Adding a little color

Since I last wrote, the Dallas Mavericks became NBA Champions, my parents got back from Mali, I attempted to make sloppy joes for the first time (barbeque sauce was a mistake), made stuffed jalapenos for the first time, made plans to be in NY in October(?!), got a droid phone, played flag football for the first time...okay, what's going on? Flag football?! Anyway.  Alot has happened.  Life is going way too fast.  I can't believe it's already the END of June!

[Can't think of a good segway...]

Back when I was sick, my sweet mom came over and brought me soup, magazines, and gatorade. [I realize I'm 25 years of age and still need my mom when I'm sick; I'm okay with this.] In one of the magazines there was a 40% off coupon for any Martha Stewart product!
My mind started dreaming of glitter, decorative punches, pretty papers, and then back to glitter. I can't tell you the last time I used glitter for anything. I can't tell you what I'll use it for next. I can tell you that I needed it. And with a coupon, that makes indulging "needs" perfectly okay, right? So I did.

Believe you me, if and when I use this, you will know :)

Our social worker on my floor is retiring so I made these flower poms for her going away party.  Hey, I've got to have something to show for a JoAnne's run right? ;)

And here is sweet Conley.  I think he was a little fussy here, but you can get the jist of cuteness.  He is growing and changing so quickly!

Okay, since I don't know how I can make this post any more random, I will end it now.

Happy middle of the week!  Be blessed.

Confessions of a Hasty Crafter

After a day of alternating between being passed out in bed and getting up close and personal with the porcelain throne, I was SO happy to wake up today feeling...calm.
First things first, I cleaned my toilet.
Then I finished a project that I started earlier this week.

Fact #1:  I take my camera almost everywhere with me.
Fact #2:  It takes a loving beating!

These two things led me on a search for a camera case.  I really liked this one the best....

But for $120?!  No gracias.

So then I thought, I have Elna! I'm gonna make me a camera case. I was good at first--I even made a rough pattern by tracing onto newspaper. Guys, this camera case was going to be the bomb and fit my camera like a glove.
Then I had several failed attempts. [Ensuing frustration.] Then I changed my game plan. Then [out of haste] I just made a little bag to fit around my camera.

It's okay. Because I was making it up as I went along the flap is too short, the edges are rough on the inside, and...I broke my own rule and hot glued the buttons on! I guess there are worse things. It is functional. It will keep my camera cozy :)

I may attempt the other case later, but for now this will do  :)

Something for the babe

It is baby season around here. My friend Sarah is due in a mere 4 weeks! She requested some dressed up onesies for her little boy, and that's what she got :)

All the girls at the church nursery better watch out!


Also, this past weekend was my sister-in-law Jennifer's shower! This meant that I could *finally* give them the quilt that I made for my nephew last October!!!


It was hard keeping this one a secret--I'm happy with how it turned out. And the edges of these pups will fray and fuzz, adding some texture.

I am so excited to meet these two little boys. Have I mentioned lately that I'm going to be an aunt?! Well I am. And I kinda really can't wait. I also can't wait to see these people I love become parents! And they will be so good. :)

For the ticket/shots/and Visa!

To raise financial support for going to Mali, I am making a bunch of stuff! If you have special requests, please let me know. These are just a few examples of things I've done in the past...

Embellished Shirts!





Button Rings!




Banners!







As you can see, I've been a banner-bot recently. Of course, all fabrics, colors, and buttons can be per request and all items will be hot off the press, made to order :) I am asking for any donation amount for these items, but please keep in mind the cost of materials--roughly $10-12. Due to the fact that I leave on January 12th, you might receive your order after my return on the 23rd.

Thank you for your support--whether it's an email, prayer, gift, or phone call...I feel moved and am so humbled by it!

Merry Christmas

Nothing like a warm, cozy house when it's cold outside--at least for today; tomorrow it might be 80 degrees again :) Like every other person, things have been so busy! I've made banner upon banner, snowflake after snowflake, and sweet after sweet. (Hey, I'm not complaining.) Here's a few pictures from around the house.

I tried my hand at homemade almond joy for the hospital Christmas party. Not bad! I borrowed Joy's recipe. This is before the chocolate coating:

Made a snowflake mobile with the Keller girls!

Also made a yarn tree with button ornaments. [Why am I such a sucker for a cute button?]

My small Santa mug collection. I like them :)

Amy had a ton of great ornaments, and we had a tiny fiberoptic tree. Bad combo. These branches from the front yard were a nice solution:

This is one (of the many) Christmas banners I made! I like to think of them as instant cheer :)


I hope you had a lovely Christmas day. I had to work (welcome to adulthood), but this Christmas season has been nice. Much quieter. Christmas songs, especially, have taken on new meanings; it's funny how they mean so much more when you listen to the words that you sing.

Thankful and humbled that our loving God sent his Son to save us.
What a God.

Slow Days

While working over the past year and 10 months, I haven't taken any time off...that is until the past two weeks. Over the past two weeks I have worked 3 days. Can I just say that it's awesome?! It is.

Yesterday and today it was rainy, cold, dreary, etc, and I had absolutely nothing to do. It has been a long time since that's happened. What did I do?
Well...

+ I sat around for alot of the day and didn't do anything
+ I rearranged my room, and I like it TONS better; it feels like there's so much space!
+ I made cookies
+ Had a friend over for tea and conversation
+ For Bible study we helped a girl in our group move in the freezing rain
+ Went to Michael's and Joanne's...those places always get me into trouble...
+ Drooled over the ideas in Gifted
+ Made an accordian/circle/fan thingy that I'm going to hang over my bed along with some others.


In between all those things there was alot of laying around, listening to music, and doing nothing :) I have to work tomorrow, but I'm having a good feeling about it. I don't think I realized how much I needed a good, solid break. It came (and went) and now we're back to normal :)

Happy half-of-the-week-is-over day!

Cush case!

It all started here:

(bendy fingers?!)
I bought supplies for this ukulele case several weeks ago when I was feeling ambitious, but the more I thought about the execution the more I wondered if I bit off more than I could chew. 1.) I'm not very good and sewing curves/keeping things even. 2.) I get frustrated with sewing machines sometimes--like when they have a mind of their own! ;)
But after two days of sewing/thinking/revising/coffee/trial & error/"dang-its!" and a litle encouragement from Mom, I got a result I was happy with! And I think little baritone ukulele is excited about his home. It's by no means perfect, but it is functional :)

The cherry on top when it comes to making things is getting to choose buttons to finish it off...and these yellow ones make me happy.

Now there's only one thing--since I've got a case...where should we go? Oh, the possibilities :)

Boutten-what?

Bouttenier...what a weird word for such a pretty thing. I am finished making them for Sam and Nick's wedding! Sam is spunky and playful and easy-going, so she was my inspiration :)


Today we are going to Oklahoma for my cousin's wedding! I really love driving. More than that, I love packing for car activities.
In my bag right now:
1. iPod (of course!)
2. embroidery thread & my Sublime Stitching book
3. Nancy Drew: Nancy's Mysterious Letter
4. Holga and film
5. Hair ties
6. "Let Me Be a Woman," by Elisabeth Elliot (more on this later...)
7. Flowers/buttons/floral tape to make corsages
8. Sudoku puzzles
9. Nursing book (just in case I get caught in a wave of ambition)

Eight hour drive in the backseat with Mulder, here I come :)
Happy week to everyone!

A visit from Holga

Got my first ever Holga pics back from Kendrick tonight (we shipped our film together)!! To say this roll was an experiment would be a gross understatement. But all, in all, I'm happy! You will notice some common themes...the first--blurriness! I learned what the "B/N" switch on the bottom of my camera did....when I was at the end of the roll :) Being on the "B" made all my pictures blurry. That's okay though, I'll just pretend like these are captures from a dream :D

These are the first blooms this spring from the rosebush that Gran sent mom last summer:


This is me with K&J in downtown Ft. Worth:


Hey, it's a feet find!

(I also learned that I had the wrong plate with a wrong setting, therefore OFFsetting the film...giving us these lovely lines and partial pictures. I mean, I meant to do that!) :D

Pictures that I took with the lens cap on:
-Parents in front of the Christmas tree
-a typical Mulder dog shot
-colorful lights at yogolait
-Me, Sarah, and Amanda at Orange Cup for Sarah's Bday.
*Note to self: ALWAYS double check for the lens cap!!* :D

This is addicting. I can't wait to send in my next rolls!!

This is the Summer

2 former roommates
1 second cousin
1 childhood friend
1 friend from nursing school
2 friends from Mississippi

All getting married this summer. What is up? This may or may not be good for me :) So...the first wedding of the summer was my old roommate from UMHB, Alicia. She met her husband one time when they were both walking their dogs. Isn't that the sweetest story?! Recently they entered a contest for a free wedding...and they won! The ceremony was really neat:

Great wedding and fun reception--you can't go wrong with old love songs, yummy food, board games, honey sticks, and a photobooth with props! Good choices, Alicia.

The project I've been working on was for them. Red, black, green, and yellow were their wedding colors. [Oh, and a solution to the freezer paper stencils...iron on transfers!! Why didn't I think of that before?! Oh, well, the stencils turned out very nice :)]

Happy Marriage, Alicia and Marshall. I am excited for your future years :)

Just when I think I got it

Today is my friend Sarah's birthday! Happy 24th!!

To celebrate, we went to Jennifer Knapp's concert last night at the House of Blues. Jennifer Knapp's music has largely influenced my Christian walk, so it was really, really cool to see her live [and really cool to see her with friends who share the love :)]


She sounds just as good live as she does recorded. She makes me wish I knew more than the G&C chords on the guitar...

Carpe diem.

[p.s. can anyone tell me why only half of the video appeared on the page? sometimes my pictures do that too....hm...]

Rain and Rings [and no new things]

Last weekend I went to Austin to visit one of my old roomates from UMHB, Alicia:

(She had just eaten a bunch of Cherry Sours :D )
Anyway, she gave me a cute little bag of cute buttons. So today, being the rainy day that it was, I made these!


Does this warrant a post for the world wide web? Not really, but I am having a blogger's block and don't know what else to write about.

Let us close with a hospital encounter, shall we? [Because it's an easy thing to do!]
The other day I overheard a patient on the phone saying, "You know there's two things I love in this world: Animals and the Church!" It was memorable and really cute :)

Quiet Thoughts

Coffee and catching up with a friend. Sweet potatos. Coldness with some sunshine. New Relient K cd. Quietness. This day has been good so far. That list that I made (24 before 25), has been making me think more about what my life is about, or what I want it to be about. All I know is, I don't want to wake up when I'm 60 and wonder where all those years went. I want to spend them well working and playing; reflecting Christ's love, generosity, forgiveness, grace, and humbleness. I have failed too many times to count, but today is a new day.


I almost forgot to post one of my projects! This a wreath I made for Kendrick and Jennifer: