Parasol Craft Issue 1

I am a huge fan of the digital magazine Parasol . The pictures are beyond amazing. They are huge and open and make me feel like I could jump right into them. The best thing about the magazine is that it is such high quality but also completely free. This to me is some kind of miracle. So the other day when I got wind that there was a new spin off called Parasol Craft I nearly peed myself. I wasn't even in the slightest disappointed that Parasol Craft costs money (a measly $2.50) but I thought I would mention it before you get too excited.

If you are unfamiliar with either Parasols they are created by Yasmine Surovec of A Print a Day.

I just got done downloading and electronically flipping through the pages of Parasol Craft. This baby is 111 pages of inspiration. There are several interviews and plenty of pictures. The format is easy to read on a screen which is a big plus. But what's my favorite part you ask? The freaking Snow White and Red Rose dolls that you can make! The mag has plenty of other printable/usable goodies that make the $2.50 price beyond worth it. If you haven't bought it you should! I can't wait to spend the rest of my evening fully reading each page and maybe this weekend I will make the dollies for fun!

P.S. Thanks to everyone who sent prayers/thoughts/good vibes to my little furbaby Maisy. I am happy to report she is recovering from her Salmon Poisoning well. I was a little worried there for a bit when she wasn't moving and peeing herself. The pup is now back to following me around and getting in my way. Yay!

What Could it Be? Work in Progress

I am making a gift...well it started out as a gift but I don't know if I will be giving it now. It's one of those situations where I know I would love to receive said gift but I am not so sure the receivers will like it. I have until this weekend to decide and I thought I would take pictures of the process. Above is the first picture. Can you figure out what it is? I will post a new picture tonight as it is much closer to being done.

Plushstock 2009 with the Plushteam

I didn't participate in the most recent Plushteam challenge but it's super cool and you should vote for your favorites. Voting closes on August 30th so hurry up!

It's no secret the the above Jimi Hendrix by Moon's Creations is my favorite. However a close second would be this amp by Fluffy Flowers.

Also in exciting Plushteam news I received my official Plushteam aluminum liquid holder today. Yay! No more glasses of water on the nightstand covered with toilet paper to keep the dog hair out in the night. (I am neurotic and can't go to bed without a glass of water...even if I am not thirsty and don't drink it...you never know I might need it if aliens attack). Will have to take this bottle out in public some though otherwise what is the purpose of it's awesome advertising abilities??

Do you see the nasty headband holding the TP down? Otherwise the fan will blow it off duh...

I Think I'm in Love

Found this blog today and almost died from happiness. After tooling around I followed a link to an interview that had this question:

Tell us a little about the Town you live in... have you always lived there?
I’m Belgian and I grew up in the suburbs of Brussels, but last year I moved live to a tiny yet crazily picturesque village tucked away in the Northern Italian Hills. (I moved there for love of course…) Now, when I say ‘Tiny’, I really mean Tiny. We’re about 200 inhabitants, so everybody knows everybody and that makes our village a cute little Island, surrounded by an ocean of vineyards on one side, and forest on the other.

I think I died a little more. *Sigh* You can find her shop on Etsy.

One of my Favorite Places

Fall Creek is a very special place to me. I spent so much of my high school years here it is kind of hard to even visit without a flood of memories. Several years ago my favorite spot burned up. The trees are still black and kind of sparse but it is still very beautiful. I only seem to get out here every couple of years because everyone in my life that loves this place as much as I do has moved away... It's a shame because it is so close and not a long drive at all

Maisy looooved it! She ran around like a mountain goat all over the rocks. She's also good for pulling me back up the hill at the end ha ha.

Book Review---East of the Sun

Besides all the other things I like doing I also very much like to read. I don't usually have enough reading time but have found since I started working out at a gym I read every day. I just finished East of the Sun today. After a long spell of books I did not enjoy it was finally nice to blow through a book and really like it at the end.

East of the Sun is set in 1928. The story follows Viva Holloway, a chaperone to three young people traveling to India. The book is about so many things but most importantly friendship, love and family.

My favorite thing about this book is that it is very British...with super funny English phrases throughout. While reading all 587 pages in this book I kept cracking myself up by inserting funny English sayings into my every day life. My family and friends were getting annoyed with me by the end. They can be beasts I tell you wretched beasts!! haha

Hooray for Beanblossoms!

A new store is carrying BeBe Babies. They are called Beanblossoms and are in Wichita, KS. They have a ton of cute stuff. Check them out!

I love you most of all...

When you come home I will howl in excitement..
I will follow you everywhere including the bathroom...
When you sit down I will sit on your lap....
When you go to bed I will crawl under the covers....
When you ignore me I will bark in your face...
When you work I will lay at your feet...
When you cry I will lick your face...
When you leave I want to come with...
I love you most of all....

Work in Progress

I have been working on this monster turntable for-EVER... Just last week I snapped the first photo below. Back on the shelf it went...

Today I was able to make the progress below... This design/execution has been one of the most frustrating projects I think I have ever started. It has probably been around 6 months that I have been working on it on and off. I think I am in the home stretch now though. The body is made of very firm foam.

When I was a little kid I had an obsession with monsters... I had this notebook that I would draw all kinds of monsters in. The only running theme was they were every day objects as monsters. There were pencil monsters, chair monsters, rug monsters, etc. This is the first monster-object I have ever made in plush form. Aside from being very very frustrating I think I would like to make more in the future.

In case the pictures aren't very clear the dude is "playing" himself or his eyeballs to be technical. He only has one arm so far. The arms were what have been so frustrating. I think I have made three different sets out of several different fabrics. I finally purchased this grey fur last weekend while visting my pal in Portland...and I am finally satisfied with the outcome.

The turntables themselves were made and remade about the same amount of times I think. I couldn't get them right and I kept having to run to the store to get a new color since one was one color green and the other was a shade off.

What do you think?

Redheads?

I have red hair now....I wanted to get a picture to show it but the weather here is ghastly and overcast...a far cry from the 106 blazing sunshine we had a week ago. The windows are just not providing enough light and don't even ask about a flash...I detest flash...

I change my hair color a lot but it had been dark for some time...I decided I needed to lighten up...regarding my hair that is...or maybe lighten up on other things too who knows.

Bounty...

This is the first time in my life I have grown any food. I am proud of my little garden so far. Tonight I am making a stir fry with garden veggies (and some store bought ones). Hooray!

What a Sweet Blog!

It was brought to my attention that I was featured on The Artsypreneur Blog. How sweet of them! And what adorable features/items they have found and featured. I am glad to be included. :)

Estate Sale Find

A couple weeks ago I went to an estate sale on a whim and came away with two adorable vintage books. I am a sucker for little books and I especially love when they are so sweetly illustrated. Both books are by Rosalind Welcher whom I had never heard of but had fun looking up and learning about. Here are some of my favorite pages. The first book was called "Somebody's Thinking of You" (cover pictured above).

"Somebody loves to hear your voice"

"Somebody likes to get your letters"

"Somebody's sorry when things go wrong"

"Sombody misses you when you're away"

"Somebody wants you to be happy"

"Somebody hopes all your dreams come true"

The second one is called "Please Don't Feel Blue"

"and sometimes rainbows end in pots of gold"

"even though things sometimes do look dark"

"Cinderellas still meet Prince Charmings"

"Ugly ducklings still turn into swans"

"raindrops drum upon umbrellas"