Spontaneous Stamping

I mentioned before that the only stamp I had made was for our Christmas card. I was pleased with the outcome, however I honestly did not enjoy the process. I'm realizing now that I didn't enjoy the process because there was so much pressure, considering it was my first stamp, our first Christmas card, people were going to see it, there was a time crunch, and Joe is fanatical about Christmas.

Something I'm learning about myself is that if I don't succeed or enjoy myself wildly the first time I try something, I tend to not want to try it again. Kind of lame, I know. It's been hard to realize this about myself. It's probably why I never really stuck with any sports as a kid.

Anyhow, I was inspired by this crafty lady's stamps to pick up all my tools and give it another shot. This time there was no pressure, and this time I loved it so much more. I truly did enjoy the process and I'm fairly happy with the results.
This was found on her eraser stamp tutorial.

I printed out a picture of her succulent stamps because I thought they were SO cute, I traced it with tracing paper and then rubbed the trace onto my rubber stamp with a ruler so I could carve it.

Here were the results! Mine are a little more sickly and frail looking, while hers are bright and bubbly, but you got to start somewhere. I like to think it's because of the color of the ink, and not so much the quality of the carving.

And finally, I traced seagulls from my "Printing By Hand" book. I had a lot of fun with this. My next goal is to improve the quality of my carving and to come up with some stamp ideas of my own, which will be TOUGH considering I am really bad at drawing.

Senses Overload!!!

I'm sure many of you bloggers can relate to my current state of mind. It all started with my "daily blog run" through some of my favorites. I got a little bored of the usual stuff and started digging deep to see what else the blog world has to offer. Now I feel a complete and utter senses overload! I saw so much I loved that I feel like my head may explode. There are so many creative people out there and it's so neat that I can peek into their lives.

Here's a highlight of some favorites.

It all started at craftzine and from there I just went all over the place. What first caught my eye was this cute little felt project. I'm remembering that project if I ever have a little girl. There are tons of cute projects with felt, but of course the butterflies caught my eye.

I was completely captivated by this website for a little too long. If you are a people watcher, like me, and if you like fashion then I think this will entertain you. I was a little surprised that I enjoyed it so much, but I guess I shouldn't have been, considering I like to watch people (in a non-creepy sort of way) and I like clothes (probably more than I should).

I was also re-inspired by this lady to pick up my stamp making tools. I need to flip through my "Printing By Hand" book that Joe bought for me. I've endeavored to make one stamp for our Christmas cards, and even though it looked elementary I truly did like the outcome. Anyway, this blogger has all kinds of handmade stamps, but what I ended up loving the most was the love birds. She's got some items for sale.So for any of you who are way into birds, you should check out her Etsy.

I was excited to find a step by step tutorial on how to make a tote bag, but I was bummed when I realized that this was WAY beyond my skill level. I should probably learn to sew in a straight line first, and maybe get familiar with all the ins and outs of my machine. Most sewing projects are way over my head, but ONE DAY I will conquer!

Half of the items I saw and loved are lost and gone forever already. I can't remember where I saw them. I saw a lot of inspirational work spaces, that made me wish I had a little space of my own to spread out, make a mess, create, and pin up inspirational pictures so that they aren't always lost and gone forever. I can't ever remember where I saw what (ESPECIALLY when I've seen a lot in a short span of time, hence the senses overload).

Of course you cannot feel completely overloaded until you have found several items you wish you could either buy or make. (If I did it right, you should be able to click on the picture for their Etsy site)













Well now I don't feel quite so overwhelmed. Blogging about it makes me feel a little more calm and collected. Thanks for listening!

What we've been up to...

I realize it has been much to long, but I promise I haven't forgotten my blog! My attention starved blog is always looming in the back of my head as one of the many things I'd really like to do once I find some free time. I also realized that if I blog about daily life, rather than the house and house projects, I'd be much more likely to to have something to say. House projects are few and far between (Maybe not for Joe, but for me). So here's a little catch up.
We had our first Christmas together as a married couple:
I got Joe a riffle, for fun and for home protection. And look what he got me!!



















A brand new hobby! Now all I have to do is learn how to sew. Lucky for me, I have a knowledgeable mother, mother-in-law, and my good friend who knows all sorts of great tricks, and have way more experience. I'm really looking forward to learning and putting my sewing machine to good use. The sewing machine itself is just amazing! Joe found it in great condition on Craig's List for $15 and after a bit of tweaking, it runs perfectly! I love how older generations keep their belongings in such good condition. They don't "upgrade" like people today, but keep their belongings until it is run into the dirt, and are forced to replace it. This machine has the original 1961 manual and all its extra pieces and it is all so well kept. I admire the previous owner and hope to fallow in her footsteps.

After Christmas Joe and I celebrated our 1 Year Anniversary. We had our own Atlanta weekend retreat. We stayed in The Four Seasons and got a great anniversary deal, since we had our wedding there. This is what welcomed us to our room Friday night:
This is one of MANY reasons I love the 4 Seasons. YUMMY! We spent our weekend eating good food (My favorite was Thai food at Nan), watched some good movies, and visited some great Atlanta tourists sites that we had been wanting to see. We took a tour of the Fox Theater, saw the terracotta soldiers at The High, had a relaxing couples message at Spa Sidell and went swimming several times at the hotel pool. We went all out for the 1st year, I'm sure it'll be different in the future. (At least until we reach one of those more impressive years, like 10)

We finished our holiday season with tickets to Cirque du Soleil. As soon as we saw the tent go up we were trying to figure out a way into it. It was wonderful! It is a rare occasion, I'm sad to say, when I feel the awe and wonderment of a child, and Cirque most certainly does that for me. I think it's a beautiful thing.

Now we are back to the grindstone. Work, school, house cleaning, and other daily tasks. Our holiday season was a GREAT break from life's responsibilities and the daily grind. We were quick, of course, to give ourselves something else to look forward to. So now we have a spring break trip planned to visit my sister in PA and to see my new nephew, who was born over Christmas!!! Then we'll spend a couple days with my cousin and visit NYC!!! It'll be Joe's first time to the Big Apple and I'm so excited to see him experience it all. He LOVES cities and he LOVES sky scrapers, so I just can't imagine a better place for him to visit. Have any good NYC recommendations???

There is more to come soon! Joe and I had a few little projects during my long absence from the blog world. I'm looking forward to showing off our handy work.

Homemade Christmas

This is our first Christmas, and considering we are on a tight budget, I've been scavenging the internet for great homemade ideas. I found more than I have time for and some beyond my level of craftiness. I wanted to share two of my favorites. Of course they are both from the website I shared with you just a few blogs earlier, but there are far more out there.

For those of you who can't justify the prices of ornaments, I highly recommend this one. It's super easy and I'm sure you have all the supplies somewhere in your home. Click here for full instructions.

I also needed to jazz up my wrapping tonight and remembered another easy DIY post I saw. I'm sure you shop at Target...

Click here for instructions, and better pictures.

The last was a more time consuming task, but an enjoyable one. My husband helped quite a bit. We were going for an "Anthropologie" look.

Merry Christmas!

Fans

I was actually requested to post these pictures! I feel honored to actually have blog requests, especially since I'm so bad at keeping up with my blog. (Hence, two posts in one day to make up for lost time) Well do you remember this?









All these dirty pieces of stuff turned into this beautiful piece:



It almost works a little too well. If you stuck your finger in there, you wouldn't be getting it back. My husband is so handy, he put a lot of work into this, yet it really look him no time at all to figure it out and fix it! Now we have a beautifully unique fan for our home.

Happy (belated) Halloween from 1114

So, I couldn't help but rhyme in my title, it was just too good! I also realize that I haven't blogged in FOREVER, so I apologize for neglecting all of this. I'm a lazy blogger.
Halloween has already come and gone, but I really have been looking forward to sharing with you all of the festivities. I've always known that Joe was big into Christmas and Thanksgiving, but I was a little shocked when he came home from work about a month before Halloween with a detailed drawing of Halloween decor, all over the house!! As Halloween approached I became more and more hesitant as Joe grew more and more ecstatic. I grew up in a house that never went crazy over Halloween, we didn't buy costumes and we didn't buy decor. We had a pumpkin and a homemade outfit, and that was as good as it got. And I'm OK with that. So, I was a little bothered when Joe turned our yard and living room UPSIDE DOWN for Halloween.

Joe put together a rickety old fence, we pulled a bunch of dead plants that we had cleaned out from our gardens over the months and put them in the "scary old" pumpkin patch, leaned some dead tree branches up against the house to look like dead trees, and of course what is Halloween without some fake spider web? Obviously, you can't really get the full eerie effect since I took the pictures during the daylight, but oh well.

Joe pulled all of our furniture out of our living room, did some electrical work for the "old" chandelier, hung a deer head , pulled out my china and covered it with cob webs, and hung a sheet with pin tacks.

He took an old door from our basement and leaned it in the doorway of our office. Hung that sword, put old looking books in the book case, as well as the outside of his grandfathers radio, and of course MORE cob webs. Behind the door was a fog machine which was smelly.


Joe dressed as an old butler and his brother visited us for the weekend, and dressed as an old man too. We had a really great time, and had to run out for candy twice because we had so many trick-or-treaters, which makes all of it SO worth it to me. Joe would stand in the guest bedroom with a candle looking all scary, and it really was a big hit. Everybody got a real kick out of it.

Yard Sales

You will hear me say, time and time again, just how much I love my neighborhood. I feel like I moved into a community of people who care about us and are watching out for us. Plus, they put on great events!!! This past weekend was their annual Yard Sale Saturday. If Joe and I weren't tight on time we probably would have walked the neighborhood, but instead we jumped in the car and explored the sales. I didn't think we would actually buy anything because we don't normally have extra cash just laying around, but I was proven very wrong. I knew I was in trouble when Joe left the first yard sale with TWO items! We stopped by three or four others and drove past at least 5 because we didn't have much time left. WELL, the last stop Joe bought another item that he "Had to have" in his words.



That's right a SECOND lawn mower. This one also plugs in, so it's environmentally friendly. It also has adjustable height, which is why we really wanted it. The other lawn mower cuts our grass too short, and makes it difficult for it to thrive.
$25.00

What's a house without a latter? $5.00

The final object that Joe "had to have" was an old fan. Joe has been restoring several old objects, including his grandpa's old radio. (he's making amazing progress on that!) So, this morning I went down to the basement to take a quick shot of the old fan and this is what I found. I was too late.



Fan $6.00
I promise it's real cute when it's in one piece.







So, I think Joe felt bad for making all of these purchases, because when we were done with the yard sales I went off to grocery shop and when I returned I found this on my kitchen counter. A love offering.

$3.00
I pointed it out at a yard sale because I thought it was adorable. I was TRYING to save us money, but Joe refused and went back and bought it for me as a surprise. I think this little casserole dish is begging for some yummy brownies. I have the most thoughtful husband!

So, I would say Yard Sale Saturday was a great success. Maybe not for our wallets, but oh well. We got some great deals in my opinion. We also got to meet some new neighbors and catch up with some old ones, so all in all we had a great time!