what a day!

have i mentioned that Thursday is probably my favorite day of the week?!? well, it is...

we started off the with some manual labor...strawberry picking. we took Remy to a local farm and ended up with two and a half pounds of early bloomers (small but sweet little guys). we didn't stay long cause the sun was high and Remy was getting a little restless, jumping into the patch and snatching the berries out of my hand (she LOVES strawbabies!).



after leaving the farm, we stopped by Skyline to drop off a package for Ashley. i had finished the owl earlier and couldn't wait to show it off, plus i've been craving chai from there since last Thursday. we stayed for a while as Remy seemed to be enjoying the treats Ashley was giving her and all of the attention she was given from the customers. here's the finished product.
later in the evening we took my little sister to the annual Boonsboro carnival. as much as i'm embarrassed to admit it, i really enjoy going to the carnival ever since i was younger. funnel cakes, the "I Got It" game (very addicting), and the water gun game are some of my favorite things. since my family are going to Thailand for a while, i thought it would be nice to spend the little time that we have left to spend it with my sissy.

we were lucky to meet up with some family friends so B (my little sister) could have a partner in crime. we bought her a "ride all night" bracelet and she pretty much got our money's worth. J and i took turns going on some of the rides that they weren't tall enough to be alone for and it definitely made me feel young again...it just made J dizzy (cause i made him go on the ones that spins. haha.)

on the carousel...i didn't understand why they didn't ride on a horse

since i was wee enough to fit on a kiddy ride, i became the chaperon. our expressions are priceless.

oh! how could i almost forget. i got my package from Cary today...EXCITERS!!! not only was the print great, she even sneaked in a few extra things (some beautiful bird cards and stickers!)...i'm a little sad that i didn't have anything to surprise her with though...maybe next time. wink wink...i can't wait to frame my print. i might even frame the cards!

anyway, as usual, it's getting late. (i like to sprawl out on the couch at the end of the night and blog away in my pj's)...Friday awaits in the morning. hope you had/have a great day!

toadstools, caveman, and birdies...OH MY!

it's been a busy weekend. a lot of driving and visiting, but it was really nice to see some friends that we haven't seen in a while. i didn't have to work yesterday (yay! three day weekend for moi too!), so i spent some time checking off a few things on my do make list...like this toadstool...
a couple of weeks ago, i signed up for the Lucy Kate Crafts toadstool swap. although i have until mid June to make and mail mine, i decided to get it done early so i wouldn't forget about it. i thought i was going to have a hard time because it's 3D and i'm not used to that, but the tutorial was so good! it helped out so much!

now, it's not really my style to chose such light color combinations, but my swap partner likes muted colors...so what partner wants, partner gets... it still turned out really cute though. plus, i added a ladybug to it to spice it up a little, so that tops it off. i sure hope she likes it!

i also made this guy...
he's a caveman named Krog. J and the guys at the shop made him up way before we started dating, but i've heard so much about him (i was even his myspace friend once! i know, i know.), so i wanted to make my own version of him. he was so much fun to make!
i gave him a nice toothy smile (which reminds me of our friend Victor's...who was the live version of Krog at one point) and shaggy hair. i also made his arms extra long so that he could stand on his own.

this long weekend also gave me a chance to start on this new project. here's a sneak peak...my friend Ashley from Skyline is going to be an aunt soon, so she wanted me to make a plush for her niece. it's not quite done yet, but it's supposed to be very girly, can't you tell?
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anyway, i'm really excited to send this cutie off to my very first personal swap...Cary from La Vida Kitsch.
i love absolutely love her stuff! i still don't know where i got the courage to ask her to swap (thank goodness she agreed!). you can check out more of her stuff here. i can't wait to get the package in the post soon. i'll be sending out her's tomorrow!

aside from crafts and visitors, we also went to a couple of cookouts. J's parents had us over yesterday and their friends were in LOVE with Remy (she didn't want to leave and pouted the whole ride home!). i took a couple of pictures, so you can check them out here. although if you don't like meat you might not want to...

when i wasn't crafting or going to cookouts, i divided some time for cleaning. some "little friends" are visiting from the basement, so we had to find a nice and humane way to keep them away. because they are little smarty pants, the live traps aren't working as well as we had hoped, so i had to do some patching. i spent most of my morning cleaning and prepping, but ended up forgetting about the steal wool to plug the holes with (they can't chew through steal wool). so i guess we will see what happens. wish us luck!

yikes! i didn't realize i've almost written a short novel. i hope everyone has had a nice long weekend. (the weather was perfect!) i know i did! now it's back to the daily grind tomorrow. work and work. boo.

put all of your birdies in a row

is that how the saying goes, but with ducks? anyway, i wanted to show you the fruits of my labor. they've actually been finished for about a week, but i haven't gotten a chance to photograph them. i thought about doing more than just six (well, i actually made a couple more, but they didn't turn out quite as nice).


i have a couple more projects to get my hands on and then it will be time for a giveaway. ooops, yes, i forgot to mention...since i'm getting a giveaway from Monkeys Go Home!, i have to send something to the first three people to comment on a post (but that said post will be coming up soon, i promise! i just have to get all of my ducks in a row! haha).



i also wanted to show you this really rad umbrella (look at the presidential print!) i got from a place called Bill's Other Yard sale. it' a secondhand furniture place, but these were tucked away in a corner in an umbrella stand. i was so excited i didn't even realize i won't be able to use it in the rain because it was made of my ordinary fabric, not lined or anything. so i'll just have to find a sunny summer day for it i guess.

tonight we'll be back in our old stomping grounds (She-town) with a few friends from out of town. our friend Becky is getting married and moving away to Wisconsin (i think?), so a much needed send-off will be taking place...

tomorrow J and i will be going to my good friend Kelly's house for a little Memorial day cookout. She has two young boys so i'm thinking about making some cookies...but the problem is i don't know what kind yet. i have to go look for a recipe asap! ah, so much to do, so little time! speaking of time, i must get going. as much as i love to sit here and chat, REAL work awaits!

have a great weekend everyone!

my new style icon...

i was going through my reader when i came upon this entry from Fredflare.com's blog. i absolutely love this girl! her name is Boboniaa and she's from Thailand. (of all places!) she's also my newest style icon! sometimes i secretly wonder what i would be like if i grew up in Thailand instead of the US...i hope i would have turned out as stylish and cool and her.

Thai girl represent! haha.

i love Thursdays

...when i'm off that is. sleeping in, going to Skyline, a little bit of crafting, shopping, and spending time with the other half is what i love to do. we went to the Dutch Market and walked out with whole lot of stuff (oats, sugar, like 10 containers of spices...) for under $30! it almost felt like we were stealing from them.

anyway, do you remember the wild flowers i planted a while back...well, they are dead. they never made it passed the seedling stage and eventually dried out and knocked off the porch. BUT! i'm giving my green thumb another shot. i bought some flowers and planted them in a hanging box (because i failed at making a planter box) and a strawberry plant (i LOVE strawbabies!). needless to say, J wasn't very happy about the purchase and thinks these won't live to see June...men...i'll show him.

hanging off our back porch

Dahlia

Daisies, this one is a quadruple flower! (there's another side not pictured) i didn't even noticed when i picked it out!

Begonias

Strawberries i planted in a hanging basket

oh boy, maybe we'll get to eat this one soon!

oh! last night while J was out seeing Indiana Jones with his buddy, i saw this tutorial on the Craft blog...i couldn't resist because the tutorial was so easy to follow and made myself one. at the end, i added a little extra touch to it with my own owl and heart stamp, which didn't turn out too bad (at least i don't think so...J hates this stamp)

i must admit, not my best sewing job.

anyway, there are so many pictures from Alexandria that i have to still go over. my presentation to the boss is tomorrow and i'm not nearly ready. yikes! so i must go now and leave you with this picture of the day...

she's one sassy dog!

getting crafty

it's been a couple of days since i've sat down to do crafts. since it was a rather gloomy day, i picked up some fabric and a pair of scissors. here's what happened...


i really intended to make just one design, but i couldn't remember the measurement of the style i wanted to make, so all three of them turned out really different. it worked to my advantage cause these will be used as prototypes for others later.

other than that, i got an email from Jessie from Monkeys Go Home! letting me know that i'll be getting a freebie from her in the post because of this. how exciting is that?!? she makes cool little creatures/toys with really awesome faces on them, like this one. the faces are my favorite part because it reminds me of all the goofy faces my friends make...we are quite the talented group of face makers. observe...

us in Myrtle Beach last summer

anyway, it's way past my bedtime so i must get going. more later. night!

Toad Stool Swap!

when i saw this tutorial, i fell in love! i was EXTRA excited when i learned that LucyKate Crafts was organizing a swap, i know i had to sign up.

i got my swap partner's name and info yesterday. She's Elizabeth from Gardenias & Lightsabers (i love the name!) and i have a whole month to make a toadstool. i'm pretty excited so i'll be keeping you updated on the progress!

Spring Cleaning...

the rain tricked us out of going to Taste of Arlington, but yesterday was not wasted. my mom is taking a three month vacation to Thailand soon (i'm totally jealous!), so i thought cleaning out my closet and sending clothes and shoes with her would be a good idea...you should see my closet now!

after i got home from work today the cleaning bug bit me again and i cleaned out the stairway closet. our apartment is in a house built in 1901, so there are a few odd rooms and closets from being sectioned out...anyway, while cleaning, i came across J's old wooden bed frame. it had gotten broken and we stored it away to try to use the wood for other things but had forgotten about it. i was struck with one of my bright, yet poorly planned ideas...i wanted to make a planter box, similar to one i had seen in "You Grow Girl". i grabbed all of the things i thought i needed: hammer, nails, measuring tape, etc. i even whipped out the hand saw out of my Ikea kit and used it a couple of times.

Step 1...

...an hour later...i disassembled the pieces...

...two and half hours and one sore thumb later...i was still at square one...

nearly three hours later, i was still without a planter box. as a matter of fact, i hadn't even a frame. defeated, i decided that maybe i should just stick to crafts or try again when i'm feeling lucky.

i was really looking toward to showing off my skills (like "TaDaH everyone! look what i built!" but i failed miserably. it's alright though, cause my Moo cards arrived in the mail today. Yay! and they turned out great, so i can't wait to get more.

a little late...

...but as i mentioned in the last blog (i know it has been a couple of days, and i'm really sorry...) i was going to put up some pictures from Alexandria and Artomatic...here they are!

i almost got attacked by these little things

sidewalk entertainment

Gadsby's Tavern - apparently George Washington ate dinner at this very table

the most fancy Thai restaurant i've ever been to

paint by chewed gum...how clever

Lisa Schumaier - we met her at the Torpedo factory...she told us about Artomatic

met these nice folks while at the Square

some of our favorite arts and artists from Artomatic...

Alan Defibaugh - check out his blog!

Gregory Ferrand, a self taught painter: www.gferrand.com

this was a very moving piece.
the story: her & her brother were cut off by their alcoholic parents and these slides were put in chronicle order and sent to them along with other childhood items. "We had been purged from the files. To them we no longer existed." - Tracy Lee

a pile of pottery - i just thought it was really cool how all these potteries were meticulously placed on top of each other in a circle

Lisa Schumaier

Matt Sesow - JR liked this one a lot.

Tigerflight

Dale R. Hunt

and definitely check these guys out

Caitlin Phillips
Dana Ellyn
Justin Patterson
Tiny Ghosts

don't forget to go and check out the other artists, the tattoo parlor, or see the bands at Artomatic. it's open till June 15th!