I'm back from Vegas and I have a billion photos of the trip. Here is the basic rundown of the festivities.

1. Too much Guitar Hero
2. I had dinner with a Charlie Daniels impersonator and 4 LDS missionaries.
3. Charlie Daniels' wife made the most delicious corned beef and cabbage - SERIOUSLY!!!
4. Stopped the 3 year-olds from breaking their necks from performing daredevil stunts
5. Painted Jenny's craft room a very bright yellow
6. Went shopping
7. Went to "Las Vegas" which to Cohen means a casino filled with lights and really random attractions
8. Drank too much Diet Coke thanks to the unlimited supply in Jenny's garage fridge.
9. Laughed
10. Enjoyed the sunshine

Are you on Goodreads.com yet? I am loving it. If you are, add me as a buddy. I'd love to see what you recommend. It is helping me keep track of my reading list and my feelings regarding the books. I am now reading book #17 for the year. The goal is 50 books by the end of the year. I can totally do it if I continue to ignore my domestic duties!

EVERYBODY IS IRISH ON MARCH 17

We are on our way to Las Vegas to visit my sister and celebrate St. Patty's Day. Actually our celebrations will be rather pathetic for several reasons:

1. I don't drink beer
2. I won't eat corned beef
3. Cabbage makes the house stink, therefor I will not cook it

A friend of mine was talking about why we even celebrate the holiday and all I could think about was that we just love the Irish. For whatever reason they have portrayed a jolly bunch that just has a lot of fun in a beautiful country. I just read on Wikipedia why we really celebrate it.

BUT... I am very excited because we are going to see Flogging Molly at House of Blues tomorrow night. WAHOO! I've seen them several times before and they never cease to entertain. It will be a great show, even though we had to pay outlandish Ticketmaster fees that equaled the cost of our tickets. Lame. But their new album is great and I've been listening to it like crazy. I hope the weather cooperates. It is a little blustery out right now. I figure if we get about 150 miles south it will be okay. There temperatures are a little warmer in the south. I'll be back next Thursday. I may check in from LV, but I also may not. Happy Irishing!

ATTENTION SALT LAKE CITY YARNIES!!!

Hello friends, knitters and crocheters and non-yarnies alike. A fabulous new yarn store called Unwind has opened in the Salt Lake Valley on 8600 South and Highland Drive. This place is totally cute and offers something for everyone. The store is SO cozy and has so much room to lounge and enjoy the atmosphere. Unwind offers a huge supply of yarns from cottons to alpacha to wool and everything in between. What is so cool about unwind is that it is not just a yarn store. It is a creative center. There are several pieces of art and refurbished furniture for sale, too.

This coming Saturday (March 15th), Unwind is sponsoring the "Knit from the Heart" event. This will last all day. Bring your needles and hooks and help knit blankets, hats, and other stuff for the downtown homeless shelter. This will also be a great opportunity to network with other yarnies in the area. For those of you who think you can't come because you have the kids, BRING THEM! Unwind has an awesome kid area with a TV, games and art supplies. They even get to enter through their own little door. Come on... a child friendly yarn store, you say! It totally is.


Also, there are knitting and crocheting class schedules available. There is a large variety of classes offered depending on your knitting skills. Sue can help you find the one that is right for you.

I'll be working at Unwind as their fill-in gal every so often. I am so excited to work in such a chill atmosphere. I used to work with Sue, one of the owners, at my last job. It is so nice to hang out with Sue in a non-stressful environment. Anyway, I'm really excited. Please check out the shop. It is just plain AWESOME!

My new "new" project...



I am now learning to do paper piecing and this is my first project. It is not really my style, but I do think it is really cute and I am having so much fun making it. My friend Lindsey's MIL (that taught me how to appliqué the Christmas house) is teaching us this one.
This is where I am at so far. I started with the easy pieces. I love that I don't have to be exact. That is totally my style of quilting (read: I'm lazy and measuring isn't my favorite part of sewing). I'll keep you updated as I work on this.

Why have just one?

I am currently in a swap on Craftster.org called the Pincushion Swap. I do love my pincushions. These two put the total count to 11. Yahoo! I have them scattered around the house and pins move from place to place. I have a few on my shelf that are too precious to poke. One on the kitchen table, a few on the right had of my sewing machine, and currently there are two on top of the toaster oven. (When I use the ironing board, I have to share the plug that is behind the toaster oven. So my ironing board gets put out in front of the kitchen sink...remember, I live in close quarters. Anyway, there is a pincushion (well...two right now) there to house the pins for ironing. It all makes sense to me.

The pincushion above it made of a soft denim and 'puckered' with a brown wool yarn. The pin is a shrink plastic image of the little vinyl owl I bought a few weeks ago. This is what my partner named the functional pincushion. I know I'll use it. I always do.

But look at this baby! What a sweet felt guitar, complete with frets and tuning keys and strings. I love it. It is also complete with at shrink plastic pick pin. The craftmanship is unbelievable and I hesitated to even use this. But, last night as I was sewing, it was the closest soft thing to stick a pin in and I welcomed it to the family.

A post a day...

When I was a missionary for my church, my the president of my mission once said, "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions..." I had heard it before but when he said it, the words seemed to stick. You see, I intended to post a craft every day in March in honor of National Craft Month. So - I'm on my way to Hell I guess. But, I have crafted every day in March and that has to count for something.
I made these bags and I am so glad they are done and in the mail. Oh my!! What a project. The gal I made them for had specifics in mind but no pattern. So, with her instruction and measurements and my smarts (or something), the collaboration began.

Because of the busyness of the pattern on the lining fabric, it is hard to see what is going on in here, but let me try to explain. On the inside I created pleated pockets all of the way around the outside. There is a center divide. I don't know if I did it correctly, but it worked. Then I added patch pockets to the outside and a flap. Once they were all put together it didn't seem like a big deal, but it was hard to start. Both bags are practically identical. Needless to say, I am glad it is over. I cannot wait to see what she thinks of them. They are on their way to PA as we speak.

Where I Create...

In honor of March, National Craft Month, I decided to show you all where I "make it". I live in an apartment that is just under 1000 square feet. With Mike and I both having a lot of arts and crafts supplies, we have to be creative with our space. So, I am taking you on a short tour of our corners and closets.

First up we have the corner of our bedroom. (Wow... I'm so embarrassed to show you this.) Here I keep my sewing machine set up all of the time. I also house all of my small bits of fabric (under 2 yards) and fat quarters. The drawers contain yarn, scraps, felt, thread and notions. On the shelves I have embroidery floss, buttons, trims, patterns, yarn dying supplies, and a serger that barely works.

Another image of the beast that is the corner of my room. Under the table is all of interfacing, pelon, stuffing and pillow forms.

This bench sits at the end of our bed. Underneath is my smaller pieces of Christmas fabric and the overflow that won't fit on my fabric shelf.

This is one side of Cohen's closet. This is where I keep any fabric yardage or bulkier fleeces and flannels. The drawers contain wood, stationary, packaging and wrapping supplies. The hat box contains photos of Mike's youth that need to be scrapbooked and the gray bin is the photography stuff. This closet is a black hole and contains a lot of bits and bobs.

This is the closet above our washer and dryer. I keep all of my scrabooking and paper crafting supplies up here. We also keep paints and paintbrushes, and Cohen's chalk, crayons, and Play-doh (I really hate Play-doh). The shelf isn't really bowed... I hope. I'll have to go check it out. There is also a little corner for laundry soap. bleach, and dryer sheets. Oh, my guitar is peeking out there, too.

And lastly, my kitchen table looks like this about 4 days out of the week. It really doubles as a great cutting table. I used to use Mike's drafting table but I found it to be another surface to pile stuff on, so I got rid folded it up and put it under Cohen's bed. I figure I have to clear the table to eat dinner so I'd be less likely to create a fabric version of Mt. Fuji each week that would have to be hidden whenever someone came over.

So, there you have it. That is my "studio" that is my home. If any of you have any clever storage solutions for all this stuff, let me know. I've taken over every closet in our home and left poor Mike one shelf in the linen closet for his modeling (no - he is not trying to get on the cover of GQ - he paints miniatures). I cannot wait to have one room to devote to our supplies. Ahh - it will be a glorious day when we all have our own closets and corners back. Cross your fingers that 2008 brings home ownership, or at least a bigger rental.

There you have it, folks. Just when you fall in love and proclaim your devotion to one tool, they make something better. I just got this in an email from scrapbook.com. This is the Big Bite!

My favorite crafting tool is my Crop-O-Dile Eyelet Setter & Punch. I bought this for myself for Christmas and have used it weekly since. It punches holes in everything. Usually I don't fall for scrapbooking specific tools. I guess I am a little like Alton Brown on the fact that my tools need to be multifunctional. Scrapbook tools are funny because they take ordinary tools, shrink them down and then coat the handle in a girly color and then charge you 3x what a hardware store would.

I'm doing some St. Patty's crafting and I used my Crop-O-Dile to punch through the thick felt. I punched through a CD just because it said it could... and it does.

My only complaint is that it can't reach further into paper. I think it only has a 1" reach. I wish it would extend miraculously to the middle of a 12x12 sheet.

I love St. Patricks Day and I don't know why. I don't love corned beef or cabbage and I don't drink beer. I do love Irish Punk and Folk music, though. I think my roommate at Ricks, Maryssa, got me started on St. Pattys. It is a holiday that normally gets lost between Valentines and Easter, but this year I'm making ornaments to decorate my sticks.

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons

You should see my house. Cohen has pulled out every Lego we own and every blanket and quilt we own and Playhouse Disney is on full blast on the telie and I drank a Diet Soda for breakfast because the burning felt good on my sore throat. I was supposed to have a meeting here this morning and I wasn't going to even try and clean the place up. What is wrong with me? At least I got a good night sleep but I still feel rather junky inside. (read: ENOUGH WITH THIS COUGHING ALREADY!!!)

I think I'll sew this afternoon. I haven't sewn in 2 weeks. My machine is all dusty. I also watched "the Jane Austen Book Club" last night. It was okay. I was hoping for better.

I am Sick.

(Sessions family circa 1989)

I have not had a good night sleep since Thursday night. Boooo! I've had a fever and so has Cohen. Last night I went to bed at 9:30 and laid there shivering until 11:30. Then I woke up at 2:00 am sweating. I couldn't get back to sleep so I watched E! in the wee hours of the morning. Quality television. I was almost asleep when I heard Mike's alarm go off at 6:00 am. Oh well. Maybe tonight I'll sleep tight. I have nothing to really post about. In the picture above, my mom made all of our dresses. Yikes. Look at those bangs.

You've come a long way baby.

I WON A GUN!!!
Lucky me!!!

Tonight we're spending the evening with my family at the Mule Deer Foundation banquet. haha! My sister is coming from Las Vegas and my brother is coming from Boise. I'm not sure exactly what this is, but I know I have a chance at winning a gun if I buy a raffle ticket, so I am so there. If Mike or I win the gun, we're going to sell it to one of my hunting family members and buy a Wii. :-) I believe my dad is partially in charge of the Ogden chapter. I wish I had a camo shirt to wear.

I was tagged by Kim so here is my mushy Valentines meme:

How long have you been together? Just barely over 6 years

How long did you date? I will shoot my kids if they get engaged as fast as I did... We met the end of January, Hung out the first time on Feb. 8th (we went to free Olympics Opening Ceremony festivities with all of my roommates and Sam), we kiss the following Monday. We got engaged on April 20th, and got married August 2nd. Sheesh! I guess when you know, you know...

How old is he? 31

Who eats more? He does, but I gain more from eating less... I don't get it.

Who said “I love you” first? He did and I said, "I guess I love you, too."

Who is taller? He is... BARELY!

Who is smarter? Mike - hands down. He is so into whatever he is into that day that he just studies and studies. BUT, he hates school and whatever he has to study that he is NOT into. Crazy.

Who does the laundry? Me and I totally hate it. But, when he was home with Cohen he did it, so it is my turn.

Who does the dishes? Mostly Mike. He must have learned this from his dad because my FIL does the dishes every night.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do.

Who pays the bills? I do.

Who mows the lawn? Well - as renters I believe it is Daniel, but if we ever have a lawn, I'll be the mower.

Who cooks dinner? I do, but again he did when he was home.

Who is more stubborn? Depends, but I would say mostly Mike.

Who kissed who first? I did - the poor kid wasn't taking the hint. :-)

Who asked who out? I asked him if we wanted wanted to go downtown with my roommates. We never really went on a date.

Who proposed? Mike did. We were on top of the DIXIE rock in St. George after spending the day with Annie Zundel.

Who is more sensitive? Again, depends. I think Mike's feelings get hurt more and he is more mushy. But, I cry more.

Who has more friends? We share friends now, however if we determine this by how often we go out with friends alone, I do.

Who has more siblings? Mike has 5 brothers (bless his poor Mother's soul). I have 2 sisters and 2 brothers.

Keep your fingers crossed for the rifle! :-)

Happy Valentines Day!

I'm not sure why candy manufacturers put "GO HOME" on a candy heart, especially my favorite banana flavored one. Hmmmm? Anyway - GO HOME AND HAVE A LOVELY DAY!

HURRAY FOR UTAH CRAFTERS!

I just wanted to share some of the things I purchased this weekend. If you didn't make it this weekend, luckily you can pick up this sweet loot online. Viva la Etsy!

This sweet little painting is from CandaceJean.com. It really is little, too. Probably 4" x 3". Darling... and for $8 it was such a steal. I wish I would have bought all of the little portraits. This girl does amazing artwork. Be sure to browse her flickr account, too. LOVELY!

This pirate print is hanging in Cohen's newly themed pirate room (it has a them when the toys aren't covering EVERYTHING!). It is from Gumball Grenade Illustrations. I bought it unframed and it only cost $10. Darling!!

I've been hesitant to put vinyl on my rental walls, but when I realized it peels off quite easily, I started browsing Etsy for some vinyl art (not so much a fan of the words everywhere). I bought this cute owl for only $8 and he is such a nice addition to our living room. I think he is so cute. I don't have the website handy (Cohen is on the Mac where I have all of my bookmarks) but I will update it one day while I'm on the other chair.

And... look at these sweet little notecards from Ashley Giessing. They are 2.5" x 3.5" and just waiting to come your way. I loved those sad little eyes instantly. Again, at only $3 I should have bought more.

side note: The book underneath the note cards is what I am currently reading. It is good so far. I've added the last two books I've read to the side bar. I wouldn't really recommend them. They weren't bad but I didn't really think they were great, either. I've got most of your recommendations on hold at the library and I am looking forward to them.

Weekend of crafty goodness!

I went to a great little boutique (Oh Sweet Sadie!)in Herriman today. Besides the fact that it was a 45 minute drive and I had to park around the corner, it was AWESOME! I picked up some lovely goodies and I'll take pics later to show you my fabulous finds. OH wait until you see my little painting! Tomorrow I'm on my way to Art Market in Sugarhouse and then in the evening I vow to make something. Both shows are running Saturday, Feb. 9th.

...

I don't really have anything to write about today but I thought I needed to update the blog anyway. I made my bed and that doesn't happen very often. It is currently covered in laundry that needs to be folded, but I won't worry about that until bed time. Then I'll act like I'm really busy out in the living room (ie. I'll be hiding), so Mike will just take care of it. :-) So sneaky! I hate folding laundry.

A few notes about the bed... about two years ago Mike's grandmother was giving her king size bed to DI so we jumped on the chance for a free upgrade because we were currently sleeping on a full. Cohen was jumping out of his crib, so he got the brand new full and now we had the most UNCOMFORTABLE, lumpy, saggy, smelly king size bed ever! Grandma later let us know how old it was and the following day we made a trip to RC Willey and got a new mattress. Now it sleeps like a dream.

The headboard was a lovely 1980~ shiny brass. Um... no thanks. But, it is nothing a little black textured spray paint couldn't fix. I got the brown comforter at Wal-Mart. I was surprised at how quality it was and am still amazed it is holding up so well. The bed skirt has a few issues but I can fix that once I get up enough strength to move a giant mattress (read: Mike) and take it off to stitch it back up.

I made the blue pillow cases for sleeping, and the small pink throw pillows. The other pillows are all from Craftster swaps. Yeah for swaps! The cute owl garland is my newest edition. It is also from a craft swap. I love it and it matches my bedroom perfectly. Mike is so awesome for letting pink explode in there. I've never been much of a pink person, but lately it is really growing on me.

That is all... OH WAIT! Save the date! The Boutique on Brentwood is back. It is on May 3rd (the weekend before Mother's Day so you can come and get a gift) from 10-4. As it gets closer I'll post directions, vendor links, etc. I will also be working with Christy, the organizer, on a blog for the occasion. If you have been to this in the past you know how fabulous it is. If you haven't, well... don't miss it. The house it is held in is beautiful, the other artists are beautiful, and the food is great! It is truly a wonderful day. I am so glad to be participating. We'll see you there.

The wrong kid

Cohen asked for a haircut. I was a little sad because I loved his long hair. He told me he wanted it short like Perry and Rhett's hair (his cousins). He's a whole new kid.

Before:

After:

You should have seen the pile of hair on the floor. I think he lost two pounds.

Optimus Prime is a Troublemaker!

A lesson learned this year... DO NOT BRING TRANSFORMERS TO CHURCH! To preface this, Cohen got Optimus Prime for Christmas from his buddy.

1. We let him take him to church the week after Christmas. The boys in the pew in front of us were crying because they couldn't play with him.
2. The following week a young boy brought his Optimus Prime into Primary to use as part of his talk (it was about gifts and of course, Optimus is his favorite). During our opening exercises, the boy sat patiently with Optimus on his lap (as instructed by his father), all the boys around him - including Cohen - wouldn't pay attention to what was going on. They were all rubbernecking towards the boy and it ended in the poor boy crying and his father taking Optimus away until it was time for his talk.
3. Today, Optimus made it into the church bag. We sat by Cohen's cousins during Sacrament Meeting. Everyone wanted to play. They were all so loud and I was embarrassed. The 20 something kid behind us was staring longingly at it also. His wife swatted his head a few times.

Sorry Optimus, I know we should lovingly open our arms to all who wish to worship, but you must stay home from now on.

PS. I just finished Austenland by Shannon Hale. Fabulous light reading for all of you lovesick for Mr. Darcy and Edward fans out there. It makes it all seem so silly... but justifies it all, too.

Another Novel

I just finished reading Second Chance, by Jane Green. It was boring and I had a hard time staying focused. But I finished. I wouldn't recommend it for book club unless you are middle-aged and thinking about leaving your husband. Boooooooooooooo!

We're on our way to the library so I'll pick up another stack. I made a pretty cute little garland, but the battery of my camera died. I'll have to pick up some of those later, too.

PS. In case you didn't notice, I added the "Books I've Read in 2008" in the right column. The last few picks have been entertaining but not really stellar like I am looking for. I'd like any suggestions you may have. What have you read lately?