tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-92858162024-03-18T15:30:51.914-04:00In a Tiny HouseMuch in little.candynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904539285373868227noreply@blogger.comBlogger460125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9285816.post-47443163726623234572014-02-16T23:14:00.001-05:002014-02-16T23:16:48.563-05:00Sledding on Lake Michigan Sand Dunes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The drifts on the side of the road are getting high! This wasn't even the tallest one.</div>
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So cold, but so fun!</div>
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Climbing sand dunes is hard.</div>
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Climbing sand dunes covered in slippery snow, harder.</div>
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Climbing sand dunes covered in slippery snow in 20 mph wind gusts?</div>
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That's just how we do winter in Michigan.</div>
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We 'heart' sledding.</div>
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The hills were rather icy. So very fast.</div>
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Kind of scary if you are a <strike>scaredy cat</strike>, ahem, logical person like myself.<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Goodness, I didn't realize blogger would speed up the video like this. The runs were fast, but not THAT fast.</span></div>
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The Lake Michigan beach house. What lake?</div>
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Warming up at the bowling alley after all the sledding fun. We've been bowling so many times this winter, I'm actually starting to like it. Spring can't come soon enough! Winter storm Rex is barreling our way bringing 6-8 more inches of snow tomorrow. Heck, maybe I'll join a bowling league...</div>
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Happy new week, everyone! Stay warm!</div>
candynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904539285373868227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9285816.post-4600979627442563262014-02-10T17:23:00.001-05:002014-02-10T20:30:25.094-05:00I am rich in trees.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Snow on a birch tree.</div>
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This combo feels like the essence of winter to me.</div>
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If I am ever to move from this home.<br />
This so very modest home.</div>
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I will miss the trees the most.<br />
In trees, I have abundance.</div>
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I share space with this beauty.</div>
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A mature <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulmus_glabra_'Camperdownii'" target="_blank">Camperdown Elm</a>.</div>
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Every day I am grateful.</div>
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A fortress, a sanctuary, a mysterious companion for a quiet day.</div>
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I have a deep love for this tree.</div>
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When I was very little I used to carry around <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000RAIO1A" target="_blank">A Golden Guide: Trees</a> like a talisman.</div>
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I had to. I remember needing to know. Needing to have that book with me.</div>
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I've always had a passion for trees.</div>
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My birch tree would be enough.<br />
It is gorgeous and brings me daily joy.</div>
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This tree? This tree is a reminder of how life can surpass expectation in all ways.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizbgqqyFTaCneW5DvUL_q-7xBYEV4uDCwgufkimV51padATrBlhQr0QmcgBrsyasxtSY-UztI8sMo23xbi5iqZOVhGeJ-lxlE0ILxTf7WKxjTRyfcHQiMpXde8FuNRu4NIxDwR/s1600/P1120080.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizbgqqyFTaCneW5DvUL_q-7xBYEV4uDCwgufkimV51padATrBlhQr0QmcgBrsyasxtSY-UztI8sMo23xbi5iqZOVhGeJ-lxlE0ILxTf7WKxjTRyfcHQiMpXde8FuNRu4NIxDwR/s1600/P1120080.jpg" height="288" width="400" /></a></div>
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It holds my heart.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(Heart photo from <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2011/02/my-bloody-valentine.html" target="_blank">Valentine's Day a few years back</a>.)</span></div>
candynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904539285373868227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9285816.post-56818584781339409252014-02-07T22:52:00.000-05:002014-02-08T00:26:09.837-05:00Words like Glue<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFdaVzPZaY5SG7kB4Pv-bd5yYrJ8oC40L9-7_NhEeKKYMkdDiS61isfyWYDxXTxTtDJHTbfpYEuzIITXUnb0KplCJNv_FC7uorj2ehMz2C2ygSeaoe3EGSuEGQoO3xl17yowRO/s1600/photo+(31).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFdaVzPZaY5SG7kB4Pv-bd5yYrJ8oC40L9-7_NhEeKKYMkdDiS61isfyWYDxXTxTtDJHTbfpYEuzIITXUnb0KplCJNv_FC7uorj2ehMz2C2ygSeaoe3EGSuEGQoO3xl17yowRO/s1600/photo+(31).JPG" height="400" width="295" /></a></div>
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Journal page from 2004</div>
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This is a page of a journal I used to keep, back when I was a working mom to two small ones and one middle sized one. Recently, I gathered my old journals into one location and I've been enjoying flipping through them. A pleasing little box of narcissism, their words remind me how fleeting this all really is. Wasn't it just yesterday that my children were such small bundles of human? How is it today that two are taller than I am and one is nearly there?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO7bG8RTx0xlX3cNucAiVRHlPGZfTE5QXfRSpVEv8d_Ehx-kq7b5P_7DOr4JlEYc8GhdLLVkhNoNuLb9g7Ga-m_ctmy_q_BOxg0Q6lOUI69lS1avJDr_1IeVhvS7wCeoJEk6sr/s1600/2014-02-07+17.36.26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO7bG8RTx0xlX3cNucAiVRHlPGZfTE5QXfRSpVEv8d_Ehx-kq7b5P_7DOr4JlEYc8GhdLLVkhNoNuLb9g7Ga-m_ctmy_q_BOxg0Q6lOUI69lS1avJDr_1IeVhvS7wCeoJEk6sr/s1600/2014-02-07+17.36.26.jpg" height="400" width="296" /></a></div>
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A gathering of journals and a bowl of rocks.</div>
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These are a few of my favorite things.</div>
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Earlier this winter I claimed a corner of our living area for myself. I've lately been trying to write with a more serious intent. Real books. Real stories. The former captured moments of my life stashed away into journals and blogs, facebook posts and tweets didn't feel like actual writing. Also, to be a 'real' writer, I felt the need for an appropriately real space. I built a small desk and painted it in a fashion that makes me smile, in order to help the words feel more official. A home for my thoughts. Or rather, a home for my thoughts to become proper stories. It is a corner between bookshelves, near homeschool books, beside writing books, with a place underneath to stash my pile of journals, old and new. Basically, a corner where all the words in my world collide.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibepc2Qo1J3nmgZUZk0GcHHpxTRZUTSnw15DAJ0OLNb_LiwRWbgrUDqabO2ENMtYzC69XEBdcxjEcGGFueW5PNSWsuKGphmCcWhsunNyOyykLyesbrATYF1G2orTFrSx7pRlc0/s1600/2014-01-11+11.43.33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibepc2Qo1J3nmgZUZk0GcHHpxTRZUTSnw15DAJ0OLNb_LiwRWbgrUDqabO2ENMtYzC69XEBdcxjEcGGFueW5PNSWsuKGphmCcWhsunNyOyykLyesbrATYF1G2orTFrSx7pRlc0/s1600/2014-01-11+11.43.33.jpg" height="296" width="400" /></a></div>
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My little dreamy desk.</div>
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My daughter reads this blog, from time to time. Sighing and telling me how much she loves it. Asking when I'll start writing her story again. What she doesn't know is I've always been writing her story. First in little notebooks I'd carry in my small backpacks and pulled out in slow moments, scratched out on napkins in restaurants, doodling in the margins of notes taken in meetings at work, written in blog posts, and message board threads, and more recently strewn across facebook, twitter, pinterest and instagram. She peeks out of the wiser places of my 'real' writing. There she is, that curly headed toddler, that preteen that is taller than I am, that fierce champion of dragons. She is in it all; she always will be. She's a defining part of what I am.</div>
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This blog might have gone neglected, but the words have always surrounded her, buzzing in my ears and unfolding from my fingers on a daily basis. Children are a muse unlike any other, their birth a gong sounding the beginning of the never ending desire to stash away moments. Words - a glue to the life scrapbook we are always trying to create, as if we can somehow slow time by documenting it as it unfolds.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvt4IqqLscUMZXxxSlANxikiNW0ULTcyS-p6d83AkXvBrZv8TqkUBsWXSXxTPTL-QMURl918insYo2hBEuHV5x_zXHsVbpvCMlMMa4rrHL0oEqxd0eWY3lO_owWyyCUpVFru5T/s1600/2014-01-11+14.13.03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvt4IqqLscUMZXxxSlANxikiNW0ULTcyS-p6d83AkXvBrZv8TqkUBsWXSXxTPTL-QMURl918insYo2hBEuHV5x_zXHsVbpvCMlMMa4rrHL0oEqxd0eWY3lO_owWyyCUpVFru5T/s1600/2014-01-11+14.13.03.jpg" height="296" width="400" /></a></div>
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'Real' writing?</div>
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Today I was browsing through the journal from above. Little notes written in frantic mommy scrawl, trying to capture those gorgeous, soft-cheeked, sticky-fingered moments before they floated away on the haze of overtired, overstressed mommy-brain. A hand that belonged to a person that knew she had too little time for what she wanted to accomplish, but wanted to try to do it all anyways. Oh, the cheeky exhausted optimism of that younger me. I like her. I wish she knew that the optimism alone was almost enough. That she was doing fine.</div>
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In that journal are little photos printed out on regular office paper and scratched in notes about my son's first antics like, "Yesterday he somehow got my Wesco pop from the top of the table. I found him sitting in the middle of the floor drinking it from the straw. He just grinned at me when I walked out there and found him." Written five days after my son's first birthday, before he could officially walk, and the first time I realized he could both climb and drink with a straw. I read those words and I can instantly remember the weight of his one year old self as I lifted him from the floor. The dimple in his smile that I'd always kiss.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaS-baX0nhRUPfYCmQEYlid6_qoxZ9AFlTd0dl9ODIz_WI0So3zTj5Isd1_S6pe298WyaXUXKGc6NdWdLW0VbCJzOhqFIuu08zE0daioeGmgdJI_ZsgN91-g5dkO67zJh1gJD4/s1600/2014-02-07+19.59.17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaS-baX0nhRUPfYCmQEYlid6_qoxZ9AFlTd0dl9ODIz_WI0So3zTj5Isd1_S6pe298WyaXUXKGc6NdWdLW0VbCJzOhqFIuu08zE0daioeGmgdJI_ZsgN91-g5dkO67zJh1gJD4/s1600/2014-02-07+19.59.17.jpg" height="400" width="296" /></a></div>
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A snippet of a time when my journals would share space.</div>
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Words on one page, stick figures and scribbles on another.</div>
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The thing my early 30-something self didn't really realize, that my early 40-something self is beginning to understand, is nothing can hold time. Not those journals, not this blog, not all the hours we spend holding the actual children we are trying to contain. The seconds, minutes, years run like whispers over our skin, and we are left with scribbled notes in margins, "She steals my socks and scampers away when I walk in the door after work. Pulling them on her tiny legs, she wears them like scrunchy boots. She thinks if she takes them then I cannot leave again."</div>
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My little sock thief. I had almost forgotten. Her daily grasping of my socks an attempt to hoard my time. It mimics my daily grasping for documentation of this life. My attempt to hoard time itself. We are optimists, my daughter and I. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEies1QzLsbHqcKV8Qk0JqF78BZFbfWrh-53OGQFy6UnG6m4oHO_LwuNEGJGECUgTtKEExi6f7XUk0neI5Xy1-o-YIs_Sie502EvRbcy04SSQoZzjiWXmkUMf1fCJKx8bhPGQmfx/s1600/desk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEies1QzLsbHqcKV8Qk0JqF78BZFbfWrh-53OGQFy6UnG6m4oHO_LwuNEGJGECUgTtKEExi6f7XUk0neI5Xy1-o-YIs_Sie502EvRbcy04SSQoZzjiWXmkUMf1fCJKx8bhPGQmfx/s1600/desk.jpg" height="400" width="296" /></a></div>
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My 'real' writing desk.</div>
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The thing I realize now, as I sit in my writing corner where words hum around me - All the words are real. All the writing is real. No writing is more valid than any other. You can't get more real than the grocery lists of years ago, a glimpse into the diet of a working mom with toddlers and a pre-teen. Or more real than the photos of my babies eating leaves, the facebook posts of my daughter's latest piano recital, the many unpublished posts to this very blog, to the almost finished 'real' novel I've written over the past couple years. The words are all real.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicj1-ptyOgYoy-iAFMapi-vhqRQd-KU4etYAKrbhC16e3jv8QGMMOic-EeWEq7Xw1VEG4AM_8kdNENYLP8jyt0_jGgb1b1e-GnRAmM3pmN0HQ1dyUdcqb8RwcdJIksP9x034s0/s1600/2014-02-07+20.40.30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicj1-ptyOgYoy-iAFMapi-vhqRQd-KU4etYAKrbhC16e3jv8QGMMOic-EeWEq7Xw1VEG4AM_8kdNENYLP8jyt0_jGgb1b1e-GnRAmM3pmN0HQ1dyUdcqb8RwcdJIksP9x034s0/s1600/2014-02-07+20.40.30.jpg" height="296" width="400" /></a></div>
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Maybe it's the brightly doodled watercolored pages that are the most real?</div>
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When words fail us, there is always a tantrum of color to express oneself with.</div>
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Writing all those words, in all the many formats, has not slowed time in any way. I used to think these posts were like bringing our past selves back for a moment, but they aren't. The words instead are like mirrored glass, in which we revisit the past through the haze of our current reflection. The weight of the ten year old son on my lap is as present as the heft of his remembered one year old self, as we browse our former moments. My 40 year old self knows that I didn't finish that to-do list of gifts I wanted to make, or any of the ten other lists I made in years after. But I read those lists with a smile at my optimism, shaking my head that I thought a mom with a full time job and three kids could somehow find time to make any Christmas gifts, let alone all of them. (Thank goodness Pinterest wasn't around then! I had unrealistic ideas for my time as it was.) No, writing all the things sure hasn't paused or slowed time. Perhaps they even make me feel the passage of time all the keener.</div>
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Does that mean I'll stop trying? Nah. At heart I'm the sock stealing toddler trying to thwart her mom's return to work. I'm the baby climbing great heights when his mom's back is turned, in order to get his first taste of soda. I'm the career mom tiredly pasting photos of her kids in a journal that shares space with shopping lists and scribbles. I'm the person that builds a desk to house real writing, and realizes it is what she's been doing all along. I might know the to-do list is impossible, but I write it with hope.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUTtWODkIlFBAZP1l71UkWQKzcHzVCzPOGR-cjWoT2AFVOg5r1QPM5CWfA_2-kM5GaEJmzamTmdNRy84m1yaUJIbuV99qmZFMA802jKeIXzcEDHAVN8b8SaaWuOGB-0O36e0DT/s1600/2014-02-07+20.36.00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUTtWODkIlFBAZP1l71UkWQKzcHzVCzPOGR-cjWoT2AFVOg5r1QPM5CWfA_2-kM5GaEJmzamTmdNRy84m1yaUJIbuV99qmZFMA802jKeIXzcEDHAVN8b8SaaWuOGB-0O36e0DT/s1600/2014-02-07+20.36.00.jpg" height="296" width="400" /></a></div>
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Oy. My handwriting.</div>
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Words might not be the glue that binds my past and present worlds together. I come here now with no promises and no illusions that somehow gathering all these moments will make my days slow down. I know know that words won't root me to my past. It won't make who I was stick to who I now am. Words are just testimony to the constant evolution of this journey we are on. Yet here I am again, my wordy self missed this little blog. I realized that if keeping even tenuous track of my days here brings even a tiny bit of the happiness that flipping through those old journals gave me, then it is worth the effort. And you can't get more real than that.</div>
candynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904539285373868227noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9285816.post-24146942078709296932012-12-13T10:58:00.002-05:002012-12-13T10:58:33.256-05:00Mesmerizing video!<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BgqAmZHkkTg?fs=1" width="480"></iframe><br />
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I love how this video just builds with unexpected layers, from violin loops to beat boxing to playing a violin like a ukelele. Such a gorgeous mix of styles and it just makes me happy. I can't stop watching!candynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904539285373868227noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9285816.post-16160132943185024382012-12-13T00:03:00.001-05:002012-12-13T20:19:15.566-05:00Scrapbook paper crafts and dog fashion. Yep. Pretty much sums up my life.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Life has been, well, life. I've stopped expecting it to slow down or for me to feel caught up. Suddenly it is the holiday season and WOW! Wasn't it just summer? That is just how it is going to be, isn't it? This wild head first slide into home plate, all the while wondering what inning we are in and if it was our day to bring the snack and oh! Did I leave the stove on at home? I'm getting old now that I think like this, right? Is this what age is? This roller coaster in my head? In my days?</div>
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I'm not even one of those busy moms. I purposely try to keep time open for us to breathe. I don't know how other families accomplish all that they do without curling into a fetal position and whimpering their days away. I'm not even all that busy compared to 'normal' people. And I'm still, well. Busy. Bless all you moms out there that earn their busy stripes with your soccering, and careering and baking cupcakes for the school this-and-that. I stand in awe. Awe, I say.</div>
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So anyway. Since suddenly we went from running through sprinklers to the Christmas season in the past week or so, out came the advent calendar I made last year. We used to buy the playmobil advent calendars and while those were awesome, we've sort of moved more toward lego and aren't looking to add to our ridiculous amounts of playmobil toys at this point. And have you SEEN the price of lego advent calendars?!?! No way can I justify spending that much for a couple minifigs!<br />
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Doing holiday/seasonal related things as a family seemed more in keeping with the season anyway and I found this cute little advent calendar thing on overstock for (I think) $14.00 and free shipping and thought it was time for a change. I had to assemble it, paint it and decorate it, and I made the cards out of small pieces of scrapbook paper and printed out 'things to do' which I laminated with packing tape. I'm happy with how it turned out for using simple materials and I like that we can use it year after year. I finished it up this year adding numbers and painting a paper star to add to the middle to match the numbers.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi00ft6j8U9HZz00oTLEbwKpWwJFG26icx25ssYsn6prgtWjEf1oW9NP_X9-y9vBRfZgRT-3r79TkkAW6xl54BzpColz1OSZlD_QlPRKOs9wNAI13Xmh0vdueNyWLNf4hBZHcaS/s1600/2012-11-30+11.56.53.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi00ft6j8U9HZz00oTLEbwKpWwJFG26icx25ssYsn6prgtWjEf1oW9NP_X9-y9vBRfZgRT-3r79TkkAW6xl54BzpColz1OSZlD_QlPRKOs9wNAI13Xmh0vdueNyWLNf4hBZHcaS/s400/2012-11-30+11.56.53.jpg" width="298" /></a></div>
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Before adding the numbers.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi-SHFvBiS8ubPGjvDXpYCIOqNHkR2nhZCcFe3NxFvCwk_-HD3OM-6F7uNCmPlcOEIEjD9w5SDg8mHCl5kssi15fvHv1eGYtZJYf5SGNcCguNIieSKb8VFKlW0HibKVBl2E3yP/s1600/2012-12-02+10.13.11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi-SHFvBiS8ubPGjvDXpYCIOqNHkR2nhZCcFe3NxFvCwk_-HD3OM-6F7uNCmPlcOEIEjD9w5SDg8mHCl5kssi15fvHv1eGYtZJYf5SGNcCguNIieSKb8VFKlW0HibKVBl2E3yP/s400/2012-12-02+10.13.11.jpg" width="298" /></a></div>
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With the shiny happy numbers and painted/glittered star.</div>
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The extra box holds the extra 'things to do' cards. I made a lot so I can change things up from year to year, and because some of them are weather related like build a snowman which obviously needs cooperating weather. We also sometimes do a couple things a day as some of them are simple, like make hot cocoa. I love, love, love advent calendars. I have a thing for them. A few years back I made <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2009/12/finish-it-friday-better-late-than-never.html" target="_blank">one using sewn cones</a>. It was cool but took up a ton of space. And filling them was expensive! Even when trying to find cheap little things, it added up to more than the playmobil calendars. So this little one with drawers just big enough for a small 'thing to do' card and a couple chocolates is working just fine for this mama that is trying to scale back on stuff and expenses. And it works for the kids as they just enjoy the anticipation and the activities that surround this time of year. Win/win.</div>
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Other than decorating the house for the holidays, this is the extent of my holiday crafting this year. I've been going lighter than usual with projects as I've been hunkered down working on a BIG PROJECT for the past year. It's finally feeling like it might end in the somewhat near future. Yay! <span style="text-align: center;">However, thanks to </span>Pinterest<span style="text-align: center;">, I did get sucked into a couple projects over the past few months and thought I'd share a couple I stumbled on when going through my pictures today.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFwG2PxamCdq0hdEb_UMwJ1dpkwkK7UOUdqiTezx3m9PT8QO6jKZRH-TQGYIM9p31k1_u2KC4wZlgxx1iVutbZ86i-bKY60xiGC55xZgI0cgBZ2YfUSs-IRXJDXhPRr-lBrjZq/s1600/P1150633.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFwG2PxamCdq0hdEb_UMwJ1dpkwkK7UOUdqiTezx3m9PT8QO6jKZRH-TQGYIM9p31k1_u2KC4wZlgxx1iVutbZ86i-bKY60xiGC55xZgI0cgBZ2YfUSs-IRXJDXhPRr-lBrjZq/s400/P1150633.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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This one still makes me smile. I made this following <a href="http://alittlehut.blogspot.mx/2012/09/use-paper-scraps-to-make-wall-art.html" target="_blank">these awesome directions from A Little Hut</a>. Again with the using of scrapbook paper scraps. Sigh... I love scrapbook paper. I painted the spiral on the canvas before applying the little flags of paper. I think I like her plain white spiral better, but I still like my little creation. It is on a 12x12 canvas board. It reminds me of something quilted with the texture and patterns.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5piIzKL1drgiAt_9w5PXZv-mZ50j5Fy3uT569ikNq3W9ti94ZbQ5XzC4ukvy7SnpAcSt_Nmye6xxFelJv83stB-YYUxbwgjX2inNLH_9Smdy07nSbD66_kG90mi459s4zzfof/s1600/P1150637.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5piIzKL1drgiAt_9w5PXZv-mZ50j5Fy3uT569ikNq3W9ti94ZbQ5XzC4ukvy7SnpAcSt_Nmye6xxFelJv83stB-YYUxbwgjX2inNLH_9Smdy07nSbD66_kG90mi459s4zzfof/s400/P1150637.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Hey! This project fits into my whole <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2012/11/entrances-and-exits-pt-2-more-wordy.html" target="_blank">wordy</a> <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2012/11/wordy-walls.html" target="_blank">walls </a><a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2012/05/entrances-and-exits-pt-1.html" target="_blank">theme</a>! I painted this on my walls after I saw a vinyl decal someone pinned onto pinterest with this quote. I couldn't find a decal that would fit the blank space on my wall so I decided to just paint it on. I found fonts I liked and printed the quote out in the size I wanted it. Then I made guides by cutting out the letters from the paper and tracing the letters up onto the wall and then painting them in. Yes, it was a pain. But I am happy with how it turned out.<br />
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This is the wall above my bed, btw. Artfully taken as to not show my unmade bed. Yes, that is more scrapbook paper mod podged onto my walls acting as a visual headboard that I did a few years back. I painted the different colored squares and then centered scrapbook paper that I like inside the squares and then put 'patches' of complimentary scrapbook paper within the squares. I also have patches randomly placed around the room to cover ugly spots on my walls (old plaster). The lights strung in front of the squares are dragonfly lights, not bats like they look like in this photo. They're pretty, with colored beads making up the dragonfly bodies. It is all very bohemian college dorm meets crafting space meets bed taking up most the room meets escaped balls of yarn that like to wrap themselves around my feet at night. Hey-- It works for me.<br />
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I have started a couple more projects recently, but due to the lack of time they are still ongoing. I'll post about them as I finish. I've learned that I can still do projects, even with a lack of time, I just have to accept that they won't get done quickly and come to terms with that 'things are unfinished' feeling that I used to freak out about. I think I'm mellowing out a bit as I age. So there are some good bits with the whole aging thing. So I guess with my logic tonight I might have a spinny, world-is-going-at-full-speed brain thing happening as I get older, but as time goes on I won't mind how crazy that makes me? Hmmm... Methinks I need to go to bed now. I'm confused.<br />
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So here ends my projects portion of this all over the place blog post. Only fun bits of random left from pictures I found while scrolling through my photo files.<br />
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Dragons taking tea:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-lu9xeFPKfEzHM4YaHPUb_cvuVTz6oQNOGS1ZAZAk9phZThdmnsFcd8yrO1IBWOiSYEuo-4UGsKj-HQalK_b51RqvGY4YxekV-fgVj-ZAexp7HMborTFFZx7MMRH3CNQPiWwC/s1600/IMG_1414.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-lu9xeFPKfEzHM4YaHPUb_cvuVTz6oQNOGS1ZAZAk9phZThdmnsFcd8yrO1IBWOiSYEuo-4UGsKj-HQalK_b51RqvGY4YxekV-fgVj-ZAexp7HMborTFFZx7MMRH3CNQPiWwC/s400/IMG_1414.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Then the next bit needs a bit of explaining. My daughter and dog are totally MFEO. They've started this game called, 'dog fashion show' which they both love with a ridiculous kind of quirkiness that makes me laugh every time they play. I think my dog enjoys it more than my daughter. It seems she feels she was destined for great things and it is only right that people would want to faun over her and photograph her. Here is just a sample from their growing dog fashion collection:<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Yes, she actually sits there waiting to be photographed. And yes, she is even wearing a headband in the above picture. This is what happens when you mix a kid with years of accumulated recital outfits and a compliant pet and a mom that is obsessively working away at projects involving scrapbook paper to notice that her daughter and dog have become addicted to fashion. </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><br />Well folks, that was certainly a rambling journey into my recent days. I don't even know if I had a point tonight. Just felt chatty. :) Wishing everyone out there in internet-land the kind of joy that my dog and daughter find in a pink tutu and matching accessories.</span></div>
candynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904539285373868227noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9285816.post-56781305100167924152012-11-28T20:43:00.000-05:002012-11-28T20:43:59.754-05:00Entrances and Exits, Pt. 2: More Wordy Walls<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
A few months ago <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2012/05/entrances-and-exits-pt-1.html" target="_blank">I posted about my entryway project</a> and at the time I mentioned I'd highlight the prints that lined my hallway in an upcoming post. Then time passed and obviously my slippery attention span moved on. However, since I <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2012/11/wordy-walls.html" target="_blank">posted about my wordy walls last week</a> I suppose it could once again be considered timely to share, since this is where the 'walls of wisdom' movement all started to begin with.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2negnqo97pgQrtYeqwFJ9serRl4XR4vf4_hiNVAsgSdGDQSZWubAKdhQONW0DO74dmZ2xKMxVJhFxq_pfhyphenhyphen_Yj7dCgEV3mvHrG5h41FHanav_g0kCrY9Ep48IZoHA9DJ7NJTk/s1600/stair2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2negnqo97pgQrtYeqwFJ9serRl4XR4vf4_hiNVAsgSdGDQSZWubAKdhQONW0DO74dmZ2xKMxVJhFxq_pfhyphenhyphen_Yj7dCgEV3mvHrG5h41FHanav_g0kCrY9Ep48IZoHA9DJ7NJTk/s400/stair2.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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I had so much fun shopping on Etsy to decorate the walls. I basically stocked myself up on super cheap black frames whenever I found them on clearance (most I bought for $2 or cheaper), and set out to fill them with typography prints that I make or buy. Often the prints didn't fit the prefab frames and in those cases I just filled the background of the frame with coordinated scrapbook paper and mounted the print on top. I know that I just made anyone who's ever worked in a frame shop shudder. I know, since I spent a few years working in a frameshop myself. But honestly? Buying so much art all at once was really pushing my budget, so dollar frames and scrapbook paper was all I could muster for framing. And I think it works for my hodge podge little artsy hallway. I like how the scrapbook paper 'matting' goes with the art and the scrapbook tiles on the stairs. </div>
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Etsy is crazy hard for me to resist on any given day, but going on there with every intention on buying several prints... Madness! I gave myself a spending limit but it was still rather hard to not get too carried away. I am very happy with the prints I bought and there were several more I would have loved to own, but will need to wait until I have funds built up for such sport.</div>
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I'll link to the shops where I bought each print. I'd buy from any one of them again. I think every transaction was smooth, professional and perfect. I know I'm sounding like a commercial, but mostly just showing love to artists I like enough to line my walls with. I know I stumble onto blogs all the time and wish they'd post links to where they bought the art on their walls.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm1FcStjlwWvQr_326eHfoN_vQU2WXbFyGqh7cA0GPwdfMxlcdHfQx-xoXSHxakvn6q85baSfJrTM-oet_dLc-Ch6yaTRrbfCBgNatC-bdbuJC9eBQQBFcd7hrXykUs6SUwepu/s1600/tilepics.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm1FcStjlwWvQr_326eHfoN_vQU2WXbFyGqh7cA0GPwdfMxlcdHfQx-xoXSHxakvn6q85baSfJrTM-oet_dLc-Ch6yaTRrbfCBgNatC-bdbuJC9eBQQBFcd7hrXykUs6SUwepu/s400/tilepics.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Piles of pictures on my table waiting for me to hang in the hall.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYLso9GpcsTu1SsBMsQBxWBjZfcQ764B6K_TNm6lJXtIarzAmN4RrmZiFhM3aqi7p0I-uLEQ-17E4fGwMSrgOX401AqW6cHR24mlUem72ioOe_lQbQM_kFhgNTjkJQkFGuzUDQ/s1600/hooks2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYLso9GpcsTu1SsBMsQBxWBjZfcQ764B6K_TNm6lJXtIarzAmN4RrmZiFhM3aqi7p0I-uLEQ-17E4fGwMSrgOX401AqW6cHR24mlUem72ioOe_lQbQM_kFhgNTjkJQkFGuzUDQ/s400/hooks2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The happy little hooks I bought from our local healthfood store. </div>
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Home to my kids' dance bags and my shopping bags.</div>
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A puppy looking out and a puppy wanting in. :)</div>
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This picture captures the dark purple color of this wall the best. This also is another example of my bizarre affinity for pantry shelves. Here it works as a catchall for hats, gloves, sunglasses, etc. I'm always finding a new use for these shelves. I'm oddly obsessed. They hold so much but take up such little space. <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/search?q=stuffed+animals" target="_blank">Stuffed animal storage is one of my favorite uses for them!</a> I also have one in my bedroom that holds my yarn and one behind each kids' door to control dress up accessories.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrR_QufQm28JpBMh3bfjJ8TaSuRxrHLofLHhW5b694ovRhx_cgx2b6QHohLQJT12HI5RiIaEzW_lbwVZvIsm3RCk4efU6kCML1YC-ZJNDaya3Ppq3yl3V7xuOWjIPio8qbvSlB/s1600/kitchen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrR_QufQm28JpBMh3bfjJ8TaSuRxrHLofLHhW5b694ovRhx_cgx2b6QHohLQJT12HI5RiIaEzW_lbwVZvIsm3RCk4efU6kCML1YC-ZJNDaya3Ppq3yl3V7xuOWjIPio8qbvSlB/s400/kitchen.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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A <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2011/05/found.html" target="_blank">sun catcher my daughter made</a> with a bead charm attached.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4-Crn0w5hLP3c1WXIE5yCLf-S2jA1dr0siBDt0rDRYgQRLWugdloiuM_yDUSvwSUTxagAlRKtkXSDDV9Sk9JhaM2wkhGUQuiytpDzI9UP_bJxL1JFxyYdjm6mlrztrAISO8LE/s1600/down1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4-Crn0w5hLP3c1WXIE5yCLf-S2jA1dr0siBDt0rDRYgQRLWugdloiuM_yDUSvwSUTxagAlRKtkXSDDV9Sk9JhaM2wkhGUQuiytpDzI9UP_bJxL1JFxyYdjm6mlrztrAISO8LE/s400/down1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This photo captures the light purple/gray of the outer walls.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT09wXEWr_PtRmDwc9FYU-wc8oPbpFdtXzUsYM-w1ujPGHTMz0TtrTzkdfiZ4fenQexa4n-WOdbN-hsM9dMjV-EISHAAwMJhXUSnIMHSWcycgZTXE8xpabu5uFncHtPwuRuAnS/s1600/frogs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT09wXEWr_PtRmDwc9FYU-wc8oPbpFdtXzUsYM-w1ujPGHTMz0TtrTzkdfiZ4fenQexa4n-WOdbN-hsM9dMjV-EISHAAwMJhXUSnIMHSWcycgZTXE8xpabu5uFncHtPwuRuAnS/s400/frogs.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The random frog/turtle collection I've somehow acquired over the years.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwjOoiuy60NQ_hozvpXTyNf0LuJFHsb5RxcOD2VuOKWIHe7W4m51EIgutQJV1C5HkcuflksJDvKUQpcKzDM_A2GafIeT7O90pwNcHvxLYREGFENqg2BhSsBa2w9hAfXlRe3AHe/s1600/pic11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwjOoiuy60NQ_hozvpXTyNf0LuJFHsb5RxcOD2VuOKWIHe7W4m51EIgutQJV1C5HkcuflksJDvKUQpcKzDM_A2GafIeT7O90pwNcHvxLYREGFENqg2BhSsBa2w9hAfXlRe3AHe/s400/pic11.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
A print I made to fill an empty frame. Not the most artistically done print on my wall, that's for sure. But I filled it with one of my favorite quotes and used a color that complimented the prints around it so it makes me happy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9JhwSWwQBwkD7bY1seW3VwOvVEHk_X6vWxMLeYGIITgV_4bZqO1nVfGwdvaA0Gvn_KD4x7QRu117DZS3PatpE3JJ53JjxBOHlaYQWywaE7VFU_o9h-2uyXzaOp0nDXKlpc6z9/s1600/pic1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9JhwSWwQBwkD7bY1seW3VwOvVEHk_X6vWxMLeYGIITgV_4bZqO1nVfGwdvaA0Gvn_KD4x7QRu117DZS3PatpE3JJ53JjxBOHlaYQWywaE7VFU_o9h-2uyXzaOp0nDXKlpc6z9/s400/pic1.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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One of the biggest prints in my hall. Love this!</div>
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<a href="https://www.etsy.com/transaction/52366819" target="_blank">Life is a Daring Adventure</a> by <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/happydeliveries?ref=pr_shop_more" target="_blank">happydeliveries</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxBh8TuQQmJwAtbREucDuKGzNNrXOe2oupEcNxSGU44rACweXs-RfMZWqb71NwxD8xPdAUy3VWt9niTFo6A7tJE1BCupLDYNsrhlWuWa5R9g3vWdwne9nYULVc7nf4lxGUuhyh/s1600/pic10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxBh8TuQQmJwAtbREucDuKGzNNrXOe2oupEcNxSGU44rACweXs-RfMZWqb71NwxD8xPdAUy3VWt9niTFo6A7tJE1BCupLDYNsrhlWuWa5R9g3vWdwne9nYULVc7nf4lxGUuhyh/s400/pic10.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.etsy.com/transaction/52365603" target="_blank">Rush Less Play More</a> by <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/thebigharumph" target="_blank">thebigharumph</a>.</div>
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I never fail to 'see' this one. It never becomes background noise.</div>
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It is always a message I need too.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkuLwTze0ZZhsnWyTm-FvkAvqoYB3yenDz_4F2IR7VOnjcVAB3fT_kTuXpASF1NfAwAfHyDCA5Oyk6nL0yvh0TjWwfuqk8709ZwMmBf_N1fUuryodabXaYjEPi1j3dvl1cTtEN/s1600/pic12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkuLwTze0ZZhsnWyTm-FvkAvqoYB3yenDz_4F2IR7VOnjcVAB3fT_kTuXpASF1NfAwAfHyDCA5Oyk6nL0yvh0TjWwfuqk8709ZwMmBf_N1fUuryodabXaYjEPi1j3dvl1cTtEN/s400/pic12.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
One of my favorite parts of <a href="http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~gongsu/desiderata_textonly.html" target="_blank">Desiderata</a>. I typed this one in photoshop and mounted it on some of my favorite scrapbook paper to fit one of my larger frames.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLWLwABKC7fImZdaAok5jTK5rRVoWAdAfFaElec6MXXsUg96LuTCR4VEFQB4sSBCYJNC7lUUOGJfbqTiV22Qb7yBdUPmHQAblJJE5sJvmG2u1gJ8fYL-JlivglJFADuy0WOykq/s1600/pic13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLWLwABKC7fImZdaAok5jTK5rRVoWAdAfFaElec6MXXsUg96LuTCR4VEFQB4sSBCYJNC7lUUOGJfbqTiV22Qb7yBdUPmHQAblJJE5sJvmG2u1gJ8fYL-JlivglJFADuy0WOykq/s400/pic13.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Oh, one of my favorites! <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/62719464/on-sale-to-be-brave-8-x-10-paper-print" target="_blank">To Be Brave</a> by <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/maechevrette?ref=pr_shop_more" target="_blank">Mae Chevrette</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSexP_koT-6seYB9ykEh2VuaDo3kcQIRiyZ0-KPK0jhrqsM8YAvRDdlze5M5o0FHbj6Pf6medp-5WyaI1tR9BoqPf3-0l2xsYpC71U3ZxhSJoCjculiZFc0Gki34b0-Gj7ZJbq/s1600/pic14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSexP_koT-6seYB9ykEh2VuaDo3kcQIRiyZ0-KPK0jhrqsM8YAvRDdlze5M5o0FHbj6Pf6medp-5WyaI1tR9BoqPf3-0l2xsYpC71U3ZxhSJoCjculiZFc0Gki34b0-Gj7ZJbq/s400/pic14.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
A fun card that I saved. It says: There is a very fine line between "hobby" & "mental illness." Oh, yes. How I dance and skitter and flirt along that line.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6V16W5GpfKUnmCMNCpvlsjcYCEgvcsgfc6GWSECsL_eUxsp9P8TRT2coSKB4WdhT0w7bSgndp8U9hGA5RJlfoCCfMVROwTnTy80BnvaDimn2LH64lnIWM4H_HNtMMb7Aqq820/s1600/pic15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6V16W5GpfKUnmCMNCpvlsjcYCEgvcsgfc6GWSECsL_eUxsp9P8TRT2coSKB4WdhT0w7bSgndp8U9hGA5RJlfoCCfMVROwTnTy80BnvaDimn2LH64lnIWM4H_HNtMMb7Aqq820/s400/pic15.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/69795144/scenic-route-5x7-print" target="_blank">Take the Scenic Route </a>by <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/allicoate" target="_blank">Alli Coate</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPlyNdwPkBQLrpVCLV-OH58WZjIrqPFUO0wHx57LaCHUVYc8jsjmPXuCtTmIRCxjy-33KpXEXxGO0FRul8vEPQ0y3rQ0HpLpqugRXRe86eAjqWxHqxnkdJRCKi-KJVIMdwXnRy/s1600/pic16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPlyNdwPkBQLrpVCLV-OH58WZjIrqPFUO0wHx57LaCHUVYc8jsjmPXuCtTmIRCxjy-33KpXEXxGO0FRul8vEPQ0y3rQ0HpLpqugRXRe86eAjqWxHqxnkdJRCKi-KJVIMdwXnRy/s400/pic16.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/68111893/be-awesome-today-8x10-art-print?ref=pr_shop" target="_blank">Be Awesome Today</a> by <a href="http://www.etsy.com/people/LuciusArt?ref=owner_profile_leftnav" target="_blank">Kevin Lucius</a> at <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/LuciusArt" target="_blank">LuciusArt</a>.</div>
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I think this was the first print I purchased. Because it is awesome. Duh.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg61sZbTUG-QnTFSYwAKPnupZVCe6oe-N26uFlkbW45agrTkCjwPuou7GjW3-cEXwaX9_jDOxzzlALlsoVeTTwHfz19I2N-WGGYL8UFcbDhTAmywRdpSz-DP5HgrEyfm8nWrCDZ/s1600/pic17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg61sZbTUG-QnTFSYwAKPnupZVCe6oe-N26uFlkbW45agrTkCjwPuou7GjW3-cEXwaX9_jDOxzzlALlsoVeTTwHfz19I2N-WGGYL8UFcbDhTAmywRdpSz-DP5HgrEyfm8nWrCDZ/s400/pic17.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/58488540/we-need-quiet-time-5x7-print" target="_blank">We Need Quiet Time </a>print by <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/allicoate?ref=seller_info" target="_blank">Alli Coate</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Y_PD-ZKF0Cyce1ifH51Z4R2yqu-_33MolKAyP_YJOU5czWrjQ9RZReicWQdRFQEQKQditV9kLajxIiG6F0KeFAfXvHbNgCP4uF0TcQHzINQfNlUNK6c9Zc_Ye88ZKDHEgDyT/s1600/pic18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Y_PD-ZKF0Cyce1ifH51Z4R2yqu-_33MolKAyP_YJOU5czWrjQ9RZReicWQdRFQEQKQditV9kLajxIiG6F0KeFAfXvHbNgCP4uF0TcQHzINQfNlUNK6c9Zc_Ye88ZKDHEgDyT/s400/pic18.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
My attempt to fill a small frame in an artsy way. I don't really like this one and planned to change it right away. However, it does in fact, still hang in my hallway. The likelihood of it hanging in my hallway for a long while is very high. So I include it here. And you can't go wrong with "Joy" as a message. Right?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizrAL7ZiBXbaHUzG8-tcnqlYf5rGNziZliesLaB2i6CUCfMlnJ8haPeUEPcrn3SmVJz9CFkbwyC4o64UH9loWkqWxPxoBo7hNFmEXTY54vdp6MqieXtMlhgTeSdInyjvKb49-M/s1600/pic2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizrAL7ZiBXbaHUzG8-tcnqlYf5rGNziZliesLaB2i6CUCfMlnJ8haPeUEPcrn3SmVJz9CFkbwyC4o64UH9loWkqWxPxoBo7hNFmEXTY54vdp6MqieXtMlhgTeSdInyjvKb49-M/s400/pic2.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
This is the favorite one I made. I had some credits left over from an online vector graphics store, <a href="http://www.vectorstock.com/" target="_blank">Vectorstock</a>. I used graphics from there for this print and a little coffee one and included some good words and mounted it on scrapbook paper. This is from one of <a href="http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2011/10/14" target="_blank">my favorite ee cumming poems.</a><br />
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Filling another small frame with a card I liked and saved. The quote on it says:</div>
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Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others,</div>
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cannot keep it from themselves. J.M. Barrie</div>
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I've always loved otters and my husband and I had this poster mounted in our early days. I can't remember why. I think we liked the quirkiness of it and the colors. Quirky and colorful would be a fitting theme title for my hallway, so it fits in well.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZS5eTYxFfzFhUS3vJU2M1DxpkTFS8xRt7iBYGiaENOw6WDHm5TR0JSwnnpvYxWle9sS3AxG4dl5jV5vBa3yStsq17sJ0eAGcF3dyujylRRDv-wUPxogPytSmqIoGM8_tUSHbo/s1600/pic3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZS5eTYxFfzFhUS3vJU2M1DxpkTFS8xRt7iBYGiaENOw6WDHm5TR0JSwnnpvYxWle9sS3AxG4dl5jV5vBa3yStsq17sJ0eAGcF3dyujylRRDv-wUPxogPytSmqIoGM8_tUSHbo/s400/pic3.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/67972833/letterpress-print-let-love-rule-8x10" target="_blank">Let Love Rule </a> by <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/happydeliveries" target="_blank">happydeliveries</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXutobFFCW2YaOrGZ9rrNqll6Wsg9WwYMI1DidZ5cmO0_xh8Sgy8Xu8vv2igO1gM0ZjQlV-QFwbmblUMmxc1A7lkQiCiewYP1T_ICK8KtBNm0qtoIoIMi2-by_AdK6WHCGh52i/s1600/pic6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXutobFFCW2YaOrGZ9rrNqll6Wsg9WwYMI1DidZ5cmO0_xh8Sgy8Xu8vv2igO1gM0ZjQlV-QFwbmblUMmxc1A7lkQiCiewYP1T_ICK8KtBNm0qtoIoIMi2-by_AdK6WHCGh52i/s400/pic6.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/61855581/linocut-print-small-acts-transform-the?ga_search_query=small%2Bacts" target="_blank">Small Acts Transform the World</a> by <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/thebigharumph" style="text-align: center;" target="_blank">thebigharumph</a>.</div>
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<a href="http://www.etsy.com/transaction/52388192" target="_blank">I just want to make beautiful things</a> print by Brooke at <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/EeeBee" target="_blank">EeeBee</a>. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmHsGuL4fue8m77T6TuTza27tiUq2w1gslYTN2atI3C2a5AOmQ1Xwf8AmFwd-faF61vT6iOpP87cf6V8lM2yHKt_9JhiwHd_B4rXUOmxfjb28acdyWhj29pIw23LPNCq6GXcC-/s1600/pic8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmHsGuL4fue8m77T6TuTza27tiUq2w1gslYTN2atI3C2a5AOmQ1Xwf8AmFwd-faF61vT6iOpP87cf6V8lM2yHKt_9JhiwHd_B4rXUOmxfjb28acdyWhj29pIw23LPNCq6GXcC-/s400/pic8.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
These are two small frames I filled with quick typographical doodles I made in photoshop. I don't love either one but I like the words. And the Princess Bride quote "As You Wish" looks kind of like it's inside of a flying spaghetti monster, so that makes me smile. Since smiling is the main point of this whole project, I kept them.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEsWRSVjuJ5bE8wHrXvjouNK_gdjyomTH8_FjMHTJZrP9n6m8XkBHI05gPmEpKy-KH1VtjzBdTCU0QZW8HlwohoFGZ7U79SeYUEo2QhMxhJOvo-s1_jJ-wEHAXXE1TKLQfuXkA/s1600/pic9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEsWRSVjuJ5bE8wHrXvjouNK_gdjyomTH8_FjMHTJZrP9n6m8XkBHI05gPmEpKy-KH1VtjzBdTCU0QZW8HlwohoFGZ7U79SeYUEo2QhMxhJOvo-s1_jJ-wEHAXXE1TKLQfuXkA/s400/pic9.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/62545314/8-x-10-wild-air?ref=pr_shop" target="_blank">Wild Air</a> by <a href="http://www.etsy.com/people/thewheatfield?ref=owner_profile_leftnav" target="_blank">Katie Daisy</a> at <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/thewheatfield?ref=seller_info" target="_blank">thewheatfield</a>.</div>
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I love her whole shop. If I had unlimited wall space and funds, I'd buy it all.</div>
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Wall placement detail.</div>
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The other simple print I made using a vectorstock image. It is actually cuter than this picture seems. The coffee image is made up of smaller images, like coffee beans and such in a nice chocolate brown.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHJg3V_eD885ay05qyNqaldsrcryneP4EWt8_sKVBPWilWMcA1cb2nzl9vKZCLKSxpGGHzdjZ4XrPWZsqRyXDgjXOIE2MW0weTKHCAzYDulixHwelQPD6Tyz54JWPnh6poDIwJ/s1600/sunca.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHJg3V_eD885ay05qyNqaldsrcryneP4EWt8_sKVBPWilWMcA1cb2nzl9vKZCLKSxpGGHzdjZ4XrPWZsqRyXDgjXOIE2MW0weTKHCAzYDulixHwelQPD6Tyz54JWPnh6poDIwJ/s400/sunca.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
Have you seen the <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/185984659581953859/" target="_blank">toxic melted bead suncatcher tutorials</a> going around Pinterest? I followed it and came up with this. Not exactly a Pinterest fail, but it is a Pinterest tale of caution. Other than losing a few thousand brain cells due to melted plastic fumes, I'm very happy with this project. It is a very fun way to make a colorful something for a window. I recommend using an outdoor grill instead of an indoor oven if you've never tried it before. However, make sure your grill isn't upwind to your neighbors, because they will hate you once they realize the industrial chemical fumes that are invading their house is due to you grilling plastic. I may or may not know this from personal experience. Hey! I had already melted my brain from trying it inside the first time, so I wasn't really thinking when I moved the operation outside and away from my own house. Oops! Sorry neighbors! Still... Pretty!<br />
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Cluttery landing picture. World meet my plants, Charlie and Lola. Charlie and Lola, the world. Right this second, Lola is gasping out to me. Water! Water! I need water! I am a bad plant mommy.</div>
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<a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2010/08/thrift-store-finds.html" target="_blank">My thrifted and rehabbed letter "B"</a> .</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHwcWpM0CQf6vxRyaMUaPN-9JOiTPqLlx-mnDD_sLvKmkFrwF2nyTI-OG3hgiKmPOoOWeaytT_fg9r3pQD2Sz1cohrT1eBRdUb3PwgyZ9fnTUMuudEZZHucRh2V9XZcm1lzrw_/s1600/closet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHwcWpM0CQf6vxRyaMUaPN-9JOiTPqLlx-mnDD_sLvKmkFrwF2nyTI-OG3hgiKmPOoOWeaytT_fg9r3pQD2Sz1cohrT1eBRdUb3PwgyZ9fnTUMuudEZZHucRh2V9XZcm1lzrw_/s400/closet.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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My sad and narrow entryway. The skinny doorway represents one of the only 'real' closet type storage areas in my house. Old homes are full of fun little storage challenges, no? This is kind of an ugly photo but it shows the two purples against each other.</div>
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So at long last, the end of my entry makeover. Very likely not everyone's cup of tea, but it continues to make me happy to this day. Every time I come home and see the color and the happy messages, and I smile. Sure beats the plain white, bare walls that we lived with for over a decade. A vast improvement over entering my home and wincing or feeling down due to my surroundings. Now as I leave or return, I'm uplifted, reminded to find my smile. I like that it does the same for my family. Like a little hug from me as they walk out the door.</div>
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At this point I can't change the fact that I live in a small home with old plaster walls, weird curvy stairs, a severe lack of storage and random old house quirks, but I can change how I view living in such a place. Now that I am using my space as a sort of way to express how I feel inside, I feel more at home than ever before. It may not be perfect. But certainly, at this point, it is definitely home.</div>
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Wishing everyone a week full of color and uplifting words! :)</div>
candynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904539285373868227noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9285816.post-78231205116265042092012-11-19T20:31:00.002-05:002012-11-19T22:09:00.877-05:00Wordy Walls<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIOhRkqm_gPj410PLSMm9ynDjeRDB7IIOTKmot0L6zQkSdTB7Wq-egEixCmwJ1IISyf_VbH5aUr2yOqcTCQ_icwPs7dbhpUn34sXsfLAofwUWm1yFAyGRIElFsKB6dRJr92Foo/s1600/P1140485.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIOhRkqm_gPj410PLSMm9ynDjeRDB7IIOTKmot0L6zQkSdTB7Wq-egEixCmwJ1IISyf_VbH5aUr2yOqcTCQ_icwPs7dbhpUn34sXsfLAofwUWm1yFAyGRIElFsKB6dRJr92Foo/s400/P1140485.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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Second stage of my quotes wall. I've added art to the top since this photo was taken.</div>
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I have been on a mission to get my house prettified. No wall left behind, basically. Though I've been tackling my house since the first day I moved in, this last evolution has been one based more on personality and the emotion I want my home to evoke as opposed to just making it more functional. Like most projects, it has taken me way longer than I've ever thought possible, but it has also been one of the most rewarding undertakings as once the work is done it is there to make me feel happy every time I see it.</div>
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It all started when I tackled the <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2012/05/entrances-and-exits-pt-1.html" target="_blank">entry stairway</a> into my house that used to depress me every time I'd walk in or leave. You can't have that, right? Falling into an emotional downslide every time you enter or exit your home is just sad. So I tried to figure out what I'd like to say to my kids as they leave the house. The small messages of encouragement I that I hope sinks into their subconscious and gives them a bit of a boost as they transition from home into the big wide world each day. That turned into my quote stairway with walls lined with prints I made or purchased from Etsy artists and the stair risers 'tiled' with scrapbook paper tiles and highlighted with a quote.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRLj-P68ep4DQKXrMNN3nrYlivH6ADacLHPKD8VpRyJcFdlHMRXQDfmFIM_U3WaJYIPTPxhDYwsV53YnujR524cZIVcTNY4tUwt6HTkJV6E1qFo11PuF2zUQCIX3rRbkntupIg/s1600/stair4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRLj-P68ep4DQKXrMNN3nrYlivH6ADacLHPKD8VpRyJcFdlHMRXQDfmFIM_U3WaJYIPTPxhDYwsV53YnujR524cZIVcTNY4tUwt6HTkJV6E1qFo11PuF2zUQCIX3rRbkntupIg/s400/stair4.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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This wall project also involves quotes. Maybe this decorating phase I've been in could be accurately named, "Read My House" or something like that. I guess I like quotes. However, when my 8 year old boy told me that his favorite quote was "May my heart always be open to little birds who are the secrets of living" by E.E. Cummings, it was enough to make it worth it to me. The words are sinking in. </div>
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I have a love/hate thing going on with <a href="http://pinterest.com/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a>, don't you? First, there is the whole 'go there for inspiration only to find that you've sucked away hours on the internet and no longer have time to do a project' aspect to it. Then there are the Pinterest fails, a phenomenon that has sparked several spin-off <a href="http://epicpinterestfail.com/" target="_blank">blogs</a>, all of which I could contribute to many times over, if I wasn't wasting so much time browsing Pinterest to have time to blog.</div>
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It was on Pinterest that I discovered <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/185984659581056302/" target="_blank">a project that birthed this project</a>. The whole thing actually started out as a Pinterest fail for me. If you clicked to see the original pin, you notice it is an art wall for the kids to hang their artwork. Well, that might work if I had different kids.</div>
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My kids see such thing as a mission to accomplish. If I give them a box and tell them it is to store their art creations, then they set out to fill that box to the very top, within that very same day if possible. They kick into high production mode and all of a sudden there is no paper left in the house. And that is exactly what happened here. Within a week my husband couldn't find one stack of paper to do his weekly paperwork and these poor clipboards were straining under inch thick paper stacks of random drawings of Pokemon and unicorns. Not that I don't ADORE my kids art. I totally do. I just don't like clutter. Or not having paper to bill people for our business so, you know, we can receive money to buy groceries. </div>
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So, one day after the third stack of papers plummeted to the floor after the clipboard gave out, I sat down, opened photoshop, typed a few of my favorite quotes in simple fonts and printed them out on some nicer quality matte presentation paper. (The stuff I keep hidden from my little Picassos.) I actually made a few extra quotes than I had clipboards for, but that has been fun because I can change out inspiration as the mood sees fit.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipcsN-qdgvRFwj3MKw3RQ3bulXf6QXeRGVWB9W5jNdpJ2B3jSwxgSs2dzErzml7rHrSevZLQnVXuijB-bDvLKZJLNAhUkdZOrHnUaRvsU3A-mH85zTaCg3giODmbVy8dgKjWua/s1600/P1140490.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipcsN-qdgvRFwj3MKw3RQ3bulXf6QXeRGVWB9W5jNdpJ2B3jSwxgSs2dzErzml7rHrSevZLQnVXuijB-bDvLKZJLNAhUkdZOrHnUaRvsU3A-mH85zTaCg3giODmbVy8dgKjWua/s400/P1140490.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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My now uncluttered clipboard wall. Yay!</div>
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You can click the photo to read the quotes, but the photos aren't the best. They read as follows:</div>
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"I like nonsense. It wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living" Dr. Seuss</div>
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"Risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing." Leo Buscaglia</div>
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"Think. Think. Think." Winnie the Pooh</div>
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"When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad, and that is my religion." Abraham Lincoln</div>
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"Let me guess. Someone stole your sweet roll?" Skyrim Guard (video game joke)</div>
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"If music be the food of love, play on" Shakespeare</div>
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"Words are, in my not so humble opinion, the most inexhaustible source of magic." Dumbledore</div>
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"Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do." Steve Jobs</div>
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"To be wise is to be eternally curious." Frederick Buechner *I've since replaced this one with another one by Buechner, "Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid."</div>
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"Put something silly in the world that ain't been there before." Shel Silverstein</div>
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"May my heart always be open to little birds who are the secrets of living" E.E. Cummings</div>
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"Let the Wild Rumpus Start!" Maurice Sendack</div>
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I've added some art to the top of the clipboard wall now and am also working on another Pinterest inspired wall enhancement on the adjoining wall that is almost finished. So far that one is working out just swell and I can't wait to post about those results. Even incomplete the project makes me smile. No quotes on the new project, but I do use scrapbook paper and mod podge, which outside of quotes make up the other staples in my ongoing home redecorating projects.</div>
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Do you use quotes in decorating? Sometimes I think I'm using them too much. Who am I to bombard my visitors with optimistic propaganda? Ah, well. Words have always moved me and since my eyes are the ones that see this stuff the most, I guess my preference outweighs the few people that might see my wordy house as silly or trite. And it melted my heart today to have my son quote one of my favorite poets, showing me that he does in fact read the words I put out there for him to absorb.<br />
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I have a couple empty spaces yet on my walls. Favorite quotes, anyone?</div>
candynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904539285373868227noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9285816.post-71636952527293091802012-09-08T11:59:00.000-04:002012-09-08T11:59:14.551-04:00The world needs a lot more of this!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>"</i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18px;"><i>Matt used to think you were either good at something or bad at something and there wasn't much you could do to change it. He wishes he'd learned sooner that you can get better at most things just by doing them over and over again. It really is that simple."</i> - Matt the dancing guy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Read more <a href="http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/about" target="_blank">about Matt here</a> where he explains the hows and whys of all three of his videos. The video I posted above is the third in a very inspirational, happy tear evoking, trilogy. I have probably watched each of them a hundred times.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">I am so inspired by someone who has created something with such a clear and joyful message. It makes me feel happy that there are people that are out there steadily creating love in the face of all the anger, pain and fear-making forces in the world. It makes me want to do better at speaking my truth as well</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">My heart tells me it is a beautiful world, filled with as much good as bad. That people in different places, that look differently than I do, think differently than I do, that they are more like me than not. A video like this defines this reality with a song and a dance. It is genius. Simple and joyful and perfect.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Wishing anyone out there that stumbles upon this little space a weekend filled with wonder and kindness!</span></span></span>candynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904539285373868227noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9285816.post-56692350916917340622012-09-06T01:09:00.001-04:002012-09-07T14:00:57.666-04:00Turning Eleven - Harry Potter Style<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
What do we have here?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ807YMvzDsPMk-Qv8Pu42dIubZDd7lB68MPDlu1wDJajLjXaxYXDcGHZ4fwXDveY4qPlq2MOz6_jcyXiRalLw19-Fq1xE5nSKPLbW1wvlSLApDSc_IsA7zhXi6RPFgM2K3YUR/s1600/hogwartsseal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ807YMvzDsPMk-Qv8Pu42dIubZDd7lB68MPDlu1wDJajLjXaxYXDcGHZ4fwXDveY4qPlq2MOz6_jcyXiRalLw19-Fq1xE5nSKPLbW1wvlSLApDSc_IsA7zhXi6RPFgM2K3YUR/s400/hogwartsseal.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Hogwarts seal. Awesome. Hmmmm . . .</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7xrNL6Yhg7MgxKGhIueVDu72NpHu6binyDQ8mdL6LbbR5A25oSkI2SOhJTIfpoOIOZ8KCHQPEyqSn_8-g_Ue0s3v0gnQqGtnZRIK5pj-b6zEUAB9b30lDrMC4wlAOBoPpApJ9/s1600/hogwartsletter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7xrNL6Yhg7MgxKGhIueVDu72NpHu6binyDQ8mdL6LbbR5A25oSkI2SOhJTIfpoOIOZ8KCHQPEyqSn_8-g_Ue0s3v0gnQqGtnZRIK5pj-b6zEUAB9b30lDrMC4wlAOBoPpApJ9/s400/hogwartsletter.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Yep. My baby girl has turned eleven. She's returned from her <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2011/09/double-digits.html" target="_blank">Pokemon journey</a> just in time to pack her bags for Hogwarts. An acceptance letter was delivered properly by owl on her actual birthday, which is a good thing as her birthday was on Labor Day, a day without normal mail service. My daughter's letter was obviously the true Hogwarts deal, however I hear <a href="http://www.legendaryletters.com/hogwartsletter.htm" target="_blank">this site does an amazing job</a> if you would like your own letter. Fast shipping, high quality stuff and totally worth $12.</div>
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She was actually born on Labor Day, so it is cool that it fell on the holiday once again. My due date was labor day. My water broke the day before and I 'labored' for 24 hours so she could be born on the most fitting day of all. Life. It is art.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQUsKzLbieKnVSuuroWrHqEAFk-OZt9Mh9992rgGSGBHD3NwYaQD4cIbB5n5RLyNWSedbsqCJ6soStD80oUfHlfIrjGw0-swflU14mKq6bF2vi7H1ypVo1WnOlqq_Yggy0egHX/s1600/candles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQUsKzLbieKnVSuuroWrHqEAFk-OZt9Mh9992rgGSGBHD3NwYaQD4cIbB5n5RLyNWSedbsqCJ6soStD80oUfHlfIrjGw0-swflU14mKq6bF2vi7H1ypVo1WnOlqq_Yggy0egHX/s400/candles.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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And here is how we celebrated the event! The obligatory wish making picture.</div>
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It was an epic day that I went all geekbusters on. Thanks in part to <a href="http://pinterest.com/search/?q=harry+potter+party" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> feeding my obsessive personality and manic crafting habits. I could not help it. It just had to happen. It isn't like I'm trying to be mother of the year, it is more like I want to live at Hogwarts. Besides, I've been reading Harry Potter books to children since the first books were published. From my<a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2008/11/my-first-family.html" target="_blank"> first round of kidlets</a> to my current wee ones, I've witnessed the power of those books to turn children into hardcore readers. I am a bit of a fan. </div>
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Now <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2009/11/just-because-he-grew-up.html" target="_blank">the first young boy</a> that went on the initial journey to Hogwarts with me is a 21 year old man and just joined the army. He's been at basic training for 3 weeks now and I'm getting antsy to hear from him! Hold onto childhood folks, she whizzes by with the speed of a <a href="http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Golden_Snitch" target="_blank">golden snitch</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfWukZNZoNGroVCIEWo2QWzAJ1YynEta04q4-MsPoERLaBuCBmVvPBHlhyrorubal-XYtEdSGxXUkuVQvIbJZDACixWeIjCRNNXhYpvdhSmKfXdV27wn4uH5hvnjT6eZoRvj_t/s1600/banner.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfWukZNZoNGroVCIEWo2QWzAJ1YynEta04q4-MsPoERLaBuCBmVvPBHlhyrorubal-XYtEdSGxXUkuVQvIbJZDACixWeIjCRNNXhYpvdhSmKfXdV27wn4uH5hvnjT6eZoRvj_t/s400/banner.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Pre-party pictures. Banner idea blatantly copied from <a href="http://thebrilliantcraftytype.blogspot.com/2012/04/harry-potter-birthday-reveal.html" target="_blank">this amazing party</a> at <a href="http://thebrilliantcraftytype.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Brilliant Crafty Type</a> blog as were the ties I'll show later in the post. Alas, I don't have a Silhouette machine like she recommends, so I printed big letters onto sticker paper using <a href="http://www.fontspace.com/category/harry%20potter" target="_blank">these free Harry Potter themed fonts</a>. Cut them out and stuck them on a piece of felt then pinned the letter banners to some cool ribbon. Oh, how I adore<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Glossy-Inkjet-Photo-Sticker-Paper/dp/B000VKV2H4" target="_blank"> sticker paper</a>. I almost love it as much as scrapbook paper. And yes, I buy it buy the 100 pack, because duh. Printing your own stickers rocks. Sometimes I even use it for <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2011/05/mail-art-rhinoceros-stickers-and-my.html" target="_blank">actual stickers</a>.</div>
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I also use sticker paper for labels and packaging, etc. I've even used it to organize my kids' playmobil bins with picture labels. I don't think I've even blogged that bit of ridiculousness. Still. Can't say enough about printable glossy sticker paper. (Has to be glossy, btw. I've bought the matte by mistake and it just doesn't bring the same level of joy.) Anyway, I used a lot of sticker paper to pull this party together.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL3oL0-QKJBa8XudtUScXSfQZ5LUttxS0bw2k76PyY7rfYdy4AkykW2sQ6QEFt3nm5qPZRQXW50-3CAZk8jaXb-l9Gvvt_277oTrG8dqFK8hl2mTueUo55UjflMZg4ID_SOtn_/s1600/duel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL3oL0-QKJBa8XudtUScXSfQZ5LUttxS0bw2k76PyY7rfYdy4AkykW2sQ6QEFt3nm5qPZRQXW50-3CAZk8jaXb-l9Gvvt_277oTrG8dqFK8hl2mTueUo55UjflMZg4ID_SOtn_/s400/duel.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Pre-party wizard duel.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Zn0rz9ufl4N77M25_TxznaoG-TAK_MRTTDunasiIn9FLoHpTQU9NRHjBpBFhH9EfmfcwncWEaGa4tZD-XkHMO4ZKW75GdodrSXgZPMGoISvRW-2Cgfjn5b5ZDkaCvJWQeVvE/s1600/sage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Zn0rz9ufl4N77M25_TxznaoG-TAK_MRTTDunasiIn9FLoHpTQU9NRHjBpBFhH9EfmfcwncWEaGa4tZD-XkHMO4ZKW75GdodrSXgZPMGoISvRW-2Cgfjn5b5ZDkaCvJWQeVvE/s400/sage.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Birthday girl!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz6tXm-yQCqZhdPOFaiFYlt4SwNKIIsgwMbd33gyOJuTG-IcEzERRgv4KnDmiXjXalGovQp7encJDoP83sVW66qw6TLEWoQVk0WuN2Y3OA8uOaJq8bYgWB5GdgYear_NUuuoqs/s1600/saw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz6tXm-yQCqZhdPOFaiFYlt4SwNKIIsgwMbd33gyOJuTG-IcEzERRgv4KnDmiXjXalGovQp7encJDoP83sVW66qw6TLEWoQVk0WuN2Y3OA8uOaJq8bYgWB5GdgYear_NUuuoqs/s400/saw.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Brother practicing his wand skillz in hopes to go to Hogwarts too.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHFQ2nsFsyfvdLm8dA1li4DoSKMZpuKey416QytQSvFzL4IoNAhfLZEShwkGkJxj6yHOB3g3afwu6el2jaTu54Bul61zvDGvNvAmYf3ecvRIbpiVKsfgFRKrQobKA8Khp78fj4/s1600/meandkids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHFQ2nsFsyfvdLm8dA1li4DoSKMZpuKey416QytQSvFzL4IoNAhfLZEShwkGkJxj6yHOB3g3afwu6el2jaTu54Bul61zvDGvNvAmYf3ecvRIbpiVKsfgFRKrQobKA8Khp78fj4/s400/meandkids.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Why, yes. We are all wearing HP robes. What? Standard stuff, right?</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Does it help if I admit that we've had these? We went a little crazy a <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2010/11/trick-or-treat.html" target="_blank">couple Halloweens back</a>. Actually, my husband has a pretty kick butt Snape costume from Halloween last year. But it was hot, way too warm for hubby to get his Snape on, and we actually just threw on the robes for a bit fun before the party. We hung them in the entry before the party as decoration. Way too warm to wear in a room full of people.</span></div>
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Hogwarts Themed Entry</div>
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We raided a lot of our real stuff to decorate for the party. It cracks me up that the 'school' trunk in the picture is what we actually use for math and science models. The chinchilla in the cauldron was my husband's take on Hogwarts animals. As was the red panda. *shrugs* It's a group vision.</div>
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It helps that my son has a <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/search?q=hogwarts+room" target="_blank">Hogwarts themed bedroom</a> (which I realize now that I've never properly blogged about) that we could plunder. That's where the banner came from and countless other bits and bobs. Between our Halloween decorations, costumes, my son's room, the interent and just our general stuff-- I didn't have to buy much for the party. Which is awesome. That doesn't mean that we didn't spend some stupid money on this stuff over the years... But for the day, it was all just around for the gathering.</div>
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I did buy this. Because, duh. Wizards must be sorted.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgASfSZZZD5tEorpjBEih7TyiQK6U6LM-llgcxajvH1Ac8KxloppRjWy8CB-GmpcUzhxKS926JQO_vaVlIYZQj2HCpxlOlI7f4BgmLqNm228F94wTMBcZ-ejfa7vmp87WL4yeU8/s1600/mugglestickers.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgASfSZZZD5tEorpjBEih7TyiQK6U6LM-llgcxajvH1Ac8KxloppRjWy8CB-GmpcUzhxKS926JQO_vaVlIYZQj2HCpxlOlI7f4BgmLqNm228F94wTMBcZ-ejfa7vmp87WL4yeU8/s400/mugglestickers.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Our hat had laryngitis so we had people reach into bags and pull out stones marked with animals that represented their chosen house. People could opt out and wear 'visting muggle' stickers. Not one person opted out which was so fun.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRXIt6YxPMTbKOWi4Q39OWp5dB9ZtvR_mNR3GECjn1C-hvCX_QW6OYeIAKRWx5u5fsqiJeuKGbl3-kvRFrCURCzT-vF0rtsVsA6T7_YPUP3h3X5hZ9giXOw9CDL0xVMSlUd4OR/s1600/table.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRXIt6YxPMTbKOWi4Q39OWp5dB9ZtvR_mNR3GECjn1C-hvCX_QW6OYeIAKRWx5u5fsqiJeuKGbl3-kvRFrCURCzT-vF0rtsVsA6T7_YPUP3h3X5hZ9giXOw9CDL0xVMSlUd4OR/s400/table.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
Treat table with wands, dragon wishing stones, house ties, noise makers and goodie bags. Fun stuff!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLAFHGsnVf9Rq8bE7v_0CwSuuKpmkb8I9a1o0hkprPigl9qIWxY-fgln9VfTTrTT28Zq3beMuCWdMS8M1RuHqzKwI4OSBA_trg__0DAyF1fMjO-ZwlDA9UBayes1a-KIxoQM8n/s1600/dragoneyecorner.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLAFHGsnVf9Rq8bE7v_0CwSuuKpmkb8I9a1o0hkprPigl9qIWxY-fgln9VfTTrTT28Zq3beMuCWdMS8M1RuHqzKwI4OSBA_trg__0DAyF1fMjO-ZwlDA9UBayes1a-KIxoQM8n/s400/dragoneyecorner.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
Close up of wand station, dragon and dragon stones. We used lots of led candles and wizardy looking stuff we gathered from around the house.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyEaa_BNR8-00p2PYZIZ5PlYQP1r2A5rXqaKnuGdFIml2AMuIX_Xz_75wNHlK9XPVO4C7u7kQ3IljIbbtfku3zf2I1ndhOQ4Sb6bTPAL59V7L_DTQphXOPl92BirOgNLZ6Xzw-/s1600/dragoneyes.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyEaa_BNR8-00p2PYZIZ5PlYQP1r2A5rXqaKnuGdFIml2AMuIX_Xz_75wNHlK9XPVO4C7u7kQ3IljIbbtfku3zf2I1ndhOQ4Sb6bTPAL59V7L_DTQphXOPl92BirOgNLZ6Xzw-/s400/dragoneyes.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The kids and I made these dragon eye wishing stones which seemed to be a hit with everyone. My sister is going to make hers into magnets, an idea I plan to copy as soon as I get my hands on some strong magnets. These are a bit heavy for regular ones.</div>
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Close up.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Jdfor4nhua0N7pMdFxl-jxL0ovl_zJl1E3QgZ9uCST2YIwAqngp18dxq2TX0BMMhbgslK8aPIuAsrGR4Dejgl9Klk1_Za3bGtfZI1JLxSpW9mtGG19DGz6o6kn05H3EC5e7r/s1600/gelpens.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Jdfor4nhua0N7pMdFxl-jxL0ovl_zJl1E3QgZ9uCST2YIwAqngp18dxq2TX0BMMhbgslK8aPIuAsrGR4Dejgl9Klk1_Za3bGtfZI1JLxSpW9mtGG19DGz6o6kn05H3EC5e7r/s400/gelpens.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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We started with flat marbles and drew and colored eyes on the flat side with gel pens. The pens didn't set on their own, so we sealed it with clear nail polish top coat. This might be a problem over time because it does seem like a few of the colors are reacting to either the polish or polymer clay now. Not all of them, but some of them have turned really dark. So if you want to make some, I recommend not using gel pens. Maybe painting them with acrylic paint would work, or even mod-podging printed eyes to the stone might work. The gel pens made for some beautiful colors and combos, but I have my doubts as to how long they will last.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizt3AIhOf1aIOFGnvxumUO78LLj-7yJPFRFqO-NXJhyw7S8KurWbr_1xiSuzk-X3YTjQcz6cxa0j90PcfwJ6D5f45pr2bTgZtlUR6XutxFJ-rdnTVUrTU3HVRQmr09dYbdYU7f/s1600/dragoneyemaking.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizt3AIhOf1aIOFGnvxumUO78LLj-7yJPFRFqO-NXJhyw7S8KurWbr_1xiSuzk-X3YTjQcz6cxa0j90PcfwJ6D5f45pr2bTgZtlUR6XutxFJ-rdnTVUrTU3HVRQmr09dYbdYU7f/s400/dragoneyemaking.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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To cover the glass 'eye' with dragon skin, I rolled out polymer clay and cut a circle back like in the picture above. I cut the left over clay with the hole punched out in half and squished the circle edges flat. I draped them across the top and bottom of the eye to form lids and cut off the excess clay, smooshing it into a nice circle. Doesn't have to be perfect because I covered it in little smooshed circle scales, and lined the eyelid with rolls of clay and eyelashes. After baking I highlighted some areas on the scales and lids with metallic paint. Voila! Dragon eyes.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJIea0o8-HjedXS471xKxaTqtsHAgu9MOneHz5YzRQxRs6y35hW2u0hlmiaOs7JSwpJjZJ81jaLhCpuFWYo3VukqO7xzmx-uohi0mWZ2Vq81QF0fF2FeJ1Lopv3F8nBiLMiTyE/s1600/dragon+eyes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJIea0o8-HjedXS471xKxaTqtsHAgu9MOneHz5YzRQxRs6y35hW2u0hlmiaOs7JSwpJjZJ81jaLhCpuFWYo3VukqO7xzmx-uohi0mWZ2Vq81QF0fF2FeJ1Lopv3F8nBiLMiTyE/s400/dragon+eyes.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The paper with it says: Dragon Wishing Stone *No dragons harmed in creation.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsw79P2J0tvdm3NkAcGpU0D78WRmxBkQMPFAdWq0GijODxT_uYQW45N3ERRXRlYmAK9XNqJjQJxstvRH479RLu7JyOtuo7Vf4KlJIL_vmfGp10NYF-UtOjMh8frW2IhaA8oRt0/s1600/giftbag+corner.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsw79P2J0tvdm3NkAcGpU0D78WRmxBkQMPFAdWq0GijODxT_uYQW45N3ERRXRlYmAK9XNqJjQJxstvRH479RLu7JyOtuo7Vf4KlJIL_vmfGp10NYF-UtOjMh8frW2IhaA8oRt0/s400/giftbag+corner.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Gift bag and noise maker corner. I used my fruit basket to hold the bags. :)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhttPQf08gtAbqDUjg8ArXKtWc39offxOJ-HA7yLuptZ1GAkQfYr4tMmZ0ZGtFjITMCzmC4aG9JQtYFg4d0GfUCahXgxLviCyC6AZ3H8dHcAAP9_8reQYeM9yKZQQAk8GInzLgB/s1600/giftbags.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhttPQf08gtAbqDUjg8ArXKtWc39offxOJ-HA7yLuptZ1GAkQfYr4tMmZ0ZGtFjITMCzmC4aG9JQtYFg4d0GfUCahXgxLviCyC6AZ3H8dHcAAP9_8reQYeM9yKZQQAk8GInzLgB/s400/giftbags.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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These were my awesome find of the event. A small local craft store was selling these on clearance. Needless to say, I bought enough for this party and likely enough for my son's eventual Hogwarts party when he turns eleven as well. But they ranged from .40 to .80 each and felt worth it to me with how cute they are. Not to mention I can use the left over bags for gifts throughout the year as well.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvgRJPTwYaPhHBq36_ZXbQqQmKiYUmghzBpcGXOMkZOxRjXPGNnNA3Q5-sMuDzxPIf7Avs-RKJf86M5qRof86nHBym1e5o3LSIe-uy-qj8OmoPSG0pMpqjOn4weOiZMiu4cpM2/s1600/giftbaginside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvgRJPTwYaPhHBq36_ZXbQqQmKiYUmghzBpcGXOMkZOxRjXPGNnNA3Q5-sMuDzxPIf7Avs-RKJf86M5qRof86nHBym1e5o3LSIe-uy-qj8OmoPSG0pMpqjOn4weOiZMiu4cpM2/s400/giftbaginside.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Inside the magical gift bags.</div>
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I got the dementor chocolate idea from <a href="http://www.mammakaze.com/?s=harry+potter+party&x=17&y=9" target="_blank">this awesome party</a> at <a href="http://www.mammakaze.com/" target="_blank">Mammakaze</a>. The every flavor beans label was totally copied from a pic on the internet and printed onto sticker paper because I was completely out of time, people. Yes, that jars my graphic arts background soul, but desperate times and all that. The Honeydukes label was <a href="http://www.4shared.com/photo/MpVww5cq/hPHoneydukes_sign.html" target="_blank">from here</a>. Yep. Sticker paper again, as were the signs that I printed and stuck on scrapbook paper backings and spread around the various things on the table.</div>
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Yes, the beans are in teeny tiny jewelry bags because holy balls batman, Jelly Bellies are crazy expensive now. The candy was all from a nearby town's <a href="http://www.pentwaterpopcorn.com/candy.html" target="_blank">amazing candy store</a>. That was probably the shopping trip with the biggest sticker shock. We went a little candy crazy. Did you know they make <a href="http://www.astropopcandy.com/" target="_blank">astro pops</a> again? Remember when they used to be 25 cents? Yeah. They are $2.99 a piece now. Oy. But oh. That was a fun, fun shopping trip.</div>
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And of course <a href="http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Weasleys'_Wizard_Wheezes" target="_blank">Weaslys' Wizard Wheezes</a> had to be represented, so that is the why of the finger handcuffs. They were a hit:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnGAPK_G2_zoU7wExKsLqpI2nd7YtlE0R9pXvIXeYcoq1Bv9HWlPP35Dfgc2bNJMd5nJ3L8EP8d3stlslNkAbL3ty8SC_q-15461XYfXd_SbRF49MmBPvOu2IF8kgYSnMXK6eg/s1600/fingerhandcuff.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnGAPK_G2_zoU7wExKsLqpI2nd7YtlE0R9pXvIXeYcoq1Bv9HWlPP35Dfgc2bNJMd5nJ3L8EP8d3stlslNkAbL3ty8SC_q-15461XYfXd_SbRF49MmBPvOu2IF8kgYSnMXK6eg/s400/fingerhandcuff.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This look cracks me up every time I see it. He was so dumbfounded.</div>
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I had to include a close up of the tornado lava lamp fulfilling its true calling as a magical instrument. This lives in our son's room too. I really should blog an update about the room now that it has been finished for a couple years, huh?</div>
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House ties I mentioned earlier. Again from <a href="http://thebrilliantcraftytype.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Brilliant Crafty Type</a>.</div>
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Her <a href="http://thebrilliantcraftytype.blogspot.com/2012/04/felt-hogwarts-ties-tutorial.html" target="_blank">tutorial on how to make them lives here</a>.</div>
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Once again I deviated from her instructions due to my lack of an awesome fancy machine that would have saved me from repetitive strain injuries and some dark marks for naughty word usage due to my using scissors and eyeballed it. And I also used hot glue because it is fast and furious and because I think fingerprints are overrated.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbr7e9pOZr-rCWpHBFyNE6sDvrdQWBYwggEtRffqYlzd3F07lLnvDnUBdW-p7jLHBUO63xUFe7zFgqHppovE1b4_QFQwEHaUxIVM3Qm4KalUaOmikJhMAC7GqyeLFGeU3kg9bY/s1600/ties2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbr7e9pOZr-rCWpHBFyNE6sDvrdQWBYwggEtRffqYlzd3F07lLnvDnUBdW-p7jLHBUO63xUFe7zFgqHppovE1b4_QFQwEHaUxIVM3Qm4KalUaOmikJhMAC7GqyeLFGeU3kg9bY/s400/ties2.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Awesome <a href="http://www.overthebigmoon.com/halloween-decor-harry-potter-house-posters-free-printables/" target="_blank">Hogwart House printable signs</a> from here, at <a href="http://www.overthebigmoon.com/" target="_blank">Over The Big Moon</a>.</div>
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I also stuck a little copy of the signs onto the backs of the ties for those weird people who inevitably didn't know the HP story and needed reminders of what the houses were and what they represented. *sniff* Muggles.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9o9m3bMiR0xe1h-Au-RMjeZ8KnPyv5isYeIdumJLeF07PSOR74tOhYFqpFf1cE6139-7UkccqqLPS8a_XG9nE11h4xdPiGaqOHriMoyLu8AgyuaLCztzYO-gqaNi3QOy_QHG_/s1600/wands.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9o9m3bMiR0xe1h-Au-RMjeZ8KnPyv5isYeIdumJLeF07PSOR74tOhYFqpFf1cE6139-7UkccqqLPS8a_XG9nE11h4xdPiGaqOHriMoyLu8AgyuaLCztzYO-gqaNi3QOy_QHG_/s400/wands.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Cauldron of wands. Sign from <a href="http://www.4shared.com/photo/q1wxgkoC/Ollivanders_Sign.html" target="_blank">here</a>. After guests were sorted they received their ties and chose their dragon stones and wands. Then the biggest hit of the party happened...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzEeUFXo77tQoMtUkIpi-TrO9rdApqFuTjJ564TyfR-JSZ-GqZhTUrCDsdthwu4CwE79DcQI05YF_V_fYFAZ1in10MVv4G-du1VZXp9c2HaNaJhNQBhw2Sbf1_pb4JNPS1tnrS/s1600/wanddecorate.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzEeUFXo77tQoMtUkIpi-TrO9rdApqFuTjJ564TyfR-JSZ-GqZhTUrCDsdthwu4CwE79DcQI05YF_V_fYFAZ1in10MVv4G-du1VZXp9c2HaNaJhNQBhw2Sbf1_pb4JNPS1tnrS/s400/wanddecorate.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Wand personalization.</div>
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This was so random and last minute. I had initially planned to decorate the wands with yarn, string and charms myself, but ran out of time. I hated to waste the cool magical looking stuff, so I just piled it by the wand cauldron and made the sign. I got the charms for really cheap at the small local craft store, as well as the grab bags of yarn scraps. The guests LOVED this.</div>
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I have four brothers in law. Every single one of them got their crafty on, as did the teen boy at the party. The girls had no problem jumping into it, but I admit the male participation really surprised me, and made me very happy! It was hilarious to watch my giant firefighter BIL sorting through the little charms and choosing the accent yarns. It was awesome. Somehow I created a huge magical co-ed crafting party. Epic stuff. Truly magical.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizrxtHWwfje3ilDmTlAVc9pa90VXg-gJaN0DqXGttaVfPMd8F-rysLFYlMVa0Exk7SOn_WAdF1ss9e4zzMtIQECCck3eLtol2_x2JqsA9W_AEt5p9mFLMivU9_O0uAHR572Ra7/s1600/wanddecorateeyes.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizrxtHWwfje3ilDmTlAVc9pa90VXg-gJaN0DqXGttaVfPMd8F-rysLFYlMVa0Exk7SOn_WAdF1ss9e4zzMtIQECCck3eLtol2_x2JqsA9W_AEt5p9mFLMivU9_O0uAHR572Ra7/s400/wanddecorateeyes.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Here's an example of a wand decorated with the yarn, though the pic failed to capture the charms hanging from the yarn. It really does look pretty cool all together. I took this photo when I was still entertaining the idea of doing it all myself.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOBf4aCD4m29I_8JsjlEaIlTiIA40P_PATFR8_mMHEuMyziT4OxkqZDrDamaUizxAQJIOLiokt5AD8CX43LymCh6hEQFhzI4fXBRLYSzHUqY4zF1ZqW3ovHZOSGCqE7sxoN-ph/s1600/wandtower.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOBf4aCD4m29I_8JsjlEaIlTiIA40P_PATFR8_mMHEuMyziT4OxkqZDrDamaUizxAQJIOLiokt5AD8CX43LymCh6hEQFhzI4fXBRLYSzHUqY4zF1ZqW3ovHZOSGCqE7sxoN-ph/s400/wandtower.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Wands in progress.</div>
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I've made these wands with my kids <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/search?q=wands" target="_blank">for years</a>. I LOVE making them. I used the same concept to make my <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2009/11/gandalfs-staff-picture-tutorial.html" target="_blank">son's Gandalf staff </a>a few years back. I originally learned how to do it through purchased instructions from <a href="http://www.dadcando.com/" target="_blank">Dadcando</a>. He now also offers the instructions for free <a href="http://www.instructables.com/member/KaptinScarlet/" target="_blank">on Instructables</a> among other cool projects. Dadcando is an amazing, amazing site. I highly recommend it.</div>
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Over the years I've tweaked the wands my own way. I now make them with my beloved scrapbook paper. I top them with large stones and tip them with small stones or gems. I often add gems to the surface as I do the hot glue step. I then paint the hot glue black initially then cover with a metallic paint that fits the wand. I usually do a light coat of the metallic paint all over the wand as well, then mod podge the whole thing for a light seal.</div>
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They can last through some serious play, but I guess I must say they aren't toys. They are basically sticks with stones on the end, so you know, figure out who can be trusted with such tools before distributing. Right? Right. I admit, we did have a few close calls involving unforgivable curses and flinging wands getting a little too close to eyeballs for comfort. The wizarding world is a dangerous place.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyW7BT4qBaD1ZEEXpCfPm6_qTHpBfjgXdXq79stLWrO5WfKSIO4__FG4-3aaZpOy3lR53SrFPK9uGyXEZ1756xof2w4jVIczC7q-nrRz53nppyVcqOkNp_0p985Jf2L0HQRQM3/s1600/honeydukes.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyW7BT4qBaD1ZEEXpCfPm6_qTHpBfjgXdXq79stLWrO5WfKSIO4__FG4-3aaZpOy3lR53SrFPK9uGyXEZ1756xof2w4jVIczC7q-nrRz53nppyVcqOkNp_0p985Jf2L0HQRQM3/s400/honeydukes.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Honeydukes! The rest of the expensive candy! Worth it!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmbrTywMt1C3h6A4BzJHTDsKboO-KdZiE7AaRVTR4BoaYabsR9QOuH2ILkzNWprTi7wIcCjzmgHIwbyiN5bmoHhYIqx2VkEKTW8oazG8GP26V_CDyab7XSiAfj4EKz3lmkLM-_/s1600/punch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmbrTywMt1C3h6A4BzJHTDsKboO-KdZiE7AaRVTR4BoaYabsR9QOuH2ILkzNWprTi7wIcCjzmgHIwbyiN5bmoHhYIqx2VkEKTW8oazG8GP26V_CDyab7XSiAfj4EKz3lmkLM-_/s400/punch.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Butterbeer punch station. I can't find the recipe I used. I'm not even sure that I used a recipe. I think I looked at every single BB recipe online and merged them into what I used. I basically split a jar of butterscotch syrup between two punch bowls, poured in cream soda and stirred it as much as I could. I added a goodly amount of half and half to each bowl and topped with vanilla ice cream dollops. Yeah, if I wasn't calling it Butterbeer, I could have called it sugar coma. Or beverage that tastes like marshmallows dipped in butterscotch. I had this instead of cake and it was enough.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguhs6VgpPhYnKXYqkpkDXoY9i_jdmKZVhsbA97Ij43GmgzCXrUFkQEEX61cQuBzUdt0jbYU_-OBuCDX8d46Co9fnDh5-t0EACfU93uoD4PtGd7GidjVZP2UAPS_LkAdbb9Txfk/s1600/butterbeer.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguhs6VgpPhYnKXYqkpkDXoY9i_jdmKZVhsbA97Ij43GmgzCXrUFkQEEX61cQuBzUdt0jbYU_-OBuCDX8d46Co9fnDh5-t0EACfU93uoD4PtGd7GidjVZP2UAPS_LkAdbb9Txfk/s400/butterbeer.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Sign I made to prove that I also supplied water, because someone told me that there is such a thing as too much sugar. In case they are right, there was bottled water. The following day was the first day of school for our area. We homeschool, so you know, whatever. Sugar crash, smugar smash. I'm kidding! I totally warned the parents that I was sending home bags of sugar chasers with the kids after feeding them cake, ice cream, candy and sugar coma punch. I'm sure they had no problem with it. Hey! There was water available. Eek. I'm one of those parents, aren't I?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3_txmp0keKfYGPev2zgN_evkEbMTs3oulHYImzSGCF54qp5uCrPMJO14D-pZ7v3iw35blv4xCtEYkEcK6E0hjK36s_u405iuPK3C6gwLJzKd7se8A8YQlG4Flsa8hJ-RzQFx8/s1600/cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3_txmp0keKfYGPev2zgN_evkEbMTs3oulHYImzSGCF54qp5uCrPMJO14D-pZ7v3iw35blv4xCtEYkEcK6E0hjK36s_u405iuPK3C6gwLJzKd7se8A8YQlG4Flsa8hJ-RzQFx8/s400/cake.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Cake decorated with, drumroll . . . Colored sugar!</div>
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Yikes. I'm one of those mothers for sure.</div>
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On a happier note, I love the decorations in this pic. My son's <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2008/07/and-suddenly-there-i-am.html" target="_blank">special box</a> where he's kept his treasures for years. And his awesome friendly <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/100879815/minotaur-youngling" target="_blank">Minotaur, Ferdinand</a>, that I bought from this <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/kirstinrowan?ref=seller_info" target="_blank">wonderful Etsy seller</a>. I was so excited when I found him. My son has always insisted that miniature friendly Minotaurs live in our basement. (Which I totally prefer to the monsters that I believe live in our basement, btw.) He has always insisted that Minotaurs were given a bad rap and were just misunderstood in the ancient myths. Finding a like-minded crafter was one of those amazing internet moments that make me so happy to be alive during this age of connection.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAqrl8_lp20pFlxs9G02mwLtVvc-wG5tnn8On3cDDRjWIScn9hXzOt7sWMwSGxY6B3HQ2-UIclCjhugh3nOEVwCVkcFSj0pazkSP-WSxwPxLEXFxJDfBVZpmHWRbimlNFpZMu5/s1600/aftermath.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAqrl8_lp20pFlxs9G02mwLtVvc-wG5tnn8On3cDDRjWIScn9hXzOt7sWMwSGxY6B3HQ2-UIclCjhugh3nOEVwCVkcFSj0pazkSP-WSxwPxLEXFxJDfBVZpmHWRbimlNFpZMu5/s400/aftermath.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I just included this picture because it was sort of an epic aftermath photo. The wreckage of party plunder. I like how it has a mysterious shop feel to it or something. I almost hated to pick it all up and de-magic my house!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ENR6klBj57Eru9SXb7AlJJ6f4eRDU8ysqz1cPLLIgRpYha_2X3AhluIx27BZGfOS-sdweJER0T-AQ7E0f_XW_8NnDcQvpg2WwBl7UgS4Ez59SBIGiJPLvs-J2TI3s3kME_FZ/s1600/bannerandowls.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ENR6klBj57Eru9SXb7AlJJ6f4eRDU8ysqz1cPLLIgRpYha_2X3AhluIx27BZGfOS-sdweJER0T-AQ7E0f_XW_8NnDcQvpg2WwBl7UgS4Ez59SBIGiJPLvs-J2TI3s3kME_FZ/s400/bannerandowls.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This shot shows the owls perched up by the banner that I failed to capture with any other shot. <span style="text-align: left;">It also shows how <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2009/01/why-my-husband-had-migraine-after.html" target="_blank">all of our parties/holidays seem to end</a>, with the building of new lego sets! Yeehaw! Side note: check out my dog to the right sitting on one of the wooden chairs. She was a bit traumatized with the house being all rearranged and with the crowd coming then leaving. Poor critter.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxZFbAyqdi9-7SrE6q66kMY0NTZSS9Lh3Lt3MZqutgIZKLFo_8uw5IOQxQE01lw-JQmfieZROfvIWTJnm9CmB7F-fzFs4odhpgqRYkjdoWP3i4GkqIjXzpHUdUhSSoQ4A8_zzn/s1600/packaged.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxZFbAyqdi9-7SrE6q66kMY0NTZSS9Lh3Lt3MZqutgIZKLFo_8uw5IOQxQE01lw-JQmfieZROfvIWTJnm9CmB7F-fzFs4odhpgqRYkjdoWP3i4GkqIjXzpHUdUhSSoQ4A8_zzn/s400/packaged.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Here are the decorations and extras all boxed up and ready for my son's future Hogwarts themed party. Around here you don't get to choose the theme to your eleventh birthday. Much like a wand chooses a wizard, the eleventh birthday theme chooses you. He has no problem with that though. We are all looking forward to it! But a whole bunch of rest must come between then and now. Oh yes.<br />
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Well, I hope you enjoyed my rambling attempt to recreate my favorite party ever. Perhaps the indulgent length of this post can somewhat make up for my utter neglect of my blog? Perhaps not. I'm not quite sure where I belong with blogging anymore. I want to blog, but then I find myself caught up in doing things like making thirty magic wands, banners and dragon eyes. Sigh. We'll see. But for now, I am here. And here is a happy place, a sort of post-Harry Potter Party glowy world.</div>
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To any of the parents whose kid I OD'd on sugar before their first day of school that might stumble upon this post-- I so apologize. I had my head stuck in the sorting hat and just wasn't thinking straight! </div>
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And thanks to anyone that read on until the end of this epic novel of a post. Hope your week is filled with magic and fun!</div>
candynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904539285373868227noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9285816.post-70456490121928508302012-07-24T19:32:00.001-04:002012-07-24T20:08:16.069-04:00My Punk Rock Kids<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
So today this happened:</div>
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<u>Fauxhawk</u></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS4JUOrr7KfcUzxH8Y9ByR7mTsm8p7ffCr-KEGI4LcSxHfdeOw2s4WZ4ZKhWlZo5WLWimgiG_-23OcsL6Rh9aux1_f3-09UQ1nBX7KAdiQcLRFeTh85KFuO2pJNs5l9g5-gwfx/s1600/Photo+Jul+24,+2+10+10+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS4JUOrr7KfcUzxH8Y9ByR7mTsm8p7ffCr-KEGI4LcSxHfdeOw2s4WZ4ZKhWlZo5WLWimgiG_-23OcsL6Rh9aux1_f3-09UQ1nBX7KAdiQcLRFeTh85KFuO2pJNs5l9g5-gwfx/s400/Photo+Jul+24,+2+10+10+PM.jpg" width="298" /></a></div>
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<u>A little hair color</u></div>
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The kids like their edgy hair and I like that it is self expression with a backup plan. The fauxhawk will lay down flat and look like a 'normal' haircut. The pink streak will eventually wash out. And spending a few hours in an air conditioned hair salon owned by a blues and gospel singing man with hair that makes my son's seem tame? Quite an interesting and fun way to spend a few hours on a very hot Tuesday. That and some icy drinks at the local coffee shop made today an all around good day.</div>
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Hope everyone's summer has been as awesome as a fauxhawk is to an eight year old boy! We are on the downward slope toward fall with some actual rain in the forecast. Thank goodness. My flowers - they weep. Cooler days will be upon us in no time. Until then, stay cooler than a girl-child with bright pink hair. And that, my friends, is pretty darn cool. </div>
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<br /></div>candynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904539285373868227noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9285816.post-25483633225036900912012-07-03T11:10:00.000-04:002012-07-03T11:11:37.524-04:00Perfect Mornings<br />
Yesterday's sunrise was extra beautiful. Other than almost choking to death on a bug, the whole walk yesterday felt surreal with beauty.<br />
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The sunrise:</div>
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From the other direction where the color was reflecting on the clouds:</div>
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Sunsets here are amazing because the color show takes place over the lake. But I prefer the morning show. It is so still. A private event. Sure there are always a few people around, but we morning folk are a quiet lot. A small head nod in greeting is the norm. It's lovely.<br />
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Today it was raining, so instead of walking I stayed home and broke fast with dragons. They are a polite crew, gathering around their little dragon feed buckets while I gather around mine.<br />
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My daughter has expanded her dragon making from clay dragons to soft sculpture. She sews felt bodies over wire armature, so the end dragon is both adorable and posable. I need to do an updated blog post about her current clay dragons as well. They've come a long way since the last post I did about her <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2011/11/girl-and-her-dragons.html" target="_blank">dragon crafting obsession</a>. She even had her first craft orders that she fulfilled timely and happily. She took a few to dance class and all the girls wanted her to make them their own dragon. She blows me away. Not to mention she makes creatures with such polite manners. I would have never guessed a breakfast with dragons could be so civilized.<br />
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Tomorrow is Independence Day here in America. That means parades, cookouts, family and fireworks. I live in a tourist town on the lake so the whole event is done up in epic ways, including a huge art fair, a B17 flyover and even a <a href="http://www.scottvilleclownband.com/" target="_blank">clown band</a>. It will be busy, hot and loud and I honestly both dread it and look forward to it at the same time. It is the total opposite of my quiet mornings, but fun. However, I'm going to need a week of quiet mornings to recover from it all!<br />
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Wishing you a happy, safe week. Hydrate and keep cool, everyone!candynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904539285373868227noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9285816.post-31827722073066105692012-06-10T23:52:00.000-04:002012-06-10T23:55:23.752-04:00A Witchy Little Matchbox Doll<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR587n32mw-NbWbnzI3kbB40Wzz2lq_30oM02wn4v12wAJPBiHP8_Mmjf4vtGlKyazHJzpg0nQ9aipA2Dn7nSIkv9eYxt5rRPGvMSOWTK7qBZFH-GEgrpyMeRYJHXRkOlzAANa/s1600/witch4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR587n32mw-NbWbnzI3kbB40Wzz2lq_30oM02wn4v12wAJPBiHP8_Mmjf4vtGlKyazHJzpg0nQ9aipA2Dn7nSIkv9eYxt5rRPGvMSOWTK7qBZFH-GEgrpyMeRYJHXRkOlzAANa/s400/witch4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Little box home. (Clicking the photos should enlarge them to show details.)</div>
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I made another little matchbox doll. Actually, I've made a few, but my blogging just hasn't kept up with all the stuff of daily life. Ah well. Like last week's recital. I really need to blog about that. I continually kick myself for not blogging about last year's recital, and here I am slacking on this year's. Okay. Noted. Blog about recital. It is officially on my to do list. You are my witness.<br />
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Hello dolly.</div>
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I haven't been swapping lately but someone found my blog and wrote me a nice email. We wrote back and forth a bit and the kind of doll she requested intrigued me. She wanted a gothy/witchy doll. She liked nature, soft spring greens, unnatural hair color, etc. Fun stuff, huh? So of course I had to make her.<br />
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In her house.</div>
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Close-up of interior.</div>
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She fits inside the matchbox bed for shipping b<span style="text-align: center;">ut she prefers to sleep on top of it once she's 'home'. I just call them matchbox doll because of the fun fact that they are small enough to fit in a 32 count matchbox. The little houses are a fun way to have a doll house that doesn't take up much space. Win/win.</span></div>
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Close up of pictures.</div>
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Clearer shot of house.</div>
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Trunks. I really fell in love with making these little trunks.</div>
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Teeny tiny tarot cards for teeny tiny fortune telling.</div>
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Teaspoon for size perspective.</div>
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Potions and such.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgcWLPL9AgDAKoYSdoJIe5rMzp2rBZ-Zksv9cPML6OJpozD-ZRfekc6gfdkwpzbIMfWZkzgSdgsB0PnBHNmT8_oXl4qlCRxyRHD30ATTm79xvaUyty3W0aDIhVXGRDWyUHkb6m/s1600/witchstuff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgcWLPL9AgDAKoYSdoJIe5rMzp2rBZ-Zksv9cPML6OJpozD-ZRfekc6gfdkwpzbIMfWZkzgSdgsB0PnBHNmT8_oXl4qlCRxyRHD30ATTm79xvaUyty3W0aDIhVXGRDWyUHkb6m/s400/witchstuff.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Girly and her loot.</div>
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Back view no cloak.</div>
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Back with cloak.</div>
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Front view with cloak.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilc4kkce3E00qk-wjS9iAYme0T8d_Pzf9_X_Gz1KI7Tme-LrgngTlj1euzj6d4vl0rU-xiSeh2MJOcpcvSJne0M79yKxhvvF1VSlE4c-yVSAgHSTdnNA6u_eTNELxklixR6Qyv/s1600/witchside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilc4kkce3E00qk-wjS9iAYme0T8d_Pzf9_X_Gz1KI7Tme-LrgngTlj1euzj6d4vl0rU-xiSeh2MJOcpcvSJne0M79yKxhvvF1VSlE4c-yVSAgHSTdnNA6u_eTNELxklixR6Qyv/s400/witchside.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Side view with cloak.</div>
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Size perspective iphone.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIp9vYtr3ibqllspllcBhhT4qauOVvwG6SDK_pj6aE9BThS3Gk4fHtZ5tOmfAWR9sjFftSbMaodFXSlsP4vv76U12APZlNeXke7p0bahma7O2y2FARHrgNEJUtn-kAV9msXKwP/s1600/spoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIp9vYtr3ibqllspllcBhhT4qauOVvwG6SDK_pj6aE9BThS3Gk4fHtZ5tOmfAWR9sjFftSbMaodFXSlsP4vv76U12APZlNeXke7p0bahma7O2y2FARHrgNEJUtn-kAV9msXKwP/s400/spoon.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Size perspective teaspoon.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHY8CRnXlTNBo6CvC8PpfJYkXZAzhyphenhyphen7haGI9IA_VK-7aYEZIrialobK4ePKWJ8J-LMqc12oLl8AebYJm11-bymbbkYQIa-Ru4n4G6iYibvkjIoHY_uMusYIZQ96uOgsvWM5P9C/s1600/dragon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHY8CRnXlTNBo6CvC8PpfJYkXZAzhyphenhyphen7haGI9IA_VK-7aYEZIrialobK4ePKWJ8J-LMqc12oLl8AebYJm11-bymbbkYQIa-Ru4n4G6iYibvkjIoHY_uMusYIZQ96uOgsvWM5P9C/s400/dragon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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She and one of my daughter's dragons became good friends while she was here.</div>
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Other matchbox dolls I've made if you are interested and haven't seen them before: <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2011/04/hey-there-little-red-riding-hood.html" target="_blank">Red Riding Hood</a>, <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2010/08/finished-matchbox-doll-pt-ii.html" target="_blank">1940's inspired doll</a>, and the first one I ever made - a <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2010/03/finished-matchbox-doll.html" target="_blank">Steampunk Fairy</a>. I'll try to blog about the other dolls I've created soon. And the recital. I must blog about the recital. </div>
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However, that is for another day. Now I need to go crawl into my own little bed. A morning walk awaits and it looms only a few hours away. Sigh... Not enough hours in the day to live life and blog about it too it seems. :) We do what we can though, right? Goodnight friends. Dream happy!</div>candynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904539285373868227noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9285816.post-3602054418649174912012-05-31T14:02:00.000-04:002012-05-31T14:11:37.870-04:00Recital time = Sequin hell<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Oh, sequins. How I loathe thee.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOb0Wpcajvd4EFGUQOoVuDP8KpiqoOrAr-d-yIvQ-LbZ2gMEhyHpPUIgCaUlbi4VSQWz9kyi1QL7pao0nLLe5OGKFpGLOKJPNp2HS-LnLt8oFMO_XCyS0V5F-0WjYgES-B6FLX/s1600/photo+(8).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOb0Wpcajvd4EFGUQOoVuDP8KpiqoOrAr-d-yIvQ-LbZ2gMEhyHpPUIgCaUlbi4VSQWz9kyi1QL7pao0nLLe5OGKFpGLOKJPNp2HS-LnLt8oFMO_XCyS0V5F-0WjYgES-B6FLX/s400/photo+(8).JPG" width="298" /></a></div>
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Since I've been mostly kicked off Halloween sewing machine duty, thanks to the lure of pre-made costumes and my husband's dislike of my sewing induced personality changes, I pretty much only drag the machine out a few times a year anymore. Recital time is one of my constants as there is always some sort of costume that needs tweaking, or building.</div>
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This year I made two young boys shirts for their jazz dance (there seems to be a lack in acceptable male costumes as these are <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2009/05/take-three-clown-costume-complete.html" target="_blank">typically the ones I am roped into making</a>), and it went so smoothly I never even thought to take pictures of the process. However as soon as I saw the material I would work with for the next job, I knew I had to document the process. Sometimes I take pictures just to save my sanity. A habit I started back when I was first an at home mom and I found that taking a picture of an awful mess helped me laugh at it. I don't know why it works, it just does. I'm simple. Don't judge.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvk0CAMuboRQbwNCEzBwKK9qNt5-caNsricv9ZnJ4d9RdIFkkkQGdIvvHr4aAjY-f6ClRreFQ2_-6nGte_geInS9B_E9Jb314Y5cFyc7Hzw51OAS6DVB_mgjqKhj02QfZgrVnM/s1600/photo+(7).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvk0CAMuboRQbwNCEzBwKK9qNt5-caNsricv9ZnJ4d9RdIFkkkQGdIvvHr4aAjY-f6ClRreFQ2_-6nGte_geInS9B_E9Jb314Y5cFyc7Hzw51OAS6DVB_mgjqKhj02QfZgrVnM/s400/photo+(7).JPG" width="298" /></a></div>
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I have to admit that the taking pictures thing didn't really help this time around. My task was to take one sequin vest and somehow turn it into two sequin neckties. The fake kind of tie with elastic or velcro bands that go around the neck. Laughably, I figured this wouldn't be that hard. That is until the sequins started to rain off the vest as soon as I cut it, instantly covering my house with a million multicolored, stroke inducing, bits of hell. And when the second sewing needle broke when hitting a random sequin wrong I knew I was in over my ability to effectively deal in any way that resembled sanity. Yeah, it was THAT kind of project.<br />
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Thank goodness for bloggers that like to share projects! When frantically googling things like, "how to make a necktie that attaches with elastic" and "what have I gotten myself into this time" and "is there gluten in vodka" I found <a href="http://www.hideousdreadfulstinky.com/2009/09/tutorial-making-boys-tie-from-mans-tie.html" target="_blank">this tutorial</a> from the awesomely named blog: <a href="http://www.hideousdreadfulstinky.com/" target="_blank">Hideous! Dreadful! Stinky!</a> (Which TOTALLY fit my mood at this point so I saw it as a sign I was on the right track.) I didn't need the exact tutorial as I wasn't converting a man's tie into a child's tie, but she helped me figure out how to create the fake knot for the tie which had me stumped.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCIiHErn1NwHjzqOxbGMM4B85hnDZ2N27PW4F4Vwsi_AzZ18qcXYhPKpeF351X7qgJuyyJjn6CMROfTzrzm3LGTdMyFU1chVICEorjYqy4oVyV-eXpmgmCRWOU1Kv6-MF1vU4j/s1600/photo+(10).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCIiHErn1NwHjzqOxbGMM4B85hnDZ2N27PW4F4Vwsi_AzZ18qcXYhPKpeF351X7qgJuyyJjn6CMROfTzrzm3LGTdMyFU1chVICEorjYqy4oVyV-eXpmgmCRWOU1Kv6-MF1vU4j/s400/photo+(10).JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
These are the steps I did differently than the tutorial. Instead of converting a larger tie into the smaller one since I was creating ties for nearly man-sized boys, I used a regular tie as a pattern. The vest was lined, so I cut out the pattern from the liner and sequin material at the same time.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZgiC0gJRx6qtodTpd3DwpaKOsDidYYzLQKjrAUCkb09MOibqYrn3d0okI8H46UFIc5IlU1kiN6USOpqdRpIaOdQpo6um8stPS1EdeMP75zqxoQ3yFvEjlShuYVwUJiwbIlzpe/s1600/photo+(11).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZgiC0gJRx6qtodTpd3DwpaKOsDidYYzLQKjrAUCkb09MOibqYrn3d0okI8H46UFIc5IlU1kiN6USOpqdRpIaOdQpo6um8stPS1EdeMP75zqxoQ3yFvEjlShuYVwUJiwbIlzpe/s400/photo+(11).JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
I then turned the edges inward and used a million pins to hold it all together. At this point I stopped taking pictures because things were getting rather, uh, tense. Machine sewing cost me four needles, a sewing machine foot and almost an eye. That's when I switched to hand sewing. But even then the thread kept catching on the pins and the sequins. The process of constructing the ties took a better part of two days. I used language I am not proud of.<br />
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But by all that is holy, I finished in time for recital pictures!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdRlG8P-ZYV5gq6wUZ4xy5d4Yx8Ku-G9wYk-EfHo84IEFLrl94Zkb-jI2CrWZ-EuZayQOgsyGUB_qGCGc4dmX9_ZBdoctCvtj09pxOPmRc0j8LoER0LuOwWKxof8y6OB_xRMO5/s1600/photo+(9).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdRlG8P-ZYV5gq6wUZ4xy5d4Yx8Ku-G9wYk-EfHo84IEFLrl94Zkb-jI2CrWZ-EuZayQOgsyGUB_qGCGc4dmX9_ZBdoctCvtj09pxOPmRc0j8LoER0LuOwWKxof8y6OB_xRMO5/s400/photo+(9).JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Since I did not have any black elastic but I did have black velcro, I made straps out of the back of the vest and attached velcro to it. I followed her instructions to make the top knot and it worked perfectly. Probably the only part of the project that didn't give me hives.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid-ZtF_leWxaC3wVaQo5PVGQKAb88DUA4lEkEksWwRDTEILj4Wv0Z0d38oNr1d13rm-HltqVVebe9kEqpIQeWPAYqLxMht4l7e5UZoREfNyhj728MFhdAqQVFoy01EsBzcOCHu/s1600/photo+(12).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid-ZtF_leWxaC3wVaQo5PVGQKAb88DUA4lEkEksWwRDTEILj4Wv0Z0d38oNr1d13rm-HltqVVebe9kEqpIQeWPAYqLxMht4l7e5UZoREfNyhj728MFhdAqQVFoy01EsBzcOCHu/s400/photo+(12).JPG" width="298" /></a></div>
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My boy modeling one of the finished products though it wasn't for him.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkOLTsq7QlXYGD9RtsccvnPU7NOAWBPb4kWK5-wbpp0AtPwDjoJvV7J-YlG-AKt9kxVEMttnSD5h-msgX1W2BRVacjC8iR0IGXQoMlmdHFxof86oP4dnuZEUIKRxRRKuAe5yDa/s1600/photo+(13).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkOLTsq7QlXYGD9RtsccvnPU7NOAWBPb4kWK5-wbpp0AtPwDjoJvV7J-YlG-AKt9kxVEMttnSD5h-msgX1W2BRVacjC8iR0IGXQoMlmdHFxof86oP4dnuZEUIKRxRRKuAe5yDa/s400/photo+(13).JPG" width="298" /></a></div>
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What my cute little "Puttin on the Ritz" guy is wearing. I guess the older boys weren't too keen on wearing full vests of multi-colored sequins, hence the lesser evil of the sequin ties. Well, lesser evil for <i>them</i>. For me, <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2012/05/entrances-and-exits-pt-1.html" target="_blank">much like tiling stairs</a>, sequins are now on my 'avoid forever and ever' list.</div>
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Things I learned through this project other than to avoid materials with sequins? You never know when posting a tutorial on your blog might actually save someone's butt, a sort of grown up version of 'sharing is caring'. That for me, three days is not enough of a turn around time for a sewing project. That the distillation process likely removes any gluten that vodka might have started with. And that I'm not as emotionally stable as I'd like to believe, hence me understanding why I no longer get to sew Halloween costumes. Sigh. Acceptance is the first step to understanding.candynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904539285373868227noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9285816.post-23339885069654297972012-05-25T00:15:00.000-04:002012-11-23T19:53:42.307-05:00Entrances and Exits: Pt. 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk-mSWJ6XE3pXHC4mq3SK6BHq9LW2rFiUFS3eSALow0DwK1r53mJ5hcJcxk3Tnq4zMXpkMI5c5eepoPC5cDlntDUazHcx6XeYCTM9ZadWDT1iSwFhedCuE1sAoXshVfq-8X2sn/s1600/stairs5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk-mSWJ6XE3pXHC4mq3SK6BHq9LW2rFiUFS3eSALow0DwK1r53mJ5hcJcxk3Tnq4zMXpkMI5c5eepoPC5cDlntDUazHcx6XeYCTM9ZadWDT1iSwFhedCuE1sAoXshVfq-8X2sn/s400/stairs5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Hi, Blog! It's been awhile, huh? Let's just ignore my six month absence. Lots happened. Good, bad, ugly, lovely; basically life. But I'm back. I'm older. I'm wiser. I'm grayer and more wrinkly, my left knee has a twinge in it now, and sometimes my left eye too. I've given up gluten and dairy, and ... ahem. Where was I?</div>
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Oh, yeah. Apologies. Absences. Anyway, I'm still here and I'm still making stuff, so basically what I am saying is at the core of it all, life is good. And in the end, I still want to blog. So here I am again. Good to see you. Pull up a chair and have a cup of jasmine tea with honey and coconut milk, my new go-to drink of choice due to the giving up of dairy thing. Coffee sucks with coconut milk. Just trust me on this. Let's catch up, shall we?</div>
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So I think this is where I left off: In the middle of my stairway, battling dust bunnies and bad lighting. I think I listened to about ten audioboooks total in this stairway over the last year. I particularly enjoyed the <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/series/40932-mercy-thompson" target="_blank">Mercy Thompson</a> walker series, if you're into the paranormal werewolf thing. That was fun. Yeah. This has been the Longest. Project. Ever.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1sZjGg3lEJbmmtxIgApL2OkCtbUoUGJSJm68Ce4ab72skfiaKtQHhNDfNJNQnTDukP87tfU0mbcJbZQXNXG-gvSiFdTq0FvxA3Qr0ApNu_DoIvznyB4qutvPbE1RGjpk5stXz/s1600/modpodge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1sZjGg3lEJbmmtxIgApL2OkCtbUoUGJSJm68Ce4ab72skfiaKtQHhNDfNJNQnTDukP87tfU0mbcJbZQXNXG-gvSiFdTq0FvxA3Qr0ApNu_DoIvznyB4qutvPbE1RGjpk5stXz/s400/modpodge.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Actually, this project started a lot further back than this latest active stage. It has been almost a decade in the making. A long, long time ago on a dark and stormy night, I found a box of tiles in our very scary basement. (It wasn't a dark and stormy night, that just sounded good. I'd never in a million years go into our basement at night. Not even for the promise of a brand new fat puppy.) Some day I am going to do a blog post about our basement. Maybe next Halloween as that would be the most fitting. But, as freaky and full of soul eating shadows and things with too many legs as it might be, it also has some cool finds. Which in a way makes it even more creepy. Because it compels me to keep going down there like a Stephen King novel moment waiting to happen. I scored some awesome old tin washtubs down there that I used as planters just a few weeks ago, which is a whole other post. Anyway, ten years ago, with the discovery of the tiles, the stair idea was born... </div>
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That entire last paragraph was completely superfluous. Ignore it, please.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJtwQKX4Oc6f2sJG3b6B27-NwJgkfGkON0G_peKAjiObsEmuBmYEogM3vFPcq2089ThDeMJM2eA_bC2FMHsRgVhmWlbSx-mDnrayaPstK0byJ__VU9kWX8dlXMHXPIBmKDjUlv/s1600/tile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJtwQKX4Oc6f2sJG3b6B27-NwJgkfGkON0G_peKAjiObsEmuBmYEogM3vFPcq2089ThDeMJM2eA_bC2FMHsRgVhmWlbSx-mDnrayaPstK0byJ__VU9kWX8dlXMHXPIBmKDjUlv/s400/tile.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">I planned to do something like the above picture. This was a prototype to the tiled stair faces that envisioned. I was practicing making mosaic tiles using polyclay mosaic pieces adhered to the plain white tile with <a href="http://www.sculpey.com/products/clays/translucent-liquid-sculpey" target="_blank">liquid sculpey</a>. I think I made this tile like five years ago. At the time I was thinking I'd put one word per stair. Things like Love, Laugh, Play. Very Hallmark meets Martha Stewart.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">The truth is, if I had gone with the whole making of mosaic tile words for my stairway, even if I had started the project five years ago and worked on it every day, I'm guessing I'd still be working on them. And by this time my whole house would have a perma-polyclay odor. Yum. So I am glad that fantasy passed with time. Sometimes procrastination is my friend.</span></div>
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This photo was probably last summer, after I painted the hall and stairs. Twice. The first time the color was a sort of awful pink. The second time it is obviously a sort of awful purple, but you know what? After two times painting a stairway like this? I can work with purple.<br />
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In this photo I had already hung all the prints along the walls. My vision for our previously dingy, drab and dirty stairway was to introduce color and brief bits of happiness. So I went on an etsy print buying rampage. Because nothing says happiness like a woman on etsy with a mad itchy paypal finger. Yeehaw! I will share the different prints in the next post because even a year later, they make me smile. Sometimes money spent on etsy is better than money spent on therapy. At least, that is what I tell my husband and he agrees with me because couples therapy cuts into his video game time. Win/win.<br />
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I don't think I have a before, before picture. I'll have to dig. But trust me. It was ugly. So ugly that I sort of felt frazzled every time I came through here. This is an old house and the old wavy, cracked plaster and beat up stairs are just going to be a part of our lives for awhile, but the lifeless stairway was really getting to me. I wanted color and well, to embrace my cheesy... I wanted uplifting.<br />
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Basically, I wanted to feel good about coming home. I wanted people to smile when they walked through. Enter or exit in a better mood than they were in before. I mean, an entrance is rather symbolic isn't it? A transition. That little extra emotional boost can make a difference in a person's day. And since my family lives here, that means it will make a difference in every single one of our days. So, basically, a concept I sought that was worth painting the narrow stairs of death. Twice. But not three times. So I've chosen to embrace my inner purple unicorn. Unicorns are uplifting, right?<br />
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This photo captures the dark days of the project when the inevitable unpredictable thing happened. You know, the thing that always messes up a big project? This one was almost very bad. I had these tiles leaning up against the stair bases, almost flush. I wanted to see how many I could get across. I fell in love with the white against the purple at this point. The black letters are paper taped on the tiles as a trial run. I was planning on painting the tiles going with the black on white thing. And by this time I wasn't feeling the individual words anymore and wanted a quote. One of my wisest friends found the perfect quote for me. Thanks, K. :0)<br />
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"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"</div>
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- Mary Oliver.</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Not a bad reminder to see every day, especially when one walks treacherous stairs.</span></div>
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Scary, treacherous stairs. You might have noticed how freaky the top of this stairway is. Yep. I have over a decade of muscle memory into these stairs. My husband and children have their whole lifetime of muscle memory into these stairs. You'd be surprised at how much adding a quarter of an inch to the face of a stairway can mess with muscle memory. After three of us almost fell down the stairs when our heels hit the back of the tiles and pushed us forward off balance, I knew the tile thing was not worth it. After ten years, the tile project was derailed. But I learned back in the days of trying to <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2008/08/he-saidshe-said.html" target="_blank">paint my living room with textured paint</a>, that killing a loved one in the name of an artistic vision is not okay.<br />
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I was very, very not happy. I mean. This was the whole point of this project. My freaking stairs were PURPLE due to this project. I had years of my life into these stupid stairs at this point and it was all to chase happiness. Not frustration. Right? My happy stair project was Not. Doing. Its. Job.<br />
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So what do I turn to when I seek happiness? Margaritas? Well, yes... Of course. And coffee, until the dairy-hates-me thing. But for my non-liquid happiness needs? My heart belongs to - Scrapbook paper! Yay! And mod podge. Which are two things that I use so often that I really should have just created a blog based on the crap I do with scrapbook paper and mod podge. I don't even scrapbook. I am very, very bad at it. I know it is hard to believe, but I'm too verbose for a mere 12x12 square of paper. But I can sure cut and paste with the stuff that could make kindergarten teachers weep with envy. Not to toot my own horn or anything. But seriously? This turned out kind of. Awesome.<br />
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Let me present, the longest stair project EVER: (Which sort of makes the longest blog post ever actually fitting. Life. It is art.)<br />
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Uplifting Entrance = Achieved</div>
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What I want to do with my one, wild and precious life?</div>
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Not spend this much time on a stairway. Ever, ever again.</div>
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But now that this is finally over, I can honestly say it was worth it.</div>
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P.S. I used a font that I got from <a href="http://www.kevinandamanda.com/fonts/freescrapbookfonts/" target="_blank">here on this awesome blog</a>: <a href="http://www.kevinandamanda.com/" target="_blank">Kevin & Amanda</a>. I just printed the letter outlines out on regular printer paper, cut them out and mod podged them on some of the scrapbook paper 'tiles'. Then I mod podged the tiles onto the face of the stairs. Someday this will be a nightmare to get off. But I am hoping by then it will be someone else's nightmare, along with the fear-garden that is my basement. Have fun with both, future person that is likely to hate me. Believe me, when you are sweating and swearing on the stairs, trying to make them do what you picture you want them to do? Somewhere in the world, I will feel your pain. My advice to you? Leave the box of tiles in the basement. They are evil.</div>
candynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904539285373868227noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9285816.post-36369930869340914192011-11-12T17:32:00.001-05:002011-11-12T18:50:48.561-05:00Random photos of recent days...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Gazebo on a favorite trail.</div>
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One of my daughter's recent dragons.</div>
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The artist at work.</div>
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Part of an ongoing attempt to spruce up my entryway.</div>
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Ongoing stair project for the entryway. I might finish it some day.</div>
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My boy.</div>
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My other boy. The triumphant leaf catcher. :)</div>
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Cheese! Wow. I am shorter than I feel.</div>
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Love this of my daughter peeking at the sunset.</div>
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My tree. Only one around left in leaves.</div>
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We're doing our best to get and stay healthy through one of the most virus filled autumns we've experienced and trying to appreciate the last bits of the season. We had the first snow fall last week, and it is always so beautiful those first flakes. But, they let us know that we better soak in the sun and the earth whenever we get a chance; sore throats or not. Winter, she looms.</div>
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Hope the weekend finds everyone surrounded by the people and places you love! </div>candynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904539285373868227noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9285816.post-21148404672390462852011-11-05T20:13:00.000-04:002011-11-05T20:13:35.494-04:00A girl and her dragons.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My daughter loves dragons. She reads book after book about dragons. Her favorite books are ones with lead female characters that befriend dragons. There are a surprising number of books like that actually and she's gone through quite a stack of them this year. However, I am always on the lookout for more. If you know of any dragon books where the dragons are the good guys. I'm all ears.<br />
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She also writes her own stories about dragons and their brave girl trainers. She watches movies about them whenever she can find ones that cast dragons in a favorable light. She doesn't like stories that stage dragons as the beast to be conquered. She feels that dragons are misunderstood creatures with powers that need to be respected, not feared. She's as adamant about this as she is about not eating food that is shaped like animals. Love this kid.<br />
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And as if this isn't enough dragon-filled fun for one young girl, she also makes clay dragons. Constantly. She's gifted almost everyone in our family with their own personal dragon, and she has plenty left over to guard her bedroom.<br />
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Some of her first clay dragons.</div>
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My personal favorite one besides the one she made for me (which I failed to photograph for this post).</div>
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Recently I found a cute little shelf at Goodwill that after a good scrubbing and a few coats of white paint, makes a perfect home for some of her dragon creations.<br />
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Oh, how I love these sweet dragons. And how I love my little dragon girl.</div>candynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904539285373868227noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9285816.post-46427753641408184942011-11-05T19:56:00.000-04:002011-11-05T19:56:30.024-04:00Halloween Conquered<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yep. Even my dog. We're THAT family.</div>
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A sweet Alice and a freaky sith Jedi, <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Savage_Opress">Savage Opress</a>. Some Star Wars geekery for you on a cold November eve. We're that family too.<br />
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The cousins in their superhero splendor.</div>
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She had that bunny bag stuffed with candy by the end of the night.</div>
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Captain America would only let Alice hold his hand. Awwww....</div>
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Wow.</div>
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Won't be long before I'm thinking <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2009/11/dear-halloween-candy.html">thoughts like this</a> again. Halloween candy and I have a love/hate thing. All in all, Halloween 2011 was a smashing success all around. A weekend full of beautiful weather, wonderful company and too much sugar. Can't beat that.<br />
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Halloween is one of our favorite times of the year. We love the silliness involved, the excuse to dress up in costumes in public, the generosity of strangers. For a glimpse of past years' Halloween fun you can see <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2010/11/trick-or-treat.html">here</a> and <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2010/10/halloween-practice.html">here</a>. We do tend to get into this holiday.<br />
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Well, onward and upwards toward the deep dark winter now, huh? Hmmmm.... might need a chocolate or bar or two to wrap my mind around that thought. Good thing we're well stocked! Wishing everyone a happy weekend filled with sweet treats!candynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904539285373868227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9285816.post-88110060042548932082011-10-25T20:52:00.001-04:002011-10-26T21:18:38.446-04:002011: The Year of the Pumpkin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Once upon a time, back when the kids were little, I thought it would be fun to show them how to carve pumpkins. So I bought a nice round pumpkin, we looked up cute pumpkin faces online to decide what to carve. Then I sat my sweet babies around me and they watched with gigantic eyes as their mother took a big knife and did this....</div>
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And they screamed and burst into tears.</div>
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It was then I realized why therapists are an integral part of society. And that was pretty much the end of me even attempting to carve pumpkins until this year. We've painted pumpkins, <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2007/10/pumpkins.html">stickered pumpkins</a>, pretty much anything that had nothing at all to do with murdering pumpkins.</div>
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But this year I saw <a href="http://the-original-pumpkinteeth.com/">THESE</a>!</div>
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For those that don't want to click over, they are Pumpkin Teeth. SO COOL! And I bought some because, dude. Pumpkin. Teeth. So I petitioned once again for the opportunity to show my family how <strike style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">murdering</strike> carving pumpkins can be fun. And I won! Yay! I am happy to report that no children were harmed, emotionally or physically, in this endeavor. I cannot say the same about the pumpkins involved.</div>
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We did this a couple weeks ago, hence the shorts and sun, but my camera cord went missing and I just found it today when I was trying to find something else. Go figure. Maybe next time I am searching for something I'll find my missing brain.</div>
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I am happy to say that my family is now on board</div>
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with the whole pumpkin carving thing:</div>
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Pumpkin fang teeth!</div>
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An originally designed pumpkin wolf. Awesome!</div>
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Had to get a shot of the mess. At least part of it, this was semi cleaned up.</div>
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Our cheerleader.</div>
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Daddy's pumpkin. He used a design from a book and it looks really cool when lit.</div>
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I just crammed as many teeth as I could into mine. Yay, pumpkin teeth!!!</div>
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Setting up the display.</div>
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Trick or Treat!!!</div>
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The countdown starts now! A whole weekend of Halloween festivities begins in just a few short days. Wishing everyone that participates in such shenanigans a very Happy (and safe) Halloween Weekend!</div>candynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904539285373868227noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9285816.post-1737898785530890622011-10-24T11:46:00.000-04:002011-10-25T20:53:44.432-04:00Update: Fall 2011<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I finally got a new phone so bear with my artsy<a href="http://hipstamatic.com/the_app.html"> 'hipstamatic' </a>prints I've been taking with it. It is kind of like playing with a polaroid camera with endless film. </div>
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This has been an unusual autumn for us. We are usually quite healthy in the fall and winter and then we all succumb to a few bugs come spring. However we are just ending our fourth round of viruses already this season and it seems to be a common thing around town. It might be a loooong winter. So there has been quite a bit of this around here...</div>
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There is of course there is the gorgeousness of fall walks when we are out of zombie mode. The colors have been amazing, but dare I say less POW than <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2010/10/i-have-so-much-to-blog-about.html">the past couple years</a>. The temperatures dropped fast at the end of August and then we had a series of wind storms that blew down quite a few leaves early. So the leaves on the ground are already quite brown and the leaves left in the tree are already rather sparse. We've been spoiled the <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2009/10/nature-walk-blog.html">past few years with the color show</a>. But it is still the best time of year for hiking. No bugs, no sweating, that lovely fall smell in the air, crunchy leaves underfoot. It's lovely.<br />
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There is the ever fun 'leaf catching game'. Ongoing seasonal fun.</div>
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And lots of family time. My favorite time.</div>
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Look how TALL my girl got this year!</div>
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Of course I'm rather short, so it isn't that hard for a 10 year old to catch up to my height I suppose. And, Internet... meet my chipmunk cheeks. Chipmunk cheeks, the internet. They are the reason I still get carded for alcohol even though I'm am flirting with 40. So basically, I no longer hate them. </div>
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And can you believe how scampish this one is?</div>
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And how cute this little crew is?</div>
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I could eat them up I love them so.</div>
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Sigh... there has been so much more but it is hard to keep track of it all. I have been making a lot of dolls and plan on posting about them soon. And there's the usual ton of other things that tap on my brain pestering to be blogged about and then slither back out again when I actually sit down at the computer. Perhaps my new phone will help me keep track? I discovered <a href="http://www.evernote.com/">Evernote</a> recently and looks promising for an 'on the go' sort of task list organizer. Might be a good place to capture those tricksy blog post ideas before the skitter away. Hmmm... I wonder if there is a laundry app for my phone?</div>
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Wishing everyone a healthy season and lots of time spent with the ones you love! Happy Monday!</div>candynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904539285373868227noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9285816.post-91961877143995057082011-10-11T22:58:00.002-04:002011-10-11T23:06:22.978-04:00Wizard Love<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='485' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/xjUb4Pr2HnY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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I dare you to try to listen to this song only one time. Well, I suppose you have to love the Harry Potter world and cutesy stuff for that dare to really apply though. I've probably put half of the views up myself.<br />
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Lots of fun stuff happening lately in our world. The cool fall air, colors and the baking that is inspired by such weather helps, of course. Halloween is just around the corner.<br />
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We carved pumpkins for the second time in my children's existence. I know! I've tried but the kids have refused for years. I guess the first time was so scarring, it took a few years to build up to a retry. It was awesome this time around though. I took pictures, but cannot find the cord for my camera to put the photos on my computer. Hopefully I can get those up before winter.<br />
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Just a quick post for a tired evening as I am winding down fast. Have a good week all!candynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904539285373868227noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9285816.post-9215296887439997452011-10-06T19:11:00.000-04:002011-10-06T23:03:24.779-04:00Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was in college when I first coveted a computer. A friend had a sexy (for the time) little desktop Macintosh, the kind that had the 'hello' message when it started up. Rather dating myself there, eh? It was years later, after I somehow bumbled my way into a graphic arts job at a small town newspaper that I actually started to use Macs on a regular basis. Then the lust turned to full blown love; it happens that way sometimes. A few years later I bought my first personal Apple so it was Macs for work and play from that point on.</div>
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A couple iMacs and more years later than I care to admit... I write this from my new 13" MacBook Pro. My first laptop.</div>
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Here's my baby on her 'gotcha' day, my newest Mac adoption. Another one of those big summer events this year I meant to blog but never got around to.</div>
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I won't even get into ipods and itunes. So to say I'm an Apple fangirl is an understatement. I'd like to think that I've got some Apple cred. Proof. I have some. Remember <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2011/05/found.html">this post</a>? More specifically this picture:</div>
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Look closely at the bottom left corner of my door. Here, let me zoom for you.</div>
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Yeah, still hard to see. But you can probably guess that is is one of those Apple decals you get with every gadget/computer purchase. Yep. On my entry door. I'm that geek.</div>
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Here's a photo from two years ago and you can see the sticker was there even then. In fact, there has been an Apple decal in that corner for as long as I've had a personal Mac, so that means before my daughter was born. 10 years. And I have a thing about entries and exits - the statements they make, but that is a for a another wordy post on a different think-some day.</div>
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So yes, I almost cried when I heard the news of Steve Job's death last night. My husband and I found ourselves up until 3:30 a.m. thinking those kind of big/small thoughts that the underside of morning brings when faced with mortality and the end of an era. Today I am thinky and overtired and pretty much just grateful for the chance to live in this world. And to be one of the lucky ones that has the opportunity to sample an array of Apples over the years. Overthinking it? Likely. But why not? </div>
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Over the past decade all of my personally earned income has been created on an Apple computer. It is also correct to assume that much of the money I spent on entertainment and personal presents were on Apple products or on itunes. I don't see that changing in the future; I mean Disney World continued to thrive after Walt Disney passed, and I assume Apple will do the same. But today feels/is different. Today is that transition phase where Apple hasn't yet lost its living brand, yet that brand is no longer living. It feels weird.</div>
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I have so many more thoughts, the children of too much caffeine and too little sleep. But mostly they can be summed up with quotes from Mr. Jobs which is more appropriate for this post anyway.</div>
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<i>"When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.</i></div>
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<i>Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart."</i></div>
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"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."</div>
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Yes, and yes. So this is my wordy, non-minimalist, very un-Jobsish tribute to an innovator that I've admired for so very long. Thank you, Steve Jobs. For remaining hungry and foolish in an all too serious world.<br />
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Love,<br />
An Unapologetic Apple Fangirl</div>
candynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904539285373868227noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9285816.post-90771610147742169692011-09-30T00:21:00.000-04:002011-09-30T00:21:05.776-04:00Countdown to Halloween<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The official changing of the kitchen blackboard.</div>
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Bits of costume already arriving.</div>
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Trying out the twirlability of a new petticoat.</div>
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Someone wants to be Alice in Wonderland this year. Since we will be doing many layers due to what will likely be our coldest trick-or-treat experience in a long time, what you see here are some of the under-layers to the costume (which has yet to be delivered). Armwarmers, tights, petticoat and even a white rabbit purse, all from one of my favorite online places, <a href="http://www.sockdreams.com/">Sockdreams</a>. The petticoat is sparkly. I am in love with this little girl art punk look thing she's got going on.</div>
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Surprise! That's my guy, the blur zipping past.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR8Nkdp2kRhNzbTR9HfExIiP47QL8Mmw8Vx8VY2mFCr2ycyAb1ECDyAz11Vs-iiNENicADwxhIEb3kuVUZpFXI0l7GeS215JVT3lz-Rl1pehXAPDYnF6WUIZ_H-FqzsGDsIouK/s1600/white+rabbit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR8Nkdp2kRhNzbTR9HfExIiP47QL8Mmw8Vx8VY2mFCr2ycyAb1ECDyAz11Vs-iiNENicADwxhIEb3kuVUZpFXI0l7GeS215JVT3lz-Rl1pehXAPDYnF6WUIZ_H-FqzsGDsIouK/s400/white+rabbit.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
Loving this white rabbit bag. Alas, it is very shallow and won't work for a candy bag and my girl won't let me do surgery on it to remove the stuffing to allow for such use. She said she'll carry her flashlight in it. Cute though.<br />
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I know it isn't even October yet, but the leaves are turning rapidly around here and the air has been COLD for a long time. It feels like it is past time!<br />
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Anyone else planning their Halloween costumes yet?candynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904539285373868227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9285816.post-78894172238169457892011-09-25T18:06:00.001-04:002011-09-25T18:16:28.372-04:00Goodbye Germs!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjrGu2fU54SRpyhGl0H9BVtBUIG_pwOj-DebOffNGHnkRSEhEEZ_XRvTzvY6vp8MTWfcSu9CHzkJiKUYnI6AT6jlRyJzYl-7f5JnQZlyWNp1G9WwaCWn-BUeH_WxA1M3Dz3avq/s1600/dolllaundry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjrGu2fU54SRpyhGl0H9BVtBUIG_pwOj-DebOffNGHnkRSEhEEZ_XRvTzvY6vp8MTWfcSu9CHzkJiKUYnI6AT6jlRyJzYl-7f5JnQZlyWNp1G9WwaCWn-BUeH_WxA1M3Dz3avq/s400/dolllaundry.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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We are all feeling better around here, so today we all pitched in and scrubbed down the house. Be gone all you germs! The kids were eager to help with the chores.</div>
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And by chores I mean doll laundry.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjROGQ988FYSojXLdU830P35Lf4E2yu4nLjcllZn1wbELqk0RAx29Yb-vfdiaodvE7CnZ9GUiNw4a7ifnxsVa_N2R_33Rd0SXQq9qTdImXCmHAddyb5anr0wgElf5sBx2aMNMDB/s1600/dolllaundry3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjROGQ988FYSojXLdU830P35Lf4E2yu4nLjcllZn1wbELqk0RAx29Yb-vfdiaodvE7CnZ9GUiNw4a7ifnxsVa_N2R_33Rd0SXQq9qTdImXCmHAddyb5anr0wgElf5sBx2aMNMDB/s400/dolllaundry3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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My son wasn't really helping with the doll laundry, I suspect he was more interested in standing (jumping, ahem) on the bed and then jumping onto the floor. And this all made me happy because it means everyone is feeling better!!! Yay! Happy, non-mucus covered chaos! Oh how I missed it.</div>
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The clothes on the line belong to this cutie.</div>
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Internet, meet Elizabeth. Elizabeth, the internet.</div>
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This summer my daughter saved her money and bought herself an <a href="http://store.americangirl.com/agshop/static/myag.jsp">American Girl Just Like Me</a> doll. If you are familiar with American Girl, you will know that this is quite an accomplishment. Personally, I couldn't justify spending that much on a doll, but my daughter has always been <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2009/05/driven.html">good with money and driven to succeed</a>. She had a plan and now she has a doll. And I am proud of her.<br />
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This photo is of Elizabeth's homecoming. Much happiness this day.</div>
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American Girl doesn't make boy dolls... duh. Right? Otherwise the company wouldn't be named American GIRL. However, my boy was feeling left out. I've run into <a href="http://inatinyhouse.blogspot.com/2009/10/dear-hearts-only-club.html">this situation before</a>. Only this time giving an American Girl doll a haircut wasn't a realistic solution. However, I did come across <a href="http://www.amazon.com/BFC-Ink-Large-Boy-Doll/dp/B003AQROVE">CJ, from BFK, Ink.</a>, except he was only $23 when we bought him.<br />
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CJ is perfect for my guy and I like that CJ came with a journal that he likes to write in. My son really picked up on that and always has him writing in his journal. CJ is short for Charles James which combines the first names of my husband's and my favorite grandfathers. I love happy coincidences like that. So my son got his 18" doll too, Elizabeth has a friend to hang out with, and all is right in our now healthy world.<br />
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In case you are feeling worried that my son only has dolls to play with... don't. Being the youngest boy with a much older brother and a father that kept many of his toys rocks. We've got 'boy' toys coming out of our ears. However, my daughter loves to play with them as much as he does. We are equal opportunity toy enjoyers around here. :)<br />
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Wishing everyone a week where doing the real laundry is as fun as doing doll laundry. If only!candynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904539285373868227noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9285816.post-26608012908805124212011-09-23T17:29:00.000-04:002011-09-24T00:02:37.069-04:00A post where I prove that illness has addled my brain...Okay, before I start posting pictures I need to layout a few things to explain why this post is proof of my mental decline. So here you go - backstory.<br />
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• I bite my nails. It is just something I've always done and likely always will.<br />
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• I do a lot of messy, hand-drying-out, nail-breaking kinds of crafts.<br />
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• While I am usually quite clean, my nails aren't what you'd call 'groomed'.<br />
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• If I were to be honest, my nails are just a couple steps above 'feral child', minus any dirt that might be associated with such a term.<br />
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So yeah, me doing a post about painting my fingernails would be rather, uh... Pointless? Ridiculous? Gross? Yes. Yes to all of that. I am guessing that you know where this is going, so yeah, those with weak stomachs might want to click away.<br />
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But hey! It is Friday. And I am on cold medication. So let's do it anyway, shall we?<br />
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For some reason my husband and I were having one of those late night, illness-induced seemingly deep but not really actually about anything conversations. Somewhere in between the topics of money, art, football, circuses, dolls, and tissues that already contain lotion, we started talking about manicures. My husband had been sort of mesmerized/horrified by a set of nails on a woman he saw earlier that day and he was wondering why people decorate their nails so much. And while I have NEVER actually had a manicure and can't imagine having a stranger touch me for that long ***shudder*** I do think that it is art. I mean have you seen some of those painted, gem-covered, foiled, stickered, beaded creations out there? I've always been fascinated with it all, but I'm a realist. The first time my nails click on my keyboard, they are going to GO. Can't. Stand. the. CLICKING. Goodness. No touching, no clicking... Sensory issues much?<br />
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So yeah. Cold meds. No sleep. Brain spinning. Not much energy to do much past showering and making soup. Yet bored. My daughter offered to paint my nails. (My daughter, btw WILL likely be the kind of girl that is very familiar with manicures in her lifetime.) So one thing led to another, which led to another, which led to this.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWuh8NC5QaidYWPX9Iak3cR9JNBNp4dkZ-lrxIW0QcsuAOS4c9HWi7k5_z2UmS70UZmxTemci5Au1vU68sHkZlNiAl_t_aQNDDm5symPb_7wvMBcHKNYreDiSQ2JISkb9vkAPD/s1600/zentanglenails.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWuh8NC5QaidYWPX9Iak3cR9JNBNp4dkZ-lrxIW0QcsuAOS4c9HWi7k5_z2UmS70UZmxTemci5Au1vU68sHkZlNiAl_t_aQNDDm5symPb_7wvMBcHKNYreDiSQ2JISkb9vkAPD/s400/zentanglenails.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Yep. I <a href="http://zentangle.com/about-what-is--1.php">zentangled</a> my nails.</div>
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And remember the backstory? Try to ignore the shortness of the nails and lets pretend that cuticules don't exist in general, okay? Also, elephant fingers. Okay... now that I am done being insecure. Let's talk zentangled nails, because seriously? THISISSOCOOL! You can DRAW on your fingernails?!? Seriously? I've missed the opportunity to decorate these little tiny canvases that go with me everywhere for the past how many decades now? Ahem... Well. Enough.</div>
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So let's do the official manicure shots that are all over <a href="http://pinterest.com/search/?q=nails">pinterest</a>. Because, why not?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-58UvwXeMpvWKrUJw0JpIB5Lp78BD_sftgiUU0T2WG0Ta4EZA18r12SGMA9LYo3S8INJFAXcDIT3YIKbGbc62IZFo66fZbt1aDxKWGlxMLAf9NqYMtiN02EZ4hRcS9EpuO6g0/s1600/nails.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-58UvwXeMpvWKrUJw0JpIB5Lp78BD_sftgiUU0T2WG0Ta4EZA18r12SGMA9LYo3S8INJFAXcDIT3YIKbGbc62IZFo66fZbt1aDxKWGlxMLAf9NqYMtiN02EZ4hRcS9EpuO6g0/s400/nails.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Ka-pow! There's even a layer of glitter there people.</div>
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Is this the end of my nail neglect? Perhaps. Or perhaps it is only a fever-induced dalliance into the nail arts. Only time will tell.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR9O-FcOfUOdgPBwZCcEoJl15B2GzwY0BapM3FsWXs9vY1zTQNdNb9DS2uCP5vxDM-EIjpsxzXglmVKtX-4cm5XRB-G7CAITPjMlnJBd2Zv7nYzUXdrRKq8-ECHgENn43kbded/s1600/polish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR9O-FcOfUOdgPBwZCcEoJl15B2GzwY0BapM3FsWXs9vY1zTQNdNb9DS2uCP5vxDM-EIjpsxzXglmVKtX-4cm5XRB-G7CAITPjMlnJBd2Zv7nYzUXdrRKq8-ECHgENn43kbded/s320/polish.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The official shot of what I used.</div>
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And there is a reason you only have a shot of four nails. Because it turns out that even while these nails are relatively subpar from what you find on the internet by means of nail tutorials. The four nails pictured look professionally turned out compared to the other six nails. Yeah... Gotta work on my left hand's painting/drawing skillz.</div>
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Anyway, there it is. We all survived, didn't we?</div>
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Wishing everyone a weekend of art in unexpected places and a whole fall/winter season of excellent health! I mean, who knows what I'll do if faced with another illness. Makeup tutorials? Can one zentangle their eyelids do you think? Hmmm...</div>
candynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904539285373868227noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9285816.post-29302068085547414452011-09-19T15:29:00.000-04:002011-09-19T17:22:47.062-04:00Balance is good!This is not a deep post as the title might imply. Nope. This is all about YAY! Look what I got! Early!<br />
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Isn't she such a pretty, pretty book? So coy? So mysterious?</div>
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I pre-ordered <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316134023">Daughter of Smoke and Bone</a> by <a href="http://www.lainitaylor.com/">Laini Taylor</a> weeks ago and thought it would be released on September 27th. Imagine my excitement when the book arrived in the mail this last Saturday! Ten days early! Love. This. Book.What could be better than a new, much anticipated book? Right? Well... </div>
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Maybe I had already downloaded another book to tide me over until this one was released because I am all impatient like that. So well, TWO, new and much anticipated books is, you know - Even better. Even as it is a bit spoiled me-ish.</div>
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<span id="goog_790445647"></span><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/night-circus-erin-morgenstern/1100083576?ean=9780385534642&itm=1&usri=night%2bcircus">Night Circus</a><span id="goog_790445648"></span> by <a href="http://erinmorgenstern.com/blog/">Erin Morgenstern</a>... which I have to admit a photo of the cover on my Nook just doesn't have that same ummmphh does it? Oh, how I am loving this book. And I admit I enjoy holding my e-reader more than a bulky hardcover, so much so I am considering downloading Daughter to my Nook too. (Gasp! Right?) I never really thought that I'd get to that place, you know? Where I really prefer the ebook version over the actual book? Sigh... It sort of makes me sad in a way.</div>
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I wanted to get the Daughter of Smoke and Bone book in hardcover because I have a collection of Laini Taylor books and am sort of a <strike>stalker</strike> fangirl of hers. I even have art of hers on my wall from when she used to sell prints on etsy. See?</div>
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Ummm... What was I talking about? My inability to take clear photos anymore? Stalking? <a href="http://www.picnik.com/">Picnik?</a> (Which is the awesome photo editing place that let me plop that big arrow on my pic in less time that it would have taken me to open photoshop.) No? Hmmm... Oh, right. Books and how many I am juggling right now. And how I am so old that when I read for more than two hours straight I go a little cross-eyed/doublevisionish. What? We didn't get to that part yet? Well, its true. So the world has appeared a bit wonky to me lately.</div>
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So. Worth. It.</div>
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How is all this bookish gluttony about balance, you might be wondering? Well, my kids have been SICK. They've hit every lovely bit of nasty that a virus can produce with this round of illness. We've had a 24 hour stretch of constant intestinal strife and the sheet washing that accompanies it. We've had sore throats and tears. We've had noses so stuffed that the combo of every natural and modern drug remedy has barely allowed them comfort and the long nights of me propping pillows, getting water, applying nose strips and Vicks, and just sitting next to them willing them to breathe in a way that doesn't make me itch to call 911. So yeah. It has been a rough five days around here.</div>
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Having a couple GREAT books to grab in spare moments and escape my mucus-covered life has been soul-saving!</div>
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Wishing everyone who stops here a week filled with balance and pretty, pretty books!</div>
candynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904539285373868227noreply@blogger.com4