Thursday, March 31, 2011

April Fools Collection



This post is for the Blogfire carnival..Enjoy :)

Etsyblogger of the Month: Mystic Wynd

This month's Etsyblogger is Karen of Mystic Wynd...and The Crafter's Cabinet... and M W Elegance. I think it is safe to say she is a rather busy lady. You can always pop on over to her blog and see what she may be up to.

But before you go, take a peek at some goodies from her shops:













"My creations are designed in the hopes of igniting that special spark of uniqueness that lies within us all. Some things are elegant, some are fun, some are outlandish, some are colorful, some are calming - but the great thing is that I know there is someone out there who will recognize something that just makes them feel good about themselves! "
-Karen of Mystic Wynd

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Weekly Workout

It feels like ages since I have had a good workout. First the boys were sick. Then it was my turn. I have been back a couple times, but the workouts did not make it into the blog. I guess I was too tuckered out :P

So here's the latest...

  • Hammer strength chest press then pull ups: 12 reps of the press & burn out of pull ups: 3 cycles, no rest


  • Lat pull down then EZ bar underhand row then seated cable row w/mini EZ bar: 12 reps each, 3 cycles - no rest (EZ bar is the wiggly looking one)


  • Leg press then squats then forward lunge with dumbbell lateral raise: 12 reps each, 3 cycles, no rest
  • Tricep push down then bicep curl: 12 reps, 3 cycles, no rest

  • Decline bench sit ups: elbow to opposite knee as sit up and with stability ball - straight arms body crossover...until you no longer can :P

Okay, this killed me. It does not take long to lose what you have gained. On the plus side - it also does not take too long to get it back. A couple weeks of regular workouts & I should be back to where I left off a month ago.

Wish me luck :)


Sunday, March 27, 2011

Treasury and Collection

I made one of each today. Both inspired by embroidery pieces I either just finished or am finishing up. First the one inspired by the one in my hands now. Well, not now NOW...but a few minutes ago now and later tonight now.



And the second is a take off from the piece I finished yesterday: Biohazard.



I will update here with a link to the pieces once I blog about them...and once the one is actually done :P

Friday, March 25, 2011

Jumping Off Places...

I have decided to have a little fun with writing on this blog. I am joining up with the link party on Abigail's Attic. It will work out a different part of my brain...I just hope I have a creative writing center in there some where. After all, it does tend to melt sometimes.

She gives five choices for the first line. So here it is...accompanied by this awesome piece I found on Etsy :


The view outside the window had been gray for days. I wanted Spring to come so badly I could smell it. The tulips, the roses, the lilies, the grass. Even the worms. I would settle for the worms if only to see the sun shine through my window once more.
I look out again. Still gray. Walking over to the windows for a better look I notice something. A streak across the top of the panes. Could it be the sun starting to peek through? I step closer. I think it is. Yes, it might be.
My heart starts to speed up just a little. I begin to imagine the bikes rides, the walks, pushing my son on the swing for what feels like hours at a time. I add a little skip to my step.
I look out once more, my nose almost toughing the glass. Yes - the streak shines! Oh, wait. It's just dirt. I think I need to clean the windows. Okay, nevermind. Where's the Windex?


Thanks Linda! I need to do something different more often.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Family Update

I have said before that I want to make sure to keep up on the Kids, Home & Life portion of this blog...but have not followed through as well as I would like. I decided to get two birds with stone & post updates on happening on the homestead a couple times a month. This will take care of it here while keeping my brother updated as well. I realized I tend to do one or the other. And time can be a precious commodity here, so this just seems more efficient. Plus, people say they do like getting to know the personal side, especially customers looking to buy handmade goodies. It is one of the bonuses of handmade - knowing the maker.

I have a big brag of an update about the biz itself, but I am putting that one up on my Tilt's Creations blog since it is more focused on my business. But I am always ready to brag about my boys :)

My oldest is finishing up the last week of the school's musical, Oklahoma. He is not on the stage this year, but in the pit orchestra. Next year - to the stage! It makes sense, he is in both the Men's and Ensemble choir at school. And he gets more than enough band in his life with the Wind Ensemble, Marching Band and his rock band - No Alternative. That kid never ceases to amaze me. Although I can't call him kid much longer I suppose. He'll be 16 in a couple months and is more than a couple inches taller than me...and has been for quite some time.
Now the little guy - he amazes me left and right too. When he was younger we had many worried moments with his development. Not extreme, but enough. His sensory & speech issues took a while to get through. Not that he is caught up, but enough for us to see that everything will be fine....albeit with a quirk or five here & there :P

For a kid who didn't speak enough to say Mama until he was nearly three, he sure can go on and on now. And with such a big vocabulary. He was always a babbler & after some testing we realized that he understood everything...and then some. It just got stuck on the way out. His desire to learn everything only reinforces the whole "so much going on inside that just can't get out" theory. Like with his reading this month...awesome! They need to keep a log of what they read at school this month. For Kindergartners the goal is like 90 pages...he hit that on day 2. Once I told him that it was okay & counted if he needed some help, he went gung ho.

I will leave you with some pics the little guy has drawn this weekend. He got a new Spongebob scratch & sketch book and has been having a blast. But the best part is that he has been able to let go of his "everything has to be perfect" thing. That issue has led to many a meltdown. I think he did rather well....


Friday, March 18, 2011

Loving Red Dresses

I have been wanting to make some more clothing. Lots actually. If you follow my other blog you may have seen my knit shirt, gingham shirt and skirt. I am hoping to make one a week. But let's be real...probably not not gonna happen. Maybe one every other week.

To help inspire me I have been trolling Etsy for some lovelies to admire. And seeing that red is my fave color to wear. Well, that and green. I am going to show off some that I would love for myself. And bonus - it matches up with Little Andalucia's Link Party.


Hi Sweetie by Miss Brache



Minidress for Layering by Teclur




Vintage Spot Swing Dress by Miss Happ



Photobucket

Monday, March 14, 2011

Happy Pi Day

Pi (sometimes written π) is a mathematical constant whose value is the ratio Euclidean plane's circumference to its diameter; this is the same value as the ratio of a circle's area to the square of its radius. It is approximately equal to
3.14159265358979323846264338327950288419716939937510...
The current record for the decimal expansion, if verified, stands at 5 trillion digits. Um yeah, I usually remember about 8.
It can be defined as the ratio of a circle's area A to the area of a square whose side is equal to the radius r of the circle:
 \pi = \frac{A}{r^2}.




There is a ton more on Wikipedia (isn't there always?). The other day I was watching a Stargate SG-1 episode and π was the key to the ancient writing. There are lots of sci-fi books and movies that use pi as the universal key to the language or code. Kinda cool.

Even cooler is all the goodies you can find online to celebrate. Think Geek (one of my all time fave geek shops) has a bunch of pi stuff just waiting to be bought. And don't forget the handmade goodies over on Etsy.

For me, I plan to make this embroidery piece from Urban Threads. Hurry on over - it's free right now :)