own little bundle! Now I'm thinking about frogs, and snails, and puppy dog tails . . .

Just FYI about the pattern--I knit it with Apple Green and Butter Shine Sport yarn, 60% cotton, 40% modal, from Knit Picks (great yarns, books always discounted, and free shipping with a $45 order). I changed the pattern just a bit because I was tired of making little bobbles after the two eye-bobbles (I obviously haven't much patience for bobbles). So for the arms and legs I just knit 3-stitch I-cord . . .


. . . and tied a knot in the end--the same effect with half the work. The next time I knit this I'm going to make it even faster by knitting only one long cord for the legs and one long cord the the arms and tying a knot in each end. I'll just have to remember to attach the arms to the body before I attach the head.

Well, I'm hungry and my fingers are cold, so I'll say adios for tonight. Happy Tuesday, y'all.

What's In a Name?

Last night as I was walking (finally--I've taken a sadly long break from exercise for too many months) I gave some serious thought to something MDF (My Dear Friend) Patti keeps telling me: You've got to have a blog! I think maybe she'd just like to diffuse some of the attention she gets from me on a near-daily basis as I bring yet another creation to her desk for her perusal (and, I always hope, enjoyment).

The problem is that I am compelled, no, Compelled to Craft; whether or not I or anyone else actually has any use for whatever I make matters not a wit. When I see or hear about or read about something to make I fairly pant with excitement! The Barry Manilow song says, "I've never met a man I didn't like"; I'm that way about crafts: I never met a craft I didn't like. (I do like some better than others, though, somewhat like men, perhaps . . .)

Yes, I have a compulsion to craft, just like I have a compulsion to read and to eat and to listen to books on tape (I keep asking god to give me the compulsion to exercise; I'm still waiting). Making things relaxes me; making things refreshes me; making things makes me happy. :)

So there you are. And here we are. And ain't life grand!