a little sumpin' sumpin'

I'm sorry pretty people, but I have spent the last hour looking with glazed over eye's through my "blogs in waiting" file and nothing is popping out at me...........and you know what? It's not the blogs, it's me. I am just bla today.........well this afternoon anyway. I'm tired, a little stressed about my son heading back to school........not sure why.....which then stresses me even more. Or maybe it was the hour I spent in Walmart today. You get the picture.

Since I am being a flake, I thought the least I could do is show you a couple of Teacher gift ideas. I filled the Survivor Kit full of candy, lifesavers, advil, stamps, etc.... I found the chalkboard at Big Lots and placed a bunch of school themed stuff on it.
I am thinking about doing those button flowers in the Zebra cup I just found.........we're the zebras.

I'm going antique shopping tomorrow, so that will for sure get my head in the right place.

Maybe I'm stressed about turning 46 on Monday!!!????

I don't think so. :)

Have a great Friday night. Eat some pizza!

And the winner is............

with the help of my 8yr old............the winner is Karen from Karen's World

No high tech methods here.........I needed the quickest way to pick a winner......so I just asked my son to pick a number.............any number! It matched up with Karen's World.
So, Karen...........I will be leaving a comment on your blog for you to contact me. Or, you can email me Krjdemmonatcomcastdotnet
Congrats!
This was so much fun. I'm going antique shopping this weekend, so maybe I'll find something for my vintage decorating creative people. hmmmm.......how exciting!

Oh So Crafty!

You guys are crazy! Do you know how excited I was opening up my email this afternoon? Remember.........Wednesdays and Thursdays are my crazy busy days, so this was a real treat to hear from so many of you. It perked me right up. I visited each site that had one..........I love seeing new sites. Thanks for all the nice comments. If you haven't commented yet...........why? Or if you have a blog......send it to me!

Oh So Crafty!

Tricia is so talented! I love love love love the button bouquets she made! When I saw them, it was one of those Craft Aha moments.........you know the kind.........when you gasp out loud and almost choke on your saliva? Don't tell me you've never done that.


I must try this.........but I really hate working with wire. I was thinking that maybe they wouldn't be so bad and it wouldn't be like jewelery making at all............then I see she makes bracelets...........dang.........so this tells me she is good with wire and I may be in for a few moments of frustration as I try to manipulate the wire............but I can do it! I'm gonna do it!

What I LOVE about her site, is that she does tutorials.........she shows you how she did it! I'm all about sharing.........I love to know how someone created something, I love to know how much something cost, I love to know where you got whatever it is I'm coveting.


Candles............cute! How darling would these be for a party? And they look like something I could do.........there isn't any wire involved. Tricia is one of the most versatile crafty people........I suppose she cooks or bakes too. Are my horns starting to show? I'm so supportive of crafty women........I'm really not too envious.........oh yes I am, who am I kidding?...........but what a person like Tricia does, she inspires me to try something new..........maybe something I've never thought of before.
I tend to get stuck in what I know. I'm loving this mixed media stuff. I may have to try it. What about you?

I will do the drawing tomorrow afternoon Pacific time.

Thank you!

A little token of my appreciation for all the support and comments from all of you. I know it's not much, but I wanted to do a giveaway this week, so I grabbed a few items out of my own stash..........that I hadn't opened yet. :)
When I decided to do a giveaway, I didn't realize how hard it would be to choose what to give away. I have such a diverse group of creative readers. I'll just have to have giveaways more often to target different groups. This giveaway is for anyone who enjoys paper crafting. A couple of textured sticker sheets from Martha Stewart Crafts, one of her card packs with rub on transfers, a set of flower brads, arrow rub ons and a set of foam monthly stamps. Just bits and pieces for a little variety.
Just leave a comment telling me your favorite color and I will draw a name on Thursday evening. oooooh, don't forget to participate in my poll.

I just realized

when I posted a few photos from around my house, I mentioned that my table was named Katherine.........Because it was once named after her..........but "her who" someone asked. Ooops, I forgot to say it was Katherine Hepburn. Yes, my table was once owned by Katherine Hepburn.
Yes sir.

And I am feeling the love..........I will be posting a little something for a give away tomorrow. So get ready to comment!

Diary of a Rather Crafty Girl ~ Summer Simmons

I'm back. Ahh, a long weekend at the beach. Weather was amazing, food was great, and the company was perfect.

DIARY OF A RATHER CRAFTY GIRL ~ SUMMER SIMMONS
She ain't a kiddin........ Summer Simmons is a rather crafty girl.

She designs digital kits for scrapbooking, and she even knows how to do digital scrapbooking. Something I am still trying to figure out with my PSE 4.0.

She sews........What a great idea......just a little circle stitched on a onesie. Onesies are the best! I wish they had them in my size. She makes quilts......I like the frayed edge look. I like the fabric too. I'm looking for a chocolate fabric for my bedroom..........I'm gonna have to check out the site she linked.
She makes bags too.

And to make you feel really bad..............she does all this with a little baby. When does she sleep?

Visit Crafty Girl HERE

Rose Petal Betty

ROSE PETAL BETTY

I know, I know...........it's not really a blog and I don't usually do commercial sites.... unless I feel like we've become friends in the blog world and I'm really really excited for you. And what you're doing is really really creative.

I featured Jill's blog when I first started. I love her blog. She's a mom, she's creative, she's got boys........and she has curly hair like me. I can relate to her on some levels........except she gets to play with all the new Karen Russell products before we do..........she's one of her best friends. Another Whatever moments........

Any hooo.........A few months ago, Jill was looking for a way to express her creativity as well as create a job she could do from home.........so she could be home with her boys. I will forever support any mom doing this.

Her hard work is done! Here is her new website with all her products. I am so proud of her. Her site looks great and the photos are amazing! It makes you want to smell every bar of soap. I personally need to order the salt scrub. I love those!

hmmmmm, are those karen russell frames around those photos? Rub it in Jill...........no pun intended.

mine

Hey all you creative people in the house!!!! I am so spent today........pooped........done............then I realized that my last post was Monday. Knowing that you need your fix, and knowing that I had zero energy to do a featured site justice..........I thought maybe I could tie you over with a few snap shots of my home. ???? So I peeled my tired rear end off the chair and snapped a few shots. It's a work in progress, so if you have any ideas, shoot them my way.
My front door.........green hose and all. You are getting a glimpse of real life.........no primping for the photos. There are also petunia fragments on the porch that need to be hose off.

Why am I so tired? Well, I'm almost 46 for one.........and here is a quick run down of my day. Just so you don't think that I am being a flake. :)
5:30am- wake up

6:15am- leave house to drive to Portland for first class

7am- injury prevention class (a stretching class for the electricians and mechanics for the City of Portland) at the Waste Water Treatment Plant......basically the poop factory

7:30am Stop by starbucks for a Conga Bagel and a Shaken Black Iced tea.........not just an iced tea........but shaken.

7:45am- Injury prevention class at the Pollution Lab (where they test all the water from various plants)

8am-8:30am Drive across town to the club.

9am - Teach Step

10am - Teach LIFT

11am - Teach Water aerobics.

12:00-12:30pm listen to NPR and drive home

12:30- Take the baby sitter home, rush back home, grab some fruit and more water, wrap a birthday present.

1:00-3:30pm - Take my son to a birthday party at the skate park..........now I know some of you are thinking that I could grab a couple of hours to chill...........but you must not know me too well. :) I'm the safety queen and leaving my son alone in a situation like this, is just not an option.....even if the host of the party was his kindergarten teacher. Yes, I'm that bad.

4:00 - home.......think about making something healthy for my son and myself for a late lunch......give up and just make some ramen noodles.

4:30pm- Overwhelmed............realize I didn't post on Creative Blogs and I have bunco tonight!
Calgon take me away.............right now I'd settle for a shower.

So, here you go...........a few photos of my home.

Another photo of my porch. I painstakingly painted those chairs to match the door.

As you walk in, you may bump into my table here. Table is from my grandmother, wire bowl from Poppy & Ivy. Candle sticks from Craft Warehouse for 75% off! As you head into the house you will walk by my photo wall that usually has a couple of frames a little catty whompis. When you have an 8yr old boy running and skidding down this hall way, you are lucky that the frames are actually ON the wall. My wall isn't finished yet. I have a couple of silouettes to put up there. The black frames were from the dollar section at target.......then I distressed them with sand paper. The Big "D" is from Joanne Fabrics. It's cardboard.......I painted it.
Another angle of the catty whompis photo wall....... and yes, I still need to trim my ribbon. See that lamp..........it was a hand me down from my MIL.....it WAS a shiny brass. I don't like shiny brass...........so I painted it and changed the shade. My son just had to be in the photo............I was too tired to argue.........and isn't he cute? This is the living room. My couch.........a Mitchel Gold......bought it with a matching chair at a yard sale........ I love my ceiling tiles on the wall, but I am thinking I need something bigger there. Ceiling tiles are from Ebay.Doesn't everyone need a fake topiary? I love them, I don't care what you say. I love all my little doodads around it. My son was playing them, set them up like that...........I kind of like it. Black table, $10 from a yard sale. Lamp from walmart, shade from target..........I'm not too proud. Yes, I know there is a frame there with no photo. Soon...........

This is just opposite of the mirror and candle sticks. My little chair actually has a cardboard base. It's very sturdy, even if it doesn't sound like it. My sisters MIL made me the cover for $50. Those black accents thingys???...........$2 at a yard sale..........another fake topiary tree......$2, same yard sale. The fabric in my drapes I bought off Ebay. The sconce's are from Pottery Barn. My neighbor bought them for me as a gift. Because you know I would be too cheap to buy them. :)The dining room. My hutch is named Stella. I bought it off Craigs list for only $300! I still need to replace and attach new knobs. My table is named Katherine.......Katherine Hepburn.....since it was once owned by her..........NO WAY! ............WAY! I bought her at a yard sale too. $200. It was already distressed, but I recovered the seat covers. My carpets? $79 for that one under the table, the hall one and another small door one. I would like it a bit larger, but for $79..........I'll take it. I love the pattern.
A shot from my family room. The cabinet thing is being replaced soon by a distressed chest of drawers. My front pineapple needs to be moved a bit to the right............8 yr olds.
My back deck.

I can't believe I didn't take any shots of my scrap room..............too messy. Or my kitchen. Maybe next time. Or of my Sid Dickens Memory blocks. You can see them on my other blog, if you click on the link that says "my favorite pieces of art"

There are more shots of various bits and pieces of my home........good and bad on my blog. Click here

Well, I hope you were entertained a little bit.
At least there's chocolate at bunco. :)

Just Beachy

Maybe it's because we are heading to the beach this weekend, or maybe it's because this blog has some serious eye candy.
JUST BEACHY

I am new to her blog and I just love her style. LOVE IT! That's her living room above! She should submit this to a magazine.........maybe she has........I need to go back and read some more.

Love this room too. I wish she could come spend a week with me and help me with my trouble zones in my house.

I don't know much about her, except that she's pretty and she's got adorable children, (check out their bedrooms) and a great sense of style.

I hate her already...........but she can still come visit me. She also says that she doesn't think of herself as crafty.........WHATEV............... Don't you just hate women like that? But, I think she's too sweet to hate.......So I'll feature her instead.

Here is a sample of how un-crafty she is...........she made this table below, or at least put the legs on it, then painted it.

So not crafty............... say it with me..........WHATEV! I love that little table. Simply adorable.I love this little house.......That green door is to die for. She has since added a little blue star.
This is in her powder room. I think I would forget what I was doing in there because I would be in decor heaven.Check out the ceiling. Great idea!

So go visit her and enjoy all her photos of her projects........but remember, she's not that crafty.

Love her blog.

JUST BEACHY

Fluffy Flowers

This site cracks me up! Fluffy Flowers
I love how she stages them and gives them personalities...........after looking at a few photos, you actually start believing they are real.
Her whole site has a great sense of humor. It's a feel good site for sure.

Being from the NW, you know I love the fact that she recycles..........she uses old socks, mittens, scarves, hats and even an occasional wash mitt to make her creations.

Love the kittens! Those green eyes.........I think this is one of my favs.

Ok, I didn't see this one coming at all.............this pink little french girl is made from Bra parts.... Now that's a creative mind.

Twins! She made these for a gal who is a member of the Red Hat Society. Darling.

Doesn't his little eye patch just melt your heart? Very cute. I'm trying to decide if he's a pirate or if he had an injury.

Another very creative look at what you can do with............a wash mitt?? Who knew?.........WOW!

And these little darlings! They just crack me up........hanging out in a tree and everything.

So head on over to Fluffy Flowers and see what little creatures can make you smile.

Penny with Lavendar Hill Studio

Penny, Penny, Penny, she makes pretty pretty pretty...............MOSIAC EVERYTHING! You can see her site HERE ~ Lavendar Hill Studio Penny is a sweet sweet woman who is so talented. She specializes in a Shabby look with such an eye for detail. She has her creations for sale on her website and has such a variety of decorative pieces for your home. If you are a chandelier kind of person, then you will love her one of a kind designs. Didn't I say she did mosiac on EVERYTHING? That is so cute! Talk about original.

The top of this table is beautiful. Can't you see yourself having a tea party on this? I will never look at plates the same from now on.

I got so excited to see her studio! I love it. I love to see where people work. It's so artistic, so french looking.......although I have never been to France............it's so creative!

Another look at one of her tables. What a conversation piece.

Penny holds talents other than smashing plates..........she has a great tutorial on stenciling your floors. How cool!
I was expecting her home to be filled with pink, weren't you? This is her living room below. Looks like it's out of a magazine.

Go visit Penny and don't forget to check out her other site too. Especially if you want one of these little beauties for yourself.

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