My Saving Grace

For the last 36 hours, I have been (virtually) bed-ridden with a raging case of nastiness. Yup...that's my official diagnosis...according to my own professional opinion. It began Thursday evening with a suspicious tingling numbness on my lower lip, which quickly turned into a small bump in the same spot. By yesterday morning the tingling bump had morphed into a full-blown fever blister. I am SO tempted to be more graphic in my description (because I HATE this evil growth to the core of its nasty being), but I will refrain from crossing into that T.M.I. territory...for your sake. As if the cold sore isn't bad enough, I'm running an impressive fever and have a handful of swollen glands under my chin/ behind my ears that feel as if I've had marbles implanted under my skin. Okay, that should be enough whining to elicit an appropriate amount of sympathy. Ohhhh, let me just say this: if you've never experienced the discomfort of a fever blister, let me tell you...it HURTS!!!!! Aside from being absolutely hideously conspicuous, it just plain hurts! I made the near fatal mistake of checking WebMD for information and found, to my absolute horror, that I can expect this bad boy to linger for at least a week!!! Guess who's not venturing out, in public, anytime soon? Lord, forgive me for my vanity...but, c'mon!
My saving grace has been spending hours upon hours weaving in and out of my favorite blogs, collecting fabulous project ideas along the way. I have to apologize upfront: I did not keep track of where I gathered my inspiration from, therefore I am unable to give proper credit to the creative ladies who have kept me company on my sickbed. I am a firm believer in "giving credit where credit is due", so....I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!

Squeaky Clean

I had to run over to Michael's (craft supplies) this afternoon. "Had to" is such a joke. Who am I kidding? Any excuse for a field trip to Michael's, works for me! After wandering the aisles for a little bit, I realized I truly didn't need anything...until I stumbled upon the soap making section. Uh oh. Big trouble! I have been wanting to make my own soaps for quite some time, but the process looked far too complicated for my liking. Time for a short-cut. I bought a few different, microwavable blocks of soap (olive oil, goat's milk & glycerin) and two sets of molds. I already had some essential oils at home. I had such fun making soap tonight and realized how inexpensive it is, when you consider paying $3.99-$5.99 for a bar of "specialty" soap. I took apart an old sachet and used the dried lavender in the lavender scented soaps. I like the natural look of those bars. Any recipes/ suggestions for things that work well with or in soaps, would be greatly appreciated!

Bits & Bobs Jewelry Give-Away

Spring surely must be right around the corner, because I have that distinctive itch to organize & de-clutter. Even after my wonderful swap, with Monica, I have more bits & pieces of beautiful jewelry than one person needs or can use for crafty projects. So ladies, you know the routine: please leave a comment, if you are interested in being entered, and I will have my son pick the winner on Tuesday, March 3. The photograph contains just a portion of what the give-away package will include...I'm still sorting :-)
I hope she won't mind, but I am borrowing an idea from Theresa (Time Worn Interiors). If you are thoughtful enough to mention my give-away, on your blog, your name will be entered twice.

Vintage Jewelry Swap

I'm going out on a limb and guessing I'm not the only one who has an overabundance of certain crafting goodies and a piddly (did I just use that word publicly????) amount of others. Lisa (A Thing For Roses) kindly suggested that I try my hand at a swap, in response to my inquiry about trading crafting supplies with fellow bloggers. I promptly set to sorting through my massive collection of vintage baubles. So, if nothing else...many heartfelt thanks to Lisa for prompting me to start a mission of organization. What I came up with is 5 pound lot of miscellaneous jewelry: some broken pieces (perfect for crafting), but most is perfectly intact. I took several pictures to give you an idea of what you will be getting and will leave it up to each of you to choose what to include in your treasure trove.

Since this is my first try at doing a swap, please be gentle if I am a bit unorthodox in setting it up. If you are interested in being part of the drawing, please leave a comment, expressing your interest, on my blog. Next Wednesday (January 27, 2009), I will (for the sake of fairness) have one of my children select a name. I will post the lucky swapper here and we will exchange care packages. Since this seems too easy, I've probably forgotten some critical element. Please let me know, if that is the case.

Truthfully, I am more excited about connecting with you all, on a more personal level, than I am about what goodies I might receive. There are times when this world of blogging seems so vast and I'm always thrilled when someone takes the time to stop by and/ or leave a comment!

Baskets Galore!

During my last visit to my friend Melody's shop, "Once Possessed", I picked up a few vintage baskets in need of some T.L.C. I snatched those up, along with some gorgeous fabric remnants & lace doilies/ runners/ napkins...for a STEAL. Thanks so much, Mel! Both of my kids had friends over this weekend, so I was able to let my creative juices flow...in between laundry, refereeing small disputes & updating my resume. I was pretty pleased with the finished products, so I thought I'd share.

As I was perusing Lisa's blog, A Thing For Roses, I had an idea which I'm not quite sure how to execute. For those of you who are die-hard crafters/ artists, is there a forum for trading excess supplies? Lisa had mentioned, in her blog, that a friend gave her some broken, vintage jewelry that she needed for some projects. It dawned on me that I have an over-abundance of certain goodies (like vintage jewelry) and am sorely lacking other supplies (ribbon, trims, etc.). I'm fairly certain I'm not the only one who has an unbalanced stock of crafting necessities. Food for thought :-)

Christmas Crafts

I must admit: I think my parental growing pains are adversely impacting my typical pre-holiday glee.

The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is, normally, my favorite time of year...second to whenever the first, viable signs of spring appear. Fortunately, my kids noticed my lack of Christmas cheer and prodded me sufficiently to warm the embers of my yuletide fire.

Inspired, also, by HGTV's holiday decorating shows, I collected some goodies from the woods behind my house and set to crafting. One of the HGTV episodes featured a project in which you spray paint branches silver or white and hand them from the side of your house, using fishing line...voila: non-melting icicles! Because I am so possessive of my creations, I decided to use mine inside and varied the icicle idea on one project. My 7 year old helped make the "Partridge in a Pear (twig) Tree". Technically, it's doves in a pear tree, as she so readily informed me. Such a stickler for details, that little one is.

Latest Business Endevour

Given the frequency that I...and many other women-on-the-go...am grabbing a baseball cap for a quick trip to the grocery store, hauling the kids to sports practice or simply to camouflage a bad hair day, I started brainstorming about how to add a bit of flair to the standard cap. My love for all things romantic, vintage & whimsical was the inspiration for my new creations. I started with plain, baseball caps (assorted colors) and added vintage jewelry, lace, ribbons & beads. The "flavor" of each hat is unique, depending on my mood and the personality of the cap, as I create.

The baseball caps have gotten such positive responses, when I wear one, but I have not yet gathered the courage to "go public". This feels like a safe place to test the waters. Any/ all constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated!