better

I'm better today. I had that rug-pulled-from-under-foot feeling yesterday...much better today.

I'm busy finishing up some projects for the magazine...I hope you'll like them. They are all very easy and fun and quick.

I'm still in my pajamas...just like the good ol' days. And I'm just about to be on cup no. 3 of coffee. Baby just drifted into his nap curled up on my lap while I caught up with my friend on the phone. He's in his bed now and the clock is ticking for me to finish the things that I save for naptime...like blogging.

good times...not so much

Thank you, everyone, for your warm birthday wishes and words of encouragement as I embark on my new paths for Inspire Company. I have a lot of work to do this week to get ready for next Tuesday. I honestly don't know how I'll do it all but if I keep at it, hopefully I'll pull it off.

My parents and Seth left unexpectedly this morning. There was a bit of a scuffle last night, lots of talking back and general sassiness on the part of Seth and wagging of fingers and exasperated faces on the part of everyone else. My mother decided when she woke up that it would be better for everyone if they left this morning. I cried as they left because I really wanted them to stay. More than anything, I wanted to have our usual whopping good time with lots of happy memories and smiling faces.

It might actually be for the best since I really do have a whole lot of work ahead of me this week. I don't know how I could've juggled getting it all done and making sure everyone was having a whopping good time.

Naptime is almost up and I'm thinking that maybe Baby and I can go for a walk and enjoy the quiet of being a pair.

a very good friday indeed...

37 years old. I like the sound of that. I really do.

And I have a little birthday surprise to share...





Every 2 weeks, starting April 1, I will fill my shop with wonderful items from a different artist. I'm so excited for you to see the company that's coming and all the wonderful things they are dreaming up to share with you.

Be sure to check back in on April 1 to see who the very first inspiredfriend is and all the fabulous creations she's sent over.


Another new thing is actually not really new...I'm resurrecting my old magazine, inspiredideas from pre-blogtimes. It'll be published twice a month to coincide with the inspiredfriend feature and it will be full of project ideas, inspiring stories, and creativity exercises.

I am working to refine the selections at Inspire Co. to offer truly wonderful treasures that you're not likely to find elsewhere. The selection will be everchanging, offering many one-of-a-kind items.

I've redesigned the site, complete with a new logo, to mark this change in Inspire Co. Click here to check out the new digs. And check back on April 1 to see all the new things! I can't wait for you to see it all.

cigar box kits!

I fell in love with these ephemera kits housed in old cigar boxes from my friends at Secret Leaves. They are full of wonderful old bits of paper and include pre-drilled and covered bookboard, antiqued binding rings and predrilled and trimmed paper. Just add your creativity...





Click here to get more details and to order.

As requested, and also from Secret Leaves, we have a few new Scrap Journals...






Click here to see them all and to order.

rushing to make the easter parade!

My friend mo jackson has been working like crazy to bring us some Springtime fashions and surprises. Just cast your eye upon these delights...

{Easter eggs}

{Ribbon flower pins}


{Baby girl hats}



{Little girl purses}


{and lots of other bags...}


Click here to see the entire collection and order.

sweet nothings

It's been a long time since I've put a picture of Seth up. This one is from a year and a half ago. I love how his head is just aglowin' in the sun.

The great news is that he is coming to see me for his spring break! Yay! He and my folks are arriving on my birthday! What a gift that is! I think it might be time for a SwEeTs PaRtEeEey!

Uh huh. Birthday style.

I miss our little phone chats. I hardly ever talk to my little Seth since he moved into his new house. (and possibly since Baby arrived...that might have something to do with it too!) It'll be so great to catch up with him while we chew on a twizzler or down a pixie stick or two.

If all goes well I'm hoping he'll stay his entire Spring Break with us. I'm not sure how it will go when the one who used to be the center of our world has to share the limelight with Baby.

Well, it's off to bed for this sleepyhead. Oh, but before I sign off, I wanted to let you know that I'll be announcing my new chapter of Inspire Co. on my birthday, March 21. The loveliest day in the whole wide world...at least to me. Oh, and I do think it might have been the best day of my mother's life too. She has to be careful admitting such things but I know that I'm the favorite one.

random amy

My friend Pam tagged me. She's asked me to share 7 random things about mothering.

1. The cd player in the car is currently loaded with toddler singalongs and lullabyes. My favorite is a cd of lullabyes sung by Judy Collins...the voice of an angel!

2. I've scarcely watched the news or heard the weather report since Baby arrived. I have to step out my door, seriously, to know if it's cold enough for a coat or whether just a jacket might do.

3. Baby knows us as "Amy" and "Rich"...since he will most likely be going back to his mother we didn't want to confuse him further by referring to ourselves as Mommy and Daddy.

4. People often do a double take when they see me pushing Baby in a grocery cart. You see, Baby and I don't share the same ethnicity. People are plainly confused by this. You'd think since we live in such a culturally diverse area people would be a little more, uh, sophisticated. But, alas...stares and confusion and silly remarks.

5. I had a bit of a lesson in humility when I had to take Baby to the Department of Health for his immunizations. The closest I can come to how it felt was spending the day at the DMV...so just imagine taking a baby to the DMV, waiting what feels like an eternity in a crowded, dirty, and noisy room with rows of chairs, waiting and waiting and waiting for your number to be called.

6. I have a string of lights above my mantel that are connected to "The Clapper". You know..."clap on...clap off...clap on, clap off...the clapper!" I demonstrated to Baby how it works and it quickly became his favorite activity. If you ask him now, in any room, to turn on the lights, bless his heart, he claps his hands. I bet the inventor of "The Clapper" would be happy to see that.

7. I am inspired by the graphics I see on Noggin. Go here and watch the one called "Everywhere I Go" by Moose and Zee to see my very favorite. I bet you'll love it too...and the song is the "singy-est!" (The graphic at the top of the post is from that video)

surprise eggs

I can hardly believe it myself. I had time today to make something, take pictures, and share it with you!

These eggs are so much fun (and messy!) to make...

And, best of all, you use those plastic Easter eggs!

Other things you'll need are pages from old books, glue, glitter (optional), and ribbons. Also gather little treasures like flowers, buttons and beads.
In a bowl, dilute craft glue by 1 part water for every 2 parts glue. Tear pages of old books or sheet music or tissue paper into small bits (the smaller the bits the easier to adhere without too many creases...squares seem to work better than strips for this project).

Dip each little piece of paper in the glue mixture, using your fingers to squeegee extra glue off. Also using your fingers (see what I mean...messy!) smooth the pieces on the plastic egg. As you cover the egg, you may find that you can use the extra glue on your fingers to prepare the pieces instead of dipping them.
If you are adding glitter to your eggs, put them into a bowl of glitter and use a spoon to spread over the sides. Use the spoon to scoop out the egg and put on wax paper to dry.
Tie bits of ribbon to each egg.

Next have fun attaching bits and bobs like buttons and flowers. I used a bit of tinsel to attach the buttons, twisting it closed but you could hot glue items to the ribbon.
Here's the surprise bit...you can actually crack these eggs open (well at least tear them open) so they can be a fun way to present a surprise gift! (just be careful if you put a candy in since there's glitter on the outside.)

It would be fun to tuck in a little jewel or sentiment or cracker jack toy!

If you want to keep the egg intact when opened, just be careful when gluing the bits of paper on to not overlap the seam of the egg.

Have fun!

e-mail trouble

If you've tried to email me in the last month or so and haven't heard back from me, it could be that I didn't get the email. Would you mind sending it again, if convenient? Try sending them to amykpowers(at)yahoo.com.

Somehow all the emails offering enhancements to a body part I don't happen to have and the inheritance of someone's uncle through the Bank of Nigeria are getting through but the emails I really want, the ones from you, aren't making it.

Hope you are all having a nice Sunday morning. We did, in fact, make it to church on time, without waking the baby early. And after church, our favorite family invited us to join them for breakfast. So very nice.

oh yes...

I love these little houses from Anthropologie. And since my birthday is just around the corner, I thought I'd just put it out there.

I would, in fact, love to live in the yellow one with the pink striped roof. It is happiness.

These houses make me think of my little Sugarville houses. Maybe soon I'll have time to make some. I'm really hoping.
Also from Anthropologie...I love this skirt. If I had it, I think I'd wear it every single day. So pretty.


Baby and Rich visited with Rich's mother today while I chipped away at my books. It's not nearly as hard as I thought it would be...just slow. And it makes my eyes go crossed.

Baby is sleeping now and Rich is watching some crazy movie in which I'm not the least interested. I think I'll hit the sack early. That crazy trick of switching the time and calling 6:30 am 7:30 am happens tomorrow. Daylight savings time is enough to make me curse. I hate this one especially and really wish I could just sleep in while the rest of the world carries on this silly tradition. Baby will wake naturally, as usual, at 7:30, only it will now be called 8:30. And then we'll be late for church. It's unfair to get me out of bed an hour early but it's really cruel to fool around with Baby's delicate and just cracked sleep schedule.

Here's to ignoring Daylight Savings Time...are you with me?

everything's coming up...

When I saw these huge beautiful roses at Whole Foods the other day, well, I just couldn't pass up on them. Each bloom is absolute perfection. What I love most about them are the delicate green outer petals which grace each rose. And, really friends...can you beat $19 for a dozen roses? Not with a stick, I say.
When I study them, which I've done rather dreamily while Baby gnaws at his teething biscuit, I start to imagine what lovely skirts they'd make, these roses. Lovely layers of pouf and foof.

Here...this is what I mean...



I hope everyone's having a great friday. I was out a little late last night celebrating some exciting news with the cottage gals. Watch their blog to hear all about it...soon! It's big! And good!

And I'm cooking up my plan for Inspire Co. In fact, part one of the plan has just been implemented. And things are coming together very nicely. I may have to shut down the site for a little while in preparation. Hopefully not but I wanted to give you a heads up.

just like that...

I've said it before, I'll say it again. I love Boden. I love this ruffly cardigan and I love the spots and I love the big button jacket.

Something rather amazing has happened, quite unexpectedly. I've somehow dropped about 10 pounds since the last time I checked. Clothes that were once a bit tight seemed less so and my rear seemed, uh, less so big. So I hopped on the scales, rubbed my eyes and looked again. Ten big fat pounds, gone.

My secret? I guess carrying around a 20 pound babe while vacuuming, filling orders, dancing, going up and down stairs, etc.

So now when I'm thumbing through the Boden catalog, which is currently on the floor of the powder room and which I thumb through just the one time a day I actually remember to visit the powder room, I am much more enthusiastic about things such as pretty polka dot dresses.

Tomorrow, my "mother's helper" comes to, well, help! Yay!

I'm heading to bed with a book, a cup of warm milk, and tired bones.