not exactly crafty

Long Time Gone

I've had quite a break from the blog, facebook, pinterest, actually the internet in general. You know what, it has given me a new perspective that just clicked. I don't need to do all that STUFF online that I used to. I used to feel like my day couldn't get started without my usual time on the computer. The problem with this is that I have become a person that is constantly saying..." I wish I had thought of that, I can make that, I wish I had the time to learn that, Why can't I have a successful Etsy shop?" WHY?!?!? Because I spend too much time wishing and gleaning for inspiration and not DOING! To be fair I have always been someone that is great at coming up with the cool ideas, but the execution....OH HELL NO! Not me. And that is where I think a great entrepreneurs are different, they are able to jump that hurdle and get it going. All the Internet time just takes away from my ability to "make it happen" even more. I mean, I still have to be on line to run a successful on line business, but not doing things that aren't productive, you know? So that is something I am going to wok on for myself. I have very little self motivation and will power so this will be a training exercise like no other. SO here's to getting more done, blogging more and living a more productive lifestyle.

So where have I been? Oh, well we moved from Utah and we are back in Denver(home sweet home). I really did miss it more than I thought that I did. There is nothing like familiarity! It is so comforting to know that you can't get lost. LOL, it seems silly, but it really is nice. I have been adjusting to this new life and getting the new routine down. I'm not sure I have a rhythm yet, but I'm getting there.

I have just started working on some new projects and finishing older ones and it feels so great to be back at it. I forget how theraputic it is to just make something. Hoping to get some shots of a few things up on the blog here soon. I'm really into the mini quilts lately and those seem to get cranked out pretty fast, so I will have a few of those. So until then...

Not Apologizing!

So I have been gone a bit, I have been dealing with "the move situation". What is that you might ask? It's the situation we seem to find ourself in about every 6-8 months lately, we are moving AGAIN! But this time, we are moving BACK to Denver, YAY!!! At the beginning of this move question, I was a little sad becasue I really love Utah and I love where we live here, we have a view that people pay MILLIONS for. But I quickly snapped out of that. I am so excited to move back home, cuz Colorado really is my home. The other thing that has kept me away is I have been trying my hardest to get back on the weight loss bus, I gained 10 POUNDS! over the holidays and I feel terrible, not just cuz I gained the weight, but I feel truly terrible, YUCK! So when I go full force into something, I do it hard and it's all I can think about and obsess about for a bit. I am down 9.6 lbs, so I'm about the weight that i was pre-holiday, so that makes me super happy! But I want to push it a little harder and go for 20, cuz J wants to give me a special gift for every 20lbs that I lose, and who doesn't want that! Here I come, iPad!

So that's where I am at right now, I will probably be very sparse with the updating because of the move and all that, so I'll see you around...

Zion and the Thermacare Snake

It's been a little longer than I would like but I am back! It was my birthday last weekend and I have been feeling a little under the weather since...BOO!!! But I wanted to share a little about what we did for my birthday. We went to Zion National Park. I wanted to go somewhere "aww inspiring" for my birthday, I was in one of those "what's it all about" moods...SUPER DRAMATIC!!...my lucky husband. Needless to say, the park definitely delivered. These are a couple of shots I actually got, it started to get dark VERY quickly after we got there and I didn't get any of the sweeping magestic shots I wish I could have, but I have them all in my memory, so...

Just before we got to the park I turned on the am station that was suppose to tell you any info about the park, and I heard,to my extreme surprise, that it was $25 to get into the park....WHA?!?!?!? I was so pissed, that's a fair bit of cha-ching for just a couple of hours in the park.We decided that we had already driven all that way(it was like 5 hours, but we did get lost) we might as well go, right?!?!? We pull up to the gate and I have my card ready and the cashier said, "oh, it's free today, because it's a national holiday." OH MY HECK!(as the folks here in Utah say) J and I both literally squealed with delight and I instantly screeched...REALLLLLLYY?!?! Needless to say, this guy was a little taken aback, he actually flinched at my frantic exuberance...no he really did, like wehn you think someone is about to hit you on accident and you flinch. Then J abruptly screamed HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!! WOOOHOOO!! I am so sure this guy was dying of laughter after we left. In our defense, we drank A LOT of caffiene on the way up.

We get into the park, and we both have to pee SOOO bad we have yellow eyes. I pull up to the visitor center and there aren't many people there, so it's already a creepy(like a reast stop off the highway at night kind of creepy) and I had my rapist/psycho antenna up and on high alert. As I walk into the bathroom, I am suddenly thinking about snakes being in the toilet. Now I'm not sure why this thought popped into my head. Maybe becasue it has been unnaturally warm and it was like 65° and I'm thinking they might just be feeling like it's spring. WARNING: This part is about to get REAL!

I was in the middle of doing my bid-ness(yes I mean peeing) and I felt this slithering sensation on my back and it was coming from behind me, or at least that is where my crazy snake brain thought it was coming from, so I screamed, and I mean I made a noise I didn't know could come out of me, then I stood up(still peeing, gross but true) and spun around like a Michael Jackson dance move and looked down...no snake, of course. It was my thermacare heating pad that had come off my back. I had forgotten that I put it on so that my back wouldn't get so tight from the long drive. HA!!! I am a crazy person, CLEARLY!!! So, I recover and cleaned up from that ordeal. I went to the sink to take a, now needed, bird bath and this lady comes in and asks me if I heard that screaming. Um....ya but I have no clue where it came from, it sounded like it came from behind the bathroom. I LIED! I did! In that moment, I was so embarrased and completely mortified that I peed on myself that I couldn't take explaining my situation to an actual person, cuz it was bad enough in my head. I left the bathroom and get back to the car and J asked me, "Was that you screaming in the bathroom???" I died of laughter, "REALLY?!? you could hear me out here?" So the running joke the whole way home was..."can I touch that, or did you pee on it?"

DAMN IT!!!

A Little Extra Something

Just a quick post today...

I love to personalize store bought stuff. I bought these kitchen towels at Target a while ago and I love them, they just felt like they were missing something. So I added a little extra to make them a bit more me. I just did some wonky patchwork, then cut each block to a size that fit each towel, and Voila! done. It takes very little time and now I am a little more happy with my kitchen decor.

Cool Project + Easy Tutorial = Big Fan!

I wanted to share a quick tutorial I found(well my mom found and shared). It's for very easy pot holders. I made the same size just to give an idea of the actual finished scale, but I think these would be really cute as chair pads. So here is the video first, then I'll show you some bits from the pot holders I made.Keep in mind I follwed the instructions TO A "T", and it turned out perfect.

So here is a photo of my completed pot holders, they are just hanging from clothes pins in my kitchen on my chalkboard to give a solid background perspective. I wasn't sure I would dig these all that much, but I have to say I want to make dozens and dozens. It is just the easiest technique, REALLY IT IS! I know sometimes I go to sewing or quilting sites and they always say "it's so easy for a beginner to get this done" and I am usually like...um, IN WHAT UNIVERSE IS THIS EASY!?!?!? So trust me when I say these...ARE!

Here are a couple of shots of my process...

I picked my fabrics out from fat quarters so it took me a bit longer, if you go with a precut stack, it will take you half the time, and that's not long. It only took me (including cutting) 1.5 hours, and I took a few breaks.

Here is how chunky the stack is that you are working with, it's a fair bit of chunk, I will admit, but just work slowly and BE PATIENT(that's my biggest downfall with any project). And as much as I HATE PINNING, you have to pin so it doesn't slide around. Something that they don't tell you, and this is important, if you are going to actually use these and not just have they as decorative pieces, you HAVE to use 100% natural batting, like cotton or wool, that way there is nothing in there that can melt when anything hot is put on them. They don't give you a very good visual of where to pin, so this is what I did on all four sides and it worked out great.

Here they are on my kitchen table, a little different with the yellow background.

Here are some shots of the backs too, just as lovely. I always love to see the backs of projects.

That's it! They really were fast, I was pleasantly surprised. Have you got any quick tutorials that you ended up loving? I'm always looking for home decor stuff, it's addictive once you get making!

Top Tips and New Pics

I am going to have a semi-weekly feature on Not Exactly Crafty called Top Tips. It is pretty self explanatory in that, well...it's tips, but not just any tips, top tips from the best in the craft world. Let's face it, experience means knowledge and sometimes it's better to learn from someone else's mistakes and experiments, no?!?!? And this is where to find that knowledge on the weekly yo!

So, the first tip is one for sewers and quilters that spend A LOT of time in front of that machine. And if you are tall like me or just don't have the perfect table height sometimes you can get hunch back(I have it as we speak, like serious cro magnon woman...ouch!)On a side note, doesn't that photo look like Teresa from the RHW of New Jersey, just sayin'...Anyhoo so the tip is RAISE UP YOUR MACHINE LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! Hello!!! It seems so dang simple, but for the life of me, I would never have thought to do that. So here is what I did, I went to Ikea and purchased this chopping board, I liked it for this tip because it has a lip on the one side and can tuck up against the table so it won't shift or budge.

It makes a WORLD of difference.

Thanks so much Jenice Belling of The Quilted Garden for the genius idea! You have saved me from a major addiction to pain killers, FO SHO!

Oh and I can't forget to share my three new pics...4-6, from this photo -a-day challenge.

4. Ok it's not really a photo of my mailbox, well cuz really I have no interest in taking a photo of that, it's SUPER boring. So here is what came in the mailbox...much better, right?

5. Something I wore, my TOMS, they have black and white houndstooth on the inside, loves!

6. Something that makes me happy, well he's really a someone, my baby Napoleon(not named after Napoleon Dynamite). He has little man syndrome, for sure! This is the best shot out of many, he moves like he's on puppy crack.

 

Mom vs. Me

I was searching for inspiration on line about a week before Thanksgiving and I came across This book. I was IN! I read Whip Up quite often and I was so excited to see there was a "blog tour", I had caught the tail end of it but I could still see all the yummy photos of the inside. When I got to these photos of the books contents I instantly wanted to shout from the rooftops, I WANT TO MAKE IT ALL!! I was particularly struck with this photo of the cloud song quilt, HOLY FREAKIN MOLY that is cute, no!?!? So, I promptly, frantically(cuz I get a little manic when I am geeking out) called my mom and told her that I had found this new book and that we HAD TO(seriously now, this is life or death stuff) get this book so we could both do some of the projects together. We both bought the book and we really wanted to do a quilting project together(from afar, she lives in Colorado and I in SLC). So we decided on the this quilt...

And the kicker is we wanted to finish it before Thanksgiving. Which I, straight out the gate, thought was HILARIOUS because the running joke in our family is that if mom says she is making you something, don't hold your breathe. It will be about three years before you actually get it, so you better make sure its something you will always like(for me this is hard because I am always changing my style, I meant like every week. Another running joke). But my mom assured me that she WOULD PROVE ME WRONG. So I said sure and we went on our merry way. We called back and forth about our color choices and whether or not it should be a Christmas project being so close to the holiday. She decided on Christmas, I did not.

Now I know that I'm not a very proficient at quilting yet, at least I don't have 30 some odd years under my belt, like my mom. So I am a bit nervous about getting mine done, but I know how I am when I set my mind to a project...I DON"T STOP. Not even for food(which, on a side note, if I could figure out how to bottle, DAMN I would be rich). So I get a phone call a couple of days later and my mom tells me she is all done with the piecing and she just needs to quilt it...GREAT, I haven't even picked out my friggin colors. So I'm thinking she is turning this into a race...oh okay, it's on like donkey kong now. And less than a week later we were done.

Me:left Mom:right

I am floored at how different and yet equally cool they both are. we plan on doing this again, we just have to pick the next project out. I am hoping it will be from the same book since there are so many things in there that I want to complete this year.

I have to say this was really fun, nit just because I was doing something with my mom but because, as everyone knows in the craft world, I COMPLETED A PROJECT IN A TIMELY MANNER! That is truly the biggest reward for me. I start so many projects with the intention of getting them done soon, but then life interjects and the spark fizzles and I am on to something else. This is one of my resolutions, to finish what I start. Have you ever done a project like this with a partner? I am definitely doing it again.

I'm never gonna do 365 photos...

SO...

I am going to commit to just one month.

 I am totally thinking this is do-able, but if I don't, no worries...cuz life happens! So here are my first few photos. Just in case you have never visited, fat mum slim, and if you're anything like me you now have This musical gem stuck in your head.

 
Photos of myself are hard, but I'm working on it...

Manna Bread...something I am trying and definitely need to get used to, this one is carrot and raisin. I get mine at Whole Paycheck(Whole Foods).

My fabric stash, which needs a MAJOR overhall, it's something I adore to an unnatural level...no REALLY! So those are my first three. It's kinda fun deconstructing my world a little, it also make me realize how bad my A.D.D. really is. I have got to get oraganized! The funny thing is I always thought that I was so on top of my shiz....um, negative ghostrider!

This last photo is a little sneaky-peeky at something I am working on, and this is probably not the last time you will hear me say I HATE PINNING! For those that aren't quilters and have no earthly idea what this strange thing I am speaking of is(no I'm not blaspheming Pinterest), I hate pinning all my fabric before I take it to the machine to sew. I wish I had a little pinning gnome that could come out from under my sewing table and offer to do it all for me in exchange for a handful of glitter or a small sugar cookie, that would be the diggity!

Are you trying any photo challenges in the new year? Link me up, I'd love to see them.

Chickity-Check Yourself...

Oh Man! It's good to be back to blogging! Life has changed a bit for better and worse.We moved, then moved again, and yep, once more. I have discovered a lot about my personal style and that I actually don't really like the things I thought I did. I have discovered the art of caring for myself. I say art because it is definitely that for me. It is like learning a new journey, vocation or hobby, it's hard! It breaking old habits and replacing with new positive beneficial ones, and damn it, it's freakin hard to eat right(meaning cook!), exercise, grow spiritually, fulfill your creative passion, be a positive thinker, a good wife, discover new cultural activities, be a productive member of society, recycle, make friends, nurture current relationships, and try to do all that at once AND grow house plants! You know what...YOU CAN'T! And anyone who tells you they can, is LYING! I am a terrible multi-tasker and proud of it! I would rather do one thing REALLY well then do a bunch with no real fervor or passion. I am not one of those people that thinks giving a busy performance actually makes me  important. I have grown emotionally and mentally in the past couple of years in ways I never thought I would... so there's that. So that leads me to my next thought...

What's this blog all about? Whatever I post. Which will probably include A LOT of crafting(mainly sewing and quilting) cuz that's what makes me feel alive, it's my divine spark...yep I went there. I went to the "meant to be" cheese, but I am a cheeseball when it comes to the things that make me happy, the stuff that makes me geek out. And there is plenty of it. This blog is about not being perfect in any aspect of your life, cuz that's just hoopla and no one can do it. It's about not worrying about being perfect and exact, it's about making it YOU, what ever that is. It's a wee little baby blog right now, but it will grow, as will I. And when I win the HGTV Dream Home, which I will. I call dibs! It's MINE!! I will have a huge party and only invite people who can prove they AREN'T perfect. No really, I'm all about putting it out there(and I didn't even read The Secret) for the universe to bring my way.

soundtrack for this next bit: Chickity-Check Yourself ..♪..♫

I am also very new to this strange thing called "positive thinking". This is like trying to learn Chinese for me, seriously. But I have to stop! Just like you can't keep blaming the dog for that smell(cuz eventuallly someone figures out it's totally you) I don't want people to think that being negative is who I am. That I always blame something or someone else for my difficulty. I do NOT want to be that person! Because really I'm not negative at my core, I believe in happy endings and that gas prices might actually go down(if that isn't positive thinking, I don't know what is). I believe that love always wins and there will be a cure for Diabetes in my lifetime. So I think I'm on my way, all is not lost with this one.

So all this is going on in my brain and I still have to make time for weekly phone calls to explain itunes, email and general technology to my parents( I know my mom is laughing at this, but I bet my dad is kinda pissed) to be fair they have both made great strides in this department, well...mainly my dad. Sorry mom!

I hope this blog connects me to people(old friends and new)and helps me learn a few things. I hope it helps me stay on track and gives me that push that I always seem to need in the final countdown. I hope it helps me learn to take more photos of myself and be proud that I do. Most of all I just hope it helps me grow..really!