Creative vs. Crafty

I'm not really a very creative person. Yes, I guess I would consider myself crafty, but I'm not the type of person who can be spontaneously create art. I am a copy cat. I see something and, I'm not ashamed to say, I blatently copy it. So, here's my newest copy adventures:

My father-in-law cut the wood pieces for this caterpillar alphabet puzzle when Chris was in preschool, and my mother-in-law found it when cleaning out her shed last weekend. A quick coat of paint, and voila! a super cute alphabet puzzle!!! I LOVE wood toys, and a handmade one is even better.

Next up:

I saw these at gap.com (I'm not ashamed, I love Gap!), but at $42.50 for three, a LOT out of my budget. So, I picked up a few canvases at Micheal's, some paint, and about five hundred erasers (used them all) and made my own. And added an elephant. What do you think? Does it seem like it works with the others? I think they'll be adorable in a baby nursery.

I'm thinking I'll try a lion and maybe a whale next. Or should I just leave it with the four? Let me know what you think!

I Heart Yard Sales

I LOVE yard sales. Any given Friday or Saturday morning, you can bet that I'll be driving around town in desperate search of yard sales. Nothing makes me more happy than to score an awesome deal or bargain someone down. Chris doesn't like to go with me because he gets so embarassed when I offer less - he'll say, "Are you going to offer less?" and go sit in the car.

If you come to house, the majority of any items in my house are yard sale purchases. The entertainment center? $30 at an awesome mid-winter yard sale (originally $40, bargained her down and she even threw in all three "Terminator" DVDs - great deal!). The DVD holders? Yup, one was $5, one was $3. The bed? $50. The Pottery Barn lamps in the living room? Both for $2 (that was an awesome deal). And, of course, my favorite things to buy at yard sales are various baby items. Our children are going to be the most decked out kids on the block before they are even born! Check out these babies I got last weekend:

These are $38.95 on the website (Robeez) - I got 'em for a dollar!! Love it.

However, there are some things you just don't get at a yard sale. Like underwear. Any kind of underwear. I went to a yard sale once that had a whole box of used underwear - including a Christmas thong with a jingle bell on it. A real ringing jingle bell. Not joking. I was like, does anyone actually buy stuff like this?? The second weirdest item I've ever seen at a yard sale? A set of penis dishes. Looking back, I guess they were probably for a bridal shower or something - but why would someone BUY a set of penis dishes? Is it like an investment or something? "Oh look honey, the in-laws are coming to dinner. Let's be sure to put out the penis dishes for them!" Anybody out there ever find something crazy at a yard sale?

Well, off to cuddle with my crazy dogs. Happy Friday, everyone.

Dancing in the Park

Yesterday was the annual dancing in the park at Bear Creek Park here in Medford. Can you believe the last one was one year ago?? I can't - crazy how fast things change! Last year, we met at the Dance Arts studio in Medford and went to the park to dance - little did we know, that one tiny year later we would be living in the house next to that same studio, walking the dogs at the park we danced at. Just goes to show you, you never know where you'll end up, right?

So, Chris danced his modern piece and looked fabulous doing it. He even got a couple catcalls! Ow ow! He amazes me.

So, while Chris was rehearsing and setting up for dance, I had the much easier (insert sarcasm here) yet much more fun (no sarcasm here) job of watching Alexander. We had a blast checking out the way cool "wooden" playground at Bear Creek (with a sand pit! and a maze! and secret passageways! and...) and spending a crazy amount of time checking out this 'scrution truck (construction truck) which was sitting idle at the park. Of course, we needed to get a picture. Can't you just see the joy in his face in this pic? Alex knows every single kind of construction truck and equipment there is - and one of his favorite things for us to do is for me to tell him stories with various kinds of "struction trucks" as the main characters.

This kind of 'struction truck, Alex informed me, is a.... oops, I forgot. How I could forget, when we took a guided tour all around it three times while he pointed out various "interesting features" - how cute is that? I think I should frame this picture for him.

So then, after wearing him out considerably, Alex and I found a good spot to watch the dancing show, during which he was incredibly well behaved. The show was at least two hours long, plus half an hour before and after - I was impressed. I think part of the reason he was so good was because I let him use my camera to take pictures of the dancers - thank goodness for digital, though, because he took 497 pictures (mostly because he just held the button down continuosly for several seconds - as a result, we can practically watch the whole dances again as a flip book if we want!) in the span of two hours - including many of such fascinating things like grass and his sippy cup:

He was having a blast! And, I should probably mention that the two pictures of Chris were taken by Alex too! I think we need to get this kid a digital camera!

Oh, I should also mention a funny story - a young lady next to us had her pet ferret on a leash watching the dance show, so I told Alex, "Look at that ferret over there!" So Alex turned to my friend Kadance and said "Hey, look at that carrot over there!" It was hysterical!

So, yet another fun but busy weekend comes to a close - anybody else out there feel like their weekends are as crazy as ours? Crazy, but fun!

Feelin' Creative

So the other day I was feeling pretty creative and decided to finish up various projects I've been working on. First up, this adorable Paris onesie. For anyone who knows me, you know how much I LOVE anything to do with Paris - never mind that I've never been there. Anyway, I found an Eiffel Tower cookie cutter at a yard sale a while back, so I used it to make a pattern. I'm thinking I should use this pattern again somewhere - any ideas? It's too cute. Don't mind the picture being upside down - sorry - it loaded that way and I couldn't figure out how to fix it! You can still get the idea.

Then, I was seized by a desire to do some cooking, only to find that my one and only apron was in the washing machine. It had been in the washing machine for several days, whilst I was waiting for this insanely hot weather to cool down enough to run the dryer. The dryer raises the temperature of the house approximately thirty degrees (which, dear readers, when it is 105 degrees outside, makes it 135 degrees inside - roughly the temperature used to bake chocolate chip cookies - practically). So, the apron was wet and soggy (maybe a little moldy - no, just joking), and unusable, and I decided I should have a second apron. I've had this adorable Richard Kaufman fabric for ages, but it was so cute I was afraid to use it for anything! But, the pears on it make it perfect for the kitchen.

I love the colors. Wouldn't it be an adorable little girls' dress? Or a mini kid's apron? Oooo...maybe next project. So. Ok, moving on.

While I was on a roll, sewing away, I found this cute fall fabric I found on clearance last year (CLEARANCE, people!!). In case you can't tell, those are little leaves. I always love to have seasonal linens on my table and piano, so I made a table runner. Super simple, but I think it turned out ok.

Now, I'm starting to think Christmas. Christmas, you say incredulously? But it's August! Yes - Christmas. My FAVORITE holiday - it's never too early to start thinking about Christmas! Maybe I should put some Christmas music on... I think Chris would shoot me.

Anyways, keep an eye out in the future for some lovely Christmas projects coming up... because it's never too early! :)

Onesies

Made these adorable onesies last week - saw the idea when checking out an etsy shop, and thought, I could make those! So I did! I just love how many sweet little things you can make for babies... there's something extra special about being able to put all my love and excitement for having a baby someday into making something for my kids. I'm sure they won't realize how much they were loved before they were even born when they are younger, but hopefully our kids will know when they are older!

This one is a bird. Can you tell? I still have to add a little felt ear to the elephant and a beak to the bird - maybe that will help.

Also did these fantastic blankies. The fabric in the middle is minkee, a super soft fabric, and the outside is a satin. Babies love the different feelings of the two fabrics, so I've been working on a bunch of different kinds. Can you tell I'm really digging brown right now? Love it with pink, blue, and green. I'm kind of a matchy-matchy person, so I like things to coordinate - what better way to do it than to make everything myself? Next up: a crib set!

Jess and Thomas' Wedding

After TEN years of dating (nope, that wasn't a typo, it really has been 10 years!), my friend Jessica Goetz married Thomas Mashos on August 8, 2009. They got married in Dallas, OR, near Salem, so I drove up there to see them wed. As one of the few people who knew Jess before she ever started dating Thomas, I felt especially privileged to be there to witness them get married. It's amazing to have been friends with someone for so long!

Unfortunatly, my camera battery died after only a dozen pictures, so I only have a few to post.

Jess was the most beautiful bride!

It was great to be there and I'm so glad I could drive up to see her!! Congrats to Jess and Thomas!

Reno, baby!

RENO!! Last week a group of my girlfriends and I drove to Reno for a night of drinking, gambling, eating, minus husbands and kids! We had a fabulous time learning new poker games, talking, and eating LOTS of yummy food!

Not so sure what the super oversized furniture was all about - but it made for fun pictures! Thanks for a great time, girls!