so, my work’s been featured in another treasury, and i’m pretty stoked about it.  check it out here:

write-on treasury

yay!

i’m ridiculously proud of my brother–he graduated with a degree in applied science and a concentration in business management.

you musta been wearin’ your smarty pants, mr. magna cum laude!

that is all

so, if you’re like me, you spent entirely too much time in the sun last weekend.  don’t get me wrong, it was awesome.  but now i’m left with a little bit of the old sunburn peel.  i’m not a huge fan of my skin flaking off all over everything, so it’s lucky that i’m pretty much always too cold.  i can cover the nasty up with a sweater and no one is any the wiser.

however, i’ve managed to snag a ton of super-cute, super-cheap summery clothes lately, thanks to massive thrift store sales, and i’m really desperate to be skin-prepped for our trip to the keys.  i’d much rather take a few weeks to work my way up to full-time sun exposure than go down there and be a miserable lobster after one day.

thankfully, the lake here offers plenty of fun!  unfortunately for me, the highland games were blisteringly bright…so the nice pinkness i’d acquired on friday was coaxed straight into poached tomato by saturday evening.  thus, the peeling has begun.

i haven’t had a bad sunburn in a few summers now, so i decided to take charge and see what i could learn thanks to the internet.  and today, after grossing myself out when i took of my sweater–my arms look like what’s left after your use a grater to shred carrots–i went a-googling.

here’s the single-most ingenious thing i have ever heard for peeling skin:

use a lint roller. 

now, obviously it’s not healthy to peel off huge, thick layers of skin–your body likes it right where it is and will naturally get rid of the damaged parts.  however, if you’re trying to wear a sleeveless dress and you’ve got tons of those weird, shredded little flakes hanging out all over the place, you can roll a lint roller over them to pick them off gently.  the adhesive isn’t strong enough to do deep damage–it just sorta cleans things up.

i didn’t have a lint roller.  what i did have was packing tape.  i use enough of the stuff, i’d better have a rogue roll or two around!

i cut a piece, rolled it up, and gave it a shot.  sure enough, it did the trick!  all the little dangling nasties are gone.  and it didn’t pull so much that it hurt my skin–i’ve got no irritation or anything.  i did follow up with some aloe after sun, just to be safe, but i wouldn’t be uncomfortable walking out without sleeves–which is an improvement over this morning, when i donned them just to keep from creeping out the world!

so, there you go.  oh, the thinks you can think!

p.s. word is that xanga’s having all sorts of issues with pictures showing up and whatnot, so if you don’t see the images above…i’m sorry.

so, i know i’ve been pretty much the worst at updating lately.  and i’m sorry.  but i’m busy.  between working on work, working on school, working on more work, planning vacations, looking at houses, daily sun-induced migraines, selling old jewelry, and pretty much running around pulling my hair out to get things done, i’m just plain tired and pretty much *meh* by the end of the day.

don’t get me wrong.  it’s all fun.  well…except for the migraines.  those suck.  i love the sun, but rain is much friendlier for those with chronic daily headaches.  blegh.

i got plenty of sun last weekend, saw two guys (in a row!) succeed at tossing the caber, ate at my favorite indian place, got some ridiculously adorable stuff to wear on vacation (thank you, goodwill sales and 50 cent racks!!) and have even managed to make the most amazingly awesome new necklace.  pictures will come if i ever find time.  sorry to be a slacker.

anyway, i just wanted to duck in and say, “hi, everyone!”  sorry i haven’t been around to keep up with everything.  i’m trying, i promise.  i’ll be better one day

so, my best friend, j, and i decided that today was the perfect day for this year’s inaugural trip to the lake.  the weather was perfect, the weekend is wide open, and i need to get some sun before the trip to the keys!

i’d managed to purchase myself a float.  oh yeah.  i’m not even going to pretend that owning my own float for the first time in my adult life isn’t pretty much the best feeling in the universe.  i squealed and giggled and thrilled to put it out in the water and stretch out into a shining beacon of paleness upon it.  funny how these days i’m exactly the opposite of what i was as a child.  instead of having dark brown skin and white blond hair, i’m now the bearer of dark brown hair and translucently white skin.  honestly.  you can see the veins.  it’s freaky.  (also weird?  how i can go to florida for a weekend and turn brown instantly, but spend three hours on the lake up here and become a suitable substitute for a lobster dinner )

apparently, this is called the lego lobster strike. 
before today, i didn’t know that such a thing existed. 
now?  my life won’t be complete until i own it.

all of this put me in the position of having to buy sunblock.  now, if you’ve kept up with the news much lately, then you’ll know that there are all sorts of studies out showing that sunblock may not be exactly as helpful as we’ve assumed for years now.  the studies coming out now are actually continuations of a vast series that was published in 2008.  and all i can think every time i read one or hear a report about it on the news is, “somewhere in the world, lewis black is sitting back and laughing.”  because he told us on the white album that this would happen.  oh well.  you win some, you lose some.  i’ve just always sorta lived with the idea that i’ll get skin cancer eventually.  i mean, they say all it takes is one bad sunburn.  i was a kid in a beach town in florida.  i lived in the water for the first seven years of my life, and every summer after that.  it’s just something i’ve come to expect.

“you don’t know.”

nevertheless, i smeared handfuls of sunscreen all over (they were smaller handfuls than in years past.  i figure i can split the difference and maybe only get a little skin cancer.  or a lot.  depends on which way my gamble goes.)  and proceeded to be afloat.

lex surprised us mid-afternoon, which was awesome.  i’d been expecting him to show up at some point, but had gotten a text from him asking if we’d still be out later in the day.  there i was, lounging quietly on my float, when a mad man dashed, laughing wildly, past j (who was sitting on the shore practicing his incredible rock-skipping abilities) and into the lake.  it pleased me!

j and me. 
summer goal #1:  acquire float.  check!
summer goal #2:  purchase sunglasses that don’t look so freaky in sunny, outdoor pictures.

we proceeded to spend the whole afternoon swimming, floating, diving, rock-skipping, and wondering whether or not my float could tote us all to the island across the lake from our spot.  which led to us attempting (and succeeding!) to fit three full-grown adults onto a 74″ float.  which made all the fishermen laugh.  seriously, that float was worth every cent of the eight bucks i paid for it.  i’ve never had so much fun!  and laughs?  oh man.  i laughed until my head hurt!

lex and j.  the universe’s best boyfriend and best best friend.  what more could a girl ever ask for?

so, now, i’ve just gotten all the lake scum out of my hair by taking a cool shower–it had to be cool, because…well…i’m definitely not as white as when i arrived at the lake.  you know that whole “steam on a sunburn” thing?  yeah…it’s generally wise to avoid that.  and my stomach is rumbling.  nothing like swimming to make you absolutely ravenous!  i’m pretty much just biding my time until dinner–we’re going out for vegan sushi and pad thai.  mmmmmmmmm.  can.  not.  wait!

lex and me.  and my freaky sunglasses.  seriously.  i need to shop before the keys!

i think it’s gonna be a good weekend

so, it’s been really tough for me to think of things that sound good to eat lately.  spring always confuses me when it comes to food.  it’s that transitional period from the heavier, warmer foods of summer to the lighter, cooler foods of summer.  it seems to get me every year! 

yesterday, i grabbed my copy of 30-minute vegan and took a look for a few simple, summery recipes.  one of the ideas i came up with was for a mediterranean wrap that was super quick and easy.  wraps, hummus, tomato, cucumber, olives, etc.  it called for some herbs and whatnot, but i decided to take the basics and just make the rest up as i went.

i managed to snag some sun-dried tomato wraps, which ended up being an awesome touch!  i got lazy with the kalamatas and grabbed a can of pre-sliced.  i completely adore cucumbers and hummus, so the freshness of the flavors was exactly what i needed. 

30-minute vegan to the rescue once again!

so, if you’re a biggest loser fan who hasn’t yet managed to catch last night’s season finale, you’re going to want to avert your eyes.  in fact, just to be nice, i’m going to put pictures of random things up first.  and then the picture of the winner and a brief post regarding the episode.

that’s right, folks.  michael won it.  the biggest guy to be on the show so far.  with the biggest weight loss.  and good for him–he looks freakin’ ridiculous!  i mean, seriously.  did you see him when the show started?  unbelievable!

i thought the show was good overall.  it wasn’t completely packed with nonsense.  the cutaway montages of each contestant were tastefully short and the pre-commercial build-up wasn’t anything obscenely out of the ordinary.  i have to put myself in that age-old category of “if you don’t vote, don’t bitch” when it comes to daris getting america’s vote.  blah.  boring.  but michael’s lucky things went that way.  if koli would’ve ended up in the top three, he’d have won it–he actually lost about 3% more of his body weight than michael did.  besides, i thought daris was kinda whiny.  especially when he tried to make excuses about gaining two pounds before the final weigh-in on campus.  really, buddy?  when you’re training for a marathon, it’s tough to lose weight?  pfffffft.  oh well.

people who surprised me: 

• ashley.  she looked even better than the last time.  there at the end, she’d looked basically the same every episode.
• darrell.  he lost a lot more than i expected!

people who didn’t surprise me:

• miggy and migdalia.  i wasn’t surprised that miggy had lost as much as she did.  i wasn’t surprised that migdalia hadn’t lost a lot.
• drea.  she looked better than the last episode she was on, but not as different as you might hope.  especially considering how much her dad (darrell) lost.
• SunShine and o’neal.  (had to use the capitals for sunshine’s name, because i adore that!) i loved them as a team, and thought sunshine looked gorgeous and amazing!

so that’s pretty bare-bones.  and don’t be offended, please, anyone out there if i’ve left someone out or been too harsh here or there.  it’s just a few quick thoughts based on what i can remember of my gut reactions and first impressions last night.  i cheered and enjoyed the whole thing like anyone else.

two things circling the interwebs today that crossed my mind as well: 

• lots of people were speculating that sam might propose to stephanie during the show.  i wondered that myself.  glad he didn’t–it would’ve been way to showy.  but i could see the producers of the show just holding their breath and hoping, lol!  suck it, more to love!
• is michael gay or making googly eyes at ashley?  he’d tipped my ‘dar a few times throughout the season, but i don’t know any gay men who would’ve been caught dead wearing that jacket or belt buckle.  and, much like sam and stephanie, i suspected there might be an interest between michael and ashley.  or they could just be new-found life-long friends.  the world may never know. 

did you watch the finale?  what did you think?

the question always comes up, “why post a tutorial for an item you sell?”  that’s easy!  it’s super-fun for me to share crafty ideas and get feedback.  plus, i love to hear about or see what other people do with the inspiration.  and it helps my friends and customers appreciate just how much love and time i put into my work!

my felt flower necklace is great for summer, and the best part is you can create a piece in any color and as fancy as you please!

this tutorial is rated intermediate.  if you’re fairly comfortable with a needle, thread, and scissors, you can manage.  depending on how you handle the necklace portion, this project will take anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours.  you’ll see what i mean.

1)  choose a color theme

absolutely any color or combination you like!  for this project, i chose orange.

2)  gather your supplies

• necklaces or necklace-making components (as many as you please; i used three.)
• felt and fabric that go with your theme
• ribbon that goes with your theme
• thread that goes with your theme
• a button that goes with your theme
• glue (if using two fabrics, as i did)
• needle
• thread

3)  assemble the necklaces

i chose two vintage beaded necklaces i had around, and assembled the third necklace (the faceted and hooked one) on my own.  if you don’t have any experience making beaded necklaces, you can look up a tutorial, or choose all pre-assembled necklaces.  this will make the difference in time.  if you have all pre-made necklaces, you can skip right ahead to the next bullet point and cut the extra time it takes to chain a strand.

use a length of ribbon to tie your necklaces together so that you have one necklace.  (i used 36″ of 1″ brown, but you can use any length and width, as long as you can tie it in a bow.)

4)  make your felt flower

you’ll need 5 petals for each flower you make.  you can draw your own pattern or trace a petal from a silk flower.

if you want a double-sided effect like i made, cut the petals from you felt first.  then, glue those petals to your second fabric.  when that’s dry, trim the petals out of the second fabric.

tie a knot at the end of your thread.  line your petals up so that they’re all facing the same directions.  then, using a “running stitch”, loosely weave your needle and thread in and out of your petals.

when you’ve woven your thread through all the petals, pull the thread to gather the petals until they’re scrunched together and resemble a half-moon.

then, holding your thread tight, fan the petals around to create your flower.

run your needle and thread through the folds on the under-side of the flower and tie a knot or knots wherever needed to hold the flower together.

ta-da!  you’ve got a flower

now, take your button and position it in the middle of the flower, to cover the raw folds on the front.  using your needle and thread, sew the button to the flower.  make small stitches to keep the button close to the flower center.

next, take another piece of ribbon.  (i used 16″ of 1/4″ brown, but as above, you can use whatever you like, as long as you can tie a bow.)  using your needle and thread, sew the ribbon to the back of the flower.

5)  add your flower to your necklace

using that ribbon that you’ve so expertly sewn to the back of your flower, tie the flower onto the necklace wherever you like.

6)  wear and enjoy!

my favorite thing about this necklace is how many variations you can wear of it:

• since they’re only tied together, you can wear each necklace individually (or in combinations with each other)
• wear the necklaces together with the ribbon in the front or back
• wear the flower in any placement you like on the necklaces
• pretty much any way you can think!

plus, now that you know how to make felt flowers, you can put them on everything–make barrettes for your kids’ hair, decorate your home, use several to make a daisy chain, anything your imagination can come up with.

if you decide to use this tutorial, i’d absolutely love to see what you do with it!  and if, in the process, you feel that there’s any information missing or you have questions about a specific step, please feel free to contact me.

now go get crafty

so, i’m feeling pretty crappy today.  i think i’m trying to catch the bug that my folks were passing around last week.  but there’s no way i’m going to allow myself to get sick.  because for the first time in, well, basically my whole life, i made it through a fall and winter without getting sick.  seriously.  not a single sniffle.  or the tiniest wheeze of my annual duel with bronchitis.

 i refuse to let a cold catch me now!

p.s. i’m working on that tutorial and should have it up in a bit.  gotta post it before the biggest loser finale starts, or it just won’t happen today.

so, i’ve been playing catch-up a lot lately, trying to get myself together.  and i think i might just about have it, haha.  one of the things that i haven’t managed to do is keep posts up-to-date regarding my daily amusements craft challenge.  thankfully, i had a chance to get caught up on all the photos and shop updates for those things this afternoon.  thus, i will share them now in one happy lump.  and i promise to attempt to be better about chronicling these things more closely.

p.s. to my readers who aren’t interested in arts and crafts, sorry.  skip this one.

alright, here the newest amusement are, in order, with links to their listings in my shop:

#6

hand-sewn star, heart, and moon room set

#7

handmade clay fish to finish

#8

upcycled clothespin tin

#9

beachy earrings

#10

okay, this one i don’t have a picture of yet.  because it’s another clay ninja.  but he hasn’t been baked, because he needed a finishing touch.  he should be done very soon, and i’ll post him then

#11

flame pendant

#12

without words aceo

#13

the letter a

#14

sometimes i play tricks picture

#15

set of matchbook notebooks

well, there you go.  all caught up.  i’ll post today’s amusement tomorrow, which i know is all sorts of wrong when it comes to this idea of being caught up.  but i’ve got other stuff to get to now, so i’m out of time.  don’t worry.  if you’re a crafty person, tomorrow’s post will be worth the wait.  (hint:  tutorial )

have a great night, everyone!  i’ll see you in the morning.