Project Griffin - check. Well...almost check.

Another baby room project is complete!  Griffin's mommy sent me a great picture of some bedding that showed to style she liked one day, the next thing I knew, she was sending me pictures of fabric.  Mommy's always seem to be on the ball. :)  Good thing.

I wanted to share a few pictures that this awesome mommy snapped of Griffin's bedding.

The color scheme and them of Griffin's room is centered around this really cute circus fabric.

There is also a great striped print that we used for the back of the blanket and the bedskirt.  

Sorry for the cutting grid in the background. :)  This was really meant to be a picture I sent to show off the blanket when it was finished.  

It does the best job of showing the stripes in the blanket.  

Then we have a great picture of the whole crib. *Below* Here you can see the bedskirt.  I'm really happy with the way it all turned out. Hopefully Baby Griffin will just love it.

Now, if you are wondering, there is a reason behind the "almost check" in the title of this post.  I thought I was done with Project Griffin, but his mommy just asked if I could whip up a valence for her window treatment.  Well, of course I said yes!  That will be a really quick little project.  I'm hoping to get a chance to go to Griffin's house and take some good pictures of the whole room put together. 

I do have some really great pictures waiting to be thrown into a post.  They are of Margo's room!!  My niece is growing fast in that belly and boy, does she have a precious room to live in when she gets here.

One last thing.  For fellow bloggers who may be reading: I've noticed that some bloggers add the prettiest signatures to the end of each post.  How do I do that???  I have a lot to learn and would love any help.  Thanks in advance!  

Congratulations to you all for making it through another Manic Monday. 

It's my Birthday (and a small vacation), and I'll slog if I want to.

I'm stealing the word "slog" from a friend's blog.  If you have not been able to figure it out...mash together "slacker" and "blog...what do you get???  That's right.  I've been a slogger for a few days.

HOWEVER, I have great excuses. 

1.  I've been on a short vacation to Dallas for the past few days.  If you do not already know, I LOVE Major League Baseball.  I aspire to attend games in each MLB team's stadium before I leave this earth.  2 down, 28 to go.  I had the pleasure of going to a game at Ranger's Ballpark in Arlington in a Red Sox T-shirt.  I also want you to know that I had enough pride to cheer for Boston in the midst of faithful Rangers fans.  

2.  TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!  I like to think that you can semi-celebrate your birthday for about a week.  I think this justifies a bit of slogging.  Right?  Thank you.

Now, I am not even close to turning any age that I should be afraid of.  However, I am definitely getting old enough to realize that I don't feel like I'm as "good" as I once was.  Or maybe I mean I'm not as in shape as I once was.  :)  

I did NOT run 10 miles this morning, but I did run 2 miles, without stopping to walk.  I'm somewhat ashamed to say it has been A WHILE since I've been able to do that.  However, I am completely proud of re-achieving my 2 miles at 5:00am on my birthday, in 94% humidity (as reported by my Weather Channel app  as soon as we finished).  Seriously??  94%?  Ugh.  I did it, though!  

Maybe I can run a marathon before my next birthday.................

I do have some new things to share with you, but like I said....it's my BIRTHDAY and I'll slog if I want to. :)  

Creamy Peanut Butter Pie for Mikey

There are moments that remind me how much I should cherish the people I love.  I just had one.

I'm sitting here on the couch, crying.  I check in on a cookie blog called The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle pretty frequently.  It is, after all, where I discovered the best sugar cookie recipe ever.  Well, I started reading today's post just like I start any other post - by scrolling down to look at the pictures.  It took me a few minutes to realize that today's cookies were a tribute for a friend.

I don't even know the woman who writes the blog that Sugarbelle was referring to, but my heart is broken for her.  She lost her husband, Mikey, unexpectedly sometime in the past week or so.  I would like to ask that you read her post, in place of reading anything about me.  One post is a request that you make Mikey's favorite pie.  The second is a video of Mikey dancing with their daughter.

http://www.injennieskitchen.com/2011/08/for-mikey.html

http://www.injennieskitchen.com/2011/08/one-last-dance.html

My heart goes out to this young woman and her sweet girls.
If you are reading this and you are a person involved in my life somehow, please know that I love you.  I am far too blessed with loved ones, and I hope I never take you for granted for a single moment.

If you are feeling like making something sweet over the weekend, I'd like to invite you to make the Creamy Peanut Butter Pie that Jennie mentions in her post and pray that she finds peace and comfort.

Shower with L-O-V-E...and cake

Baby Margo is coming soon!

The women in my family invited friends and loved ones to shower my sister, and soon to be new mommy, Leanne.  AND shower her they did!  We had a wonderful time visiting with a group of beautiful, thoughtful ladies, all while pampering Momma Leanne with some new shiny, helpful, precious things.  Aren't friends such a blessing?

In the planning process of any family hosted event, I tend to jump at the dessert responsibilities.  "We need cupcakes, right?  I'm on it!"

Cupcakes are EVERYWHERE right now.  Little cupcake shops...reality TV shows about cupcakes...everywhere.  I'm personally very happy that they are getting the fame that they deserve.  It's just like making a cake, except you don't have to have anybody there to cut you a piece!  Just grab it and enjoy!  PLUS, they really are just so darn cute.  I have seen some really artsy cupcakes out there.  Some people may say that cupcakes are girly....well...while some guys may not care about how pretty they look, they sure do like the way they taste.  Just ask my brother-in-law, who had his wife sneak an early Minnie Mouse cupcake for him at my niece's birthday party a few days ago.  He just could not wait until it was time to sing Happy Birthday and blow out the candles.  *Minnie Mouse cupcake pictures coming in the near future*

"M" for Margo!  It's a girl!

For these cupcakes, I focused on having yummy icing in a pretty swirl with just a bit of girly shimmer on top.  I found the cute little toppers at Hobby Lobby.

I also discovered these great baking cups that Wilton makes.  They are, of course, a bit more pricey than your run of the mill baking cups, but I picked my spending battles for this shower. :)  Wilton baking cups won and now I'm in love with them.  I also used  Wilton's basic Buttercream Icing recipe.  It's definitely an easy, sweet topping to go with.

As if cupcakes were not enough, I decided to try out another cake trend that seems to be on the rise lately.  CAKE POPS!








LOVE how they turned out!  Starbucks does not want you to know this, but cake pops are actually pretty easy to make.  I found lots of yummy looking recipes at www.cakepopsrecipe.com that you might like to try.  If you search the site, some recipes look to be a loftier effort than others, but some of them are pretty basic.  I will definitely be making these again for future special occasions!

Hope you are all having a wonderful week!  If you are looking for something to do, and don't quite feel like tackling cake pops :), may I suggest going to see "The Help"???  I saw it this evening and I really loved it.  It will make you laugh and then make you cry.  Also, if you are a reader, the book is just as wonderful, if not more.  Just some food for thought!

Because I'm so excited about it

Materials for Brycen's room!

Here is a sneak peak at what I'm working on now.

I had a friend ask if I could make bedding for a boy nursery, because she was having a hard time finding things she REALLY liked for Griffin's room.  So, I dove in! *Pictures of that bedding to come*
Well, word travels quickly.  Another mommy who is expecting a boy called me just days after I started Project Griffin.  She is good friends with the first mommy I mentioned, and was also interested in making some custom bedding.  She had some really great ideas and chose some really great colors and fabrics.  I couldn't help taking a picture of it all "in the raw" as I'm starting Project Brycen.

I'll be posting progress pictures along the way.
On the checklist:

   Blanket
   Bumpers
   Bedskirt
   Curtains
   Hamper bag

Really excited to see it all together!!!

Aunt Bear

I should tell you now that I am an aunt.  I have a precious niece who just turned three - Lily Brae.

Amazing photo of Lily by Kayla Bradford Photography

AND I have a second niece, but she is still in the oven. :)  Margo Elizabeth is expected to arrive in early October.  Of course, I don't have any pictures of her, yet.  BUT stick around and you will see some in the future.

While Lily was on the way, we all discussed what she might call us as she was growing up.  Somebody threw out the idea of calling me Aunt Bear.  Dad calls me Bear all the time (short for Claire Bear...not because I resemble a bear in any way.  At least, I hope I don't).  Aunt Bear seemed to stick.  Every member of my family has always called me Aunt Bear while Lily is around.  So, she does, indeed, call me Bear.  My FAVORITE thing is that she often refers to me as HER Bear. - "Will you give this to my Bear?" - I just eat it up.

SO...while Sarah was pregnant, we all collaborated on how we could make Lily's room the best baby room ever.  Color schemes were chosen, fabric stores were searched, creative artwork was dreamed up.

One of my favorite projects for Lily's room was creating some wall art out of 

these old cabinet doors from a piece of furniture that was re-purposed.  I was 

told that we wanted something displaying Lily's name, and something with birds.

*Excuse the not-so-great picture quality*

Name art, from an old cabinet door.

Red and yellow, black and white...

I was pretty happy with how they turned out.  Another project I was involved in was making Lily's bedding.  It was the first baby bedding I had ever made, and I must say, it's a bit addictive.  Mommies are always wanting original stuff for their nurseries, and you will be seeing more "baby" work from me very soon.  This is where it all started.  My sister Leanne and I actually worked on this bedding together.  I loved having a partner.  It always makes the process SO much faster.  We were very proud of the finished product.  Again, this is not the best picture ever, but you get the idea.

Love the colors and patterns Sarah picked out.

We also made some curtains, but I don't seem to have any decent pictures of them.  However, now you can see the beginning of my obsession with making things for baby rooms.  I just finished a project that I have not had a chance to take pictures of yet, and am starting up a whole new set.  So, you have some things to look forward to!

My duties as an aunt never seem to end, and I love every second of it!  I can't wait to meet Margo and brag about her as much as I do about Lily.

What's in a name??

You might be thinking "What's with the name of the blog?"  Well, luckily, I have already been planning to tell you.

It's funny to me how some things can just come to you from the neatest places.  In my first post, I told you that I attribute my mother with sparking the flames.  Today, I would like to tell you that I wouldn't be as crafty as I am without picking up some of my father's traits.  He can build things, fix my car...you name it.  I tend to take on his mentality about fixing things.  Take it apart, figure it out.  End of story.  If it's awful, ask for help or buy a new one :).  My dad is a very neat guy.
Having said all of that, I will continue with my story.  I was eating dinner with my mom and dad not too long ago after spending the day working on making some baby bedding.  We started to talk about how many projects I have been taking on, and how I'm always wishing I was better at things.  I was telling them that I think I seem to be above average in many different areas.  I can do lots of things well, but I enjoy doing SO many things well that I don't concentrate on one and become REALLY exceptional at one thing.

*Secret time - I seem to be pretty good at everything I do, but this is a bit of an illusion.  The secret is, I refuse to do things I'm not good at.  Like, I was always good at sports, but very VERY few people have ever seen my play basketball.  That is not a coincidence.  Feel free to utilize this secret*

After admitting that I'm not exceptional at any one thing, I said "I guess I might not ever be considered an artist, but I'll settle for crafty."  My dad's response to this was so wonderful.  He shared THE PERFECT quote that he knew from St. Francis.  What I love more about this moment, is that I had the opportunity to sing in St. Francis' Basilica in Assisi, Italy a few years ago.  That experience is probably one of the most amazing things I will cherish in my lifetime, and it was there that I first learned about St. Francis, and how neat he was.  *You should Google St. Francis of Assisi after reading.*  The quote my dad shared was this:

"He who works with his hands is a laborer. 
He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. 
He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist." 
— St. Francis of Assisi

It was at this moment, sitting at the dinner table with my parents, that I first thought....maybe I AM an artist.

In the following days, I started to think more seriously about sewing and baking more often and attempting to sell some items and do more custom work.  Well, if I am going to dive into this, I want a good name for the project.  I even posted a status on Facebook asking for ideas.  While I saw some creative uses of my name (thank you to anybody who threw something out there), I wasn't finding the name I was looking for.
Then it hit me!  Our power went out during a storm last week, and while I wasn't quite ready to lay down and try to go to sleep, there was NOTHING else to do.  So, while I was in bed, WIDE AWAKE listening to a completely silent house with no buzz of electricity, it hit me.  So, here we are.
I'm going to try it out.

...with hands, head, and heart.

Thanks Daddy.

....and St. Francis...

You have to start somewhere

Hello!

That's how we should start, right?  With a nice, chipper, welcoming "Hello!"
Let's try this...

To begin: I have an amazing mother.
This may seem like a strange place to start, but it seems to be the first thought that occurs when I try to determine where my love of creating things may have come from.  My mother is at the very beginning.  *AND if you have ever seen The Sound of Music, you know that the very beginning is a very good place to start.  If you have never seen it, WATCH IT NOW*
My amazing mother wears many, many hats.  Most mothers do. :) As I was growing in our home, she taught me things that I cherish now more than I ever could have imagined during the learning process.  Of course, the MOST important things she taught me have nothing to do with being crafty.  However, while she passed on tons of life lessons, she also taught me to how to cook and how to sew.  Like anything else, learning such skills can be a very gradual process.  You have to start somewhere, right?One of the first things I remember learning how to make was potholders.  If you didn't go through the "potholder phase" I wish you could go back and have it now.  I have talked with SO many friends about the time they learned to make potholders on a square loom and attempted to sell them to ladies at church. We had BAGS full of those nylon strings.  If you have kids, I suggest teaching them to do this, because it really is fun!  Plus, they are really pretty cute.

What I am trying to say is that I think my love for making things goes back to my mother's lessons.  Eventually, I learned to use the sewing machine and she taught me to make bean bags.  By the time I was in high school, I decided I could make anything I thought up.  Pillows, purses, etc.  Then I studied Family and Consumer Sciences in college, which included sewing courses.  The fire has continuously been fueled, and now I LOVE taking on projects!  I typically stay away from clothing, but I LOVE to make home interiors pieces.  You will be seeing a lot of them in future posts, including examples of things that have been made in the past.
My mother also taught me to make mac-n-cheese.  :)  That's right.  I'm tracing my cooking skills to boxed macaroni.
It is the first thing I remember using the stove for.  I moved on, of course.  I learned to make mexican chicken, potato soup, biscuits and gravy, and beyond!  Of course, my college coursework also included nutrition and food science classes.  Another fire fueled.  I LOVE to cook.  What you are likely to see most of in future posts are cupcakes, cookies, and pies!  They seem to be the things I spend the most time on for special occasions.  If you have ever browsed through food blogs, you know that you can learn TONS of things from others.  I do it all the time in hopes for a better end result in any project.  

SO...my mother started this whole thing.  Throw in a tendency to believe I can make almost anything (with enough research and practice...)....and here I am.  Hoping to take something I love to do and share it with others.

I hope to use this space as a type of portfolio for things I have made and for new things to come.
The layout and design is obviously in the beginning stages.  I'll get the hang of it as time goes on.  Like I said...research and practice.

Coming soon - Awesome story about the title of this little adventure.