You're My Inspiration

Sing it, Peter Cetera! After DUCF, Mama has some work to do. I will be listing every item not sold during DUCF (which I'm sure will be a-plenty) and THEN I am on my new adventures of decorating (drumroll please)......my new craft room! Ryan caved, although later stated that he had "veto power" to which I replied "veto power my ass". That's my passive aggressive Ryan though. I s'pose I'll keep him though.

My inspiration is this repro kid's hankie I just bought. I love the two shades of green with the red. I'm thinking green walls, lots of polka dot oilcloth covered shelving, paint chipped farmhouse table (which I already have), lots of red painted metal shelving, etc.

Also in the not-too-distant future will be Q's toddler room. She'll be 2 in November, and we are realizing that we are not going to be able to sell this house before another kid, therefore, she will be moving to our room, baby in hers, and us to downstairs. I've been planning this since I got done with her nursery. I'm seeing lotsa Japanese fabrics with hedgehogs and bunnies and mushrooms, deep red walls, a mural like this (maybe James can help me out) with some elves, gnomes, Black Apple girls, etc. gracing the other walls. Trying to figure out how to tie it all together. Thanks to Amy for letting me borrow her pic of the tree and birdcage which I so love!!! That is wallpaper if you can believe it. I stumbled across it today. I also bought a mirror from a favorite store in my hometown that is wooden with an elf head at the top and aged-looking mirror. Will post a pic next week!

...And The Livin' Is Easy

I was supposed to be working this weekend, but I was playing instead! We went up north to a cottage on one "Budd Lake" and had a very nice time. Still trying to figure out how Q got a tan with 50 SPF on, and her pasty mother got nada with only 15 on. The kid has her father's skin tone for sure.

I Was Driving Down the Street...

...and saw this! Just kidding! But wouldn't that have been a coincidence (seeing as I just made keychains with the same saying)? Thanks to Amanda for a fun diversion this morning. You can make your own sign too!

Wakey Wakey

No, no eggs and bakey were served tonight for dinner. However, blueberry pancakes were! My poor husband's first homecooked meal in who knows when. Let me tell you these pancakes were TO DIE FOR. I don't even know what I did. Followed the directions on the Bisquick box, added blueberries, and cooked them in vegetable oil (nice and healthy). And we had chicken-apple sausage on the side. Mmmmm.

My sweetie also had to go out of town for work today and on the way back down stopped at French Laundry for lunch. Last time we were there, I had a chicken salad wrap with red raspberry preserves. Sounds weird, but t'was so good! Then he went to a gift store up the street and bought me this tablecloth (he's a keeper). I have mixed feelings about reproductions, but I must say this is one of the only vintage or repro vintage I own that actually fits my table.

Last tidbit of news-- the husband is thinking about relinquishing control of his office so I can make it into an official crafting space just for me! Eek. I feel a bit bad about it because it's his little manly space-- burgundy walls, antique typewriter and globe, his books, etc. We'll see what he decides, and I'm going to *try* not to push the issue. I had initially suggested we share the space and keep it manly, but when he told me what he was thinking, I backed off. To be continued...

Vintage Finds Haiku

Little hidden gems

You have a story to tell

I'll help you tell it!

My Credo

The vendor list for DUCF is now available! I'm excited to meet everyone. I can't believe it's already in two weeks. I've been furiously crafting away. I am in the home stretch, but I think I'm going to have to take a day off next week to finish stuff up sans Q.

I made some keychains for DUCF. One side reads the following and the other side is a picture from an old kid's book and a charm as the cherry on top. Ryan thinks the saying is old lady, but that's kinda the point. I thought it was funny. I'm totally diggin' on this font too:

Whooping It Up

Last night was Brandy's Bachelorette Party! She received a great stash of PJ's (mostly comfy but still sassy-- how practical) which was much better than the bagloads of male anatomy paraphernalia I received at mine. There are only so many places where a penis straw is appropriate (kidding!).

So here are all my lovely work friends and me too! I'm so fortunate to have such great girls to work with. Left to right is Karen, Leigh, me (tee hee), Bachelorette Brandy, Merrie, and Jen sitting down. We missed you Noreen and Shelly Belly!!!

DUCF Sneak Peek!

Here are some of the newer things I've made. Also, I bought this mushroom flannel from a woman in England awhile back off eBay, and I think it will be a perfect table topper. As you can see, I decided to do a practice set-up tonight! Oy vey, I still have so much to make. Hope to see you all on August 4th, loveys!!!

A New Friend

Thank you, Amy and Ramona, for such a fun evening!!! Pretty soon, we'll have to get the girls crafting too just like their mamas.

When Hate Mail is Good!

So I bumped into Carol Sunday at Target (she's a fellow MICE!), and she said she has a new website! I just love her cards. Some of my favorites include "Nice parenting skills, Jackass" written all pretty and flowy also "There's no 'I' in moron". Sigh. Also love her HateMail minis and may buy them to feed my road rage (ie "You park like an idiot"). Love it! Here's another of my faves:

Not only are her cards friggin hilarious, she's super sweet and you can tell she's the friend you'd do nutty stuff with. Oh, and apparently another woman recognized her at Target after I saw her. Her hubby blogged about it here (scroll down to the 7/16/07 post). Too funny.

Tooth Fairy Pillows!

So here was my inspiration. This was my tooth fairy pillow when I was a kid. My friend's mom made it. You put your tooth in the pocket of the little pillow then put the whole thing under your sleeping pillow. Then the tooth fairy leaves some $$ in the pillow!!! Ka-ching!!!




Here is my first un-stuffed tooth fairy pillow. If I haven't adequately made the disclaimer, I am NO embroidery expert. This is like the first time I've embroidered (well, except for my class) since I was like 10. He's kinda sloppy, but I really like him!!! He was made with lotsa love anyway. He was supposed to be giving the thumbs up, but it kinda looks like is holding a toothbrush instead. I especially like the back fabric (it's the bottom one). I am going to make a pink/green one too.

One That Won't Make Me Crash My Car

Well, I went to my first estate sale Friday. I was kinda nervous (I get nervous when I do anything new-- I can't help it), I went alone, and I didn't know the protocol-- good thing I didn't try to haggle because someone else did and they were strictly informed that "[the estate sale company] is not authorized to take lower price offers until tomorrow." I would have felt like a moron.

Anyway, the whole thing affected me-- I know this is going to sound ridiculous, but I felt really sad watching other people just rifle through this deceased couple's things like nothing. There was a whole box of photographs too, and I am sure they weren't important pictures (well, I hope not anyway), but it just really weirded me out. I guess I'm going to have to develop a thicker skin if I'm going to make this a habit. I did purchase four really nice children's books and some tiny aluminum molds (maybe to make something unnecessary like Amanda?), so obviously I wasn't too scarred. And my friend loaned me this card she received in the 70s or 80s which I love. It is much prettier in person and has lots of floofy glitter all over it.

So my weird emotions carried over to today. I received my first international order from Spain (thanks, Ana!), so I was all excited except I ruined my last door hanger, so I went Michael's for supplies to make more. I took the scenic route downtown Royal Oak, and Huey Lewis' "I Want a New Drug" came on the radio. I had the overwhelming desire to blare the song with my windows down in my VW (with a carseat in back) and sing it at the top of my lungs. So I did for no particular reason besides wanting to look like a total idiot which I think I accomplished beautifully. "Whoooooo HOOOOO. Suck on my new drug, yuppies!!!"

I also worked on some "embroidery" (I use the term loosely) this weekend. The concept was good, but I am so impatient and haphazard, people, that the finished product left some things to be desired. Ryan, Q, and I also went to the west side of the state this weekend to visit my parents and some friends, and my mom sewed a few little things for me on her ancient and tempermental sewing machine...I'm a little embarrassed, but I will show you anyway...tomorrow...to be continued.

New Business Cards!

A follow up to my previous raging episode...my business cards just *happened* to show up on our front porch today. I called the local UPS supervisor immediately to find out WTF. Turns out after the driver swearing up and down that he delivered them and having his supervisor all but accuse my neighbors of stealing them, the idiot ended up delivering them to the house two doors down. Serenity now, serenity now...

On a nicer note, it's payday Friday, I'm going out of town, and I'm so happy with my cards. Mine actually have rounded corners instead of what's shown here, but you get the idea. Thanks, (again) Rakel!!!

***Update: I have a confession-- I posted this before I actually saw the cards inside the box. I jumped the gun a bit and, well, does the picture above look like a pale yellow background to you all??? I thought so, but maybe I'm colorblind because they are a hideous shade of lime green in person...Ommmmm, ommmmmmmmmm.

Serenity Now

I think I'm a bit more calm than yesterday. Cards are still M.I.A., but I'm trying not to think of it. I just got done watching tivo'ed World Series of Pop Culture, ate my Greek yogurt, and now I'm going to start on So You Think You Can Dance! Here are some things around myhouse that have helped make me feel a little more serene and/or happy.

See What Brown Can Screw Up for You

I am going to apologize ahead of time for this post and the forthcoming rants, but I AM HOT!!!!!! I've finally decided that UPS hates me (and at this point, the feeling is MUTUAL). Let me explain...

December 2004: I order an "I Heart Jake Ryan" tee shirt for my sister in law as a Christmas gift...like WELL BEFORE Xmas. UPS says it was delivered, I never receive it, had to get a whole other order sent out from 80's Tees. UPS SUCKS.

March 2005: I order maternity clothing from Old Navy. UPS says it was delivered in the morning. It shows up already opened on my doorstep later that evening (like LATE that evening). Obviously it was misdelivered to one of my neighbors who decided to open it up to peruse the contents. Nice.

December 2006: Ryan orders coffee from Peete's in Berkeley, CA. UPS says it was delivered. Ryan calls on a Saturday to report misdelivery and Peete's has to re-deliver the order.

TODAY, July 2007: Ordered business cards from Overnight Prints. Waiting to send some orders out (wholesale order included) because I wanted to include my new fancy card instead of my crappy hobo handmade card. UPS says it was delivered. NO CARDS IN SIGHT. Called UPS who said I needed to call Overnight Prints. Before I hung up with them, they wanted to confirm I was home all day. NO I WASN'T HOME AND I'M SURE NO ONE WOULD WANT TO STEAL MY BUSINESS CARDS AND NOT LIKE THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED $@%%$#^%w%&$.

Waited on the phone for 20 minutes for OP to tell me they would follow up with UPS. I said I wanted some compensation for shipping because they weren't here when they said they would and that I didn't care if they had to recup it from UPS or what, but I want compensation (dammit!). Ryan says I'm being a beotch and that it's not their fault. And being the attorney that he is doesn't think I should post this "slanderous" post. I disagree. UPS can suck it, and Ryan is sleeping on the couch (just kidding).

What good is a tracking system if the dude(tte) in brown thinks they're delivering to me but are really delivering to some other house and they are too dense to know it????!!!! That is all. Going to print my new card design on crappy perforated cards. Not happy. I hate UPS. Over and out.

Back to Craftin'!

All of our out-of-town guests are gone, and it's back to business! I finished some little girl's yo- yo hair doo-dads. Q doesn't have a whole lotta hair, but they sure looked cute in it. I think I'm going to make a pink one with the kitty button center just for her.

I also love these pendant necklaces! Before the MICE show, I had seen the Martha Stewart plastic pendant kits at Michael's for $7.99 (too expensive!). I tried to figure out how I could make them myself, but of course I couldn't find the pendants. At the MICE show, I bought a lovely necklace from Relish Dress, and she created them from the larger flat glass beads. I decided not to give up and I finally found some more like Martha's than Melissa's.

I also love the hip kinda keychain chain instead of the standard black or brown cord, so I actually emailed Melissa, and she gave me her blessing. Thanks, Melissa!!! I backed them with a very cute polka dot velveteen. I'm trying to figure out which I like better. I think I'm leaning towards the cuckoo clock...

I also finished up a raffle donation for DUCF-- A La La Land Trinket Box in pink and a set of Wee Berry Push Pins. I am waiting on my *new* business cards to enclose one, but I tried to package it up all cute to send to Stephanie ASAP. Also, the bane of my existence STUPID door hangers are almost done. I actually ruined one today and had to start all over with it. I'm getting those things shipped off Tuesday. I will be so relieved when they are OUT OF MY HOUSE!

Enjoy the last few hours of your weekend, all! I've been off work since last Tuesday, so tomorrow is going to be painful. Xoxo.

Feeling Sentimental

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but some of you may know that my Grandma S. passed away about two months ago. Well, my Grandma K. also passed away about two weeks ago. It's now weird to think I have no more grandparents left. I will never go to their respective houses, never receive a $2.00 bill in the mail for my daughter's birthday, and I will never eat their chocolate cake with white frosting and walnuts anymore. It's surreal I think and still hasn't sunk in.

My parents are visiting from the west side of the state, and my mom brought me some items from Gram S's house that she thought I would like that really have no monetary value (my favorite type of things). My favorite thing (and I'm getting verklempt as we speak) is this antique green wooden box that my grandfather made when he was around 11 years old. It has his initials painted in gold and the date inscribed underneath (1932). Other items included old pictures, two 1950's tablecloths, and an apron with white rick rack trim that my Gram S. wore so much that the pockets were pulling away (my mom fixed them). The pinking shears shown were my Gram K's.

On another lil' sentimental note, I took this pic of Q today. She is filling a watering can that I used to have when I was about 3 or 4. It's not the same can cuz I think mine rusted out, but I found this one on ebay about 3 years ago. Anyway, I liked how the pictures turned out.

Happy Birthday...

...to me! Let me just preface this post by saying that I am not fishing for happy b-day wishes, really. I just REALLY like my birthday. I'm not kidding when I say that my all-time favorite food is birthday cake. Specifically, white cake with white buttercream frosting. I'm talking the frosting that crunches in your mouth from all the sugar-- and none of that whipped frosting, raspberry filling, chocolate cake mumbo jumbo either. WHITE cake, WHITE buttercream frosting, and roses made of frosting-a-plenty (you know what I'm talkin' bout Jana, Ruth, and Joel-- what WHAT). I believe my love of birthday cake is also adequately addressed on my website as well.

So here is how I'm celebrating-- I do not work on my birthday. I don't believe I've worked on my birthday since I was 15, and that was at a zoo, so it wasn't really work. Oh, and I was a volunteer, so it REALLY wasn't work. So my friend Lizzie is visiting from South Carolina, she leaves this morning, and the hubby is taking Q to daycare and me to lunch at my favorite restaurant downtown Detroit. Then my friend, Ginny, is visiting from Phoenix this afternoon. Busy busy! Then my PARENTS are visiting Friday. I like commotion, so this should be fun.

Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July! I'm looking forward to the day Q is old enough to play with sparklers and go see fireworks.

Happy Independence Day!

Girl Land's 2007 Summer Soundtrack

The hubby and I have been threatening that we're going to get rid of Rhapsody. We never do. The best thing about it is the playlist feature. I was scrolling through our playlists this morning, and I had to laugh. Some of Ryan's playlist titles include: "Dirty on Purpose", "Mullet- Proof Fence", and "R to the L.O." which has like one 50 Cent song in it for some reason.

I rarely burn cd's, but around this time every summer, I just get the itch. This summer I've stuck with entirely too many Sugar Pop songs, but I gots to be me. Here is my official 2007 Summer Soundtrack Playlist:

1. When Did Your Heart Go Missing - Rooney: How can you resist anything with the lead singer being Jason Schwartzmann's little brother? Doesn't hurt that Robert Carmine is really stinkin' cute. One minus is apparently there was a whole O.C. episode revolving around Rooney-- ick. One plus is that this song is very Keane-esque-- yay.

2. Tambourine - Eve: Have you seen this video? Eve is a total hottie.

3. Little of Your Time - Maroon 5: Adam Levine is Divine. I probably should have done Wake Up Call because I think it's the next single, but this is my favorite on the new cd.

4. Barracuda - Fergie: before you snub, listen! I really heart Heart (heh), and I think the Wilson sisters would be proud. Only drawback is it's on the Shrek 3 soundtrack. WTF. There's no video, so check out this weird penguin thing.

5. Umbrella - Rihanna

6. Rehab - Amy Winehouse: Take that, Litney Spearhan, you wussy!

7. Lovestoned - Justin Timberlake: My fave song on Future Sex Love Sounds.

8. Young Folks - Peter, Bjorn and John: this song is musical crack. You'll wake up whistling, I swear you will. You think I'm kidding? Best line is Victoria Bergsman singing, "Doesn't matter what you did. You were high anyway". The pic at the top is a still from the video.

9. LDN - Lily Allen: I love this girl. LDN, by the way, I believe is the airport code for London

10. Like This - Kelly Rowland: I had trouble coming up with a 10th song, but I'm a sucker for Indian music (in the background).

Or if you have Rhapsody, you can listen to my playlist! Happy listening.

Glitter-Filled Monday

Happy pre-birthday to me (my birthday is Thursday)! I received my Glitter Workshop order today along with some darling extras and a super sweet notecard from Naomi. I saw the tape a month or so ago, of course didn't buy it, then became fixated on it when it was sold out. Story of my life. I don't know what I'm going to do with the mug because it's too cute to take to work and I'm afraid someone (uh-hem...) may break it at home.

The stupid door hangers are almost finished. I decided I need a spray varnish on them because the Mod Podge is just too tacky, so one side down, one side to go. I'm trying not to think about the fact that I'm taking a loss on these babies just because they are so time-consuming to make. It will be worth it when they are for sale at Warm Biscuit!

Also just finished up a "custom order" for my friend, Dave. He ordered up a 3-D My Prince Has Come trinket box painted pink with the inside story personalized for his friend's little girl. I also threw in a custom set of wee ballet mags that also had Sadie's name on it. The little gift will be making its way over to Jolly Ol' London very soon, so I liked the thought of that. I hope she likes it.

Gonna have to get some posts in between now and Wednesday because we are having three sets of out-of-town guests during the span of 5 days. Busy busy! Not only do I have mounds of laundry to do/put away, but I'm scared to go downstairs to see how full the litter boxes are. Ewwwwww!!!!!

Lazy Sunday

Ryan (the hubby) and I took Q to his friend/co-worker's house for lunch, play time with their twin boys, and to the park to play on a really cool splash pad which Q LOVED. I think we have a water baby on our hands. I was mad that I didn't think of something to bring ahead of time, so last minute (seriously, like 5 minutes before we left) I cut some flowers and some lemon verbena to give his friend's wife from our garden. I was feeling rather Martha and proud of myself, although I don't know how much they were appreciated. I was happy to cut some of my asiatic lilies because we can't have them cut in the house (apparently they are very toxic to kitties). As for the lemon verbena, I never knew what to do with the stuff, but I saw a recipe for tea in the last MS Living. And here are some other ideas from Gardenweb.

Also, I have a lovely snack that makes me feel all yummy and Nigella-esque. It's fat free greek yogurt with either lavender honey OR this sweet pistachio spread I bought from Zingerman's for Ryan for Father's Day. It is sooo good.

Ta ta for now...I think Oberweis is opening soon. The wait is killing me!