chickaboom

And the winner is...

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 00:14:00 +0000

I'm so happy to announce the winner of the Willow House May giveaway, the Keepsake Card & Photo Display...and it is...Michelle C!

Thanks so much for your order Michelle, I hope you really enjoy this fun accent piece.

There is a season turn, turn, turn

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 01:53:00 +0000

Turning the calendar over today was an act that I've been dreading a little. "How exactly is it June already?" I ask the universe. No response. Figures. As I flipped the page from May to June I see a big red star on the 15th. Moving day is fast approaching. I'm not ready. There's still much to do. This weekend is our big moving sale. My daughter is dog-sitting for friends who are going on vacation. We're still finishing up our math and language arts projects so we can put our homeschool year to bed. And then there's work, you know the act of service that pays the bills? And a cookout to plan with our neighbors that will soon be our old-neighbors. {sigh} Ah yes, much to do. I remind myself that it's all good as I start the procession of boxes that will soon fill the spaces where our lives took place. I will miss this house. I will miss these neighbors. I will miss it all. As I grab a tissue to wipe away yet another rush of tears, I remind myself too that I must look forward to what's next. I do trust there are good things in store. And in a few more weeks, Lord willing, there'll be a chance to turn that calendar over once again.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.

Ecclesiastes 3:1

Willow House sweet deal & giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Mon, 30 May 2011 23:45:00 +0000

What can I say. I went to a Willow House party and fell in love with the products. Seriously, what's not to love?

Simple. Earthy. Chic. I took the bait and signed up as a consultant. Yay me! My first order came from the fabulous Janet over at theemptynest who purchased the Tall Glass Domes. And lookie what she did with them {love!}:

The artsy/craftsy side of me began to drool when I saw things like this:

Organized and so stylish. And then my baking/kitchenista side saw the sassy Cinnabar collection. The color of love. Gorgeous, right?

As a brand-new consultant, I'm trying real hard to meet my May sales goal. But time is running short and I'm not quite there yet. I figured it's the perfect time to sweeten the deal by offering FREE SHIPPING for all orders placed at my online store by May 31st.

But is that all a girl can give? I think not. How about a Giveaway?! Yes, now we're talking.

Everyone who places an online order with me in May will be entered into a drawing to win this chic and loverly Keepsake Card & Photo Display [#41481, $29.96 value]:

Currently Willow House doesn't offer a coupon code feature so the free shipping offer will have to be handled as a reimbursement. Just email me with your order number and I'll send your shipping back to you via paypal or personal check, whichever you prefer. Easy peasy. Then I'll put your name in the hat (literally) to see who wins this cute burnished metal display. It's a great way to show off family photos, cards, recipes, coupons, fabric swatches or anything else your little heart desires.

So, what are you waiting for? Hop on over to my online store and find something that you love!

***********

A big thanks to everyone who placed an online order during May! I'll be announcing the winner of the keepsake display very soon. I will also be announcing a giveaway for June so stay tuned...

Today

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Wed, 25 May 2011 12:19:00 +0000

I'm still struggling with being in a funk. Clearly something everyone can relate to at one point or another in their lives. As I pull together my thoughts and to-do list this morning, I'm realizing that it's not only about what I'm going to do:

Today,
~ I'm finishing up a design proof for a new client
~ I'm purging/prioritizing my craft/art closet
~ I'm going to remind my kids that I'm here for them and tell them how precious they are to me
~ I'm going to create a coupon code for my etsy shop
~ I'm putting our Netflix account on hold
~ I'm fact finding about ISP service at our new abode
~ I'm going to get caught up on our Language Arts lessons
~ I'm going to take time to go for a walk
~ I'm going to focus on being grateful and present in the moment
~ I'm going to make dinner for my family
~ I'm going to go to bed early and get some rest

But it's also about what I'm not going to do:

Today,
~ I'm not going to be angry
~ I'm not going to be hard on myself or others
~ I'm not going to eat things that make me feel bad
~ I'm not going to stress about not doing enough
~ I'm not going to be short with my kids or my husband
~ I'm not going to feel sorry for myself
~ I'm not going to be sad

Today I'm realizing that the not-to-do's are as important as the to-do's. Actually more important because it's about my attitude, focus and appreciation today. And everyday. We all put up roadblocks that make our day easier or harder because of how we see ourselves and how we see situations that we're going through. Honestly, our current situation is a bump in the road. It's an inconvenience more than anything. But to me it feels like a giant sinkhole. I've got to find a way to reframe this emotionally. A way to turn it around and see it as an opportunity.

What are you going through right now? Are you being fair to yourself when you plan out your day? Are you taking time to be gentle with yourself and others amidst the tough stuff?

Break on through to the other side

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 19:35:00 +0000

It's been forever since I've said hello on my blog. Or said anything for that matter. I can't count the number of post ideas I've composed in my head the last few months only to decide a minute later that nobody would want to read about that. I know it's a waste of precious time to doubt yourself but I also know it's a common thought pattern with artists at times. And bloggers, at least with bloggers who struggle with confidence. I've been in a serious confidence-lacking dungeon. It's a dark place, smells musty and there aren't any windows. Why I've stayed in that place for this long is a mystery to me. The longer I stayed the darker it became. I wondered if I was depressed? Stressed out? Having a midlife crisis? Probably a combination, I decided, of these and a half dozen other factors.

I finally realized I was missing the light. So I climbed out. And here I am. I'm feeling pretty stoked about being above ground again emotionally. My journal needs dusting off. And my sewing machine yearns to have the presser foot pushed flat. There's an empty space where newly made things will perch and items for my etsy shop will sit briefly before being whisked off to some far away place where the new owner lives. My brand new wacom tablet is waiting to be played with and understood.

I'm feeling a real sense of clarity about some things that I've been feeling pent up about for years. Like my website. A real honest-to-goodness website where my design portfolio will live. A place where I can confidently start to sell my services as a designer again. It feels really good to say that.

Seeing the light again is bringing about a flood of realizations. I realize that I need to shed some things. Do I really need a bricks and mortar antique booth and an etsy shop? Do I need to be in the vintage business at all? I'm realizing that my time management skills need a major tune-up too. I need to manage and manage well my current day job while building up my design business. And homeschooling. I've got nothing but improvements to make there.

I'm realizing that I have a passion for illustration. I always have. I'm giving myself permission to think of myself as an illustrator, to open myself up to opportunities to use that talent and passion.

I'm realizing that I've let myself take a big back seat to the people closest to me in my life. As a mother I think that's so innate. It's a good thing, in the right proportion. But I think mine has gone a little twisty at the ends. I've let myself go. I used to be incredibly fit. Not anymore. My clothing size has grown from single digits to double. I suddenly see very clearly that all these things have contributed to that dark little hole I'd crawled into.

So here I am. I'm singling out all the things that have contributed to the mess and cleaning them up. In some cases ridding myself of them entirely. If it was part of the problem then it's not part of the solution. I recognize that I've always righted-myself when life's knocked me over. But this time I feel like I need help. And no, I don't mean meds.

I need someone to help me redefine my focus and reset my goals. A coach perhaps? Maybe an organized way of connecting with others that share similar struggles? But what does that look like? Who is that coach? I started searching and about 10 minutes later I found Tara Gentile. You might know her as scoutiegirl. Her Art of Action program appears to have my name written all over it. I could probably be the poster child for it. I'm thrilled to say that I just signed up.

You've got to pop over and check it out. Her video intro is great. If you are struggling at all with who you are as an artist, where you want to go with your art or craft or feeling like you've gotten stuck in your own dark dungeon I recommend joining me in the Art of Action. I am excited about all the amazingly creative people that I'm going to meet and the breakthroughs that will be had. But most of all, I'm feeling grateful that God has helped me to see the light again.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 04:22:00 +0000

I wanted to share the first illustration created with my newly acquired Wacom Intuos graphics tablet. I drew him for a child's birthday invitation project.

I am itching to play with the tablet more. I love using the pen! No surprise there. It'll take some getting used to, but I can totally see myself bailing on my mouse to use the pen exclusively.

I'm excited (and hopeful) about the possibilities this media might open up for me.

Paris apron deadline extended

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 22:40:00 +0000

I'm so happy that Amy over at Angry Chicken has decided to extend the Tie One On Paris Apron deadline to the end of March. Yay! So. Very. Happy. February was a great -- but very busy and short -- month, so I was really sad-sacking around about not having my apron completed by months end. Thanks Amy, looking forward to getting my apron on (literally) in March!

Knitting lessons

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 14:07:00 +0000

I've wanted to learn how to knit for as long as I can remember. So the kids and I took knitting lessons at Orchardside Yarn Shop just before the holidays. It's a delightful little shop, nestled in one of the sweetest spots I've ever laid eyes on.

Carole, who's an incredibly talented knitter with many years of experience and even more patience, was our teacher. The kids each knitted a fuzzy winter hat. Sera really enjoyed the process. Blake decided about halfway through the project that knitting was not for him but it was a good lesson in finishing what you start. I decided on a felted tote for my first knitting project. I wanted something that required alot of stitches so that I could really burn the concept into my brain. This puppy was 96 stitches cast on, 50 rounds stockinette then 18 rounds reverse stockinette (purl), plus the two 27" straps. I worked with 2 strands of wool yarn which was a little confusing at times. I *love* felted wool so it was a pretty easy choice, plus I found out that felting would hide some of my mistakes. Nice.

As you can see in the photo above, the purse {before} looks like it was made for a giant. The felting process, which I did in the washing machine using hot water with the tote inside of a pillow case, brought it down to a nice size. I found the tactile nature of knitting and the repetitive moves very therapeutic. I can see how it could become addictive. I expect when I have a little more time to play that knitting and visits to the yarn shop will become a regular activity for me. At least I hope so. For now, I'm thinking about how to embellish this with some chocolate brown and moss green accents; or maybe grey wool felt. And thinking about what my next knitting project will be. :)

random: napkin art

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 20:53:00 +0000

apron in paris

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 19:08:00 +0000

Do you remember playing jump rope with friends? One friend would stand at each end of the rope, swinging it, and you were just waiting for the right moment to jump in? That's kind of how I've felt about this. I've been toying with the idea of joining in on one of Angry Chicken's tie one on apron challenges for a long time. I guess I just needed a theme that I could really get into. And what better theme is there than Paris? Okay, maybe chocolate, which btw would be a great theme too. So I'm jumping in! My sweet friend Heather over at bebeandalice has decided to take this on too which makes me oh-so happy since she's one of the coolest esty-ecofashionista's evah!

Pop on over to tie one on if you'd like to join in on the Parisian-inspired apron fun. Hrm, I'm wonder if I can write-off a little vacay to France for inspiration?

Happy Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 18:54:00 +0000

Wishing everyone a very blessed Christmas!

35% off Chronicle Books, ends soon!

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 22:57:00 +0000

I've had such a big response from my post about the Haul-iday Book Giveaway at Chronicle Books. Thank you so much for your great comments! I've got something to share with you...I just found this generous offer in my spam folder (yikes!) from Chronicle Books for myself and my blog readers. Because it sat in my spam folder for a week unnoticed, this discount is only good for 2 more days. But there's still time to save on some really amazing books - so enjoy!

35% off + free shipping until December 12th!

Use the code FRIENDS at checkout!

Go here for details:

http://us2.campaign-archive.com/?u=1627c9e9784c03e22ee2caab0&id=3fc985d31f&e=af22934b88 <http://us2.campaign-archive.com/?u=1627c9e9784c03e22ee2caab0&id=3fc985d31f&e=af22934b88>

Happy Shopping! :)

Big, juicy book giveaway at chroniclebooks.com

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 00:21:00 +0000

Has anyone ever called you a bookworm? How about craft geek or cookbook freak? I've been called all three (and a few other choice names too, but I digress). I do love new books *almost* as much as I love old ones. If you're a lover of books and awesome giveaways you'll LOVE this: Chronicle Books is giving away a mouth-wateringly generous $500 worth of books this holiday season to two extremely lucky winners. They will choose one blogger to receive their very own wishlist of hard and softbound goodness and one lucky reader/commenter from that blog will win them too!
Here's my wishlist for the haul-iday giveaway: books on quirky words, daddy diy, crafting, family travel, urban farm cuisine, drawing journals and deep, dark chocolate; because of course, no list of mine is ever complete without the inclusion of chocolate.

They've got a unique selection for nearly every area of interest, including children's books, journals and stationery. So hop on over to Chronicle Books, check out their awesome selection and then pop back here and leave a comment. You know you want to.

A real page turner

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 18:50:00 +0000

Oak & Maple leaf garland made from repurposed vintage books

Page Turner paper sculptures made from repurposed vintage books

I have a thing for old books. I was at an estate auction this summer where I happened onto four boxes of castaway reads. This stack of lonely old books caught my attention. They clearly hadn't been touched in years. They were begging to be picked up, held tenderly and leafed through. And so I obliged. Perusing through them, I noticed these weren't particularly popular titles. They didn't contain noteworthy illustrations or interesting typography. The covers showed the scorch of sun damage and were quite dusty. I knew if they didn't sell they'd be carted off to the local dump. But these wouldn't draw much attention sitting on an antique store bookshelf I decided. So I made a deal with the whole lot: I'll buy all of you and take you home where I promise to handle each one of you to see what you contain from cover to cover. If I find anything particularly unique I'll put you up on etsy for adoption to a loving home; but if I don't, I promise to make you into something new - something that gets you noticed. Overwhelmed with emotion, the books remained quite silent which I of course took as a sign of humble agreement.

Wait a minute

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 16:26:00 +0000

Holiday projects are waiting to be conceived.

Wine, leftover from a recent dinner party, is waiting to be finished off.

Thrifted wool sweaters are waiting to be felted.


Good books and a comfy chair are waiting to be enjoyed.

It's all waiting on me. My attention. Oh how I wish I had the time to spend a full day at my sewing machine; plotting, stitching, making things happen. Time to photograph it all, blog about it, post it and hopefully, sell it! Or just some downtime, that would be sweet. Instead I am making other things happen. Helping a friend in need keep her business afloat while she recovers from some pretty serious surgeries. Stretching myself between everything and still trying to keep homeschooling our top priority. It's all good but it certainly is a different plan than I had for myself and for Liza Jane this fall. Someone told me once that man makes plans and God laughs. While I personally don't believe that God is cynical, I have experienced quite alot of derailment from my plans, especially lately. Seems to be the theme for 2010. My husband's motto is adapt and overcome. I'm trying. I remind myself that we are a homeschool family that works; not the other way around. Priorities in check it's about balancing today the best way we know how. Just like you do. Just like we all do. So tell me, what's waiting on you?

Lucky me

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 15:40:00 +0000

I was so excited when I saw that my new etsy shop was featured on bebeandalice this week. I hope you'll pop over to Heather's blog to show her some love. Heather runs her main etsy shop bebeandalice and the newly created go small, which features her line of adorable childrens goodies. I've got more vintage to destash and am working on some holiday handmade so I hope you'll visit Liza Jane often to see what's new, or what's old, depending on how you look at it.

Wordless Wednesday: Days of Summer

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 18:26:00 +0000

Introducing my etsy shop: Liza Jane

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 16:43:00 +0000

I finally did it! Liza Jane vintage, handmade & repurposed goods is now on etsy. It's been a long time coming and I'm so happy to finally have it launched. I expect I'll be a bit heavy on vintage at first because of my massive stockpile of lovely old things. I'll be adding more handmade, repurposed goods and seasonal crafts as I go. I'd really appreciate you popping over to favorite me and help me get the word out. I also have a fan page on Facebook. Please come on over and say hello!

Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 15:32:00 +0000

After the apron fiasco, it was time for me to take on a simpler project. I decided to repurpose the rest of the fabric from the thrifted skirts to make birds. I used this loverly pattern from spool, where it's offered "for personal use only, thank you." I kicked it up an oh-so-dreamy notch by adding lavender buds to the fiberfill. {sniff...melt} Now I'm working on creating my own pattern so that I can make some for resale. I plan to post my pattern and tutorial ~ for freesies ~ once it's ready. Because sharing is good.

Try, try again

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 21:30:00 +0000

Have I really only posted 7 times in the last 8 months? That's just lame. My life got really crazy for a while and chickaboom just didn't make my flaming hot to-do list.

But life has settled down and I'm settling into my wings again. I really want to thank all of my sweet friends and family for your support, love and friendship. To all my groovy readers, thanks for your patience and loyalty. You are all 10 kinds of awesome!

This week I dusted off my sewing machine and started into some long overdue projects. Ideas I've had brewing in my mind for months, or longer, are finally taking shape. It feels so good to dive into these new projects. At the same time, I see that I've got some obstacles to overcome where my technical sewing skills are concerned. I'm thinking I would really benefit from a basic sewing class where I can relearn all the foundational stuff. Right now my ideas far outweigh my skillset which is making the things I want to do really challenging.

For example, let's have a look at Exhibit A, the white & black floral apron you see above. It's a refashion project I've had in mind for months: a thrift store skirt I envisioned as a sassy little apron. It looks cute right? Well it's not that cute up close, trust me. The picture is hiding a multitude of sewing sins. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong while making this apron. When I was ripping out the left side seam, the fabric tore - and not just a little - we're talking about a 6" horizontal tear. While trying to stitch that up, my sewing machine ate the fabric and the only way I could free it was by cutting it again. Then I decided I would round the bottom edges a bit, except that I don't remember how to do that. At least not properly. So I fudged it. It's also not lined so it's more a rough prototype than anything. I attribute the attractive photo to my daughter's general cuteness, visible even when she's photographed from the waist down. :) The natural folds in the fabric do hide the mistakes pretty well. The bottom line is it's fine for her to wear around the house but I could never sell something this flawed.

So why am I confessing a #sewingfail when I am about to launch my etsy shop where I'll be selling hand-sewn items? Because I want to encourage anyone who has a dream to stick with it. Don't be afraid to step out and try something new. If you are willing to humble yourself and learn, you can succeed at anything you put your mind and your heart into. Don't sweat your mistakes, learn from them. Do what you love and keep trying.

I've got ideas in my head for aprons and all sorts of refashioned designs. The next step for me is to learn the skills to make them happen. How? By finding someone who has those skills that is willing to teach them to me. In the meantime, I'll stick with simpler projects while I'm building my skills. I plan to take you along on this journey, after all we're all in this together right? *wink*

Hi Quark. BTW, you SUCK.

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 17:20:00 +0000

This is an actual chat conversation that took place a few minutes ago between myself and a Quark customer service representative. According to Quark's website they have headquarters in Denver, CO and India. My understanding is that this rep was located in India:

Quark Customer Support...You have been connected to Nimisha.

Nimisha: Welcome to our live chat service.

Leslie: Hi. Did you see my question? I am wondering how to go about legally transferring the registration on my Quark Xpress software.

Nimisha: Yes, Leslie, as per company policy you can not save your license.

Nimisha: *Leslie, as per company policy you can not sell your license.

Leslie: What does that mean,"I cannot SAVE my license?"

Leslie: Oh you meant SELL not SAVE

Nimisha: I am sorry that was a typing error. As per company policy you can not sell your license.

Leslie: Yes, I understand that. I'm curious as to why. I recently sold my adobe InDesign CS2 and adobe was great about helping me transfer the license, etc. They made it very simple. Why doesn't Quark have this type of customer support option?

Nimisha: Leslie. it is a company policy that you ca not sell your license.

Leslie: Okay. You keep repeating the SAME information. Can you please explain to me why this is the policy? Clearly it's not illegal activity because other software companies allow registration to be transferred on their products from one customer to another. It would seem to me that the more people that use your product, the more exposure you get and marketshare you gain in the long run.

Nimisha: Leslie, every company has its own policy and this is mentioned in the license agreement that swelling the license is illegal.

Leslie: Swelling? I assume you meant SELLING.

< Connection closed due to network issues >

And that, my friends, is how the chat ended. For real.

When Inspiration Strikes

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Wed, 05 May 2010 07:39:00 +0000

I'm having one of those nights. You know the ones, where your head is swimming with so many ideas that you can't possibly sleep. I love the rush of creativity but I don't care for the hungover feeling I have the next day from lack of sleep. There's no predicting when these nocturnal mindfloods will come and there's certainly no stopping them. This is really not a good night for me to be sleepless though. Tomorrow we're leaving the house with the earlybirds to be at JMU for J'daddy's finals. I was informed by my dear husband that departure is at 6:10 a.m. sharp. Ouch! It's become a bit of a tradition for us to tag along on finals day. We drop J'daddy off on campus, within walking distance of where he'll be testing, and the kids and I tool around town until he's finished. He stresses pretty hard about tests and us tagging along makes him feel all warm and fuzzy. It makes us feel more connected to his school experience. We all sacrifice alot of together-time during the semester and it's a fun little R&R payoff. The best part is when we swing back to pick him up after the tests. We usually hit a nice lunch spot, my favorite is A Bowl of Good, before we head out for more meandering.

So here I am, typing this post at 3:07 a.m. when everyone else in my house, and in my neighborhood for that matter, is sleeping. {sigh} But oh the productivity that I've had from tonight's brain-blast so far! I am so completely excited about the ideas that I've been handed tonight. You see, lately I've been feeling rather 'clogged' creatively. With our recent move and the many changes we've made as a result, I have been overwhelmed and distracted. All the details of daily life have taken the place of extra-curricular thinking and extra-curricular doing. I've also been wrestling over a new business name/brand/identity. It is time to cast off the old and dig into something new. I carry around a little notebook with me wherever I go and it's filled with page after page of possible new biz name ideas. A sickening amount really. But none that were just right. A few days ago I got so frustrated by my creative constipation about renaming my business that I tossed my little notepad across the bedroom, let out a cranky growl and said "Enough already! Lord, please give me a name so I can get things rolling - this is driving me crazy!" Apparently He heard me and decided to get back with me quickly. I have to say I like this new approach – quick response time – thank you very much. Yesterday the new name came to me so easily, so clearly. Today I sketched out my logo and checked out the name on etsy and surprise, surprise - it's available! {more details and a launch date coming very soon, stay tuned!}

I sit here now in my living room huddled under a dim lamp with the scrawled piece of paper that I had on my nightstand. The quick scribblings that I rambled down in the dark, trying not to wake my sweet scholar. Thinking that if I just wrote down one more idea surely that would be the last and I could sleep. No such luck. When I was in art school I used to say that sleep was a luxury, not a necessity. Obviously I was 20-something and could weather a sleepless night a whole lot easier then. I pulled alot of all-nighters working on art projects. After I had my daughter I had the most amazing flow of creativity that I've ever had in my life. I was up nursing every 2-3 hours anyway so that worked out well. I just wrote and sketched and dreamed away while my little one had her midnight snack. Now, at 40-something it's a whole different ballgame. Lack of sleep is one of my migraine triggers. After a sleepless night I find myself the next day around 3 p.m. feeling like I have a buzzing humming vibration coursing through me. Like when you're cranking an old wind-up alarm clock and you turn the knob just a little too far. But I guess those are the trade-offs for such types of inspiration.

I have a close friend who's an accountant and by her own admission not a creative-type. I was sharing with her about this sleep-interrupting brainstorm session-for-one. She looked at me like I had two heads. She said she'd never had that happen to her in her life. You might think that would make me feel bad but instead I smiled, feeling very blessed. I feel like I'm in on some private secret when this happens. I feel very fortunate to be a part of this stream of thoughts and ideas. Sometimes it's creative new uses for old things or concepts for products and services; sometimes inventions, acts of kindness, things I'm to do for other people, prayer reminders, and ideas for a myriad of things. I have another friend who's immensely creative. She jokes that she's given her weekly inspirational checklist while she's at church service on Sunday morning. We laugh about it because we're both in on the joke in our own way. I personally believe that creativity is divine inspiration in most cases. It's true for me anyway. Even when I didn't know that's where it was coming from. That's part of the beauty of it. Now that I accept it and welcome it, it's taken on a whole new meaning and purpose. Tonight alone I've got a list as long as my arm. There's much work to be done. I guess I should start keeping some puffy-eye cream in the fridge, looks like I'm gonna need it. :-)

Words for Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:22:00 +0000

Valentine Project

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 12:35:00 +0000

This year my son decided he didn't want to give out Valentines. I guess he thinks he's too big for all that sappy stuff. I finally persuaded him by offering to make them together. I broke out the fine point black Sharpie and some scraps of colorful card stock; he agreed to color them in with his hand-me-down Prisma-color colored pencils. I gave him my old set from art school when I upgraded to the Koh-i-noor Woodless Coloured Pencils some time ago. (I love the woodless by the way; the best set of colored pencils I've ever used) We had a great time making these together! I've been playing around with ideas for a line of whimsically-illustrated animals so this was a fun way to get some sketches flowing. I still have a few details to work out but I think the bunny and cat are nearly ready to roll. I have the dog, owl and squirrel to finish up and I want to develop the robots into a series. Then I need to get my homework done on licensing and decide how to offer them. Guess this will be at the top of my summer reading list since I am covered up right now with lesson planning, house-hunting and preparing to move fairly soon.

Hope your Valentine's Day was sweet!

Sweet Dreams Heat Therapy Pillow

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:17:00 +0000

Here's a sneak-peek at one of the new handmade products I've been working on for my soon-to-be-launched etsy shop. I'd like to introduce you to the Soothing Peppermint Moist Heat Therapy pillow. This one measures 6.5" x 13" which fits well against a tense neck, across a crampy tummy or over an achey shoulder or elbow. It's made from upcycled fabrics; in this case, a genty-used but apparently unwanted bed pillow. Inside this toile and damask bag (which has a velcro closure at one end) is a separate muslin bag filled with long grain rice infused with peppermint essential oil. Just pop it in the microwave for a couple of minutes and voila; warm refreshingly-scented comfort! I made one of these for my good friend Mary Beth as a Christmas gift. She called me a few days later to tell me how much she loved it and asked me to make a larger one for her. I'm also working on a softer flannel version for kids to snuggle with on chilly nights and one for pets. I need to do a little aromatherapy homework, but so far I'm thinking I'll offer peppermint, lavender and lemongrass.

I'd love to have some feedback from my readers. What size would work well for your heat therapy needs? What scent would you prefer? Having your input helps me make a better product. I look forward to reading your comments. Thanks so much!

*Yikes* Just realized I hadn't added a link to where I got the pattern/tutorial from. Thanks SewMamaSew, for all the amazing sewing ideas and info you share, not to mention your awesome fabric store. You rock!