Pumpkin Stencils Can Suck It
If I hear “Look at this creativity!” regarding a pumpkin that was carved using one of those paint-by-number-esque carving stencils, I’m gonna lose it. Creativity? You mean tearing it out of the book, and tracing it? Pfft. Call me a snob, but that ain’t creativity. Do these people not know that such stencils exist? Do I need to clear the air? “Ya, it’s real nice. He carved it half-drunk with his left hand using a stencil, but ya… it’s creative.”
Here are the pumkins I painted for our non-contest at my work. Somehow the stenciled pumpkin still got the ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs.’
Blog Design Tips?
It occurs to me that I should be posting about ways you can trick your blogs/websites out. I can teach you simple tricks… but what do you want to know?
Peripherie Jewelry
Our newest sponsor…
{Reminder: Christmas is 56 DAYS AWAY! Get a head start!}
Check out Peripherie’s beautiful jewelry and affordable pricing at ontheperipherie.com
Funny Online Garage Sale
I thought you would enjoy this as much as I did…
My brother Lane (yes, the sweater horse brother), put a few items he is selling on his facebook account. I thought you would like his descriptions. Do you feel this way about your furniture?
“Meet Hank. Hank is a dependable and sturdy young fellow who is a whiz at alphabetizing. He’s a pale putty/grey with silver accents for that distinguished look and loves long walks on the beach.
$10 takes Hank home with you.”
“Hank’s details.”
“This is Martin. He was quite a chatterer in his day but has slowed down with retirement. Most recently Martin had a come-back cameo in this award winning film http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PPbl-2Y4VE (though sound has been disabled.) Now Martin likes to be coaxed into typing Love letters and poetry though he has a tendency to drop he’s “e’s” but I think that’s cute.
$5″
“All up in Martin’s grill.”
“Say Hello to Claire. Claire is a tailored working girl with a lot of versatility and pinache. Note here, tucked into a corner she makes for a beguiling chaise, perfect for curling up with an old movie and cheese doodles.”
“Complete and total reclination…Ahhhh.”
“But Claire also has an austere look as noted here, leaning against a wall. This look says, ‘I will help you study or get those reports in order. no slacking until you’re done.’”
“Claire also stands her own as the center of the party, possibly residing between the fireplace and the sofa. She’s a good mingler and can work a party from both sides. And if the party goes late, Claire is the size of a twin bed and has a secret trundle to make the night a double. Let down your hair, girl.
$25″
“Carl is an optimistic fellow who gets down to business but isn’t afraid to show some flair. His naugehide is in pristine condition and how sharp are darted epaulettes? Yes, Carl is quite a catch.
$20″
“Get a load of those gams! Harriet may not be much of a looker up top but with 5 graceful legs and a sexy steel foot rest, she knows how to keep your spirits up. And, she spins. Be an architect or just look like one sitting atop this beauty.
$10.”
“Grace has been with me since my college days. It’s hard to let such a beautiful friend go but alas, I only have one seat. She is the perfect kitchen chair and step stool disguised in a tremello of graphic lines. Doesn’t she just look like her harps strings are singing?”
“Lovin’ you is easy ’cause You’re beautiful.
La la la la la…
Her polish is a bit chipped but that can either be treated or enjoyed.
$10″
“True, Gwen has seen better days. But don’t discard her functionality based on a few nicks and bruises. She’s got class a smart secret to boot. Her drawer is really a keyboard rest. She’ll work hard for you as you type up those memos or check your facebook, Or due to her slim stature, she can just as easily stand guardian over your key dish and fresh flowers in the entry way. A well placed doily and she instantly cleans up to her former beauty pageant days.”
“A few lines are a sign of character and life well enjoyed.”
“Surprise! bet you didn’t expect that.”
Sweater Recycling
This. Blows. My. Mind.
It started with a facebook message from my brother:
And then I got this in the mail:
Can you believe this was made from these? My brother told me that he googled an image of a horse, printed it out and created his own pattern. Inside the horse is a bell… and it’s our little secret that it’s in the shape of a ghost. He finished this project in one day. It sure looked like it was a cozy sweater, but it makes an even cozier stuffed horse!
Thank you LANE! You are a genius! I LOOOOOVE this… by far one of the coolest things I’ve ever gotten. If we lived closer to each other, we could make some cool stuff! You could recover my furniture and paint murals on my walls, and I could… eat all your food! Miss you…
Dressing Up Your Dresser
I have two dresser refinishing projects in my near feature… here are some fun ways you can add personality to your dresser:
More Wall Hanging Ideas
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You can see my other posts on wall hangings here.
{ohbaby} Shower
Because she lives in Chicago, we haven’t actually “met”, but Jessica and I have talked on the phone and emailed frequently. She is the mastermind behind many of my favorite pieces of jewelry, JessLC.com, and we all love her Make Under My Life blog.
Thank you Jess for the ohbaby shower!
Many of you have left comments that have been encouraging, thoughtful, and outright funny. I have loved every one of them, and am delighted as I get these little gems in my email throughout the day.
Here is what I received at the ohbaby shower:
From Jess, an adorable letterpress print {from See Saw Designs} that matches the nursery perfectly. I love this!
Whitney, maker of all things paper-crafts and colored bakers twine, sent me this note of “practical advice” {it’s perfect!}:
The eloquent and beautiful Julieta sent over this cute note… probably the first time I realized that I’ll be having a BOY! {a real teach-him-how-to-pee-standing-up BOY!} Oh, and if you haven’t read how her blog got its name, read here, and you’ll love her as much as I do!
And Natalie, whose talent never ceases to amaze me, made a print with her advice. And she should know… she has three girls, two of which are TWINS!
16 weeks… What I Know Now
- I didn’t appreciate that little waist when I had it. I’ll never do that again.
- My computer was buggin’ out the other day and I couldn’t figure it out. Until I noticed my gut was resting on the space bar.
- Still haven’t *tooted* in front of my husband! Is there an award for this somewhere? Can I add a badge to my sidebar because of it?
- I can feel the baby kick, and my husband felt it too. A good reminder why we’re doing this… because seeing my veins through my skin and my belly button through my shirt, are not.
- I don’t know if I’ve gained energy, or I just don’t have time to nap.
- I can cook Stroganoff, Chicken, and Spaghetti – usually, without burning it. Since I’ve been prego, I’ve been able to make new dishes, and haven’t burnt a SINGLE thing. My husband is astonished.
- My sweet hubby will make me macaroni and cheese at 9:00 at night. {Ew. I know. But sombody on TV was eating it!}
- I have the overwhelming urge to get rid of EVERYTHING in my house. Too. Much. Clutter.
- I have dreams about letters. One night it was “S”. Last night it was “T” and “C”.
- Naming a boy is infinitely harder than naming a girl.
- My hubby doesn’t know it, but I think he needed this baby to be a boy. We’re thrilled.
- Some weeks are good, some weeks aren’t. I spent most of last week uncomfortable. I wanted to take my belly off, sit in the hot tub, and take a nice long nap… on my stomach.
Quilts
Unfortunately with this blog, you are often at the whim of my google image searches. Today: Quilts. I ran back and got that fabric and am headed to another fabric store tomorrow to find more. These are the quilts I’m thinking about:
{the pattern on this one calls for 21 fabrics! I Looooove it, but I could spend HOURS picking that many fabrics!}
I’m a sucker for chevron. This is in my top two…
Free Halloween Fonts
There are GOBS of free Halloween fonts on Dafont.com. Some of them are wingdings, but can come in handy if you’re working on an invitation or your very own kind of free decorations for your house.
To Install on Mac: Download the font. Unzip the packaged font. Open FontBook from your Applications menu. From the dropdown menu, click “Add Fonts” and navigate to the font files. If you already had Photoshop or another editor open, you may need to click off of the text layer and back on it to reveal the font in the type Palette. If you are working in Flash, you’ll have to quit and restart the program for it to show.
To Install on PC: Download the font. Unzip the packaged font. Open the Fonts folder from your Control Panel. Drag the font files into that folder. If you already had Photoshop or another editor open, you may need to click off of the text layer and back on it to reveal the font in the type Palette. If you are working in Flash, you’ll have to quit and restart the program for it to show.
Perfect Day for Sewing
TORRENTIAL downpour in my hood today, but couldn’t help swim by my local quilt store.
THIS had me salivating. Doesn’t it have new-baby-boy-crib-bedding written all over it? Oh, you should see my mind spinning right now.
… and I can’t help but want to put the crib on top of some super-soft and fluffy rug. Yes, I know it’s white, but my baby’s not gonna spit or poop. Where can I get one for cheap, cheap, cheap? Does Ikea have this kind of rug?
Homemade Halloween Decor
Fall decor at my house is generally pretty easy, because there is no shortage of orange. But since I didn’t want to spend money on decorations, I found stuff around the house that I could use for Halloween Decor:
1. A sketch from my college drawing class {You could find something online or find images from a magazine}
2. The magnet board I just made with a picture of a spider I found on the internet and tricked out in Photoshop to make it look creepy. {You can download it here for yourself if you want it.}
3. Those goblets are Christmas decorations
4. I covered a canvas with paper and cut out letters for “Boo”
5. Black foam and white-out creepy gravestones
I used the same foam to cut out bats and hang them from my chandelier. Fishing wire would have been great, but white thread is what I had. Love free decorating!
Psychic Crossword
I’m an old grannie and love doing crossword puzzles. A few hours before we found out what the sex of the baby was, I broke in my new crossword book with the first puzzle. Check out the clue…
It was RIGHT! It’s a BOY!
… I’m off shopping!
Coming Soon!
…A cute little chocolate store in downtown Danville, CA. Do you like the logo? ;)
