Archive for the ‘ Projects ’ Category
Last year, my word was peace. In 2010, my word was wonder. In 2008, it was hope.
This year my word is explore.
I have a lot of travel planned for 2012. Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, Little Rock, New Orleans… and that is just in the first two months! I think this year will be filled with many new experiences and I plan to embrace them. Seek them out even.
Did you choose a focus word this year?
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This post is based on the blogging prompt “What do you think of when you think of September?” from IndieBizChicks’ September Blogging Special.
Is September half empty or half full? I can’t quite decide, but I am happy it is here even if it is already half over! September makes me think of fall, of course. You can smell the colder air approaching and the weather has been much more hospitable to running. I hate to say good bye to summer, but I have a feeling that autumn is going to be a good time, too!
September also makes me think of school. I am no longer in grad school (thank god!) and I do not have any children returning to school, but it still feels like a month for learning. Maybe that is why I have been adding so many books to my reading list! Right now, I am working my way through Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, and I am determined to finish it even though it breaks my heart every time I pick it up. After that I MUST read these five books:
I wish I could say that I am going to read all of these by the end of September, but that is way too ambitious for this slow reader. I will do my best to get them all finished by the end of the year! Have you read any of these books? What did you think? What other books should I add to my reading list? Besides learning, what do you think of when you think of September?
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This post is based on the blogging prompt “What do you like best about your hometown?” from IndieBizChicks’ September Blogging Special.
The photo of the flat land you see above was taken in Western Kansas. Not exactly my hometown, but close. There is nothing I can do about it, I am a midwest girl – born in Saint Louis, raised in Kansas City, college in Iowa, vacations in Chicago – and everyone can tell. In New York, people go out of their way to tell me I am the most smiley person they have ever met, or that I am too polite, or that I am definitely NOT a native New Yorker. I just don’t think they were prepared for the midwest invasion…
I always wanted to explore the world. I had aunts and uncles who traveled nearly everywhere and I intended to follow in their footsteps, but now that I am away from my hometown in Kansas, I have definitely grown to appreciate it more.
A few of my favorite things about suburban Kansas City:
♥ The wide open spaces.
♥ The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art where I had my wedding reception.
♥ The running/hiking trails, which are remarkably flat!
♥ The large and numerous movie theaters. (without bedbugs!)
♥ Inexpensive real estate.
♥ The Country Club Plaza.
♥ The freedom to drive anywhere and buy lots of groceries!
♥ My family! xoxo
There have got to be more…. what am I missing?!
I think the thing I like the very best about my hometown is just how comfortable it is. I guess that is what everyone would say about their hometown… even if it is bustling New York City!
p.s. I thought I should add, that while a lot of my personality traits could be traced back to my midwest upbringing, there are also a lot of ways in which I am not a typical midwesterner… my religious and political preferences being two of them. I guess it is never quite accurate to stereotype someone, even when the person I am stereotyping is myself!
p.p.s My brother, who lived for three years in far western Kansas, has informed me that you can’t see the Rocky Mountains from there… so the photo above may actually be from Colorado. (Travis and I have driven across the country twice and I didn’t label my photos extremely well.) So, here is a photo that I KNOW is from Kansas:
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Two of my very cool and creative internet colleagues, Deb & Christy from Toolulu.com, visited New York City for business early this week and they were kind enough to invite me along sight seeing on Tuesday. The weather on Tuesday was actually horrendous. It was cold and windy and pouring rain nearly all day – not the weather you want for sight seeing on foot. But we were determined and we managed to hit many of the crafty destinations in the city.
The two photos above were taken at Mood Fabrics in the Garment District. The warehouse store has become something of a tourist attraction since it has been featured on Project Runway, but it was my first time there. I would guess Mood has any type of fabric you could possibly be looking for… but you definitely need to have a project in mind if you go there to shop. The choices are overwhelming! I bought some neon pink & grey ribbon that jumped out at me.
Next, we trekked over to M & J Trimming. (You may recall my previous trip there.) I bought a bunch of ribbon – including more neon, it is sort of my new thing – and some pom-pom fringe. We also checked out Fishs Eddy, where we saw the bowls pictured above, and ABC Carpet and Home. Swoon! I love that place so much. We picked up Crumbs cupcakes, had ‘Wichcraft sandwiches for lunch, and then headed to Soho before the girls had to leave for the airport. It was such a fun “vacation” day for me even with all the rain!
Good thing the Toolulu girls’ visit happened in March and I got all of my ribbon buying out of my system, because this month I have taken the April Stash Bust pledge. I have committed to not buying any new craft supplies this month and instead to making things only with items I already have in my stash. The intention is to help the earth a bit in honor of Earth Day on the 22nd and to think about how we use the things we buy. It fits in perfectly with the idea of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Swap-bot is one of the sponsors of the April Stash Bust “event” and you can learn more over on the Swap-bot blog. There is even a stash craft contest with some awesome prizes, but you have to take the pledge in order to enter! I am also hosting an April Stash Bust craft supply swap in conjunction with the Challenge and I’d love to have you join. We are each going to send an envelope of extra, unused supplies from our personal stashes to our swap partner. It’s a great way to give new life to neglected supplies and get some fresh stuff in return! Fun!
I am working on a huge birthday post (it was a really great day), but I wanted to fit in this thing-a-day post first:
I worked on these two scrapbook pages yesterday, which was my birthday and the 10th day of the thing-a-day challenge. They are for the scrapbook I do with my sister-in-law, Chelsea, and I have been meaning to complete them for a long time. (The Christmas page is for 2008!) I figured I could make some time for fun crafting on my birthday and I am glad I did.
Travis got me this mini, instant Polaroid printer for my birthday (which is tomorrow). And I have been playing around with it today. I think that counts as a creative endeavor for thing-a-day. That little photo of Crusher (stuck to my computer with a heart sticker) is an example of the prints it produces. They actually have sticky backs on each of the prints, but I just wasn’t committed enough to peel off the back of the print to stick on my computer forever. It is a pretty fun little printer! The photos print out in less than a minute. You can even send photos directly from your cell phone. I need to keep playing around with it! (Sorry for the burned out photo – I had to use flash.)
Since I am doing a little birthday gift preview, check out this amazing La Mer treasure trove sent to me by my parents! I feel so spoiled! …and that was only a part of the gift package they sent! Stay tuned for more birthday details tomorrow.
Already done with my thing-a-day creation for today! I had been planning to make downloadable Swap-bot Valentines this year and I am so happy that I actually made the time to do it. I designed two cute Valentine cards – one with Ernie, the Swap-bot logo/mascot, and one with Crusher – and a little matching envelope. The PDF file is totally free and you simply download it, print it out on card stock, cut out your Valentines, and give them to your friends!
Download the Swap-bot Valentines PDF here.
There are some basic instructions on the PDF, but assembly is really easy. Cut just inside the black lines, then score and fold the envelope on the grey lines. Fold in the shorter sides of the envelope, then the bottom. You can glue these parts together. Slip your Valentine card inside the envelope, fold down the top, seal it, and give it to someone you love!
I hope that some of our Swap-bot users enjoy them. Crusher was so excited about the cards that he already started handing his out!
I made cookies today. Another food for my thing-a-day. They are chocolate chip-style with a combo of MnMs and swirled white and dark chocolate chips. They were made with whole wheat flour in an attempt to be a little bit healthier. I hope they hold us over during the snowpocalypse that is supposed to hit tonight!
Today’s “new creative thing” is this healthy salad that I made for dinner. It is Bob Greene’s Black Eyed Pea Salad with Turkey Bacon recipe from today’s Oprah show. It was extremely tasty considering that it is part of a “managing diabetes” diet. The whole Oprah Show was about diabetes, and even though I don’t usually watch, I tuned in today. My grandfather had diabetes and I am just generally scared of it. I should be more concerned about heart disease – and I am- but it doesn’t hurt to have even more motivation to eat healthy. The salad consisted of romaine lettuce, tomatoes, black eyed peas, turkey bacon, olive oil, and apple cider vinegar. Bob Green (Oprah’s health guru) was touting apple cider vinegar as some sort of miracle liquid that decrease the glycemic index of any food it is paired with. …but I guess it wouldn’t taste good on donuts.
I made this apron today! It took me all morning, but I am pleased to have followed through and actually completed a full sewing project. I used the pattern and instructions from Weekend Sewing, a lovely book I received from my mom for Christmas. I am also working on a full review of the book for Craft Critique, so stay tuned for that.
My sewing skills are not superb… I have a hard time keeping my sewing lines straight and usually I am too impatient to actually iron the fabric and hems as I go, but for this project I took my time and tried to do it right. I used my mom’s old Kenmore sewing machine, which is heavy, and noisy, and awesome – I really love it. It works great considering that it is older than I am, and I have FINALLY gotten the hang of threading the bobbin.
It feels good to at least have a basic understanding of sewing (seamstressing? tailoring?), but man, Travis and I would be in trouble if I had to sew all of our clothes! This apron is the third easiest pattern in the Weekend Sewing book… there is a wrap dress in there that I want to try, but I am afraid of ruining a bunch of nice fabric. Maybe I should make the checkbook cover first…