A sense of accomplishment

Finally I have started a project and actually finished it. I know, a gold star for me right. It has been hard juggling working extra hours and doing the things a home maker should. I have just a couple of weeks until I am also back to school full time so I feel this rushed push to start a big project before it is too late. I am not working well under this pressure. Last night I finally sat down started a project AND finished it. It was something small but it is done.

I put this adorable little monster on a plain white tee that I had and didn't really like. The monster is clip art from a free digital scrapbooking kit from Craftastical. The direct link to her post with this kit is here. I really love her blog. Here is the basic how-to on this. I sized the clip are to what I wanted and printed it out.

I then traced the image using a light box (a window also works) and these iron transfer pencils:

I have to say Generals Transfer Pencils are easy to work with. This is what I came up with after tracing:

I just put it down on my shirt and hit it with a hot iron. It was easy because the image was pretty much small enough that it would fit under my iron but you might want to think about pinning it down if you will have to move your iron. After it was transferred I just began stitching using 3-ply floss and a hoop. Mostly back stitch, nothing fancy. You can find some good basic instructions here at Sublime Stitching. Anyways, this is a close up of the finished product:

Sorry my pictures have been cruddy. I updated my droid to the new Froyo OS and now my Vignette app is not focusing right. It is my fault for letting hubby install it before Verizon says it is time. I think he has more fun playing with my phone than I have! I leave you with a picture of a little buddy I found outside with the kids this evening.

Hubby wanted to keep him but I resisted. I was sure he would go the same way as the sea monkeys....

Things a Mother and Daughter Should Share

I believe that my top choice on this list is now Manic Panic in Rose Red. I picked up a jar when I recently had a serious dye job and keratin straightening.

I just touched up my roots and pulled the color through my hair to liven it up a bit. This is my opinion on the Keratin straightening. From my understanding the straightening was really just them filling in the texture in the strands of my hair with protein. It has been a couple of months since I had it done and I have to say I am generally pleased with my decision to shell out that much mulah at my local Ulta salon (I had a coupon but it was still expensive). It is not the all-natural miracle they claim it to be. It is stinky and made my face itch some but it completely changed the texture of my hair. In the stance of full disclosure I did not have super curly hair to begin with. I did have frizzy semi-curly hair that usually is very reactive to humidity. The biggest compliment I can say is that I have been able to wear straight bangs through July in the south. My hair dries quickly and is easier to style. I wear it down more than usual so hubby is pleased. It is wearing off some but I think I like it better now anyways. When it was first done my hair was too straight and I had to figure out how to add curls and body (a new challenge for me).

See... waaaayyy too straight!

 

 

 Now it is easy to deal with and my bangs are better trained. I can just blow dry and go in like 10 minutes! woo hoo!

Me trying on glasses to help my buddy Stinky choose  :)

Should you do it? Not if you have super curly hair and are expecting a drastic change that lasts. If you just want to make it easier to style and eliminate frizz then yup. I think it might just be a summertime thing for me!

Crafter's Block

I have been in something of a crafting slump. Yesterday I tried to make a few hair bows for Lillian. This is something that should be easy and relaxing for me. Nope, they all sucked. Bleh. I think I am going to blame this on my house being too clean to foster creativity. You see, we had people over this weekend for sushi night so I made sure the house was pretty darn clean, which is pretty unusual for me to be honest. Now all of my wonderful crafting juju is all too sterile. I cannot decide on what project to start and everything I have touched has turned to crap the last few days. I am boycotting my hot glue gun.

Any tips?

Work, Work, and Work!

We had picture day at work yesterday :) I have only gotten to one picture with photoshop so far but here it is:

From left to right: Mr. Sheetz, Dr. Ciampa, Nicole, Tracey, Caitlyn, Me, Ashley, and Claudia!

I have some waaaaayyyy cooler ones coming along shortly! You never would have guessed but editing photos from an eye clinic means that you have to remove a ton of glare from glasses. Anyone have a trick for this?

While putzing around on Kruler this morning this was my favorite:

 I would love to make a dress for myself out of these colors! I have really been crushing on purples with grey recently. I think I might try to do my next piece with colors like these. The only catch is that it is hard for me to use grey when I paint. It usually ends up looking very muddy. Sounds like a fun challenge! It will probably have to wait until the weekend. Friday is Sushi night here so there are preparations to be made. Today is picture day at work. I am thinking that this means that tomorrow I might be able to swing working from home to get the pictures up on the website *crosses fingers* I would love to be able to spend a whole day in my PJ's right now. That is something I miss about being a stay at home mom. I hope everyone has a good day.

P.S. Send good thoughts to my buddy Ericka today :)

4th Friday Downtown

On the 4th Friday every month the Fayetteville Downtown Arts Council puts on this little event where the business downtown open their door for later hours and various artist and artisans sell their goods or just get their face out there. This is one of my favorite things here in Fayetteville. In the past it has just been a great free event to pack up the humungo double stroller and let the kids do something different. This month the Feral Arts Collective I am a part of put on a display. We had a blast and I even finished a piece I am extremely happy with :) Here are the pics from the event. I was soo busy working that I was unable to take pictures so these were all hijacked from Christina Cole, a photographer extraordinaire and a fellow Feral Artist.

Our Booth. Thanks Alyssa for our super cool sign!

Progression through the evening. I usually like to work with encaustic (fancy word for colored wax) but I was afraid it would melt in the heat. It was refreshing to have to change the way I usually work

Then there was this guy......

Finally, here is the finished piece:

Well I am going to be late to work. Until next time!

So Busy!

I have been crazy obsessed with the battle of the fleas around here. We have two indoor cats (Turbo and Swiffer) and the got out and brought back a few fleas with them. Silly me wanted to avoid chemicals and tried a more natural flea treatment. HOLY COW THAT WAS STUPID!!! That gave the fleas just enough time to start a family so for the last week or so we have been breaking out the big guns. It really had not gotten that bad but it was coming and I wanted to nip it in the bud. So there were lots of chemicals and steam cleaning the carpets.... yadda, yadda, yadda... Oh well. I have a demonstration (no clue what to do!) and showing tonight at the local 4th Friday festival here in Fayetteville. It would be awesome to sell a few pieces. So I need to plan what to do, in the meantime, here are some pictures from the last few weeks:

Watching the World cup and drinking an assortment of beer. What a crazy dirty game!

They look like they are playing so nicely....

Silly kitty in the fireworks box. An albino (maybe?) moth thingy I found outside of work.

Lillian's first real bike and the beach!

Well that's is what I have been up to for the most part. I have still been reading everyone's blogs and I am so envious you have been finding time to do some fun and crazy stuff. Until next time!