sewing swaps....

i recieved my apron swap partner information on saturday, and i am so excited to start this project. my partner seems like a very sweet gal, although her dream vacations are polar opposites to mine! however, i was totally inspired, and i think i am up for the challenge. i can't say much more than that, though, as this is supposed to be anonymous.....

in july i participated in the Bend the Rules Sewing Placemat and Napkin Swap, and while it was difficult at times, i had so much fun creating my gift.

my partner did not have a blog at the time, and so there were no visual clues to her style or color preferences. all i had to go on was her description of herself, and i don't know about you, but i have found that so often people don't really know how to describe themselves. they may think they are one way, but are in reality quite different.

and so i felt stuck at the beginning, and i spent such a long time debating over what to do. that is however, until i finally found some inspiration on the Mary Engelbreit website (my partner had said she loved Mary's stuff, and wanted to figure out how to incorporate that style into her own decor) specifically this little paper doll. I instantly fell in love with her sassy little style, and the green and yellow outfits she wears.

i already had some lovely green linen in my stash, and i loved the idea of incorporating something that i already owned into the project, in order to imbibe it with a little bit of me. so armed with images of Georgia and my linen, off to the fabric store i went...

and this is what i came home with....


(turns out i also had the perfect polka dot fabric in my stash and so this gift got a little extra Robinson flavor)



once i had finished the napkins, however, they seemed a little naked. and so i decided to add some matching napkin rings. the buttons were new, but the ribbon was also from my stash (apparently i like green).

the napkins are double sided, which i find make them super absorbent, and it lets you change up the look when you set your table. they have four different fabrics, but are all backed and edged in the same blue floral for some continuity. the place mats are similarly mis-matched.

i really hope she liked them!

a mouse of one's own...

i was voted home from work today, four against one. apparently i am not very good at taking care of myself, however, the lovely ladies i work with did their best mother impressions and sent me on my way. i am supposed to be recuperating, resting, getting better, mending, healing - whatever you want to call it, i am having a hard time doing it.

it is not in my nature to sit still. it usually takes T and i about 3 hours to watch a 90 minute film, what with all the pausing i end up doing. i think that is why i love netflix so much - i don't feel guilty when it takes three nights to watch a movie!

so when i got home today i tried real hard to be good. i sat out back and read a book (stopping only to tie up some straggling tomato branches, and then to trim back the mint, which of course led to some weeding). and then i tried to watch a movie, but i got hungry - so i made lunch (and organized the pantry, and emptied the dishwasher). then i tried to nap, (changed the sheets and brushed the cat), read some more (checked my email, caught up on some blogs), watch a movie (painted my toenails).....

so i finally gave up on trying to take it easy. i ventured into my (very messy) craft/guest room with the hopes of doing some good organizing, and ended up making a mouse pad.



i used some decorative paper, clear plastic, and some sticky backed felt.

now if only i had a mouse....

thats better...

six weeks ago i was offered a less than one year old laptop computer, and i of course jumped at the chance to own something so shiny and new. my old laptop (which i dearly, dearly love - it was my traveling companion the year i spent in England, and was definitely integral in maintaining my sanity) is so close to the end of its life, that if it were a pet i would have had it put down ages ago. unfortunately the previous owner had to first purchase her new laptop. and then she had to transfer all the information over. and then she had to get to the post office and prepare the little machine for its journey up the coast to Portland.

six weeks is a long time to wait - not that i wasted the time mind you. i have spent hours devising all sorts of fun projects (including customized recipe cards and more frequent blogging, among other things), and shopping for the perfect bag in which to carry it.

and guess what? it arrived yesterday!

and while i have added many many things to my list of "to be created," the computer did not arrive with a magical device that would give me more time in which to do these things.

it did arrive, however, with some lovely old photos stored in its belly - photos of my family that i have never seen before. and i can't help but wonder about the stories behind them.

reason number 67,458 why I love my husband...

T has this really amazing knack for picking out the most perfect flowers - as witnessed by the "happy no-day" bouquet he surprised me with when he came to pick me up tonight.





Unfortunately I work six days a week (thankfully at two jobs that i absolutely love!) but that doesn't leave T and I much alone time, so when he sauntered into my work this evening an hour before I was supposed to get off, carrying this bouquet, my heart did somersault's. Not only did this incredibly handsome man bring me flowers, but my coworkers were so touched that they insisted I leave early!

I suppose it all began ten years ago when I was a senior in high school (T was a junior in college!!) and I was attending a very preppy all girls school where I barely fit in. Up until we met, I had not been on a "real" date with a boy (group attendance at dances does not count) and my good grades had excluded me from the so-called "cool" group. T and I had met the previous summer while working at a camp in Michigan, and our relationship had quickly progressed from letters to emails to phone calls, and so when my 18th birthday rolled around in February, T arranged to have a dozen red roses delivered to me while at school! He knew the commotion such a romantic gesture would cause, and that it would put me at the center of attention, even if only for a little while. The flowers were beautiful and they definitely earned many envious remarks from my classmates, especially when they learned that I was dating a college boy!


The following year, as a freshman at UCSD, my birthday present from T was two dozen roses! He likes to joke that by then he loved me twice as much, therefore I deserved twice as many flowers! They caused less of a commotion in college, but I still felt like one very lucky girl!


Over the years, roses have definitely been a recurring theme, but T has also started to really branch out. (I think I owe the girls at his favorite flower shop - Sammy's for all you local folk- a really big thank you!) He loves to find new and unique flowers, as well as interesting foliage because he knows how much I dislike generic baby's breath. I really think that not many men buy their women flowers, especially of the "no-day" variety, judging from the comments he receives while picking them up. Someone inevitably asks what is the occasion, and there is always surprise when he answers "because she deserves it." (I know - can you believe him!!)

Thank you T - you are an amazing husband!

I humbly beg your forgiveness...

Here is an oh so pretty spring peony offered up as an apology for my negligence...



...and as further proof that I am not good at being timely (it is no longer spring, and I took this photo last year)

I have so many things to share, but I feel as though the forces of the universe are keeping me from blogging. Well, at least that sounds better than the excuse that my computer is dying and can only be used when it is in the half closed position (which is very true by the way); or that my precious few hours every day are better spent with my husband than the internet (which is also very true); or that sometimes I sit down to write and the words just simply go away.

So there you are.

Look here and here for some of the crafty goodness I have managed to fit into my life.

And perhaps one day I will finish telling you about all the lovelies I received for graduation! (a sneak peek here and here)

phew...

Boy am I tired! I don't remember feeling this way after my first degree. But then again, studying history is a lot different than designing 40,000 square feet of housing for the deaf and blind. I remember when I came up with this project nine months ago, and how excited I was to begin the journey. Little did I know how glad I would be to be done!


I was so tired the night of my presentation that I forgot to take pictures. Luckily T remembered to at least get a few shots.



And there are the other T's in my life... Tait and Taryn... who are two amazing designers and even better friends! They helped me get through the last few days of pulling the project together. I also have to mention Monica and Rachel... who although did not end up hamming for any photos, were also a huge part of my project. What did i do to deserve these friends? Thanks guys! I owe you!!


T feels like a newlywed all over again - we got married just a few months after I started school, and so he has never known me as "just" a wife. I keep telling him that he deserves a graduation too. After all, he was right by my side for every all-nighter, midnight trip to Kinko's, and every single break down where I cried for hours over a computer malfunction that made me lose entire projects, or when I felt as though I had no talent and was wasting my time (and money) going to school. I could not have done it without him! He is not only my best friend and champion, but also the most amazing husband. I am so lucky! (isn't he cute with our babies Eek and Moo?)

Welcome!

I hope you like the new site!
Sorry this isn't a *real* post....I am still wrapping up my school stuff and getting ready to graduate this Friday, June 13th!!! Then I will have plenty of new posts for you, full of all the fun things I have been plotting while my time has been otherwise occupied!
Too see my old posts please visit VYSKdesigns