Silhouette

When I was growing up my grandma had silhouettes of all of her kids cut out from black paper and framed. I used to love them. Earlier today on Etsy so I saw some of the same silhouettes and I thought to myself - if someone else can do it I can do it too! So I made one of Chase. The below one is a bit messy since it is just a template that I then cut out of paper but it gives you an idea. I am going to cut some out of paper and make Christmas ornaments on square pieces of chip board. I am pretty excited.

Snow! (...or bubbles...)

Chase played in the snow for the first time yesterday. He still calls it bubbles and he was much more interested in the rocks than the actual snow but it was really cute. I don't think he really understood what to do in it...


Other cute things Chase has been doing lately:
- He will look at me before he does something he knows he shouldn't do (like feed his food to the dogs) and he will shake his finger at me and say "no no no" and then do whatever he was going to do anyways
- He carries around our iPhones like a boom box and dances to the music
- When he reads the Spot book every time we lift a tab that Spot isn't under he shouts "NO!"
- He has stinky little boy feet and one of his favorite games is smelling his feet and saying "EWWWW"

Baby Hat Disaster

This baby hat has been the biggest disaster ever! I am trying to make one for a Christmas present but the first one I made was too small (see pictures below). So I started to make another one just like it that is the right size and it got so messed up I had to start over. Very frustrating! I am determined to get it right though because it would be a great little gift.

Knit Hat Ornaments

In order to practice my knitting a bit I have been making little hat Christmas ornaments. I think they are adorable!

A Love of Crocs

Chase is in love with Crocs...


Every time we go by the Croc cart at a mall he points at the Crocs and asks for more and cries when we leave. He has also taken up the habit of carrying our Crocs around the house. The most recent adorable Croc loving thing that Chase has started doing is that every morning he puts on Boris' Crocs. It is adorable.

Knit Baby Hat

I finished my knit baby hat last night! I love it - I can't decide if I should sell it on Etsy or keep it for Chase. I am very happy with how it turned out. I may add a bead embellishment still...

Build a Bear

Last weekend, Boris, Graham, and I took Chase to the Build-a-Bear workshop so that he could pick out a bear. We went in and showed Chase all of the different bears. To Boris' horror Chase did indeed fall in love with a bear - it just happened to be the pink bear with hearts all over it. No matter how many times we tried to convince him to pick another bear, he kept going back to the pink bear. He would hug it and snuggle it and whack away any other bear we showed him. We even took him to the section with the dressed up bears and he still managed to find the only pink heart bear in the bunch.


Graham and I tried to convince Boris to get the pink bear but he just couldn't do it...the only other bear that Chase showed any interest in was a neon blue bear with silver sparkles in its fur... Needless to say, we left the workshop without a bear...

Back to Knitting

Over the years I have had a love hate relationship with knitting and crocheting. I start project after project but I never finish anything. I finally finished a scarf that I started while I was pregnant with Chase!!! I should have taken a picture of Chase wearing it as it is much more adorable but he is with his Grammy this afternoon. I am once again determined to learn how to knit - so I started to knit a baby hat and I ordered a pattern for arm warmers - we'll see if I am more successful this time around.

Necklaces

Here are two more stamped necklaces that I made.

Twilight - On the Big Screen

Last night I did something very out of character and I stayed up and went to the 12:01 showing of the movie Twilight. It was very fun - although it did remind me why I usually try to avoid movies swarming with young girls - and it also made me wonder "what are some parents thinking letting a kid that young out on a school night?!" (I mean there were like 7 year olds there).


I am a complete Twilight addict and I loved the books so of course the movie was a little disappointing. It was okay but I think they had a hard time capturing Bella and Edward's relationship. In the book the relationship starts out a bit uncomfortable and awkward but as the book progresses it grows in to a really close intimate relationship where the two characters really understand and know each other and do fall in love. In the movie I felt like they were "trying too hard / acting too much" which made everything feel a little too forced and the relationship never grew past the uncomfortable stage for me. Also, I think Bella's character seemed too fearful which was not something that I really picked up about her in the book. I would also say they missed the boat a little bit with a couple of the other characters and relationships but it is hard to fit all of that into a movie. This is the problem with reading a book and then seeing a movie - it is just too hard to fit all of that character development into 2 hours.


I was also a little disappointed in some of the casting choices (specifically for Edward)...


But for all my complaining I'm glad I went, I had a great time and overall the movie was okay.

Holiday Rush

Based on blogs and emails it sounds like everyone I know is basking in holiday cheer - for some reason the holidays don't have quite the same effect on me....

To me the holidays are crowds at the malls, massive lists of things that need to get done, and dates that creep up on me way faster than they should. It's only mid-November and I'm already freaking out about how I need to reserve a turkey and ham for Thanksgiving, how I need to start / finish Christmas shopping, whether nor not I should make holiday cookies or holiday cards this year, how I'm going to make this year special for Chase, how I need to decorate, how we are going to budget for the extra holiday spending, what outfit Chase is going to wear for the holidays, what silly gift I should pick up for the work events that I don't really want to participate in because all the stress from things that came earlier in the above list make me a bit grumpy, etc, etc, etc. Needless to say the holidays bring out the absolute worst in my OCD - there are so many self-inflicted obligations to fill and so many lists to make, it could make a girl go crazy!

So for all of you out there with holiday cheer - take pity on us poor OCD, type A, overachieving, stress balls who always take on too much... We all know that we need to just take chill pills and that all of the above can be avoided but we just can't help ourselves... it's the way we are...

Bubbles!!!!

Today was Chase's first snow (well first snow that he was aware enough to understand). Boris took him outside this morning and I guess Chase started shouting "Bubbles Bubbles Bubbles!" Boris tried to correct him and say "No that's snow" and Chase would say "No Bubbles!!!!" How adorable. I guess he was quite taken with the snow - especially letting it fall on his little face. I can't wait until we get enough snow that he can play in it! How exciting.

PS. Babies in winter coats and hats are the cutest thing ever.

Scarves

One of my neighbors is a total rock star seamstress (www.handmadebyhooli.blogspot.com) and yesterday I went to a craft fair that she was having. I bought an adorable kiddo apron and I won a really cool scarf in a raffle (the first picture below). I love the brown and blue together! Well the scarf inspired me to learn how to make button holes and make a few scarves of my own. The first one is for Chase and I used a nickel instead of a button - I think it is adorable. The second one is for me - I used flannel on the front and fleece on the back so it is reversible. I also like that it is a bit more light weight (and can be used during the fall) since the other one is really warm and is more of a winter scarf. So thanks to my neighbor for the great idea!!!

Cherish Every Moment Necklace

I made a new necklace using a domed 2.4 cm sterling silver disc. The necklace has the phrase "Cherish Every Moment" and it has a chocolate colored coin pearl for a detail and is hung on an 18 inch chain. I really like this one...it mimics something that I saw online that I really loved.

Dragonfly ATC

These are the Dragonfly ATCs that I made for the latest swap that I am doing. I am really happy with the "Inspire" one and I liked the way the texture from the fabric looks.

Beaded Circle Necklace

Nothing fancy about this - it is just a simple beaded necklace.

Artist at Heart

Yesterday while I was talking with a friend I came to a startling realization about myself. I have always thought of myself as the scientist / techno geek type but the truth is, I have no passion for science. The only reason I work in technology is because I like the money that comes along with it. I really think I am an artist at heart - who would have guessed. I suppose just because I am good at math and science doesn't mean I am interested in it.

The other thing I realized is that maybe that is why I am so drawn to my husband (because we really have nothing in common - we don't like the same types of movies, we have different hobbies, we like different types of music, basically we are interested in different things) but Boris is definately a kindred spirit in the fact that he may excel in the math and science area but his true love is for music. It's funny what makes you love a person...

Things that made me come to this conclusion:
- I hate reading or watching the news or anything that is based in reality. I would much rather snuggle up to the farthest fetched fantasy or romance novel.
- I have no interest in retaining any scientific knowledge. In fact the chemistry and biology talk that my fellow lab geek friends enjoy bores me to death. I draw no energy or excitement from thinking about anything technical.
- I like to stay rather detached from current events and would much rather be elbow deep in a craft project.
- While battling my illness one of the major thing that keeps me from becoming depressed is spending time doing arts and crafts...or plotting my next project...

Yes We Can! Hooray for Obama!

Today is a good day... Obama won the election!

This year was quite an exciting voting year for my little family. I think this is the most engaged I have ever been in an election and it was certainly the most engaged Boris has ever been (he voted for the first time!!!!) - and even better, what an exciting first election for Chase - granted he won't remember it but that's okay we can tell him stories about it.

Today I am proud to be an American, I am proud to be from Colorado - which voted democratic this year, I am proud that we finally have an African American president, and I am hopeful for a better future for Chase. I can't wait to see what a little change will bring...

PS. Health Update: I had a CT Scan of my abdomen done this morning...the stuff I had to drink was aweful - there is nothing like waking up at 5 am to drink a bunch of chemicals that make you want to vomit for 2 hours before being stabbed with a needle for an IV so that they can inject additional radioactive stuff into your body before they scan you. (I'm a bit grouchy this morning if you couldn't tell - not even the election result glow can completely balance out my bummer of a morning - maybe if my stomach would stop grumbling I would feel better.)

Initial Necklace

I am still waiting for my 1 inch silver discs to arrived but in the mean time I made this necklace for myself with my initials (I must admit I stole the design from someone else but it was much cheaper to make it than buy it). I love it - Simple and tiny but cute. The discs on this one are 1/4 inch big so they are pretty small.





I've already decided what my next adventure in crafting is going to be. I want to buy a kiln so I can start doing Precious Metal Clay stuff! Talk about jewelry making!!! I'm excited about that too - now I just need to save up so I can buy materials.

Happy Halloween!

We had a great Halloween last night! Chase was a penguin and he went trick or treating for the first time. He loved being able to get the candy out of the buckets and he especially liked shaking the little box of nerds that he got. After trick or treating we went back to the house and played the new guitar hero. Chase loved the music and danced all night long! He does love to shake his booty...

Jewelry

My metal stamping supplies finally arrived! I am still waiting for a few more things but here are a few of the pieces I made with what has already come. I can't wait for my 1 inch metal discs to arrive so that I can make the necklace I want to make for myself with Chase's name and birthday on it!