at the pump

A big hooray for gas prices coming back down! I hate spending money on gas, don't you? Here's a link to a site that will show you the lowest gas prices in your area...just put your zip code in and it'll give you a list of gas stations and their prices. How nice is that? Here ya go.

Back to work for me...I have lots to do before Friday morning!

vintage me

My sweet friends Linda & Ann sent me this funny card (the inscription is "I was never meant to work"). The funny thing is that when Rich saw it he was amazed. He said "how did they do that?" "Do what?" "How did they make that picture of you look so old?" It is not, of course, a picture of me. But how funny is it that it fooled Rich, even after his careful inspection?!

artful blogging

I didn't really believe it until I saw it for myself, in print. I have just joined the ranks of artful bloggers to be featured in "Artful Blogging". Me? I can hardly believe it.

I also have two other things to show you...see that cute little house under a glass dome? Oh how I love it! You know I do. Charlotte told me about it, directing me to Katie. I snatched it up immediately. Isn't it wonderful? A sweet little world captured under glass.

I also bought the wonderful birdy wreath. You must go see for yourself. There are plenty more available here. So cute!

Okay, so have a fantastic day! I'm busy as a girl can be but at the moment, since the Baby is delighting in bouncing on my feet, I might be stuck here 'til lunchtime. You should hear his babbling these days.

shelby's new room...

Have you wondered what happened to me this week? I meant to pop in before I left for my quicky hometown visit to fix up Shelby's new room. My favorite part is the tulle bedskirt that my father helped me make...it's frilly and fun. I'd originally thought I'd put the tulle on the inside of the bedskirt to make it poofy but when we put it on the outside to see how it looked, I loved it so much.

I'm back at home and ready to jump into action getting ready for the next inspiredfriend and inspiredideas on Friday.

big flea

I spent the day at the DC Big Flea with two fun friends Hope and Melissa. The Baby was with us for the first building but I had to take him home before we made it to building number 2. Too bad because that meant Stephanie couldn't meet him.

These little people are among my finds...can you guess what I'm planning for them?

gkgirl, it's your lucky day!

I used a random number generator which produced the number 101...

Come on down, gkgirl, you're the next contestant on the gift is right!

Congratulations!

Shoot me an email, will ya, with your name, address, etc.

{fyi: the Have Craft, Will Travel kits are sold out but I'll have a new version soon)

have craft, will travel

I'm so excited to show you this new product. It's a Macgyver-like craft kit, filled to the brim with bits and bobs for crafting on the go. Just look at how much stuff is crammed in there...
This is the first in a series of these fun sets. $16...get yours here.

p.s. Perfect for Silver Bella and Art in Ashland and any of the other super fun craft workshops you're going to!

giveaway time!

Just leave a comment here today and you'll get these sweet little tins (project idea from inspiredideas) ...
And guess what! They're filled with lovely things. One teeny tiny tin has about a spoonful of glass glitter. The other teeny tiny one has a few buttons. There's another with felt beads and another with felt flowers. One last one has just a few pretty things, including a little wooden girl.

Want it? Leave a comment here and the whole kit and kaboodle could be yours. Drawing will take place tomorrow (Wednesday) at 4:00 pm EST. Enter just once, please. Good luck!

my inspiredfriend Charlotte Lyons

I am so thrilled to have Charlotte Lyons as my inspiredfriend. Click here to visit her page and, from there, shop her collection.

And click here to see the latest issue of inspiredideas.

Stay tuned...later today I will host a giveaway and I have a fun new product that I'm finishing up...something for crafting on the go!

stay tuned...

The next issue of inspiredideas and my next inspiredfriend is on deck...check back in bright and early in the morning to see who and what. You're going to love it all! Set your alarm clock and I'll see you in the morning.

nothing much

I am chipping away at my workload. I just got finished making something adorable...my fingers still stinging from the hot glue gun woopsies. I worked all morning while Baby made messes all around my feet. By the time naptime came around, I was as pooped as he.

My friend Pam stopped by to return a cakeplate. And how nice is she to return it full of fresh from the oven cake! I should save it for an after dinner treat but I'm so tempted to have a slice now with a cup of tea. Oh, how nice would that be?

She also brought the cutest little play kitchen set, after reading about me thinking about getting one for Babycakes. I can't wait for him to wake up from his nap and see it. He's not going to believe his eyes!

I think I should sweep a floor or unload the dishes or do something productive before he wakes up. Tick...tick...tick...any minute now and boom!

more rambling

My friend Hope hopped in for a little visit today. Baby loves her so much and just today started saying her name. He says it just like he does "home", with his whole sweet mouth forming an "o".

We had a delicious lunch. I fixed my favorite kind of lunch...a plate of munchies! An assortment of cheeses and pickles and olives (for me) and crackers. We sipped on a lovely drink of limeade with a splash of tart cherry juice. Baby nodded off while finishing his meal so he went straight from lunch to nap without a hitch. While he napped, we chatted and silvered some shells. I ran out of the silver leaf so we couldn't finish. After the craft/naptime, we chatted poolside while Baby amused himself by throwing his toys overboard.

I really wish I had someone like Hope, if not Hope herself, living next door. I have nice enough people next door, but none of them willing to silver their own fingertips in the name of good crafting fun.

I got a call yesterday afternoon asking if we'd take care of a little foster baby for the weekend. She's a little 10 month old girl. I asked Rich and he agreed we could. What I forgot then, and suddenly remembered as I was brushing my teeth last night, was that I really need this weekend to get ready for the next inspiredfriend and inspiredideas editions! I'll need to get my act together the rest of the week. I'm flying solo tonight while Rich plays a pick-up game of ultimate. Is it wrong for me to hope for rain? Shhh...don't tell him I said that.

The photo posted is some of the very sweet new products Hope launched recently.

she does ramble on

This morning I've fixed myself a "double". I have one of those coffee machines that only makes a cup at a time. It makes wee little cups...I think just 8 ounces. Today I pulled down from the cabinet a huge bowl of a mug and I made two cups at once.

I loved this nice long weekend. I cleaned my office so that it's not such a danger zone for Baby. I was thinking of getting a little kitchen set for him but maybe I'll just get a set of dishes and pots and pans and a tiny little cabinet to keep them in. He's just starting to do that sort of pretend play. It's so sweet to watch.

He had his first home-based visit with his mom on Saturday. This is very good because it's a step in the right direction and will help him transition back to her. They had a really great time and we stayed an extra long time when we came to pick him up, which is really great for the baby too.

In another month, the county social worker, Baby, and I are flying to California for a visit with the father. I'm just going along for the baby's sake. I'm dreading all of that travel all the way across the country for just one day of visiting. It seems much too much of a burden on poor Baby but this is how it has to do be.

We have lots of errands to run this morning...the library, bank, post office. We'll spend a little bit of time in the pool (which he loves so much that sometimes he just sits at the back door, with the curtain parted, pointing and saying quietly "P-uh". And while the baby naps this afternoon I'm hoping to work on projects for the next issue of the magazine.

This photo has nothing to do with anything...it's just a cute little set that I love. The wolf in bed has migrated up to the baby's room. He has a whole cast of characters that he says good night to everynight, including all the pictures on the wall. He even pretends to eat the cupcakes Jenny and Aaron made him. Too sweet for words.

beans spilt

At last! I can tell you the Silver Bella secret...

I'm so excited!

happy birthday, america!

Ever since September 11, I get all weepy at the words "Our flag was still there" in the Star Spangled Banner. Truly. When I sing it, my voice cracks.

Long may it fly, indeed! Happy Birthday to this great land we love. And thank you to the people who guard our liberty with their lives making sure that our grand old flag is indeed still there!

Have a happy 4th everybody!

tipping of the scales

Okay, so even though Silver Bella last year was the best weekend of my creative life, when it came time this year to register, I had decided to sit this one out. I kept going back and forth, should I stay or should I go, and finally decided that I'd stay home and have a pajama party instead.

That is until I got wind of a surprise. A secret wonderful surprise that blew my mind. Something that immediately changed my mind.

I don't know when this secret will be revealed (soon, I'm told...and please don't ask me to spill the beans!) but if you were on the fence like me, I'm just sayin', perhaps you too should change your mind.

Hope to see you there!

a winner!

Here are all of your names, and (drumroll, please)...
Lovie, my sweet friend, it is your lucky day!

order up!

This morning I'm working on ushering all of Jenn's creations out the door and on their way to you! Thanks so much for all your orders. As of this morning, all but one little doll head brooch (poor Scarlett) has sold. Jenn is tickled pink!

I put each little girly girl in her own little box...don't they look sweet?
And while I was at Michael's searching for boxes, I spotted these darling charms.
Aren't they wonderful? I'm going to dream up something fun to do with them.

Hey, don't forget to sign up for the seashell giveaway...you're not too late! The drawing is at 4 today and I'll accept entries right up until then!

inspiredideas and a giveaway!

There are lots of really fun projects to try in this lastest issue of inspiredideas! You can add real silver to seashells to make them even more beautiful!

Make this adorable little collage that's nestled in an altoid's tin! This project is courtesy of the amazing inspiredfriend Jenn Hayslip!



For your creativity journal project...a sweet mama bird delivering a special message to help feather her nest...



And an apron made from a lowly dishtowel? Yes, ma'am! This project is contributed by Angela Williams.


And just in case you're dying to have some silvered seashells but don't really care to apply the leaf yourself...today {might be} your lucky day. Add a comment here, my friend, and you might be chosen as the winner of this dazzling set of silvered sea shells...6 in all! Winner chosen randomly and drawing ends tomorrow at 4:00 pm EST. Be sure to post your name so I know who you are!


I'm going to add a giveaway every two weeks for every new update (on the 1st and 15th of every month!) Just another reason to tune in!

p.s. I am in the process of activating comments for the project instruction pages in the magazine. If you've created anything from past issues or just want to leave your feedback, feel free! Oh, and be sure to link to your finished projects there if you've posted it on your blog. It'll be a great for folks to see, don't you think?

inspiredfriend: Jennifer Hayslip

I'm so excited to present my inspiredfriend Jennifer Hayslip of Eye Candy Creations. Click here.