Thursday, November 24, 2011

Let the Christmas Crazies Commence

Today was American Thanksgiving which brought on the beginning of the Christmas rush at the Michaels store that I work at. There were some great coupons and sales on which made lots of customers come out to take advantage of that. I got a $100 Ott light for $18!!!

So after a busy day at work, I want to share something humorous and Christmas-related.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Books Were Harmed in the Making of This

I've been having a lot of fun reading Kelly Rae Roberts' book "Taking Flight" and trying out her projects and techniques. One of the projects that caught my eye was the one where she uses a vintage book to create a photo frame. It is such a cool idea, especially for someone like me who loves going to second hand book stores. Any excuse to go, really.

I managed to get a pretty good stack of old hardcover books last weekend at one of my favourite secondhand shops, and I've been a busy beaver this week; chopping and cutting up these books to give them a new life (please don't feel sorry for them- they were in their final destination in the shop before heading to the recycling bin).

It was a really fun project to work on and I am loving the results! Below is a picture of one of them, but I made many more of them and you can find them in my shop. I also plan on taking a few of them to a craft sale I am doing December 3.




This is the example that was in Kelly Rae Roberts' book and was the inspiration for my books.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Artsy Bookmarks



I was super excited to introduce hand painted bookmarks to my Etsy shop a few weeks ago. I think they are turning out beautifully and I'm quite proud of them. They are made of real canvas and I turned them into pieces of multimedia artwork with pieces of scripture from a Bible and other good things like glitter, gold leafing, paint pen, paint, and varnish.

Well, the first one I listed, has just sold! I am so excited to be sending this one off to its new home in Australia tomorrow! (My first sale to Australia too!)


Saturday, November 5, 2011

Write or Die


I saw this link on twitter and it linked me to writeordie.com (write or die). You write in a time crunch and if you don't write, it punishes you. This was my first go with it. The results were entertaining.

...................

I have to write! Quick! But I have to get the oatmeal out of the microwave too and eat...or I'll be late for my shower...and then late getting ready...late getting out of the door which will make me late for rehearsal. I hate being late for rehearsal!!

Okay. Going to get the oatmeal. Please don't hurt me!

123 ......go!!!!!!!


AAAAAAAh. It's punishing me! With Hanson's MMmmbop. I thought it was my roommate's phone but no. It's my computer. I'm going to have that song stuck in my head now. And just the chorus too. Ugh. Good thing I have an orchestra rehearsal to go to . Beethoven 6 will take the Mmmbop right out of there and replace it with Bugs Bunny.

Ok- now must eat and type between spoonfuls.

gulp.

And funny maneuvering. I'm trying to eat out of a bowl with a spoon and type on a laptop whilst sitting on a sofa. Should have done this at the kitchen table!????

Okay bite #2... red warning screen.... keep chewing... one handed typing... more gulping... and one handed typing... the cats are watching. I can only imagine how painful this is to watch. It probably borders on the pain I used to feel in horn lessons when my old teacher would end off an email. His hunt-and-peck-with-2-fingers style was cringe worthy.

I need to eat faster! It's past 8 am already. I find it so hard to eat when it's still dark out. Is it just me? Like my eyes are attached to my stomach? Or maybe I'm still full from last night's Book Club Pot Luck. There was a lot of yummy food there (it was Spanish themed).

Chewing. Typing. My mind is running out of words.

Hey! I managed to grab the bowl that has no chips in the rim. 1 in 6 chance of that happening. Woo! Guess it will be a good day today.

2 and a half minutes left. This borders on ridiculous. Almost. Done. Oatmeal.

And we have oatmeal eating success!

wordcount 370 (including this)

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

This Book Will Make Your Family Feel Normal

I've had a chance to do a bit of reading over the past few weeks; managing to finish something like 4 or 5 books which is a lot for me! I love reading but with little free time and a habit of reading only a few pages before I go to bed means that books get read very sloooooowly.

I recently finished this book called The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. Oh. My. Word. What a fantastic and yet crazy book. And to top this, the book isn't fiction- it's the memoirs of the author's childhood.



The book recalls moments and memories from Jeanette Walls' youth and tells them with the innocent approach to life that only a child can have. The events are recounted just as the author remembers them and are unspoiled by adult reasoning or any bitterness towards the past. You feel like you are a child alongside her experiencing all the craziness and taking life in stride. Her family was completely dysfunctional and they lived in absolute poverty but I couldn't help but laugh alongside the author as she told stories of dramatic hospital escapes and cardboard bunk beds. It will make you feel blessed by your own "normal" life. I seriously couldn't put this book down!

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