#VivavoxBox Cetaphil

Another review for my Influenster VivaVoxBox!

Up to bat is the #gentlepower of Cetaphil.

I have been super impressed with these cleansing cloths. 

For the most part, as a mom of a toddler and a full time Math teacher, most nights I can barely drag myself to my bed, let alone get my act together for my own nightly routine. 

I leave these beauties by my bed and when crawl into bed I am forced to say, ok, take care of yourself.   And I take a moment and clean my face. Afterwards I quickly toss the cloth and my skin feels refreshed and ready for bed.

It's one short cut that doesn't feel like a short cut. 

:-D


All in all I LOVE these cleansing cloths!



Visit: Cetaphil & Influenster for more information.


I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.   If you are interested in signing up for influenster (no cost) please leave me your email, and I"ll send you an invite...

Montagne Jeunesse Manuka Honey Peel Off or Creamy Coconut

I know this is my first blog in a LOOONG while!  I'd like to change that. And I'll be re-vamping it so this will include all of my interests. Which vary quite drastically.

Recently I've been participating in Influenster.com.  This is a page that offers complimentary products to participants for the purpose of review.   I will always give my honest opinion about all products I receive for review.

Up until recently my boxes have been lack luster. One or two items that were ok.

But my VivaVovBox was simply amazing!  I assume the theme was getting ready for a night out.  (which i rarely to ! HA!  But pampering myself I love to do).

The only one I'm going to review will be the Montagne Jeunesse Noix De Coco Cremeuse.  I am so excited to try it, this is the first mask I'm going to try.   I have received many of these masks in gift exchanges, they are quick easy and inexpensive way to through in an added bonus to a friend, coworker, or long distance friend.

 

SO LETS DIVE RIGHT IN! 

1. Prewash - Before I started I cleaned my face with the #gentlepower of Cetaphil.  Another product I received in my Vivavox box.

2. Application - this mask is super creamy and smells wonderful. It feels like buttercream frosting.... mmm... cupcakes....

3. Waiting 10-15 minutes.  Most of my time was spent writing this post. The mask it tightening as it dries. I am imagining stress and toxins leaving! (real or imagined?)

This is my How-does-this-phone-work look.

4. Removal - Well, it's hard to tell -because I could never get the hang of the face washing routine without leaving a puddle behind.  (see the cetphil post). 

So by my standards, GREAT!

5. My face after:  Feels great! Smooth, revived. ahhh.... Now I'm ready for my last week of school and 8th grade graduation.

Please follow, visit add the following links to your social media to stay up on all the news for Montagne Jeunesse. 

Montagne Jeunesse Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest




I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.   If you are interested in signing up for influenster (no cost) please leave me your email, and I"ll send you an invite...

Zipper Tutorial

Did I mention my son was born?  Oh.  I forgot about that.   He was born on Friday August 24th after a long 18 hr labor and 2.5hr push.    I'm in love.  More on that later.

A mama from my Real Diapering Circle was curious about sewing in a zipper.  Here's a simple tutorial of one type of zipper.

I'm making a simple zipper pouch.  I will be showing you one side, after you finish, repeat with the other side and then sew it together in whichever fashion you deem necessary. 

As shown above, you will need:

- a zipper foot ( this one is for bernina)

- two pieces of fabric (mine are 5x8 pieces) Birds: outside fabric, dots: Inside fabric.

- a zipper about 8 inches long.

1

Step 1:  Pin your two pieces right side in to the opposite side.  Visualize how it will fold over.  The birdie fabric is the outside fabric, and the blue dots is my inner fabric.make sure the match up.  I line them up to the edge. it makes it easy to keep everything even.

2a

2b

Step 2: Make sure your zipper foot is all the way to the left and the needle is really close to the zipper.  The foot will allow you to scoot as close to the zipper as you can. On mine, the part of the foot that is flat (where the 4 is) sits on the flat part of your zipper.  Picture 2a shows how i hold mine, making sure the zipper stays under the sewing foot.  2b shows what it WOULD look like if the top fabric wasn't there.

3a

3b

Step 3: When you get to the zipper pull, it can sometimes make your stitch look all wonky.  So, set you machine to that your needle is in the down position and your foot lever is up (3a).  Then wiggle the zipper past the needle to the other side (3b) and continue sewing. 

4a 

4b

Step 4: Admire your work (4a), and then press the edges down. Careful, since my zipper is just plastic, i don't want to burn or warp it (4b)

5

Step 5: top stitch the fabric in place.  Notice the placement of the zipper foot:  The back is on top of the zipper, and the flat foot part from the front is flat on the machine.

6

Step 6: Needle in down position, foot lever in the up position, and move that zipper to the other side and then continue sewing.

7

The finished stitch.  Now go do the other side.  

DIY Cloth Wipes

So today I reached 41 weeks.  and no sign of my little man.  What better way to celebrate then another nesting project!

Now, I made these weeks ago, but I'm just now getting around to organizing photos and such.  So don't think i'm waddling around 7 days over due wasting away at my sewing machine.   I was 38 weeks pregnant waddling around wasting away at my machine. HA!  I had previously stated that Tad and I are jumping head first into Cloth Diapering and creating cloth wipes seems like a logical next step.

I really like this idea mostly because its part of the three-fold reason why we want to cloth diaper.

1.  Its Economical.  buy once, wash and reuse unlimited times.
2. It's Eco-Friendly.  I don't have to worry about putting more and more things into a landfill.
3. It's cute.  In this case, it's not that its cute so much as - it's something I get to be creative about.  And I get to pull out my sewing machine. And I get to use the yards and yards of flannel sitting in my fabric stash.  So its win-win-win. For me.

This is so easy its crazy!

First... pick out your flannels. Then decide on a size.  A friend gave me a stack of them, i decided to make mine a little smaller for no reason then I wanted to make sure they would fit in a container.  I decided upon a 7x7 square.  I assume after the wash and trimming some edges, they may slightly smaller than that.   Then sit with your cutter and cutting board and cut away.  this takes a long time and I did it over two or three sittings.

There you go.  A nice stack of about 50 or so flannel squares.  

Next, find your matching sides, I choose coordinating sides, face them right sides out.

We aren't going to turn, press and top stitch in these suckers.  

You could, but can you image how long THAT would take????

Then, sew like the wind.

I left about a quarter inch on the edge.  I used a zigzag stitch all the way around.  (Mostly because I can't sew straight lines.  Who needs that? It's not handmade if there aren't imperfections, I say.) 

If you have a serger, now is the best time to serge the edges for a cleaner edge.  You could also zigzag all around the edge.  Many options here. You decide.

Next my fav tool: pinking sheers.

In retrospect, I probably didn't have to sew that far inside. You live and learn. 

Lastly:

Sit back, admire your work.

As a friend said: That's the cutest thing even made to wipe a butt.

Beyond this, i'm working on a cloth wipe solution that will moisten these guys up.  

Generally, Most recipes call for the same thing just different types I've found:

 cups of water

tbs of oil

tbs of soap

couple drops of essential oils

then sometimes other additives.

My plan is a 2, 2, 2, 2 plan.  or half that for a 1, 1, 1, 1 recipe:

1 cup of water

1 tbs of coconut oil

1 tbs of baby wash

1 drop of tea tree oil

1 drop of lavender oil

I'll get back to you with an update on how that solution goes.  

For MORE DIY nesting projects: go here!

DIY Crate Book Shelf

As a stated earlier, This is the first in my series of DIY nursery projects.

First on the list is: A colorful bookshelf.  Since I went with a grey dresser instead of changing table.  But because of this i need more and more storage.  I really like the idea of open storage and use of baskets.  So i saw this pin (i'll also have you know that I would have had this post up 20 min. earlier, but as I searched for this pin from the past, I was caught up in all the new pins from today...it happens). ANYWAY - i saw that pin from Crazy Little Projects.  

There's the finished project.  I decided to go with a dark green to balance out some of the neon-ish colors.  When coming up with my theme of my nursery, I didn't want to lock into two distinct colors, i wanted it to just "feel" warm and cheery.  So while my MAIN colors are ORANGE AND TEAL (officially) I love love neon green, threw in some turquoise.  

And some surprising colors like that deeper green.

The MOST difficult part of this shelf is finding the large wooden crates.  At least in my town.  I first tried joann's (on recommendation from this pin) and  I FOUND ONE!!!  When I asked when they'd get more, the gal told me: "Well, we don't usually carry this, someone probably returned it."

So later on a completely unrelated day, I drove to Michael's.  I FOUND ONE! I asked when they would restock.  "Maybe this Tuesday, Maybe next Tuesday" oh.  I finally found the last two across town at the OTHER Michael's.  

Over the course of my hunt, somehow i picked up the paints. Just those 1.00 acrylic paints. I used two bottles for each. If i remember, there was a massive sale, and each bottle was 40 cents.  The first coat SHOULD take up the WHOLE first bottle as the wood just soaks up the paint.

To save on paint, don't paint the side that faces the wall.  It doesn't see the light of day.  In addition to that - if you have the foreknowledge to know which crate will be on the top, i guess you wouldn't have to paint sides (the parts that will stack on top of eachother). So in my case, I would just pain the top of the orange one since that's my top crate.  But I had no idea what order so i painted it all.

Let it dry.  

Tell Margo not to lick the paint.

And stack.  You'll have to secure the crated to eachother.  I have yet to do this.  But I've been a bit busy.  I'm thinking brackets, or little screws and eventually strapping that baby to the wall.  

 So there you have it:  

D-Day.

Today Is our Due Date.  Everyone knows this except for my little man.  Who is comfortably feeding off my meals.

Weeks ago, when friends who had due dates around me were giving birth early, (Like in July, and early Aug)  was was nervous.  I AM NOT READY! please baby stay in there longer.

Now...  I'm just ready for him to be here.

Lots of choices about him will be made from here and over the next ten days.  All of which I hope will NOT be options if this little man just moved his way down and made an appearance.

You can offer advice, you can offer your stories, you can offer me your wives' tales, but i just don't want to hear them.  It's not that I don't care for them,  I just ask your prayers instead.

Everyone's different.

As of now,  I'm feeling ok.  I'm having no contractions, but I'm aching all over. I can't sleep at night, but I'm sneaking in naps all day.  I have zero energy, and have to run to the bathroom every 10 min.

They come out eventually, right?

A Blank Nursery

Way back in June, we cleared out our spare room for our little man.    A clean slate.   The room was our overflow room.  The room that held those last few boxes from our move two years ago.  No wait... 3 years.

And there it sat. blank.   

I had plenty of fragments of ideas. pinterest nursery posts that took are not linked together at all.

  The one thing i KNEW i didn't want was a nursery in a box.  No pastels, no monkeys, no zoo animals, no baseball bats.  Which are apparently the only things you can buy at babies R us.  

Like if you are a boy, you must be interested in sports. baby blue, and sage green.  

sigh.  I digress.  

I wanted something bright and cheerful.   After Tad shot down my only two ideas: yellow/grey and owls.  I had to go back to the drawing board. 

I went with my nerd side and embraced that no child of mine would be put in a box.  Which then means I needed to find, organize and/or create everything myself.

First Step:

Picking out the fabrics were what sealed it for me.  Teal, orange, and... i later I added lime green.  Really a brightly colored array of jewel tones.   Plus awesome robots.

Enter Next: the crib.

Well, technically, before that was the gliding chair.   There was quite a bit of time between setting up the chair and setting up the crib, so alone sat the chair.  Like mother from psycho.

The last major part of this room:  The dresser/changing table.    Of course, the artwork is lovingly done by two amazingly talented co-workers of mine. They won't stay there, they have a place on the wall.

So there are the bare bones.   More to come for sure.

Wait... did I just post two days in a row???  

The last weeks, and nesting projects.

I have one more week to go before our little man gets here.  And I have been working on a ton of projects to help him feel at home when he gets here though, he hasn't gotten the memo that its go time.

I've been trying to document everything to share with you including awesome iphone shots, so here's the run down of this list some are pinterest inspired some are Alisa brain-spired. Some are finished I i should have links to soon, and some are still a work in progress.


1.) Crate Bookshelf
2.) Cloth Wipes
3.) Cloth Diaper Pail Water proof Liner
4.) Robot Mobile
5.) Paper Lantern installation
6.) Chevron curtains.  (this i MAY not get to).

Adventures in Cloth Diapering: The Beginning

FLASH BACK:

For a long time i hadn't even thought about whether or not to cloth diaper future children.  No strong opinions, no manifesto on pros of one way or the other.  Believe it or not, I didn't spend my time pre-pregnancy scouring google for comparisons.   One day Tad turns to me and declares, that yes, he'd LOVE to cloth diaper our baby.  (this is early in our pregnancy, like month 1 or 2.)

I had nothing against it, I mean, it's inexpensive (which appealed to my cheapskate side), its environmentally conscious (which appeals to my norcal roots).  I figured, I Tad feels so strongly about it, I should give this a try.  

But I knew NOTHING about what that means.  Do I just throw a sheet around him and pin it in the front?  who knows...  

Come to find out both our parents clothed us as babes. Tad for the whole time, the main appeal being how cheap it was. Me; only for a few months until I got too many rashes.

FAST FORWARD TO 3 MONTHS AGO:

A friend introduced me to a facebook circle of local cloth diaper-ers (surprise: One of my co-worker's girlfriend is a part of this circle and clothes!)

I lurked around up until a few days ago.   When i got there, I was overwhelmed.  Some of these ladies are superwomen!  And they were using language i didn't understand!!!!   Pockets, AIO AI2, Stripping, complicated laundry procedures, prefolds, hybrids, snappies, thirsties, and on and on and on.  DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED on acronyms! 

I gave up even thinking about it.  I mean, it was overwhelming. I think I said that already. I left it alone. I had enough to worry about, I wasn't going to let this consume me.

FAST FORWARD to A FEW WEEKS AGO:

I think something just hit.  The close arrival of my LO.  The fact that i was on summer vacation. something.  I started researching.  Now, I KNOW if i would have asked, the ladies in the group would have helped. But I needed to feel confident in the basics, with procedure, and with a direction of what I wanted to do.  I found the resource page on Diaper Jungle to be particularly helpful. 

  NOT that there aren't other sites out there, I just found it easy to navigate and clear and to the point without searching through tons of blogs and review etc. 

THE CURRENT RESULT:

From the research I have done, I find that method I am most comfortable with and will fit our lifestyle are hybrids or AI2 (All-in-2).  These are shells that have a place to put a cloth insert that is removable and washable.  The shell can be quickly wiped off (if needed) and used several times before washing.  Like a pair of jeans.  Most of these covers can be washed normally in your own laundry once a week or so.  The inserts are washed when you get enough of them (every 2-3 days).  Beyond that, I can use certain disposable inserts in case of travel/long days/babysitting.

Source: gro-via.com via Alisa on Pinterest

You might recognize gdiapers as one type of hybrid diapers.  I am also looking into grovia AI2 hybrids.   (If you are interested the gro-via site has a great explanation on hybrids and the best cost comparison I've seen yet)
Plus Look how adorable these are!

Source: gro-via.com via Alisa on Pinterest

Now, Only time will tell.  But Now I am feeling more confident about what to expect, how to launder, and I'm even getting ready sew up some cloth wipes!   

SAVING THE ENVIRONMENT ONE BABY BUTT AT A TIME!!!

Conversations with Tad.

Tad: You should go see who Brian Wilson took with him to the espy's.
Me:  ha!  That's pretty good.  Who'd a thought that.   Well, you know.  he's gotta stay relevant.

Tad: Relevant or annoying?

Sunday Night

I realize how long its been.  But I made a pact with myself that I would never apologize, or grovel over the guilt i felt for leaving this blog un-attended. But it's sunday night and I am putting off grading papers for something more important... updating my blog!

Life's been crazy!  IF you follow me on twitter, are my friend on fb, instagram or in person, then you probably realize that Taddy and I are 5 months pregnant and get to meet our little man mid-august!

I also realize that I am missing a great opportunity to document the growth of this little man, my emotions, fears, and opinions.



Over the next few weeks I"ll list out some memories from the last 5 months so i can remember this very precious time.


Plus, who reads this? My mom, and like 5 of you.

Raptor Jewelry

I love creating and I love to support people who are creating!

A friend from college alerted me to the fact that there was a FB contest for free hand-made earring  from a OC hand-made jeweler.  And let's get real, Who doesn't love free things?  You had me at Free and Handmade!

So I did what I needed... a post, a like, a share etc.. Then I spent some time looking through Raptor Jewelry's Site.  If you venture over there/// beware and be ready to have your socks rocked off!  There are some amazing pieces in here! It will be extremely difficult NOT to drop my paycheck on this loot!  You've been warned:

Photo Source: Raptor Jewelry

Tracker Jacker anyone???

Photo Source: Raptor Jewelry

The LiLa. I'm lost in that color!

Photo Source: Raptor Jewelry 

"Bolt." I cannot get enough of those polka dots on the feathers!
Gorgeous! (plus, who doesn't love a HP bolt)

Drum Roll please...

These beauties are what I will be receiving for my participation in their giveaway!  I'll post again as soon as I get them in!


Looking through all their amazing things, I've been inspired to to my hand at some feathers.  And who wouldn't be inspired by this amazingness????   It really has pulled me off my couch and forced my to get back into creating again!!!!

Even though I originally entered the contest purely on the hope of the off change that I might win a prize, Raptor Jewelry has found themselves a fan for life!

Whaaaat?

I'm back! It's Been a while....


More to post later!

February Flew out the window!

Holy Cow, its already March!

AS an update,

Reading:  Since my impressive 4 books in one month passed, I followed up with a big fat zero for February.  I sorta forgot how busy teaching can be!     I am in the middle of about 5 paper books that I pick up and put down at different times.  I'd like to get all my paper books out of the way so that I can move 100% to my kindle.  So I assume that by March or April I'll have another huge x4 books read!

But -   I did complete 4 Meals!  
   Cooking 1: We did BBQ shredded chicken sandwiches!
  Cooking 2:  I followed up the night with Tacos! Yum!
Cooking 3: Was more like breakfast than dinner, but boy was that good,  I made bacon (which if you know me know that this is essential.)  and spinach and broccoli scrambled eggs.

Cooking 4: I also was able to throw together another favorite of mine: Chicken Stir Fry with veggies.  I assume I'll make this again and photograph it!

   So this makes my unofficial cooking count to : 5!


Creating!

Well...  I did do a lot of this!  Again i can't believe a didn't take any photos!!!

 It all started at bunco last time.  We all place dimes in the cup every time someone rolls TRAVELERS (al twos) and then the winner takes all the dimes home. We all started talking about needing a little bag to carry our dimes from table to table.  One girl said she thought she saw one on etsy. I said, oh i think i can make a few...  So when i got home I decided to make a  BETTER version of this only smaller with corners so it'll stand on a table!   I think I made around 10 of them and I brought them to our bunco for March.  Instant hit!  I sold just about all of them.  I'll try to get a picture of the last one left over that I'll probably mail off to someone...   So thats crafting x10.


February Connections:


I had a few great connections this month!      I'll speak of two:

1 - My father in law was in town from outta state and Tad and I went to dinner with him a few times as well as with Tad's brother and his wife.
2 - My girls from bunco are also some of my closest friends from high school.  We all went to BJs Pizza and had a wonderful time reconnecting and expressing how glad we are that facebook brought some of our greatest friends back into our lives!  Really, I could not be more thankful!  We even had another old friend be our waiter and he got us in ahead of the saturday crowd!
3- My mommies birthday was toward the end of the month, so the night after my girls night, We all went out again to celebrate my mom's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

So there was my February in a nutshell.   I"ll be back on to update some pictures.

January Book Report {1, 2, 3, 4}

Before I created a goal for myself I was already reading a lot thanks to an early Christmas gift of a Kindle from Tad's parents.  I finished off The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens & Battle of the Labyrinth, the 4th book in the Percy Jackson Series in December.


Then - In January - I picked up the following FOUR (WOW) Books:


{1} The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson and the Olympians; Book Five) - What a great end to a fantastic series.  Though my personal favs would be the first (Lightning Thief) and fourth (Battle of the Labyrinth) this one wasn't as bad as Sea of Monsters (book 2).  Most of the story focuses around the final battle.   I was so surprised that hundreds of pages were dedicated to one marathon day.  There were plenty of flashbacks/dreams/visions to answer the  "finally, I know what happen to...  "How so-in-so came to be..."" who ____ is... " That I didn't feel like I was kicked out with so many questions (I can appreciate that).   I felt that some things were a little pushed together and slightly unbelievable, but hey - its about Mt Olympus being on the 600th floor of the Empire State Building, so talk about unbelievable.   Rick Riordan has already published a second series about more demi-gods loosely associated with Percy and his buds (and the second of that series due out this fall).  Rick, you have my soul. And my money.


{2} The Hunger Games -   My girl-friends got me into this and THANK GOD!  This whole series will consume you and take you on an original journey about a post-apocalyptic country in the former U.S. (we never really hear the year).  Every year to prove to the Districts that the Capitol has complete control, they select two children from each district to fight to the death in The Hunger Games, the future of reality TV.  No really, I'm serious.  And this is a Young Adult Fiction.  And its amazing.  The imagery puts you RIGHT into the middle of it, with cliff hanger chapter endings (or last sentences) that will literally keep you up all night until you finish.  There were parts SO EXCITING that I read at super human speed  that can only be attributed to the type of adrenaline rush that allows mom's to lift cars off of their kids.  I read so fast that I had to go back and reread pages just to make sure I didn't miss anything. Just wow.  Its a great look at how far we will go for entertainment, freedom, and autonomy. Just go read them - really.


{3} Catching Fire (Book two in the Hunger Games)  I can't say too much about this book without spoiling book one, BUT I can speak to my favorite character: Katniss Everdeen.  She is a FAR better role model for young women than the waste of literary space named: Bella Swan. Her devotion to her family and her friends shows more character than Bella ever did.  I am constantly in awe of her amazing ability to think on her feet and analyze every moment in real time. You can't help but root for Katniss.


{3} The Mocking Jay (The Final Chapter In the Hunger Games Trilogy) - This is probably my least favorite of the three, but only in comparison with the amazingness of the first two.  What I did love about this book is the look at the extreme sides of the political spectrum, and how sometimes even though ideas may start as being beneficial to society, they can become terrifyingly restrictive and oppressive if pushed to the extreme of either spectrum.  Once again, I must say -  Katniss Everdeen has more depth in her pinkie than Bella Swan's whole presence (plus the whole Cullen Clan).  Team Peeta.   

Connections {2, 3 & 4}

I have had so many connections the last few weeks!  Wow!  These three outings have been making connections with OLD friends reunited by FACEBOOK!!!

{2} BUNCO! One my girlfriends from high school was looking to start up a bunco league & I TOTALLY JUMPED IN!  I have only ever participated in bunco as a sub years ago.  So now I can reconnect with four other girlfriends from high school FACE TO FACE!  Our first meeting was a few weeks ago and there are 5 of us that all went to High School together.  THANK YOU FACEBOOK!!!


{3} Last Monday - Another really great friend from high school came to visit from out of state (she flew home the night of bunco).  Four of us girls from High School all headed out to Moo Creamery.  (OH I CAN LOG A LOCAL PLACE!)  I met her son for the first time and we all laughed and enjoyed amazing ice cream in the fog!


{4} Satuday - I went to 4-year-old's birthday party at the local rollerrama!  So cute to see her sweet little girl opening all her gifts!  PLus I got to see my outta-town friend for ONE LAST time before she flew home.


Wow.  What a fun Month!  I can't wait for my next bunco; and I can;'t believe the reconnections I've made with great friends!!!

Cook {1}

Ahh coooking.   I LOVE IT!  But I never have time for it.

This may not be the most amazing thing since french toast... I just happened to have the time to put together a meal.  With me coming home at 6pm from work, and two of nights filled with prior commitments The Tad and I don't get a lot of time to cook.

Here's my first cooked meal of the year that I decided to post.

Sweet Caramelized Onion Chicken Burgers and Roasted Herb Potatoes.

Roasted Herb Potatoes (Serves 2):  These potatoes are my fav!  

-Dice up 4-6 small red potatoes 

-Toss them with salt, pepper, garlic, the herbs and olive oil. 

(oregano, basil, rosemary thyme... whatever you have) 

-Throw it all in a square pyrex tray and bake at 375 for about 30 min.

 My suggestion is to line your dish with foil, it'll make clean up much easier. We learned that one the hard way a few years back.

Sweet Caramelized Chicken Burgers:  There's no recipe.

-Buy these amazing pre-cooked all natural sweet caramelized onion with peppers and gouda cheese chicken burgers from costco,
-Defrost two of them, throw 'em on the skillet/grill/heating device and brown for a few minutes,
-At the last minute add a slice of pepper jack cheese.
-While you are doing that: toast up some buns & slice up some tomatoes and romaine.

 There you go!  Hopefully Next time i'll have a better recipe for you.

Create {2}

No, haven't forgotten that I pledged to create something once a week.  Ok, i kinda did.  I'm thinking that FRIDAY will be my deadline for a new creation.  And Friday came and went and no new creation.  ::smacks forehead against wall::   BUT, i have a very reasonable and valid excuse scapegoat explanation.
There will be a post about this later: but I have been completely consumed with a certain book series that my dear friends have been baiting in front of me for weeks.  Lets just say I've read MORE books this month then objects I've created.

MOVING on, Since today is a vacation day, I've decided to quickly whip something up.  I wish i would have thought about this more, and taken my time, because As you'll see...  well, i wonder if you can...  

For now though
Cute right?

I love the color combo here!!!! And that adorable little camera i bought a wee bit from my fav. designer fabric store that sometimes i dream about living in!  it was so expensive for the full yard, so since it had sectioned off squares i went a head and got but i got about thirty of those little squares for about 5 bux, so no complaints.

Here I am trying to ignore the fact that I've completely ruined a really cute bag by angling my shot.  Because its the angles that will hide any imperfection. ;-)

This is the backside, which I  should probably use as the front side considering.....

Another pretty shot of the bright orange PEEKING out!  So cute!

Ok, now here is my shame... 

Don't all go running off at the same time....

If you didn't see it before...

Here is the full front side.

EEEP!  

Usually I love the imperfections in my work, they make them adorable, annoying, indicative of a lot of things that i have a hand in  unique.  But this; it is just glaring at me how off sided that camera is. wow.  I need to practice with my measurements.  I think it was the zipper that throw me off.  Granted It only took me twenty minutes, and I would have just tossed it aside and tried again, but I don't have any little zippers!  My mom gave me this one about a week ago for my sisters birthday.  Yes Mel, this was going to be a second present for you, but obviously I can't give you this one.  I'll have to take a trip to F&M and buy some more 8in zippers and then actually measure this time.

sheez.

Connect { 1 }

So, someone's been reading my blog, and to get me out of my little lair called Tad and I and arranged a long over due connection!

So last weekend we planned to have dinner,  What a great excuse to cook a lot of food!  Tri-tip, Mashers, green beans the works!    We talked about baseball, little house on the prairie, the Hunger Games, unwatched movies, stealth bombers, how the office is doing downhill,  life, just everything! And we played wii!

Then we sent a picture text to my sister since in an odd coincidence it happened to be on her birthday! So we were celebrating her birthday together without her! (and before you get all, "that's mean" on us, she lives 4 hours away.)


AND now I have finished one of my connections!  Thanks You guys!

(and Josh, please note the restraint it took NOT to rub the giants victory in your face.)

Create {week 1}

Alright.  As Briana may have already suspected, I already had my weekly creation already complete and ready to post since monday.  You can call it cheating, i call it being prepared:  It was done in the first week of new years, in fact most of this some completed on new years day.


Briana's sweet sister is having a sweet little boy, and her nursery is all about little baby woodland creatures.  I love me some owls so when she approached me to make some gifts for her... my wheels started turning!


Here's what I came up with:

 A little owlie burpie based off some of the colors and imagery from her nursery 

A matching onesie to go with it.  

Now, these aren't her colors, but as soon as i spotted this owlie flannel, i couldn't say no. 

Would you? I thought not.

Of course that burpie also comes with a little onesie

DRUM ROLL PLEASE

 But my pride and joy... and i mean TRUE and PURE handmade, totally  hand embroidered pride and joy:

Is my sweet sweet little plushie owlie.   A few years back Briana spotted another little owlie of mine and has been plotting to find someone she could commission an owl for.

So there he is.

And like all of my felt creatures, he gets branded with his name that will always belong to him and him alone.  Ollie.  Tad had to pry him from my hands and remind me that i made Ollie for a purpose.

So I mailed my creations off and now i can only hope that the recipient loves them!