the 864th Engineers (Alpha company) came home late today
for a sweet, sweet Mothers Day surprise;
we are so excited to have them home
and even more excited to say
that...
JOE WILL BE HOME ON WEDNESDAY!
it's been 15 long months,
3 longer than expected,
and i couldn't be MORE EXCITED for my sister!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
if you are a classical music fan, here is an amazing piece i've been listening to lately
i've been having so much fun contributing to the idea base for Fiskars!
those iconic orange-handled scissors have been a part of my life for as long as i can remember, so having the opportunity to work with all of their many crafting tools has been such an adventure.
the above layout was made with the new INK by Steph line coming out soon. what can i say? i'm a sucker for virtual INK...like the digital lines i've been releasing over at 2Peas :D personally, i'm just more about decorating with the option for removal, LOL!
OH!
and i wanted to share a sweet sweet pic i snapped of Amy and her Andrew yesterday...
she is such an amazing mommy!
amy, you totally inspire me.
:)
happy almost mother's day everyone!
amy and i got together today and 'gave' each other some fun mommy's day gifts
pictures!
she was kind enough to let us just take turns on her dream of a camera
(oh, how my lenses pale in comparison!)
we strolled the downtown section of puyallup and
wedged ourselves into alleys
which was no small feat
with a double stroller
an adventurous 4 year old
(who apparently was *not* baylor, but, in fact, 'Ben 10' reincarnate)
and an 85 pound golden retreiver
the funny looks made me giggle
but the payoff
thanks to amy's sweet skills
were totally worth it
there's been a lot of fun stuff up at Peas lately...
this is the most fun i've had on a layout in a LONG time! :)
although, this one was pretty fun, too ;)
the embroidery stitching on this one didn't take as long as i'd expected...it was rather soothing, actually!
i know a lot of you are waiting on felting kits...my sincere apologies! i will work to get them up for sale over this weekend, finally! thank you for your patience!
enjoy your mother's day weekend!
xoxo
no, really.
green ON my wall
the wall vinyl is from my dear friend amy's cute shop:
and they are on sale through the 10th of May :)
love the new color of green, amy!!!
thanks, dad, for the awesome shot of us crazy kids...
heaven knows,
this is soooooooooooooo us...
;D
(uh, belated!) LOL
here i was on saturday during the maniacal festivities at 2Peas ALLLLLLLLLL day!
I hosted a Chat one hour, and held some really fun classes two other hours:
The downloadable PDF is FREE for the class, and is still available!
We talk about the ways we can enjoy our hobby and craft in responsible ways, and I walk you through a (very remedial!) tutorial on making your own paper from your paper scraps. It is a very rudimentary method because:
1) I didn't want to have to go out and BUY anything to accomplish the paper-making (I thought this would be opposing the main objective of eliminating waste in the first place), and
2) I wanted to make it totally accessible to anyone who wanted to try it out; I tend to get intimidated by crafts that require me to go out and purchase a whole set of new tools or supplies, and didn't want that to get in the way for others!
To download, go here
And the second part to the class, were we actually make a mini-book from the hand-made round papers was offered FREE as well:
You can also download this class PDF here
Saturday was a LOT of fun....tiring, but FUN! Thanks to all who participated, HOWEVER you celebrated!!!
i've been infected!
ugh!
i've spent the whole first half of this month getting, harboring, managing, and recovering from a severe kidney infection. OUCH!!!! i didn't realize those things hurt so bad; thank heavens we live in an era with antibiotics....and that we haven't managed as a race to render them completely useless. yay for mold! ;D
i spent a good many days on literal bedrest. you'd think that a nice bout of bedrest would be conducive to a strong internet presence; updated blog posts, plenty of time to visit long-neglected friends' blogs and actually comment on all of them ( :blush: ), while away the hours in blissful reflection and contemplative repose....but alas, the meditative, zen-like daydream of bedrest is a far cry from the harried, anxiety-ridden mayhem that accompanies a four year old's mother when he is let loose in the home to explore at will. :) example. baylor is coloring in his birthday coloring book. with markers. ("they make better COLORS, mommiieeeeeee!") until he bolts into the room painted up like a sucker who lost a bet with Kat vonD. before i can even speak, he holds up his hand to halt my upcoming diatribe. "it okay, mommy. i wash it myself all gone. juuuust wait." all i can do is flop back onto my pillow and laugh as he reassures me down the hallway, "i do it like a biiiiiiig boy, mommy!....." and, sure enough, he empties a container of baby wipes on his skin and models his resulting all-over lavender birthday suit, as though the bruising from a luke skywalker trash-compacter-esque encounter had faded from the eggplant purple stage to a more subcutaneous violet glow.
lovely.
not to worry, though. he dutifully recycled the everest pile of purple wipes to 'clean' his entire stock of CARS diecast vehicles. hmm. now that i think about it, that might also explain the strange streaks on the front door....refrigerator face.....front windows.....hahahaahahaaa :P at least he's thorough!
i just love that kid, man. :) LOL
i am sorting buttons by color.
i am sorting flowers by color.
i am sorting cardstock by color.
i am sorting many things.
organizing.
productivity.
simplifying.
consistency.
these are my everest, my k2, my mckinley, my kilimanjaro.
i've been buried under a mountain of supplies, working slowly and steadily toward a more organized, productive, simplified, and consistent environment. i've accomplished it completely in theory in our main living spaces, and have felt the benefits of peace ripple through my family. i don't know how well i will be able to accomplish it in my creative space; part of me wonders if there is a line between organized and creative--some kind of funky border between two metaphysical realms that just cannot be reconciled. does too much organization squash the creative spirit? will too much chaos send me running to the hills in maniac disarray? lol. balance. i think its just all about balance.
so many things in life, i find, can be soothed by balance.
so many things in my life, i find, are a pendulum.
if you're reading this, you can consider yourself either very lucky or very annoyed, that you have stumbled upon one of my late night ramblings. though, truthfully, it is morning. i just haven't gone to sleep yet. my apologies, in any case. usually this babble is sifted and funneled into prose in my journal, but tonite my fingers are restless, and so off to the Qwerty races it is... ;)
i've been having a great relationship with my iPod these days. just discovered the many wonders of podcasts, yes i did. (get with it, tia!, you scoff) podcasts, audiobooks, great music, and a video or two for good measure: combine those ingredients with the wonderousness of technology, and you've got yourself a recipe for Cable's Last Stand. (that is, until all those shows the writers have been furiously cranking out start to trickle into the evening lineup, and i'm just a sucker for a new Lost or Discovery Channel Docudrama...) i've been tuning in to oprah's chats with about ekhart tolle's book a new earth (what are the odds that she'll ever let him get in more than 20 words at a time?) and love the bits i'm picking up therein.
who said spring was here?
who said that? who taunted me thus? who embedded said false hope? who thought it would EVER snow this time in the season? not i, said the fly. not i.
really.
it was beautiful at moments.....moments.....but i am perplexed, really. wouldn't you know, i bought a flat of blooming ranunculus plants only days before the flurries blew in? of course. i am crossing my fingers and toes that they survive.
oh! i think the paint is finally dry on the layout i'm working on...
i can finish the journaling...yay!
want a peek?
it's supposed to be a secret....
shhhhh......
you didn't see anything
i know,
this is a craft blog.
but i feel so strongly about this, i cannot be quiet :)
today is a day of global action
to end the cultural genocide in tibet
and restore religious freedom to the people of tibet
i may not share the same religious belief as the dalai lama
but i share the human belief
that people should be free to worship how, where, and what they may.
end the violence
free tibet
