News and crafty post

I have some really exciting news to share.  Today was my first day as Creative Director at Custom Crops.  And it totally rocks.  I am in charge of designing and giving demos of projects that our team makes with products that we sell on our website.  It was a busy day, but I am really liking it.

Haven't done a creative post in a while so, here is a picture of a few things I've done recently.

Hand sanitizer embellished with scrapbooking pretties:

A mini gift purse made from a Cricut Tags, Bags and More Cartridge:

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day!

I admit, I was bad...

Ok - so the picture taking that was supposed to happen this weekend turned into a retail therapy outing instead. But, the forecast for this upcoming weekend is supposed to be fabulous - in the 80's. That's one thing about Illinois - raining and snowing on Monday, summer-like weather on Saturday.
Had a busy day yesterday - did some spring cleaning (INCLUDING CEILING FANS - they needed it!), ran 4 miles at the gym, visited my husband's grandma in the hospital, and attended Greek Easter. Whew!
Good news, "Castle" is on tonight - so I will get my weekly dose of Nathan Fillion.
Hope you're having a great start to your week!

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

"The key to success is letting the relationship in your life grow to the highest levels they possibly can...not putting yourself first in life and remembering that the more you give away, the more you have" - Christopher Reeve

This is the way I'd like to remember Superman. His professional life and personal life were very much in parallel - he was a great humanitarian.

Let's talk Idol -

I do not like the new judging format...what's the use of having the opinions of four people if only two get to voice what they think? That's just plain silly.

I was so excited about the theme, but it ended up being a disappointment. What's with all these sappy songs? This might be a shocker, but even Adam's song was just okay for me (do I sound like one of the judges or what?) I did like Kris' song.

Anyone watching the Housewives of NYC? I love Bethenny. She's a riot.

She's even on Twitter and it's really fun to follow her. The impression she did of Kelly in last night's episode was spot-on. She also cracked me up when she was at the grocery store trying to push her products, "Would you like to try a cupcake? No? Oh, ok - good." You have to see it because, without the New York accent, it's not the same. And, I also love Jill - although I think she's really looking great this season. I wonder if she had some work done. I follow her on Twitter also.

I know it's only Wednesday, but we're supposed to have some great weather here in the Midwest on Friday and over the weekend. I hope to get out and use the Nikon.

Stay tuned!

Happy mid-week!

Operation Overload...

I maybe giving up my laptop shortly, so I started taking stock today of the "favorites" I have listed on my right-hand navigation bar...Bad idea. How is it possible, that I have 104 favorite blogs? And I continue to find more and more that are inspirational and oh-so crafty. I know it's crazy and I must stop before looking at my favorite blogs becomes an 8 hour gig.

Monday night - Another new episode of "Castle" with the dreamy Nathan Fillion:

But, as I looked at him, he reminded me of another heartbreaker from my teenage years:

And, as I looked at Jason Bateman, he reminded me of another dreamy newcomer:

It's like 6 degrees of separation - good-looking separation, that is. Can't wait to see what A.L. has in his bag of tricks this week.

Have a great Monday!

Words of Wisdom Wednesday and What else is going on

Words of Wisdom Wednesday-
"A true friend never gets in your way - unless you happen to be going down" -
Anonymous

What else is going on? We watched the most recent version of "Castle" last night - from our DVR. I'm really loving that show. And, the more I watch, the more I think Nathan Fillion is kinda dreamy...
Unfortunately, I was one of the victims of American Idol running way over on Tuesday night - so our DVR missed Adam's performance. I guess that's what I get for not wanting to watch commercials. I've learned my lesson and I will be extending all tapings about 15 minutes from now on. I'm trying not to blame Paula - but I think it is her incessant rambling that caused this. Lucky for me, his performance was on youtube. And, it surprises me what "haters" are saying about Adam. "He has no talent...blah, blah, blah" - He was on Broadway for Pete's sake - and, when you get to this stage of the game, all of the contestants are pretty rockin'. I think it takes incredible nerve to go up there and be in front of a tv audience of MILLIONS of people. Crazy!
I've got the spring cleaning itch - and I think all of our spare closets are due for an overhaul this weekend. That's what I've got planned. Family stuff for the Easter Holiday.

Gift reveal and winter wonderland

You want to know what was in that stork gift bundle? The all too famous "Boppy" and some personalized, chenille burp cloths -

"Made with Love For Baby Bartholowmew"

"Tiny Yawns & Sleepy Sighs, Nursery Rhymes and Lullabies

welcome little girl"

"Hey Diddle Diddle, Someone New, Someone Little"


I designed the labels in photoshop and then printed them out on fabric backed with paper so that it easily goes through your printer.

This is what we woke up to this morning in the Midwest...

Another Gift Bag Dilemma - Solved!

I'm going to a baby shower today. I purchased a large gift. Which poses the all too common problem of gift being too big for the traditional giftbag. And, I also had something handmade for the baby (OF COURSE, silly! You didn't think the only thing I was giving was store-bought, did you?) I had to figure out a way to disguise what I had purchased, because the shape gives it away, and had to allow me to package everything together. Hmmm.....

So, I used a plastic table cover we had in our pantry and dolled it up with a paper flower and ribbon. Problem solved! And, it looks similar to the white bundle the stork brings!

What's that you ask? You want to know what the gift inside is? Come back tomorrow and I'll show you. I'll give you a hint. It has something to do with this post.

See you then!

Come Flea (Market) Away Part II

Are you wondering what I found at the flea market this weekend?
One thing that comes along with the thawing of spring is MUD! And there was lots of it. It was a beautiful day - about 50 degrees and sunny. Perfect for bargain hunting. Thank goodness for four-wheel drive!

And, incase you have doubts about how popular flea markets are in the Midwest, here is just a sampling of yesterday's crowd:

This was pretty cool. Would look great in a farm style kitchen - an old scale.

This old wheelchair reminded me of the one from the old Heidi movies - and also, if you're a fan of "Wicked", the one that belongs to Nessa Rose:

One thing that did surprise me is that, apparently, knock-off purses are a big find at the market. They were EVERYWHERE! And, I hear (and saw) that booths featuring knock-off designer sunglasses are on the rise too - Kind of made me feel like I was shopping on the corners of New York City. I didn't see any Rolex watches, though.

Neat booth displaying iron work - check out this tree with birdhouses:

Collection of waterpumps:

Cabinets galore!

I wish I had a spot for this:

Pretty detailed rocker:

And these were really cool - but I just couldn't part with the $5 A LETTER(!!!!!!) they were asking. Too steep for me!

Interesting dinette hutch:

Can't wait for next month!

ps- I did buy a few things, but they may end up in my next crafts, so I'll share then!

Current Project - Travel Journal

This is my newest project. It is a travel journal made from all kinds of neat elements. Ever take pictures of a trip but can't remember what year you went there or where you stayed? This captures a brief summary of trips including a little envelope for souvenirs.

Come Flea (Market) Away!

Oh Megan - you were so, so pretty and quirky. America just didn't dig your style. The judges put you through the wringer for your song choice and, at the end of the day, I think you wanted to go home to see your little boy. Way to follow your dreams - you made it through the AI's Top Ten. I will be sad to see you go.

I can't wait for this weekend to come, but I have a lot to do. The Kane County Flea Market is this weekend and I am anxious to go junk hunting to see what kind of treasures I can find. The weather is supposed to be on the cool side - in the 50's, but sunny. Hopefully, the wind will not be too bad and it will be a fabulous sunny day. I plan to take lots of pictures. I've been poking around on the web looking at what people are creating and I'm totally inspired!

I also have a baby shower to go to. And, I'm just about done with one of the crafts I've been working on. The craft is for the shower - so I have to get on the horn and finish those babies up!

We are having some friends over on Saturday to watch some basketball. Zzzzzzz, Oh! Sorry! I dozed off there for a minute! I don't really care about the game. I'm thinking we'll fix some chicken quesadillas - yum!

Do you have any exciting plans for this weekend?

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

I saw this quote today, and boy, does it speak to me:

"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, "I used everything you gave me" -

Erma Bombeck

Speaking of talent, let's talk Idol:

photos from americanidol.com

A couple of observations:

1. How do you have a show about songs that are the "Most Downloads" and then have songs like Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are" (by Scott), that Bob Marley thing that Megan sang or 'Lil's song choice? The Billy Joel one I might be able to see, because his songs are pretty timeless. I don't know. That just seems strange to me.

2. Matt's song by The Fray was shaky. I am a big fan. He's got mad talent on the piano and his vocals are usually pretty good. The start was rough and he improve a little. He might be in trouble.

3. Danny picked "What Hurts Most." Ok - when you pick a song by a group that is known for harmony and the runs of the lead singer, it's really hard to do well as a solo and make it your own. He was still good, but I feel like he has trouble with the soft parts and shouts the rest.
4. Kara is taking some heat from the audience and talking back! Oh boy. I think there's only room for one villian on the judges panel and we know who that is. She makes a great point about song choice - but I wonder why they don't have more weeks of judges picking songs for them, because when they become the American Idol, they will have tons of help from their "people" and writers. Why not make it more realistic?

5. And last but not least, my Adam Lambert. I have to admit, when he announced the song he was going to be doing, I went into a panic. Play That Funky Music? Really? I surely thought it was going to be a trainwreck, but, I should have had faith. He is scary good - and, I think, genuinely a nice person. Wow - I was totally surprised and amazed. Way to go.