Old Table, New Life

21 May

I had a deck table that a neighbor had given me when they upgraded.  It was the perfect size, but needed some love.  I had been dragging my feet about doing something about it.

So, I got off my ass, last weekend…complete with brace on my dislocated knee, and gave my old table a new life.

Sadly, I didn’t take a before picture (there might be one somewhere tho), but here is the after…

I used a textured brown spray paint to cover the white legs and table frame.  Since I was too lazy to take the table completely apart, and I wanted to do it anyway, I painted the glass top with chalkboard paint.  I can’t wait to doodle on that!!!

But, there you have it.  I *finally* did a craft!  :-)

 

~DW

An Award?!

1 May

CM’s been nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award?  How freakin’ cool is that?!

The requirements:

1.  Thank the person who gave you this award and provide a link to their blog.

Thank you, D’nali, for nominating us. Nizzy found D’nali’s blog  on a random wordpress search for crafting blogs and we’ve followed ever since.  I’m in awe of the many projects she’s able to whip out, blog about  AND revamp her lifestyle to a more healthy one.  I’m feeling motivated reading about it!

2.  Select 15 bloggers that you follow regularly or have recently discovered.

Not all of my blogs are crafty ones.  Obviously, I follow this one <G>.  Like D’nali, I’d like to nominate these bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award.

  • Controlling My Chaos.  Recipes, scrapbooking, family-schedule-juggling…She is so crafty, hilarious and sorta my hero.  Might even have a slight girl-crush, shhh.  She is definitely someone I’d like to be friends with IRL and I would have skipped and danced and drawn little hearts and smilies if she had been my son’s 6th grade teacher.
  • iHeart Organizing.  Obviously appeals to my OCD/organization issues.  She’s quite handy and has a great eye for detail and design.  I’m slightly jealous (“slightly” might be a tad of an understatement).
  • Centsational Girl.  ANOTHER incredibly crafty lady.  AND frugal.  She definitely turns junk/no-so-pretty into Sensational.
  • Funky Junk Interiors.  OMG  The things she finds/makes/embellishes!  Total AWE.  You must check her out.  She’ll make you hate her in the “if-I-tried-to-do-that-it-would-look-ridiculous” kind of way.
  • Life In Rehab.  I’m amazed at everything she’s accomplished.  Her house caught FIRE and she and her family, picked themselves up, cleaned out the charred bits and got moving on fixing it up.  Nothing is beyond her abilities.  I can’t wait to check out her blog every day to see what she’s done this time.
  • AGK Photography.  I’ve followed her for years and her photography is just amazing.  I also love that she gets her family involved (usually as models LOL).  And she recently opened her own business!  She’s beautiful, hilarious and talented.  Go check her out.  Seriously, Go!  I’ll wait…

3.  7 things about yourself.

  • I am an organizational junkie.  Do NOT look at my Studio pictures for confirmation.  Or the rest of my house, for that matter.  But seriously, I’m a tad anal about it, I just have trouble with the execution part…
  • I can juggle.  Haven’t done it in a while, but last time I tried, I could still do it.  Once got to juggle with a jester at the RenFaire.  Very.  Cool.
  • I am a stuffed animal sucker.  My son has a menagerie because I can’t say “no”.  SOME of my collection actually live on my bed, and some accompany me to work and on trips (at times).  I should probably post about the time I took my son’s tiger to work with me.  He was quite naughty.  Stole my money and photocopied his butt!
  • I am a craft/office supply addict.  I am not to be trusted in a craft store (or Staples!) with a credit card.  Just ask Nizzy…
  • I’m TERRIFIED of spiders and other creepy crawlies.  My skin crawls just thinking about them.  But rats, mice and snakes?  Don’t bother me one teeny bit.  They might startle me when the first appear, but then I could care less.  A spider and I nearly crash my car.  Probably my only really “girly” quality…
  • I don’t watch [much] TV.   But my really favorite shows are Supernatural, In Plain Sight and NCIS.  NONE of which I watch when they’re actually on.  LOL  My DVR is my bestest friend.
  • I *hate* wearing shoes/socks.  If I were to rule the world, I would be allowed to go barefoot EVERYWHERE.

I’d like to thank Nizzy for letting me share this award with her.  SHE is the amazing behind CM, I’m a total coat-tail rider.  Congratulations, Nizzy!  You truly deserve this award.  :-)

Please stay tuned to see what gorgeous stuff she turns out next!

~DW

The Versatile Blogger Award – Nizzy Edition

1 May

Alrighty!  I’ve been nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award!  Woo hoo!

The requirements:

1. Thank the person who gave you this award and provide a link to their blog.

Thanks to D’nali for nominating me.  I found D’nali’s blog (http://dnali.wordpress.com) on a random wordpress search for crafting blogs and I’ve followed ever since.  Do visit and check out her wonderful FOs, WIPs, and other craft related goodness that she whips up.

2.  Select 15 bloggers that you follow regularly or have recently discovered.

Hmmm….I don’t know if I can squeeze out 15 yet, but I’m working my way there.  Here are just a few that I enjoy regularly.  I’m sure they might have been nominated for this award at some point in blogging experience, but who wouldn’t welcome new traffic?

Now, on to the hardest part…

3.  7 things about yourself.

  • I am a cookbook junkie!  I love recipes and own quite a few cookbooks.
  • For the record (and I probably shouldn’t admit this), but I’ve never seen The Princess Bride.
  • I have a love/hate relationship with pinterest.  I only pin/visit once in a while and find it an incredible waste of time.  Oh, but the pretty pictures…
  • I’ve been to Jamaica three times.   Please, friends and family, choose another destination.
  • I. Love. Tea.  All kinds.
  • My favorite sandwich: Waldorf Chicken Salad Sandwich
  • If I had a dog it would be a dachshund.  They are just the cutest little things!

I’ll make sure to tell Dragonwillow to provide her half of the acceptance speech soon. ;-)

-Nizzy

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Sweet Little Baby Knits, Part 2

18 Apr

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Knitting for babies is so much fun!  And easy!  They don’t have any curves to fit, there are no complaints like “Oh, these colors just don’t work with my skin tone.”, and the item is SMALL.  Guaranteed quick finish!

I’m still trying to figure out what makes this dress so ‘vintage’.  The pattern notes say it’s a take on the classic Alice dress.  Alice who? Alice in Wonderland?  Not really. 

Yarn: Comfy Fingering in Sea Foam (knitpicks)

Ribbon: Cloth of brown with light blue polka dots.

-Nizzy

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A Sneak Peek: Yarn Love for a Summer Sweater

13 Apr

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I am gearing up to make my annual spring/summer sweater!

Every year since I’ve started knitting (about 4 years ago?), I pick one simple, easy pattern for a top that I can finish fairly quickly to wear during the spring/summer months.    All other knitting projects are placed on hold during this time so that I may work diligently to finish.

The project usually contains mindless stockinette stitch, does not require seaming multiple pieces together (ick!), and is usually in a bright color that oozes summer.

Well, I got two out of three this year.  I decided to go for something a little darker and with more variegation in color since my LYS didn’t carry enough yarn available in my first and second and third choices.  I didn’t want any blue or pink and I was too deep in gotta-have-it-mode to wait for an order for my favs.

My eyes were instantly drawn to:

Gilded

Candlewick

Tomato

But I settled on:

Alizarin

The yarn is Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light and it’s so soft and beautiful!  I LOVE-LOVE-LOVE it and I want about 4 skeins in every color, please!

*thumbnails courtesy of http://madelinetosh.com/

-Nizzy

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Strength

10 Apr
Strength Bracelet by Creatively Motivated
Strength Bracelet, a photo by Creatively Motivated on Flickr.

“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” -Mahatma Gandhi

“That which does not kill us makes us stronger.”― Friedrich Nietzsche

“Strength is the capacity to break a Hershey bar into four pieces with your bare hands – and then eat just one of the pieces.” ― Judith Viorst, Love & Guilt & The Meaning Of Life, Etc

-Nizzy

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Studio Redux

5 Apr

I have been a very naughty girl. :-(

I have let my studio turn to crap. I know, 40 lashes with a wet noodle.

Below is a collage of what you see when you walk into my Studio. That thing with the purple case on it? Yeah, that USED to be my lovely, lovely island.

Forgive me, I didn’t want this to be a photo-intensive post, so I made a collage in Picasa.  However, I wanted the collage to have the ability to blow up each picture, when clicked on, for a larger view.  I don’t think it does that and I haven’t figured out how to do it.  Sorry.  :-(

Studio Collage by bluedragonwillow
Studio Collage, a photo by bluedragonwillow on Flickr.

Working from left to right, top to bottom:

First pic:  What you see as you first come into the Studio.  You can see my sewing machine in the background (it’s the brown mess with the TV on it).

Second pic:  The “Cutting Station” (to the left of the entry door). This is SUPPOSED to be where I store my Cricut, trimmers, etc. Yeah, it hasn’t quite gotten that far yet.

Third pic:  The top of my Island (which I can NEVER seem to keep clear) and in the background, my “office” area.  You can’t see the desk, but that’s probably a good thing.

Fourth pic:  Island Cubbies.  See, the original intent was to have them all nice and neatly filled with paper, embellishments and albums.  Well, my paper organizers didn’t fit into the cubbies and I did a whole “stash and dash” thing to get other crap out of sight!

Fifth pic:  Back corner.  You can barely see the closet door in the back right.  That closet, currently, is the bane of my existence.  It’s a long (runs the length of the “Paper Wall”), reach-in closet that is to serve two purposes; store office/school supplies, and craft supplies that aren’t “every day”  Right now?  It holds crap.  A children’s table & chairs set (in pieces), leftovers from my aunt’s “estate”, all kinds of other crap.  It’s driving me nuts!

Sixth pic:  My Jewelry Cabinet.  Yep, I make jewelry from the stuff that I cram in there.  It’s amazing I find anything.

Seventh pic:  What you see as you look into the closet.  See those shelves?  Yeah, I thought they were awesome at first too.  Seriously, not so much.  Flimsy and not very functional.  But I have a plan… ;-)

Eighth pic:  More closet.  To show you that it goes back.  That’s not even a full shot.  Too embarassed to show that mess.

Ninth pic:  The Paper Wall.  All that paper was supposed to fit in the Island Cubbies.  But, of course, those Crop-in-Style organizers don’t FIT in the %&$* cubbies.  Hence, the wall.

Tenth pic:  The entrance door.  Yeah, that’s a paper bag elephant my son made in like 2nd grade.  He’s currently in 7th.  I think I need to upgrade my “display”.

Eleventh pic:  Close up of my sewing machine.  It needs a little love.  Built in the  60s, it’s not very “pretty” and the drawers are all wonky (not to mention some hardware is missing).  I’m debating about trying to paint it.  Still on the fence.

Twelfth pic:  Close up of my “desk”.  It’s actually a French Provincial Vanity that my aunt gave to my sister, who then gave it to me.  I *heart* it.  I’ve had to strip the paint off of it (it was chipping and I’m pretty sure it was lead-based).  I loved the “shabby chic” finish it wound up with, so decided to leave it, rather than paint.  I should have put some sealer on it, because it’s a little stained from cups and such.  But I plan to “clean” it again and definitely seal it.  Can’t decide whether to leave it, stain it or paint it.  Hopefully something will come to me.  It has a matching chair, but it needs some love too.  I had originally stripped it and stained it, but the stain wasn’t very even (or pretty).  I’m trying to figure out how (IF!) I can remove the stain.  Cross your fingers for me

And there you have it, my NIGHTMARE of a Studio.  Stay tuned to see what I have planned for the space (and what I actually accomplish)

~DW

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