332-run

Sparkle nail polish:

Yay/nay?

I totally don't do sparkles, and seldom do I even do pink. And up till now did I ever really wear nail polish. It was Loren's idea. He wants to see more of the "girl" in me. And I don't blame him. Im a rough, tough, dirt loving, sweaty girl most of the time. But I have been stepping back from my sporty needs and taking care of the other stuff. Painting my nails, doing my hair, and moisturizing! It's actually a lot of fun. 

Now, problem is, loren is conflicting with the sparkles! I do admit, they're a bit off the top, but I love 'em!

What do you think? can I pull them off?

On another subject, more about the sweaty side of me, I went on a run today! three days in out of 14 horray. I was really feeling it this morning, a bit stiff from yesterday, but I got great sleep last night! went to bed at 11:00 and it felt great to wake up this morning! I should mention to you, I've been babysitting over night for two 4 year olds since wed, and today is the last day.  So my schedule is pretty tight.

6:45 wake up

7:30 leave the first job

8:00-9:00 bike home/gym and fit in my run

9:00-11:30 shower relax and blog then bike to work

12:00-7:30 work at the cafe

8:00 bike to babysit 

repeat

This has been my day for three two days now and I'm really proud to actually fit in a run. I know I can give credit to drinking lots of water, eating lot of meals, and getting lots of sleep. Without all those, I'd be worn out by now. (but boy I can't wait to sleep at my own house)

On another note

This is a project I've been working on:

 It's a wall shelf, and I bought it for $1.50 at the thrift shop. I don't want to spoil the after picture but I plan to sand it, spray paint it, and screw it to the wall. I've already done two out of three of those, and boy have I messed up a lot!
It's not easy!

What projects are you working on?

355th-craft

Air freshener take 2:

This time I decided to try to hand sew it. major improvement. The stuffing still makes the the 2D cupcake awkward and lumpy and I'm not "in love" with it... but it's definitely likable. Loren, with no previous sewing experience what-so-ever actually helped me out with a cupcake take 3 plan...and I am very much excited for that!!

Wednesday was a beat in the butt! I worked all day and went strait to the gym where I climbed, ran, lifted weights, and did sit-ups. I really should have thought that through before I went and killed myself within an hour and a half. It was fun though. Now I'm left barely being able to lift a finger... so you can imagine what it's like sewing this project at 11 pm. but here it is and I'm actually proud!
BTW, this is a gift for Marie Schott, my sister, and an amazing writer. Click her name and check out her blog.

Here where the steps I took:

1. I already had the pattern from the last AF so here I pinned and cut out the fabric. make sure to have both fabrics facing the direction you want it to. I previously folded it in half and cut it, but that resulted in one side of the cupcake to be upside dow. Don't make that mistake.

2. then I pinned the cup and the frosting together and hand-sewd in in place. I did this for both sides before sewing them together.

4.After seing the halves together, I stuffed it. I put the lavender leaves in a teabag so they wouldn't fall throught the loose hand stitches.

5. I then made a loop by folding a rectangle in thirds and sewing the edges. 

6. Final step I stuck the rectanlgle folded in half and sewed the frosting shut.

It actually resembles a cupcake! sure it's a bit rough around the edges, but I'm happy with it. I think I have a small infatuation with improving my mistakes. I cannot wait till take three, I already have great ideas!!

How do you deal with your mistakes? 

Do you ever go back and fix them, or do you just ignore and move on?

I am definitely a mixed bag. I guess these aren't really black and white questions, maybe just questions for you to reflect on, look back on the mistakes you've made.

356-craft

"If you follow all your dreams, you might get lost." -Neil Young


This quote can definitely sum up my life. Trying to do everything all at once i'm only left with a mess. I have so many projects on my list and so little time on my hands that it's hard not to cram everything in one day. This only sucks all the fun out of life. It makes crafting a chore and kicks sleeping off my list of priorities.

Today was quiet, calm, and relaxing. Loren and I spent a lazy day in the house together and it was amazing. We spent an hour on my resume and cover letters and well, all I can say is that it's getting there. I finally got out of my "bed" mood at 4 pm and I suited up for a run. The only thing I hate about "lazy do nothing" days is that well... nothing gets done. Before leaving I said to Loren "I wish I could just do the dishes...or maybe complete my resume.. or, or...do something. I just don't feel like I've accomplished anything." Loren gave my the eye and said
"Babe seriously, you need to do something for yourself. It's your day off. you don't need to accomplish anything."
That's when it all hit me. Well, really it was during the run that it made total sense. Doing something for myself means getting things done. How will I be able to blog when my house is a mess? how can I get a job when I don't have a complete resume? When can I begin my next project? 
The very moment I got back from my run (which was absolutely what I needed) I got to work. I cleaned the entire house, made something to eat, and took a shower. With no chores to do I now had room to craft. Which is exactly what I did.


reduce, reuse, RE-LABEL!

I made a beautiful flower vace out of a Jack Daniels bottle. AndI love it!. I even got to use some of the leftover tea-stained paper from my calendar project, score!
Here is the mini tutorial.

1. make tea stained paper
2. create a "label" using photoshop. I used three different images and created my own text.
3. draw on where you want to cup out. Try following the curve of the bottle. eg. a wine bottle will be a simple tube.
4. put elmers glue or mod podge on both the bottle and the lable and carfully put in place. to smooth out use another clean sheet of paper (make sure not to use gooey finger.)

Et vois la! you have a beautiful recycled bottle! 

What "found objects" have you recycled? Any good ideas?

 I hope you're happy and healthy. craft on!

362nd-craft

I'm so happy that I got up early enough to take pictures for today's post before I headed to work for another full and stressful day. I was actually able to get some of the beautiful natural light from the sun for my photos which made it enjoyable. I think they turned out pretty nice!
I made these cupcake charms in a ceramics class my senior year of high school And I've been gifting them ever since. The one I'm wearing is actually a belated christmas gift I made for Loren's 12 year-old sister. along with  this sweater:

as much as I want to send it over, I really want to give it to her myself.

Oh, And I hope you enjoyed my cheap make-do photo studio. In such a small house it's hard to find the space for crafting and when I do, It's only temporary. (luck me my sewing machine is small and portable. downside: it sucks) But tomorrow, a whole lot of that will change, and I'll leave the surprise for tomorrows post ;)

I really enjoy doing all kinds of jewelry and I've been trying to find different ways to use these cupcakes.
Do you have any ideas for me?
On that note, I think I have about 500 different bottle caps that I've collected over the years that I've been waiting for the "right" time to use them. But I'm not sure for what.
Do you have any ideas that I could make them into art?
I really want to do a resin project and they'd be perfect for that, but they are all so individually sentimental, I'm not sure if I could.

Tomorrow is my "day off" and I have sooo much to do! I'm really excited to share all my decorating/organizing around the house!
And, it'll be an early-er post since I'll be around the house all day!
I hope your day was productive =]