Spring is in the air...

After a not so pleasant Saturday (why does the bad weather always show up for the weekend?), we got some beautiful weather today. After church we headed out to hike up to Kolb Farm that we had attempted to hike to last weekend but got distracted by another trail. After receiving some not so great directions from a sweatsuit-clad couple that I predict misdirected us on purpose, we found our way. It was a great hike. Kolb Farm ended up being a bit of a disappointment but it's more about the journey than the destination anyway right? Unfortunately we learned that our little pup Frankie is only good for about 5.5 miles. Beau had to put her in our pack for the last half mile which got quite a reaction from the other hikers.

Along the way we saw some signs that spring is on it's way including this grouping of daffodils.
I also got a little crafty this weekend and made some earrings. One pair for me and one pair for a friend whose birthday is coming up. I'd been wanting to try this style for awhile and the rainy Saturday made for perfect timing.

Valentine part 2

Forgive my camera...I think it's on it's last leg.

So I couldn't stand the fact that I gave Beau his Valentine early. I decided to make him a couple felt fortune cookies. I'd been planning on trying this pattern out that I found online and I did mostly follow it. I chose to stitch by hand rather than machine stitch which is basically more out of laziness in busting the sewing machine out than anything else. I finished them off with a cute little hand-written fortune but then got so excited about them that I went ahead and gave them to him anyway.

Looks like Valentines Day will include no presents whatsoever as Beau caught the bug and gave me my V-day present early too. He painted me a beautiful landscape called "The long and winding road that leads to your door".

Beau's Christmas gift this year was an intro to drawing and painting class and some art supplies. So far so good. For a first time painter he's doing an amazing job but also enjoying himself. His teacher gave him a compliment the other day that I totally agree with. He told Beau that he is not only artistic but also creative. There is a difference...think about it.

Standing on the moon...

Check out Rob Ryan's blog. Rob does papercutting and has some amazing pieces. I've once bought a book "The Book of Lost Things" by John Connolly simply because of the amazing art on the book jacket. As I found out a few days ago it's Rob Ryan's work. I discovered him several months ago but was recently reintroduced when looking for a Valentine idea for my hubby.

We decided at the beginning of our relationship to make our own Valentine gifts every year. I think it will be so cute one day when we are old and wrinkled to look back at all the paintings, shadow boxes, earrings, etc.

I decided to make Beau a papercut for Valentine's this year after happening across Rob's blog again. Word to the wise it is 100 times harder than it looks, especially since I have limited sketching ability but I worked my way through it and created a papercut based on the song from our first dance at our wedding: "Standing on the Moon". I think it turned out pretty well for a first attempt. Still a couple of adjustments I want to make.

By the way, the Grateful Dead version is not the one we used at our reception. We used an arrangement that Beau's dad and best friend performed. Absolutely one of the highlights of the night!

Piggy Pouch

So it's MLK day and I am lucky enough to have the day to myself. I was supposed to go have lunch with my hubby but we decided to cancel because we have to meet up with some peeps from the church to talk about the youth program later on this evening. So I decided to instead surf the net for a bit and check out some of the craft blogs I've been missing out on lately and see if I could get a little crafty myself.

There is this really cool craft from Etsy Labs about fusing plastic shopping bags together to make reusable grocery totes, wallets, etc. Well I've been trying to use canvas totes for awhile to try and be more eco-friendly but I did manage to scrounge up several bags still lingering around from the old days. I even found one cute Piggly Wiggly bag so I decided to make a Piggy Pouch coupon holder.

Anyway, it's a super easy, super cheap craft project and it's definitely worth a try. Instructions for how to can be found in the Etsy Labs and all you need: plastic bags, thread, needle, button, parchment paper, iron and ironing board....oh and a course a bit of imagination. (Picture coming soon)

Going green...literally or how to spend a fun weekend with your hubbie

We are in desperate need for organization. Last year two messy people quickly merged their things, then quickly packed them in storage, then quickly moved into a new apartment, then got married. Basically leaving zero time for organization. So now two messy people are slowly working to get organized...well, one messy person is, the other messy person is watching a lot of the history channel. In any case: we are trying.

On the road to organization we happened to need a dresser and in an effort to be environmentally friendly, crafty and a little (maybe a LOT) adventurous, we decided to refurbish a thrifted dresser. Going into the hardware store we had our minds made up, only cherry red or black paint would do. Instead on a whim we decided to go with a cheap can of reject paint in an interesting army green meets olive tone.

After cleaning off the dresser and removing the drawers and hardware, we decided we wanted the dark original stain of the dresser to show through to make it look a bit distressed so we chose to only sand off the gloss. Beau and I took turns with a paint stripping level sandpaper. Once that was finished and the dust from sanding cleaned up; we set to work on the paint. Once again, we wanted the original color to show through so we used only about a coat and a half of paint. We let the entire thing dry for approximately 12 hours and reattached the old hardware. We'll find new stuff eventually but in the meantime the old antique gold hardware adds to the look.

In a little less than a day's work (with drying time)we had an eclectic, refurbished, slightly rustic dresser. Not bad for $25. Not to mention, we had a ton of fun reinventing the dresser. I suggest this activity to any newlywed couple looking for a fun weekend activity. Anyway, enjoy the pictures and yes...that is our little pup Frankie checking out the dresser in the before picture.

Welcome 2009!

At the beginning of 2009 I am:

Listening to: Grateful Dead (hubbie's choice)
Watching: Lifetime, yeah...I know
Reading: L. Hamilton (embarrassing secret but I read her before they got really weird and now I'm stuck trying to finish out the series)
Eating: Hoppin John soup that I created myself

My resolutions:
-Try to be a better wife (while we've only been married a few months, there is definitely some room for improvement)
-Working to be as positive as I expect others to be.
-Let my creative side fly.
-No more procrastination.
-Budget more.
-Get organized at home.
-Yoga...why not right? And start running again!

My Christmas Miracle

It's the most wonderful time of the year. Right now I'm patiently waiting to travel back to FL for the holidays with my new hubby. I can't wait to get on the road and ask for your prayers as we travel. This is a tough day for Beau. 11 years ago on Christmas Eve he was in a car accident that almost claimed his life and left him in a coma for many days. I'm blessed that he survived and I know that God placed us in one another's lives for a reason. He is the best thing that has ever happened to me and is a Christmas miracle.