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Friday, July 24, 2009

Why am I up at 2:30 in the morning?

Well, I'll tell you. It's because I clicked over to MySpace for the first time in a LONG time to hear Neal Carpenter's music. Amazing? YES. I can't stop listening, especially to "Don't Give Up On Me." His music is like a mix of Ryan Adams, Kenny Rogers, vintage Michael McDonald, and a sprinkling of old-time bluegrass. That may not sound like your cup of tea, but you should DEFINITELY go to his MySpace site or iTunes and take a listen.

I grew up with Neal (I still live around the corner from his parents), and I never knew how musically talented he is. It's crazy that you can live down the street from someone your whole life and never really know them. Crazy.

Also, I have terrific, fantastic, wonderful news!! My friends Ryan and Heidi are the proud parents of twins, Owen and Ilona! They were born this afternoon via c-section, after a couple of touch-and-go moments in the hospital these past two weeks. They are about 9 weeks early, so there's a long road ahead, but they're doing great so far! They will most likely have to stay in the NICU for at least 4 weeks, so I've got some time before the nursery has to be finished (thankfully!).

That's all the updates for now. I guess I'll shuffle off to bed, seeing as it is L-A-T-E late!

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Top 5 things I want to do (at this moment exactly)

1. My very own re-usable Swiffer Dusters! Go here for the tutorial.
2. Freakin' adorable DIY iron-on onesies. Tute found here.
3. Hooded bath towels (for me, and maybe some kiddies...we'll see). Jump on over.
4. Gift bags from envelopes? Preposterous!! Not on the interwebs...click here to see for yourself!
5. A fabulous necklace display. Awesomeness here.

Go forth and craft. And then take pictures and show me so I can live vicariously through you!!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Yay!!

I've been featured again, this time by the lovely Laura of Bright, Bold, and Beautiful. Here's the link: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=61892. Check it out while it's still up!

Here's a screen shot:

My Citrus Mint Necklace is in the bottom row, center.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

SCORE!

I got super-duper lucky in my thrifting endeavors yesterday, and wound up with a brand new chair for our den! The couch and chair-and-a-half that we have are bobo hand-me-downs that we got from a yard sale, and only bought them because they were cheap. I've started filling in with thrifted, antique store-bought pieces, and some handmade items to try and get a cohesive look. The main problems in our living room are: hideous dark green carpet, even more hideous pinkish/tan tile (yes, in addition to the carpet), and our total and complete lack of money. I would rip up the carpet and tile, but we can't afford new carpet (much less hardwood floors), so we would be sitting on lovely 80s-era linoleum (you're jealous, don't lie).

In an effort to brighten up the couch (there's only so much green-on-green that one can handle), I made some throw pillows out of some lovely blue flowered fabric. I also scored a hot pillow and throw from Marshall's that continue the blue accent action for the chair-and-a-half. I sewed up a quick little green pillow for the new blue chair to try and make it tie in better with the rest of the room. Anyway, here it is!

This is after I sewed the cute tiny pillow for it, but before I cleaned it, hence the dusty appearance.

I also got a torso - yes, a torso - for photographing my necklaces. As much as I love showcasing my double chin in my Etsy photos, I've been wanting one for a while, and it was meant to be because as soon as I walked into the Goodwill, my eyes fell upon it. There it was, sitting on top of a desk, in plain view from the entrance. It was calling to me, and I of course listened. Wouldn't you?


Oh yes, I forgot to mention that it's a male torso. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to put a bra on him and stuff it or just let him wear my necklaces without breast enhancement. We'll see...

I'm not done yet, though. I also got a sweet lamp (or candle stand for a fatty candle if it doesn't work). If it works, I'm going to paint it and use it for a friend's nursery that I'm decorating.

We'll call this the before picture

I also found a great dresser and an almost perfect match for the lamp I bought the day before, only it's a floor lamp! Could it be more perfect? No, it could not. All this stuff isn't for me, though. It's for my friends who are having twins. I'm decorating their nursery, so 'll be sanding, priming, and painting the lamps, dresser, and a few accessories this weekend, and I'll post pictures of the process some time next week.

Have a happy rest of your weekend!

Monday, July 13, 2009

I've been featured!

In a treasury! Here's the screenshot:



And here's the link:
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=70177

Friday, July 10, 2009

Thoughts?

I'm seriously considering opening another Etsy shop for my prints, paintings, and fabric art, but I need to think of a good name first. Right now I'm debating between Tin Oiseau and Handbanana. I just thought of Handbanana tonight (Thanks, ATHF!). It was between TO and Odile, but Nick pronounced it wrong and I don't want to think of people pronouncing it "Oh-dyle." Like anyone will pronounce oiseau any better. (It's wah-zoh in case you're wondering. It's French for "bird.") Anyway...I'm still debating. These are some possible designs I've come up with. Thoughts and suggestions are VERY welcome!!




Sorry for the blurriness of this one, not sure what the deal is:


I haven't come up with a design for Handbanana yet, since I just thought of that one tonight. Which is, by the way, totally unoriginal. Handbanana is the name of one of the characters on the Adult Swim cartoon Aqua Teen Hunger Force, only one of the best shows ever. It comes on Cartoon Network.

Anyway, please leave a comment or shoot me an email with your thoughts, opinions, critiques, etc. Nick thinks it looks like everything else on Etsy, which I can totally see, but I don't know that I necessarily want to steer myself away from that, because if that's what people gravitate toward, then I want to be gravitated to. Or toward. Or at. Whatever.