2010 wrap-up

Wow. I didn't do nearly enough crafting this year... but I did do some great projects, and pretty much stuck with my plan of not BUYING new materials (other than things needed to complete projects). Sure, I bought a Cricut and Gypsy bundle, which I have used with glee. And I bought some paper and odds and ends. But I also used up some things and completed some long-unfinished projects.

Big successful example: the Nativity cross-stitch set. Originally planned as a Christmas gift for Charley and Pam, I worked on the stitching for years and years and finally finished the stitching. But then I got paranoid about making the stitching into stand-up pieces. I had serious doubts about my ability to do it. So then I decided to turn them into a table runner. Okay, so I didn't plan it out very well... and it was super long... it still looked beautiful. I gave it to mom for Christmas, and she at least seemed to like it.

I have been thinking about my crafting goals for 2011. I'd like to stitch more... finish that darn Hare needlepoint canvas so that I can order the Fox. I think I can have Hare finished by March 30 - especially since I don't have other projects going on. I'd also like to scrapbook the big trip from 2009. If I just work on the three (four?) separate parts of the trip -- Barcelona, Carros de Foc, Morocco, Egypt -- a chunk at a time, perhaps it won't be so overwhelming. And I'd like to keep scrapbooking my runs -- it's still freakishly satisfying to look back at previous races. I'd also like to make some jewelry out of the freakishly large collection of beads in the basement. Suz and Reba have birthdays looming!

The art of travel

AEDM days 2 and 3

I'm not sure I made art today, but I made progress. I made a couple of dozen "journal cards" that I can carry with me while I'm on my trip so I can make notes as I go. I also put together a small scrapbook kit -- some scissors, a hole punch, and a glue stick -- so that I can add things to the "scrapbook shell" I made yesterday.

I must admit that I used to make fun of scrapbooking... but I have come to love the process of capturing memories. I don't scrapbook everything, just travel and running. I love to look back through old scrapbooks -- and I do so much more often than I have ever looked back through old photos. And when I'm feeling worried about a race, it's great to look back over my running scrapbook to remind myself how far we've come and how much I love running -- even if I don't always love it WHILE I'm running!

Not sure what tomorrow will bring -- some last-minute laundry, packing, and tidying the house before we leave. I wish I could think of a good airport/airplane project!

AEDM Day 2: NYC scrapbook "shell"

It's day 2 of AEDM... and 5 days before the NYC Marathon. I'm a little anxious about both! I wanted to put together a simple "shell" of a scrapbook to take with me on my trip so that I could both capture memories as they happen and have something on hand to be creative with!

As I type this, I realize that my camera is in the car, so I won't be posting a picture today. (See, it's like this: I always paint my toenail something special before a race... so I've got wet blue and orange polish on my toes. You wouldn't want me to smudge my "powertoes", would you?).

But imagine if you will a chipboard cover, some long, thin envelopes to hold odds and ends, some gorgeous paper inserts, all wrapped in Little Yellow Bicycle's "Pack Your Bags" paper collection. Ever since I signed up for the race back in March I've kept my eye out for NYC embellishments; I'll be adding them as I go along. If I get some time tomorrow I will be making some journal cards to carry with me -- I find that if I don't journal right away, I forget things!

Happy creating, everyone!

AEDM Day 1: Dia de los Muertos Calavera

Today is the first day of "Art Every Day Month". I had hoped to "prepare" better for this month... make sure I had brainstormed some projects, gotten the supplies, etc. But October got away from me and I found myself a little unprepared for this task.

Happily, today is also Dia de los Muertos -- the Day of the Dead. I've always loved the sugar skulls, or calavera, so when I saw plain papier mache skulls at the craft store several weeks ago, I bought a few to play with. Inspiration + on-hand supplies + desperation = a great little project to kick things off.

This was something of an office supplies project -- okay, the white base is poster paint (not Liquid Paper...), but the marks are all in Sharpie or highlighter pens. It was fun to doodle and play with filling the space.

camel complete!

FINALLY finished the stitching on the camel! Also did the tiny bit of beading on the three wisemen and camel. Funny, Joseph, Mary, and the shepherds didn't have any jewels on them. :) So now there's nowt but the making up to do. Kinda terrifying. Really hesitant to do that ... largely because I don't have a lot of faith that they'll stand up, etc. I'm putting them aside for a tiny while... to give myself a break from them.

Also put together the basic "envelopes" for my NYC album... though I had a very hard time setting the grommets. One didn't work, and needs a brad instead. Which will be fine.

I would like to do some brainstorming -- what "art" will I create every day in November? I think I have a number of projects I should work on.....

1. B&K minifigs - need to sketch the features, paint
2. B&K pillos -- need to get the "right" pictures, print, sew
3. birthday calendars -- need to choose the 12 pictures, get prints, trim, put together, and get ready to send

Those would be fantastic. And, of course, there's poor Hare, waiting for his leaves to be stitched...

unplugged again!

Funny that the last day I posted happened to be my first day at my new job! I love it most of the time -- really, probably 97%, which is about 92% more than I loved my last gig! -- but it's been a steep learning curve and I tend to come home feeling mentally exhausted.

I do get to be more creative at work, however -- I write blog posts, I create Facebook status updates, I write descriptions of running shoes and apparel, and get to weigh in on design and brand ideas. All that and it's been less than 2 months. So that's good.

And I have also been somewhat creative at home -- a bit of scrapbooking (of two half marathons and a fundraising run), creating three different charm bracelets (a "life with Wil" bracelet, a running charm bracelet, and a very sparse "raced states" bracelet). But nowhere near what I would like to have been doing. Perhaps it's the running, the fundraising, or whatever. But I haven't been creative enough.

That's why I was thrilled to see my pal Sylvia's status update about Art Every Day Month -- creating art every day in November. Sort of a "NaNoWriMo" but more broadly based. I signed up and will be posting my efforts to this blog.

Of course, a few things will complicate this. 1. I am still not buying craft supplies except for as needed to complete projects. (Yes, I know, I've broken my own rule more than once this year. But I certainly haven't bought as much!) 2. On November 5 I'm going to be heading to NYC to run a marathon, and I'll be there for several days. But I suppose running an awfully long way in a beautiful city is an art, right?

So. What is left to do in October? I'd like to finish the outlining on the camel... that would be a huge step. Then there's just a bit of beading and some tiny little tassels to make. Dreading the making up of the pieces, but it would be silly not to stitch them up after all the work of the cross stitch.

I would also very much like to get more stitching done on the Hare pillow. I do think I could do most of the stitching this year... if not the background.

Bring on AEDM!!!

break's over...

So let's see... I did finish the 2010 holiday scrapbook, so that's good. I didn't finish painting -- too much drizzle for the last few days, sadly. But I did the important part of the painting, and I think that even if I don't get around to painting again until next summer I'll have done well. Though I might want to take off the masking tape.... ha.

The only craft news is that we went to Best Buy in the midst of my shoe shopping frenzy. We walked in, and a lady was demoing the Cricut. I saw her and hurried past, saying, "I don't need a Cricut. I don't need a Cricut." We went back to the guitar area, and Wil started playing with the guitars, and I decided to wander back and have a look at the thing. Well, it's awesome. The very nice lady showed me how it worked, what one needs to do, etc., and showed me how to "weld" type together -- the thing I find most amazing, frankly. Best Buy is doing a bundle -- you get the Cricut machine, 4 "cartridges", and the Gypsy for $299. Which is less than the Gypsy usually sells for. Very very tempting.

I wanted to think about it, but Wil told me I deserved a treat. So I bought it. I took it home and played with it a bit on Sunday night, but didn't want to stay up too late... so I probably won't play with it for a couple of weeks (since we're at Disneyland this weekend!).

Quite excited about the Cricut... even if I'm also a bit nervous that it will be difficult to get used to. :( Hope I can suss it out before I burn through too much card stock! :)

progress!

The weather turned a bit bad, which means I have been stymied a bit on my painting project, but it also means that I have been inside CRAFTING! Have done a lot of time -- if seemingly little progress -- on the camel. I see the light at the end of the tunnel, at least. So that's good. I also did a lot of work on the 2010 holiday scrapbook -- I'm in Disneyland Paris right now. I think one more solid day would take care of it.

So it's my last week of unemployment / hooky. Not sure how to fill the days. There's the porch painting, which will take me far longer than it should do. There's also sanding the picnic table. And of course there's always scrapbooking, cleaning the closet, etc. I'd like to do a little shopping -- need to find some shoes, perhaps another couple of pairs of jeans. And a jacket of some sort.

Unstructured time is my enemy. But also my opportunity. What to do...

more house projects!

Well.... let's see! Since I last posted, I have oiled the adirondack chairs and their footstools, wood-washed the big gate, little gate, and arbor, and done one coat of Penofin on the gates and arbor! I'm a project fiend!!!

I've also done a bit of work on my scrapbooks -- I did the Torchlight run page, which turned out great, and started the process of winnowing down photos for the Big Trek, along with the 2010 trip. Would very much like to get some of those projects started. (Which reminds me that my next task must be to order the prints before EOD Saturday while the coupon is on....)

And I made some awesome, fantastic, inspirational charm bracelents -- a very full travel one, a great running one, and my newest "50 state" bracelet. Woot! Now I just need to go to some new places! Very excited about going to Idaho for a race -- that's a new state!!! (And will bring my meager total to 5 states...)

Have also been taking some time to work on that darn camel... still much to do, but if I really focused I could get it done before the end of the month.

In other craft news... decided to make Mom and Wil's folks a scrapbooked "anniversary calendar" -- that they can use and keep year after year. I have the blanks, now I just need to start doing the planning. Perhaps in September... I decided that I will also decorate ours -- would be nice for ours to look a bit more "us".

Also, went to Hallmark today and bought three of this year's "cat frame" ornaments -- one for each grandma, and one for us. I love that.

I set up a spreadsheet to start tracking Christmas ideas... this year it might be a challenge!

Back stairs are done!

The morning marine layer gave me a lot of time this morning to put the finishing coat on the kitchen stairs -- and they look great! Didn't get round to doing the Adirondack chairs; perhaps tomorrow. We'll see. I also need to wash the front stairs in preparation for this painting project. Which terrifies me. Tempting to just work on the gate and arbor -- at least that's something I know how to do.

So tomorrow will be mainly doing Brooks things, with a bit of Adirondack chair goodness thrown in. And putting the stuff back under the stairs so our back garden doesn't look quite so scutty... :)

outdoor projects

So, I'm going to consider this crafting, because it's definitely project based! (That said, I'm buying supplies, so it's not really within the stashtacular idea, but oh well...)

On Monday I put the first coat of oil on the back stairs. It turned out a bit darker than I expected, but it still looks great. I'm going to put another coat on tomorrow morning and then clean up the side wall.

Today I washed the top part of the porch -- not sure it really made a difference, but it was either an important first step before painting, or a way to avoid actually having to paint. (Sadly, I suspect I will need to paint, but...)

Tomorrow I'm going to try and get a coat of Penofin on the Adirondack chairs -- at least one of the sides. That shouldn't be too difficult, and I am only planning on putting on one coat.

"bibfolio"

At some point last year I gathered up all of my race bibs and put them on one of those 3" ring clasps to keep them together. I love looking at them, remembering all of the races and places I have run. It's a very simple sort of race scrapbook.

Then the other day in a running mag I saw something called the "bibfolio" advertised. What a great idea! Now, just putting the bibs on a ring is great, but the bibfolio inspired me to make "covers" for my bib collection, too.

I already had some of that black chipboard, and of course I had a bunch of running paper leftover from my running scrapbook, so it was easy to whip something up. I decided just to stick with the one ring -- my bibs are very differently sized, so I couldn't imagine getting them all to line up somehow.

It was a very easy project -- only took a couple of hours, but the result is absurdly pleasing to me. Yes, I'm a dork.

In other news... became obsessed with the idea of a "running charm bracelet". Someone, somewhere, mentioned it, and I thought it was a great idea. I picked up a very simple "premade charm bracelet" -- aka, a large-linked bracelet -- and tested my theory by actually attaching the charms that I had collected from our early life together. Let's just say that charm bracelets are AMAZING.

Might have gone a little overboard, picking charms to represent my different races.... and then also filling in the last few years of our travel history.... but now I'm pretty much "caught up", and the bracelets will be SO BEAUTIFUL.

Finally, and it's not really "craft" so much as "project" related, on Friday I bought some "wood wash", a stiff-bristled brush, a gallon of Penofin, and some rubber gloves, and yesterday I spent part of the day cleaning the back stairs. It's sorta icky how dirty they were, but they look much nicer now. This afternoon I'd like to start oiling them up. That's a huge project done.

The next project should be the front porch, but for some reason that just seems really difficult. So I might refinish the picnic table instead. Yes, it's a cop-out. I should at least commit to learning the steps of an exterior paint job.

not very crafty...

You'd think that, being recently unemployed, I would have created plenty of time in my days to craft. Somehow, I haven't. Still not sure where exactly the time goes -- I get up, I look for work, send out some resumes, and then suddenly it's late afternoon.

But I did FINALLY manage to finish my Florida scrapbook -- and to tidy up my supplies a bit. Still chaos, with paper everywhere, but it's a start, eh?

I'd like to scrapbook the Rock and Roll Half (always a thrill to add to the running scrapbook!) and work on the camel for the rest of the month.

not so stashtacular

So I have done very little crafting... first there was work, then there was vacation, now... there isn't work. Weird times. But for the past two days I have done some cross stitching on the "camel". There's a lot left to do, and I'm not enjoying it particularly. But, still, at least I'm doing a tiny bit of work. I guess.

Things I'd like to work on now:
1. camel stitching
2. hare - shading the leaf veins
3. scrapbook - finish Florida FINALLY

Then there's outdoor stuff, but it seems like summer might not give us 2 bright days in a row. I would like to "strim" the area near the tree and tidy that up a bit... so maybe that's something I can do tomorrow.

Florida scrapbook update

Somehow ended up scrapbooking most of the day yesterday, finishing WDW and KSC, and even starting on the cruise! Pretty amazing. Not sure if I should spend this afternoon working on the cruise to just churn through more of it... or if I should spend more time prepping for next week.

Also snapped pix of the swag from the doughnut dash today, so I *could* do that scrapbook set. (But I think I'll wait until after the Vancouver 1/2 to do a bigger set...)

Very, very pleased with my progress on the scrapbook, though!

outlines are done!

Have stitched pretty regularly the past few nights -- and have completed the outlines for all of the leaves as well. Hooray! I'm now going to put it away until June, where my goal will be to fill in the leaves. (Blue shading, green shading, blue fill, green fill... but it would be okay if I don't finish all the fill as I'm missing 2 weeks.)

For the rest of April I am going to try and carve out scrapbook time -- I'd really really like to get Florida done... or at least WDW and KSC. That would be a huge win... somehow it seems doubtful that I will get the cruise stuff done quickly... Speaking of scrapbooks, I read something interesting today -- how people struggle with their journaling, but the real issue is that layouts and journaling are very different activities. Some recommend just leaving room -- a tag, a shape, whatever -- for the words to fill in later. I think I'll start trying to do that. Maybe then I'll move through the messy stuff more quickly!

In May I want to stitch the camel to finish the basic stitching in the nativity set. Doing the tassels and beads, etc., would be a stretch goal. AND I want to absolutely finish the Florida book... with the idea being that in June, after we get back, I'll prep the Europe scrapbook and complete it in July. (I love how I sound so positive about it!)

oh, one more thing...

Last weekend, after coming home from Austin, I quickly put together a 2-page spread highlighting my Texas runs... which felt really good. It's tempting to keep running events or special places so that I'm inspired to run...

veins are done

So I haven't been very crafty this month -- but tonight I did manage to finish the veins on the leaves... which, to be honest, wasn't that big of a job. I also started doing the outlines of the leaves, but that's quite a big task. (Maybe it's not, but it seems like a lot in these early stitches.)

We're midway through the month, so I should be able to get some more work done. And I'd like to work on the Florida scrapbook -- it would be fantastic to finish the WDW portion, at least. Really, there's no reason I couldn't do the 4 parks and Kennedy Space Center in one day this weekend... I wonder if the weather will be nice?

Easter weekend crafting

I spent a very happy Saturday slowly completing the marathon pages and the Goofy challenge pages for the Florida scrapbook. As a bonus, I made the simple title page, and did the Pop Century pages. So now I'll do the pages for the parks, etc., and be able to move on to the Kennedy Space Center after that.

One of the things I love about scrapbooking is that when you're done, you can get rid of a lot of ephemera. For each page I complete, I must throw out 20 pages of other stuff -- brochures, stubs, etc. I wonder if everyone is as much of a packrat as I am? But anyway, I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to throwing away the remainder of this stuff -- after taking what I want out of it, of course!

March wrap-up

All in all a decent month for crafting, though I didn't feel as if I did very much.

I finished the "wise men in green" cross stitch -- all that leaves is the camel! (Oh, and then the beading and the tassels and the putting it together... that will take a long time too...)

I also got started on the 2010 Florida / WDW scrapbook. It took me a long time to get started, having felt a bit overwhelmed by it, for some reason. But I have started, and have essentially finished the half marathon section (and the half marathon page in the 2010 running scrapbook for good measure). This coming weekend I would like to finish the full marathon section, the full marathon page in the running scrapbook, and if possible the Goofy pages. That will also feel like a huge victory.

Coming up in April: my major focus will be the veins on the leaves on the Hare needlepoint, with a stretch goal of the outlines of the leaves. This may be challenging because I will be out of town -- and unable to stitch -- for a week while I'm on location. Still, we do what we can, eh? Secondary focus will be finishing the 2010 Florida / WDW scrapbook. Third focus will be getting serious about my outfit for Beck's wedding...

progress

Though it hasn't been the most craftacular month so far, I have made some progress. Tonight I finished the basic stitching on the "Wise Man in Green" -- which is very satisfying. Of course, there is still a ton of backstitching to do, and that always takes waaaay longer than I think it should. Oh well. I am going to wait until the very, very end to do all the beads and tassels -- might as well do it all at the same time -- but I will be able to finish the green guy in March.

We had a very active weekend, full of long walks and things done. So I didn't get any scrapbooking done. The Florida trip seems somehow too daunting to start -- which is absurd, given that it was only a week's trip, really. And I've done a lot of pre-work -- sorting the stuff into folders, and ordering the pictures, etc. I do feel as if I can break it down into subsets -- focus on doing the race pages first, for example -- and then just checking stuff off a little at a time.

Have been also looking at other scrapbook supplies, which is naughty. But I keep thinking that if I can just inspire myself to run I'll feel happier.

other random craft thoughts

Wanted to capture another set of project ideas...
- "52 things I love about you" card set
- cone gnomes
- something wooden?
okay, okay, it isn't exactly an exhaustive list...

scraptastic!

Today spent the morning working on -- and finishing! -- the "Year of Disney" scrapbook. Finished making pages, and took the book apart to replace the page protectors with the ones that actually fit that book. Hooray! Really pleased with how it came out. This afternoon we went out to run a couple of errands and picked up the prints from the Bats Day Castle Meet panorama -- lovely! So when we got home I added them to the book and it was done. (Okay, sure, I could imagine opening it up and adding some journal entries here and there, but the real work is done. Done!)

Also got some good stitching in last night on the "Wise Man in Green" -- even if he does seem to be wearing a lot of blue... I think I will be able to complete him on schedule in March. Hooray!

Had my annual "OMG! Reba's birthday is coming!" panic today. Must start plotting... something.

midweek check-in

Umm, okay. So I didn't scrapbook at all this weekend. I did a little bit of work on "Wise Man", but didn't find myself sitting down very often. I'm hoping for some quiet time this coming weekend to do some scrapbooking, along with some midweek evening time. We'll see. Still feeling pretty positive on the "schedule". Not very "crafty", but I at least completed one big project: our 2009 taxes. So that is a relief of sorts -- and it frees up time in the future!

result!

Finished stitching the bunny today -- well, okay, all but the nose and the eye, which I'll do last. Packed up all the wool and covered the frame with a clean pillowcase and put it away until April. Hooray!

Also today got a very tiny start on Wise Man in Green. It's going to be difficult, but doable. And it's the second to last figure in the nativity set! It always astounds me how long it takes to complete counted cross stitch -- I keep needing to second guess myself -- three in a row? Two? One space? Two? Oh well, keeps me out of trouble, eh?

Going to try and finish the Disney 2009 scrapbook this weekend. Hopefully the replacement pages will arrive so I can completely wrap it up.

February wrap up

Didn't quite get the bunny stitched... didn't finish the Disney scrapbook... didn't start the WDW scrapbook... didn't even get the pictures done for the Bub & Kiki project...

But, I did make a lot of progress on Hare -- finishing the leaves and flowers, and getting a lot of the rabbit stitched. My plan now is to stitch the rest of the rabbit and then put it aside until April.

Also, I made a lot of progress on the Disneyland scrapbook -- just a few pages on rides, etc., left to scrap. Also ordered enough refill pages to finish the book out. So something of a success. My plan is to scrap the rest of the rides pages, assemble the scrapbook, and call it good. Next scrapbook project is the 2010 WDW trip.

And I made up the fleur de lis stitchery into a very pretty cushion as a birthday present for Suz. Epic win. :)

Oh, and I made a very decent facsimile of a Flying Holiday for Valentine's Day for Wil. Yay me.

So... pretty decent result for the shortest month of the year. Here's the plan for March:

1. Finish stitching the bunny, then put it away until April.
2. Finish the Disneyland / "Year of Disney" scrapbook.
3. Cross stitch the "wise man in green".
4. Scrapbook the WDW races, and maybe WDW, too?
5. Stretch goal: scrapbook the entire 2010 Florida trip -- Kennedy Space Center and the Cruise.

Okay! Keeping this blog always makes me feel so excited about crafting.

Oh, and just so I capture this somewhere, I thought of another great project -- a "52 things I love about you" book based on a deck of cards. :)

craftless, runless

Pathetic. No running, no crafting.

I did do some work, at some point, on the Disney scrapbook. And I researched and ordered additional page protectors for the Disney book. I still have some rides pages to do, so I could get those done relatively quickly...

Haven't done any stitching at all. Need to try and get some work done -- especially if I'm thinking of putting Hare away for the month of March in order to focus on "Wise Man in Green". Wow, that's an awkward point -- do I get "mad as a March hare" or the "wearin' o'the green"...

Maybe this: I will stitch the rest of the hare's body, and then stop until Wise Man in Green is done.

seems like a good plan.

Still want to finish the Disney scrapbook a.s.a.p. -- would be good to get that over with, so I could turn my scrapping focus to the 2010 WDW trip... and then... to the 2009 Big Trek..

hare update

Did a little stitching this afternoon and got more work done on the bunny. Still much to do, but I feel as if I will have the bunny finished in a few more sessions. Maybe. Toying with the idea of putting it aside for March -- so that I can work on the next figure of the nativity set. We'll see.

The Disney scrapbook arrived yesterday; I have a lot of pages done but still have a lot of random ride and character pages to scrapbook. I'd like to get that book done before the end of February, so I guess I need to get moving on that! The weather is supposed to be lovely again tomorrow, so not sure if I'll do much crafting. I have a lot of cleaning to do, I think. We'll see.

Most important, to be completely honest, is that I run tomorrow. Then cleaning. And then some crafting.

(Am looking forward to scrapbooking the Haunted Mansion Holiday -- with a mix of Christmas and Halloween papers and trims. That would be great to get done tomorrow...)

leaves are done!

Okay, so they're not 100% done... because I ran out of one of the colors of green, which means I have a handful of leaves left to do once I get more wool. But I started doing some work on the bunny itself -- so things are going well!

Hare report...

Spent the day enjoying our beautiful city... so not so much stitching. I did, however, get to the point where all that's left to stitch in the leaves is the right half of the bright green leaves. Probably another longish evening will have them done. Hooray!

lazy Sunday

Wanted to rest my hands today... and ended up working on the "year of Disney" scrapbook most of the afternoon. Managed to get a lot of pages done -- the basic pages for all the trips. Next up: Haunted Mansion Holiday, and then the general rides and parades and characters pages. Feels very good to get so much done.

Feeling restless now -- haven't done much for days. Might need to leave the house for more than just a half hour tomorrow...

more stitching

Did a lot of stitching off and on today. Still working on filling in the leaves -- got a lot done, but it's just a reminder that needlepoint takes a very, very long time.

My hand feels a little sore, and I bet my forearm will be sore tomorrow. I feel I can definitely finish the rest of the leaves in the next couple of days -- and then I get to work on the bunny. While filling in one of the flowers I had to use a wool that also goes in the rabbit; I used the remainder of the strand to start a tiny bit of work on it. A lot of the colors in the hare are very subtle, so they'll require proper daylight. But it is getting lighter later...

Also, gave Suz her pillow on Friday. She didn't seem all that thrilled. Oh well. I enjoyed stitching the needlepoint, and I was able to use up some of my stash. And, perhaps most importantly, I COMPLETED something. :) Huge win.

Friday fun

So tomorrow Suz is coming over and we're going to have a craft day -- yay! Only problem being, I don't know what to craft! The obvious choice is to work on Hare, but when do I get almost a whole day to craft?!? So I feel as if I *should* do some scrapbooking... but what? Where to begin?

Just spent a few minutes sifting through my scrapbook stuff for inspiration. Noticed that I had tucked a couple of photos into the 2007-2009 running scrapbook, so decided to take 15 minutes and finish it up -- finishing the title page, adding that snowflake brad to the 12Ks of Christmas page... Really thrilled to have it done. It's silly, but it really makes me happy to page through it!

I feel paralyzed by how many books there are to do. :) I know the key is just to start, however, so perhaps I should take the 2009 WDW scrapbook as inspiration and scrap 2010? OR should I work on the 2009 Year of Disney book?

I know that EITHER project would be great... but what to do first?

I wonder if my hesitation is related to the fact that I don't like this year's vacation photos?

Or whether I just can't quite figure out the progression for the 2009 scrapbook?

Decisions, decisions.

fleur de lis cushion -- complete!

Got home after dinner tonight (nice little Thai place in Juanita Beach; lovely food, noisy clientele...) and got immediately to work. Trimmed the excess needlepoint canvas, cut the velvet to match, pinned everything together, and stitched. It's always so tragic how small things get -- you think, when you're stitching, that something is MASSIVE. Nope. It's really just a little throw pillow. But it came together beautifully and it looks really nice. (If I do say so myself!)

A perfect stashtacular project -- I used an old, completed needlepoint canvas, some spare black velvet, and some fiberfill that had probably been in my possession for over a decade. Fantastic! And just in time, too -- tomorrow I'm hanging out with the birthday girl and giving her a beautiful, hand stitched and hand finished cushion that will match her couch perfectly. Yay!

stashtacular!!!

Fantastic result tonight. Went downstairs to find the fleur de lis stitching and start rooting around for some velvet backing. Found the perfect size piece, in gorgeous black velvet, in what could only be described as a "scrap bag". Very excited to stitch it up tomorrow night!

stitching soreness

Did a little more stitching tonight, realizing that my left forearm is sore. Clearly gotta get my stitching arm back. Getting good work done on the foreground flowers -- finished up all the pinks and reds, now working on some of the dark veining in the leaves. Taking a break for the next couple of days -- I've got a dinner party tomorrow, and I've got to finish Suz's wee birthday present. Such fun! Speaking of which, must go downstairs and scout out the piece and some backing velvet...

Super Bowl stitching

Spent a lot of yesterday watching the game and stitching Hare. Working on completing all the foreground flowers and leaves first. I really wanted to just do the ones that cross over the hare's body, but I am going to be disciplined and complete all of the foreground before starting the hare. But I did good work yesterday!

Also, in the process of searching for kittypix, I chose images from our year of Disneyland and our most recent trip, including the races, the hotels and parks, Kennedy Space Center, and the cruise. 300+ prints! But I took advantage of a good discount and just got them done. So now, whenever I have a scrapbooky day, I can really get to work on the year of Disneyland and/or the most recent trip. Hooray!

Hare!

Yesterday I FINALLY put needle through canvas and started stitching Hare. I'm doing the few flowers and leaves that cross over the hare's body first, to give them the right shape, but I should actually finish them within the coming week. So exciting! The needlepoint is beautiful, and it's such a pleasure not to have to COUNT everything. The Designers Forum canvases are so gorgeous, too -- so clearly printed. Really a joy to stitch. Today is Super Bowl Sunday, so I'm going to try and stitch during most of the game. When I'm not eating nachos, that is. :)

holiday!

Came home tonight and worked on the wings for the flying holiday... and they came out okay! Not sure if/when I'll put the red tongue on, but the wings look pretty cool. I might need to reglue them, however, as it's not exactly a porous material...

Also spent hours going through our collective kittypix, and I don't think that I currently have anything suitable for the project. Must work on this more...

February off to a good start

Came home tonight after running some errands... but still managed to:

1. Finish the backstitching on Joseph
2. Mount the "Hare" canvas on the stretcher bars

So I feel good -- ready to take on the next craft projects. I need to do a somewhat quick turnaround on the "flying holiday", and I still need to get focused on get the kittypix chosen for that project. So those are top priority for March. I'd also like to get a good chunk of the Hare stitched -- was surprised to see how small the hare is, so that's good. And, of course, I'd love to get this year's trip to Florida scrapbooked. But maybe I should finish the 2009 "year of Disney" book -- more odds and ends, maybe?

I've also added "wise man in green" to my "next up" list... but realistically I won't even start him until March. Still, good to have a plan...

January wrapup

Okay... not the most productive of months, craft-wise. I didn't quite finish Joseph -- I still have a tiny amount of backstitching to do. And I didn't get the Hare canvas mounted on stretchers. But, hey, I was on vacation!

Must get more work done in February. I'd like to really get started on Hare, finish Joseph, and also do some scrapbooking. 28 days, lots of work to do...

long time, no blog

So we survived our Goofy Challenge, had a great vacation, and now I'm getting back in the swing of real life again. (Tiresome though it can be.)

Have been home sick with a cold the last two days, which just gave me extra time to craft. Hooray! I spent most of the days scrapbooking, and have (drumroll please!) finished the WDW 09 book! It was a lot more pages than I expected... I have used up most of the extra pages I bought for the 2005 road trip book. Oops. But anyway, WDW 09, including the race, is done. But it made me realize that I still wanted to have *something* about my first ever marathon in my running scrapbook. So I made a simple pair of pages to add to the running book.

I also decided to buckle down and churn through some pages for the Disneyland 1/2 Marathon. I made three sets, which seemed a little extravagant, but one set was dedicated to the Coast to Coast medal, which seemed like it deserved its own space.

So what's next in the land of scrap? Well, I'd like to put together a Disneyland scrapbook to hold the odds and ends from our year of Disney. (It may get some stripped down pages for the 1/2 Marathon...). I don't know that I have many pictures to feature, but I do have a few fun things... Wil's birthday, Bat Day, our Segway tour, and of course our anniversary.

Once that's done I'd like to jump in and do the 2010 WDW trip -- just to get it out of the way. That will free up space -- both mentally and physically -- to start tackling The Big Trek. That makes me feel a little stressed just thinking about it. So much for relaxing hobbies!

In other craft news, I have been slowly but surely working on Joseph... and tonight I finished the stitching. Now I have one more evening of backstitch and I can check him off the list. If I work hard, I will actually get Hare on the stretcher and get to work on it before the clock strikes midnight on January 31, thus fulfilling my monthly goal...

Oh, and as for the FE gifts -- I think they turned out really cool. Weird radio silence from that thread, however... maybe no one liked them? Oh well. I liked them.

stitching...

Did some of the tidying that needs to be done before we leave... and also did some stitching while we watched movies on the big tv downstairs. I feel as if I'm now about 20% done with Joseph. Now pondering whether I should bring him with me on our trip -- or just amuse myself with books and magazines.

2010 off to an okay start

Yesterday we got up semi-early and went out to see Avatar in IMAX 3D... at 9:10am! That kinda messed up the rest of the day -- how does one recover from a 2.5-hour movie? We wandered around Northgate for a while (I bought beautiful Christmas cards at 70% off -- I WILL send cards this year! -- but otherwise we really just wandered. I don't think we even really went into shops. Weird. Then we went to the U District for Indian food and to peer in the windows at Upper Playground (closed).

Once home, we fiddled around a bit -- couldn't really get anything going, for some reason. But I settled in and did a couple of hours stitching on "Joseph". I always forget just how slow counted cross stitch is. But it is coming together. I should be able to finish him in January *and* start work on Hare. Maybe?

Today is a day of tidying -- dishes, catboxes, the shower. Tomorrow we say farewell to our Christmas decorations -- if not tomorrow, then it won't be until late January, and that's weird. :) But I still hope to work on Joseph for an hour or so each day.