No School Today

WooHoo! Right now it's 28 degrees and feels like 21 and there has been freezing rain almost none stop since yesterday morning.

Hand Weaving

Saturday I was looking around on the internet and came across hand weaving. I don't even remember how I got to it, but I ended up finding a lot of great information. I first wanted to try weaving on a circular loom, and made one from a CD that didn't record right. But I could quite figure everything out and I couldn't find just the right info online. So I resorted to regular hand weaving.

I first made a loom from a small cardboard flat, I think cans of green beans came in it. I simply cut slits down two sides every 1/2". Then I strung it with some yarn my mom recycled from a sweater a couple of years ago. I wove it with that same yarn along with some specialty yarn that is furry in spots. Because both yarns are textured (and because it's my first time) the finished product didn't end up square, but I really like the look of it. The pictures don't do it any justice.

Front

Close-up

Back

Then Sunday I rigged up a different loom using a picture frame, two knitting needles, and some cording. I got the idea from a video on youtube and didn't have dowel rods, that's why the knitting needles came into play. Here's what the loom looks like with part of a project on it.

I ended up making a bracelet. I used small crochet thread to string it, recycled yarn, ribbons, and some lace I cut off of a tragic 80s prom dress.

The Duggar's are back

I managed to make it out of the building today and go to McDonald's and Wal-Mart. McDonald's officially righted the wrong from last time I ate there. I received the wrong order and didn't realize until I got back and then ended up with food poisoning. I sent an email to McDonald's and Hugh from the local McD's called me up and said I would get a free Big&Tasty. So dinner tonight was free!

After McD's I headed to Wal-Mart and roamed around for over an hour. I found some really cute fabric and stocked up on interfacing. I also bought some crochet thread to try out some hand weaving...yep I'm trying out yet another craft.

I got back to my room in time to realize that I had already missed 30 minutes of 17 Kids and Counting. But I didn't miss A Very Duggar Wedding! (I totally laughed as I typed that.)

As of this Tuesday the show will be 18 Kids and Counting.

Anyway, I'm going to watch more of the Duggar's and do some crafting...I'll update this later.

Update: Ok, so the wedding is over. The length of time between the proposal and the weddings was only 3 months and during that time Josh was in Arkansas and Anna was in Florida where she lives. They did get together with some of the oldest Duggar girls for about a week in which they spent 60 hours planning the wedding and making all the bridesmaid dresses. There were 10 bridesmaids and I believe 10 groomsmen. Written into the vows was something along the lines of they vow to trust in God to bless them will as many children as he wants them to have and in His timing...so get ready for the Duggar's-Generation II...all 24 of them. Ok, just kidding...a little.

Best quote in the show- "It's kinda like legos."

Thriftin' Again

I promised my friend David that we would go on a thrifting trip today. So after he got out of classes and I got off work we headed off to the local thrift shops. First we hit the 50 cent Friday & Saturday store. There we got a shirt for David and I got an 8-track tape which the guy threw in for free because he said it wasn't worth the quarter it was marked.

Then we headed to the Salvation Army where I found...a "brand new" sewing machine! I was surprised to see it marked only $5.50 since the rest of the machines there are $85 or more dollars (but the others are built into tables). I threaded the thing up and tested it on a piece of paper that was nearby, after confirming that the machine worked I snatched it up. Ok, there was no actual snatching, more like grunting and lifting because the thing weighs like 20-30 pounds.














While at SA Fashions (refer to earlier post) I found a couple of books, a cute camo jacket, and a headband and David found another shirt, a vase, and a suit jacket and vest (the pants were messed up). The lady working gave me the headband for free and only charged David for the shirt! So over all it was a great thrifting trip.




















On Wednesday I had to get up super early to go interview the owner of Folger's drive-in, so afterward I hit the thrift store and found everything I was looking for! I got a nice pair of black Justin's boots, a cute black peasant-ish knee length skirt and a XL B&W print dress. Last night I cute the dress apart to make a really cute drape neck shirt using a tutorial I found quite awhile back. I wore it today, but didn't get a picture...I'll post one later.

New Vintage Fun

I'm well aware that title is an oxymoron :)

So I went thrifting today (how all my good days start) and I found a couple of great items that I liked but weren't quite right for me...but I bought them anyway :) I ended up listing them on my etsy along with some other previous impulse purchases. The reason I decided to dive into the relm of vintage is because my mom is always saying how I find the greatest things at "my" thrift store and she never finds anything good at "hers." So I figure why not share my store with everyone else...and people are making a boatload on etsy with their vintage crap. A pair of boots just like mine, even the same size, sold last week for $54...that's crazy!

Lemon Shoes














Justin Ropers














American Tourister Suitcase














**Suitcase to be listed later...still trying to figure out shipping on that one.

To Read Tuesday

Since 2006 I've been keeping a list of all the books I've read and a list of books I want to read, which is significantly longer. For some reason while I was sitting here at my computer a few minutes ago I decided to share some of the books from my "to read" list. If you've read any of these books please let me know what you thought of them...but please don't spoil the story for me...

1. Love and War in the Apennines- one of my favorite Hallmark movies In Love in War is based on this book
2. All 15 of the M*A*S*H books- I've read the first one so far.
3. Three Weeks with My Brother- can't go wrong with Nicholas Sparks
4. The Twilight series- I'm saving that for Spring break because I here that once you start reading them you can't put them down.
5. The Cherokee Trail- by Louis L'Amour
6. The Hank Zipzer series- written by Henry Winkler
7. The Lovely Bones
8. The Cowboy Culprit- my former acting teacher wrote it
9. The Red Badge of Courage
10. Still Me
11. Walt Disney- by Neal Gabler
12. Every Janette Oke book I can get my hands on.
13. Laughing Matters: on writing M*A*S*H...
14. All the Anne books by L.M. Montgomery
15. Swiss Family Robinson
16. T-Shirt Style
17. Take the Walk- Hanson
18. Remarkable Changes- Jane Seymour's autobiography
19. Bernstein Bears- Haunted Lighthouse
20. All of the Bride books by Barbour Publishing- they are historical fiction Christian romances. Yes, I know that is a lot to cram into one book...but there are actually 3 or 4 novellas in each book and all the ones I've read so far are really good!

Scattered

My thoughts are a little out of order tonight...as the title suggests. To answer questions...Flashback Friday isn't happening anymore. That was a holiday bring-back kind of thing.

Anyway, the reason for this post is to ask for prayers. My friend David had a really bad seizure Saturday evening and can't remember anything that happened the rest of the night after it. He's scared since he hasn't had one that bad in over a year and he's even afraid to go to sleep thinking that he may wake up not remembering what happened tonight. Not only short term, but David is worrying about life in general now; he's unsure if he'll ever get to lead a normal life. It seemed like he had the seizures under control then this and he can't go see a neurologist about it until February 26th. Please pray for him both about his seizures and that he will have peace of mind.

**I did not tell him I was posting this...only that I was praying for him. But I figure the more prayers going his way, the better**

School...not so lame today

I had all intentions to get up at 11 with plenty of time to go eat lunch and go to the post office...didn't happen.  I somehow turned my alarm off in my sleep and I woke up at 2 pm.  That's ok though since my only class today wasn't until 3:30.  I had Video Production II and I think it's going to be a lot better then I first thought it would be.  Our first project is a video between 3 and 5 minutes long and it has to tell a story...that's the only requirements.  So my friend Ms. Waltman and I are going to do a package about a burger joint in town that is rumored to be closing.  It has been a staple for college students since it opened in 1935.  We are going to do our package so that it is like a news feature story and then once we are done I'm going to reedit it into 1:30 for my resume' tape, and that is why I'm so excited.  That is one of five packages for my resume' tape.

Anyway, the real reason why I started writing this post was to say how dumb my blog looks on these wide screened Macs in the lab.  It totally messes up the formatting and puts the wrong text by the wrong videos.  So I'm sorry if it looks all wonky on your computer...I format everything to where it looks right on mine...

Over on Etsy

I spent the better part of this afternoon taking and uploading photos, sorting through them, and using them to update my etsy. I added a couple of hats, some new bags, and a couple of supply type items.

*Some clever shopping title here*

Since I didn't have class yesterday I managed to drag myself out of bed at ten minutes 'til 1 pm...just in time to shower and make it to lunch with some friends. I ended taking two of my friends with me on my shopping adventure.

We first headed to the thrift store that has 50 cent clothes on weekends. I bought two tragic sweaters *disclaimer-I do not wear sweaters...I think they are terrible. When I say tragic I mean ugly* I also bought a valance for 10 cents that I'm wanting to use as an underskirt. I think it will look adorable peaking out from under a skirt.

My friend Kat bought some shirts to recon for herself and a cool belt.

We then headed off to the new bead store. It was in a mini mall that I somehow never noticed before. It was a pretty small place, but very cool. The lady who runs it gets old, ugly necklaces from some guy who buys them at garage sales by the bag or box. She then takes them apart for the unique beads in them. She also carries some new beads. I found some wooden beads I want to use in my hemp bracelets for 2 cents each, I got a parrot bead for 10 cents, 2 floral printed curved beads for 10 cents each, and 2 mini keys for 25 cents each.

Just before we left Alex pointed out a pendant bead carved from bone. I was drawn to it because it had an elephant carving and I LoVe elephants! I ended up buying if for $1.

Then came the Salvation Army...or SA Fashions as the cool lady that works there said jokingly. Kat found her some rockin' bright purple snakeskin ankle boots for 40 cents and a purple suit bag for $2. I found an old copy of The Red Badge of Courage and got it for 50 cents because I haven't been able to find my beautiful red hardback copy in years. I also came across a little carry-on suitcase...not sure what decade it's from...for $1.50. I'm wanting to decoupage it with vintage pattern pictures like some I saw over on flickr.

Then it was to the fabric store for some lace, ribbon, and buttons. The dollar store for some cards. We headed to Bedre' chocolates...that's where I ended up finding Jeremiah a birthday present. And finally we headed to Wal-Mart... The whole trip took 3 hours...but it was fun!

School, shoppin', and swappin'...and sale!

School started yesterday for me. I didn't realize how oddly my classes were scheduled until two days ago. I have costuming and make-up at 9:30, then an hour long break, then there is media programming, an hour break, and finally at 3:30 there is jazz dance. I didn't know what to do with all the open time...it wasn't enough to go to the thrift store like I wanted to, but to long to just hang out in the lab.

Costuming class is still up in the air for me. It is a intro class and we will be starting with hand sewing, then sewing a hook and eye, followed by machine sewing in a straight line, etc. I may die of boredom. The teacher is at about the same sewing level that I am and the costume advisor doesn't know how to sew...he is actually taking the sewing labs with us. It could be fun or it could be torture...who knows. Make-up will definitely be hard for me since I have never used it.

My media programming teacher wants the comm students to start referring to each other by Mr., Miss, or Mrs. and their surname. She also wants us to look "presentable" every time we are in the department. She said this is to gear us up for the real world of media and because with the new fine arts building about to be completed there will be some big-wigs coming in and out of the department at any random time. Will she was telling us all this I realized I didn't know the name of half the people in the class, having never had classes with them before. This could be a little hard...

Jazz! *that was said with jazz hands* I have no absolute idea what jazz dance even looks like...but by the middle of the semester everyone in the class must choreograph a jazz dance and one of them will be performed in the spring concert. I am not a dancer and know nothing about choreographing...but the class sounds like fun anyway.

Ok, enough about school. (Mom and Dad most of that was for ya'll). Somehow it happened that Jeremiah *cough* Mr. Edwards and I don't have classes on Fridays. Eventually these will be filled with senior project stuff, but for today it is going to be for shopping! I was told yesterday that a bead store opened in town! So I'm going to go check that out, and hit the 50 cent clothes on Fri and Sat thrift store, the Salvation Army, Stitch and Sew, the dollar tree, and Wal-Mart...woo hoo for cheap-o shopping! I hope I find some awesome stuff and a birthday present for Mr. Edwards. Since we share the same birth day (give or take 6 years) we are having a joint birthday shindig this weekend!

Onward to the swapping! I am currently in some swaps over on swap-bot. I will be sending out some packages in the next couple of days...and this time I remembered to take photos first!

Here are the photos from a ribbon and matching buttons swap, photo swap (3 partners) and a random button swap.

Don't forget about the sale happening over on generation gap!

Back in the saddle...so to speak

I got back to school today and have already gotten sick :( The new McD is open. I went and ordered a Big&Tasty meal and ended up getting a chicken sandwich in a B&T box. I ate it anyway because I didn't realize it until I got back. I ended up feeling sick all evening. How lame is that??

Anyway, school starts in the morning. I have costuming and make-up, media programming, then jazz dance on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Monday and Wednesday I have Video Production II. Senior Project doesn't have a set time yet...I hope it's not on Fridays :)

This is officially the lamest post ever...so I'm going back to my Dr. Quinn watching...

Etsy Sale!

My 22nd birthday is coming up next week and I want to celebrate by having a sale in my etsy shop. Between now and next Friday the 9th half of the items are marked with a shipping price of only $.42. You pay only the price of one postage stamp and I take care of the rest for you.

Flashback Friday...26

It's that time again...and this week Flashback Friday is photo-less...I'm just reminiscing a little.

Right now I'm sitting in my closet at my $8 school desk in a chair my dad brought up from the kitchen. Since I'm in the closet there is no plug-in, so lappy could die at any moment...just a warning. So you are probably wondering why I'm sitting in the closet. Well it's not because I'm hating the new year THaT much, nor am I about to make some big statement. I'm here because oddly enough the best lighting in the house is here. I need good lighting because I'm busting out the art supplies from high school and am trying to draw a decent picture.

I took three years of art in high school and never had a natural talent for art, but I was taught enough that I could make a decent pastel drawing. For some reason pastels were my favorite medium to work with, probably because they are the most forgiving and the messiest :) (but that can be a bad thing too sometimes)

My first year of art I didn't learn much. The teacher wasn't all that great and the assignments didn't reinforce the methods being presented. However the second time around we had a new instructor. She was amazing! That year I loved going to class every day. We covered all the same areas as the previous year, only better, and then we got to go into other things like carving a lino block and then how to use it for printmaking. I somehow managed to work to piece Starry Night into most of the sections :) I loved the class so much I just had to take it again. So my third and final year of art I was considered to be an 'advanced art' student and got to choose my own assignments- within reason. I chose to focus mainly on pastel work. I practiced by imitating other pieces of art ranging from a tree illustration in a children's picture book to Van Gogh's Wheatfield With Cypresses.

After graduating I had all intentions of keeping up with my artwork. But life happened and the art didn't. During our move I found a bunch of half finished sketches on my other desk. I hate that I did that because I can't just pick back up where I left off. I have to practice a lot to get back to the point I was at before. I discovered that tonight.

Two weeks ago I checked Pastels in 10 Steps out of the library. I attempted to draw a picture of a pomegranate from the book...it was a little depressing at first, but now that I have it pinned up on the wall it doesn't look quite as bad. This time I hope to stick with my drawing and continue to improve. I just started a sketch that is white charcoal on black paper of the photo below (I changed my mind about not having photos in this post). This is actually a photo I edited by combining three photos I took this summer. I had to make it black and white because of the different layering and transparency effects I used...but it works out well for the purpose of my drawing.

This is my art teacher from my junior and senior year. I miss her.

I'm going back down to the old house tomorrow and I'll try to remember to grab some of my old artwork to scan in... Lappy is dying so I must go...

Happy New Year...

...woopdi freakin' do.

I have never understood people fondness with a new year. People treat it like everything is going to change in the split second between one year and the next. It doesn't. The only thing that changes is the calender, one number, and the fiscal year for taxing.

I believe that the only real "new year" is when a season in your life changes. In my case it was a few months ago. That's when I sat down and wrote down a list of goals to work on between then and the end of '09. But these don't end right there. They include things like watch less television, stop drinking soda, exercise, read more classics, and submit some photos to a magazine. These aren't the type of goals that be reached and then forgotten about. It's a day to day thing. I think that is the problem with many resolutions. People resolve to lose __ pounds. Once said amount is reached they go back to all their old ways and the whole thing was pointless.

So...what am I trying to say with all this crap...not sure, so hold on. I guess my point is I think goals are way cooler then resolutions, the whole new year's thing is dumb, and when will they stop making the stupid number sunglasses??


Anyway, happy first of January...I love Dick Clark! :)