Daybed Update

The decorating of the daybed is done. I finally bit the bullet and made some pillows (well, 5 pillow covers to be more exact). They are envelope type pillows.
With two small, and sometimes muddy dogs I needed something I could remove and throw in the wash. This is a shot with all the pillows on the bed. I made everything but the grey ones. I also tried one of my pinned Pinterest crafts with IKEA cork boards (originally intended as hot pads) and a scrap fabric set.
I used my new hot glue gun that my sister gave me for Christmas. Here's everything together. The color of the fabric is a little more yellow than the green that is in the gallery wall. I'll have to make some changes to make the two walls a little more cohesive. I'll post pictures of that soon. Here's Remy enjoying the fire. We had a wonderful Christmas and this week is going by way too fast. I'm not ready to go back to work on Monday.

Baby Steps

I bought a sewing machine (over six months ago) and just started using it yesterday.
I took it out of the box on Wednesday when my friend Jennifer came over for a little tutorial. We got everything threaded and then realized the needle was broken. I bought some new needles, bobbins, a yard stick (which is not straight so will be returned) a rotary mat (a small one, those suckers are expensive!), and a rotary cutter--which I call the mini-pizza cutter--yesterday. Last night I got everything set up and just started practicing on some scrap bits of fabric. The whole process is very nerve racking. I've cut some fabric for two pillows but I don't feel confident enough to actually start sewing the pieces together. I've also been watching videos on youtube for some extra visual assistance. It's taking me forever to figure out the right settings for seam width, line spacing, feed dog, foot presser, etc. To some of my friends this is easy peasy but it's all SOOOO intimidating. Tonight I'm going to try and work with the reverse stitching lever. Jeff, who will now be known as the master-of-bobbins, wound these for me. Winding and loading the bobbin is something I'm just not grasping at the moment. Most of my near future projects will work fine with white thread (and that's what I have on hand). On the project list is: 3 pillows, a rectangular tapestry, a small gym bag, and a valance or roman shade (or neither--they seem scary). I was in near tears of frustration last night so lets hope for more zen moments in the future. Deep breaths Erin, deep breaths.

Gallery Wall (Corner)

Most of this week has been dedicated to creating a gallery area in Sandi's room. I bought several frames at IKEA last week and my mom gave me a box full of discarded picture frames. I bought a cute little chair at IKEA (pictures on that later) and in the box was a large piece of brown paper that was the perfect size for mapping out my frame placement. Here are all the frames in a test layout. I had to sand and paint the frames from my mom (also known as the free ones). I used the chair box as a table. I've gotten so many uses out of that one chair! Once everything was the right color and filled with various pictures I traced them on the brown paper with an "x" marks the spot for the nail holes and tapped the paper to the wall. And here's the wall in all it's glory. Here's a shot from the side...and here's a shot from the hallway. I know you can't tell what everything is but I'll explain a few. For Valentine's Day Jeff got me a card from the dogs and stamped their paw prints on it. This is from that card. This is the Google artwork for the Royal Wedding this year. This is a watercolor of a peacock I pinned on Pinterest. This is the "Just keep swimming" quote from Finding Nemo. Dory is one of my favorite cartoon characters ever. This giant "N" was created using Publisher. I stole the idea from Young House Love--in fact, the whole gallery wall idea was stolen from them. The other images are just scrapbook paper and a couple pictures from ZGallerie. I'm sure some of these will be replaced here and there (maybe with wedding photos) but for now I love the look. Next is working on some decor above the daybed. Once I've finished that I'll post again.

A Little Tape and Glue

I worked on some DIY artwork this weekend. We're redoing Sandi's room (yes, we call it Sandi's room) to make better use of the space. The big king size bed has been moved to storage and I've purchased a daybed. "Before" pictures have been taken and "after" pictures are still to come. I stopped by IKEA this week (most likely will stop by again before my break is over) and picked up some more cheap white picture frames and some other new decorative items. This summer while visiting Myrtle Beach I looked for a specific kind of shell. Jeff informed me they were scallops. I categorized them as round and dark grey. Here they are in an IKEA shadowbox.
It didn't take long, just some arranging and a little tacky clear craft glue. I should have used a ruler though. It has a slight slant. After I left my shells to dry I ran over to Walmart to find a larger white photo frame and some paint swatches. I decided to try and copycat a Young House Love project on a smaller scale. This. took. for. ever. First I had to cut all the swatches down to size (they're not exact, obviously, but close enough) and then figure out the right color gradation and placement. Once that was decided I numbered the back of each square and taped them in place. So, the actual artwork for both pictures cost me nothing but time. I have a few more pictures to complete for a mini-gallery wall in Sandi's newly designed room. I'll try to update as progress is made. By the way, this post was done on my new laptop and the photos were taken with my new camera.

Get It?

True to my word, I have given homemade coasters as Christmas gifts. This is the last week of work until the new year so I gave my co-workers their coasters on Monday.
Do you get the witty phrase? I thought of it all by myself. If you are a little farther away it just looks like Librarians with Class. I figured they could use them on their desk or at home (or toss them in the trash if they wished). The house (or fireplace area) at home is decorated for Christmas. We didn't have a Christmas tree last year because I was worried Remy might try to chew it to bits. Remy and Sandi haven't even acknowledged the tree. Sorry for the poor picture. I'm still learning how to use my new camera so this was taken with my iPad.

No New Car

Yet. No new car, yet. I'm still hopeful that I'll have a new car before the end of the year but my visit to the dealership last week was disappointing, to say the least. I did enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday and the black Friday sales. I purchased a digital camera and a laptop. I haven't purchased a new camera or computer (not counting my iPad, which doesn't really count) since 2007. I'm pleased with the purchases and will try to post many artful photos while using my laptop. My brother introduced a new fun game to the family. We're big on movie trivia games (mostly because I force everyone to play) but we tried something different this time. It's called Telestrations and it is hands down the funniest game we've ever played. It's kind of a combination of telephone and pictionary. I don't think I've ever seen my dad laugh that much. So, Frances, you may want to purchase this one for your family too. The rest of the week was pretty low key and I'm sad to be back at work. The Christmas holiday will be here soon and I'm so thankful. I'm still lurking around Pinterest for ideas and I think I've found a few that I can work on for the wedding. I'll try to post some of the ideas this week.

Such Excitement

This weekend was pretty busy. I had a 5K race on Saturday morning. It's the one race that I do compete in each year (no walking or watching for me on this one). I didn't do as well as I did last year but I also didn't do as bad as I did two years ago. There were a few factors going against me, two of which were my fault. One thing was I think I ate too much for breakfast and the other was that I hadn't run outside in over a month. I've been running on a treadmill which is very different. The other thing out of my control was the weather. Last year it was in the low 60s--very nice. It was about 46 degrees this year. My nose would not stop running. Toward the end I felt like my lungs were going to explode. I headed to Warner Robins after the race to visit my folks and go see Breaking Dawn.
Mom and I went to the 2:30 show and got there around 2:05. It was already packed in the theater. The movie was really good in my opinion. The last book was my favorite (or rather, the only one I liked) so I'm pleased with the movie. When we left there was a huge line for the next showtime. I thought about yelling, "Jacob dies!" but decided against it. The rest of the weekend was pretty laid back. I'm really looking forward to this week of food and shopping and family time. I may also be getting a new car but more on that (hopefully) later in the week.

Pinterests Anonymous

I'm not really at the point where I need a support group (isn't denial the first sign?) but I'm lovin' me some Pinterest this week. I didn't know much about it until my friend Whitney steered me in the all-things-crafty-foodie-DIY-fun direction of Pinterest. It's truly a great place to get ideas for crafts and I can't think of a better time to take advantage of all the free ideas. My Christmas break (and wedding) is just around the corner so having fun things to do that will keep me busy and make the house pretty is never bad. The best thing about Pinterest is that I don't feel overwhelmed. It's just a place to save ideas that you may or may not want to complete later. I need to get serious about learning how to use my sewing machine. Enlisting the help of my friend Kelly would be the easiest way and then I can get to work. Happy crafting everyone!

Super Savannah

Last weekend (the 5th) was wild and crazy. I left Friday after work and headed to Savannah for a fun filled weekend with my sister. My first priority was finding a parking space downtown and high-tailing it to the Trustees Theatre to stand in line. It was the final weekend of the SCAD film festival. Every year SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) hosts an independent film festival. My sister got me tickets to three shows and I was supposed to hold a spot for her friend Jessica while she was still in the afternoon show. This way Jessica could get front row seats and save one for me. And I sure wanted one. The movie that night was a surprise but the actor receiving an award was James Marsden! Yes, from X-Men and 27 Dresses. I was so close to him it was crazy. He seems shorter in person but a very nice guy. Famke Janssen was also in the audience (Jean Grey in the X-Men movies). I didn't get a picture but hopefully Jessica can send me some soon. The movie that night was a first in the world viewing of...The Muppets.I was a little stunned when the movie title came on the screen because this is an independent film festival and I don't really consider The Muppets to be independent. The crowd loved it and it did have some funny parts. The next morning Michanne and I woke around 5:30 to get ready for the inaugural Savannah Rock n' Roll Marathon and 1/2 Marathon.I planned on running my usual 5K and then walking around and getting my t-shirt. Well, the 'K' spots weren't labeled so it's either finish or stop who knows where. So, I didn't run, or walk. However, Michanne and I did have prime viewing spots on the steps of the courthouse to watch the start of the race, of which there were 23,000 (!) participants. Well, 22,998 participants. It was insane. It was freezing outside, no sunlight yet, windy, and tons of serious marathoners all over the place. We watched the first few groups start and then we went to a fabulous breakfast and walked around for a few hours, got our t-shirts, listened to a few songs performed live by Carolina Liar and then headed back to her place to get ready for the 2:30pm movie. Her friend Maya joined us for a quick lunch and then we stood in line to see Jeff Who Lives at Home starring Jason Segel, Ed Helms and Susan Sarandon.It was okay, kind of funny, kind of sad and definitely more in line with the independent film genre. Then we were off to a fancy dinner before the 7pm show and final movie of the film festival. The last movie was Like Crazy starring Anton Yelchin (Terminator Salvation and Star Trek) and Jennifer Lawrence. This one was way depressing but we did get to see Aaron Eckhart receive an award before the movie.I was in the balcony this time but I was still in the same room as a movie star. We made it back to my sister's sometime after 10pm. We got up the next morning for another wonderful breakfast and then I headed back home. I wish I could have taken the week off to attend all of the movies and events. My sister got to see Alec Baldwin the Sunday before! She saw Jack Donaghy in the flesh. I'll have to get those pictures too. I would have freaked out and totally embarrassed myself if I was there.

New Kroger

When you live in a town where Big Lots is THE place to shop, a new multi-million dollar Kroger is a ginormous deal. And, it's just down the street from my house! Jeff and I went 4 times last week in as many days. There are so many wonderful things to jump for joy about. The aisles are huge (a big improvement--the old Kroger could only handle about one person and cart per aisle), the produce section has items I've never even heard of, let alone seen on Foodnetwork, they have an olive bar, sushi bar, a hot food order station, a real butcher station, any kind of cheese you could want, and even though the parking lot is full it takes no time at all to check out. Did I mention it has a Kroger fuel station as well? And makeup? There's rumor of getting a Target some day. That would just be too much happiness in one town.

Happy Halloween

Yeah! It's finally here! I love me some Halloween. Now, I did not do much (at all) this year to get in the Halloween spirit. Jeff bought a pumpkin at the local church and we (he) carved it Saturday night.
We did attempt to watch some scary movies but most of that fell through. I thought about going to see Paranormal Activity 3 at the movies but that's not really the kind of movie you pay big bucks to go see. I think it's actually scarier at home because of the home video format. I did watch a few episodes of American Horror Story and a Ghost Adventure show where they visited the Lizzie Borden bed and breakfast. Scary stuff. Here's my costume for the day. Can you tell what's different? It's a fake arm-sleeve tattoo! I got this at Joann Fabrics over a month ago and I'm so excited to wear it. Here's a Glamour Shots pose which I think encompasses the class and elegance of such an accessory.
I've only had one student reaction so far and it was funny. I had to tell him it was fake. This is going to be a fun day. Happy Halloween!!

Traveling Harry

The Tarver Library at Mercer (where I used to work) is having a special Harry Potter display and month long event calendar. I donated (temporarily) a few items for the display. Mom and I stopped by last Friday to see the wonders of the display and take pictures. Harry greets you as you walk in and there's a list of Harry Potter activities. I wish I'd known about the dinner in advance. Those who attended enjoyed a British menu. This is a photo of what is originally sent with the traveling display. There were a few more posters similar to these. Everything in the other display cases were intended to supplement the content. As my friend Lee said, "The traveling display is a little one-dimensional" or something like that. That's my marauder's map T-shirt, Butterbeer mug, and Hogwart house bookmarks (in the little black opened case) below. That's my Bertie Botts every flavor jelly bean bag, golden snitch antenna topper, and dark mark sucker. And that's my time-turner necklace (in the little wooden box). They also had some cases of stuffed owls and snakes. I think the display will be moving on after next week. It was a fun visit to see the display and the changes made to the library.

Oktoberfest

Jeff and I left Banning Mills mid-morning that Saturday and made the drive to Helen.
The drive was...longer than expected. We hit a few hours of dead traffic. Oktoberfest is super popular and we weren't the only ones headed that way. We stopped for a late lunch to take a break from the traffic at a pizza pub. We also got our fishing licenses with a trout stamp (no, not a tramp stamp). We finally made it to our motel around 5pm. We unloaded a few things in the room and then went in search of trout fishing. We found Smith Creek. I would have to say this was the low point of the trip. I've never fished for trout before and the area was thick with thorns, briers, weeds over my head, and slippery rocks. Needless to say, I didn't catch anything. I did rescue my sunglasses from the water though. Jeff caught a couple (of course) but after an hour we headed back to the car. This Jeff fishing outside our motel. We changed into some warmer clothes to go out and enjoy the evening. Finding a place to eat was almost impossible. We did find a place that was about to close and had a quick sandwich and then continued to walk around. The Oktoberfest crowd mainly consists of bikers and college kids. Jeff and I are neither so I felt a little out of place. Everyone seemed to be having a great time and we walked around for a few hours and then called it a night. The next morning we woke up ready for our hike up Raven's Cliffs. The whole event took over three hours.

The scenery was beautiful and Jeff got in a good bit of trout fishing on the way down. For the record, he caught about 6 rainbow trout, all naturally born (not farm raised and shipped in).
My hiking boots decided to die on the way down. The soles started to separate about half way down the hike. It was funny at first but then I started to stumble a little and I was relieved to see the end of the trail. After the hike we went back in search of a late lunch. I had a massive hot dog and loads of water. The evening was spent relaxing our tired feet. We left early the next morning to see our puppies. It was a fun and exhausting trip full of new experiences.