randaMocity

the bug

noreply@blogger.com (miranda wall) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 20:33:00 +0000

I have the crafting bug really bad right now and I'm sitting at work with nothing to work on...poo. I also have several things at home I need to finish/start-then-finish that starting a new craft would be silly.

We have no plans tonight other than making pizza, so I'm hoping to get some stuff done. Maybe I'll make the pillows I said I would make for a friend 5 months ago...oops!

Hope to have pics of something later.

Button love

noreply@blogger.com (miranda wall) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:02:00 +0000

I just love buttons! I'm pretty sure I've made that clear on here before, but just in case you're new and didn't know...I love them. I have quite a collection, that is now divided by color into at least 12 jars. I saw this on pinterest and loved it instantly, button AND aqua?! Yes, please.

For my first non-sewing button project I decided to go small. Plus, I had these small canvases from years ago when I still lived in San Marcos and was decorating my own apartment. I've been seeing button art a lot on pinterest but never tried it till now. I thought a little valentines heart would be the perfect beginner project for me, plus I didn't have to buy anything.

I taped off the canvas with painters tape and painted the red lines. I then removed the tape and groaned at how Messy the edges ended up. I used my super fancy chiseled sponge brush (.49 cents at Michael's) to fix this. The lines are a little wonky, but I'm saying it adds character.

I then poured out all my Red buttons and started arranging them into a heart shape. Let me say now that whe it comes to crafting I can be a little tiny bit OCD. It took me forever to get the perfect shape and I kept bumping the canvas sending my perfection into disarray. It was a dramatic 10 minutes of me sitting home alone being very anal. 10 minutes equals forever right? Anyways. I didn't have the exact size red button I needed to keep my heart even so I thought a different color could be fun. To make it something I could hang all year and not too valentiney I decided on aqua instead of pink. Plus, I love aqua, duh.

Once all laid out, I began gluing from the bottom up. Everything shifted slightly but I kept my cool and remembered crafting is fun, and not stressful......mostly.

To finish everything off I painted a cursive "love" in aqua. I of course forgot to erase all my pencil lines before I took these pics, but don't worry, they're erased now.

I will be propping this up on our mantle through valentines day and the probably hanging it in our kitchen somewhere since it matches our color scheme in there.

Anyone out there making fun things with buttons?

Valentines!

noreply@blogger.com (miranda wall) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:17:00 +0000

David and I have never been really big on Valentines day, mostly because our dating anniversary is 9 days before. (that means we just passed year 6 of being together!!) Our first valentines date involved shakes at sonic (my mouth was still wired shut so that was all I could have) and The Matador in theaters. It was fun and low key. Since then we've never done much more than some pretty flowers and dinner at home, usually tilapia.

Since we're married now David thinks we don't need to celebrate our dating anniversary, so I told him he had to celebrate valentines with me :)

I've enjoyed playing with pink and red yarns. To decorate I decided to make a simple pom pom garland for our mantle. It includes a pale pink, bubble gum pink, and red with silver sparkles all on an aqua string. I love how it turned out! While trying to get a good picture I noticed many other critters around in matching yarns so now they're all gathered on our mantle to celebrate love.

This area of our apartment is really difficult to photograph because all the direct lighting is from behind. Please excuse the awful last picture, I just wanted to show the full length of garland.

Bevo the monster

noreply@blogger.com (miranda wall) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:31:00 +0000

Here's Bevo! I gave him to Bishop today and he seemed to like it. He instantly called it a puppy which I thought was hilarious, and well those ears do look puppyesque :). Oh, his name is Bevo after the UT longhorn mascot. Bishop's dad is the UT BSM director/my boss, so the whole fam are now big UT fans.

Enjoy a few pics. There's even a full shot with Chuy so you can see how big it is.

Contemplative pup

noreply@blogger.com (miranda wall) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:33:00 +0000

Ok so I don't think he's actually contemplating anything aside from when the heck I'm going to get ready and take him outside. I was actually trying to take pics of my latest finished project and he kept trying to sit on it or right in front of it. I can't post those pics until tomorrow after I give it to the intended recipient, who obviously reads my blog at the young age of 20 months. If you look closely at the pic below you can see a little sneaky peak :)

what I did this weekend...

noreply@blogger.com (miranda wall) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:04:00 +0000

You guessed it, I knit owls this weekend. I went out and bought some more after work on Friday and then set to it when I got home. The yellow one was a custom order, the pink/navy a gift, and the green a potential gift this week. The little one is my favorite of them all. He's only 2 inches tall and so light and soft. I've never knit on needles that small (size 2s I believe, but they may be 3s...I can't find my needle gauge thingy...and I have 2...) but it was fun! I bought the aqua yarn with plans of making some more headbands while testing a pattern I wrote and hope to sell on ravelry in the next month or so.

Enjoy the cute phone pics I took and stay tuned for some other crafts soon!

he's only 2" tall!

sunshine owl

traffic light?

for sophie

Love puff

noreply@blogger.com (miranda wall) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:00:00 +0000

So I've been sick the past few days and knitting helps me pass the time at home without wearing myself out. Last night I made a valentines owl puff. I knit a similar one in greens today but I need more eyes to complete it. Maybe David will take me to the store where gets home, because I'm too doped up on Benadryl to drive anywhere.

Ps. Did y'all know poodle noses and paws are iPad compatible? Well, they are and Chuy let's me know it when he's tired of me playing on my iPad or phone...silly little pup!

Owl puffs

noreply@blogger.com (miranda wall) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:10:00 +0000

My favorite kind of animal is a tiny knit one! I love making these little guys. I've done bunny nuggets, monster chunks, and now owl puffs. First of all, the names are fun enough, then you see how cute they are!

One of my old co-workers, and one who still works with David, has a birthday today. Ginger loves all things crafty as much as I do so I wanted to make her something small and sweet. I found the pattern on ravelry and fell in love. I can't wait to make more. I appreciate a kindred spirit who loves to make things to give to people, and Ginger is definitely one of those...plus she loves Jesus too!

Here's to cute owls and the amazing women in my life!

new project!

noreply@blogger.com (miranda wall) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:00:00 +0000

I've been searching for some kind of jewelry hanger for my necklaces ever since we got married. There seem to be many options out there for a counter top jewelry display, but not many at all to mount on the wall. I wanted something fun but not ridiculous. I eventually gave up and put 3 nails in the wall next to our medicine cabinet and hung my headbands and necklaces there...and groaned every time I saw it.

yay for blurry pics

I was perusing pinterest last week and saw a picture of a canvas with some hooks on the bottom that someone was selling on etsy. It looked simple enough and I thought I can totally do that for my necklaces!

The next day we went to Michael's and I bought an 8x10 canvas and some smaller/longer ones for some other crafting experiments (see my mini hall makeover from the other day). I had the soft gray fabric on hand already and picked the hooks up at Lowes. I simply cut the fabric to be a few inches larger than the canvas, stretched it around and stapled with our little staple gun. I then added 2 strips of thin white ribbon for a little pizzaz. I was going to find a patterned fabric but decided that might be too much with necklaces hanging in front. I like the simplicity the ribbon adds. Fianlly I screwed 9 hooks in. These were a mother to get in! The first one was easy, then they started getting dumb. I think some were screwed through a knot in the wood, and others through the layers where the corners are held together in the wood frame. Needless to say, my fingers were sore after the final hook.

To hang it in our bathroom I simply put 2 nails in the wall and set the top of the frame on them. I figured it's not holding a lot and is very likely to get bumped where it is so no need for a more complex hanging device.

ribbon detail

I love how this turned out, as simple as it is, and I can't wait to figure something else out for all my hair flowers and bows. They're about to fall off the ribbon I have them hanging on and I want more storage room so I can make more :)

Shiny tealy goodness

noreply@blogger.com (miranda wall) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:56:00 +0000

Here's my first decorating project post-Christmas. This sad dark little mini hallway is just a nook between the guest bathroom and our craft/music room. There's no direct light to it, no color, and no cheer. It's been easily overlooked during the past year. We did have a canvas we glued some stuff to on a church family retreat hanging here but neither of us liked it and so it came down without hesitation.

An old, sad, white mirror one of my old roommates bought in our dorm days had been sitting on the floor with the intention of being hung by the front door for a few months. When I held it up in its planned place neither David or I liked it there. We looked around and decided it could replace the old canvas thing in the little nook.

We got it hung and liked it but the colorless area still looked dead. While getting a canvas for a jewelry holder (coming soon!) I picked up some long skinny ones to play with for this area. I also bought some cup hooks and awesome turquoise spray paint.

Skip ahead a day and Ta-da! The little splash of color did the trick perfectly! I painted the canvas the same color as the mirror, then added 3 cup hooks and stapled on some white ribbon with sparkly silver dots for some added punch. I originally thought about painting some fun design but decided the area needed something simpler...and sparklier :)

Now, I can't wait to start on some of my other projects around here...and see what else I can spray paint turquoise!

Button necklaces

noreply@blogger.com (miranda wall) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 03:12:00 +0000

In a last minute effort to make something cute that my cousin and her two pre-teen daughters would like, I created these. I found the bails at Michaels and thought a button might be fun.

I used each girl's favorite color. The big purple and green buttons are actually old buttons from our MeMaw. She has old tins full of old buttons that I get to raid. I loved getting to make something for her great granddaughters that held something old of hers.

I've since made one for myself with some awesome silvery black buttons and plan to make some more for my etsy shop soon. Do y'all like the buttons? Would anyone buy one of these?

I think I'm ready to get back in the swing of things!

noreply@blogger.com (miranda wall) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:42:00 +0000

Hello blog land!

I have been a bit absent from this area of my life the past month of so. Life gets real busy for me in December with crafting, Christmas singing, family gatherings and this year a road trip to Georgia for a friend's wedding and more singing.

This made for nearly a week of laying around like a bum doing nothing but snuggling with my pup, watching netflix, reading on my ipad, and basically training to be a world-class sloth. It was awesome. At one point I was seriously wondering if I was pregnant because my energy was just zapped and I craved chips and salsa all the time. ALL the time! I'm not, don't get excited if you're one of those out there picketing for a baby Wall as soon as possible (coughsophiecough).

A few relaxing days at home with the hubs and getting back on my iron pills to combat some anemia have really been the best cure. We finally got the Christmas tree and decor taken down and now I'm excited to decorate the apartment more and have a few craft projects waiting to be done and then documented here. My goal this year is to really get better at putting my crafting ventures on here. I mean I know Chuy the poodle is the cutest creature alive but there's only so many pictures I'm sure you want to see of him. For every chuy post I hope to have a craft post.

On that note...here's a cute, blurry pic of Chuy playing with his dead raccoon stuffy...

I have two knit monsters at home waiting to have some eyes attached to their empty heads then stuffed. Then I have to sew appendages on, which is where I really slow down, I hate finishing, so tedious. Hopefully these will be done soon and photographed for your viewing pleasure. Also hopefully soon because they were totally both intended as Christmas gifts....oops!

Road trip

noreply@blogger.com (miranda wall) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 04:45:00 +0000

We road tripped it to Augusta, Georgia the day after Christmas for our dear friend's wedding. It was a long but fun drive. Having 3 drivers really helped, but sitting on your butt for 19 hours can still get old. We had a fun time and David and I look forward to more road trips in the future :)

Budafest

noreply@blogger.com (miranda wall) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 01:40:00 +0000

Here are some quick pics I took of my booth at Budafest this past weekend. It was my first craft fair to participate in and boy was it tiring. I did a lot of sitting in the cold and spent a bit of time making some new flowers on the 2nd day. I didn't sell a lot but I made my booth rental money back and then doubled it, so not too bad! Everything will be up on my etsy shop soon and on my facebook page. So, stay tuned!

my side of the booth

flowers


button bobbies

felty covers

paintchip notepads

key fobs


mr bear

wine charms

white, silver & magenta yumminess

so shiny!

day 30: my God

noreply@blogger.com (miranda wall) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 06:19:00 +0000

Finally, today I am thankful for God. I'm so thankful for His grace, mercy and forgiveness in my life. He is the core of everything I am and everything I choose to do.

Thank You!

day 29: clementines

noreply@blogger.com (miranda wall) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 06:19:00 +0000

cuties

Today I am thankful for clementines. They are juicy, delicious, healthy, and just plain yummy. I only wish they were available all year long and not just in the winter. This time of year they are my favorite snack. yum yum yum!

day 28: the in-laws

noreply@blogger.com (miranda wall) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 06:18:00 +0000

the Waldon fam

Today I'm thankful for my in-laws. David has a huge family and I love them all. He has step-siblings, wonderful parents, and Aunts and Uncles, and cousins whom are all great.

I love that his mom's whole family are in Austin, so we get to see them all the time. They do dinners for every birthday, holiday, anniversary, and just because sometimes.

His family, well my family now, is full of love and they know how to have fun. I'm so thankful to have 2 families so close. I know David and I will be taken care of if anything happens.

day 27: Christmas lights

noreply@blogger.com (miranda wall) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 06:18:00 +0000

our balcony

I love and am thankful for Christmas lights. The day my dad starts putting up his Christmas lights has always been exciting for me. The twinkly ones are my favorite and I prefer multicolor over all white.

Luckily, though David isn't into decorating all that much, he does like lights so he was excited about buying our first lights for our home. He picked out the blue LED lights in the picture. I love the glow they give off outside and in our dining area.

When I was younger we would always drive around looking at lights. I haven't done this in years but David and I plan to some night soon, probably closer to Christmas.

day 26: my dear friends

noreply@blogger.com (miranda wall) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 06:17:00 +0000

some of our dearest friends

Today I am thankful for my dear friends. It would take too long to write about each one individually so I'll give a general blanket thanks for all of them.

David and I have been blessed with some amazing people throughout our lives. We were lucky enough to have all of them in our wedding earlier this year. They are a fun bunch as you can see in the picture. They are all so special to me in different ways. Some are childhood friends of David, who I am thankful to for making sure he didn't blow himself up before I could meet him :) Some are my high school choir girls who helped me survive high school and college. Some are more recent friends who I love just as much. One up there is a sister, and well, I already told you about her :)

Our friends are all silly and amazing all at the same times, which is probably why we keep them around...or maybe they keep us around? I am so thankful that, for whatever reason, our bonds have stayed strong and we have them to go to whenever we need them or just want to hang out, and we can be there for them if they ever need it.

day 25: Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (miranda wall) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 06:17:00 +0000

Christmas tree @ Fiesta Texas 2009

Today I am thankful for Christmas. It's one month away and I'm so excited! I absolutely love this time of the year (minus the mall and crazy drivers). The lights, music, colors, weather, cheer, jingle bells, pretty wrapping paper, sparkly everything, family, and of course the reason for it all...God's son.

I know this holiday has become commercialized but to me it's a great time to remember what God sent us so many years ago and I'm so very thankful that He did. I know theologians have decided Jesus was most likely born in the summer, and I'm thankful during the summer as well, but I love to have a special day just to celebrate Christ. I also love that everyone knows that's what that day is for, whether they believe or not.

For me there is just nothing like Christmas, I love it!

day 24: holidays

noreply@blogger.com (miranda wall) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 06:16:00 +0000

Today I am thankful for holidays. I love a chance to get together and just enjoy family and friends. They usually involve yummy food as well, which is always a plus in my book.

Short post, it's Thanksgiving :)

day 23: days off

noreply@blogger.com (miranda wall) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 19:30:00 +0000

Today I am thankful for days off. Since I work at a college ministry, I get school vacations, it's pretty awesome. Today I got to sleep in a little, take Chuy to get his bear claws trimmed (he did so well!) and then just chill around the apartment with Miriah, watching movies and waiting for David to get home. Once he's home it's off to Mason for Thanksgiving.

I love that I still get a few days to myself to just relax, play with Chuy, and enjoy being out of a building or our apartment in the sunshine. It's a good time for me to take life slow and appreciate God and everything He's done for me and in my life.

day 22: pinterest

noreply@blogger.com (miranda wall) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 06:15:00 +0000

my inspiration board

Today I am thankful for Pinterest! My friend Sophie told me I had to get it a few months ago and it is just awesome. I'm a big craft blog reader and I used to bookmark tutorials a lot but I never went back to them. Being a visual person I hated looking at my bookmark list and seeing those ugly long links. Pinterest is just my cup of tea.

I also like that I can see what craft projects my friends are pinning. I've even started a board made of just meals I want to cook which I'm sure David appreciates :) I love that I can organize as much as I want. For example, I have a board just for felt. I've found it especially helpful in keeping everything I want to make organized and easy to go look back and remember.

Thanks for being you, pinterest :)

day 21: Miriah

noreply@blogger.com (miranda wall) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 06:14:00 +0000

sisters

Today I am thankful for my sister, Miriah. She's been around for nearly 23 years (what?!) and she's pretty cool, if I have to admit it :)

When we were younger we didn't always get along, but what else can you expect when you put two stubborn girls together in one house. I think we finally became friends once I left for college and wasn't always having to share a bathroom with her, haha.

Being 4 years apart we were never in the same school after I got out of elementary school. Then when I transferred to Texas State she began there my second year. It was actually fun having family so close and knowing we could have lunch together once or twice a week.

My sister is a very special person and I love her dearly. She has a great eye for art and lights, is so very determined, and has an extremely sensitive heart for those around her. If you count her as a friend you are a very lucky person. She will go to bat for anyone she cares for, even if you may not be willing to do so for her.

She's a little weird, but who in our family isn't? She knew from the start that David was someone important to me and has fully embraced him as her big brother, which I love. I know we'll be friends for the rest of our lives and someday she'll make an amazing fun aunt.

Love you, Squirt!

day 20: netflix

noreply@blogger.com (miranda wall) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 06:13:00 +0000

Today I am thankful for netflix. Now, I know a lot of people don't like them so much anymore but I think the concept of instant streaming is fantastic.

David and I are very much homebodies. We really enjoy staying home and hanging out on the couch together. Having something we like to watch whenever we want is so nice! I'm not big on planning my schedule around a tv show, and I don't want to allow tv to have that kind of control over my life ever. Netflix totally lets us stay out as long as we want and just watch whatever tv show we've become addicted to whenever we have time or feel like being lazy.

We discovered Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica because of this. I also get to watch cheesey movies I would never actually buy on here. David watched all the old X-men cartoons from his childhood one week. Lately they've been making more and more documentaries available so we can even get educated a bit, who'd have thunk!

I'm thankful that we have something to watch together when David gets tired of the movies I own and there's nothing on KLRU (we don't have cable).