Coming back full force in 2012!

So I just wanted to pop on to say I have not abandoned the blog, just taking time for myself at the end of this year. Can you believe by the end of tomorrow we’ve all just gone through another 365 days?  Crazy right?  Here’s to another 365!  Humm, there isn’t a leap year next year is there?  Well if there is, add one more day to my cheerful wish. 

But with that said, until I return I wanted to leave you with some entertainment.  The following video is an animated version of Wicked’s “Defying Gravity”.  The artist did it in an attempt to get the play done in animation instead of live action.  Seems it will be live action in the end, but I so wish I could see a full Wicked animation.  Oh and in case you were wondering, the artist who did this works for Disney.  It’s pretty awesome.  Take a look.

And on that note I will wish you all a Happy New Year, and I hope that this year ends on a good note for everyone.  See you in 2012!!!

Singing songs from famous Broadway plays,
Michelle

Merry Christmas everyone!

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I hope all of you had an awesome Christmas. Mine was ok. It ended up being mostly just another day for me.  I didn’t get my gifts done because I realized late in the game a lot of stuff had to be hand sewn and while I’m getting faster at it, one item can take one or more hours. So while its no sweat to have things be a few days late, I still feel bad about it.  But I am coming up with some cute things that I think they will like.  This whole process is giving me a lot to think about when it comes to making clothing for dolls.  As soon as gifts are done and given out I will be jumping right back in making stuff to sell finally.  I think I really needed to get over this fear of creating and making a mistake and wanting it perfect the first time out.  I made TONS of mistakes on the clothing I made and I’m learning two things.  One, it can usually be undone and redone again.  Two, it’s not the end of the world and usually the mistakes are only things I will see and I am being nitpicky about.  So yeah, this whole experience is turning out to be good for me.

And I know this place has become a ghost town but I will be back to blogging here really soon.  I’m going to be altering the focus of this blog a bit but I will tell you more about that in the new year.   Hey it’s only a couple of more days.  Can you believe that?  A couple of more days and that’s a wrap on 2011.  I don’t even know how to describe this year for me.  It’s had ups and downs, thankfully mostly ups.  I’m hoping next year will be a better year though.  I’m hoping everyone in my life gets into better health and that I can take BIG HUGE LARGE strides towards my future.  Fingers crossed tightly.

Silly thing, my mom is kind of sad that today was kind of a bust when it comes to Christmas.  She misses how it was and had planned an old fashioned Christmas but things just didn’t turn out that way. So she said she wants a do over and has chosen Valentine’s day to do it.  Don’t ask me why Valentine’s day, she just wants it.  So I guess I might have two Christmases next year.  Who knows.  She wants to pull out the top half of the tree and put presents under it and celebrate.  LOL!  So I guess we will see.

And well that’s all for now guys.  Blog posts will resume in the new year.  For now, for the next few days I will try to finish gifts, do some Winter Cleaning, and just close out the year on a hopefully good note.  So once again I hope you had a very Merry Christmas.  I’ll talk to you all soon.  Be good until then.  Bye for now. 

Popping another piece of candy into her mouth,
Michelle

Sewing Pattern Reading

With the world of technology, there’s practically nothing you can’t learn about or learn more about on the internet.  This is a great thing for me because I am a very visual learner.  With the help of Youtube and other various websites and blogs I am able to learn a lot about the crafts I am interested.  I learned how to crochet solely by watching great Youtube tutorials on the craft.  So in thinking about how helpful Youtube is to a crafter, I thought I would start sharing some of my favorite videos with you on crafts I do and even some I don’t.  I hope you will find something of interest to you through these videos.

I am trying to relearn how to sew.  It might not be the best thing to be learning on a such a small scale, doll clothing for those who don’t know, but I’m a glutton for a good challenge.  So back in high school when I was taught about sewing, I was never taught how to properly read a pattern.  Oh sure I knew what “cut 2” meant, but there are other parts of the pattern that I didn’t know or understand about until a video I saw yesterday about it.  Curious what I mean?  Have a look at this neat and informative video below.

Short and sweet and too the point.  There were some tips in there I hadn’t hear of before, which will be great knowing now when I try to sew for myself in the new year.  This is just another great example on how Youtube, among many other places, can be super helpful to you in a craft you already love or a craft you are just dying to learn.

Now, if you aren’t a fan of Youtube, especially after their “improvements”, you can still find some great videos out there.  You’ll have to use Google or whatever search engine you prefer.  Go to the search line and type one of two things.  For this example I will use sewing, but of course you will use whatever you are looking for.  In the search line you can type “how to put in a dart”, I find it’s best to put all lower case because upper case can sometimes have them looking only for links with upper case while lower case tends to look through them all.  After you type that and it loads the page, you simply click on your video link at the top of the page and various videos will pop up.  You will of course have Youtube videos show up in the mix, but you will have other options as well.

Now another way you can try searching is typing in the search bar “how to put in a dart+video” or “ “how to put in a dart+video” “.  Now the first option will tell the site you are searching for a video, but it will kind of search for all the words individually.  You will more than likely get videos of how to put in darts in clothing, but don’t be surprised if you get videos on how to put in a dartboard or how to play darts or some other crazy stuff.  Now with the second option that has quotation marks around the phrase, this is telling the site you want to search for the phrase exactly how it is.  Now this will return fewer search results but it will get you closer to your goal of what you are looking for.  These tips will work for any kind of search not just for crafting videos.  But yeah, this search should get your exposed to the various websites and blogs out there that also host crafting videos.

Another suggestion I have is if you know a craft really well and feel you can teach really well you should make a video.  I guarantee people will watch your videos.  There are people looking videos and they need you to make them.  If/when I get to the point I feel I know a craft well enough I will make a video for sure.   Now don’t worry, I’m not asking you to give away your trade secrets, just some hints and tips that are general knowledge or things you don’t use now in your work but used to use with success.  Also, if you watch one of these amazing videos, be sure to pay it forward by “liking” the video and leaving a quick comment to thank the artist/crafter for their tutorial and sharing it with the world.  If we want more videos in the future we have to let those who make them know we appreciate the time and energy it took them to make it for us and we’d be super happy if they decided to grace us with another.  No, don’t kiss up to them,that’s just fake and people can tell fake, just know a little kindness goes a long way.

And well, that’s it for this post.  I just really wanted to share this video with you all and let you know to expect others with you on various crafts.  If there is a craft you are interested in and can’t find information on, let me know and I will see if I can hunt down something for you.  And that’s it ladies gents.  I’m off.  Have an awesome day and be good until next we meet.  Take care.  Bye for now. 

Happily crafting away,
Michelle

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you and yours are having a happy and safe Thanksgiving.  And if you are thinking of going out into that mess tomorrow please be extra careful and safe.  Talk to you all again soon.  Be good until then.  Bye for now. 

Happily watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade,
Michelle

Google Friend Connect Shutting Down

I know this might not affect many of you, but some of you it will and I wanted to mention it.  I was randomly looking at my Mozilla browser and noticed the headlines button.  Clicked on it for the first time today and noticed a title mentioning Google was shutting down some things.  I usually don’t pay attention to stuff like that, but today I did for some reason.

So from what I’ve read, if you do not have a Blogger account, and you have a Google Friend Connect gadget on your website or blog, come March 1, 2012 you will no longer have your followers gadget on your website.  It doesn’t seem to affect Blogger though, just non-Blogger sites.  They are encouraging people to instead make a Google+ account and use their gadget on there to drive traffic to your Google+ account.  Yeah, don’t see how that works for people to stay connected and follow your blog or website, and I do see this as Google’s way of getting more traffic in an attempt to surpass Facebook, but I see them closing the service as lame.  I have seen so many blogs out there using Google Friend Connect, so I call bull poo on this one not being a success.  But I thought I’d mention it to those of you in danger of losing your followers gadget.  If I’m on your non-Blogger Google Friend Connect, you have no worries of me not continuing to follow, I’ll still be there.  But you might want to mention it to your readers who maybe only follow you through the service and might lose your website after it closes down.

And with that I make my return back to real life again. *sad sigh*  I’ll be returning guys, I promise.  After Monday some time for sure.  I have things to share with you still.  I might post about some of that tomorrow when I get a free moment.  But I shall return soon.  Until then, be good, and bye for now. 

Sadly returning back to real life,
Michelle

O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, wie treu sind deine Blätter?

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So I’m sure most of us learned as a child to sing a favorite Christmas carol, O Christmas Tree, I’ve heard it in both English and German many of times.  But it seems the years since that song was written that Christmas trees have been changing and getting quite, dare I say it, crafty.  As evident from the picture above of a crafty Christmas tree made out of Mountain Dew cans and topped with a Mountain Dew bottle, Christmas tress are a’changin’.  After seeing this picture I was curious what other crafty Christmas trees were out there so I googled Creative Christmas trees, and boy did I find some unique and creative ones.  And of course I had to come share my findings with you.    Have a look at these cool trees.  Click the “source” links under the pictures to go to the website these trees are hanging out on.

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Plywood tree.  I saw a miniature version of this tree as well.  Pretty cool, and you can actually hang ornaments on them or just leave them as is.

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Christmas ornaments hung on wall in the shape of a Christmas tree.  Love this idea.  Also made me think you could something like this with varying sizes of picture frames.

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This is more for outdoor decorating.  A Christmas tree made out of lighted balls.  Some of the trees made around the world will impress you.

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Get your kids in on the creative fun by having them make a tree and decorations out of Lego.

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A ladder dressed up as a Christmas tree.  Love the idea and even the look of it.  It just seems to fit for some weird reason.

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This is so cool.  It looks like an actual snow covered tree in a house.  Made easily with rolled cotton and snow glitter.

I do hope you’ve checked out the websites these pictures came from because these pictures are only scratching the surface of the cool stuff out there.  I hope, perhaps, that you have gotten some ideas on how to think outside of the…errr…um…tree box, and came up with some ideas on how to make your Christmas a little bit more unique this year.  I’m collecting these ideas to try out when I finally get a place of my own. 

And now that the Christmas season is in full swing, I’m hunting the web for unique and interesting items in the handmade community.  I will be sharing my cool finds with you in the coming days and weeks.  Hopefully you’ll find that thing you’ve always wanted from my searches and reveals.  Fingers crossed tight that you will.    For now I am off.  I’m wayyyy behind on Nanowrimo and I think I want to try typing some tonight.  *Looks at clock.*  Or maybe I’ll get some sleep instead and start catching up tomorrow.    Talk to you lovelies soon.  Be good and crafty until then.  Bye for now.

Yawning from looking at the little yawn emoticon,
Michelle

Black Friday Ad Scans

This post is for my USA readers.  But for those of you outside the USA who are curious, the day after Thanksgiving in the USA we have one of the biggest shopping days during the year, Black Friday.  If you are hoping to get a good deal Black Friday is the day to attempt to get it.  A couple of weeks before Thanksgiving some websites will share scans of Black Friday ads.  You can simply just Google Black Friday and find tons of websites dedicated to the day.  Granted it does further force the commercialism of the holiday, but hey a deals a deal, and if you are in the market for some craft items you are in luck this year.  Tons of sales, some starting on Thanksgiving, are centered crafty deals.  So be sure to get your newspaper on Thanksgiving morning because some of these good sales need a coupon from the news paper.  Humm, I wonder how much the newspaper companies lose out on because you know everyone will have a coupon on Black Friday but not all of them will have paid for the newspaper it came from.  Hummm.

For your ads sneak peek click on the picture above to be taken to be taken to the ads scan page and enjoy.  I found some crafty deals in the AC Moore, Michaels, and Jo Ann’s paper.  AC Moore has a 30 percent off your entire purchase coupon for Thanksgiving between 4 and 10 in the evening, along with some equally good coupons for Black Friday.  Let me know if you find any equally good sales, I’m still hunting around.  Oh and there are also some awesome sales on other stuff too, so make those lists people.  You’re welcome. 

And I’m off.  Must return the real life again, but had to let you guys in on some of the cool finds I found.  Talk to you again soon.  Be good until then.  Bye for now. 

Window shopping the night away,
Michelle

Happy Veteran’s Day

Thank you for your bravery and thank you for my freedom.

Proud to be an American,
Michelle

Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween to all of your freaks and ghouls out there!    I hope you are all playing it safe and having a fun time tonight.  I’m doing my usual Halloween thing of spending the night in.  It’s raining something horrible out there so I don’t think there were any trick-or-treaters out tonight.  My friend even took her kids to the mall because we got hit with one of the coldest and wettest Halloweens in a long time. I remember Halloweens just a few years back where you had to wear short sleeve shirts because it was hot an muggy.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the cold, but the wind and rain make it extra brrrrrrr.  So I hope you are staying warm tonight if your neck of the woods is unseasonably cold too tonight.

Right now I am currently counting down the hours to the start of Nanorwrimo.  I am being a Nano Rebel this year by not writing a novel.  I’m going to be finishing up a script for the photostory I’ve been trying to finish for a long time now.  I think my time of Nanowrimo is coming to an end.  I don’t know if I’ll be doing it next year.  I do cherish the crazed writing during November, I just think I want to start making that an everyday thing than just a one month thing, so I don’t know about future Nanos.  But this year is my first as a Rebel and I’m kind of excited about it.  I don’t want to write a novel just to write a novel and waste time on something I’ll hate, so I will write the script which will hopefully help me write my story and get it done so I can start taking pictures in December and start putting it up next year.  Fingers crossed.

As for other things I am doing right now, I’m focusing on my health right now.  There are a lot of things I need to get done by the end of the year.  I have something I am dreading coming up in 28 days, and I don’t really want to talk about it right now because I’m that nervous about it.  It’s really silly to be nervous about it, but when I explain it…on the 28th or 29th of next month, then I’m sure it will be clearer why I dreaded it.  I’m working on inventory for my shop.  I finally found a place to put my shop.  I think that was another problem for me, where to put my shop, but I found a nice place for it to be that a lot of other doll sellers are on so it works.  And well, I guess that’s about it right now.  So the goals for the end of the month is to work on the immediate health issues at hand, get through that situation I’m dreading at the end of next month, and get the shop open.  I know I won’t make the Christmas rush with my shop, but that’s ok, as long as I get it open.  Oh, and yes I am still working on emails, comments, etc., etc. etc., you get the point.  I’m working on all that.  Now that some stress has been taken off of me with my parents health either doing better or being looked at, my mom still worries me some with her heart issues, I’m getting a little more calmer and I can focus better.  I’m hoping this next month will be busy and productive for me.  I’m ending this year on a good note, no matter what.  And NO Michelle, that isn’t jinxing it for you by saying it aloud.   

And on that crazy note, I will bring this post to a close.  I will talk to you lovelies soon.  Be good until then.  Bye for now. 

Realizing she needs to get up and exercise some of this candy off,
Michelle

Homemade Butterfingers

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Ok, so about a month ago I found this recipe online for homemade Butterfingers.  Supposedly candy corn, peanut better, and compound chocolate make for a spot-on replica of the crunchy peanut butter treat.  So I was super excited to try my hand at making it.  So I got a two pound bag of candy corn…you only need a pound for one batch, a 18 oz. jar of JIF honey peanut butter…you only need 16 oz. but I used the whole jar, and compound chocolate…I couldn’t find any at the store I was at but knew you could make some from chocolate chips.  So with my ingredients in hand I set out to make the most awesome treat in the world…or so I thought.  What’s to follow is my experience with the recipe and what I learned about it. 

So first of all, I had a big two pound bag of candy corn.  Nothing wrong with that right?  Except that the candy corn was for Halloween…as in trick-or-treating.  What does that mean?  The candy corn came divided into individual baggies.  I needed a pound for my recipe.  So I had to sit there and cut the baggies open to get a pound.  If you are doing this recipe, be sure to get the bag from the regular candy section. It’s just a bag of candy corn.  You tear it open and you are good to go.  It took forever to get a pound of candy corn from those baggies.

So next I put the candy corn in the microwave for a minute.  Stirred.  In for 15 seconds.  Stirred.  in for 15 seconds.  Stirred.  In for 15 seconds.  Stirred.  You’re getting the idea right?  Now when you stir it be sure to fully stir because I think some of the candy was cooking on the bottom but not getting stirred and got a little hard.  But yeah, so that took a little while but I got it melted, but it was quickly cooling on me, so I had to hurry and get the peanut better into the bowl.  This lead to lesson learning two.

Ok, so this hot mucky orange mess in your bowl is starting to cool no sooner that microwave turns off.  You have got to get that peanut better stirred in and then put it all in a pan to fully cool.  But like I said, this stuff is already cooling. This is where I made my big mistake I think.  When I pulled the candy corn out and placed it on a tray on the counter I had to open the peanut butter…as in take off the top and pull off the protective seal, and scoop it out and into the candy corn blob.  I stirred every time I got a little something in, but this stuff was cooling fast.  By the time I was done the stuff at the bottom was hard as a rock and I gave up fully blending so I wouldn’t end up with a rock in the bowl.  So I quickly scooped it into a parchment paper lined 8x8 pan.  Now what I quickly learned was that I should have scooped the peanut butter out into a separate bowl and have it waiting with a spatula to quickly scoop into the candy corn the second it comes out.

So I put the mess into a parchment lined 8x8 pan and put it into the fridge.  I believe this was mistake number 3.  Why? Because when I pulled it back out it was super hard to cut.  I think if it would have been allowed to harden at room temperature it would have been easy to cut and not have crumbled like mine did.  But after some hard work, and yes a little bit of sweat, I got it cut into some chunks.  Now it was time for chocolate.

Ok, so I couldn’t find almond bark or melting chips at the store I was at, so I had to pick up an alternative that I wasn’t to happy using, but it was the next best thing.  Chocolate chips.  Yes, like the kind you put in chocolate chip cookies.  So you’d think I would just melt them and coat my candy with it right?  Wrong.  Seems chocolate chips are too dense when melted.  It needs some fat in there to make it flow more.  Enter vegetable shortening.  Yes, we are talking about the Crisco here people.  Ok so here’s the recipe of how to make compound chocolate out Hershey’s chocolate chips.  Ok, so for every cup of chocolate chips you have, you add a tablespoon of shortening to the mix.  I used two cups of chocolate chips, roughly the whole 12 oz. bag, and two tablespoons of shortening.  I pop that into the microwave and microwave it for 40 seconds and then stir.  Then I put it in for 20 seconds and stirred.  20 seconds then stirred.  20 seconds then stirred.  You get the idea here again right?  Good.  So once it was melted I realized that I hadn’t cut the peanut butter mix beforehand, another thing I would suggest.  So I thought I could do it quickly.  As stated above, it took a while.  Well once I got it cut I was worried the chocolate would be hard again, but oddly enough it wasn’t.  It was still smooth and flowing…something I must admit freaked me out a bit.  Makes you wonder what that stuff does in the ol’ arteries.  But I digress.  Moving on.

So here I had my nice homemade compound chocolate.  I had two mini racks of yet to be coated Butterfinger bars.  So I started pouring the chocolate over the bars.  Mistake number 4.  Dip it people.  Your chocolate will go farther.  I didn’t realize that until I got done with the first rack.  The second rack I dipped as best I could in what was left of the chocolate…I was not making another batch.  For the most part things got covered, on top.  The bottoms of most of them were basically bare.  So dipping surely is the best way to stretch your chocolate and get full coverage.

I popped my Butterfingers into the fridge for about an hour to set.  I pulled them out and went to try one.  Mistake number 5.  People, when you are messing with candy or sticky stuff in general, coat whatever surface you are using in cooking spray or some cooking oil of some kind because it will stick otherwise.  I had chunks pull off in my hand but then leave the bottoms of the chunks attached to the rack.  *Shaking my head.*  So I grabbed a flipper and scraped off the bars as best I could.  Once off, I finally got the try the fruits of my labor.  Final thoughts?  The peanut better part tastes shockingly like the Butterfinger peanut butter, but it was more soft and chewy than hard and crunchy.  The product as a whole?  Yeah with the chocolate I wasn’t tasting Butterfinger, even though my friend swears it did taste like it.  Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t Butterfinger.  I still have a ton left in the fridge and I planned to give it a second try tomorrow since it will have had some time to “age”, and then see if maybe I can taste Butterfinger.  As it stands right now I don’t see myself making this recipe again.  It just wasn’t what I expected.  So now I have tons of peanut butter, chocolate chips and candy corn sitting around.  Humm, well the candy corn is in baggies so I can eat those as a little sugar kick…which I really don’t need after my visit with the dentist the other day.  As for the chocolate, there’s always uses for chocolate, so I’m not worried about it sitting around for too long.  And the peanut butter is destined for good ol’ fashion pb&j’s.  Yum.  But all-in-all I’d call this experiment a mixed success. I got what I started out to make…well…sort of, and it doesn’t taste bad just not really like Butterfinger.  So while it’s not 100% what I wanted it wasn’t 100% what I didn’t want.  So we will loosely call this a success. 

So, tell me what you think.  Still want to try your own Butterfingers?  Have you already done it?   What did it taste like?  Did you use something different from me to get the taste you got?  Please share, I’d love to know.  Maybe with the right encouragement I’ll be willing to give it another try…next year. 

And on that note I will bring the post to close.  It’s just after…4 a.m.!!!  What am I still doing up?!?   I wanted to craft in the morning!!!  I guess that’s not happening.  Oh well, early afternoon crafting is just as fun.  Hope all of you have a great and crafty weekend and I will talk to you soon.  Be good until then.  Bye for now.

Yawning and stretching,
Michelle

Something Like Summer

So while I should have been busy crafting today, I realized a book my sister loaned to me 2 weeks ago on my Nook was about to expire, so I had to finish it tonight. I just finished it and I must say I was impressed.  The book is called Something Like Summer, and it was a rather interesting read.

It’s a romance novel about two teenage boys, Ben and Tim, who meet one summer due to Ben’s crush on the mysterious new guy in town Tim.  Something happen that lead to Ben and Tim being together.  They had a hot and steamy love affair, but some issues caused them to have to split up.  What follows is 10 years of life, love, and chance meetings.  Some really sad things happen along the way that leads to a bittersweet ending.  I wouldn’t say this book was destined to be one of the great classics of our time, but it was a rather good read.

Some parts I felt were rushed in the story, but it flow non-stop so that was good.  The author, Jay Bell who is a gay man himself, told the story in such a way that you didn’t view the story as “a love story between two guys” but more as “a love story between two people”.  I will warn you now, some of the sex scenes are written in a slightly graphic way, but nothing to raunchy…nothing worse than what you’d find in your male/female romance novels.

But I think anyone could relate to this story.  Young love, first love, and even a love triangle, which is what our main characters find themselves in after a while.  So if you are into romance novels, pick this story up.  I really think you will like it.

Sadly though, in reading the book it has gotten to late to craft, so I guess I will watch some things online and call it a day and make better use of my time tomorrow.  Not that today was a total loss.  I got to spend time with a friend and finish a good book.  Win/win?  I’d say so.    Talk to you all later.  Be good until then.  Bye for now.

Dreaming about what tomorrow will bring,
Michelle

My Two Loves Together At Last

So I haven’t been really crafty as of late.  My worries over my health and the health of others really has been keeping me from being creative as of late.  One of the crafts I’ve really been missing is crochet.  Since finally learning it, I’ve just fallen in love with the calming rhythmic pattern of yarn over pull through the loop, but I just can’t find the time, energy, or creativity to sit down and do some.  Nothing created a strong enough need in me until I found my way onto a crafty young lady’s video on Youtube.  What did she create?  A character from one of my FAVORITE video games, Animal Crossing.  Along with that she made the character some clothing that reflects the clothing in the game.  So cute.  No really, it is.  Have a look.

Isn’t it, dare I say it, kawaii?!?  I know, I’m a goober.  LOL!  But seriously, it’s such a cute idea and I can’t believe I didn’t think of trying something like that myself.  But the good thing is she has resparked my need and want to crochet again.  I have these gloves I want to make out of this beaded pink yarn I’ve had for a while now.  I think now is the time to try them out.  Wish me luck. I’ll update you on how things are going. 

And once again I am off.  I need to get dressed now to go out…on no sleep.  Ugh!    Oh well, I guess I can sleep when I’m dead…hopefully years and years and YEARS from now.  Ok, be good ladies and gents.  And I’ll talk to you all again soon.  Bye for now.

Wishing she could slip under her covers,
Michelle

This Is Halloween

As the creepy  and cool holiday of Halloween nears, a lot of people are letting their creepy and cool sides hang out.  From cool decorations and costumes to awesome…Halloween lights?  Humm, I understand lights for Christmas, but Halloween?  I’d never seen a big Halloween light display, until today that is.  Seems this family Riverside, CA really likes Halloween.  On their Youtube channel they have videos dating back to 2008 of their Halloween extravaganzas.  Here’s their light show for this year.  It’s pretty awesome.

12 Years Ago Today

January 5, 1997-October 12, 1999

And I still can’t believe you are gone forever.  You are always in our hearts and thoughts.  We love you.

Love always,
Michelle

Hey guys! Guess what?!

Halloween Countdowns at WiddlyTinks.com

Halloween will be here soon!  Just a little PSA from your friendly mousey gal.  Are you excited yet?!  I know I am. 

Can’t wait to go look at Halloween decorations,
Michelle

Maillardville Manor And Bathroom Transformations

So my friend has this problem.  She has to many bathrooms.  I know, anarchy right?  To many bathrooms.  She literally has two bathrooms in her master bedroom.  She has another in the house for her girls and guests to use, so she really doesn’t need another bathroom.  But one thing she could use is a craft room.  She uses a corner in her bedroom to craft in, but that bathroom is just calling out to her, and no not in a pee-pee dance sort of way.  She has visions of taking a sledgehammer to her garden tub and taking out the toilet and making the 7x7 room, with an additional walk-in closet, into her dream craft room.  But there is one tiny catch.  She want’s to leave it so if she decides to move she can quickly whip it back into a bathroom for those couples that demand their own bathrooms.  Totally makes sense, right?  Right. 

So, are you guys following me so far?  Or are you having some trouble envisioning this awesome bathroom space?  Troubled?  Never fear, I’ve come prepared thanks to my friend’s super drawing skills. 

Ok, so the black line at the bottom is the door into the bathroom.  On the right is the sink and counter area.  Go around the corner and you have a walk-in closet that my friend says you can easily have four people sitting down in there.  Awesome storage options!!!  Then in the upper right corner is the garden tub I can only imagine is itself awesome. Then to the left of that is the toilet.  I think  she said in between the toilet and tub is a window, there are some mirrors in the bathroom that look like windows.  I must go over there and see this room…but can I do it without being roped into manual labor, that is the question.    But my friend and I were looking around trying to find pictures of before and after bathroom transformations.  I couldn’t find any, but she found this crafty gal who managed to do so and it turned out…well…awesome.  LOL!  Sorry. 

Anyway, so this gal who writes the blog Maillardville Manor explains how in her last house her and her husband took a bathroom they barely used and changed it into an office/craft area.  It was small but it was functional.  Have a look.

They went from this:

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To this:

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I know, impossible to believe this was a bathroom in a former life.  And see what I mean, it’s small, but functional.  And my friend has more room than this to play with so she could have a pretty nice craft room.  You need to go check out the post on Maillardville Manor about this amazing transformation.  But do you want to hear the extra cool part about this transformation?  They wanted to leave the bathroom so if they move, which they did, they could whip it back into a bathroom, which they did.  They hid the pipes in the cabinetry by cutting holes for it and plugging them so it was a easy switcharoo.

So in the end they ended up with this:

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I promise you that’s the same room.  You can see it in this post on Maillardville Manor.  Who am I kidding, it’s still hard for me to believe it’s the same room.

But I love how even though she had so little room she still had everything in it’s place.  Her yarn, her scissors, her ribbons, and her office stuff.  So it just shows you that your only limitation is your mind.  I’m in such awe what this couple was able to accomplish and it just drives me to think outside of the box and really try to see my true vision in things.  Sometimes I think I have crafter’s block, but it really just is all a mind thing. If you think you have crafter’s block then you will because you think you do.  But if you just relax, take some deep breaths if needed, and let the creativity flow through you.  Sure you may not recreate a room, but I guarantee that whatever you do create will be, dare I say it, awesome. 

I’ll talk to you lovelies later.  Stay crafty.  Be good until then.  Bye for now. 

Lazily day-dreaming about craft rooms and crafty things,
Michelle