Love-filled Inspiration

Jason and I didn't decorate for Christmas this year. All in all, I believe we had out two snowman figurines, a nutcracker, a bowl full of silver pine cones and one nativity set. To say that was a disappointment is an understatement. So, I've decided to get out the construction paper, buy some glitter and decorate for Valentine's Day. It's wonderful that it's on a Saturday this year, so I'm sure we'll be celebrating all day long!

So, here's some crafty Valentine's inspiration for us all!



Source: Better Homes & Gardens





Source: Better Homes & Gardens





Source: allfreecrafts.com





Source: Better Homes & Gardens





Source: Country Home





Source: Country Home



I can't wait to get crafting and decorating!

Sick Day

Being stuck at home all day is rather boring, especially when there's nothing to do. I can't clean or go workout or do any thing NOT boring, so I decided to improve my home work space. I've been wanting a bulletin board in the home office/ craft room/ guest room, but there's no suitable wall space near my desk where it would be most needed. But, I do have this great big cabinet (full of craft supplies, of course)!



So, I thought I could improve the blank space and make it a little more utilitarian as well.

I purchased some cork board tiles to pin craft projects to (leather necklaces, pieced fabric items, etc.,). I really only need one at a time because one of my new crafting goals is to only have on project going at a time. So, these fully functional mini-bulletin boards were born!



All I did was glue some cute ribbon from the dollar bin at Michael's to the cork boards and presto! In hindsight, I could have just pinned the ribbon on with cute push pins so that the ribbon could be changed to suit my mood or decor, but maybe next time! Lol!

And here they are, in use and ready for more inspirational clippings!



So, not the most productive day, but not too bad for a sick day!

It's Going to be a Kitschy Christmas

Well, maybe not that kitschy, but close. I finished the silver pine-cones and they're sitting nicely on a shelf waiting to be strewn about the house! Some of them got red bows and others will be left plain to be mixed with fairy lights in bowls. I can't wait to get to decorating!




I also did a few of the hanging ones for gifts this year. I'm hoping it will cause the recipients to reminisce a bit about Christmases past. Just seeing them reminds me of holiday crafting with my mom and two sisters. So much fun!


Other than that, the day was quite dull. Work, walk/jog, laundry, dinner, dishes and bed. Oh, and I ironed some curtains. Isn't that fab?! (Insert sarcastic snort here.)

Ah well, that's all that the day held, so that's all I will type. Adios until next time! Hopefully there will be more exciting posts to come!

Fun day...

Today was a great day. I slept in, woke up and had a shake for breakfast, and then putzed around on the computer for a while. Then Jason and I headed out to run our errands for the weekend. We decided to fill up his truck even though he probably wouldn't have needed gas until December anyways. I'm shocked that it's only $2.09 for gas right now. We're going to fill my car up after church. I'm sure the price will go up just in time for me to fill up for Thanksgiving travels!


While we were out and about, one of our stops was at the post office where I picked up this wonderful package from SunflowerSmiles on craftster. I'm participating in the Christmas Ornament Swap and she was one of my three partners. What she sent me is AWESOME! I got this wonderful snowman ornament that she MADE. Can you believe that? Look at the detail shot...it is flawless!






She also sent me a tiny wooden nativity ornament set. It is so adorable! I'm thinking about making a scene to attach it to permanently so that I won't ever lose any of the pieces. This little set is just too cute!






For dinner I made a pot of pinto beans. That, of course, meant frying up some salt pork in the cast iron skillet. Now, I'm no debutante, but that's how beans are made in the South!! Of course, I don't think that most Southern belles fry up the pork in the morning and cook the beans in the crock pot, but that's how I do it here.



After all the errands were done, we came home and Jason got to chopping wood and working on our fence out back. I stayed inside and got the living room and kitchen cleaned up and laundered all the window treatments. I tell you what, this is the most relaxing Saturday I've had in a while. Just the fact that I only had two rooms to clean rather than the whole house is phenomenal. I'm going to try to keep up this pattern of cleaning during the week so I have most of my weekend free.

For dinner, Jason wanted grilled fajitas and peppers and onions, so this series of pics was taken in honor of that. Here is my man hard at work and doing what he does best; drinking beer and bar-b-que'in! He would want me to point out his loyalty to the Dallas Cowboys in spite of their recent troubles. He is no fair-weather fan!









While we were outside watching the grill, the goggies were being little show-offs. They really are hams when I get the camera out! They are such stinkers. And they're hilarious. I sat down on the couch tonight and accidentally pushed a pillow onto Toby. He woke up and looked at me like, "What the heck do you think you're doing?!" Ranger just snorted and rolled over. Lazy.





I love this pic of Ranger on the move. That's how he is when he's awake; all you see is a blur. When he's asleep, though. He's like a kid after a day at Disneyland; can't wake him up for anything!



If they could talk, I think they'd deny it, but these two are inseparable. See how Ranger cozies up to Toby in spite of Toby's laser eyes? That's love.


It has been a great Saturday and lots of fun to blog about. I'm hoping that tomorrow will be just as fun and relaxing. There's not too much on my to-do list, so I think it will be.

Thanks for reading! Au revoir!

Dusty day and lots of pictures

Today was so windy that there was just dust everywhere! These are the views from the back porch. I can usually see tons of detail, I mean bushes and everything.


I've been a busy little bee here. We've gotten lots of housecleaning done and I've been crafting a lot as well. This is a pic of some stuff in progress. I love the cheesiness of silver pine cones for Christmas decorations! It's so kitschy and wonderful!



Doesn't that look like a box full of fun?!

I've also had some fun experimenting with my stir fry recipe and have to say that I made my best one this week. Of course, stir fry is nothing without rice, so I pulled out the old Zojirushi rice cooker that my maternal grandparents got us for a wedding gift. I don't know if I could live without it. It even makes brown rice perfectly!



I was shocked when we first moved here to find out that the local store sold tofu. Got to love this stuff!



Then there's the steamy, wonderful goodness of a wok full of stir fry on the stove! Yum! I couldn't wait to eat!



Ahhhh, time to eat! Finally! Stir fry is better with Takuan and Kim-Chi. Thank goodness for my family being kind enough to bring it to me when I run out. And it's all served up in my favorite bowl from my grandma's collection and my favorite chopsticks.



And here's Jason being a goober while I'm working on dinner. Well, he's pretty much always a goober, but I'll forgive him for that.




Well, that's all that went on this past week that I felt I HAD to post pics of.




I've been having a great day today. I walked a mile at lunch with a coworker and then jogged another mile after she left. I was really proud of myself and I'm happy that I'm pushing my body. On a sad workout note, I had to mail my awesome Everlast training wraps off to the company today so that they could be replaced. (I have pink ones!) We bought them a week ago and they already have a rip in them. I'm going to assume that it was just a manufacturing defect and that the new pair will hold up better. So, while doing the strength circuit that Jason planned for me, I will be gazing longingly at the heavy bag that I won't be hitting until the replacements come in.



Then there's Jason in all his glory doing his workout. I think it looks like he's judging me for staying inside and out of the wind instead of joining him.* What do you think?




Well, that's all the boasting and bragging that I felt up to doing tonight. I really hated not having my camera up and running for the past few days. I've decided that documenting the day-to-day with my little camera is a lot of fun. And it makes blogging much more fun. My new resolution is to never be without batteries for the dang thing! I'm just hoping that it can handle all the pictures I'll be taking! So, I'm logging off now. Demitri Martin is on Comedy Central and we are not going to miss this!!

Adios!

*ETA: Okay, okay, you got me. Jason wasn't judging me, he was just tired from all those dips he had just finished doing...

Good Intentions

I had a great day today. I walked a mile and jogged a mile on my lunch break. Just the fact that I could jog an entire 1/2 mile at one time is a HUGE accomplishment for me, let alone do two in the same workout. That made me feel great!

While at work, I suddenly remembered that it was Thursday and that if I wanted a free weekend I would have to get my butt in gear to get the house cleaned and laundry done by tomorrow night. So, I pulled out a little notepad and scribbled out my to-do list for the night. Of, course I over-planned. There's typically no way to get done what I want to do in a given night, but at least it gives me a goal. So, I get started on my list, and things are going great. The laundry is started, bedroom cleaned, dinner made and dishes done, laundry switched out, office/guest room cleaned and bathroom cleaned. It's when I go to get the Swiffer together that I discover that I've forgotten to buy batteries for it. That's also when I realize that if I don't have batteries for that, I don't have batteries for my camera. Just great. I really wanted to post some pictures tonight. What a bummer. (And yes, "blog" is an item on my to-do list tonight! Lol!) So, tonight it is just boring me and words. Sorry!

Anyhow. It looks like I will definitely be rolling into the weekend with just a few chores to get done. The weekly laundry will be done but I'm sure I'll wash bed linens and curtains because of that. No biggie. I also want to start putting out our Christmas decor this weekend, but that depends on whether or not I get my swap goodies made at a reasonable time. Surely Jason and I will want to spend some time doing something fun. We'll see how that goes.

Well, I'm off to prep for bed. Shocking that it's so early and I'll gladly take it! My feet need some rest after all of that jogging!

I've been meaning to

Get here. Post. Show off some stuff. But life gets in the way sometimes.

Jason and I had a great, but busy, day off on Tues. We rented the carpet cleaner and I was able to get everything clean. It's amazing what a difference a good steaming makes! I blame it all on the dogs. Those animals are filthy! After all of that cleaning I decided that I needed a Swiffer wet mop for the rest of the floors. I'm currently searching for a good deal on a set of washable cleaning pads for that.

I've been working out much more consistently now. I've done at least 30 minutes of something every day this week so far. Jason devised a custom strength circuit for me. I'm sore now, but I'm more grateful that I have an intelligent husband that respects my limits but works me as hard as I need to be worked. I'm not seeing much difference on the scale but I am seeing a difference in the fit of my clothes. I'm going to keep this up this time!

Other than that, there has been lots of crafting of late. We got our Operation Christmas Child boxes off, so the rest of the week will be spent finishing an altered altoid tin first aid kit and starting the prep work on some shadowbox Christmas ornaments. I'm very excited to get those done this weekend! I also need to find another place to do my spray-painting. Somehow the back porch has a silver sheen to it. I'm not too sure how that happened...well, I have an idea but I'm not admitting anything!

Well, I'm bound and determined to get back here tonight and post pictures of what I've been working on.

Patriotic favorites

For this week's installment of my handmade favorites, I've decided to honor the upcoming election with a patriotic theme. My prayer is that the American public will choose the best leaders for our country.

So, here we go!

This week's first favorite is this GORGEOUS Patriotic Box crafted by westcorinthstudio. It is a phenomenal piece of art!



The next item is this awesome cross. What a great item by DCStuff to show of both your patriotism and faith.



Next is this Pledge of Allegiance plaque by lauriesherrell. There are so many things I love about this, but most importantly is that we are One Nation Under GOD!!



I also chose this patriotic chunky bracelet! The obsession from last week continues. Poetsummer really captures the American spirit with this one and I love the vintage images!



This acrylic Little Liberty Cuff by GetPersonalArt is so fab. It is mod and patriotic and quasi-gaudy at the same time (note the swarovski bling!)



I love the candy sprinkled resin bracelet by retrocafeart. Resin is one of those mediums I'm dying to try and she does it perfectly. Bravo!



Last, but certainly not least, is this delicious-looking cake by Whipped Bakeshop. I love that it looks like fireworks! This is pure awesome!



Since I included a cake both weeks so far, I think I'll make sure to include some type of food item for every week. I have no clue what next week's theme will be, so tune in to find out! I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did!

Craftster addict!

Today was a great day. There wasn't much going on at work, but that was alright. After work Jason and I came home and had great workouts in the backyard. I LOVE our new phones! We stick them in our pockets, turn on the music, and GO! I tell you what, that 40 minutes of walking/jogging flies by a lot faster when you're listening to good music.

I found out today that my partner in the Craftster Book Lovers' Swap received her stuff, so I'm posting this slide show to show off what I made her and what she sent me. (You can click on the pics to make them bigger.)



First, are the things I made her. The first item is a pyrography/painted plaque that was inspired by an item on her wist and a book by her favorite author, Sherman Alexie. The second pic is a detail of the feathers. This was my first time doing wood-burning besides my practicing on a coaster the night before.

The library book is a place for her to record who has borrowed a book from her. It was based on one of our shared favorites, The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver and was my first time binding a book. The little fall-leaves thing is a simple bookmark.

Finally, there is an altered-altoid tin that is meant to be her "Favorite Literary Quotes Holder" and a beaded bookmark. That was my first project on my new beading loom. It is useless as a bookmark, but she is going to turn it into a bracelet.

The group shot is of all the wonderful things she sent me; the embroidered geisha tote bag (my favorite), some Memoirs of a Geisha inspired notecards that I'm going to try to get framed, a hand-bound reading journal, and two books to read! I was really spoiled on this swap!

I received info on my partners for the two other swaps I'm doing to finish out the year. One swap is a "Christmas Ornament Swap" and I'll actually be sending out three handmade ornaments to three different people and receiving an ornament from each of them. The other swap is an altered-altoid tin swap and the theme is "First Aid Kits". We have to alter the tin and then stuff it full of first-aid supplies. They'll both be easy swaps and lots of fun!

Well, that's just how addicted to craftster I am right now! I guess the cold weather means I'm inside a lot more crafting!

Goodnight!

A Few of My Favorite Things...

Inspired by another blogger on Blogspot, I've decided to do a "weekly feature". Since I'm currently fairly active in the crafting world, I'll be posting my favorite projects from various sites that reflect certain themes. I'll try and limit it to only a few items a week, but we'll have to wait and see what happens. I'll tell you what the theme is, why I like what I picked and link you up to it's original site.

I've got Halloween on my mind right now, so my favorite things for this week will be based on Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas (my favorite movie of all time), and Corpse Bride. Please enjoy!



First off is this FABULOUS cake! Jason actually told me it would have been the perfect wedding cake for us. I agree. I first saw it on Cake Wrecks, and had to check out its creator, Christopher Garren of Let Them Eat Cake after seeing it. I am in awe. (Also check out his Corpse Bride cake; it's awesome as well!)


Next is an item I received in an online "Favorite Movie" swap. My swap partner, the fabulous "ohyouprettythings" created this fabulous Jack Skellington bracelet/necklace holder. It is made from polymer clay and has a wire armature. He is watching over me right now from the window ledge where he stands next to the Nightmare Before Christmas Collector's Edition box. You can check out my craftster post and see all the other wonderful things she sent me here.


Next are these great wood burned wall hangings of Victor and Emily from Corpse Bride by "Ramsie" from craftster. These are amazing and I hope to one day emulate them when my pyrography skills improve. Her original post.


I love these "Haunted Holiday" cards by shesbattydesigns. Not that I would actually send something so cool. I'd probably just buy one to hang out by Jack on the window sill.


This next item, by TheBohemianGoddess, is absolutely STUNNING! I would buy this and wear it every Halloween for years if I had to to make it worth it. I have been admiring this one for several Halloweens now!


Frogsandflowers created this Jack, Sally & the Gang bracelet that would be a joy to wear. It's the perfect chunky bracelet and I'm afraid Jason would have to tell me to quit wearing it!



I think I'm in love with chunky bracelets because here's another one by poetsummer. (Check out her etsy store; TONS of fab stuff!) I love the black and white color palette on this one...you could wear it with anything.


Well, that's this week's crafty feature. I hope you liked it and found some crafty inspiration! I think I'm off to start some soup for dinner and see if there's anything in my stash for creating a chunky bracelet! Adios!

Chilling Out Tonight

Today has been a decent enough day. We went out to eat for a work birthday and I had a delicious grilled chicken salad. It was a pleasant surprise as the restaurant used to stink. They changed owners and everything about it is better now. I'm also happy to report that the carrot cake I made last night was delicious and everyone loved it. I have to quit doing that. The better I bake, the more I get asked to. SIGH!

I also went to the book store to order a new book for Jason and ended up buying 4 books for myself and 2 books for my craft swap partner. It was a little difficult to buy for her as I wasn't sure what to get, but I found two books that I read recently and LOVED. I won't post them here, just in case she happens to read this, but I hope that she hasn't read them and that she'll enjoy them.

I bought Girl With A Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier, Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, What's A Christian To Do With Harry Potter by Connie Neal and The Color Purple by Alice Walker for myself. I don't know when I'll ever get to reading them considering I'm half done with Bless Your Heart, Tramp: And Other Southern Endearments by Celia Rivenbark and have Transgressions by Sarah Dunant (one of my new favorite authors) waiting as well. They're from booksfree.com and take precedence over the others so that I can mail them back ASAP. I also have the two books that my swap partner sent me to read. I need help. This is definitely a borderline addiction.

After work I'm planning on jogging and hitting the heavy bag for a bit. We're having leftovers for dinner and are going to lay on the couch and watch The Addam's Family on ABC Family tonight. I also have to finish crafting for my swap partner so that I can send tomorrow and then I'll move on to the other two swaps I've signed up for. That may be an addiction as well. I'll get back to you on that one!

Creativity leads to exhaustion...

Wow. I'm tired. Jason has been out all night doing a deer survey. I've been strapped to my desk working on a craft/art project for a craftster swap that I'm embarrassingly behind on. I have to admit that inspiration was elusive on this particular swap, the "Book-Lovers" swap, but things are coming together now. I just finished a work in pyrography/painting that I'm extremely proud of. I'll post pictures as soon as my crafty partner has received it. I will almost certainly create a similar piece of wall art for myself. The requirements for this swap were small, but I still fell behind. I'll be sending by Saturday and am going out tomorrow for some extra goodies to throw in.

I am up way too late, but I just don't feel like I can put my head down. I've just got a last little bit of crafting to do and then I will try to sleep. I'm just out of my element right now. That's okay, because things will be back to normal soon.

Jason's been talking about going to Midland-Odessa for a while for Christmas shopping and a mini-getaway for us. I've been putting off discussing it, but finally made reservations for the MCM Elegante in Odessa. It's a really nice place, according to my friend at work, and I booked us an in-room couple's massage for the morning after we arrive. Now I'm actually excited about the trip. I'm going to try to find a nice place for us to dine while there, but I'm pretty sure we'll end up going to Olive Garden anyhow. Haha!

Well, the glue is in place and ready to dry overnight. Hopefully I'll dream of the last project I need to make my package complete.