Paris Layout

I last visited Paris in 2002. I'm so sad that it's been so long since I've traveled. Now that school is nearly finished and the kids are older maybe I should make travel part of my New Year's Resolutions?

The photo on the left is the Rue Du Cler market. Notre Dame cathedral is on the top right and I am on the bottom right!

My Christmas Wish

Is for the writer's strike to end so we can have new episodes of The Office. Sniff sniff.

Feeling Neighborly

Feeling Neighborly

Our dear neighbor and her family are moving back to Korea today. This
is a card I made using my brand spankin-new Neighborhood Jumbo Wheel.
I'm hooked on the wheels now! Watercolored with my Sonnelier
watercolor paints. The checkerboard stamp is an old Anna Griffin from
a set I've had for a while. Paper is generic (maybe DCWV?).

Wednesday's Cards

Wednesday's Cards



Almost done with Christmas cards. Next year I’m starting January.
Which means I’ll be starting over with Christmas cards in two weeks.
Riiiight. I really love these two cards above. I have no idea what
stamp this is, it’s been my tray for a while (I think?) and I thought
I’d give it a try. I recently organized and sorted all my stamps, so
I was happy to see that I had more Christmas theme stamps then I
realize! Also, sadly, I realized that I haven’t used my new Holy
Family Tryptych yet. I liked it a lot and ordered it, but I’ve test
stamped and colored it, and just can’t get excited about the results.
I don’t really have time to play anymore, so it may have to wait for
next year.

The cards above were colored with Prismacolor pencils and gamsol.
Stickles on selected portions.

Tuesday's Card

Tuesday's Card


The red glitter bird was originally going to be a Flamingo. A few
weeks ago I had ordered a custom QK Flamingo die from a scrapbook
store in Tallahassee (Go 'Noles!). I had planned to use them on these
kraft paper cards with a very basic sentiment. Since I'm originally
from Florida, I wanted to use the "warm wishes" sentiment with the
pink flamingo for a nice, Florida-themed card. I cut 20 of these
cards, stamped them, then cut out 20 matching flamingoes. What I
didn't realize until too late was that the flamingoes were HUGE. As
in, a good couple of inches taller then the card. I tried trimming the
legs, but that just made him look awkward.

I guess they are meant for scrapbook pages, not cards. I was a little
disappointed. I suppose I could have cut the cards bigger but I like
using a half sheet of 8 1/2 x 11. Oh well!

So, I have all these kraft cards. And since I was playing with glitter
I decided to do a red glittery bird (BG chipboard). It's cute and will
go to someone local since I'm only mailing perfectly flat cards this
year due to postage.

Chicago Layout

Chicago Layout


I cut the letters on my Silhouette using the "Marquee" font. Very cool and nearly identical to the QK alphabet "Spotlight." Plus I can cut at whatever size I want!

The photos are from a birthday trip to Chicago to see Wicked in August of 2006.

Sun Paintables

Sun Paintables


Prima paintables, Jolee's Epoxy Sticker, Hero Arts and other misc bling, sonnelier watercolor paints, tombow markers, bazzil cardstock. SUN is QK alpha.

Christmas Project #1

My oldest daughter loves word searches, so using a free program on the web and my bind-it-all I'm going to make her a custom word search book with her favorite movies and musicals. Here is a sample wordsearch.

Still Here

Various things have kept me from blogging lately. Well, really only one thing. One really big, feels-like-it-will-never-end kind of thing. Begins with an L and ends with an L. Yes, law school. Still a law student. But at least in less than 10 months I will no longer be a student. I started several Christmas cards last night. If I get some mojo going I'll post the results.

Tropical Hula Tote - SOLD

 

I've listed the popular Michael Miller Hula tote on ebay again. If you are interested please check it out, and if you are a blog reader I will add a monogram for free. Just mention it when checking out, and mention what initial you would like, and where you would like it.For example, you could get a large "J" on the outside or inside, or I can embroider a name up to 8 letters or 3 medium size initials on the inside or outside. Just let me know! :)Thanks for looking!

Cowgirl Bucket Tote - Sold

There is a new tote in my Etsy shop. It's like a little bucket tote, and would be appropriate for either a young girl or lady looking for a fun, cowgirl themed bag.I hope you like it!Buy the Bag--SOLD

Use What You Have Month

I'm officially joining Rhembein and others in "Use What You Have Month." I've complained about this before, as I have a problem with my sewing output not matching my fabric input. I know lots of people like having a big stash. I don't. To me, it's a little wasteful to have so much fabric that goes unused. Maybe it's because of my limited budget or my limited space, but I like to buy only what I need. I recently gave away a huge amount of fabric that was going unused. I donated it to Lizzy's high school sewing class, at least I feel like I was contributing to a good cause.

Not that stashes are all bad, it is nice to be able to select a pattern and then go shopping from the "stash" without having to hit the local fabric mart. And perhaps in the long run it will be more cost-effective. I am finding that co-ops are a great way to build a stash fast, although I usually end up with lots of fabric. But it is a good savings, as long as I use it. Between the coops, 40% coupons and sales I might just be able to keep my overall costs down.

All that being said, I'm happy to be a part of Use What You Have Month. Although I really wish it was in May and not April. I won't be able to do as much as I want because of exams. But I suppose there is no reason I can't keep going after April is over.

Random Thoughts

Oh crappy day! The weather is horrible and freezing cold, and no one is feeling very good today. Everyone is fighting a nasty cold as a result of the extreme temperature and humidity changes. I'm particular thankful that our building management decided NOT to turn off the heat yet this year. Last year they turned it off too early and ended up turning it on and off two or three times before the temps warm consistently. We live in one of those old Midwest buildings that requires the entire building to be drained (3 days) before the heat can be started. So switching from heat to air and vice-versa is not a simple affair.

We'll have a nice Easter dinner though! I've made this a few times and it's wonderful. As a result, I'm now a huge fan of Cooks Illustrated.

I did start two new projects today. One is an adorable tote made with Alexander Henry cowgirl fabrics. I used the new ruffler and I think this makes it very fresh and feminine.

The second is Simplicity 3882, which I picked up at the Jo-Anns weekend sale. I'm going to sew view C in a solid pistachio green knit for Lizzy. It's all cut out but I don't have any matching thread and I'll definitely need some for the top-stitching, otherwise I wouldn't worry about it.

Easter

Easter
Originally uploaded by rusewcrazy.

It's not quite what I originally had planned, i.e., extra lace, frills, embroideries, smocking and/or insertions. but I was starting to feel like she was going to have to wear something storebought. That just won't do for Easter Sunday.

I've been working on this dress for a while, it's actually really simple but it's been my practice piece for my brand new ruffler (thank you eBay) and I had to do a lot of tweaking to get the gathering just right. It's a little big, and Olivia is not that crazy about it, but I think with a simple white tshirt underneath it will be ok. She has dark olive coloring, and yellow just suits her perfectly.

If she let's me take a picture on Sunday I'll post that, but I like the hangar photo because you can see the cute Minnie Mouse lining.

Completed Surfette Overall

These overalls were a lot of fun to make. I've had the pattern for over a year, and I've been avoiding it because I thought it would be so complicated. It was very quick and easy to do, although my satin stitching is not very pretty at all. I have other applique patterns from this designer and I can't wait to make more!

Fabric Disaster

Fabric has completely taken over my life (as well as my apartment). I have put myself on a very strict fabric shopping budget. I refuse to buy any more fabric, no matter how much I desperately need it - or want it. But what if it's on sale? Oh my!

My biggest has been that my sewing output does not match my fabric input, and thus I have mass quantities of yardage floating around. I think one problem is that I will have so many ideas for what I want to do with something, that I have a hard time actually deciding what to do. I have found that I prefer hoarding my fabric, waiting for some special occasion or project. But - what I really need is to stop thinking, and just start doing. Sometimes I get lost in blogs and web sites looking at the wonderful outfits so many people are doing (check out rae*danae to see what I mean). And I need to focus and just get busy.

So, in these last few days of Spring Break I'm going to make a commitment to finishing everything I set out to do, plus STUDY, plus clean my apartment! I'm not sure about that last one - but if I can get a handle on my fabric disaster then I'll be halfway towards reaching that goal.

Ok, enough whining - back to sewing!

Law School Exams and Spring Break

Picnic Island, Tampa
Originally uploaded by rusewcrazy.

My spring break won't be here unfortunately. I'll be busy concentrating on getting ready for law school exams which will always seem to come faster then I expect.

I have five written exams this semester, which is the most I've ever had. And, for those who might not understand how law school works, your exam is typically 100% of your grade for the whole class. In one case last year my exam was the only grade for an entire year. Occasionally some professors give some credit for class attendance, but overall your entire law school career rides on one, lousy grade. For me this has turned out to be a struggle. I've always been a natural test taker and expected this to carry on in law school. Unfortunately, unless you are exceptionally and brilliant, your exam grade directly correlates to the amount of time you are able(willing?) to put in. Of course a little bit of intelligence doesn't hurt.

Being a mom with two kids automatically cuts my available study time to a bare minimum. Sleeping time is non-existent and I HAVE to give myself enough time to be crafty, otherwise I just can't function.

So, if you feel some waves of stress coming from this direction in late April, think of me and send some good vibes my way.

BTW, that photograph was taken in Florida in December of 2005.

Mushroom Ravioli

One of the vendors at the winter farmer's market had fresh mushroom ravioli yesterday. This is probably one of my very favorite foods, when prepared properly. And of course the only way to prepare it properly is to do it yourself at home!

1 lb fresh mushroom ravioli (cooked - it only takes a couple of minutes in boiling water)
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated FRESH parmesan cheese
dash nutmeg
dash salt
dash freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil (thank you aerogarden)
2 tbl butter
2 tbl flour

1. Melt butter, add flour and stir to make a roux
2. Add cream
3. Add cheese, salt pepper and nutmeg.
4. Stir until melted
5. Add milk if necessary to thin sauce

Pour over cooked mushroom ravioli in baking dish, put in 350 degree oven to brown.