Saturday, December 31, 2011

Let's try this again...

So I started strong with this project for the first 100+ days, and once I got a little behind for a few days, I felt too inconsistent to keep going.

Now here it is, the last day of 2011. I thought that this would be a great time to try again. Start fresh in 2012 and keep up a daily record of my life for the next 365 days. (Actually, this year will be a leap year, so 366 days!)

Happy New Year!

Monday, June 6, 2011

Day 109

It was move-up week in all of Kids Club at CR. In Area 56, the older kids have gone on to CSM (grades 7-12), the tiny little 4th graders have arrived, and my buddy, Molly, is now officially one of the "big kids" in the room. Molly's now a 6th grader, and she'll probably be taller than me by the end of the summer. *sigh*

The rest of the afternoon was spent in the back yard, cleaning up, pulling weeds, planting flowers, and taking a dip in the pool. I drifted around on my back, watching the sunlight filter through the maple leaves and felt content and full.

Day 108

Another hooooot, sunny day. Sometimes when it gets this hot, I put on a short skirt and make arts.

Here's a sneak peek:





I submitted these pieces for Redtree's next show, "Mind & Matter". If they make it in, you can see them in person this Friday! If not, there will be private viewings by appointment in the trunk of my car.

Day 107

I had a helper at work on Friday! My sweet momma came up to help me fold paper and brainstorm ideas in preparation for an upcoming craft demo I'll be doing. As always, had so much fun hangin' out with her!

I feel like such a cheeseball whenever I talk about how much I love hanging out with my mom, but it really is true. I feel so very fortunate to be such good friends with my family, and I know that not everyone experiences that.

Day 106

After a full day of work, Adam took me out to one of our favorite date night places, the Cock and Bull in Covington. The weather was perfect for sitting outside, the fish'n'chips were fabulous as always.

Day 105

On Wednesday the Blazer girls (Arynn, Ester and Evie Dean) came over to help set up the pool. Woot!

Ester "accidentally" got wet while helping me clean the pool bottom. It was all over from there.



Evelyn supervises from a safe distance.



Ester helps me blow up the raft by imitating me.



Happy girls!



I don't care what the calendars say... In my book, summer is here!




Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Day 104

After getting back home from the fun and festivities last night, I sat down to do a bit more work and watched some Hoarders on Netflix while making some bird boxes. Have you seen this show? I am simultaneously fascinated and prone to mild anxiety while watching this. 

That night, after watching several episodes in a row, my dreams looked something like this:


Just a whole lot of anxiety and panic, feeling like I was surrounded by stuff. Waking up from this dream early in the morning, I went to the kitchen to feed the cats... As I was coming back upstairs, glanced into the living room and was relieved to see this... 


The newly cleaned living room! Adam put away all of my traveling show stuff, vacuumed and cleaned for me yesterday. *whew* Thank you, honey! 

Day 103

Memorial Day.

Housework.
Craft supply shopping.
Redtree.
More work.

Skyped for the first time with Adam's mom up in Maine! That was pretty cool. She's all excited to use this technology with "the grandkids"... Um...

:0)

For supper, like every other red-blooded Ahmurikan, we grilled out! Nothing says "remember the people who sacrificed for your country" like charcoal, chicken, corn, potatoes, and baked beans.



After dinner, took a little walk over to the Blazers' house, where they treated us to some mighty-fine Cherry Coke floats. Enjoyed each other's company and the backyard until the sun started to set, Ester needed a band-aid and the mosquitoes started to feast.

It will be time to set up the pool any day now...

Day 102

It's hoooooooooooooooot.

Stupid hot. Like, punch-a-kitten-in-the-face hot.

But my little garden seems happy enough...

My pea plants are just about to bloom, and after blooming comes peas!



Awww, look! These two pea plants are holding hands!


So sweet.



And the green beans are starting to vine up an old steel sculpture of mine:


Guess it's fittin' to be summer.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Day 101

What a great Saturday for a whole lotta do-nothin'! Adam and I putz around the house for a bit in the morning, then headed to MicroCenter to make Adam one very happy man. *sigh* I'm a sucker.


But before he was allowed to go home and unpack his new machine, I made him take me to Kings Island. :0) First stop was the Vortex, and then some ice cream and a walk-about. It was also the perfect, hot day for Whitewater Canyon! Having these passes are so nice; being able to go, ride one coaster, and come home.

And some serious napping took place once we got home! Well, for me at least. Adam's gone into his studio to set up his new Apple and I haven't seen him since.

hee hee.

Day 100

Well, here it is, DAY 100!! Even though I've been a slacker these last few weeks, I'm glad to have gotten this far. Aaannd... As much as I'd love to mark the occasion with some new ink, a tattoo just isn't in our budget these days.

So I thought I'd just repost the premise of this blog, just to refresh my memory and purpose for the next 265 days...
**********************************************

The Plan...

Hello, hello!

So, um... The other day I spent my work day listening to the many speakers streaming live at Etsy's Symposium. Lots of inspiration there; plenty of ideas, challenges and things to add to my "to do" list... But one of the most inspiring bits was the talk by Noah Scalin, the creator of Skull-A-Day, where he committed to crafting a different skull every day for a year. (All completely different and all completely brilliant.) From this project, Make Something 365 was born. In this book and blog, Noah challenges everyone to create something every day for a year.

Of course, by the end of his talk, after browsing his blogs, clicking through each skull, reading about the projects of others, I was feeling the pull to attempt something like this. I decided to start it on my birthday, which will be next Wednesday, February 16th.

This will be a significant year for me, because I'm turning (baum-bau-baum!) 30.

*sigh*

Ok. So I've got the idea. I've got the date set. I've got the gumption. And with making this a published/public venture, I've got the accountability. Now... what to make?

what.to.make.what.to.make.what.to.make...

Acorns? Stars? Houses? Circles? Hearts? Birds? Trees? Cheeseburgers?

The thing is... I make stuff every day. Craft is my job. Making another thing every day might not be enough to keep me interested in continuing for an entire year. So... I've finally settled on an idea. Every day, for the next year, I am going to make a note of something that made me smile that day. (And like any good blog, this story will be told with many photographs.) Could be something as simple as seeing all three of my cats napping with my husband, to something as profound as hearing an insight from God.

In any case, I intend to illustrate each one with an image or two (mine or borrowed). My hope is to make myself intentionally aware of each day, and that these little tidbits might inspire some smiles in other folks.

Day 99

Worked most of the day to get these things made for a last-minute bridal show. Got a whole table to decorate with Paper Acorn goodies!




Turned out ok, I guess.

The best part was hanging out with Melissa! She was there representing Stella and Dot with some super cute jewelry!

After the show was over, we packed up and headed outside to a beautiful surprise!



And the drive home was gorgeous, with the sun setting in the freshly-cleansed-by-storm sky...


Got home and settled in for some much-needed couch-time and a bottle of wine with my hubby.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Days 91 - 98

Wow. Yeah. Been a total slacker with the daily blog. For the past week I've been eyeball-deep in paper, getting ready for shows, getting orders out, trying to still be a wife in the midst of it... I really did think about blogging early last week, but honestly had nothing to say. After 3-4 straight days of waking-working-sleeping, I was embarrassed to find how often the thing that made me smile was something cute that the cats had done. Or something silly my husband said. Too boring to report, too uneventful.

Until, of course, Friday!
Day 93
Mom and I packed up my HHR and headed south, to Atlanta. By the time we hit Tennessee, I was hoarse from talking. (When you work alone and don't talk to many people during the day, an 8-hour conversation can really do a number on your vocal chords.) My mom is so fun. Really. The best.

Day 94 was the opening day of Wedding Day Hooray! I was so, so, so, SO thrilled to be a part of this show. What a significant improvement from the bland, vanilla bridal shows I did in Chicago! All of the vendors there were folks you'd find on Etsy, ReadyMade, Style Me Pretty, etc. All indie crafters, doing their own thing and makin' a business in this bleak economy. I love them.

Here's a peek:







So cool. The crowds weren't as big as we had hoped, but I met many cool people and had some good leads for business. Also got some video time on GetMarried!

Day 95
So the Rapture didn't happen. I guess that's pretty obvious by now. I've heard that the new projected date is some time in October. Which is good, because I still have a ton of house-cleaning to do before He gets here.

Found this discarded sign outside the coffee shop where mom and I stopped for our morning brew before the show:


The Sunday show at Wedding Day Hooray went pretty much the same as Saturday. The brides-to-be coming to this event were the exact folks that Paper Acorn is looking for. Hooray!



Day 96
Mom and I rolled back into the Queen City on Monday evening. The drive up was lovely.





But almost as soon as I got settled back at home with my hubby, a huge storm swooped over our area. By 7:30 our power had been knocked out, so I took a bunch of my luminary candles and lit them all over the house. It was nice to be unplugged for a while, and  have a little romantic time!


Day 97
I woke early and got to work immediately. Between putting off orders last week and being out of town for 4 days, I had quite the workload! Barely stopping even to eat lunch, I started, finished and packed up 8 orders in about 10 hours. Still taping a shipping label to one package as I flew out the door to the Post Office, I made it through traffic and a train crossing with 4 minutes to spare. (The PO closes at 5:00, and my printed receipt read 4:56.) Whew!

After all of that, all I wanted to do was take a nap, but it was time for a change of clothes and head out to Creative Team. (No rest for the weary.) I was glad that I didn't wimp out and stay home. The team is rockin' it with the Ballroom project, and Dad got us started on the next big element, which looks super cool! (Pics to come next Tuesday.)


Day 98
Had another meeting with the marketing director at Cincinnati Magazine on Wednesday morning to talk out the details for a summer event. I'll be doing a couple of craft demos at this event:



Summer Fun + Local Flavor
There are the same feelings of both excitement and nervousness that I felt right before performing at a drama competition or play in high school. I'll be up in front of a crowd of people, trying to channel my best Rachel Ray, and showing folks how to make some fun paper crafties.

Got back home from the meeting, and my pal Alison stopped by to pick up her wedding decorations I had been hoarding while she was honeymooning. So great to hang with her again, catch up, and see her all glowing and not stressed from wedding-planning mode!

I then got a call from another good friend, Melissa, telling me about a last-minute bridal show in Eastgate. 
Melissa: "Can you come set up table decorations at Receptions tomorrow night?"
Me, looking around my studio at all of the half-finished orders and piles of messes: "Sure!"

I might, in fact, be ever-so-slightly... crazy.






Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Day 90

Thomas was cracking me up as I was doing some yoga stretches in the morning!

Appropriately, I was doing the cat pose...

...and Thomas decided to jump up on my back. He teetered there while I kept bending my back up and down, and by the time I got to this pose...


...he laid down and was curled up on my back.

Silly goober.




Monday, May 16, 2011

Day 89

After watching this movie today, I fell in love with this actress/artist/writer.

Miranda July

She makes me want to make art. I think I will.

Day 88

Today we did what Sundays are designed for... After church, headed back to John and Margie's for a quick visit and to pick up Adam's tools. Then back home and some significant couch-sitting for the rest of the evening.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Day 87

So today, all over the city of Cincinnati, about 6,000 people got together to dig in dirt, paint murals, pick up trash, fix houses, and love on people.You GO, Cincinnati!

Adam and I had a more personal Go Cinci project that had to take precedent over our original mural project. The ceiling of the sunroom in my cousin's house had recently fallen in, so my folks, her folks and Adam and I were over there today to help clean up soaked insulation, tear out the old ceiling tiles, and install new insulation and ceiling.



Well... they did that. I mostly helped with the babies. :0) I mean, it's hard work that no one really wants to do... somebody has to hold them and love on them and feed them and tickle them while the rest of the adults sweep up old insulation and hammer nails and clean windows.

Do you see what I had to deal with here?!
Emelia

Jordan

I also had to help with the construction of TJ's sand castle. Again, very hard work.


Adam helped a little, too...

Ohmigosh those guys got so much done! It's an entirely new room out there, even though it's not quite finished. 

We got home around 7pm and I instantly crashed into bed for a good 2 hours. Now I'm awake again and writing this... My words... is/am/are to be going slow... to write feelings ... thoughts... blog. blerg. The bed is calling me again.


Day 86

A full, fun day!

Picked up my friend, Martha, from the Megabus stop downtown. We headed over to Palomino where she treated me to some fantabulous happy hour appetizers! (Um, artichoke crab dip? Yes please!)

Then back home to chill for a bit before the Redtree opening and Oakley After Hours. Martha has a craft business, Sunday Afternoon Housewife. She makes and sells these awesome little pendants out of Scrabble tiles! Martha also has some big plans for collecting stories from crafters all across the country and creating a documentary of her travels... Check out and give a little support to The Culture of Craft!





The show had a great turn-out, and I had fun sitting and chatting with Martha at her table. Plenty of other fun friends stopped by, and I even got to hang out with Mrs. Lee for a bit while she was working the coffee bar!

After the show, it was back to our house for some back-porch sittin' and fruity rum cocktail drinkin' until way past our bedtime. It's really starting to feel like summer already, and what a great weekend to have the pleasure of hosting an out-of-town friend!