Lo & Behold crafter, writer, life-liver - page 10

I’m all about any self-made holiday that celebrates independent businesses… and Record Store Day is no exception. It’s a big deal here in Seattle and it seemed as if every indie record shop in the area had some sort of special discount, super-rare or unreleased goodies to offer or even a live performance or two.
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I spied these nifty Google Maps Envelopes while perusing the Craftzine.com blog and was smitten. Designer Beste Miray Dogan made up this  Mapenvelop, an envelope with a map of the place in which the letter originated, using Stephen’s template .

They’re cute, quirky and AWESOME to get in the mail. If you flip the idea around a bit, print out envelope liners with the location of your event and send them out with your invites, your envelope is doing double-duty. Plus, they just look super neat.
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*Be sure to click ALL the links if you want to see the pictures, y’all

My hard-working, ever-awesome husband won a Peak performance award at his work (T-Mobile). Because he worked his arse off and saved the company in a pinch, he won the award and in turn won a trip to.. yeah, you guessed it.. MAUI! We had to attend some work social gatherings (actually quite a few) while we were there, but who can turn down a free trip to Maui? Not I, said the fly!
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hubs and I at Kerry Park

A couple of weekends ago mi madre came to visit, all the way from Texas! Luckily the weather in Seattle wasn’t grim and gray as per the usual March days… it was beeautiful. We went to Kerry Park, which boasts the best skyline/view in Seattle, did some estate sale thrifting, took a daytrip to Poulsbo and got her a lil wine crunk at a wine bar in our neighborhood! It was a blast.

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Ughh… I so want a house. I’m tired of renting, but since we don’t plan on living in Seattle forever, that dream is put on hold til we can move closer to family (well, and so we can actually save money to GET a house). I’m tired of waiting though… and I can already tell what will dominate my creative energy when we get to that much-lauded and anticipated point.

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I used to thrift shop a lot. Back in college, where there were more thrift stores in my town than department stores, it was easy, cost-effective and stylish to dress in thrift store goods. These days I’m less into vintage t-shirts and more into the amazing kitsch you can find in those dusty palaces of discarded goods (one man’s trash!).

With the re-opening of my Etsy shop, my eye has been keen for cutesy little pieces in good condition that I can list for resale. It’s hard not to keep them all! Especially this adorable pomegranate wall hanging. And I hate to break it to ya, but I’m keeping this sweet vintage plate AND this pheasant wall art. They’re just too good to let go of.

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Good news guys… I have officially re-opened my Etsy shop! I began the shop as an experiment, testing the waters of Etsy and trying to find my scope and direction. As I’ve been sewing and crafting more and more my focus has changed from custom vinyl graphics to vintage and thrifty finds and handmade home goods.

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One of my new favorite crafty-like things I like to do to occupy my idle time (as if I had any!) is needlework, specifically embroidery. I’m still very much a beginner. My needlework is sketchy to say the least, but it’s oh so rewarding. Nothing makes me happier (well, maybe a few things do) than toiling away at a piece of embroidery and then finishing it! Voila! It becomes an awesome, handmade piece of artistry that I spent hours on! It’s very satisfying.
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For years (and much to my mother’s chagrin) I’ve had gauged holes in my lobes only. I never was one for multiple holes, preferring instead to stun with huge holes in my sweet little lobes alone. In an effort to girl-ify myself, and so I could have regular holes to wear special new wedding jewelry, I got a second hole pierced in each ear last year about a month before our wedding.
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So, I’m not the best at sewing. I did, however, grow up in a house where the whirring sound of my mom’s brown Pfaff sewing machine was as normal and commonplace as the sound of a TV in some homes. My mom made a lot of our clothes, including a stellar pair of zebra print hammer pants WITH a shirt that had a zebra head on it with googly eyes. I’m being for real. I sported that outfit around school like nobody’s business, my side ponytails and all!

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I hate even mentioning my shortfalls. I know I have them.. but who wants to list them out? Well, this year I’m doing things differently. I want to improve, but I don’t want to set rules. So I’m identifying these parts of myself and becoming aware of the ways in which I can change them, if I so wish. And I’m no perfectionist. I don’t WANT to change everything, but I do really need to be aware. Awareness is good.

Along with everything awesome about me, there are a few quirky/unsavory/weird things as well. Things I can’t keep myself from, resist or things I never seem to be able to do.

It pains me so.. but here are some of my shortfalls:

• jalapeno cream cheese taquitos from 7-11
• slip-on Vans sneakers
• expecting too much of my friends and family
• clinging to past loves and feelings
• slow to forgive
• plan EVERYTHING (includes putting even the most miniscule task on my calendar)
• keeping even the smallest scraps of decorative paper
• compulsion to make instead of buy (good be seen as a good thing!)
• ginger ale and root beer
• greasy taco truck tacos
• nitpicking

There are many more shortfalls, believe me. But for the sake of my sanity, I’ll stop here. Next up on the docket? Things I’m GOOD at! Yay! I can’t wait for that one. It will be the bandage to my self-esteem that I’ll need after this post 🙂

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No holiday squeaks past me without a little crafty doo-dad being made to give away to someone special. I just can’t keep my hands off! I’ve found all kinds of heartsy-fartsy crafting inspiration on the web and in the blogs I read.

These adorable Kitschy Digitals designs are too cute! Wish I had an Instax Mini Camera. So sweet… so colorful. She notes good tips on embellishing your little Valentine’s as well!
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Puppy Clem

January marks the birthdays of both of our canine children, Clem and Iris. Felix Cumpleanos mi perros!

As of (approximately) the 6th of January, 2010, the love of our lives, Clem-dog, turned six years old! He has been the best thing that ever happened to us, besides each other, and we feel SOOO fortunate to be able to love on this cutey everyday.

Grown-Up Clem

Clem is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever/Husky mix. Brett got him from the Dallas SPCA and surprised me at work at the record store! We had only been dating about two months, but it was the best decision we ever made. He’s been a buddy dog, a best friend, a cuddly fluffy and a wonderful son.
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I’m pretty super in love with these Decor-a-Boards from Pop Ink via French Paper. They’re kitschy, rustic and vintage pop art at the same time. They’re $28 plus shipping and are made out of recycled wood scraps and unused lumber. I’m exercising every ounce of control at this very moment, and NOT buying one immediately. I’ll eventually cave.. but today.. Today I will be strong!

I especially love the  Jesus, beaver, squirrel and horse ones!

Here’s just a bit of sunny 60s pop to pull you out of those winter doldrums…  some of my favorite singers are in this Gigi project!

>>> Gigi – Strolling Past The Old Graveyard <<<



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Switch Entry Caddy

What an ingenious little idea! I found this smart little number on Apartment Therapy, and if I wasn’t such a klutz about knocking things over (or had a measly few pieces of mail to look through) this would be a fab option for our household! It’s powder-coated aluminum, so I’m guessing it wouldn’t tear up easily. And installation is as easy as one-two-screw.

Our mail intake is a little too bulky for this slim and trim version. But perhaps the power shelf would be more useful? Aesthetically, not so pleasing but EVER so useful!

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1st bunting project

This holiday season I made the handmade pledge. And while I didn’t make EVERYTHING (except for gifts to the hubs!) I made a valiant effort. I made potholders, partridge ornaments, an apron, bunting and a felt eyeglasses case among other things.

potholder and ornament

I stuck my fingers repeatedly with an embroidery needle, tangled the bobbin thread on my machine about every other time I set to sewing, glued my fingers together accidentally…. suffice it to say I had many crafting injuries.

And my holiday crafting stressed me the heck out! I was freaking about if I was going to get everything done, if people were going to be let down that they didn’t get a fancy new-fangled mall gift etc. My neurosis know no bounds!

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I always make New Year’s Resolutions, but to tell you the truth I don’t even remember what mine was last year. Goes to show you how much I resolved to meet my goal! I feel like this year has been a hard year for many reasons. We got married, got a puppy, moved and much MUCH more (I won’t bore you with all the details, but it’s a helluva lot). We’ve just been busy little bees this year and have had to take a step back and reevaluate some life decisions, feelings, approaches… pretty much everything. It’s been a year of change, to say the least.

So this year I’m taking a different stance on the whole New Year’s resolution tradition. I’ve found that in my flurry to be involved in a multitude of things and improve myself and my life position my life has lost a little of that “sumpin’ sumpin'” that I feel makes things exciting. I lose the big picture in the details… I stress over small things… I overload myself with tasks. I plan EVERYTHING. I haven’t been stepping out of the box and I surely haven’t been taking any chances. And I’m about to change all that…

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