New Year, Same Ol' Me

Well, Hola Amigos! Hope you're having a wonderful year so far. - Ok, so we're a little over a week into the new year, but a girl can be optimistic, right?! 


I've been trying to come down off of the holiday high. You know, the world draped in lights and the smell of scotch tape; Christmas trees and endless baked goods. We all got sick after Christmas, so that hasn't been a whole lot of fun. All the coughing , runny noses, tissues blanketing every available surface ... makes me wonder why we even got flu shots! At least I now have that cool lounge singer sexy voice. Look out, Kathleen Turner! 

  December 31st, we did have to take a trip to the emergency room because we thought one of the boys broke his foot. Ended up being a bad sprain. He wore a plaster splint for a little less than a week. He's fine now. Wouldn't know a thing is wrong with him. Kids are crazy resilient. I would still be milking that injury.

So, I know resolutions are cliche, and a lot of people think "What's the point?", but I'm going to make a few anyway.

This year, these are just some of the things I would like to accomplish:

•  publish at least one original pattern. 
• Become more organized 
• De-Clutter my house 
• Finish projects I start - or have started in the past that need completing.
• be more optimistic
• make and post items in my Etsy shop 

Whew ! Just tying that out took a lot out of me. Lol  -- Also, I want to get my lato fixed because I have no working letter "p" on my keyboard and the top row with all my numbers and symbols don't work , so I constantly have to copy and paste everything - or wait for spell check to catch it. That can get very annoying, very fast.

What are your thoughts on resolutions? Did you make any?
 

Fail Whale

Leave it to me to be the queen of inconsistent blogging. Hooray ! 

Even harder for me now because my backspace doesn't work and no working letter 'p' on my keyboard . So I have to copy and paste it, or wait for my spell check to catch it and fix it for me. 
Oh !  and my numbers and symbols above all the letters don't work either >.<  Thank goodness for 10 key or I wouldn't have any numbers at all. Even then, the four isn't working and I don't feel like copy and pasting that right now lol 

 Hope you  have been well.  Life has been getting weird here at my house. The boys are a few weeks away from turning 5, and I have no clue where the last 5 years have gone. They're these constantly changing little people and sometimes it is really hard to wrap my brain around all this.

Working on a lot of things right now. Christmas knitting/crocheting/sewing is in full swing, and I am determined to get things done early this year. Have product for my Etsy shop that needs to be listed - stitch markers -Yay!

Speaking of my Etsy shop, several months ago - I started making Blythe doll clothes. Now, I am by no means a professional seamstress - in fact, I've only been sewing for the last four years or so. I think the clothes are pretty cute. Need to list a new dress soon :D Check them out here if you get a chance [even if you aren't a doll person, chances are you know someone who is ;) ] 

Well, I must be heading off. Lots of crafting to do. Time to make the coffee. 

Happy Valentine's Day, Blog friends!

I know loads of people look down on this day with  hatred, deeming it as nothing more than holiday of consumerism. While I totally agree that too many stores want to push over-priced & useless crap in your face, I think that it is fine and dandy to be a sappy human being and embrace a "no cash value" part  Valentines Day.

I challenge you to embrace today. Not as a day of grossly inappropriate sex-crazed couples , but as a day love for your fellow man. Love is great because it comes in all levels, and taking a moment to recognize that you love another person should not have to be looked down upon -- even if the love exchanged is purely platonic. It reminds us that even in this big universe of confusion and constant change, we are not alone; We have each other. There's no shame in that. I love my family. I love my friends. I love my dog. I love yarn. I love crafting!

So, there it is. I love you reader, and I hope you have a wonderful day!


 P.S - Stay tuned because I am making a cake today, and in the next few days I will be posting a recipe for a S U P E R  easy home made butter cream frosting. So easy, it will make your head spin! (Not really, no one wants a spinning head. I've had the spins before, and all it lead to was puking, and no one wants that either. Why am I rambling about puke? Wasn't this supposed to be a nice post? I think I need to stop now before I make us both grossed out.)

Clean up, Clean up

Did a little re-vamp on the blog? Do you like? *waves arms around*

Bring In Da Noise, Bring In Da Funk (Emo Wednesday Edition)

I don't know if it's this cloudy weather (I doubt it, it just started raining today) , but I am having one hell of a time getting craftually motivated. Yes... Craftually.

Waiting on an invite from Pinterest (I finally caved) in hopes that I will get inspired. I'm just not feeling it, and it's frustrating. I tried working on new stitch markers, and almost ended up in tears because the stuff I made looked awful.

I'll do what I can and blame the heat. Maybe getting out of the house tomorrow will help. I need to find it, but I was reading this article online that was talking about ways to stay creative and inspired. One of the main points they touched on was to get unplugged from time to time: Step away from the laptop, cell phone, the tv and just get yourself outside (weather permitting). I know that around here, it's a lot easier to talk walks in Spring and Fall. The heat of the summer and those cold winds of the winter months can make being outside a grueling task. Point being: Get yourself outside and be inspired by nature.

This is a quick post andI must be off, but I will leave you with this song. It popped in my head earlier today, and I haven't been able to get it out. Back in the day, I used to listen to Portishead.. A lot. I know they're not considered "emo", but the tone of the song feels about right for today.

Hope you all are doing well! Let me know what you do to stay creative. :)

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Serious. Gratitude .

I was just reading my last post about being an inconsistent blogger. NO KIDDING! I wrote that back in May. That's just sad. Seriously.

 Quite a bit has been going on around here. Went to my first craft night over at HipStitch a few weeks ago, and caught one hell of a sewing bug. I did a little knitting and crocheting that night, while everyone else was sewing. A big thank you goes out to moxiemandie for inviting me. Really hoping to make that a regular thing.
Decided to try a project that made me a little nervous (Sewing with a zipper? Me?! Never!). Did some YouTube research, and off I went. Ended up with this.

Hook and Notions Bag

 Not too shabby, right? Of course, it occurs to me that I probably should have used interfacing - but it was my first attempt so I'm not going to beat myself up over that. I'm still happy with it. I wanted to try making a zippered bag, because my goal was to make a nice one for my bestie (aka @defysocietyarts). I love making things for her, because she truly appreciates handmade gifts. Of course, everything I make her she very well could make herself (She's very talented), but it's always nice to make things for the people you love.

Hook and Notions bag for my bestie :)

 I did this one the right way! Used interfacing, and even pressed the fabric (Which I never do!) She loves it, and that makes me very happy :)

I would like to end this post by taking a moment to thank a few people. I have been the recipient of some amazing generosity from several of my Twitter friends. I'm not going to get into specifics of the gifts, because it would just feel like bragging, but I am sincerely grateful for awesome people.

Many, many, many thanks to @atknitsend , @sillygirlsarah and @moxiemandie

“Why did you do all this for me?" he asked. "I don't deserve it. I've never done anything for you.'
You have been my friend,' replied Charlotte. 'That in itself is a tremendous thing.”
― E.B. White, Charlotte's Web

Long time gone

I have a bad habit of not being consistent. Especially when it comes to blogging. It's horrible, too, because I really do love to blog. To make matters worse, I'm constantly coming up with ideas, and think "This would be GREAT to blog about."

Yeah.

I fail.

Anyhow, I've been on a crafty bender as of late. Doing some painting, got into making mexican pop art magnets (which the boys destroyed). Doing my research on craft resin. Thinking about giving that a whirl.

Very proud of the piece I made for my Mom for Mother's Day :

'Reina del Cielo' / 'Queen of Heaven'

I'd been wanting to do a project that involved embroidery and felt. After giving her the gift, I found out that May is the month of The Blessed Virgin Mary. Makes sense now, since Mother's Day is in May and all >.<

Until next time!

Happy Crafting! 
- fal00la

Emo Wednesday

I notice that a lot of my favorite bloggers use the days of the week to spotlight things on their blog. I've always thought that was a really clever, but could never come up with something that a lot of other people aren't doing.

...until yesterday.

I really have to stop for a moment, and thank Ms. Steph Cortes (aka @nerdJERK on Twitter) for this brilliant idea. 

I tweeted yesterday about feeling a little blue about a book I was reading. The book isn't sad. However, the sad part was I bought the book used, and it looks like no one has ever read it before me. I know that's something stupid to be sad about. Seems like I was feeling a wee bit emo. I think Steph recognized that, and said I should document the moment by photographing the book at my feet, wearing a pair of Doc Martens while listening to The Cure.

The result was this picture:

She said she couldn't believe I had the perfect emo package, and felt it was something I should blog about. After joking about what other photos I can take to capture my emo moments,  it really hit me that this would be an awesome idea to continue.

So, there it is. Emo Wednesdays. Mostly, I'm going to be poking fun at myself, how emo and overly emo I can be. This isn't meant to offend anyone, so apologies in advance if you're among the offended. If I do cross the line, don't hesitate to let me know.

Also, Going to attempt to incorporate some emo crafts - whatever those may be ;)
May even ask some of you to guest post !

Until next time,
                Happy Crafting!

What's In a name ...

As you can probably tell, I have changed the name of my blog. 

Tried to pick something to appeal to my crafty side, and my love of pirate culture. It's to coincide with the soon-to-be relaunch of my etsy shop. I know, I know... I keep talking about it. You surely can understand! Life has gotten in the way. Trying as hard as I can to stick to my commitment to myself to get listings up on etsy A S A P.

Other than that, I've been reading. A LOT. Over the last 5 days, I've read 4 books.

An awesome trilogy. Young adult books, yes - but they are nowhere NEAR a "light read".

A novel by the Crafty Chica. Great book!

It's been a whirlwind of words. I tend to be a bit of a speed reader. I mean, c'mon! I need to be a speed reader with two small boys in the house.  Why am I talking about books when this is my craft blog? Well, writing is a craft. Plain and simple.

Speaking of books and the 'Hunger Games' , I need to be off. My sister and I are going to see the movie. I'm excited! Successfully read the entire first book last Thursday,  and finished the last book today. Ha! Makes sense that I should celebrate by criticizing the movie.
          I kid! I kid!
Seriously. I won't do that.

This has been a mini blog post, brought to you by fal00la. lol

What do YOU think of the new layout, and name?

Would you like to swing on a star

Trying to get back into the swing of blogging. This will prove to be a difficult task, seeing as how 2012 didn't exactly start on a high note. In fact, this first 9 days has been a endless stream of BLAH and headache. However -- Things can only go up from here, yes? A friend of mine said "Don't worry. This just means you're getting all the bad stuff out of the way."

I hope she's right.

In other news, my hands have been busy crocheting and knitting. Ha! What else is new!

 I often find myself at bookstores (sometimes thrift stores) buying crocheting and knitting pattern books. Earlier last year , I was introduced to an awesome crochet artist by the name of Twinkie Chan via twitter. Imagine my surprise as I'm browsing the shelves, and find her crochet book. I buy it, and then make the mistake of showing it to my sister who -- of course!-- wants me to make her a few things from the book. I ended up crocheting her the Cupcake scarf. Turned out pretty sweet :D (Pun intended? Surely!)

Almost good enough to eat

Cupcakeeeesss!

Not far behind making the cupcake scarf, my aunt contacts me and asks if I could make her niece slippers with cupcakes on them. After crocheting a bundle of them, I take on this project -- plus make a pair for niece's sister and Mom. Basing the slipper cupcakes off of the pattern, I was mucho happy with how they turned out. Need to get to making myself a pair.

Took a break from all the cupcakes. They're and fun to make, but require a lot of making things separately, and then sewing together. Most days, I just don't have the time or patience for that.

Thinking it's been awhile since I made anything for my Hunny, thought it would be nice to knit him some fingerless gloves. These turned out great. Liked them so much, I'm working on a pair for myself!

Pattern from - Knits Men Want by Bruce Weinstein

 Well, I'm off to find my embroidery stuff. Got some AMAZING patterns today... Some of which I think I'll use for an upcoming friend's baby shower.

Until Next Time! 

* Happy Crafting *

-fal00la-

Welcome Back, Kotter

Hello my fellow crafties! 

and 

Happy New Year!

Well, this post is certainly long overdue. I was doing good at being a somewhat regular blogger for awhile. Ha! That didn't seem to last. I know it's the new year, and people are trying to keep their word with their resolutions. I need to get back into regularly blogging. This is by no means a resolution -- just simply something that must be done. 

I keep forgetting that blogging is word based. I'm always fixed on the mentality of "if I don't have pictures, I can't post". Well, that's lame. Sure, I can post! I could post an entire how-to blog without a single picture. That's been accomplished for years in cookbooks.

One of my big resolutions (aside from the cliche 'I'm going to loose weight' ) is to make time for myself. Being a stay-at-home Mom is exhausting. I'm maid, cook, nanny, police officer, referee, shoulder to cry on, playground to climb, drive-up box to scream at, sewage treatment employee, doctor, nurse, groomer... The list is endless. Once the day is over, my house looks like it was hit by a category 5 tornado.

I seem to struggle with finding time for myself --  Even for little things... painting my nails, doing my hair, taking long showers, enjoying my food. When I do have time to myself, I end up zoning out on the couch, scarfing down food. Probably why I'm at the heaviest weight I've ever been. People say kids change your life, and they do. Dramatically. People also forget to tell you to make sure you have your wits about you, so your individuality doesn't get sucked out. I need to remember who I am as a person -- as Stephanie. She constantly gets brushed aside. I don't think there is anything wrong with trying to maintain a sense of self. I'm a funny person, damnit. Most of the time I forget to BE funny, because I'm so busy being Mom. 

This year is going to be a grand journey. It will be a refresher course in being spontaneous, being outrageous, being fun, lighthearted, getting excited about the simple things... and a chance to change and stop worrying all the time. 

I read a quote once on tumblr (which I'm now on - btw :D) ... and it's stuck with me. It's my grand resolution for this year, and all years to come: 

 Be the kind of person you would want to meet.

I'm now on Bloglovin!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Restless Hands (and The August Break - Day 16)

Looks like I've been doing pretty well keeping up with the August Break. Although, I'd like for my readership to go up, but - I'm complaining. I blog, and if you're reading this, cool beans & a big thank you!!

Let's see... What have I been up to? Been busy babysitting my friends' daughter, being chauffeur since we're back to being a one-car family. Not fun having to constantly pile the boys in and out of the car, but they like the drive. It would probably be better if my iPod hadn't recently decided to die. Don't have $125 lying around to get it fixed. Oh well. C'est la vie.

Back to making jewelry for the time being. Got this amazing craft book recently. There's an entire section on jewelry making, and I saw something I wanted to try.

This is attempt #3

Not too shabby, right? I'm pretty happy with it. I need to work on getting the spirals down, but I enjoy these early stages of learning how to do new stuff. 

My apologies for this being such a short  blog post, but I must be off to make some earrings.

Hope your day is a great one!

<3

-fal00la- 

The August Break - Day 15

On our way into the bank this morning, stopped to answer a call. 

Looked up, and thought : "This would be a great pic for my blog!!" 

Hahaha! 

(Photo edited with picnik.com)

The August Break - Day 14

 A very pretty giraffe we saw while at the zoo

(Photo edited with picnik.com)

Handmade Giveaway Winners

A big, big thank you to everyone who entered!

The August Break - Day 13

 

 

The awesome mirror I found at a yard sale this morning 

 

Burned Biscuits

I received this story in an e-mail from my Mom. 

Looks like the universe is trying to tell me something.

 

"BURNED BISCUITS"

Author Unknown

When I was a kid, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then.

I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work.

On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage, and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad.

I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed, yet all my dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my mom and ask me how my day was at school.

I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that biscuit and eat every bite.

When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits, and I'll never forget what he said.

He smiled at her and said, "Honey, I love burned biscuits."

Later that night, I went to kiss my dad good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned.

He wrapped me in his arms and said, "Your mom put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired. And besides, a little burnt biscuit never hurt anyone."

Life is full of imperfect things and imperfect people. I'm not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like everyone else, but what I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each others faults, and choosing to celebrate each others differences, is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.

And that's my prayer for you today. That you will learn to take the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your life and lay them at the feet of God, because in the end, He's the only one who will be able to give you a relationship where a burnt biscuit isn't a deal-breaker.

We could extend this to any relationship. In fact, understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or friendship.

Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket; keep it in your own.

God bless you today and always.

So, pass me a biscuit, and yes, the burnt one will do just fine. 

"Give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others. "

~Christian D. Larson

The August Break - Day 12

I pass this car and  house everyday. Something very comforting about an old car in front of an old house with a white picket fence...

(Photo edited with picnik.com)

The August Break - Day 11

We're 11 days into August. Found out about The August Break a couple days ago. I've been meaning to get around to it.

Day 11 picture isn't something recent, 

but I did unearth it recently while at my parent's house this past weekend...

Uelita crocheting a dress for my sister

This is a picture of my Great-Grandma. I called her Uelita, which is short for  "Abuelita" (meaning Grandma in Spanish.) I was about 8 when this picture was taken. She didn't teach me how to crochet;  that - I ended teaching myself 20 years later. She was a beautiful woman. Always put together, no matter the occasion. Plus, she was one hell of a cook. I was very young when she passed away, but I have beautiful memories of her.

(Photo edited with picnik.com)