How Many Cephalopods Does it Take to Change a Lightbulb?

Wow! I can't believe how long it's been since I've updated my blog!  I'm so sorry about that you guys.  I didn't mean to leave you hanging. 

So here's the update.  I decided to finally stop messing with my book.  I've re-written it like three times and each time it's turned into something else.  Part of the problem is that I don't write linear.  I come up with an idea, write that, and then try to make it all stick together.  And well... it's not working.  So I decided instead of making a casserole with all the parts, to just serve them separately as a collection.  Yay progress! 

If you know me even a little bit, you know I'm weird and like weird things.  That being said, I found the best website: Roadside America Your Online Guide to Offbeat Tourist Attractions  You just type in a town and it'll show you the thing you gotta see.  That sounded so fun that I just had to share it with you guys.  But I didn't want a bunch of pictures of me at odd places - so I decided to send one of my top reporters.  Everyone, meet Oscar the Octopus.

Oscar is interning here at our little blog.  He's fresh from the Cephalopod School of Journalism and he's ready to see the world!  Just to get his feet wet, we sent him somewhere local. 

Here's Oscar and Mark Twain.  Ok, not the real Mark Twain, but an awesome bench in Monrovia where you can cozy up to Mr. Twain and enjoy the sunshine. 

The plaque reads “The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.”









The next stop for Oscar was Livermore, California.  This cute little town is home to picturesque vineyards and a yearly wine, beer and, art festival. 

 



It's also the proud home of the longest running light bulb! This bad boy was 110 years old as of June 2011. 

The bulb currently lives at
Fire Station 6
4550 East Ave.,
Livermore, California

But Oscar must have lingered at a wine tasting room a little too long, because when he got to Station 6, it was closed. 

Field Reporter Tip: Always call ahead.






Luckily, there is a BulbCam on Centennialbulb.org where we can look in on the little guy.  The site also has facts on the bulb and pictures ranging from the historical to the recent parade in honor of the bulb's centennial birthday. 

 

If you want to see a map of Oscar's travels, click the tab at the top: Map of Oscar's Odd Adventures 

 

So what do you think of our new intern?  Should we keep him?  

Analyze This

I've lost my mojo recently.  I've been sick and my depression/anxiety has been bad.  However, my meds have been adjusted and my antibiotics are kicking butt.  I feel the tingle of creativity bubbling under the surface.  I imagine it's like the tingle of the start of an erection after a long time of being unable to get it up.  It's scary but exciting.  You don't want to rush it, in case it's a false alarm.  But what if it's the real deal?  This is could be it!  A real honest to goodness surge of blood to the head!  I better not waste it - quick give me something to put it into.  Funny - you could read that last bit as an erection or creativity.  I'll let you decided how you want to read it...

I often wonder why I just don't commit to writing.  I think it's partially due to me getting so excited when I see something new.  I get these wild hairs of "I like that.  I have to know everything there is to know about it.  I must do it!"  But then I do and it gets out of my system and I move on.  That explains why my house looks like it does.  Roller derby gear in one corner, art stuff in the other.  Bar tending class notes mixed in with theatre books.  I want to do everything.  But I can't do it half-way. Oh no!  It must be done right now and with the right equipment.  Is that so bad?  It's not my fault that I have a hunger for life.

But (as my freshman year psychology would deduce) what if I'm doing this to distract myself from what I know I should really be doing?  What if I'm just procrastinating to keep me from fulfilling my purpose in life?  Maybe I'm so scared of success that I will do ANYTHING to keep it from happening... NAH I'm just a free spirit.  Right?

In other news, this is Toby.  He is wearing a bow tie.  Why?  Because bow ties are cool.

Button Heart

Well hello there!  I've got a quick craft to share with you today. 

My craft room walls still needed a little something so I found a small canvas and painted it blue with a red-ish heart on it. Simple enough right?

Then I wanted to add some texture and depth to it. So I added a base layer of red buttons using hot glue to keep them in place.

But it still needed more.  So I added a layer of colorful and fun shaped buttons.
                 GAG! I hated it! 
I know my stuff is far from professional but I'm pretty sure I could have made the same thing in the third grade.  BTW, I would have hated it then too.

In the end, I decided to keep it simple.  Just two layers of circular red buttons in various sizes, all held together with hot glue. 







Did you notice how that last picture is clear and bright?  I FINALLY got a Light Tent Kit! Not a bad pic for a cell phone right?  I think it made a big difference.  The next big purchase is a new camera.  Any suggestions?



Smushy Crayons

Hey guys.  Sorry it's taken so long to get this post up, my anxiety/depression has been acting up, so I've been dragging my feet.  But, as promised, here are the steps on how I made the drip crayon art.

 Step 1: Hot glue crayons to canvas. 
*Please note that adorable smiling panda is not necessary for this step, but is encouraged. Because really, how could you not love that guy?













Step 2: Take out your expensive hair dryer and point at crayons, while your ceramic bird gives you a look that says "are you sure you want to do that?"

Step 3: Realize that a hair dryer blows hot air in too wide of a direction and just causes everything to melt and get all smushy, even after you held an envelope between the crayons trying to direct the heat.

How do you know it's smushy?  Because you tried to catch the hot crayon that fell off the canvas right after the other crayon slipped out of it's paper wrapper and in doing so, managed to simultaneously smush them and burn your fingers.

*Don't forget to tell the bird to shut up after he gives you that "I told you so" look.

Step 4:   Problem: Need for concentrated heat.

Solution: Blowtorch (minus the envelope as it turns out that paper is flammable).

See the difference?  The drips on the left were caused by the hair dryer.  See how they all ran together?  The drips on the right were caused by the blowtorch.  Much easier to manipulate.

Step 5:  Add something cute holding an umbrella.

Ta Da! And there you have it.  One more reason to use your blowtorch.

Craft Room 2.0

 The last time you saw my craft room it looked like this:

And we all agreed that it was missing something. 

I present to you, my newest creation... CRAFT ROOM 2.0!

Applause!

Thank you! *wave* Thank you! *blow kiss* No, you're the best.  No you! 

ahem... where was I? Oh right!  The detail shots!

Why yes, that is my paint in spice racks. Oh and those spice jars on the bottom?  Buttons!














And yes, that is a jar full of crayons! So much nicer than a bunch of half-empty boxes.  (pst the crayons are left over from another project.  I'll get to that later)

Please note two important changes to this shelf. 
1) It now has brackets
2) My yarn bowl has been replaced due to the former lack of brackets causing said shelf to fall and the previous jar to crash and shatter.

Always.Use.Brackets!

And of course we needed some art on the wall. So I whipped up this little darling.  Not bad for a writer, right?

And those crayons?  Just a cute owl stuck in the rainbow rain.

 

Squee!  Little rain boots!

Since this post is running a little long, I'll leave the progress shots for the next post.  But if you really love this little guy, you can buy him on my store page.


P.S.  What do you guys think of the larger font I've been using lately?  Too big?  Just right?  Let me know in the comments.

HomeWORK

Hello All!  I hope you’re having a great week.  For me, having a new craft space has got me working overtime on a bunch of new projects.  They’re not quite done, but I’ll give you a hint: they involve hot glue and a blow torch!  Aww Yea!  

In the mean time, I thought I’d share a moment in mommy-hood that I was not expecting to be so hard, in a word, homework.  We all know that parenting is its own job.  But having two school-aged children and helping them with their homework is force unto its own.  Sitting at a table between my two boys with pre-algebra on the left and memorizing a bunny poem on my right can get tiring.  I don’t remember my parents spending so much time on my work, but then again, I was a perfect child with straight As.  *What is that choking/coughing sound?* 

Anyway, Ethan, my 11 year-old, often has book reports.  Unfortunately, he isn’t quite the voracious reader that his mother is, so he needs a push to get them done on time.  To help, I’ve started reading the same books as he does, so we can discuss them together and he can keep pace.  It’s like our own little book club.  And with the great selection of Young Adult titles out there, I don’t find it a chore at all.  The other added bonus is that I know what he’s trying to say when he does his reports.   You see, Ethan has always had an extensive vocabulary, but as a child, he sometimes mixes his words.  For example, while doing his report on the Hunger Games, he said that Katniss “volunteered to be the prostitute”.  Now if I hadn’t read the book, I might have freaked out that I just let my child read a book about a prostitute.  Luckily, I knew he meant “tribute” not “prostitute”.   

For my darling Ethan, this is par for the course.  Upon meeting a transsexual friend of ours, he quietly pulled me aside and dropped this one on me: 

"Ummm mom?"

"Yes Ethan?"

"Is she… ummm?"

"Is she what baby?" (the anticipation was killing me)

"Is she ambidextrous?"

I stifled a laugh and nearly passed out “I don’t know baby, I’ve never asked if she can write with both hands”

“Mom! You know what I mean!”

And don’t think Zander, my 6 year-old, doesn’t lay down some gems.  The other day he picked up The Cat in the Hat, flips thru it, and says “Eh, I’ve seen the movie”.  WHAT?!?  That book is a classic!  I almost threw out all the electronics in the house at that very moment.  And to make it worse, I have a sticker on my car that reads “The book was better”.  I may have failed as a parent.   

So, has parenthood ever blindsided you?

Oh and in case you're wondering what other YA I'd recommend:

• Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series by Rick Riordan
• Dragon Slippers Series by Jessica Day George
• Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going
• This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

 

               I'll leave you with this sweet pic of a hedgehog and his books.

Purchased from here

It all started with a sewing machine.

My sewing machine use to live next door at my friend Christina's house.  She had one of those rare luxuries - an extra room.  One of those magical places for books and crafts and anything else your heart could dream of.  My sewing machine was happy there.  It had it's own space and I visited often. But then Christina did the unthinkable, she moved, 7 hours away!  How dare she.  How could she just separate our happy family like this?  What about the crafts?  What about all the unfinished projects?  She boxed up her material and I took my sewing machine home. 

We walked into my crowed apartment and it begged not to go back in the closet.  But where could I put it?  The kids have the largest room, but we know it couldn't live in there, think of the destruction it would have seen.  I scanned the rest of the apartment.  I started rearranging rooms in my head. And then I saw it.  The dining room.  The room we hardly used for dining.  More like the "I'll deal with it later" room.

BEFORE

I set to work.  Pinterest had prepared me for this very task.  I was going to remake this room and I was going to do it with little money. 




AFTER

Doesn't it look great?  My first rule of DIY is "use what you already have".  I pushed the table against the wall and put the bench on top to act as a shelf.  Those boxes on top of the bench are projects that I'm still working on and craft materials that I want to keep on hand.  Can you see my handy Dremel Drill Press in the corner?  That was my xmas present this year.  *big smile*

I bought the shelf at Target, but the candy jar was left over from our wedding.  I put my extra yarn in it and they look delicious!






This bird and the other two jars above are from Michaels.  All three together cost around $10.  Not bad right? 

And the buttons in the middle jar are left over from my button table. 
While the fabric in the jar on the left are scraps from other projects.

I had this box of ribbons and colorful duct tape just collecting dust in a cabinet.  So I hung them on a trouser hanger and then hung that from an extra curtain rod hook.  So pretty!

Having them out reminded me of some duct tape crafts I want to do.  Plus now that I have them organized I can see I have room for more *wink* That's how that works right?  I still have room so I guess I'll have to buy some more?  Let's just agree that that's how it goes.

The last part was a bit tricky.  I needed a comfy place to sit.  This short bench was also part of my dining set but it was in no way comfortable.  After trying a few things on it like patio cushions and throw pillows, I noticed that it was the same size as my king sized pillow.  So that's exactly what it got.  A new pillow and pillow case to sit on and two throw pillows for my back and ta-da, a comfy crafting chair.






The whole remodel only took a few hours and about $50 to throw this project together.  The room is so much more functional and I still have a surface for the boys to do their homework.  I think all the room needs is some artwork on the wall.  And now my sewing machine is happy... The End.