move-away

New Camera!

Posted by Nat on Mar 26, 2012 | 2 comments

Hello CC Friends!

It’s Monday the 26th of March.  This happens to be the day after my birthday.  And what a birthday weekend it was!  I’m 36 now.  Officially heading towards 40, even though I still feel 29.  Maybe 28.

My sweet son, Jack, was born March 23rd, 2009.  We had his 3rd birthday party on Saturday, which I will be sharing with you soon.  I’m really pleased with how the party went, and hope I can share it with you in a little “mini-series” which would be a first.

The most wonderful thing about my own birthday is this pretty little lady:

My husband found it for me after hours of combing Craig’s List for several days.  I couldn’t be more pleased with it- it’s the perfect “step up” camera.  I have no idea how to use it and shall commence tutorial combing soon.  My Canon Powershot SD750 was just not giving me the photos I want for this blog and for our family.  Watch my Pinterest Boards– there’s going to be lots of photography stuff going up soon!

In this new year for me I want to do so much- I want to make a bucket list, center my goals up, and finish my Happiness Project with the ladies at Chronically Distracted.  Many, many goals.

I’ll be back tomorrow (hopefully) with a summary of Jack’s party.  Today I need to recover, organize, and regain my sanity.  Not to mention update the family blog and maybe do some dishes.  Oh, and work.  I should probably do some work.  🙂

Happy Monday (if there is such a thing)!

Pinterest Projects: Butterfly Window

Posted by Nat on Mar 23, 2012 | Comments Off on Pinterest Projects: Butterfly Window

Maybe I should call this “Butterfly Week”?

{For my fellow Pinterest Pals:  Please do NOT pin this post!  Please go the the original post, linked below, and pin her original content. I want to blog and pin with integrity, and I am not the original person who thought of this- she deserves the credit.  Thanks!}

I saw this post, pinned it on my Pinterest board, and wanted to tackle it immediately.  As in, “We-must-drink-all-the-milk-so-I-can-prep-this-project” immediately.  Alas, I had to gather a few of the supplies, so it was not that quick.  It was most excellent to have a valid excuse to buy a huge pack of Sharpies in lots of colors.  Who doesn’t love Sharpies, right?

I was so happy that I did this with Anna.  Truth be told, she only did the coloring, and she wore out much sooner than I did, but still- she did a few and it was fun.  And she loves them. Every once in a while she will say, “Mommy!  Look!  There are real, live butterflies in our window!”  I’ll say, “No way, really?!”  And she’ll say, “No, silly, they’re just pretend.”  I’m going to miss four.  Four really is fun.

The only thing I will add to the excellent directions on the original post, is that putting these in the window has caused most of the colors to fade. The yellow faded within a few days.  The magenta color hardly budged, though- must be something in the pigment.  It was easy to take them down and touch them up, though.  I love them for this time of year.  So fun.  Make some.  Make them right  now- you can thank me later.

Happy Weekend- my son turns three today, so there will be party posts forthcoming!

Operation Organization: Pouches for Toys

Posted by Nat on Mar 21, 2012 | 2 comments

I fit some sewing in a few weeks ago and am so happy with what I ended up with.  My kids had a few toys that needed to be contained.  Some blocks that needed a better/cuter home than a Ziploc bag, and Connectagons from my mom at Christmas time.

I knew just where to go for what I needed.  My friend Kari’s blog, Handmade Mommy, has a lovely tutorial on fishing reel drawstring bags.  I thought they’d be perfect for the kids because they are easy to open and shut, and you can make them whatever size you need.  Here’s my final product:

Aren’t they cute?  I lined the inside with white flannel just to keep them a bit thicker and sturdy.

These blocks look so much better in a cute bag, don’t you think?

Thanks so much for the tutorial, Kari!

Pinterest Projects: Butterfly Canvas

Posted by Nat on Mar 19, 2012 | Comments Off on Pinterest Projects: Butterfly Canvas

Ever since I saw this post on Whatever, I have wanted to do this project with my sweet little Anna.  The moment I saw it I added it to my “Things I’d Like to Make” board on Pinterest.  Anna loves butterflies, paint, and crafts.  I wanted something for our craft/office/guest room over the bed.  While I’m not totally pleased with the yellow I ended up with on the canvas, I do love the effect and the bright colors it brings to the room.

Here’s our paper pre-butterfly punching.  The act of painting the colors itself was therapeutic.  I’ll let you guess which one is Anna’s.

I bought three different butterfly punches (used a coupon for each one), and all of them were Martha Stewart brand.  They all worked so nicely.

I didn’t let Anna help with the hot glue- something about 4-year-olds and hot glue doesn’t go together for me.  But the end result is lovely.  I may move it to Anna’s room when I figure something else out for this wall- it doesn’t seem quite big enough, but we’ll let it sit for now.

I would advise a few things:

• Get yourself a nice set of watercolors with lots of color options.  I did a first round with just the Crayola watercolors and the effect wasn’t as nice.
• Use  nice watercolor paper.  It’s very thick and dries better.

Happy butterfly creating!

I’ve Given Up Soda

Posted by Nat on Mar 14, 2012 | 4 comments

I’ve had it on my mind for a while to do a large post about changes Michael and I are trying to make in our eating habits (there are tons), but that post is never going to get written.  I can just tell.  So instead, I’m going to share tidbits of things we’re doing that I’d consider “small steps.”

If you know me, you know I love sweets.  I’m a person who leans towards creamy, sweet, and rich.  Those are my vices.  I go nuts for brownies, rich ice cream flavors (no vanilla for me unless it’s covered in something decadent), and glorious cakes.  I love sugar.

For that reason, I knew I needed to give up some things because I’m not getting any younger, and my metabolism is certainly not where it used to be.

The neat thing (for me) is that my body actually made my mind up for me.  Throughout my last pregnancy I drank a Diet Coke nearly every day at lunch.  It was my afternoon caffeine shot to get me through the rest of my teaching day.  I new it wasn’t good for me, but it wasn’t like I was downing a six pack every day- just one.  As soon as I gave birth to Emily it was like a switch went off.  Soda no longer sounded good to me.  I think I had one a few days after I came home from the hospital out of habit, but I didn’t enjoy the taste at all.  It was weird.

I decided to try natural sodas.  But after a few weeks of that I just asked myself, “What’s the point?”  I was failing to see any reason to consume something that had zero nutritional value whatsoever.  At least with a bowl of ice cream I’m getting some calcium- what’s soda givin’ up these days?  Nada.

I haven’t looked back since.  And even better, I’m now one of those snooty people who likes fizzy water.  It’s delicious.

I haven’t dropped tons of pounds or anything, but I do feel better knowing I’m not drinking it.  I don’t miss it, I don’t crave it.  Every once in a while I’ll have a 50/50 lemonade/Sprite combo if we’re out to lunch or something, but that’s it.

And what I really, really don’t miss is the oodles of soda cans in the recycling bin, as well as the unpacking of the soda after grocery shopping.  That was always a pain in the ass.

Have you given up a vice?

Nobody’s Perfect

Posted by Nat on Mar 12, 2012 | 3 comments

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to feel deflated after surfing around the blogosphere?  Or even the internet in general?  Don’t get me wrong- I love a good Pinterest session as much as the next person, especially when I’m looking for ideas and inspiration.  But there are moments where I have to catch myself and say, “Whoa, there, Nelly.  Simmer down.”

It is so easy to look at all of the beauty that people create, organize and put out there, and then walk away thinking, “I’m not enough.  I’m not doing enough, I’m not making enough, I’m not DIY-ing enough, I’m not _______ enough.”  And you know what I think?

Enough is enough.

So I’ve decided to start a new series here on Crafting Crazy.  It’s called “Nobody’s Perfect.”  In this series, I’m going to share with you my imperfections.  Things in my house that look horrible/crazy/disorganized/imperfect.  Projects that fail.  Anything that isn’t perfect is fair game.  My goal?  To help dispel the perfection myth that seems to be so easy to buy into.

I want to make things because I like making them.  I like the process.  I like the journey.  And if, in the end, I come out with a beautiful project to share, rad.  If I don’t, it’s okay.

So for our first installment of Nobody’s Perfect, I give you… our front yard.  If you’re new to CC you may not know that we live on about 2 acres of land.  A lot of it is  undeveloped and we have grand plans for it once we win the lottery can afford to make it into something useful like a raised garden extraordinaire, or add more citrus trees, or something- anything, really.  This part of our yard is what you see as you pull up to the house or drive on the lane that runs the length of the property.  Needless to say, we’ve been a bit busy with a big project in another area, and our yard… well… just have a look-see:

Some of the weeds are taller than my son.  For reals.  He’s almost 3.   When he and my daughter go out and play right now, I have to remind them, “Watch out for the gopher holes!”

I think I’ve seen our neighbors actually shake their heads in dismay as they drive by.  Really.  They love us.

Here’s a wider shot of our lemon tree, which I wrote about recently.  We also have six pine trees on our property- all of them are Torrey Pines, and they all started as Christmas trees when my husband was growing up in the very same house we’re in.  Cool, huh?

Here’s something else that’s not perfect, but I’m totally in love with it.  This wagon.  My husband got it from a neighbor’s garage sale last week. It’s OLD.  Rusty.  It’s probably been so lonely, and now it has a new life.  Right now it’s primary job…

Pinecone holder.

And one last bit of imperfection.  I thought this was a really strong weed.  Nope.  It’s a baby tree.  Poor thing.  We’ll have to cut it down because it’s too close to our entry sidewalk.

*I should mention that I was most inspired by this post from Heidi of Crafterminds.  I read this post when it came out and it’s stuck with me ever since!  Thanks, gals!