Already the end of February!

This month has come and gone a whole lot faster than I anticipated. I mean, I knew it was a short month to begin with and that I would be gone for almost a week because of Brave Girls but add on top of that being sick for a week, being snowed in for several days and just catching up in general and the month flew by before I knew what was happening.
As fast as the month flew by I did manage to:
attend Brave Girlstake Jackie's clipboard class
finish my ATC cards for my swap
Sign up for an Easter Tag Swap
take Jackie's mystery journal class (The picture below is from Jackie's blog)

One thing I fully intended to do was the tote bag for Jemellia's Sewing Challenge and I just didn't get to it this month. I'm still going to work on it but I didn't get it done in time. Bummer.

I'm planning on March being a more productive month for me and I'm totally excited that in less than two weeks we will change the clocks for daylight savings time. I love the longer days and look forward to being able to get so much more done.
On a happy note, I heard today that Silver Bella *will* be taking place again this year. I was sad to hear that it wasn't going to happen but now that word on the street is that it *will* I'm so excited! Sign ups open on April 1st (better not be an April's fools!).

So ready for Spring!

Today it's raining cats and dogs here in Tulsa and I know this is a sign that *hopefully* spring is right around the corner. I'm so happy for the milder temperatures and I'm just itching to get out in the yard and do some planting. I need to see some green!

I love flowers and plants and leaves on the trees and I've got big plans for the back yard this year. I'm extending the garden and we are planning on extending our patio so I'll want to plant around that too. I'd also love to get a new bird bath. My old one got broken a couple years ago and I've yet to replace it. I'd also love a chiminea - I've heard they keep the mosquitos at bay - maybe I'll need TWO chimineas. We'll see.

I'm also awaiting the return of my friends. Why is it that I get so excited to see these guys but I run screaming when I see a bee?
Last summer it was so funny - Doug was out in the yard with a red ball cap on and one of the hummingbirds kept dive-bombing his head. The hummingbird must have thought the cap was a big delicious flower. :)
I'm going back to OKC tonight to take another class with Jackie. This one is a mystery journal class and should be lots of fun!

Creative Updates

I've been a little under the weather since getting back from Brave Girls but here is a quick update on the going's on around here.
Thursday night I went to the Paper Crown in Oklahoma City and took Jackie's Clipboard class:

I just love that little dog with the crown, don't you? We used lots of techniques in this class: shrink art, gold leafing, embossing, using mica sheets and more.
Also, I mentioned in my last post that I decorated my Brave Girl Apron. Here is the top where I added decorative trim and made those fun flowers.

Here are some fun flowers and ruffles that are on the bottom.

Other than that I've been resting since I haven't felt like doing much else. This week I need to complete a couple ATC's for a swap for February and I'm going back to OKC for another fun class with Jackie. Can't wait!

Brave Girls Camp Feb 2011

Let me start by saying I hope you had a nice Valentines Day! Doug spoiled me as usual - I'm one lucky girl!
Okay - on to Brave Girls Camp. This year our camp was at a different cabin and it was much larger than last years cabin. We walked into the main gathering area and this is what we saw:

Beautiful, right!?! Once again we had the greeting line with everyone hugging us and telling us they were waiting for our arrival and so happy to have us here. After our long trip up the mountain they served us a fabulous meal. Ahhhhh....
We received these beautifully decorated journals and also a beautifully sewn envelope which held our "curriculum". (When I say curriculum I mean journal prompts, exercises for self reflection and clip art that we are free to use in our art if we wanted to) Not pictured here, we also received a Brave Girls sweatshirt and apron.

One night we had a little visitor at the back door. How cute!

I tend to be kind of shy and don't always take part in all the fun. I tend to watch the fun from the sidelines - it's just more comfortable for me that way but this time I joined in on the fun and made a snow angel on the frozen lake.

We all made them - isn't that awesome!?!

This is a picture of me with my crafting table mates: Rachel, Rachel, Annie, Erin and Michelle. Michelle was also my roomie at Camp.

Here are Lori and Meghan doing the "Pageant Wave" (inside joke)

After busy days of creating and reflecting, Brave Girls get together to share and sing. Sorry the picture is so dark - it's hard to get a good picture at night.

I totally enjoyed my time returning to Camp this year. I had a feeling that it would be different for me because I am definitely in a different place this year - and it was. There wasn't anything I was purposely going to focus on, I figured I would just let it unfold as it may. And it did.
I just want to say here that Brave Girls is not the "fix" for all your problems. To me, what Brave Girls Camp is is a chance to stop all the noise and all the distractions for a few days. It's an opportunity to be around other supportive women who are looking for friendship, a chance to explore thoughts, feelings and dreams and to express all those without being judged. Oh, and of course to have some fun!
For me, not only is it fun to spend hours creating with other women but also to see what comes out in everyone's art. It's also a chance to use all kinds of embellishments (yay!) and try new techniques that otherwise I might never have tried.
Our final night we had a "gallery" and got a chance to see what everyone was making all week. Just beautiful! My favorite project was embellishing my apron. I'll see if I can get a good picture of it and post it next time.

Back from Brave Girls February 2011

I'm back from Idaho, a little tired but so inspired! Another wonderful trip to replenish and revitalize.
I need a good night's sleep to gather my thoughts but you will want to check back and see some fun pictures. I'll do my best to try and explain how this year's experience was different for me than last year. Still amazing - just different!
For now, I'll leave you with a picture of Rachel and me with our goodie bags getting ready to board the bus to McCall, Idaho and Brave Girls Camp 2011.

Getting ready for Brave Girls!

So last year about this time, I was really brave. I had read about Brave Girls on a couple of blogs and decided it was something I needed in my life at that time. I didn't know a soul but I signed up anyway and got on a plane for Idaho to spend almost a week with a group of complete strangers. I wasn't sure exactly what it was going to be like except the women who *had* been described it as "amazing, life changing, uplifting, a gift to yourself". It was all of that and more.
It didn't take long for this group of strangers to turn into friends. Brave Girls is a safe place where women can open their hearts and minds. It's also a place where I learned that we ALL have insecurities and we all have pain - some just hide it better than others. But we learned to open up and share our pain, share our insecurities, learned that there are people who will hold our hand, wipe our tears, listen to what we say. We all need support, love, friendship, encouragement and people who love us enough to offer that is who we need to surround ourselves with. All others need to be kicked to the curb - or the moon in some instances. That doesn't mean we don't still love some of them, it just means that we don't allow them close enough to hurt us.

When I returned from Brave Girls last year I knew there were changes I not only wanted to make in my life, but had to make. It took me a while to process what I had experienced in Idaho but slowly I began to make some changes and I still am working on some. I'm excited to see what Brave Girls has in store for me this year as I am in a totally different place than I was last year. I'm not going with any expectations of how it will be or even what I want to work on while I'm there. I'm just going to let things unfold as they may.
Below is a picture of me and Jennifer. She understood me. She cheered me on and offered me the sweetest support. She made me feel at ease, at peace. I'll miss her this year at Brave Girls but she is on bedrest. She has twins that are not due until April but she has been in preterm labor for a while. Please send up some prayers for all of them - for Jennifer to hold off as long as possible and for two healthy babies when the time comes.

I cannot wait to see Rachel and Dawn! If you have read my blog at all you already know that Rachel has been my partner in crime at several Artsy Retreats this past year. We've had so much fun meeting in Omaha, Minneapolis and St. Louis - and as I've already mentioned we are already scheming this year's retreats. Sweet, sweet Dawn. I haven't seen her since last year at camp and even though she isn't attending this year, she has offered to pick me and Rachel up at the airport and we are spending a night at her house at the end of the week. Can't wait to catch up with her too!

I'm going to be busy packing my stuff the next couple of days and praying that the weather holds out long enough for me to get my plane out of here. Until yesterday, it didn't even seem real but now the butterflies in my stomach are starting and I'm getting so excited!

Birds out and about in the snow

Doug got me out of the house for a little while today but the roads were NOT good. I would not and will not be driving on these roads any time soon so I'm lucky that I don't mind too much staying home - even if I am getting a little crabby these days. We had some lunch and tried to go by Barnes and Noble for a few new magazines but they were closed.
Here is our neighborhood:

By the pond:

On one of the main roads by the mall we even saw a firetruck get stuck while turning the corner trying to respond to a call.

I'm having fun using the giant lens on my camera and taking pictures of birds. It's exciting to see all the beautiful and different birds and I'm thrilled with how good the pictures are coming out even though I'm taking them from inside the house!

We have multiple sets of these gorgeous cardinals and finally I'm seeing some bluebirds!

These birds are enjoying some tasty berries.

Look at this little guy - he looks MAD - kind of how I feel these days.

I am so thankful for heat and electricity and plenty of food to eat.
Hope you are staying warm and staying safe!

Snow, snow, snow

So we got hit with Tulsa's worst storm ever. For some reason it doesn't seem as bad as the blizzard we had on Christmas Eve 2009 but I guess the roads are much worse. I wouldn't know because I plan on just staying in for the duration.
We have heat, power and food which I am so thankful for and the birds are being taken care of too.

Check out this fat little cardinal that I managed to get a picture of through the window. Actually all my snow pictures are taken through the window because I'm not brave enough or crazy enough to go out in this cold weather!


Sweet Shih Tzu loves it! At first he didn't know what to think about the snow. He would be running around the back yard and encounter these deep drifts that would slow him way down and throw snow in front of him which would make him nervous. Once he finally figured out what was going on he would zoom around and check out what was going on out there. Eventually he would get too cold and come in and warm up for a few minutes.

Here are a couple pictures of the awesome Valentine Tags that I received. I can't seem to find a good spot to take a picture in this house as the lighting never is quite right. I'm going to have to get a photo box or find another solution but for now - enjoy this eye candy!

The tag I made is in the left upper-hand corner with the girl kissing the boy.

Well, I'm going to try to get some stuff done inside this house today. Yesterday I was totally lazy and didn't get much done at all. Here's hoping I have a little more ambition today. Looks like we are going to be inside for a while...

Valentines Tags, a Snow Day and Brave Girls

Oh my goodness! I received my Valentine Tags from the swap I was in and they are so beautiful. I haven't been able to get a good picture of them so I'll try again tomorrow and post then. You are going to want to see these - I promise!

Well - tomorrow is going to be a "Snow Day". I hope that I don't wake up to this in the morning! The weatherman is forecasting 8-10 inches of snow for our area, our governor has declared a state of emergency, and schools are all closed tomorrow. The storm was supposed to start around 5pm tonight but as of yet I haven't seen a single snowflake.
Like all the other nuts in our town I braved Walmart this morning to get some food in case we are stuck inside for a few days. Good thing I went when I did because the selection of bread was not very good and the people were already in a bad mood. So, as long as we don't lose power we are good!

I leave for Brave Girls next week. This will be my second trip and I'm really looking forward to going again and meeting up with some friends. This picture of me and Rachel was taken at last year's camp. We met and just hit it off from the start. We had such a great year last year traveling around the country and meeting up at various crafty venues. Of course we were on the phone just today making plans for what this year holds in store.

A Sweet Valentine

I sent my sister a Valentine of my sweet nephew. He looks so serious and concerned in this picture.
These Valentines are so much fun to make!

Cosmo Bag Complete!

Today I finished the Cosmo Bag for Jemellia's Sewing Challenge Month One. This bag was much more difficult than I anticipated it would be and I made a few mistakes along the way but overall, I am thrilled with how it turned out!

In doing the outside of the bag I accidentally put the handles on incorrectly and didn't discover my mistake until I had topstitched and clipped the insides of my curves. Let me tell you - I wanted to cry. It took me HOURS to undo all those stitches and I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to match things up correctly - but somehow things worked out. Like I said, my bag may not be perfect, it may not even be close to as good as some of the others in the challenge but I don't care. I'm not going to compare myself or my Cosmo bag to anyone else. I'm just so happy that I have a complete bag and I will be absolutely proud to carry it around with me.
This bag is completely lined and has four pockets on the inside and two pockets on the outside side panels.

I have never sewn anything other than straight lines for blankets and dog beds - and dogs don't care if your seams aren't straight. ;)
Amy Butler lists this as an "Easy" project and while that may be true for a more experienced sewer, I don't think that it was easy for a beginner.
My suggestions for improvements in the ease of this project would more pictures along with the directions and directions that didn't have you referring back and forth for the lining part. Although with a book there is limited space, I think I would have settled for one or two less projects to have more illustrations and lengthier directions for the actual sewing.
Let me know what you think of my project!

January's stash and a snow day...

So, I promised a few pictures of the Stash I received from A Gilded Life's Stash Club. So, on this snowy, January day, here they are:

I'm not sure you can appreciate how lovely these goodies are, but I can assure you, they are fabulous!

Now I just need to not be afraid and go ahead and actually *USE* my goodies to create something beautiful.

I need to just remember that there is more goodness to come. Get over that feeling that I've had since I was little that once something was gone, it's gone. Life is abundant and there are plenty of other beautiful things for me just around the corner.
I *am* going to use the day to create. We got some snow overnight - nothing compared to what my family is dealing with in Connecticut, but nonetheless, there is some snow on the ground. That means I don't travel too far from the house. I'm scared to drive on slick streets even though I have a very good 4 wheel drive vehicle. Better for everyone if I just stay home.
I'm going upstairs to work on my bag for this month's challenge. Wish me luck!

Valentine

I made this little Valentine for my honey.
It's an old polaroid picture of me as a little girl that I scanned and printed on regular paper.

Beautiful doll and Valentine Tags!

Remember back in December when I was the lucky winner of a beautiful doll that Jackie made? Well, I took a class back in late December and I was supposed to pick her up then at the Paper Crown. Somehow I forgot as I was leaving the store and remembered only after the store was closed. Well, Christmas came, then New Years and between the store being closed for the holidays and other things going on, I wasn't able to get her until the other night when I went for class. Isn't she just beautiful! Not only the doll but also the box she came in and the tag Jackie made. I'm so lucky! :)

I'm doing a tag swap for Valentines Day and I finished my tags today and got them sent off in the mail. All 20 of them. Can't wait to see all the beautiful tags I get back in return. The ladies in this group are so incredibly talented and each tag is it's own little piece of art.

Last night I opened the box containing all the beautiful stuff from the Gilded Stash. Amazing! I tried to take a few pictures but I couldn't quite capture how beautiful all the fabrics and embellishments are. I'll try to photograph them tomorrow but for now, you will just have to wait to see what you are missing out on if you didn't sign up. Bummer, I know!

Valentine Love Banner Class

Last night I ventured over to OKC to the Paper Crown to take a class with Jackie. She designed this adorable Love Banner and I just love mine! As always, we had so much fun - how could we not? Check out Jackie's blog for more pictures.
I spent the night over in Oklahoma City so that I could get up bright and early and attend the Oklahoma City Quilt Show. I'm not really a quilter, in fact, I don't know the first thing about quilting but I thought it might be something fun to see. Plus, I like fabrics and I may be in the market for a new sewing machine before too long. Carolyn said she was going to be there with some of her friends and sure enough, we ran into each other.
I ended up purchasing a couple applique kits, some wool for felting and a few other embellishments. Lets see what I can come up with using what I bought today.
Shea and Debbie of A Gilded Life have started a monthly Stash Club. Because they both have such exquisite taste I knew I had to jump on the chance to be a part of it. My first package arrived last night while I was in Oklahoma City and I can't wait to go open it! Bye for now!

Getting things done

Nestle has the right idea - staying in and bundled up. Whew - it's COLD outside! I'm having a hard time staying warm and I'm in the house with the heat cranked WAY up. I'd love to crawl in those covers right next to him but not right now.
I am getting things done and that's a good thing.
I've been working on Jemellia's sewing challenge. I prepared my fabric, cut out all the pieces, put the interfacing (is that what it's called?) on them and now it is time to actually start sewing my project together. I don't want to show you just yet so you will have to wait until it is finished. I can hardly wait!
The electrician came today to fix the lights under the cabinets in the kitchen and install two ceiling fans in our garage. Why is it that things never go as planned and things always take so much longer than you think? Well, we need a new transformer for the lights because the old one was damaged in a power failure this past summer. In addition, the ceiling fans couldn't be hung today because apparently they need to be "braced". So, hopefully tomorrow when the electrician comes back those two projects will be taken care of. I'm sure glad we didn't try to hang the ceiling fans ourselves. Sometimes it is just so much more worth it to hire someone who knows what they are doing.

This picture is of our back porch that was taken right after we closed on our home. We want to extend the patio out to the edge of the house and put a walk way on the side. So today, I also had a concrete guy come out to give us a bid. We had a couple of estimates done last summer and almost fell over from the sticker shock. Our back porch, although very cute, doesn't function very well. We should have that bid tomorrow so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Looking forward to being able to check a few things off my list.

Fabric for January's Challenge

When Jemellia announced her Sewing Challenge for 2011 I was all over it. Doesn't matter that I've never really sewn anything more than a blanket or pillows for my dogs. I *want* to learn to sew so what better time than right now?
So, when Jemellia posted a picture of the fabrics she intends to use for this challenge, I started searching online for mine. The problem was that each time I found a main fabric I liked, there weren't any matching fabrics to go with them. I started to panic.
Until this afternoon when I stumbled upon this:

This fabric is so "me" - even Doug thinks so - and I just love it.
The first fabric store I tried to go to today was closed for inventory. Ugh. I checked their website prior to heading over there and there was no mention of being closed today.
Then I remembered a small fabric store here in Tulsa that I had driven by once - the Cotton Patch. What a pleasant surprise! The store is little but has some of the prettiest fabrics. I will definitely be shopping there again.
It only took me about two minutes to zero in on my absolute favorite fabric. Since Valentine's Day is right around the corner I opted to go with fabric that had pink and brown. The hardest part for me was picking the "plain" fabric. I couldn't quite find a matching solid until I found the brown that seems to go well with both the bag fabric as well as the lining.
Now I'm just waiting on my Amy Butler Style Stitches book to arrive so I can get started!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Everyone!

From reading so many blogs I know that although 2010 was a good year in many ways it also brought many challenges, difficulties and heartbreak. We are all looking forward to 2011 being an even better year, aren't we!?!

Usually the week between Christmas and New Year's I take time to reflect on the year past and what I'd like to change in the new year. I remember that last year, although I wrote some goals down, I wasn't able to quiet my mind long enough to really think about what I wanted to change and how I was going to change. Somehow though, I did accomplish some things completely, made a good effort on some and some fell by the wayside.
This year however, I was really able to get quiet, and think it through. I feel much more at peace going into this new year and much more able to actually make a change. I'm so looking forward to it!
I approached it wrong last year. I was defiant and tried to "force" change like, "That's it - I'm going to make changes this year! :( " Forcing just doesn't work for me. Ask me nicely and I'll do just about anything, but demand and I'm just not going to do it. I'm not going to fight back since I don't like conflict, but I'm simply not going to do it. Being forced into something makes me angry and stubborn and want to run the opposite direction.
I need to feel encouraged, loved and guided along - just go with the flow. Life is too short and I want to be happy. So, while some of my "goals" look the same this year, I'm going to take a different approach. I'll let you know how that goes!