Reminder

I know that some of you (me included!) only read blog posts from a reader.

So...in case you haven't checked out my actual blog in a bit, let me remind you about a special offer from a favorite seller of mine.

Actually, let me just copy and paste what I have written at the top of my page (there I go being lazy again...):

Don't forget to check out Simply Simon's lovely store! Mention the code theatticstudio15 to receive a 15% discount off your order! Offer ends May 31st.

Post #50!!  Wahoo!!  (Hello new followers!  You haven't gone unnoticed!) 

Thanks for stopping in and reading.  My husband said if I didn't get back to blogging, I would lose all my followers, namely him.  Well honey (darling, SWEETIE), here you go :).

I would feel a little more celebratory about a milestone post if my head wasn't pounding.  If it didn't require me to go down the stairs, through the living, past the kitchen, trip over toys in the playroom (a.k.a. piano room), and into the bathroom...I would get some tylenol. 

But that would require entirely too much effort :).  (My husband is laughing right now because he knows this is soooo true about me.)

Regardless...

I found this link on Mod Podge Rocks that links to a fabric bowl engineered completely with Mod Podge. 

This is my version.  I used a small pyrex bowl as my mold (you know, the kind with the blue lid that you use to take left-over spaghetti to work).  Both pieces of fabric were pieces left over from my first apron.

I put my wrist pincushion inside for size referencing, but I have been keeping my earrings in it.  Evidently I haven't been doing a good job at keeping my earrings in it though because there weren't ANY earrings in it when I went to photograph it... 

Top 10 Photo

The Trendy Treehouse picked my photo as one of the top 10!  (Check out my last post)

Here's my fancy prize:



:)  What more could a girl ask for??

I'm on a bit of a hiatus today, but I will hopefully be able to share some amazing pictures of my view tomorrow.  Happy Weekend!!

It's Shutter Love Tuesdays on Trendy Treehouse!  

Today's theme was "Mother's Love".  This picture is from Easter and captures and sweet moment between me and my E.  She loves to play with my hair, and especially loves it when I tickle her face with it.  I love to hear her giggle when I try to "steal all her sugars". :)  

Sorry about the lack of Tuesday Cup of Cheer.  I hope you found your own cheer today!  I got back from my photography class really late last night and didn't really have time to put it together.  I'll make next weeks doubly nice!

Dear Trendy Treehouse,
I realize your post says the picture should be taken by us, but I adore this picture of my baby and me.  I suppose I could fib and tell you that I used my self-timer or a remote, but the truth is...my sister took it.  She did use my camera though!  I completely understand if you disregard my picture because of this fact.  No hard feelings :).

Go check out the other entries!

Sunday Roundup

Happy Mother's Day to me! 

And to you if such formalities apply!

This is a picture of me, taking a picture of me, standing in front of my mother's antique dresser mirror.  If I'd had two thoughts about it, I would have moved her lotion and ash-tray-turned-candle holder-turned-jewelry-catchall (yup, I'm serious) and taken a wider shot.  It is a beautiful dresser. 

I spent the day with my daughter.  We drove down to my mom's and dad's and had lunch.   

Then we met my dear husband and drove out to our rented pasture to check on the cows.  Once we found them, they followed the truck back to the feed troughs to collect their weekly corn.  

I love that both of these pictures are of me taking pictures (it's Mother's Day...I'm allowed to be a little self-centered!).  

Sleepy Saturday Sewing

In one week, the weather here has gone from nice to rainy to flooding to nice to super nice to hot.  Today it is cool and very windy.  While E and my husband went out this morning I sneaked upstairs and made a pot holder to coordinate with a hand towel I had made a while back.  

The weather has nothing to do with the sewing.  I just can't hear anything else right now except the wind whipping against the roof in this attic room.

For the towel, I just used a strip of fabric from a jelly roll I've had for a while.  The towel was an extra from the Christmas towels I made.

For the potholder, I loosely followed a tutorial from Craftzine.com.  The only obvious difference is that I did a diagonal quilting stitch, rather than horizontal or vertical.  The fabric was left over from an apron I made for myself.

If you would like to see better details, just click on the pictures to make them larger.

I got done just in time to eat lunch and take a nap.  :)

Happy Saturday! 

And the winner is...

Thank you all so much for coming by and entering my first giveaway!

Before I announce the winner, check out this awesome deal being offered: 

And all because you came, you saw, you followed! :)

 

Simply Simon (who made the Clare journal that I featured in this week's Tuesday Cup of Cheer) has also offered a sweet deal for all of my readers!  Dez will give you a 15% discount on all of her products through the end of May.  Just send her a little note through her shop  and mention the code theatticstudio15.  She'll work out all the details with you from there

Trust me when I say, she is one of the most personable sellers I've bought from!  And did I mention that I love my Lucille journal?!?

 

 And now for the other good stuff...

 Random.org picked the winner for me, because I am just that lazy.

Congratulations, Annie!

Jealous.  :)

First Assignment

If you are reading this and you haven't entered my giveaway, go do it now!   (Seriously, what are you waiting for?)

 

I missed my first photography class Monday because of the flooding.  I was so bummed, but short of swimming to class, I didn't really have a choice.  My carpooling buddy called me with the first assignment so I could get started anyway.  The assignment is to photograph letters of the alphabet.  This is what I have so far:

 If you're not sure...hehe...that is (from left to right) a J, D, V, and O. 

A mother's journal

In a recent post, I shared that I wanted to make the most of my moments.  

In the most unlikely of places (Aldi's, $4.99!), I found one more way to do this.  

And for $4.99, can you really say no to that little journal-addicted voice inside of you?

I have vowed many times to start a journal for E.  I just never could keep up with it.  In some cases, I never even started it.

This journal, however, has PROMPTS!  It tells me what to write! 

Brilliant. 

I think I will put this by my bed.  With a pen (no excuses!)  I may not write every night, but I should be able to finish all 96 pages before her high school graduation.  That turns out to be about six pages a year...hopefully I can manage that.

Don't forget to stop by my giveaway and enter to win!  I will pick a winner Friday evening after I put E to bed (so around 9pm EST)!

Under Water

 I am wearing these:

 Because of this:

And this:

 School (work for us) has been canceled for two days.  I'm not sure about tomorrow though...  I'm still waiting to hear.  My dear, sweet, adorable husband was able to get to the end of our road and to town earlier today, but it is still not passable by car.  

I sent him to the store with E to get some necessities.  Like a water and a power strip for my sewing room so I can plug my sewing machine AND my computer in at the same time.  :)

Tuesday Cup of Cheer: Journals

Don't forget to go enter my giveaway!

During my freshman year of college, I had a college professor telling me to start a journal.  It could have been because if given the chance, I talked her ear off.  She thought it would do me good to get some things off my chest and onto paper.  (and out of her ears apparently!)

Regardless of the reason, I headed off to Target soon after that conversation.  I picked up a 5x7 spiral notebook with a gray faux suede cover and off-white lined pages.  It went with me everywhere I went.  It took me through good times, thoughtful days, and heartaches.

Fast forward ten years.  

There have been many a journal in my life.  My name is Caren and I'm a journalholic.  I don't write in one as much as I used to, but I still gravitate toward them in a book store.  I usually have one in my purse.  I haven't thrown a single one away.  Ever. :)

Today's Cup of Cheer features journals because they are close to my heart (like coffee from last week). 

1.  This journal is from Simply Simon by Dez.  I discovered her randomly on Etsy right after Christmas-time.  I must have been trying to get my yearly journal fix when I happened upon her shop.  I laid my eyes on her "Lucille" journal, and now it is MY Lucille journal.  :)

She has since relocated her shop to 1000 Markets, and still has these journals she makes from reclaimed books.  This one is called the Clare journal and is made from the C.S. Lewis book, Prince Caspian.  I adore what she does with these old books.  My Lucille journal is truly a treasure of mine.

2. My Green Bicycle journal comes from My Book of Lists on Etsy.  It is for those of us that love to make lists.  It comes with pages already designated for certain topics like "quotes to quote", "music to buy", "places to travel", and many more.  There are many designs to chose from, and they even offer customizable lists!

3.  The Eye Candy Journal is from Crab Apple Designs on Etsy.  This journal takes me WAY back.  Not only am I a teacher, but I hail from a family full of teachers.  I can remember sitting with my grandmother practicing cursive that looked just like this  that she would make me correct until it was the best I could make it.  

4.  Pretty babushkas all in a row comes from the brand new Etsy shop of Time for Tea Me.  These journals are eco friendly as well as stunning!  She has several different fabrics available for the covers (and I love them all!).  They are also refillable, so you can keep writing and writing and...  You get the idea.

Happy Tuesday!

A cup of cheer...for you!! A giveaway from LennyMud.

It's Monday folks!  How about a giveaway to ease the pain?

 

Lorrie of LennyMud was featured last week in my first installment of Tuesday Cup of Cheer.  She was so gracious to allow me to post her mugs on my baby-of-a-blog.  We have emailed back and forth and she has continued to show generosity by helping me figure out this whole blog world.  (Thank you again Lorrie!)

Lorrie even offered to sponsor a giveaway, and I humbly accepted!

Actually, I grinned really big and did a little happy dance, all while trying to be the cool chick Lorrie must have perceived me to be in order to offer a giveaway!  
 

On the the good stuff...

Up for grabs is the mug I featured last 

week on Tuesday Cup of Cheer.  (Pictured above)  

The fine print:

1. You must be a follower of this blog to enter and a US resident.

2. Visit Lennymud's Etsy shop.

3. Come back to this blog and let us know what your favorite item is in the comments section. (Just so you know, these original paintings on the left are my favorite--especially "Choose to Bee Happy"!  It is currently set as my desktop background) One comment per person please.

4.  You can get up to THREE EXTRA ENTRIES if you twitter about this giveaway,  share it on Facebook, or blog about it (post the link if possible!).  Just leave a separate comment for each entry.


The extra-fine print:
This giveaway closes Friday, May 7th.  
Winner will be chosen randomly by Random.org.
I will be uber jealous of whoever wins. :)