Mehhh Monday

Yeah, enough said about that (reread title, boo).

I can honestly say after last week at the day job, I am exhausted and more motivated than ever.  I am still working on "my story" for you.

The light at the end of the tunnel (as dim as it might appear now):
One of my hair bows sold in my neighbor's health club.  It is a start, and it's my start, therefore I am proud.

Sorry for the post and run but it is bedtime for this tired gal.

Goodnight friends, I am thankful for all of you :)

Middle of the Week!

Yes, hump day is finally here!

So from Sunday here is what I have completed:

1. Bow holders - You can see one of them here and one of them here...

This is the holder and the bows I took to display (and hopefully sell!) at my neighbor's health club in Smithville, called Warrior Nutrition.

2. So this clearly shows #2: making more bows was completed ;)

3. I was also able to collect the stuff that didn't sell at the nearby garage sale! (I did get to sell some bows ;))

4.  Got the house to be a little cleaner, and did NOT clean on Monday while I was off

5.  I was able to spend some nice time with DH, we went to a movie and that was very nice

6. Like I said, I now know my neighbor owns a staple gun (and said I could use it any time!)

So yes, between Sunday and Monday all of these things got finished :)

Feeling productive this week, although I was extremely tired all day today at the day job.

OH! One thing I tried today was making "boiled" eggs in the oven.  YES! The OVEN!  You can see the directions here, all I did to find them was (seriously) Google "how to make boiled eggs in the oven" and clicked the first link they had.  Worked pretty well! I'm not sure the taste is all that different but this method works better for me than the actual boiling.  I know what some might think, Oh boiling is so much faster than a half hour in the oven! But I am bad about "correctly" timing the boiling of the eggs and with the oven method I didn't even have to use water! I did put my eggs in a muffin tin though, I wasn't feeling up to putting them on just the rack...

Okay time for bed!

Goodnight friends!

Sunday shenanigans

What my day looks like for this beautiful Sunday:

1. Make some bow holders (and post pictures on my blog)
2. Make more bows as my very kind, business-woman neighbor has agreed to sell my bows in her health club
3. Go collect what did not sell in a nearby neighborhood garage sale
4. Clean house so I don't have to on my day off from my day job tomorrow :)
5. Spend lots of time with DH
6. Find someone I know who owns a staple gun and a router (JUST got word my neighbor has a staple gun! Yay!)

I will check back with you later to let you know what all actually gets done ;)

I hope it's as beautiful where you are as it is here today!

As always, thank you for reading

Fab Friday!

Hi Fab Friday Friends!

I have been looking forward to this day all week! And just curious, is it just me or is everyone having Blogger issues today?

Well I just wanted to type a quick note on my news today:

A neighbor's friend was having a garage sale so they kindly offered to put some things from my garage in the sale and I put some hair bows out for sale and some of them have sold!

It may be a slow start but we are only going forward, not backward :)

So I sat in the floor for a few hours to make some more to replenish my stock.

Thanks for the read!

Have a great weekend!

Update!

Dearest Friends,

I am proud to say that after working my tail off at my day job, I have managed to find time to make my Etsy shop BETTER in many ways.

I also have 6 baby quilts at the quilter that I hope to get back soon to bind, and put in my shop.  They will definitely be for sale and I will make sure to put pictures here as well :)

I have been reading amazing information in Etsy and on the internet and it is extremely motivational and inspiring.

I have also been thinking about my story and what it all means for my future with Thurman's.

(Since I was super conditioned in college to do outlines and rough drafts before turning in the final draft so I will be working on that for all of you)

Now I am off to do more "work" and wifey things (like fold towels and do dishes)

Toodle-loo friends :)

Life (with some mushy gushy)

Life lately has been a little nutty.  Work has been taking up a lot of my time (as in more than the norm 40 hours)... so that's been it really.

My wonderful, loving hubby bought me a Singer Futura last week! And yes, I say "last week" as in I haven't used it yet.  I was going to plug it in tonight and watch all the tuts on it but I can't find the power cord! I'm almost wondering if DH hid it somewhere because I kept threatening I was going to call in to work and sew all day ;) (which I would never really do, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't/still don't think about it)

I have lots of monogramming requests already, so lets hope I find this cord!

Also I picked up tshirts today for a tshirt quilt order :)

I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

This evening after work I was able to crank out a necklace and two pairs of earrings.

I have big goals for the upcoming months and I will keep all of you informed as I go about completing them.

Just hang in there with me, I really do appreciate ALL of you who read and keep coming back to my sites.

This is all for tonight, I will now go make a reasonable and achievable goal list!

Nighty, night!

P.S. I got my degree in the mail today! It's official! I am ALL done with undergrad :)

Holding it in my hands was a little emotional to be honest.  This piece of paper shows all of my hard work and everything I have learned in the past 5 years.  I am proud of myself for sticking with it, even when it totally sucked.  And a HUGE thank you goes to DH for sticking with me, even when it totally sucked.  I cannot wait to frame it, and I have decided it will go in the hallway because I want everyone who comes over to walk by and see it.  I know I will have many more great accomplishments, but for my life right now this sure is a chart topper ;);)

Goodnight everyone.

Ohh the productivity!

I had a pretty productive day! Very exciting.

I took 6 baby quilts to be quilted! I decided it was just better to have them quilted instead of trying to do them myself (as they would look nicer anyway since I am still learning...)

I also got 3 pairs of earrings made (my first time making earrings) and 1 pair is already spoken for by a dear friend! I am SO EXCITED! I appreciate the business ;)

I am getting excited about the quilt expo coming up in October! I got all my tickets printed out for my classes and I absolutely cannot contain myself.

Tomorrow for Labor Day I plan to spend all day with the hubby.  And I hope to get some more work/crafting done! And of course watch The Devil Wears Prada, considering I could not locate this on the shelf...therefore DH will have to find it.

I know, I know. I need to finish things on my WIP list...(as you all look over to this list...)

Maybe I can make time tomorrow to finish at least one....

;) have a good night! Happy extended weekend!

Friday Night

DH finally returned home today from working out of town. So glad to have him back!

While he was gone I was able to work on just a few things....

This puppy quilt was a fast project (hung up on my curtain rod in my sewing room!!) it has puppies in the middle, with a darker blue/brown plaid around it, then blue gingham, (what looks like yellow) tan, a light blue with little hearts and dark brown borders. Great for a little boy :) I need to quilt it then get it up on etsy (does anyone else sell on there?)

Here is a little dress I made last night! I need to make a few minor alterations then I think it will be too cute!  This was my first try at making a little dress going off of the pillowcase dress idea. (pardon the tissue box! yikes!)

And since I haven't loaded pictures in a while..... here's another one

This is a necklace I made about a week ago.  I have been having a ton of fun making jewelry lately.  It's just a nice little activity to do in front of the tv.

Have a good night all!

And as always, thanks for reading :)

All Domesticated...and whatnot..

Hi All,

Today was an extremely productive day, even with working a normal day! So I'm very pleased with that.

I went to the bank, to get gas, and to pick up a few things at the store AND got home all within an hour of leaving work.  (Keep in mind I live about 20ish minutes from my job). So super exciting stuff there.

And after I got home I was all domesticated n such with making dinner and doing my LEAST favorite adult thing, cleaning out the fridge. I also made dinner and washed grapes for lunches tomorrow.  We are on a major grape eating kick right now...And I put all dishes in the dishwasher and cleaned the counters.  Now I am reheating dinner (yes, what I just made) because DH went out the door for a minute*

*See note below

I also picked out fabric for the next quilt I'm going to make!

I know, I know. Some of you just took the time to look over to my WIP list...and no, none of those are finished yet.

My nephew's quilt will be finished as soon as I can get DH to stay in one place long enough* to help me rebaste it because it's just not going to work the way it is now.

I also need to get it in gear and quilt the other quilts that are in line (currently I can think of 4...)

So I think I'm going to look at quilt books and make jewelry the rest of the night....

Manic Monday is over for this week!

Short Sunday

This weekend was definitely too short for me!

I just finished watching some tv with DH and making 3 bracelets. I also got a baby quilt top together so overall I feel today was pretty productive. Short, but productive...

This is the quilt top I got ready to be quilted and I hung it up in my sewing room!

Have a good night all! It's bed time for this gal.

Helpful Hint

I know it's late. DH is ready for bed and I just don't feel like I can wind down yet, so I am hoping blogging will help.

Today/tonight I remembered a tip/hint/piece of advice that I always try to follow.

Know when to walk away and take a break.

My day: trying to finish up a quilt for my nephew's birthday gift (which pictures will be posted after it is given. this is my rule that I stick to and you can see in past posts I always do) and I was attempting to spray baste the quilt.  Of course I always clear off and wipe down my kitchen table and do it there...but this quilt is a larger lap size and needed more space.  So I swept and cleaned my kitchen floor and laid it all out to baste by myself. (Which I always try to baste my stuff while there is someone else around because I don't know about you all, but sometimes it's like an Olympic sport trying to get those layers smoothed out)

So after I thought everything was fine and smooth, I got it up out of the floor only to find a nice size bubble on the back. Terrific.  So I put it down and made a necklace.  And of course DH wasn't home for me bribe for help.

The plan is to have help to re-baste the back and then quilt it and bind it and give it to him by the weekend.  But we will see what happens.

The necklace I made was pretty cool :)

Tomorrow will be full of house work and getting ready for the week and I hope to make up some hair bows, which is something I haven't done in quite a while.

And since I haven't posted pictures in a while...This isn't the necklace I made tonight, I will post that later..

This is a necklace I made from black and turquoise beads.  You can find this and other homemade items at thurmans.etsy.com!

Thanks for reading tonight!

Life on the outside

of college that is!

I must say it is pretty amazing to finally be done with college after 5 years of busting my you-know-what.

But now what to do with all of my time is the real question here.  This week I worked a lot (at the day job) and I had little time for crafting because sadly, when I got home from work all I wanted to do was...well...nothing.

Currently: I am watching Sherlock Holmes with DH and "working".

I define "working" as working on my dream job ie: blogging, and uploading things to my etsy site to sell items that I loved making.  (again I will share the site info with you after I do a little more work to it. thanks for hanging in there)

My MAIN reason for wanting to make a living from quilting and crafting:

I really do LOVE to quilt and craft and I love coming up with new ideas for myself or seeing and making ideas from patterns made by others.  And when I gift items to my loved ones that I have made I see how happy they are and (often) how amazed they are that I am capable of making handmade gifts.  Or when I sell items to people, I love to hear later after they give the gifts how excited the recipient was.  (And I am blessed that gift giving sometimes creates more sales which allows me to keep doing what I love)

Another thing I am VERY thankful for: Today is Friday :) which means I am a super busy bee tomorrow because I need to quilt one quilt and machine stitch the binding (I then turn it and hand-stitch the back side) and I also need to finish sewing blocks together for another quilt and chalk up some quilting lines!

Confession: I am still new to quilting on my (amazing) Janome so I still use chalk lines, and I'm not ashamed to share!

Dream: One day own an (amazing) quilting machine and I won't have to use chalk lines :)

Fun fact: I am now 23 years old and I have been sewing quilt tops since 2007 (in '07 I was a senior and graduated from high school)

One more Friday Fun Fact: I looked up when a local quilt guild meets and I am considering going to my very first quilt guild meeting next Thursday! I don't care if I am the youngest person there (unless someone brings a young granddaughter along) because I will most likely connect more with the wonderful people I will meet than with people my own age.  And honestly, I am okay with that :)

ALSO, one more note: QUILT EXPO AT KCI EXPO CENTER IN OCTOBER!!!!!!!!!

Who's excited?! THIS GIRL IS! Absolutely CANNOT wait!

Hopefully this story will tide you over for now :)

Have a totally fab weekend!

Life as I've always known it...

Involving school anyway...

Is about to come to a halt! In 30 minutes I will take the last final for my Bachelors degree!

Then I can get on with my craft life!

I will definitely let you know how it goes!

Update!

Hello!

I have been busy, busy! Unfortunately not with anything fun.  You know, boring adult, grown up stuff.

BUT I have been trying to make a little time for crafting every night and that has resulted in... well a necklace and working more towards getting my Etsy site running.  (Which I will share that site with you shortly after I get that up and running a little better)

I have also been working towards getting my posts transferred over.  So if any of you have any suggestions on the best way to do so... Please let me know!

Thanks for reading!

D

P.S. I have successfully transferred over all of my posts from 2010! Whew! What a move.  Please feel free to read and explore my past projects.  Thanks to the lovely, updated version of Blogger I can now adjust the date and time stamp to match my original post!  This is super exciting!

Greetings!

Hello readers,

Thank you for following me to my new site!  Please bear with me while I get this new blog up and running.

Currently:  I have been doing more crafting and less blogging.  Plus I have been working full time while trying to finish up my degree (4 weeks left!)

I have been dabbling in jewelry making while still working on quilts.  I have also been making plans to organize and simplify everything in our home.

I have a lot of envy for the women and young women who can balance work and home and still have everything clean, and for the mothers who stay home and still have everything clean! (I know you exist, I've read your blogs!)

I have also been planning to get my etsy site (found here) more up and running and (hopefully) make some sales!

I have big plans after school is finally out.  I will have more time for crafting and cooking and all other domestic activities that I prefer to do over other things.

Again, thank you for continuing to read and I will make a point to get my other blog entries over to this one so there isn't any confusion.

Follow me on twitter @mrsb530

Huggies,
D

oh my!

20 days have passed since my last blog!

Well let me tell you what I have been doing!

Currently: I am struggling to listen/watch an online Microeconomics lecture. Blah.  But I have to do it so I will.
I also came to campus (where I am now..) an hour early for some help with my calculus homework.

I have a test next week in my Risk Management & Insurance class....and we've only had that class two times. No worries, I got this!

And all other classes are full of extra work too...of course.

I know one day I will look back at all of these college moments and say "Wow! And I thought I had problems then!" or something along the lines of "I wish the only thing I had to worry about was acing a calculus test!"

(I like to pretend to be wise on occasion)

Anyway...I found this organizing blog here that I intend to use.  So whatever is on this blog is what I plan on doing in my house.

Sorry this post isn't too crafty but I haven't had time to even go in my sewing room.

So now I am going back to watching my microeconomics lecture...

Have a good day everyone!

<Basically this post was to share the link for the organizing blog...haha>

Busy bee...buzzzbuzzz

YES! I have been so busy! Which is shocking since I haven't started school yet and I'm taking time off work.

Ever since the new year hit my body went into you-will-never-stop-blowing-your-nose mode.  Horrible, but I've been getting a lot done.

I've been trying to get a lot of sewing done before I start my LAST semester of undergrad! Super exciting for everyone who has ever met me (lol).

Let's see....in the past week or so I have:
-finished a baby quilt top, quilted, and I'm almost done binding it
-finished another baby quilt top and I'm thinking of how I want to quilt it now...
-finally quilted a Christmas ...thingy? I call it a thingy because I don't know if I want it on the back of the couch as a decoration, or if I want it as a table topper, or if I want to sell it and let someone else decide what it is (haha)

Right this second I am cutting binding for a quilt that has been in my "inbox" and I've just been putting it off.

While I'm here, here are a few more pictures...

These are super cute dish towels! Here is where I found the template for the hanging part.  I just bought a 6 pack of towels from Wal-Mart and there I went! They made super cute Christmas gifts :)  Plus I used some buttons from my mom's button jar.

This is a set of John Deere "snack mats".  We've seen mug rugs and we all own place mats of some kind.  Well these mats are made for snacking! This was a gift for Christmas too :)

Snack mats for a motorcycle fan! 

This is what I have for you for today.  The weather here today is B-E-A-U-TIFUL! I hope you're having nice weather wherever you are :)