They set us up the bomb. Ok, I'll stop being a dork now! Moving on...
More inchies! These are the ones I made for the free-theme swap - I always end up including an extra (each partner should get four for this one) because I like making them so much!
I finally went ahead and popped all of the ATCs I've received from others into sleeves and onto my wall near my desk/craft area/disaster zone. I was originally planning on waiting until we moved, because I don't want to feel like we're staying here forever, but decided to go ahead and do it now. We aren't moving 'til summer, since we're waiting until Kaia is finished school for the year so she won't have to change schools mid-year. I figure I'd rather have my little area happy-fied now rather than waiting another half a year!
Hubby DID end up getting my paper trimmer for me - he went across town to Michael's to get it for me (of his own volition!) even though he has strep throat and feels like utter rubbish. ♥ Wasn't expecting that, but it was awesome of him.
Speaking of family, I feel SO bad for my four-year-old kiddo, and it makes me want to cry. She has a HUGE infected submandibular lymph node (her left side) and Josh took her to the doctor on Thursday. They prescribed her some strong antibiotics and said that if it isn't noticeably better within 48 hours, to bring her back and they'd probably have to lance it. :( It's basically impossible to get her medicine into her (asked her to take it, she refused...MADE her take it, she threw it up...tried hiding it in both chocolate milk and a strawberry shake, no dice) so it's no wonder. We've managed to get VERY small amounts into her by hiding it in milk, but can only mix a tiny bit in because it's so strong-tasting. Better some than none, but it isn't making a big enough dent in her infection. The ER doc drew a circle around her gland so we'd be able to see if it did get smaller or not - it's a TEENY bit smaller, but probably not enough to make a difference. I don't even know how they'd go about doing the procedure on her...my guess says that they'd have to put her under since she's so little - not like she's an adult who would be ok with local anesthesia and would know enough to hold still. I'm terrified of the whole thing and my heart is breaking for her. I'm crossing my fingers that it's down by this time tomorrow, and all my worrying is for naught. Please think happy thoughts for Kaia! :(
My back and neck still hurt, but slightly less than before. I don't really care about me, though - my concern is for the kidlet.
Told you: ATC kick. It's since ended, though, as I've discovered something new - inchies. ♥
These two were made for the 'Glitter Blast' ATC swap. It's a bit hard to see in my lame photo, but they both have a ton of glittery clear gloss on 'em too - go glitter, go!
But yes, inchies. I'm officially in love. Prepare to be spammed.
These sets are for a blue-themed inchie swap - four each to two partners, plus an extra I included because I was having fun making random ones. Next up: free themed swap, four each to two partners. Fun! I have a few made and am making a ton more when I'm able.
Going to buy a paper trimmer tomorrow, hopefully. Hubby was going to pick it up for me today from Michael's while he was out, but he balked at paying $40 (?!) for it when the thing I printed for him from Amazon listed it at $20something. So, time for the 40% off coupon to come to the rescue. Stealing mom's flyer (since she doesn't shop there anyway) for the coupon, and should be going back tomorrow since hubby has the day off. It'll be so nice to not have to cut my ATC and inchie blanks by hand any more!
Messed up a muscle in my back pretty badly yesterday, and it still hurts like mad (between my left shoulder blade and my spine). My neck is starting to hurt now too, probably because those muscles are having to pick up the slack from the work my back isn't doing. I've been trying to stretch it as much as possible through the pain, because babying my back is only going to make things worse. Hoping it's mostly-recovered by Sunday, as I have to work!
Hope your holidays were great, and all the best for the new year. ♥ Any resolutions? Mine is deceptively simple: in a word, health. Need to take better care of myself and make myself a priority in my own life. I have an intense case of mom-itis, and need to remember to care for myself while I'm caring for my kidlets. Oops.
Seriously, I'm definitely on an ATC kick. I seem to go in waves of making them.
In this photo, the red one is the second I needed for the red-themed ATC swap (same swap I made the mitten ATC for) and the other is just plain random.
This second one is for the 'Celebration of Colour - Pink' ATC swap coming up at the beginning of next month. (And sorry for the horrid lighting - it's dark here already!) It's such a crazy time of year, and I wanted to be sure it would be ready to go in time - and it is, yay! ;)
I also made a ton of envelopes over the last couple of days. I'll try to get a photo of them by tomorrow. I justjust opened an Etsy shop solely for selling various paper goods, so I hope to make more and list some stuff soon! I'll be selling super cheap as always - it's just an excuse to craft! XD
Meet C (Sea) Crab. He's part of my A through E ATC swap. :) I think he's cute!
This one is for ATC series colors #1 - Red. It took most of the day/night for me to tackle - the kidlet was at school and the baby slept a fair bit, so I had a few hours. I really hope my partner appreciates the work that went into it! (Seriously, my guess says 8 hours went into this...such itty-bitty stitches!)
'B Bee' is the first ATC I've completed for an upcoming Crafting Queens group ATC swap. We'll be running through the alphabet and knocking out a few letters per month - January will be A through E. I was REALLY looking forward to this one as soon as I saw it, so I decided to get a head start...definitely a good idea, considering how hectic life is around the holidays, combined with how long it takes to make these.
I'm happy with how it turned out - I hope my partner is too! My 'A' card is in the works, but I ran out of red floss thanks to my stinkin' dog...may have to restart with a different red and abandon the partially-finished one for now, though it pains me to do so. C will be started later today. :)
Still haven't found a frame for that big project I mentioned. Will have to buy one this weekend, I suppose.
Yeah, I'm not even going to complain in this post - be amazed! Nothing has changed really, but I'm moving on even though my body (and life) don't seem to want to. :P
For something a little different, I made a big friendship bracelet. The lighting in the photo sucks, but oh well. (Have I mentioned that I hate winter? But no complaining, self!)
And...*drumroll*...I finished that cross-stitch project I've been rambling about! I just have to locate a proper picture frame for it and I'll snap a photo. It took about a week and a half of stitching with every spare minute I had, but I got it done in plenty of time to Christmas-gift it to an aunt & uncle, which was the goal. :D Will try to find a frame tonight and get a photo up by tomorrow.
Life has been enjoying kicking me in the butt way too much lately.
First, the whole milk thing. I'm dealing with it, but it still sucks. I hate having to be paranoid about what I eat!
Then, the stupid root canal. After I had the second part done on the 25th, it hurt like crazy...but then, I had numbness in my lower lip, chin and part of my jaw. I'm now on antibiotics and super anti-inflammatories, in case it's infection and/or inflammation compressing the nerve. If that doesn't do it, then the nerve itself was slightly damaged during the procedure, and it'll be weeks to months before it heals. Wee? As long as it isn't permanent damage, I'll deal. It isn't completely numb (I'd say, 40-50% numb?), but it feels really weird and I have to put actual effort into forming words properly. My chin is the worst, for whatever reason.
Around the same time, Kaia (my four year old) developed a NASTY cold/flu. It was bad enough that I actually got hubby to take her to the ER to get her checked out - they declared it a really bad cold or the flu, and said to bring her back if she isn't on the mend soon. Poor kid. I felt horrible for her - she looked like hell, wouldn't eat, pretty much just laid there hacking up a lung and vomiting a few times in the process. :( She is definitely on the mend now - she's been up to no good, so I know she's feeling better - but she's definitely not at 100%. She should be well enough to go to school on Monday, I think. She had to stay home on Wednesday and she was NOT pleased. (She only goes two days a week this year.)
To add to the fun, now Cameron (3.5 months old) caught Kaia's bug. So far, she's just a bit stuffy and has a tiny cough, but I'm terrified that it's going to get worse. For those of you with kids, you know how horrible it is trying to feed a baby when she can't breathe through her nose. :( She's such a sunny-tempered kid though, so she's taking it fairly well. Crossing my fingers and hoping she doesn't get any worse than it is now.
Hubby's been working more hours (retail management + holiday season = chaos) and that leaves me with way less free time (not that I had a ton to begin with) and a grumpier hubby. Apparently, there's a Christmas song to the tune of 'Jingle Bells' that is just made up of dogs barking and it's driving him nuts. Can't say I blame him.
Hours are extended at my work due to the holiday season as well. They generally don't mess with my schedule much, but we'll see what gets changed for the worse...this week's schedule is fine, but I'm scared to see what's coming. Even better, customers get grumpier as the holiday season wears on. I can deal with no tips (which is true of holiday season as well), as long as people are reasonably polite, but that goes downhill as we creep further into December.
When I -do- get a few minutes to myself, I've been working on a big cross-stitch project. It's actually only going to be 5x7 when complete, but it's crazy detailed on a bitty-count aida so it's taking a while. I'll post a picture when it's finished! It's supposed to be a Christmas gift (and will be framed), assuming I finish it in time. I should make it, at this rate. *crosses fingers*
I've been sticking to mostly postcard swaps these days...I know I have time to write a quick blurb on a card at least, and they make my mailbox happy. ;)
EDIT -- Hey, look - a photo!
Albeit a bad one, but a photo nonetheless. I've actually made more ATCs than this, but failed to take a photo of them before sending them on - bad me! The one on the left is for a Googly Eye ATC swap (and makes me laugh), while the one on the right is a sender's choice card.
As the title says...I don't have time for much of anything these days, which is aggravating. I've been crafting in tiny spurts here and there, but haven't had time to do much in one sitting, nor have I taken photos. Our daylight is fast becoming a precious commodity - not that I like cold, but that's definitely something I absolutely HATE about winter. I like sun! :(
I've made a few random ATCs and some dolly skirts lately. I will do my best to get a photo of both up tomorrow.
Random, but if you're reading this and you're Canadian, DON'T BUY THE NEW REINDEER HOLIDAY STAMPS UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE REALLY ANNOYED! I chose those ones over the stamps with the Christmas ornaments on them because I thought they were pretty...it was a mistake. They don't stick worth a darn - I ended up having to take them off my Christmas card envelopes (and they came off super easily, which is scary), slather the backs with gluestick and put them back on. They just will not stick! The adhesive is terrible. It's a shame, because they really are pretty - they even have a little bit of glitter/shine to them! - but ugh. If I hadn't attacked 'em with a gluestick, they totally would have peeled off in the mail system and my Christmas cards would have ended up returned. What a fat waste of money that would have been!
Root canal is finished - hello pain, goodbye $333.85. (After insurance. At least insurance covered a decent chunk!)
Still coping with life without milk products. I found vegan Becel margarine, which made me WAY too happy - my husband was laughing at me the whole way out of the store, haha. I just need to find a decent egg substitute (and milk-free chocolate chips!), and I'll be on my merry way doing some Christmas baking that I can actually eat! I've discovered the hard way that I can't even eat something that milk products have touched. I made pizza for lunch, and I figured I would be safe if I only put cheese on Josh's half. A little of his cheese oozed onto my half in baking, so I scraped it over to his side and thought I'd be safe. WRONG. I've learned my lesson. :(
Crafting time would be lovely. Breathing time would be better. :P
Just a quickie update while I have a minute - finished the ATC I was making for the WTA #10. Her favorite movie is The Wizard of Oz, and I couldn't find anything locally so I went the handmade route.
My jaw is exploding. I really hope I don't have to deal with this until it gets finished next week. x_x It seems to be going in waves...it'll be bearable, then so bad I want to cry, then somewhere in between, over and over. I have a pretty high pain tolerance, but there's something about tooth/jaw pain that's just plain unbearable.
So my 'mmmcake' didn't turn out quite so yummy. Well, it did, but not for me. I've finally determined why I feel so terrible and can't keep much food down lately - milk and milk products. I've eliminated them entirely and am feeling better, so that much is good. Still have an ear infection, but will be headed off to the doctor on Dec. 8th...I'll go to a walk-in clinic before then if I have to, but I trust my family doctor more than any other, so I'm reluctant. I'll need a referral to a dietitian too, since going from vegetarian to vegan is a big change and I want to make sure my meal planning is decent!
Also, I just had part one of a root canal today. Part two (and hopefully the last) comes on the 25th. Woo.
Can I have a new November, please?
ANYHOW, no more complaining, moving on to the crafties:
My very first skinny card! They're the same concept as ATCs, just bigger - 3"x5" rather than 2.5"x3.5". The specifications were that it be something relating to the 1900-09 timeframe, and I immediately thought of the advent of teddy bears...then went a bit mad with glitter. ^^; I was a bit intimidated to send it out, being as how the partner I sent to makes absolutely gorgeous cards, but it went out anyway - gotta start somewhere!
I received a cute little Christmas-y cross-stitch kit as one of my holiday wishes from a swap-bot group, and I whipped it up by the end of the night on the same day I received it, haha. My very first cross-stitch ever, and I think it turned out ok. I was pretty sure I'd do ok with it, considering I've done a ton with plastic canvas over the years (my mom taught me the basics when I was a kid), and so far so good. I'm currently doing a couple of private trades to receive more cross-stitch supplies, so that'll be fun. :D
I'm really looking forward to acquiring blank aida and embroidery floss to stitch my own things - pixel art and old 8-bit video game designs will carry over perfectly! I have visions of a soft case for my hubby's new phone covered in old-school Mario designs.
Currently tackling my massive Christmas card list, so between that, being ill, and the kids, I haven't had time for as much crafting as I'd like. I'm working on a Wizard of Oz-based ATC for a WTA (winner-takes-all) in one of my groups on swap-bot, a pink ATC for a swap not finalized until January (the holiday season is crazy-busy, and I want to be done in time!) and pretending like my craft things can be tamed.
One day, I -will- have a proper craft area, and everything will be organized and in it's place. For now, with how tiny our house is, my craft stuff is in a random jumble and small boxes are spread out from our bedroom to the computer desk to the shelves to the dining room table. I love my wonderfully tolerant husband, haha. ♥ (The desk is the worst - it looks like a craft box exploded!)
Yes, I happen to be baking a cake right now. Yes, it's chocolate. Yes, I'll share, but you have to come here and fight my husband for it, as he's not so keen on sharing chocolate cake. (Unless it's with me, and considering I'm the one who bakes, he'd better darn well share with me!) ;)
Finally got a photo of those star ornaments I mentioned yesterday:
I think they'll be going to live with my mom as part of her Christmas gift. If I get ambitious (and more time, and more felt), I'll make some for coworkers too.
It's frustrating, how quickly the light fades these days...and it's going to keep on getting worse. :( It is currently 4:43PM and it's already fading...it'll be pitch dark by 6PM.
I'm just finishing up my four Christmas ATCs - need to stitch the last one onto the cardstock backing - and I'll edit this with a photo once I do. I timed it, and from start to finish, it takes roughly 4 hours to make ONE of my Christmas ATCs. Yeesh. I like them though, and I hope others do too! I've gotten some feedback in the form of ratings on swap-bot, so I'm feeling a little braver about sending my creations out into the world now. :)
EDIT to add photo:
Opted to just post a photo of one of them, as the 'group' photo didn't turn out well. Darn this lack of natural light! (And lack of photography skills and a light tent, hah!)
If there were 25 hours in a day, I still wouldn't have enough time to tackle everything I need to do. Or even half of it. Still, I try to stretch my time as best I can, picking and choosing my tasks/wants to get as much done as possible while juggling two young kids. It feels like Tetris, only with real things instead of blocks. (And where is that long block when you need it?!) But anyway...
I managed to get a few things done, at least.
Finished two simple dolly skirts, and listed both on Etsy with a coordinating headband/choker necklace set. Yay?
I opted to drop from the autumn ATC swap as I just wasn't feelin' it...had no inspiration/motivation to finish that card, so it was for the best. I now have a partially finished autumn-y card...I'll finish it eventually.
I have four Christmas ATCs to finish. I've finished the base part for three, and will have the fourth base finished by tomorrow evening. Not bad, as that's the most time-consuming part - each one takes a couple of hours. I don't really know exactly how long they take, but I'll attempt to time it when I tackle the fourth as I'm curious! All I know is that they're nowhere near quick to complete, but I enjoy making them and people hopefully enjoy receiving them!
I made three felt Christmas ornaments last night too, but don't have a photo yet. I'm REALLY hating this pitch-black-at-6PM nonsense. Can it be spring already, please? I'll try to get a photo up tomorrow.
One day, I'll have time to do everything I want to do. Maybe. But by then, I'll probably be 65 and retired, and my wants/tasks will have changed drastically anyway. Such is life. :P
Yesterday really WAS super-productive - these two ATCs were from last night! The top one is for the 'kawaii' ATC swap, and the bottom one is for the 'love' ATC swap. Sorry, I know the pictures are rubbish, but daylight is getting more and more sparse here - I'm dreading winter! At this point, it's mostly light by 9AM, and getting dark by 5:30PM...and it's only going to get worse. *sighs*
Today's projects will be boring and not worth picturing, unless I get a burst of creativity and a bunch of time - I need to make more mandala envelopes (I used all the ones I had made) and get crackin' on FOUR more Christmas ATCs. The backings on those take a really long time since I stitch on each sequin by hand...so they really need to get made ASAP so I know I'll get them finished in time!
Between household chores and finishing up crafts, today has been super productive so far! It helps that my older kiddo is in school and my husband has today off of work, haha. :P
These two are for the Christmas ATC swap. I have two more to do for a different Christmas ATC swap now as well - I'll probably do something similar, as I enjoy fiddling with sequins even if they DO take hours to complete. (Am I crazy?)
This one is my final card for the 5-partner sender's choice ATC swap. Wee sequins!
And this final one is my take on the "T" ATC card swap. Yep, it's supposed to be a tulip. I don't know what it is about sequin + felt ATCs that I enjoy so much, but I do. They each take a few hours to knock out, but the final result is different than most of what I see out there...whether that's a good thing or not is up to the receiver, I guess. :P
Still on the crafting agenda: 20 (?!) Valentine's-themed ATCs, 1 ATC with the word 'love' on it somewhere, 1 autumn-themed ATC, 2 more Christmas ATCs, doll clothing/accessories for a Christmas swap on Den of Angels, doll clothing/accessories to list on Etsy. Woo.
I'm hoping to get a chance to break out the sewing machine and make some simple doll clothes in the next week...we'll see if that happens.
Yeah, this project has NOTHING to do with Halloween, but whatever. At least the paper I used is autumny? :P I actually whipped these all up last night, plus a few more that are in use that aren't pictured - they're ATC envelopes. I actually enjoyed making them (if you can't tell by the fact that I made a ton, haha) and am debating trying to sell a few on the cheap at Etsy to give me an excuse to make more! (And apologies for the shoddy lighting in this photo yet again - it's just getting light out at 9AM, eww!)
I'll end up making a bunch more out of my rose-themed paper in preparation for that mega Valentine's ATC swap I mentioned before - 20 cards! - so at least there's that.
I've also started an autumn ATC and am still working on those two Christmas ATCs...and now I need to make two more Christmas ATCs for another swap. Wee!
The beauty of swapping in specific themes is that it's easy inspiration for crafting. ♥
Please pardon the terrible lighting in my terrible photo - it's definitely dark out at this point, but I wanted to post while I could! Today's project was these two ATCs - yay for cute piggies! I also worked on my two Christmas ATCs a little (darn, they're labor intensive!) and made two more mandala envelopes.
I'm hoping to finish the Christmas ATCs tomorrow, but of course, that depends on the kidlets.
The piggy ATCs will be going towards a 'sender's choice'-type ATC swap on swap-bot - I need to make a couple more for that same swap, but I have time. Need to make one ATC for another upcoming swap - the word 'love' or some derivative of it has to be included on the card somewhere. I also need to get crackin' if I want to hop in on a really huge Valentine's-ish swap that's coming up - it involves making -20- themed ATCs, one each for twenty partners. Woo.
Have I mentioned that I'm loving swap-bot and ATCs? Because I am. ;)
Yeah, I actually HAVE been making little things here and there, but failed to post about them. Oops.
My project from a few days ago was making six little (2" x 2") cards with petal envelopes:
For a few days this week, my projects consisted merely of more mandala envelopes, which aren't really worth posting since they look exactly the same as the others with minor color variations.
Another couple of days was spent making the sequined backgrounds for my two Christmas ATC swap cards, which again aren't worth picturing until they're finished (if then? :P).
My project from two days ago:
I actually made two of these, but only took a picture of one since they're pretty well identical anyway. These were for the 'One Fish, Two Fish' ATC swap on swap-bot. Once I got over having the Dr. Suess story running through my head, all I could think of was Blinky...so I went with it. :P
I received a 5♥ rating for one of my first sequined cards (one of the flower ones) and it totally made my day. Sounds like she liked it, which I'm happy about. I was nervous about sending my creations out into the world since I'm so new at making ATCs, but I'm slowly feeling a little more comfortable with them. :)
Yesterday, crafting was not an option, and I almost went crazy - we had no power for almost NINE HOURS. Keep in mind that I have two young daughters (4 years old and 2 months old) and couldn't so much as make toast. (It was a cereal, cheese and crackers day.) It was stormy and completely gloomy, plus it gets dark out really early these days. At first, Kaia was amused, then bored...then amused when I had to light candles, then quickly bored again. I'm just lucky that Cameron is used to room temperature formula!
My goal is to make at least ONE small craft project of any sort on any given day. This may not work out too well on the weekend due to work, but I'll try!
Yesterday's project ended up being coloring mandalas & assembling multiple envelopes to have on hand for sending ATCs out.
Today's project was a surprise even to me. Hubby was kind enough to take me out shopping for a few new craft supplies today, and among other things, I picked up more cardstock and some cool little bubble-y stickers. I received an ATC from a swap-bot swap in the mail later on in the day, and along with it, my partner was kind enough to include a little piece of vintage (1918) sheet music from a book and some French-language paper punches. Inspiration!
I just kind of went with it and these are what I came up with - Butterfly Sonata. I'm having an ATC kick lately. Very glad I discovered them - they're a wonderful outlet for random creativity. ♥
Yep, another one! Just finished making this Christmas ATC for a private swap on swap-bot. The swap also includes a colored mandala sheet, which I've colored several of. :D
The envelope in the photo was made by me as well - I colored yet another mandala and traced an envelope template onto it, covered it with clear packing tape, cut it out and assembled it. I've been making these envelopes to send out all of my ATCs in. They seem to be pretty sturdy, and they're pretty! (In my opinion, at least. :P ) They take around an hour a piece to make, but I'm happy with the final outcome.
I figure it's about time I started blogging about the random creations I've been crafting lately. I've always been rather craft-nuts, but ever since I joined swap-bot, I've had a reason to make random things. :P And so, this blog was born.
I've just started making ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) - thanks, swap-bot, for giving me a new outlet for random creativity!
My very first ones:
Then, I made these:
The felt ones took a super long time to make - I sewed on every single sequin by hand! - but were a lot of fun, and I'm happy with how they turned out. I've already started making more sequin-studded bases for making more, including some Christmas-y ones.
I think my 'craft area' (AKA my computer desk) is going to explode.
