a million thank yous....

oh my goodness... the batteries are charged and loaded, now lean close to your monitor and prepare to be amazed! first off, the most wonderful and talented myra from the island of cuteness sent me the most wonderful swap goodies (she most definitely got the short end of the stick!) first she made this gorgeous purse with a sweet little bird applique. look how stinking cute!!! even david said it was cool, a guy!

the purse alone is awesome, but would you believe me if i tell you it was full of goodies??? yes, it was full of goodies, and i really mean it when i say full and goodies...

yippie!! do you spy the matching tissue holder with its own adorable birdie? well let me give you a closer look.

not to mention the sweet little puppy made of felt, apparently myra has been blessed with the gift of turning felt into little adorable bits. i think she made a pact with the devil. check out the cute robot finger puppet she sent for eliot, and the clips for collette...

would i be a horrible mother if i kept them for myself??? i suppose i will have to be satisfied with the HAND PAINTED magnets! they are already on my desk at work, to make me smile. i need some cuteness there. and i stashed the pucca pen, stickers and hula dancer sticky pad in my new cute purse! oh, and the kola cookies? yeah, they are gone, along with half the peach mentos. im saving the macadamia nuts for tomorrow.

speaking of yummy treats, here is a picture of the the awesome haremail package i got from jessica last weekend. um, yeah, most of that candy is already gone... happy easter to me!! a plush peep bag clip and a sweet little box that she hand painted and decoupaged (?), and cute bunny towel! thank you so much jessica!

we had a great time easter sunday. wonderful church service followed by a basket hunt at home and lunch with our friends the jason and melinda and their son lake. it was a nice day which was great for two reasons: eliot and lake got to play outside all day, and i got to put a new dress on collette and nibble on her bare feet and arms!!!

mmmm....look at those fat toes... and last but certainly not least, a cheesy smile from eliot. have a wonderful weekend!!

rechargeables

are a wonderful invention, when you remember to RECHARGE them. i thought i was so smart when i got my digital camera for christmas, i said to my smart self, hey i will get TWO packages of batteries, that way i can always have one charged, and when the ones in my camera fizzle out, then i can put in the good ones and stick those straight into the charger. its a good theory, like most theories, but it is an awesome theory when it is actually put to USE!! grrr... so here i am with two sets of dead batteries, one set is in the charger, i did manage to do that, but it takes EIGHT hours!!! what is this the stone ages??? sure i was tempted to buy the superfast, light speed, thirty minute batteries, but falling back onto my theory of rotating batteries, i didnt need these superfast rip-offs. so i thought... it took most of my will power to not go to best buy and purchase a THIRD set of batteries... here i am, sitting on the contents of my haremail package from jessica (well, ok, im not really sitting on them) with no pictures to share! rest assured, when i get one set of stinking batteries charged up (and the backup set going) i will share. probably too much in my excitement. speaking of excitement, i got an email from myra saying that a package is making its way from the island of cuteness to my doorstep in the middle of the country!!! until then, i will leave you all with a picture that my mom gave me last week that i brought to work to scan. i rarely like photos of myself, coupled with the fact that i am rarely in photos, this was a pleasant surprise. craftiness coming soon, i swear it...

bits

i have been really busy at work, not to mention doing research on quilting! thank you again for all your suggestions, i feel so much more confident in what i am going to try. i also checked out two really good books, the quilt encyclopedia illustrated, and all about quilting from a to z, at least they have been helpful to me. i also checked this book out to photo copy a pattern that i really liked. i find that i am repeatedly drawn to the quilts from the thirties, or i should say the quilts made with printed fabrics from the thirties. i love all the colorful, little floral patterns. didnt think i would ever be saying that, but here i am... at some point i will scan and post the picture of the quilt i like.

speaking of pictures, i have a few randoms that i wanted to post. i had mentioned a while back that i made a collaged birthday card for a friend after being inspired by cat and hope. here is what i came up with.

not to shabby, i was very pleased with the results. as was tara. she already has the makeup bag stuffed to the gills. my other attempt at a first did not go as well. i tried to make my first "softie" or stuffed or plush or whatever you want to call it. hillary over at weewonderfuls makes the cutest little things. so i decided on a little turtle for collette. i could see him plain as day in my head, but alas it wasnt so easy as i thought.

i really wanted him to have cute little feet and a tail, but as you can see, i started out waaaay too small...there was a lot of cursing just to get to this point, so i decided to forgo the feet for another day.

what other bits do i have? hmmmm... lets see. in all that musing about how to make collettes quilt i made mention that i have fabric purchased FOUR YEARS AGO for eliot that i would like to do the same thing with. i pulled it out it last weekend, and by the looks of things i need to get busy. because at the rate im going, he might not appreciate rockets by the time he is say, fourteen.

i bought this fabric from reprodepot i think the very first time i found the webpage. i was so excited... i had visions of a cool retro space room, i even bought these light switch plates that had spacemen on them. i did manage to get them on the wall, but all my grandiose decorating ideas ground to a halt after that. its darn time to do something about it i say! also, because i just cant resist, i had to throw in some pictures of the huffsters... eliot and collette were jumping around in the crib together, screaming like a bunch of banshees. it was pretty funny... and really hard to be a parent and make them stop. instead i ran and got the digital camera. while i did manage to snap a shot of collette in all her glee, of course eliot clammed up immediately as you can see. i swear he was doing high jumps only seconds before this picture was taken...

calling all quilters

and sewers, and crafty ladies, and pretty much anyone else that wants to throw in their opinion. i have decided to embark on my first journey into the world of quilting. although what i want to make might not necessarily count as a quilt. here is the deal. i bought some fabric for collette that i have been coveting for quite some time. my plan is to make a lightweight quilt or coverlet for a twin size bed. im thinking ahead here, since she is only ten months old and will be in a crib until she can climb out or we buy a bigger house. its debatable which will come first. but that is another story. so my dilemmas are such:
a. i have never quilted anything before
b. im a novice with the sewing machine
c. i am scared to bejesus of batting, have no idea how it works or what to buy
e. im not super crazy about really intricate quilts, not yet anyway
d. i love the fabric so much that i dont want it to be cut into little bits and loose the visual of the design.

here is a picture of my fabric... i love it...

here is a close up of the green fabric, its called 2-D zoo, i first fell in love with it on repro depot a year ago. being the bad mother that i am, i fell in love with some outerspace fabric for eliot FOUR years ago and ordered it, and STILL have not done anything with it. and im making collettes blanket first... sorry ellie-bell!

so ladies, please, please, please, any input will be greatly appreciated!

take a second look

david worked hard yesterday to get the archives up at lets make a movie. i just read through most of them... so much going on. i still cant believe how much he is accomplishing. im pretty sure i couldnt watch two children and start a business at the same time. at the very least i know i require more sleep than he does. david, im so proud of you! cant wait for bigger and better things to come!

all purpose baby rectangle

i know have been going on and on about all the baby gifts i have to make, but i think have stumbled on something. the all purpose baby rectangle. it can be a changing pad, a burp cloth, a small blankie, placemat, play mat, ummmmm...what else....perhaps in a pinch it could double as a diaper? if you happen to have diaper pins around that is. anyway, here was my first go at it.

note to self- next time use bigger ricrac. that tiny ricrac was a pain in the biscuit to sew on, plus it was late, plus i am impatient, PLUS i cant sew a straight line. oh well, at least i got one done. i seem to have lost the picture of the front side of the fabric, but here is a close up of the kids having fun at the amusement park.

i like how the girl in front seat of the roller coaster is scared, but still has to take a peek on the way down. as much as i like the all purpose baby rectangle, i think i am going to try my hand at some bibs in the near future. amy over at angry chicken and kingpod makes some gorgeous ones... her sewing and quilting are just amazing. she started up her blog about a month ago and it is already a daily addiction for me. speaking of, i need to update my links page!

mission somewhat complete

i surprised myself and managed to actually get some projects done this weekend. my friend tara at the papersource just had a birthday friday. she had asked me long ago to make a little makeup bag for her. i think she was impressed by my crazy sewing skills. i also think that she doesnt know very many people that sew because i am not that good! regardless i buckled down thursday night and got to sewing. i really like how it turned out. whatcha think?

to make it a little more makeup baggy and less like a zippered pouch, i gave it a little square bottom. i also dabbled in some collage for her birthday card. (thank you for the inspiration hope and cat!). i forgot to download that picture, so i will post it another day. i had fun, mainly because i scored a most excellent book from my parents house a few weeks ago. i was rummaging through some old things and found a childrens counting book from the 50's or 60's with all of these awesome illustrations! and its like 60 pages long, so plenty of paper to go around. since it is all about counting, there scenes, some outside counting little woodland creatures, some in the grocery store, some at school. its so wonderful! i also by the way found my impressive collection of garbage pail kids cards. they are so gross! i cant believe i used to collect them. i remember being a little fanatic about it. i still must be because my brother wanted one of my duplicates, but i refused to part with it. just like when i was ten. im such a mean big sister!

we had some more great weather this weekend, and david took some more great pictures of collette, and i cant resist posting one...or two...

LET'S MAKE A MOVIE

my husband david and his business partner have started a new after school program for children in underprivileged neighborhoods in kansas city's urban core. it is called "Let's Make a Movie" which lets children be involved in writing, acting and directing a short film. they just started a webpage, go check it out! and post this button on your site!

im so excited for them and the kids. they did a test session with an organization downtown called the hope center and the kids loved it! they made a really great 15 minute movie called "the bank day mystery". it is so sad that arts programs are being slashed in schools across the country. hopefully there are more people out to support children involved in the arts.

crafty goodness abounds!!

first and foremost, i have to give a big, big, BIG thank you to cat! she emailed me for a trade probably a month ago, and i finally got off my bum and sent her a package. then monday, low and behold, the most wonderful package came for me in the mail!!! brace yourselves, lots of pictures of many, many wonderfuls to follow.

she sent me the most wonderful pieces of vintage wrapping paper that she got from her grandma, along with these tiny handmade paper boxes filled with awesome triangle buttons.

AND this box filled with wonderful bits for collage, a piece of her own collage (see the cute bird??) and a collage on the box top which has a piece of my MOST FAVORITE papersource paper ever (the one with tiny yellow and orange flowers, i bet you didnt know that cat!), and some great red hearts fabric.

AND cat being ever ahead of the trend, has high stepped christmas in july to christmas in march, with these awesome handmade flowers that she dipped in wax to give them a beautiful matte finish, this cute little snowman candle, and this great box filled with felt shapes.

AND (i know, it keeps going!!) this really great handmade snow globe that has vintage toy train pieces from her grandfather, i tried to get a photo of all the beads swirling, but i wasnt fast enough. cat also sent a wonderful letter that i read three times in a row. THANK YOU SO MUCH CAT!!! i knew everything would be great, but she just blew me away!

i accomplished some other fun crafty pursuits the last few days as well. last wednesday my friend kerry came over and we finally worked on our book binding projects. she covered a little photo album kit from papersource with that paper that i love (the tiny yellow and orange flowers) and even gave me some leftovers! i covered my 2005 datebook with some great german paper that reminds me of vintage kitchen wall paper. i dont have a picture of my datebook, but i did use the same paper in a card that i sent to hillary at weewonderfuls. if you squint, you can see it here, the card on the right. it was a good experience, i had been afraid of pva and bookbinding before, but it wasnt nearly as bad as i thought. i am even planning on making a little something for an upcoming trade with myra!

friday turned out to be an unexpected crafty surprise. while having coffee before work with my friend chad, i spied a flyer for a once monthly antique/vintage sale in kc that i had never heard of. i grabbed one, to examine later at work, and stashed it in my new datebook (yay!). kansas city decided to bless us with some exceptional weather, sunny and 65. what a perfect day to leave work early and go rummaging. well thank goodness i did! look what i found!!!

a great jadeite refridgerator box. i love jadeite, and try to collect it, but i cant afford really nice pieces, but i think the little chips give it character, and certainly lower the price tag! four dollars!! in the dish is some awesome vintage trim and a lovely vintage handkerchief. i am a sucker for polkadots. i couldnt decide on the paiseley (?) paint smock, but i had such a nice worn feel to it that i think i am going to try to convert it to a wrap skirt. on the left is a vintage baby crib sheet, which will work great for the the growing list of baby gifts i have. look at the little bears up close. they are so sweet!

saturday flew by, the highlight being that they finally got in another sheet of that great paper with the tiny flowers. i know this is the third time i have mentioned it, but i do love it. so i wrapped it up and brought it home with me. sunday was absolutely gorgeous, sunny and low 70s. we relaxed out at my parents house and celebrated my brother josh'es birthday. he turned 25 on the seventh. any of you ladies looking for a single, tattooed, mildly confused, but shy and loving young man? im sure my brother really appreciates his older sister pimping him out in cyberspace. oh well. what he doesnt know wont hurt him.

lets see what else? i know this is turning into a really long post, but it has been a while. i have been really busy at my full time job. maaaaasive report to get out before fieldwork season starts. that is a whole other post in and of itself. bleh... lets just say im not really looking forward to two months in bfe arkansas... not to mention being away from david and the little huffsters... but im not going to end this post on a sad note. no sir, no how. as a matter of fact, im going to get my butt in the basement and make something. how you like them apples, arkansas???

promise

i am here and still alive. just crazy busy with work. i have lots of fun crafty news and pictures to post. hopefully tonight. its about time i talk about something besides my kids...

eye of the tiger

collette must be feeling better. how do i know this? because she has started growling again. what does that mean? i will tell you. when collette is hungry, she is HUNGRY, and we as mortal parents cant seem to feed her fast enough. and when we dont feed her fast enough, she gets angry. and when she gets angry she growls and makes horrible faces. its kind of scary. im pretty sure one day she is either going to shred that little plastic spoon or eat my finger. i just hope she goes for the spoon first so i have time to get out of the way.

*for some reason, i cant get the quicktime control bar to load, but you can play the movie by double clicking in the black box.

play time

today kc was kind enough to give us some sunshine and warmer temps. david, being the wonderful dad that he is, took the kids outside to play in the yard a bit. being the wonderful husband that he is, he took some pictures and emailed them to me. such a nice gesture, even though it makes me a teensy bit jealous. oh lets just be honest, it makes me insanely jealous! anyway, i thought i would share his wonderful eye.

portrait of the artist as a child

it is very ironic that the march theme for a month of softies is "self-portrait of the artist as a child". btw, a month of softies is a fun crafty project that claire from loobylu started (look at those ADORABLE pears!). i have been watching it since november and have wanted to contribute for some time now, but havent had the knowhow, time, or inspiration to do so. i dont know if i will make it for march either, but the topic is so relevant to me right now. why? because for christmas i received a spectacular gift from my grandmother. she has been in the habit lately of giving us treasures that she has acquired over the years. my aunt does advertising design now, but when we were younger she used to do a lot of photography and painting. having such an cutie niece as myself, i was the subject of many of her works. for ages my grandmother has had this awesome watercolor portrait of me by my aunt and she gave it to me!! i need to take it to a frame shop and have the glass cleaned up and new backing and wire put on it, but look how awesome it is!

this started out as a photograph of me eating an apple. i think my mom has the photo somewhere, i will have to dig around for it and post it for comparison. i can remember being so in awe as a child, looking at this picture hanging on the wall at my grandmas house. i felt famous, i would stare at it and say to myself, that is me!

i heart betty crocker

i did not get nearly as much crafty done as i had hoped this weekend. i did however get more sleep that i was planning, which was nice. i got some cards made for snailmail. i went and checked out the mayhem that was beths redecorating project, and received my assignment. to recover an old kstate pillow, not too bad. i would have to say that the best part of the weekend was when eliot helped me make a chocolate cake. not from scratch of course, i firmly stand by the excellent cakes that are produced with a box from betty crocker and a tub of whipped chocolate icing. eliot was also very pleased with the preproduction as evident by the pictures. sorry they are so blurry, but he was moving pretty fast in anticipation of having the bowl yanked away from him.

this morning when i gave him a kiss before i left for work he smelled like chocolate cake, yum...