Gettin’ Hitched!

Big news! My guy popped the question early last week, much to my surprise and awe. I am beyond thrilled that I get to marry my best friend!

Expect a few posts of exhaustive wedding planning over the next year while we plan the big day. I don’t know when, I don’t know where and I really don’t know how. My “I Do” Pinterest board is growing and with it my shock about how many things I’m supposed to care about and plan. All I know is it will be a party with everyone we love and I’m super ecstatic to become his Mrs. And that’s all that matters!

 

The Lusty Eleven – October

I’ve always been that kid who gets real excited every fall for back-to-school. Because I’m a huge nerd. What I look forward to most of all is all of that back-to-school gear, the trapper keepers, the new pencils, that modeling clay that I’m pretty sure we never did anything with. I’m the same way as an adult. The best way to motivate me to work on a project? A fresh notebook with a newly-sharped pencil. It works every time.

So I celebrate my organization crazed mind with this month’s Lusty Eleven – a celebration of everything organization that screams for you to get started on your huge To Do List!

1. A vintage recipe box like this from Etsy would make me want to cook more.
2. Wunderlist helps me keep track of things I need to buy for projects – check it out on the app store or on their website.
3. A organization station for your fabulous craft room!
4. Who wouldn’t want some funny listpads from Knock Knock Stuff to keep you on track?
5. Have an idea for a new cross-stitch or knitting pattern? Map our your ideas with a nifty notepad of graph paper like this Tricksy Notebook from Knit Picks.
6. Ah, new notebook! My favorite way to keep track of all of the things I need to do throughout the day. I need a new owl one, obviously, like this Lemonni notebook spotted on the My Owl Barn site.
7. Everyone knows that cute travel bags make you want to work on your project in public. The Superfine Project Bag from Knit Picks is so awesome I can hardly stand it.
8. This Lily Pulitizer ink pen is called The Dirty Shirley. Enough said.
9. Want to keep track of your materials (and not your Unfinishables, right folks!)? An adorable storage bin like this from Target is cute to look at and super handy.
10. Write down those recipes you’ve been wanting to try on some of these adorable recipe cards, a free printable from My Owl Barn.
11. Evernote is fantastic because it lets me keep track of things all in one place, from my iPad, to my phone and my computer at work. It’s like a Lisa Frank notebook, only for grow-ups.

Ooh-La-La!

Last night I spent my evening pinning, cutting and sewing and guess what is almost done!!

I am beside myself.

Look at that fancy, red-lipped lined purse! I’m absolutely loving this. Why did I wait so long again? Maybe it was divine intervention so that the craft gods would ensure that I would find this gorgeous fabric.  NOT my procrastination.

Yes, that sounds right.

So, while I was on a roll, I decided to look at my leather magic braid kit and immediately proclaimed “What the hell????”. Easy directions? Hells no. I’m going to spend my lunch hour scouring YouTube for some videos. Plus I still have to find some way to attach it to the zipper.

And then when I get frustrated I believe I will buy one of these.

Lesson of the day: Not everything has to be DIY made by you. Sometimes you just gotta know when to give in.

Lusty Eleven – September

Hooked!

Yes, I’m completely hooked on crochet. So this month’s Lusty Eleven is all about  fiber fun in general, including tutorials, beautiful handmade accessories and crochet ideas — all celebrating my new hobby. Hope you can get hooked too!

1. Isn’t this the most beautiful crochet hook case? From elsiegeneva Etsy shop.
2. Must learn how to make these gorgeous cuffs. Pattern from Ravelry!
3. A fancy bowl to hold my yarn, this from Abby T Pottery’s Etsy shop
4. Tiny Owl Knits book, not crochet but I want to make everything!
5. 100 Birds, Butterflies & Little Beasts to Knit and Crochet, yes I want to.
6. Desperately wanting these owl shaped stitch markers from winemakerssiter’s Etsy shop.
7. Learn to knit with Purl’ Soho’s knitting videos!
8. I want to make beautiful fall things, like these beautiful maple leaves from LubaDaviesAtelier.
9.  Need to grow your hook collection? Knitpicks has a colorful, gorgeous Harmony hook collection.
10. I now need every color of thread known to man, like this cotton Curio thread from KnitPicks.
11. School Days!

Hooked yet?

Showering with Gifts

The shower this weekend went very well and my gifts were completed and wrapped in time, I was so relieved! I’m not a huge fan of baby showers and tend to make make horrific faces when a baby shower game is thrust in my face. But this shower was perfectly perfect. The baby shower games were not annoying, the food was scrumptious and the decor was delightful. Even better, my friend and ma-to-be had a great time and got teary-eyed at feeling so loved. It was a really fun day making new friends and celebrating another kid who gets to call me Auntie!

Here’s some of the highlights:

1. The squirrel’s tail got done and didn’t look half bad, though I ran out of yarn and had to knit the tip in a dark brown. Arg!!! Worst nightmare! But there’s the super cute romper and my funny squirrel pre-wrapping (our friends totally got my squirrel joke and thought it was hysterical!).

2. My DIY gold stamped wrapping paper was pretty spiffy. I was kind of worried about it drying with some flakiness, but none! In my craft-angst I forgot to buy a card, so I knitted a little heart and created a tag. Who else is thankful that they just have a ton of crafty stuff sitting around the house? Whew!

3. Proof that I’m always not that crafty. One of the baby shower games was to sculpt a baby out of Play-doh. This was my favorite game by far (but I did win the “guess how many cookies are in this baby bottle bank game!). My Play-doh baby? Downright scary.

4. My man is amazing. During the baby shower, the boys went to the gun range to shoot zombies. When they came back, the boys were all flustered over him, exclaiming “He’s an assassin!” Man love, adorable. I’m impressed.

5. Pinterest was representin’ at the shower, featuring some really cute ideas. I adore the Ready to Pop theme!

The Lusty Eleven – August

“It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.”
― Mother Teresa

I love this quote and truthfully, I think DIY giving is the best representative of these meaningful words. While my handmade gifts may not be perfectly polished, they are made with joy and love. You cannot help but think about the person you are making the gift for, and all that you know and appreciate about that person is poured into it, from the choices you make in object down to the color of the wrapping.

So this month’s Lusty Eleven is all about giving, from some unique gift guides to handmade tips on creating wrapping — all celebrating the act of giving and spreading joy. One of my favorite things to do!

1. I’ve been to a few weddings lately and am now obsessed with things like grooms cakes, I love this idea for a grooms gift from Style Me Pretty.
2. Looking for ideas to wrap your gifts? Make My Paper Crafting’s beautiful lace on your craft paper for wrapping gifts!
3. Adoring unique Gift Guides like Design Sponge’s Human, House, Harvey.
4. Turn swaddling blankets into an elephant for a cute baby shower gift with this tutorial from babies rabies.
5. The House That Lars Built has amazing tutorials for DIY wrapping paper, like this Polka Dot Wrapping Paper. Love!
6. Last  Minute Knitted Gifts books are great as gifts for the knitter in your life, or great for ideas for us knitters. They are organized by the amount of time you have to make the gift. So if you are a procrastinator you can find a two hour knitted gift to rush and make!
7. May Designs books are perfect little gifts, I’ve been playing around with their web notebook design maker and am obsessed with making my own notebooks (maybe I should just order one already?)!
8. Back-to-school and a new fiscal year has me thinking about appreciation, like this hilarious Staff and Teacher Appreciation gift idea. Yup, I’m a sucker for puns.
9. Give your gifts in these bright colored felt boxes, that you can make yourself with this tutorial from Pinterest.
10. Some fun back to school gift ideas for English majors like me, from the ever-useful Etsy website. Support handmade!
11. I now have package-envy and want to adorn my gifts with beautiful cut designs, like this flower.

I’ve got some great ideas now to help me wrap that baby shower gift!

More Calavera Cross-Stitch

Have I mentioned to you how great LanasCrespo’s  Etsy shop is? Probably.

Well, in between making my first calavera and obsessing over which pattern to stitch for my new iPhone case, I stitched up another one of her patterns. I just completed my second calavera (Dia de los Muertos sugar skull) cross stitch and I really love the series!

I decided to use one color scheme for a series to hang in my office. This is the first one that will hang in my office space. The colors include a reddish pink, teal, burnt orange, light indigo and a bright yellow, just the right colors to brighten up my happy office.

I’m completely smitten by cross-stitch now, if you cannot tell. There’s something very Zen (oooh, there’s that San Diegan in me) about the counting and movements.

Calavera Cross-Stitch

I love this so much.

I bought that lovely cross-stitch pattern that I was scoping out during my birthday and have been obsessed with completing it ever since. I love sugar skulls, una calavera en Español, because they are so beautiful and intricate. My new cross-stitch project, LanasCrespo’s Sugar Skulls, is exactly that. I love the pattern and want to experiment with more color themes. My first clavara is all done and framed in a wooden hoop. I’ve already a new project on teh horizon, as my cross-stitch iPhone case is on the way too! This shop is rad, check it it out!

Get your learnin’ for the day:

According to wikipedia, the word calavera (pronounced: [kalaˈβeɾa], Spanish for “skull“) can refer to a number of cultural phenomena associated with the Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead and the Roman Catholic holiday All Souls Day.

I am already planning on stitching another one for my office and experimenting with other colors. I wan to use teal, burnt orange and a deep pink.

Work in Progress

I couldn’t be more excited about this…

I think it is taking up all of my waking hours.

Birthday Wishes Come True!

Oh boy!

I mentioned last week that I would be making some fun purchases and changes from items that I was oogling for the Lusty Eleven: July Edition and I did!

First, I bought that lovely cross-stitch pattern that I was lusting over. My new cross-stitch project, LanasCrespo’s Sugar Skulls, is well under way thanks to a productive visit with my crafty pals this Sunday morning. The best thing? I combined two of my birthday wishes and also found a cross-stitch iPhone case and super rad patterns from this shop too!

Second, i have new hair! I changed my hair color a year ago from brunette to a deep, dark ginger and have loved it. However, I decided to go back to my brunette and wanted to do something fun in between. I’ve been eying that gorgeous ombre look and voila! I am a brunette/ginger/blonde! I called it a beautiful hair sunset and my stylist cracked up. Does no one else think it looks like a sunset? geesh. Logistically, it made sense to do this now since I already had a red base, said the girl who must find a way to justify all purchases. I really love it!

My birth week was officially pretty rad.