My Day

Today is MY DAY! My birthday is Monday, but we are "observing" it today. I slept in until 8:45, Dan has taken care of Maggie all morning, and he is now in the kitchen making me my brunch. I put in my order 2 days ago and he got all the necessary supplies. I am so LUCKY!! Also, today is the day that we go get my EmBrOiDeRy MaChInE!!! WOO HOO! I am so excited. And, because I am going to do NOTHING that is in any way drudgery today, I am surfing the web. For your pleasure...I found this....

TOP 100 TUTORIALS of 2008
as posted by thelongthread.com

Have fun looking for your next project!!!

25 Things About Me

I have a facebook page. I am addicted to facebook. I know what's going on in the lives of people I haven't seen or talked to in 10 or 15 years. It's wonderfully voyeuristic, but highly time consuming. I may need to seek help. Anywhooo...

I have been tagged by several of my facebook friends to complete 25 things about myself. There are no parameters, just list 25 things. It's a little daunting, because you have to find things about yourself that others would find interesting, but may not know. That's hard. I don't feel like I am all that interesting, but here goes...

1. I have a BFA in Dance Education from The Ohio State University, the top ranked dance department in the US. I passed the Praxis (teacher licensing exam) and received my Ohio teaching license. I have never taught a day in my life.
2. I worked for the National Dance Education Organization in Washington DC.
3. I danced for DancaNova, a small, professional, modern dance company in Washington DC.
4. I was reviewed in the Washington Post.
5. My husband has always been my biggest fan, even when he "didn't get it". He never got upset that I couldn't really help with the bills while I was pursuing my dance dreams.
6. I was a retail manager for almost 10 years. I gave up enough holidays and sleep to last the rest of my life. I have a great understanding for those in the world of customer service and I strive to NEVER be "That Customer".
7. I have been fired from a job. It was awful when it happened, but quickly became a blessing.
8. I am 27+ weeks pregnant and I expect my second child at the end of April. I think it will probably be early May.
9. My daughter is the best thing that has ever happened to me, besides marrying my husband. I love her with all my heart and can't imagine life without her, even though I think she can be a big burden.
10. I am super crafty, but I have craft ADD. I like lots of different projects. I have done tons of projects over the years, but rarely have I done anything twice.
11. I am currently working on a crib set for the new baby and it's surprisingly easy. I can't believe what some people will pay for these sets.
12. I am annoyed with my husbands thriftiness, but I appreciate where it's gotten us. What do you mean Starbucks once a week is frivolous???
13. I am so excited that I am getting an embroidery sewing machine for my birthday. I have desires to embroider EVERYTHING!
14. I have a secret annoyance that the Superbowl is often on or near my birthday. I hate the shadow.....ba-dum-bum...(my birthday is groundhog's day). I can't imagine having my birthday on or near Christmas. That would suck.
15. I am not sure what to think of Obama as the new president. I am skeptical but hopeful. (please don't tar and feather me)
16. I love online hidden object games. I am a bit of an online game nerd. If you know of any good ones let me know!
17. I love my Honda and won't buy any other car brand. It's the third Honda I have owned and I couldn't imagine "risking it" on any other brand.
18. I have 2 cats, Simone and Alvin. They are both very loyal and very loving. Sometimes Alvin is so loving, he is annoying. I think that's what having a dog is sort of like.
19. I don't like dogs. I don't mind them being around if they behave, but the first nose in the crotch or bark and I am DONE. I don't understand the appeal that that has on the American population.
20. I want to travel the world. I would love to go to Spain, Ireland, Greece, Italy, ride the Orient Express, or anything else along those line.
21. I wish this thing was titled 20 things about you...
22. I am excited about blogs. I have several that I watch. I log in every morning hoping for updates. I like the blogs that have funny pictures or have craft tutorials best.
23. I am putting off laundry by completing this list.
24. I love the seasons, but I have had enough snow to last me awhile. I can't wait to take walks with Maggie again. Maybe we will play in the snow this weekend.
25. I think that my daughter's new word "YUMMY" is the cutest thing ever.
26. I hope you comment on my blog posts....how else will I know you're reading?

This just in.....

The embroidery machine will be coming home with me on Saturday. My birthday is Monday, but we are observing it on Saturday so that Dan can take over Maggie duty for the whole day. WOO HOO!!!

I plan on sleeping in, showering at my leisure, enjoying a quiet breakfast, taking a nap, crafting, and then going out for dinner and ice cream. AHHHH......my kinda day!!!

I am also working on the crib set for the new baby. If you have made your own crib set (Kelly) please send me pictures. I would love to see what others have done!

Ahhh.....crafts.....they just relax me

Okay kids! Here's what I have been up to during the past few nap times:

1. Appliqued Onesie:




I was really pleased with how this turned out. It was really simple. I just took some interfacing and ironed it to a scrap of fabric. I then cut out the shape and pinned it to the onesie. I used a ironed coffee filter on the back as a stabilizer. I set the sewing machine was set to a really (and I mean really) small zig zag stitch and I went around twice. Not too bad for my first attempt. I would recommend using a ball point needle on this fabric as to not perforate the fabric. Now I am trying to figure out if these would sell on the site or if I should just make some up and list them on ebay.....thoughts?????

2. Hooded Towel:




I was also pleased with how this turned out. It's made out of one adult bath towel and a hand towel. I ended up using this TUTORIAL over at SkiptoMyLou.org. After I got started I decided I really wasn't digging the tutorial I originally had posted on my site. Sorry for those who tried the other. I did break 3 needles on my machine before thinking to put the denim needle on. Those towels are thick once you get them folded and tucked and then add three layers of ribbon. :) I made the wash cloth out of the leftover half of the hand towel. I ended up trimming it out in white ribbon after this photo was taken. But, the wash cloth was used for bath time before I got a picture of it. I made this one 9X9. Next time I will definitely make the washcloth as large as possible. It was just too small. Again, I am thinking about selling these, but they tend to be pretty customized. Should I just make some up? eBay? How much?

3. Crayon Roll:

Wow was this easy. I just used scrap fleece, but I won't next time. It gets pretty thick and it has a lot of stretch...that gets annoying. When I ran to the fabric store yesterday, I bought some felt and I think that should work better. I also bought an 8 pack of crayons and this will be Maggie's Valentine's day gift, along with a BIG pad of paper. I used this TUTORIAL from SkipToMyLou.org.

4. Fabric covered Bulletin Board:


I took the ratty, old, hand-me-down corkboard out of our office and covered it with some sale fabric I found at JoAnn's. I just wrapped the board in some quilt batting and then in the fabric. It was all just stapled to the back. I am going to trim around the edges in brown ribbon and make some criss-crossed on the front, more to look like a tic-tac-toe board with a large center square, rather than the traditional X pattern. I will secure where the ribbons cross with some furniture tacks. I think I will get this done today if all goes according to plan. But, now that I have written that, my day is sure to be wonky!!!!

A little stir crazy

Today it is -10 outside and it's the third day in a row that I have decided that Maggie and I need to hibernate. I just don't feel like fighting it if I don't have to. I did that too many years in a row when I was working. But today is an improvement, I did get dressed!!!

This afternoon we were feeling a little stir crazy, so I had a thought....let's make Maggie a tutu. As an addicted crafter, I had a yard or more of red tulle and some leftover elastic. I cleaned out and organized all my crafts the other day and they were just sitting there, begging me. Of course, I obliged.

It was TOO EASY!!! First I measured her waist, about 20 inches, chubbers that she is, and then I took a couple inches off so the elastic could have some stretch. Then I measured how long I wanted it to be, about 7 inches. But remember, a tutu doesn't hang down but it goes out. Then I doubled that length, so I could tie it onto the elastic. The tulle strips ended up being 6 inches by 15 or so inches. I then sewed the two ends of the elastic together to create a circle. In order to tie the tulle on the elastic, I slid the elastic onto my thigh, like a garter, and just started tying them on until they were all gone. It took about 40 minutes start to finish, but I had interruptions. Shocking, I know. Here's the lovely princess in her finished tutu:


We are now watching an episode of Sesame Street featuring Dance! How Perfect!

Baby on my mind......

Okay...I am sorry...I am here...I just need some topics to post about. Nobody really wants to read about how I clean my house and unpack boxes all day. So here's a topic. I need your help.

I want to do a lot of handmade goods in the new baby's nursery. Starting with the Crib Bedding set. Here's a tutorial I found, but I am not to keen on the fabric. So...any suggestions? I have no idea if it's a boy or a girl so, gender neutral is a must.

Second, what other things can I craft up to make this kids room special? Have you found anything out there that tickles you????

Lemme know!

oh....LET IT SNOW LET IT SNOW LET IT SNOW!!!!

I'm still here....just really busy

My New Year's Resolution is to have all of our house unpacked and put away before the baby comes. I have a little less than 4 months. It's a big job. But, I feel like I am making headway. But I may be scarce for a little while.

I posted xmas pics on www.TeamStamm.com if you are interested in spending hours sifting through photos. I don't pic and choose....I post 'em all!

Lastly, it's really hard to stay focused on the task at hand when I find sites like this.....

http://www.oneprettything.com/